Matt Monro never met a genre of music he didn’t like. Whether covering standards, tackling contemporary pop hits or singing in Spanish, that reassuring, velvet croon, unerring interpretive skills and all-around good taste made Matt Monro “the singer’s singer.” A 2001 EMI box set of that title was a limited edition of 3,000 copies, and quickly disappeared from store shelves, but EMI will re-offer that 103-track box set in a budget-priced reissue due in the U.K. on September 12. And it gets
Release Round-Up: Week of August 29
Spin Doctors, Pocket Full of Kryptonite: 20th Anniversary Edition (Epic/Legacy) The "Two Princes" guys...hey, stop laughing...have their hit debut album remastered and expanded - cut that out! - with a bonus disc of demos and rarities. (Official site) Aerosmith, Celine Dion, The Byrds and Carole King, The Essential 3.0 (Columbia/Epic/Legacy) Four Essential compilations get the third-disc treatment. Note that the Celine Dion title is identical to 2008's My Love: The Essential Collection and
The Aeroplane Flies High: Vinyl Box Coming from Neutral Milk Hotel
As principal singer, songwriter and driving force between darling indie outfit Neutral Milk Hotel, Jeff Mangum has spent much of the last decade as one of the most mysterious and low-profile of respected musicians. It looks like things may be changing, however, thanks in part to a vinyl box set curating Neutral Milk Hotel's discography. Ruston, Lousiana-born Mangum began recording in earnest under the Neutral Milk Hotel moniker in the mid-1990s. The collective nature of his albums (early works
A(nother) Man and a Woman: Vintage Francis Lai Coming From Kritzerland
Had Francis Lai only composed the immortal (and for a time, ubiquitous) themes to Un Homme et Une Femme (A Man and a Woman) and Love Story, his name would have gone down in the annals of both film and popular music. Thankfully, Lai – born in 1932 in Nice, France – has offered us much, much more. Un Autre Homme, Une Autre Chance (Another Man, Another Chance) arrived from director Claude Lelouch (the director of A Man and a Woman, and the director with whom Lai has had one of the longest-lasting
Wes Montgomery's Verve Years "Movin'" to CD on New Box Set
Hip-o Select announced their latest box set release just before the weekend: a massive chronicle of legendary guitarist Wes Montgomery's output for Verve Records. Montgomery was already an influential jazz player in the late '50s and early '60s when signed to Riverside Records. His thumb-picked guitar stylings influenced countless axe men, from Pat Metheny to Jimi Hendrix, and his plethora of recordings from the era give even the most seasoned fans much to treasure. But when he joined Impulse!
BREAKING NEWS! Good, Good, Good Vibrations: The Beach Boys' "SMiLE" Arrives November 1
Surf's up. At long last, we can finally announce that SMiLE is coming to a shop near you. On November 1, Capitol Records will release The Beach Boys' 1967 lost masterwork as The SMiLE Sessions in three editions: a 5-CD/2-LP/2 7-inch single box (yes, 9 discs!), a slimmer 2-CD version and a 2-LP set. Where to start? First, I recommend digging that artwork at your left. Has it settled in that this set is becoming a reality? Good. Read on, friends. The saga of SMiLE, 2011, was becoming
Dreams Come True: Aerosmith's Classics Coming to iTunes
While most fans of The Second Disc wouldn't know it - likely owning some of the remasters and compilations that have been on shelves in the past - much of the Aerosmith catalogue has not been available digitally. This changes with the recent announcement of Aerosmith's first Columbia-era output, including all studio and live albums and select compilations, coming to iTunes on September 6. Pre-order links are already up through the digital provider for Aerosmith's seven studio albums from 1973's
Miles Davis' "Blue Flame" Continues To Burn Bright With New Fan-Selected Comp
For many, the very art of jazz is inextricably tied to the art of improvisation, or creating in the moment. So it’s both innovative and altogether appropriate that Legacy Recordings is spearheading an improvised album of a sort for one of jazz’s true greats, the trumpeter and composer Miles Davis. Though christened Blue Flame, little else has been set in stone for the digital-only album which will be released on September 26. (And even that title was chosen via a fan poll! Doesn’t it tip the
Clapton Sings the Blues: Vinyl Box Set to Anthologize Late Period Albums
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHmbLs7sd5w] Vinyl enthusiasts are going to have Slowhand for the holidays. A report from fanzine Where's Eric? announces the November release of Clapton Blues, a five-vinyl box set that encompasses three of Clapton's great late-period blues albums. First up is From the Cradle, Clapton's first LP since the triumphant success of his MTV Unplugged appearance in 1992. It's a raw, straight pass of a set (the liner notes detail only two overdubs and no
Act Naturally: Buck Owens Is "Bound For Bakersfield"
Buck Owens and Bakersfield have always gone together, the singer and guitarist inextricably linked to his California home. Owens’ “Bakersfield Sound” was a carefully-developed response to the slick, string-laden productions frequently coming out of Nashville, and a return to real country roots in the late 1960s. RockBeat Records is building an eclectic line-up (including a new studio recording from a California legend of the pop/rock world, Jackie DeShannon) and has announced Bound for
Speaking of Monkees: Rhino Announces Very Limited "Head" Vinyl
A no-nonsense brief on this story, because the product may be gone by the time you read: Rhino's taking orders on a special vinyl repressing of Head for you Monkeemaniacs out there. It's not as involved as last year's box set, but this 180-gram clear vinyl pressing of the album will feature a bonus 7" single of two tracks from the Rhino Handmade deluxe edition, "Circle Sky (Live)" and "Can You Dig It (Mono Mix)." There's only 500 of them going to be made, though, so act fast! Here's the link,
Review: Original Cast, "Half-Past Wednesday"
Anyone have a little love for Rumpelstiltskin? The Brothers Grimm popularized the story of the mischievous imp in the early part of the 19th century, but he has never received the same kind of commercial fame as many of the Grimms’ other creations. No wonder, then, that Rumpelstiltskin was so ornery when he appeared as the villain of Shrek Forever After. And how many indignities did he survive as the titular character of a 1996 grade B horror film! Rumpelstiltskin has had a few moments in
What's the World? James Offer Up New Rarities Box
Manchester's James have been going strong for nearly 30 years, amassing some 19 Top 40 singles in their native England. It's kind of a surprise, then, that the recently-announced The Gathering Sound is only their first box set. But it sure is a good one. The set chronicles James' discography, from their earliest recordings in 1982 to last year's EPs The Night Before and The Morning After, across three CDs, one DVD, a vinyl record and a USB stick. The three CDs feature a program of studio
UPDATED 8/25: Daydream Believing: "The Monkees" Returns To DVD
When the winner of Outstanding Comedy Series was announced at the 1967 Emmy Awards, it came as quite a shock. It wasn't the timeless magic of Elizabeth Montgomery and co. in Bewitched, nor the homespun sweetness of The Andy Griffith Show. Agent 99 and Agent 86 of Get Smart didn't win the prize, and Colonel Klink and the gang at Hogan's Heroes were similarly empty-handed. The winner that year was The Monkees, a kooky and wildly irreverent comic romp starring those crazy kids, Micky, Davy, Peter
It Might As Well Be Swing, Again: Complete "Sinatra-Basie" Coming Soon From Concord
When Frank Sinatra launched Reprise Records in 1961 with Ring-a-Ding Ding!, the greats of the jazz world came to the future Chairman of the Board. Johnny Mandel arranged that volcanic first offering, and Sinatra’s next concept albums teamed the singer’s singer with a top flight of talents, past and present: Billy May, Sy Oliver, Don Costa, Gordon Jenkins, Robert Farnon and a trumpeter, arranger and composer named Neal Hefti. That last-named gent would figure prominently in a 1963 collaboration
Soundtrack Round-Up: La-La Land Goes "Commando," Intrada Goes "Galactica"
Another pair of great stories for catalogue film score fans from around the way - another great sci-fi release from Intrada and a surprise expansion from La-La Land Records! Intrada's first in a series of archival titles devoted to Stu Phillips' score for the original Battlestar Galactica television show, released earlier this year, was a considerable hit. Naturally, the label was ready to partner with Universal on more volumes, and the second was released Monday - a nice companion piece to the
Review: Patti Smith, "Outside Society"
The calling came early for Patti Smith. At twelve years of age, a family excursion to the Museum of Art in Philadelphia brought the young Smith in contact with Modigliani, Sargent and Picasso, the latter affecting her with his “brutal confidence.” It was with a similar confidence that Smith, not even in her teenage years, concluded that “to be an artist was to see what others could not.” Smith was steadfast in her determination to make her mark in the turbulent art world of New York in the
UPDATED 8/24: Steppin' Out: Tony Bennett Reveals Plans For Complete Album Box Set
He may have left his heart in San Francisco, but Tony Bennett dropped a big secret to The Los Angeles Times when he told the newspaper's Pop and Hiss music blog of major plans to celebrate his 85th birthday in style. Pop and Hiss revealed that Columbia Records will soon release "a $500 box set of every album Bennett has ever recorded, dating back to 1950 [sic], an achievement the performer said he was especially proud of." The singer confirmed these plans: "I'm thrilled about it, because 50
UPDATED 8/23: Ben Folds Unfolds Box Set Track List For "Retrospective"
Ben Folds' first proper album, 1995's Ben Folds Five, was named for his band. And although Alanis Morissette had her breakthrough hit that same year with "Ironic," I'll put money down that nobody was more ironic that year than Ben Folds. After all, there were only three members of this Ben Folds Five! The pianist/singer/songwriter wore his sensibilities on his sleeve, and that slightly skewed - and yes, ironic - worldview has served him well over the years. "Underground," off that first album,
Intrada, Disney Reach a "Hole" New World!
You know how it goes: When you wish upon a star…your dreams come true! Well, if that’s not always quite so cut-and-dried in the real world, it certainly happened over the past couple of days in the film score and catalogue music world! I’m recently returned from Anaheim, California and the second-ever D23 Expo, where thousands of fans and collectors descended on the Anaheim Convention Center to spend a weekend immersed in all things Disney. On Friday, I shared some of our personal wishes
FSM Releases Vintage Bernstein, Williams from the Vaults
As if Intrada's new releases weren't exciting enough (more on that in our next post!), Film Score Monthly yesterday announced two major archival releases from two of filmdom's most beloved composers. Elmer Bernstein's score to The Great Santini (1979) and John Williams' soundtrack to Not with My Wife, You Don't! (1966) both make their CD debuts from the label. At the time of The Great Santini's release, Bernstein had done some great, if slightly thankless, work on comedies like Animal House and
Spin the Black Circle: "PJ20" Soundtrack to Feature Live Cuts, Unreleased Demos
Last week, Joe reported that the double-disc soundtrack to Pearl Jam's upcoming documentary would be released on September 20. Thanks to our friends at Ultimate Classic Rock, we now have a track list to go with the set. The double-disc set, tied to the band's new Cameron Crowe-directed film chronicling the band's two decades together, is primarily comprised of live cuts from the band's history, from early performances in Seattle before the release of the group's landmark debut Ten to current
Seger Reloads for September
Was it really that far back in April that we reported expanded, remastered editions of Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band's live classics, 'Live' Bullet and Nine Tonight, for a May release? For whatever reason, those discs never turned up when they were supposed to (at least one big box retailer near Second Disc HQ has a lonely endcap space for the Bullet reissue!) - but fear not, friends! They're on the way once again. We can thank our friends at Ultimate Classic Rock for reporting that the
Hip-O Select Brings DeBarge LPs Back in a Special Way
Before "Who's Johnny," before the heartbreaking string of legal troubles and before last year's subtle comeback album Second Chance, El DeBarge was the silver-tongued frontman of one of Motown's last great pop acts: DeBarge. The family unit - Eldra, Mark, Bunny, Randy and James - struck gold on the charts with self-penned jams like "Time Will Reveal" and "I Like It," plus gems from crack pop tunesmiths like David Foster ("Who's Holding Donna Now?") and Diane Warren (the smash "Rhythm of the
Soul Trane: Coltrane's Posthumous Impulse! Albums, Boxed
Though he passed away in 1967, the flame of saxophonist and composer John Coltrane burns brighter each year. Hailed for his early work in the bebop and hard bop idioms and finally as a groundbreaker in modal and free jazz forms, Coltrane has posthumously been awarded both a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys and a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation. Coltrane has even been canonized by the African Orthodox Church! Hip-o Select's Verve arm continues its ongoing series of box sets dedicated
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