We'd like to extend a big welcome to the newest member of our Second Disc family, author Ted Frank. Ted, a self-described "power pop-a-holic," kicks off his contributions to The Second Disc with a review of the latest collection from the fine folks at The International Pop Overthrow Festival. The Festival's seventeenth volume (yes, seventeenth - congratulations, IPO!) of pure pop for now people is just the latest in a smashing line of releases designed to introduce you to the best bands you've
Cherry Red's él Label Revisits Henry Mancini, Esquivel and Piero Piccioni On New Anthologies
The latest crop of titles from Cherry Red Group’s él label criss-cross the globe from the U.S.A. to Mexico to Italy with releases from American legend Henry Mancini, bandleader Esquivel, and composer Piero Piccioni. Fans of Henry Mancini’s cool jazz and lounge stylings are the target audience for Playboy Themes, a collection of the great maestro’s music recorded between 1958 and 1962. This 28-track compilation takes in both Mancini’s own compositions as well as those he recorded by others.
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Simon and Garfunkel, "The Complete Albums Collection"
Queens Boys Make Good, a headline might have read of young Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel when “The Sound of Silence,” a bleakly beautiful, acoustic snapshot of disillusionment and isolation, sat atop the Billboard Hot 100 on New Year’s Day 1966. Simon and Garfunkel were unlikely candidates for pop stardom. Neither English major Simon nor fine arts (later architecture) major Garfunkel hid their cerebral, intellectual tendencies. As the era of the singer-songwriter blossomed in the wake of Bob
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Joni Mitchell, "Love Has Many Faces"
Joni Mitchell wasn't yet 25 when she first gifted the world her song "Both Sides Now." Judy Collins made its first commercially-released recording; soon artists were lining up to record it, including Frank Sinatra. The 25-year old Mitchell herself released it in 1969. In what might be her most famous song, she asserted, "I really don't know love at all." Flash-forward to the present day, and the 71-year old singer-songwriter-artist seems well-acquainted with the vagaries of that most universal
To Everything There Is A Season: Raven Reissues "The Byrds"
When the album simply entitled Byrds arrived on David Geffen’s Asylum label in 1973, it had been only about a year-and-a-half since the last record from the California folk-rock heroes. But the original line-up of Gene Clark, David Crosby, Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke hadn’t recorded a complete album together since 1965. Byrds would be the group’s first long-player for a label other than Columbia Records – and the final Byrds album to date. Australia’s Raven Records label has
Holiday Gift Guide Review: A Folk and Country Christmas with The Kingston Trio, The Brothers Four and the Statler Brothers
The cover of The Kingston Trio’s 1960 Capitol release The Last Month of the Year depicts the three young folksingers in suits and ties, each loaded with a bundle of Christmas gifts. With a cover like that, one could be forgiven for having expected the group to deliver a jovial set of holiday favorites. Instead, The Trio created an album of rare beauty but considerable darkness. As such, it’s hardly your typical holiday fare but Real Gone Music’s reissue (RGM-0312) is a worthwhile inclusion on
Omnivore Boils Ron Nagle's "Bad Rice" In Deluxe Edition of 1970 Cult Classic
Today, Ron Nagle may be best known for his groundbreaking work as a ceramic sculptor. The "baron of sculptural intelligence" has been pushing the boundaries of art for decades now with his award-winning variations on the basic form of a cup. The San Francisco Gate recently praised the "master ceramic sculptor and painter whose original sense of color is equally informed by Mark Rothko and the hot rod aesthetic." But for music fans, Nagle is known for his double life as a singer, songwriter
Release Round-Up: Week of December 15
The Kinks, Anthology 1964-1971 (BMG/InGrooves, 2014) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Producer Andrew Sandoval (the recent The Monkees: Super Deluxe Edition) helms this kink-sized 5-CD kollection of hits, demos, interviews, alternate mixes, session outtakes, 25 previously unavailable tracks, an exclusive 7-inch single and copious, new liner notes! Dionne Warwick, Finder of Lost Loves: Expanded Edition (Arista/Funky Town Grooves) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) This 2-CD edition of Warwick's
Big Break Is "On Fire" With Latest Quartet Of Releases From Anita Pointer, Silver Convention, More
Anita Pointer’s solo debut might have seemed inevitable. She had sung lead on many of The Pointer Sisters’ biggest hits including Allen Toussaint’s “Yes We Can Can” and co-wrote the Grammy-winning “Fairytale.” By the time she released Love For What It Is on RCA in 1987, Anita was following in the footsteps of sisters Bonnie (who left the group in 1977 for a Motown solo contract) and June (with 1983’s Baby Sister). The album arrived on the heels of the success of “Too Many Times,” a duet with
Ace Is Twistin' the Night Away with Sam Cooke Tribute, Motown Rarities and More
When it comes to rare soul, Ace Records never sleeps! The label has recently released a compilation celebrating the career of Sam Cooke not as a singer but as a songwriter, along with collections dedicated to excavating the vaults of two great Detroit labels: Westbound Records, and of course, Motown! Countless albums have anthologized the short but influential oeuvre of Sam Cooke, but Bring It on Home: Black America Sings Sam Cooke takes a different approach, featuring 24 versions of Cooke
Tony Joe White, George Jones and Tammy Wynette, Ray Kennedy Highlight Real Gone's February
From The Apollo to the swamps of Louisiana, Real Gone Music has a whirlwind musical tour planned for its February 3, 2015 slate! The centerpiece of the February batch just might be the first-ever complete collection of Louisiana man Tony Joe White's Warner Bros. recordings! Singer-songwriter White ("Willie and Laura Mae Jones," "Polk Salad Annie") has one of the most distinctive voices in southern soul, and Real Gone's new collection celebrates a major period his career with a new 2-CD set
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Frank Sinatra, "London"
It was ambitious, even for Sinatra. His sixth studio album on his own Reprise label – and one of five full-length LPs released in 1962 alone – would be recorded in Great Britain with a British musical director, producer and personnel, and would feature only songs from British composers. For the quintessentially American singer, it must have been a formidable challenge. But Sinatra Sings Great Songs from Great Britain proved that The Voice was up to the task. Over time, it became a
The Eno Assembly: Four Brian Eno Albums Go Deluxe With Previously Unheard Music
In a career spanning five decades, Brian Eno has refused to be pigeonholed. The ambient music pioneer and electronic explorer has produced albums for David Bowie, U2 and Paul Simon, played in Roxy Music, collaborated with everyone from Belinda Carlisle to David Byrne, composed film and television soundtracks, and maintained a solo career since 1974. His varied body of work as writer, musician, producer and artist has embraced experimentalism and pushed the limits of conventional rock. Now, four
Holiday Gift Guide Review: The Monkees, "The Monkees: Super Deluxe Edition"
For The Monkees, the third time's the charm. The 1966 debut album from Davy, Micky, Peter and Mike has been expanded twice before on CD - first in 1994 on one CD and then in 2006 as a two-CD set. Rhino Handmade has recently unveiled the third and most comprehensive release of this album yet, and with 45 previously unreleased bonus cuts among its 100 songs, The Monkees: Super Deluxe Edition (R2-543027) is not just Monkee mania, but Monkee manna. The story of this American fab four has been told
Holiday Gift Guide Review: A Classic Christmas With Rosemary Clooney, Frank DeVol
Welcome to Part One of a two-part series exploring the recent line-up of Christmas releases from Real Gone Music! 1954’s White Christmas, quite simply, remains one of the most beloved holiday musicals to ever hit the silver screen. Built around the songbook of Irving Berlin – who lived to the age of 101 in 1989 but was already a Grand Old Man of American music by 1954 – the film starred Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye and Vera Ellen. Such a quartet promised an evening’s
Release Round-Up: Week of December 9
Frank Sinatra, London (UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) This 3-CD/1-DVD swingin’ affair spans 1953-1984 and features over 50 previously unreleased tracks on CD and DVD - all dedicated to Sinatra's performances in the great city. At its centerpiece is an expanded and remastered edition of Sinatra Sings Great Songs from Great Britain, the Chairman's only studio album recorded outside of the United States! Watch for Joe's full review soon! The Beatles, 1962-1966 / 1967-1970 / 1 /
The Legacy Vault Opens For Christmas With Ray Price, Jerry Vale, John Davidson, More
Without a doubt, 2014 has shaped up to be another joyous year for fans of Christmas music. Sony Music's Legacy Recordings has been at the vanguard of delivering holiday music with a recent batch of titles from Johnny Mathis, Perry Como, Frank Sinatra and others as part of its Classic Christmas Album Series. Sony has also licensed festive titles from Robert Goulet, Rosemary Clooney, The Brothers Four and Frank DeVol and the Rainbow Strings to Real Gone Music. Those titles have recently been
Cherry Red's él Label Spends Christmas In Nashville with Anita Kerr and Chet Atkins
Cherry Red Records' él imprint is celebrating this Christmas in Nashville with the recent release of The Anita Kerr Singers and Chet Atkins at Christmas. This new two-for-one CD includes both Christmas with Chet Atkins (1961) and The Kerr Singers' On This Holy Night (1959) plus a smattering of related bonus tracks. It's nearly impossible to sum up the career of Chet Atkins in a mere few words. The fourteen-time Grammy winner (1924-2001) was a mainstay of the RCA Victor label between 1947 and
Holiday Gift Guide Review: "The Classic Christmas Album" Series
Johnny Mathis. Frank Sinatra. Perry Como. Steve Vai? Menudo? When it comes to Christmas music, Legacy Recordings doesn’t pull its punches. The label’s series of Classic Christmas Album releases has become a bit of an annual tradition, and this year’s batch of single- and various-artist anthologies once again draws on names both expected and unexpected. While the packages are bare-bones, with no liner notes (but happily with full credits and discographical annotation), the music most certainly is
Let Them Show You: RPM Highlights 1960s' International Acts with Four New Releases
RPM Records has recently released four CDs charting the history of three acts that might not have gained much international attention outside of their home countries, but are still worthy of attention. From Sweden, RPM has an anthology for The Shanes and two expanded editions of The Mascots’ only two LPs; from France comes the complete recordings of the chanteuse known as Pussy Cat. Each of these releases is designed to bring greater attention to these little-known artists. The Shanes
The Beach Boys' New Digital "Copyright Collections" Offer 1964 Rarities, Two Complete Concerts
With another year rapidly drawing to a close, many fans were wondering if 2014 would bring another round of “copyright extension collections,” i.e. releases designed to circumvent recent European Union copyright law. The answer, of course, is “yes.” To greatly simplify, E.U. law now holds that a recording is protected for 75 years under copyright in the E.U. (the period previously was 50 years) but only if that recording has been released. As a result of this change in law, the past
Spend the Night in Bangkok: "Chess" Reissued for 30th Anniversary
Tim Rice had been thinking about writing a musical about the Cold War for some time in the late 1970s. Fascinated by the Soviet-U.S. chess rivalry of the time, the lyricist-librettist approached his longtime collaborator Andrew Lloyd Webber with the idea. Lloyd Webber, however, was not available, as he was too busy developing a little show known as Cats. A suggestion from a producer put Rice in touch with songwriters Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA. Looking to pursue some projects
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Todd Rundgren, "At The BBC 1972-1982"
Christmas has come early for Todd Rundgren fans this year with the release by Cherry Red’s Esoteric Recordings imprint of Todd Rundgren at the BBC: 1972-1982, a handsome new 3-CD/1-DVD box set of live performances drawn from Rundgren’s first decade of rock stardom. The latest release in Esoteric’s Todd Rundgren Archive Series, At the BBC captures the transformation of the ever-evolving artist from precocious pop chameleon to prog-rock adventurer and beyond. 1972’s sprawling Something/Anything
Release Round-Up: Week of December 2
B.J. Thomas, Home Where I Belong/Happy Man (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) B.J. Thomas, You Gave Me Love/Miracle (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Linda Jones, The Complete Atco-Loma-Warner Bros. Recordings (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. ) The Five Stairsteps, Our Family Portrait/Stairsteps (Expanded Twofer Edition) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. ) The Unforgiven, The Unforgiven (Expanded Edition) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. ) Cowboy, 5’ll Getcha Ten (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Grateful Dead, Dick’s Picks
Baby's Coming Back: Jellyfish Goes Deluxe In January
This January is all about Jellyfish, thanks to the team at Omnivore Recordings. On January 20, 2015, the label will release the eagerly-anticipated 2-CD deluxe editions of both 1990's Bellybutton and 1993's Spilt Milk - in other words, the complete original album oeuvre of the power pop revivalists. In total, 51 bonus tracks will be spread across the two releases for the most complete account of the short-lived yet fondly-remembered Bay Area band. Formed by singer/drummer Andy Sturmer and
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