Ace Records has released a number of splendid Motown collections in recent years, but now the label is taking a different approach to the music of Hitsville, USA. As Motown celebrates its landmark 60th anniversary, On the Detroit Beat: Motor City Soul - U.K. Style 1963-1967 brings together 24 diverse British interpretations of Motown classics, making for a potent reminder that the Sound of Young America was, truly, international. Compiler Tony Rounce helpfully points out in his liner notes
Ace Round-Up: Label Celebrates John Barry, Jackie DeShannon, Thom Bell, Paul Williams, Holland-Dozier-Holland
Today, we're rounding up five releases from Ace Records, all of which were released within the past few months by the U.K. label. Ace has followed up its 2022 collection dedicated to the oeuvre of composer John Barry, The More Things Change: Film TV, and Studio Work 1968-1972, with a new volume of the film maestro's works. Something's Up! Film, TV, and Studio Work 1964-1967 (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) hardly plays like a collection of runners-up, however. Barry crafted so
Promised Land: 'Memphis' Box Set Celebrates Elvis' Connection to a Legendary Rock City
On July 18, 1953, an 18-year-old truck driver from Tupelo, Mississippi named Elvis Presley walked into the Memphis Recording Service at Sun Records. He paid $3.98 to record a double-sided acetate, allegedly a belated birthday gift for his mother. Thus began not only an incredible singing career that changed the edifices of popular music, but a relationship with Tennessee's second most-populous city - one that would last the rest of his life. This summer, a new box set from Legacy Recordings will
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Billy Joel, "The Vinyl Collection Vol. 2"
On July 25, 2024, Billy Joel will play his 150th lifetime show at New York's Madison Square Garden. It will be the 104th show of the first-of-its-kind residency which began in 2014. Remarkably yet unsurprisingly, his final ten shows are already sold out. More remarkably - but just as unsurprisingly to anyone who's followed the singer-songwriter over the past 30 years - he's filled the cavernous arena 100+ times over the past decade without introducing a single new song. (His last two pop
The Second Disc Guide to Record Store Day Drop 1 TOMORROW!
With the nation still fighting COVID-19, Record Store Day here in the U.S. looks a little - make that a lot - different this year. The usual offerings have been split among three dates with Drop 1 taking place tomorrow, August 29, at your local independent record retailer. Drop 2 is September 26, and Drop 3 is October 24. Every retailer is handling the Drop a bit differently thanks to the necessary accommodations for social distancing, smaller crowds, and better safety precautions. So please
See a Little Light: Bob Mould Plans 'Distortion' Box Set, Vinyl Reissue Series
Looking for a way to celebrate Bob Mould ahead of his next album, Blue Hearts, due next month? British label Edsel is joining forces with the punk icon to collect nearly everything he's ever released into a new CD box set. Distortion 1989-2019, available October 2, offers 24 discs of Mould's work after the dissolution of seminal hardcore outfit Hüsker Dü. It features all his studio albums credited to himself, '90s power trio Sugar and even dance-oriented side projects LoudBomb and Blowoff,
Review: James Taylor, "The Warner Bros. Albums 1970-1976"
Over six years at Warner Bros. Records, James Taylor laid the groundwork for a career that is now in its sixth decade. The Massachusetts native's records were key exponents of the early Laurel Canyon sound, not to mention the entire confessional "singer-songwriter" movement that today is synonymous with the 1970s. The six albums he released at Warner Bros. were collected over the summer in one essential CD or vinyl LP box set, The Warner Bros. Albums 1970-1976, that's perfect for the impending
A Thousand Years Wide: Soundgarden Expand "Badmotorfinger" in a Big Way
When news first broke that Soundgarden were planning a 25th anniversary edition of their third album, 1991’s Badmotorfinger, it was almost hard to imagine what extra content would be included. After all, 2014’s Echo of Miles: Scattered Tracks Along the Path had compiled just about all of the group’s B-sides across three discs. Well, with the grunge explosion celebrated heavily in the Soundgarden-adjacent camp (box sets devoted to Mother Love Bone and Temple of the Dog are among 2016’s bigger
Slices of Bread: David Gates and James Griffin's Solo Records, Reissued and Remastered
Bread occupied a unique place on the Elektra Records roster. The so-called “soft rock” band shared a label with the likes of Love, The Doors, The Stooges and The MC5, and regularly visited the charts with such signature songs as “Make It with You” (No. 1, 1970), “It Don’t Matter to Me” (No. 10, 1970), “If” (No. 4, 1971), “Baby I’m-a Want You” (No. 3, 1971), “Everything I Own” (No. 5, 1972) and “The Guitar Man” (No. 11, 1972). All of those staples were written and sung by David Gates, the
In Case You Missed It: Edsel's Mega-Release Slate
The recent release slate from U.K. super-reissue label Edsel is what we at Second Disc HQ like to call "an embarrassment of riches." You've seen our giveaways over the past few weeks highlighting some of the best expanded discographies Edsel's had to offer this year: Suede, The Beat, Sugar, Everything But the Girl and Jimmy Somerville, to name just five. Then there've been other expansions, like the recent Aztec Camera reissues, and neat compilations on the Music Club Deluxe sister label. Can
Invasion of the Return of the ICON Series
You know, it took some time, but Universal's ICON series is really coming into its own. What began as a limply-packaged, uber-budget-oriented series of single-artist compilations - not a patch on the label's previous 20th Century Masters and Gold series - is really emerging into something unique. It's just a shame it took this many tries to work out the kinks. Ha ha ha! Who am I kidding? The newest batch of ICON titles, due for release next Tuesday, July 19, is boring. You have a compilation by
Mining Audiophile Treasures: Coming Soon from Audio Fidelity and MFSL
Some of rock’s finest will be receiving the deluxe treatment from audiophile specialist labels Audio Fidelity and Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL) in the coming months: The Beach Boys, The Band, Gram Parsons, Deep Purple, Foreigner, The Pretenders and Billy Joel. The earliest release in this bunch is also one of the most exciting. The Beach Boys' Today! was released in 1965 and is generally remembered as one of the first albums on which Brian Wilson displayed the sensitive studio wizardry that