Before pioneering cinéma vérité techniques on groundbreaking films like Faces and Husbands, John Cassavetes was signed to direct his first major-studio motion picture with 1962’s Too Late Blues. Handed the assignment on the strength of his first film, Shadows, Cassavetes was a brave choice to direct the story of jazz musician “Ghost” Wakefield and his struggle to stay true to himself while pursuing fame and romance. This raw and revealing story starred Bobby Darin, no stranger to the darker side of the music business himself. And the score was provided by David…
Review: Judy Garland, “Creations 1929-1962: Songs She Introduced”
In the first two lines of the introductory essay that accompanies JSP Records’ new box set Judy Garland – Creations 1929-1962: Songs She Introduced, the box’s compiler Lawrence Schulman sets forth its raison d’être: “That Judy Garland (1922-1969) was one of the most talented singers and actresses of her generation is known. That she introduced close to a hundred songs to the Great American Songbook is not.” Thanks to this 4-CD, 94-song collection, that secret shouldn’t be a secret any longer. Many of the songs introduced by Judy Garland have gone on…
Aw, Rats: La-La Land Preps Score to “Willard” Remake Plus Goldsmith Reissue
From four-legged critters to gun-blazing Westerns, La-La Land’s release slate this week features some great, little heard soundtrack material coming out of the vaults. Outside of horror circles, the 1971 film Willard – about a misfit with an affinity for rats – is best known for its 1972 sequel, Ben, which featured an oddly sweet, wildly successful theme song sung by Michael Jackson (his first solo No. 1 hit). The films themselves were considerably less cuddly, a point driven home by a 2003 remake of Willard. The titular loner, stuck with an overbearing mother and money-hungry…
Release Round-Up: Week of May 7
TABU Reborn, Wave 3: The S.O.S. Band, S.O.S. / Cherrelle, High Priority / Alexander O’Neal, Hearsay / Kathy Mathis, Katt Walk (Tabu/Edsel) The latest wave of Tabu reissues available from the U.K.: all have bonus tracks, with Cherrelle and Alexander O’Neal’s sets presented as two-disc packages. Amazon U.K. links are above; here are U.S. links for The S.O.S. Band, Cherrelle, Alexander O’Neal and Kathy Mathis. Burt Bacharach, Anyone Who Had a Heart: My Life and Music (Harper) One of the century’s greatest songwriters tells his incredible story, in his own words! (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Various Artists, Varese Sarabande: 35th Anniversary Celebration (Varese Sarabande) A…
The Days of Henry Mancini: “Wine and Roses,” “Fear” Receive First-Ever Soundtrack Releases
Everybody knows the music of Henry Mancini, whether the slinky jazz of “The Pink Panther Theme,” the wistful nostalgia of “Moon River” or the jaunty charm of “Baby Elephant Walk.” But thanks to the dedication of labels like Intrada, Kritzerland, La-La Land and Quartet Records, more and more listeners are getting to know Henry Mancini the musical dramatist. 2012 saw a staggering number of Mancini soundtracks on CD – many appearing for the first time in complete form – arguably making him the best-represented classic film composer of the year. And five…
In The Street, Again: Big Star’s “Nothing Can Hurt Me” Arrives On CD, LP and Digitally
When Magnolia Pictures releases the documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me to cinemas, On Demand and iTunes on July 3, it will be the culmination of a years-in-the-making adventure to bring the story of Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens and Andy Hummel’s band to the big screen. The commercial impact of Big Star was as minimal as its influence over an entire generation of musicians was enormous, but the legacy of the power pop heroes still blazes brightly today. Following the 2009 release of Rhino’s definitive box set Keep an…
Stage and Screen Bonanza: “World of Suzie Wong,” “Elephant Steps” and Gene Kelly’s “Clownaround” Coming Soon
More treats are on the way for fans and collectors of rare cast albums and film soundtracks thanks to the ongoing work of the Masterworks Broadway and Kritzerland labels. As part of its ongoing digital/CD-on-demand program, Masterworks is offering two of the most unexpected cast recordings from the label’s considerable library. On May 7, Stanley Silverman and Richard Foreman’s Elephant Steps: A Fearful Radio Show makes its digital/CD(-R) debut, while on June 4, Moose Charlap and Alvin Cooperman’s Clownaround also receives its first-ever reissue. Elephant Steps, from composer Stanley Silverman and lyricist/librettist/director…
Henry Mancini’s “Sunflower” Blooms From Quartet In Complete Edition
When producer Carlo Ponti and director Vittorio De Sica, both giants of Italian cinema, sought out Henry Mancini to score their 1970 film I Girasoli (or Sunflower, in English), the American composer jumped at the opportunity. Though creative differences between producer and director plagued the production of the film starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni, Mancini turned out one of his strongest, most romantic scores. Thanks to the team at Quartet Records, Mancini’s absorbing work on Sunflower has recently been issued on CD in its first complete version. Arguably no other classic…
Soundtrack Watch: La-La Land Issues a “Challenge,” Intrada Premieres Goldsmith, Bernstein, Jarre Classics
Here’s some recent soundtrack news from the last month to keep you up to date on two of our favorite score labels: La-La Land and Intrada. La-La Land’s released several archival scores in the past few weeks. First there was The Challenge, a film written by John Sayles and directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Scott Glenn and Toshirō Mifune as two unlikely partners tasked to obtain a rare sword in Japan. Jerry Goldsmith provided a fine action score for the flick; first released on Prometheus Records in 2000, this release features one…
Kritzerland Expands Scores by Goldsmith and Newman
Kritzerland strikes gold with another pair of archival soundtracks, released earlier today. One is a resurrected reissue of a Jerry Goldsmith score – the label’s first – and the other pairs two scores by Alfred Newman on one disc, one expanded and the other never before released. Breakheart Pass was a hearty Western adventure starring Charles Bronson as an undercover agent attempting to uncover a villainous plot aboard a steam train hurtling toward an Army post. Alistair MacLean of The Guns of Navarone fame adapted his own novel for the screenplay, and Goldsmith,…
Release Round-Up: Week of April 9
Brainstorm / S.O.S. Band / Cherrelle / Alexander O’Neal, “Tabu Reborn” Expanded CD Editions (Wave 1) (Tabu/Edsel) After a fresh batch of vinyl last week, the Tabu Records reissue campaign (going strong through next year) kicks off with expanded editions of Brainstorm’s Stormin’, The S.O.S. Band’s III, Cherrelle’s Fragile and Alexander O’Neal’s self-titled debut. All feature bonus tracks (Alexander O’Neal has a bonus disc) and fresh deluxe packaging. Stormin‘: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. III: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Fragile: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Alexander O’Neal: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Morrissey, Kill Uncle: Expanded Edition / The Last of the Famous…
Review: John Williams, “Jurassic Park: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – 20th Anniversary Edition”
Really, it’s almost pointless to speculate why John Williams never received an Oscar nomination for his score to Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park (1993). The composer’s CV features several of the most iconic scores in the history of movies with synchronized sound. Five of his projects – an adaptation of the music to the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof and four originals (JAWS (1975), Star Wars (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Schindler’s List (1993)) have won gold statuettes, and he has more nominations than anyone alive in the film business. (He recently moved up on the all-time list, sandwiched between reigning…
In Memoriam: Phil Ramone (1934-2013)
Today, The Second Disc remembers Phil Ramone. The multiple Grammy-winning producer, 79, died on Saturday, leaving behind a legacy of song from artists ranging from Barbra Streisand to Paul McCartney, Barry Manilow to The Band. Yet unlike so many of his contemporaries, Phil Ramone didn’t have a signature style. Instead of molding a band or singer to a preferred sonic specialty, he was a true architect of sound, tailoring each production to the individual artist. Ramone was equally comfortable with pop, rock, jazz, R&B, and the worlds of Broadway and Hollywood, not…
Culture Factory Reveals “Supreme” Slate with Motown, James Taylor, Robert Palmer and More [UPDATED]
UPDATE: In the days since this article has been posted, Culture Factory has revised the street dates for all of the titles mentioned here. See below for corrected information as of March 28, 2013. ORIGINAL POST OF 3/25: Since its inaugural wave of releases in 2011, the Culture Factory label has carved out a niche in the catalogue field. Artists such as Robert Palmer, Hot Tuna, Paul Williams, Bob Welch, The Flamin’ Groovies, Sylvie Vartan, Rare Earth and The Motels are all among the recipients of the Culture Factory treatment. The label’s…
Omnivore Reveals Record Store Day Exclusives from Big Star, Waylon, Old 97’s, Three Hits
With Record Store Day just a little over three weeks away, Omnivore Recordings has unveiled an eclectic slate of three vinyl platters suiting the label’s deliciously omnivorous tastes. Two artists are familiar to fans of the label, while the third makes an Omnivore debut. All of the titles, of course, will be offered via your local brick-and-mortar independent music retailer on Saturday, April 20 to mark the sixth annual event. Without further ado…hit the jump to dive into tasty treats from Big Star, The Old 97’s with special guest Waylon Jennings, and…
Él is Flying High with Ennio Morricone and Joao Donato
Cherry Red’s Él Records label is going ’round the world with a pair of recent releases. Morricone Pops focuses on an oft-overlooked part of Italian composer Ennio Morricone’s ouevre: that of his early sixties arrangements not just for film, but also for pop singers. Él also turns its attention to a favorite country, Brazil, for Sambou, Sambou, a collection of two albums of tunes by composer-pianist Joao Donato. With a staggering body of work including more than 500 films and television shows, 84 year old Ennio Morricone has deservedly earned a reputation…
Welcome (Back) to “Jurassic Park”! Williams Score Gets Surprise Digital Expansion
Well, this one snuck up on us like a pack of velociraptors: in honor of its 20th anniversary and impending 3-D theatrical reissue, Geffen has quietly snuck out an expanded, albeit digital-only, reissue of John Williams’ score to the 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park. Michael Crichton’s 1990 technothriller novel asked an astounding question for a new decade of popular science: what if geneticists could extract preserved DNA of dinosaurs and recreate them in the present day? As is typical of Crichton fare (think Westworld with stomping predators), a trip to an as-yet-unopened theme park devoted…
Intrada Showcases Unheard Treasures from Goldsmith, Steiner, Conti
Four never-before-released scores by three veritable legends of film music are the latest releases from Intrada over the past three weeks. Works by Jerry Goldsmith, Bill Conti and Max Steiner (with some help from a pair of Disney Legends!) are the order of the day! Jerry Goldsmith perhaps enjoyed no greater relationship at one film studio than at 20th Century-Fox, where he composed some of his greatest works, from Planet of the Apes to Alien. Intrada’s latest title showcases two scores from 1964: first it’s Shock Treatment, a soundtrack full of typical Goldsmith-esque suspense and…
Real Gone Captures David Allan Coe, Eddy Arnold, Blue Öyster Cult, Henry Mancini and More!
It’s that time of the month again! Real Gone Music has just announced its April 30 slate of releases, a typically full complement of nine reissues crossing all genre lines. For rock enthusiasts, Real Gone reinvents Blue Öyster Cult’s 1988 album Imaginos in a 2012 remix, enhancing the band’s controversial Columbia Records swansong with Scott Schinder’s new liner notes. Schinder also annotates a two-fer from Allman Brothers offshoot band Sea Level, containing Cats on the Coast and On the Edge. Wilderness Road’s offbeat 1973 Reprise album Sold for the Prevention of Disease…
Kritzerland Goes “Green” with Broadway’s “A Time For Singing” and Vintage Newman Score
Kritzerland is going Green just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. Richard Llewellyn’s 1939 novel How Green Was My Valley was an immediate sensation, winning the 1940 National Book Award and attracting Hollywood’s attention. Set in South Wales, the story of the Morgan family’s struggles during the reign of Queen Victoria struck a chord with readers and spawned three sequels and numerous adaptations. The 1941 Twentieth Century Fox film version, directed by John Ford, is certainly the most notable. But theatre music fans have long held a soft spot for the 1966…
FSM’s “Wild Bunch” Marks the End of an Era
After more than 15 years as one of the most reputable and trailblazing film soundtrack reissue labels, Film Score Monthly unveiled its 250th and final release today with a triple-disc expansion of Jerry Fielding’s score to the iconic Western The Wild Bunch. Sam Peckinpah’s gritty tale of a gang of aging outlaws (including William Holden, Ernest Borgnine and Warren Oates) angling for one last score in the last days of the Old West is known for both its shocking (for its time) bloody violence and the revolutionary editing with which it was depicted…
The True “Geisha”: Classic Franz Waxman Soundtrack Arrives on CD
Kritzerland has a thing for Shirley MacLaine. The label has just announced its ninth release of a score from a film featuring the Academy Award-winning actress and current Downton Abbey star. Franz Waxman’s score to the 1962 Paramount film My Geisha is the latest to get the Kritzerland treatment. As the titular geisha in a madcap, disguise-filled romp, MacLaine starred opposite Yves Montand, Robert Cummings, and Edward G. Robinson. Norman Krasna (White Christmas, Let’s Make Love) brought his expertise to the mistaken identity plot, which was somewhat of a specialty of his. …
Dispatch from the Gamma Quadrant: La-La Land Releases “Deep Space Nine” Score
From 1966 until 1993, there was one constant in the Star Trek universe: The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), the ship that took Kirk, Spock, Picard, Riker and a myriad of crew through the furthest reaches of space to explore new worlds and seek out new life and new civilization. Nearly three decades later, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine changed the game – and the musical fruits of that endeavor have been newly anthologized by La-La Land Records. Deep Space Nine took viewers on the decks of the eponymous space station, a vital stop beside the Bajoran…
Intrada Premieres Three Rugged Scores on Two Discs
The latest haul from Intrada is three ’60s and ’70s scores for some tough-guy pictures, each from three different, classic composers and all making their debut on any format. First up, Elmer Bernstein scores Cahill: U.S. Marshal (1973). Bernstein obviously had some Western chops – The Magnificent Seven, anyone? – and he certainly had quite the opportunity to flex those muscles for this film. The title character, a black-hatted lawman pursuing a bank robber (George Kennedy) and his accomplices (who happen to be the marshal’s sons), was played by none other than John Wayne. The…
That Was “Laura”: Classic Soundtrack Arrives on CD as Film Debuts on Blu-ray
Goodbye, Laura. Goodbye, my love… Director Otto Preminger’s 1944 film Laura remains one of the film noir dramas against which all others will be measured, the rare picture that transcended its troubled behind-the-scenes production to become an all-time classic. All the elements came together, from the cast (Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Vincent Prince, Judith Anderson) to the screenplay by Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Elizabeth Reinhardt (based on Vera Caspary’s novel) to, memorably, the score by David Raksin. The Academy Award-winning film makes it Blu-ray debut today, February 5, from…
Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention
September 25, 2026
