The last calendar page of the year (and, in this case, even the first!) means a bounty of soundtrack reissues! La-La Land Records, Varese Sarabande and Quartet have all recently planned some exciting expansions for your favorite score collector. La-La Land may have claimed that they were “serving coal” this year, with a lot of their typically big end-of-year titles stuck in approval delays – but they still prepared two late-period favorites from two classic film composers (plus an exciting vinyl title for James Bond fans) before kicking off January with two…
The Weekend Stream: August 16, 2025
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. A soft-rock legend says farewell on his own terms, a Broadway star channels one of mid-century pop’s greatest voices, plus everything from video game music to “jazz-tinged” alt-pop oddities is headed your way this week! Stephen Bishop, THIMK (Life’s a Bish) (Apple / Amazon) Stephen Bishop is billing THIMK as his final studio album – a decision he explains in the spoken word track that concludes the set –…
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Release Round-Up: Week of June 28
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Various Artists, Motown: The Complete No. 1s (Motown/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) For its 60th anniversary year, UMe has begun reminding fans that “Motown Did It First“; now, Motown is revisiting an essential box set that was originally released in celebration of its 50th anniversary a decade ago. Motown: The Complete No. 1s features more than 200 international chart-toppers, plus a handful of bonus masters that went to No. 1 through cover versions or samples. And the packaging is a delight: the…
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Never Say Die! Varese Bringing ‘Goonies’ Score Back To CD
Varese Sarabande is setting sail with a wide CD release of Dave Grusin’s score to The Goonies this summer! Recently a staple of Varese’s vinyl catalog, it’s the first time the music’s been put on CD since a limited release in 2010. A movie this offbeat – a gang of misfit kids in Oregon follow a pirate treasure map and face off against a family of crooks – had to have an interesting score, and The Goonies didn’t disappoint. Grusin, known equally for his lengthy scoring career (The Graduate, Tootsie, On Golden…
Release Round-Up: Week of December 7
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Wings, The Paul McCartney Archive Collection: Wild Life [Various Formats] (MPL/Capitol) 3CD/DVD Box: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP [Remastered Album + Bonus Audio]: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD [Remastered Album + Bonus Audio]: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Wild Life was the first Wings album but third overall by McCartney outside the shadow of his famous band. Paul and his wife Linda teamed up with drummer Denny Seiwell and guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Denny Laine to create a relaxed, pastoral album that was intentionally as light as a feather. …
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“Goonies” R Good Enough to Launch Varese’s Vinyl Webstore; Plus “Barbarella” and More!
Varese Sarabande made headlines last month when it was revealed that the venerable label had been acquired by Concord Music. Today, Varese has announced the opening of a new online vinyl store on March 30. The Varese Vinyl shop will inaugurate its sales with three limited, numbered, exclusive soundtrack LPs: John Carpenter and Alan Howarth’s Christine on “Fury Red” vinyl; Bob Crewe and Charles Fox’s Barbarella on 180-gram vinyl; and Dave Grusin’s The Goonies on a 2-LP “Willy’s Gold” colored vinyl edition. Back in 2010, Varese premiered Dave Grusin’s score to the…
The “Wait” Is Over: Varese Returns Dave Grusin’s “Heaven Can Wait” and “Racing with the Moon” to CD
For more than fifty years, Robert David Grusin – or Dave Grusin, as he’s better known – has been making music to the tune of multiple Grammys and an Oscar, not to mention Golden Globes and various other honors. Grusin has successfully scored for motion pictures and kept a busy profile in pop, soul and jazz, co-founding GRP Records and encouraging compact disc technology at the dawn of the era. Back in 2013, Kritzerland delivered the world premiere soundtrack releases of two of the composer’s finest scores: 1978’s Heaven Can Wait, which netted Grusin…
Reservations for Two: SoulMusic Adds Kashif, Tom Browne to “Anthology” Series
Earlier this year, Cherry Red’s SoulMusic Records imprint continued its series of artist anthologies with another two titles in the series, this time spotlighting the late singer-songwriter-musician-producer Kashif, and jazz fusion artist-trumpeter Tom Browne. Help Yourself to My Love: The Arista Anthology collects 30 tracks on 2 CDs from Kashif, the artist born Michael Jones, whose smooth grooves helped define the sound of eighties R&B. A native New Yorker, Kashif first rose to fame as a member of B.T. Express while still a teenager; though he played keyboards and occasionally composed for…
Is He Groovin’ You? Big Break Collects Harvey Mason’s Funky Arista Years
Harvey Mason may be best known for his session credits on countless classic records by artists from Carole King to Quincy Jones. But the drummer/percussionist has also led a solo career since 1975, most often fusing his jazz sensibility with R&B textures. His first stint as a solo artist came at Clive Davis’ Arista Records, where he recorded five well-received, self-produced albums between 1975 and 1981. Big Break’s recent anthology Sho Nuff Groovin’ You: The Arista Records Anthology 1975-1981 draws on all five releases to paint a full portrait of the artist’s…
WE HAVE OUR WINNERS: “ON GOLDEN POND” GIVEAWAY!
CONGRATULATIONS! The following 10 entrants have won a copy of Varese Vintage’s brand-new reissue of Dave Grusin’s On Golden Pond soundtrack on CD! If you entered our contest via Facebook and your name is on the list below, please drop us a line at theseconddisc-at-gmail-dot-com or a Private Message on Facebook with your name and mailing address! If you entered via email, you don’t have to do anything – your CD will be in the mail soon! Watch this space soon for more exciting giveaways! BUTCH HARRY BARBEE MICHAEL BITTERMAN HOWARD BLOUNT…
WIN! WIN! WIN! Varese Reissues Dave Grusin’s Soundtrack to “On Golden Pond”
When The Hollywood Reporter asked Jane Fonda in 2011 to identify her proudest moment, the second-generation film star offered, “Certainly producing On Golden Pond and giving the Oscar to my father five months before he died was very special.” Indeed, Jane had purchased the rights to Ernest Thompson’s stage play in order to give her father a final big-screen hurrah. On Golden Pond, produced by and co-starring Jane, netted three Academy Awards – for Henry Fonda, his equally legendary co-star Katharine Hepburn, and Ernest Thompson – out of ten nominations. One of…
If You Remember Me: Varese Reissues Dave Grusin, Willie Nelson on “The Champ” and “Electric Horseman”
On Friday, May 20, Varese Vintage has two rare soundtracks arriving in stores from composer and jazz great Dave Grusin: the CD premiere of his score to The Champ (with a pivotal song contribution from Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager) and the return to CD of The Electric Horseman, featuring score by Grusin and songs from the one and only Willie Nelson. 1979’s The Champ marked the American film debut of Italian director Franco Zeffirelli. A remake of the 1931 film of the same name, it starred Jon Voight as Billy…
Release Round-Up: Week of May 20
Welcome to this week’s packed Release Round-Up! David Bowie, ChangesOneBowie (Parlophone/Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) ChangesOneBowie returns from Parlophone in a 40th anniversary edition available on vinyl, CD and digital formats. Originally issued on RCA in May 20, 1976, ChangesOneBowie was the first key compilation album from superstar David Bowie. Collecting songs dating back to 1969, the 11-track album introduced the single “John, I’m Only Dancing” on LP alongside highlights from his remarkable string of releases: David Bowie(“Space Oddity”), Hunky Dory (“Changes”), The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and…
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Kritzerland Premieres Dave Grusin’s Score to “Falling in Love”
For its latest classic soundtrack, Kritzerland is returning to the music of renaissance man Dave Grusin. The Academy Award-winning composer’s skillful and unfailingly melodic blend of jazz, pop and orchestral sounds has well served him for a Hollywood career that’s lasted for more than forty years. One of the highlights of Grusin’s 1980s was his score to 1984’s Falling in Love, which is receiving its world premiere soundtrack from Kritzerland. Director Ulu Grossbard’s bittersweet romantic drama starred Meryl Streep and Robert DeNiro against a backdrop of contemporary New York City. Grusin was…
Review: Three From Dave Grusin, Cy Coleman and Henry Mancini
With hyperbole the norm, it’s questionable just how many buyers took notice of a 1957 album on the Liberty label entitled The Versatile Henry Mancini. Yet fewer record titles have proven as apt. As frequent collaborator Blake Edwards noted, “Whether the situation is romantic, humorous, tragic, ironic or full of action, Mancini creates exactly the right musical mood.” Mancini’s breakthrough came two years after that LP’s release, when Edwards enlisted him to provide the cool jazz-inflected score to the television drama Peter Gunn. Though no such albums exist, it’s easy to imagine…
