A Second Disc Interview: Mixing It Up with John Luongo

By Mike Duquette | January 11, 2024 | 3 Comments

John Luongo is a good liar. Well, maybe he's good at being tongue-in-cheek. "I'm bashful," he says at the start of our interview back in October. "You're gonna have to really drag these things outta me, 'cause I'm a little shy!" What follows is about 100 minutes of captivating stories and thoughtful, enthusiastic lessons from […]

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I've Been in Love Before: Cutting Crew's Albums Get Box Set Treatment from Cherry Pop

By Mike Duquette | January 10, 2024 | 2 Comments

Second Disc HQ is always fascinated by British acts - and there were a few of these in the '80s - whose commercial success is far greater outside their home country. Cutting Crew, the rock combo led by singer/songwriter Nick Van Eede, were a classic example of this phenomenon, scoring a U.S. chart-topper with the […]

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Death Warmed Up: Esoteric Collects Proto-Metal Band High Tide's "Complete Liberty Recordings"

By Joe Marchese | January 9, 2024 | 1 Comment

Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings imprint has recently celebrated the recordings of prog-rock band High Tide on a lavish new 3-CD box set.  The Complete Liberty Recordings brings together the short-lived group's two albums and adds a bonus disc of demos and studio sessions recorded in 1969-1970. As with so many bands of the era, High […]

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The Morning Lasted All Day: The Dream Academy Get Comprehensive Box Set from Cherry Red

By Mike Duquette | January 8, 2024 | 3 Comments

There was no Top 10 hit in 1985 quite like "Life in a Northern Town," a gentle-then-thundering folk-pop tune by British trio The Dream Academy. The gentle tribute to Nick Drake, counterpointed by an African-inspired, nearly wordless chorus, hit No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 15 in their native U.K. - but there was […]

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Freak Out in a Moonage Daydream: Early Version of Bowie's 'Ziggy Stardust' Announced for Record Store Day

By Mike Duquette | January 8, 2024 | 12 Comments

On what would have been the 77th birthday of the incomparable David Bowie, his estate has announced a new catalogue title due out for Record Store Day, featuring an early track list for 1972's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars. Waiting in the Sky (Before the Starman Came to Earth) […]

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