In the days when The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Peter and Gordon, The Zombies, The Animals and The Kinks were vying for chart supremacy, there was another British Invasion going on. And it was virtually a single-handed one. The invader in question was a winsome soprano named Julie Andrews, who was a perfect nanny not once but twice on the silver screen. Andrews’ performance as Mary Poppins saw her headlining the No. 1 album in the United States in March 1965 (emerging triumphant over Beatles
In Season: Bob Crewe's Lost Musical Revealed On "The Complete Elektra Recordings" Coming NEXT WEEK From Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music
"Bob Crewe's lyrics have meant so much--to so many--for so long; it is hard to imagine they will ever be forgotten. Bob had a way about him in life as he did in the studio, a charismatic personality, an ability to draw the best out of everyone and a limitless joy of music, art and life...We will never forget Bob Crewe." So spoke Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio upon the passing last year of Bob Crewe at the age of 83. A veteran songwriter, producer and entrepreneur, Crewe's vibrant, thrilling music
Kritzerland Ain't Misbehavin' With Complete, Expanded "Stormy Weather"
Don’t know why there’s no sun up in the sky… Well, the sun has come up, and the reason’s clear: Kritzerland has a new 2-CD complete edition of the soundtrack to Stormy Weather, Twentieth Century Fox’s 1943 musical extravaganza starring Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Dooley Wilson, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, The Nicholas Brothers and many more. Loosely based on Robinson’s life, the film is short on plot but long on song-and-dance, with musical figuring into over 70 of its 78 minutes!
Don't Leave Her This Way: Thelma Houston's "Any Way You Like It" Gets Expanded Treatment
Powerhouse vocalist Thelma Houston has long had a champion in SoulMusic Records. In 2012, the label issued an expanded edition of her debut album (and second overall) for Motown’s California-based MoWest label, and in 2013, SoulMusic reissued both of her duet albums with the “Ice Man” Jerry Butler. The label has just revisited 1976’s Any Way You Like It, the album that made a superstar out of Houston thanks to a little anthem called “Don’t’ Leave Me This Way.” Though Berry Gordy’s West
Hang On Sloopy! "The Bert Berns Story Volume 3" Features Van Morrison, Lulu, Drifters
Here comes the night…again! Even if you don’t know the name of Bert Berns, chances are you know the songs he wrote (“Twist and Shout,” “I Want Candy,” “Hang On, Sloopy,” “Piece of My Heart”), produced (“Under the Boardwalk,” “Baby I’m Yours,” “Brown-Eyed Girl,” “Here Comes the Night”) and oversaw as head of Bang Records (“Cherry, Cherry,” “Solitary Man” and the rest of Neil Diamond’s earliest recordings). Though Berns died in the final days of 1967 at just 38 years of age, a year hasn’t gone by
Wish Upon a Star: Walt Disney Records' Legacy Collection Revisits "Pinocchio"
Just last month, Walt Disney Records celebrated the 75th anniversary of Fantasia by releasing a new addition to the label’s Legacy Collection with a 4-CD reissue of the original soundtrack to that film. However, Fantasia is not the only Disney classic to turn 75 this year. 1940 was a pretty good year for the animation studio, as the classic Pinocchio also saw release during those twelve months. On February 10, 2015 (almost to the day the film premiered three-quarters of a century ago:
Lalo Schifrin Casts a Spell On Two New Reissues From Tabu Label
It’s never been easy to pigeonhole Lalo Schifrin. The four-time Grammy-winning Argentinian composer created one of the most memorable television themes of all time with his “Mission: Impossible,” recorded jazz albums for labels including Verve and Creed Taylor’s CTI, worked with Count Basie, Cannonball Adderley and Sarah Vaughan, and scored innumerable films, racking up six Oscar nominations in the process. Now, Demon Music Group has reissued two lost gems of the Schifrin oeuvre, both originally
What's a Matter Baby: RPM Rounds Up Timi Yuro Rarities
The late Rosemary “Timi” Yuro, a.k.a. “the little girl with the big voice,” is still fondly remembered today by music aficionados for her full-throated rendition of “Hurt,” a No. 4 Pop/No. 2 Easy Listening hit in 1961. Signed at first to Liberty Records, Timi went on to record a number of other hits including Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “The Love of a Boy” (No. 44 Pop, 1962) and producer Clyde Otis and Joy Byers’ "What's a Matter Baby (Is It Hurting You?)” (No. 12 Pop, 1962). Through two
Something Good: Legacy Expands "The Sound of Music," Classic Soundtrack Also Comes to SACD and Vinyl
The hills are alive again! On March 10, Legacy Recordings will reissue RCA Victor’s chart-topping 1965 soundtrack to Rodgers and Hammerstein’s five-time Academy Award-winning The Sound of Music in a new 50th anniversary edition to coincide with the golden anniversary release on Blu-ray. Collectors will note that expanded CD reissues of the classic musical soundtrack starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer are as inevitable as raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens; editions have
Ella, Satchmo, Aretha, Miles and The Merm Featured On Starbucks' "Fascinating Gershwin"
When The Library of Congress established a Prize for Popular Song in 2007, one name was affixed to it: Gershwin. With no disrespect to Messrs. Berlin, Porter, Rodgers and company, George and Ira’s surname is synonymous with the gold standard in American popular song. The recipients of the award to date – Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Carole King and Billy Joel – have all followed in the Gershwins’ footsteps of marrying smart, sophisticated and incisive
Varese Vintage Round-Up: Label Reissues Seals and Crofts, Danny Elfman, Bill Medley, More
Today, we’re spotlighting a number of reissues you might have missed from the Varese Sarabande label which arrived in the final weeks of 2014! The 1977 coming-of-age drama One on One starred young Robby Benson as high school basketball star Henry, who must overcome obstacles – both romantic and academic – to get through his freshman year of college. The score was provided by Charles Fox (“Happy Days,” “Ready to Take a Chance Again”) who also collaborated on a number of songs for the movie
The Year In Reissues: The 2014 Gold Bonus Disc Awards
Welcome to The Second Disc’s Fifth Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! As with every year’s awards, our goals are simple: to recognize as many of the year’s most essential reissues and catalogue titles as possible, and to celebrate as many of those labels, producers and artists who make these releases happen in an increasingly-challenging retail landscape. The labels you’ll read about below have, by and large, bucked the trends to prove that there’s still a demand for physical catalogue music
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Judy Garland, "The Garland Variations: Songs She Recorded More Than Once"
Judy Garland opens JSP Records’ new 5-CD box set The Garland Variations: Songs She Recorded More Than Once (JSP 975) with “Everybody Sing,” the kind of rousing showstopper she was practically born to sing. Sessions for the song from MGM’s Broadway Melody of 1938 began when Garland was on the cusp of just fifteen years old, but the power of her vocal instrument was already in place. But even when belting with a force to rival the mighty Merman, there was always something unfailingly intimate – or
Holiday Gift Guide Review: A Classic Christmas With Rosemary Clooney, Frank DeVol
Welcome to Part One of a two-part series exploring the recent line-up of Christmas releases from Real Gone Music! 1954’s White Christmas, quite simply, remains one of the most beloved holiday musicals to ever hit the silver screen. Built around the songbook of Irving Berlin – who lived to the age of 101 in 1989 but was already a Grand Old Man of American music by 1954 – the film starred Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye and Vera Ellen. Such a quartet promised an evening’s
The Second Disc's HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE 2014
Don't have time to make that list and check it twice? Looking for that perfect present to place under the tree this holiday season? Look no further! 2014 has brought an amazing array of deluxe (and super deluxe!) special editions and box sets - plus a number of holiday-themed releases - all of which prove the vitality of music released in physical formats. We've highlighted the crème de la crème - over 40 titles! - right here to make your spirits bright, whatever your musical
Give 'Em a Spin: The Second Disc's Essential Back to Black Friday 2014 Release Guide
Yes, it’s that time of year again. Thanksgiving is here, and with each Thanksgiving comes another Black Friday, the day for consumers to start off the holiday shopping season on a mad, frenetic note. This year is just in the latest one in which numerous retailers in the U.S. have made headlines by blackening Thursday, or Thanksgiving Day itself, with sales starting on the holiday. So many might give thanks that the folks behind Record Store Day are waiting until the traditional Friday for the
Release Round-Up: Week of November 24
Simon and Garfunkel, The Complete Albums Collection (Columbia/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) This 12-CD box includes all five of Simon & Garfunkel's stereo studio albums released between 1964 and 1970, newly remastered from first-generation analog sources plus first-time remasters of The Graduate soundtrack and 1981's The Concert in Central Park; 1972's Greatest Hits album (which contained some unique performances unavailable elsewhere); and the live concert albums from 1967, 1969
Step by Step, Heart By Heart: Martika's Debut Expanded by Cherry Pop
For decades, The Disney Channel has served as a launching pad for the pop stars of tomorrow, from Justin Timberlake to Britney Spears to Selena Gomez and many more. One of the earliest shows to have stars emerge was Kids Incorporated which aired on The Disney Channel from 1986-1994 (after having moved there from syndication). Kids introduced audiences to, among others, Fergie and Jennifer Love Hewitt. But it was another cast member from the show who had early success stemming from her time
It's A Happy New Year with Real Gone Music's January Slate
Real Gone Music is saying “Happy New Year!” a couple of months early with the announcement of the label’s January 6 slate of releases. This customarily eclectic batch is highlighted by the classic soul of The Main Ingredient and Jackie Moore, blue comedy from Redd Foxx, two otherworldly soundtracks from the films of cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky (on both LP and CD!), and more live jam-band greatness from Grateful Dead. Real Gone’s press release, with full details on each title,
Rush Celebrates 40 Years Of Live Rock With "R40" Box Set
Hot on the heels of the 40th anniversary vinyl reissue earlier this year of Rush’s debut album, the Canadian prog-rock legends are celebrating their four decades of making music with a new career-spanning live box set coming soon from Concord Music Group and Rounder Records. R40, available in both DVD and Blu-ray formats on November 11, brings together live performances by Rush from each decade of the band’s long career. The box includes five videos first released between 2003 and 2013: Rush
From Hoagy To Popcorn: Croydon Municipal Mines Carmichael Tunes, Vintage Pop, R&B and Film Music
St. Etienne co-founder Bob Stanley’s Croydon Municipal imprint from the Cherry Red Group continues to have some of the most eclectic releases out there, emphasizing classic fifties and early sixties pop, R&B and beyond. The label’s latest offerings include a tribute to the pride of Bloomington, Indiana – Mr. Hoagy Carmichael – as well as a return to the realm of Popcorn, and a collection of cool, swinging film themes! Any songwriter would likely sell his soul to compose a song with the
Kritzerland Premieres Dave Grusin's Score to "Falling in Love"
For its latest classic soundtrack, Kritzerland is returning to the music of renaissance man Dave Grusin. The Academy Award-winning composer’s skillful and unfailingly melodic blend of jazz, pop and orchestral sounds has well served him for a Hollywood career that’s lasted for more than forty years. One of the highlights of Grusin’s 1980s was his score to 1984’s Falling in Love, which is receiving its world premiere soundtrack from Kritzerland. Director Ulu Grossbard’s bittersweet romantic
Sound Chaser: Steven Wilson Revisits Yes, Jethro Tull In Stereo and Surround
When it comes to new surround-sound mixes, one name has become closely associated with the format: Steven Wilson. Keeper of the progressive-rock flame and frontman for Porcupine Tree, Wilson has in recent years created definitive 5.1 remixes for artists like King Crimson, Yes, XTC, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Gentle Giant, and Jethro Tull. It was recently announced that Wilson would be extending his talents to an upcoming reissue from (non-prog!) rock band Tears for Fears, and we can also confirm
Back Tracks: Scott Walker, Part 2 (1975-2014)
Where Part 1 of our Back Tracks feature left Scott Walker, he was in a creatively barren period, cranking out albums of AM pop and country, a far cry from the Brel songs and even the Brill Building tearjerkers that characterized his best work. Having left the sublime pop symphonies and edgy chansons behind, he found inspiration in the unlikeliest of places. In 1975, The Walker Brothers reformed, much to the surprise of many. The group recorded the LP No Regrets, which they followed up with
Back Tracks: Scott Walker, Part 1 (1967-1974)
This week, Scott Walker released his latest studio album, Soused, a predictably unpredictable collaboration with drone-metal band Sunn O))). To mark the occasion, we’re reviewing the musical iconoclast’s complete discography in this two-part Back Tracks series originally presented in June 2010 and freshly updated! The music business is famous for hyperbole, but it’s no exaggeration to say that few have had a career anything like that of Scott Walker. An American who skyrocketed to fame on
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