When it comes to two of the most influential labels in New Orleans music history, the vinyl renaissance (celebrated just this past weekend with another successful Record Store Day) is definitely in full swing. Ric Records and its sister label Ron Records were founded in 1959 by Joe Ruffino, based in New Orleans. Though the labels were only active for roughly three years, some of New Orleans’ greatest talents passed through the company’s doors. Mac Rebennack, or Dr. John, served as a writer
Presley's Jukebox: Bob Dylan, Bobby Darin, Rick Nelson, Jerry Butler Shine on "Elvis Heard Them Here First"
Though Elvis Presley rose through the ranks of Sun Records alongside artists like Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins (his fellow members of the “Million Dollar Quartet,” if you will), Elvis and Jerry Lee differed from Johnny and Carl in that they primarily leaned upon the songs of others. Cash and Perkins predated the pop-rock singer/songwriter revolution of the next decade, and in fact, harkened back to an older tradition in country and blues of performing your own material. Yet by
Knock You Out! James Brown's "Gravity" to Be Expanded by BBR
It'd be wrong to say that the fine folks at Universal Music Enterprises are doing it to death when it comes to James Brown; there's been a solid two decades of box sets, compilations and reissues to enjoy, and that list is only going to get longer with the news that a Live at The Apollo box set is coming out later this year. But there is one brief, substantial period of the Godfather of Soul's career that's often not as focused on: a brief but bright pop crossover in the mid-'80s on Scotti
Edsel Adds Bob Mould Three-Fer to Sugar Reissue Slate
If the news of Edsel's expanded reissues of the Sugar discography wasn't enough to get your power-pop-loving heart aflutter, there's more Bob Mould from where that came from. The label is releasing, on the same day, a bonus-laden set that combines three of Mould's post-Sugar albums. When Sugar split up in 1995, Mould - known equally well as one-third of power-pop legends Hüsker Dü - got to work on his next musical project, a self-titled album on which he played all the instruments. A
Review: Carole King, "The Legendary Demos" and "Something Good from the Goffin and King Songbook"
Though there's no one formula for creating a great song, there's no denying the success of the method that flourished first in New York's Tin Pan Alley (28th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue, for those wondering) and later a bit uptown in and around the Brill Building (1619 Broadway near 49th Street). A couple of blocks away at 1650 Broadway at 51st Street, during the halcyon days of the 1960s, you would have found the home of Aldon Music, and the team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King.
Release Round-Up: Week of April 24
Carole King, The Legendary Demos (Rockingale/Hear Music) Who wouldn't want to hear early recordings of some of the greatest pop songs ever recorded? I know I would. Davy Jones, The Bell Recordings 1971-1972 / The Monkees, Pool It! Deluxe Edition (Friday Music) The late Monkee's first post-band project released on CD and expanded with bonus tracks, as well as a CD/DVD of the band's penultimate 1987 album with two bonus tracks and the group's videography. T. Rex, Electric Warrior: Deluxe
Review: Sam & Dave and Philip Bailey, Expanded Editions from Edsel
Mention “Hold On, I’m Comin’” and chances are you can hear that confident, swaggering horn riff that insistently opens the Sam and Dave classic. Indeed, all you really need to know is in that riff! All four albums recorded by Sam and Dave for Stax/Atlantic have been collected by Edsel on two new releases, and these expanded editions (including various single sides) add up to true cornerstones for any R&B or soul music library. But the label hasn’t stopped there. A very different kind of
Back Tracks: Men at Work
The sudden, recent news of the passing of Greg Ham, saxophonist/flautist and founding member of Australian rock band Men at Work, comes at a strange and sad time. Yesterday in fact marked the 30th anniversary of the release of the band's breakthrough debut, Business As Usual, in America. More importantly, though, it's the sad loss of a figure who contributed a lot to early '80s rock music. Ham, who was 58, was the spice that set Men at Work's hard driving, New Wave-inspired sounds apart from
Do It Again: Beach Boys Include New Track on Commemorative 50th Anniversary Magazine and CD
The Beach Boys are finally, officially ready to “Do It Again.” America’s Band kicks off its 50th Anniversary Tour on Tuesday evening in Tucson, Arizona, and a new single, “That’s Why God Made the Radio,” should hit the airwaves imminently, with a promotional video already having been leaked to the public. With the band’s as-yet-untitled new album currently listed on numerous retail sites for a June 5 release but as yet unconfirmed by Capitol Records, news is here about the first music release
Here's Wha'ppening with Edsel's Beat Reissues
As previously reported, the discography of British ska band The Beat (or as they're primarily known in the States, The English Beat) is getting the expanded reissue treatment by two separate labels across the globe. Shout! Factory is releasing a five-disc box set featuring all three of the band's albums, B-sides, remixes and Peel sessions, as well as a new compilation and a CD/DVD of the band's US Festival performance in 1983. Now, we can share the details of U.K. label Edsel's forthcoming
Step Inside Love: Cilla Black's Historic Recordings with George Martin Collected In Complete 5 CD/1 DVD Box Set [UPDATED 4/23]
What's it all about, Cilla? Though "Alfie" and "Anyone Who Had a Heart" are very much the property of Ms. Dionne Warwick in the United States, Liverpool's Cilla Black can fairly stake claim to them across the pond. Born Priscilla Maria Veronica White, the protégé of Brian Epstein and close Beatle pal scored a string of beloved hit singles at the height of Swinging London, though her profile has long remained under the radar in America. Well, not if The Second Disc has anything to say about
The Second Disc's Record Store Day 2012 Essential Releases
Well, Record Store Day is finally upon us! Tomorrow, Saturday, April 21, music fans and collectors will descend upon their local independent record stores to celebrate both the sounds on those black platters and the cherished physical shopping environments alike. As Record Store Day 2012 will offer a typically eclectic array of limited edition releases (primarily on vinyl but also some on CD, too!) from many of our favorite artists here at Second Disc HQ, we thought we would take a moment to
Intrada Hears "Whispers in the Dark"
Intrada's latest release, announced Monday, is another totally unreleased gem of a score: Thomas Newman's music to Whispers in the Dark. The 1992 drama, which starred Annabella Sciorra, Anthony La Paglia, John Leguizamo and Alan Alda, is a dark and sexual thriller about a psychologist whose patient may be dating a serial killer. While the film was not a smash - Alda in fact was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor - the score by Newman (whose great Galaxy Quest was just
An Off-the-Wall Compilation from Shout! Factory Celebrates Vans' Warped Tour
During the last boom era for the music industry, everything was big. Bigger than big, even. Whole festivals were taken on the road, rather than just anchored to one place. Lollapalooza popularized this idea in the early '90s, and the rolling festival concept hit its zenith in 1995, with the birth of the Vans Warped Tour. The tour, sponsored by the long-running skate shoe company, has catered to the ever-burgeoning scene of alternative and punk subcultures, welcoming both living legends of punk
Chili Peppers Revisit Classic Covers on Digital EP
How do the Red Hot Chili Peppers celebrate their graduation to legend status per their recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction? They pay tribute to the ones that came before on a new digital EP that includes a handful of B-sides paying tribute to their favorite fellow inductees. We Salute You, to be released May 1, includes covers of Dion and The Belmonts, The Ramones, The Stooges, Neil Young, The Beach Boys and David Bowie, all of which can certainly be argued as influences for the
Friday Feature: "The Orange Bird" Returns to Walt Disney World
Earlier this week, Walt Disney World welcomed back an old friend: Florida's Orange Bird, absent from the World since 1987! We thought this would be a great time to bring back the Friday Feature, which is usually dedicated to film soundtracks but occasionally takes a Disney diversion! Today, we're turning the spotlight on the little Orange Bird's one moment of recorded glory, on which he was joined by a future Oscar winner! Move over, Jose, Fritz and Pierre. There's a new bird in
R.I.P. Levon Helm (1940-2012)
American popular music has lost another one of the greats with today's passing of singer/drummer Levon Helm, 71. Though few groups would have the audacity to name themselves The Band, that’s exactly what Helm, Robbie Robertson, Garth Hudson, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel did. The former Hawks crystallized the sound that spawned a thousand imitators, returning rock to its most stripped-down American roots. The Band backed Bob Dylan, was admired by The Beatles, and epitomized the burgeoning
Woo-Hoo! Blur Mega Box Set Coming This Summer
While Blur frontman Damon Albarn has been less than positive about the future of the band following this year's reunion tour, EMI's catalogue team would like you to think otherwise with an upcoming high profile reissue campaign collecting the band's discography. Blur 21, to be released July 30 in the U.K. in celebration of the anniversary of the group's debut album Leisure (1991), collates all of the influential Britpop band's albums, from Leisure to Think Tank (2003), pairs each with a bonus
R.I.P. America's Oldest Teenager, Dick Clark (1929-2012)
It's with a heavy heart that we pass on the news of the death earlier today of Dick Clark, 82, the legendary entertainment impresario, one-time disk jockey and eternal host of American Bandstand whose place in the annals of music history can't be denied. The report was initially published by TMZ but later confirmed by sources including ABC News. Our memories of the great man's appearances on game shows like The $10,000 Pyramid and programs like New Year's Rockin' Eve are too many to recount,
Turn Out The Stars: Lost Bill Evans Concert Premieres From Resonance Records
Louis Armstrong isn’t the only late jazz great being remembered with a new posthumous release. Following its acclaimed discovery of early Wes Montgomery performances, the Resonance Records label is turning its attention to pioneering pianist Bill Evans. Live at Art D'Lugoff's Top of the Gate will arrive from Resonance on June 12 in both compact disc and vinyl editions, preserving Evans’ performance at New York City’s Village Gate on October 23, 1968. One of the most influential jazz pianists
Review: Janis Joplin, "The Pearl Sessions"
One dictionary defines "pearl" as an object both "hard" and "lustrous," synonymous with "gem" or "jewel." Couldn't all of those words also describe Janis Joplin? Pearl was, of course, the name bestowed upon the singer by her final group, The Kozmic Blues Band, and the title of her final, posthumously released album from 1971. Pearl has arrived on CD once more from Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings under the title The Pearl Sessions (88697 84224 2), expanding the original 10-track album
Review: Donovan, "The Essential Donovan"
Dear Donovan: what's it been like being you? The enigmatic Scotsman born Donovan Philips Leitch has worn many colours since bursting onto the music scene in 1965: the guitar-slinging Woody Guthrie disciple of "Catch the Wind," the mystical folkie of "Season of the Witch," the lysergic hippie of "Sunshine Superman," the sinister rock narrator of "Hurdy Gurdy Man." Though he's never retired, the poet/troubadour has maintained a low profile in recent years. He's only sporadically emerged with
Short Takes: Sex Pistols to Reissue Another Single, Waylon's Last Works Due in Fall
The Sex Pistols' controversial single "God Save the Queen" is getting repressed for its 35th anniversary on May 28. Universal Music Catalogue in the U.K. will re-release the single, a month after repressing "Anarchy in the U.K." for Record Store Day and four months before reissuing the band's Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols. It is unknown if the single, released alongside the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977, will feature "No Feeling," the original B-side on the extremely rare
By the Power of Grayskull: "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" Soundtrack Comes to CD...Via France!
Here’s one off the beaten reissue path for you children of the eighties! Chances are you’ll remember Masters of the Universe: Prince Adam of Eternia transformed into the valiant warrior He-Man to defend his kingdom from the evil forces of Skeletor. Launched as an action figure line in 1982, the franchise reached its largest audience via Filmation’s animated television series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. 130 episodes were produced over two seasons, but the series continued to air
Big Break Gets It Right with Expanded Reissues of Two Aretha Franklin Arista Albums
As we welcome the expanded release of Aretha Franklin's Who's Zoomin' Who? from Funky Town Grooves today, it's a thrill to report two more expansions of Aretha's underrepresented Arista material on CD from Big Break Records. The label will release 1982's Jump to It and 1983's Get It Right on May 21 with a total of nine bonus tracks, all single edits, dance mixes and instrumentals. After her first two cover-heavy LPs for Clive Davis' label, the Queen of Soul elected to take things in a more
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