Iron Maiden's latest studio release may be called The Final Frontier, but the band - whose latest leg of The Final Frontier World Tour is set to kick off tomorrow in Mexico and wind through South America and Europe through August - still have a few tricks up Eddie's rotting sleeve. On May 23 in the U.K. (and a day later in the States), the band will release From Fear to Eternity: The Best of 1990-2010, a compilation spanning their most recent two decades. Intended as a companion piece to 2008's
A Rumor That Would Put Me in a "State of Shock"
It's one of my favorite Michael Jackson stories: not long after Thriller, Jackson and Randy Hansen collaborate on a few songs together, one of which ends up on The Jacksons' mostly-forgettable Victory in 1984. That song, "State of Shock," is recorded as a duet with Mick Jagger and becomes the biggest hit off the album. The thing is, though, that Jagger wasn't meant to sing the song. Hansen was. And Hansen isn't even a real person. It's the pseudonym of one Freddie Mercury, the Queen frontman
La-La Land's "Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" Ready to Order
Just a quick heads-up to our film score fans: La-La Land's new reissue of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is now live and ready to order. Two thousand copies will be made of this set, which we originally posted on here. Order it here and hit the jump for the full track list.
Alice Cooper Readies Mega-Box Set
Only a day after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Alice Cooper is prepping a massive collectible for fans: a four-CD/one-DVD/double-vinyl box set capturing the band's early shock rock years. There are only some preliminary details about Old School 1964-1974, but here's what we can tell you. It's going to feature, across its four CDs, demos, live takes, spoken-word material and vintage advertisements; demos from the School's Out and Muscle of Love sessions are specifically
Legacy Readies for Boy-Band Mania with "NKOTBSB" Compilation
For teenage girls of two different eras, the New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys were the apex of pop music. Both of them were impossibly successful teen quintets created by astoundingly lucky impresarios who had or would soon strike gold with similar acts (NKOTB Svengali Maurice Starr also bought New Edition onto the pop music scene, while now-disgraced BSB producer Lou Pearlman would also make stars out of NSYNC). When both groups announced late last year that they were
Release Round-Up: Week of March 15
Queen, Queen / Queen II / Sheer Heart Attack / A Night at the Opera / A Day at the Races: Deluxe Editions (Island/UMe) Deluxe editions of the band's first five albums are out in the U.K., all remastered with bonus discs of rare or unreleased content. (They'll be out in the U.S. in May!) (Official site) Nick Lowe, Labour of Lust (Proper (U.K.)/Yep Roc (U.S.)) Lowe's New Wave classic, featuring the immortal "Cruel to Be Kind," is reissued on both sides of the Atlantic, featuring all the tracks
Rare Alfred Newman Score to "Counterfeit Traitor" Debuts from Kritzerland
It's not too great an exaggeration to state that without Alfred Newman, we probably wouldn't be discussing film music here at The Second Disc, or anywhere else. In a career spanning 40 years and some 200 films, Newman played an integral, early role in the art of composing original music for cinema. He was rewarded with a whopping 45 Academy Award nominations and nine wins, and even made music the family business. Brothers Lionel and Emil had impressive careers, while sons Thomas and David
Will "Psycho" Sale Pave the Way for a Long-Awaited Release?
The score to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho - that terrifying, string-based effort by Bernard Hermann - has entertained audiences the world over since the film's release over 50 years ago. But it is one of the great crimes of catalogue music history that the original score as heard in the film has never been released on any format, be it LP, cassette or CD. That may change, if a U.K. report is to be believed. From Brighton's The Argus: Psycho has one of the most iconic film scores in movie history
Suede Catalogue Overhaul Coming This Summer
Back in September, we reported on a hits/B-sides compilation for legendary Britpop band Suede. Now, the recently-reunited band have announced a major catalogue expansion through U.K. label Demon/Edsel. In five weeks starting May 30, the label will release massive three-disc editions of each of the band's studio LPs, from 1993's self-titled debut to 2002's A New Morning. The sets will feature two CDs featuring the remastered original albums, the band's many non-LP B-sides and many unreleased
The SMiLE Saga: A Happy Ending Promised for Lost Beach Boys Masterwork
The story of The Beach Boys' 1967 SMiLE, often considered the greatest lost album of all time, has long been a story of heroes and villains. On February 3, the band's Al Jardine was a hero when he announced that SMiLE would finally be arriving in record stores everywhere later this year. The Second Disc duly passed this on before Jardine offered a bizarre quasi-retraction, likely at the behest of his record label, on February 14. Mastering engineer Steve Hoffman (who was worked with the Beach
More Kate Bush Reissue Details Emerge
For fans of great classic pop-rock, there are two great pieces of news today: Capitol's confirmation of releasing The Beach Boys' SMiLE this year (!!!) and the promise of a new Kate Bush album in May, her first since 2005. There are some details on that release, Director's Cut, which will be of some interest to our readers: not only is it an album of sort-of-re-recorded songs (it will feature partially but not entirely new versions of songs from The Sensual World (1989) and The Red Shoes
Friday Feature: "The Graduate"
“Just one word…plastics.” With that one word, spoken to the disaffected Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) by an associate of his father’s, the audience viewing 1967’s film The Graduate, could both laugh and sneer along with Benjamin. After all, “plastics” stood for all that was superficial and fake in society. Mike Nichols, directing only his second feature film after a successful Broadway career, was anything but subtle as he masterfully threaded the film’s themes throughout every aspect of
More Queen Details Emerge, Copy Editor Badly Needed for Band Website
Two quick notes from the official Queen website on the upcoming reissues: The reissues, already confirmed for release in America (woo hoo!), now have a firm release date! (Double woo hoo!!) The deluxe editions of Queen, Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack, A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races will come out on Hollywood Records May 17. For the U.K. (who will be receiving the reissues in a week and a half), all the reissues are going to be available together as a box set. The set will be
"SMiLE"! It's Actually Happening!
Wow! From Billboard: It's an event that pop music fans have been waiting for since the Summer of Love: Capitol Records is planning to release the Beach Boys' great lost album, "Smile," later this year. Two longtime Beach Boys associates -- engineer Mark Linett and archivist Alan Boyd -- are co-producing the release, which Capitol has titled "The Smile Sessions." The project will be released in three versions: a two-CD set, an iTunes LP digital album and a limited-edition boxed set containing
More Imperial-Era Hollies Reissues Headed Your Way
It's Hollies-mania all over again! Back on February 15, we tipped you to a vinyl box set due April 19 collecting some of the Manchester quintet's toughest-to-find tracks. But it gets better. On the same date that Sundazed releases the Lost Recordings and Beat Rarities box, the label will also continue its vinyl LP reissue series for the band with brand-new releases of Beat Group! and Bus Stop. These 1966 albums for Imperial Records were, respectively, The Hollies' third and fourth American
La-La Land's Going "Mad" Next Week
Not too long ago, La-La Land Records announced it had only one title due out March 15. Now they've revealed what score they've unearthed - but it's something that's been reissued before. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) is one of the most madcap comedies ever released by Hollywood. Part road picture - groups of people working against each other to find a hidden stash of cash in California - and part Tinseltown epic (dozens of comedians and movie stars appear in the film, including Sid
Another "Promise" to Keep
Even though the Darkness on the Edge of Town box from last winter was as exhaustive as anyone could wish for a box set, there's a last trickle of material coming to DVD with a forthcoming standalone release of the accompanying documentary, The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town. The documentary, directed by Grammy and Emmy winner Thom Zimny, chronicled the making of one of The Boss' most landmark albums through both new interviews with Bruce, The E Street Band and other
Review: Simon and Garfunkel, "Bridge Over Troubled Water: 40th Anniversary Edition"
"What's the point of [making] this album?," an impossibly youthful Paul Simon asks in the 1969 television special Songs of America. "The world is crumbling." If Simon didn't know then why he was "just" recording an album despite all of the tumult around him, he almost certainly knows now. After all, he and partner Art Garfunkel have seen Bridge Over Troubled Water make it to 40 years (actually, 41!), and have even participated in the celebration. The duo have also seen the accompanying album and
Experience Hendrix/Legacy, Round 3
Mark your calendars, Hendrix fans: another batch of Experience Hendrix/Legacy reissues are coming your way. Next month, Legacy will reissue three more titles in the Hendrix catalogue. The first is South Saturn Delta, a 1997 outtakes compilation first released during Experience Hendrix's partnership with MCA. That set, which featured plenty of sought-after outtakes in a more official context, will be pressed onto compact disc as well as vinyl. Then there's a DVD reissue of Hendrix's January 1,
Reissue Theory: R.E.M., From Start to Finish
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on notable albums and the reissues they could someday see. With a new R.E.M. LP in stores today, we think about something that's missing from their extensive discography: a full, career-spanning compilation. Today is the day that R.E.M.'s fourteenth studio LP, Collapse Into Now, hits stores. I haven't bought it yet myself, but I have been keeping the Athens, Georgia-based rock icons in heavy rotation today; their lengthy, Rock
Is Billy Squier's Latest Your Kinda Compilation?
Billy Squier fans who wore out their copies of 16 Strokes (1995) or Absolute Hits (2005) now have a new compilation opportunity at the end of the month. Essential Billy Squier takes 15 of the singer/guitarist's best cuts, spanning from 1980's Tale of the Tape to 1993's Tell the Truth. All the usual suspects are here, including U.S. Mainstream Rock chart-toppers "Everybody Wants You" and "Rock Me Tonite"; the latter-day hit "Don't Say You Love Me" and of course Squier's endearing single "The
Review: Neil Diamond, "The Bang Years 1966-1968"
When it comes to Neil Diamond, I'm a believer. There's not a trace of doubt in my mind that Diamond burst onto the scene at the right time - not necessarily the night time, though I, too, thank the lord for it. No, Diamond made a big noise in the corridors of Bang Records in the period between 1966 and 1968, an era when the music business was experiencing change more rapidly than anyone could have predicted. And it was far from predictable that the somber and intense young man pictured on The
Intrada Premieres Scores for "Flying Machines," "Wrongfully Accused"
Intrada's first releases for March involve two premiere score releases from two very different eras - a roadshow flick from the '60s and an action satire from the late '90s. First up is Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, a 1965 ensemble comedy from England starring luminaries including Benny Hill, Terry-Thomas and Red Skelton. Ron Goodwin's light, poppy theme went on to have some success as a pop single, although the resultant album was an odd one, featuring music and dialogue in
Release Round-Up: Week of March 8
Billy Joel, Live at Shea Stadium: The Concert (Columbia/Legacy) The best of the Shea Stadium farewell shows on two CDs and a DVD or Blu-Ray. Not my favorite Joel show, but it's now yours for the buying. (Official site) Neil Diamond, The Bang Years 1966-1968 (Columbia/Legacy) Two Bang LPs (and one non-album single) on a nicely put-together disc - hopefully the first of many deserved tributes to the Solitary Man on the eve of his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. (Official site) Simon
Paul Rutherford Says "Oh World" Once More
Since The Second Disc has started, we've seen some pretty neat catalogue projects tied to Frankie Goes to Hollywood, namely reissues of the band's original two LPs from ZTT/Salvo and a 12" remix compilation featuring rare tracks from the band. Cherry Pop has another FTGH-oriented catalogue project coming out in U.K. next week. Oh World was the first LP by Paul Rutherford, known as a backing vocalist and dancer with Frankie (and one of the two openly gay members of the band). In 1989, not long
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