Welcome to the third and final part of our review series celebrating the release of The Beach Boys’ The SMiLE Sessions. In Part 1, we revisited the history of the album, and in Part 2, we examined the music and lyrics of Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks that created the legend. In today’s concluding chapter, we explore "the sessions" of The SMiLE Sessions and compare the various releases! What’s the biggest surprise of The SMiLE Sessions? It’s the sound of five young men optimistically
Happiness Is: The Association's "Insight Out" Expanded and Remastered
Who's trippin’ down the streets of the city / Smilin' at everybody she sees / Who's reachin' out to capture a moment? Everyone knows it’s Windy! And most everyone knows Ruthann Friedman’s 1967 pop classic which not only hit No. 1 on the Billboard chart but was featured on The Association’s third album and first long-player for Warner Bros. Records, Insight Out. But everyone would be forgiven for thinking that the LP was entitled Windy, so prominent was the name of the single on the album
Review: The Beach Boys, "The Smile Sessions" Part One: What's Past is Prologue
Tomorrow, November 1, marks the release of The Beach Boys’ SMiLE, the most legendary lost album of all time. In recognition of this landmark, The Second Disc is launching a three-part series looking at the SMiLE mythos, including a review of the various editions of The SMiLE Sessions. Before we begin to explore these collections, however, we’d like to offer a bit of perspective and back story on SMiLE: what was, what is, and what might have been. Welcome to Part One: What’s Past is
La-La Land Scares Up "Friday the 13th" Box Set
Ki-ki-ki-ki ma-ma-ma-ma. These wordless sounds have become shorthand for fear in the form of Jason Voorhees, the antagonist in the long-running Friday the 13th horror film series. Since the low-budget flick bowed in 1980, grossing nearly $40 million domestically on a budget of $550,000, it spawned a massive cottage industry of sequels and spin-offs. (All told, ten Friday the 13th films, one remake and one crossover, 2003's Freddy vs. Jason - which pitted the series' murderer against Freddy
Costello's Wheel Good Tour Captured on New Live Box Set
In 1986, Elvis Costello and The Attractions did something bizarre for rock musicians: they reinvented the wheel. Okay, maybe that's pushing it, but the introduction of "The Spectacular Spinning Songbook" to Costello's tour itinerary remains among the most treasured of memories for longtime fans. Costello, who only used The Attractions once on his then-new album, King of America (opting instead for a number of other musicians, including a studio-created group, The Confederates, featuring T-Bone
Gilbert O'Sullivan "Himself" Coming Soon, Naturally
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
Propiniquity: The Monkees' "Instant Replay" Box Set Is Finally Here
You've probably seen the hints on Twitter, and the clues on Facebook. Now the real deal has been announced. The Monkees' 1969 Instant Replay is following in the footsteps of The Birds, The Bees and The Monkees and Head and receiving a 3-CD deluxe box set from the fine folks at Rhino Handmade. It could represent one disc for each Monkee, as Peter Tork had already departed the band by the time of the album's release in February 1969. Instant Replay is a veritable grab-bag of tracks recorded
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
To the Edge of Glory and Back: Gaga Reissues "Born This Way" with Extra Discs for Holidays
It wouldn't be the holiday season without a few reissues of recent works, and we've got a big one coming up in just a month: a sprawling three-disc version of Lady Gaga's monster hit album Born This Way. Love her or hate her, the New York girl born Stefani Germanotta has gone from Madonna-aping pop singer to bizarro pop-cultural force since her 2008 debut. The release of this year's Born This Way, her second studio-length effort (following 2009's excellent EP The Fame Monster and a throwaway
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
Reminder: Next Wave of Paul Simon Reissues (with a Little Surprise)
Since Legacy Recordings acquired the rights to Paul Simon's back catalogue from Rhino last year, things have gone pretty much by the book. Other than a new compilation and a planned Graceland box set, things have been pretty simple, with Sony's reissue arm re-releasing the mid-2000s expanded reissues of Simon's solo albums, with the same bonus tracks as before. Next Tuesday, the new Songwriter compilation will hit stores alongside the reissues (re-reissues?) of One Trick Pony (1980), Hearts and
Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here" Arriving From Analogue Productions on SACD (UPDATED)
Why Pink Floyd? EMI answered that question with the May 10 announcement of a stunning new reissue campaign for the legendary band. That program kicked off on September 27 with straight remasters of each Floyd album under the banner Discovery, plus a 2-CD Experience Edition and 4 CD/1 DVD/1 BD Immersion Edition of 1973's Dark Side of the Moon (reviewed here!). November 7 is the date for a new "greatest hits" compilation entitled A Foot in the Door, plus Experience and Immersion sets for 1975's
Harry Belafonte Still Singing His "Song" On New Masterworks Release
Harry Belafonte has worn many hats in his 84 years: recording artist, film star, civil rights crusader, tireless humanitarian. Though he gracefully and modestly bowed out of performing some years back with little fanfare, Belafonte has returned to the spotlight this month to narrate a documentary on his life and author an autobiography. Though the book is entitled My Song, the film and its musical companion both bear the name Sing Your Song. Sony Masterworks' collection is a sixteen-track
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
More of "More Hits by The Supremes"
Rejoice, Supremes fans! Hip-o Select today announced the release of the next expanded album package by Motown's most famous girl group, a double-disc edition of More Hits by The Supremes with tons of exciting bonus content. By 1965, the years of the "no-hit" Supremes at Motown Records were history. The previous year had seen three consecutive No. 1 hits - "Where Did Our Love Go," "Baby Love" and "Come See About Me" - and another two consecutive chart-toppers would be added to the list with
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
Intrada Scares Up Some Special Soundtracks
It's always a cause for celebration when a label gets some long-lost piece of music out to the public for consumption. And Intrada's special mid-week batch of archival film scores is no different, offering two premiere horror scores, one of which was presumed lost for years. First up is the score to Fright Night, the 1985 horror classic (recently remade this past summer) about a teen who has to stop his next-door neighbor, a bloodthirsty vampire, from feeding on the innocent. The score is the
Columbia Compiles "Classic Christmas" From Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett once famously asked in song, “When do the bells ring for me?” Well, this week, sleigh bells are ringing for the 85-years-young crooner. Bennett, who recently topped the charts for the first time in his long career with Duets II, has added yet another title to his considerable catalogue. The Classic Christmas Album was released yesterday by RPM, Columbia and Legacy, and brings together 18 holiday-themed recordings recorded between 1968 and 2008. With Bennett’s typical class, the
Review: Matt Monro, "The Man Behind The Voice"
In Michele Monro’s The Man Behind the Voice, the author sums up the career of her subject, who also happened to be her father: “Matt never acquired the ‘superstar’ tag, but quality was his code, and he earned the reputation for being a class act with a superlative gift.” Though Matt Monro died in 1985 aged just 54, his music continues to flourish today. Monro’s voice is as vibrant now as when he first recorded “Born Free,” “To Russia with Love” or any of the countless other songs, both
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
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