And the SHMs just keep on coming! Following batches of Japanese pressings of albums by Paul McCartney, Quincy Jones and Sting, two more classic catalogues from Universal Music Group are getting reissued on the format this summer: the first decade-plus of album by Eric Clapton – available this Friday, July 4 – and five titles from Roxy Music, available later in the month on July 25. Clapton’s discs – 1970’s Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (recorded as part of Derek & The Dominos), his 1970 self-titled album, 1974’s 461 Ocean Boulevard, 1975’s There’s One…
Elvis Costello, Elton John, John Lennon, Sting Feature on UMG’s Record Store Day Slate
Universal Music Group’s 2025 Record Store Day roster is heavy on British rockers: Elvis Costello, John Lennon, Elton John, Sting, Queen, Mark Knopfler, and The Verve among them! But there’s also some highly-anticipated items from The Killers and Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, and Passengers, a.k.a. U2 and Brian Eno, among the other highlights. Visit RecordStoreDay.com for the full list of participating retailers you can visit on Saturday, April 12, to join in the festivities. Elvis Costello, The Kings of America Live At The Royal Albert Hall (Third Man – limited to 2,000 units) EC…
Release Round-Up: Week of October 14
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! Frank Zappa, Zappa ’75: Zagreb/Ljubljana (Zappa/UMe) (Zappa Official Store / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Zappa ’75: Zagreb/Ljubljana captures The Mothers’ first and only concerts in Yugoslavia. Zappa referred to the dates as “The Mothers of Invention Yugoslavian Extravaganza,” and the performances lived up to that mighty moniker. The shows were staged in Zagreb and Ljubljana, now the capital cities of Croatia and Slovenia, respectively. He was joined by the short-lived line-up of Andre…
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The Weekend Stream: April 23, 2022
Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there’s plenty of great new/old music to discover! Return from your Record Store Day binge and kick back with some exciting finds, from charity rarities to new mixes of old favorites and even a surprising soundtrack find or two! Various Artists, EarthPercent Earth Day Initiative (Bandcamp) Though Bandcamp Friday is back in two weeks, the beloved digital service has partnered with EarthPercent, a charity aiming to connect musicians with meaningful…
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Review: David Bowie, “Brilliant Adventure [1992-2001]”
Putting on the black tie, cranking out the white noise… David Bowie wasn’t one to look back. But when he announced Black Tie White Noise, many fans collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Might the “old” David Bowie be returning? The 1993 album was his first in six years, following three albums (two studio and one live) with his hard rock band, Tin Machine. It also reunited him with Nile Rodgers, producer of his all-time best-selling album Let’s Dance, and with Ziggy Stardust-era guitarist Mick Ronson. Black Tie White Noise turned out…
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Classical Goes Rock: Prog “Peter and the Wolf” Featuring Manfred Mann, Brian Eno, Phil Collins, Stephane Grappelli Returns to CD from Cherry Red, Esoteric
Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev wrote Peter and the Wolf in 1936 as “a symphonic fairy tale for children.” As conceived, the narrator tells a story for children in which every character is musically “played” by a different instrument, i.e., the bird is a flute, the duck is an oboe, the cat is a clarinet, the grandfather is a bassoon, the Wolf is French horns, the hunters are woodwinds and trumpets, and Peter is string instruments. Prokofiev’s composition earned the attention of Walt Disney who famously turned it into a 15-minute animated short…
Release Round-Up: Week of January 22
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Kinks, Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (BMG) 3CD/2 7-inch Box Set (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) 1CD Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) 1LP Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) 2CD Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The Kinks’ 1970 classic Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One arrives in a variety of formats including bonus material such as singles, B-sides, alternate mixes, session outtakes, BBC recordings, and newly-recorded commentary from Ray and Dave Davies. The box set (containing a 60-page book, 3 CDs, 2 x 7″ singles, and 4…
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Design As Reduction: Brian Eno’s Soundtrack Work Anthologized On “Film Music 1976-2020”
Brian Eno and UMe have recently announced the release of Film Music 1976-2020 . This first-ever compilation of Eno’s film and television soundtrack work brings together highlights from five decades of music, including seven tracks previously unreleased in an audio-only format . Digital configurations will be released on November 13 while CD and 2-LP editions are set to arrive on January 22, 2021. Multi-instrumentalist and composer Eno has long been associated with film music, starting in 1970 when he provided the soundtrack to Malcolm La Grice’s experimental short, Berlin Horse. Moving pictures…
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Short Takes: Bowie Box, Covering ’90s and Early ’00s, Planned for 2021
David Bowie’s official website has announced plans for a fifth epoch-covering box set to release next year, after delaying an alternate version of said collection for a 2020 release. In a brief post, the late singer’s website confirms that the follow-up to the four career-spanning album boxes – 2015’s Five Years (1969-1973), 2016’s Who Can I Be Now? (1974-1976), 2017’s A New Career in a New Town (1977-1982) and 2018’s Loving The Alien (1983-1988) – will cover the widest span of time yet: 1993 to 2001, considered by some to be his…
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Dancing Again: What To Expect for Record Store Day’s RSD Drops Day 1, August 29
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…
Message to Love: Universal Prepares a Wealth of Rarities for RSD 2020
Here at Second Disc HQ, we’ve been thrilled by the news of amazing releases coming from all the labels this Record Store Day 2020, and UMe’s slate of 20+ titles is no exception. With a new definitive vinyl edition of Paul McCartney’s debut, a tenth-anniversary celebration of Ellie Goulding’s Lights, a Cat Stevens rarity making its vinyl debut, an expanded Elton John, a reissue of an impossible-to-find CTI Jazz album, and many more, fans will want to line up bright and early to secure their copies this April 18! Here’s the official word…
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Too Cool To Fool: Bowie’s Archival ‘Is It Any Wonder’ EP Completes This Friday, Available Physically In March
On January 8 — what would have been David Bowie’s 73rd birthday — Parlophone announced the latest releases in their ongoing series celebrating the rare and unreleased performances from the vault. The streaming EP Is It Any Wonder? was unveiled over the course of the last six weeks, with a new song hitting streaming services every Friday. Parlophone also previewed an upcoming Record Store Day release, ChangesNowBowie with the first selection on the EP, an intimate 1996 recording of “The Man Who Sold The World.” Today, Parlophone revealed the final track on…
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Face To Face: David Bowie Rarities Arriving on “Is It Any Wonder,” Parlophone Announces “ChangesNowBowie” RSD 2020 Release
On January 8 — what would have been David Bowie’s 73rd birthday — Parlophone announced the latest releases in their ongoing series celebrating the rare and unreleased performances from the vault, and fans who appreciate a dramatic unfolding are in for a treat. David Bowie Is It Any Wonder? is the title of the six-track EP of rare and previously unreleased material that will be rolled out track-by-track over the next six weeks. The first selection on the EP is an intimate 1996 recording of “The Man Who Sold The World.” It…
Always Returning: Brian Eno Collaboration “Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks” To Be Expanded on LP, CD, and Deluxe Book Set
Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks is one of the most recognizable ambient pieces of Brian Eno’s career. The album was a collaboration with Daniel Lanois and Roger Eno that provided the soundtrack to Al Reinert’s feature-length Apollo 11 documentary, For All Mankind. Since then, the tracks have appeared in numerous other films, along with television programs, commercials, and even the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. Now, an extended edition of Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks has been announced. Timed for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, the reissue arrives today, July 19, through…
Far Beyond The Pale Horizon: Roxy Music Expand Debut Album for 45th Anniversary in 2018
While Roxy Music essentially broke up at the start of this decade – having performed on and off since 1972 – guitarist Phil Manzanera promised a box set covering the band’s first album back in 2014. Now, it’s one of the latest reissue announcements in a rapidly-filling 2018 release schedule. UMC will release a 3CD/1DVD version of the British art-rockers’ debut on February 2. In addition to the original album (presented as mastered by Bob Ludwig in 1999), two discs of unreleased material will be included (all mastered by Frank Arkwright at…
The Eno Assembly: Four Brian Eno Albums Go Deluxe With Previously Unheard Music
In a career spanning five decades, Brian Eno has refused to be pigeonholed. The ambient music pioneer and electronic explorer has produced albums for David Bowie, U2 and Paul Simon, played in Roxy Music, collaborated with everyone from Belinda Carlisle to David Byrne, composed film and television soundtracks, and maintained a solo career since 1974. His varied body of work as writer, musician, producer and artist has embraced experimentalism and pushed the limits of conventional rock. Now, four of his most overlooked albums first released between 1992 and 1997, have been reissued…
