In a little while from now, if I'm not feeling any less sour, I promise myself to treat myself...and listen to a Gilbert O'Sullivan record. The quirky Irish singer/songwriter topped the charts in 1972 with "Alone Again, Naturally," proclaimed by American Top 40 as the fifth most popular song of the entire decade. But it's also one of the most unusual. As the song begins, the narrator is left at the altar and is contemplating "climbing to the top" of a "nearby tower" to throw himself off. He
La-La Land Spends "55 Days at Peking," Releases Full Golden Age Score
La-La Land Records yesterday took a break from contemporary film score reissues and presented an expanded version of a classic score by Dimitri Tiomkin from 1963: 55 Days at Peking. A dramatization of the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 China, 55 Days at Peking depicts the Battle of Peking from the perspective of a group of foreign diplomats protected by the Chinese government in Peking's legations district. Charlton Heston stars as an American major defending the ambassadors, and David Niven and Ava
Review: Phil Spector, "The Philles Album Collection" and "The Essential Phil Spector"
Whoa-oh, a-whoa-oh-oh-oh! Think of The Ronettes' wail, every bit as iconic a cry as a-whop-bop-a-loo-a-whop-bam-boom. Doesn't rock and roll have a way of elevating onomatopoeia to poetry? And no label made sweeter poetry in the first half of the 1960s than Philles Records. The voices of Ronnie Spector, Darlene Love, La La Brooks, Barbara Alston and the rest spoke directly to America’s teenagers. These women, alternately vulnerable and defiant, were little more than girls when they began
Lost Highway, Found on Vinyl: 10th Anniversary Box Coming Next Month
With a name like Lost Highway Records, it might be tough to parse the mission statement of such a company - unless, of course, you know your Hank Williams. In fact, they've been supplying fans with some of the best in alternative rock and country. And now, to celebrate a decade in business, next month sees the release of a mega-vinyl box set highlighting some of the label's best output. Lost Highway, founded in 2000 by Luke Lewis, started their existence off with a bang, distributing the
Release Round-Up: Week of October 24/25
It's Tuesday, but most of the new music this week has already been out for a day. But assuming you were too busy to get out to the shops, here's a look at what's new. And there's quite a bit! Various Artists, Phil Spector Presents The Philles Album Collection (Phil Spector Records/Legacy) Six of the first seven Philles albums presented in mono, along with a bonus disc of those delightfully out-there instrumental B-sides. Seriously, have you heard any of them? They're crazy. In a good way, that
Review: Paul Simon, "Songwriter" and Expanded, Remastered Albums (1980-1990)
It's 1971, and Aretha Franklin has just introduced the world to "Bridge Over Troubled Water," a rousing, spiritual anthem that could have been written decades if not centuries ago. She takes the song to the top of the charts. Its notoriety leads to the rise of jobbing songwriter Paul Simon, who no longer needs to kick around the Brill Building in its waning days. Simon's career kicks off in earnest the following year with the release of his self-titled solo album. It's a quirky, offbeat
A Fantasmagorical Second Disc Interview! Bruce Kimmel Talks New, Expanded 2-CD "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"
When Richard M. Sherman introduces his Academy Award-nominated song “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” in concert, he often has to remind his audience that the film of the same name wasn’t a Walt Disney production. Producer Albert R. Broccoli, best-known for the James Bond series of films, signed Richard and his brother Robert M. Sherman for their very first film score outside of the Disney sphere. Like the Bond films, United Artists’ Chitty was based on the writing of Ian Fleming. For Fleming’s story
Dead News Round-Up: Of Road Trips and Blu-Rays
It's been a good year to be dead - well, The Grateful Dead, anyway - thanks to a handful of deep catalogue projects catered to the most undying of Deadheads. In the coming weeks, there are a trove of projects around and beyond Rhino's enormous Europe '72 box set, some of which indicate a bit of transition for longtime fans and collectors while still keeping an eye toward the future of preserving the band's legacy. First of all, for those who might want less than the dozens of discs in Europe
Pink Floyd, Beatles, Nirvana, Doors Lead Off Record Store Day Exclusives On "Black Friday"
For those of us who still savor the experience of shopping in a physical environment, Record Store Day has become a yearly tradition. It’s sometimes frustrating and sometimes exciting, but few could argue with an event that spotlights the hard-working independent music retailers out there who believe that brick-and-mortar retail can still thrive in the iTunes era. (Amen to that!) A more recent offshoot of Record Store Day has been the mini-event held each Black Friday, or the day after
Reissue Theory: Aerosmith, "Box of Fire II: The Geffen Years"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we focus on notable albums and the reissues they may someday see. As Aerosmith come ever closer to finishing another new album, we imagine a box set that celebrates their first great, entirely unexpected comeback. If all goes according to plan, by next spring you could be hearing the first new, original Aerosmith album in more than a decade. Frontman Steven Tyler anticipates a March release date on the new disc, to be produced by Jack
Shattered, Again: Rolling Stones Unveil Complete "Some Girls" Track Listing For Box Set, Deluxe Edition (UPDATED)
Well, the wait is over. Universal Music has revealed the complete details for the November 21 reissue of the Rolling Stones' 1978 Some Girls across multiple formats. Following in the footsteps of last year's Exile on Main Street set, Some Girls will offer a number of previously-unreleased songs, recently completed by the Stones, as Jagger told German network ZDF last month: that "I've just been in the studio finishing some outtakes from 1978 ... They're going to be released [on] a rerelease of
Stephen Sondheim, Angela Lansbury, Mary Martin Feature in Latest Masterworks Line-Up
Some of The Great White Way's brightest stars will be on the receiving end of the latest reissue bonanza from Sony's Masterworks Broadway label. Leading the pack is the 1985 Original Cast Recording of Stephen Sondheim's Follies in Concert. Lee Remick, Barbara Cook, Mandy Patinkin and George Hearn star in the 1985 recording of Sondheim's 1971 musical currently enjoying a critically-acclaimed, hit revival on Broadway. Follies in Concert will arrive at general retail on CD in a new eco-friendly
Legacy Orders Another Round of "Playlist"
It feels like it's been a long time since the last batch of Playlist titles from Legacy (by our records, it's been five months), but a bunch of new titles are on shelves as of yesterday. There's a lot of country and modern rock in this batch, including titles from Gene Autry, Phil Vassar and Joe Diffie (on the country end) and Say Anything, Coheed and Cambria and Mudvayne (on the rock end). There's also one from rap/reggae artist Matisyahu (surely you recall the Orthodox Jewish musician, whose
Springsteen, U2, Queen, Joel, McCartney, Taylor Featured On "Rock Hall of Fame" Live Box Set
Since its formation on April 20, 1983, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has inducted a slate of accomplished musicians into its ranks on a yearly basis, causing excitement, consternation and everything in between. Though the worthiness of nominees and inductees is hotly debated with each “class” and a number of distinguished artists continue to be ignored year after year, one thing can be agreed upon: a lot of great music has been played for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It continues to host
Review: Ben Folds, "Ben Folds Fifty-Five Vault"
When "Brick" ascended the Billboard Hot 200 to a No. 17 peak in 1998, it seemed possible that Ben Folds Five would join the ranks of Chumbawamba, Semisonic and Marcy Playground in the annals of the nineties one-hit wonder. But the band's charismatic frontman envisioned a different path. Witness some of the other artists who only scored one Top 40 hit: Janis Joplin ("Me and Bobby McGee"), Jimi Hendrix ("All Along the Watchtower"), Frank Zappa ("Valley Girl"), The Grateful Dead ("Touch of Grey")
Ever the Individualist: Todd Rundgren Goes Esoteric
By the time 1993 rolled around, devotees of the musical wizardry of Todd Rundgren only knew to expect the unexpected. Warner Bros. Records had rescued 1985’s A Cappella after the album had been rejected by Rundgren’s longtime home, Bearsville. The maverick artist followed that with two efforts recorded expressly for the label, Nearly Human (1989) and 2nd Wind (1991). These two albums showed the artist as a supreme pop craftsman with would-be classics like “The Want of a Nail” and “Parallel
Everybody Cut Loose! Ghostlight Revisits and Remasters 1998 "Footloose"
Well, everybody didn’t quite cut loose this weekend. Despite Paramount Pictures’ lavish promotional campaign for the film, its remake of 1984’s Footloose couldn’t topple Hugh Jackman’s Rocky-meets-The-Transformers epic Real Steel for the top spot at the box office. Still, the lukewarm reception accorded Craig Brewer’s picture likely won’t diminish the reputation or popularity of Herbert Ross’ original. A more successful adaptation of Footloose arrived at Broadway’s Richard Rodgers Theatre on
Friday Feature: "The Thing"
Our enjoyment of music takes many shapes and sizes, from the most basic of digital files to the vast quantities of reissues and box sets we all enjoy around The Second Disc. Part of the nervous excitement in being a collector is really never knowing what your latest musical obsession will look or sound like - and that's, I think, what keeps us coming back. Now, replace "music" with "an alien virus from another planet" and "nervous excitement" with "crippling terror" and you have the subject of
Rush To A "Sector" With Band's Remastered and Boxed Mercury Catalogue
Rush may be Canadian, but the classic rock trio has the perfect soundtrack for your Thanksgiving! On November 21, Universal Music Enterprises will follow their acclaimed reissue earlier this year of 1981’s Moving Pictures with the release of three separate six-disc box sets. Collecting the entire Rush output between 1974 and 1989, including both live and studio albums, the Rush Sector box sets span the entire historic Mercury Records tenure of Geddy Lee (bass, keyboard, vocals), Alex Lifeson
And Here's To You, Mr. Simon: Paul Simon Mulls "Graceland" Box Set and Tour, Reflects On His Career With "Songwriter" (UPDATED)
How terribly strange to be seventy. Today, October 13, Paul Simon reaches that milestone, over forty-three years after he first mused what it would be like to be sitting on that park bench with his friend, like bookends. Yet in that time, Simon’s music has remained resonant and timely, a point driven home when the singer paid tribute on September 11, 2011 to the fallen at New York City’s Ground Zero with a poignant performance of “The Sound of Silence.” His music has been a soundtrack to
Review: Johnny Cash, "Bootleg Vol. III: Live Around the World"
The legend of Johnny Cash has been told and retold since the man’s passing in 2003, and so much is often made of his demons over the years. But as the old folk song goes, “the old account was settled long ago.” Intrinsic though those troubles are to Cash’s mythos, his devotion to family and God were both just as deeply ingrained. Whatever may have lurked beneath the surface is largely absent from the 53 joyous songs that make up Bootleg Vol. III: Live Around the World (Columbia/Legacy 88697
Release Round-Up: Week of October 11
Ben Folds, The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective (Epic/Legacy) Ben Folds-mania - at least around Second Disc HQ - hits a fever pitch with the first compilation from everyone's favorite piano-playing smartass. You have your single-disc version, the excellent three-disc version and the digital vault, featuring another 55 tracks at 320 kbps MP3s. (Five of those tracks are yours free when you buy the three-disc set.) (Official site) James Brown, The Singles Vol. 11 (1979-1981) (Hip-o
Friday Feature: "An American Werewolf in London"
In 1941, the werewolf mythology gained an iconic set of lines in the Universal horror classic The Wolf Man: "Even a man who is pure at heart/and says his prayers by night/May become a wolf when the wolfsbane blooms/and the autumn moon is bright." Forty years later, from the same studio, a less delicate line was added to the lycanthrope canon: "I will not be threatened by a walking meat loaf!" Such is the tone of An American Werewolf in London, one of the best horror-comedies of the past few
Stay Awhile: Dusty Springfield Box Set Packed With Rarities, Due This Month In Two Editions
UPDATE 10/6: We're just a few short weeks away from the release of Goin' Back: The Definitive Dusty Springfield, a super deluxe box set by any standards. With its four CDs, three DVDs and two hardback books, Goin' Back may be the ultimate holiday gift for the Dusty diehard. Of its 92 audio tracks, 22 are previously unreleased, 10 are making their U.K. debut and five are appearing for the very first time on CD. Of its 98 video performances, a full 32 are premiering on DVD. But if Goin' Back
What's in Ben's Vault?
As if getting a set of Ben Folds Five rarities on disc with next week's Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective wasn't enough, Folds, along with Legacy Recordings, vowed to open the vaults even further with the Ben Folds Fifty-Five Vault, a 55-track digital companion, five tracks of which would be given away free with purchase of the new compilation. Today, all the tracks were announced from the vault, and while not all of it is entirely unreleased, there's more than enough to satisfy the
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 129
- 130
- 131
- 132
- 133
- …
- 158
- Next Page »