UPDATE: The full press release with track list is now after the jump. Original post:After Tommy, there was Jimmy. He’s the protagonist of Pete Townshend’s rock opera Quadrophenia, first a 1973 2-LP studio album by The Who, then a 1979 film and most recently a 2009 musical. Never one for small ideas, Quadrophenia was Townshend’s way of working out the relationship between the band and its fans while telling the story of a prototypical Mod Who fan. The album yielded some of The Who’s most
Review: Charles "Packy" Axton, "Late Late Party: 1965-67"
Were there a Stax family portrait, label founders Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton would undoubtedly be surrounded by any number of the famed artists they shepherded to fame: Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Steve Cropper, Booker T. Jones, Donald “Duck” Dunn, Eddie Floyd and the Wicked Wilson Pickett, to name a few. And lurking somewhere near the corner of the frame, in the shadows, would be Charles “Packy” Axton, his saxophone in tow, looking for the nearest party. Though Axton is far from a household
Someday, Somehow, Someone's Gotta Play
La-La Land Records has a one-man army for their latest film score reissue: James Horner, for his score to the hit action film Commando. Unless you've been living in a particularly nonviolent box these past 26 years, Commando was one of the first major starring vehicles for bodybuilder/actor/future governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Yes, Schwarzenegger was certainly in the national consciousness in two killer sci-fi/fantasy roles, as the title characters in Conan the Barbarian (1982) and The
I Can't Wait for Saturday! Classic CHIC Production to Receive CD Expansion
Anyone who knows the story of CHIC (told quite well in last year's box set and to be told on the printed page in guitarist/producer Nile Rodgers' memoir in October) knows that their success was not limited to their roles as lead performers but writing and production as well - not just for themselves, but for a host of luminaries from Sister Sledge to Diana Ross. The first step in that direction, though, was a solo album for CHIC singer Norma Jean Wright, the first extracurricular project
From Monro With Love: "The Singer's Singer" Box Set Due From EMI
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
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
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
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
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
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
Live From D23: When We Wish Upon A Star
Greetings from beautiful downtown Anaheim! Your catalogue correspondent is reporting from the D23 Expo, or "The Ultimate Disney Fan Event." Every arm of The Walt Disney Company is here on the packed show floor, with special panels, presentations, signings and giveaways pertaining to each aspect of the company: film, television, theme parks, animation, publishing, and of course, music. As I'm immersed in all things Disney this weekend, both Mike and I thought it would be the perfect time to
Weekend Wround-Up: Pat Metheny, Nat "King" Cole and More!
href="https://theseconddisc.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/nat-cole-st-louis-blues.jpg"> Analogue Productions continues its indispensable SACD reissue series of some of Nat King Cole’s finest releases on the Capitol label with the September 13 arrival of Just One of Those Things (1957) and St. Louis Blues (1958). Billy May handles the orchestrations for Just One of Those Things, which is playable as follows: a three-channel SACD section and Stereo SACD section include all songs except for
Review: Three From Dave Grusin, Cy Coleman and Henry Mancini
With hyperbole the norm, it's questionable just how many buyers took notice of a 1957 album on the Liberty label entitled The Versatile Henry Mancini. Yet fewer record titles have proven as apt. As frequent collaborator Blake Edwards noted, "Whether the situation is romantic, humorous, tragic, ironic or full of action, Mancini creates exactly the right musical mood." Mancini's breakthrough came two years after that LP's release, when Edwards enlisted him to provide the cool jazz-inflected
Ride That Train: Johnny Cash "Bootleg III" Takes the Live Route
“Ah, I’d love to wear a rainbow every day/And tell the world that everything’s okay. But I’ll try to carry a little darkness on my back/Till things are brighter, I’m the Man in Black.” And though Johnny Cash appeared as that Man in Black, immortalized in his song, he was in reality a man of many colors. His music reflected a crucial empathy that guided his career as he embraced the various strains of America itself, both its people and its music. Records preserve Cash walking with superstars
You Can't Stop Twisted Sister: Live Set Coming From Rhino Handmade
Do you wanna rock? Then the latest release from Rhino Handmade might just be for you! Following stellar sets from the 1960s (The Beau Brummels' Bradley's Barn) and the 1970s (Bobby Charles' self-titled album), the label jumps into the glam world of the 1980s with a vengeance! Twisted Sister's Live at the Marquee Club captures the Long Island band taking London by storm in March 1983. At the time of the Marquee Club gigs, Twisted Sister had only released one studio album, 1982's Under the
Review: Bobby Charles, "Bobby Charles: Rhino Handmade Edition"
Gumbo’s on the menu, and Rhino Handmade is serving. The self-titled Bearsville debut LP from Bobby Charles is a N’awlins stew of roots music, laid-back country, soul and pure rock-and-roll from the man who gave the world “See You Later, Alligator,” and Rhino Handmade has expanded the original 1972 LP with two discs of delicious bonus material (RHM2 52663, 2011), shipping today from the label. It’s somewhat ironic that Bobby Charles was recorded in Woodstock, New York, as the man born Robert
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