The Vaults are open again! And by The Vaults, I mean Purpose Music Vaults, the soul/R&B-focused label that launched late last year with a dynamic duo of reissues from Bobby Womack and Ronnie Dyson. Our initial report also covered the label’s reissue of Dan Hartman’s Relight My Fire, but delays kept the disco classic from arriving as scheduled. Well, the good news is that Relight My Fire has finally been released to finer retailers everywhere! The better news is that Purpose has announced
WE HAVE OUR WINNERS! Vintage Soul From PURPOSE MUSIC VAULTS!
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Review: Mad Season, "Above: Deluxe Edition"
Where was grunge, or alternative rock, in 1995? Kurt Cobain had died one year earlier at his Seattle home. Before 1995 was out, Alice in Chains had released its third album, the last with vocalist Layne Staley and also its final studio LP until 2009. Foo Fighters, born from the ashes of Nirvana, scored a hit with its July debut, but by and large, the brief, blazing supremacy of grunge was ceding to other genres like post-grunge and Britpop. Yet 1995 was the year in which Staley joined with
Speaking Words of Wisdom: "Let It Be...Naked" Comes to iTunes
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJYwJ4z02II] One of the most significant catalogue-era releases by The Beatles - the newly-mixed Let It Be...Naked, a stripped-down version of the band's final album - makes its debut on iTunes today. The story of Let It Be is by now the stuff of music legend. Bassist Paul McCartney proposed an LP that stepped away from the complex, overdub-heavy works of their 1968 self-titled album (better known, of course, as "The White Album"). Provisionally
BBR Keeps A Light In Its Window For The Lost Motown Classic "Caston and Majors"
Like a fine meal, Caston and Majors begins with an appetizer. "Child of Love," on cursory listening, is "just" a bright pop song with a funky groove, employing booming drums, surging strings and a catchy chorus ("Rise now, child of love/No time for wastin'/Rise now, child of love/Stop hesitatin'...") along with a "Hey, hey" cheer that invites singing along. But a closer listen to the lyrics finds songwriters Leonard Caston and Kathy Wakefield giving voice to a higher power: "You must be a
Review: Albert King, "Born Under a Bad Sign"
The familiar cover artwork to Albert King’s 1967 Stax album Born Under a Bad Sign hardly gives any indication as to its heavy contents. A calendar reading Friday the 13th, the Ace of Spades, snake eyes on the dice, and an almost-cute black cat (!) adorned with a skull and crossbones all reinforce the title of the album but offer precious little hint as to the smoking electric blues within the sleeve. Following 2012’s reissue of King’s 1972 Stax album I’ll Play the Blues for You, Concord Music
Release Round-Up: Week of April 2
The S.O.S. Band / Cherrelle / Alexander O'Neal, "Tabu Reborn" Vinyl Editions (Wave 1) (Tabu/Edsel) The start of a lengthy reissue campaign from Demon Music Group, these are 180-gram vinyl reissues of The S.O.S. Band's III (1982), Cherrelle's 1984 debut Fragile, and Alexander O'Neal's self-titled debut from 1985. Expanded editions of these albums come out on CD next week, followed by a great many more waves of product throughout 2013 and into 2014! S.O.S. Band: Amazon U.S. / Amazon
That Old Black Magic: Tony Bennett and Dave Brubeck Cast a Spell on "Live 1962"
What happens when two legends collide? Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings will have the answer for you with the May 28 premiere release of Bennett and Brubeck - The White House Sessions: Live 1962 from Tony Bennett and Dave Brubeck. In the true spirit of jazz, the performance by these two titans on August 28, 1962 was largely unplanned. Both men – Brubeck with his Quartet and Bennett with his Ralph Sharon-led ensemble – were appearing at the behest of President John F. Kennedy’s White
In Memoriam: Phil Ramone (1934-2013)
Today, The Second Disc remembers Phil Ramone. The multiple Grammy-winning producer, 79, died on Saturday, leaving behind a legacy of song from artists ranging from Barbra Streisand to Paul McCartney, Barry Manilow to The Band. Yet unlike so many of his contemporaries, Phil Ramone didn’t have a signature style. Instead of molding a band or singer to a preferred sonic specialty, he was a true architect of sound, tailoring each production to the individual artist. Ramone was equally comfortable
Those Oldies But Goodies: Bear Family Offers Up Vintage Everly Brothers, Paul Anka
Though best known for its definitive box sets spanning careers or large swaths of them, Germany’s historically-minded Bear Family label also keeps busy with a steady flow of single-disc anthologies, all with the label’s hallmarks of quality. Three such anthologies have recently arrived from Bear Family, two focusing on The Everly Brothers and one on Paul Anka. Brothers Don and Phil Everly successfully straddled the line between country and rock-and-roll (with a healthy dollop of R&B in
Shout! Factory to Release Nine-Disc Richard Pryor Box Set
Richard Pryor - one of the most culturally-significant, nearly-unprintable and flat-out funniest stand-up comedians in history - will be celebrated by Shout! Factory this summer with a massive career-spanning box set. No Pryor Restraint: Life in Concert captures more than 12 hours of Pryor, from his popular (if comparatively pedestrian) early works as a Cosby-esque stand-up in the 1960s, to his wildly popular, immensely controversial glory years in the 1970s and 1980s to his last stand-up
Culture Factory Reveals "Supreme" Slate with Motown, James Taylor, Robert Palmer and More [UPDATED]
UPDATE: In the days since this article has been posted, Culture Factory has revised the street dates for all of the titles mentioned here. See below for corrected information as of March 28, 2013. ORIGINAL POST OF 3/25: Since its inaugural wave of releases in 2011, the Culture Factory label has carved out a niche in the catalogue field. Artists such as Robert Palmer, Hot Tuna, Paul Williams, Bob Welch, The Flamin’ Groovies, Sylvie Vartan, Rare Earth and The Motels are all among the recipients
Omnivore Reveals Record Store Day Exclusives from Big Star, Waylon, Old 97's, Three Hits
With Record Store Day just a little over three weeks away, Omnivore Recordings has unveiled an eclectic slate of three vinyl platters suiting the label’s deliciously omnivorous tastes. Two artists are familiar to fans of the label, while the third makes an Omnivore debut. All of the titles, of course, will be offered via your local brick-and-mortar independent music retailer on Saturday, April 20 to mark the sixth annual event. Without further ado…hit the jump to dive into tasty treats from
Él is Flying High with Ennio Morricone and Joao Donato
Cherry Red's Él Records label is going 'round the world with a pair of recent releases. Morricone Pops focuses on an oft-overlooked part of Italian composer Ennio Morricone's ouevre: that of his early sixties arrangements not just for film, but also for pop singers. Él also turns its attention to a favorite country, Brazil, for Sambou, Sambou, a collection of two albums of tunes by composer-pianist Joao Donato. With a staggering body of work including more than 500 films and television
Welcome (Back) to "Jurassic Park"! Williams Score Gets Surprise Digital Expansion
Well, this one snuck up on us like a pack of velociraptors: in honor of its 20th anniversary and impending 3-D theatrical reissue, Geffen has quietly snuck out an expanded, albeit digital-only, reissue of John Williams' score to the 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park. Michael Crichton's 1990 technothriller novel asked an astounding question for a new decade of popular science: what if geneticists could extract preserved DNA of dinosaurs and recreate them in the present day? As is typical of
Ace Label Tunes In "Radio Gold" and Heads to the "Hall of Fame"
Ace Records has another pair of aces (Aces?) up its sleeve with two recent releases, both of which continue ongoing series for the label. The sixth installment of the long-running Radio Gold series turns the spotlight on those American records which were Bigger in Britain, as it’s subtitled, while the second volume of Hall of Fame takes in 24 rarities (20 previously unreleased) from deep in the heart of Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The 24 tracks chosen for Radio Gold: Special Bigger in Britain
Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me: "The TK Records Story" Mines Disco Gold
It’s been said that the greatest music is transporting, to another time or another place. If that’s true, it was no secret where the sounds of TK Records intended to transport the listener. Henry Stone’s TK family of labels originated in Miami, Florida, and the sleeve artwork for TK’s singles featured a tropical setting of palm trees, bright flowers and pristine waters. That serene scene serves as the cover for Gold Legion’s new TK Records Story (67094 562442 7), a 12-track anthology of disco
Still "Subtle as a Flying Mallet": Dave Edmunds' Wall of Sound Classic Returns in Expanded Edition
From the first notes of “Baby I Love You,” the opening track on Dave Edmunds’ 1975 album Subtle as a Flying Mallet, the listener is assaulted with a Wall of Sound – thunderous drums, sleigh bells, echo, et cetera. But Spectorian pomp was just one tool in Edmunds’ box. For Subtle as a Flying Mallet, Edmunds brought his stamp of originality to the songs of Phil Spector, Chuck Berry, Ray Charles and The Everly Brothers. Now, the album (which produced two U.K. Top 10 singles with “Baby I Love
Release Round-Up: Week of March 26
Stephen Stills, Carry On (Rhino) The "S" in "CSNY" finally gets his own career-spanning box set, a four-disc affair with a couple dozen rare and unreleased tracks and a whole lot of great songs to boot. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Gene Clark, Here Tonight: The White Light Demos (Omnivore) A dozen tracks of early '70s demos from the former Byrd, which laid the framework for his first album of that decade. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Iron Maiden, Maiden England '88 (UMe) A quarter-century
Intrada Showcases Unheard Treasures from Goldsmith, Steiner, Conti
Four never-before-released scores by three veritable legends of film music are the latest releases from Intrada over the past three weeks. Works by Jerry Goldsmith, Bill Conti and Max Steiner (with some help from a pair of Disney Legends!) are the order of the day! Jerry Goldsmith perhaps enjoyed no greater relationship at one film studio than at 20th Century-Fox, where he composed some of his greatest works, from Planet of the Apes to Alien. Intrada's latest title showcases two scores from
Zeit! EMI to Package Bowie's Berlin Trilogy Together
There's no shortage of reminders of the greatness of David Bowie, from his acclaimed comeback album The Next Day to the forthcoming remaster of Aladdin Sane for its 40th anniversary. Soon, EMI will provide yet another reminder, with the release of Zeit! 77-79, a budget-oriented collection of the famed albums of Bowie's so-called "Berlin Trilogy." While the designation of Bowie's Low, "Heroes" and Lodger as the Berlin Trilogy is a bit inaccurate - only "Heroes" was recorded in the West German
Friday Feature: "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman"
Look! Up in the sky! It’s the return of the Friday Feature! When a mad scientist threatens Metropolis, it’s Superman to the rescue…right? What if Superman wasn’t there? What if the Man of Steel was otherwise occupied, being honored for his heroic deeds by a group of local kids at the very moment City Hall was being blown up? Faced with his inability to save the day, would the Last Son of Krypton finally be pushed over the edge? That’s not a story you’ll find in any DC Comic, however, now
The Legacy of Record Store Day: Upcoming Exclusives Revealed From Sly, Willie, Miles, Taj, Aerosmith and More
It's not quite the summertime yet, but Legacy Recordings has some hot fun planned for Record Store Day thanks to a diverse slate of releases from A (Aerosmith) to, well, S (Sly and the Family Stone)! April 20 is the date when Legacy will join 2013 Record Store Day Ambassador Jack White to celebrate not only those beloved black vinyl discs, but also the brick-and-mortar retail record store experience which we hold very dear at The Second Disc. Titles for the sixth annual Record Store Day have
Dance A Little Bit Closer: Gold Legion Uncovers "The Salsoul Records Story"
Just in case you didn’t already know, there’s plenty of gold to be found from the Gold Legion label. Since its inception, Gold Legion has reissued and remastered classic disco records from master tape sources, adding copious annotation and bonus tracks to flesh out the stories behind the music. Some of Gold Legion’s previous releases have been dedicated to iconic singer-actress-model Grace Jones, “Turn the Beat Around” diva Vicki Sue Robinson, The Emotions as produced by Maurice White and
Smile Jamaica! Bob Marley's "Kaya" to Be Expanded with Unreleased Live Show
Bob Marley & The Wailers' legendary repertoire for Island Records has been the focus of many reissues and celebratory packages, from the Legend compilation - the best-selling reggae album of all time, to new packages like dub compilations and the soundtrack to the recent documentary Marley. Next month, Island/UMe will celebrate another one of Marley's memorable albums, expanding 1978's Kaya. While the material on Kaya is largely of a certain vintage - many of the tracks were Wailers
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