Where Barry Manilow is concerned, it's best to let the facts speak for themselves. A Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award winner, Manilow scored his first Billboard No. 1 album in 1977, his most recent in 2006. His string of hit singles extended from 1974's chart-topping "Mandy" to 1983's Top 20 "Read 'Em and Weep," with 38 songs hitting the Top 40. He's recorded over 25 studio albums and released countless more live discs, compilations and soundtracks, and regularly plays to sell-out houses after over
Friday Feature: "Dirty Dancing"
Dirty Dancing is one of those movies that, on paper, should be a massive dud. It's a painfully by-the-numbers tale - rich girl becomes emotionally, culturally and sexually liberated by a dashing stranger and the art of (you guessed it) dirty dancing - but it is one of those movies that will not disappear from the public eye. And frankly, it's not hard to see why. Yes, as a story, Dirty Dancing is nothing special. But the production is something to behold. It immortalized its two young leads,
Friday Feature: "Commando"
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teSmRfAtDOU] As a forgiving film fan, I was appalled by the recent news that 20th Century Fox was planning on remaking Commando, the 1985 action flick that became Arnold Schwarzenegger's first star vehicle after The Terminator the previous year. Hollywood's fascination with remakes is too well-known, but surely someone could have drawn a line with Commando. The film has Schwarzenegger as - what else? - a one-man wrecking crew named John Matrix determined
Friday Feature: "Licence to Kill"
Recent coverage of soundtracks on The Second Disc has been warmly received. To this end, we have added a the Friday Feature. Every Friday, you'll find some sort of article devoted to a soundtrack or film composer of merit. We hope you enjoy these trips through Hollywood's musical landscape! Our first Friday Feature deals with one of the oddest of the James Bond films. No, not Never Say Never Again (that's not really a Bond film, anyway). Licence to Kill was the second and final feature with
Back Tracks: Genesis
Continuing with our Rock and Roll Hall of Fame pre-coverage, we have the first of five catalogue overviews from our artist inductees. Genesis is one of many bands without a definitive entry point into their catalogue. As a five piece outfit composed of Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins through the early 1970s, the band put out some delightful prog-rock that was surprisingly accessible. (Considering that their live sets consisted of twenty-minute jams and
Rock Hall: Fame or Shame?
From now until Monday, The Second Disc will be bringing out some features and opinions on Monday's upcoming Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions. Let's start with a column that ultimately addresses what a mixed blessing the Hall can be. Few music-oriented entities draw so much criticism and debate as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In its 25-year history, it has inducted 165 artists into its ranks (with another five to be inducted on Monday), spurring decades-long debates about which of them
Back Tracks: James Horner
As this post is being written, the Oscars have wrapped up. Exciting, right? Of course not. The Oscars are perhaps as ridiculous as the Grammys, and usually don't have a heck of a lot to offer fans of any music in general. Perhaps this year was a bit of an exception - it was very exciting to see Michael Giacchino score his first Oscar for the excellent score to Up - but for someone raised on ultra-thematic scores such as John Williams' work for Star Wars, Jaws and others, there's usually not much
There They Go Again
Thanks to the ICE boards (where I'd read this a bit ago but foolishly forgot to post here) for pointing out the upcoming release of Callin' All, an enormous 4-disc box set from indie-pop favorites The La's. Despite recording only one LP and a handful of singles in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band has earned cult immortality thanks to the irresistible "There She Goes." Their other material is pretty neat too, and even though they've had their share of reissues and repackagings over the
The Paradox
If you're an avid follower of the music business at large, you know the common narrative that defines the industry: once, record labels signed great talents and earned lots of money and influence off the back of that art. Gradually, that art became secondary to business and excess, and as labels became absorbed into bigger corporations and followed trends instead of setting them, music fans got increasingly put off by the product. By the time rapid technological advances changed the way we
Reissue Theory: Novelty Edition
One of the potential hazards of being a music collector is that sometimes, if you're feeling adventurous, you spring for an all-too-dangerous impulse buy. I'm guilty of this all the time, especially when the music in question is cheap. Put me within 25 yards of a garage sale or a cutout bin at a supermarket and I'm probably going to walk away having bought at least one disc. Sometimes this strategy works out in my favor: a random purchase of Squeeze's Singles 45 and Under from my local ShopRite
Everybody Wants to Rule the World
When you're around kids, you often find themselves saying what they'd do if they were in charge. There would be no school, no bedtime, unlimited pizza, that sort of thing. Once you grow up those visions look more fanciful, but sometimes that sentiment sticks with you, no matter how much you bury it. I know I feel that way with the catalogue scene. Every day, every song, every trip to the record store spins off a dozen ideas in my head that I can't wait to share with anyone who will listen. And
(Slightly) Turning Back the Clock
Today, Legacy releases a double-disc edition of Supernatural, the massive comeback album Santana released in 1999. Perhaps more than any catalogue reissue I've ever followed, there's something positively mind-boggling about seeing an album that's only a decade old - even one that's a successful, good listen - get the deluxe treatment. You see, while I have been passionate about reissues for much of my music-collecting life, I'm firmly a part of the generation that went from watching Britney
Reissue Theory: It's Time to Play the Music
The recent announcement of E1's Sesame Street Old School Volume 1 has got me excited, but for a slightly different reason. I am sentimental toward the Sesame Street Muppets (despite not having been much of a viewer as a child), but my favorite Muppets were always the ones in The Muppet Show - those loveable felt and fur actors singing pop standards, blowing things up and causing all sorts of mayhem. Perhaps more than any other youth-oriented entertaiment of the 1970s (aside from, say, School
This is It (Part 2)
Now that I've gotten all my gripes out about the This is It soundtrack, I'm more than happy to pen some thoughts on the actual film, now out on DVD and Blu-Ray from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. For years after Michael Jackson rose from a nasty string of legal troubles in 2004, I had been ruminating on what could become of one of my favorite pop entertainers. His rumored forays back into the recording studio always left me cold; why would he collaborate with will.i.am or Akon when he had
This is It (Part 1)
One of the biggest catalogue-oriented titles this week is a DVD: Tuesday saw the release of Michael Jackson's This is It, the documentary comprised of tour rehearsal footage for the set of London concerts the King of Pop was working on right before his death in June. I've happily pored through 75 percent of my copy (I have a few features to sift through) and upon completion I'll be sure to post a review. But I'd also like to take a quick look at the other This is It product that's been on
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