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
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
The names of Mickie Most and Reggie Young might not be among the most familiar except to diehard music aficionados, but the songs that benefited from their respective golden touches certainly are among the most well-known ever. Ace Records has recently paid tribute to both of these late talents with a pair of deluxe anthologies. The Pop Genius of Mickie Most may be the most lavish single-disc package yet released by Ace, housed in a heavy slipcase also containing a squarebound 74-page
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
This coming Sunday at 9 PM, NBC will air the 2-hour Elvis All-Star Tribute featuring performances by Yolanda Adams, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Alessia Cara, Mac Davis, John Fogerty, Josh Groban, Adam Lambert, John Legend, Little Big Town, Jennifer Lopez, Post Malone, Shawn Mendes, Pistol Annies, Darius Rucker, Ed Sheeran, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban. These primarily present-day music stars will be commemorating Presley's famous 1968 television special which also aired
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Elvis Presley, The Best of the '68 Comeback Special (RCA/Legacy) Standard CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Walmart Exclusive CD/DVD: Walmart.com The celebration of Elvis Presley's legendary 1968 NBC television special continues. The Best of the '68 Comeback Special features highlights from Legacy's recent '68 Comeback Special box set with performances culled from both of the "stand-up" and "sit-down" shows recorded in June,
The celebration for Elvis Presley's '68 "comeback special" is continuing into the new year. Legacy Recordings and RCA have announced a new single-CD collection to coincide with an upcoming NBC-TV tribute to the original December 1968 broadcast. The Best of the '68 Comeback Special, coming on February 15, features highlights from the recent '68 Comeback Special box set with performances culled from both of the "stand-up" and "sit-down" shows recorded in June, 1968 for the special.
Elvis and Dino took on hypocrisy. Dion lamented the senseless deaths of Abraham, Martin, and John. Johnny "Poetry in Motion" Tillotson cast a spotlight on the poor treatment of veterans returned home from war. Bing Crosby wondered "What Do We Do with the World" and Paul Anka observed that "This crazy world has come undone." Such are the moments captured on Ace's thoroughly captivating new collection Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs Present State of the Union: The American Dream in Crisis
Elvis had a lot riding on his December 1968 NBC-TV special. Once the brightest star in the galaxy - and one whose every freeing move caused ripples in American society - he was no longer at the top of the charts. A string of lightweight movie musicals had rendered the once-"dangerous" entertainer as wholesome as apple pie. At the time of the broadcast, Elvis' most recent single ("Guitar Man") had failed to crack the top 40 and he hadn't had a chart-topper since "Good Luck Charm" in 1962. He
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Neil Diamond, 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition (Capitol/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Neil Diamond revisits a 50+-year career with a new 6-CD, 115-song retrospective box set featuring hits, rarities, and 15 previously unreleased tracks including the original demos of "America" and "I Am...I Said." Everything is packaged within a deluxe hardcover book-style format. 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition expands upon 2017's
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Fleetwood Mac, 50 Years: Don't Stop (Warner Bros./Rhino) 3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 5LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada In celebration of its 50 years, Fleetwood Mac is issuing a new career-spanning collection featuring 50 songs on either 3 CDs or 5 LPs. These include hits, favorites, and a smattering of rarities such as the CD premiere of 2013's "Sad Angel"
On December 3, 1968, Elvis Presley electrified television audiences with the self-titled special that would come to be known, simply, as The Comeback Special. Nearly fifty years later, it remains the epitome of his artistry during a period when some would have written him off. At the time of the NBC-TV broadcast, his most recent single ("Guitar Man") had failed to crack the top 40. He hadn't had a chart-topper since "Good Luck Charm" in 1962. He hadn't appeared live onstage since a benefit
This morning, Capitol Records and UMe announced a title that unites two late titans of song. Glen Campbell Sings for The King arrives on November 16, premiering never-before-released recordings made by Campbell for his friend Presley. It will be released on CD, LP, digitally, and as a limited edition, 180-gram clear vinyl edition available exclusively at the artist's website. Between 1964 and 1968, Glen was engaged by the songwriting team of Ben Weisman and Sid Wayne to record
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Elvis Presley, Where No One Stands Alone (RCA/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) RCA presents 14 of The King's seminal gospel and spiritually-themed recordings, all remixed with new orchestrations and new supporting vocals from artists who knew and worked with Elvis including Darlene Love, Cissy Houston, and Lisa Marie Presley plus members of The Stamps Quartet and The Imperials. Includes new versions of "Stand by Me," "You'll
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, and one of the biggest Release Fridays of the year to date! Chicago, VI Decades Live: This is What We Do (Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Chicago celebrates 50 years on the road with this expansive new box set featuring 4 CDs and 1 DVD of previously unreleased live music recorded between 1969 and 2014. This set includes two complete concerts - The Isle of Wight, 1970 on CD and a Rockpalast broadcast from Germany in 1977 on
Record Store Day is a little over a month away - Saturday, April 21 - and record labels large and small are celebrating in high style. Legacy Recordings is looking to make this the biggest and best RSD yet, with a line-up of nearly 30 titles in genres including classic rock, pop, jazz, R&B, hip-hop, comedy, and beyond. Many of the label's heavy hitters are represented, including Johnny Cash (an expanded vinyl box set of Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison: Legacy Edition), Jimi Hendrix (a new
A new Elvis Presley documentary is heading to television screens this April, and an accompanying soundtrack album will arrive in a variety of formats that same month from Legacy Recordings and RCA Records. Elvis Presley: The Searcher, directed by Emmy and Grammy winner Thom Zimny and written by author/journalist Alan Light, traces the artistic evolution of the artist from his R&B and country beginnings through his final Jungle Room recording sessions at Graceland. The three-hour, two-part
Since September 25, 1979, there hasn't been a day when an Andrew Lloyd Webber melody hasn't been heard on Broadway. That was the opening night of Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Evita. Before it ended its run in June 1983, Lloyd Webber's musical Cats had opened, launching a record-breaking run through September 2000. But on January 26, 1988, the show opened which would eclipse them all: Phantom of the Opera. It today celebrates 30 years (marked with a special gala earlier this week) and is
The history of commercial recorded music stretches back over 100 years and has encompasses the stories of many artists and talents. One of the biggest figures in this early history was Ralph S. Peer. The A&R (Artists and Repertoire) and publishing pioneer might not be a household name today, but he made major contributions to many varied musical genres including blues, country and Latin. Sony Music Latin has recently released a wide-ranging, eclectic 3-CD box set entitled The Roots of
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! "Weird Al" Yankovic, Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic (Legacy) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The world's premier parodist celebrates his discography with a box set unlike any other: all 14 of his original albums, newly remastered; Medium Rarities, a bonus album of rare and unreleased material; and a 100+ page book of rare photos and memorabilia--all packaged
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Carol Burnett, Carol Burnett Sings: Expanded Edition (Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Real Gone celebrates the 50th anniversary of The Carol Burnett Show with the comedy legend's third solo album and first for RCA Victor. A tie-in to the groundbreaking variety show, Carol Burnett Sings features four songs performed on early episodes: "Georgy Girl," "Enter Laughing," "I Believed It All" and "There's No Business Like Show
Even though the fall season has yet to officially begin, kids are back at school and we are already looking ahead to winter. Of course, that also means Christmas and it is time to start kicking off the announcements of Christmas recordings for this year. RCA and Legacy Recordings have just announced a new Elvis Presley project for this yuletide season: Christmas with Elvis and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, due on October 6. As you may have guessed from the title, this new project
It's hard to believe - impossible, even - but Elvis Aron Presley once was just A Boy from Tupelo. The once and future King's transformation from modest beginnings to international superstar has never been more vividly traced than on the new 3-CD box set from RCA and Legacy. A Boy from Tupelo: The Complete 1953-1955 Recordings is a trip back in time to the birth of rock-and-roll (destination: Memphis) featuring every one of Elvis' known Sun Records masters and outtakes, as well as his four
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Elvis Presley, A Boy From Tupelo - The Complete 1953-55 Recordings (RCA/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada / Amazon U.K.) A Boy From Tupelo: The Complete Recordings 1953-1955 journeys back to the birth of rock-and-roll to feature, on three CDs and digitally, every known Elvis Presley Sun Records master and outtake. In addition, the collection also contains Elvis' four earliest, privately-pressed sides, and vintage radio and concert
In February 1952, Sam Phillips launched Sun Records at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee - the site of his Sun Studio, previously known as Memphis Recording Service. Two years later, the visionary entrepreneur signed Elvis Presley, and then opened the doors to such other legendary talents as Johnny Cash, Jerry Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich, and more. The Sun Records rockabilly sound incorporated rhythm and blues, country, rock and roll, and gospel, forever changing the