Frank Zappa called 200 Motels "a surrealistic documentary." Leonard Maltin described it as a "visual, aural assault disguised as a movie; completely berserk, freeform film...some of it ingenious, some funny, but not enough to maintain [an] entire film." Roger Ebert compared the surreal musical to the work of experimental composer Harry Partch before observing that it "assaults the mind with everything on hand...a full wall of sight-and-sound input." Zappa never wrote and directed another
Release Round-Up: Week of January 21
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! John Williams and The Boston Pops, The Complete Philips Recordings (Decca) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Decca will celebrate John Williams' 90th by turning the clock back to 1980 when the famed composer-conductor took the baton from the legendary Arthur Fiedler to lead The Boston Pops Orchestra into a new era. John Williams and The Boston Pops: The Complete Philips Recordings boasts 21 CDs and 22 albums originally released on
The Clouseau Museum: Quartet Collects Henry Mancini's Final Three "Pink Panther" Scores in New Box
Quartet Records closed out 2021 with an impressive slate of soundtracks from some of the most legendary names in film score history, including Henry Mancini, John Barry, Ennio Morricone, and Nino Rota. Today, we're spotlighting the 3-CD box dedicated to Mancini's final Pink Panther scores. The Pink Panther: The Final Chapters Collection gave full due to the final three scores composed by Henry Mancini in writer-director Blake Edwards' long-running series of comedies. The deluxe 3-CD
The Weekend Stream: January 15, 2022
Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there's plenty of great new/old music to discover! This week features early works by John Denver, TV works by Jan Hammer and Giorgio Moroder, live stuff from Tegan and Sara and a real throwback of a compilation album. Denver, Boise & Johnson / The Mitchell Trio, Leaving on a Jet Plane: John Denver (Warner Records) (Amazon / Spotify) John Denver's career
Soundtrack Watch: Varese, La-La Land, Intrada Kick Off 2022 with Killer Scores
The year has barely started, yet three beloved soundtrack reissue labels are bringing the heat to 2022's score reissue slate. Between a horror-packed box set from Varese Sarabande and a trio of expanded releases by James Horner, there's much cause for celebration. That is, if Varese doesn't kill you first! The label continues 25 years of superb scares with a new box set of soundtracks devoted to the horror franchise Scream. This zingy, gory picture, written by Kevin Williamson and directed
The Weekend Stream: January 8, 2022
Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there's plenty of great new/old music to discover! Our first release weekend of 2022 features heavy hitters, from legends of pop, rock, jazz and...space disco? David Bowie, Shadow Man (Parlophone) (Amazon / Spotify) David Bowie would have turned 75 today, and fans are celebrating over the new release Toy:Box, an official and expanded version of his "lost" 2001
My Cup Runneth Over: Kritzerland Reissues More from Ben Bagley, "I Do! I Do!" Cast Album, and "Alfred the Great" Soundtrack
Kritzerland has announced its first slate of releases for 2022. Leading off the trio is the latest volume in the label's long-running reissue series from Ben Bagley's Painted Smiles Records. Harold Arlen and Vernon Duke Revisited Vol. 2, first released in 1980 and expanded in 1991, celebrated the two composers' oeuvres with a typically eclectic Bagley cast including jazz singer Blossom Dearie; stage and screen stars Sandy Duncan, Helen Gallagher, Dolores Gray, and Tammy Grimes; and
The Year In Review: The 2021 Gold Bonus Disc Awards, From A to Z - Part Two
Happy 2022! Welcome, friends, to Part Two of The Second Disc's 12th Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! Once again, we've all faced unprecedented challenges over the past twelve months. A year that began with hope and promise has ended with further uncertainty for many of us. But music continues to fill a significant role in our lives, providing solace, comfort, and escape in a time unlike any other. With that spirit in mind, The Second Disc wishes to recognize 2021's cream of the catalogue
The Year In Review: The 2021 Gold Bonus Disc Awards, From A to Z - Part One
Happy 2022! Welcome, friends, to The Second Disc's 12th Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! Once again, we've all faced unprecedented challenges over the past twelve months. A year that began with hope and promise has ended with further uncertainty for many of us. But music continues to fill a significant role in our lives, providing solace, comfort, and escape in a time unlike any other. With that spirit in mind, The Second Disc wishes to recognize 2021's cream of the catalogue music crop -
Have Yourself a Merry Little Discmas...
Wow! And just like that, another year has flown by. Just a few weeks before The Second Disc hits its 12th anniversary(!), this Christmas Eve it is our custom to look back on the last 12 months and take some time to think fondly of the music, magic, memories and friends that made our lives worth living. As if last year wasn't unconventional enough, 2021 packed more pop, clicks, skips and distortion than the most misguided vinyl pressings. We got vaccinated, we got boosted, we tentatively
Red Letter Days: B.J. Thomas Rarities Premiere on "Love Songs and Lost Treasures" from Real Gone Music
B.J. Thomas first reached the U.S. top 10 in 1966 with a heartfelt cover of his father's favorite Hank Williams song, the plaintive ballad "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." The Oklahoma-born, Texas-raised artist had his sights beyond just the country genre, however. His always authentic and altogether compelling voice was equally at home in the genres of pop, R&B, rock and roll, contemporary Christian, bossa nova, and gospel. He became a songwriter's singer, bringing to vivid life the music
The Weekend Stream: December 18, 2021
Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there's plenty of great new/old music to discover! A quiet week before Christmas offers a new Bowie remix, rare soundtracks from Tangerine Dream and The Simpsons, plus a legendary funk label on Bandcamp. David Bowie, Changes (2021 Alternative Mix) (Parlophone/Rhino) (Spotify) Alongside a newly-announced 50th anniversary picture disc of Hunky Dory, slated for
Release Round-Up: Week of December 17
Welcome to our final Release Round-Up of 2021! There are very few new releases scheduled for the next two weeks, but we'll be back in 2022! Frank Zappa, 200 Motels: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - 50th Anniversary Edition (Zappa Records/UMe) 6CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD (Original Soundtrack Only): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP Black Vinyl (Original Soundtrack Only): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP Red Vinyl (Original
Treat Every Day Like Christmas: Varese Expands the Scores to "Elf" and "Blue Velvet"
Varese Sarabande has recently released two deluxe soundtracks to fit two very different moods. The first might put you in the Christmas spirit with an expanded presentation of John Debney's score to the modern holiday classic film Elf. The other will take you on a far darker journey with an expanded look at Angelo Badalamenti's score to Blue Velvet. First up is the deluxe edition of the score to 2003's Elf. The Jon Favreau-directed film starred Will Ferrell in his first lead role after
We Don't Wanna Grow Up: Mondo Issues John Williams' 'Hook' on Vinyl for 30th Anniversary
This weekend, iconic filmmaker Steven Spielberg finally achieved his dream of directing a musical, with a stunning new version of the Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim classic West Side Story. Longtime observers of Spielberg's filmography know that musicals have been a hidden passion of sorts: not only is his work so intrinsically tied to song (notably the scores of John Williams, who's done one for nearly all of his films), but he's flirted with musical numbers in films before, from the
The Weekend Stream: December 11, 2021
Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there's plenty of great new/old music to discover! This week offers a fistful of digital deluxe editions, expansions on holiday favorites, and at least one Bond theme in the mix. Tina Turner, GoldenEye (Parlophone) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify) If you're still riding high off the excellent latest James Bond film No Time to Die, released a few months ago, you
Release Round-Up: Week of December 10
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Band, Cahoots: 50th Anniversary Edition (Capitol/UMe) 2CD/LP/BD/7-inch single: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD (Contents of CDs 1 & @ below): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP (2021 Mix of Original Album): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The Band and Capitol/UMe are in Cahoots for a deluxe 50th anniversary reissue of the group's fourth studio album. The remixed and remastered Cahoots arrives in
Winter of 'Summer of Soul': Soundtrack to Acclaimed Music Doc Coming in January
Last summer, as some music lovers took tentative steps in getting back to concertgoing amid the early vaccinations against COVID-19, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson gifted audiences with an incredible display of live performance some 50 years in the past. Summer of Soul is The Roots drummer's debut documentary, concerning a little-seen arts festival in Harlem that took place before, during and after that year's Woodstock Music & Art Fair - with some of the greatest soul, blues and jazz performers
Runnin' Wild: Run Out Groove Announces Expanded "Super Fly" as Next Release; Voting Open Now for Labelle, Randy Newman, and More
As a writer, producer, and artist - both solo and with The Impressions - Curtis Mayfield (1942-1999) was one of the foremost exponents of Chicago soul. He penned such favorites as Jan Bradley's "Mama Didn't Lie" and Major Lance's "The Monkey Time," not to mention a string of Impressions classics including "It's All Right" and "Gypsy Woman." Mayfield's deep social conscience manifested itself in such influential anthems as "Keep on Pushing" and "People Get Ready" which established him as a
If You Want to Sing Out: Cat Stevens' "Harold and Maude" Original Soundtrack Arrives in February
It took time for audiences to come around to Harold and Maude. The 1971 film, written by Colin Higgins (9 to 5, Foul Play) and directed by Hal Ashby (Shampoo, Being There), depicted the unlikely but ultimately powerful relationship between young, death-obsessed Harold (Bud Cort) and elderly, free-spirited Maude (Ruth Gordon). Its blend of dark comedy and ironic uplift initially underwhelmed most critics and moviegoers. Slowly but surely, however, it earned cult classic status. One of the
Out of This World: Decca Celebrates John Williams' 90th Birthday with New Box Set
On February 8, 2022, John Williams will turn 90. Over the course of an extraordinary career, he's earned 25 Grammy Awards, five Oscars (out of 52 nominations, second only to Walt Disney), four Golden Globes, and three Emmys. Rather than resting on his considerable laurels in recent years, he's remained prolific, most recently scoring 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and serving as Music Consultant for longtime collaborator Steven Spielberg's highly-anticipated remake of West Side Story.
Sunrise, Sunset: La-La Land Wraps 2021 with Score Titles from Williams, Newman, and More
Like the consumption of Thanksgiving turkey and waiting in line for Record Store Day exclusives, La-La Land's Black Friday announcements of their final (and often biggest) archival soundtrack releases of the year is a holiday tradition. In 2021, the label did not disappoint, unveiling five rare, unreleased and expanded score titles from across five separate decades. From horror classics to brilliant stage musical adaptations and even a stunning Golden Age score, there's really something for
THE SECOND DISC'S 2021 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE IS HERE!
Cyber Monday is upon us once again, which means one thing at Second Disc HQ: it's time to launch our annual Holiday Gift Guide, featuring a few of our favorite things for the music enthusiast in your life. Sure, we might not have included raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but we've filled the guide with more than 50 essential selections: box sets (such as the Fab set to your right!) as well as archival releases and even new CDs from favorite artists that just might make great stocking
The Weekend Stream: November 27, 2021
Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there's plenty of great new/old music to discover! Despite the Thanksgiving holiday (and recovery period from Record Store Day Black Friday) there are some surprises for lovers of rock, soul and soundtrack obscurities - check it out below! Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Live, New York, 1981 (Blackheart/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify) If you can believe
In Memoriam: Stephen Sondheim (1930-2021)
October 1999: It was a crisp fall afternoon when I first met Stephen Sondheim. Working on a production of his 1965 musical Do I Hear a Waltz? at New Jersey's George Street Playhouse, I was asked to greet the great man at the train station and accompany him back to the theatre. "Mr. Sondheim!" I called as I extended my hand to the familiar figure heading my way. "I'm Joe from the theatre!" His look suddenly turned to one of concern, and his response took me aback: "Are you okay?" I paused,
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- …
- 47
- Next Page »