Andrew Lloyd Webber first became interested in adapting Reverend W. Aubry's Thomas the Tank Engine stories in 1974. A pilot episode for a proposed television series was produced but ultimately not picked up. But the Jesus Christ Superstar and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat composer didn't give up on the idea of musicalizing a […]
Continue ReadingIf you missed out on the 2017 Esoteric/Cherry Red expanded reissue of founding Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips' 1990 Slow Dance, you're in luck. The label has just reissued Slow Dance as a 2CD set, dropping the DVD component but otherwise replicating the earlier package at a lower price. Slow Dance, a two-part orchestral suite, was […]
Continue ReadingJohn Williams' latest overseas trip will form another new album from the celebrated composer. John Williams in Tokyo, recorded in 2023 with the Saito Kinen Orchestra and featuring a very special tribute to one of the country's most beloved conductors, will be released May 10 by Deutsche Grammophon on multiple formats including standard CD and vinyl […]
Continue ReadingOne of Paul McCartney's oft-bootlegged live performances will finally get an official release this summer: the soundtrack to his 1974 "rockumentary" One Hand Clapping. This acclaimed performance with Wings, recorded at Abbey Road Studios in the wake of the release of Band on the Run, will be available June 14 on two CDs or two LPs, featuring […]
Continue ReadingFans of the early days of Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention have good reason to, well, freak out! On June 21, Zappa Records and UMe are heading back to those heady days on the Sunset Strip for Whisky A Go Go, 1968, a new collection available on three CDs or five 180-gram black […]
Continue Reading1979 was a landmark year in disco, with Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, Anita Ward, and Sister Sledge all conquering the Billboard charts. But the prominence of the dance genre led to a so-called backlash - and it happened in the blink of an eye. On July 21, 1979 - nine days following the Disco Demolition […]
Continue ReadingWelcome 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 super-sized post-Record Store Day lineup includes more: more remixes, more covers, more Mancini and yes, more Taylor Swift. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Taylor Swift, The […]
Continue ReadingJoni Mitchell has had quite the year, stopping the show at the Grammy Awards (did anybody watching not shed a tear?), reinventing "I'm Still Standing" at the Gershwin Prize celebration of Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and preparing for her Los Angeles concert return with sold-out, hotly-anticipated Joni Jams at the Hollywood Bowl in October. […]
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