Water has always played a key role in the California myth of The Beach Boys – whether via the inviting waves of “Surfin’ USA,” the blue seas of “Hawaii,” or the dark imagery of “Surf’s Up.” But the water onstage for the group’s 50th anniversary tour was of a different sort: it was water under the bridge. If perhaps only for three or so hours each night last summer, all of the oft-publicized tensions that have beset America’s Band over the years seemed to melt away in full view of the
Review: R.E.M., "Green: 25th Anniversary Edition"
Let's say you're part of one of the most hotly sought-after bands in the world. You've developed a distinctive style that's set you apart from most of your peers since day one. You've put out five basically flawless albums out in five years, eventually earning yourself a U.S. Top 10 hit and exposure on MTV. And now, a major label wants to sign you. What do you do? The way R.E.M. answered this question on Green, their sixth album and first of many for Warner Bros. Records, is perhaps a gold
One Kiss Leads To Another: Real Gone Unearths Hackamore Brick, Grateful Dead, The Association's Russ Giguere and More
Real Gone Music has just announced its slate for July 2, and it’s clear that the prolific label isn’t taking a summer vacation! A number of cult favorites and new-to-CD titles populate this batch of records that won’t be “real gone” for much longer. Atop the list is a true rarity. Real Gone will be bringing One Kiss Leads to Another from Hackamore Brick to CD and vinyl in a newly-remastered and expanded edition. Who is Hackamore Brick, you might ask? The Brooklyn band’s 1970 album was an
Everything's Inwards: "Big Country At The BBC" Box Announced
Three decades after their signature hit "In a Big Country" became one of the best rock songs of the decade, Mercury will celebrate the legacy of the Scottish band with a new live box set this summer. Big Country At The BBC is a 3CD/1DVD box collecting just about everything the BBC recorded pertaining to Big Country between 1982 and 1990. Included are two Radio 1 sessions with Kid Jensen and John Peel in 1982 and 1983 as well as live dates from 1983, 1984, 1988 and 1989, from Hammersmith Palais
Don't Make Him Over: New Box Set Chronicles Burt Bacharach's "Art of the Songwriter" On Six CDs
Burt Bacharach has been speaking through his music for the past 60+ years, since his very first recorded composition,“Once in a Blue Moon,“ appeared on Nat “King“ Cole’s Penthouse Serenade in 1952. But today, Bacharach is speaking in his own voice with the publication of his first-ever memoir, Anyone Who Had a Heart: My Life and Music. Co-written by Robert Greenfield (Ahmet Ertegun biography The Last Sultan), the book has been described by Kirkus Reviews as “illuminating and gritty“ while
Sophisticated Lady: Phyllis Hyman's Arista Debut Is Expanded By SoulMusic Label
When Phyllis Hyman took her own life on June 30, 1995, one of the most potent, poignant voices in soul music was silenced. A singer as well as a Tony Award-nominated actress, Hyman did leave behind a small but important discography of eight studio albums, which has since been bolstered by posthumous releases. Indeed, it’s understandable why “new” recordings from the expressive vocalist are so sought after. While the native Philadelphian never had a commercial pop breakthrough, notching far
Sunshine Came Softly: Donovan's 1966-1969 Studio Albums Collected In New Box Set
When I look out my window, many sights to see….and when I look in my window, so many different people to be, that it’s strange…so strange… It’s once again the season of Donovan, in all his strange and beautiful colors. EMI U.K. has recently released a budget-priced compendium that should make for a solid primer on the Scottish troubadour. Breezes of Patchouli: His Studio Recordings 1966-1969 is a four-CD set bringing together Donovan’s five Mickie Most-produced albums of that period plus
Have a Real Gone Summer with Surf Punks, Amazing Rhythm Aces, Grateful Dead and More
When Real Gone Music kicks off summer with a slate of releases due on June 4, it’s only appropriate that one title comes from a surf band. Well, sort of. Locals Only, the sophomore album from Surf Punks, the snarling beach band formed by Dennis Dragon (yes, the brother of “Captain” Daryl Dragon of Captain & Tennille!) and Drew Steele, is one of the seven reissues coming your way. Locals is joined by another second outing, Cat Mother and the All-Night Newsboys’ Albion Doo Wah. (Real Gone
Review: The Sugar Shoppe, "The Sugar Shoppe"
Who was a proprietor of The Sugar Shoppe? Was it Thomas Andrews, architect of the Titanic? Was it Anthony Hope, the lovestruck sailor who befriended the murderous barber Sweeney Todd? Or was it Jesus himself? Well, actually it was all of the above, as The Sugar Shoppe was co-founded by none other than actor/singer Victor Garber years before his roles in Titanic, Sweeney Todd and Godspell (not to mention Alias, Argo, Assassins, Damn Yankees, and so many more). Garber joined singer,
That's Why God Made Harmonies: The Beach Boys, CSNY Plan Live CDs
If The Beach Boys are the all-time torchbearers for harmony, surely Crosby, Stills, Nash & (sometimes) Young aren’t far behind. Both of these legendary groups have recently announced live recordings of landmark concert engagements. When The Beach Boys’ acclaimed 50th Anniversary reunion tour concluded last September in London, the band’s triumph was marked by a note of sadness. Acrimony had once again arisen, and it appeared clear that the tour would likely be the last together for Brian
Henry Mancini's "Sunflower" Blooms From Quartet In Complete Edition
When producer Carlo Ponti and director Vittorio De Sica, both giants of Italian cinema, sought out Henry Mancini to score their 1970 film I Girasoli (or Sunflower, in English), the American composer jumped at the opportunity. Though creative differences between producer and director plagued the production of the film starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni, Mancini turned out one of his strongest, most romantic scores. Thanks to the team at Quartet Records, Mancini’s absorbing work on
Soundtrack Watch: La-La Land Issues a "Challenge," Intrada Premieres Goldsmith, Bernstein, Jarre Classics
Here's some recent soundtrack news from the last month to keep you up to date on two of our favorite score labels: La-La Land and Intrada. La-La Land's released several archival scores in the past few weeks. First there was The Challenge, a film written by John Sayles and directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Scott Glenn and Toshirō Mifune as two unlikely partners tasked to obtain a rare sword in Japan. Jerry Goldsmith provided a fine action score for the flick; first released on
Dio's "Magica" Gets Deluxe Treatment in June
Dio's Magica album, released in 2000, is getting the deluxe treatment from the late singer's Niji Entertainment Group label. Long out-of-print and a favorite for fans, the album will be released in June as a double-disc set with rare studio extras and unreleased live tracks. Magica was a long time coming for Dio's core fan base, who'd seen him drift away from the more fantastical storytelling elements he'd become known for since his days in Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. Albums like Strange
You Are Needed Now: Omnivore Reissues Two Townes Van Zandt LPs
Joe rightly had much words of praise for Sunshine Boy: The Unheard Studio Sessions and Demos 1971-1972, Omnivore's paean to underrated country singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt. To hear Van Zandt's works, including "Pancho & Lefty," "To Live is to Fly" and others in newly discovered alternate and stripped-down forms on two discs, was a revelation to even the most hardcore fan of the late performer. Now, Omnivore has taken the logical next step and will reissue High, Low and In Between
Nancy Wilson Goes Pop and Philly Soul With New Two-For-One CD Reissue
By 1970, Nancy Wilson had already been a marquee recording artist for Capitol Records for a decade. The supreme song stylist never allowed herself to be pigeonholed into one musical style, having made her successful debut single with a Broadway showtune ("Guess Who I Saw Today"), dabbled in R&B ("Save Your Love for Me") and collaborated with jazz greats such as Cannonball Adderley and George Shearing. All in all, Wilson was a leading light of adult pop, selling out nightclubs and even
Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me: "The TK Records Story" Mines Disco Gold
It’s been said that the greatest music is transporting, to another time or another place. If that’s true, it was no secret where the sounds of TK Records intended to transport the listener. Henry Stone’s TK family of labels originated in Miami, Florida, and the sleeve artwork for TK’s singles featured a tropical setting of palm trees, bright flowers and pristine waters. That serene scene serves as the cover for Gold Legion’s new TK Records Story (67094 562442 7), a 12-track anthology of disco
Review: Duane Allman, "Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective"
“I ain’t wastin’ time no more,” Gregg Allman sang following the death of his brother Duane at the age of 24 in October 1971, “’cause time goes by like pouring rain…and much faster things/You don’t need no gypsy to tell you why/You can’t let one precious day slip by.” Surveying the remarkable new box set Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective (Rounder 11661-9137-2), it’s evident that Duane Allman’s too few days certainly were precious, filled with soulful sounds that transcended genre tags like
Learning the Blues: Esoteric Remasters and Expands First Three Climax Blues Band Albums
Though the Climax Chicago Blues Band formed in Stafford, England, the band would likely have made any of the howling bluesmen from that storied Illinois city proud. Part of the vanguard of the British blues boom that also included the original Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and even Led Zeppelin, Cream and the Rolling Stones, the Climax Chicago Blues Band made its rip-roaring debut for Parlophone in 1969 and began a legacy which continues to this very day, albeit with a wholly
Real Gone Captures David Allan Coe, Eddy Arnold, Blue Öyster Cult, Henry Mancini and More!
It’s that time of the month again! Real Gone Music has just announced its April 30 slate of releases, a typically full complement of nine reissues crossing all genre lines. For rock enthusiasts, Real Gone reinvents Blue Öyster Cult’s 1988 album Imaginos in a 2012 remix, enhancing the band’s controversial Columbia Records swansong with Scott Schinder’s new liner notes. Schinder also annotates a two-fer from Allman Brothers offshoot band Sea Level, containing Cats on the Coast and On the Edge.
Special Review: David Bowie, "The Next Day"
Welcome to today's special review of David Bowie's twenty-fourth studio album and first in ten years, The Next Day. As you likely know, The Second Disc rarely reviews newly-recorded albums, but the return of this iconic artist to the recording studio simply couldn't be ignored. In 1980's "Ashes to Ashes," David Bowie famously revealed "Major Tom's a junkie, strung out in heavens high, hitting an all-time low." This continuation of the story begun in 1969's "Space Oddity" was as definitive a
Songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil Are "Born to Be Together" on New Ace CD
Born to Be Together: could a more apropos title have been devised for a collection of the songs of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil? Married since 1961, the team both defines and defies the phrase “unsung heroes.” Without hit records as recording artists, Mann and Weil have never had the name recognition of their Brill Building-era compatriots like Carole King or Neil Sedaka, but these Grammy Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Famers are hardly unsung. If all they’d ever written was the most
Think About Direction, and R.E.M.'s Deluxe Reissue of "Green"
Not long after R.E.M.'s last 25th anniversary edition was released, they're already prepping the next archival project: Rolling Stone reports an expanded edition of 1988's Green is on its way May 14. The Athens, Georgia quartet's sixth album in as many years was a notable event for them. After a healthy run ascending to the upper echelon of the alternative rock scene on I.R.S. Records, the band took on a new contract with major label Warner Bros., with whom they'd stay for the remainder of
Release Round-Up: Week of March 5
Jimi Hendrix, People, Hell & Angels / The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced (200-Gram Mono Vinyl) / Axis: Bold As Love (200-Gram Mono Vinyl) (Experience Hendrix/Legacy) Not only does today see the release of a new posthumous Hendrix compilation, comprised of newly unearthed outtakes from the vaults, but the original mono mixes of his first two LPs (including both U.S. and U.K. editions of Are You Experienced) make their first appearances on vinyl since their initial releases.
Soundtrack Watch: Intrada Debuts Unreleased Goldsmith, Horner Scores, La-La Land Has "The Fury"
The past week has been a boon to fans of A-list composers of the Silver Age of film scoring. Intrada has unearthed two unreleased scores (one entirely unused) by two of the most beloved composers of recent memory, while La-La Land has put back into print one of the most underrated scores by another genius of the same vintage. James Horner had one of the best years of his career in 1989, scoring Field of Dreams and Glory that year and earning an Oscar and Golden Globe nod, respectively, for
Get Ready! Songs of "Motown: The Musical" Are Collected In Original Hit Versions
When Motown: The Musical opens at Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on April 14, it will mark yet another career landmark for Berry Gordy, the songwriter-producer-entrepreneur who turned Detroit, Michigan into Hitsville, USA some fifty-five years ago. The musical, written by Gordy and directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, depicts the rise to prominence of the Sound of Young America, with Brandon Victor Dixon (The Color Purple, The Scottsboro Boys) starring as Gordy. He’s joined by a cast of
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