By his own account, Billy Joel stumbled into the singing part of the singer-songwriter equation. He explained of his 1971 debut Cold Spring Harbor, “I wrote this album not as a singer-songwriter, but as a songwriter. I was thinking of other people doing the material on this album. But the advice I got from people in the music business was, ‘Well, if you want people to hear your songs, make an album. And then you go out on the road and you do shows and you promote your album. I thought, ‘This…
The Weekend Stream: November 6, 2021
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! Hank Williams, Sings / Moanin’ the Blues (Expanded Edition) / Memorial Album (Expanded…
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Release Round-Up: Week of November 5
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 prepared by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound. Jensen previously mastered Joel’s entire albums discography for 2011’s…
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In the Mood for a Melody: Legacy Collects Billy Joel’s “The Vinyl Collection, Vol. 1” With Seven Albums, Previously Unreleased Concert
When The New York Philharmonic opened music mogul Clive Davis’ NYC Homecoming Concert last Saturday evening, the esteemed orchestra energized the crowd with a medley of New York anthems. Nestled among classic melodies by such legendary composers as George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein was “New York State of Mind” by the pride of Long Island, Billy Joel. His presence in such company was well-deserved: over a 50-year career, Joel has penned enough standards to warrant entry into the pantheon of The Great American Songbook, and while he hasn’t released a new pop…
Do I Ever Cross Your Mind: Ray Charles’ Post-Atlantic Recordings Explored on “True Genius” Box Set
Ray Charles formed Tangerine Records in 1962 as part of the creative freedom he earned by jumping from Atlantic Records to ABC-Paramount. In addition to many of his Charles’ own recordings, Tangerine issued music from Louis Jordan, Percy Mayfield, Jimmy Scott, Ike and Tina Turner, and other artists championed by The Genius. The label closed in 1973 when Charles departed the ABC roster, but the Ray Charles Foundation has recently reactivated it for a special 6-CD anthology celebrating its founder. True Genius, due on September 10, is a book-style package featuring nearly…
He’s Got a Way: Billy Joel Celebrates His 70th Birthday With Live Rarities on Digital Collection
Billy Joel turns 70 on Thursday, May 9, and is celebrating with a birthday concert at Madison Square Garden, where he’s currently headlining an unprecedented years-long residency of monthly concerts. While the piano man hasn’t released an album of original songs since 1993’s River of Dreams, he’s hardly been idle these past 26 years and remains a top concert draw. Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings are commemorating Joel the live performer with a new streaming playlist available today. Live Through the Years is a 20-track survey of Joel onstage, recorded between 1977…
Release Round-Up: The Second Disc’s 2019 Record Store Day Must-Haves
Looking for our usual Release Round-Up? Alas, there’s not much new in the way of catalogue music this Friday (and we’ve already filled you in on Billy Paul and Leon Russell!), but for a very good reason: tomorrow sees releases a-plenty as part of Record Store Day! Without further ado, welcome to our annual rundown of Must-Haves for this year’s RSD event! Once you’re through reading, let us know what you’re most looking forward to picking up tomorrow at your favorite local independent retailer! Our list features just a sampling of our…
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Hey, Music Lover! Legacy Announces Record Store Day 2019 Exclusives
Sony’s Legacy Recordings has announced its offerings for this year’s Record Store Day festivities, to be held on Saturday, April 13 at your local brick-and-mortar retailer! As usual, it’s an eclectic line-up with pop, rock, and R&B superstars all represented. So without further ado, here’s the label’s full list! Jeff Buckley, In Transition – 1 LP – 3,000 copies In Transition is a compilation of seven previously unreleased studio performances from 1993 during the making of Jeff Buckley’s only studio album, Grace, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year. Aptly titled,…
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That’s What Friends Are For: Clive Davis Soundtrack Features Barry, Whitney, Dionne, Aretha, More
This past April, New York’s Radio City Music Hall hosted a prestigious premiere. The film was Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives, and the screening was accompanied by an all-star concert featuring Barry Manilow, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, and others celebrating the life of the music legend. Beginning on October 3, Apple Music will exclusively stream the Chris Perkel-directed documentary, and today, September 27, Legacy Recordings has digitally released an exclusive 34-track deluxe soundtrack on Apple Music boasting four previously unreleased performances. (A standard 20-track digital soundtrack will be…
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“Tony Bennett Celebrates 90” With All-Star Concert, Previously Unreleased Songs, More
This past August 3, Tony Bennett celebrated his milestone 90th birthday…and made it clear that he had no intentions of slowing down. Indeed, the legendary vocalist has dates booked well into 2017, but first, he’s looking back with a new 3-CD set including rare and previously unreleased material. Tony Bennett Celebrates 90 premieres the recording of the all-star concert tribute held at Radio City Music Hall on September 15 of this year, but the Amazon-exclusive Deluxe Edition will add two discs of rare and classic Bennett. The first disc of this collection,…
Release Round-Up: Week of May 26
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! We hope all of our U.S. readers enjoyed a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. And now, without further ado, onto the music! Yes, Progeny: Seven Shows from Seventy-Two (Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Finally, after a brief delay, Progeny is here! This whopping 14-CD box captures seven complete concerts from Yes circa 1972 – the same tour leading up to the performances preserved on Yessongs. For those who don’t need 14 discs, 2-CD and 3-LP Highlights distillations are also available (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) !…
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The Entertainers: Billy Joel, America, Labelle, Earth Wind and Fire Get Surround-Sound Treatment From Audio Fidelity
Audio Fidelity is continuing its well-received series of surround-sound releases on hybrid SACD with a trio of quadraphonic (4.0) titles from 1974 and one classic rock favorite from 1972 in 5.1. All of these titles feature the surround mix on the high resolution SACD layer with a newly-remastered version of the original stereo mix on both the SACD and standard CD layers. The ’72 classic is America’s Homecoming. The second album by the trio of Dewey Bunnell, Gerry Beckley and Dan Peek, Homecoming introduced the Top 10 Pop/Top 5 AC hit single…
The Year In Reissues: The 2014 Gold Bonus Disc Awards
Welcome to The Second Disc’s Fifth Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! As with every year’s awards, our goals are simple: to recognize as many of the year’s most essential reissues and catalogue titles as possible, and to celebrate as many of those labels, producers and artists who make these releases happen in an increasingly-challenging retail landscape. The labels you’ll read about below have, by and large, bucked the trends to prove that there’s still a demand for physical catalogue music that you can purchase in brick-and-mortar stores. And from our vantage point,…
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Review: Billy Joel, “A Matter of Trust: The Bridge to Russia”
Billy Joel has been famously prickly in recent years about many of the archival releases bearing his name. But one hopes that the troubadour, currently in the midst of his tenure as a “franchise” at New York’s Madison Square Garden, is beaming with pride at A Matter of Trust – The Bridge to Russia. This set, available in a variety of audio and video formats from Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings, not only splendidly chronicles Joel’s historic 1987 trek to the Soviet Union but vividly rehabilitates the oft-derided (sometimes by the artist…
WE HAVE A WINNER! Billy Joel’s “A Matter of Trust: The Bridge to Russia” Goes to One Lucky Winner!
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR CONTEST WINNER, FABIO TURSI! He’s won a copy of Billy Joel’s A Matter of Trust: The Bridge to Russia 2CD/1DVD set from Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings!
Release Round-Up: Week of May 19
Oasis, Definitely Maybe: Chasing The Sun Edition (Big Brother/Ngrooves) Oasis’ debut album is remastered and expanded; the first in a planned series of multi-format reissues from the legendary Britpop band. 1CD remaster: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.2LP remaster: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.3CD deluxe edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.3CD/2LP/1 x 7″ box set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Billy Joel, A Matter of Trust: The Bridge to Russia (Columbia/Legacy) The Piano Man’s 1987 sojourn to the USSR is chronicled anew, with expansions of both the original KOHUEPT album and video program and a newly-filmed retrospective documentary on Billy’s trip. 2CD/1DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.2CD/1BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. DVD: Amazon…
In A Russian State of Mind: Billy Joel’s “A Matter of Trust: The Bridge To Russia” Gets Deluxe Treatment
With Billy Joel in the midst of his unprecedented concert run as a “franchise” at New York’s Madison Square Garden, the time has never been better to revisit one of the most significant concert appearances of the Long Island troubadour’s long musical career. On May 20, 2014, Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings will definitively chronicle Joel’s historic 1987 Russian concert tour on A Matter of Trust – The Bridge to Russia. A Matter of Trust will be available in a Deluxe Edition box set containing the full-length concert film (simply entitled The…
Short Takes: Digital Updates on Billy Joel, Black Sabbath and More
When not releasing intriguing physical products, sometimes labels like to do neat things to spice up their digital offerings, making complete discographies available or taking advantage of Apple’s “Mastered for iTunes” initiative. Here’s a few notable digital-oriented stories we’ve caught wind of in recent days! He’s a living legend, a multiplatinum bestseller, a Kennedy Center honoree and – in 2014 – the first musical franchise at New York’s Madison Square Garden. This week, Legacy Recordings calibrated Billy Joel’s resurgence into a newly-streamlined offering on iTunes. All of the Piano Man’s studio and…
Release Round-Up: Week of July 2
CHIC and Various Artists, Nile Rodgers Presents The CHIC Organization: Up All Night – The Greatest Hits (Rhino U.K.) This new double-disc compilation, featuring hits from CHIC, Sister Sledge, Debbie Harry and more, might be the best Nile Rodgers-centric compilation in its price range. (Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S.) Blood Sweat & Tears, Rare, Rarer & Rarest / Joe Farrell Quartet, Joe Farrell Quartet / Herbie Hancock, Treasure Chest / Sha Na Na, The Night is Still Young (Wounded Bird) A new batch from Wounded Bird includes a compilation of rarities from Blood, Sweat & Tears (featuring, among other things, their soundtrack to The Owl and The…
Release Round-Up: Week of May 21
The Beach Boys, Live: The 50th Anniversary Tour (Capitol) Brian, Mike, Al, Bruce and David may not be touring again anytime soon, but at least we now have two discs of live memories to play. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Townes Van Zandt, The Late Great Townes Van Zandt / High, Low and In Between (Omnivore) You heard the demos, now rediscover these great country albums, on CD or vinyl! Late Great CD (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.), LP (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) High, Low CD (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.), LP (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Various Artists, FM: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Culture Factory…
In Memoriam: Phil Ramone (1934-2013)
Today, The Second Disc remembers Phil Ramone. The multiple Grammy-winning producer, 79, died on Saturday, leaving behind a legacy of song from artists ranging from Barbra Streisand to Paul McCartney, Barry Manilow to The Band. Yet unlike so many of his contemporaries, Phil Ramone didn’t have a signature style. Instead of molding a band or singer to a preferred sonic specialty, he was a true architect of sound, tailoring each production to the individual artist. Ramone was equally comfortable with pop, rock, jazz, R&B, and the worlds of Broadway and Hollywood, not…
This is the Time! Win a Copy of Billy Joel’s “She’s Got a Way: Love Songs”
WE HAVE A WINNER! Click the banner above to find out who won Billy Joel’s She’s Got a Way: Love Songs!
Review: Billy Joel, “She’s Got a Way: Love Songs”
“She’s got a way about her…I don’t know what it is,” Billy Joel sings on his very first album. But it isn’t long before the song’s narrator explicates many of those ways about her, like a “smile that heals me” or “a light around her.” Even if he can’t put his finger on it, he’s confident that “a million dreams of love surround her ev’rywhere.” Yet rarely (in life or in art) has love been so simple for Billy Joel. “She’s Got a Way” lends its title to a new compilation subtitled…
Release Round-Up: Week of January 22
Billy Joel, She’s Got a Way: Love Songs (Columbia/Legacy) The romantic side of the Piano Man is featured on this new compilation. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Rodriguez, Searching for Sugar Man (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) One of the most captivating catalogue music documentaries of 2012 is now available on DVD (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) and Blu-Ray (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)! The Blue Nile, A Walk Across the Rooftops / Hats: Deluxe Editions (Virgin/EMI) Slated for release in the U.K. late last year, these two double-disc expansions of The Blue Nile’s first two LPs, featuring many rare…
He’s Got a Way: Billy Joel Collects “Love Songs” For January Release
2013 will mark the 20th anniversary of Billy Joel’s final studio album to date, 1993’s River of Dreams. Since then, the semi-retired Piano Man has busied himself with sold-out concerts, live recordings, a foray into classical music and a Broadway musical based around his storied songbook. More recently, Joel has signed on as one of the artists performing at 12 12 12, a concert to benefit the victims of the East Coast’s crippling Hurricane Sandy. But with the dearth of new music from Joel, fans have had to content themselves with live…
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