Rarely is the sequel ever the equal - but Ace Records has handily disproved that with Love and Affection: More Motown Girls, a recent trawl through the vaults of Hitsville, USA. And not only is this follow-up to 2013's Finders Keepers - Motown Girls the equal of its predecessor, it might be its better. Whereas that volume featured […]
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Art Pepper would have turned 90 on September 1 of this year. Though the great alto saxophonist passed away in 1982, aged just 56, his legacy lives on. Elemental Music has most recently celebrated Pepper's enduring influence on jazz with the new release of Live at Fat Tuesday's by The Art Pepper Quartet. This new five-song […]
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Though jazz may be one of the most quintessentially American art forms, its influence and power naturally spread around the world in various forms. In Great Britain, the popular Dixieland-inspired "trad jazz" (or "traditional jazz") boom - epitomized by artists including The Three Bs: Mr. Acker Bilk, Chris Barber and Kenny Ball - was followed […]
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Director William Friedkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection) was never one to shy away from controversy. And so was the case with his 1980 film Cruising. Al Pacino starred as NYPD Officer Steve Burns, tasked with tracking down a serial killer targeting gay men. Inspired by the novel of the same name by New York […]
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A classic '50s score and four popular '90s soundtracks from three beloved composers make up La-La Land Records' exciting-as-always Black Friday announcements. This year, the label has prepped expanded reissues of Dimitri Tiomkin's Giant (1956), 25th anniversary editions of John Williams' Home Alone and John Barry'sDances with Wolves (both 1990) and two scores by the […]
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We wouldn't want you to be left out in the cold for Cyber Monday, so we're proud to present our annual Holiday Gift Guide featuring nearly 75 essential selections for the music enthusiast in your life! We've filled the guide with box sets (such as the popular Bob Dylan title to your left!), archival releases […]
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To our U.S. readers, today is the day of shopping known as Black Friday - but happily, the diverse slate of releases due in stores today should lift your spirits - no matter where you're located! Love, Reel to Real: Expanded Edition (High Moon Records) (Amazon U.S.) High Moon Records has the premiere reissue of […]
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On the eve of NBC's new production of The Wiz next week, Motown/UMe have dug into the vaults to release a lost album of songs from the Broadway musical by Diana Ross. The pairing, of course, is no mistake: the 1975 Tony Award-winning "super soul musical" was adapted into a film in 1978, with Ross, […]
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From all of us here at Second Disc HQ to all of you, we hope you're enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving in the company of family and friends. Of course, from this day which conjures nostalgic and warm feelings comes a celebration of a different kind with this year's annual Black Friday - the day for […]
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Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings' new box set Frank Sinatra: A Voice on Air (88875 09971 2) begins, appropriately enough, with the jarring sound of an old-time radio tuning in. The shrill noise quickly segues to the first of nearly 100 performances on four CDs - 19-year old Frank Sinatra, one-fourth of The Hoboken Four, […]
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