The Second Disc Archives are open! We're reprising this look at a musical which united the talents of Stephen Schwartz, James Taylor, Mary Rodgers, Micki Grant and Craig Carnelia, while our story also features "appearances" along the way by Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Warnes and Rupert Holmes! Welcome to our Reissue Theory special: Working! On Monday, September 6, 2010, America celebrated its 128th Labor Day, all but the first 12 of them recognized as a
"TNG" Box Boldly Goes Where Few Have Gone Before
Film Score Monthly has announced its fifth box set, and like the others, it's quite an undertaking: Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Ron Jones Project collates 14 discs' worth of music from the famous television series plus a heap of other Trek goodies from composer Ron Jones. Jones, best known for some surprisingly notable scores to animated television works (including the Disney cartoons DuckTales and Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers along with turns on Family Guy), composed scores to 42
Friday Feature: The Terminator Saga
Every August 29, incredible geeks like myself look skyward and emit sighs of relief that no nuclear warheads are heading our way. Of course, on a fictitious August 29 - in 1997 to be exact - a nuclear attack did indeed happen, triggered by a dangerously self-aware defense network system called Skynet. A war would rage between these sentient machines and their human creators, ultimately climaxing with soldiers on each side being sent to the past (our present) to alter future events. That tale,
"Beauty and the Beast" Reissue Adds Something There That Wasn't There Before
Given The Walt Disney Company's notorious penchant for avoiding most soundtrack releases on CD - Michael Giacchino's score to Up is probably one of the few Oscar-winning scores in history to never have been pressed on CD, and Randy Newman's Toy Story 3 soundtrack is another digital-only affair - it's nice to see Walt Disney Records reissuing the soundtrack to Beauty and the Beast, one of their crowning achievements, on CD once more. However, it's far from the best presentation the music has ever
A Heroic Selection of Music
It's always a blast to find out catalogue news from unexpected sources, so when I read a report from my favorite geek news site Topless Robot about a DC Comics music compilation, I got pretty darn excited. Set for release September 28, The Music of DC Comics: 75th Anniversary Collection collects 31 tracks from various DC-affiliated film and television projects - Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, The Flash and even Swamp Thing are all here - and the best part is that
Intrada Goes "Deep"
Chalk up another in-demand title getting resurrected from the soundtrack honchos at Intrada: an expanded presentation of John Barry's score to the 1977 underwater thriller The Deep. Based on the novel by Peter Benchley (who of course wrote that other undersea horror tale, JAWS), the film - centered around a quest for undersea treasure - had only a few similarities to Steven Spielberg's fish story from two years earlier: both films shared a star (Robert Shaw, although Louis Gossett Jr. would
News Round-Up Part II: Expansions All Over, TV Treasures and a Bon Jovi Compilation
With the calendar about to turn over to September, it's definitely catalogue season. We've seen a lot of reissues, expansions and box sets announced - enough to make my post-vacation-hazed head spin - and plenty more are certainly on the way. Before we get into that, though, I want to thank not only Joe for holding the fort down expertly while I was away, but to you, the reader, for sticking with us. The rest of the year is going to be awesome for catalogue enthusiasts, and The Second Disc is
"One-Eyed Jacks" a Kritzerland Smash
The first and only film directed by Marlon Brando, the 1961 western One-Eyed Jacks isn't as well-remembered as many of the screen legend's other accomplishments. But with a cast including Brando as bank robber Rio (inspired by Billy the Kid), Karl Malden as his former partner-turned-sheriff Doc Longworth and Ben Johnson as new cohort Bob Emory, and a revolving door of screenwriters including Sam Peckinpah and Calder Willingham, One-Eyed Jacks had much to distinguish it. It was the final film
Intrada Delivers "SpaceCamp" and "Cohen and Tate"
For film score fans, this past Tuesday might as well have been called "Fat Tuesday." I'm going to keep this short and sweet, because the news speaks for itself: Intrada announced the much-anticipated CD release of John Williams' score to 1986's SpaceCamp in a 3,000-copy limited edition which literally sold out in a matter of hours! SpaceCamp is mastered from the original RCA tapes, which have been vaulted by Sony. And Bill Conti fans have reason to rejoice, too, as Intrada has also announced a
The Porpoise is Waiting No More: Monkees Flick Hits Blu-Ray
Hey hey! Attention all readers! We take a break from our regularly-scheduled coverage of audio reissues to bring you news of an important music-related video release: the Blu-Ray debut of the Monkees’ 1968 surreal film odyssey Head! With the Criterion Collection’s November 23 release as part of a massive box set dedicated to the films of BBS Productions, Head makes its eagerly-awaited appearance on Blu-Ray. (The box set will also be available in the DVD format.) To call Head a trip is to put it
Visit Hollywood, 1962, with "Billy Barnes' L.A." from Kritzerland
In his interview with The Second Disc, producer Bruce Kimmel promised to reissue some long-lost musical revues among Kritzerland’s future releases; he makes good on his word with Monday morning’s announcement of the 1963 Los Angeles cast recording of Billy Barnes’ L.A. Billy Barnes’ L.A. opened on October 10, 1962 at that city's Coronet Theatre, still in use today as part of the Largo music and comedy club. It was recorded the following January at the legendary United Recording Studio on Sunset
Friday Feature: The Rocky Story
Today saw the release of the widely-hyped The Expendables, in which Sylvester Stallone gathered as many action movie heroes, past and present, and shoved them all into a film. By all accounts, it doesn't seem to have worked as well as it could have. And that's more or less latter-day Stallone for you. (Seriously, have you seen Rambo?) With that in mind, this week's Friday Feature takes you to a simpler time. A time where Stallone was a young actor with a dream, which he turned into a
Back Tracks: The Spielberg-Williams Connection Part II
Our look at the work of John Williams for Steven Spielberg's filmography continues with this look at the rest of the 1990s and beyond. Also featured are a few compilations of performances devoted to one of the best partnerships in film music history. Enjoy after the jump!
Back Tracks: The Spielberg-Williams Connection
As I write this, Steven Spielberg is currently at work on his next film, an adaptation of the World War I-themed British play War Horse, due for a release a year from now. This means that, before long, composer John Williams will begin to write his 26th score for a Spielberg picture. The duo have been an almost immortal force in the film business for nearly 40 years, from their first collaboration, 1973's The Sugarland Express, to next Christmas' The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn,
New at La La Land: "Gunmen" and a Beach Party
La La Land announced their next batch of titles yesterday (their only two for the month), and they're a pair of appealing titles from the vault. In a bit of a teaser to October's planned box set of music from The X-Files, the label is prepping an offering of TV soundtracks composed by the same man (Mark Snow) for the same producer (Chris Carter). This CD (LLLCD 1135) will feature music from the short-lived X-Files spinoff The Lone Gunmen and the even more short-lived sci-fi series Harsh Realm.
News Round-Up: More Morrissey, Live Dio, A Change at Disney and More
Our inimitable alt-rock flame-keeper friends at Slicing Up Eyeballs point us toward a trail of additional Morrissey rarities leading up to the 20th anniversary reissue of his excellent compilation Bona Drag. It seems that early single "Everyday is Like Sunday" is going to be reissued on CD and 7-inch vinyl, and will include some interesting bonus tracks. Both vinyl singles include live renditions of "Sunday" from the Hollywood Bowl in 2007 and The New York Dolls' "Trash" from 1991, while the CD
Friday Feature: "Footloose"
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsCO-YkDgnY] This week's theatrical release of Step Up 3D proves that young people everywhere still embrace the notion of defying authority by shaking one's ass on the dance floor. It's nothing new, of course; ever since Columbia Pictures turned Twist Around the Clock onto a dance-crazy culture in 1961, dance pictures have become a generational touchstone. Whether they're good, crowd-pleasing films (Saturday Night Fever (1977), Flashdance (1983)) or
The Second Disc Interview #2: From Hollywood, It's Bruce Kimmel!
Producer, director, writer, actor, composer, lyricist, raconteur – any and all of those words could be used to describe Bruce Kimmel. After helping to launch the Varese Sarabande label over thirty years ago and christening its still-ongoing soundtrack series with his score to The First Nudie Musical (which he also wrote, co-directed and acted in), Kimmel founded the Bay Cities label. Between 1989 and 1993, he and his Bay Cities colleagues were among the very first to reissue classic film
Review: Danny Elfman, "Batman: Expanded Archival Collection"
It's a safe guess that your enjoyment of La La Land's new expansion of Danny Elfman's score to Batman (1989) (LLLCD 1140), like so many soundtracks, hinges on your enjoyment of the film itself. That sentiment, in turn, hinges on how much you can separate the idea of a fun movie from a good one. The blockbuster - drawn from the immortal DC Comics superhero - never falls short on action, thrills or compelling visuals. But it is too long and bloated, with thin characterization and a
Coming Tomorrow: Adventures in Kritzerland!
A most excellent heads-up to readers of The Second Disc: at noon tomorrow we'll be posting our second interview. This one's done by our very own Joe Marchese, and will feature a dialogue with Bruce Kimmel. The longtime record producer/writer/director known in some circles for his catalogue work through the Kritzerland label (and in others for cult classics like The First Nudie Musical!) will chat with us about his work, past, present and future. It should be a good read, and it'll be here in
Intrada Readies "Predator" and Vintage Westerns
Intrada has some great releases due this week. One is a familiar romp through '80s action territory, the other a pair of unearthed Western scores. As rumored, Intrada is bringing Alan Silvestri's score to Predator (1987) back into print. First released by Varese Sarabande in 2003, this high-powered, rhythm-heavy score is remastered from newly-discovered two-track digital stereo session elements, so it's got the best sound one can hope for. The track order is more or less the same, outside of a
FSM to Catalogue Soundtrack Buyers: Start Saving!
Film Score Monthly has been a soundtrack fan's haven for two decades running, and has been a quality home for vintage soundtrack expansions and reissues for nearly 15 of those years. Almost anyone who collects scores has a favorite, whether it's early works by John Williams, expansions of scores to Star Trek sequels, or box sets full of film music devoted to Superman. FSM founder Lukas Kendall recently took to the Web to make a rare set of pre-announcements of product - and some of them are
Friday Feature: "Predator"
If you went into theatres in the summer of 1987 to see Predator, you might have expected a rote action film with Arnold Schwarzenegger and nothing more. On the surface, there's nothing that would have you expect anything else. The Austrian Oak leads a team of soldiers through an attempted rescue mission in South America. Sounds like any other action movie from the '80s, right? But then you catch those quick bursts of infrared images. The distorted sound. The unearthly snarling. And you realize
News Round-Up: Dead on Vinyl, Closer to Elvis, Deluxe Duran Rearranged and More
The Grateful Dead is releasing a five-LP box set containing reissues of the band's first five studio albums for Warner Bros. records. Collectors will want to take note that this box will include the original mixes of Anthem of the Sun and Aoxomoxoa, which have not been released since the original LPs came out. The set is due on September 21; pre-orders placed now get a bonus reproductions of a 7" single and a vintage promo poster. While we await tomorrow's pre-order date for a crazy-enormous
Breaking News: More "Promises" Kept from Kritzerland
We catalogue music enthusiasts just can't get enough. Near-universal acclaim greeted Kritzerland on its re-release of the original cast album of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's Promises, Promises, including from your humble correspondent. Yet many of those cheers were quickly followed in the fan community by: "Now, when are you going to release the London Cast Recording?" The long-lost United Artists LP was recorded in 1969 with the stars of the production at the Prince of Wales Theatre: Tony