2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Tori Amos’ sixth album – her final for longtime label Atlantic – was a novel concept: 12 songs originally written and performed by men, changed in focus by her voice, arrangements and perspective. This remastered and expanded version features four extra tracks – two B-sides and two unreleased tracks – and the vinyl packaging will feature one of 12 covers taken from portraits within the original album art, each offering a “persona” she created for each song. (Bundles featuring each LP jacket plus a…
Castles in the Air: New Box Set Offers Complete Works of The Colourfield
The brief, eclectic work of British band The Colourfield will be investigated in a new box set from Chrysalis this winter. The Sound of The Colourfield brings together five CDs and a region-free DVD collecting the band’s brief but appealing discography and 40 unreleased tracks. It includes the albums Virgins and Philistines (1985) and Deception (1987), discs devoted to single-only material, demos and live cuts, and a videography offering music videos and BBC television appearances. The mediabook package includes unseen photos and new liner notes by John Earls of Record Collector, drawing from new interviews…
Wonder Who the Real Men Are: Tori Amos’ ‘Strange Little Girls’ Gets Expanded
Tori Amos’ sixth and final album for longtime label Atlantic was one of her most conceptually striking – and a new expanded edition will offer some additional rare and unreleased material to go with it. 2001’s Strange Little Girls will be expanded by Rhino on February 20, featuring the album’s original 12 tracks – all covers of songs by men – plus an additional four (on the 2LP set’s final side or a bonus CD with the album), two of which are previously unreleased. As a unique treat, the vinyl packaging will feature…
Good Clean Fun: Rhino Preps New Monkees Singles Collection
Following last year’s deluxe box of The Monkees’ Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones, Ltd., Rhino has announced its first release from the band in 2026. The A’s, The B’s and The Monkees, at long last, brings together on 2 CDs all of the band’s commercial singles originally released between 1966 and 1970, from “Last Train to Clarksville” b/w “Take a Giant Step” through “Oh My My” b/w “I Love You Better.” The set is due from Rhino on January 30. (Some copies ordered directly from Rhino are already shipping.) The A’s, The…
Laughing in My Sleep: Rhino Remasters and Expands Squeeze’s ‘Play’
Part of Rhino’s annual “Start Your Ear Off Right” promotion is a very welcome surprise: a remastered and expanded edition of one of the most underrated albums by British pop/rock band Squeeze. 1991’s Play will return for its 35th anniversary on January 23; available on double vinyl at participating independent retailers – its first release on the format in America – but it’ll also be released on CD, too, pairing the remastered 12-track album with four hard-to-find B-sides from the album’s singles, “Satisfied” and “Sunday Street.” The release of Play found Squeeze at a…
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In Memoriam: Bob Weir (1947-2026)
Some folks look for answers/Others look for fights/Some folks up in treetops/Just look to see the sights I can tell your future/Look what’s in your hand/But I can’t stop for nothing/I’m just playing in the band… – Mickey Hart, Robert Hunter, and Bob Weir, “Playing in the Band” On Saturday evening, New York’s Empire State Building was lit up with the colors of tie-dye. The tribute marked the passing at the age of 78 of Bob Weir, the co-founder of Grateful Dead whose music both epitomized and transcended the counterculture in which…
The Temple of the King 1975-1976
After leaving Deep Purple, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore found success with his new band Rainbow. The ever-changing line-up was notable in its early incarnation for featuring Elf vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who would of course become a towering figure in metal as a singer in Black Sabbath and his own eponymous band Dio. The Temple of the King is a 9CD box set collecting the early Dio years of Rainbow, including the remastered studio albums Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow and Rainbow Rising, three live sets from 1976 and a collection of rare tracks, including four unreleased tour…
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP (black): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP (translucent orange/yellow): Amazon U.S. 2LP (marbled red): Graceland Baz Luhrmann, the director of 2022’s blockbuster biopic ELVIS, uncovered scores of film outtakes of The King during production, including footage filmed for the concert/documentary films That’s the Way It Is and Elvis on Tour and audio of Presley describing his life and career. EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is a new film built from that footage, set to hit IMAX theatres on February 20 before a general release a week later; the accompanying soundtrack will include some of the live…
Café Bleu (Special Edition)
6CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Not long after dissolving The Jam, frontman Paul Weller was back with The Style Council, a loose collective more pointedly inspired by R&B and dance ideas, with more explicitly political lyrics. Fans embraced the change, putting singles “Speak Like a Child,” “Long Hot Summer,” “My Ever Changing Moods” and “You’re the Best Thing” into the U.K. Top 10. (“My Ever Changing Moods” also became a U.S. Top 40 hit, something The Jam didn’t have.) This new 6CD box set of 1984 debut album Café…
Play (Expanded Edition)
Squeeze’s first album of the ’90s (and only release for the Warner-controlled Reprise) began another artistic renaissance for songwriters Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, with some of their most satisfying songwriting in a songbook already full of cult pop classics. Play was produced by Tony Berg and features guest appearances from Steve Nieve of Elvis Costello and The Attractions, Bruce Hornsby and others. This new remastered and expanded edition will be available on vinyl at all participating indie record stores as part of Rhino’s “Start Your Ear Off Right” initiative, and on…
The Weekend Stream: January 10, 2026
Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts! We’ve got some new music from old pop favorites, a few Record Store Day Black Friday releases, and a pop icon and a big rock band moving their catalogues from one label to another. It’s a lot to keep up with, but we’ve got your back! Bruno Mars, “I Just Might” (Atlantic) (Apple / Amazon) Though Bruno Mars has hardly been absent from the pop charts recently – earning…
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That’s All Right: Baz Luhrmann’s New Elvis Concert Film Gets Remix-Packed Soundtrack
Yesterday, on the occasion of Elvis Presley’s birthday, Legacy Recordings announced their latest release devoted to The King of Rock and Roll: a companion album to next month’s forthcoming EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert. Drawn from unseen live footage from the 1970s, this 27-track album will combine concert favorites as well as some new studio remixes and medleys of familiar material. The album will be available on CD and digitally February 20 – day and date with the film’s IMAX release – with several 2LP formats following on April 24. A follow-up to…
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Release Round-Up: Week of January 9
Welcome to our first Release Round-Up of 2026, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. The Doobie Brothers, The Captain & Me: Audiophile Edition (Warner/Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Rhino’s Audiophile Edition of The Doobie Brothers’ smash 1973 album featuring “Long Train Runnin’” and “China Grove” includes four unique mixes: the original quadraphonic mix (previously available on the Doobies’ Quadio box set), surround guru Elliot Scheiner’s 5.1 mix originally released in 2001, a new Dolby Atmos mix, and the original album mix…
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Woke Up with a Monster: Rhino’s Start Your Ear Off Right Titles Run the Gamut
Why wait for Record Store Day? Rhino continues their January tradition of “Start Your Ear Off Right” with just over three dozen exclusive vinyl titles being released through January at independent record stores. (A small handful, linked below, are also available at Rhino’s official web store.) The majority will be released in two waves split between last Friday (January 2) and this Friday (January 9), with five more arriving between January 23 and January 30. Altogether, this list spans all forms of rock, pop, R&B, jazz, soundtracks and even comedy. In addition…
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The Best Thing: The Style Council’s Debut Gets Box Set Expansion
More than 40 years after Paul Weller introduced a new phase of his musical work as part of the genre-hopping Style Council, a forthcoming box set will dive deep into their first few years of work, complete with a trove of unreleased material. UMR will expand the group’s full-length debut Café Bleu as a 6CD collection on January 30. Extras include an expansion of 1983’s debut EP Introducing The Style Council (available as a European import in the U.K.), a host of non-LP single and B-side material, and a whopping 55 unreleased tracks:…
A Light in the Black: Edsel Kicks Off New Rainbow Reissue Campaign
The new year will see renewed catalogue activity around Ritchie Blackmore’s acclaimed work with Rainbow, kicking off in the spring with a new box set from Edsel. The Temple of the King 1975-1976, available March 6, takes listeners back to the earliest days of the hard-rockin’ group in studio and on stage, across nine newly-remastered CDs. The set includes the studio albums Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow (1975) and Rising (1976), three complete shows from the group’s first European trek, and a 16-track collection of rarities that’ll include rough mixes, single edits and the premiere release of four…
All Together Now: New Book, Audio Set Preserves George Martin’s Archival Manuscripts
Even with a recent wave of new Beatles Anthology material – both on record and in a remastered version of the multi-part documentary on Disney+ – it appears there’s always something new to learn about The Fab Four and the work they did. A newly-announced collectible puts that in extraordinary focus: a collection of score manuscripts from the personal archive of their producer George Martin, covering The Beatles and beyond. Announced last weekend to mark what would have been Martin’s 100th birthday on January 3, George Martin: The Scores will offer three volumes…
The Weekend Stream: January 3, 2026
Welcome back, from holiday break, to 2026’s first edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts! We’re starting in rare form with news of a surprise new album from one of England’s most beloved rock musicians, plus some tantalizing rare and unreleased ’60s and ’70s pop treats. There’s a lot to love here – and we can’t wait for you to listen! Peter Gabriel, “Been Undone” (Dark-Side Mix) (Real World) (Apple / Amazon) The iconic British singer/songwriter’s long-gestating i/o was finally…
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Another Merry Discmas to All from The Second Disc!
No one – not even your friends at TSD HQ! – can predict the arc of music reissues. When we launched The Second Disc nearly 16 years ago, the business was in a place of surprising highs and lows. The Beatles’ albums had been remastered for the first time ever – but it seemed that stalwarts like Rhino Records were enduring hardships. Vinyl was a niche concern, streaming even more so, and who knew where the CD would end up? (And that doesn’t even account for personal growth immaterial of the music…
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Holiday Gift Guide Special: Our Favorite Stocking Stuffers
Most of our Holiday Gift Guide features this year have concentrated on large-scale releases, but today, we’re looking at three titles small enough to be last-minute stocking stuffers (get to your local indie record store now!) – and big enough to be favorites you’ll play all year long. It’s more than All Right: Omnivore Recordings has revisited Christopher Cross’ early years for a first-ever collection of his original single releases from the U.S. and beyond. The Worldwide Singles 1980-1988 offers 31 cuts on 2 CDs – many in new-to-CD single edit or…
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The Weekend Stream: December 20, 2025
Welcome to 2025’s final edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. We’re wrapping up the month with a wicked good time: hip-hop instrumentals, unearthed ’70s rock and country, and a whole lot of zydeco! Wicked: For Good – The Soundtrack (Sing-Along) / For Good EP (Republic/Verve) Sing-Along: Apple / Amazon For Good: Apple / Amazon With the second part of Universal’s big-budget adaptation of the long-running Broadway musical adapted from author Gregory Maguire’s alternative take on The Wizard of…
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Release Round-Up: Week of December 19
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. Just a heads-up, friends, that this is our final Release Round-Up of the year…but this feature will be back in mid-January once the number of releases gets back to a state of relative normalcy. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Todd Rundgren, Solo in Clearwater (Cleopatra) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Cleopatra releases a set from Todd Rundgren’s 2003 solo tour recorded in Clearwater, Florida on January 28. Tunes include “Love…
The Weekend Stream: December 13, 2025
Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. There’s even more holiday gifts today: new takes on a film music legend, a decade-spanning dance mash-up, more centennial celebrations for a Rat Pack icon, plus some deep country and modern rock treasures. Cécilia Tsan, Sara Andon & Simone Pedroni, John Williams Reimagined: Home Alone (Warner Classics/Erato/Parlophone) (Apple / Amazon) In 2024, soundtrack reissue producer Robert Townson assembled cellist Tsan, flautist Andon and pianist Pedroni for a most intriguing…
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Solo in Clearwater
Cleopatra releases a set from Todd Rundgren’s 2003 solo tour recorded in Clearwater, Florida on January 28. Tunes include “Love of the Common Man,” “It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference,” “Hello, It’s Me,” “I Saw the Light,” “Bang the Drum All Day,” a cover of The Beatles’ “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” and “Free, Male, and 21” from Rundgren’s musical Up Against It. The concert was first made available as a digital-only release in 2019. Available on CD and LP. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Release Round-Up: Week of December 12
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here 50 (Pink Floyd/Legacy) 2CD/4LP/Blu-ray/7″: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The 50th anniversary edition of the Pink Floyd classic is available in a variety of formats: A 2CD or 3LP set pairs the original album with nine bonus tracks: three from the “Immersion Edition” box set released in 2011 and six previously unreleased outtakes and…
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