I've got to be the only twentysomething I know that's this excited over Pick of the Litter 1980-2010, the new compilation by pop-funk band Was (Not Was). Quirky aficionados may know them for left-field, late-'80s hits like "Walk the Dinosaur" and "Spy in the House of Love." Others may know them as the band that put producers Don Was and David Was on the map (they would, either separately or together, work on such albums as Cosmic Thing by The B-52's, Nick of Time by Bonnie Raitt and Bob Dylan's
Monoliths
I've been listening to Pet Sounds a lot lately. Maybe it's the dreary weather; whenever I put on some Beach Boys things feel a bit sunnier. But it's a heck of a record (as I'm sure most of you know) - one of those rarified few that's hard to chop down entirely. It's also fascinating that it's one on a rather short list of pop albums that have supported its own box set. The sprawling The Pet Sounds Sessions, released in 1997, chronicles the process of the album through alternate mixes, outtakes,
So Much to Give
Another late breaking release announcement: Hip-O Select has announced the reissue of I've Got So Much to Give, the first record by Barry White. Out of print for years, this remastered disc comes with new liner notes by BW collaborator Jack Perry (who also worked on last year's killer Unlimited box set) and two bonus cuts making their CD debut. And collector's rejoice: it's unlimited! Check out the tracks after the jump.
J is Indeed for Jackson 5
Awhile back I'd posted on the existence of a "new" Jackson 5 title, J is for Jackson 5. My guess was that, like the similarly titled B is for Bob set done for Bob Marley, the CD would be a kid-friendly compilation of J5 tunes (not that they really recorded that many kid-unfriendly tunes). Thanks to an Amazon listing, my beliefs have been proven correct. The tracklist offers nothing new for J5 acolytes, unless you don't have any of the officially-released, now out-of-print Motown karaoke CDs.
Reissue Theory: Peter Gabriel, "Deutsches"
On this day 42 years ago, Decca Records released a single, "Silent Sun," by a new band, Genesis. It was the first single off From Genesis to Revelation, an album that would not be released until nearly a year later. Neither the single nor any material from that first album would resemble anything near the forms of Genesis we know and love today. The sound was less prog and more psychedelia, and the teenaged band members - lead vocalist Peter Gabriel, keyboardist Tony Banks, guitarist Anthony
Everybody Wants to Rule the World
When you're around kids, you often find themselves saying what they'd do if they were in charge. There would be no school, no bedtime, unlimited pizza, that sort of thing. Once you grow up those visions look more fanciful, but sometimes that sentiment sticks with you, no matter how much you bury it. I know I feel that way with the catalogue scene. Every day, every song, every trip to the record store spins off a dozen ideas in my head that I can't wait to share with anyone who will listen. And
Reissue Theory: The Bangles
The other night, my radio happened upon "Manic Monday," one of the best pop songs of the 1980s. I'm sure you're all aware that the tune was written by Prince (under the pseudonym "Christopher," an effect from his Under the Cherry Moon days) and given to Susanna Hoffs and company after Apollonia 6 recorded a version that was never released. You may also know that the song itself hit No. 2 on the charts, kept from the top by none other than Prince and The Revolution's "Kiss." You might not know
And Don't It Feel Good
Some news is coming through the pipeline that a good chunk of the Katrina and The Waves discography is being reissued in honor of the 25th anniversary of "Walking on Sunshine," their biggest U.S. hit and one of those inescapable summer anthems. There's a lot of confusion surrounding these reissues (more on that in a minute), but these look pretty interesting, especially because of the material that's being released themselves. You see, before the smash success of Katrina and the Waves, the
A Genius Move?
Amazon has an April 6 date for a new reissue of Genius + Soul = Jazz, a 1961 instrumental album by Ray Charles. Backed by members of the Count Basie Orchestra, featuring orchestrations by Quincy Jones and propelled by a Top 10 hit, "One Mint Julep," the LP served as his first for Impulse! Records and is now owned and distributed by the Concord label (which owns the rights to all his Impulse and ABC/Paramount material, from 1960 to 1973). Concord's done quite a bit of stuff with this part of
Reissue Theory: Terence Trent D'Arby - "Introducing the Hardline According To..."
For many, one of the most salient points of reissuing and compiling popular music is to help listeners rediscover lost gems that may have fallen into the cracks. Ordinarily, one would not consider a debut record that sold 12 million copies, spun off three Top 40 hits and won a Grammy a "lost gem." And yet, it seems that at least one record, 1987's Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby, has earned such a strange distinction. Terence Trent D'Arby has always been something of
On the Record
Much has been made about the communal nature of music by both those who create it and those who consume it. Millions of words, from Nick Hornby's High Fidelity to Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke," have been spelled out on the subject. Sometimes it takes time for us to grasp and appreciate their true meanings, but when we connect through song, it's usually a wonderful thing. This is usually the kind of thought that runs through my head as I walk into that beautiful, endangered ground they call a
El Sonido de la Joven América
I've been waiting for this one for a long time: Hip-O Select is releasing a new compilation of classic Motown songs in a whole new way. Motown Around the World: The Classic Singles compiles 38 songs from the label as recorded in other languages for international markets. The Supremes, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops, The Velvelettes, Smokey Robinson and Edwin Starr sing the songs you know and love (plus a few folk ballads native to other countries) in Italian, Spanish, French and
(Slightly) Turning Back the Clock
Today, Legacy releases a double-disc edition of Supernatural, the massive comeback album Santana released in 1999. Perhaps more than any catalogue reissue I've ever followed, there's something positively mind-boggling about seeing an album that's only a decade old - even one that's a successful, good listen - get the deluxe treatment. You see, while I have been passionate about reissues for much of my music-collecting life, I'm firmly a part of the generation that went from watching Britney
Reissue Theory: INXS, "Kick"
Take a look at the above image. It might not look too familiar if you live in the U.S. and have a working knowledge of the INXS catalogue. The famed Australian rockers have a vast three-decade career to their credit, most of which has appeared on subsidiaries of Warner Music Group through the years (notably Atco and Atlantic). Elsewhere, though, it's another story: in Europe, Mercury/Phonogram, owned by Universal Music Group, gets the rights to the work of Michael Hutchence and
The Doves Cry Because The Vault's Not Open Yet
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eObzOkRXUZw] Music aggregator The Daily Swarm made a heck of a discovery today: seven YouTube videos of Prince rehearsing some of the hits, B-sides and rarities from the Purple Rain era in 1984. Given that Prince has famously come down on YouTube like a ton of bricks - threatening legal action against a mother who posted a video of her baby dancing to a few seconds of "Let's Go Crazy" - this definitely falls under the "get it while it's hot"
Back Tracks: The Knack
Rock fans have had some sad news to cope with today: Doug Fieger, the unmistakable lead singer for The Knack, died today after a lengthy battle with cancer. While The Knack may be seen by some as a semi-sleazy one-hit wonder (or two-hit, if you count "Good Girls Don't"), their brand of power pop was emblematic of everything the genre should be: fun, catchy and not the least bit serious. In honor of Fieger's band and their contributions to the pop-rock scene, here's a special look back at the
Too Much Information
There's a few weeks to go until Legacy Recordings and Experience Hendrix LLC reprint the Jimi Hendrix catalogue. March 9 will see CD/DVD versions of four classic Hendrix albums as well as a new unreleased compilation, Valleys of Neptune, on store shelves. In preparation for the reissue, I've been acquainting myself with the ridiculously deep catalogue Hendrix left in his 27 short years on this Earth. And if music research could make me curl up and whimper, I'd have my arms around my knees by
Back Tracks: Marvin Gaye
Our Valentine's Day weekend preparation continues with a look back at the reissue prospects of Marvin Gaye, one of the finest soul voices of the century (and, in my opinion, one of the most heartbreaking losses in popular music). It's quite interesting that Gaye's catalogue, split about 90/10 between labels (Motown and Columbia), has been well-serviced by both. Chalk it up to the fact that one of his biggest hits, "Sexual Healing," was released on the latter label in 1983. Take a look at the
Voices, Another Sound
EDIT: Those who'd like to read the press release, which also has a neat note on the packaging of the reissues, can do so here. ORIGINAL POST: Duranies like me can breathe a sigh of relief: following the news that an April 13 release date has been confirmed for the deluxe reissue of Duran side-project Arcadia's lone album So Red the Rose (1985), our friends at Slicing Up Eyeballs have confirmed that EMI will release the other planned deluxe sets for Duran Duran (1981) and Seven and the Ragged
The (Aggravating) Sound of The Smiths
Today was the day that U.K. fans, elated from the grassroots success of making Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" the 2009 Christmas No. 1 single, attempted to make lightning strike twice with a campaign for The Smiths' immortal "How Soon is Now?" Call me a spoilsport, but I have my doubts that the campaign is going to make the same kind of headway. The "Killing in the Name" incident was just right-place, right-time and had suitable fire underneath it (people will buy a single so
The Runaways - "The Mercury Albums Anthology" Revealed
After announcing it a few weeks ago (and teasing all about it on Twitter today) Hip-O Select has started pre-orders for The Mercury Albums Anthology, a two-disc compilation of nearly all of the albums released by the proto-riot-grrl group that launched the careers of Joan Jett, Lita Ford and other female rock luminaries. The set itself looks pretty straightforward. The band's first four albums - The Runaways (1976), Queens of Noise (1977), Live in Japan (1977) and Waitin' for the Night (1977) -
"Raw Power" to Melt Faces in April
Fans of The Stooges, get ready for a rush: Legacy Recordings is reissuing Raw Power, one of the most iconic pre-punk rock records of the 1970s. And hardcore fans are going to drool over the goodies that are coming their way. The standard set is going to be a two-disc Legacy Edition (you know, the ones in a double digipak with a slip case). On the first disc is the original album as originally mixed by David Bowie. This is a really big deal, as the last time Legacy reissued the record in 1997,
Barry's B's
It may be winter outside (especially in my neck of the woods - I live in one of those places labeled as a "snowpocalypse" or "snowmageddon" in the news), but in my heart it's always spring. And why not? It's always a good time of year for catalogue music, whether you're listening to it, buying it or (oh you lucky ones) working on it. And Valentine's Day is just around the corner, making it a great time here at The Second Disc to pen a few features on some great romantic hitmakers. One of my
Down with "The Sickness" Once Again
This news is about a month old, but I only just uncovered it recently: metal band Disturbed is reissuing their solid debut, The Sickness (2000), on March 23 for its 10th anniversary. Hard rock fans doubtlessly remember The Sickness for rock radio hits like "Stupify," "Down with the Sickness" and "Voices" - and this new reissue, said to feature some bonus tracks from the vault as well as expanded artwork and a new remix and remastering, will be a cool stopgap for fans as the band finishes its
Late Night Release Round-Up: Motown Around the World, Arcadia Date, Soundtrack Notes
The above picture, from Hip-O Select's Twitter page, indicates that Motown Around the World is inching ever closer to a release. The compilation, teased by the label since last year, is said to be a comprehensive set of the many foreign-language versions of classic Motown hits as well as a few international singles only available in those territories. Expect cuts from Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, The Four Tops, The Temptations and more. Another nugget from the social-networking pipeline: Duran