There’s been a lot of talk around these parts about A&M Records’ 50th anniversary celebration, and why not? The label founded by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss virtually defined the sound of AM radio in the 1960s before embracing cutting-edge new wave , rock and R&B sounds in the ensuing decades. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. When one thinks of the A&M Sound, however, those bright and breezy sixties pop songs just might be the defining style. With the phenomenal success of
The Man on Lincoln's Nose: Intrada Expands Hitchcock Classic on CD
What's that sound? Is that...a plane buzzing low overhead? Not this time: it's the sound of Bernard Herrmann's classic score to Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest, the benefactor of a beautiful new expansion by Intrada! The 1959 thriller, written by Ernest Lehman as "the Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures," stars Cary Grant as an ad exec entangled in an incredible espionage plot, full of misdirection, mistaken identity, beauty (courtesy of Eva Marie Saint as the femme fatale), a
Release Round-Up: Week of August 7
The Beach Boys, Japanese 2012 Remasters (EMI) Released last week across the sea, these new Japanese remasters of 12 of the boys of summer's first LPs (spanning from 1963 to 1971 but, alas, incomplete) should be hitting our shores around now. Has anyone had the chance to hear them yet? Roxy Music, The Complete Recordings 1972-1982 (Virgin) This 10-disc set, kicking off a planned 40th anniversary celebration of the iconic New Wave pioneers, features new remasters of the band's first eight
"Used Cars" (The Music) for Sale at La-La Land!
La-La Land's latest catalogue title, released last week, is a pleasant surprise: the premiere release of the score to the cult-classic comedy Used Cars. The 1980 picture, starring Kurt Russell as an unscrupulous salesman willing to go to any lengths to shut down his competition, was a particular surprise for anyone familiar with the talent behind the production. It was the second film to be directed by Robert Zemeckis, and was written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale and produced by Steven Spielberg.
Like a Rhinestone Cowboy: Glen Campbell "Live Anthology" Plagued by DVD Playback Problem, "American Treasure" Box Set Delayed [UPDATE 8/6]
Even when faced with Alzheimer's, you can't keep a good rhinestone cowboy down. Glen Campbell continues to make headlines on his Goodbye Tour, recently packing the Hollywood Bowl with a special show featuring Lucinda Williams, Jackson Browne, Kris Kristofferson, Jenny Lewis plus Dawes and the Dandy Warhols. Yes, Glen Campbell's music transcends all generational and genre lines, as his classic songs continue to invite record labels to repackage, reissue and anthologize the great man's
Finest Worksongs: R.E.M. to Expand "Document" with Unreleased Concert
Not long before
Review: Booker T. & The M.G.s, "Green Onions: 50th Anniversary Edition"
Stax Records and Concord Music Group have brought the cool to this hot summer. Music simply doesn't come much cooler than the hip Green Onions, from Booker T. & the M.G.s. The landmark album is being celebrated for its fiftieth anniversary in an expanded edition (STX-33960-02, 2012) as part of the ongoing Stax Remasters series that last delivered a new edition of Albert King's I'll Play the Blues for You. The main attraction is doubtless the title song, a favorite of the Blues Brothers
Review: "Follies: Original 1971 Broadway Cast Recording" (Remixed and Remastered Edition)
Though the former showgirls and stage-door Johnnies of Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman’s Follies reunited in the 1971 musical for “one last look at where it all began,” it’s been rather difficult for those under the musical’s spell to take one last look (or listen, as it were) at the original production of Follies. Those who saw it routinely recall it as the grandest of all musicals; those who didn’t have had to make do with still photographs, grainy YouTube footage, talk show appearances,
United Together: Aretha Franklin, Cheryl Lynn Among Latest From BBR
Without a doubt, Cherry Red’s Big Break Records label has been one of the most hospitable to the legendary divas of soul, and two recent releases just further underline that fact. Having previously reissued deluxe editions of Aretha Franklin’s 1982’s Jump to It and 1983’s Get It Right, both produced by Luther Vandross, the label has turned the clock backward to 1980 for the Queen’s Arista Records debut, simply titled Aretha. It’s recently been joined by Cheryl Lynn’s 1982 Columbia LP Instant
Aztec Camera Catalogue to Be Expanded by Edsel in August
The brilliant, multifaceted work of Roddy Frame's Scottish pop band Aztec Camera will see significant expansion courtesy of the hardworking folks at Demon Music Group. Aztec Camera's six studio albums, featuring singer/songwriter Frame and a rotating cast of musicians (including future Smiths second guitarist Craig Gannon, drummer Steve Jordan, keyboardist Tony Mansfield and others), will all be expanded by Edsel on August 27. Debut LP High Land, Hard Rain (released in 1983 on Rough Trade
Gold Legion Expands Titles by Laura Branigan, Grace Jones
The Gold Legion label has two expanded titles coming from a pair of disco and dance legends this fall. Expect remastered and expanded editions of the late, great Laura Branigan's Branigan (1982) and Self Control (1984) albums, as well as reissues of Inside Story (1986) and Bulletproof Heart (1989) from Grace Jones, this September. Branigan, the big-voiced New Yorker with a four-octave range, burst onto the scene in 1982 with the release of Branigan, a solid offering of dance-rock bolstered by
Release Round-Up: Week of July 31
Frank Zappa, Official Reissues #1-13 (Zappa/UMe) The iconoclastic musician's catalogue is back in print thanks to a new agreement with Universal, and his first 13 albums (most of them newly remastered from the original analog masters) are available today. Joe gave us a great breakdown of what's what on these new masters, which also has convenient links to both these new titles and the forthcoming second wave of remasters next month. Blur, Blur 21 (Virgin/EMI) 21 refers not only to the
Happy Together: "Sunset Strip to Haight-Ashbury" Features Jefferson Airplane, Mamas and the Papas, Turtles, Love and More
John and Michy were gettin' kind of itchy/Just to leave the folk music behind/Zal and Denny workin' for a penny /Tryin' to get a fish on the line.. Those lyrics from The Mamas and the Papas’ 1967 “Creeque Alley” begin to tell the story of the famous band, and it’s one of eighteen tracks on a new compilation aiming to tell a bigger story: that of “The California Scene in the 1960s.” Yes, this story has been told more comprehensively elsewhere; see two of our favorite box sets dedicated to San
House That Used To Be: Old 97's "Too Far To Care" Remastered and Expanded by Omnivore
Though 1997's Too Far to Care was actually the third album from Texan band Old 97's, it was an album of firsts. The major label debut of Rhett Miller and his musical cohorts, Too Far to Care placed the band at the vanguard of alt-country. It combined the muscularity of rock and the songcraft of pop with the traditional country sound on which the band had earned an Elektra Records contract, and led to performances in front of Lollapalooza crowds. In celebration of the album's 15th anniversary,
MC Squared = A Lost Sixties Treasure Unearthed By Now Sounds
Though Albert Einstein popularized a rather different equation, Now Sounds has revealed to us that Michael Crowley + Michael Clough + Linda Carey + Randy Sterling + Jim Keltner = MC Squared. The group released four singles on Reprise Records in the heady days of 1967 and 1968, the first of which was sandwiched between releases by Dino’s daughter Deana Martin and South African vocalist Miriam Makeba! Throughout MC Squared’s tenure at Reprise, the band was in good company; 1968’s “Smilin’” b/w
Live Killer, No Filler on Hip-o Select's Latest
This week's Release Round-Up gave some illumination on Hip-o Select's latest, a triple-disc anthology of live material from the one and only Jerry Lee Lewis. But we wouldn't be doing our jobs right if we didn't elaborate on that one for you! The Killer Live! 1964-1970 collates, for the first time on CD, four underrated live records from the irascible rocker's lengthy career - beginning at a time when the world had passed The Killer by. Five years before signing to Smash Records after his Sun
Tomorrow Never Knows: The Beatles Offer Rock-Themed Digital LP
Although albums like Rock ‘n’ Roll Music (1976), Love Songs (1977) and Reel Music (1982) have all yet to be released in any CD or digital format, Apple and EMI are reviving the spirit of those LP compilations with a new release available exclusively as an “iTunes LP.” Tomorrow Never Knows, subtitled File Under “Rock,” collects fourteen of The Beatles’ heaviest tracks including the psychedelic title track from 1966’s Revolver. Somewhat surprisingly, some harder-edged hits have been eschewed;
Who Knows What Evil Lurks In The Hearts of Men? Only "The Shadow" Knows! Soundtrack Features Goldsmith Score, Steinman Song
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Indeed, only The Shadow knows. And who knows the way to the hearts of film buffs everywhere? Certainly Intrada knows! The soundtrack specialist label has just announced its two latest limited editions: a deluxe double-CD expansion of the 1994 film The Shadow including Jerry Goldsmith’s complete score as well as the original Arista LP with songs by Jim Steinman (Bat Out of Hell), plus Craig Safan’s discarded score to Wolfen, the 1981 horror
Release Round-Up: Week of July 24
Booker T. & the MGs, Green Onions (Concord/Stax) The 1962 album from the Stax legends is expanded with two previously issued, live bonus tracks from Los Angeles in 1965. Read more here. David Cassidy, Cherish / Rock Me Baby (7Ts/Cherry Red) The Partridge Family star was on top of the world when he released his first two solo albums in 1972. They arrive on American shores today as one two-fer! Read more here. The Guess Who, # 10 / Road Food (Iconoclassic) Iconoclassic’s series of
The DJ That Rocked: "Singles Collection" Compiles Best of Tony Blackburn
Richard Curtis’ 2009 film The Boat That Rocked paid affectionate homage to the pirate radio stations of the 1960s, but real-life pirate DJ Tony Blackburn said that “we didn’t have the fun that they obviously had in the film.” Rose-colored glasses or not, Curtis’ film dramatized the period when offshore radio stations challenged the rigid formatting of the BBC. Blackburn was just 21 in 1964 when he first set sail on Radio Caroline. He jumped ship two years later for Radio London, and survived
I Don't Know Where, But It Sends Me There: "Good Vibrations: The Beach Boys Songbook" Arrives
2012 has been a big year for The Beach Boys, and the fun, fun, fun shows little sign of abating any time soon. While we still wait for more details on the possible U.S. arrival of a series of reissued original albums, Sony Music Japan is celebrating with a unique tribute to America's band. Good Vibrations: The Beach Boys Songbook is a 25-track compilation drawn mostly, but not exclusively, from the Sony family of labels including Columbia, RCA Victor, Arista, Buddah and Bang, and offers a number
Saturday Spotlight: From Eelwax Jesus to Declan's Well
We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming... Another Saturday night and you ain't got nobody? Well, it has been called the loneliest night of the week. It's also been said that S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y night is alright for fighting. But here at Second Disc HQ, this evening will hardly be lonely, because Mike and I will be indulging in some of our favorite new music. Yup, that's right! For this special weekend update, if you will, we're turning the spotlight from back-catalogue favorites to
Lee Hazlewood Makes "A House Safe For Tigers"
One of our favorite characters here at Second Disc HQ is the one and only Lee Hazlewood. Whether singing psychedelic duets with the daughter of the Chairman of the Board, proving that Hollywood kids Dino, Desi and Billy were “Not the Lovin’ Kind” or going all twangy with Duane Eddy, Hazlewood made his mark wherever he went. Light in the Attic kicked off a new Hazlewood reissue campaign in April with the release of the deliciously offbeat The LHI Years: Singles, Nudes and Backsides 1968-1971,
Are You Ready for a New Sensation? INXS' "Kick" Expands for 25th Anniversary (UPDATED)
INXS' Kick is a favorite around The Second Disc parts. We envisioned another deluxe reissue (after two on both sides of the Atlantic) in one of our first Reissue Theory posts, and its slinky, perfectly-crafted blend of pop, R&B and hard rock - combined with a host of non-LP material - makes it a perfect candidate for the growing trend of super-deluxe box sets. So when such a set was first reported and then recently confirmed, you can imagine our excitement at bringing on the news to you. So
Release Round-Up: Week of July 17
America, Perspective/In Concert (BGO) Two out-of-print albums from Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell circa 1984 and 1985 are now available as a two-for-one CD from the U.K.’s BGO label! Read more here. Donny Hathaway, Live + In Performance (Shout! Factory) The Shout! Factory label combines two of the late soul man’s live albums (the first, from 1972, and the second, a posthumous set from 1980) in one package, newly remastered by Steve Hoffman. Read more here. Elton John vs. Pnau, Good
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