Stocking Stuffer Spotlight: Freddie Scott, "Other Lives," and International Pop Overthrow

By Joe Marchese | December 21, 2023 | 0 Comments

We've covered a lot of box sets this holiday season but today we're taking a look at three more compact - but no less enjoyable! - stocking stuffers!  The two titles carried by Amazon are shipping now with delivery before Christmas.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Freddie Scott (1933-2007) had been […]

Continue Reading

Short Takes: McCartney's "III"-Peat, The Rolling Stones' "Live" Racket

By The Second Disc | December 20, 2023 | 9 Comments

Paul McCartney's 2020 "lockdown" - make that "rockdown" - album, McCartney III, was seemingly ubiquitous upon its release with various-color editions on CD, LP, and cassette; Discogs currently shows 57 unique versions of the album.  (That's not counting the remix album McCartney III-Imagined or the 2022 box set which bundled III with its two predecessors […]

Continue Reading

Holiday Gift Guide Review: Stevie Nicks, 'Complete Studio Albums and Rarities'

By Mike Duquette | December 19, 2023 | 2 Comments

I. Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You? When was the moment that Stephanie Lynn Nicks became inevitable? It's not as though you can just forget a voice like hers. Ever since the start of her on-again, off-again tenure in Fleetwood Mac - when her dulcet tones powered songs like "Rhiannon," "Landslide," "Dreams" (the band's first No. […]

Continue Reading

Holiday Gift Guide Review: Frank Zappa, "Over-Nite Sensation: 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition"

By Joe Marchese | December 18, 2023 | 1 Comment

Had Frank Zappa gone commercial?  Surely the artist who proudly embraced the slogan "No Commercial Potential" hadn't sold out to the masses.  Yet, with 1973's Over-Nite Sensation, the composer-guitarist-bandleader found himself in a particularly purple patch that resulted in two consecutive Gold albums and four straight top 40 entries on the Billboard 200.  The title […]

Continue Reading

The Weekend Stream: December 16, 2023

By Mike Duquette | December 16, 2023 | 4 Comments

Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc's review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts. Beyoncé repeats history, ZTT goes live and James gets more Whiplash, all streaming and on sale this week! Beyoncé, Grown Woman (Parkwood/Columbia) (iTunes / Amazon) Perhaps you remember where you were on December 13, 2013, when Beyoncé Knowles surprise-dropped […]

Continue Reading