"You'll cry out for mercy, but still there'll be more..." So proclaimed English prog rockers Procol Harum on their fourth album, 1970's Home. Three years before, the group burst onto the scene with the baroque-inspired "A Whiter Shade of Pale," an international hit that topped the British charts and reached No. 5 in America. And the group presses on, having released their 12th album, Novum, in April - a month shy of 50 years since "Pale" first landed in U.K. shops. To celebrate this
Give Me Peace On Earth: Craft Reissues 'Concert For George' In Various Formats
George Harrison would have been 75 years old next month, and Craft Recordings is celebrating that milestone with the ultimate tribute to the former Beatle: a multi-format reissue of 2002's Concert For George. Available February 23, two days before Harrison's birthday, Concert For George will bow in five different physical configurations - the most enormous of which is an online-only box set, limited only to 1,000 copies worldwide and featuring the star-studded tribute show on two CDs, two
Run Out Groove Round-Up: The Dream Syndicate, The Stooges, Secret Machines and Morphine
Today, we're taking a look at four recent titles pressed for audiophile-level vinyl excellence by the Run Out Groove label! Run Out Groove embraces the Paisley Underground with the vinyl premiere of The Dream Syndicate's The Complete Live at Raji's. Recorded on January 31, 1988 (not 1989, as indicated on the original CD release of the truncated album), the set captured the underground heroes prior to the release of their Ghost Stories album - and a year prior to their breakup. But the
Review: The Monkees, "More of The Monkees: Super Deluxe Edition"
January is barely over yet, but 2018 is already shaping up to be another banner year for The Monkees. Davy, Peter, Michael, and Micky have just met The Archies in a zany time-travelling comic book adventure, and fans have had the perfect soundtrack: the new, 3-CD/1-45 RPM single super deluxe box set edition of sophomore album More of The Monkees (Rhino Handmade R2 560125) - in time to mark 51 years since the LP was first released, in January 1967. This sixth installment of the long-running
For Your Love: Herman's Hermits, Yardbirds, Hollies Featured on "The Graham Gouldman Songbook"
Ace's latest addition to its Songwriter Series, Listen People: The Graham Gouldman Songbook 1964-2005, appropriately enough begins with a track written by Gouldman, "That's How (It's Gonna Stay)." But the track is also significant in that it was performed by Gouldman, as well - as part of his early group The Mockingbirds. Throughout his career, he's worn many hats - as a songwriter, as a band member, as a solo artist - and all of them are touched upon on this fine celebration of a largely
Don't Leave Your Love Behind: Real Gone's March Slate Includes Jackie DeShannon and Axe
Earlier today we told you Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music's upcoming 2-CD collection of The Oak Ridge Boys' Columbia period and RCA singles. Now, Real Gone has announced two more titles joining it on March 2. First up is a collection from a legendary singer-songwriter: Jackie DeShannon. Stone Cold Soul: The Complete Capitol Recordings gathers all of DeShannon's material from her short period on the venerable label from 1970-1971. It also includes liner notes by our own Joe
BREAKING! The Oak Ridge Boys' Columbia Years, RCA Singles Collected On Second Disc, Real Gone's "When I Sing For Him"
Before "Elvira" and "Bobbie Sue" catapulted them into the mainstream of commercial country and pop, The Oak Ridge Boys paid their dues as both recording artists and popular live performers. The band's history was a long one, with the original Oak Ridge Quartet dating back to the 1940s. But the birth of The Oak Ridge Boys, as we know the group, really took place in 1973 at Columbia Records. That was when Joe Bonsall joined Duane Allen, William Lee Golden, and Richard Sterban to complete the
Release Round-Up: Week of January 12
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Dionne Warwick, Odds and Ends: Scepter Records Rarities (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) From 1962 to 1971, Dionne Warwick, working primarily with songwriters/producers Burt Bacharach and Hal David, notched over twenty Top 40 hits on the Scepter label and garnered two Grammy Awards. Yet while there have been numerous reissues of Warwick's work at Scepter, some material has been overlooked. This new collection
The Last of the Romantics: Cherry Red Collects Rupert Holmes' "Complete Epic Recordings"
There are songs that sound like movies/There are themes that fill the screen/There are lines I say that sound as if they're written/There are looks I wear the theatre should have seen... With those words, Rupert Holmes welcomed listeners into his singular musical world - one in which the only limits were those of the singer-songwriter's boundless imagination. In other words, there were no limits to Holmes' finely crafted, elaborately realized pop dramas. His 1974 Epic Records debut,
WIN! WIN! WIN! Celebrate Eight Great Years With a Varese Mega-Giveaway!!
It's no "Video Killed The Radio Star" on MTV, but it's still pretty cool! On January 11, 2010, a very simple Wordpress version of The Second Disc opened its digital doors. In the eight years since, a lot of stuff about the business has changed - back then, there were still four major music labels, and streaming music wasn't really a thing in the U.S. - but we think one thing has remained consistent: this has remained a hub for enthusiastic coverage of reissues, compilations, box sets and all
Discs On "Fire": Robinsongs Compiles Ohio Players' Finest on Triple-Disc Anthology
Cherry Red's Robinsongs label is taking fans for a ride on the love rollercoaster this month with an extensive, 3CD overview of the Ohio Players. Known for deeply funky jams with a strong pop crossover appeal, the Ohio Players dominated the soul charts in the '70s with tunes like "Funky Worm," "Fire," "Love Rollercoaster" and "Who'd She Coo?" The group's oft-changing lineup included, at one time or another, heavy hitters like singer/keyboardist Walter "Junie" Morrison (later a key member of
Better Than A Dream: Varese Expands "Thief of Hearts" Soundtrack Featuring Melissa Manchester
This Friday, January 12, Varese Sarabande is reissuing the long-out-of-print soundtrack album to 1984's thriller Thief of Hearts. The album's only prior release on CD was back during its original release and only in Germany, at that. This new edition has been expanded by three bonus tracks and features new liner notes written by our very own Joe Marchese. And we want you to WIN a copy! Read on... The film starred newcomer Steven Bauer as Scott, a burglar who breaks into the home of
Soundtrack Watch: Intrada Crowns 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,' La-La Land Boards 'Deep Space Nine'
From the forests of medieval England to the furthest corners of the galaxy, two of the biggest soundtrack labels are kicking off 2018 with some great archival titles. Intrada announced last night their first release of the year: an expansion of Michael Kamen's score to Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The 1991 adaptation of the English folk hero, starring Kevin Costner in the title role and star turns from Morgan Freeman (as Azeem, one of the Merry Men) and Alan Rickman (as the villainous
This Time, Baby: BBR Reissues, Expands Jackie Moore's Philly Disco Classic "I'm On My Way"
By the time Jackie Moore recorded the album entitled I'm On My Way, she certainly was. After early singles on the Shout and Wand labels, the Florida-born R&B vocalist had scored a success on the larger Atlantic Records with "Precious, Precious." The single, produced by southern soul veteran (and her cousin) Dave Crawford and co-written by the singer and producer, made it to No. 12 on the R&B chart and No. 30 Pop, and established Moore as a chart presence. Working with Crawford and his
Rhino "Starts Your Ear Off Right" with Aretha Franklin, Dio, Alice Cooper, More
Rhino's "Start Your Ear Off Right" campaign is back for 2018, and this year's crop of titles is a happily eclectic one ranging from classic R&B to rock, metal, hip-hop, and beyond. These limited edition vinyl reissues will be released every Tuesday beginning tomorrow, January 9, and continuing through the 23rd. We can't think of a better way to start our year off right than visiting a local record store, and Rhino agrees - so all of these titles will be exclusively available at
Put On Your Red Shoes: Parlophone Releases a Demo of "Let's Dance," Bowie's Biggest Hit
To commemorate what would have been David Bowie's 71st birthday, Parlophone has unveiled a previously unreleased gem from the vaults: the singer's original demo for "Let's Dance," recorded with guitarist/producer Nile Rodgers. As both devoted and casual fans know, "Let's Dance," from Bowie's 15th studio album of the same name in 1983, marked a sea change for the enigmatic performer. Having pushed the envelope dabbling in glam, disco and alternative rock during the late '60s and '70s, Bowie -
Release Round-Up: Week of January 5
Welcome to the first Release Round-Up of the new year! David Bowie, Beauty and the Beast [7-Inch Vinyl Single] (Parlophone/Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) David Bowie's series of 40th anniversary series continues with the picture-disc release of "Beauty and the Beast" from Heroes, backed with a live version of "Blackout" from Berlin's Deutschlandhalle on May 16, 1978. The A-side boasts a photo of Bowie from Japan 1977, while the flip has him in NYC in
I'm an Old Cowhand: Sonny Rollins' "Way Out West" Arrives In Deluxe Edition with Unreleased Tracks
For more than six decades, the legendary Sonny Rollins has epitomized style, skill, and musicianship as one of jazz's leading lights. Though a diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis has led the 87-year old Kennedy Center Honoree to hang up his saxophone, he remains active. In the last year alone, he's donated his personal archives to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and has endowed The Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble Fund at Oberlin College. Touchingly, he revealed to an interviewer
Top of the World: Real Gone's February Slate Includes Ronnie Lane and Ron Wood, Grateful Dead and "Last of the Mohicans" Soundtrack
After the rush of the holiday season and the New Year, we now settle into the winter months, but that still doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of music to talk about. Today, we've got new of some of Real Gone's titles hitting just under a month from now on February 2. First up is a CD reissue of an obscure title featuring two members of the Faces: Mahoney's Last Stand - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Ronnie Lane and Ron Wood. If you have never seen or heard of the film, that's not
Everything's Coming Up Posies: Power Pop Group Work with Omnivore, PledgeMusic on Expanded Reissues
Power pop masterminds The Posies will celebrate their 30th anniversary this year by teaming up with Omnivore Recordings and PledgeMusic for reissues of three albums recorded for DGC Records in the mid-'90s. Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, the core members of the group, released the first Posies album, Failure, in 1988. (That self-released title was reissued by Omnivore in 2014.) Signing to Geffen's rock subsidiary in 1990 (where they'd count Nirvana and Weezer as labelmates), the group's
Living Inside Your Love: SoulMusic Anthologizes Phyllis Hyman, Ruby Turner
Cherry Red's SoulMusic Records imprint has recently delivered two more titles in its ongoing series of artist anthologies - this time dedicated to two "sophisticated ladies": Phyllis Hyman and Ruby Turner. When Phyllis Hyman took her own life on June 30, 1995, one of the era's most potent, poignant voices was silenced. A singer as well as a Tony Award-nominated actress, Hyman left behind a small but significant discography of eight studio albums, which has since been bolstered by posthumous
I Hear a Rhapsody: "Motown Unreleased: 1967" Features Marvin Gaye, Four Tops, Temptations, Mynah Birds
As has become a yearly tradition for the past several years, Motown released a "copyright extension" compilation of previously unreleased tracks at the very end of 2017, only a couple of weeks after last year's similar set got a physical release. Motown Unreleased: 1967 gathers 89 tracks across the equivalent of 4 CDs, all previously unheard treasures from the seemingly inexhaustible Motown vaults. Like the collections of the past couple of years, there is a wide range of Motown talent on
The Year In Review - The 2017 Gold Bonus Disc Awards, From A to Z
Happy New Year, and welcome to The Second Disc's Eighth Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! As with every year's awards, our goals are simple: to recognize as many of the year's most essential reissues and catalogue titles as possible, and to celebrate as many of those labels, producers and artists who make these releases happen in the current retail landscape. The labels you'll read about below have, by and large, bucked the trends to prove that there's still a demand for physical catalogue
Merry Discmas! See You in 2018!
The Second Disc will be on holiday today through January 2, 2018 - no doubt listening to as many reissues and box sets as we can! We wanted to thank our readers and listeners for another astounding year; it's hard to imagine that in just a few weeks we'll be turning 8 YEARS OLD, and we wouldn't be where we are without you. From Joe and myself, we wish you nothing but joy, love and prosperity for the rest of 2017 and all of 2018! We can't wait to see what the new year brings for catalogue
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Various Artists, "Stax Country"
We're continuing to look at the 60th anniversary releases from legendary R&B powerhouse label Stax Records with a single-CD or LP collection that just might make a perfect stocking stuffer! Stax Country (CR 00009), from Craft Recordings, takes a fresh look at some of the other, non-R&B music emanating from the corridors of Stax's studios on East McLemore Avenue - in particular some "Sweet Country Music." That's the title of the twangy ditty recorded in 1975 by Becki Bluefield which
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