Captain's log, Stardate 2012.614. When last we left the crew of the starship Second Disc, they were interviewing renowned soundtrack producer Mike Matessino, whose work on La-La Land's triple-disc expansion of Jerry Goldsmith's score to Star Trek: The Motion Picture may be the most vivacious and definitive single soundtrack presentation in a career brimming with many projects. Our interview with Matessino was lengthy, and the two-hour interview was bound to take up more than one post. Why the
Before He Met "Mrs. Jones": Billy Paul's "Ebony Woman" Reissued By BBR
It’s inevitable that Billy Paul will be best remembered for that thing he had going on with a certain Mrs. Jones. But that ode to a steamy extramarital affair hardly told the whole story of Billy Paul. “A lot of people don’t even know I’m a jazz singer. That’s what I want to be known for,” Paul tells Andy Kellman in the liner notes to Big Break Records’ must-have reissue of the singer’s second album, Ebony Woman. Though produced by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, Ebony Woman wasn’t issued on
Review: The Supremes, "The Supremes at the Copa"
The building on New York’s East 60th Street might between 5th and Madison Avenues might not have looked like much from the outside. But within the walls of 10 E. 60th, it was a different story altogether, as that address housed the fabled Copacabana. Lyricist Fred Ebb asserted of New York City itself, “If you can make it there, you’ll make it anywhere,” but he could have been writing of The Copacabana. And Berry Gordy wanted to make it there. More accurately, the Motown Records chief wanted
Cool, Cool Summer: New Bananarama Compilation Due in July
Ironically, with news of the Stock Aitken Waterman/PWL box set also comes news of one of the SAW team's most prolific collaborators: U.K. girl group Bananarama, who are celebrating their 30th anniversary with a new CD/DVD compilation. The band initially consisted of childhood friends Keren Woodward and Sara Dallin and schoolmate Siobhan Fahey. The trio's mutual interest in tomboyish fashion and the burgeoning post-punk scene - leading to early gigs opening for The Jam and Iggy Pop and early
Burn, Baby, Burn: The Trammps Go "Definitive" From Music Club Deluxe
At the crossroads of silky Philadelphia soul and pulse-pounding disco, you’d likely find The Trammps. Hailing from the City of Brotherly Love, The Trammps earned their immortality when the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack included their hit “Disco Inferno.” But that classic track is only one small part of the vocal group’s story, which is now being retold by Demon Music Group’s Music Club Deluxe label on the 2-CD, 34-track The Definitive Collection. Boasting recordings from Atlantic, Buddah
Never Gonna Give You Up: Iconic Pop Production Team Stock Aitken Waterman Celebrated with New Box Set
It may have been the "flavor of the month" as European '80s pop went, but the distinctive sounds of Stock Aitken Waterman and the PWL label was one heck of a flavor, earning a rather generous compilation/box set treatment, Pete Waterman Presents The Hit Factory: Soundtrack to a Generation in the U.K. this summer. Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman began working for Waterman's PWL production company in 1984, specializing in Hi-NRG dance music by U.K. pop artists like Hazell Dean and Dead
Review: The Association, "The Complete Warner Bros. and Valiant Singles Collection"
“Everyone knows” the answer to the musical question of Who’s trippin’ down the streets of the city / Smilin’ at everybody she sees? But here’s another one: what’s the record label reaching out to capture a moment, bendin’ down to give us a rainbow? Everyone (at least everyone reading The Second Disc!) knows it’s Now Sounds. The Cherry Red-affiliated label has recently released the latest in its ongoing series of deluxe reissues of The Association’s catalogue, and it’s the most impressive
Return to Pepperland: We Have A "Yellow Submarine" Blu-Ray Winner!
We have a winner! Congratulations to Robbie Mercy of Clanton, Alabama! Robbie is the recipient of a brand-new, restored Blu-Ray release of The Beatles’ 1968 animated classic Yellow Submarine, courtesy of our friends at EMI and Apple! Robbie was one of many entrants who correctly answered this question: One of the screenwriters of Yellow Submarine received an Academy Award nomination as writer of the highest-grossing film in the United States of 1970. Name the writer and the smash hit
Freak Out! Zappa Family Trust Strikes Deal For Reissue Of 60 Albums From Universal, Roll-Out Begins In July
The numbers and dates may have changed, but we can now finally confirm the news that has long been circulating, both here and elsewhere, that Frank Zappa's catalogue is headed to Universal Music Enterprises (UMe). According to the Zappa Family Trust's press release, a global license and distribution deal will see the reissue of 60 Zappa albums, beginning with a group of 12 (not 18, as previously believed) that will roll out on July 31. Throughout a long career that produced more than 60 albums
Two Miracles! Classics from Motown Group Make CD Debut
What does it sound like when one of Motown's most famous lead singers of the '60s does the unthinkable and amicably parts from his group? For the first time on CD, fans are about to find out, with the release of The Miracles' Renaissance and Do It Baby albums on the Hip-O Select label this month. Longtime Miracles frontman and legendary singer Smokey Robinson had a hankering to walk away from his group for awhile, not due to infighting but his own multitude of commitments. His wife and
Friday Feature: "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial"
When The Second Disc started two years ago, it didn't take long to realize that catalogue soundtrack coverage was going to be well met on the site. Joe and I love the power and beauty of film music, and admire the work of those awesome individuals who are preserving it on disc for future generations. Today marks the 30th anniversary of my all-time favorite film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, a film with a powerful soundtrack if ever there was one. Recounting the tale of the music of E.T. is one
Find a Way, Say What You Want to Say with Swing Out Sister Deluxe Reissue
The term "sophisti-pop" may not be used much in rock criticism nowadays, but when they were, it was easy to acknowledge Swing Out Sister as a key artist of the movement. The Manchester-bred band stood head and shoulders above many of their keyboard-oriented contemporaries in mid-'80s England for mixing jazzy horn sections and lush synth-strings into their upbeat, snappy tunes. And this summer, the band's original label, Mercury Records, is commemorating the band's quarter-century mark with an
It's "All in a Night's Work" For Dino, Shirley and André Previn
Scoring a major motion picture…writing a Broadway musical…recording a jazz piano album…conducting a classical symphony. Any of the above might be all in a night’s work for André Previn, a four-time Academy Award winner and ten-time Grammy recipient. And now Previn’s score for the 1962 film All in a Night’s Work is getting its first-ever soundtrack release courtesy of the Kritzerland label! The Dean Martin/Shirley MacLaine comedy followed Previn’s triumphant, Oscar-nominated score for 1960’s
Reviews: Three From Real Gone - Mick Fleetwood's Zoo, Jerry Reed and Durocs
Real Gone Music has become known for its wide-ranging and eclectic releases, and today we’re looking at three of the most recent, from the countrypolitan stylings of Jerry Reed to the rock animals of Mick Fleetwood’s Zoo and the pure pop of The Dūrocs! Dūrocs, Dūrocs (Real Gone Music RGM-0058, 2012) Are you ready to hear one of the best albums you’ve never heard? Then head straight to the pig pen for the first-ever CD release of Dūrocs. Primarily written and produced by the team of Ron
Review: Paul Simon, "Graceland: 25th Anniversary"
When Paul Simon travelled to Graceland, he was aware of the mighty contradictions: “And I may be obliged to defend every love, every ending/Or maybe there’s no obligations now…” Those days of miracle and wonder took place in 1986, and now some 25 years later, the restless artist is still defending Graceland. The path to Graceland was a circuitous one, with stops in New York, Los Angeles, London, Louisiana and most crucially, Johannesburg. Though the multi-platinum record picked up Grammy
Hooked On A Feeling (Again): B.J. Thomas "Complete Singles" Back On Schedule, Plus Germs Update
Longtime readers of The Second Disc know that Real Gone Music is one of our favorite reissue labels. And the level of dedication from the Real Gone team brings a silver lining to what would otherwise be an update as to a long-delayed title. Back in February, the Real Goners announced the March 27 release of The Complete Scepter Singles of B.J. Thomas, the “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” and “Hooked on a Feeling” hitmaker. March, of course, came and went, and as of June 6, this
Review: Heart, "Strange Euphoria"
You’ve gotta have Heart. For over forty years, sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson have been rocking and rolling, singing and strumming, and did I mention rocking? Often considered the female answer to Led Zeppelin, Heart has outlived that famous band, incorporating Zeppelin’s furious attack into music also influenced by pop and folk. The new 3-CD/1-DVD set Strange Euphoria (Epic/Legacy 88691 93736 2, 2012) is the first collection of Heart’s catalogue selected by the Wilsons and the band’s first
Almighty Fire: Five Lost Aretha Franklin Albums Reissued, Expanded For First Time On CD
The old Second Disc Crystal Ball is back in action! We've looked back to March 30, 2011, when our Reissue Theory column was dedicated to a hypothetical box set containing Aretha Franklin's five "lost" Atlantic albums, all released between 1974 and 1979. Now, over a year later, we don't have to imagine any longer, for a reissue of all five albums is upon us! Roger Friedman has broken the news at Showbiz 411 and Forbes.com that Franklin's label, Aretha's Records, has entered into a deal with
Once Is Just Not Enough: The Dynamic Superiors' Motown Disco Classics Arrive on CD
The old adage that “good things come to those who wait” certainly applied to The Dynamic Superiors. Founded in Washington, DC in 1963, the vocal quintet didn’t receive their first major recording contract until 1974; their previous experience on record had been a lone single for New York’s Sue Records. That major contract was with Motown Records, no longer the Sound of Young America but still a vital force in popular music. SoulMusic Records reissued the first two albums by The Dynamic
Cherry Red Round-Up: Kenny, KC, Carly and More Get New Expansions
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AmdVhcfTSQ] Our friends at Cherry Red Group have had a stellar amount of new reissues in the past month, and we figured now was as good a time as any to highlight some of our favorites across the board. The Lemon label has issued an expanded edition of Keep the Fire, the 1979 soft-rock classic by Kenny Loggins. While the singer-songwriter had put out two albums since the disbandment of Loggins & Messina, it was only recently that he started his
Catch A Wave! Special Review: The Beach Boys' "That's Why God Made The Radio"
In Part One of our special two-part series, we recalled the ups and downs of The Beach Boys and the band’s chief musical architect, Brian Wilson. Today, in Part Two, we turn the spotlight over to That’s Why God Made the Radio, the new album in stores today from America’s Band! Brian Wilson is still a cork on the ocean floating over the raging sea. But is that a whiff of contentment I hear running through The Beach Boys’ “reunion” album, That’s Why God Made the Radio? Despite the ups and
Release Round-Up: Week of June 5
The Beatles, Yellow Submarine (Blu-Ray) (Apple/EMI) Take a trip back to Pepperland with the Fab Four's animated film, now available as a feature-laden Blu-Ray Disc. The 1999 Yellow Submarine Songtrack remix album is also added to the Beatles remaster canon. (Keep a close eye on our giveaway; we're announcing a winner very soon!) Paul Simon, Graceland: 25th Anniversary Edition (Legacy) A man walks down the street, sees many configurations of the Graceland reissue (namely a CD/DVD featuring
Smalltown Boy Made Good: Edsel Preps Bronski Beat, Communards Expansions
Edsel continues populating a busy release schedule with recently-announced expansions of three albums from two bands featuring Scottish pop singer Jimmy Somerville. British pop fans might know Somerville today as the falsetto-voiced singer who crooned several hits in the '80s and '90s (including a chart-topping dance track in the U.S., "Heartbeat," in 1995). But his first brushes with stardom happened with a pair of synthpop bands in the middle of the 1980s. First, there was his brief but
Summer Special! The Beach Boys' "That's Why God Made The Radio" Hits Stores Tomorrow
Tomorrow sees the release of That's Why God Made the Radio, the long-awaited studio album from Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks: The Beach Boys. As the favorite sons of Hawthorne, California continue their enormously successful 50th Anniversary Tour and with the promise of catalogue projects to come later in 2012, we're looking at this new album and the legacy of these musical giants in a special two-part series beginning right now! Where did our long hair
Voodoo Child (Slight Return): Full Slate of Jimi Hendrix Releases Due in July on Blu-Ray, DVD, CD, Vinyl
Believe it or not, Jimi Hendrix would have turned 70 this year. Though the groundbreaking guitarist died at just 27 years old in the fall of 1970, he continues to leave behind an invaluable legacy. You don’t have to wait till what would have been his 70th birthday on November 27 to enjoy the latest releases in the partnership between Experience Hendrix and Sony’s Legacy Recordings. The original documentary film Jimi Plays Berkeley, derived from the two concerts Hendrix performed at the
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