Holiday Gift Guide Review: ‘Mary Poppins: 60th Anniversary Collection’

I. In Every Job That Must Be Done, There is An Element of Fun When you’re a child – no matter where you’re from, or how perceptive you may be about such things – it’s easy to get a sixth sense about something you watch or read and just feel is different from the rest of what you’ve watched or seen. The Wizard of Oz is that way for many people. So too is Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers’ series of books about a magical nanny that was adapted into a colorful musical film by Walt…

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The Weekend Stream: December 6, 2024

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. Elton John’s most recent recording gets a remix, plus some rare Prince-produced ’90s R&B, a comeback track from one of 2010s pop’s most underrated performers, and some Christmas curios you’ll have to hear to believe. There’s even a tearjerker music video from…Coldplay? Check it all out! Elton John, “Never Too Late” (Acoustic Version) (Mercury/EMI) (iTunes / Amazon) Elton’s recently released team-up with Brandi Carlile, which closes the documentary…

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It’s a Jolly Holiday: ‘Mary Poppins’ Vinyl Box Announced for 60th Anniversary

When Richard M. Sherman, one half of the legendary songwriting team The Sherman Brothers, passed away last month, The Second Disc was quick to pay tribute to all the duo’s great works for Walt Disney films and elsewhere. But their most towering achievement is probably the song score to the whimsical Mary Poppins. This summer, to celebrate the film’s 60th anniversary, Disney will release a limited edition vinyl box set collecting the film’s original soundtrack, rare archival material and no less than four out-of-print albums from the Disney discography. The Mary Poppins (60th Anniversary…

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UPDATE 10/9 – Once Upon a Dream: “Disney100” Collection Comes to CD

UPDATE 10/9: “I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing: that it was all started by a mouse.”  Walt Disney was, of course, speaking of his enduring creation, Mickey Mouse.  The character’s debut in the 1928 animated short subject Steamboat Willie was indeed the watershed moment from which decades of entertainment in every conceivable medium followed.  But the business that became The Walt Disney Company had been founded five years earlier, in 1923, by brothers Walt and Roy.  That’s the anniversary being celebrated now under the branding of Disney100.  The…

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Once Upon a Dream: “Disney100” Celebrates the Disney Music Legacy

“I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing: that it was all started by a mouse.”  Walt Disney was, of course, speaking of his enduring creation, Mickey Mouse.  The character’s debut in the 1928 animated short subject Steamboat Willie was indeed the watershed moment from which decades of entertainment in every conceivable medium followed.  But the business that became The Walt Disney Company had been founded five years earlier, in 1923, by brothers Walt and Roy.  That’s the anniversary being celebrated now under the branding of Disney100.  The campaign…

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Put on a Happy Face: Jasmine Reissues, Expands Dick Van Dyke’s “Songs I Like”

In an extraordinary showbiz career spanning almost 75 years, perennial song-and-dance man Dick Van Dyke has only recorded three solo albums (in addition to his appearances on best-selling cast albums and soundtracks, that is!).  While two of those – 2017’s Step Back in Time and 2009’s Put on a Happy Face, the latter with his a cappella group The Vantastix – are from recent years, he did record one LP while starring on the 15-time Emmy Award-winning sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show.  1963’s Songs I Like, recorded with The Ray Charles…

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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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