The Second Disc very rarely covers "new" releases, even if they're newer releases by vintage artists. But when our good friend Eric Luecking of Record Racks (a darn good site if I say so myself) reminded me a few days ago of the recently-released Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 25th anniversary concert DVD, it seemed alright to break that unofficial embargo of "new" stuff. In case you missed this when it was released on September 28, The 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concerts is a
Some Compilation House-Cleaning
Just so everyone's on the same page (yours truly included), we present a few updated track lists for some upcoming compilations for your perusal. When Pink's Greatest Hits...So Far!!! and Nelly Furtado's The Best Of were announced back in October, the track lists were either partial or based upon import track lists. In the interest of clarity, we give you standard and deluxe domestic track lists for both titles, each due November 12. (This writer is still bummed that Pink's take on "Whataya
The Boys Are Back in Town: Universal to Release Expanded Thin Lizzy LPs Abroad
Here's some good news to follow the long-gestating, recent expansion of Thin Lizzy's Vagabonds of the Western World: three - count 'em, three! - of the band's albums are getting the deluxe treatment from Universal in the U.K., according to Classic Rock. Double-disc editions of the 1976 albums Jailbreak and Johnny the Fox will be released, as well as a two-CD/one-DVD edition of Live and Dangerous (1978). Remastering is being overseen by Thin Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham (who's about to take the
Why Yes, That IS Mr. Mister on the Radio
On November 23, Legacy Recordings will take some nice steps to make '80s rockers Mr. Mister more than just a pocketful of big radio hits and a lyric in that Train song. A handful of Mr. Mister and Mr.-related titles will be released for digital download, alongside a previously-unreleased album by the band. First, the goodies from the vault. Hardcore Mr. Mister fans doubtlessly know the band's discography was not meant to end with 1987's Go On... album. The group began work on a follow-up album,
Review: Paul McCartney, "The Paul McCartney Archive Collection: Band on the Run"
In the promotional EPK created to kick off The Paul McCartney Archive Collection, the former Beatle reflects on the importance of giving value for the dollar when it comes to buying an album. With this dictum in mind, the team at Concord/Hear Music and McCartney’s company, MPL, created a multi-tiered program for the series’ kickoff release, a remastered edition of McCartney and Wings’ Band on the Run. It's available in multiple CD editions, a vinyl set and as high-resolution downloads. All are
Reissue Theory: NOW That's What I Call Missing
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 another entry in the NOW That's What I Call Music series out in the U.S. today, we reflect on the series' original entries across the pond...and the titles in the series that have yet to appear on CD. Today in the States, a new entry in the NOW That's What I Call Music series was released (the 36th in the main series, not counting specialty
Review: The Monkees, "Head: Deluxe Edition"
Once upon a time, the undisputed king of the box set was Rhino Records. The label gave us a brain in a box, an old phonograph to house the masterworks of Ray Charles, a crate of eight tracks to take us back to a more soulful time, and a hatbox filled with the most effervescent girl group sounds possible, just to name a few. (Shag carpets, coffee beans and a carrying case for 45s figured prominently in a few other such packages.) Of late, these lavish sets haven't appeared with great frequency; I
Release Round-Up: Week of November 9
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Damn the Torpedoes: Deluxe Edition (Geffen/UMe) With a bonus disc of B-sides and unreleased outtakes and an optional Blu-Ray audio version, audiophiles hopefully won't have a reason to say "don't do me like that" with this set. (Official site) Bon Jovi, Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection (Island) If 1994's Cross Road isn't enough of a Bon Jovi comp for you, this career-spanning set (available in single and double-disc formats) combines all the usual hits
FSM Readies "Dr. T," Warner Bros. Two-Fer
Film Score Monthly, one of the best sources for soundtrack reissues and info in the pre-Internet age, has had a lot of weird press lately. FSM founder Lukas Kendall had an oddly overstated reaction when discovering that this year's Star Trek: The Next Generation box set had been uploaded onto a torrent site. (It was easily the Internet at its worst on both sides - FSM posters might have overreacted at what was already a callous, disgusting act on the part of the pirates, leading to little
Four Decades Later, She's Still Got Us on Our Knees
As reported by a whole bunch of sources, it looks like Universal will be reissuing Derek and The Dominos' immortal album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs for its 40th anniversary. Derek and The Dominos was Eric Clapton's way of getting out of the limelight following his tenure in Cream and Blind Faith. The guitarist just wanted to play, rather than face the adulation he was getting from critics and fans ("CLAPTON IS GOD," said the famous graffiti tag), and he joined up with organist Bobby
Review: Ravi Shankar and George Harrison, "Collaborations"
George Harrison…the Radical Beatle? While you’re unlikely to find that description in many Beatles reference books, it’s not all that far-fetched a description. Exhibit “A” might be the new box set released by Dark Horse and Rhino just in time for the gift-giving season. While it’s arrived somewhat under the radar compared to higher-profile sets from the McCartney and Lennon camps, the music found on George Harrison's collection of Collaborations with Ravi Shankar will sound far more radical to
New Poison Comp is Hard to Swallow
Some of us get a bit jaded about catalogue projects sometimes. Not all of us can help it, but every now and then it doesn't hurt to stop and realize why we're so upset about a seemingly pointless compilation or repackage. That seemingly useless single-disc greatest-hits set that offers nothing new for a collector might be the entry point for a new fan into a certain artist's discography, turning them into as hardcore a fan as you and me. (And let's not forget the best-kept secret - so secret
Friday Feature: "GoldenEye"
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUNP9xrOBd4] A not-so-shameful confession: when not working or updating The Second Disc, your humble catalogue correspondent's free time has been occupied by playing the new Wii game GoldenEye 007, a re-imagining of the Nintendo 64 game updated for the present with a newly retooled storyline by original co-writer Bruce Fierstein and featuring current James Bond star Daniel Craig as the British spy. Though my own hardcore gaming days are largely behind me,
UPDATE: Helplessly Hoping for Stills DVD-A Remaster?
With its scheduled release date now mere days away, has Rhino U.K. pulled the plug on the CD/DVD-A remaster of Stephen Stills' 1970 solo debut of the same name? As of the morning of September 4, the Amazon U.K. listing was revised to show the set as "Temporarily out of stock," while the release date was baffingly changed to January 1 (!), 2010. By evening, the "DVD-A" of the title had been replaced with "DVD." While the mystery isn't yet solved, it's likely that Stephen Stills won't be shipping
New Tom Jones Compilation is Not Particularly Unusual
Despite the title, Greatest Hits Rediscovered, a new U.K. compilation from British heartthrob Tom Jones is pretty much what you'd expect of the man - two discs of hit singles. There are no album cuts and not a lot of glaring omissions, so if you want to get someone hooked on the Welsh singer with the big voice, this set's as good as any. Greatest Hits Rediscovered is out November 8. The track list is after the jump.
New Sinatra Box Coming from the U.K.
Another massive box set coming toward collectors from the U.K.: a set compiling all of Frank Sinatra's albums for his own Reprise Records label. Half a century after Sinatra founded it himself, The Reprise Years collates mini-paper sleeve replicas of all of Sinatra's standard albums from 1961's Ring-a-Ding Ding! to 1984's L.A. is My Lady and adds a deluxe booklet and DVD of Sinatra's A Man and His Music television specials from 1965 to 1967. Most of this material has been released before;
Sentimental Journeys: Day and Vee Compilations Still on Track
It's an inevitability in the catalogue world that, despite the best intentions of compilers, producers and labels, projects often get delayed. Doris Day made headlines last week when the legendary actress, singer and animal rights activist gave a rare, lengthy interview to longtime New York radio personality Jonathan Schwartz for WNYC-FM and Sirius/XM Radio. In the interview, Day revealed an immense modesty about her impressive body of work. On August 19, we reported on a new collection sure to
Fans of Paul's "Band" May "Run" for Best Buy Exclusive (UPDATED 11/2)
It's been a very good year for Beatles fans, especially those with deep pockets! First came The John Lennon Signature Box and reissue campaign, then George Harrison's Collaborations box set preserving his work with Ravi Shankar. Last Tuesday delivered a sparkling batch of Apple Records remasters, and after months of anticipation, Concord's Paul McCartney reissue campaign finally kicks off next Tuesday with the reissue of Band on the Run. The 1973 Wings smash takes flight in four configurations:
"Dead of Winter" Comes This Fall
Composer Richard Einhorn may be best known for Voices of Light, his 1994 work inspired by the 1928 silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc. But Einhorn has a lengthy resume in both the worlds of classical and film, successfully marrying both in Voices. On Monday, Kritzerland began taking pre-orders for a world premiere release, Einhorn’s score to Arthur Penn’s 1987 thriller, Dead of Winter. Despite Penn’s stellar pedigree and a cast including Mary Steenburgen and Roddy McDowall, Dead of Winter
Release Round-Up: Week of November 2
Another week, another batch of reissues! Wings, Band on the Run: Special Edition (Concord) After reissues of John Lennon's solo catalogue and the Apple Records discography, another Beatles-oriented campaign kicks off with a new reissue of Band on the Run, Paul McCartney and Wings' classic LP. It's the first of his classic discs to be re-released on Concord, and will be available in a wide variety of formats. (Best of all, it's the first drop in the bucket - an insert inside the sets
On False Icons
From the very beginning, the compilation record was at once a blind cash grab and an attempt at convenience. After a handful of years buying vinyl singles, what would be the point of buying a selection of those hits? Ah yes, the extra tracks were sometimes dealmakers. And if you'd never bought said hits, it was hard to beat a tightly packed compilation disc. Times have, of course, changed. Compilations should be rendered nearly obsolete by digital downloading; retailers like iTunes and Amazon
Reissue! Repackage! Repackage! Volume #4: It Ain't Heavy, It's Our "Brothers"
Another neat recent reissue for your perusal: a deluxe box set version of Brothers, the latest release by garage-blues band The Black Keys. The Akron, Ohio duo - comprised of vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney - have been on the rise since the early 2000s. Their simple, raw sound and simple sense of marketability (their tunes have featured in dozens of films and advertisements) have won them over a great amount of fans, from ZZ Top to Danger Mouse, who produced the
Dinah's Dynamic Early Singles Collected on New Box
Another set promised by Harry Weinger in his chat with The Second Disc is ready for order. The Divine Miss D! The Keynote, Decca and Mercury Singles 1943-1953 is the latest project from Hip-o Select, that collates the early songs of Dinah Washington. The Queen of the Blues began her recording career as a singer for Lionel Hampton's big band in 1943, and would earn her crown by recording a long string of singles for Mercury through the next decade. Now, for the first time in the U.S., Hip-o
Rarities Editions, Round Three (UPDATED 11/1)
Remember Universal's Rarities Edition sets? The sets that issue the bonus material of a previously-released Deluxe Edition on its own? A trio of new Rarities Edition titles will street on Tuesday, November 2, and like the last two batches, The Second Disc wants to give a clear perspective to you, the reader, as to whether they're worth getting if you never upgraded to the original Deluxe Edition in the first place. Luckily, unlike the last two batches of Rarities Editions (which had some
Halloween Special Back Tracks: Anthony Perkins
Welcome to a very special edition of Back Tracks! For this week's Friday Feature, Mike took a look back at the music of Psycho. One of the few films still retaining the power to shock and thrill after some 50 years, the repercussions of Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece are still felt today. And its musical legacy, enhanced via some very controversial sequels and remakes, encompasses some of the greats, with Jerry Goldsmith, Danny Elfman and Carter Burwell all having built on the foundation laid by
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 345
- 346
- 347
- 348
- 349
- …
- 364
- Next Page »