What does it sound like when one of Motown's most famous lead singers of the '60s does the unthinkable and amicably parts from his group? For the first time on CD, fans are about to find out, with the release of The Miracles' Renaissance and Do It Baby albums on the Hip-O Select label this month. Longtime Miracles frontman and legendary singer Smokey Robinson had a hankering to walk away from his group for awhile, not due to infighting but his own multitude of commitments. His wife and
Friday Feature: "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial"
When The Second Disc started two years ago, it didn't take long to realize that catalogue soundtrack coverage was going to be well met on the site. Joe and I love the power and beauty of film music, and admire the work of those awesome individuals who are preserving it on disc for future generations. Today marks the 30th anniversary of my all-time favorite film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, a film with a powerful soundtrack if ever there was one. Recounting the tale of the music of E.T. is one
It's "All in a Night's Work" For Dino, Shirley and André Previn
Scoring a major motion picture…writing a Broadway musical…recording a jazz piano album…conducting a classical symphony. Any of the above might be all in a night’s work for André Previn, a four-time Academy Award winner and ten-time Grammy recipient. And now Previn’s score for the 1962 film All in a Night’s Work is getting its first-ever soundtrack release courtesy of the Kritzerland label! The Dean Martin/Shirley MacLaine comedy followed Previn’s triumphant, Oscar-nominated score for 1960’s
Reviews: Three From Real Gone - Mick Fleetwood's Zoo, Jerry Reed and Durocs
Real Gone Music has become known for its wide-ranging and eclectic releases, and today we’re looking at three of the most recent, from the countrypolitan stylings of Jerry Reed to the rock animals of Mick Fleetwood’s Zoo and the pure pop of The Dūrocs! Dūrocs, Dūrocs (Real Gone Music RGM-0058, 2012) Are you ready to hear one of the best albums you’ve never heard? Then head straight to the pig pen for the first-ever CD release of Dūrocs. Primarily written and produced by the team of Ron
Review: Paul Simon, "Graceland: 25th Anniversary"
When Paul Simon travelled to Graceland, he was aware of the mighty contradictions: “And I may be obliged to defend every love, every ending/Or maybe there’s no obligations now…” Those days of miracle and wonder took place in 1986, and now some 25 years later, the restless artist is still defending Graceland. The path to Graceland was a circuitous one, with stops in New York, Los Angeles, London, Louisiana and most crucially, Johannesburg. Though the multi-platinum record picked up Grammy
Hooked On A Feeling (Again): B.J. Thomas "Complete Singles" Back On Schedule, Plus Germs Update
Longtime readers of The Second Disc know that Real Gone Music is one of our favorite reissue labels. And the level of dedication from the Real Gone team brings a silver lining to what would otherwise be an update as to a long-delayed title. Back in February, the Real Goners announced the March 27 release of The Complete Scepter Singles of B.J. Thomas, the “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” and “Hooked on a Feeling” hitmaker. March, of course, came and went, and as of June 6, this
Review: Heart, "Strange Euphoria"
You’ve gotta have Heart. For over forty years, sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson have been rocking and rolling, singing and strumming, and did I mention rocking? Often considered the female answer to Led Zeppelin, Heart has outlived that famous band, incorporating Zeppelin’s furious attack into music also influenced by pop and folk. The new 3-CD/1-DVD set Strange Euphoria (Epic/Legacy 88691 93736 2, 2012) is the first collection of Heart’s catalogue selected by the Wilsons and the band’s first
Cherry Red Round-Up: Kenny, KC, Carly and More Get New Expansions
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AmdVhcfTSQ] Our friends at Cherry Red Group have had a stellar amount of new reissues in the past month, and we figured now was as good a time as any to highlight some of our favorites across the board. The Lemon label has issued an expanded edition of Keep the Fire, the 1979 soft-rock classic by Kenny Loggins. While the singer-songwriter had put out two albums since the disbandment of Loggins & Messina, it was only recently that he started his
Catch A Wave! Special Review: The Beach Boys' "That's Why God Made The Radio"
In Part One of our special two-part series, we recalled the ups and downs of The Beach Boys and the band’s chief musical architect, Brian Wilson. Today, in Part Two, we turn the spotlight over to That’s Why God Made the Radio, the new album in stores today from America’s Band! Brian Wilson is still a cork on the ocean floating over the raging sea. But is that a whiff of contentment I hear running through The Beach Boys’ “reunion” album, That’s Why God Made the Radio? Despite the ups and
Release Round-Up: Week of June 5
The Beatles, Yellow Submarine (Blu-Ray) (Apple/EMI) Take a trip back to Pepperland with the Fab Four's animated film, now available as a feature-laden Blu-Ray Disc. The 1999 Yellow Submarine Songtrack remix album is also added to the Beatles remaster canon. (Keep a close eye on our giveaway; we're announcing a winner very soon!) Paul Simon, Graceland: 25th Anniversary Edition (Legacy) A man walks down the street, sees many configurations of the Graceland reissue (namely a CD/DVD featuring
Smalltown Boy Made Good: Edsel Preps Bronski Beat, Communards Expansions
Edsel continues populating a busy release schedule with recently-announced expansions of three albums from two bands featuring Scottish pop singer Jimmy Somerville. British pop fans might know Somerville today as the falsetto-voiced singer who crooned several hits in the '80s and '90s (including a chart-topping dance track in the U.S., "Heartbeat," in 1995). But his first brushes with stardom happened with a pair of synthpop bands in the middle of the 1980s. First, there was his brief but
Summer Special! The Beach Boys' "That's Why God Made The Radio" Hits Stores Tomorrow
Tomorrow sees the release of That's Why God Made the Radio, the long-awaited studio album from Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks: The Beach Boys. As the favorite sons of Hawthorne, California continue their enormously successful 50th Anniversary Tour and with the promise of catalogue projects to come later in 2012, we're looking at this new album and the legacy of these musical giants in a special two-part series beginning right now! Where did our long hair
Voodoo Child (Slight Return): Full Slate of Jimi Hendrix Releases Due in July on Blu-Ray, DVD, CD, Vinyl
Believe it or not, Jimi Hendrix would have turned 70 this year. Though the groundbreaking guitarist died at just 27 years old in the fall of 1970, he continues to leave behind an invaluable legacy. You don’t have to wait till what would have been his 70th birthday on November 27 to enjoy the latest releases in the partnership between Experience Hendrix and Sony’s Legacy Recordings. The original documentary film Jimi Plays Berkeley, derived from the two concerts Hendrix performed at the
Review: Albert King, "I'll Play The Blues For You"
It wasn’t that Albert King couldn’t play music other than the blues…but even when crooning in his most velvety-rich style, there was just something inherently lived-in, worldly, and commanding about that voice…in other words, something bluesy. And though that underrated voice would be enough for a lesser artist, King’s greatest gift was as a guitarist. Perhaps the best display of both of those titanic talents was the 1972 Stax album with the apt title of I’ll Play the Blues for You, just
Baby Elephant Walking: Henry Mancini's "Charade," "Hatari!" Soundtracks Premiere on CD
Around these parts, we know that good things do come to those who wait. The old adage has been proven again, yet it might this time be amended to great things do come to those who wait. For the Intrada label has just announced the first-time-ever release of Henry Mancini’s original score tracks for Charade (1963) and Hatari! (1962). Why is this such a big deal? Most of Mancini’s original film scores from his prime period have never seen the light of day; instead the prolific recording artist,
Review: The Critters, "Younger Girl: The Complete Kapp and Musicor Recordings"
In those heady, pre-American Idol days, the route to success had many paths. For New Jersey’s Critters, the path was local, with the band making a name for itself in the tree-lined suburbs of Westfield, Scotch Plains and Princeton, gigging at high schools, colleges, and Knights of Columbus halls. Though they were proficient at covering the days’ hits, The Critters also boasted some formidable songwriters at a time when recording one’s own songs was becoming de rigeur. Before long, The
Release Round-Up, Week of May 29
Amen Corner, Round Amen Corner: The Complete Deram Recordings (RPM) The complete Deram output of Andy Fairweather-Low's soulful group Amen Corner is collected by RPM Records, including the 1968 album that gives this reissue its title! The Critters, Younger Girl: The Complete Kapp and Musicor Recordings (Now Sounds) The first album from New Jersey's Critters ("Younger Girl," "Mr. Dieingly Sad") is reissued along with a plethora of rare singles and bonus songs! Everything But the Girl,
Have You Checked The Children? "When a Stranger Calls" Joins Fifties Double Feature On CD
Though a holiday weekend is soon to kick off here in the U.S., the Kritzerland label isn’t resting on its laurels. The soundtrack specialists have just announced two new releases featuring three wild (and wildly different) film scores. One of the most successful thrillers of 1979, When a Stranger Calls, featured the second ever film score by Dana Kaproff (Cagney and Lacey, The Bionic Woman, Falcon Crest). Kritzerland released Kaproff’s first (1977’s Empire of the Ants) so it’s only
Leaders of the Pack: Ace Celebrates Legendary Songwriters Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry
The union of Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry was a brief one. Married in 1962, the same year that they began a songwriting partnership, they were divorced in 1965. Their professional partnership only continued for a short time thereafter. And to this day, the team of Greenwich and Barry is spoken of in the same breath as two other successful Brill Building husband-and-wife teams, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil (married 1961, still going strong!) and Gerry Goffin and Carole King (married 1959,
Review: Paul and Linda McCartney, "The Paul McCartney Archive Collection: Ram"
Paul McCartney might have taken the bull by the horns for his aggressively homemade solo debut McCartney in 1970, defying practically all expectations, but he literally took the ram by the horns on the cover photo of its 1971 follow-up, Ram. By the time of Ram's release, George Harrison had declared that All Things (including Beatles) Must Pass and John Lennon had exorcised many of his demons with the confessional Plastic Ono Band, wife Yoko at his side. With Linda McCartney co-billed as
Release Round-Up: Week of May 22
Chubby Checker, It's Pony Time/Let's Twist Again/Durocs, Durocs/Terry Knight and the Pack, Terry Knight and the Pack/Reflections/The Orlons, The Wah Watusi/South Street/Various Artists, Remember Me Baby: Cameo Parkway Vocal Groups Vol. 1 (Real Gone Music) The latest group from Real Gone Music includes classics from the vaults of Philadelphia's Cameo-Parkway label plus power-pop from San Francisco's Durocs! Isaac Hayes and Dionne Warwick, A Man and A Woman/Cissy Houston, Presenting Cissy
Review: The Knack, "Havin' a Rave-Up! Live in Los Angeles, 1978"
Not every album lives up to its title, but The Knack’s Havin’ a Rave-Up! certainly does! The group - Doug Fieger on vocals and rhythm guitar, Berton Averre on lead guitar, keyboards and vocals, Prescott Niles on bass, and Bruce Gary on drums – had quite a number of rave-ups on Los Angeles’ famed Sunset Strip in 1978, and made quite a big noise. The quartet was suddenly being deemed the American answer to The Beatles. Musicians the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and Ray Manzarek were
Mould vs. Mould: Sugar Catalogue to Be Expanded in U.S., Too
First it was The English Beat - now, Bob Mould's power-pop outfit Sugar, whose discography is getting the expanded treatment starting next week, is seeing a dueling reissue campaign in both England and the United States. While Copper Blue, Beaster and File Under: Easy Listening are getting expanded CD/DVD issues from Edsel, Merge Records - for whom Mould will release a new album in the fall - will handle expansions of the albums a bit differently. All the DVD content on the U.S. reissues has
Beam Me Up: La-La Land Boldly Expands "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" Score
You've heard all of the clichés before, but La-La Land records truly will go where no man has gone before with the June 5 release of the 3-CD set Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Complete Score. Though Jerry Goldsmith's score to the science-fiction classic has been released on CD before, this joint project of La-La Land, Sony Music and Paramount Pictures offers a luxurious view of every aspect of the film's music. Released in December, 1979, Star Trek: The Motion Picture reunited the cast
Back Tracks, In Memoriam: Robin Gibb
May 20, 2012: We're deeply saddened to report that Robin Gibb of The Bee Gees passed away this morning in England at 10:47 a.m. (5:47 a.m. ET) at the age of 62. Gibb's passing comes following a brave battle with cancer, courageously fought in the public eye. Robin Gibb will always be remembered for his great gift of song, with his angelic voice having provided comfort to so many of us in our saddest times and pure joy in our most upbeat moments. Robin, we will miss you. In honor of this
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