The fall is upon us, and we all know what that means: the holiday shopping season is right around the corner. Like so many years in recent memory, 2011 is marked by a crowded field of super deluxe catalogue boxes, from venerable artists like Pink Floyd, Elvis Presley, Sting, The Who, Nirvana and Jethro Tull. One more hotly-anticipated box set is Rhino's lavish celebration of The Doors' L.A. Woman, which celebrated its 40th anniversary back in April. We duly passed Rhino's initial press
Review: Elvis Presley, "Young Man with the Big Beat: The Complete '56 Elvis Presley Masters"
Well, it's one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, now go, cat, go! With such words was a revolution born! Those simple lyrics were the first sung by Elvis Presley on his 1956 RCA Victor debut, accompanied by the blasts of Scotty Moore's guitar, then the frantic beats of D.J. Fontana's drums. It's unlikely that Presley ever anticipated that his recording of Carl Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes" would provide the soundtrack to a country's coming of age, or for that matter, lead
TGI Friday Music : Monkees, Zevon, Midler, Rundgren, Beck, Yes, Jefferson Starship On Tap
The temperatures might be dropping, but as sure as fall turns to winter, the slate of catalogue reissues heats up each year for the lucrative holiday market. Friday Music, the CD and vinyl reissue label, sure hasn't wasted any time in preparing an eclectic slate of killer releases slated for the months ahead. The label's Joe Reagoso, a.k.a. Joe Friday, has taken to Twitter and Facebook announcing a number of exciting projects. And here, without further ado, are just the facts... The
Bruce Springsteen, Tony Bennett, Bob Dylan, Metallica Join Neil Young For "Bridge School Concerts" CD/DVD
Who but Neil Young could have brought The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sonic Youth, Ben Harper, Eddie Vedder, Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, and Los Lonely Boys together on the same stage? Though Young is an easy target for what can appear as a capricious attitude towards his back catalogue – announcing, then delaying or cancelling titles with alarming frequency – one aspect of the man’s great legacy cannot be in dispute, and that is his philanthropy. Since 1986, Young and his wife Pegi have offered
At Their Most Beautiful: New R.E.M. Compilation Announced
The music world was kind of shocked when R.E.M. announced their breakup. (We even devoted a whole Reissue Theory to their 1987 B-sides compilation Dead Letter Office.) It's certainly interesting timing, then, that the band has one last act of catalogue material before they split: a double-disc compilation coming in November. Named after a quippy assessment of the band by its own guitarist, Peter Buck, Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982-2011 is the first set from the band to
Howlin' Wolf Boxed Up from Hip-o Select
The name Chester Arthur Burnett might not mean anything to the average music fan, but mention his famous nickname - Howlin' Wolf - and the game changes. Howlin' Wolf was one of the pioneers of the blues, a legend on the Chicago scene and a powerful force to be reckoned with on the electric guitar. Hip-o Select celebrates his lengthy legacy through a new four-disc box set of recordings for his longtime home base, Chess Records. Wolf was signed to Leonard Chess' label in 1951, and began to craft
Motown Commemorates Supremes', Temptations' Golden Anniversary with Two New Releases
Motown's 50th anniversary was celebrated in style in 2009 - a year before The Second Disc even existed - with some excellent box sets and reissues. But this year marks another important set of golden anniversaries for the label: the debut of Motown's world famous groups, The Supremes and The Temptations. And no commemoration would be complete without a little bit of product to attract fans and collectors. With that in mind, Hip-o Select announced over the weekend a pair of triple-disc sets
You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet: B.T.O. and Collins Releases Coming From Audio Fidelity
Audio Fidelity has reached overdrive. Bachman-Turner Overdrive, that is. On October 18, the audiophile specialist label will release on 24K Gold CD the third album by BTO, 1974’s Not Fragile. It will be joined by Audio Fidelity’s third reissue from the Phil Collins catalogue, 1982’s Hello, I Must Be Going!, the singer’s second solo album. Bachman-Turner Overdrive arose from the ashes of the band Brave Belt, formed by Randy Bachman and Chad Allan, bandmates in The Guess Who. When Allan
Reissue Theory: R.E.M., "Dead Letter Office: 25th Anniversary Edition"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on notable albums and the reissues they may someday see. As we mourn the passing of one of the most beloved American rock bands of the last few decades, we look at their all-too-often ignored early B-sides, compiled only once on disc - and how those rarities could make for a nice deluxe package down the line. R.E.M. is dead. Long live R.E.M. The Athens, Georgia-based band announced their split Wednesday, after just over 30
Come to the Pop Market, Part Two: Box Sets Planned For Brubeck, Holiday, Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra
Yesterday we reported on eight new box sets drawn from the Columbia and RCA Victor archives and available through Sony’s PopMarket site. While those titles dedicated to Earth Wind & Fire, Electric Light Orchestra, Leonard Cohen, Paul Desmond, Dexter Gordon, Wynton Marsalis, Woody Shaw and Nina Simone are all currently available or due for release shortly, another batch is already on the schedule for November. On November 11, Legacy Recordings opens the vaults to the rich legacy of jazz at
Come to the Pop Market: Complete Collections Due From ELO, EWF, Cohen, Simone, Desmond and More
And the (complete) hits just keep on comin’. Sony’s PopMarket site has become a must-visit destination for many music fans, not only due to daily deals on existing box sets and back catalogue titles but also due to a line of new boxes under the Complete Albums Collection umbrella. Initial recipients of this treatment were Sam Cooke, The Byrds. Stan Getz and Return to Forever. A second wave offered collections from John Denver, Grover Washington Jr., Kansas and Wayne Shorter. Another eight
Review: Rufus Thomas, Shirley Brown and The Dramatics, "Stax Remasters" Series
When Stax Records severed its distribution deal with Atlantic in 1968, it was time to rebuild from the ground up. The entire back catalogue went to Atlantic, as did Sam and Dave’s contract. Gone was the “Stax o’wax” label logo; in its place was a new, finger-snapping Stax. The stewards of the Stax legacy at Concord Music Group have recently launched a series branded as Stax Remasters, and the three latest additions to the reissue program have arrived from Rufus Thomas, Shirley Brown and The
EMI U.K. Opens Up a "Box O' Snakes"
Here they go again: EMI is releasing a hefty box of the earlier works of acclaimed rock band Whitesnake, according to Classic Rock. While most remember Whitesnake for the leadership of onetime Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale - the sole original member of the band, as it stands - and the 1987 smash hit "Here I Go Again" (aided by that oft-referenced music video featuring Tawny Kitaen slithering on the hood of a Jaguar) - the band in fact traces their roots to 1978, in what began as the
This Mortal Coil Box Set Not Too Thrown Off
Beggar's Archive has announced a comprehensive box of the music of This Mortal Coil, 4AD Records' beloved dreampop collective. Though the band was anchored by label head Ivo Watts-Russell, they were far from the "house band" at 4AD. Featuring a free-flowing lineup that featured members of Dead Can Dance, The Cocteau Twins, Dif Juz and the Pixies, the band was crafted, per the official website, "to allow artists the creative freedom to record material outside of the realm of what was expected of
Review: Miles Davis Quintet, "The Bootleg Series Vol. 1: Live in Europe 1967"
Reflecting on Miles Davis’ so-called Second Great Quintet to director Mark Obenhaus, Herbie Hancock recalled that “when people were hearing us, they were hearing the avant-garde on one hand, and they were hearing the history of jazz that led up to it on the other hand - because Miles was that history. He was that link. We were sort of walking a tightrope with the kind of experimenting we were doing in music, not total experimentation, but we used to call it ‘controlled freedom.’” What exactly
Hans Zimmer Roars Back With "Thelma and Louise" From Kritzerland
Last weekend, The Lion King sat atop the box office once more, a potent reminder not only of the 1994 film’s enduring power but of its music. Though Elton John and Tim Rice famously composed its songs, it was Hans Zimmer who picked up an Academy Award for the orchestral score. Zimmer made his first major splash in Hollywood with the score to Barry Levinson’s 1988 film Rain Man, following it up with high profile assignments such as Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Days of Thunder (1990) and Thelma
Fight the Good Fight: Triumph Reissues "Allied Forces" on Vinyl
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg_Zp3Y5BeM&hd=1] Here's a treat for you vinylheads and Canadian rock fans out there: this week saw the vinyl reissue of Allied Forces, the hit album from Northern hard-rockers Triumph. Triumph, arguably Canada's other revered power trio, consisted of vocalist/guitarist Rik Emmett, bassist/keyboardist Michael Levine and drummer Gil Moore. By 1977, two years after their formation, they began to rack up a string of gold and platinum albums in their
The Piano Man, Boxed: Billy Joel Celebrated With "Complete Albums Collection" and "Piano Man" Legacy Edition
The music and lyrics of Billy Joel run deep in the fabric of American popular song: "Sing us a song, you're the piano man." "I'm in a New York state of mind." Joel was that rare singer/songwriter whose career took off in the 1970s, with one foot rooted in the Tin Pan Alley tradition and another squarely in rock-and-roll, who continued to soar in the 1980s with indelible videos for the MTV era, among them "Uptown Girl" opposite his soon-to-be-wife Christie Brinkley. He had proven his
In-a-Gadda-Da-Fillmore: Rare Iron Butterfly 1968 Gig Coming From Handmade
Rhino Handmade's bringing on the heavy-duty rock for its newest title, giving you four great, unreleased early shows from Iron Butterfly in a new two-disc set. When the San Diego quartet took New York's Fillmore East in the spring of 1968, they had one album, Heavy, under their belts but a myriad of lineup changes that would put veteran bands to shame. At the time, the band was singer/organist Doug Ingle, drummer Ron Bushy and new guitarist and bassist Erik Braunn (all of 17 at the time) and
Still They Ride: Journey's "Greatest Hits Vol. 2" Coming On CD and Remastered Double Vinyl
The singer/songwriter Peter Allen once commented in song, “Everything old is new again.” And that adage certainly applies to the case of Journey. Thanks to the one-two punch of television shows The Sopranos and Glee, the band’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” has become ubiquitous. Though the band’s heyday was undoubtedly the 1980s (“Don’t Stop Believin’,” reportedly the top-selling catalogue track of all time on iTunes, dates from 1981), the music of Journey is in the public eye now more than ever.
The Second Disc Interview: Talking with Ben Folds
Leave it to Todd Rundgren to spot The Difference. Hosting a 1995 episode of the late Philadelphia-based radio program of that name, Rundgren interviewed Ben Folds, “fronting his trio, The Ben Folds Five. Go figure,” the pop icon dryly noted. Reflecting on the experience sixteen years later, Folds recalled with typical candor the moment when Rundgren spotted the difference in the young musician. It was “fucking surreal…He said ‘you have a distinct voice.’ And I thought, ‘really? I think I
Review: Frank Sinatra and Count Basie, "The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings"
When Frank Sinatra met Count Basie, it was far from a clash of the titans. No, the "historic musical first" that occurred between the grooves of Reprise 1008 in 1962 was more like a perfect union. Both were Jersey boys, with Basie's formative years spent south of Hoboken, in Red Bank, New Jersey. The men were unusually simpatico, similar in their enormous respect for musicians. Though Basie titled a 1959 album Chairman of the Board, the title was later bestowed upon Sinatra. When Basie put
They've Got Some Other Things Comin': Two Judas Priest Compilations Coming Next Month
Judas Priest are prepping to end their live career with a bang, taking their final Epitaph tour to the U.S. from October to December. But they're not done as a band (their next studio effort is slated for 2012), nor are they done with handling their catalogue, putting out a massive singles box in October. Interestingly, they're celebrating the catalogue further with not one but two compilations around the world, both of which cover much of the same ground in slightly different ways. The first
Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back: Sinatra's "Best of the Best" Joins Together Capitol, Reprise Years
Some have said, "It's Frank's world. We just live in it." And today at The Second Disc, we're in Frank's world. We'll soon bring you a review of Concord's Frank Sinatra - Count Basie: The Complete Studio Recordings, but first comes news of an upcoming anthology that's the first of its kind. Sinatra's Best of the Best arrives on November 1 from Capitol Records and Frank Sinatra Enterprises, and is a compilation with a difference. For the first time, Ol' Blue Eyes' recordings for both Capitol
It Moves Us All: "Lion King" Compilation Coming Soon
Walt Disney Records builds upon the excitement of the forthcoming Blu-Ray release (and 3-D theatrical reissue) of the studio's classic The Lion King by releasing a new compilation, available now, in honor of the timeless film. Anyone with a shred of doubt in The Walt Disney Company's ability to turn out great animated features after Disney's passing in 1966 had their fears allayed in 1989, with the release of The Little Mermaid, a high watermark of animated storytelling and musical scoring.
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