Happy 2022! Welcome, friends, to The Second Disc's 12th Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! Once again, we've all faced unprecedented challenges over the past twelve months. A year that began with hope and promise has ended with further uncertainty for many of us. But music continues to fill a significant role in our lives, providing solace, comfort, and escape in a time unlike any other. With that spirit in mind, The Second Disc wishes to recognize 2021's cream of the catalogue music crop -
R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Otis Redding may have written the song, but Aretha Franklin owned it. The singer was only in her mid-20s when she left Columbia Records after five years and seven albums but she wasted no time in making music history when she signed with Atlantic Records in December 1966. By the middle of 1967, she'd had long-sought-after hits with "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" and "Respect" and was proclaimed The Queen of Soul by a Chicago disk jockey. Some reports indicate the
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Various Artists, Rip It Up: The Best of Specialty Records (Craft Recordings) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Craft Recordings' 75th anniversary campaign for groundbreaking R&B label Specialty Records kicks off with Rip It Up: The Best of Specialty Records on CD, LP, and digital platforms. The 18 tracks on Rip It Up spotlight the incendiary R&B and, later, rock-and-roll that
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Toomorrow: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music) Purple Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music Clear with Copper and Red Swirl Vinyl: Real Gone Music [SOLD OUT] Clear with Red, Blue, and Green "Freak" Swirl Vinyl: Rough Trade [PRE-ORDERS SOLD OUT, MAY BE AVAILABLE AT ROUGH TRADE RETAIL LOCATIONS] Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music are proud to present the first-ever vinyl
Once again, 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 two dates in 2021 with Drop 1 having taken place on June 12 and Drop 2 happening tomorrow, July 17. 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 out more information. Below, you'll
It was late in 2015 when audiences across the country watched Aretha Franklin take the stage at The Kennedy Center Honors to salute honoree Carole King. The undisputed Queen of Soul tore into King, Gerry Goffin, and Jerry Wexler's "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman" with blazing intensity and thrilling authenticity. She had not just sung these lyrics but lived them. Nearing the song's finale, she simply but defiantly dropped her fur coat to the floor, creating an instant viral moment
At 1:00 pm EST/10:00 am PST today, the list of Record Store Day's annual offerings was made public. As was the case in 2020, this year's RSD festivities will take place over more than one day. The two RSD Drops are scheduled for Saturday, June 12, and Saturday, July 17. We'll be sharing periodic announcements of various labels' releases, including this look at Rhino's whopping array of over 30 titles from heavy hitters including Black Sabbath, Donny Hathaway, Grateful Dead, Joni Mitchell,
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Neil Young, Archives Vol. 2: 1973-1976 (Reprise) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Neil Young's second Archives box set arrives in a wide commercial release, dropping the oversized packaging and expansive book in favor of a slimmer package. The 10-CD box is sequenced chronologically to spotlight the astonishingly prolific period lovingly referred to as the Ditch Years. The box contains 131 tracks from Neil's personal archive. Of
Black History Month is on the way in February and to celebrate, Rhino will release a number of limited-edition colored vinyl reissues along with a digital initiative to bring legendary recordings to digital service providers for the first time ever. The Rhino Black initiative begins on February 5, with the vinyl reissue of George Benson's multi-platinum Breezin' (issued on blue and beige vinyl) and a the first-ever vinyl issue of the Donny Hathaway compendium, A Donny Hathaway Collection, which
Earlier this year, The Second Disc shared news of Rock, Pop and Doo Wop, a 7-DVD collection from Treasury Collection and executive producer-director TJ Lubinsky. Now, with the holidays upon us, a new set featuring dozens of classic hit-makers has just been released: '60s Rock, Pop and Soul. This 4-DVD package has been culled from two decades of Lubinsky's historic television concerts, with 130 hit songs from a "Who's Who" of legendary performers including Frankie Valli ("Can't Take My Eyes
It was late in 2015 when audiences across the country watched Aretha Franklin take the stage at The Kennedy Center Honors to salute honoree Carole King. The undisputed Queen of Soul tore into King, Gerry Goffin, and Jerry Wexler's "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman" with blazing intensity and thrilling authenticity. She had not just sung these lyrics but lived them. Nearing the song's finale, she simply but defiantly dropped her fur coat to the floor, creating an instant viral moment
"Be My Baby." "Can't Take My Eyes off You." "Stand by Me." "You Don't Own Me." Songs such as these not only defined the era in which they were first written and performed, but continue to resonate today. They're just four of the classic songs included on an upcoming 7-DVD set from Treasury Collection that serves as a definitive concert anthology of classic American R&B music. Rock, Pop, and Doo Wop has been curated by executive producer and director TJ Lubinsky from his acclaimed onstage
Stage Door Records is turning back the clock - 60 years, to be precise - with the latest volume in its Lost Broadway series. Lost Broadway 1960, out now in the U.K. and this Friday, April 3, in the U.S., once again spotlights the lesser-known shows that played the Great White Way that year (in both the 1959-1960 and 1960-1961 seasons). So while there's no mention of Bye Bye Birdie, Camelot, or Oliver!, you will hear tracks from Wildcat, Do Re Mi, and Christine. (The Unsinkable Molly Brown is
Australia's Playback Records label returned to the scene in 2019 with a pair of new releases and the promise of more to come. Today, we're looking at those new titles from Curtis Mayfield and Timi Yuro! As a writer, producer, and artist - both solo and with The Impressions - Curtis Mayfield (1942-1999) was one of the foremost exponents of Chicago soul. He penned such favorites as Jan Bradley's "Mama Didn't Lie" and Major Lance's "The Monkey Time," not to mention such Impressions hits as
Record club Vinyl Me Please has announced their latest Record of the Month: Aretha Franklin's 1968 landmark, Aretha Now. The album will be pressed on 180-gram black vinyl and uses the classic mono mix, remastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound and pressed at QRP. Prior to this VMP edition, the mono mix of Aretha Now was only available on highly sought-after U.S. promos, or on rare U.K. or Brazilian original pressings. Now, Aretha's classic - featuring "I Say A Little Prayer," "Think," and so
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. Record Store Day Black Friday is now almost upon us, so we thought we'd spotlight a few particularly exciting releases arriving to your local brick-and-mortar record shop! Here's our round up of RSD BF must-haves! We're kicking off with Sam's list, and then we'll follow with Randy and Joe's! Aretha Franklin, The Atlantic Singles Collection 1968
And what does Rhino have planned for this year's Record Store Day Black Friday festivities? Warner's catalog music arm has eight vinyl titles coming to indies on November 29. Expect a few vinyl debuts, some stalwarts of the label (The Monkees, Devo, The Doors) and some newly-available holiday material, appropriate for the end of the year! Learn all about it ahead. Alice Cooper, Billion Dollar Babies Live (Warner) Originally released on a deluxe edition of Alice Cooper's bestselling 1973
While The Second Disc continues to champion physical media, we recognize that some labels have begun to issue digital-only releases that bring together rarities from the vault or spotlight long-out-of-print albums. From annual copyright extension releases to vault-clearing initiatives, we figured our readers would like to know about some of the treasures that have been released online and on streaming services. So, from time to time, we will shed some light on the best of these digital
Amazing Grace: The Complete Recordings presents Aretha Franklin's iconic concerts at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles during January 1972 in full. Both the Thursday night and Friday night sets are accounted for, spread across four 180-gram LPs.
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up. Here's what's on the way today, March 22! Aretha Franklin, Amazing Grace: The Complete Recordings (Rhino/Atlantic Catalog Group) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Amazing Grace: The Complete Recordings presents Aretha Franklin's iconic concerts at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles during January 1972 in full. Both the Thursday night and Friday night sets are accounted for, spread across four 180-gram LPs. For
Today, Rhino announced its offerings for the 2019 Record Store Day celebration, taking place at your local brick-and-mortar shop Saturday, April 13. Rhino's 33 releases highlight several genres of music - soul, rock, rap, comedy, disco, pop, jam bands, prog, and more - on an array of formats including LPs, CDs, picture discs, colored vinyl, and even cassette tapes. Here's the run-down on all their RSD titles! a-ha, Hunting High and Low: The Early Alternate Mixes - 1 LP - 6,000
"Words by Hal David." That credit graces many of the most cherished popular songs of the second half of the twentieth century, including "(They Long To Be) Close To You," "I Say a Little Prayer," "The Look of Love," and of course, "What the World Needs Now Is Love." Beginning this weekend, Public Television stations nationwide will be celebrating the life and legacy of Hal David with a new special. What the World Needs Now: Words by Hal David from John Paulson Productions is hosted by The
Fans of the late, legendary Aretha Franklin are often surprised to discover that The Queen of Soul's best-selling album isn't I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, Lady Soul, or even Who's Zoomin' Who? Rather, that honor goes to the Grammy-winning 1972 live album Amazing Grace - a fact that no doubt pleased Franklin. In fact, it's recognized as the best-selling live gospel album of all time. The 1999 expanded edition of the heartfelt, passionate gospel set will make its vinyl premiere from
UMe will commemorate the late, legendary Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, with a new vinyl reissue of her earliest recordings next month. Songs Of Faith: Aretha Gospel offers nine gospel standards recorded by a 14-year-old Aretha in 1956 at the New Bethel Church in her native Detroit, where her father, the legendary Rev. C.L. Franklin, would give his inimitable sermons. Predating her tenure on Columbia Records by six years and her breakthrough on Atlantic Records by more than a decade, these
Rhino's popular "Start Your Ear Off Right" vinyl reissue campaign is returning to local independent record stores and Barnes & Noble locations beginning next Tuesday, January 8, and continuing through Tuesday, January 29, with a new batch of limited (and often colorful) vinyl reissues arriving each week. Each group features an eclectic line-up drawn from the Rhino archives. January 8 will see compilations from Aretha Franklin, Alice Cooper, and The Monkees, as well as a 1978 post-punk