The late Arthur Laurents wrote many of the most beloved musicals and films in entertainment history including West Side Story, Gypsy, The Way We Were and Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope. He passed away on May 5, but today’s special Back Tracks celebrates this great writer’s legacy in music. “If you have a good strong finish, they’ll forgive anything!” So implores stage mother Madame Rose to her daughter Louise, the future Gypsy Rose Lee, in the 1959 musical Gypsy. Rose’s bon mot was one of many
Another Chance to Visit Dave Grusin's "Mulholland Falls"
One year before Curtis Hanson made film noir hip again with LA Confidential, director Lee Tamahori and screenwriter Pete Dexter proved that there was still a lot of life in the old form. They assembled an all-star cast led by Nick Nolte, Chazz Palminteri, Jennifer Connelly and John Malkovich for Mulholland Falls. The production was top-notch, with the legendary Haskell Wexler (In the Heat of the Night, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Thomas Crown Affair) signed as cinematographer, and
We're Into Something Good: ABKCO Reissues Two From Herman's Hermits In May
"Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter." "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)." "A Must to Avoid." These chart hits from Herman's Hermits have stood the test of time, but how many reading this remember the films in which those songs were featured? Upon signing to MGM Records in the U.S., Herman's Hermits were groomed for a Hollywood film career, and why not? At the height of the group's fame, they rivaled the Beatles for popularity, even topping them as the biggest-selling pop
Intrada Premieres Scores to "Ravagers," "Stay Tuned"
Some small but significant premiere releases have bowed from Intrada this week: a dynamic sci-fi score from the '70s and a comedic action romp from the '90s. Ravagers was a brooding post-apocalyptic film featuring Richard Harris as a vigilante safeguarding against the titular band of marauders hell-bent on killing any survivors they can find. Art Carney and Ernest Borgnine co-starred in this forgotten thriller, and the score was composed by Fred Karlin, a jazz arranger who gained prominence in
"Would You Believe" The Complete Hollies 1963-1968 Is Coming From EMI?
Fans of the Hollies have lately had plenty of items on their wish lists, thanks to recent releases from the Sundazed and BGO labels. Yes, it’s been quite a year in catalogue terms for the lads from Manchester! EMI’s U.K. arm continues the celebration with the May 9 release of one whopper of a box set. The Clarke, Hicks & Nash Years (what about Bobby Elliott? Just askin’!) is subtitled The Complete Hollies: April 1963 – October 1968, and if this is somewhat of a fallacy, it’s more or less the
No Gloomy "Sunday" with Complete Les Baxter Debut
Les Baxter sure gets around. The past year has seen reissues of the maestro's scores from a number of labels including Intrada, La-La Land and Kritzerland, and the latter ups the ante today with the release of the exotica master's score to 1960's infamous Black Sunday (La Maschera del Demonio, or The Mask of Satan). Mario Bava's Italian horror classic stars Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Arturo Dominici and Ivo Garrani in the tale of a vampire/witch put to death by her brother who is reborn
Review: Aretha Franklin, "Take a Look: Aretha Franklin Complete on Columbia"
Some legends are repeated so often that they’ve come to be accepted as the truth. One such legend has it that the suits at Columbia Records, circa 1960-1965, were a chain of fools who kept Aretha Franklin from reaching her potential. After all, the record states that one year and one record after being released from Columbia, a superstar was born. But what if that notion was completely incorrect, and Aretha Franklin’s talent was already fully formed and on display at Columbia? Listen to the
Ozzy's "Blizzard" and "Madman" LPs to Be Expanded in May (UPDATE 4/4)
UPDATE 4/4: This isn't particularly new, but in case anyone stumbled upon this post, there was some initial confusion as to the existence of bonus tracks on the Diary of a Madman set. Everything has now been properly edited. Original post: Last year, Legacy promised to turn October into "Rocktober" with the reissues of Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman, the first two solo albums by Ozzy Osbourne. Those reissues were unsurprisingly well-received by fans, particularly following the revelation
More from Macca: "Run Devil Run," "Driving Rain" and "Chaos and Creation" Coming from Hear Music
Way back in February, our pals at MusicTAP passed along the news that Hear Music would continue Paul McCartney's catalogue reissue series on May 24 with three new titles, 1999's Run Devil Run, 2001's Driving Rain, and 2005's Chaos and Creation in The Back Yard. This trio will arrive in advance of the June 7 deluxe reissues of McCartney (1970) and McCartney II (1980). Both of those titles are part of The Paul McCartney Archive Collection and will contain extensive bonus material similar to last
Reissue Theory: Duran Duran, "Medazzaland" and "Pop Trash"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we focus on notable albums and the reissues they may someday see. With a new album by Duran Duran receiving deserved critical acclaim, let's take a look back at the band's years as a trio in the late '90s and see what gold could stand to be dug up from the vaults. As current electro-pop music goes, all you need now is All You Need is Now. Duran Duran's 13th studio album was first released independently (through the band's new Tapemodern
Review: "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World: Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack"
Close your eyes for a moment and pretend you're on Jeopardy! The answer: "This 1963 widescreen epic opened Hollywood's Cinerama Dome." The question: "What is It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World?" Raise your hand if you got it right! Yes, Mad World, as we'll abbreviate it for expediency's sake, is this author's epic film to end all epic films (sorry, Ben-Hur!) and certainly one of the only Hollywood epic comedies! While the designation "all-star" has been applied before and since, perhaps no film
Reissue Theory: Elton John, "To Be Continued...1992-2010"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on notable albums and the reissues they may some day see. It's been over two decades since Elton John released his career-spanning To Be Continued... box set, and so much has happened with his career since then. How do you cover such ground? Simple - make another one! It’s only appropriate that Elton John titled his 1992 album The One. It was a major first for the superstar: his first album recorded in all too many years without
Love Makes the World Go Round: London Cast "Carnival" Hits CD
Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. Sister Act. Catch Me If You Can. Today’s Broadway is populated by adaptations of familiar movies; in 1961, such screen-to-stage transfers were rare. When they did occur, the authors usually changed the title of the film to signify that their musical version was, indeed, a new work. (Imagine producers today allowing authors to diverge from a famous property's title!) Such creative freedom resulted in some of the most inspired musicals in stage history, and one such
Goldsmith, Horner and "Crusoe" Coming from FSM
As previously reported, Film Score Monthly's two newest titles are the premiere releases of three great scores: an underrated sci-fi epic and two TV-movies with music from legendary film composers. Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964) is exactly what it sounds like: the Daniel Defoe classic on the surface of Mars. Paul Mantee is the marooned astronaut and Victor Lundin is "Friday," the Martian slave laborer who escapes and befriends him. (Also appearing as Mantee's doomed co-pilot was a pre-Batman
Rare Alfred Newman Score to "Counterfeit Traitor" Debuts from Kritzerland
It's not too great an exaggeration to state that without Alfred Newman, we probably wouldn't be discussing film music here at The Second Disc, or anywhere else. In a career spanning 40 years and some 200 films, Newman played an integral, early role in the art of composing original music for cinema. He was rewarded with a whopping 45 Academy Award nominations and nine wins, and even made music the family business. Brothers Lionel and Emil had impressive careers, while sons Thomas and David
Will "Psycho" Sale Pave the Way for a Long-Awaited Release?
The score to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho - that terrifying, string-based effort by Bernard Hermann - has entertained audiences the world over since the film's release over 50 years ago. But it is one of the great crimes of catalogue music history that the original score as heard in the film has never been released on any format, be it LP, cassette or CD. That may change, if a U.K. report is to be believed. From Brighton's The Argus: Psycho has one of the most iconic film scores in movie history
Friday Feature: "The Graduate"
“Just one word…plastics.” With that one word, spoken to the disaffected Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) by an associate of his father’s, the audience viewing 1967’s film The Graduate, could both laugh and sneer along with Benjamin. After all, “plastics” stood for all that was superficial and fake in society. Mike Nichols, directing only his second feature film after a successful Broadway career, was anything but subtle as he masterfully threaded the film’s themes throughout every aspect of
La-La Land's Going "Mad" Next Week
Not too long ago, La-La Land Records announced it had only one title due out March 15. Now they've revealed what score they've unearthed - but it's something that's been reissued before. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) is one of the most madcap comedies ever released by Hollywood. Part road picture - groups of people working against each other to find a hidden stash of cash in California - and part Tinseltown epic (dozens of comedians and movie stars appear in the film, including Sid
Another "Promise" to Keep
Even though the Darkness on the Edge of Town box from last winter was as exhaustive as anyone could wish for a box set, there's a last trickle of material coming to DVD with a forthcoming standalone release of the accompanying documentary, The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town. The documentary, directed by Grammy and Emmy winner Thom Zimny, chronicled the making of one of The Boss' most landmark albums through both new interviews with Bruce, The E Street Band and other
Review: Neil Diamond, "The Bang Years 1966-1968"
When it comes to Neil Diamond, I'm a believer. There's not a trace of doubt in my mind that Diamond burst onto the scene at the right time - not necessarily the night time, though I, too, thank the lord for it. No, Diamond made a big noise in the corridors of Bang Records in the period between 1966 and 1968, an era when the music business was experiencing change more rapidly than anyone could have predicted. And it was far from predictable that the somber and intense young man pictured on The
Friday Feature: "Fast Times at Ridgemont High"
More than 30 years ago, Dave Cameron walked through the halls of Clairemont High School in San Diego. He had a colorful collection of friends: a middle-class, business-oriented guy, his sexually naive sister, her sophisticated best friend, the jock and nerd duo that lusted after the girls and a colorful surfer dude. What none of them knew at the time was that Dave Cameron wasn't really a high school student. He was 22, and had already graduated high school seven years prior, at the age of 15. In
Soundtracks Round-Up: New Releases from FSM and Perseverance
We've got some soundtrack news from all over the place to share with you today. Film Score Monthly has prepped its latest release, a double-premiere of dramatic scores by Lalo Schifrin (for the 1977 Charles Bronson thriller Telefon) and Leonard Rosenman (for the 1980 James Caan vehicle Hide in Plain Sight). Rosenman's score is particularly notable on this disc, as almost none of it ended up in the final film. This set is limited to 2,000 copies. The label has also announced their next few
Back to the Grid: "TRON: Legacy" Remixes Coming in April
It's not often here at The Second Disc that we get to report on a reissue project devoted to a release that's only three months old. But that's just the case of Daft Punk's acclaimed score to Tron: Legacy. The novice film composers deftly paid homage to Wendy Carlos' score to the original TRON, judiciously incorporating it into their work while carving out their own territory with a mix of ambient sounds, techno-style synthpop and traditional orchestral motifs. While the Academy Awards
Pino Donaggio's Lost "Ordeal" Released at Last
Kritzerland’s restoration of Pino Donaggio’s complete score to Carrie was one of the most lauded film score releases of 2010. Today, the label announced a title that could be considered a follow-up: the premiere of Donaggio’s shelved score to the 1985 film Ordeal by Innocence. This Cannon Films adaptation of Agatha Christie’s 1958 novel was directed by Desmond Davis of 1981’s Clash of the Titans, and featured a starry ensemble including Christopher Plummer, Faye Dunaway and Ian McShane. The
Angel Air Revisits a Series of Tommy James Classics
Shondells frontman Tommy James has been fairly well-represented on CD, with reissues from both Collectors' Choice and Collectables compiling most of his classic oeuvre. Now, the U.K.'s Angel Air label takes its turn filling in more gaps in James' catalogue with a trio of reissues. First up are a pair of two-fers, In Touch (1976) with Midnight Rider (1977), and Three Times in Love (1980) with Hi-Fi (1990), followed by an expanded edition of A Night in...Big City: An Audio Movie (1995). In
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- 45
- …
- 47
- Next Page »