Welcome to the third and final part of our review series celebrating the release of The Beach Boys’ The SMiLE Sessions. In Part 1, we revisited the history of the album, and in Part 2, we examined the music and lyrics of Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks that created the legend. In today’s concluding chapter, we explore "the sessions" of The SMiLE Sessions and compare the various releases! What’s the biggest surprise of The SMiLE Sessions? It’s the sound of five young men optimistically
Happiness Is: The Association's "Insight Out" Expanded and Remastered
Who's trippin’ down the streets of the city / Smilin' at everybody she sees / Who's reachin' out to capture a moment? Everyone knows it’s Windy! And most everyone knows Ruthann Friedman’s 1967 pop classic which not only hit No. 1 on the Billboard chart but was featured on The Association’s third album and first long-player for Warner Bros. Records, Insight Out. But everyone would be forgiven for thinking that the LP was entitled Windy, so prominent was the name of the single on the album
Happy Halloween! Taking a Bite Out of "Son of Dracula"
Happy Halloween! To celebrate this spookiest of holidays, we're bringing you a special holiday reprise from The Second Disc Archives in which we revisit the immortal, undead "Son of Dracula," starring Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr! October 2010 will bring a major reissue campaign devoted to the Apple Records discography, seeing most of that storied label’s output arrive in editions remastered by the same team behind the Beatles’ catalogue overhaul last year. But one Apple-related LP is among
Of Wizzards and Electric Light Orchestras: Roy Wood Opens His "Music Book" and ELO Goes "Essential"
Electric Light Orchestra may not have been the first band to merge a classical sensibility with the power of rock, but the group was undoubtedly the most successful. Yet the group of “Mr. Blue Sky” and “Evil Woman” began as a decidedly different aggregation, born out of the ashes of Birmingham, England’s The Move. When lead singer Carl Wayne departed The Move, his bandmate Roy Wood invited one Jeff Lynne, of The Idle Race, to join him. This revitalized line-up of The Move produced two
Costello's Wheel Good Tour Captured on New Live Box Set
In 1986, Elvis Costello and The Attractions did something bizarre for rock musicians: they reinvented the wheel. Okay, maybe that's pushing it, but the introduction of "The Spectacular Spinning Songbook" to Costello's tour itinerary remains among the most treasured of memories for longtime fans. Costello, who only used The Attractions once on his then-new album, King of America (opting instead for a number of other musicians, including a studio-created group, The Confederates, featuring T-Bone
Gilbert O'Sullivan "Himself" Coming Soon, Naturally
In a little while from now, if I'm not feeling any less sour, I promise myself to treat myself...and listen to a Gilbert O'Sullivan record. The quirky Irish singer/songwriter topped the charts in 1972 with "Alone Again, Naturally," proclaimed by American Top 40 as the fifth most popular song of the entire decade. But it's also one of the most unusual. As the song begins, the narrator is left at the altar and is contemplating "climbing to the top" of a "nearby tower" to throw himself off. He
Review: Phil Spector, "The Philles Album Collection" and "The Essential Phil Spector"
Whoa-oh, a-whoa-oh-oh-oh! Think of The Ronettes' wail, every bit as iconic a cry as a-whop-bop-a-loo-a-whop-bam-boom. Doesn't rock and roll have a way of elevating onomatopoeia to poetry? And no label made sweeter poetry in the first half of the 1960s than Philles Records. The voices of Ronnie Spector, Darlene Love, La La Brooks, Barbara Alston and the rest spoke directly to America’s teenagers. These women, alternately vulnerable and defiant, were little more than girls when they began
Lost Highway, Found on Vinyl: 10th Anniversary Box Coming Next Month
With a name like Lost Highway Records, it might be tough to parse the mission statement of such a company - unless, of course, you know your Hank Williams. In fact, they've been supplying fans with some of the best in alternative rock and country. And now, to celebrate a decade in business, next month sees the release of a mega-vinyl box set highlighting some of the label's best output. Lost Highway, founded in 2000 by Luke Lewis, started their existence off with a bang, distributing the
A Fantasmagorical Second Disc Interview! Bruce Kimmel Talks New, Expanded 2-CD "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"
When Richard M. Sherman introduces his Academy Award-nominated song “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” in concert, he often has to remind his audience that the film of the same name wasn’t a Walt Disney production. Producer Albert R. Broccoli, best-known for the James Bond series of films, signed Richard and his brother Robert M. Sherman for their very first film score outside of the Disney sphere. Like the Bond films, United Artists’ Chitty was based on the writing of Ian Fleming. For Fleming’s story
Miles Ahead: Davis' 1986-1991 Warner Years Boxed
Could anyone ever truly offer The Last Word on Miles Davis? Warner Bros. and Rhino attempted to do just that back in 2001-2002, with the planned release of a box set of the same name. Of course, the set was planned to be the last word on the trumpeter's Warner Bros. years, the last period of his lengthy career. The Last Word began as a 6-CD set, and a little sleuthing around the ‘net will yield a fascinating track listing of a 77-track comprehensive box, loaded with previously unreleased
Pink Floyd, Beatles, Nirvana, Doors Lead Off Record Store Day Exclusives On "Black Friday"
For those of us who still savor the experience of shopping in a physical environment, Record Store Day has become a yearly tradition. It’s sometimes frustrating and sometimes exciting, but few could argue with an event that spotlights the hard-working independent music retailers out there who believe that brick-and-mortar retail can still thrive in the iTunes era. (Amen to that!) A more recent offshoot of Record Store Day has been the mini-event held each Black Friday, or the day after
Legacy Orders Another Round of "Playlist"
It feels like it's been a long time since the last batch of Playlist titles from Legacy (by our records, it's been five months), but a bunch of new titles are on shelves as of yesterday. There's a lot of country and modern rock in this batch, including titles from Gene Autry, Phil Vassar and Joe Diffie (on the country end) and Say Anything, Coheed and Cambria and Mudvayne (on the rock end). There's also one from rap/reggae artist Matisyahu (surely you recall the Orthodox Jewish musician, whose
Springsteen, U2, Queen, Joel, McCartney, Taylor Featured On "Rock Hall of Fame" Live Box Set
Since its formation on April 20, 1983, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has inducted a slate of accomplished musicians into its ranks on a yearly basis, causing excitement, consternation and everything in between. Though the worthiness of nominees and inductees is hotly debated with each “class” and a number of distinguished artists continue to be ignored year after year, one thing can be agreed upon: a lot of great music has been played for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It continues to host
No Longer a "Siamese Dream": First Wave of Smashing Pumpkins Expanded Reissues Announced
Anyone worried that Billy Corgan's muse would take him away from the long-promised expanded reissues of The Smashing Pumpkins' catalogue can breathe a sigh of relief. The first two entries in the reissue campaign - 2 CD/1 DVD editions of Gish (1991) and Siamese Dream (1993) - have been announced for a November 28 release domestically (December 5 for the rest of the world). These albums - produced by Butch Vig and remastered by Bob Ludwig - are the first in a lengthy salvo of reissues promised
Harry Belafonte Still Singing His "Song" On New Masterworks Release
Harry Belafonte has worn many hats in his 84 years: recording artist, film star, civil rights crusader, tireless humanitarian. Though he gracefully and modestly bowed out of performing some years back with little fanfare, Belafonte has returned to the spotlight this month to narrate a documentary on his life and author an autobiography. Though the book is entitled My Song, the film and its musical companion both bear the name Sing Your Song. Sony Masterworks' collection is a sixteen-track
Ever the Individualist: Todd Rundgren Goes Esoteric
By the time 1993 rolled around, devotees of the musical wizardry of Todd Rundgren only knew to expect the unexpected. Warner Bros. Records had rescued 1985’s A Cappella after the album had been rejected by Rundgren’s longtime home, Bearsville. The maverick artist followed that with two efforts recorded expressly for the label, Nearly Human (1989) and 2nd Wind (1991). These two albums showed the artist as a supreme pop craftsman with would-be classics like “The Want of a Nail” and “Parallel
Review: Ben Folds, "The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective"
Opening the four-panel digipak that houses Ben Folds' The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective (Epic/Legacy 88697 92683-2), listeners are treated to an unsettling and hilarious sight: the bespectacled, slightly quizzical face of the singer/songwriter, superimposed onto bodies he clearly has no place being attached to. Those off-kilter images are exactly the kind of strange silliness fans have come to expect from Folds over a career that stretches more than 15 years, starting with the
More of "More Hits by The Supremes"
Rejoice, Supremes fans! Hip-o Select today announced the release of the next expanded album package by Motown's most famous girl group, a double-disc edition of More Hits by The Supremes with tons of exciting bonus content. By 1965, the years of the "no-hit" Supremes at Motown Records were history. The previous year had seen three consecutive No. 1 hits - "Where Did Our Love Go," "Baby Love" and "Come See About Me" - and another two consecutive chart-toppers would be added to the list with
Friday Feature: "The Thing"
Our enjoyment of music takes many shapes and sizes, from the most basic of digital files to the vast quantities of reissues and box sets we all enjoy around The Second Disc. Part of the nervous excitement in being a collector is really never knowing what your latest musical obsession will look or sound like - and that's, I think, what keeps us coming back. Now, replace "music" with "an alien virus from another planet" and "nervous excitement" with "crippling terror" and you have the subject of
Practice, Practice, Practice: Frank Zappa, Flo and Eddie Get to Carnegie Hall
Eddie, are you kidding? Is the Zappa Family Trust finally liberating Frank Zappa’s October 11, 1971 concerts at New York’s Carnegie Hall from the vaults? What’s that? Four discs, you say? Remastered in mono? Yes, it’s all true. When Frank Zappa and his Mothers of Invention took the stage at Carnegie Hall forty years ago, the performances were recorded for future release on Warner Bros. Records, the label with which Zappa was often at war. Well, forty years later, that release is here.
And Here's To You, Mr. Simon: Paul Simon Mulls "Graceland" Box Set and Tour, Reflects On His Career With "Songwriter" (UPDATED)
How terribly strange to be seventy. Today, October 13, Paul Simon reaches that milestone, over forty-three years after he first mused what it would be like to be sitting on that park bench with his friend, like bookends. Yet in that time, Simon’s music has remained resonant and timely, a point driven home when the singer paid tribute on September 11, 2011 to the fallen at New York City’s Ground Zero with a poignant performance of “The Sound of Silence.” His music has been a soundtrack to
"Looking Good, La-La Land." "Feeling Good, The Second Disc."
As previously reported, La-La Land Records' newest release is the premiere of Elmer Bernstein's score to the classic comedy Trading Places, available as of yesterday. One of the most fondly remembered films of the 1980s, Trading Places is the story of a rich banker (Dan Aykroyd) conned by his bosses to lose everything as part of a "social experiment" to switch a rich man with a poor man and observe the results. The poor man who assumes Aykroyd's life is a street hustler played by Eddie Murphy -
Review: Johnny Cash, "Bootleg Vol. III: Live Around the World"
The legend of Johnny Cash has been told and retold since the man’s passing in 2003, and so much is often made of his demons over the years. But as the old folk song goes, “the old account was settled long ago.” Intrinsic though those troubles are to Cash’s mythos, his devotion to family and God were both just as deeply ingrained. Whatever may have lurked beneath the surface is largely absent from the 53 joyous songs that make up Bootleg Vol. III: Live Around the World (Columbia/Legacy 88697
The Two Things In One: Omnivore, Ace/BGP Team Up For "Together Forever"
You can’t keep a good Rhino down. Many alumni associated with the heyday of the Rhino label (still active and producing some remarkable releases under the Handmade banner, by the way) have recently launched new labels, among them James Austin and Rockbeat Records, and Cheryl Pawelski and Omnivore Recordings. Omnivore, founded by Pawelski and partners Greg Allen and Brad Rosenberger, announced an impressive and diverse slate with releases by Leon Russell, The Motels, and Jellyfish. The young
Friday Feature: "An American Werewolf in London"
In 1941, the werewolf mythology gained an iconic set of lines in the Universal horror classic The Wolf Man: "Even a man who is pure at heart/and says his prayers by night/May become a wolf when the wolfsbane blooms/and the autumn moon is bright." Forty years later, from the same studio, a less delicate line was added to the lycanthrope canon: "I will not be threatened by a walking meat loaf!" Such is the tone of An American Werewolf in London, one of the best horror-comedies of the past few
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