When the single "People Need Love" was released in 1972, it was intended as a one-off collaboration between three successful Swedish pop entities: female singers Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad and songwriting/producing duo Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. The single was credited simply to "Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid," with no intentions of further capitalizing on the partnership. But the success of the song - a Top 20 hit in their native Sweden - led to an album's
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of new titles available in stores and online today! ABBA, Album Box Set (Polar/UMe) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Picture Disc Bundle: Official Store To coincide with the arena show ABBA Voyage setting sail in London on May 27, the band's 2021 studio album Voyage will be canonized in a new career-spanning box set featuring every one of the quartet's nine
Perhaps the biggest musical surprise of 2021 was the release of a brand-new ABBA album - 40 years after they took their final bow with The Visitors. A chart-topper in many countries around the world (it "only" hit No. 2 in America), Voyage hardly sounded as if four decades had passed thanks to dramatic tracks like "I Still Have Faith in You" (a Grammy nominee for Record of the Year this weekend, the band's first-ever nod from the Recording Academy), "Don't Shut Me Down" and "Just a Notion." The
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Billy Joel, The Vinyl Collection Vol. 1 (Columbia/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) This 9LP slipcased box set collects Billy Joel's first six solo studio albums plus his first live album and a box set-exclusive pressing of Live at The Great American Music Hall - 1975, a previously unreleased concert recording on 2 LPs from the famed San Francisco venue. All of the albums have been sourced from the original master tapes and
While The Second Disc prides itself on connecting people to reissues and box sets they can keep on their shelves, it's no secret that listening audiences are also digital - catalogue music lovers, too - and our passion is connecting people to music from the past that they might adore. So we've introduced a new feature: The Weekend Stream, which focuses on hidden gems that recently made it to digital channels that might make your playlists a little brighter! Rick James, Glow (Deluxe Edition) /
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul, Men Without Women [CD/DVD] (Wicked Cool/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Little Steven Van Zandt's 1982 debut with The Disciples of Soul, Men Without Women, remains a high watermark in the Jersey shore bar band sound with its fusion of classic rock and soul sounds. Van Zandt was joined by members of The E Street Band, The Asbury Jukes, and The Miami Horns as well as pals like The
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! ABBA, Live at Wembley Arena (Polar/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) ABBA brings its 2014 release of Live at Wembley Arena - preserving the group's November 10, 1979 performance at the storied venue - back to vinyl. This edition on 3 LPs has been half-speed mastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios. Ella Fitzgerald, The Complete Piano Duets (Verve/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) This
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Johnny Mathis, Killing Me Softly with Her Song/When Will I See You Again (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music continue celebrating Johnny Mathis' discography with two albums on one CD. 1973's Killing Me Softly with Her Song and 1975's When Will I See You Again both spotlight Mathis' silky interpretations of the day's greatest hits. Killing Me Softly with Her
ABBA's 1979 album Voulez-Vous, the pop masters' sixth studio album, is beloved today for such classic songs as "I Have a Dream," "Does Your Mother Know," and "Chiquitita." Now, for its 40th anniversary, UMG and Polar Music are marking the occasion with a new array of reissues. On June 14, Voulez-Vous will return to the marketplace in the following formats: Half-Speed Mastered 2LP set pressed on 180-gram vinyl, mastered at Abbey Road Studios, and cut at 45 RPM; Colored vinyl 7-inch vinyl
Welcome to another Release Round-Up. Here's a look at what's coming out today, December 14! Bruce Springsteen, Springsteen on Broadway [2CD] (Columbia) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Springsteen on Broadway captures songs and selected stories from The Boss' acclaimed, Tony Award-winning engagement on the Great White Way. Mixed by Bob Clearmountain and mastered by Bob Ludwig, the album arrives one day before the closing show, and also just before it's broadcast in full on
We've already filled you in on the upcoming Record Store Day releases from Legacy Recordings, Rhino, and Real Gone Music, but there's still much more on offer from many of our other favorite labels! Here's a selection of "the best of the rest" to be released in brick-and-mortar independent record stores on Saturday, April 21! ABBA, Summer Night City (Polydor) (2000 copies) (Record Store Day UK) (Quantity TBA) Clear/yellow-splatter 7-inch release of ABBA's 1978 non-LP single Baby Huey,
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! ABBA: The Album - 40th Anniversary Edition (Polar/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) ABBA revisits its fifth studio album (released in December 1977 in Scandinavia and January 1978 in the U.K.) - a tie-in to ABBA: The Movie - as a deluxe 2-LP, 45 RPM, half-speed mastered set. Featuring "The Name of the Game," "Take a Chance on Me," and "Thank You for the Music," the chart-topping LP has been a favorite of the band's discography.
Record Store Day has been an institution for a decade now, so leave it to this year's 10th anniversary event to be one of the biggest! We've already shone the spotlight on releases by David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Prince, Omnivore Recordings and Legacy Recordings; now, it's time to take a look at Warner Music's incredibly generous lineup. Over 30 titles will be featured from the label group at independent record stores on Saturday, April 22. There's really something for everyone: vintage 12"
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up which just might be the biggest slate of the year to date! Lou Reed, The RCA and Arista Album Collection (RCA/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Legacy brings together 16 Lou Reed albums from his RCA and Arista years on 17 CDs, all remastered directly under Reed's supervision before his untimely passing in 2013. An 80-page hardbound booklet with detailed liner notes, five art prints and a poster round out this limited edition package. Read
Before "Dancing Queen," "Fernando" and the rest, ABBA's Benny Andersson was the keyboardist and frequent songwriter for The Hep Stars. The Stockholm-formed group became Sweden's most successful English-language pop group, paving the way for Andersson's subsequent triumphs with ABBA and on the musical theatre stage. Following its 2013 reissue of The Hep Stars' 1968 album It's Been a Long, Long Time, Cherry Red's RPM label returns to the group's catalogue for Like We Used To: The Anthology
The Monkees, The Monkees: Super Deluxe Edition (Rhino Handmade) (Exclusively available directly from label) It's Monkeemania all over again: Davy, Micky, Peter and Michael are back with a 3-CD expansion of their debut album featuring 100 tracks - 45 of which are previously unreleased! ABBA, Gracias Por La Musica: Deluxe Edition (Polar/Universal) (Amazon U.S. Link TBD / Amazon U.K.) ABBA is saying "Thank You for the Music" - in Spanish! The band's Spanish-language 1980
ABBA, Live at Wembley Arena (Polar/Universal) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. ) As part of ABBA's 40th anniversary celebration, the band unveils this 2-CD, hardcover book-style set preserving its 1979 concerts at Wembley Arena. The 25-track set features the first-ever release on record of Agnetha's "I'm Still Alive" along with perennials like "Dancing Queen," "Waterloo," "Knowing Me, Knowing You" and "Fernando." Live at Wembley is also available on vinyl. Oasis, (What's the Story) Morning
Joe Satriani, The Complete Studio Recordings (Epic/Legacy) The guitar whiz's complete studio output from 1986 to 2013 is collected in a 15-disc box set or chrome-domed USB head! (Amazon U.S. /Amazon U.K.) ABBA, ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits - 40th Anniversary Edition (Polydor/UMe) Two best-selling ABBA compilations, 1992's ABBA Gold and its 1993 sequel More ABBA Gold, are paired up with a third disc of single B-sides. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Yes, The Yes Album (Panegyric) The prog group's
ABBA, Waterloo: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition / ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits - 40th Anniversary Edition (Polar/UMC) In celebration of the Swedish quartet's breakthrough single (and Eurovision contest winner), here are two of many planned ABBA catalogue projects for the year - a CD/DVD expansion of the band's 1974 album with plenty of rare video footage, and a triple-disc set featuring the band's best-selling 1992 compilation, a 1993 sequel, More Gold: More ABBA Hits and a new disc of single
It may seem trite and ridiculous to Americans, but across the pond there is one competition that's bigger than any Idol or X-Factor event in the music world: the Eurovision Song Contest. For nearly 60 years, dozens of countries in the European Broadcasting Union send a song and a performer to the live event, and a winner is selected by votes. Despite the immense popularity of the contest, it's interesting how few winners achieve true global superstardom. Sandie Shaw won with her signature
Eric Clapton, Unplugged: Expanded and Remastered Edition (Reprise/Rhino) The guitar god's '90s comeback was done on an acoustic. The Grammy-winning, best-selling album and the acclaimed episode of MTV Unplugged from which it was taken are paired up and considerably expanded, more than two decades later. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) King Crimson, The Road to Red (Panegyric) Holy crumbs, this 21CD/1DVD/2BD set is a massive tribute to King Crimson's Red album, including new stereo and surround
It's been four decades since Agnetha Fälksog, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Lyngstad came together to change the face of pop music. This fall, the first album by the group the world now knows as ABBA is getting an expanded CD/DVD treatment - and those who are interested as to how the quartet came together will have a lot of bonus tracks to discover and enjoy. When the single "People Need Love" was released in 1972, it was intended as a one-off collaboration between three
The never-ending supply of ABBA reissues, expansions and other catalogue ephemera - which was just added to by the release of a new compilation in Europe, rendering our Back Tracks post on the matter even further obsolete - is going to get even bigger with an impending expanded release of the group's self-titled LP this winter. ABBA, the Swedish quartet's third album, was perhaps the first of the group's to enjoy lasting international exposure. While singles "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do,"
Box set season is totally in full swing this week! Are you ready? Michael Jackson, Bad 25 (Epic/Legacy) The King of Pop's legendary 1987 album gets the deluxe treatment in a number of formats. The standard edition includes the remastered album and a 13-track bonus disc featuring rare and unreleased outtakes and new remixes. (That version is available with a T-shirt at Wal-Mart, and a bonus DVD with all nine original Bad-era short films - including the long performance edits of "Smooth
While there are more than enough deluxe reissues, compilations and box sets to satiate ABBA novices and experts alike, Universal's European arm is throwing their hat into the ring once more this fall with the release of The Essential Collection, a two-CD/one-DVD singles and videos compilation. While there's no new audio material to be had in The Essential Collection (we can't be too spoiled after the unreleased track on the deluxe reissue of The Visitors), the set may be the most comprehensive