When brothers Hy and Sam Weiss passed in 2007 and 2008, respectively, the Romanian-born immigrants to Brooklyn were eulogized as the last of the golden age record men. The Weiss brothers formed their first record label in 1949; in 1953, they launched Old Town Records which Hy would take on as his own in 1956. Many of Old Town's classic hits are still favorites today, such as The Capris' "There's a Moon Out Tonight," Billy Bland's "Let the Little Girl Dance," and "Remember Then" by The Earls.
Fortune and Glory: 'Indiana Jones' Scores Hit Vinyl, New Soundtrack Box Available
With the rights to the Indiana Jones series now part of The Walt Disney Company's portfolio, the Mouse House has planned several reissues of the five-film series' iconic scores on CD and vinyl. Harrison Ford took his last ride as the cinematic archaeologist last summer, in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the fourth and final sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark. Regardless of audiences' opinion on those sequels, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg's collaboration is one of each filmmaker's
Prove Your Love: Fleetwood Mac's Early Years Chronicled on New Compilation
With 1975's Fleetwood Mac, the venerable blues-rock outfit founded by Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Peter Green, and Jeremy Spencer made a strategic leap towards the mainstream. Fleetwood, John McVie, and Christine McVie were joined on that album by two Americans, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, who transformed the band into a commercial rock behemoth. Those who had followed the group's early years, though, knew that the only thing to expect from Fleetwood Mac was the unexpected. On July
Look At All The Things: Neil Young Revisits "Early Daze" on New Compilation
Neil Young and Crazy Horse are currently on the road with the Love Earth Tour, with dates scheduled through September 29, when it all wraps up at the Hollywood Bowl. Today, Young announced that he's looking back on his Early Daze with the Horse on a new collection due June 28. Its ten songs were all recorded in 1969 with the lineup of Danny Whitten (guitar and vocals), Ralph Molina (drums and vocals), Billy Talbot (bass and vocals), and Jack Nitzsche (keyboards, tambourine, and vocals). Early
PRE-ORDER UPDATE: SoulMusic, The Second Disc Team to Celebrate The Salsoul Orchestra on New Box Set
Last Christmas, The Second Disc teamed with SoulMusic Records and Cherry Red for The Salsoul Orchestra's Christmas Jollies: The Extra Jolly Edition, celebrating the best-selling album in the entire Salsoul catalogue. On May 31, we'll follow that set up with It's Good for the Soul: The Vince Montana Years (1975-1978), the definitive, first-ever box set collecting The Salsoul Orchestra's groundbreaking albums produced, arranged, and conducted by Vincent Montana, Jr.! U.S. customers: pre-orders
We Have Heaven: Rhino Reissues, Expands Yes' "Fragile" with New Mixes
Rhino is following last year's Super Deluxe Edition of 1971's The Yes Album with a similar set for the prog legends' fourth album. Fragile arrived later that same year, introducing Rick Wakeman as keyboardist and kicking off a new era of Yes history. The upcoming box set, due on June 28, follows the same 4CD/1LP/1BD format as The Yes Album, featuring Steven Wilson's newly remastered and remixed audio, rare and previously unreleased live and studio tracks, and a Dolby Atmos mix. Fragile was
Go Insane: Lindsey Buckingham's Early Solo Albums Collected in New Box Set
Lindsey Buckingham's earliest solo works are getting a box set from Rhino this summer. True to its name, 20th Century Lindsey will feature remastered versions of the three albums the Fleetwood Mac singer/guitarist issued during the 20th century - 1981's Law and Order, 1984's Go Insane and 1992's Out of the Cradle - plus a newly compiled disc of eight rarities. The set showcases Buckingham's restless creative spirit that fueled a good portion of Fleetwood Mac's discography, blossoming into
Makes Me Feel Fine: Rhino's New Quadio Batch Includes Seals and Crofts, Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, Hot Tuna
Not long after the release of Joni Mitchell's Quadio box set - making her the third artist to have an entire Quadio box dedicated to her, after Chicago and The Doobie Brothers - Rhino has just announced the fourth round of Blu-ray titles in the four-channel surround format Donny Hathaway's Extension Of A Man, Hot Tuna's Burgers, Roberta Flack's Killing Me Softly, and Seals & Crofts' Summer Breeze are all available now, as newly remastered from the original four-channel quadraphonic master
So Much To Say: Real Gone's May Slate Includes Elaine Brown, Tweet, and Thomas Newman
Real Gone's May slate is hitting store shelves tomorrow, May 3, and we've got all the details of the trio of releases below. First up is the vinyl reissue of Elaine Brown's Seize the Time - Black Panther Party from 1969. Brown has been an activist for most her life and became the first and only Chairwoman of the Black Panther Party in 1974, appointed by Huey Newton. She first joined the Party in 1968 after having worked at the newspaper Harambee and being a representative at the Black
Rock and Roll Heart: Omnivore Celebrates Joe Grushecky with Career Anthology, New Album
The title of the 1979 debut album from Joe Grushecky and The Iron City Houserockers proclaimed Love's So Tough. The Pittsburgh native and his band captured their city's blue-collar milieu, recalling a harder-edged E Street Band. The group took their sound an expansive step further with 1980's Have a Good Time But Get Out Alive!, a bar-band classic which welcomed guests including Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson, and Stevie Van Zandt. That album introduced "Pumping Iron" which quickly became the band's
Well Alright: New Johnny Cash Album 'Songwriter' Culled from Unreleased 1993 Recordings
Death can't stop The Man in Black: UMe will release a new Johnny Cash album this summer, drawn from unheard recordings from more than 30 years ago. Available June 28, Songwriter features 11 vocals Cash cut in 1993 at LSI Studios in Nashville, augmented by recently-recorded new backing tracks at the Cash Cabin in Hendersonville, Tennessee by Cash's son John Carter Cash and co-producer David "Fergie" Ferguson. Every one of the tunes was composed solely by Cash himself, from lead single "Well
Rolling Stock: "Starlight Express" Returns to Vinyl to Celebrate New London Production
Andrew Lloyd Webber first became interested in adapting Reverend W. Aubry's Thomas the Tank Engine stories in 1974. A pilot episode for a proposed television series was produced but ultimately not picked up. But the Jesus Christ Superstar and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat composer didn't give up on the idea of musicalizing a story with trains. He took a step towards that goal with the 1977 single "Engine of Love" for American singer Earl Jordan, and then developed an animated
Sweet Dream: Jethro Tull Expands Live "Bursting Out" In New "Inflated Edition" Remixed by Steven Wilson
Jethro Tull's first live album, 1978's Bursting Out, hit stores in September 1978. It was recorded just a few months earlier as Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, John Glascock, John Evan, Dee Palmer, and Barriemore Barlow toured behind their eleventh studio album, Heavy Horses. On June 21, it will return from Rhino in a new 3CD/3DVD book-style edition featuring new remixes by Steven Wilson and an array of bonus material. Bursting Out: The Inflated Edition contains: CD 1: Jethro Tull Live:
No Small 'Feats': Rhino Announces New Little Feat Reissue with Rarities and Unreleased Live Material
Last year, Rhino reissued Little Feat's seminal second and third albums, Sailin' Shoes (1972) and Dixie Chicken (1973), as deluxe, expanded editions. Now, the label is following those with a similar presentation of the California group's fourth LP, 1974's Feats Don't Fail Me Now, on 2 CDs or 3 LPs. Due on June 14, both versions feature a remastered edition of the original album plus rare and previously unreleased outtakes and alternate versions, with all audio sourced from the original
Bounce Right Back: Howard Jones' First Two Albums Receive New Mixes by Cherry Red
And what could Cherry Red possibly do further with the sterling synth catalogue of Howard Jones? Some seven years into the label's acquisition of Jones' Warner-era material from 1983 to 1993, the U.K. label has found a way: to celebrate the 40th anniversary of debut album Human's Lib, it and follow-up Dream Into Action will be newly remixed for new CD/Blu-ray editions available May 31. This early portion of Jones' discography - which includes hits and fan favorites like "New Song," "What is
Tighten Up: Robinsongs Chronicles Archie Bell & The Drells' Atlantic and PIR Years in New Box
"Hi, everybody! I'm Archie Bell of The Drells, of Houston, Texas!" Archie Bell let the world know exactly who he was as he led his group through the "Tighten Up," his 1968 Pop and R&B chart-topping dance record. He explained to author Fred Bronson that the decision to introduce himself was in response to an unkind remark that "nothing good ever came out of Texas." Bell was determined to prove that the comment was wrong - and prove it, he certainly did. Cherry Red's Robinsongs imprint
Rock of Ages: Def Leppard Celebrate 40 Years of 'Pyromania' with New Box Set
Def Leppard's third studio album, 1983's commercial breakthrough Pyromania, is returning from Bludgeon Riffola/UMe (U.S.)/UMR (U.K.) on April 26 in a variety of formats including a 4CD/1Blu-ray Super Deluxe Edition, 2LP and 2CD expanded remasters, and a 1LP half-speed master of the original album. Produced by Mutt Lange, Pyromania broadened the British band's metal sound by embracing a radio-friendly sheen and big, anthemic choruses. Guitarist Pete Willis had already completed recording
Living Proof: Bruce Springsteen to Release New Career-Spanning 'Best Of'
In late 2021, Sony Music announced the acquisition of Bruce Springsteen's entire recorded music and songwriting catalogues in a deal valued by The New York Times as an estimated $550 million. Since then, The Boss has released one new studio album (2022's Only the Strong Survive, reported to be the first volume in a series of R&B covers albums) but no archival projects have emerged. On April 19, Sony will release the first domestic "best-of" compilation for the artist since 2009's Greatest
Crazy (Over You): Esoteric Expands "Baby James Harvest" With New Stereo and Surround Mixes, More
Esoteric Recordings' refresh of the Barclay James Harvest catalogue has seen deluxe expansions of most of the prog-rock heroes' classic-era albums. In fall 2023, Esoteric got around to the band's fourth and final album for EMI's Harvest Records. 1972's Baby James Harvest, often considered a weak link in a strong run of LPs, can now be reevaluated in a 4CD/1Blu-ray edition containing the remastered original stereo mix; a new stereo mix; copious bonus tracks; a full concert in mono and stereo;
Take It 'To the Limit': New Eagles Triple Album Offers Hits, Live Cuts
Last fall, Eagles embarked on their Long Goodbye tour. While dates are currently expected to stretch into 2025 - hence the "long" part of the title - the band stated that "everything has its time, and the time has come for us to close the circle." The tour currently has gigs lined up through June in North America and Europe, including stops in Chicago, Toronto, and Manchester. Each show has amounted to a greatest-hits retrospective, and so it's no surprise that a companion audio release will
Pictures of Home: Rhino Revisits Deep Purple's "Machine Head" on New Super Deluxe Edition
Deep Purple's 1972 album Machine Head remains the venerable hard rock band's most commercially successful album. The third LP from the Mk. II lineup of Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, and Ian Paice introduced one of rock's most famous riffs with "Smoke on the Water," and influenced a generation of rock and metal musicians. On March 29, Rhino revisits Machine Head as a 3CD/1LP/1Blu-ray Super Deluxe Edition with various versions of the album: 2024 Dweezil Zappa album
Back On My Feet Again: Rhino Adds Randy Newman, WAR, AWB, Gil Evans to Quadio Roster
Today, Rhino announced four new titles in its ever-growing line of Quadio Blu-rays: Randy Newman's Good Old Boys (1973), WAR's The World Is a Ghetto (1972), Gil Evans' Svengali, and Average White Band's AWB. The Second Disc had the opportunity to preview this quartet of Blu-ray reissues of classic albums in quadraphonic (four-channel) sound, and we're happy to report that this is another feast for surround fans with all four titles making good - or better - use of surround. (Those equipped
Somewhere Along the Line: Japanese Expansion of Billy Joel's 'Piano Man' Includes Quad Mix, New-to-CD Tracks
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