Shuggie Otis was born into a musical family, the son of Johnny Otis, the "Godfather of Rhythm and Blues." Bandleader, songwriter and performer Johnny (real name: Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes) scored successes with Etta James, "Little" Esther Phillips, Big Mama Thornton, Johnny Ace, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and more, so it could have been no surprise that Shuggie (born Johnny Alexander Veliotes Jr.) would follow in his father's footsteps. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known for his work
Nearly Human, Completely Rundgren: Todd's 1990 San Francisco Concert Revisited
Todd Rundgren’s 1989 album Nearly Human was conceived with a simple mandate by the artist: record a set of songs that could be performed live in an “R&B revue”-style setting. To that end, it was recorded live with few overdubs. Rundgren intuitively knew that these songs needed to be strong enough to stand on their own; stand they did, and do. The album itself was reissued earlier this year by Edsel, and now the Esoteric Recordings label (part of the Cherry Red Group) has premiered a
Some Nice Things We've Missed: Quartet Records' Trio of Sondheim and Double Mancini
As 2012 yielded to 2013, more than a few noteworthy releases may have been lost in the shuffle. Some of the most impressive of those December releases came from Spain's Quartet Records. The label closed out the year with three particularly spectacular titles that no film score buff will want to miss. Two came from the prolific pen of Henry Mancini, perhaps the most-represented soundtrack composer in terms of 2012’s releases. Having previously issued the complete score to Curse of the Pink
Three From FiveFour: Jazz Label Offers Gil Evans on Hendrix, Plus Don Ellis and Duke Ellington
Cherry Red’s recently-reactivated FiveFour label’s latest trawl into the Sony jazz archives has delivered another three rare titles to CD. All have been available in the format before, though one is particularly difficult to find, and all three should have great appeal. The oldest selection of the trio hails from 1959. Duke Ellington’s Jazz Party welcomed Dizzy Gillespie as well as Jimmy Rushing, Jimmy Jones and Ellington’s longtime sax man, Jimmy Hodges. Ellington and his frequent
Simply Irresistible: Edsel Plans Expanded Robert Palmer Two-Fers
The point is irrefutable! Edsel is releasing two double-disc sets containing all of the late, great Robert Palmer's albums for EMI, with a few audio extras. One of the best blue-eyed soul singers from across the pond, Palmer had been well-known among pop gurus for his eclectic discography on Island Records in the 1970s and 1980s, including hits like "Every Kinda People" and "Bad Case of Loving You." His big break in the U.S., however, came when Andy and John Taylor, the guitarist and bassist
Baseball, But Better: Say Anything Compile Early Works on Three Discs
Who says January is a dull month for catalogue music? Say Anything are starting the year off with a triple-disc limited edition box set chronicling much of their early career. All My Friends Are Enemies: Early Rarities chronicles lead singer/songwriter Max Bemis' L.A. band in the two years before their signing to Doghouse Records in 2003 and releasing breakthrough album Say Anything...is a Real Boy the following year. (From 2005 to 2009, the group was signed to J/RCA Records, re-releasing ...is
In Case You Missed It: Stand Up and Cheer! Intrada Releases "Hoosiers" Soundtrack and More
We begin our first day of catalogue coverage for 2013 by...keeping up with some titles that came out last year that slipped through our wires. (I know, I know. Really, it just sat in drafts for a week or two while I kept wrapping presents instead of finalizing it. -Ed.) Rest assured, though, that these - the final three catalogue soundtrack releases from Intrada Records - are worth your time in any year. First up is one of Intrada's most intriguing releases in awhile, in that it's two scores
No-Guilt Trip: Barbra Streisand Releases More From The Vaults on "Classical Barbra"
Nobody’s gonna rain on Barbra Streisand’s parade. Earlier this year, the Columbia Records artist earned her seventh consecutive Top 10 entry and 32nd overall Top 10 disc with Release Me, a collection of previously-vaulted material spanning her entire career. Streisand embarked on a series of sold-out concert dates in support of the album, and has just seen the big screen release of The Guilt Trip, a comedy in which she stars opposite Seth Rogen. Though a second volume of Release Me was
The Year in Reissues: The 2012 Gold Bonus Disc Awards
Wow! Was it just over a year ago when a rather dubious report began circulating (that, shockingly, was picked up by many otherwise-reputable publications) that proclaimed the death of the CD was secretly scheduled by the major labels for 2012? Well, 2012 has come and (almost) gone, and it might have been the most super-sized year in recent memory for reissues, deluxe and otherwise, from labels new and old. Here at the Second Disc, we consider our annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards a companion
Second Discmas 2012: And The Winners Are...
Here at The Second Disc, the holiday season is the perfect time to do what we love to do best: share the gift of music. For the second year in a row, we have we reached out to some of our favorite reissue labels and we’ve teamed with them to play Santa Claus to our awesome and faithful readers. It’s called – what else? – Second Discmas, and it’s just drawn to its close. So, as we wish all of you a safe, healthy, happy and very merry Christmas, we'd like to congratulate the following winners.
In Memoriam: Jack Klugman (1922-2012)
On December 24, 2012, Jack Klugman (The Odd Couple, Quincy M.E.) passed away at the age of 90. Joe Marchese shares a personal reminiscence about this great actor, and The Second Disc celebrates the career of an actor for whom music always played a major role - on The Odd Couple (and its spin-off LP The Odd Couple Sings!), and even on a Broadway stage, where Jack once sang nightly opposite Ethel Merman in Gypsy. Rest in peace, Mr. Klugman. “Don’t believe a word she said about me!” The
On the Seventh Day of Second Discmas...
Here at The Second Disc, the holiday season is the perfect time to do what we love to do best: share the gift of music. For the second year in a row, we have we reached out to some of our favorite reissue labels and we’ve teamed with them to play Santa Claus to our awesome and faithful readers. It’s called – what else? – Second Discmas, and it’s going on now through Christmas! For the seventh day of Second Discmas, we're spreading holiday cheer with the complete Christmas recordings of a true
Elmer Bernstein's "Hud," The Return of "Carrie" Among Latest Trio of Titles from Kritzerland
It’s been an incredibly busy morning for the Kritzerland label! While you have the chance to win some of Kritzerland’s best releases of 2012 today only for Second Discmas, the soundtrack specialists have just announced three new limited edition albums to close out the year: a two-fer from Elmer Bernstein and Nathan Van Cleave of Hud and The Lonely Man, respectively, plus another from Alex North and Adolph Deutsch of Hot Spell and The Rainmaker, and finally, a special Encore Edition release of
And Now She Sings! Chita Rivera Solo Albums Coming to CD from Stage Door
Chita Rivera was the toast of the musical stage in 1961, reprising her New York triumph in Bye Bye Birdie in London's West End. Over fifty years later, the resplendent Ms. Rivera is still the toast of the musical stage, wowing audiences nightly as the decadent Princess Puffer in the Broadway revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Yet the triple-threat dancer/actress/singer who originated roles in musicals including West Side Story and Chicago has made all too few trips to the recording studio
On the Fifth Day of Second Discmas...
Here at The Second Disc, the holiday season is the perfect time to do what we love to do best: share the gift of music. For the second year in a row, we have we reached out to some of our favorite reissue labels and we’ve teamed with them to play Santa Claus to our awesome and faithful readers. It’s called – what else? – Second Discmas, and it’s going on now through Christmas! The fifth day of Second Discmas is a celebration of all things stage and screen! We're offering two amazing gift sets
Day After Day: Your Chance to Support Release of Demos by Badfinger's Pete Ham
The name of Pete Ham may not be familiar to everyone, but his work certainly is. As a member of Badfinger, Ham penned “Day After Day,” “Baby Blue” and “No Matter What,” as well as a little song with Tom Evans called “Without You” which became a chart-topper for both Harry Nilsson and Mariah Carey, decades apart. Ham tragically took his own life in 1975 at the age of 27, leaving behind a small but significant legacy in pop and rock. Two collections of Ham’s personal demo recordings have
Del Shannon's Shelved "Home and Away" Finds New Life on Remastered Reissue
Pair the Rolling Stones’ producer Andrew Loog Oldham with American rock-and-roll hero Del Shannon at the height of Swinging London, and what’s the result? It was an album called Home and Away, but despite its lofty ambitions of being a British answer to Pet Sounds, the LP didn’t see release as scheduled in 1967. It took more than a decade for Home and Away to surface, and it’s recently been reissued as a remastered CD from Now Sounds (CRNOW 40). Though the new Home and Away is a most welcome
Now Sounds Unearths Lost Leon Russell-Produced Psych-Pop Classic "Daughters of Albion"
Before he actually became The Master of Time and Space to his fans, Leon Russell was manipulating everything but time and space on a psychedelic pop opus that nobody heard. The fantastically imaginative Daughters of Albion was, well, DOA in the commercial sense upon its initial release in 1968. Its blend of dense lyrics, elaborate vocal arrangements, shifting moods and an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-oh-hell-we'll-throw-that-in-too approach to the musical accompaniment might have been too
The Magic Touch: Kent Label Celebrates 30 Years with Soulful New Anthology
The Kent label (part of the Ace Records family) is turning 30, and you’re invited to the party. In a year which has also seen celebrations for labels including A&M and GRP, Kent 30: Best of Kent Northern 1982-2012 stands out as the toe-tapping, floor-filling compilation most suitable for dancing! With 30 selections in recognition of 30 years from soul greats like Chuck Jackson, Lorraine Chandler, Lou Johnson, Maxine Brown and Ben E. King, Kent 30 takes in previously anthologized tracks
Ahead of His Time: Final Wave of Zappa Reissues Arrives (For Now)
Welcome to our ongoing exploration of the Zappa Records/Universal Music (UMe) reissue campaign which will see a comprehensive array of Zappa titles remastered and reissued before 2012 is out! The first batch of 12 titles arrived on July 31, and another 12 followed on August 28. The third dozen appeared in stores on September 25, and Wave Four (including a new title, Understanding America) saw release on Tuesday, October 30. Wave Five, the penultimate group, hit stores on November 19, and
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Various Artists, "'Twas the Night Before Hanukkah"
The story behind The Idelsohn Society for Music Preservation’s fascinating new 2-CD set ‘Twas the Night Before Hanukkah is a simple one. The label, dedicated to telling Jewish history through music, set out to chronicle the music of Hanukkah before discovering that the most famous Christmas songs – “White Christmas,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “The Christmas Song,” just to name three – were all written by members of the Jewish faith! So the Hanukkah compilation doubled in size, and
Holiday Gift Guide Reviews: Etta James and Sarah Vaughan, "Complete Albums Collections"
Etta James and Sarah Vaughan: by any and all accounts, two formidable women of song. Now, these late legends are both receiving the deluxe treatment from Legacy Recordings on two box sets as part of the Complete Albums series. Though Etta James' most enduring recordings were made during her sixteen years (1960-1976) at Chess Records, including her oft-imitated but never-topped perennial "At Last," the former Jamesetta Hawkins recorded for over fifty years in a variety of genres for a variety
Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Eddie Vedder, Johnny Depp, Nick Cave Join "Voices for Justice" on New Soundtrack
When not telling the story of The Hobbit on Middle Earth, film producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh are hoping this winter to bring a different, real-life story to light. West of Memphis is their new documentary film directed by Amy Berg (Best Documentary Oscar nominee Deliver Us from Evil), so named for the Arkansas city of West Memphis in which three eight-year old boys were tragically killed in 1993. The film chronicles the battle to prove the innocence of the three young men convicted
As a Matter of Opinion I Think She's Tops: Mary Wells Celebrated On New Releases from Hip-o Select, Soul Music Records
Mary Wells had a number of firsts under her belt. The first true Motown superstar, she became the first of the company’s artists to net a Grammy Award nomination. She also was the first superstar artist to leave Berry Gordy’s empire at the height of her fame. In 1965, Wells departed for a lucrative deal with 20th Century Fox Records, but her greatest successes were already behind her. Yet despite her death at just 49 years of age in 1992, Wells’ star still burns bright, largely thanks to her
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Louis Armstrong, "The OKeh, Columbia and RCA Victor Recordings 1925-1933"
Duke Ellington famously stated, “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing,” but without Louis Armstrong, Duke would assuredly have had to pose some other question. Bing Crosby, the man owed a debut by every popular singer of the past eighty or so years, described Armstrong as “the beginning and end of music in America” while fellow trumpeter Miles Davis acknowledged that “you can’t play anything on a horn that Louis hasn’t played.” Yet Armstrong is arguably most remembered today by the
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