It's The Second Day of Second Discmas, our special form of holiday greetings to our loyal readers, and we've got another round of awesome giveaways for you today. Today, we've got another gift for you from our friends at Legacy Recordings. Sony's reissue arm has been diligent lately in releasing works from the esteemed Philles Records catalogue, from a series of greatest-hits albums to a fantastic, bonus-filled box of vintage albums from the label's discography. On The Second Day of Second
Reissue Theory: R.E.M., "Holiday"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we focus on notable albums and the reissues they may someday see. It's the most wonderful time of the year, as you likely know, and we're celebrating with a recently-departed group of rock legends who made a few nights not-so-silent with a long running assortment of Christmas-oriented giveaways. Not too long ago, I took part in a lively chat with my fellow Popblerd! writers/occasional co-podcasters Mike Heyliger and Zack Stiegler about
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 13 (#40-36)
It's the lucky thirteenth part of our look at the many reissues of the 100 greatest albums of all time, as selected by Rolling Stone in 2003! We’ll explore the various versions of these classic albums on disc, letting you know which audio treasures can be found on which releases. In today's group, we get the blues, meet the Brits, head to Laurel Canyon and fall in Love! 40. Love, Forever Changes (Elektra, 1967) Welcome to the Top 40! Released just months after the so-called Summer of Love,
Short Takes: Digital Vault Surprises from Metallica and Duran Duran
Today, we have a pair of vault releases from two acts with rich catalogues coming your way over the Internet. If you're a hard rock fan, the news of Metallica's recent 30th anniversary concerts, where they played hours of hits and rarities over four star-studded shows at San Francisco's Fillmore West, have probably got you really excited. (They have us excited at Second Disc HQ, too, thanks to a perfectly logical assumption that any celebration of a band this beloved is bound to lead to some
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 12 (#45-41)
You know the drill: Rolling Stone's 100 greatest albums of all time, as assessed by us in terms of their many reissues, to bring you the best-sounding and most thoroughly expanded editions for your buck. The Band literally plays on as we kick off this installment! 45. The Band, The Band (Capitol, 1969) After the great debut Music from Big Pink the year before, The Band drew on concepts of Americana and rural history for their follow-up. There was no sophomore slump here; guitarist Robbie
The First Day of Second Discmas
With Christmas less than two weeks away, we've of course been thinking about the best reissues and catalogue titles of 2011. But this year, we're celebrating a little bit differently: for the most giving time of the year, we reached out to some of our favorite reissue labels and are playing Santa Claus to our awesome and faithful readers. We're calling it - what else? - Second Discmas, and it's going on through the rest of the month! Our first giveaway is a real treat: If you love piano-based
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Leonard Cohen, "The Complete Columbia Albums Collection"
Welcome to our Second Disc Holiday Gift Guide, in which we review some titles we might have missed over the past few weeks! The titles we’re spotlighting in this occasional series just might be candidates on your own holiday shopping list! It’s hard to believe that Leonard Cohen was once tarred with the infamous “New Dylan” brush, even though he was in rather rarefied company alongside other “New Dylans” like Loudon Wainwright III and even Bruce Springsteen. Sure, both Mr. Cohen and the
Release Round-Up: Week of December 13
The Marvelettes, Forever More: The Complete Motown Albums, Volume 2 (Hip-o Select/Motown) A four-disc box presenting the last four of The Marvelettes' albums (two of which are in stereo and mono) alongside rare and unreleased gems from the storied Motown vaults. Smokey Robinson, The Solo Albums Volume 6: Warm Thoughts / Being with You (Hip-o Select/Motown) Smokey's early-'80s comeback, represented with these two LPs on one CD (Warm Thoughts bows on the format for the first time!) along with a
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 11 (#50-46)
And so starts the second half of our 100 Greatest Reissues feature! We've taken Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest albums of all time from 2003 and scoured the history of each one on compact disc, making note of masterings, packaging and bonus tracks wherever possible. These next five are some of the definitive statements in their respective genres, from rock to rap to reggae to jazz; we're sure there's something for everyone in this entry! 50. Little Richard, Here's Little
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 10 (#55-51)
In Part 10 of our TSD Buyers Guide, which counts the reissues of the albums in Rolling Stone‘s 100 greatest albums of all time (as selected in 2003), we pay homage to early rock-and-roll and rhythm-and-blues pioneers, look at two very different albums from 1970, and head down for Memphis for some seductive soul! 55. Elvis Presley, Elvis Presley (RCA Victor, 1956) Well, it’s one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, now go, cat, go! With such words was a revolution born! Those
Christmas' Other Big Man: Unreleased Clarence Clemons Holiday Recordings Discovered
What would Christmas be without the sound of Clarence Clemons' saxophone ringing out through C.W. Post on Long Island as Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band ran through a spirited rendition of "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" on December 12, 1975. The Big Man's saxophone solo is a high point of the searing live take - released first on the Sesame Street compilation In Harmony 2 in 1982 and again on the flipside of the "My Hometown" single in 1985 - and his jovial "ho ho ho"s are enough to get
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 9 (#60-55)
We're nearing the halfway point of our list of all the reissues of Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest albums of all time. How many do you have? What are your favorites? Which ones need reissues? Don't be afraid to sound off! Today's installment has a few of my own favorite albums, and all-around classics to boot. 60. Sly & The Family Stone, Greatest Hits (Epic, 1970) Including tracks from Dance to the Music, Life and Stand! - three excellent '60s funk albums - was impressive
Holiday Gift Guide Review: The Who, "Quadrophenia: Super Deluxe Edition"
Welcome to our Second Disc Holiday Gift Guide, in which we review some titles we might have missed over the past few weeks! The titles we're spotlighting in this occasional series just might be candidates on your own holiday shopping list! It was a most unusual moment on June 6, 1993 when the winners of the Tony Award for Best Score of a Musical were announced. John Kander and Fred Ebb, the Broadway legends behind Cabaret, Chicago and “(Theme From) New York, New York,” picked up the statuettes
Short Takes: Paul is Digital, New Rock Hall Class, Rush Box Issues, The Cure Make "Wish" for 2012
Paul McCartney is not dead, but he is digital: a new beta version of his website, developed with Hewlett-Packard, brings his solo catalogue to fans through a cloud service, along with a host of interactive features. Fans can stream all of his studio albums (including collaboration projects like The Fireman and Twin Freaks) through a jukebox, and premium members can download that jukebox as a desktop app. Additionally, a new "Rude Studio" section of his site allows fans to play and mix
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 8 (#65-61)
We continue our look at the many reissues of the 100 greatest albums of all time, as selected by Rolling Stone in 2003! We'll explore the various versions of these classic albums on disc, letting you know which audio treasures can be found on which releases. It's a marvelous night for a "Moondance" before we go "Back to Mono," roll with the Stones and then take in latter-day classics from the 1980s and 1990s! 65. Moondance, Van Morrison (Warner Bros., 1970) Van Morrison’s 1968 Warner Bros.
Herrmann at Fox Box: A Surprising Sell-Out
When Varese Sarabande announced their last release of the year to be "a whopper," they weren't kidding. What's more surprising, though, is the reception it received. Bernard Herrmann at 20th Century-Fox continues the label's yearlong celebration of his life and work in what would have been his centennial year. (Compilations from his television work with Alfred Hitchcock and and expanded version of his co-written score to The Egyptian were other Varese sets honoring the composer this year.)
Holiday Tunes Watch, Part 4: Starbucks to "Let It Snow" With Dylan, Diamond, Aretha, Elvis and More
With each holiday season inevitably comes a new Christmas-themed compilation CD from Starbucks, combining rare and familiar tracks from artists new and old, designed as the perfect accompaniment for that venti skinny Peppermint Mocha! 2011’s entry in the annual series, Let It Snow, features Michigan singer/songwriter Rosie Thomas’ recording of the Jule Styne/Sammy Cahn title song, along with fifteen other tracks. Some tracks are from the “usual suspects” (Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley) and others
Review: Neil Diamond, "The Very Best of Neil Diamond"
They don’t make ‘em like Neil Diamond any more. Then again, did they ever make ‘em like Neil Diamond? When the self-described solitary man of lean, tough Bang Records rockers like “Cherry, Cherry” and “Kentucky Woman” eventually gave way to the literally glittering superstar of such dramatic fare as “I Am…I Said” and “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” it became all too easy to forget the man’s C.V. as a singer, songwriter and producer. Diamond discovered world music some 15 years before his friend
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 7 (#70-66)
Our look at the many reissues of the 100 greatest albums of all time, as selected by Rolling Stone in 2003, soldiers on! We look at the masterings and expansions of these classic albums on disc, letting you know which audio treasures can be found on which releases. Today's a full house of rock royalty, with a Piano Man, a King of Pop, a soul legend and two albums by Led Zeppelin! 70. Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti (Swan Song, 1975) Led Zeppelin's sixth album could've easily not happened had
Come to the Sunshine: Now Sounds Expands, Remasters Harpers Bizarre's "Feelin' Groovy"
Leon Russell might have been reluctant to return to his pop music roots when producer Lenny Waronker invited him to sit in the arranger's chair for Harpers Bizarre's 1967 debut album. But in retrospect, a Master of Time and Space must have been involved in any LP that listed among its credits Randy Newman, Van Dyke Parks, Paul Simon, Richard Rodgers and Sergei Prokofiev! The California quintet's Feelin' Groovy long-player is still one of the boldest, most imaginative and most fun debut albums
Release Round-Up: Week of December 6
Neil Diamond, The Very Best of Neil Diamond (Columbia/Legacy) A new single-disc greatest hits compilation that unites classic Columbia stuff with early works for Bang and Universal and the excellent, newer stuff he's been doing with producer Rick Rubin. The E.T. song, though? Not here. Watch for Joe's review later today! Amy Winehouse, Lioness: Hidden Treasures (Universal Republic) The late, lamented neo-soul singer memorialized with a posthumous album. Fred Wesley & The J.B.'s, The
Motown Magic: The Marvelettes, Smokey Robinson Album Anthologies Continue
There’s Motown magic in the air! Though the year is drawing to a close, the fine folks at Hip-o Select are making sure that there are plenty of sounds from the Motor City to fill the stockings of even the most discerning music collectors. The label has just announced the continuation of two series of comprehensive archival releases. The 4-CD set Forever More: The Complete Motown Albums Vol. 2 collects the remaining output of the marvelous Marvelettes, the first girl group to make a splash at the
Flashback With The Bee Gees' "Main Course"
When Warner Music Group’s Rhino arm announced its licensing of the Bee Gees catalogue in 2006, hopes were high, and the campaign’s initial release certainly didn’t disappoint. The Studio Albums: 1967-1968 contained expanded mono/stereo editions of the group’s first three “canon” albums with a generous amount of unissued tracks. The promise of more collections to come from the Brothers Gibb archives was particularly enticing. Then, the 30th anniversary of Saturday Night Fever came and went, with
The Second Disc Buyers Guide: The 100 Greatest Reissues of All Time, Part 6 (#75-71)
The hits just keep on coming! The latest part of our TSD Buyers Guide, which counts the reissues of the albums in Rolling Stone's 100 greatest albums of all time (as selected in 2003), features some classic hard rock and soul and a lot of CD pressings (if not as many bonus tracks in this batch). We begin below with one of the heaviest albums of all time! 75. Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin II (Atlantic, 1969) Led Zeppelin II is arguably the band's heaviest and rawest work in studio, in part
Birth of a Big Star: Omnivore Expands Alex Chilton's 1970 Recordings
Over a year and a half after his untimely passing in the spring of 2010, former Box Tops and Big Star frontman Alex Chilton's loss leaves a profound hole in the hearts of power pop lovers everywhere. Leave it to one of our favorite up-and-coming reissue labels, Omnivore Recordings, to memorialize him twice this year - first with a special vinyl reissue of Big Star's Third for Record Store Day, and now with Free Again: The 1970 Sessions, an expansive look at his songwriting work just before Big
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