In recent years, Long Island City at the westernmost edge of the New York City borough of Queens has become a hotbed of arts-related activities. But before gentrification hit Long Island City, the neighborhood was already hosting an artistic renaissance in the form of rap. One of the most acclaimed rappers to come out of the scene is Nas, or Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones. Born in 1973, the son of jazz trumpeter Olu Dara made his album debut with 1994’s Columbia Records release Illmatic. Now,
Everybody Loves Somebody: New "Playlist" Wave Includes Ronnie Spector, Simon and Garfunkel, Journey, Dean Martin, More
It’s a new year, and that means a new crop of Playlist titles from Legacy Recordings! As in the past, this crop of releases runs the gamut, with a number of titles including rare or new-to-CD material and others relying on the tried and true. The artists represented also encompass a wide variety of genres. Fans of classic rock-and-roll and pop will find plenty to enjoy on a career-spanning disc from Ronnie Spector and a reissue of the vintage Greatest Hits album of Simon and Garfunkel, while
Piano Jazz: Robinsongs Revives Ramsey Lewis, Richard Tee LPs on CD
If you’re in the mood for funky jazz played by two piano giants, Cherry Red’s Robinsongs label has a couple of recent releases just for you. The late Richard Tee (1943-1993) may be best known for his session work; the pianist/arranger’s credits include pivotal recordings by Marvin Gaye, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Aretha Franklin, George Harrison, Daryl Hall and John Oates, The Bee Gees, Dionne Warwick and many others. For much of the seventies, if you needed electric piano, keyboards or organ on
About
On January 11, 2010, The Second Disc published its first post: a look back at the best reissues of 2009 featuring titles from Elvis Costello, The Beatles and Michael Jackson. The same day, Mike Duquette posted our first true news item, about Legacy Recordings' acquisition of the Jimi Hendrix catalogue. On January 31 came our first review, of Whitney Houston: The Deluxe Anniversary Edition. On March 4, 2010, Joe Marchese joined The Second Disc with two reviews - one of David Bowie's Deram
SECOND DISCMAS 2013: Holiday Giveaways Just for You!
WINNERS! WE HAVE WINNERS! CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WEEK TWO WINNERS! RAY SCHOO, Winner of a Belinda Carlisle Gift Set! RYAN BRUSH, Winner of a Status Quo Gift Set! HANK NIEMCZYK, Winner of a Saxon Gift Set! ANTHONY CUSUMANO and ROBERT LETT, Winners of Buck Owens Bundles! WILL ETKIN, DAVID CURVIN and ANGELA M. CAMPBELL, Winners of Knack Bundles! MARK ATHERLAY and DAMIEN McPHERSON, Winners of Rhino Box Set Bundles! DARRYL NORSEN and RON LAVERY, Winners of Townes Van Zandt
Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye): Final "The Complete Motown Singles" Volume Bows
They did it. Nearly nine years after the first volume in Hip-O Select's The Complete Motown Singles box set series was released, the 14th and final entry in the series, Volume 12B: 1972, will be released on December 10, just in time for the holidays. The year 1972 marks, for many, the end of the "classic Motown" period. Label founder Berry Gordy moved label operations from Detroit to Los Angeles, and many of his most treasured acts were in periods of transition. Diana Ross was long a solo
Something to Remember: How Alex Chilton (and Jeff Vargon) Generated "Electricity by Candlelight"
The recent release of Alex Chilton's Electricity by Candlelight on Bar/None Records turns a "you had to be there" moment into a "you are there moment." The late, great singer/songwriter and Big Star frontman took a major setback - a sudden power outage between two sets at New York City's Knitting Factory in 1997 - and spun it into a most magical listening experience: Chilton picked up an acoustic guitar and regaled a small audience with a clutch of covers, from standards ("My Baby Just Cares for
Lose Yourself to Dance: Daft Punk's New Album Reissued as Mega Box Set
French dance duo Daft Punk is up all night to get lucky (and to reward deep-pocketed fans) with a lush deluxe box set version of their brilliant newest album, 2013's Random Access Memories. Though Random Access Memories doesn't entirely fit the catalogue description that usually guides discussion here at The Second Disc, you might not know that when you hear it. Guy Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, known for their quirky, catchy dance tracks and identity-clouding robot costumes,
Milk It: Nirvana Lines Up Another Reissue Exclusive At Target
In what appears to be a repeat of a successful formula and a sign of what it takes to get even the biggest catalogue releases to big box retail shelves, Universal will again pair with Target stores for an exclusive version of a Nirvana reissue. Following 2011's exclusive single-disc expansion of Nevermind - which put the first disc of the deluxe edition in its own jewel case, allowing fans to buy simply the remastered album and all the original B-sides in one set instead of any of the
Hot Stuff: Donna Summer's Legacy Celebrated with New Remix Album
The sudden passing of Donna Summer in 2012 had fans old and new flocking to her music to hear some of the finest disco music imaginable. This fall, Verve Records will bring that legacy into a new era with Love to Love You Donna, a set featuring new remixes of her most enduring tracks. Happily, Love to Love You Donna features more than its share of enduring remixers to give Summer's hits the respect they deserve. Electronic funk duo Chromeo tackles her 1982 hit "Love is in Control (Finger on
Ace Boldly Goes To "Outer Space" and The Bay Area On Two New Themed Collections
Ace Records is Going Wild!…not just with a rip-roaring rock-and-roll compilation of that name, but with a journey to the farthest reaches of the galaxy! Yes, the London-based label is travelling from the Bay Area to the Milky Way with two of its latest releases: Greatest Hits from Outer Space and Going Wild! Music City Rock 'n' Roll. Based on the 24 tracks of Ace’s Greatest Hits from Outer Space, the final frontier engaged a wide variety of artists in every conceivable musical genre. On this
Waxing on Universal's New Vinyl Project Initiative
Only in 2013 - a year where vinyl is expected to sell 5.5 million units this year, the largest number since the early '90s - would Universal Music Group's new "Vinyl Project" score so much digital ink. The premise is simple: UMG now wants to take crowd-funded opinions into what titles get pressed anew and stocked through online retailers and local record stores. The goal, according to the new site, is to utilize the label's "extensive catalogue to offer sought-after deleted recorded to be
"You Came," You Saw, You Conquered: Universal U.K. Gets "Close" to Kim Wilde Classic for Its 25th Anniversary
Universal's U.K. arm will expand Kim Wilde's Close (1988) for its 25th anniversary with a two-disc set full of rare and unreleased remixes on September 2. Wilde's sixth album was her biggest success to date, a U.K. Top 10 album with four huge hits to its name in "Hey Mister Heartache" and Top 10 singles "You Came," "Never Trust a Stranger" and "Four Letter Word." (The record was a Top 20 album in the U.S., though only "You Came" charted Stateside, landing at No. 41.) Close remains one of
Review: Burt Bacharach, "Anyone Who Had a Heart: The Art of the Songwriter" Box Set
Time stands still for Burt Bacharach. Rumer’s 2010 single “Some Lovers,” from Bacharach and Steven Sater’s musical of the same name, is the most recent track on Universal U.K.’s new box set Anyone Who Had a Heart: The Art of the Songwriter. Yet 2010 melts into 1965 like a ray of sunshine on the “cloudy Christmas morning” in the song lyric. Sleigh bells gently underscore wistful flugelhorns as it begins, with Rumer’s dreamy, comforting vocals gracefully gliding over the bittersweet melody.
From Miss Ross to a Friend of the Boss: Legacy's Latest Wave of "Playlists" Offer Hits and Deep Cuts
Playlist, Legacy Recordings’ series of single-disc anthologies spotlighting “The Hits plus the Fan Favorites,” keeps on rollin’ with a new, typically eclectic group of artists covering a wide swath of genres and styles. Today, May 21, Legacy releases volumes in the series dedicated to the best of R&B (Diana Ross, Donna Summer), pop (Billy Ocean), country-and-western (Chet Atkins, Patty Loveless, Restless Heart, Mindy McCready), Latin jazz (Tito Puente) and the many strains of rock
"NOW" and Then: U.K. Compilation Series Celebrates Three Decades in Three Discs
When I was heavily ensconced in a retail job, I had the task of stocking new music and movie releases and sharing the new releases with the rest of the store on Tuesday morning. Without fail, every time a NOW That's What I Call Music! compilation came out, someone would marvel how many such compilations existed, prompting me to tell my co-workers that they should check out the NOW series as it originated in the U.K., back in 1983, where they were double albums and released with slightly more
Where Were You When We Needed You: Latest Volume of "The Complete Motown Singles" Arrives in June
Let's dispense with the "Get Ready" puns: after a four-year wait, Hip-O Select's Complete Motown Singles series inches closer toward the finish line with Volume 12A: 1972. This five-disc set includes every single side released by Motown during the first half of 1972, a time of transition for the company. Berry Gordy had already moved his Detroit-based media empire westward to Los Angeles, leaving some of his flagship groups in a transitional period. The Jackson 5 still had their hits, but not
Aw, Rats: La-La Land Preps Score to "Willard" Remake Plus Goldsmith Reissue
From four-legged critters to gun-blazing Westerns, La-La Land's release slate this week features some great, little heard soundtrack material coming out of the vaults. Outside of horror circles, the 1971 film Willard - about a misfit with an affinity for rats - is best known for its 1972 sequel, Ben, which featured an oddly sweet, wildly successful theme song sung by Michael Jackson (his first solo No. 1 hit). The films themselves were considerably less cuddly, a point driven home by a 2003
Real Gone's Duos, Reviewed: Tom Jans and Mimi Fariña, Chet Atkins and Les Paul, Barbara and Ernie
Real Gone Music has recently released three very different albums from three duo acts, and we're looking at each one of them! Tom Jans is perhaps best known today as the songwriter of “Loving Arms,” so memorably recorded by Elvis Presley in 1973 and also cut by everyone from Etta James to Kenny Rogers. But in his tragically short lifetime – he died in 1984, aged 35 or 36 depending on the source – Jans also recorded five albums as a singer-songwriter. His first two, including an album of duets
Don't Make Him Over: New Box Set Chronicles Burt Bacharach's "Art of the Songwriter" On Six CDs
Burt Bacharach has been speaking through his music for the past 60+ years, since his very first recorded composition,“Once in a Blue Moon,“ appeared on Nat “King“ Cole’s Penthouse Serenade in 1952. But today, Bacharach is speaking in his own voice with the publication of his first-ever memoir, Anyone Who Had a Heart: My Life and Music. Co-written by Robert Greenfield (Ahmet Ertegun biography The Last Sultan), the book has been described by Kirkus Reviews as “illuminating and gritty“ while
Big Break Watch: Shalamar, Isley Brothers Lead Recent Reissue Slate
A host of '80s R&B titles are out in the U.K. this week from Cherry Red's Big Break offshoot. They include a double-disc expansion of one of Shalamar's best-loved albums, plus expanded editions of a few LPs by the likes of The Isley Brothers, The Gap Band and Billy Paul. While 1982 was the year of Michael Jackson's Thriller, U.K. R&B enthusiasts also count another album as influential to the genre that year: Shalamar's Friends. After a string of hits around the world for the trio
Review: Paul Anka, "Duets"
Whether you prefer your “My Way” by Sinatra or Sid (Vicious, that is), you have Paul Anka to thank. It was Anka who took the melody to the chanson “Comme d’habitude” and crafted the ultimate anthem of survival and tenacity with his English-language lyrics. When Sinatra recorded the song, a gift to him from Anka, he was just 53 years of age yet could still ring true when singing of that “final curtain.” Today, Paul Anka is 71, and his new memoir is entitled, what else, My Way. Thankfully, the
Release Round-Up: Week of April 9
Brainstorm / S.O.S. Band / Cherrelle / Alexander O'Neal, "Tabu Reborn" Expanded CD Editions (Wave 1) (Tabu/Edsel) After a fresh batch of vinyl last week, the Tabu Records reissue campaign (going strong through next year) kicks off with expanded editions of Brainstorm's Stormin', The S.O.S. Band's III, Cherrelle's Fragile and Alexander O'Neal's self-titled debut. All feature bonus tracks (Alexander O'Neal has a bonus disc) and fresh deluxe packaging. Stormin': Amazon U.S. / Amazon
Get Ready! Songs of "Motown: The Musical" Are Collected In Original Hit Versions
When Motown: The Musical opens at Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on April 14, it will mark yet another career landmark for Berry Gordy, the songwriter-producer-entrepreneur who turned Detroit, Michigan into Hitsville, USA some fifty-five years ago. The musical, written by Gordy and directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, depicts the rise to prominence of the Sound of Young America, with Brandon Victor Dixon (The Color Purple, The Scottsboro Boys) starring as Gordy. He’s joined by a cast of
Review: The Miles Davis Quintet, "The Bootleg Series Volume 2: Live in Europe 1969"
“Directions in music by Miles Davis,” read the subtitle of the trumpeter’s late-1968 Columbia album Filles de Kilimanjaro. It was the first, but not the last, of his albums to bear those words. But listeners couldn’t have been expected to know which direction Davis would take with each album. Nefertiti, recorded in June-July 1967 but released in March 1968, turned out to be Davis’ last fully acoustic LP, with its follow-up Miles in the Sky (recorded January and May ’68 and released in
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