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Release Round-Up: Week of November 21

November 21, 2025 by The Second Disc | No Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. The Beatles, Anthology Collection (Capitol/Apple/UMe) 8CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store 12LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store The Beatles’ Anthology Collection premieres remastered editions of the original three collections of rarities and outtakes compiled by George Martin and released through 1995 and 1996, available across six CDs or nine LPs. Martin’s son Giles, who remastered those albums for this release, also curates a new collection, Anthology 4, across a further two CDs or…

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Release Round-Up

Formats:

Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Blues, Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Country, Holiday, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Aerosmith, Alan Menken, Ariana Grande, Bill Evans, Bing Crosby, Cynthia Erivo, Dr. John, Eric Clapton, John Kander and Fred Ebb, Kurt Weill, Lainey Wilson, Prince, Ray Charles, Rufus Wainwright, Smashing Pumpkins, Stephen Schwartz, The Beatles, The Blues Brothers, The Replacements

The Weekend Stream: October 11, 2025

October 11, 2025 by The Second Disc | 8 Comments

Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. This week brings some super ’70s soul, some ’80s and ’90s throwbacks on the Broadway stage and more – including a tribute to one of the original Moody Blues we lost this week. Curtis Mayfield, The Makings of: A Curtis Mayfield Collection (Rhino) (Apple / Amazon) The documentary The Makings of Curtis Mayfield – directed by Grammy-winning R&B musician H.E.R. and featuring archival footage and conversations on the Super Fly hitmaker’s craft…

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The Weekend Stream

Formats:

Digital Download, Digital Streaming

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Folk, R&B/Soul, Rock

Tags:

Alan Menken, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, David Longworth Wallingford, Donny Hathaway, King Curtis, Sam Moore, Slash, The Moody Blues, The New Christy Minstrels

UPDATE 10/9 – Once Upon a Dream: “Disney100” Collection Comes to CD

October 9, 2023 by Joe Marchese | 4 Comments

UPDATE 10/9: “I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing: that it was all started by a mouse.” Walt Disney was, of course, speaking of his enduring creation, Mickey Mouse. The character’s debut in the 1928 animated short subject Steamboat Willie was indeed the watershed moment from which decades of entertainment in every conceivable medium followed. But the business that became The Walt Disney Company had been founded five years earlier, in 1923, by brothers Walt and Roy. That’s the anniversary being celebrated now under the branding of Disney100. The…

Categories:

News

Formats:

CD, Vinyl

Genres:

Soundtracks

Tags:

Alan Menken, Angela Lansbury, Dick Van Dyke, Helen Reddy, Idina Menzel, Julie Andrews, Phil Harris, Randy Newman, Roger Miller, The Sherman Brothers, Various Artists

Release Round-Up: Week of May 19

May 19, 2023 by The Second Disc | 1 Comment

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today! Paul Simon, Seven Psalms (Owl/Legacy) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Amazon-Exclusive Colored Vinyl: Amazon U.S. Paul Simon is ready to unveil Seven Psalms, his fifteenth studio album: a 33-minute suite of music consisting of seven dreamlike, meditative compositions which are meant to be played as one continuous piece (and tracked as such, at least on the digital version). The album has been produced by Simon and Kyle Crusham, and was recorded by the artist entirely on…

Categories:

Release Round-Up

Formats:

CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Country, Folk, Pop, Soundtracks

Tags:

Alan Menken, Def Leppard, Galen Paul, Graham Nash, Howard Ashman, Jeanine Tesori, Marty Stuart, Paul Simon, Paul Simonon

Once Upon a Dream: “Disney100” Celebrates the Disney Music Legacy

May 5, 2023 by Joe Marchese | 3 Comments

“I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing: that it was all started by a mouse.” Walt Disney was, of course, speaking of his enduring creation, Mickey Mouse. The character’s debut in the 1928 animated short subject Steamboat Willie was indeed the watershed moment from which decades of entertainment in every conceivable medium followed. But the business that became The Walt Disney Company had been founded five years earlier, in 1923, by brothers Walt and Roy. That’s the anniversary being celebrated now under the branding of Disney100. The campaign…

Categories:

News

Formats:

Vinyl

Genres:

Soundtracks

Tags:

Alan Menken, Angela Lansbury, Dick Van Dyke, Helen Reddy, Idina Menzel, Julie Andrews, Phil Harris, Randy Newman, Roger Miller, The Sherman Brothers, Various Artists

Disney’s Legacy Collection Enters “A Whole New World” with ‘Aladdin’ Expansion

September 14, 2022 by Mike Duquette | 5 Comments

Walt Disney Records’ still-persisting catalogue product line The Legacy Collection has been mostly dormant since 2015. After two waves of titles throughout two calendar years – each focusing on anniversaries of classic Disney films from multiple generations – the series has been stop-start since 2017, releasing expanded editions of the soundtracks to Robin Hood (1973), Beauty and the Beast (1991) and, most recently, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). Now, a classic title is added to the Legacy Collection for its 30th anniversary: the beloved songs and score of 1992’s Aladdin. Disney…

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News

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Genres:

Pop, Soundtracks

Tags:

Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Tim Rice

Out There: Disney’s Legacy Collection Returns with Expanded ‘Hunchback of Notre Dame’ Soundtrack

September 13, 2021 by Mike Duquette | 5 Comments

Like the pealing bells over Paris, Walt Disney Records has heralded the arrival of one of its most beloved recent archival projects with the surprise, impending release of an expanded score to the animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame – the 14th release in the label’s Legacy Collection series. It’s only the third release in the series since two generous batches of titles in 2014 and 2015; an expansion of the music of animated films Robin Hood (1973) and Beauty and the Beast (1991) appeared in 2017 and 2018. (Rumors had…

Categories:

News

Formats:

CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming

Genres:

Soundtracks

Tags:

Alan Menken, Bette Midler, Stephen Schwartz

Release Round-Up: Week of October 23

October 23, 2020 by The Second Disc | No Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Bruce Springsteen, Letter to You (Columbia) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2-LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2-LP black with white swirl: Bruce Springsteen Online Store 2-LP grey: Your Local Record Shop The Boss returns with a new, long-awaited album featuring The E Street Band. Produced by Springsteen and his frequent collaborator Ron Aniello, it features original songs as well as his first recordings of three compositions he wrote early in his career but never officially released: “Janey Needs a Shooter,” “If I Was the Priest,” and “Song for Orphans.” Letter…

Categories:

Release Round-Up

Formats:

Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Classical/Opera, Country, Electronic, Folk, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock

Tags:

Alan Menken, Beastie Boys, Bob Mould, Bobby Bare, Bruce Springsteen, Daniel Lacksman, John Prine, Little Richard, Maury Yeston, Menswear, Pearl Jam, Randy Newman, Roland Haynes, Shel Silverstein, Steve Wynn, The Sherman Brothers

How Far I’ll Go: England’s ‘Sing Your Heart Out’ Series Releases Disney Volume with Rare Instrumentals

November 7, 2018 by The Second Disc | No Comments

A British compilation series recently released a magical volume for Disney fans – and with a host of rarities for collectors, to boot! Since 2016, Universal Music On Demand’s Sing Your Heart Out series has annually issued hits-packed compilations meant for (you guessed it) singing together, at home or in the car. In October, the Sing Your Heart Out series expanded to include a volume of classics from the films of Walt Disney Pictures. A total of 52 tracks are featured across the set’s first two discs, spanning the full length of…

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News

Formats:

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Everything Else, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, Soundtracks

Tale As Old As Time: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Added to Disney’s Legacy Collection (UPDATED 2/9)

February 9, 2018 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

After two years of dormancy, Walt Disney Records’ archival series, The Legacy Collection, swung back into stores last year with an expanded edition of the music to 1973’s Robin Hood. Now, The Legacy Collection is giving the red-carpet treatment to one of the studio’s most popular films: 1991’s Beauty and the Beast. After initial Amazon solicitations indicated that Beauty would be reissued (this revelation following a separate confirmation by engineer Bruce Botnick of his involvement in a future expansion of the soundtrack to Disney’s follow-up film Aladdin (1992)), the Disney Music Emporium…

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News

Formats:

Genres:

Pop, Soundtracks

Tags:

Alan Menken, Celine Dion, Howard Ashman, Peabo Bryson

The Lights of Long Ago: Masterworks Broadway to Reissue Three Cast Albums Including Menken’s “A Christmas Carol”

October 18, 2016 by Randy Fairman | No Comments

Masterworks Broadway has recently announced its next three reissue projects between now and November, all due on CD-R and DD. The first was released this past Friday, October 14: the original cast album to 1957’s Simply Heavenly. The book and lyrics were written by noted poet and novelist Langston Hughes with the music by jazz bandleader David Martin. It starred Melvin Stewart and Claudia McNeil (who would later star in A Raisin In The Sun). The show, based upon Hughes’ novel Simple Takes A Wife and Other Simple Stories, premiered Off-Broadway before…

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News

Formats:

CD, Digital Download

Genres:

Cast Recordings

Tags:

Alan Menken, Langston Hughes, Lynn Ahrens

When You Wish Upon A Star: Walt Disney Records Joins Record Store Day, Offers Online Exclusives

April 11, 2016 by Randy Fairman | No Comments

With this year’s Record Store Day on Saturday, April 16 rapidly approaching, it’s time to highlight the releases from Walt Disney Records. The label is offering up three selections on vinyl for the event and they range from the earliest days of the Walt Disney Company right up to its modern acquisitions. The first up is a new vinyl compilation entitled Disney Favorite Songs. This 8-song LP features songs from the classic and modern Disney repertoire ranging from “When You Wish Upon A Star” from Pinocchio to “Let It Go” from Frozen. The cover artwork…

Categories:

News

Formats:

Vinyl

Genres:

Soundtracks

Tags:

Alan Menken, Danny Elfman, John Williams, Record Store Day, The Sherman Brothers

Paint With All the Colors of the Wind: Latest Disney Legacy Collection Release Features “Pocahontas”

August 10, 2015 by Randy Fairman | No Comments

This past Friday, Walt Disney Records continued its Legacy Collection series. Like the most last release, Toy Story, it celebrates a film marking its 20th anniversary: 1995’s Pocahontas. The new 2-CD set features the entire score along with several demos and alternate versions of songs. Pocahontas, Disney’s 33rd animated film, was a departure from some of the films in the studio’s past repertoire in that is was based on history and not a fairytale. The movie chronicles the story of Native American Pocahontas and her encounters with Englishman John Smith and other English settlers surrounding the establishment of…

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News

Formats:

Genres:

Soundtracks

Tags:

Alan Menken, Judy Kuhn, Stephen Schwartz, Vanessa Williams

Walt Disney Records Reshuffles Remaining “Legacy Collection” Releases

March 9, 2015 by Joe Marchese | 12 Comments

Less than one year ago, Walt Disney Records announced The Legacy Collection, a 12-title series marking various anniversaries of classic Disney films and even a theme park. In June, the series kicked off with a deluxe expansion of the soundtrack to The Lion King to commemorate that film’s 20th year, and since then we’ve received similarly expanded editions of Mary Poppins (50th), Sleeping Beauty (55th), The Little Mermaid (25th), Fantasia (75th) and Pinocchio (75th). Future releases were promised to arrive through this August, with Toy Story, Disneyland, Lady and the Tramp, Pocahontas,…

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News

Formats:

Genres:

Soundtracks

Tags:

Alan Menken, Randy Newman, Stephen Schwartz, The Sherman Brothers

Darling, It’s Better Down Where It’s Wetter: “The Little Mermaid” Gets Legacy Collection Expansion

October 13, 2014 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

When God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater opened in May 1979 at New York’s small WPA Theatre on the Bowery, it heralded the birth of a promising new songwriting team: Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. Ten years later, the team would forever alter the course of one of the most venerable institutions in entertainment history: The Walt Disney Company. Their score to The Little Mermaid, which Ashman also produced and contributed to the story of, ushered in a new golden age for a studio which many had written off. On November 24, Walt…

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News

Formats:

Genres:

Soundtracks

Tags:

Alan Menken, Howard Ashman