Soundtracks

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Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Country, Disco/Dance, Folk, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Oh, Good Grief!

May 21, 2025 by Joe Marchese

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Back in 2018, Omnivore Recordings collected The Complete Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Recordings of jazz pianist-composer-Peanuts legend Vince Guaraldi. Now, the label is breaking out one of the albums contained in that set for CD and vinyl reissue. 1968’s Oh, Good Grief! was built around his familiar compositions for Charles M. Schulz’s legendary characters, but those tunes were subtly updated as Guaraldi added electric guitar and electric harpsichord to his trio (piano/bass/drums) format. Kevin Gray…

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Jazz, Soundtracks

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The Spine Surfs Alone: Rarities 1998-2005

May 21, 2025 by Joe Marchese

A collection of harder-to-find material from stalwart alt-rock duo They Might Be Giants – released on vinyl last year – gets a belated appearance on CD at general retail. The Spine Surfs Alone: Rarities 1998-2005 includes the balance of two EPs: 2000’s Working Undercover for the Man, released only through the early digital service eMusic, and 2004’s The Spine Surfs Alone, an early release on the band’s own Idlewild Recordings label. The album is balanced out by a few single cuts, compilation appearances (including covers of Paul McCartney and a song from Hedwig and…

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Rock, Soundtracks

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All You Can Think About: They Might Be Giants Rarities Set Comes to CD

May 19, 2025 by Mike Duquette | 1 Comment

A collection of harder-to-find material from stalwart alt-rock duo They Might Be Giants – released on vinyl last year – gets a wider availability on CD this month. The Spine Surfs Alone: Rarities 1998-2005 is available at general retail on May 30, having been available from the band’s official store since earlier this spring. (A vinyl version was surprise released last November, during which the album was made available digitally through Bandcamp as well.) The set includes the balance of two EPs: 2000’s Working Undercover for the Man, released only through the…

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Rock, Soundtracks

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They Might Be Giants

The Weekend Stream: May 17, 2025

May 17, 2025 by The Second Disc | 4 Comments

Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. A positively packed volume offers legends of pop, rock and country revisiting and interpreting some classic tracks; catalogue favorites from Britney to Sheena and Connie to Katrina; intriguing film scores and show tunes; and remembrances of a few legends we lost this week. Steve Perry & Willie Nelson, “Faithfully” (Dark Horse) (Apple / Amazon) One of rock’s most recognizable voices joins forces with country’s most enduring living icon! Former Journey…

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Blues, CCM, Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Country, Disco/Dance, Latin, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Release Round-Up: Week of May 9

May 9, 2025 by The Second Disc | 2 Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Jackie DeShannon, Love Forever: Demo Recordings 1966-1968 (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Jackie DeShannon signed with Liberty Records and Metric Music in 1960 as a performer and songwriter. Her big break would come in 1964 when she would open for The Beatles on their first U.S. tour. The next year she would record Bacharach and David’s “What the World Needs Now is Love” and her recording…

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CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

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Blues, Classic Rock, Everything Else, Funk, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

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Bob James, Béla Fleck, Dave Koz, Eric Clapton, Gershon Kingsley, INXS, Jackie DeShannon, Jesse Ed Davis, Lamb, Nellie McKay, Petula Clark, Rilo Kiley, Rod McKuen, Sly and the Family Stone, Tyketto, Wang Chung

Never Gonna Be the Same: A Conversation with Gary Clark of Danny Wilson

May 7, 2025 by Mike Duquette | 2 Comments

The best known hit of his band begins with “Everything is wonderful / being here is heavenly…” and perhaps no line better sums up the experience of hearing a song by Gary Clark. The Scottish singer/songwriter formed the trio Danny Wilson with his brother Kit and bassist Ged Grimes in the mid-’80s, eventually scoring a hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 1987 and 1988 with the sublime “Mary’s Prayer.” While it’s easy to place Danny Wilson in the same British sophisti-pop continuum that yielded records by the likes of The…

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Interviews

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CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming

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Pop, Rock, Soundtracks

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Danny Wilson, Gary Clark

Soundtrack Watch: La-La Land Spins ‘Thelma & Louise,’ Intrada Revisits ‘First Blood’ and New Varese Club Titles

May 6, 2025 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

The month ahead brings even more soundtrack news than the big John Williams box set! New archival reissues from La-La Land Records, Varese Sarabande and Intrada are all on the calendar. First up, after expansions of Rain Man, A League of Their Own and Gladiator in recent months, La-La Land will give the expanded treatment to Hans Zimmer’s score to the 1991 hit Thelma & Louise. Directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by writer-director Callie Khouri (her first credit!), Thelma & Louise starred Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis as two midwestern friends whose road trip escape…

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Hans Zimmer, Henry Mancini, Jerry Goldsmith, Patrick Doyle

The Anthology Vol. 1 (1969-1990)

May 5, 2025 by Joe Marchese

John Williams – The Anthology Vol. 1 (1969-1990) is the first of three massive box sets from Sony Classical celebrating the soundtrack maestro in his 93rd year. It sets an impressive bar for the series: with Williams’ conducting work for the Boston Pops and others celebrated in a pair of box sets, this volume will offer a cross-licensed selection of Williams’ most essential soundtracks – 22 discs containing material from 28 films. Williams’ longtime archivist Mike Matessino is a co-producer for the project, and his high-quality remasters of many of the soundtracks are included here. …

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Box Sets, CD

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Mondo Maestro: New John Williams Box Set Series Announced, Plus ‘Star Wars’ Re-Recordings on Vinyl

May 5, 2025 by Mike Duquette | 2 Comments

With yesterday being “May the Fourth” and an informal day of celebration for Star Wars fans (even though “orthodox” fans might recognize the original film’s release date, May 25, as a holiday of its own!), the time is right to plan a few music reissues related to the film – and one exciting, ambitious new announcement for the catalogue of the series’ longtime composer, John Williams. The 93-year-old composer has kept a low profile since the release of his score for the fifth and final Indiana Jones film, canceling conductor engagements around the world due…

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Box Sets, CD, Vinyl

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Charles Gerhardt, John Williams

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Reissues…and Stuff Like That! Classic Quincy Jones Titles Due on Vinyl, SHM-CD This Summer

April 30, 2025 by Mike Duquette | 3 Comments

A cadre of titles from the discography of the late Quincy Jones – spanning nearly 25 years of his storied career – are coming back into print on physical formats thanks to the shared efforts of Universal’ Music Group’s teams in America and Japan. Coming June 6 are new SHM-CD pressings of seven of Jones’ LPs: This is How I Feel About Jazz (1957), The Quintessence (1962), Big Band Bossa Nova (1962), Walking in Space (1969), Body Heat (1974), Mellow Madness (1975), Sounds…and Stuff Like That!! (1978) and The Dude (1981). Each will be packaged in the usual style, as part of UMG’s “All of…

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Jazz, Latin, Pop, R&B/Soul, Soundtracks

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Ashford and Simpson, Chaka Khan, Charles Mingus, Herbie Mann, James Ingram, Lalo Schifrin, Leon Ware, Luther Vandross, Minnie Riperton, Patti Austin, Quincy Jones, Zoot Sims

The Weekend Stream: April 25, 2025

April 26, 2025 by The Second Disc | 2 Comments

Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. Strap in for a killer line-up of titles this week: two more Record Store Day debuts, an incredible posthumous collaboration between two ’80s icons, the return of one of glam’s most beloved bands, new music by some of our favorite pop girls, a hotly anticipated new take on a Broadway favorite, exciting moments in gospel/soul, an exciting new song from a forthcoming West End musical by one of…

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CCM, Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Disco/Dance, Electronic, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Release Round-Up: Week of April 25

April 25, 2025 by The Second Disc | No Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Neil Young, Oceanside/Countryside (Reprise/NYA) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Neil Young is unveiling another once-lost album with the release of Oceanside Countryside which arrives on CD today following its vinyl release.The LP was recorded from May to December 1977; the first side comprised solo Young performances, while most of the second featured a full band. It never saw release, though. Instead, Comes a Time hit store shelves in October 1978. Both albums…

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Blu-Ray Audio, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

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Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Country, Folk, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

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Art Blakey, Billy Idol, Eugene Ormandy, Henry Mancini, Ian North, Jeff Goldblum, Kenny Burrell, Luciano Pavarotti, Melanie, Neil Young, Prince, Rilo Kiley, Sex Pistols, Sting, Willie Nelson

Release Round-Up: Week of April 18

April 18, 2025 by The Second Disc | No Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Neil Young, Coastal: The Soundtrack (Reprise/NYA) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The concert film Coastal, documenting Neil Young’s 2023 solo concert tour, was released to cinemas yesterday; today, its soundtrack album arrives on CD, LP, and digital formats. The 11-track album includes Young favorites such as “I Am a Child,” “Expecting to Fly,” “Comes a Time,” and “Vampire Blues.” Dame Shirley Bassey, The Singer (Cherry…

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CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

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Comedy, Country, Disco/Dance, Folk, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Soundtracks

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Bill Evans, Charles Mingus, Donna Summer, Francois Hardy, John Cowsill, Kenny Dorham, Melanie, Neil Young, Patsy Cline, Richard Pryor, Shirley Bassey, The Rembrandts, Vicki Peterson

The Spirit of Man: Madfish Preps Box Set Edition of Jeff Wayne’s ‘War of the Worlds’ Concept Album

April 17, 2025 by Mike Duquette | 12 Comments

When H.G. Wells published The War of the Worlds as a serialized collection of stories in 1897 and a full novel a year later, he may not have known the groundbreaking work he was unleashing on the world. A sci-fi story that dared to look at the dark side of theoretical human-alien contact, War of the Worlds was a fantastical-yet-grounded story that imagined visitors from the planet Mars as anything but friendly. The book became fertile ground for adaptations, from Orson Welles’ dramatic 1938 radio dramatization to Steven Spielberg’s 2005 film adaptation and not…

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Blu-Ray, Box Sets, CD, Vinyl

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Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Everything Else, Rock, Soundtracks

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David Essex, Gary Barlow, Jeff Wayne, Jerry Wayne, Justin Hayward, Liam Neeson, Marti Pellow, Phil Lynott

NOW WITH LINKS! (Don’t) Walk On By: Dionne Warwick’s “Make It Easy on Yourself: The Scepter Recordings 1962-1971” Due in June on 12 CDs from SoulMusic, Second Disc

April 17, 2025 by The Second Disc | 9 Comments

UPDATED 4/17 WITH PRE-ORDER LINKS: “I am so very thrilled about this wonderful collection of my recordings! It is truly something that I myself would buy.” – Dionne Warwick, 2025 For more than six decades, Dionne Warwick has been synonymous with musical excellence. The six-time Grammy Award winner, 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and Kennedy Center Honoree remains one of the most-charted vocalists of all time, with a whopping 56 singles having made the Billboard Hot 100 between 1962 and 1998 and over 100 million records sold worldwide. The New Jersey-born…

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Box Sets, CD

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BJ Thomas, Burt Bacharach, Chuck Jackson, Dionne Warwick, Hal David, Leslie Uggams, Sacha Distel

The Second Disc’s Guide to Record Store Day 2025: Our Favorite Picks

April 11, 2025 by The Second Disc | 1 Comment

Tomorrow, Record Store Day is once again upon us! It’s that time of year where music lovers and vinyl flippers get together at their favorite physical music retailers and wait in line to snag some treasured albums – almost all of which are pressed on vinyl instead of CD (or, you know, sold on secondary marketplaces for above their retail value). This year, the list tops out at over 300 titles, so there’s very nearly something for everybody. It wasn’t easy to narrow our choices down to around 20 titles, but here…

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Classic Rock, Folk, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Release Round-Up: Week of April 11

April 11, 2025 by The Second Disc | 1 Comment

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. The Vince Guaraldi Trio, Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown: Expanded Edition (Fantasy/Craft) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Craft Recordings delivers a newly expanded edition of 1964’s Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown, the first in a series of fateful collaborations between jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi and Charles M. Schulz’s lovable Peanuts characters. The 2CD set offers a fresh remaster of Guaraldi’s initial nine compositions devoted to Charlie Brown…

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Blu-Ray Audio, Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

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Classic Rock, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Soundtracks

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Andy Summers, Art Blakey, Kenny Burrell, Marian McPartland, Nellie McKay, Robert Fripp, Talking Heads, The Replacements, Vince Guaraldi

Are You Not Entertained? Two Hans Zimmer Scores Get Expansions from La-La Land, Intrada

April 10, 2025 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

After a recent new edition of his breakthrough soundtrack work, composer Hans Zimmer is the subject of not one but two film score reissues released this month. La-La Land Records announced for April a dramatic expansion of Zimmer’s score for Gladiator. A modern take on sword-and-sandal epics released in 2000, Gladiator told the story of Maximus Decimus Meridius, a dedicated Roman general whose world is turned upside down by the murder of emperor Marcus Aurelius at the hands of his son, who proceeds to murder Maximus’ family and cast him into slavery. The warrior…

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Hans Zimmer

Record Store Day 2025: The Best of the Rest

April 2, 2025 by The Second Disc | 7 Comments

Next Saturday, April 12, is certainly one of the most packed Record Store Days in recent memory. Since the list was announced, we drilled down on titles from Craft Recordings, Legacy Recordings, Rhino Records, Universal Music Group, Real Gone Music, Omnivore Recordings, BMG, Cooking Vinyl and Demon Music Group, as well as some notable titles that were getting later general releases on CD. Well, if you thought that was it, you’re wrong! We pored and pored over the list and are here to share with you more than four dozen one-offs, archival…

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Box Sets, Vinyl

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Blues, Classic Rock, Folk, Funk, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock, Soundtracks

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A Tribe Called Quest, Adam and The Ants, Alex Chilton, Annie Lennox, Ariana Grande, Art Blakey, Beck, Bob Geldof, Boomtown Rats, Brad Fiedel, Brian Wilson, Bryan Adams, CHVRCHES, Cannonball Adderley, Cat Stevens, Charles Mingus, Cissy Houston, Clarence White, Cockney Rebel, Cynthia Erivo, Dave Stewart, Dead or Alive, Dusty Springfield, Elton John, Emmylou Harris, Eric Clapton, Eurythmics, Freddie Hubbard, George Harrison, Gloria Jones, Graham Parker, Gram Parsons, Grant Green, Jeff Bridges, Jerry Garcia, Jerry Garcia Band, Kenny Dorham, Little Richard, Maurice Jarre, Nick Lowe, Ohio Players, Parliament-Funkadelic, Paul Hardcastle, Pete Townshend, Peter Gabriel, Propaganda, Record Store Day, Roger Daltrey, Roger McGuinn, Scott Weiland, Shane MacGowan, Sinead O'Connor, Sly Stone, Sly and the Family Stone, Stephen Schwartz, Steve Harley, Suzi Quatro, Terry Hall, The 13th Floor Elevators, The Art of Noise, The Beach Boys, The Blasters, The Byrds, The Colourfield, The Everly Brothers, The Fall, The Hives, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Meters, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Tina Turner, Tom Waits, Van Morrison, Vince Guaraldi, Wall of Voodoo, Wang Chung, Wayne Shorter, Wes Montgomery, Wynton Kelly, Yusuf

We Were So in Phase: Wang Chung Join Hits and Rarities on New Compilation

March 27, 2025 by Mike Duquette | 4 Comments

The time has come to take your baby by the hand and check out a new compilation from ’80s pop hitmakers Wang Chung. The group will release a new double album of hits and rarities, Clear Light / Dark Matter, on May 9. It’ll include the singles “Dance Hall Days,” “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” and “Let’s Go!” plus tracks from their cult classic soundtrack from the film To Live and Die in L.A. – along with rare material (including the A-side of their debut single) and even a few unreleased demos. It’ll be available…

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Pop, Rock, Soundtracks

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Wang Chung

Feel the Force: Disney to Release Japanese Box Set of ‘Star Wars’ Music with TV Scores Making CD Debuts

March 24, 2025 by Mike Duquette | 2 Comments

Fans making the pilgrimage to next month’s Star Wars Celebration event in Japan can keep an eye out for a new box set fitting in perfectly with the country’s commitment to music on CD. Available in limited quantities during the event at Makuhari Messe in Chiba City, Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025: Original Soundtrack Box Set brings together scores from 23 films and television series in the universe created by writer/director George Lucas, with exclusively designed artwork. While none of the material is previously unreleased, roughly half the material has never been released…

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Box Sets, CD

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John Powell, John Williams, Michael Giacchino

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Release Round-Up: Week of March 21

March 21, 2025 by The Second Disc | 1 Comment

Vince Guaraldi It's the Easter Beagle Charlie Brown

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Tina Turner, Private Dancer: 40th Anniversary Edition (Parlophone/Rhino) 5CD/1BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Pearl LP with art card: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Picture Disc: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Tina Turner’s smash 1984 “comeback”album Private Dancer – featuring the hits “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” “Better Be Good to Me,” the scintillating title track and more – will be reissued as a 5CD/Blu-ray deluxe box packed with rare…

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CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

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Blues, Classic Rock, Holiday, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

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Climie Fisher, Dave Mason, Mike + the Mechanics, Rush, The Alan Parsons Project, The Stylistics, Tina Turner, Vince Guaraldi

They’ll Be There for You: 10 Record Store Day Exclusives Getting CD Releases

March 19, 2025 by Mike Duquette | 13 Comments

The Record Store Day round-up marches on! After covering in detail the vinyl offerings from Universal Music Group, Legacy Recordings, Rhino Records, BMG, Craft Recordings, Real Gone Music, Omnivore and U.K. labels Cooking Vinyl and Demon Music Group, we’ve still got a few things to highlight…notably, the work of labels who are serving one of Record Store Day’s least-served fans. There are plenty of business and financial reasons why some Record Store Day titles are limited solely to vinyl, but we at The Second Disc will never stop banging the drum for those…

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Formats:

CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming

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Classic Rock, Everything Else, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Soundtracks

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Francoise Hardy, Gloria Jones, Jackie DeShannon, Marc Bolan, Pixies, Record Store Day, Robert Hunter, Suede, T Rex, Talking Heads, The Mission, The Rembrandts, Vince Guaraldi

The Weekend Stream: March 8, 2025

March 8, 2025 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. This week’s offerings are particularly reflective, packed with tributes and goodbyes (both editorial and musical) and a little dust of new Disney magic. Dolly Parton, “If You Hadn’t Been There” (Butterfly) (iTunes / Amazon) On her first day in Nashville at the age of 18, a rising country musician named Dolly Parton had a chance encounter with Carl Dean, owner of a local asphalt business, at a laundromat. In 1966,…

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