Review: WHAM!, "The Singles: Echoes from the Edge of Heaven" (7" Vinyl Box Set)

By The Second Disc | August 3, 2023 | 6 Comments

WHAM! The dance-pop duo's name immediately called to mind the fantastical, onomatopoeic pop art exclamations that would appear on the '60s Batman television show. George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley had everything going for them: good looks, great voices, and a knack for pure pop songcraft. In a mere handful of years, WHAM! launched nearly a […]

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OUT TOMORROW! Second Disc, Real Gone Celebrate Spinners, Thom Bell's "Complete Atlantic Singles 1972-1979"

By The Second Disc | August 3, 2023 | 15 Comments

Could it be you're falling in love? Tomorrow, just three months before their long-awaited induction into the 2023 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the world-renowned Spinners will be celebrated by Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records with The Complete Atlantic Singles: The Thom Bell Productions 1972-1979. This definitive 2-CD anthology presents […]

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Down South Jukin': Lynyrd Skynyrd Celebrates "Fyfty" Years on New Box Set

By Joe Marchese | August 2, 2023 | 17 Comments

If you looked up "southern rock" in the music dictionary, there's a good chance you might find a photo of Lynyrd Skynyrd next to the definition.  The Jacksonville, Florida band first came together as My Backyard in 1964; five years later, lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarists Gary Rossington and Allen Collins, bassist Larry Junstrom, […]

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Do It Right: Edsel Reissues, Expands Kiki Dee's "I've Got the Music in Me"

By Joe Marchese | August 1, 2023 | 1 Comment

Edsel has long been championing the recordings of Kiki Dee, including two definitive box sets chronicling The Fontana and Motown Years and The Rocket Years.  It's the latter chapter to which the label has recently returned on a reissue of the British singer's second album, I've Got the Music in Me.  Originally released on Elton […]

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Review: Frank Zappa, "Funky Nothingness"

By Joe Marchese | July 31, 2023 | 3 Comments

Frank Zappa's 1969 LP Hot Rats remains among the late composer-bandleader's most accessible albums.  Blending bluesy electric rock with jazz, it makes a fine introduction to his sometimes-daunting discography.  But those looking for more might not have known exactly where to start.  Certain elements of the Hot Rats sound would crop up in the maestro's […]

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