Longtime Todd Rundgren fans are familiar with the renaissance man’s numerous genre excursions, from pop to rock and everywhere in between: psychedelia, soul, electronica, even metal. But comparatively fewer fans have heard Rundgren’s one and only full-blown excursion into disco. Shortly after completing 1976’s Faithful LP, the iconoclastic producer took the members of Utopia into the studio to create the album known as Disco Jets. Yet the album crafted by Willie Wilcox (drums), Roger Powell
The Need for Back-Up: Rock Hall Finally Inducts Classic Backing Bands
One of the many, many criticisms of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is their occasional neglect of certain bands in favor of other artists. From the first year of induction in 1987, when Smokey Robinson was inducted instead of all of The Miracles, it's been a legitimate concern. Today, the Hall attempted to alleviate some of that concern by announcing five such bands would be inducted alongside the five previously-announced members of this year's class. The additional bands are: The Blue
Review: Frank Sinatra, "The Concert Sinatra" (2012)
There have been countless recordings of Frank Sinatra…but only one Concert Sinatra. So named for its full concert orchestra (and not for a live performance), the 1963 album remains a career triumph. It’s perhaps the pinnacle of Sinatra’s long association with conductor/arranger Nelson Riddle, a vivid display of the singer’s gifts as a dramatic actor, and the ultimate valentine to the American theatrical songbook. Make no mistake, The Concert Sinatra is serious symphonic music, and it’s back
The Man in Black Meets the Man Upstairs: New Johnny Cash "Bootleg" Album Collects Gospel Material and Rarities
Underneath the darkness of The Man in Black, there was a great light. Despite trials that would likely have tested the faith of a lesser man, Johnny Cash’s belief in a higher power was unshakeable. And Cash formidably expressed those beliefs in song over the course of his long career. Like another American icon, Elvis Presley, Cash built up a body of gospel and spiritual music with such depth that it has easily stood the test of time alongside his more famous secular works. Johnny Cash
Bricks in the Wall: A Pink Floyd Teaser for Your Lunch Break
How excited are you for Pink Floyd's latest Immersion Edition, for the iconic double album The Wall? It's doubtful you're alone. The "Why Pink Floyd?" reissue campaign was one of 2011's highest-profile catalogue series, and - marbles aside - the Immersion Edition box sets of The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here were labors of love if ever any existed. So, as a treat while you count the days down until the box's February 28 release, Pink Floyd's YouTube account has posted this sneak
Touch the Sky: Four Classic Carole King Albums Reissued
When Carole King left Lou Adler’s Ode Records, the label that guided her in the transition from urban Brill Building queen to singer/songwriter/earth mother, it marked the end of an era. And how would the Tapestry weaver top the two distinct periods that had come before? King signed to Hollywood’s venerable Capitol Records label, and the title of her first LP for the label said it all: Simple Things. King’s final Ode LP, 1976’s Thoroughbred, had emphasized a return to nature in its cover
Anyone Who Had a Heart: Shelby Lynne's Dusty Springfield Tribute, Reissued
When I Am Shelby Lynne appeared on the Mercury label in 2000, its eponymous singer finally hit on an approach that synthesized her varied influences (country, soul, R&B, rock-and-roll) into a relevant and contemporary whole. Lynne picked up the Best New Artist Grammy, despite having released her first album in 1989, and the album’s title indicated that, finally, the artist knew who she was, and was ready to share her music with the world. Fast-forward eight years, and a number of albums
High Anxiety: Wounded Bird Offers Blood, Sweat and Tears, Phil Everly, and...Mel Brooks?!?
No need to suffer from high anxiety (it’s always the same)! Chances are that Wounded Bird Records might make you so very happy with a trio of new releases slated for February 21. Phil Everly’s 1973 solo offering for RCA Records, Star Spangled Springer, has never before been available on CD despite contributions from Warren Zevon and Duane Eddy, and so Wounded Bird’s reissue will undoubtedly fill a gap in more than a few Everly Brothers collections. It’s joined by the 2-CD release of Blood, Sweat
Release Round-Up: Week of February 7
Queen, The Works / A Kind of Magic / The Miracle / Innuendo / Made in Heaven: Deluxe Editions (Hollywood) The last five deluxe reissues of the Queen catalogue, which began last year for the 40th anniversary, are now available domestically (they came out in the U.K. in November). So if you've missed these, now's the chance to get them without importing 'em. Big Country, The Crossing: Deluxe Edition (Mercury/UMC) From the U.K., one of the most criminally underrated albums of the '80s, expanded
Gonna Take a Miracle: Deniece Williams Trio Coming From BBR and FTG
Let's hear it for Deniece Williams. By the time of her debut album in 1976, the resilient singer with the remarkable range had already recorded a Northern Soul favorite ("I'm Walking Away" on the small Lock Records label), performed with Minnie Riperton and Roberta Flack, and been a member of Stevie Wonder's versatile backing group Wonderlove. This is Niecy, on Columbia Records, was produced by Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire and Charles Stepney of Chess Records fame, and their
Always on Our Mind: Willie Nelson Returns to Sony in New Legacy Deal
To all the girls and boys who have loved the music of Willie Nelson before, there’s plenty of good news ahead. The red-headed stranger, 78, has signed a new deal with Sony’s Legacy Recordings division that encompasses both new albums (with a total of five promised) and archival releases. Nelson, one of the most prolific recording artists of any genre, has maintained a release schedule that would make many a younger man envious. In 2011 alone, Nelson released one studio album and one live
Finally, The Second Disc Has an Excuse to Address This Whole Lana Del Rey Thing
Although we make our claim as tireless reporters on all things in the catalogue music world, we at Second Disc HQ are music lovers first and foremost, regardless of the era. So it gives me a bit of weird pleasure to speak a little bit out of the usual comfort zone for a second and talk about one of pop music's weirdest current trend stories, which actually, tenuously, has some ties to our usual reportage. If you're a voracious consumer of all topics musical, you've probably read anywhere from
When The Lovelight Starts Shining: Lost Brit Girl Pop of Beryl Marsden Returns
If you peruse enough collections of Merseybeat, chances are you'll be familiar with the name of Beryl Marsden (no relation to Gerry, of Pacemakers fame). A product of the same Liverpool club scene that birthed the career of Beatle pal Cilla Black, Marsden played a number of recognizable Fab haunts, including the Cavern Club and the Star Club, and even supported the Beatles on their 1964 U.K. tour. But Marsden had never received a career-spanning anthology...until now! Changes: The Story of
Straight Through/From The Heart: Dio Goes Deluxe From Universal, Audio Fidelity Preps Dio, Bryan Adams
It’s 1983 all over again at Audio Fidelity. The audiophile specialty label is readying two albums from that year touching on both the rock and pop ends of the musical spectrum. Bryan Adams’ Cuts Like a Knife and Dio’s Holy Diver are both due in stores on February 14 as 24K Gold CDs playable on all CD players. Cuts Like a Knife was Adams’ third effort, eschewing the stylistic presentation of his first two albums in favor of a melodic rock style that caught on with both listeners and radio
Greater Hits: Aretha/Arista
Welcome to our latest installment of Greater Hits, where we scour an artist's discography for compilations and pick the best one for your buck. Today focuses on Aretha Franklin's fascinating third chapter on Arista Records and the multitude of compilations that it's yielded. Just as I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, Aretha Franklin's sizzling 1967 album and first for Atlantic Records, was a shock to anyone who'd known her from her days singing solid if not transcendent soul on Columbia in
Tattoo You: Rolling Stones Digital Archive Unveils 1981 Concert
When the Rolling Stones opened the Stones Archive for business late in 2011 with the first-ever legitimate release of The Brussels Affair, it was greeted as somewhat of a mixed blessing. The Archive promised to be a place where fans of the World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band "can listen to unheard music, view unseen photographs and films, and look at rare merchandise. Fans have the opportunity to buy items such as signed lithographs, deluxe box sets, even personalised merchandise and tour gear
Review: Aretha Franklin, "Knew You Were Waiting: The Best of Aretha Franklin 1980-1998"
Aretha Franklin is serious about her royalty. Billed on her newly-activated Twitter account as "the undisputed Queen of Soul" (take that, Tina Turner!), Franklin doesn't take her title lightly. But for a brief period, the artist's credentials as reigning Queen of Pop were just as unimpeachable. When Aretha joined Arista Records in 1980, it was after five disappointing albums at Atlantic, none of which have ever seen the light of day on compact disc. On those LPs, producers as diverse as
Still in Love with Them: Vault Gems Abound on New Thin Lizzy Deluxe Sets
The last two years have been great for Thin Lizzy fans and collectors. Universal's U.K. arm has, in recent times, expanded a good chunk of the band's 1970s catalogue, released a thorough box set of tracks from the band's BBC sessions and announced the acquisition of a ridiculous amount of unreleased tapes for future catalogue purposes. The catalogue action continues this spring with double-disc deluxe editions of the band's fourth and fifth albums, Nightlife and Fighting. Each set comes with a
Release Round-Up: Week of January 31
Aretha Franklin, Knew You Were Waiting: The Best of 1980-1998 (Arista/Legacy) The Queen of Soul's comeback years, in a new anthology. Check back soon for a review from Joe as well as a Greater Hits from me stacking this set up to other compilations from this part of Aretha's discography. Various Artists,
All Hail the "King of the Beats": Mantronix Anthology Released
Here's an overlooked treat released last week: a double-disc compilation honoring influential hip-hop/dance duo Mantronix. In the mid-1980s, as the New York rap scene blossomed and all sorts of rhythms were seeping into pop music, fewer dance acts were more exciting than Mantronix. Comprised of DJ/producer Kurtis Mantronik (nee el-Khaleel) and rapper MC Tee, Mantronix won club kids over with their sample-ready electronic sounds, combining processed beats, synthesized bass and turntable
Review: "Golden Gate Groove: The Sound of Philadelphia, Live in San Francisco 1973"
No love, no peace, no shoes on my feet…no home, just a shack where I sleep… In the fall of 1971, Philadelphia International Records launched its long-playing series with Billy Paul’s Going East, and the title opus in which the velvet-voiced crooner spins a slow-burning yarn of slavery. It was hardly Top 40 fare (Paul would have to wait till producers/songwriters/label entrepreneurs Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff gifted him “Me and Mrs. Jones” the following year) but signaled the dramatic
The Hills of Yesterday: Henry Mancini, Charles Strouse Offer "Molly Maguires" Scores
A victim of the blacklist, director Martin Ritt (The Front, The Great White Hope and Norma Rae) felt passionately about using film to explore relevant social issues. So it would have been no surprise that he was taken with the story of the Molly Maguires, the Irish-American coal miners who formed a secret society (some might say, of terrorists) to fight their oppressive employers in 19th century Pennsylvania. Ritt enlisted an all-star cast including Sean Connery (still in his James Bond
Vintage, Retro Mixes Shine on U.K. Philadelphia International Box Set
Now's as good a time as any to get into the sweet sounds and lush arrangements of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. 2011 marked the 40th anniversary of legendary writer/producers Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff's creation of a label that set the groundwork for some of the best soul and R&B sounds of the decade, and this year's seeing a lot of excellent catalogue projects honoring that legacy. We've already told you about Legacy's Golden Gate Groove: The Sound of Philadelphia Live in San
Thank You M.C. 1969: Michael Chapman's Folk-Rock Classic "Rainmaker" Arrives From Light in the Attic
When the distinct green Harvest Records logo is remembered today, it’s often for Pink Floyd or early Electric Light Orchestra. But the label, created to stake a claim in the burgeoning rock market, boasted a deep, diverse roster, all the better to compete with other “alternative” labels like Decca’s Deram or Philips’ Vertigo. One of the artists who found early success on Harvest was Michael Chapman, a former art and photography instructor. Chapman’s greatest achievement was arguably 1970’s
Chicago Reissues Return From Friday Music, "Hot Streets" Kicks Off Campaign
On 1971’s Chicago III, one of the band's passionate anthems went, “I just want to be free…” But it took until 1978 for the band to be truly free, and that year’s Hot Streets was an album of firsts. The freedom largely came as a result of the group having severed its ties with longtime producer/manager James William Guercio; hence, Hot Streets was Chicago’s first album in many years not recorded at Guercio’s famed Caribou Ranch. It was also the first to lack a number in its title and first to
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