Japan can't get enough of the Piano Man! Shortly after Sony Music's Japanese division released a newly-compiled collection of live odds and ends by Billy Joel, the label will next put out a deluxe edition of Joel's sophomore album (and first in a long line of albums for Columbia Records), 1973's Piano Man. Billed as a 50th anniversary edition (a few months late) and ostensibly meant to tie into his Japanese tour dates later this month, the 2CD/1DVD set features a few extra features for die-hard
L.O.V.E.: Decca Celebrates Bert Kaempfert Centennial on New Box Set
Bert Kaempfert (1923-1980) may best be remembered today for his brief association with The Beatles or as the composer of "Strangers in the Night," "L.O.V.E.," and "Spanish Eyes." Kaempfert, who died in 1980, would have turned 100 last October. Decca is celebrating his life, legacy, and centennial year with a major new 24-CD box set coming on January 19. The Bert Kaempfert Decca Collection collects 24 of the German composer-bandleader's American LPs originally released in the 1960s and
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Prince and The New Power Generation, 'Diamonds and Pearls (Super Deluxe Edition)'
I. Come On, Save Your Soul Tonight In the years since Prince's tragic death in 2016, one of the more shocking events in catalogue history has occurred: the construction of a cottage industry surrounding his vast recorded output - both his dozens of released albums and countless tracks rumored to exist in the mythic vault at his Paisley Park recording complex. As a lucrative artist who left no will, the matters of his heirs were not settled until 2022. In those intervening years - with only a
Let Me Roll It: Paul McCartney's 'Band on the Run' to Be Reissued with New "Underdubbed" Mixes
In 2010 - not even a year after this site was founded! - Paul McCartney announced the arrival of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection, a catalogue project involving his post-Beatles works (as a solo artist and Wings) in partnership with Hear Music/Concord. A baker's dozen of his works, from solo debut McCartney (1970) to the acclaimed Flaming Pie (1997), were given the box set treatment, occasionally baffling fans with omissions, from non-LP B-sides only being digitally available on the Flowers
Only Country Music: Garth Brooks Boxes 2014-2020 Albums, Premieres "Time Traveler," On New Box Set
Garth Brooks' first edition of The Limited Series arrived in 1998. The collection of the superstar artist's first six albums became the first-ever box set to debut at No. 1 on two charts, and set a record for the best first-week sales of any box set to that point in the SoundScan era. He followed it with the second Limited Series in 2005. The Walmart/Sam's Club-exclusive set collected his next three albums plus the previously unreleased The Lost Sessions and a DVD of music and interviews.
Hey Now Hey: Aretha Franklin's Early 1970s Albums Collected on New Box Set
Back in 2018, Rhino Records compiled Aretha Franklin's The Atlantic Records 1960s Collection, bringing together the Queen of Soul's first five, groundbreaking studio albums for the label originally released between 1967 and 1969 plus bonus material. Now, BMG is picking up where that set left off with the December 1 release of A Portrait of the Queen. The new collection, available on 5 CDs or 6 LPs, contains Franklin's first five studio sets from the new decade: This Girl's In Love With
Greatest Hits Watch: New Compilations Coming from Bush, The Blasters and Johnny Marr
Today, we're taking a look at three upcoming greatest hits packages (and one essential related album!) from three very different artists. The Blasters formed in 1979 in Downey, California - home of Richard and Karen Carpenter - and immediately cut a striking figure on the Los Angeles club scene. Brothers Phil and Dave Alvin, drummer Bill Bateman, and bassist John Bazz blended muscular rock appropriate to the punk era with rockabilly, early rock-and-roll, and a rootsy sensibility that sounds
So in Love, Girl: Milli Vanilli Compilation Accompanies New Documentary
One of pop music's most notorious strange-but-true tales has been memorialized in a gripping new documentary - and there's a new compilation to go with it, too. The Best of Milli Vanilli (35th Anniversary) is released November 17 through Legacy Recordings, offering 14 tracks (and three remixes) from the infamous European duo, who shot to international acclaim with a slate of classic pop tunes and crashed back to earth when it turned out that neither member sang a note on the records. It's not
Now and Then: Unheard Outtake, New Mixes Added to Classic Beatles Compilations
On April 2, 1973, the first career-spanning compilations by The Beatles - broken up for three years - were released. Nicknamed for the colored borders around Angus McBean's iconic photos of The Fab Four (taken six years apart) leaning over a stairwell at EMI's offices in London, the "Red" (The Beatles 1962-1966) and "Blue" (The Beatles 1967-1970) albums offered on eight sides of vinyl a holistic view of the group's unbelievable discography: 54 hit singles, B-sides and treasured album cuts that
You Don't Need a Weatherman: New Bob Dylan Compilation Accompanies New Archival Book
Next Tuesday, October 24, publishing house Callaway will release Mixing Up the Medicine, a 600+-page tome promised to be "the most comprehensive book yet published on the work of Nobel Prize-winning singer-songwriter-poet and cultural icon, Bob Dylan." As entire libraries could be filled with the books written on Dylan, that's no small boast - but this hefty coffee table volume looks like it might live up to the hype. Written and edited by Mark Davidson and Parker Fishel, the book celebrates
Carefree Highway: Rhino Announces New Wave of Quadio Titles from Gordon Lightfoot, Spinners, America, Charles Mingus
Rhino's Quadio series, presenting original four-channel quadraphonic album mixes on Blu-ray, relaunched earlier this year with a quartet of titles from Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, J. Geils Band, and Jefferson Starship - watch this space for a review of all four releases tomorrow! Now, the label has unveiled the next batch of Quadio titles which are all available now exclusively through Rhino.com. This group is an even more eclectic one, with R&B (The Spinners), jazz (Charles Mingus),
OUT TOMORROW: Johnny Mathis' All-New Christmas Album and Rod McKuen's Electronic Freakout!
Here at Second Disc HQ, tomorrow is all about the holidays! We've teamed with Real Gone Music for a pair of new releases - one looking forward to Christmas, and another that's ideal for a wild Halloween. First up is the new studio album from the legendary Voice of Romance, Johnny Mathis. His very first holiday album, 1958's Merry Christmas, sold over five million copies and remains one of the biggest-selling Christmas albums of all time. Now, he's back with his first album since 2017 and
The Christmas Festival: Second Disc, Real Gone Celebrate the Season with Arthur Fiedler's "Ultimate Pops Christmas Party," New "Great Songs of Christmas" Volume
Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? We've already filled you in on the October 13 release of Johnny Mathis' all-new album Christmas Time Is Here, coming on vinyl from Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records. Now, we're excited to fill your stocking with two seasonal CDs due on November 10 celebrating some of the greatest Christmas music of all time. In his 50-year tenure as conductor of The Boston Pops, Arthur Fiedler transformed the Boston Symphony Orchestra offshoot into perhaps the
Fit for a Queen: Tina Turner's Singles Feature on New Deluxe Compilation
Even before but especially after her explosive pop comeback in the 1980s, Tina Turner more than earned the mantle of Queen of Rock 'n' Roll. This fall, a new career-spanning compilation from Rhino will reaffirm that title, with 55 of her singles (and a few rarities) on one album. Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, due November 24, spans Tina's 1975 cover of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" - issued on Acid Queen, her second solo album (and last before escaping her physically and emotionally abusive
I'm Dreaming of a "Stax Christmas": New Collection Brings Together Holiday Favorites from Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Staple Singers, More
'Tis the season to be soulful: This Friday, September 29, Craft Recordings and Stax Records will celebrate the holidays with the CD, LP, and digital release of A Stax Christmas. This festive 12-track compilation features songs by the label's most beloved artists including two previously unreleased tracks from Carla Thomas and Otis Redding. The venerable Memphis label has had a long association with the music of Christmas. House band Booker T. and The MG's 1966 album In the Christmas Spirit
Weekend Stream Spotlight: Bruce Springsteen's 'Live Series' Comes Home with New Jersey-Focused Installment
Ahead of our usual Weekend Stream programming on Saturday, we're taking the time to spotlight a new digital catalog release that's quite near and dear to our hearts - and locations! - at Second Disc HQ. For a half-century, the artistry of Bruce Springsteen has galvanized millions beyond the state lines of his native New Jersey - but there's something about home that makes his work really special. Fans can and will debate which of his many, many live concerts have been the best - there's a
Back to 'The Block': New Kids on the Block Revisit Comeback Album with New Bonus Tracks
New Kids on the Block are going back to where it all restarted. The Boston boy band, a sensation of the late '80s and early '90s, are reissuing their 2008 reunion album The Block. The Block Revisited, available November 3, will feature the original album and nine bonus tracks on CD or two LPs, including the unreleased fan favorite "Coming Home" and a new remix of the track "Dirty Dancing" recorded with K-pop outfit SEVENTEEN. Digital editions will include a further eight bonus tracks,
True Faith: New Order's Classic Compilation 'Substance 1987' Gets Expanded
Style over Substance? New Order offered both on their unforgettable 1987 compilation - and it's getting expanded as a 4CD set this fall. The newly-remastered Substance 1987 collects once more a dozen classic sides from the British electronic band, from 1981's ceremony to the then-new "True Faith" as well as exclusive updates of "Temptation" and "Confusion." The double vinyl is pressed on black or retail-exclusive red and blue discs, while the 2CD and double cassette (the latter exclusive to
Ageless and Evergreen: New Barbra Streisand Compilation, 'Yentl' Deluxe Reissue Due in October
On November 7, Barbra Streisand will release her long-awaited memoir. My Name Is Barbra shares its name with the superstar's fifth Columbia Records album, originally released in 1967, and promises to trace her life and career from her Brooklyn roots through her triumphs in Broadway, Hollywood, on the concert stage, and beyond. Before that, though, the EGOT winner and 46-time Grammy nominee (and eight-time winner!) is gifting fans with two new releases. On October 27, Streisand will look back on
Is Your Love in Vain? Bob Dylan Expands Budokan Live Album for New Box Set
There was something about Midwestern-born rockers on the CBS Records roster making stops at the Nippon Budokan Hall in Japan. In 1979, Columbia issued not one but two live albums from the Tokyo venue, both simply titled At Budokan. While the one by Cheap Trick essentially made them stars in their home country, a double album of rearranged hits from Bob Dylan sharply polarized fans and critics. Now, on November 17, the Dylan camp is re-examining the artist's time in Japan with a brand-new box
Nancy Sinatra Keeps Walkin': New Collection Brings Together B-Sides, Rarities, Previously Unreleased Tracks
Back in 2021, The Nancy Sinatra Archival Series launched at Light in the Attic with the collection Start Walkin' 1965-1976. That release brought together many of the singer's finest and most famous recordings. Now, following expanded editions of Boots, Nancy and Lee, and Nancy and Lee Again, LITA is delivering a companion volume focusing on Nancy's B-sides and hidden gems. Keep Walkin': Singles, Demos, and Rarities (1965-1978) arrives on October 20 in a plethora of formats including CD,
Can't Be Touched: Early Years of Elliott Smith's Heatmiser Revisited on New Collection
To take the late Elliott Smith's solo work at face value, he was known for dark, introspective songwriting that influenced a generation of indie musicians. But his early work in the band Heatmiser tells another side of the story - and this fall, 20 years after his tragic passing, Third Man Records will revisit the band's work with a collection of rare and unreleased material. The Music of Heatmiser, available on CD or 2LP October 6, is named for the self-released cassette the group -
'Twas Like Thunder: Prince and The New Power Generation's 'Diamonds and Pearls' Set for Newest Reissue
"This is it / time 4 U 2 go 2 the wire..." After a lengthy gap between catalog projects, the Prince Estate returns with a vengeance this fall, offering a deluxe box set edition of Diamonds and Pearls - the late icon's first work with a new backing band, The New Power Generation. The expanded Diamonds and Pearls, available October 27, comes two years past the 30th anniversary of the album and features a wide assortment of the bonus audio content that's accompanied expansions of 1999, Purple
Cherry Red's El Label Celebrates Burt Bacharach, Leonard Bernstein on New Box Sets
In recent months, Cherry Red's El imprint has turned its attention to a pair of legendary American composers. Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) and Burt Bacharach (1928-2023) were born just a decade apart, though Bacharach lived more than three decades longer than Bernstein. Neither man was born in New York City, but both created much of their remarkable work there. Both were proud Jewish Americans, and both wrote for the musical theatre. An American in New York: Leonard Bernstein - The City
Merry Christmas, Baby: Johnny Mathis Celebrates the Holiday Season with New Studio Album "Christmas Time Is Here"
Johnny Mathis is known the world over as The Voice of Romance, but the legendary vocalist deserves another title, as well: The Voice of Christmas. Mathis' very first holiday album, 1958's Merry Christmas, sold over five million copies and remains one of the biggest-selling Christmas albums of all time. Now, Mathis is back with his first album since 2017 and his first yuletide set in a decade. Christmas Time Is Here arrives on October 13 in CD and digital formats from Legacy Recordings and