[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuWf9fP-A-U] This month has seen a resurgence of interest in The Sound of Music thanks to an impressive reissue of the film on Blu-Ray and another release of the classic film soundtrack on CD. Countless amounts of kids and adults have grown up on the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, made especially memorable by Julie Andrews as the free-spirited Maria Von Trapp - a role that earned her a second Oscar nomination, just one year after her win for Mary
Review: The Apple Records Remasters, Part 5 - Apple, Collected and Boxed
In the final part of our Apple Records series, we open the import-only Apple Box Set and spin the label's first-ever "greatest hits" set. While the label only lasted a tumultuous seven years between 1968 and 1976, the legacy of Apple Records survives on today’s radio airwaves: “Those Were the Days.” “Day After Day.” “Come and Get It.” Notwithstanding The Beatles’ albums, both solo and as a group, that bore the famous label design, there was no shortage of great music emanating from the Savile
Reissue Theory: Quincy Jones, "Back on the Block"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on well-known albums of the past and the reissues they could someday see. This week, Quincy Jones' latest mingling with a new generation of artists leads to a recollection of the first (and best) time he did it. Last week saw the release of Q: Soul Bossa Nostra, the first full-fledged studio album by Quincy Jones since Basie and Beyond back in 2000. Now, Q is one of the greatest figures in pop and soul music alive today. He's
New U.K. Sister Sledge Comp is Another Way to Get Your CHIC On
If you love Rhino France's new CHIC box set as much as we do here at The Second Disc HQ (expect a review up in a few days or so), here's another title you'll probably enjoy: the Music Club Deluxe label in the U.K. is releasing a new two-disc compilation for Sister Sledge. Sister Sledge, indeed comprised of Philadelphia-based sisters named Sledge (Kim, Debbi, Joni and Kathy), were a moderately successful R&B/dance group in the Atlantic label group (first signing to Atco, then Cotillion) that
Review: The Apple Records Remasters, Part 4 - Harrison's Soulful Trio
In the penultimate installment of our weeklong series on the new Apple Records remasters, we listen to the label's three most soulful singers: Jackie Lomax, Doris Troy and Billy Preston, and along the way, encounter George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and a number of their most famous friends! In yesterday’s installment, we looked at the less commercial side of Apple Records. Today, we turn the spotlight on four records that positively smoke, by three soulful troubadours. The funky
Review: The Apple Records Remasters, Part 3 - Esoteric to the Core
In Part 3 of our five-part Apple Records series, we look at a number of the non-rock recordings released under the Apple umbrella. As the home of Apple Records, 3 Savile Row, London, saw many of rock’s greatest musicians pass through its doors. But Ron Kass, the American expatriate headhunted from Liberty Records to be Apple’s first head, knew the importance of building a diverse catalogue across many genres. In its short years as an active label, Apple certainly took Kass’ belief to heart, and
In Case You Missed It: Dead or Alive Spun Right Round
Here's a title that slipped through our radar a few weeks back: a new compilation by '80s dance-pop sensations Dead or Alive. DoA, the brainchild of Liverpudlian singer Pete Burns, was founded in 1980 and gradually got successful off the back of some catchy, up-tempo tunes and Burns' video-ready, gender-bending outfits (frequently accessorized with an eyepatch). After a steady string of mid-charting U.K. singles, including a cover of KC and The Sunshine Band's "That's the Way (I Like It)," DoA
The Most Exciting Announcement of Last Year
The Beatles are on iTunes. The Beatles are on iTunes. The Beatles. Are. On iTunes. And? In typical Apple/music press fashion, the Internet is hugging itself over the notion that all of the remastered albums in The Beatles' catalogue - the U.K. studio albums, the U.S. version of Magical Mystery Tour, the Past Masters compilation and the Red and Blue albums - are now available for digital download. Much of the coverage is laughably hyperbolic, considering there's not much more to say other than
Review: The Apple Records Remasters, Part 2 - Meet Mary and James
In Part 2 of our five-part series exploring the new Apple Records reissue campaign, we look at the folkier side of the label with Mary Hopkin and James Taylor. In Part 1, Badfinger had close encounters of The Beatles kind when both Paul McCartney and George Harrison lent their production expertise to the Apple Records band. McCartney made his other major contribution to Apple’s catalogue with the debut album of a winsome 18-year old Welsh songstress named Mary Hopkin. The Apple Records reissue
Release Round-Up: Week of November 16
Bruce Springsteen, The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story (Columbia/Legacy) Bruuuuuuuuce celebrates one of his most acclaimed albums in a big way. Darkness will be augmented with two discs' worth of outtakes and three(!) DVDs, including the new making-of documentary The Promise. (The outtakes are available as their own double-disc set as well.) (Official site) Jimi Hendrix, West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology / BBC Sessions / Live at Woodstock / Blues / Merry
Back Tracks: Menken at Disney
This week will see the release of Disney's newest animated feature, Tangled, a quirky retelling of the Rapunzel tale. As has been custom for the best of Disney's animated features, the film will feature songs and score from Alan Menken, the musical genius who gave Disney some of its greatest music of the past 20-plus years. Menken came to Disney in the late 1980s after his musical with lyricist Howard Ashman, a peppy, Wall of Sound-inspired take on Roger Corman's Little Shop of Horrors, was
New Compilation to Prove N.E.R.D is Cool
The new N.E.R.D album, Nothing, only just came out two weeks ago, but that's not stopping a new compilation due from the group early next year. Of course, there's a pretty simple reason for it: Nothing and its predecessor, Seeing Sounds (2008), were released on Universal's Interscope label. Meanwhile, the first two LPs by the band - comprised of superproducers Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo (better known as The Neptunes, the duo behind Wreckx-N-Effect's "Rump Shaker," Jay-Z's "I Just Wanna Love
Your Black Friday Wishlist
The more-or-less official start of the holiday shopping season kicks off next Friday, November 26. (You've probably seen decorations up in department stores by now. Even this huge Christmas fan can't blame you for shaking your head.) But giving the gift of music is important. You probably know that, and your local indie music store knows that, too. That's why this Black Friday will see a gaggle of special releases at all stores that participate in Record Store Day. There's a lot of neat vinyl
FSM Readies "North Dallas Forty"
Film Score Monthly has another release ready to go for soundtrack collectors: the premiere release of the score to North Dallas Forty by John Scott. Released in 1979, North Dallas Forty was a fact-based account of novelist Peter Gent's five-year stint in the NFL. The film got much of the details right, and critics and fans were both pleased. John Scott - a session player from England - drummed up a soundtrack that had jazz and blues undertones while keeping the entire orchestra intact for the
Kritzerland Debuts "Carrie" Score
It may be closer to Thanksgiving, but Kritzerland is ready to scare the daylights out of you with their latest release - the premiere of Pino Donaggio's complete score to the horror classic Carrie. The film, based on the first published novel by acclaimed writer Stephen King and directed by Brian De Palma, centers on a shy high school senior with a big secret: telekinetic powers. When the abuse she suffers daily, from both her classmates and her maniacally religious mother, prove to be too
Review: The Apple Records Remasters, Part 1 - A Quartet by Badfinger
Welcome to Part 1 of a five-part series in which we’ll take an in-depth look at the recently-released Apple Records reissue campaign, comprised of 16 Apple albums recorded between 1968 and 1974 plus the first-ever label anthology. We’ll begin with the albums of Badfinger. It’s almost impossible to write about Badfinger without mentioning their mentors, employers, producers and influences, The Beatles. Signed in 1968 by the Apple label at the instigation of The Beatles’ confidante and “roadie,”
Motown Goes Funky
A neat duo of reissues is on the way later this month from Funkytown Grooves - two R&B women on Motown Records in the 1980s. The label is prepping expanded reissues of Stacy Lattisaw's Take Me All the Way (which spawned the Top 5 R&B and Dance hit "Nail It to the Wall") and Set My Love in Motion, a 1981 LP by Syreeta Wright (the late ex-wife of Stevie Wonder). Each release will be accompanied by two 12" single tracks each. Pre-order links are here and here; track lists are after the
Simon Officially Rhymin' for Legacy in 2011
Legacy Recordings just announced another big catalogue overhaul planned for 2011: Paul Simon's catalogue is indeed getting a new reissue campaign next year. Our own Joe Marchese reported in June that Simon had planned to move his back catalogue from Warner Bros. back to Columbia, the home of Simon & Garfunkel. And The Essential Paul Simon, a straight reissue of the 2007 Rhino compilation, was released a few weeks ago. But this is the first official confirmation from the label that something
"Michael" Stays Away from the Vaults (Mostly)
Sony has released the track list for upcoming Michael Jackson posthumous album Michael, and...it's exactly what you'd expect. The estate and Sony are starting small, focusing on tunes Jackson recorded after 2001's Invincible, likely an attempt to sound as "new" as possible. (Never mind the fact that Michael's material from as long as 40 years ago sounds fresher than his material from, say, a decade ago.) That said, there's a few songs to be included on the disc that definitely come from some of
A Soundtrack That's Ready for Its Close-Up, 60 Years On
Here's a fun, surprise soundtrack coming out of the vaults. Counterpoint Records is releasing the first-ever CD of the original soundtrack to Sunset Boulevard, the 1950 Billy Wilder classic with Oscar-winning music from acclaimed composer Franz Waxman. Sunset Boulevard was the fictional tale of Norma Desmond, a silent-film starlet whose time has long passed (played to perfection by Gloria Swanson). The noir tale sees Desmond meeting a struggling screenwriter (William Holden) and attempting to
In Case You Missed It: The Best Concert Ever?
The Second Disc very rarely covers "new" releases, even if they're newer releases by vintage artists. But when our good friend Eric Luecking of Record Racks (a darn good site if I say so myself) reminded me a few days ago of the recently-released Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 25th anniversary concert DVD, it seemed alright to break that unofficial embargo of "new" stuff. In case you missed this when it was released on September 28, The 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concerts is a
A Sweet "Entreat" on Vinyl
MusicTAP reports that Rhino is releasing Entreat Plus by The Cure on double vinyl next year. Entreat Plus was the third disc of this year's expansive reissue of landmark album Disintegration (1989). It's a live document of the ensuing Prayer Tour, recorded at Wembley Stadium in London in July of 1989. It was released in Europe as a promotional CD, but never saw a release Stateside until this year - at which point it was remixed and expanded to include live versions of all 12 songs on the
The Boys Are Back in Town: Universal to Release Expanded Thin Lizzy LPs Abroad
Here's some good news to follow the long-gestating, recent expansion of Thin Lizzy's Vagabonds of the Western World: three - count 'em, three! - of the band's albums are getting the deluxe treatment from Universal in the U.K., according to Classic Rock. Double-disc editions of the 1976 albums Jailbreak and Johnny the Fox will be released, as well as a two-CD/one-DVD edition of Live and Dangerous (1978). Remastering is being overseen by Thin Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham (who's about to take the
Why Yes, That IS Mr. Mister on the Radio
On November 23, Legacy Recordings will take some nice steps to make '80s rockers Mr. Mister more than just a pocketful of big radio hits and a lyric in that Train song. A handful of Mr. Mister and Mr.-related titles will be released for digital download, alongside a previously-unreleased album by the band. First, the goodies from the vault. Hardcore Mr. Mister fans doubtlessly know the band's discography was not meant to end with 1987's Go On... album. The group began work on a follow-up album,
Review: Paul McCartney, "The Paul McCartney Archive Collection: Band on the Run"
In the promotional EPK created to kick off The Paul McCartney Archive Collection, the former Beatle reflects on the importance of giving value for the dollar when it comes to buying an album. With this dictum in mind, the team at Concord/Hear Music and McCartney’s company, MPL, created a multi-tiered program for the series’ kickoff release, a remastered edition of McCartney and Wings’ Band on the Run. It's available in multiple CD editions, a vinyl set and as high-resolution downloads. All are
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