Since its founding in 1961, Amnesty International has endeavored “to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated.” The Nobel Peace Prize-winning international human rights organization has, naturally, attracted a number of high-profile supporters over the years. In 1988, a number of those men and women took the road to spread Amnesty’s message and raise funds via the Human Rights Now!
Review: Pablo 40th Anniversary Series with Gillespie, Ellington, Tatum, Peterson, Grappelli and Sims
When impresario Norman Granz founded the Pablo label in 1973, fusion, funk and Latin sounds were at the forefront of jazz. Granz, founder of the Verve, Norgran and Clef labels, initially launched Pablo as a platform for his management clients Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson and Joe Pass, but soon its roster was filled out with the equally starry likes of Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Sarah Vaughan. Granz’ new label was an instant success and a safe haven for traditional jazz in this period
Review: The Paley Brothers, "The Complete Recordings"
If The Brill Building had survived as the fulcrum of pop songwriting activity through the 1970s, chances are that Andy and Jonathan Paley would have been found in a cubicle there, turning out one infectious pop nugget after another like “Come Out and Play” and “Here Comes My Baby.” As it turned out, the category-defying Paley Brothers were men out of time. Singers as well as songwriters, they were signed to the Sire Records roster between the Ramones and Talking Heads, and managed to bridge
Intrada Conjures Up Magic, "Miracle"; Kritzerland Returns to "Alien Nation"
This week has seen some great archival soundtrack releases courtesy of Intrada and Kritzerland - all featuring some big names in the film score world. Kritzerland's latest title is already shaping up to be a hot one: a greatly expanded double-score reissue from the cult classic Alien Nation. This 1988 film featured James Caan and Mandy Patinkin as partnered cops in a future Los Angeles where a race of aliens, called Newcomers, have landed on Earth and have done their best to fit in with our
Interview: Going Full Circle with Richard Barone of The Bongos
Richard Barone, frontman for New Jersey-based power-pop act The Bongos, describes his career as centered around the theme of "full circle." This year, Barone has revisited a lot of captivating and familiar territory from his lengthy career. The Bongos were the closing act at legendary Hoboken club Maxwell's in July, having (as members of the band "a") been the venue's first act. Onstage, they announced the release of a "lost" Bongos album, Phantom Train, recorded primarily at Compass Point
Review: The Alan Parsons Project, "I Robot: Legacy Edition"
How to follow an art-rock concept album based on the macabre tales of nineteenth-century author Edgar Allan Poe? For The Alan Parsons Project, the answer was apparently a simple one: look forward rather than back. So the second album by the progressive-rock "group" - in actuality producer-engineer Parsons, chief songwriter-executive producer Eric Woolfson, and a rotating cast of musicians and vocalists - was inspired by the writing of Isaac Asimov and explored artificial intelligence in a
Morello Reissues The Electric Prunes' "Mass" and "Oath" On One CD
Cherry Red’s Morello label has taken a break from its usual diet of classic country – think: the legendary likes of George Jones, Marty Robbins and Charley Pride – to bring two titles from the psych-rockers The Electric Prunes back into print. The label has paired The Prunes’ 1968 David Axelrod-produced albums Mass in F Minor and Release of an Oath on one CD which is now available. Composed and arranged by the maverick Axelrod – on loan from Capitol Records – Mass in F Minor is perhaps
There It Comes Now: Velvet Underground's "White Light/White Heat" Box Set Arrives In December
UPDATED 10/4: "No one listened to it. But there it is, forever - the quintessence of articulate punk. And no one goes near it." So commented the rather articulate Lou Reed in a statement for Rolling Stone regarding Universal's upcoming 45th anniversary 3-CD box set of The Velvet Underground's sophomore effort, White Light/White Heat. Due on December 3, the new set follows last year's 6-CD super deluxe edition of the band's debut Velvet Underground & Nico from Universal as well as the
Review: Claudia Lennear, "Phew!"
Claudia Lennear might have spent much of her career 20 Feet from Stardom, as per the acclaimed documentary of that title. But on her 1973 Warner Bros. solo debut album, the onetime background singer and member of Leon Russell’s Shelter People was front and center. That LP was titled Phew!, perhaps not the most likely name for a heady brew of funk, rock and soul by the striking singer who gave inspiration to both David Bowie and Mick Jagger. But “Phew!” is an accurate expression of relief now
A Lil' Ain't Enough: Friday Music to Release David Lee Roth CD/DVD Compilation
MusicTAP reports the release of the first-ever CD/DVD compilation by Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth, due in November from Friday Music. Of course, anyone with even a middling interest in rock and roll probably knows Roth as the irascible frontman for Van Halen, who, with the Van Halen brothers (guitarist Eddie and drummer Alex) and bassist Michael Anthony, propelled themselves into the genre's stratosphere with six albums for Warner Bros. between 1978 and 1984. They were writing shred-worthy
WE HAVE TWO WINNERS! A Set of Edsel's Deluxe Belinda Carlisle Remasters!
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS, GREG LEBLANC AND BROOK DOWNS!
Baby, It's Burt: "The Warner Sound" and "The Atlantic Sound" Compile Rare Bacharach Tracks
In his 85th year, Burt Bacharach has kept a pace that would wear out many a younger man. In addition to performing a number of concert engagements, the Oscar, Grammy and Gershwin Prize-winning composer has released a memoir, continued work on three musical theatre projects, co-written songs with Bernie Taupin and J.D. Souther, and even penned a melody for Japanese singer Ringo Sheena. Though Bacharach keeps moving forward, numerous releases this year have looked back on his illustrious
Release Round-Up: Week of September 30/October 1
Most titles this week are already out in the States, on account of Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience - 2 of 2 hitting stores on Monday. So without further ado... Rush, The Studio Albums 1989-2007 / Vapor Trails Remixed (Atlantic/Rhino) All of the Canadian rock gods' albums for Atlantic in one box, with 2002's Vapor Trails newly remixed (and available separately). The Studio Albums: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Vapor Trails Remixed: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. The Bongos, Phantom Train /
The Discs (Are Out Tonight): Bowie's Newest LP Expanded to Three-Disc Set
Of all the comeback stories in 2013, perhaps none may have been more intriguing than the master of comebacks, David Bowie. The legendary rocker kicked off his 66th year with a surprise announcement: his first album of new material in a decade. Recorded in secret over a two-year period with producer Tony Visconti, The Next Day was met with critical acclaim - our own Joe Marchese called it "an angry, electric exploration of where he is now, where he was then, and where he will likely be...not a
Back to Ocean Boulevard: Eric Clapton's "Give Me Strength: The '74/'75 Recordings" Expands Three Vintage Albums
What’s better than one deluxe edition of an Eric Clapton album? How about three? And how about if they’re housed in one package? On November 26 December 10, Universal Music Group will unveil the 5-CD/1-Blu-ray box Eric Clapton – Give Me Strength: The '74/'75 Recordings, featuring remastered and expanded versions of 461 Ocean Boulevard, There’s One in Every Crowd and E.C. Was Here, plus additional material and a Blu-ray of surround mixes. Housed in a hardbound 60-page book, the box set is an
Hey, Ho, Let's Go: Rhino Boxes Up Some Ramones Records on CD
Rhino continues its affordable/collectible album box set streak with New York's own Ramones. The Sire Years 1976-1981 is just that: a box collating Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, Tommy and (from 1978's Road to Ruin onward) Marky's first six albums for Seymour Stein's label - three hours of classics from one of the defining bands of the punk rock movement. Ramones (1976), Leave Home, Rocket to Russia (both 1977), Road to Ruin, the Phil Spector-produced End of the Century (1980) and Pleasant Dreams (1981)
It's a New Reissue, Charlie Brown! Classic Christmas LP Expanded Again (and Reissued Again!)
UPDATE (9/27/2013): If you missed this remaster of A Charlie Brown Christmas (which we later reviewed) last year, fear not: it's being released again - same disc, same master - with special "Snoopy Doghouse" packaging on October 22, 2013. That version can be bought by clicking the image above. ORIGINAL POST (8/23/2012): Around Second Disc HQ, it's hardly a Christmas season without good friends and family, beautiful decorations, and classic holiday music. For this holiday, a new CD edition of
Review: Harry Nilsson, "Flash Harry"
When Harry Nilsson's The RCA Albums Collection was finally unveiled earlier this year by Legacy Recordings, many finally stood up and took notice of the gifted singer-songwriter whose art deftly blended the high and the low, the angelic and the devilish, the euphoric and the melancholy. That astounding box set included each one of Nilsson's albums for the RCA label - in other words, his entire solo discography save one album. And now, that final missing link is finally here, on CD to join its
ELP "Works" Hard on Vintage Live Set from Shout! Factory, "Boys Club" Set Makes CD Debut
Fans of Emerson, Lake & Palmer - not to mention fans of Keith Emerson's live work with Marc Bonilla and Deep Purple's Glenn Hughes - have got two new sets to look forward to this season. Shout! Factory will release Live in Montreal 1977 on November 12. Recorded in support of Works Volume 1 - a double album which featured Emerson, Greg Lake and Carl Palmer each taking the reins on writing and production on three sides and two lengthy tracks ("Fanfare for the Common Man," "Pirates") on the
RPM Rescues "The Sixties Sounds of Tim Andrews" On New Anthology
Will the real Chris Andrews please stand up? Well, that’s easier said than done. Singer/songwriter Chris Andrews is known for penning hits such as Sandie Shaw’s “Girl Don’t Come” and “Long Live Love,” but there’s another Chris Andrews who rose to prominence during the same era – and also did so in Swingin’ London. This man of the same name recorded with The Gremlins and The Fleur de Lys, and sang the lead on the 1967 hit U.K. single “Reflections of Charles Brown,” issued under the name of
Everything is (More Than) Everything: Unreleased Donny Hathaway Works Compiled on New Box Set (UPDATED 9/26)
UPDATE (9/26/2013): After initially posting this was to be released in France, we were pleased to receive confirmation that this box, in fact, will be released stateside as well! We have amended the release date and pre-order links accordingly. AMENDED POST (9/23/2013): Several years after a great career-spanning box set from France, Rhino is releasing another new box by the late soul legend Donny Hathaway, with two discs of unreleased studio and live content. Never My Love: The Anthology
Positively Bob Dylan: "Complete Album Collection" Box Set Arrives In November
Is it rolling, Bob? Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings certainly have the ball rolling on the remarkable ouevre of Bob Dylan. Hot on the heels of Another Self Portrait, the rapturously-received tenth installment of The Bootleg Series, the labels have just confirmed the November 5 release of a Dylanologist’s dream: The Complete Album Collection Volume One. Yes, they’re all here – each one of the core, full-length live and studio albums released by the former Robert Allen Zimmerman on the
Gary Moore is "Back on the Streets" with Bonus Tracks
In addition to more reissues from Thin Lizzy, Universal U.K. will reissue the first solo album by one of the band's guitarists, Gary Moore. Back on the Streets, released by MCA in 1978, was, on a technicality, Moore's second solo effort, after 1973's Grinding Stone, released by CBS and credited to The Gary Moore Band. Prior to that album, Moore at the age of 16, played guitar in the Irish psych-blues outfit Skid Row, led by a young Irishman named Phil Lynott. Though Lynott was dropped from the
La La Land Has "True Grit" With First Release Of Complete Elmer Bernstein Score with Four Glen Campbell Vocals
When directors Joel and Ethan Coen adapted Charles Portis' novel True Grit in 2010 for its second big-screen adaptation, one element was noticeably missing: the Academy Award-nominated title song by Elmer Bernstein and Don Black, so winningly introduced by Glen Campbell in the 1969 film version. Campbell's recording yielded a Top 10 Country and AC/Top 40 Pop single, and remains one of his most beloved songs today. "True Grit" appeared on a brief, 10-track album in which two renditions as sung
Edsel Packages Patrice Rushen Albums to Help You to Remember
Looking for a primer on jazz-turned R&B singer Patrice Rushen's most commercial recordings for Elektra Records? Edsel will send U.K. audiences and beyond a pair of "Forget Me Nots" in the form of two double-disc sets that collect all five of her albums for the label, plus a clutch of choice bonus material. After a trio of acclaimed (but modest-selling) fusion-influenced albums for Prestige Records in the mid-1970s, Rushen, an accomplished pianist/vocalist, joined the Elektra roster in 1978.
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