Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Johnny Cash, The Complete Mercury Recordings 1986-1991 (Mercury/UMe) 7CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 7LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The Complete Mercury Recordings 1986-1991 will be available on 7CD or 7LP, 180-gram vinyl formats. The box collects all six albums Johnny Cash recorded for Mercury Records during that era: Class Of ’55: Memphis Rock & Roll Homecoming with Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, and Carl Perkins (1986), Johnny Cash Is Coming To Town (1987), Water From The Wells Of…
A Second Disc Interview: Chatting with America’s Audio Archivist Jeff Larson as Band Preps “Half Century” Box
Chewing on a piece of grass/Walking down the road/Tell me, how long you gonna stay here, Joe? Happily, the music of America has stayed with us for 50 years. Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and Dan Peek met in London where their fathers were stationed with the United States Air Force; their coming together at the dawn of the 1970s has led to 16 studio albums and 47 singles including three U.S. chart-toppers and eleven Top 40 hits. That’s in addition to a Grammy Award, a spot in the Vocal Group Hall of…
Release Round-Up: Week of May 1
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Todd Rundgren’s Utopia, Benefit for Moogy Klingman (Purple Pyramid) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Cleopatra Records’ Purple Pyramid imprint remembers Utopia’s late keyboardist with Benefit for Moogy Klingman. This 4-CD/2-DVD set (originally slated for May 15 but apparently shipping today) includes the band’s Highline Ballroom reunion set of January 29, 2011 (featuring Todd Rundgren, Moogy, Ralph Schuckett, John Siegler, Kevin Ellman, Jesse Gress, and Kasim Sulton) which helped defer the costs of Moogy’s cancer treatments, as well as the performance of November 18…
Today’s the Day: America’s “Heritage II” Collects Unreleased Demos, Alternates, More
If you think you know all of the exits off that mythical Ventura Highway, think again. Omnivore Recordings has just released a new collection straight from the America archives, and it’s filled with unexpected treasures. Heritage II: Demos/Alternate Takes 1971-1976 follows up the first volume from 2017 and proves itself a more than worthy successor. This collection could well be subtitled The George Martin Years. While its two earliest tracks return to the period of the band’s sophomore album, 1971’s Homecoming, the lion’s share of demos, works in progress, and alternates is…
Omnivore’s RSD Slate Includes Live New Riders, America Demos and Alternates, and Andrew Gold Rarities
Omnivore Recordings has announced their Record Store Day titles, available at your favorite record shops on April 18! Rarities from Andrew Gold, demos by America, and a live set from New Riders of the Purple Sage will be available on shelves! Here’s more from Omnivore… Omnivore Recordings has announced its titles for Record Store Day 2020, to be held April 18 at brick-and-mortar record retailers throughout the U.S. and around the world. Released for the occasion will be three titles of previously unheard music: Andrew Gold: Something New: Unreleased Gold on gold vinyl; America: Heritage II: Demos/Alternate takes 1971-1976; and New Riders of…
Release Round-Up: Week of December 13
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Blinky, Heart Full of Soul: The Motown Anthology (Second Disc/Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music are proud to mark Motown’s 60th anniversary with a collection that has truly been decades in the making. Heart Full of Soul: The Motown Anthology is the ultimate tribute to Sondra “Blinky” Williams, Motown’s great lost superstar. Over two CDs and almost 50 songs, Blinky’s Motown journey is chronicled with songs written and produced for her by the label’s greatest…
America’s Gerry Beckley Returns with New Solo Album “Five Mile Road”
Gerry Beckley has earned the right to call the opening track of his new solo album “Life Lessons.” The singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and America co-founder is understandably in a reflective mood on Five Mile Road, out now from Blue Elan Records. The artist may be celebrating 50 years with America, but he still has plenty to say. For his first solo album since 2016’s Carousel, Beckley has reunited with many of the same collaborators. Jeff Larson not only co-produced with Beckley but contributes vocals. Singer Jeffrey Foskett, Nick Lane (euphonium, trombone), Larry Klimas…
Release Round-Up: Week of September 6
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Miles Davis, Rubberband (Warner/Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Rhino has unearthed a lost album recorded by Miles Davis in 1985-1986 prior to his label debut Tutu. The LP has been completed by original co-producers Randy Hall and Zane Giles with Davis’ nephew Vince Wilburn, Jr., who played drums on the album sessions. Ledisi and Lalah Hathaway have been enlisted to complete the vocal tracks. Available on CD, 2-LP vinyl, and digital platforms. Read more here! Black Sabbath, The Vinyl Collection 1970-1978 (Warner/Rhino)…
Release Round-Up: Week of July 12
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! America, 50th Anniversary: The Collection (Warner/Rhino) 50th Anniversary: The Collection (3-CD) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) 50th Anniversary: The Collection [2-LP] (Barnes & Noble Exclusive) 50th Anniversary: Golden Hits (Single CD) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Almost fifty years ago in London, Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and the late Dan Peek first joined their voices together in song – beginning a musical journey as the band America that continues to this day. In anticipation of America’s golden anniversary in 2020,…
Been Through the Desert: America Releases “Live at the London Palladium,” “Live in Central Park 1979” and More on CD, DVD
The celebration of 50 years of America continues. We’ve already filled you about the Capitol-era Classic Album Collection, the reissue of Archives Vol. 1, and the upcoming 50th Anniversary: The Collection, but there’s more on the way courtesy of the band’s own America Records and available through the band’s webstore. The label has recently released Live at the London Palladium, a chronicle of the band’s 2018 stand at the famed venue, on 2CD, DVD (Region 0 NTSC, viewable in all DVD players), and in a lavish box set containing both formats, a…
Release Round-Up: Week of June 7
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up – a packed one, for sure! Bob Dylan, The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings (Columbia/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Just in advance of the June 12 debut of director Martin Scorsese’s documentary Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese, Columbia and Legacy unveil a new 14-CD box set that promises to be the ultimate chronicle of the initial leg of Dylan’s legendary Rolling Thunder Revue from the autumn of 1975. The box includes five professionally recorded sets…
Release Round-Up: Week of May 24
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! America, Classic Album Collection: The Capitol Years (Capitol/Caroline) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) All six of America’s Capitol albums are collected in one newly remastered box set. Classic Album Collection: The Capitol Years presents newly remastered versions of 1979’s Silent Letter, 1980’s Alibi, 1982’s View from the Ground, 1983’s Your Move, 1984’s Perspective, and 1985’s In Concert in one deluxe, affordable package complete with a booklet. It’s been compiled by America archivist Jeff Larson and remastered by Andy Pearce. Read all about it…
Head and Heart: Rhino Celebrates 50 Years of America with New Box Set
Almost fifty years ago in London, Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and the late Dan Peek first joined their voices together in song – beginning a musical journey as the band America that continues to this day. In anticipation of America’s golden anniversary in 2020, Rhino is getting the party started with a new multi-format anthology. America – 50th Anniversary: The Collection arrives from the label on July 12 in 3-CD, 1-CD, 2-LP, and digital versions. It’s the first large-scale America anthology since 2000’s Highway: 30 Years of America. The 3-CD iteration, naturally…
You Can Do Magic: America’s Capitol Years Collected on New Box Set
After seven albums in as many years, Dan Peek departed America, leaving Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell to carry on in the band the trio formed. The first release from the new duo line-up was 1977’s Live, but it also marked the end of an era as America’s final album on Warner Bros. Records. Following that LP, Beckley and Bunnell briefly retreated from the studio; the pair didn’t return with a new studio album for almost two years. When they did, it was at a new label: Hollywood’s venerable Capitol Records. America…
The Second Disc’s Picks for Record Store Day Black Friday 2018
From all of us here at Second Disc HQ to all of you, we hope you’ve enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving in the company of beloved family and friends. Of course, from this day which conjures nostalgic and warm feelings comes a celebration of a different kind with this year’s annual Black Friday shopping extravaganza – and Record Store Day’s miniature cousin to April’s yearly event. In keeping with TSD tradition, Joe, Randy, and Sam have elected our top picks of the numerous titles being released tomorrow from many of our favorite labels, including…
Ride Like the Wind: “California Groove IV” Box Set Captures Sounds of Summer
Warner Music France is providing a breezy soundtrack for summer with the fourth installment of California Groove. Arriving seven years after Volume 3, this impressive 6-CD box set is a little bit country, a little bit-rock-and-roll – not to mention filled with pop, lounge, jazz, dance, R&B, soul, and beyond. It’s too eclectic to be filed under “yacht rock,” though many of that so-called genre’s bright lights are here, including Christopher Cross and Steely Dan. What it is, however, is a collection of sleek, chill, California-inspired sounds that will “tune out all…
Need a Little Summer: Jeff Larson, Jeffrey Foskett Team for “‘Elua Aloha”
With summer just a little over a week away, two purveyors of musical sunshine have teamed up for their first collaborative album – and it delivers on its implied promise of sun, surf, and tropical breezes. Singer-songwriter Jeff Larson has joined with his longtime collaborator, Jeffrey Foskett of The Beach Boys, for ‘Elua Aloha, an upbeat and inviting celebration of the California sound in all its many colors. Larson has written all but two of the songs on this New Surf release, and produced or co-produced nearly every track, while both artists…
Holiday Gift Guide Review: America, “Heritage: Home Recordings/Demos 1970-1973”
It must have taken a great deal of gumption, not to mention youthful hubris, for Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and Dan Peek to name their band America – as if three teenaged army brats abroad in England could have possibly captured the spirit of their home country in all its complexities. Yet, capture that spirit the trio did, and today, some 47 years after they first entered the studio, America is still making music. Yet Beckley and Bunnell have happily been looking back on recent releases such as Archives Vol. 1 and…
Release Round-Up: Week of November 17
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Queen, News of the World: 40th Anniversary Edition (UMC (U.K.) / Hollywood (U.S.) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada / Amazon U.K.) Queen’s sixth album, 1977’s News of the World, is being generously expanded for its 40th anniversary in a new 3CD/1DVD/1LP box set. The original album is presented on CD and LP. The first bonus CD, the entirely unreleased Raw Sessions, presents an alternate version of the original album from demos, outtakes and live cuts. The second bonus disc collects a further 19 relevant bonus tracks, including versions from archival live…
Been Through the Desert: Omnivore Collects Early, Unreleased America on “Heritage”
Omnivore Recordings is heading down Ventura Highway this fall with the November 17 release on CD of a new archival collection from America. Heritage: Home Recordings/Demos 1970-1973 boasts sixteen tracks from the band’s early days, ten of which are previously unreleased, from the original trio of Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and Dan Peek. Heritage comprises demos, home recordings, alternate versions, and outtakes from the era of the first three America albums: 1971’s self-titled release, 1972’s Homecoming, and 1973’s Hat Trick. You’ll hear early demos recorded at London’s Chalk Farm Studios prior to…
Jeff Larson Returns To “Heart of the Valley” On New Reissue
When singer-songwriter Jeff Larson premiered his album Heart of the Valley in 2009, the album was rightly lauded as an immaculately produced collection of laid-back, polished pop. It conjured a time when rich emotions and real instruments ruled pop radio. Today, it’s just as relevant, as proven by a newly-expanded reissue on Japan’s Vivid Sound label (VSCD 3944, 2016). The artist indicates in his new liner notes that “the concept for Heart of the Valley was loosely based on the Nilsson Sings Newman album from 1970 – that is, one singer/songwriter approaching…
Review: Gerry Beckley, “Carousel”
Gerry Beckley celebrated his 64th birthday earlier this week, on Monday, September 12. We’re marking the occasion with a look at his new studio album! One hardly expects the first verse of the first song on a new album from America’s resident romantic troubadour, Gerry Beckley, to include the lines “Everything’s turned to shit/No matter how I look at it/And I am running out of time…” But while Beckley is happily defying convention on “Tokyo” – the taut, rocking opening cut of his new album Carousel on Blue Elan Records (and also…
You Remind Me Of The Sun: New Collections Arrive from Jeff Larson, Jeffrey Foskett
More than fifty years have passed since John Phillips so vividly encapsulated the California myth with The Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin’,” but the Golden State continues to inspire artists with its promise of eternally sunny days. The strains of “California music” are as varied as the state’s regions, from surf to punk to psychedelia to country to metal. Despite changing times and changing tastes, however, richly melodic pop-rock has never gone out of fashion in California. Two recent anthologies from veteran artists (and collaborators) Jeff Larson and Jeffrey Foskett showcase…
Still Driving: America Releases “Lost and Found” On Vinyl
Last year, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell, a.k.a. America, released two significant archival collections bookending their still-thriving career. Archives Vol. 1 presented 15 previously unreleased alternate versions, early mixes, demos, rehearsals and outtakes spanning the halcyon period between America’s 1971 debut album America and 1975’s Hearts. These, of course, featured Beckley and Bunnell in addition to original member Dan Peek. Lost and Found pressed fast-forward on the band’s history with 10 tracks recorded by Beckley and Bunnell between 2000 and 2011. Both of these collections produced and compiled by singer-songwriter Jeff Larson,…
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