By any standards, Richard Page would have a lot to be thankful for as the frontman of Mr. Mister, the band behind chart-topping smash hits "Broken Wings" and "Kyrie." This year, however, there's another part of his career to celebrate: after two decades, Pull, the intended fourth album from the band, is coming out of hiding thanks to the fine folks at Legacy Recordings. Granted, Page wears more than just the face of Mr. Mister. As a noted songwriter for Madonna ("I'll Remember," her 1994 hit
Review: Mr. Mister, "Pull"
It's a story that's been done to death: band releases hit album, changes direction ambitiously for follow-up, is met with critical or commercial indifference - or worse, the disapproval of a label leads to said ambitious follow-up never happening. Sometimes, though, there's a post-script, Eddie and The Cruisers-style, where the music is freed from captivity to the delight of adoring fans. In some ways, this is the story of Pull, the mythical fourth album by Mr. Mister, one of the more notable
Back Tracks: John Lennon
Whether you thought he was the smartest of The Beatles, the best writer, the most politically astute, the one with the most interesting solo career - or if you disagree with any of those statements - I daresay I cannot allow you to disagree with this one: it is not fair that John Lennon is not still alive today. Regardless of your take on his input into the Fab Four (or their eventual demise), Lennon was very much an intelligent, caring, smart musician, who spent much of his career using those
ABBA Vinyl Box to Make Fans Dance, Jive, Have Time of Lives
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/aBBa#p/u/3/dBcEz5d5R6E] If the previously-reported expansion of ABBA's best-selling ABBA Gold compilation with a bonus DVD hasn't excited your inner dancing queen, here's another collectible that might pique your interest: the same day (tomorrow in the U.S.), Polydor and UMe are releasing ABBA: The Vinyl Collection, a newly-remastered box set. The set contains nine records in total: the first eight are all the ABBA studio albums internationally released by Polar
Review: "Michael Jackson's Vision"
When Michael Jackson was declared dead on that fateful Thursday in June of 2009, most of us healed our pain through the songs. Compact discs flew off store shelves and MP3s funneled through Internet connections in an attempt to recall those days when MJ was the King of Pop. It was these kinds of public celebration - I recall at least one set of speakers blaring "The Way You Make Me Feel" that week in midtown Manhattan - that took center stage for most of us. As a result, it seemed that the music
Review: Paul Williams, "Someday Man: Deluxe Expanded Edition"
There are certain albums a person returns to, over and over again. These albums often transcend time and genre, and chances are you can name a few of them that reside in your own music collection. I'm talking about that special album you might play when you're down, or when you just need a visit from an old friend to remind you of another time. At The Second Disc, we frequently strive to remind you of those albums. Through the years, one such record for me has been Paul Williams' Someday Man.
Review: Bruce Springsteen, "The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story"
In 1978, Bruce Springsteen famously mined the darkness on the edge of town, but it was unknown until recently that he considered living in the light of those same New Jersey streets. Flush with the success of Born to Run but drained from a prolonged battle with his former manager, Springsteen considered all avenues in creating the follow-up to the album that changed everything. And much like the eventually-resulting Darkness on the Edge of Town upped the ante from that 1975 landmark, the
You Like Us! You Really Like Us!
Well, we knew that already. But a quick note to all readers that also use Facebook: The Second Disc is there too! Located under the deceptively simple name "The Second Disc," you can now get all sorts of post updates and fun stuff from us there, too! Click the "like" button and consolidate your Internet experience today!
Reissue Theory: The Waitresses
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on well-known albums of the past and the reissues they could someday see. The more-or-less official start of the Christmas season has us revisiting a band behind a popular modern holiday song and the other music they released in their brief but notable run. "Bah humbug!/But that's too strong/'Cause it is my favorite holiday..." Those first lines kick off one of the most unabashedly fun Christmas power-pop carols of the past 30
Friday Feature: "Fantasia"
For reasons unknown to this writer, the animated output of The Walt Disney Company is not always seen as "high art." That one can see even the Disney films of the late 1980s and early 1990s and see merely crass commercialism is shocking. The hand-drawn features Disney's studio has been releasing since 1937 are absolute proof of "cartoons" as controlled works of art, an image Disney did everything he could to perpetuate. No more evident was Disney's commitment to art than with Fantasia, first
Gold Legion Prepping Vintage '80s Titles
A pair of LPs from EMI's 1980s catalogue is coming out on CD through the Gold Legion label. The first up is Don't Suppose, the solo debut album from Limahl in 1984. The uniquely coiffed, uniquely named singer (whose stage name was a rearranged version of his real surname, Hamill) had recently left (or had been asked to leave) the band Kajagoogoo (of "Too Shy" fame). Don't Suppose was not a success in itself, but yielded two U.K. hits, "Only for Love" and the theme to the film The Never Ending
Early White Stripes LPs Coming Back to Vinyl
The White Stripes have announced the reissue of their first three LPs on 180-gram vinyl through founder Jack White's Third Man Records label. Formed in the late 1990s in Detroit, vocalist/guitarist Jack and drummer Meg White created a unique sound that was forged in the classic traditions of garage rock, punk and blues. Their lo-fi, powerful tunes earned massive critical acclaim in the early 2000s, even as fans and critics sought to find out the truth behind the duo's unusual relationship.
Review: The Stooges, "Have Some Fun: Live at Ungano's"
Perhaps more than any other band, you can learn a great deal about The Stooges without ever taking a really close listen to their music. For instance, when Raw Power, the band's final album before a lengthy split, was remastered and reissued in 1997, chaotic lead singer Iggy Pop personally remastered the album to be as unlistenable as possible. Volume levels were at a violent, threatening level - a potent reminder of the band's sonic death wish and Pop's iconic, self-destructive attitude. The
Release Round-Up: Week of November 23
With most retailers putting out their new releases today to get a jump on the inevitable holiday weekend blitz, here's the big catalogue releases for the week a day early! Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson's Vision (Epic/Legacy) A three-DVD set that includes just about any MJ video you could be searching for. Of course, the one unreleased clip just officially hit the Internet, making you wonder what the fuss is all about. Oh wait, it's Michael Jackson. (Official site) Jay-Z, The Hits
Friday Feature: "Mary Poppins"
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuWf9fP-A-U] This month has seen a resurgence of interest in The Sound of Music thanks to an impressive reissue of the film on Blu-Ray and another release of the classic film soundtrack on CD. Countless amounts of kids and adults have grown up on the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, made especially memorable by Julie Andrews as the free-spirited Maria Von Trapp - a role that earned her a second Oscar nomination, just one year after her win for Mary
In Case You Missed It: Shaking Off the Dust
In October, Epic remastered and reissued Shake Off the Dust...Arise, the debut album by reggae artist Matisyahu. If that name isn't sounding particularly "reggae," it's because the artist - born Matthew Miller and raised in White Plains, New York - is a Hasidic Jewish artist. The juxtaposition of these two cultures - note-perfect in the reggae tradition, but sung by a bearded, soft-spoken man in traditional Hasidic garb - nonetheless made Matisyahu a notable act, and debut single "King Without
New U.K. Sister Sledge Comp is Another Way to Get Your CHIC On
If you love Rhino France's new CHIC box set as much as we do here at The Second Disc HQ (expect a review up in a few days or so), here's another title you'll probably enjoy: the Music Club Deluxe label in the U.K. is releasing a new two-disc compilation for Sister Sledge. Sister Sledge, indeed comprised of Philadelphia-based sisters named Sledge (Kim, Debbi, Joni and Kathy), were a moderately successful R&B/dance group in the Atlantic label group (first signing to Atco, then Cotillion) that
Review: The Apple Records Remasters, Part 4 - Harrison's Soulful Trio
In the penultimate installment of our weeklong series on the new Apple Records remasters, we listen to the label's three most soulful singers: Jackie Lomax, Doris Troy and Billy Preston, and along the way, encounter George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and a number of their most famous friends! In yesterday’s installment, we looked at the less commercial side of Apple Records. Today, we turn the spotlight on four records that positively smoke, by three soulful troubadours. The funky
Review: The Apple Records Remasters, Part 3 - Esoteric to the Core
In Part 3 of our five-part Apple Records series, we look at a number of the non-rock recordings released under the Apple umbrella. As the home of Apple Records, 3 Savile Row, London, saw many of rock’s greatest musicians pass through its doors. But Ron Kass, the American expatriate headhunted from Liberty Records to be Apple’s first head, knew the importance of building a diverse catalogue across many genres. In its short years as an active label, Apple certainly took Kass’ belief to heart, and
The Most Exciting Announcement of Last Year
The Beatles are on iTunes. The Beatles are on iTunes. The Beatles. Are. On iTunes. And? In typical Apple/music press fashion, the Internet is hugging itself over the notion that all of the remastered albums in The Beatles' catalogue - the U.K. studio albums, the U.S. version of Magical Mystery Tour, the Past Masters compilation and the Red and Blue albums - are now available for digital download. Much of the coverage is laughably hyperbolic, considering there's not much more to say other than
Review: The Apple Records Remasters, Part 2 - Meet Mary and James
In Part 2 of our five-part series exploring the new Apple Records reissue campaign, we look at the folkier side of the label with Mary Hopkin and James Taylor. In Part 1, Badfinger had close encounters of The Beatles kind when both Paul McCartney and George Harrison lent their production expertise to the Apple Records band. McCartney made his other major contribution to Apple’s catalogue with the debut album of a winsome 18-year old Welsh songstress named Mary Hopkin. The Apple Records reissue
Back Tracks: Menken at Disney
This week will see the release of Disney's newest animated feature, Tangled, a quirky retelling of the Rapunzel tale. As has been custom for the best of Disney's animated features, the film will feature songs and score from Alan Menken, the musical genius who gave Disney some of its greatest music of the past 20-plus years. Menken came to Disney in the late 1980s after his musical with lyricist Howard Ashman, a peppy, Wall of Sound-inspired take on Roger Corman's Little Shop of Horrors, was
Review: The Apple Records Remasters, Part 1 - A Quartet by Badfinger
Welcome to Part 1 of a five-part series in which we’ll take an in-depth look at the recently-released Apple Records reissue campaign, comprised of 16 Apple albums recorded between 1968 and 1974 plus the first-ever label anthology. We’ll begin with the albums of Badfinger. It’s almost impossible to write about Badfinger without mentioning their mentors, employers, producers and influences, The Beatles. Signed in 1968 by the Apple label at the instigation of The Beatles’ confidante and “roadie,”
Simon Officially Rhymin' for Legacy in 2011
Legacy Recordings just announced another big catalogue overhaul planned for 2011: Paul Simon's catalogue is indeed getting a new reissue campaign next year. Our own Joe Marchese reported in June that Simon had planned to move his back catalogue from Warner Bros. back to Columbia, the home of Simon & Garfunkel. And The Essential Paul Simon, a straight reissue of the 2007 Rhino compilation, was released a few weeks ago. But this is the first official confirmation from the label that something
"Michael" Stays Away from the Vaults (Mostly)
Sony has released the track list for upcoming Michael Jackson posthumous album Michael, and...it's exactly what you'd expect. The estate and Sony are starting small, focusing on tunes Jackson recorded after 2001's Invincible, likely an attempt to sound as "new" as possible. (Never mind the fact that Michael's material from as long as 40 years ago sounds fresher than his material from, say, a decade ago.) That said, there's a few songs to be included on the disc that definitely come from some of
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