As fans prepare for the release of the new Disney+ documentary Beatles '64, chronicling The Fab Four's legendary inaugural trip to America, U.K. label Ace Records has an exciting release coming that same weekend, featuring nearly two dozen Black artists paying tribute to a series of songbooks that owed so much to soul music and rhythm and blues traditions. Here, There and Everywhere: Black America Sings Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, available November 29, is the seventh of Ace's "Black
Is it possible for a group like the Four Tops to be underrated? On its face, that question seems ridiculous. The Detroit vocal quartet had two dozen Top 40 hits in America between 1964 and 1988; they're in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and the R&B Group Hall of Fame, they have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award; Rolling Stone and Billboard both named them one of the 100 greatest artists of all time. Those are laurels
Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there's plenty of great new/old music to float you into the weekend. From classic Jersey pop and British dance of the '80s to a bright young drummer keeping Detroit soul alive in the present day, our latest offerings pack quite a punch. The Bongos, Numbers with Wings (40th Anniversary Edition) (RCA/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon) The New Jersey pop/rock outfit led by
As a songwriter, producer, singer, and musician, Mike Hurst has earned his place in the pop pantheon. A member of The Springfields alongside Dusty Springfield and her brother Tom, Hurst later formed a band with Jimmy Page (The Methods) and produced hits for Cat Stevens, P.P. Arnold, Manfred Mann, The Spencer Davis Group, Fancy, Showaddywaddy, and others. Late in 2021, Cherry Red's Strawberry imprint celebrated Hurst's musical legacy with a 4-CD collection, In My Time: Recordings, Productions,
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! Aaliyah, Aaliyah
It's What's Happening, Baby! That's the name of the 1965 television special hosted by influential New York disk jockey Murray Kaufman, a.k.a. Murray The K. Over the course of 90 minutes, the jocular, hep-talking Murray (who christened himself The Fifth Beatle as an early friend and supporter of the Fab Four) shared musical performances by the day's biggest pop and soul acts including The Supremes, Dionne Warwick, Ray Charles, The Righteous Brothers, The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, Johnny Rivers,
Earlier this year, The Second Disc shared news of Rock, Pop and Doo Wop, a 7-DVD collection from Treasury Collection and executive producer-director TJ Lubinsky. Now, with the holidays upon us, a new set featuring dozens of classic hit-makers has just been released: '60s Rock, Pop and Soul. This 4-DVD package has been culled from two decades of Lubinsky's historic television concerts, with 130 hit songs from a "Who's Who" of legendary performers including Frankie Valli ("Can't Take My Eyes
"Be My Baby." "Can't Take My Eyes off You." "Stand by Me." "You Don't Own Me." Songs such as these not only defined the era in which they were first written and performed, but continue to resonate today. They're just four of the classic songs included on an upcoming 7-DVD set from Treasury Collection that serves as a definitive concert anthology of classic American R&B music. Rock, Pop, and Doo Wop has been curated by executive producer and director TJ Lubinsky from his acclaimed onstage
Welcome to our final Release Round-Up of 2019! This edition covers today's releases as well as those of the next two weeks, the quietest time of the year for new releases. The weekly Release Round-Up will be back on January 10. In the meantime, Happy Holidays to all! Frank Zappa, The Hot Rats Sessions (Zappa/UMe) 6CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada This 6-CD box set explores Frank Zappa's 1969 primarily instrumental solo
With the lead-up to Record Store Day Black Friday in full swing, it's time to take a look at what Universal Music Group has prepped for the semi-annual vinyl bonanza. The label's eight major catalog vinyl releases are familiar to longtime RSD consumers. Some celebrate an iconic anniversary (as is the case for titles by U2, Frank Sinatra and Frank Zappa), one complements a general catalog title (an unreleased live James Brown album), and some just feature great music in rare
Here's your Release Round Up for the week ahead. Various Artists, Country Music -- A Film By Ken Burns: The Soundtrack (Legacy Recordings) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD: Walmart.com Filmmaker Ken Burns has tackled many subjects over the years, from the Civil War to baseball. His documentaries have garnered numerous awards over the years.
Back in March, we filled you in about Universal Japan's plans for Motown's 60th anniversary campaign, which included a series of reissues and a 3-CD, 60-song collection. We recently reviewed the U.S.' reissue of the definitive Motown: The Complete No. 1s box set. Now, the U.K. is getting into the act with a different 3-CD, 60-song anthology of its own. Motown: Greatest Hits arrives on August 16. Like the Japanese set, it boasts 60 classics from the label on three CDs, but the selection is
Smokey Robinson's mama famously told the young singer-songwriter that he'd better shop around, but happily, those looking for the definitive chronicle of Smokey and Diana and Mary and Flo and Martha and Marvin and Stevie and co. need shop around no more. To mark the label's 60th anniversary, Motown: The Complete No. 1s is back in print in a slightly-expanded edition, and this 11-CD box set is, simply, one-stop shopping. Impressively housed within a sturdy replica of 2648 West Grand Boulevard
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Hootie & The Blowfish, Cracked Rear View: 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Atlantic/Rhino) 3-CD/DVD Deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2-CD Expanded: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Hootie and the Blowfish are revisiting their 21x platinum smash Cracked Rear View with a new 3-CD/DVD Deluxe Edition and 2-CD Expanded Edition. The Deluxe Edition includes a new
For its 60th anniversary year, Universal Music Enterprises has begun reminding fans that "Motown Did It First"; now, the label that launched The Sound Of Young America is revisiting a box set that was released in celebration of its 50th anniversary a decade ago. Motown: The Complete No. 1s is being reissued and expanded on June 28. Motown: The Complete No. 1s featured more than 200 international chart-toppers, plus a handful of bonus masters that went to No. 1 through cover versions or
Motown Did It First! That's the campaign slogan for Universal Japan's ongoing program celebrating the venerable label's 60th anniversary. And indeed, the influence of Motown - still the most successful African-American-founded record label of all time - can't be underestimated when considering the current music scene. A number of physical releases have already been released in Japan to mark the anniversary, most of which are available as affordable imports and include titles not commonly
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Johnny Mathis, The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face)/Song Sung Blue: Expanded Edition (Second Disc/Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music have paired two 1972 albums from the legendary Johnny Mathis as an expanded 2-CD set. Both albums were produced by Jerry Fuller and make their standalone CD debuts here. The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face) had not only Mathis' rendition of the hit
With summer winding down, we now start to look to the fall and what's coming up in that season. Real Gone has recently announced a couple of 2-CD compilations in the R&B/Soul genre due on October 5. The first is The Complete ABC/Dunhill Singles from the Four Tops. The vocal quartet of Levi Stubbs, Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton needs little introduction as they were the Motown stalwarts who gave us such classics as "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey