Bruce Springsteen, High Hopes (Columbia) It’s a new album, but one assembled from songs and outtakes Bruce has been amassing for the last few years: we’ll take it (in the hope that this new album means Bruce is in a vault mood for the rest of the year)! (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. – both with exclusive DVD of the entire Born in the U.S.A. album live on the Wrecking Ball tour) Elvis Presley, The Movie Soundtracks (RCA/Sony Music U.K.) Why should the States get all the fun? An import box set featuring 20 discs of Elvis’ film soundtracks…
A Filmography Fit for a King, Chronicled on New Elvis Box Set
If a Legacy Edition of Elvis’ Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis wasn’t enough excitement from the King, try this one on for size: Sony’s U.K. arm is releasing a 20-disc box set collecting Elvis Presley’s soundtrack albums. From the beginning of his career, Elvis Aaron Presley had an eye on Hollywood. He enjoyed acting, despite having no formal training in it, and had a screen test for Paramount Pictures just days after his first long-player for RCA Victor was released. Producer Hal Wallis (Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon) offered him a contract with Paramount, though…
From Brigadoon to Dogpatch, USA: Masterworks’ Slate Features Robert Goulet Musicals, “Li’l Abner,” “Virginia Woolf”
It might be a typical day in Dogpatch, USA, but it’s far from a typical one around these parts, for Sony’s Masterworks Broadway imprint has unveiled its first three releases of 2014 – each one a rare album never previously available in the compact disc/digital era. Next Tuesday, January 14, Masterworks will reissue the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to the movie musical Li’l Abner, arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle. Next month, on February 18, comes the spoken-word Original Broadway Cast Recording of Edward Albee’s Tony Award-winning Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?…
Shall We Dance: Fred Astaire’s “Early Days at RKO” Collects Vintage Sides On 2 CDs
Today, more than 25 years after his passing, the name of Fred Astaire still instantly conjures up a world of top hat, white tie and tails; of sheer elegance, easygoing charm and abundant grace. His enduring talents have recently been celebrated by Sony’s Masterworks label and Turner Classic Movies on the latest in their series of joint CD releases, Fred Astaire: The Early Years at RKO. (Previous titles have been dedicated to Doris Day and Mario Lanza.) This 2-CD, 37-song anthology spans the period between 1932 and 1938 during which time the…
“Star Trek,” “Abyss” Surface in Surprise Varese Club Batch
Varese Sarabande has opened up a new batch of CD Club limited edition soundtrack reissues for the holidays. Beginning in 2014, six titles – including two deluxe editions – will start shipping from the long-running soundtrack label. First up, a milestone from the final frontier: Varese expands the soundtrack to 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis. This time, the USS Enterprise encounters a dangerous foe from within the Romulan Empire: a villainous clone of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (played by a then-unknown Tom Hardy, later celebrated for his performances in Inception and The Dark Knight Rises as the criminal…
The Year in Reissues: The 2013 Gold Bonus Disc Awards
Welcome to The Second Disc’s Fourth Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! Though this is a slow time of year for news, it’s the perfect time to look at the year in review. As with every year’s awards, our goals are simple: to recognize as many of the year’s most essential reissues and catalogue titles as possible, and to celebrate those labels, producers and artists who make these releases possible in what many might deem an increasingly-challenging retail landscape. These labels have bucked the trends to prove that there’s still a demand for…
Kritzerland Promises Swashbuckling Adventure With Elmer Bernstein’s “The Buccaneer”
Kritzerland’s final release of 2013 is sure to be one of its most talked-about. Today, the label announced an expanded and remastered CD presentation of Elmer Bernstein’s score to The Buccaneer. The 1958 Paramount Picture starred the King of Siam himself, Yul Brynner, opposite Claire Bloom, Charles Boyer and Charlton Heston in a rip-roaring adventure tale loosely based on real life and set during the War of 1812. Director Anthony Quinn’s film was a remake of Cecil B. DeMille’s 1938 movie of the same name. The legendary DeMille had planned to direct…
WINNERS, WE HAVE WINNERS! Week 2 of Second Discmas!
CLICK ON THE CHRISTMAS TREE TO FIND OUT IF YOU’RE A WINNER OF OUR SECOND WEEK OF GIVEAWAYS! THANKS TO EVERYBODY WHO ENTERED AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE SECOND DISC!
Of Mamas, Papas, Raiders and Soundtracks: Real Gone’s February Slate Revealed
The announcement of Real Gone Music’s release schedule for February 2014 would be cause for celebration any day of the week. But this particular day is special, as you’re about to find out. In addition to an ironclad lineup that includes A Gathering of Flowers, the long out-of-print 1970 collection from The Mamas & The Papas; The Complete Recordings by Brotherhood, an unfairly obscure psych-rock band comprised of Phil Volk, Drake Levin and Mike “Smitty” Smith of Paul Revere & The Raiders that cut three LPs for RCA; a twofer by Smith (A Band Called Smith/Minus-Plus),…
Release Round-Up: Weeks of December 17 and 24
With the last two weeks of the year so light on catalogue titles, we figured we’d combine it all into one post. Below you’ll find two new titles for this week, and two for the next! The Pogues, 30 Years (Rhino U.K.) Here, in one box, is all of the Irish folk-rockers’ original albums, including new mixes of debut Red Roses for Me and Peace and Love, plus a bonus unreleased live show from 1991 with Joe Strummer of The Clash assuming lead vocal duties. (Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S.) Boz Scaggs, Boz Scaggs (Hybrid SACD – DSD) / Warren…
Kritzerland’s Holiday Bonanza Includes Hepburn and Wayne Classics, Herrmann’s “Christmas Carol”
Kritzerland has just jumped headfirst into the holiday season with three exciting releases on the soundtrack front. Continuing the label’s commitment to the Golden Age of Hollywood and beyond, the label has just made these three titles available for pre-order: John Wayne at Fox: The Westerns – Two CDs and three scores for the price of one CD! This double-disc anthology brings together three classic scores from films featuring The Duke: Elmer Bernstein’s The Comancheros (1961), Lionel Newman’s North to Alaska (1960) and Hugo Montenegro’s The Undefeated (1969)! Though all three titles…
“Lethal Weapon” Box, “Superman Returns” and More Due from La-La Land
La-La Land never fails to amaze when it comes to Black Friday. The soundtrack label often saves some of its biggest and highest-profile titles for announcements on the shopping weekend (see 2010, 2011 and 2012) – and this year is no different, with two premiere releases of acclaimed scores, an expanded edition of a superhero sequel and a box set devoted to one of the biggest action film franchises of all time. First up: call them slobs, call them jerks, call them gross – just don’t call them when you’re in trouble!…
Intrada Crosses Moon River In Style With Mancini’s Original “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” Soundtrack
In 1962, Henry Mancini scored a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with Breakfast at Tiffany’s: Music from the Motion Picture on the RCA Victor label. But that 12-track LP only told part of the story of Mancini’s Academy Award-winning score for the film starring Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Buddy Ebsen, Patricia Neal and Mickey Rooney. Like most of the scores from his classic period, Mancini re-recorded his Tiffany’s music in pop arrangements for its RCA “soundtrack” LP. Consequently, the original music as heard in the film had never been officially…
Kritzerland “Taps” Maurice Jarre For a Pair of Soundtracks
Three-time Academy Award-winning composer Maurice Jarre (1924-2009) makes his debut on the Kritzerland label with a newly-announced two-for-one release of his scores to 1981’s Taps and 1970’s The Only Game in Town. Hollywood couldn’t help but take notice of the French-born Jarre when he scored director David Lean’s 1962 epic drama Lawrence of Arabia, and the Lean/Jarre collaboration was so successful that Jarre was asked to score each of Lean’s subsequent films. He won his first Oscar for Lawrence, and his subsequent two trophies were also for Lean films: 1965’s Doctor Zhivago…
Taste the Happy: Varese Compiles Score Tracks from “Arrested Development”
The folks at Varese Sarabande have not made a huge mistake with one of their latest, somewhat archival soundtrack releases: a compilation of songs and score from the acclaimed television series Arrested Development. “Now, the story of a wealthy family who lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together.” A catchy intro from the show’s narrator/executive producer, an uncredited Ron Howard – but for a number of semi-explainable reasons, Arrested Development failed to catch on with audiences in its three seasons on network television. Despite a killer ensemble…
Magic in a Box: Decades of Disney Compiled on New Set
A new box set released today chronicles the musical legacy of The Walt Disney Company with a variety that hasn’t been seen in quite awhile. The new Disney Classics celebrates nearly every medium of entertainment the animation studio-turned-film-titan has dabbled in, from film and television to revolutionary theme park attractions. Disney Classics is touted in a press release as being released in honor of 90 years of musical history as it pertains to the work of Walter Elias Disney (1901-1966). However accurate that might be – Disney’s most meaningful musical contributions really began…
Release Round-Up: Week of November 11/12
The Beatles, Live At The BBC / On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2 (Capitol) What’s better than a remaster of The Fab Four’s 1994 double-disc set of live BBC sessions? How about another two-disc set of those sessions? Live At The BBC (2CD): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Live At The BBC (3LP): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2 (2CD): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2 (3LP): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Live At The BBC: The Collection (4CD): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Donny Hathaway, Never My Love: The Anthology (ATCO/Rhino)…
Hey, Lady (and Gentlemen)! Kritzerland Releases Two Scores for Jerry Lewis Comedies
In the golden age of Hollywood, comedy rarely was better than when Jerry Lewis took his act to the silver screen. With a knack for moving kinetically through zany situations, Lewis earned high regard as a movie star, first with his inimitable partner, singer Dean Martin, on stage, radio, television and film, and ultimately on his own in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond. The newest archival soundtrack release from Kritzerland brings two soundtracks from some of Lewis’ first solo projects to CD for the first time anywhere. The Delicate Delinquent was Lewis’…
Kritzerland Can’t “Wait” For Two Dave Grusin Premieres; “Moon” Swings With Billy May, Too!
For more than fifty years, Robert David Grusin – or Dave Grusin, as he’s better known – has been making music to the tune of multiple Grammys and an Oscar, not to mention Golden Globes and various other honors. Grusin has successfully scored for motion pictures and kept a busy profile in pop, soul and jazz, co-founding GRP Records and encouraging compact disc technology at the dawn of the era. The Kritzerland label has visited the Grusin well before with releases of his scores to films as diverse as A Dry White…
La-La Land Unleashes “Dead,” “Black Beauty”
La-La Land’s soundtrack reissues this week include a title that’s perfect for Halloween and an offbeat score by a composer normally responsible for music that’s perfect for Halloween. That latter title is the first up this week: in 1994, Danny Elfman – known best for his offbeat scores for Tim Burton (Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Batman, The Nightmare Before Christmas, countless others) – was commissioned to write a soundtrack for Warner Bros.’ adaptation of Black Beauty, the acclaimed 1877 novel by Anna Sewell told from the perspective of a horse living (and caring for) several owners…
Intrada Conjures Up Magic, “Miracle”; Kritzerland Returns to “Alien Nation”
This week has seen some great archival soundtrack releases courtesy of Intrada and Kritzerland – all featuring some big names in the film score world. Kritzerland’s latest title is already shaping up to be a hot one: a greatly expanded double-score reissue from the cult classic Alien Nation. This 1988 film featured James Caan and Mandy Patinkin as partnered cops in a future Los Angeles where a race of aliens, called Newcomers, have landed on Earth and have done their best to fit in with our planet’s culture. The catch, of course, is…
It’s a New Reissue, Charlie Brown! Classic Christmas LP Expanded Again (and Reissued Again!)
UPDATE (9/27/2013): If you missed this remaster of A Charlie Brown Christmas (which we later reviewed) last year, fear not: it’s being released again – same disc, same master – with special “Snoopy Doghouse” packaging on October 22, 2013. That version can be bought by clicking the image above. ORIGINAL POST (8/23/2012): Around Second Disc HQ, it’s hardly a Christmas season without good friends and family, beautiful decorations, and classic holiday music. For this holiday, a new CD edition of one of our favorite Christmas classics is coming out with a new remaster of Vince…
La La Land Has “True Grit” With First Release Of Complete Elmer Bernstein Score with Four Glen Campbell Vocals
When directors Joel and Ethan Coen adapted Charles Portis’ novel True Grit in 2010 for its second big-screen adaptation, one element was noticeably missing: the Academy Award-nominated title song by Elmer Bernstein and Don Black, so winningly introduced by Glen Campbell in the 1969 film version. Campbell’s recording yielded a Top 10 Country and AC/Top 40 Pop single, and remains one of his most beloved songs today. “True Grit” appeared on a brief, 10-track album in which two renditions as sung by Campbell bookended eight tracks of Bernstein’s stirring score. But that…
