It's safe to say we've given Boy George more than enough time to realize his crime. The beleaguered singer has had more than his share of legal troubles throughout the '90s and 2000s, and that has occasionally overshadowed the music he put out in the 1980s. This is a shame, since Culture Club was one of the better U.K. pop bands of the early '80s. Don't let George's gender-bending look fool you. Heaven knows that's become the primary takeaway for nostalgists, but there's a lot more underneath
Reissue Theory: Chevy Chase
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on well-known albums of the past and the reissues they could someday see. This time around, we shine a light on a few unorthodox musical moments from a comedy legend. "I'm Chevy Chase, and you're not." For the past couple of years, no one would dare be envious of the man once considered one of the greatest comedians of the 1970s and 1980s. Today, however, The Second Disc not only defends him from his detractors but makes a case
Sellout!
It's no longer a snarky term to throw at indie bands that sign to a major label. Right now, "sellout" makes this author think of The Complete Elvis Presley Masters, Legacy's massive 30-disc box set devoted to The King of Rock and Roll. Several days ago, it was confirmed to have sold all 1,000 copies - a monumental achievement, if not a surprising one. Readers, we've seen a growing number of limited sets finding their way into our collective catalogue consciousness. The soundtrack world has been
I Wanna Rock! Eagle Rock Reissues Twisted Sister Reunion Show, Latter-Day Albums
As rock fans sit about and wonder if and when the Twisted Sister discography is ever going to be remastered and expanded in full, Eagle Rock Entertainment attempts to satiate TS fans' appetites by reissuing Live at Wacken: The Reunion (2006). Recorded at the Wacken Open Air Festival in 2003, the set was one of the biggest venues Dee Snider, Eddie Ojeda, Jay Jay French, Mark Mendoza and A.J. Pero had performed at since intermittently reuniting the seminal '80s glam metal band with all of its
Heaven 17's Debut to Be Reissued with Lots of Demos
Awhile back, the super-fantastic folks at Slicing Up Eyeballs had a chat with Martyn Ware of synthpop band Heaven 17, in which Ware discussed a series of recently unearthed demos of tunes from the band's debut album, 1980's Penthouse and Pavement. That set will be available on November 22 from EMI Music. The demos, Ware said in the interview, were recorded on an Ampex 1" tape machine - of which only one allegedly still exists, at Abbey Road Studios. The tapes feature early sketches of songs
Review: David Bowie, "Station to Station" (2010)
There are box sets, and then there are box sets. EMI's hulking, monster of a box dedicated to David Bowie's 1976 Station to Station (EMI BOWSTSD2010) is one such box set. It's even more massive than The John Lennon Signature Box, itself a lavish and large affair containing 11 discs. The multi-disc box celebrating a single album isn't a new concept, although in the past such offerings were largely based upon session material. The format has proliferated in recent times as record labels have
UB40's "Signing Off" Celebrates 30 Years with Deluxe Reissue
Another '80s reissue from EMI - who'd have thought? This time, it's an expansion of Signing Off, the seminal debut LP from British reggae band UB40. Though UB40 are best known in America for their reggae-infused covers of standards like Neil Diamond's "Red Red Wine" and Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love," their musical roots involve fusing that reggae sound to socially conscious lyrics about poverty, famine and race relations. (The band's name in fact comes from one of the forms
Back Tracks: Michael Jackson's Video HIStory
It pains me to report on unsubstantiated news from the reissue world, but this one needs to be addressed in some way: TMZ reported last weekend that Sony was prepping a compilation of Michael Jackson's music videos (allegedly titled Vision) for the Christmas rush. Yeah, it's TMZ, not a known source of catalogue info, but they did prove their mettle in covering Michael Jackson's death (for better or for worse), so let's at least serve the news to you with more than a dash of salt. But let's say,
Fourth "Alien" Score Now Twice as Nice
One of the most notable catalogue releases that planted the idea for The Second Disc happened back in 2007, when Intrada released a two-disc set of all the music recorded by Jerry Goldsmith for the 1979 sci-fi/horror masterpiece Alien. That set was an eye-opener in terms of what indie soundtrack labels could release, and the results have only gotten bigger as time moves on. Three years later, La La Land Records has continued that tradition by releasing the complete score to the last entry in
Conun-Duran-drum: Should EMI Finish Reissuing the Duran Duran Catalogue?
If you read The Second Disc regularly, or carry on any kind of regular conversation with me (and I do apologize if the latter is the case), you probably know enough about the ongoing saga of EMI's reissuing of the Duran Duran catalogue. On the same day as The Beatles remasters were announced, EMI also sent a release out detailing another one of their British all-boy pop bands, Duran Duran, would get their second (and arguably best) album, Rio, expanded to a two-disc set. This set would not only
Back to the Street
Earlier this year, E1 Music struck gold with Sesame Street: Old School Vol. 1 (1969-1974), a three-disc reissue of some long out-of-print albums recorded by the children's television show cast. It was a pleasant surprise for fans of the lovable Muppet citizens of Sesame Street, who've captivated audiences for 40 years and counting. On October 25, E1 continues the wave of reissues with Sesame Street: Old School Vol. 2, which will see three albums from the early, sunny days of the show put onto
Friday Feature: "The Karate Kid"
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDi3an8WgN4] There's probably no worse reminder of your own mortality than the idea of remaking a movie. "How long has it been since they made the original?" you wonder in silent horror. "Was it that long ago? Have people forgotten that quickly? Am I that old?" There's no accurate litmus test to determine when the best elapsed time between originals and remakes is. George Clooney's Ocean's 11 came out in 2001, 41 years after the original Rat Pack
Reissue Theory: General Public, "...All the Rage"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on well-known albums of the past and the reissues they could someday see. Today, a department store ad unleashes an earworm from the New Wave days. The music industry will never be desperate enough to reissue albums based on certain tunes appearing in commercials, but if they did it would save a lot of headaches for this author. If you watch enough television in the U.S., you've probably noticed those innocuous ads for Target,
Pet Shop Boys See Opportunity in Compilation
There's a bit of a misnomer in the title. The Pet Shop Boys' classic "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" is one of a few singles not on their forthcoming compilation Ultimate Pet Shop Boys. Such a long and prolific career sometimes leads to an occasional omission in a compilation, but this new set has some things to keep PSB fans satisfied, even as they scratch their heads and wonder why some tunes are missing. This new set compiles 19 singles together, from monster hit "West End Girls"
Short Takes: Legacy’s First Paul Simon Release, James Taylor Goes Gold, and Spector Set Due
With the fall officially underway, we’re now in the busiest time of the year for the music biz, and as this week hits its halfway point, we’re here to offer a few announcements you might have missed. Audio Fidelity offers on November 2 a 24K Gold CD version of James Taylor’s seminal 1972 album originally released on Warner Bros. Records, One Man Dog. Remastered by audio guru Steve Hoffman, One Man Dog has among its highlights the now-standard “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight.” One Man Dog joins
Mamma Mia! ABBA Reissuing "Gold" Compilation
For the ABBA fan who just can't get enough and has to have it all - and judging by the amount of quality reissues for a band that's been defunct for decades, there are a lot of such fans out there - here's something else to add to your collection. ABBA will reissue bestselling compilation ABBA Gold on November 29 with a DVD featuring previously unreleased material. With sales of over 28 million copies worldwide, ABBA Gold has been one of the highest watermarks of the Swedish pop hitmakers'
The Irresistible Tammi Terrell, Compiled
To the non-believers and newcomers, Tammi Terrell isn't more than a footnote in the story of Motown. Her name sits beside Marvin Gaye's on a few iconic singles - "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "You're All I Need to Get By" and "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing," to name three - but that's it, right? Wrong, says Hip-o Select's new Terrell anthology Come On and See Me: The Complete Solo Recordings. On her own, Terrell recorded just one full long-playing record for Motown, but it was released
S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y! Rollermania Strikes Again in October
S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y! For many readers, that chant will undoubtedly conjure up images of a group of tartan-clad Scotsmen, whose catchy, hook-filled 45s led hordes of screaming teenagers and teenyboppers to the dance floor (alongside adults with discerning taste in irresistible pop music, of course!). The history of The Bay City Rollers is being celebrated by the fine folks of the U.K.’s Salvo Records with the October 4 release of a deluxe four-disc anthology they’ve quite accurately called
Friday Feature: "Twister"
When you feel down - regardless of your gender - you probably have some sort of ritual that gets you through your funk. This has become almost a cliche among the fairer sex; almost too easily conjured is the image of girls watching The Notebook while wearing comfortable sweatpants and eating some Haagen-Dazs ice-cream for comfort. I can at least empathize with the film aspect of that cliche, although my "comfort film" involves Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt and a nightmarish load of property
A Little Bit o' Soul: A Busy Fall from Big Break and Superbird
Funky Town Grooves announced quite a lineup of soul classics to hit shelves this fall, as reported yesterday by The Second Disc, and we're happy to follow up with news of the latest exciting releases coming from two Cherry Red labels across the pond, Big Break Records and Superbird. First up, Big Break (BBR) delves further into the Philadelphia International (PIR) catalogue, dormant here in the United States but also being mined concurrently by the U.K.'s Edsel label. September 20 sees the
Funky Town Grooves Digs Up Treasure from Brick, Full Force and More
Here's a look at the upcoming slate from the R&B reissuers at Funky Town Grooves. September 30 will see three new titles added to the label's discography. First, there's a two-fer from jazz-funk hitmakers Brick, best known for 1976's "Dazz," a U.S. Top 5 hit. This set will put the band's last two albums for Bang Records - Summer Heat (1981), which included the band's last big hit, the Top 10 R&B single "Sweat (Till You Get Wet)," and After 5 (1982) - onto one remastered CD. Next up, we
Does the New Bon Jovi Comp Have a Prayer?
Island Def Jam's official pre-order page finally revealed the track list to Bon Jovi's upcoming Greatest Hits package, and - well, it's exactly what you might expect. A friend said it best: for Bon Jovi, the grunge-inspired These Days (1995) was a fork in the road for the band. They could either continue down the path of rock royalty, or they could follow the newest trends in pop-rock music, no matter what the cost to their sound. They chose the latter, and it led to things like having songs
Reissue Theory: "Super Mario Bros."
On September 13, 1985, Japanese game manufacturer Nintendo released one of the most revolutionary products in history: the game Super Mario Bros. for the Family Computer System (or Famicom, for short). It's nowhere near an exaggeration to call this release historical for popular culture. Sure, video games were known entities since the early 1970s, when Nolan Bushnell's Atari manufactured some of the first coin-operated arcade machines. And even home consoles were nothing new (the Atari Video
Tartare and Cameo Parkway Heat Up: Morris Day, Ric Ocasek, Dee Dee Sharp, Dino, Desi & Billy On Tap
On September 9, The Second Disc sadly reported on the axe falling on more of the beleaguered Rhino Records staff, and the company's plans to delve further into the on-demand CD realm. One such initiative is the Tartare imprint being offered by WMG/Rhino in conjunction with Collectors' Choice Music. Another 20 Tartare titles are on the way from Collectors' Choice, and this group again spans decades, from the 1950s through the 1990s. Track listings are not available (indeed, not every title has
Friday Feature: "The Naked Gun"
It was a show so ridiculous, it'd make you wonder how it made the airwaves. It boasted some of the most out-there moments and uproarious sight gags on television. It was consistently funny, no matter how many times you watched an episode. Naturally, it was canceled. I'm of course talking about Police Squad!, the madcap spoof of police dramas that aired for six episodes on ABC in the spring and summer of 1982. Despite its creative pedigree - it was created by Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams and David
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