Can't wait for that massive 11-CD/1-DVD box set, Take a Look: Aretha Franklin Complete on Columbia? Or maybe you're just looking for the perfect Valentine's Day gift? Either way, Legacy may have the disc for you. Next Tuesday, February 1, will see the under-the-radar release of Aretha Franklin's The Great American Songbook from Columbia/Legacy, compiling 18 of the tracks from that massive box set on one CD. Oddly, this release features the same cover art as the upcoming box, not due for
Short Takes: Soundtracks on Tap from Barry, Horner and Mancini
It's already been a busy week here at Second Disc HQ, and the news just keeps on comin'. Three more soundtracks are due from some of the finest composers in film score history: John Barry, James Horner and Henry Mancini. Before becoming an eminence grise in the world of film scoring, John Barry was best-known as the leader of the John Barry Seven, an association which led him to one of his earliest film projects, the score to the 1960 British film Beat Girl. The long-unavailable soundtrack to
Review: The Jayhawks, "Hollywood Town Hall" and "Tomorrow the Green Grass"
"Please don't call it 'alt-country!'," pleads The Jayhawks' archivist P.D. Larson in the liner notes to the new Legacy Edition of the band's fourth album, 1995's Tomorrow the Green Grass. But whatever you call it, the uniquely American music of the Jayhawks has endured, and is currently being celebrated by American Recordings and Sony/Legacy with two deluxe reissues produced by Larson and John Jackson. The band's major label debut from 1992, Hollywood Town Hall, has been expanded with a clutch
Upcoming Slate from Big Break Includes Edwin Starr, Patti LaBelle and More
Cherry Red's Big Break Records imprint has been the busiest arm of the U.K. reissue label group's roster by far. Joe filled you in on the expanded edition of Melba Moore's first album for Epic in 1978, but there are 11, count 'em, 11! new reissues on the slate between now and March. Of the artists covered in the latest batch, Patti LaBelle and Jon Lucien each have the most - two albums each - being reissued. For LaBelle, it's her first and third solo albums originally released on Epic, 1977's
More of Melba: Moore's Epic Debut Due from BBR
By 1978, Melba Moore had already established herself as a multifaceted musical force. After making her Broadway debut as Dionne ("White Boys") in the original Broadway company of Hair, she picked up a Tony Award in 1970 for her performance in Purlie, where she introduced the showstopping "I Got Love." In 1978, she was starring in New York opposite the legendary Eartha Kitt in Timbuktu! and ready to resume her solo recording career. With stints on the Mercury and Buddah labels behind her, she
Kinks Reissues Get Klearer
The other day we'd mentioned that The Kinks' first three U.K. albums were being expanded across the pond. Amazon's U.K. pages had track listings for the double-disc sets, but there wasn't much in the way of annotations. If a song popped up twice, was it an alternate mix? A live version? A demo? We didn't know, so we didn't say much. Now, U.K. site Spin CDs has put up track listings for Kinks, Kinda Kinks and The Kink Kontroversy, and while there's still a small bit of speculation to be had, the
Reissue Theory: Sammy Davis, Jr., Compiled: "Sammy in the Seventies"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, here we reflect on well-known albums of the past and the reissues they could someday see. Today, we look at a beloved American icon and one of the least anthologized periods of his lengthy career. There may be no figure in American popular culture more maligned in death than Sammy Davis, Jr. The image of the diminutive entertainer, clad in open shirts and bell-bottoms, wearing beads and gold chains, and with an ever-present cigarette dangling
Zombies LPs to Be Revived As Double-Disc Sets
Repertoire Records is releasing double-disc editions of the original two albums by The Zombies. The British group, acclaimed for such singles as "She's Not There" and "Time of the Season," only cut two albums in the late '60s - Begin Here for Decca and Odessy and Oracle for CBS - before splitting up. But there was plenty of material to be had; there were quite a few non-LP singles and a host of material for a third, never-released album. This work has been anthologized before - perhaps most
La La Land Goes Live with First Releases of 2011
La La Land Records' first titles of 2011 were promised earlier this month, and they're now available to order. Two television shows, the '60s war program The Rat Patrol and the late '80s Western The Young Riders, are being presented in premiere releases (1,200 units each), alongside a straight, unlimited reissue of the original soundtrack to Solaris (2002) with improved sound quality. It's a smaller-scale start, but La La Land also recently promised they're again appearing at this year's San
From "Walter Mitty" to "Inner City": Masterworks Broadway Reissues Due
Sony’s Masterworks Broadway division continues its dig through the vaults of the Columbia and RCA Records labels with three new titles, to be released as CD-Rs exclusively through Arkiv Music or as digital downloads. Today, January 18, sees the reissue of Originals – Musical Comedy 1909-1935, an RCA compilation dating from 1968. This collection remains one of the best ever to anthologize the sound of musical comedy in its earliest days, and is a “Who’s Who” of that golden era. The vaudeville
Reissue Theory: Stevie Wonder, "Hotter Than July"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, here we reflect on well-known albums of the past and the reissues they could someday see. With today being a national holiday in honor of an iconic civil rights leader, we take a look at an album with a song written to make that holiday a reality. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FchMuPQOBwA] Today is a day off for many people in the United States, in observation of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the great civil rights
Soundgarden Go Vintage to Release First-Ever Live Album
Recently-reunited grunge rockers Soundgarden did well with last year's Telephantasm compilation, which shipped platinum thanks to being included with every copy of the latest Guitar Hero game. Now, the band is going back to the vaults to release their first live album. Live on I-5 consists of 17 performances taken from the band's final tour, in support of 1996's Down on the Upside. (True to its name, all the performances were taken from venues along the West Coast, near the band's native
Be Their Baby: Legacy Preps Releases for Crystals, Ronettes and Darlene Love (UPDATED 1/17)
When Sony announced in September 2009 that rights had been acquired from EMI Music Publishing to reissue Phil Spector's Philles catalogue after years of neglect from the ABKCO label, great anticipation was in the air. A major campaign was planned by Sony's Legacy division with projects in development including "Artist's Playlists, Best-of collections, and first-ever releases of Philles studio rarities - as well as facsimile reproductions of original singles and albums," but since that heady
Friday Feature: "Casino Royale" (1967, 2006)
"The dry riffle of the cards and the soft whirr of the roulette wheel, the sharp call of the croupiers and the feverish mutter of a crowded casino hide the thick voice at Bond's ear which says, 'I will count up to ten.'" So read the blurb on the jacket of the original printing of Ian Fleming's 1953 novel Casino Royale, which introduced Agent 007 to the world. Fleming's novel set the tone for those that followed, introducing the "Bond girl" (Vesper Lynd), the larger-than-life villain (Le Chiffre,
FSM Fetches Classic Canine Scores
Film Score Monthly's first release of 2011 is a whopper: five discs' worth of dog-related film scores, anchored mostly around the lovable star Lassie. Created by writer Eric Knight in a short story that was expanded into a 1940 novel, Lassie was a loyal collie who treks across Depression-era Yorkshire, England to reunite with his young owner. The film spawned several sequels and spin-offs, most notably a long-running American television show that ran from 1954 to 1973. The dog is one of only
Reissue Theory: Sting, Compiled (UPDATED 1/12)
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, here we reflect on well-known albums of the past and the reissues they could someday see. Today's installment concerns a former Police man and his lack of decent compilations over the past few decades. There's something disconcerting when an artist gets to the point where they're comfortable enough to do whatever they want, but that "whatever they want" just doesn't count toward reissues, box sets or the like. One such example I've been
Back Tracks, In Memoriam: Margaret Whiting (1924-2011)
In 1997, a musical revue came and went at Broadway's Royale Theatre. The revue, Dream, was a mostly unexceptional journey through the music and lyrics of the legendary Johnny Mercer. Why the "mostly," then? Dream had one very exceptional living link to Mercer, and that was the resplendent Margaret Whiting, who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 86 in Englewood, New Jersey. When Mercer (along with Buddy DeSylva and Glenn Wallichs) started Capitol Records in 1942, one of the first artists he
The Dead Go to Meadowlands in New "Road Trips" Set
The first entry in The Grateful Dead's Road Trips series for the new year has been announced. Road Trips Vol. 4, No. 2: April Fools '88 is only the second Dead show ever released from that year, a year which was preceded by highlights on either side of the calendar. (The previous year saw the release of the band's Top 10 hit "Touch of Grey" and a tour with Bob Dylan; the next year saw a flurry of officially released live material.) This set captures, over three discs, the band's April 1, 1988
"Stop" the Presses! Classic Hollies on the Way
Before discovering his golden vocal blend with David Crosby and Stephen Stills, Graham Nash made sweet music with Allan Clarke as a member of The Hollies. With a core lineup of Nash, Clarke, Tony Hicks and Bobby Elliott (with bassist Eric Haydock replaced by Bernie Calvert in 1966), The Hollies possessed arguably the finest harmonies of any British Invasion act, and the band was finally rewarded with a coveted spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. Like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones
Legacy Promises Cash Rewards
Details have been released for that forthcoming set of "bootlegs" from Johnny Cash through Columbia/Legacy. From Memphis to Hollywood: Bootleg Vol. 2 is a hefty double-disc set chronicling the earliest years of Cash's career. One disc includes a radio broadcast from 1955, a dozen or so unreleased demos and rare tracks from Cash's Sun Records sessions. Another disc includes rare single sides, some of which are getting their first domestic release on CD. The track list and press release are
And the Nominees Are...
The Grammys are happening! On February 13! As usual - well, at least since the 1990s - there will be a CD compiling the highest-profile nominees. It now has a track list and cover art. It's a pretty solid cross-section of the best-known artists, songs and nominations. Of course, there are some hilarious questions to ask about the track list. Why are nine of these songs from 2009? (That's probably due to eligibility requirements.) Did we really need to put the censored version of Cee-Lo's catchy
Come and Get Them: Upcoming Releases Due from DeShannon, Nelson and More
Britain's Ace family of labels is kicking off 2011 in a big way! Mike filled you in Tuesday about Kent's upcoming I'll Do Anything: The Doris Troy Anthology 1960-1996, and today we turn the spotlight on three more releases due in the U.K. on January 31. Jackie DeShannon remains one of the most beloved voices of the 1960s. DeShannon not only broke barriers as a rare female songwriter in an era when it simply wasn't common, but she was equally comfortable in front of the microphone as a
Cherry Red Preps Joe Cocker Reissue, Kiki Dee Compilation
Some more goodies are coming out of the Universal vaults from the Cherry Red label group. The T-Bird label is reissuing Joe Cocker's Sheffield Steel from 1982. Like most Joe Cocker records, the iconic singer lays down great versions of rock and soul covers (written by luminaries including Randy Newman, Jimmy Webb and Steve Winwood). Unlike most Joe Cocker records, Sheffield Steel is heavy on reggae, with instrumental contribution from Sly and Robbie and guest vocals from Jimmy Cliff and Robert
...And We're Back
With plenty of people back at their jobs today, The Second Disc HQ is back online, ready for another year of continuous catalogue coverage! We're expecting some great titles in the not-too-distant future, plus a lot of surprises, too. I know I'm excited, and I'm sure many of you are too. Today's going to be a bit of a catch-up day - a lot of stuff has been announced in the past week or two, mainly across the pond, and we're going to get through most of it today. But first, we're going to start
The Year in Reissues, Part III: The Gold Bonus Disc Awards
Well, another New Year is in sight, the CD still isn't dead (told you so!) and celebration is in the air at The Second Disc. Back on December 23, Mike shared The Year in Reissues both here and over with our pals at Popdose. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 bucks until you read these indispensable columns! Are you back with me? Good. Now, I'd like to take this opportunity to take a fun look back at a few of my favorite things via Joe's Gold Bonus Disc Awards! I'm awarding these to the reissues
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