Is it possible for a group like the Four Tops to be underrated? On its face, that question seems ridiculous. The Detroit vocal quartet had two dozen Top 40 hits in America between 1964 and 1988; they're in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and the R&B Group Hall of Fame, they have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award; Rolling Stone and Billboard both named them one of the 100 greatest artists of all time. Those are laurels
The Weekend Stream: July 20, 2024
Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc's review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. This week's got a new single by a comedy icon, some more Duran Duran EPs, a recent Paul McCartney 7" making its way to streaming and so much more. "Weird Al" Yankovic, Polkamania! (Way Moby) (iTunes / Amazon) Ten summers ago, pop's parody king released his 13th (and likely final) album Mandatory Fun, and even got a No. 1 debut on
Release Round-Up: Week of July 19
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Mungo Jerry, Electronically Tested: Expanded Edition (7a Records) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Mungo Jerry's eclectic 1971 album Electronically Tested, featuring the global hit "In the Summertime," returns in a newly remastered and expanded edition from our friends
Don't Eat the Yellow Snow: Zappa's "Apostrophe (')" Gets 50th Anniversary Expansion
Hot on the heels of the recent box set celebrating Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention's 1968 concert at the Whisky a Go Go, Zappa Records and UMe are turning the clocks forward to revisit the composer-guitarist-bandleader's most commercially successful LP. On September 13, the labels will mark the 50th anniversary of Apostrophe ('), originally released in March 1974, with a 5CD/1Blu-ray Super Deluxe Edition as well as vinyl and digital editions. 1973's Over-Nite Sensation gave Zappa
Give It a Whirl: Rubellan Plans CD Debut of Rare U.S. Pressing of Split Enz's 'Frenzy'
Not long after Neil Finn suggested that Split Enz's catalogue affairs could be shaping up in the year to come, a very welcome CD premiere has been announced by Rubellan Remasters. They'll release the U.S. version of the New Zealand group's fourth album, Frenzy. The Enz recorded Frenzy with the core line-up that appeared on 1977's Dizrythmia: founding members Tim Finn on vocals, keyboardist Eddie Rayner and Noel Crombie on percussion, along with bassist Nigel Griggs, drummer Malcolm Green and
Had Me a Real Good Time: Rhino Announces Box of BBC Sessions from Faces
Ooh-la-la! Following a pair of well-received releases for Record Store Day, Rhino is doing a deep-dive into Faces' BBC sessions on an 8-CD/1-Blu-ray box set due September 6. Faces at The BBC - Complete BBC Concert & Session Recordings 1970-1973 compiles all of the storied group's concerts and surviving studio sessions for the BBC in one package approved by Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, and Kenney Jones. The set will be available only via Rhino.com and select retailers including
In Memoriam: Intrada Founder Douglass Fake (1952-2024)
Douglass Fake, a film score champion who produced hundreds of archival soundtrack releases and reissues as the founder of Intrada Records, has died at 72 after an extended illness. There is no better primer on his life and work than can be read at the label's official site, courtesy of Joe Sikoryak, one of the label's longtime designers. When anyone of note passes away, and that outpouring of condolences and memories flows like a river, it can be easy to take a step back and investigate the
The Weekend Stream: July 13, 2024
Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc's review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. This week, there's rare jazz, country, pop standards and gospel, plus remixes of a Madonna hit and one of the most unexpected Disney covers you'll ever hear. Madonna, Who's That Girl EP (Warner/Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon) ¿Quién es esa niña? Madonna's international chart-topping 1987 single - the title track to her first soundtrack album from
Soundtrack Watch: Intrada Heats Up 'Backdraft,' Kickstarts 'Abbott and Costello' Recording; La-La Land Expands 'Last Action Hero' and 'Heavy Metal'
Leave it to Intrada and La-La Land to cook up some appropriately blazing soundtrack reissues in recent weeks! Intrada has expanded an early classic by Hans Zimmer, bowed a selection of re-recordings of TV work by Jerry Goldsmith, and is prepping another re-recording project to crowdfund; meanwhile, La-La Land (in addition to releasing the only John Williams score to a Steven Spielberg film without a soundtrack) has expansions of works by Elmer Bernstein and Michael Kamen. Quite the selection of
Review: Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, "Whisky a Go Go 1968"
Frank Zappa didn't open his first set on the evening of July 23, 1968 at Hollywood's Whisky a Go Go with a power chord or a blues beat. Instead, the band - Ray Collins (vocals, percussion), Ian Underwood (alto sax), Bunk Gardner (tenor sax, flute), Don Preston (keyboards, gong), Motorhead Sherwood (baritone sax, percussion), Roy Estrada (bass, vocals), Art Tripp (drum set, percussion), and Jimmy Carl Black (drum set, percussion) - opened with a clattering improvisation that was sure to separate
Release Round-Up: Week of July 12
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. John Lennon, Mind Games: The Ultimate Collection (Capitol/UMe) 6CD/2BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 9LP/6CD/2BD Super Deluxe Box: Official Store 2CD (includes contents of CD 1 and 6, below): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP (includes contents of CD 1 and 6, below): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon
Can't Turn Back the Decks: Phil Collins' 'Both Sides' Gets Deluxe Vinyl Set
When Phil Collins started his deluxe reissue campaign in 2016, he started from both an obvious place and a less obvious one, first expanding 1981 debut Face Value as well as 1993's Both Sides, his fifth album. Now, that latter release - clearly, one of Collins' own favorites in his catalog - is being celebrated this fall with two vinyl products. Rhino will release Both Sides (All the Sides), a 5LP box set featuring the original album, demos, B-sides and live cuts, on September 20. They'll
Forever Young: Bob Dylan and The Band's Complete 1974 Live Recordings Collected on Massive Box
Bob Dylan had come a long way from coffeehouses. In 1974, the superstar singer-songwriter embarked on an extensive tour with his old backing band. Now, they, too, were universally known - as The Band - and the double bill hit indoor arenas across North America for 40 concerts over 30 dates and 21 cities. The tour became one of the largest and highest-profile of the era, in no small part due to the promotional efforts of David Geffen, who'd spurred on the talks and had recently lured Dylan
Love Shine Down: Real Gone Reissues Dusty Springfield's "Faithful"
Almost a decade ago, in 2015, Real Gone Music premiered Dusty Springfield's Faithful, a complete, "lost" album recorded in New York with producer-songwriter Jeff Barry. The 2015 CD release was followed in 2016 by its vinyl debut. On July 12, the label is returning Faithful to print on a new, metallic gold and purple gatefold vinyl edition. Faithful was produced by the legendary Jeff Barry ("Chapel of Love," "Leader of the Pack," "Sugar, Sugar") for Springfield in 1971. From his home base
It's Love I'm After: Acrobat Music Collects Judy Garland's Best and Rarest on "A Celebration"
To our American readers, we hope you've had a very happy Fourth of July! There aren't as many new releases as usual today, so we'll be back next Friday with our regular Release Round-Up, but today, we're spotlight a new collection which is now available. Fifty-five years ago, in June 1969, the world lost Judy Garland at the too-young age of 47. Yet her voice lives on even today as new generations discover The Wizard of Oz, A Star Is Born, or Judy at Carnegie Hall. Today, Acrobat Music
Review: Johnny Cash, "Songwriter"
"Hello out there, this is planet Earth..." If planet Earth indeed had a voice, it might well have sounded like that of John R. Cash: deep, resonant, impactful. Those lyrics open "Hello Out There," the first track on Songwriter, the new, posthumous release from the late troubadour (1932-2003) - the fifth such collection to arrive since his death. It's been released by UMe and Mercury Nashville, in essence adding one more album to his Mercury discography which spanned 1986-1991. The Mercury
The Weekend Stream: June 29, 2024
Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc's review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. It's another week of Duran Duran EPs, plus expanded albums by Cher and Neil Diamond, some hip-hop oddities and a new live set from one of our favorite indie bands. It's all happening here! Duran Duran, Union of the Snake / New Moon on Monday / The Reflex / The Wild Boys EPs (Parlophone) Union: iTunes / Amazon New Moon: iTunes / Amazon The
Release Round-Up: Week of June 28
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Two Tons o' Fun, Get the Feeling: The Complete Fantasy/Honey Recordings (Real Gone Music/Second Disc Records) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music) Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music celebrate Two Tons o' Fun - a.k.a. Martha Wash and Izora Rhodes Armstead, a.k.a. The Weather Girls - with a complete
OUT TOMORROW! SoulMusic, The Second Disc Collect The Spinners' 1979-1984 Atlantic Years on New Box Set
The Spinners - a.k.a. John Edwards, Henry Fambrough, Bobbie Smith, Billy Henderson, and Pervis Jackson - were at a crossroads when longtime producer-arranger-conductor Thom Bell confirmed that he would no longer be working with the group. Where would they go next? Tomorrow, June 28, SoulMusic Records and The Second Disc chronicle the next chapter of The Spinners' illustrious career with a new 7-CD box set. Keep on Keepin' On: The Atlantic Years (Phase Two: 1979-1984) picks up where last
Love Thang: First Choice Box Set Due in August from SoulMusic, The Second Disc
SoulMusic Records and The Second Disc are readying a hot Salsoul summer with another new release from the classic dance label, following our recent Salsoul Orchestra and upcoming Loleatta Holloway box sets. On August 23, we're proud to celebrate Philadelphia girl group First Choice with Love Having You Around: The Gold Mind Recordings (1977-1980). This 4CD collection features expanded editions of the trio's three original albums for Salsoul's Gold Mind imprint, plus a specially-curated bonus
Louis in London
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP (Black Vinyl): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Verve Online Store (Blue Vinyl) This previously unreleased performance from the late, great Louis Armstrong was recorded live on the BBC on July 2, 1968 while the legendary musician and singer was riding high thanks to the chart-topping success in Great Britain of "What a Wonderful World." The 13-song set naturally includes that evergreen anthem penned by Bob Thiele and George David
Memphis
5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada This new 5CD set (also available as a double vinyl album of highlights) showcases five crucial periods in which The King of Rock and Roll recorded in his adopted city of Memphis: the fiery 1953-1955 sessions at Sun Studio that first proved his worth as a singing sensation; a restorative 1969 session at American Sound Studios that remains to many his career highlight; a trek to Stax Studios in 1973;
Jimmy Wayne Jamison
Iconoclassic Records celebrates the life of former Survivor and melodic rock singer Jimi Jamison with its second release of previously unreleased material from the late artist: a country-flavored recording from 2007, entitled Jimmy Wayne Jamison. After a return to Survivor in the 21st century, Jamison thrilled fans with 2007's Crossroads Moment, a rock album reuniting the singer with Jim Peterik, Survivor's co-founder and best-known creative engine, who'd not been a part of the group since 1996
"Les Cousins: The Soundtrack to Soho's Legendary Folk and Blues Club" Features Paul Simon, Nick Drake, Cat Stevens, Al Stewart
"For two-and-a-half years, I had the Friday night show at Bunjies Coffee Bar, and it became a residency for me," Al Stewart remembered in an interview with this author for the recent collection of his U.S. singles. "After a while, I got another residency right around the corner at a club called Les Cousins." The Greek Street venue was a focal point of the London folk scene. Nick Drake, Cat Stevens, Alexis Korner, John Renbourn, and a young American named Paul Simon all passed through its
It's a Jolly Holiday: 'Mary Poppins' Vinyl Box Announced for 60th Anniversary
When Richard M. Sherman, one half of the legendary songwriting team The Sherman Brothers, passed away last month, The Second Disc was quick to pay tribute to all the duo's great works for Walt Disney films and elsewhere. But their most towering achievement is probably the song score to the whimsical Mary Poppins. This summer, to celebrate the film's 60th anniversary, Disney will release a limited edition vinyl box set collecting the film's original soundtrack, rare archival material and no less
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