Our look at the many reissues of the 100 greatest albums of all time, as selected by Rolling Stone in 2003, soldiers on! We look at the masterings and expansions of these classic albums on disc, letting you know which audio treasures can be found on which releases. Today’s a full house of rock royalty, with a Piano Man, a King of Pop, a soul legend and two albums by Led Zeppelin! 70. Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti (Swan Song, 1975) Led Zeppelin’s sixth album could’ve easily not happened had bassist John Paul Jones…
Holiday Tunes Watch, Part 3: John Denver, Muppets Go “Urban” on Vinyl
Is the outpouring of love for the new Muppets film still not enough for you? Of course not! So you’ll be happy to know that there’s yet another great musical collectible (after Disney’s fun reissue of the 2006 A Green and Red Christmas) that celebrates our fur and felt friends, not to mention one gone-but-not-forgotten pop favorite: a vinyl reissue of the beloved holiday album by John Denver and The Muppets. Maybe it was his just-offbeat-enough sensibilities in public – the onstage good-natured behavior that just barely betrayed a distinctly liberal slant…
Friday Feature: “An American Tail”
Let’s get the opinions out of the way: An American Tail is not a great movie. I’m not even sure it’s a good movie; I probably wouldn’t even be writing this had it not been an early childhood favorite. But while the film doesn’t quite pan out as a cohesive piece of work, there are some great parts – an interesting approach to plot and animation, and certainly a brilliant batch of soundtrack writing – that make the film worth writing about. The thing you have to remember about An American Tail,…
And the Catalogue Grammy Nominations Go To…
Safely tucked underneath a controversial slate of Grammy nominations in the major categories – seriously, Rihanna’s Loud got an Album of the Year nod and Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy didn’t? – there were a fantastic batch of reissue and box set-oriented nominations in this year’s 54th annual ceremony. Without further pithy commentary, here they are: Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package Radiohead, The King of Limbs (ATO Records) Donald Twain & Zachariah Wildwood, art directors Bruce Springsteen, The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story (Columbia/Legacy) Dave Bett & Michelle Holme, art…
Soundtrack Round-Up: Intrada Commits “Robbery,” La-La Land Bows Final Titles for 2011
The end of the calendar year is a boom time for all those working in reissues, especially the soundtrack labels. Today, six major titles go on sale that are certainly worth a look here at Second Disc HQ. Intrada’s two latest sets, announced last night, are pretty major. One is a brand new reissue of the score to The Great Train Robbery, Jerry Goldsmith’s classic soundtrack to the film directed by author Michael Crichton from his best-selling novel. Though the score is no stranger to CD, having been released and expanded by Varese…
Friday Feature: Muppet Memories
This month, it’s finally time to play the music and light the lights, with the release of The Muppets, a brand new film featuring Kermit The Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, The Great Gonzo and just about all of Jim Henson’s furry, felt-covered creations in an all-new story co-written by fabulous funnyman and human co-star Jason Segel (star of TV’s How I Met Your Mother and co-writer and star of Forgetting Sarah Marshall). The film, which sees the Muppet gang reunite after years out of the limelight to save their old theatre, is…
Thanks!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfM9gQkfwyg] With Thanksgiving approaching at Second Disc HQ, we’re doing what most folks are doing this weekend and engaging in radio silence, more or less. There might be a Friday Feature coming up, timed to one of the big, excellent new movies in theaters this weekend. And you’ll definitely want to keep an eye out for La-La Land Records, who will announce their last four catalogue soundtrack titles for the year at midnight (Pacific time) on Friday. But in the meantime, we wanted to hang a sign at the top of the…
Entering the Culture Factory: New Reissue Label Launches with Robert Palmer, Paul Williams’ “Paradise”
Despite the spurious reports of the “death of the CD,” the reissue biz is still thriving on the little silver platter, offering up all manner of deluxe editions for the discerning customer. (That means you, dear reader!) In 2011, we’ve seen the launch of such heavyweights-to-be as Real Gone Music, Omnivore Recordings and RockBeat Records, and we’re now happy to welcome another name to the fold. Culture Factory USA quietly launched this past September, with releases from Mink DeVille, Moon Martin, Kim Wilde and the Motels. This month brings deluxe audiophile reissues…
Q Applause For Mr. Jones and Mr. Hefti: “Enter Laughing” and “Synanon” Come to CD
If you don’t know the name Neal Hefti, you undoubtedly know the man’s music…whether it’s the indelible, insinuating, harpsichord-and-brass theme to The Odd Couple, or the frenetic, groovy Batman theme from the Caped Crusader’s campy television show. And Quincy Jones, the man known as Q, needs no introduction. Like Hefti a veteran of jazz and big band, Jones’ trailblazing productions on landmark albums such as Michael Jackson’s Thriller (to name just one) ensured his place in the pantheon. Today, the Kritzerland label announced the CD debut of two rare soundtrack recordings on…
Concord Collates “Charlie Brown Christmas”
Christmas time is here! Okay, maybe not yet, but that’s not stopping Concord Music Group from releasing another set of holiday-ready discs from the Peanuts universe today. The Charlie Brown Collection is a four-disc set featuring some of the best seasonal music written for Charles M. Schultz’s boy named Charlie Brown. Of course, much of that musical credit goes to Vince Guaraldi, the composer of 17 Charlie Brown television specials, including the iconic A Charlie Brown Christmas in 1965. Guaraldi was selected by producer Lee Mendelsohn to score a Peanuts documentary after hearing the pianist’s Grammy-winning…
Intrada Has “It,” Releases Two Television Scores
Intrada’s latest soundtrack releases may be from television projects, but these small screen adventures are sure to be big hits for fans. The latest entry in the Special Collection series is a two-disc presentation of the score to the 1990 adaptation of Stephen King’s It. The best-selling book of 1986, It was the story of a group of young friends in 1950s Maine who thwart an interdimensional child-killing monster, only to have it return when the group settles into adulthood. The two-part television movie starred John Ritter, Annette O’Toole, Olivia Hussey and –…
From “Space” to “The Bottom of the Sea” in La-La Land’s Penultimate Releases for 2011
La-La Land Records inched closer to the end of their 2011 reissue slate yesterday with a pair of sci-fi-oriented releases – one a reissue, and one appearing for the first time anywhere. Television fans are going to enjoy the label’s newly-released three-disc set of music from the cult classic series Space: Above and Beyond. Though it only ran for one season, the scope of the show – a planned, five-year saga about a war between Earth and an alien race in the mid-21st century – anticipated the popularity of sci-fi series in…
Kritzerland Goes “Inside Out” with Jan Maxwell and Ann Crumb
The Kritzerland team would be forgiven for slowing down after such an exciting fall, what with the sold-out, 2-CD deluxe edition of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (read our interview here!) and the expanded release of Elmer Bernstein’s score to Summer and Smoke. But the label isn’t slowing down, at all, but barreling towards 2012 with a full slate of more exciting releases. Today, Kritzerland announced not one, but two, new titles. In addition to the brand-new Melodyland, the debut recording by 13-year old rising cabaret…
Soundtrack Round-Up: Intrada Cuts to “The Core,” Music Box Goes “Overboard,” FSM Inches Toward the Finish Line
With the release of another major holy grail in the world of soundtrack collecting yesterday, it’s worth pointing out another four awesome archival titles that may have been lost in the shuffle this past week. First, Intrada’s latest batch of catalogue soundtrack releases, announced Monday, bring to light two underrated gems from two very different composers. First up, after years of waiting, is an official release to the score to the 2003 sci-fi cult-classic The Core. Composer Christopher Young, whose eclectic body of work ventures from horror (A Nightmare on Elm Street II:…
“Gremlins” Are Loose! FSM Bows Long-Awaited Complete Score
Here is one of the most exciting sentences we could ever type for soundtrack fans on The Second Disc: Jerry Goldsmith’s score to Gremlins is coming to CD from Film Score Monthly. “Cute. Cuddly. Mischevious. Intelligent. Dangerous.” Those five words roped audiences into one of the most exciting horror-comedies of the 1980s, Joe Dante’s Gremlins. The tale of a storybook American small town rocked by wacky creatures with razor-sharp claws on Christmas Eve was a perfect marriage of humor and macabre cinema. Director Dante – who got his start building scares on the…
La-La Land Scares Up “Friday the 13th” Box Set
Ki-ki-ki-ki ma-ma-ma-ma. These wordless sounds have become shorthand for fear in the form of Jason Voorhees, the antagonist in the long-running Friday the 13th horror film series. Since the low-budget flick bowed in 1980, grossing nearly $40 million domestically on a budget of $550,000, it spawned a massive cottage industry of sequels and spin-offs. (All told, ten Friday the 13th films, one remake and one crossover, 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason – which pitted the series’ murderer against Freddy Krueger of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, have been made.) What better day than Halloween, then, to bring…
Happy Halloween! Taking a Bite Out of “Son of Dracula”
Happy Halloween! To celebrate this spookiest of holidays, we’re bringing you a special holiday reprise from The Second Disc Archives in which we revisit the immortal, undead “Son of Dracula,” starring Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr! October 2010 will bring a major reissue campaign devoted to the Apple Records discography, seeing most of that storied label’s output arrive in editions remastered by the same team behind the Beatles’ catalogue overhaul last year. But one Apple-related LP is among the titles not coming on CD: the 1974 soundtrack to Son of Dracula. Harry…
La-La Land Spends “55 Days at Peking,” Releases Full Golden Age Score
La-La Land Records yesterday took a break from contemporary film score reissues and presented an expanded version of a classic score by Dimitri Tiomkin from 1963: 55 Days at Peking. A dramatization of the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 China, 55 Days at Peking depicts the Battle of Peking from the perspective of a group of foreign diplomats protected by the Chinese government in Peking’s legations district. Charlton Heston stars as an American major defending the ambassadors, and David Niven and Ava Gardner play British and Russian dignitaries, the latter of whom engages in…
Lost Highway, Found on Vinyl: 10th Anniversary Box Coming Next Month
With a name like Lost Highway Records, it might be tough to parse the mission statement of such a company – unless, of course, you know your Hank Williams. In fact, they’ve been supplying fans with some of the best in alternative rock and country. And now, to celebrate a decade in business, next month sees the release of a mega-vinyl box set highlighting some of the label’s best output. Lost Highway, founded in 2000 by Luke Lewis, started their existence off with a bang, distributing the massively successful soundtrack to O…
A Fantasmagorical Second Disc Interview! Bruce Kimmel Talks New, Expanded 2-CD “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”
When Richard M. Sherman introduces his Academy Award-nominated song “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” in concert, he often has to remind his audience that the film of the same name wasn’t a Walt Disney production. Producer Albert R. Broccoli, best-known for the James Bond series of films, signed Richard and his brother Robert M. Sherman for their very first film score outside of the Disney sphere. Like the Bond films, United Artists’ Chitty was based on the writing of Ian Fleming. For Fleming’s story of a most fantasmagorical flying car, “Cubby” Broccoli envisioned…
Stephen Sondheim, Angela Lansbury, Mary Martin Feature in Latest Masterworks Line-Up
Some of The Great White Way’s brightest stars will be on the receiving end of the latest reissue bonanza from Sony’s Masterworks Broadway label. Leading the pack is the 1985 Original Cast Recording of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies in Concert. Lee Remick, Barbara Cook, Mandy Patinkin and George Hearn star in the 1985 recording of Sondheim’s 1971 musical currently enjoying a critically-acclaimed, hit revival on Broadway. Follies in Concert will arrive at general retail on CD in a new eco-friendly digipak format, while the long out-of-print soundtrack to Jerry Herman’s 1996 television film Mrs. Santa Claus…
Everybody Cut Loose! Ghostlight Revisits and Remasters 1998 “Footloose”
Well, everybody didn’t quite cut loose this weekend. Despite Paramount Pictures’ lavish promotional campaign for the film, its remake of 1984’s Footloose couldn’t topple Hugh Jackman’s Rocky-meets-The–Transformers epic Real Steel for the top spot at the box office. Still, the lukewarm reception accorded Craig Brewer’s picture likely won’t diminish the reputation or popularity of Herbert Ross’ original. A more successful adaptation of Footloose arrived at Broadway’s Richard Rodgers Theatre on October 22, 1998, where it remained ensconced for 709 performances until its July 2, 2000 closing. The production was recorded by Q…
Friday Feature: “The Thing”
Our enjoyment of music takes many shapes and sizes, from the most basic of digital files to the vast quantities of reissues and box sets we all enjoy around The Second Disc. Part of the nervous excitement in being a collector is really never knowing what your latest musical obsession will look or sound like – and that’s, I think, what keeps us coming back. Now, replace “music” with “an alien virus from another planet” and “nervous excitement” with “crippling terror” and you have the subject of our latest Friday Feature, John…
Intrada Scares Up Some Special Soundtracks
It’s always a cause for celebration when a label gets some long-lost piece of music out to the public for consumption. And Intrada’s special mid-week batch of archival film scores is no different, offering two premiere horror scores, one of which was presumed lost for years. First up is the score to Fright Night, the 1985 horror classic (recently remade this past summer) about a teen who has to stop his next-door neighbor, a bloodthirsty vampire, from feeding on the innocent. The score is the other major film score credit for composer Brad…
“Looking Good, La-La Land.” “Feeling Good, The Second Disc.”
As previously reported, La-La Land Records’ newest release is the premiere of Elmer Bernstein’s score to the classic comedy Trading Places, available as of yesterday. One of the most fondly remembered films of the 1980s, Trading Places is the story of a rich banker (Dan Aykroyd) conned by his bosses to lose everything as part of a “social experiment” to switch a rich man with a poor man and observe the results. The poor man who assumes Aykroyd’s life is a street hustler played by Eddie Murphy – but once he wises up…
