Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we take a look at notable albums and the reissues they may someday see. Long before "Wind Beneath My Wings" and "From a Distance," Bette Midler was blazing a path like few others before or since with her blend of outrageous comedy, musical invention and pure showmanship. Yet despite a treasure trove of unreleased material, Midler's platinum debut, The Divine Miss M, has never been expanded on CD. What might such a reissue be
Review: Sam Cooke, "The RCA Albums Collection"
In 1963, RCA Victor dubbed its young star Sam Cooke “Mr. Soul” as the title of his latest LP. Today, few would argue with that appellation as we remember the roof- (and consciousness-) raising “A Change is Gonna Come,” the ultimate festive anthem “Havin’ a Party” or the bluesy R&B “Chain Gang.” But Mr. Soul, the album, offered a more complex portrait of the artist, offering “These Foolish Things,” “I Wish You Love” and “Cry Me a River” alongside Ahmet Ertegun’s “Chains of Love,” Johnny
Reissue Theory: The Smiths, "The Queen is Dead"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we take a look at notable albums and the reissues they may someday see. Has the world changed or have we changed? Whatever the answer, The Smiths' The Queen is Dead, which recently hit the quarter-century mark, is a classic of British rock - and, like all of The Smiths' albums, it would make a prime candidate for a deluxe reissue. It wouldn't be enough to someday see remasters of The Smiths' core discography (the four studio albums, the
We Remember Clarence
Clarence Clemons wasn’t born in New Jersey, but he might as well have been. Those of us who hail from the Garden State are used to the “What exit?” jokes, but truth to tell, we can identify those exits by the great musicians who lived in those towns off the Garden State Parkway or New Jersey Turnpike. One such towering talent was our favorite adopted son Clarence, who had an early job counseling troubled children in Newark (Parkway Exit 145), participated in one of his first recording sessions
All Eyez on Him: Tupac Catalogue Gets Digital Reissue for Rapper's 40th Birthday
He would have turned 40 this year - as of last week, in fact. His death nearly 15 years ago is still one of rap's greatest unsolved murders (and is still a hot topic). Now, Universal is digitally releasing five albums by Tupac Shakur this summer - their debuts in the digital realm. 2Pacalypse Now (1991), Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. (1993), his sole, self-titled album with the Thug Life collective (1994), Me Against the World (1995) and the posthumous R U Still Down? (Remember Me) (1997) will
ICON and On and On
UPDATE 6/20: With a day before these sets are to hit stores, here's the post with the track list for the one compilation that hadn't been confirmed at the time - an incredibly slight collection for Steve Winwood. Just Steve Winwood. Not Traffic or anything else. Make of that what you will. Original post: The latest batch of ICON titles hasn't even hit stores yet, but yet another assortment of them has been announced for release next month. While, as always, there's not much in the way of
Review: Two By Richard Rodgers, "On Your Toes" (1952) and "Carousel" (1955)
June is busting out all over, and so is the music of Richard Rodgers. Then again, the work of the composer (1902-1979) is always busting out all over. Even in 2010, Rodgers had the third most-covered song of the year, according to ASCAP. The song was "My Funny Valentine," with lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and it was written in 1937, proving that Richard Rodgers' music is, indeed, timeless. Masterworks Broadway, drawing from Sony Music Entertainment's Columbia and RCA Victor vaults, has been a leading
Review: Ozzy Osbourne, "Blizzard of Ozz: Expanded Edition" and "Diary of a Madman: Legacy Edition"
There's something wonderful about seeing things in a different light than before. Some of us go through our lives thinking certain things are one way, when others might see the same thing in a totally opposite way. If those two sides see eye-to-eye, though? It's a beautiful thing. I'd like to think that there's a bit of that eye-to-eye business with Epic/Legacy's new reissues of the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums. New fans who pick these packages up will learn that there is so much more to the
UPDATE 6/17: Jimi Hendrix "In The West" and "Winterland" To Be Expanded in September, Track Listings For Singles and Bonus Discs Announced
Rolling Stone first revealed the upcoming plans from Experience Hendrix and Legacy Recordings for the next round of Jimi Hendrix reissues, and all of the info is now in! This wave should please even the most demanding fans of the late, legendary guitar god. On September 13, Experience Hendrix will reissue In the West and Winterland for the first time under its aegis. In the West, a posthumously-released 1972 collection of live Hendrix performances, was originally issued by Polydor and
Original Grand Funk Compilation Receives CD Debut in July
To commemorate that American band, Grand Funk Railroad, Capitol/EMI Iconoclassic is putting the band's first compilation on CD for the first time anywhere, 40 years after its original release. Mark Don & Mel 1969-1971 captures Grand Funk Railroad's early years over what was originally four sides of vinyl, featuring tracks taken from the band's first five studio LPs and a live album. The band had yet to reach its commercial peak with 1973's We're An American Band and its chart-topping title
Review: Paul Simon, "Live Rhymin'" and Expanded, Remastered Studio Works (1972-1975)
Paul Simon may have titled his latest studio album So Beautiful or So What, but the same name could apply to his catalogue relaunch at Legacy Recordings. So Beautiful has been hailed as a return to form for Simon, writing with a guitar for the first time in many years. A timely reminder of that form and of the style Simon both recalls and updates on the new disc can be rediscovered on these four reissued titles. Paul Simon, There Goes Rhymin’ Simon, Live Rhymin’ and Still Crazy After All
Reissue Theory: Two for the Big Man
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we focus on notable albums and the reissues they could someday see. As we wish a speedy recovery to one of rock's most beloved sidemen, we present a special look at a rare moment in the spotlight for the Big Man, Clarence Clemons. To many, the saxophone is just one of those embellishments that can can spice up a pop song or dull its taste. It's hard to deny, however, the tastiness of a tune garnished with the saxophone work of Clarence
Review: Paul McCartney, "The Paul McCartney Archive Collection: McCartney and McCartney II"
Paul McCartney is still on the run, as his just-announced concert tour of the same name attests. But one thing the former Beatle doesn’t have to run from is his own legacy. Last year he inaugurated The Paul McCartney Archive Collection with his 1973 Band on the Run, making the title available in multiple platforms and prices. The next two releases in the non-chronological series have just arrived, and though the formats are slightly tweaked, the same hallmark of quality is evident on the
Legacy Preps "Young Man With The Big Beat" 5-CD Box For Elvis Presley's 1956 Breakthrough
Back in 1956, a promotional poster billed Elvis Presley as a young man with a big beat. Chances are the ad's designers didn't realize just how big that beat was, and how far it would take the boy from Tupelo, Mississippi. Freshly poached from the Sun Records roster, Presley was about to embark on a career at RCA Victor, the label with which he'd remain for the rest of his life. On September 13, celebrating the 55th anniversary of Presley's RCA debut, Sony Legacy will release a comprehensive
Review: "Our Lives Are Shaped By What We Love: Motown's Mowest Story 1971-1973"
The sound is familiar but different. The harmony is spellbinding if a bit woozy. You've only given me a flower/I wish I had the whole bouquet... The track, led by acoustic guitar and gently funky percussion, is spare and raw. If I should ask you for an hour/Is there a chance that you would stay/And maybe spend the day? The falsetto is recognizable but eerily haunting. The song is "You're A Song (That I Can't Sing)" performed by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons for the album Chameleon, the
"Roll The Bones" In A Rush To Hit Gold CD
Earlier this year, Mercury celebrated 30 years of Rush's Moving Pictures with a deluxe edition including surround mixes and music videos. A more unexpected anniversary for Rush will be recognized next month when Audio Fidelity releases a 24k Gold CD of Roll the Bones, just in time for the platinum seller's 20th anniversary. The 1991 album, the 14th studio effort by Rush, was produced by the band and Rupert Hine (Tina Turner, Howard Jones) and became Rush's first Top 5 album in a decade. Audio
UPDATED 6/13: Mobile Fidelity Delivers The Band's "Stage Fright" On SACD
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab continues its ongoing series of stereo hybrid SACD reissues of The Band's storied catalogue with the release of the group's third album, Stage Fright. Recorded in Woodstock in 1970, Stage Fright marked a departure for the group in a number of ways. Produced by The Band and engineered by the up-and-coming Todd Rundgren, there were more confessional, personal songs than on The Band or Music from Big Pink, and the harmony vocals were much less prominent. Was The Band -
"O Brother!" Burnett's Expanded Soundtrack Album Due In August
2000’s O Brother, Where Art Thou? was far from a commercial sure bet. Joel and Ethan Coen’s film reset Homer’s Odyssey to 1937 Mississippi, set to a score of period folk music. Yet it defied the odds, garnering critical praise, Oscar nominations for its screenplay and cinematography, and perhaps most surprisingly, the biggest-selling soundtrack of the last decade. Universal has just announced that a 2-CD expansion of the original soundtrack will be released on August 16 including 13 songs
Ipanema, Again: "Getz/Gilberto" Restored To Original Mix For New SACD and Vinyl LP
Bossa nova, translated, literally means "new trend." And as 1964 began, with the British Invasion taking flight, America was also experiencing a Brazilian Invasion thanks to this new trend in popular music and jazz. Identified by gentle acoustic guitar and sometimes piano, and often adorned with subtle string or horn accents, bossa nova was based on the rhythms of the samba. It soon was adapted on stages from the concert hall to Broadway, spawned the "lounge" genre and influenced countless
James Taylor's "Flag" and "Dad Loves His Work" Due On SACD
In 1977, James Taylor jumped ship from Warner Bros. Records, his home between 1970 and 1976, for the greener pastures of Columbia. His longtime producer Peter Asher joined him, and JT marked their first effort at the new label. Taylor was rapidly rewarded, as JT spawned the hit singles "Your Smiling Face" and "Handy Man," the latter of which snagged the singer a Grammy Award. It was his highest-charting album since 1971's Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon, but Taylor took his time for a
Review: Frank Sinatra, "Ring-a-Ding Ding!: Expanded Edition"
Ring-a-ding ding! It can be used as an adjective or an interjection. But when Frank Sinatra chose the expression to title his very first album for his very own label, it was simply an ecstatic expression of pure joy. Sinatra was no longer tethered to Capitol Records, the label at which he'd made history with a series of "concept" albums. He had the freedom to make some new history, his way, when he launched Reprise. And Ring-a-Ding Ding!, now reissued and remastered for its 50th anniversary
UPDATED 6/6: Some Trouble in Meat Loaf's "Neighbourhood" As Error Found On Deluxe Edition Disc
Whether quarreling with Gary Busey on The Celebrity Apprentice or taking the stage beneath a giant bat, Meat Loaf has never done anything in a small way. So it’s not surprising that EMI’s just-announced 2-CD/1-DVD deluxe reissue of 1995’s Welcome to the Neighborhood looks to be a weighty package! It’s due in the U.K. on June 6, and the original 12-track line-up has been augmented with some choice bonus material. Four bonus tracks have been added to the original album on Disc 1, plus another
Another British Invasion From RPM: Ian and the Zodiacs, Katch-22 Reissued
The RPM arm of the U.K.'s mighty Cherry Red empire has had a busy 2011, recently highlighted by the first-ever collection of the young Dusty Springfield's recordings with The Lana Sisters. The label's latest titles shed light on two largely-overlooked bands to come out of England in the 1960s, Ian and the Zodiacs and Katch 22. The Best of Ian and the Zodiacs: Wade in the Water and Major Catastrophe: The Katch 22 Story are both in stores now, and have much to offer fans of Merseybeat, mod,
MoWest Legacy Celebrated on New Compilation
Indie label Light in the Attic Records has prepped an interesting catalogue compilation for release: an overview of one of Motown's oft-overlooked divisions: MoWest Records. By the 1970s, Berry Gordy had a grander vision for Motown than ever before - one that extended from music into the film industry. To do that, of course, he needed a base of operations in Los Angeles, and the label's L.A. offices went from becoming a branch to the central nervous system of the company in 1972. (It's this
A Compilation to Leave You Speechless
Here at The Second Disc, it's always about the music. The team at Eric Records takes this mission seriously, too: its newest release provides three discs of nothing but music, with nary a lyric to be found. Complete Pop Instrumental Hits of the Sixties, Volume 1 collates, for the first time on three CDs, every instrumental track that hit the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960. Some of them are chartbusters that we all know and love - Percy Faith's "Theme from 'A Summer Place'," The Ventures' "Walk -
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 137
- 138
- 139
- 140
- 141
- …
- 158
- Next Page »