When Sony Music Entertainment reacquired the rights to the full Philadelphia International Records (PIR) catalog in 2007 (after losing control of the post-1976 output in 1984 to EMI), hopes were high that much of that storied hit factory’s catalogue would finally be reissued on CD. Arguably the 1970s’ answer to Berry Gordy’s Motown empire, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff’s label boasted a top-notch roster: Lou Rawls, The O’Jays, Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, Teddy Pendergrass, The Three Degrees
A Sign of Good "Faith"
This week's tease about the upcoming reissue of George Michael's Faith helps prove that the '80s, often thought to be an era of musical detritus, has its share of defining moments worth revisiting through catalogue titles. Of course, as time marches on, labels will continue to revisit the '80s for reissues and box sets, which will alternately confuse and delight listeners. Dozens of bands - Genesis, a-ha, Duran Duran, Michael Jackson, Tears for Fears, The Police, Bon Jovi and scores more - have
New Hendrix Box, More Reissues Slated for October?
Our reliable release date gatekeeper Pause & Play put up a pre-order link to a new Jimi Hendrix set. West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology, slated for release October 19 from Experience Hendrix/Legacy, is said to be a five-disc set (four CDs and a DVD), likely with some rare and unreleased content. No other information has surfaced, although that same date has an Amazon listing for reissues of The Jimi Hendrix Experience's live set from Woodstock (first released in 1999 when MCA
Apple Announcements and Additions
Apple has announced the full, final specs for its upcoming swath of reissues, and they've managed to include some surprises that weren't previously known about. The Second Disc posted a rundown last month of some planned bonus tracks based on a beta version of Apple Records' Web site. Now, the site offers a full press release and track list details for every one of the upcoming releases. Not only does nearly every reissue now contain bonus tracks (including the James Taylor and Jackie Lomax
News Round-Up: Springsteen's "Darkness" Doc, Motown Treasures and Porcupine Tree Rarities
A new Springsteen documentary, to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month, is the latest piece of The Boss' upcoming Darkness on the Edge of Town box set. The Promise: The Making of "Darkness on the Edge of Town," directed by Thom Zimny (who directed the documentary in the Born to Run box), will feature unseen footage from the album sessions in 1976-1978 and has been confirmed to be a part of the box, which is due in time for this Christmas. Here's a fine surprise: Motown
The Second Disc Interview #2: From Hollywood, It's Bruce Kimmel!
Producer, director, writer, actor, composer, lyricist, raconteur – any and all of those words could be used to describe Bruce Kimmel. After helping to launch the Varese Sarabande label over thirty years ago and christening its still-ongoing soundtrack series with his score to The First Nudie Musical (which he also wrote, co-directed and acted in), Kimmel founded the Bay Cities label. Between 1989 and 1993, he and his Bay Cities colleagues were among the very first to reissue classic film
"Other Roads" Less Traveled: Friday Music Preps Boz Scaggs Reissues
Friday Music has added some more titles to their ongoing series of Boz Scaggs reissues. The label will expand two Columbia LPs from the singer/songwriter/guitarist with remastered sound and packaging. First, there's Moments, Scaggs' debut for Colubmia which featured production by Glyn Johns and a minor hit with "We Were Always Sweethearts." (Listen for a young Rita Coolidge on backing vocals on the track "Near You"!) This set includes two mono single mixes and a pair of rare EP tracks. Other
Intrada Readies "Predator" and Vintage Westerns
Intrada has some great releases due this week. One is a familiar romp through '80s action territory, the other a pair of unearthed Western scores. As rumored, Intrada is bringing Alan Silvestri's score to Predator (1987) back into print. First released by Varese Sarabande in 2003, this high-powered, rhythm-heavy score is remastered from newly-discovered two-track digital stereo session elements, so it's got the best sound one can hope for. The track order is more or less the same, outside of a
The Tra-La Days Are Back: Wounded Bird to Offer Sedaka Two-on-One
Neil Sedaka famously proclaimed that "The Tra-La Days Are Over" as the title of his (unfortunately out-of-print) 1973 album. But thanks to Wounded Bird (as if the label hadn't announced a big enough bonanza for reissue fans already!), fans of rock and roll's golden age have another chance to enjoy Sedaka's days as king of the shoo-be-doos and tra-la-las. Little Devil and His Other Hits/The Many Sides of Neil Sedaka is set for release on September 7 according to Pause and Play. For an artist with
It's Up
The Complete Elvis Presley Masters. Go here. Talk below. Some reactions after the jump.
Unreleased Jacko Report Gets Wacko
If you're one of the few dozen people who still reads Rolling Stone's Web site, the late-breaking "exclusive" that a new Michael Jackson compilation of outtakes is due in November sounds like a great bit of news. But oops! Looks like RS got beaten to the punch by a four-month-old press release. But they've got quotes, so it's legit, right? What's that? The quotes were taken from articles from 2009? Oh. Whoops. It's sad that Roger Friedman has to be the closest to a journalistic authority in
The Rebel Kind: Ace Preps Lee Hazlewood Compilation
When Lee Hazlewood died in 2007 after a brave battle with cancer, music lost one of its true eccentrics. With a resonant baritone, a keen ear for a melody and a dry wit, Hazlewood was an unlikely recording star. His first long-term collaboration was with guitarist Duane Eddy, with whom he produced a string of hit instrumentals. His second such collaboration was a career-defining one with Nancy Sinatra, effectively launching her career with 1966’s “These Boots are Made for Walkin’” on the Reprise
The Times, They Are Indeed A-Changin': Mono Dylan Reissues Coming
It's been bandied about for a little bit now, but it looks like it's true: there's an Amazon listing for Bob Dylan's The Original Mono Recordings. It's an eight-disc set of the first eight Dylan LPs - his 1962 self-titled debut to 1967's John Wesley Harding in their original mono mixes (or more specifically, according to this Rolling Stone article: "reportedly mastered using 'first issue copies of the mono LPs' in order to recreate the sound of the original LPs") - with a new 60-page book of
A Wounded Bird Bonanza (EVEN MORE ADDED 7/30)
Wounded Bird Records has just opened the floodgates and got a couple of interesting obscurities released or reissued on CD. There's a couple of notable names here, and at least one that looks to have bonus tracks. Hit the jump to see them all.
Friday Feature: "Predator"
If you went into theatres in the summer of 1987 to see Predator, you might have expected a rote action film with Arnold Schwarzenegger and nothing more. On the surface, there's nothing that would have you expect anything else. The Austrian Oak leads a team of soldiers through an attempted rescue mission in South America. Sounds like any other action movie from the '80s, right? But then you catch those quick bursts of infrared images. The distorted sound. The unearthly snarling. And you realize
Rhino Handmade Releases Unreleased Tony Joe White
The latest Rhino Handmade title is That On the Road Look "Live," a rumored live album by Tony Joe White - finally revealed to be true. White was a Louisiana-bred guitarist famous mostly for his compositions rather than his own performances. "Polk Salad Annie" was his biggest hit, but it's primarily known as a concert staple during Elvis' last decade. "Rainy Night in Georgia" was also his composition, though Brook Benton made it a gold-seller in 1970. But this live set - the recording date and
Reissue Theory: Sting - "The Art of the Heart"
This week's Reissue Theory is something a bit different: a proposal to reissue a record that's never actually been released! When people talk about phenomenal live artists, the conversation doesn't often turn toward Sting's solo career. The Police were a hell of a live act - they built their career on constant touring all over the world - but Sting's solo career, however good, always has an air of stuffiness to it. How could the same singer currently on tour with a symphony orchestra ever be
Back Tracks: The Cars
The above picture is a bit of a shock, if you haven't seen it yet: all four of the surviving members of The Cars - Ric Ocasek, Elliott Easton, Greg Hawkes and David Robinson - in a recording studio. It was posted to the official Facebook page for the Boston-based rockers on Thursday. No caption, no explanation. Just the members of The Cars, possibly gearing up for some new music. And who'd have thought? Since the band broke up in 1988, chances seemed slim where a reunion was concerned. The
Iconoclassic to Reissue Solo Carl Wilson and Guess Who in September
If sensitive composer/producer Brian Wilson was the soul of The Beach Boys, and brash frontman Mike Love the voice, passionate singer/guitarist Carl Wilson was no doubt the heart. There was little Carl Wilson couldn’t do, vocally, whether the angelic tones of “God Only Knows,” the soulful shouting of “I Was Made to Love Her” or the dreamlike psychedelia of “Feel Flows.” And when brother Brian wasn’t able to guide the band through the tumultuous 1970s, Carl stepped up to the plate with an amazing
The Lady and Her Music: "The Essential Lena Horne" Coming in August
Thanks to our friends at MusicTAP for the tip that, on August 24, Legacy will celebrate the life of a great lady of song with its release of The Essential Lena Horne: The RCA Years. Like The Essential Henry Mancini (scheduled to be released on the same day), this release is far from definitive, but appears to be a solid introduction to one period of the late Horne’s magnificent career. That career saw the artist rising from her nightclub roots to break racial barriers in Hollywood, becoming one
The Second Disc Interview #1: A Soulful Chat with Harry Weinger
It is with the greatest pride that The Second Disc presents its first-ever interview, bringing you closer to the catalogue music world we all love so much. Our first interviewee is one of the most notable names from the world of reissues. Harry Weinger, vice-president of A&R for Universal Music Enterprises, has been part of the music business for more than 30 years, writing for publications like Rolling Stone, Vibe, Billboard and Cashbox before becoming a staff writer for PolyGram's
Elvis is Alive...Sort of
A quick heads-up on the awaited pre-order for Elvis Presley's The Complete Masters box set: just got word from Legacy that the pre-order date is now August 2 rather than tomorrow. A track list will be available when it's up. Rest easy, friends - this is still happening!
News Round-Up: Dead on Vinyl, Closer to Elvis, Deluxe Duran Rearranged and More
The Grateful Dead is releasing a five-LP box set containing reissues of the band's first five studio albums for Warner Bros. records. Collectors will want to take note that this box will include the original mixes of Anthem of the Sun and Aoxomoxoa, which have not been released since the original LPs came out. The set is due on September 21; pre-orders placed now get a bonus reproductions of a 7" single and a vintage promo poster. While we await tomorrow's pre-order date for a crazy-enormous
Breaking News: More "Promises" Kept from Kritzerland
We catalogue music enthusiasts just can't get enough. Near-universal acclaim greeted Kritzerland on its re-release of the original cast album of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's Promises, Promises, including from your humble correspondent. Yet many of those cheers were quickly followed in the fan community by: "Now, when are you going to release the London Cast Recording?" The long-lost United Artists LP was recorded in 1969 with the stars of the production at the Prince of Wales Theatre: Tony
Of Panthers and Baby Elephants: "The Essential Henry Mancini" Coming Soon
Henry Mancini’s film score work has been anthologized numerous times, and the latest such release is due August 24 from Legacy as part of their ongoing The Essential… series. The Essential Henry Mancini is a 2-disc overview containing 36 tracks, dating between 1958 and 1983. During that time, Mancini was one of Hollywood’s most prolific composers, creating memorable themes for the big and little screens alike. Mancini’s longterm collaboration with Blake Edwards ranks with the Danny Elfman/Tim
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