What would Christmas be without the voice of Bing Crosby? And with radio stations going all-Christmas earlier and earlier each year, chances are you've already lifted your seasonal spirits with Crosby's famous recording of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas," still the biggest-selling single of all time. Or perhaps you've heard "Jingle Bells," with The Andrews Sisters vocally supporting Crosby. But Crosby's holiday catalogue runs quite deep. Last year, Collector's Choice Music and Bing Crosby
And the Catalogue Grammy Nominations Go To...
Safely tucked underneath a controversial slate of Grammy nominations in the major categories - seriously, Rihanna's Loud got an Album of the Year nod and Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy didn't? - there were a fantastic batch of reissue and box set-oriented nominations in this year's 54th annual ceremony. Without further pithy commentary, here they are: Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package Radiohead, The King of Limbs (ATO Records) Donald Twain & Zachariah Wildwood,
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time (Part 3: #90-86)
In Part 3 of our first-ever official Second Disc Buyers Guide, we look at five more of the 100 greatest albums of all time, as selected by Rolling Stone in 2003, through the filter of when and how these classic albums have been reissued, remastered and repackaged. If you’ve ever wondered to yourself which versions of these albums to buy for certain bonus tracks and the like, wonder no more. Today, we meet the Beatles, travel to Memphis with a beehived British soul queen, have the blues at
Reissue Theory: The Cure, "Standing on a Beach/Staring at the Sea"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we focus on notable albums and the reissues they could someday see. The recent success of some U.S. dates from The Cure have us thinking about their first compilation - a must-own for alt-rock fans when it was released a quarter-century ago - and how its best configuration deserves a release on CD. With a catalogue that stretches back to the late '70s and starts off far more solidly than most bands, it was a treat to see The Cure celebrate
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time (Part 2: #95-91)
Welcome to our brand-new, exhaustive feature to take us to the end of another great year for reissues and box sets: our first-ever official Second Disc Buyers Guide! From now until Christmas, we’re taking you on a delightful trip through the 100 greatest albums of all time, as selected by Rolling Stone in 2003, through the filter of when and how these classic albums have been reissued, remastered and repackaged. If you’ve ever wondered to yourself which versions of these albums to buy for
Soundtrack Round-Up: Intrada Commits "Robbery," La-La Land Bows Final Titles for 2011
The end of the calendar year is a boom time for all those working in reissues, especially the soundtrack labels. Today, six major titles go on sale that are certainly worth a look here at Second Disc HQ. Intrada's two latest sets, announced last night, are pretty major. One is a brand new reissue of the score to The Great Train Robbery, Jerry Goldsmith's classic soundtrack to the film directed by author Michael Crichton from his best-selling novel. Though the score is no stranger to CD, having
UPDATE: Doris Day Opens The Vaults For “My Heart” and There's Plenty For Beach Boys Fans, Album Gets U.S. Release
The vault has finally been opened! Sony Music U.K. has confirmed a release date and track listing for singing legend Doris Day’s long-awaited My Heart, on which your humble correspondent first reported in August 2010 and revisited back in November! Thanks to the fine folks at Doris Day Tribute for spreading this news! My Heart marks Doris’ first album of original studio material in some seventeen years, since The Love Album, and it features a number of tracks that will be of interest to the
Release Round-Up: Week of November 29
Now begins the drought. A couple of respectable catalogue titles, but it's going to be shorter round-ups from here through 2011. The Monkees, Instant Replay: Deluxe Edition (Rhino Handmade) Three discs and 87 tracks worth of this underrated entry in The Monkees' catalogue, featuring stereo and mono mixes and session takes galore. Smashing Pumpkins, Gish / Siamese Dream: Deluxe Editions (Virgin/EMI) The first releases in a planned three-year reissue project for Billy Corgan and his Pumpkins,
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time (Part 1: #100-96)
Welcome to our brand-new, exhaustive feature to take us to the end of another great year for reissues and box sets: our first-ever official Second Disc Buyers Guide! From now until Christmas, we're taking you on a delightful trip through the 100 greatest albums of all time, as selected by Rolling Stone in 2003, through the filter of when and how these classic albums have been reissued, remastered and repackaged. If you've ever wondered to yourself which versions of these albums to buy for
Start Me Up: Rolling Stones' Digital Archive Unveils Vintage Concerts and More
Once famously reluctant to unlock their vault, The Rolling Stones are swinging those doors wide open. Following the deluxe, expanded editions of Exile on Main St. (1972) and Some Girls (1978), the world’s greatest rock and roll band has turned its attention to the aptly-titled Stones Archive, a digital repository of all things that Glimmer. The band’s official site promises fans “can listen to unheard music, view unseen photographs and films, and look at rare merchandise. Fans have the
Friday Feature: Muppet Memories
This month, it's finally time to play the music and light the lights, with the release of The Muppets, a brand new film featuring Kermit The Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, The Great Gonzo and just about all of Jim Henson's furry, felt-covered creations in an all-new story co-written by fabulous funnyman and human co-star Jason Segel (star of TV's How I Met Your Mother and co-writer and star of Forgetting Sarah Marshall). The film, which sees the Muppet gang reunite after years out of the
Pet Shop Boys Flush "Format" with New B-Sides Compilation
Add another catalogue set for 2012 to the list: this winter will see the release of the Pet Shop Boys' second B-sides compilation, spanning the past 15 years of their recording career. As reported by our dear friends at Slicing Up Eyeballs, the Boys (who are also working on a new LP for the new year) revealed to Varsity, Cambridge University's paper, their intent of releasing a new B-sides set, following the tradition of 1995's Alternative, the group's first two-disc set of rarities from 1986
Entering the Culture Factory: New Reissue Label Launches with Robert Palmer, Paul Williams' "Paradise"
Despite the spurious reports of the “death of the CD,” the reissue biz is still thriving on the little silver platter, offering up all manner of deluxe editions for the discerning customer. (That means you, dear reader!) In 2011, we’ve seen the launch of such heavyweights-to-be as Real Gone Music, Omnivore Recordings and RockBeat Records, and we’re now happy to welcome another name to the fold. Culture Factory USA quietly launched this past September, with releases from Mink DeVille, Moon
Expanded "Elvis Country" Coming From Legacy, Joined with "Love Letters"
One of the lynchpin songs on Elvis Presley’s 1971 Elvis Country was the singer’s reading of Willie Nelson’s “Funny How Time Slips Away.” Presley undoubtedly connected with Nelson’s lyrics: “Well, hello there/My, it's been a long, long time/How am I doing?/Oh, I guess that I'm doing fine…” Though Nelson’s narrator is addressing an old flame, Elvis could have been speaking directly to his fans. When Elvis walked through the doors of RCA’s Nashville Studio B in June 1970, the last time Elvis had
Q Applause For Mr. Jones and Mr. Hefti: "Enter Laughing" and "Synanon" Come to CD
If you don’t know the name Neal Hefti, you undoubtedly know the man’s music…whether it’s the indelible, insinuating, harpsichord-and-brass theme to The Odd Couple, or the frenetic, groovy Batman theme from the Caped Crusader’s campy television show. And Quincy Jones, the man known as Q, needs no introduction. Like Hefti a veteran of jazz and big band, Jones’ trailblazing productions on landmark albums such as Michael Jackson’s Thriller (to name just one) ensured his place in the pantheon.
Jackson, Cymone, Hendryx Move to Funky Town
It seems that the rush of catalogue titles for 2012 is starting earlier than normal. This week, we've already seen a lot of announcements and plans from the major labels, the likes of which are probably going to get us through the rest of the calendar year as day-to-day news goes. The advance notice trend is hitting some of the indie labels, too - Funky Town Grooves just announced a bumper crop of expanded releases for January and February. And we think some of them will be right up your
Soulful and Seductive: Grateful Dead, Glen Campbell, The Roches, Bill Medley, Maynard Ferguson Kick Off Real Gone 2012
Are you ready to get gone, Real Gone, with the new kids on the reissue block? The label founded by Gordon Anderson and Gabby Castellana is following its debut slate (reviews to come!) with an eclectic group of releases for January 2012 that will start the New Year off right! One batch of titles is due January 24, with the remaining releases arriving the following week. Few artists have had a career as legendary as that of Glen Campbell, and few have been as brave in the face of tragedy.
Release Round-Up: Week of November 21
Another Monday release date, ostensibly to get the jump on an abbreviated week with the Thanksgiving/Black Friday holiday! And it's another big week, to be sure. The Rolling Stones, Some Girls: Deluxe Edition (Rolling Stones/UMe) Whether you think it's the last truly great Stones album or not, it's hard to deny that this is the biggest of the deluxe releases this week. (That super-deluxe edition, with a bonus DVD and vinyl, doesn't disprove the notion, either.) Bob Seger, Ultimate Hits: Rock
Review: The Cool Revolution Continues - Four From CTI and Kudu
When he established Kudu as an offshoot of his titanic jazz label CTI, Creed Taylor wore his ambitions on his sleeve. The label was named after the long-horned African mammal and its logo adorned with Afro-centric colors, as Taylor intended to do no less than make Kudu a home for releases "indigenous to the black popular music of the United States." Taylor always knew the importance of a visual, and much as CTi releases were recognizable for their striking, provocative cover photographs and
Review: R.E.M., "Part Lies Part Heart Part Truth Part Garbage 1982-2011"
R.E.M.'s Part Lies Part Heart Part Truth Part Garbage 1982-2011 (Warner Bros. 529088-2) marks the fourth compilation by the Athens band in my collection. As a young teen, I fell in love with their melodic, confident pop/rock with In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 - but that was only part of the picture. The rest would be filled in by the 2006 release of And I Feel Fine...The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987, which captured the quartet at what may be their creative peak. (The third
Rammstein Zusammenstellung
How metal is metal? For 16 years, German band Rammstein has pushed the limits of the genre, in the studio and onstage - and next month, they're going to celebrate their work with their first compilation, Made in Germany 1995-2011. With songs like "Mein Herz Brennt," "Engel," "Pussy" and "Du Hast" (arguably their most notable song in America), Rammstein took the best of industrial and symphonic rock, added a dash of electronica and techno and created a sound that was hard for metal audiences to
Reissue Theory: Barry Manilow, "Live at the Troubadour 1975"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we take a look back at notable albums and the reissues they could someday see. Today's column takes a slight departure, looking at an album that never was, but certainly could be. We present Barry Manilow's Live at the Troubadour! Rolling Stone may have famously proclaimed him "the showman of our generation," but when Clive Davis signed Barry Manilow to the fledgling Arista label, he was anything but. Manilow was a longtime accompanist,
When The Saints Go Marchin' In: Louis Armstrong Goes to Storyville in New Box
Louis Armstrong’s going to Storyville! The venerable Copenhagen-based jazz label, founded in the early 1950s by Kurt Emil Knudsen, has just released a new box set that happens to be third major box in 2011 alone for the one and only Louis Armstrong. Following Universal’s Satchmo: Ambassador of Jazz and The Complete Masters, Storyville’s efficiently-titled The Armstrong Box arrived last Tuesday. The 7-CD/1-DVD set falls somewhere between those two projects; Ambassador of Jazz is the first
Get Together: The Youngbloods Reissued, Mick Fleetwood Visited By George Harrison, Peter Green On Wounded Bird
Wounded Bird may fly a bit under the radar, but over the past couple of months, the no-frills reissue specialists have recently restored to catalogue well over 30 titles of interest across multiple genres! For jazz fans, Wounded Bird has offerings from George Benson (1976’s compilation Benson Burner), Airto Moreira (1978’s Touching You…Touching Me, which alas, doesn’t have a Neil Diamond cover on it!), Ramsey Lewis (1974’s Solar Wind) and Maynard Ferguson (1981 compilation Maynard). If you’re
Review: Frank Sinatra, "Best of the Best"
There’s simply no getting around it: Frank Sinatra is the voice of the Great American Songbook. That’s not to discount the dozens of other significant voices that brought life to the House That George, Ira, Irving, Cole, Jerome, Richard and Lorenz Built. (Again, just to name a few.) But Frank Sinatra’s voice, as well as his persona, has become such a deeply ingrained part of the American musical fabric that it’s hard to find new ways to present it. The body of work created by Sinatra at
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