Laura Nyro (1947-1997) never became as famous as her songs. In an all-too-short 49 years, Nyro provided major hits for a diverse array of artists from Three Dog Night and Blood, Sweat & Tears to Barbra Streisand and most famously, The Fifth Dimension. Yet her own albums never achieved mainstream success, with audiences largely preferring to […]
Continue ReadingVenerable indie label Matador Records has had one of the most consistently impressive rosters for newer music during their existence. The list includes Pavement, Interpol, Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, Sonic Youth, Liz Phair, Yo La Tengo, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and scores more. This month, as the label prepares a 21st anniversary celebration […]
Continue ReadingA substantiative update from Weezer webmaster/archivist Karl Koch about the planned catalogue efforts of one of the most intriguing bands of the past few decades was posted on the band's Web site back in August. It's making the rounds now, and while it should have Weezer fans excited, it might make them a bit confused […]
Continue ReadingWe hate to start the day off with some bad news, but Rhino is apparently about to experience another depressing surge of layoffs, trade publication Variety reports. From the looks of it, expect a smaller slate of physical titles - even the Handmade stuff, some of which was in the can for years, the article says […]
Continue ReadingThis is an unusual segue for today's Reissue Theory, so please bear with me: Miss Disc recently lost a family member - one who knew well of my own passion for keeping catalogue music discussion alive. In an odd way, moments like these help put things in perspective; we all slump our shoulders in defeat […]
Continue ReadingA surprise find on Amazon today: it looks like RCA is reissuing six classic film score compilations recorded by Charles Gerhardt and The National Philharmonic Orchestra. The American conductor, who made a name for himself as a producer/compiler of LP box sets sold through Reader's Digest, founded The National Philharmonic Orchestra, a crack team of […]
Continue ReadingJust a few short weeks ago on August 19, The Second Disc reported on the Criterion Collection release of the Monkees’ trippy cinematic opus, Head. At the end of that article, we opined, “Perhaps the success of this set will inspire Rhino Handmade to revisit the Head soundtrack as a deluxe edition should its Monkees […]
Continue ReadingAn interesting story perhaps best reported in my state newspaper: today sees a digital-only release of some archival material from the undying 1987 film Dirty Dancing. As The Second Disc pointed out during a Friday Feature back in May, Dirty Dancing refuses to budge from the collective consciousness, some 23 years after it was released. […]
Continue ReadingTwo semi-obscure scores are coming from La La Land Records today: one's the music to an primate-oriented family film, the other is an early-'70s rock score. First up, Miles Goodman's complete score to Dunston Checks In (1996), the comedy about an orangutan in a fancy hotel. (Seriously.) It's a nice comedic romp, despite the fact […]
Continue ReadingExcited about Sony's new batch of Bob Dylan material? As if another entry in The Bootleg Series (with some additional live bonuses depending on where you buy it) and a mono box set wasn't enough, Columbia/Legacy is also releasing The Best of The Mono Recordings, a single-disc teaser culled from that box set. Of course, […]
Continue Reading