BUY NOW FROM INTRADAGeorge Harrison founded Handmade Films in 1978 with partner Denis O'Brien to finance Monty Python's Life of Brian after the film's original financiers abruptly pulled out. What began as an act of generosity by Harrison to his friends in the Pythons led to one of Britain's most successful film studios during the 1980s. One of Handmade's most acclaimed films, 1981's Time Bandits, was directed by Monty Python member Terry Gilliam. Starring fellow Pythons John Cleese and Michael
Ace Round-Up, Part Two: Spotlight on Merseybeat Girls, "Jon Savage's 1969-1971" and "Deep Soul Treasures"
Today, we're looking at another trio of recent releases from the team at Ace Records! If you missed Part One of our Ace Round-Up, click here! While The Beatles are no doubt Liverpool's most famous musical export, Merseyside - spanning 249 square miles (or 645 square kilometers) bordering Lancashire to the northeast, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south and southeast, and The Irish Sea to the west - yielded an abundance of groups like The Cryin' Shames, Gerry and The
Release Round-Up: Week of February 7
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Bryan Ferry, Live at the Royal Albert Hall 1974 (BMG) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Bryan Ferry's Live at the Royal Albert Hall 1974 presents 14 selections recorded at the storied London venue in 1974 drawn from his first two solo albums. These range from classic standards ("These Foolish Things," "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes") to '60s pop ("Don't Worry Baby," "It's My Party"), rock
Release Round-Up: Week of January 31
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Rod McKuen, New Ballads (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Real Gone celebrates the late Rod McKuen with a slate of releases this week. For the 1970 album New Ballads, the singer-songwriter teamed with renowned arranger-conductor Don Costa for this remarkable collection of songs including "As I Love My Own," the dramatic Jacques Brel collaboration "I'm Not Afraid," "Thank You for Christmas," and a composition which
Ace Round-Up, Part One: London American and Westbound Records Anthologies
Having previously chronicled 1956-1966 over eleven volumes, Ace has returned to its London American Label series for a last (?) hurrah. The London American Label Year by Year: 1967 is packed with 28 stellar selections to illuminate a year in which the label was in steadfast decline. London had long been the destination for great American records, but the major U.S. companies were launching their own U.K. arms and declining to license to London. This led London to release fewer 45s from
Laurel Canyon Reprise: Game Theory Rarities Collected on "Across The Barrier of Sound: Postscript"
Omnivore Recordings' celebration of '80s indie band Game Theory continues on March 20 with Across The Barrier of Sound: Postscript. The critically acclaimed group gained legions of fans over the years with '60s and '70s pop influences and a post-punk edge. Their classic 1982-1988 albums have already been given the Omnivore treatment, and now the label is turning the spotlight toward a clutch of sessions recorded in 1989-90 by a revamped Game Theory lineup. For that short time, bandleader
RPM Records Wraps Up Almost 30 Year Run; Label's Final Release Due in May
For nearly three decades, the RPM Records arm of Cherry Red Records has exemplified the finest in archival reissues. Here at The Second Disc, we've covered dozens of RPM's often ambitious titles over the last ten years - most of which shed light on artists and albums that would likely otherwise have languished in the vaults. RPM's releases gave equal consideration to all artists, whether the famous (Gene Pitney, Chad and Jeremy, The Spencer Davis Group), the soon-to-be- famous (the pre-ABBA Hep
Thank You For The Music: On 10 Years of The Second Disc
Ten years ago, I was writing my first post for The Second Disc, a website about music reissues I thought was a pretty bright idea. A lot has changed since then. The first posts were written in the bedroom of a suburban New Jersey home - the house I grew up in and moved back into after post-college economic downturn made it the best possible choice to live. This post was written in an apartment in Queens that I share with a lovely fiancée who is very cool about the amount of box sets
The Importance of Your Love: Vince Hill Reflects on His "Legacy" with 1965-1974 Anthology
One of our favorite releases of 2017 was Cherry Red/Strike Force Entertainment's two-fer of Edelweiss (1967) and Look Around (1971) from the big-voiced British pop crooner. While the set didn't inaugurate the hoped-for series of reissues on CD (to date, at least), Hill followed it up with Legacy: My Hits and Rarities (1965-1974). We've caught up with this CD which is available exclusively through the singer's webstore. It's both a fine introduction to Hill's oeuvre and a welcome reminder of why
The Year in Review: The 2019 Gold Bonus Disc Awards, From A to Z
Happy 2020 and welcome to The Second Disc's 10th Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! It's time once again to recognize this year's cream of the crop - those exemplary reissues and box sets big and small that proved to be truly outstanding products for music lovers worldwide. There was no shortage of great reissue titles in 2019; in fact, by our count, we covered over 700 releases in all! And after much deliberation, we're excited to unveil our favorites. This isn't your run-of-the-mill Top 10,
Holiday Gift Guide Reviews: A Rhino Round-Up with Bad Company, Rush, Van Halen, Hootie, STP and The Notorious B.I.G.
Many of this year's finest box sets came courtesy of the Rhino label. Here, Joe and Randy take a look at a few more of our favorites! First up are Randy's three picks... First up is Rhino's 25th anniversary 3-CD/1-LP Super Deluxe Edition of Stone Temple Pilots' Purple. Initially hitting shelves on June 7, 1994, the band's sophomore album would debut atop the Billboard 200 and stay there for three weeks, eventually becoming the group's second best-selling album after their debut effort,
Holiday Gift Guide Review: David Bowie, "Conversation Piece"
The new David Bowie box set is entitled Conversation Piece - and it's an apt one, as this set is certain to inspire conversations punctuated with cheers. Quite simply, this slipcased, hardcover-book style collection featuring five CDs of material recorded by the late superstar in 1968-1969 is one of the year's best boxes: an exquisite, museum-quality release that exceeds all expectations. Necessity may indeed be the mother of invention, as the set ostensibly exists because of the desire to
Release Round-Up: Week of December 13
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Blinky, Heart Full of Soul: The Motown Anthology (Second Disc/Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music are proud to mark Motown's 60th anniversary with a collection that has truly been decades in the making. Heart Full of Soul: The Motown Anthology is the ultimate tribute to Sondra "Blinky" Williams, Motown's great lost superstar. Over two CDs and almost 50 songs, Blinky's Motown journey is
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Bear Family Explores "The Bakersfield Sound" on New Box Set
Get Along Down to Town Bakersfield, California is a long way from Nashville - a little under 2,020 miles west, actually. But the distance isn't quite as great when one considers how much significant country music came out of the city in Kern County. Recent years have seen numerous reissues from legendary Bakersfield artists like Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, as well as a fine exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame. But now Bear Family Records has delivered the ultimate tribute to the
There and Back Again: Marshall Crenshaw Revisits, Revises "Miracle of Science" for New CD, LP Reissue
Between 1994 and 2003, Marshall Crenshaw recorded five albums for the Razor and Tie label. Now, the singer-songwriter is returning to those acclaimed works with revised editions coming on CD, vinyl LP, and all digital platforms. The campaign will begin on January 17, 2020 with a reissue of the 1996 release Miracle of Science. All of the upcoming titles will arrive on Crenshaw's own Shiny-Tone label as a result of the artist regaining ownership of his Razor and Tie masters. All told, the new
Hey Good Lookin': BMG Collects Hank Williams' Complete Mother's Best Recordings on New 6-CD Box Set
With such all-time classics as "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," "Hey Good Lookin'," "Your Cheatin' Heart," and "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" in his songbook, Hank Williams remains one of the cornerstones of country music - and indeed, American popular song - 66 years after his untimely death. On February 7, BMG will salute the late singer-songwriter with the release of Pictures from Life's Other Side - The Man and His Music in Rare Photos and Recordings. This lavish 6-CD collection presents all 144
Review: Jeffrey Foskett, "Voices"
It's only appropriate that Jeffrey Foskett's new release on the BMG label is entitled Voices. For it's the beauty of the human voice that's the key ingredient here - specifically the artist's rich, supple, and multi-faceted vocal instrument which has lent support over the past four decades to The Beach Boys in their various incarnations. While Foskett has recorded numerous solo albums for the Japanese market, his own works are somewhat less known here in the United States. Happily, Voices
Real Cool Time: "The Stooges" Turns 50 with Deluxe Edition Featuring Speed-Corrected John Cale Mixes
The Stooges' thunderous 1969 debut has received a number of upgrades in the compact disc realm including significant reissues in 2005 and 2010. Now, Rhino has brought that seminal rock classic into the digital domain with the release of The Stooges: 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition. This set mirrors the contents of the 2010 double-disc set with the original album, studio outtakes, and alternates (never-before-available digitally), plus John Cale's rejected mix of the original album, which
The Milk of the Tree: Cherry Red, Grapefruit Unearth Lost Album from Polly Niles
Listeners who picked up Ember Records' 1970 LP Future Star Explosion - New Faces of the '70s might have been beguiled by the third track on the second side. The lightly psychedelic "Sunshine in My Rainy Day Mind" introduced the captivatingly ethereal voice of singer Polly Niles. Yet those looking for more of Niles, a New York-born, conservatory-trained performer, would have been disappointed. "Sunshine" remained her only released track for decades, until labels in the CD era began mining the
Review: Bob Dylan featuring Johnny Cash, "Travelin' Thru: The Bootleg Series Vol. 15 (1967-1969)"
There's a delicious moment on the fifteenth volume of Bob Dylan's long-running Bootleg Series. The troubadour is in Columbia Records' Nashville Studio A, rehearsing a duet medley with Johnny Cash of his "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" and Cash's "Understand Your Man." Once they stop playing, The Man in Black happily observes that "the phrasing comes out just right, 'cause we both stole it from the same song!" Indeed, Dylan and Cash shared substantial musical roots, with less than a decade
Release Round-Up: Week of November 1
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Bob Dylan featuring Johnny Cash, Travelin' Thru, 1967-1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 15 (Columbia/Legacy) 3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings chronicle Dylan's 1967-1969 recordings in Music City - including those made with a very special guest - on the latest volume of the artist's long-running Bootleg Series. Bob Dylan (featuring Johnny Cash) -
Radioactive: Rave On Releases Roger C. Reale and Rue Morgue's "Collection" Featuring Mick Ronson
The discography of Big Sound Records proves that great things often come in small packages. While the label didn't release many LPs, those that were released by the likes of The Scratch Band and Van Duren have become favorites of crate-diggers. Big Sound patterned itself on the U.K.'s Stiff Records, and its answer to Stiff's Elvis Costello may well have been Roger C. Reale. The 1978 album Radio Active, credited to Reale and Rue Morgue, was packed with compact rock-and-roll nuggets - ten on the
It's Witchcraft - Cherry Red's Righteous Imprint Compiles 2-CD Set of Halloween Novelties
With Halloween less than a week away, we thought we'd take a look at a new compilation which was recently released from Cherry Red's Righteous Records imprint: the 2-CD Trick or Treat: Music To Scare Your Neighbours - Vintage 45s from Lux and Ivy's Haunted Basement. The Lux and Ivy in the title are the husband and wife mainstays of the punk/rockabilly group The Cramps, who debuted in the 1970s and were active until Lux's death in 2009. Aside from being punk innovators, the pair also
Among The Believers: Steven Van Zandt Preps Vinyl/CD Box Set with Classic Albums, Unreleased Tracks
In the 1980s, after a successful run as a key member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band as well as a key architect of the rock-and-soul-infused "Jersey Shore sound," Steven Van Zandt struck out on his own. A new box set from UMe will showcase his solo evolution. The singer/songwriter/producer/guitarist's RockNRoll Rebel - The Early Work will collect five of Little Steven's solo works on colored vinyl - Men Without Women (1982), Voice Of America (1984), Freedom - No Compromise (1987),
Soundtrack Watch: Varese's Latest CD Club Batch Includes Goldsmith, 'Trek' and 'Cogburn'
Last month, Varese Sarabande unveiled a killer trifecta of CD Club titles that featured their most requested expansion, a repress of one of their most beloved reissues of the decade, and the premiere of a classic Western score. The CD Club began some 30 years ago, but since its original soundtrack release in 1997, fans have yearned for a more complete presentation of Jerry Goldsmith's score to Air Force One. The hit action film stars Harrison Ford as an American president fighting a band of
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