Dionne Warwick recently announced a new album, produced by Phil Ramone. Entitled Now, the projected October release will reflect on a storied career that’s lasted 50 years. But Warwick was in a very different place then, meaning in 1979. The sophisticated soul singer was at a crossroads. Her unprecedented string of pop and R&B hits written and produced by Burt Bacharach and Hal David at Scepter Records were far in the rearview mirror. Bacharach and David had bitterly split after just
As the Globe Turns: Universal Adds Classic, Possibly Rare, Soundtrack Material to Blu-Ray Box Set
In 1912, an ex-dry goods merchant and owner of the nascent Independent Moving Pictures (IMP) studio stood in a New York office with five other movie moguls and made history. These six men, organized by IMP founder Carl Laemmle, were keen to merge their businesses with an eye toward the growing big business of moviemaking. As they struggled for a title for their venture, Laemmle allegedly saw a wagon zip by on the street below with a grandiose name: "Universal Pipe Fitters." Turning back to the
If It's Meant to Be: Barbra Streisand Announces "Release Me" Collection of Long-Lost Songs
Everybody knows "The Way We Were." But how about "The Way We Might-Have-Been?" The what-ifs are many in Barbra Streisand's career. The legendary vocalist, about to celebrate her fiftieth year with Columbia Records in 2013, has amassed a vault filled with unreleased outtakes from her decades of recording. These date as far back as 1962 when the young singer recorded an as-yet-unissued rendition of Harold Arlen and "Yip" Harburg's "Right as the Rain" for possible release on 45. (In fact,
Take the "A" Train to Complete Boxes From Ellington, Armstrong, Christian and Smith
The roaring twenties are back! Okay – or should that be OKeh? – in fairness, so are the thirties, forties, and fifties, thanks to four upcoming box sets spotlighting legendary jazz and blues stars. Legacy Recordings adds to its growing Complete Albums Collection library on October 30 with these new volumes: Louis Armstrong, The Complete OKeh, Columbia and RCA Victor Recordings 1925-1933 (OKeh/Columbia/RCA/Legacy) (10 CDs); Charlie Christian, The Genius of the Electric Guitar (Columbia/
In Case You Missed It: Don't Forget Glass Tiger's Expanded Debut, New Compilation
The band themselves likely wouldn't want it any other way, so we won't forget to tell you about some relatively recent catalogue projects that just arrived up north from rock band Glass Tiger. The Canadian rockers shot to fame in the mid-'80s with the irresistibly catchy "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)." With a synth-horn-fueled hook that could make the most stoic musician bop along, a dollop of perfect pop-rock production from co-writer Jim Vallance and an edgy vocal cameo from fellow Northern
The Spinners' Rare Motown Sides Can Be "Truly Yours" On New Compilation, Reviewed Here!
It’s a shame the way The Spinners’ Motown catalogue has been overlooked in the CD era, and quite frankly, for all time. The group exploded in popularity under the aegis of producer/arranger/composer Thom Bell at Atlantic Records in 1972, with their first three singles all hitting No. 1 R&B and Top 20 Pop (two went Top 10 Pop). But The Spinners had been making sweet music since 1954 and recording since at least 1961, and made Motown their home since the folding of Harvey Fuqua’s Tri-Phi
Let's Fall in Love with New Jackson 5 Rarities Set from Hip-O Select
If hearing Bad-era demos and live material aren't enough of a Michael Jackson fix for you next month, the fine vaultkeepers at Motown have a set for you: 32 previously-unreleased tunes by The Jackson 5 are coming from Hip-O Select. Come and Get It: Rare Pearls champions Michael, Jermaine, Tito, Jackie and Marlon throughout their seven-year tenure on the Motown label; arguably, the last of the great pure pop groups to be signed by the Detroit label (which, within several years of The Jackson 5's
The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" Is Coming to Take You Away
The Magical Mystery Tour is coming to take you away on October 9 when The Beatles’ 1967 feature film arrives on DVD and Blu-ray in a completely restored new edition! Initially aired on BBC1 television in December, 1967, The Beatles starred in the film opposite a motley crew of performers including Ivor Cutler, Victor Spinetti, Jessie Robins, Nat Jackley, Derek Royle, and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. Both the DVD and Blu-ray will sport a fully remixed soundtrack (5.1 and stereo) as well as
Saturday Night Special: Lynyrd Skynyrd "Ultimate Collection" Offers New 5.1 Surround DVD-Audio
Lynyrd Skynyrd's thirteenth studio album, Last of a Dyin' Breed, arrived in stores just yesterday, but another recent release may have fans of the Southern rock legends even more excited. Southern Surroundings: The Ultimate Skynyrd Collection is a Wal-Mart-exclusive 1-CD/2-DVD set, selling at the retail giant's locations for just $11.88. (That is, if you can find it; your author visited four locations before procuring a copy!) Of its three discs, the third is the most unique, and it's also
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Lipstick Traces (On a New CD): Benny Spellman's "Fortune Teller" Rounds Up New Orleans Singles
The name on the new CD is that of Benny Spellman, but Fortune Teller: A Singles Collection might as well have been co-credited to Allen Toussaint, the writer or co-writer of 24 of this new anthology’s 30 tracks. The recently released collection from Cherry Red’s Shout! label brings together singles from Spellman’s illustrious career dating between 1960 and 1967, accurately subtitled “New Orleans Hits and Northern Soul Gems,” and you might just find each song to truly be a gem. It’s hands-down
The Fabulous, and Complete, Johnny Cash! Legacy Announces "Columbia Album Collection"
He’s been everywhere man, he’s been everywhere. But now Johnny Cash is going somewhere he’s never been before: into Complete Albums territory. Though the Man in Black has been anthologized numerous times in the past (including on an indispensable set of Bear Family releases) nothing has approached the sheer magnitude of this new box set. The Complete Columbia Album Collection is a massive 63-CD, 59-album treasure trove collecting every one of Cash’s albums for the venerable label, released
Reviews: Real, Real Gone with Sanford and Townsend, Jimmy Griffin and Jackie Gleason
Long before Barry White, a rather different music maker was providing the soundtrack for a romantic rendezvous in the moonlight, but his name might be surprising to some: Jackie Gleason. Even if one can’t readily picture Ralph Kramden seducing Alice with its lush accompaniment, the American record buying public had no such reservations. The Great One’s 1952 Music for Lovers Only sold over half a million copies, and spent a still-unbeaten record of 153 (!) weeks in the U.S. Top 10 album chart.
Always Grateful: Garcia and Saunders' "Keystone Companions" Coming from Concord, Rhino Readies "Spring 1990" Dead Box
2012 marked what would have been Jerry Garcia’s 70th birthday year. The favorite son of San Francisco is being celebrated this fall with two monumental new box sets: one chronicling a renowned stand with The Grateful Dead, of course, and another turning the spotlight onto his less-heralded collaboration with keyboardist Merl Saunders. Keystone Companions: The Complete 1973 Fantasy Recordings is the most complete edition of the yet of the concerts recorded on July 10 and 11, 1973 at Berkeley,
Blame It On The Bossa Nova: Él Compiles Brazilian Classics, Plus: "Pop! Goes the West"
The gentle guitars of a bossa nova band and the blazing guns of the American West don’t seem to have much in common on the surface. Yet the sun-drenched music of Brazil and the dramatic landscape of the American West both have their own distinct mythologies. And as the 1960s dawned, both bossa nova and western music swept the pop charts. Cherry Red’s Él label is celebrating these two very different styles with a pair of new anthologies. Festival of Bossa Nova is a primer on the early days of
Of Romance, Ghouls, Shoes, Wanderers and The Dead: Real Gone Announces October Line-Up
Summer’s still underway, but Real Gone Music is looking to October with the announcement of a new batch of reissues due for the month that gives us Halloween and the World Series. Returning favorites will take their place alongside artists new to the label, and a certain ghoulish host is even getting involved! On October 2, the Real Goners will collect, for the very first time, The Complete Laurie Singles of Dion DiMucci. This 2-CD, 36-track comp offers the crème of the Dion crop, including
While You See a Chance: Universal Expands Steve Winwood's "Arc of a Diver" as 2-CD Set
When Steve Winwood sees a chance for a deluxe reissue, he takes it! Arc of a Diver, first released on New Year’s Eve 1980, marked the solo commercial breakthrough for the former Spencer Davis Group, Traffic and Blind Faith member, peaking in the U.S. at an impressive No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and spawning the hit single “When You See a Chance,” which earned a No. 7 placement on the Hot 100. Due on September 24 in the U.K. from Universal/Island, the 2-CD deluxe Arc of a Diver comes a couple of
And I Want You For All Time: Glen Campbell, Jimmy Webb Reunite For Vintage "Session"
What makes for the perfect marriage of songwriter and singer? The magic is nearly indefinable when composer and lyricist meet a voice to serve as a muse; when two or three people, each with an inimitable gift, find themselves on a perfect, sympathetic and transcendent wavelength to bring each other’s music to life. There have been many such marriages across all genes of music: Dionne Warwick with Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Frank Sinatra with Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen; Petula Clark
Vinyl Renaissance: Omnivore Recordings Offers Art Pepper, Josh Haden's Spain on Vinyl, Plus "Music City" Rarities
The term "record store" (two rather hallowed words in these parts!) has long been used to describe those stores that sell music, even well into the age of the CD, and now, the digital download. But lately, record store walls have been lined with more and more actual vinyl records. In 2011, more records were purchased than in any other year in the past two decades, with sales up 36 percent over 2010, to a not-too-shabby 3.9 million. Sales for 2012 are likely to best that number. Since its
Don't Fear the Complete Columbia Albums Box for Blue Öyster Cult
All our times have come/Here but now they're gone/Seasons don't fear the reaper/Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain/We can be like they are/Come on, baby...don't fear the reaper… It might be considered ironic that a song about death, and its inevitability, would help lend Blue Öyster Cult continuous life. The band from Long Island, New York, recorded its first album for Columbia Records in 1972, beginning an association which lasted for more than fifteen years. BÖC fused aggressive
Tuesday Tidbits: Incubus Teams with Best Buy on Exclusive "HQ," Bert Jansch's "Heartbreak" Is Expanded, and Musicians Fight Epilepsy with "Joey's Song"
Today is the day for a 2-CD/1-DVD set of previously unissued live performances from the band Incubus. Celebrating their twentieth year together, Incubus is launching a 4-week, 18-city tour co-headlining with Linkin Park. The tour kicks off tonight in Boston, Massachusetts, but the performances on Incubus HQ Live date from one year ago, recorded in West Hollywood, California. That was when the band set up shop at a storefront on La Brea Avenue for seven special nights of performances. HQ Live
Contest Central: ENTER HERE FOR OUR GREAT GIVEAWAYS!
Here at Contest Central, you'll find all the details on the great prizes we're offering at any given time! Check back here frequently, because you never know what's coming next... CURRENT CONTESTS: CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS! IF YOU SEE YOUR NAME ON THIS LIST AND HAVEN’T YET SENT US YOUR MAILING ADDRESS, PLEASE DO SO RIGHT NOW AT theseconddisc-at-gmail-dot-com! Steve Berne Brian Brick Joseph Arellano Robert Olivier Brian Stettin Ron Lavery Rob Goodman Tim Vogt Neal
Golden Age Noir: Miklos Rózsa Score to "Strange Love" Premieres On CD
Had Miklós Rózsa only composed the Academy Award-winning score to 1959’s epic Ben-Hur, his place in the cinema pantheon would likely have been assured. But Ben-Hur was just one of three Rózsa scores to win Oscars in a career that spanned from 1937’s Knight Without Armour through 1982’s Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid. Rózsa, who also maintained a career as a composer of concert works, often employed a rich, sweeping orchestral style, and though he famously crafted “big” scores, he was also an
These Are the Voyages: Complete Box Set of "Star Trek" Television Music Planned
Until about a year before The Second Disc started, it seemed likelier to invent a warp drive than to get a decent reissue series of music from the Star Trek universe. All that changed in 2009, when Film Score Monthly released an remastered and expanded edition of James Horner's iconic soundtrack to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). Over the next three years, the floodgates opened. All six of Paramount's films featuring the original television cast (for those keeping track, that's Jerry
Smoke on the Water, Redux : Deep Purple's "Machine Head" Goes Super Deluxe in October for 40th Anniversary
So...the super deluxe box sets just keep on coming! The latest addition to the growing array of titles is a 40th anniversary of Deep Purple’s 1972 Machine Head album. EMI promises to explore every nook and cranny of this stone-cold hard rock classic, considered by many as a benchmark in the development of the metal genre. It remains the British band’s most successful album, having topped the charts in the U.K. and reached a Top 10 placing in the U.S., and introduced the hit single “Smoke on
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