Raise your hand if you remember the golden age of the television miniseries! Once upon a time, the miniseries was king: Rich Man, Poor Man, QB VII, North and South, Roots, The Thorn Birds. Sprawling novels were translated into multiple evenings of rich, dramatic television, with the small screen taking advantage of a length that even big screen fare couldn’t offer. One such miniseries was 1976’s The Moneychangers, based on a novel by Arthur Hailey (Hotel, Airport) and scored by the same man
Icehouse Catalogue Heats Up with New Aussie Compilation
Sometimes reissues happen in the most unexpected places. This is nowhere more true than in Australia, where Universal Music is gearing up for a thus-far well-received catalogue expansion for Australian rockers Icehouse. If you're an '80s pop fan - or grew up in the U.S. with a radio tuned to a pop station in your house - you'll easily remember "Electric Blue," the band's biggest Stateside hit (and only one of two Top 40 singles on these shores). The hook-laden tune, written by bandleader Iva
It's "Days of Heaven" for Morricone and FSM
This has been a tremendous year for writer/director Terrence Malick. The filmmaker's latest effort, The Tree of Life, won the coveted Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival, and the film's weighty subject matter and oblique, nonlinear structure has made it one of the most talked-about pictures of the year. Just yesterday, Film Score Monthly indirectly addressed the minor Malick-mania by announcing a deluxe reissue of the Oscar-nominated score to Malick's Days of Heaven (1978). The
We've Been Thinking a Lot Today About Folds' Retrospective (UPDATED)
"Soon." That's what a Legacy representative told The Second Disc as to when the label's upcoming Ben Folds retrospective package would be announced. Naturally, such a revelation is nothing short of exciting. Everyone at Second Disc HQ is a major fan of the singer/songwriter/pianist's recorded works over the past 15-plus years, from the perfect punch of Ben Folds Five's three studio LPs to Folds' increasingly prolific solo career, which has seen him collaborate with such luminaries as Joe
Back Tracks: CHIC
It's a crime that when you talk about CHIC, many of the players who made up arguably the greatest band of the disco era aren't alive to hear your words of praise. Bernard Edwards, CHIC's bassist and co-producer, died in 1997; drummer Tony Thompson passed away in 2003. Nile Rodgers, guitarist, co-producer and keeper of the CHIC flame, could easily have met the same early fate had he not been lucky enough to discover the cancer that he's been since late last year. (Rodgers, one of the best users
Ease On Down For Hip-o's New Stephanie Mills Anthology
Stephanie Mills' very first LP was titled Movin' in the Right Direction. And although the 1975 LP on the ABC-Paramount label didn't launch her career as a recording artist with a bang, its title was certainly apt. A few years later, the label would be 20th Century Fox instead of Paramount, and Mills would skyrocket to superstardom in the disco era. Her hitmaking records for 20th Century Fox Records are being compiled by Hip-o Select for the August 23 release of Feel the Fire: The 20th Century
Armstrong, Fitzgerald, Peterson Featured on Hip-o's Expanded "Hollywood Bowl"
The names of the greatest producers in jazz history still resonate today. The likes of Orrin Keepnews, Creed Taylor and Norman Granz (to name a mere three) all pioneered production and promotion styles that made their releases both identifable and enduring. Next week will see the release on Hip-o Select of a major project by that third-named gentleman. Granz (1918-2001) founded five record labels in his lifetime, but none more renowned than Verve. That label was created by Granz in 1956, and
Release Round-Up: Week of July 19
Ramones, Ramones / Leave Home / Rocket to Russia / Road to Ruin (Rhino) 180-gram vinyl reissues of the first four Ramones records! The first 500 to buy them from Rhino directly (as seen in this post) get replica 45s with each album, too. (Official site) Andrew Wood, Malfunkshun: The Andrew Wood Story (Hip-o Select/A&M) A late, underrated icon in the early days of grunge gets his due with this triple-disc set, featuring the acclaimed DVD documentary of his life and career (which gives the
Steps In Time: Dave Grusin and Cy Coleman, Meet Dick Van Dyke!
What Oscar-winning composer let the world know “And Then There’s Maude,” joined Billy Joel on 52nd Street and The Nylon Curtain, and shared the music of The Graduate with Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel? Something’s telling me it might be Dave Grusin. His score to The Goonies was described as a “holy grail” by this very site back in March 2010 upon the occasion of its first release on the Varese Sarabande label, and it was indeed snapped up near-immediately. But when it comes to a Grusin
Review: Michael Giacchino, "Up: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack"
Well, the release of Up is such big news here at Second Disc HQ that we felt one review just wasn’t enough! We hope you’re as excited as we are about our first-ever “tag team” review. To start things off, here’s Mike Duquette… It's fitting, really, that Intrada's first soundtrack reissue in conjunction with The Walt Disney Company is a score to a film about fulfilling a lifelong dream. It's been a dream of Disney fans for years to see some sort of stable catalogue presentation from the
Eagles, Deep Purple, Yes! Out-Of-Print DVD-Audios Coming To SACD
It wasn't so long ago that high-resolution audio formats like SACD and DVD-Audio were shelved alongside CDs at major retailers such as Best Buy, Barnes and Noble and Borders. Yet with today's retail landscape perhaps irrevocably altered (and still evolving and shrinking, thanks to the likely-imminent liquidation of Borders), those formats have been consigned to niche shoppers. For those who discovered high-rez and 5.1 audio late, the best source for many releases has been eBay, often at
Mayall's Bluesbreakers Coming Back to CD, LP from Sundazed
Speaking of vinyl reissues, Sundazed has got three coming from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers at the end of August. Mayall certainly had an ear for talent, as these three albums certainly prove. Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton, released 45 years ago this month, remains a pivotal moment for both Mayall and the 21-year-old ex-Yardbird, whose work on the first Bluesbreakers album earned him that immortal "Clapton is God" graffiti tag. But Slowhand's not the only genius afoot: the standard
La-La Land's "Golden Child" Ready to Order
La-La Land's newest title, a three-disc expansion of The Chosen One, is ready to order. By now you already know the story behind this new release (a sort-of fake-out following La-La Land's scheduling shift ahead of Comic-Con), so it's worth noting instead the kind of music we're dealing with on this set. Barry's epic, James Bond-esque score was largely rejected by the producers for Michel Colombier's atmospheric, synth-heavy score. But elements of Barry's work did figure into the movie, not
Review: Tony Bennett, "The Best of the Improv Recordings"
Clive Davis had made his mind up. According to his autobiography, he considered Tony Bennett’s career “in jeopardy” by the late 1960s and felt that “new vitality was needed.” As recently-appointed head of the venerable Columbia Records, Davis brought that new vitality to the label, but at what price? In actuality, Tony Bennett's contributions to the storied label were more vital than ever as the 1960s came to an end. He was carrying the torch for unassailable adult pop with sophisticated
Release Round-Up: Week of July 12
R.E.M., Lifes Rich Pageant: 25th Anniversary Edition (EMI) The latest R.E.M. deluxe edition set features the original LP remastered alongside a bonus disc of demos, all of which are currently available for your streaming pleasure here. (Official site) Megadeth, Peace Sells...But Who's Buying? 25th Anniversary Edition (EMI) The metal heroes' breakthrough LP, remastered and featuring a live bonus disc...and for the adventurous super-fan, a deluxe box set adds two additional alternate mixes of
Invasion of the Return of the ICON Series
You know, it took some time, but Universal's ICON series is really coming into its own. What began as a limply-packaged, uber-budget-oriented series of single-artist compilations - not a patch on the label's previous 20th Century Masters and Gold series - is really emerging into something unique. It's just a shame it took this many tries to work out the kinks. Ha ha ha! Who am I kidding? The newest batch of ICON titles, due for release next Tuesday, July 19, is boring. You have a compilation by
Weekend Wround-Up: Ramones Vinyl (Plus), Warhol's Legacy, A Voyage to Honnalee on DVD
On Tuesday, July 19, Rhino is reissuing the first four Ramones albums on 180-gram vinyl with the original artwork and track lists (meaning Leave Home will have "Carbona Not Glue" on Side One). Those who order the first 500 copies of each LP directly from the label will receive a bonus 7" with their respective albums. Legacy Recordings will release a strictly limited box set in August to commemorate the life and work of Andy Warhol. 15 Minutes: Homage to Andy Warhol will feature three CDs
Nick Lowe Welcomes You To "Kippington Lodge"
Before he taught us that it was cruel to be kind, and even before he first wondered “what’s so funny ‘bout peace, love and understanding?,” Nick Lowe was one fourth of the groovy lite psych-pop outfit by the name of Kippington Lodge. The group, however, was short-lived, and morphed into pub-rock pioneers Brinsley Schwarz, folk/country/rockabilly revivalists. Cherry Red’s RPM label is now giving fans the chance to listen to the complete recorded output of Kippington Lodge for a window into
Bobby Charles' "Homemade Songs" Become Handmade Project
Rhino Handmade has announced their latest title, to be released toward the end of summer. Appropriately, it's a hot, swampy one: an expanded edition of Bobby Charles' 1972 debut album for Bearsville Records. While he's best known as the songwriter of "See You Later Alligator" and "Walking to New Orleans," Charles cut his first solo album in Woodstock, New York with the help of an all-star team that included Dr. John, David Sanborn and four-fifths of The Band. The set's bonus material features 25
Two, Rolling Stoned: Taylor and Trower Classics Coming From Iconoclassic
One of the most buzzworthy music events of 2010 undoubtedly was Mick Taylor reuniting on disc with The Rolling Stones to contribute new guitar parts to their expanded Exile on Main Street. Even years after leaving the Stones, Taylor remains beloved for his contributions to such classic albums as Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and of course, Exile. Iconoclassic Records has announced a project sure to excite fans of the incendiary axeman with the July 26 reissue of his solo 1979 album, Mick Taylor.
You Don't Mess Around With Jim: Croce Classics Arrive In The U.K.
When Jim Croce died in September 1973, the victim of a tragic plane crash, he was only 30 years old. He truly was in the prime of his career, riding the wave of the singer/songwriter movement with his sensitive, personal brand of storytelling. Croce's vivid songs were alternately upbeat and sorrowful, introspective and AM radio-ready. Before his death, Croce only recorded four proper studio albums, the first in collaboration with his wife Ingrid. Those remaining three albums, originally released
"Lonely" No More: Lost Motels Album to Be Released in August
One of the most desired unreleased records of the New Wave era will finally receive an official release, nearly three decades after it was put on the shelf. The Motels' Apocalypso was rejected for its lack of commercial appeal by Capitol Records, which accidentally led the band to a path of brief fame in the 1980s...but it's going to be fun to wonder "what if?" with this set. In 1981, The Motels - lead singer Martha Davis, guitarist Tim McGovern, keyboardist/saxophonist Marty Jourard, bassist
Content with Content: Thoughts on Catalogue Titles and Retail Exclusives
Last week, there was a sort-of funny tempest in a teapot reported by The Los Angeles Times over pop singer Beyoncé's latest album, 4. The paper reported that fans were unhappy with the seemingly low stock of deluxe editions of the album at Target, the chain that was carrying the special version exclusively, as well as problems with the bonus content (an online-exclusive music video, streamed through a special portion of the singer's website when unlocked with the bonus disc) was not available
New Links in the Chain: Deluxe 2-CD/1-DVD Sets Coming from The Jesus and Mary Chain (UPDATED)
Few album titles have been more apt than the Jesus and Mary Chain's 1985 LP debut, Psychocandy. The record took deceptively simple pop songs, influenced by the melodies of Phil Spector and Brian Wilson, and cloaked them in a noisy, fuzz-and-feedback-laden haze that took the darkness of The Velvet Underground one step further. If the group didn't exist, someone would have had to invent it. William and Jim Reid, two Scottish brothers, formed the core of the band, initially joined by bassist
Whole Hall and Oates: Famed Duo's Complete Atlantic Years Collected
Daryl Hall and John Oates made their first significant dent on the pop charts with 1976's "Sara Smile," released on RCA Records. "Rich Girl" followed as their first No. 1 single in 1977, and a few short years later, they were proclaimed the most successful duo in rock history thanks to an amazing string of ubiquitous pop singles: "Kiss on My List," "Private Eyes," "Maneater," "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" and so on. But those who only know Hall and Oates from those remarkable 1980s
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