Frankly, my dear, the Kritzerland label has given us even more reasons to give a damn. On Monday morning, the label announced its latest releases: the first-ever CD release of the Original London Cast Recording of Gone with the Wind, the 1972 musical written by composer/lyricist Harold Rome (Wish You Were Here, Fanny, Pins and Needles) and librettist Horton Foote (To Kill a Mockingbird, Tender Mercies, The Trip to Bountiful), along with a two-on-one CD presenting Elmer Bernstein’s scores to Fear
Judy, Judy, Judy: Garland's "Carnegie Hall" Original LP Arrives on CD in 2012
Of the 3,165 audience members at Carnegie Hall on the evening of Sunday, April 23, 1961, just how many of them realized that they were witnessing musical history when Judy Garland took the stage? While most probably came to that realization by evening's end, surely all 3,165 knew by the time Capitol released its recording. Judy at Carnegie Hall remains one of the most acclaimed, beloved albums of all time, live or otherwise. Capturing Garland at her artistic peak, the lavish double-LP spent 95
Are Two Discs Better Than One for Pearl Jam Live Show?
The reissue conundrum of the week was figuring out how many discs of bonus material were going to figure into Pearl Jam's upcoming reissues of Vs. and Vitalogy. The deluxe edition combines both albums with a much-requested live set at Boston's Orpheum Theater in 1994; that set is also featured on CD and vinyl in the inevitable super-deluxe box. But the deluxe edition listed three CDs worth of additional material, while the super-deluxe box listed four. And the deluxe CD, when pre-ordered on the
The Softer Side of Soundtracks Explored by FSM
Film Score Monthly's newest release is ladylike - at least, the scores presented therein are from films that appeal to the ladies. Appearing for the first time anywhere are a pair of scores: Georges Delerue's score to Rich and Famous, a 1981 film featuring Candice Bergen and Jacqueline Bisset as writers and lifelong friends and Michel Legrand's music to One is a Lonely Number (1972), which chronicled the plight of a recently-divorced woman (Trish Van Devere, who received a Golden Globe
Capitol to Make Beach Boys Fans "SMiLE" This Summer?
When it comes to The Beach Boys, I've learned to take any news with a decidedly big grain of salt. But some "news" is just too good not to pass on. In an interview with Jeremy Roberts of Examiner.com, Al Jardine revealed that "Capitol Records plans to issue a Beach Boys version of 'Smile' [sic] sometime this summer to begin the celebration of The Beach Boys' [50th] anniversary." Could a release of the original "most famous unheard album in pop history" actually happen? When it comes to The Beach
When Matt Met Hoagy: Rare Monro LP Reissued in U.K.
The success story of Matt Monro is one unlike any other. The singer, born Terence Edward Parsons in London in 1930, had recorded for both Decca and Fontana, and sang regularly on the BBC, but the brass ring eluded him. Then, in 1960, EMI producer George Martin was seeking a voice to spoof Frank Sinatra’s on a Peter Sellers comedy album cheekily titled Songs for Swinging Sellers. Martin hired Matt Monro, and billed him under the very Sellers-esque pseudonym of “Fred Flange.” Well, the “Flange”
The Second Disc Interview #4: Talking Soundtracks with MV Gerhard of La La Land Records
The wide berth of reissues, box sets and compilations across major and independent labels the world over, means some releases can fall through the cracks at times. At The Second Disc, it was always an early mission to make sure the labels handling catalogue soundtrack reissues did not suffer this fate. Intrada, Film Score Monthly, Kritzerland, Varese Sarabande - all are essentials for the catalogue music fan with a taste for soundtracks, and their work is hard to ignore. La La Land Records,
Rumor Alert: Does Axl Think "Better" of "Democracy"?
It goes without saying that Chinese Democracy has one of the most bizarre histories behind any album in rock and roll history. While most expected Guns N' Roses to dissolve in the 1990s after nearly all of its members left or were ejected from the band, lead singer and solo original member Axl Rose was insistent that the band's next album would come out. He remained insistent at various intervals between 1999 and the album's eventual release in 2008, by which point the band lineup shifted around
Full "Vs.," "Vitalogy" Reissue Details Announced
Pearl Jam fans will have a few more black (silver?) circles to spin when Vs. and Vitalogy are reissued this March - and now we've got full details on the sets, including deluxe formats. We mentioned a few days ago that Amazon had shown track listings for each album that had three bonus tracks apiece. It was also assumed that there would be a box combining both expanded albums with additional swag, not unlike 2009's Ten monolith. And now we have details on all that and more. First of all, in
Review: Tim Buckley, "Tim Buckley"
When Tim Buckley is discussed today, it's most often in the context of his son Jeff, and the eerie similarities between the lives of father and son, both of whom died at tragically young ages. So Rhino Handmade's expanded two-CD remaster of Tim Buckley's debut (Rhino Handmade RHM2 526087, 2011) isn't just a celebration of a folk-rock classic, but a stunning reminder of his talent on its own considerable merits. Tim Buckley's eponymous debut remains a haunting work by a haunted man. Yet like
UPDATE: Marley Versions Aplenty
The release of Live Forever, Bob Marley's last concert on CD, yielded the first retail exclusives for a catalogue title in 2011 - a T-shirt for Target buyers and a bonus disc for Best Buy customers - and we have some more detail about the offerings at each store. For reasons I can't wrap my head around, Target is also offering a third version of the set - not only the double-disc edition with and without the T-shirt, but a pared-down single-disc version of the album. While the full version of
A Little More "Love" is All You Need: iTunes to Release Another Beatles Album, Expanded
Despite the less than stellar reception by yours truly, The Beatles' partnership with iTunes has been a massive boon for The Fab Four's catalogue. And that boon looks to get a little bigger next week, when EMI and Apple release another one of the band's albums for download: the soundtrack to Love, the band's Cirque du Soleil show. Created in 2006 for The Mirage in Las Vegas, Love combines the artistic and acrobatic aesthetics of the Montreal-based entertainment troupe with the music of The
Reissue Theory: George Michael's Different Corners
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on well-known albums of the past and the reissues they could someday see. With the reissue of George Michael's most flawless pop album, today's installment takes you into the corners of the world pop music scene to prove how part of the musical culture he really was. The reissue of George Michael's iconic Faith album has your humble catalogue correspondent excited. Really excited. So excited that today's Reissue Theory talks
Review: George Michael, "Faith: Legacy Edition"
It won't make any sense in today's media-saturated world, but in 1987 and 1988, George Michael was inescapable. The idea that one single artist could grab multiple genders, races, cliques and generations by the shoulders with his or her music is all but impossible today, but the man born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou did just that. Faith, released by Epic Records in the fall of 1987, put six tracks in Billboard's Top 5 (two-thirds of them No. 1 hits), netted him a Grammy Award for Album of the
Feel Good Music: Flying Burrito Brothers Live Set Coming from Hip-o Select
Hip-o Select has put up a new release for order at the top of the week: a live set by country-rock pioneers The Flying Burrito Brothers. The FBB were the brainchild of Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, upon leaving The Byrds. The duo were the initial nucleus of the multi-musician ensemble. At the time of the recording of Authorized Bootleg: Late Show, November 7, 1970 The Fillmore East, New York, NY, Parsons and original bassist Chris Ethridge had left and were replaced by Rick Roberts and Bernie
Dionne, Natalie, Nancy Reissues Coming from Soulmusic Label
Cherry Red's got soul. Mike and I reported last week on the impressive slate planned by Cherry Red's Big Break Records label. A smaller yet equally rich line-up is on the way from another Cherry Red division, Soulmusic.com Records.On February 14 in the U.K. and one week later stateside, the label will reissue five classic albums from a trio of accomplished vocalists: Nancy Wilson, Dionne Warwick and Natalie Cole. Perhaps most exciting is the two-on-one CD release of Wilson's 1974 Capitol
Release Round-Up: Week of February 1
George Michael, Faith: Legacy Edition (Epic/Legacy) There's going to be a review of the two-disc/one-DVD edition of this album (also available as a deluxe box set) coming up later today, but let me say right now: Damn. If you forgot how good this record was - how it makes a lot of '80s pop look temporarily flawed and full of effort - go buy this immediately. I'll wait. (Official site) Bob Marley and The Wailers, Live Forever: September 23, 1980 - The Stanley Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA (Tuff
Short Takes: Legacy's New Essentials, Concord's New Jazz Reissues and a Catalogue Score from Perserverance
Legacy's latest release schedule update promises three new titles in the Essential series: Paul Revere & The Raiders, Django Reinhardt and Eartha Kitt. All are going to be double disc sets, and specifically, the Raiders set (compiled by Bob Irwin of Sundazed Music) will feature some promo-only tracks and some mono single mixes. All are due on March 15. Concord has four new reissues of classic jazz titles also planned for March 15. They are Monk's Music (1958) by Thelonious Monk, Cal
Pearl Jam Reissue Details Trickling Out
We've previously covered the forthcoming wave of Pearl Jam reissues from Legacy, this time pertaining to the band's second and third LPs Vs. (1993) and Vitalogy (1995). It seems that these sets might be closer to stores than previously known, thanks to some Amazon listings. The retailer has March 29 dates for expanded editions of each album, as well as a box that looks to collate both of them with possible additional material. (This clears up a bit of confusion from a Rolling Stone story that
The Name Was Barry
It is with a heavy heart that I pass along to you the news that film composer John Barry died on Sunday. Barry, a five-time Oscar winner, is of course best known for his work on 12 of the 22 James Bond films. Though his authorship of the iconic theme is under dispute even after a U.K. court ruled that it was Dr. No composer Monty Norman's work alone, Barry is still the name most synonymous with Bond music, and crafted some of the series' best themes. The timing of Barry's passing comes at an
New Neil Diamond Compilation: How Much Bang for Your Buck? (UPDATED 2/2)
Come this March, Neil Diamond won't be such a solitary man. Diamond will find plenty of stellar company when he’s inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 14. While Diamond has maintained his superstar status in both the recording studio and the concert stage for 45 years, chances are that the recordings he made for Bang Records between 1966 and 1968 were foremost on voters’ minds when choosing to induct the singer into the venerable hall. It’s during this period that Diamond
Would New Queen Reissues Ever Take on the World Someday?
For catalogue fans, the announcement of the track listings for the upcoming Queen reissues was the hot story of the week. New versions of the band's first five albums, each expanded with a host of bonus tracks, are due in the U.K. in March as part of the band's new licensing agreement with Universal Music Group - and there's plenty of room on the fence, because many have taken a stand for or against the sets. To this writer, the track lists probably could have been better - but can't they all
All Aboard "The Big Bus"! FSM Releases Comedy Score by David Shire
Released some years before Airplane! - hell, even before That's Armageddon! - the world had The Big Bus, a 1976 comedy lampooning the then-fashionable swath of disaster films. Though The Big Bus received nowhere near the accolades that Airplane! got, it was a pretty silly romp with stars like Stockard Channing, Ned Beatty, and John Beck (best known as Mark Graison, one of Pamela's beaus on Dallas). It also boasted a score by David Shire, who composed the scores to '70s classics All the
Friday Feature: "Almost Famous"
Thank you, Cameron Crowe. You had me at "hello." You cost me plenty, but my record collection has long been grateful for the education! The integration of popular song and cinema has been around as long as the talking film itself, since the day Al Jolson prefaced his performance of "Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goodbye)" with the epochal dialogue "Wait a minute, wait a minute, you ain't heard nothin' yet!" These lines from 1927's The Jazz Singer, the first feature-length "talkie" in which
Robert Flack Compilation is Killing Us Softly from the U.K.
U.K. music fans, do you need some romance in your life? Rhino's got you covered the forthcoming release of Love Songs, a new compilation by Roberta Flack. Flack is, of course, one of the most legendary artists on the Atlantic roster, scoring an impressive run of Top 5 hits (including three chart-toppers) through the 1970s. Her iconic "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Killing Me Softly with His Song" were the first back-to-back Record of the Year Grammy winners by the same artist - and
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