Though his 1972 album was entitled The Late Great Townes Van Zandt, that description wasn’t quite true until New Year’s Day, 1997, when a life of hard living caught up with the 52-year old singer, songwriter, poet and musician. But Texas native Van Zandt left behind a rich legacy in music consisting of ten studio albums plus singles and live recordings. The country-blues-folk-rock hero also left behind some unheard material, however, and the musical archaeologists at Omnivore Recordings have
Hear His Train A Comin': Jimi Hendrix's "People, Hell & Angels" Coming in March
Lucky for his legions of fans, Jimi Hendrix was a restless experimenter, committing to tape hours and hours of original music beyond the three studio albums released in his too-short lifetime. Posthumous albums of the songwriter/singer/guitar legend’s unheard material have been released as far back as Reprise/Track’s 1971 The Cry of Love, and as recently as Experience Hendrix and Legacy Recordings’ 2010 Valleys of Neptune. The latest addition to the Hendrix discography will arrive on March 5
Ooo Baby Baby: Two Lost Miracles LPs Arrive on CD
The times they were a-changin’. The Miracles, the group founded in 1955, by Smokey Robinson, Warren “Pete” Moore and Ronnie White, had been synonymous with Motown Records since 1960, and survived chief songwriter and lead vocalist Smokey’s departure in 1972. But despite a chart smash in 1976 with the No. 1 “Love Machine,” the group was dissatisfied with Motown. Pete Moore recalled in 2012, “Even after all of this success, we never had any calls from Smokey or Berry [Gordy].” Indeed, Miracle
The Second Disc's 2012 Holiday Gift Guide is Here!
Need a gift idea? We've got you covered! Unwrap our 2012 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE with just a click above!
R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Ace Compiles Otis Redding Songbook, Louisiana R&B and King's Northern Soul
Ace Records has long been, well, aces where soul music is concerned. Three recent releases have arrived courtesy of the Ace and Kent labels, and connoisseurs, collectors and casual fans alike will all find plenty to enjoy on these incendiary new compilations. The rich recorded legacy of black artists has been a cornerstone of the Kent soul and R&B library. Kent launched a “Black America Sings…” series with titles dedicated to the Lennon and McCartney and Bob Dylan songbooks, a sort of
Career Man: Franz Waxman Score to Dean Martin, Shirley MacLaine Drama Premieres on CD
Releasing vintage film scores has long been “all in a night’s work” for the Kritzerland label. In June, Kritzerland issued Andre Previn’s score to the 1962 comedy All in a Night’s Work, a Paramount Picture starring Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine. That was hardly the first onscreen pairing between the two offscreen pals, however. Dino and MacLaine first lit up the screen together in 1955’s Artists and Models, MacLaine’s second film and the fourteenth starring the Martin and Lewis comedy
Holiday Gift Guide Review: The Chipmunks, "Chipmunks Christmas"
There’s only one “Christmas Song” – chestnuts roasting on an open fire, and all that. And there’s only one “Chipmunk Song” – in which Alvin never gets his much hoped-for hula hoop. What began as a novelty for Ross Bagdasarian, a.k.a. David Seville, led to three Grammy Awards for “The Chipmunk Song” alone and a chart-topping berth. Indeed, it remains the only Christmas song to have ever reached No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart. But that wasn’t all for Alvin, Simon and Theodore, with two
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Elvis Presley, "Prince from Another Planet"
"I'm not kidding myself. My voice alone is just an ordinary voice. What people come to see is how I use it. If I stand still while I'm singing, I'm dead, man. I might as well go back to driving a truck." Though Elvis Aron Presley's vocal instrument was one of the greatest in the entirety of American popular music, the singer wasn't simply being modest. Whether threatening staid fifties culture in a pair of tight pants, shaking his famed pelvis, or taking to the Las Vegas concert stage in
Many a Tear Has to Fall: RPM Collects Tommy Edwards' "MGM Recordings 1958-1960"
Trivia time: name the only No. 1 Pop single to have been written by a United States Vice-President. If you answered “It’s All in the Game,” recorded in 1958 by Tommy Edwards, you win our Second Disc No-Prize! In 1951, Carl Sigman (“Ebb Tide,” “What Now My Love”) set lyrics to the 1912 (!) melody by Charles Dawes, Vice President under Calvin Coolidge and a Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Although the song was recorded by Nat “King” Cole, Louis Armstrong and Dinah Shore, it had its most enduring
Frank Zappa Hits the Road: First Volume of "Road Tapes" Arrives, Track Listing Confirmed [UPDATED 11/14]
It really is Mothermania. With Zappa Records' and Universal Music's campaign to reissue the Official Albums of Frank Zappa drawing to a close in December, there are still a few surprises up the Zappa Family Trust's sleeves. In our newly-updated ongoing rundown of the main campaign, we have already reported on the reissue of the Mothers of Invention's "greatest hits" Mothermania, originally released on Verve Records in 1969 and only now appearing on authorized CD. We've also passed on news of
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Ultimate CCR: Greatest Hits and All-Time Classics"
Did John Fogerty write “Proud Mary,” or did it come to the Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman by some kind of divine inspiration? After all, the modern folk song has become such a part of the American cultural tapestry that it’s hard to believe the song’s origins were so, well, ordinary: Fogerty cobbled together a spontaneously-improvised riff at San Francisco’s Avalon Ballroom with lyrics inspired by diverse sources and experiences to create the song that anchored the band’s sophomore album
The Second Disc's HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE 2012
Looking for that perfect present to place under the tree this holiday season? Look no further! 2012 has been an amazing year for deluxe (and super deluxe!) box sets, so we have highlighted the creme of the crop right here to make your spirits bright, whatever your musical taste! Plus: selected holiday-themed releases and more! 10cc, Tenology (UMC U.K.) One of the more underrated bands of the '70s, 10cc finally gets their due with a multi-disc CD/DVD box set. Hits, album cuts and
From Bakersfield to You: Newly-Discovered Recordings of Buck Owens, Don Rich Arrive in January
Omnivore Recordings is bound for Bakersfield, and the honky-tonks are still open! With Fresno to the north and Los Angeles to the south, the town of Bakersfield, California might have been an unlikely candidate for Nashville West, but so it was when Buck Owens, Ferlin Husky, Merle Haggard and other back-to-basics country stars called it home. Owens made the town his adopted residence from the age of 21, and directly answered the “countrypolitan” sound coming out of Tennessee with an
JSP Goes Beyond the Rainbow with 4-CD Collection of "Creations" by Judy Garland
Judy Garland’s place in the annals of popular music would have been all but assured if she had only introduced Harold Arlen and E.Y. “Yip” Harburg’s “Over the Rainbow” to the world. After all, the Academy Award-winning song from The Wizard of Oz (1939) was ranked the No. 1 Song of the Century by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) and topped a list of the 100 Greatest Movie Songs compiled by the American Film Institute. Garland
The Splendor of Alfred Newman: "Love" and "The Seven Year Itch" Due on CD
The music of Alfred Newman’s son Thomas will resound at theatres in the United States this Friday with his score to the blockbuster-in-the-making James Bond film Skyfall. But what better time to revisit two classic scores from Thomas’ dad, perhaps the all-time dean of the film score? Following its recent restoration of Alfred’s score to 1951’s David and Bathsheba, the Kritzerland label is turning its attention to two more famous titles from the vast 20th Century Fox library, both from 1955:
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Round-Up: Reissues Arrive from James Taylor, Jackie Gleason, Ferrante and Teicher
‘Tis the season to be jolly – and so, ‘tis the season for more reissues of classic holiday music! We’ve already filled you in on recent and upcoming releases from the likes of Percy Faith, Perry Como, Doris Day and Edie Adams, plus a classic Peanuts soundtrack and an entire series of holiday favorites from Legacy Recordings. Today, we’re turning the spotlight on three more perennials that you just might wish to revisit this holiday season, from Jackie Gleason, Ferrante and Teicher, and James
Release Round-Up: Weeks of October 30 and November 6
Election Day is upon us today! But if you're looking to cast your vote for some music, too, we might be able to help! Though we were able to keep the lights on each day at The Second Disc, Hurricane Sandy kept us from publishing a Release Round-Up last week. So without further ado, here's the best of the best for the weeks of October 30 and November 6! Louis Armstrong, The Complete OKeh, Columbia and RCA Victor Recordings 1925-1933 (OKeh/Columbia/RCA/Legacy) (10 CDs) / Charlie Christian,
Vocalists Corner: Sinatra and McCartney on DVD, Christine Andreas' "Carlyle" Reissued
In 2010, Shout! Factory and Frank Sinatra Enterprises (FSE) released an impressive DVD box set collecting 7 discs and over 14 hours’ worth of Frank Sinatra’s television performances from the 1950s through the 1980s. On November 13, one of those discs from The Concert Collection will be available as a standalone DVD following similar releases of other DVDs from the set. Primetime includes three programs from 1968, 1969 and 1977, respectively, in which Sinatra welcomes a bevy of guests. In
T.S.O.P., The Early Years: BBR Collects The Three Degrees on Roulette
Big Break Records, an imprint of the U.K.'s Cherry Red Group, doesn't have an office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. But it might as well. Much of the remarkable music that emanated from ZIP Code 19107 has been revisited of late by BBR, and the latest title is one of the most fully loaded in the label's catalogue. The Three Degrees' Maybe actually combines two early albums from that "When Will I See You Again" trio, both from the catalogue of Roulette Records: 1970's Maybe and 1975's So Much
Rip It Up! "The London American Label: 1956" Spotlights Rock and Roll from Little Richard, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, More
Did any label impact the taste of record-buyers in the United Kingdom in the early rock-and-roll era than that of London? Ace Records has been chronicling the activities of the London American label on a series of definitive releases culling the best of the label's 45s from one given year. Previous volumes have covered every year between 1957 and 1963, and for the most recent addition to the series, Ace has turned the clock back to 1956. In that year, London's output included American singles
Reviews: Dion's "Complete Laurie Singles," David Cassidy's "Romance"
Today, we're taking a look at two recent releases from Real Gone Music! Dion DiMucci greeted the 1960s on his own, just 20 years old but already a chart veteran with soon-to-be-classics like “I Wonder Why” and “A Teenager in Love” under his belt. Those songs, though, were recorded with his friends The Belmonts. When Carlo Mastrangelo, Angelo D’Aleo and Fred Milano wanted to emphasize doo-wop harmonies and Dion wanted to rock and roll, Dion and the Belmonts split. How would the Italian kid
The Digital Master Company Turns 30: GRP Records Celebrated with New Compilation
Though the 50th anniversary of Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss’ A&M Records got some well-deserved attention earlier this year, another unit of Universal Music Group was also celebrating a milestone anniversary. GRP Records, founded by Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen, was founded in 1978, as an imprint of Arista Records known as “Arista/GRP.” This arrangement was similar to Creed Taylor’s CTI label, which first existed as part of A&M. Much as Taylor struck out on his own, so did Grusin and
Honey Don't! Rockstar Records Releases Live Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, But Ringo Says "It's Not Me"
Among the many footnotes in Beatles lore has been Ringo Starr's tenure with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. The group was one of the most popular acts on the early Merseybeat scene, playing Liverpool and Hamburg, and alternating sets with The Beatles at the Kaiserkeller. Yet there's precious little recorded evidence of the band and even less of Starr's tenure as drummer. An Oriole label single in 1963 yielded "Dr. Feelgood" b/w "I Can Tell." Parlophone released "America" (from West Side
What a Feeling: Giorgio Moroder Rarities Due from Repertoire
What could be cooler than the recent news that disco super-producer Giorgio Moroder joined music-sharing site SoundCloud and started posting high-quality rare and unreleased tracks for fans to stream? How about Moroder making not one, but two more accounts holding such audio treasures? But what could be cooler than that for fans of physical discs? Simple: Repertoire Records is releasing a double-disc set of rare gems produced by the man who gave us the greatest hits of Donna Summer, Blondie's
Gems from the Diamond Mine: Blue Rodeo Collect Early Albums, Unreleased Demos on New Box
Fans of Canadian country-rockers Blue Rodeo have something to get excited about, with the recent release of a box set collecting their first five albums with another three discs of unreleased material. Blue Rodeo 1987-1993 celebrates the Northern rockers, who have won 11 Juno Awards in their native Canada and placed 10 singles in the Top 10 of the Canadian charts, including "Try," "Til I Am Myself Again," "Lost Together" and "5 Days in May." Anchored by singer/songwriter/guitarists Jim Cuddy
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