Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on well-known albums of the past and the reissues they could someday see. Today's focus is the least-remembered Christmas album on Motown Records, from a lean but not unlistenable time in the label's long history. One of the best things about the holiday season is the union of two of the greatest kinds of music: Christmas carols and Motown tunes. The definitive sound of the Detroit label, when paired with holiday standards, is
Review: Michael Jackson, "Michael"
Last winter, with Michael Jackson's sudden passing not even five months in the past, Motown and Universal Music Enterprises released I Want You Back! Unreleased Masters, a ten-track compilation that was certainly the first in a long salvo of cash-in, vault-clearing titles in honor of the King of Pop (it was wisely marketed as commemorating the 40th anniversary of the J5's first single, which was true enough). Surprisingly, after a great but ill-timed box set collecting Jackson's solo albums and
Eagle Rock is Still Twisted
Fans were hoping for a decent set of remasters for the '80s shock-rockers Twisted Sister at some point in the near future. (A previous set of reissues on the Spitfire label were of intensely dubious quality.) Unfortunately, Warner Music Group seems to have bestowed the remaster task not to Rhino but to Eagle Rock Entertainment, who've put out a steady stream of TS product in the past few months. Now, on January 25, Eagle Rock has another two reissues coming out: the band's sophomore album You
Back Tracks: The Christmas Sounds of the Beach Boys
There may be no group more associated with the sounds of summer than The Beach Boys, favorite sons of Hawthorne, California. Yet the boys of summer could also accurately be described as the boys of winter, based on their timeless, perennial music celebrating Christmas. While the entire official Beach Boys Christmas catalogue is based around just one released album and another shelved one, the group's contribution to seasonal music can't be underestimated. On the eve of the group's 50th
Bob Marley to "Live Forever" on New Live Set
Arguably, Bob Marley already is living forever, at least musically. His catalogue has been treated well through various reissues and compilations from Island Records since his death in 1981; the compilation Legend remains the highest-selling reggae album in history, with sales in excess of 14 million copies in the U.S. alone. With the 30th anniversary of Marley's passing imminent, Tuff Gong/UMe preps another treat from the vault: his last recorded concert, in support of the Uprising album. Live
Legacy Readies New Playlists for 2011
Legacy Recording has got another batch of titles in the long-running Playlist series for next month. The line-up is particularly diverse, stretching from soul (Lou Rawls, Patti Labelle) to more recent pop acts (Five for Fighting, Ace of Base, Bowling for Soup) and even touching on some gospel acts (including a spiritual disc from Willie Nelson). They're not as heavy on the rarities, although some of the sets have some appealing rare cuts; Mr. Mister's compilation will feature four tracks from
Release Round-Up: Week of December 14
Another incredibly short one as we get closer to Christmas! Michael Jackson, Michael (Epic) A posthumous collection (the first of many) consisting of 21st century outtakes by The King of Pop. Did he sing them all? I don't know, but I know I'll buy this if only to make Will.i.am angry. (Official site) Dio, Holy Diver (Niji) The classic Dio album remastered and pressed onto picture vinyl by the late singer's own Niji label. (Facebook page) Bad Religion, 30th Anniversary Box Set
"Icon" Series Gets More Iconic
Universal is prepping another batch of Icon compilations for the first week of 2011. Now, we've been hard on this series before, but there's actually a lot to like about these new sets. While previous Icon sets have been bashed by The Second Disc for either shamelessly repackaging previous compilations or offering fewer CD-based rarities than, say, Legacy's Playlist series (more on that tomorrow), this new batch of Icon sets collate artists who haven't had much in the way of compilations yet
A Spoonful of Reissues Across the Pond
U.K. label Edsel is prepping a series of expanded two-fer reissues of most of The Lovin' Spoonful's catalogue. The original group - singer/songwriter John Sebastian, guitarist Zal Yanovsky, bassist Steve Boone and drummer Joe Butler - emerged from New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood in the 1960s. In the middle of the decade, they rode a wave of success thanks to folk-pop tunes like "Do You Believe in Magic," "Daydream," "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" and the No. 1 hit
"They're Here...": FSM Closes Year with "Poltergeist," "Horse"
Film Score Monthly has readied its last two titles of the year to order: one a classic Western, one a spooky horror treat. As mentioned months ago (in a rare up-front statement by FSM honcho Lukas Kendall), FSM fully expands Jerry Goldsmith's classic score to the Tobe Hooper-directed, Steven Spielberg-produced Poltergeist (1982) to completeness. As one of the most popular scores by one of the most popular modern composers, Poltergeist has been reissued before, on Rhino Records in 1997. This
Back Tracks: The Christmas Music of Johnny Mathis
Today's second installment in a special series of holiday-themed Back Tracks explores the holiday catalogue of legendary Columbia recording artist Johnny Mathis. Earlier this year, Columbia Records released Let It Be Me, a new set by the 75-years-young singer with the smooth voice and big vibrato. This is no small feat considering that Mathis made his Columbia debut in 1956, and other than a brief tenure at Mercury, has remained at the label for the 54 years since. With six decades of LPs in
The Second Disc Artist Interview #1: Mr. Richard Page on "Pull"
By any standards, Richard Page would have a lot to be thankful for as the frontman of Mr. Mister, the band behind chart-topping smash hits "Broken Wings" and "Kyrie." This year, however, there's another part of his career to celebrate: after two decades, Pull, the intended fourth album from the band, is coming out of hiding thanks to the fine folks at Legacy Recordings. Granted, Page wears more than just the face of Mr. Mister. As a noted songwriter for Madonna ("I'll Remember," her 1994 hit
In Praise of Box Set Sales
As any music collector can tell you, buying box sets and reissues is an expensive hobby. It's not often that fans catch a break, either; outside of the occasional Cyber Monday deal before the holidays, prices on box sets rarely go down, unless you've found the right connections in the secondary market. So it's refreshing to see labels taking a nice step toward alleviating the financial crunch that comes with box set collecting. Fans of Sony and Legacy may have noted their recently-created Web
Review: Mr. Mister, "Pull"
It's a story that's been done to death: band releases hit album, changes direction ambitiously for follow-up, is met with critical or commercial indifference - or worse, the disapproval of a label leads to said ambitious follow-up never happening. Sometimes, though, there's a post-script, Eddie and The Cruisers-style, where the music is freed from captivity to the delight of adoring fans. In some ways, this is the story of Pull, the mythical fourth album by Mr. Mister, one of the more notable
Back Tracks: John Lennon
Whether you thought he was the smartest of The Beatles, the best writer, the most politically astute, the one with the most interesting solo career - or if you disagree with any of those statements - I daresay I cannot allow you to disagree with this one: it is not fair that John Lennon is not still alive today. Regardless of your take on his input into the Fab Four (or their eventual demise), Lennon was very much an intelligent, caring, smart musician, who spent much of his career using those
Open Forum: A Holiday Head-Scratcher from WHAM! (UPDATED 12/7)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8gmARGvPlI] Here's a Christmas conundrum that's stumping this catalogue correspondent: are there more than two versions of WHAM!'s "Last Christmas"? A year ago this author bought a copy of The Essential NOW That's What I Call Christmas (UMG Recordings B0011941-02, 2008). Only this year did I open the disc and discover a mix of "Last Christmas," WHAM!'s perennial holiday chestnut, that I don't believe I've ever heard before. Most WHAM! fans can tell you
Re-eh-sue Theory
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on well-known albums of the past and the reissues they could someday see. Today's focus is on two hosers from the Great White North and the strangely funny musical legacy they left behind. The first flurries of the new winter stuck to the lawn outside The Second Disc HQ yesterday. Inevitably, we're going to need something to warm us up into the holiday season and the bitterest cold months of 2011. Sweaters? Check. Tuques? Check.
Back Tracks: Andy Williams at Christmas
Welcome to the first installment in a special series of holiday-themed Back Tracks in which we’ll explore an artist’s entire seasonal catalogue! When it comes time each year to create my annual Christmas mix for family and friends, it’s always an uphill battle to not open with Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” From the brassy fanfare to the upbeat chorus, it may be one of the ultimate Christmas anthems. This cherished song from the team of Edward Pola and George Wyle
Release Round-Up: Week of December 7
ABBA, ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits - Special Edition / The Vinyl Collection (Polydor/UMe) The most popular ABBA compilation ever gets expanded with a DVD of music videos, including a previously unreleased animated clip. Also, a deluxe box of the band's eight LPs on vinyl alongside a ten-track record of single and non-LP tracks will be released the same day. (Official site) Joy Division, +- (Rhino U.K.) A box of ten partially fictional singles on vinyl to honor deceased frontman Ian Curtis, 30
ABBA Vinyl Box to Make Fans Dance, Jive, Have Time of Lives
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/aBBa#p/u/3/dBcEz5d5R6E] If the previously-reported expansion of ABBA's best-selling ABBA Gold compilation with a bonus DVD hasn't excited your inner dancing queen, here's another collectible that might pique your interest: the same day (tomorrow in the U.S.), Polydor and UMe are releasing ABBA: The Vinyl Collection, a newly-remastered box set. The set contains nine records in total: the first eight are all the ABBA studio albums internationally released by Polar
Review: Bing Crosby, "The Crosby Christmas Sessions"
It’s beginning to sound a lot like Christmas when you hear the voice of Bing Crosby. It would hardly be considered a stretch to credit Crosby as one of the inventors of the art of popular singing. Crosby was among the first performers to conversationally and intimately sing as an extension of speech; he also pioneered the technique of the microphone so a singer wouldn’t have to belt to the rafters. Despite these accomplishments that seismically shifted the sound of American music, the late
Marshall Tucker Box Coming Soon
Southern rockers The Marshall Tucker Band will commemorate their near-40-year legacy with a new box set next week. The Capricorn Years is a 10-disc affair that collates the first seven MTB LPs (from the self-titled 1973 album to 1978's Together Forever), all of which were originally released on Capricorn Records (and many of them reissued on Shout! Factory with a live bonus track or two in recent years). It also includes another Shout! Factory-originated product: the two-CD/one-DVD Carolina
The Search is Over: Two Survivor LPs Coming Back to CD
British indie label Rock Candy Records is putting two Survivor albums back in print: 1983's Caught in the Game and 1984's Vital Signs. These two LPs followed Survivor's 1982 smash "Eye of the Tiger," famously featured on the soundtrack to Rocky III; interestingly, only one of them had any degree of success. Caught in the Game was mostly a stiff, only managing No. 82 on the Billboard charts (the same position as pre-success LP Premonition in 1981) and the title track, the only single, did not
The Second Disc's Crystal Ball
Today being the first day of December, we're really entering the home stretch of another year. With that in mind, we present a neat little discussion topic for your perusal. With a new year creeping around the corner, there's going to be an inevitable crop of reissues coming our way next year. Billy Joel and Paul Simon are having their catalogues redone, and reissues from George Michael and Thin Lizzy are going to brighten up the bleaker months of winter. We can even expect offerings from Ozzy
Reissue Theory: Andy Gibb
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on well-known albums of the past and the reissues they could someday see. The new Bee Gees box set prompts this post to look at the "other" Gibb brother who enjoyed a great deal of success - yet is sadly not around to continue making great music. As Joe's review of the new Bee Gees box set Mythology shows, young Andy Gibb was a pretty integral member of the musical family. Though he wasn't part of the ensemble that Barry, Robin
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