If you don't know the name of Roger Nichols, you know the man's songs. His compositions have been sung by the Carpenters, Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Petula Clark, Jackie DeShannon, Bobby Darin, Paul Anka, The Monkees, and Nichols' most frequent lyrical collaborator, Paul Williams - just to name a few. Many of those songs have become bona fide American standards, among them "We've Only Just Begun," "Rainy Days and Mondays," "I Won't Last a Day Without You," and "Times of Your Life." He and
Happy Holidays and Release Round-Up: Weeks of December 23 and 30
Christmas is just around the corner, and here at The Second Disc, we're hoping that you'll join us in celebrating the spirit of the season - heading home for the holidays, spending time with cherished family and friends, enjoying bounties of food, love, and music, and reflecting on the good times you shared in 2016. Our year was, by and large, a wonderful one. We released six titles on our Second Disc Records imprint of the amazing Real Gone Music label, from a Bobby Darin anthology that
Accentuate The Positive: Capitol Records Turns 75, Plans New Vinyl Reissues
Capitol Records, the venerable label founded by Johnny Mercer with B.G. DeSylva and Glenn Wallichs and now a unit of Universal Music Group, turns 75 next year. In celebration of this landmark anniversary, the label has announced three new initiatives. The first of these endeavors is The Capitol Records 75th Anniversary Collection, a series of 75 vinyl reissues from various genres curated by "noted music journalists, authors and other renowned creative figures." The Beatles are represented
Review: Big Star, "Complete Third"
Will the real Big Star’s Third please stand up? That’s a loaded question, for it’s possible that there never, in fact, was a “real” version of the album recorded at Memphis’ Ardent Studios in 1974 by Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens with producer-engineer Jim Dickinson, studio owner John Fry and engineer Richard Rosebrough. Chilton even asserted numerous times that the sessions were never intended to yield a Big Star album at all. (One potential name for the duo of Chilton and Stephens was
Release Round-Up: Week of October 14
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Big Star, Complete Third (Omnivore Recordings) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Omnivore does an in-depth vault dive into the creation of Big Star's Third for a new 3-CD box set. Complete Third includes every demo, rough mix, outtake, alternate take and final master from the Third sessions known to exist. The 69 tracks on this set represent the culmination of a decade-long search to assemble all extant recordings for the album
Release Round-Up: Week of September 2
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up highlighted by the latest release from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music! The Isley Brothers, Groove with You...Live! (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) We're incredibly excited and proud to bring this sizzling, swooning and immersive double-album document of The Isley Brothers at the peak of their powers to CD for the very first time! Groove with You...Live! features powerful renditions of
You Keep Me Swinging: Parlophone Collects Matt Monro's "The George Martin Years"
Earlier this year, George Martin passed away at the age of 90. Among the great producer's most lasting associations was with vocalist Matt Monro. Martin and Monro's professional partnership endured for more than fifteen years, while their friendship survived until the singer's untimely death in 1985 at just 54 years old. Now, the joint Martin/Monro legacy has been celebrated on a wonderful new anthology. Matt Monro's The George Martin Years is available now from Rhino and Parlophone U.K.,
Release Round-Up: Week of July 22
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Dio, A Decade of Dio 1983-1993 (Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) A Decade of Dio 1983-1993 collects all six studio albums released by Warner Bros. and Reprise in the first decade of the band Dio's soaring career. Formed by Ronnie James Dio and drummer Vinny Appice after their split from Black Sabbath in 1982, the group first gained prominence with the title track of debut Holy Diver, a staple of MTV and a recurring metal cult
Release Round-Up: Week of June 17
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Chicago, Quadio (Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. TBD / Amazon Canada) This week's biggest and most hotly-anticipated release, Chicago's Quadio, brings together nine albums from the legendary band in remastered high-resolution 192/24 DTS-HD Master Audio in both their original quadraphonic and stereo mixes on nine Blu-ray discs. This lavish celebration of the Windy City's favorite band is housed in a rigid two-piece box, with every album
Release Round-Up: Week of May 6
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up featuring Second Disc Records' very first title of 2016, plus more fantastic releases from our partners at Real Gone Music and titles from Brian Wilson, The Cars, and more! Bobby Darin, Another Song on My Mind: The Motown Years (Second Disc/Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) We know that you all know about this one...it's the ultimate celebration of Bobby Darin's time at Motown Records on 2 CDs, newly remastered from the
Walk, Don't Run: Cherry Red Expands The Ventures' "Beach Party"
For nearly 60 years, The Ventures have brought the sound of surf music to audiences worldwide. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted band, formed in Tacoma, Washington in 1958, remains the best-selling instrumental group of all time. Cherry Red's él label has recently travelled back to the band's earliest days for the new release Beach Party. The original 1962 album of that name is the centerpiece of this reissue, and it's been expanded with tracks from eight more Ventures albums. Beach
Review: Elvis Presley, "The Album Collection"
I. Playing for Keeps "You don't have to face the music...you don't have to face the crowd...Just go back where you came from," sings a world-weary Elvis Presley on "It's Easy for You," the closing track of his 1977 album Moody Blue. "If you ever tire of the good life, call me in a year or two...I've got no choice, I'll forgive you, 'cause it's easy for you." Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's musical recrimination not only dated back to the superstar artist's final studio session - at home
Review: Raspberries, "Raspberries" Vinyl Edition
When Eric Carmen and Wally Bryson of Cyrus Eyrie teamed up with Jim Bonfanti and Dave Smalley of The Choir, the result was pop bliss. The Raspberries emerged from the ashes from the two bands, and over the course of four albums - three with the original line-up, and one with just Carmen and Bryson remaining - they came to define power pop. Yet today, some might wonder: Why is the Cleveland, Ohio band so fondly remembered despite only placing one Top 5 single in the U.S. and two more Top 20s?
See Those Girls: Ace Celebrates The Paris Sisters On New Anthology
The story of Albeth, Priscilla and Sherrell Paris - a.k.a. The Paris Sisters - has always been inextricably intertwined with that of Phil Spector. After all, the producer had one of his earliest hits in 1961 with "I Love How You Love Me," written by Barry Mann and Larry Kolber and sung in soft, demure fashion by Priscilla with her sisters on sweet backgrounds. But The Paris Sisters' career encompassed far more than just that Top 5 hit. Their story is filled with other names as illustrious as
Ooh Baby: Real Gone's March Slate Includes Unreleased Herbie Mann Together with Dave Mason and Mickey Gilley Anthologies Plus Limited Vinyl Reissues
Yesterday we brought you the news of the upcoming Second Disc Records title to be released in conjunction with Real Gone Music: Bobby Darin's Another Song on My Mind: The Motown Years anthology. Now we've got the rest of Real Gone's March slate to tell you about and it's as excitingly eclectic as ever! Kicking things off is a CD that should be of great interest to jazz enthusiasts. Herbie Mann is considered one of the greatest jazz flautists ever and was an early proponent of world music.
Roger McGuinn and Pete Seeger, Tony Orlando, Doc Watson Join Bottom Line Archive Series
The Bottom Line Archive Series, preserving performances from the late, renowned New York club, will roll out a new trio of releases on October 30. Joining previous entries from artists including The Brecker Brothers, Harry Chapin and Janis Ian are new titles from Tony Orlando, Doc Watson, and the duo of Pete Seeger and Roger McGuinn. One 1994 evening at The Bottom Line, famed disk jockey Vin Scelsa joined folk legend Pete Seeger and The Byrds' Roger McGuinn for one-of-a-kind exchange of
Review: "Groove and Grind: Rare Soul '63-'73"
Got a few spare hours? You'll definitely want to put some time aside for a new box set that just might get you up and dancing... The four packed CDs comprising RockBeat Records' Groove and Grind: Rare Soul '63-'73 (ROC-CD-3255)- that's 112 songs, most of which have never previously appeared on CD - add up to one of the most exhaustive rare soul archives in the CD era, and one which you'll want to spend hours and hours exploring. As accompanied by a 112-page book with Bill Dahl's copious,
Get Ready to "Groove and Grind" on RockBeat's New "Rare Soul" Box Set
Hot on the heels of its recent Super Rare Doo Wop Box, RockBeat Records is turning its attention to another corner of the rhythm and blues world and further advancing into the 1960s with a new four-CD box set. Groove and Grind: Rare Soul 1963-1973, due in stores on Friday, August 18, is packed with 112 songs - the vast majority of which have never been reissued on CD! Groove and Grind, compiled by RockBeat's James Austin and annotated in its hardcover 127-page book by Bill Dahl, has divided
What a Day for a Daydream: The Lovin' Spoonful Goes Mono From Sundazed
Do you believe in magic? Well, Sundazed clearly does, as the label is set to offer the first three albums by The Lovin' Spoonful in mono editions on both CD and 180-gram vinyl. New York native John Sebastian fused pop and folk when he joined with Zal Yanovsky, Steve Boone and Joe Butler as The Lovin' Spoonful. The band quickly established a knack for "good time music" with its very first album, November 1965's Do You Believe in Magic. The Kama Sutra album yielded the hit title track (U.S.
In Season: Bob Crewe's Lost Musical Revealed On "The Complete Elektra Recordings" Coming NEXT WEEK From Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music
"Bob Crewe's lyrics have meant so much--to so many--for so long; it is hard to imagine they will ever be forgotten. Bob had a way about him in life as he did in the studio, a charismatic personality, an ability to draw the best out of everyone and a limitless joy of music, art and life...We will never forget Bob Crewe." So spoke Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio upon the passing last year of Bob Crewe at the age of 83. A veteran songwriter, producer and entrepreneur, Crewe's vibrant, thrilling music
The Year In Reissues: The 2014 Gold Bonus Disc Awards
Welcome to The Second Disc’s Fifth Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! As with every year’s awards, our goals are simple: to recognize as many of the year’s most essential reissues and catalogue titles as possible, and to celebrate as many of those labels, producers and artists who make these releases happen in an increasingly-challenging retail landscape. The labels you’ll read about below have, by and large, bucked the trends to prove that there’s still a demand for physical catalogue music
From Hoagy To Popcorn: Croydon Municipal Mines Carmichael Tunes, Vintage Pop, R&B and Film Music
St. Etienne co-founder Bob Stanley’s Croydon Municipal imprint from the Cherry Red Group continues to have some of the most eclectic releases out there, emphasizing classic fifties and early sixties pop, R&B and beyond. The label’s latest offerings include a tribute to the pride of Bloomington, Indiana – Mr. Hoagy Carmichael – as well as a return to the realm of Popcorn, and a collection of cool, swinging film themes! Any songwriter would likely sell his soul to compose a song with the
Wonderful, Wonderful: Johnny Mathis' "Complete Global Albums" Box Coming From Legacy
Chances are, Johnny Mathis fans are going to be counting down until November 17. On that date, Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings will release The Complete Global Albums Collection, a first-of-its-kind set compiling the entire recorded output of Mathis during his Mercury Records period. A Columbia artist since 1956, Mathis departed his label home just once – recording some eleven albums (ten of which were released) under the imprimatur of his own Global Records production company between
"Porky's" Is Back! "Revenge" Soundtrack Features George Harrison, Dave Edmunds, Robert Plant, More
“Keep an eye out for the funniest movie about growing up ever made,” read the poster to 1982’s raunchy comedy Porky’s. It depicted the eye of a Peeping Tom, looking onto a woman showering. “You’ll be glad you came!” Despite – or more likely, because of – its puerile humor, the modestly-budgeted teen sex comedy Porky’s became a runaway hit and spawned two theatrical sequels by 1985. The third Porky’s film, Porky’s Revenge, was the least successful, grossing just $20 million compared to the first
Release Round-Up: Week of April 8
ABBA, Waterloo: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition / ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits - 40th Anniversary Edition (Polar/UMC) In celebration of the Swedish quartet's breakthrough single (and Eurovision contest winner), here are two of many planned ABBA catalogue projects for the year - a CD/DVD expansion of the band's 1974 album with plenty of rare video footage, and a triple-disc set featuring the band's best-selling 1992 compilation, a 1993 sequel, More Gold: More ABBA Hits and a new disc of single