Al Green - The Second Disc

The Weekend Stream: January 17, 2025

January 17, 2026 by The Second Disc | 1 Comment

Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. New music from country and soul icons and a reissue of a big pop album for its 25th anniversary kick things off, plus some appealing odds and ends from other corners of the music world. Al Green, To Love Somebody (Fat Possum) (Apple / Amazon) The Hi Priest of Memphis soul issues his first bundle of tracks since 2008’s full-length Lay It Down, all of which are covers and…

Categories:

The Weekend Stream

Formats:

Digital Download, Digital Streaming

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Country, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

Tags:

Al Green, Dolly Parton, Ghost, Gloria Onitiri, Jennifer Lopez, Jim Reeves, Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Nick Miller, Queen Latifah

The Message is Love: Demon Preps Box Set of Arthur Baker Remixes

May 4, 2023 by Mike Duquette | 3 Comments

Demon Music Group scored a real coup in 2021 with the release of Dance Masters: Shep Pettibone (The Classic Master Mixes), a box set devoted to the stellar late ’80s and early ’90s remixer. The branding on the set indicated that Dance Masters was to be a series, presented by another remixing great: American DJ/producer Arthur Baker. Now, two years later, another Dance Masters set is forthcoming, focused on the work of Baker himself. Dance Masters: Arthur Baker (The Classic Dance Remixes), due July 7, will bring Baker’s work behind the mixing…

Categories:

News

Formats:

Box Sets, CD, Vinyl

Genres:

Disco/Dance, Electronic, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock

Release Round-Up: Week of September 24

September 24, 2021 by The Second Disc | No Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Steely Dan, Northeast Corridor: Steely Dan Live (UMe) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The first Steely Dan live album since 1995’s Alive in America, Northeast Corridor was recorded on the group’s last tour at venues including New York’s Beacon Theater, The Met Philadelphia, and others. (The band’s nine-show Beacon residency in 2018 featured themed shows including performances of full albums, a “By Popular Demand” night, and more.) The single-disc set of 12 songs (of course abbreviated from a typical tour setlist) features songs off Can’t Buy…

Categories:

News

Formats:

CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Country, Holiday, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul

Tags:

Al Green, Anthony Perkins, Blossom Dearie, Cab Calloway, Carrie Underwood, Chick Corea, Donald Fagen, Dorothy Loudon, Edie Adams, Jack Cassidy, Joan Rivers, John Sebastian, Ringo Starr, Sex Pistols, Steely Dan, The Lovin' Spoonful, The Velvet Underground, Vernon Duke, Vincent Youmans

Bohemian Rhapsodies: A Closer Look at Vinyl Me Please’s Reissues of Queen’s “A Night at the Opera” and Al Green’s “Call Me”

June 14, 2021 by Joe Marchese | 3 Comments

In April, record club Vinyl Me Please announced that it would be restoring some previously out-of-print titles to the catalogue to celebrate 100 releases in the club’s Essentials series. (See the list of all ten titles here.) We’ve given a spin to the re-presses of Queen’s A Night at the Opera and Al Green’s Call Me. For Queen, too much was never enough. That attitude is perhaps best embodied by the band’s fourth album, 1975’s A Night at the Opera. While the title was derived from the Marx Brothers’ film of forty…

Categories:

News, Reviews

Formats:

Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, R&B/Soul

Tags:

Al Green, Queen

Ladies and Gentlemen…: Vinyl Me Please Marks 100 “Essentials” Releases with New Pressings of Sold-Out Titles

April 12, 2021 by The Second Disc | 2 Comments

Today, the Vinyl Me Please record club celebrates its 100th Essential Record of the Month. The club’s flagship line, the monthly Essentials program has encompassed titles from a wide variety of artists including John Prine, Aretha Franklin, Jorge Ben, Van Morrison, Mavis Staples, Miles Davis, Fiona Apple, Billie Holiday, The Notorious B.I.G., and Loretta Lynn. While VMP also offers Classics (Soul, Blues, and Jazz), Hip-Hop, and Country tracks (the latter a new addition for 2021), the Essentials line remains the cornerstone. Now, to commemorate 100 releases since VMP’s founding in 2013, ten…

Categories:

News

Formats:

Vinyl

Genres:

Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

Tags:

Al Green, Gorillaz, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Outkast, Queen, Queens of the Stone Age, Saba, Spiritualized

The Second Disc Guide to Record Store Day Drop 1 TOMORROW!

August 28, 2020 by The Second Disc | No Comments

With the nation still fighting COVID-19, Record Store Day here in the U.S. looks a little – make that a lot – different this year. The usual offerings have been split among three dates with Drop 1 taking place tomorrow, August 29, at your local independent record retailer. Drop 2 is September 26, and Drop 3 is October 24. Every retailer is handling the Drop a bit differently thanks to the necessary accommodations for social distancing, smaller crowds, and better safety precautions. So please check in with your favorite store to find…

Categories:

News

Formats:

Box Sets, CD, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Folk, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Reggae, Rock, Soundtracks

Dancing Again: What To Expect for Record Store Day’s RSD Drops Day 1, August 29

July 6, 2020 by Sam Stone | 2 Comments

As the COVID 19 outbreak continues to impact our lives, it’s heartening to know that some things are returning to some semblance of “normal,” or as close as we can get to it during this unpredictable impasse. As we previously reported, Record Store Day has been split into three standalone “RSD Drop” days, occurring on August 29, September 26, and October 24. That’s not the only thing changing this time around. It’s been reported by Georgia-based shop Comeback Vinyl that the organization is open to “the possibility of selling the releases online…

Categories:

News

Formats:

Box Sets, CD, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Country, Folk, Funk, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Reggae, Rock

Spicks and Specks: Ace Collects “Songs of The Bee Gees” From Lulu, Nina Simone, Percy Sledge, Others

May 12, 2017 by Joe Marchese | 7 Comments

With a recent Grammy Awards salute, a new catalogue deal, and the 40th anniversary of Saturday Night Fever, the music of the Bee Gees has been front and center in 2017. Ace Records has joined the celebration of the brothers Gibb with a new entry in the label’s long-running Songwriters Series. To Love Somebody: The Songs of The Bee Gees 1966-1970 pulls into focus the early professional years of Barry, Robin, and Maurice, with 24 choice cover versions of songs both familiar and lesser-known. These performances, in particular, underscore the deep affection…

Categories:

News, Reviews

Formats:

Genres:

Classic Rock, Pop, R&B/Soul

Tags:

Al Green, James Carr, Lulu, Nina Simone, Percy Sledge, The Bee Gees, The Staple Singers, Various Artists