Surely one of the most unlikely hits of 1976-77 was Al Stewart's "Year of the Cat." An atmospheric tale of romance in a faraway place with Casablanca name-checks of Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre, the song propelled the British singer-songwriter to the top of the pops: No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 (and even higher, No. 4, in Cash Box) and No. 8 AC as well as No. 31 in the U.K., his only chart appearance there. Following its expanded reissue late last year of Stewart's 24 Carrots, Cherry
It Sure Looked Good on Paper: The Steve Goodman Demos
It Sure Looked Good on Paper: The Steve Goodman Demos, due in 1CD and 2LP formats, offers the most close-up look yet at the late singer-songwriter's legacy. The collection presents 20 intimate demo recordings from the artist and storyteller who died of leukemia in 1984 at the too-young age of 36, including renditions of "City of New Orleans" and "You Never Even Call Me by My Name."
Precious, Precious: Omnivore Unearths Rarities from Steve Goodman, Alex Chilton
Memphis' Beale Street is one of the most famous musical thoroughfares in America, known for the sounds of rhythm and blues, jazz, soul, and rock-and-roll that pulsate through its shops, restaurants, and bars. On the first weekend every May, The Beale Street Music Festival is staged, celebrating the city's diverse musical legacy. While COVID-19 sadly has kept the Festival once again from taking place, it's already set for 2022. And Omnivore Recordings has looked back on a special performance
The Weekend Stream: April 24, 2021
While The Second Disc prides itself on connecting people to reissues and box sets they can keep on their shelves, it's no secret that listening audiences are also digital - catalogue music lovers, too - and our passion is connecting people to music from the past that they might adore. So we've introduced a new Saturday feature: The Weekend Stream, which focuses on hidden gems that recently made it to digital channels that might make your playlists a little brighter! Mark Morrison, Return of
Everybody Cut Loose: Sony's RSD Line-Up Features Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, Prince, Miles Davis, Kenny Loggins, More
After last week's initial announcement, we'll be periodically continuing our look at the releases for the upcoming Record Store Day events on June 12 and July 17. Today, we're focusing on our friends at Legacy Recordings. The label has a robust slate for both Drops with many familiar faces including Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, Kenny Loggins, Prince, Miles Davis, and the legendary artists and musicians of Philadelphia International Records. Visit RecordStoreDay.com for a list of participating
Fixation on the Darkness: Run Out Groove Announces Killswitch Engage's "The End of Heartache" as Next Fan-Voted Release
The results are in! Run Out Groove has just announced its latest release, selected by fans in the label's monthly vote: a deluxe edition of Killswitch Engage's The End of Heartache. The band's third studio album and second for the Roadrunner label, the 2004 LP showcased their heavy sound described by ROG as a marriage of "thrashed-out European guitar pyrotechnics, East Coast hardcore spirit, on-stage hijinks, and enlightened lyricism that set the pace for what the turn-of-the-century deemed
Ladies and Gentlemen...: Vinyl Me Please Marks 100 "Essentials" Releases with New Pressings of Sold-Out Titles
Today, the Vinyl Me Please record club celebrates its 100th Essential Record of the Month. The club's flagship line, the monthly Essentials program has encompassed titles from a wide variety of artists including John Prine, Aretha Franklin, Jorge Ben, Van Morrison, Mavis Staples, Miles Davis, Fiona Apple, Billie Holiday, The Notorious B.I.G., and Loretta Lynn. While VMP also offers Classics (Soul, Blues, and Jazz), Hip-Hop, and Country tracks (the latter a new addition for 2021), the
Release Round-Up: Week of April 9
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Fleetwood Mac, Live: Super Deluxe Edition (Warner/Rhino) (Rhino.com / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Rhino reissues Fleetwood Mac's 1980 Live - the first live album from the line-up of Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood - as a deluxe 3CD/2LP/7″ box set. The two CDs and two LPs will both have the remastered original double album. The third CD will offer 14 previously unreleased
Craft Recordings Announces Record Store Day Slate Including The Zombies, Jonathan Richman, John Martyn, More
At 1:00 pm EST/10:00 am PST today, the list of Record Store Day's annual offerings was made public. As was the case in 2020, this year's RSD festivities will take place over more than one day. The two RSD Drops are scheduled for Saturday, June 12, and Saturday, July 17. We'll be sharing periodic announcements of various labels' releases, beginning with this look at Craft Recordings' line-up. For the full list of all participating RSD retailers, visit RecordStoreDay.com. Craft Recordings
Review: Neil Young, "Young Shakespeare"
When Neil Young announced the release of Young Shakespeare as Disc 3.5 of the Neil Young Archives Performance Series, many wondered, "Why another solo acoustic show?" Since the archival series began in 2006, Young has released six solo acoustic concert albums, three of which chronicled performances from 1970-1971; Young Shakespeare was recorded in that time frame, on January 22, 1971, at Stratford, Connecticut's Shakespeare Theatre. While the venue sadly burned to the ground in January 2019,
Down the Road: Grateful Dead's 'Skull & Roses' Album Expanded with Unreleased Show
Grateful Dead's 50th anniversary series keeps on truckin' with the June 18 reissue of the band's 1971 eponymous live album also known as their "Skull and Roses" album after the cover artwork by Alton Kelley and Stanley Mouse. While the Dead was still a young band at that point, Grateful Dead was their second double-LP live album following 1969's Live/Dead. It also was one of their most successful LPs, peaking at No. 25 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and earning their first Gold sales
Back to the Garden: Rhino Expands Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's "Déjà Vu" In New Box Set
Crosby, Stills, and Nash's eponymous debut was one of the most auspicious and omnipresent records of 1969, a remarkable and harmony-rich affair featuring such era-defining material as "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," "Marrakesh Express," "Guinnevere," "Wooden Ships," "Long Time Gone," and "Helplessly Hoping." CSN blended folk, country, jazz, rock, and a dash of pop into an often-imitated but never-duplicated sound. In the U.S. alone, the album reached No. 6 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and the top
Listen to the Band: Andrew Sandoval Reveals "The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story" In June
Since its publication in 2005, author Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story has been an indispensable reference tool for fans of Davy, Micky, Peter, and Michael - not to mention one helluva read. But as the years passed, the guide to all things Monkees went out of print, with secondhand copies fetching in the three-figure range. Happily, Sandoval has returned to the book for a completely new edition due this June. We were thrilled to have the chance to speak with the author
Release Round-Up: Week of March 5
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Neil Young, Archives Vol. 2: 1973-1976 (Reprise) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Neil Young's second Archives box set arrives in a wide commercial release, dropping the oversized packaging and expansive book in favor of a slimmer package. The 10-CD box is sequenced chronologically to spotlight the astonishingly prolific period lovingly referred to as the Ditch Years. The box contains 131 tracks from Neil's personal archive. Of
Good with the Soul: "California Music Presents Add Some Music" Features Beach Boys, Friends, Family
"Add Some Music to Your Day," The Beach Boys' paean to the power of music, anchored the group's 1970 album Sunflower. The song's imagery conjures music from the seemingly mundane to the undeniably transcendent, expressing the belief that "the world could come together as one/If everybody under the sun" would add some music to their day. Now, the gentle, uplifting Brian Wilson-Mike Love-Joe Knott anthem is anchoring a new album for a very worthy cause. On April 23, Omnivore Recordings will
What We Talk About: Run Out Groove Delivers Expanded Reissue of Old 97's "Fight Songs" With Remix, Demos
Run Out Groove is going alt-country for its next limited edition, fan-voted vinyl release. The Old 97's, formed in Dallas, Texas in 1993, were at the vanguard of the movement that saw the spirit of traditional country merged with an alternative rock sensibility. The onetime bar band was championed by indie labels Idol and Bloodshot before moving to the majors with 1997's Too Far to Care on Elektra Records. ROG is revisiting Old 97's next and fourth album, 1999's Fight Songs, in a lavishly
The Weekend Stream: February 20, 2021
While The Second Disc prides itself on connecting people to reissues and box sets they can keep on their shelves, it's no secret that listening audiences are also digital - catalogue music lovers, too - and our passion is connecting people to music from the past that they might adore. So we're introducing a new Saturday feature: The Weekend Stream, which focuses on hidden gems that recently made it to digital channels that might make your playlists a little brighter! Rahsaan Roland
Release Round-Up: Week of February 19
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Zappa: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Zappa Records/UMe) 3CD/Digital: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 5LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP/Digital Highlights: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada UMe and Zappa Records offer a soundtrack release for director Alex Winter's documentary film about the iconoclastic artist. The 68-track collection is out today on CD and has been available digitally, while the
Live: Super Deluxe Edition
Rhino reissues Fleetwood Mac's 1980 Live - the first live album from the line-up of Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood - as a deluxe 3CD/2LP/7″ box set. The two CDs and two LPs will both have the remastered original double album. The third CD will offer 14 previously unreleased performances plus the unique single remix of "Fireflies," while the 7-inch single offers the never-before-heard demos of "Fireflies" and "One More Night." David Wild has
High Time: Cherry Red, Grapefruit Collects U.K. Band Byzantium on "Halfway Dreaming: Anthology 1969-75"
Byzantium was only active for a brief period at the tail end of the late 1960s and the first half of the 1970s, but the band is still well-remembered within the British underground rock scene. Now, the group's officially issued works (and more!) have been collected by Cherry Red's Grapefruit imprint on the new 5-CD set Halfway Dreaming: Anthology 1969-75. Byzantium emerged from the ashes of the band Ora, formed by students Robin Sylvester, Julian Diggle, and Jamie Rubinstein at University
Landslide: Fleetwood Mac Readies Super Deluxe Expansion of 'Live'
Fleetwood Mac's Live arrived in December 1980, roughly fourteen months after the adventurous Tusk. While Tusk had peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and yielded two U.S. top ten hits, it fell off the albums chart after nine months. (Rumours, in contrast, spent 31 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 in 1977-1978, a record for a group or duo.) With the public still hungry for new Fleetwood Mac material, the band issued the sprawling double album Live. It was the first live album from the line-up
Release Round-Up: Week of February 5
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Dusty Springfield, The Complete Atlantic Singles 1969-1971 (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The Complete Atlantic Singles 1968-1971brings together Dusty Springfield's 24 U.S. single sides released during her tenure at Atlantic. These tracks have been remastered from the original mono tapes by Mike Milchner at Sonic Vision, and all but the eight sides pulled from Dusty in Memphis have never before appeared on CD in
Blinding Lights: The Weeknd Preps Hits Compilation Ahead of Super Bowl Performance
In the predominantly digital and streaming world, the humble greatest hits album is scarce for even the biggest artists. Most need either a lot of hits or a newsworthy reason to put one out. For Canadian pop/R&B singer The Weeknd, whose new collection The Highlights hits stores Friday, February 5, both of those conditions handily apply. For one, the man born Abel Tesfaye has notched 35 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including chart-toppers "The Hills," "Can't Feel My Face,"
In Your Eyes: Mondo Expands 'Say Anything...' Soundtrack with Unreleased Material
Soundtrack vinyl label Mondo offers a killer new expanded release this week that'll make even the staunchest opponent to selling, buying or processing anything reconsider their position: the stirring soundtrack to 1989 romantic comedy Say Anything... Already lauded for his teenaged work as a journalist for Rolling Stone (which inspired his 2000 film Almost Famous) and the book-turned-'80s film classic Fast Times At Ridgemont High, screenwriter Cameron Crowe made his directorial debut with
Tommy James and The Shondells' "Celebration: The Complete Roulette Recordings" Out Today on Grapefruit
UPDATED 1/29: Ohio-born, Michigan-raised rocker Tommy James fronted some of the 1960s' most indelible hits, including "I Think We're Alone Now," "Mony Mony," "Crystal Blue Persuasion," "Sweet Cherry Wine," and the chart-topping "Hanky Panky" and "Crimson and Clover." Combining garage rock attitude with pop polish, Tommy James and The Shondells' recordings are still beloved staples of oldies radio today. Now, all of those hits and more have returned to CD in a new 6-disc box set from Cherry
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