This week, the a cappella vocal group Pentatonix notched its first-ever number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. More remarkably, the song was first recorded in 1937, written by a composer-lyricist who died in 1989, and features a vocalist who passed away in 1998. The song is “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm,” the songwriter is Irving Berlin, and the duet partner is, of course, Frank Sinatra. With this achievement, Sinatra returned to the top of the AC chart for the first time since September 30, 1967, when “The…
Q’s Cues: New ‘Écoutez Le Cinéma’ Box Celebrates the Music of Quincy Jones
When Rhino released Q: The Musical Biography of Quincy Jones – a 4CD, 74-track collection – in 2001, it was a valiant attempt to tell a story that was still being written. The gifted bandleader, composer and producer, who passed away at the age of 91 in 2024, had an enduring way with sound, be it jazz, pop, R&B, rock or even film and television scoring. His decades of work with the 20th century’s greatest luminaries made him a tremendous (if controversial) raconteur, with countless stories to tell and luminaries to work alongside….
Release Round-Up: Week of November 14
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Nicolette Larson, Look in My Direction: The Warner Bros. Recordings (Cherry Red/Lemon/Second Disc) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Cherry Red) Look in My Direction: The Warner Bros. Recordings from Cherry Red’s Lemon imprint and TSD presents all of the late Nicolette Larson’s original studio and live albums for Warner Bros. Records on 4 CDs, produced by Ted Templeman (The Doobie Brothers, Van Halen) and singer-songwriter Andrew Gold (“Thank You for Being…
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Step Into Christmas: UMe Preps Holiday Singles Box, Expansion of Connie Francis’ Holiday Album
With the spookiest holidays of the fall now in the rear view mirror (that’s right: Halloween and Election Day!), there’s nothing wrong with looking ahead to the Christmas music season and checking out a pair of now-available titles from Universal Music Group spotlighting some of their classic holiday hits and an album by one of catalogue’s biggest success stories this year. UMe is selling a nifty collection of more than a dozen seasonal 7″ singles in a collectible carrying case. This Classic Holiday Singles Box features Christmas perennials spanning from the ’40s to…
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Release Round-Up: Week of October 3
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Oasis, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? 30th Anniversary Edition (Big Brother) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Oasis have a slightly expanded edition of 1995’s (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? on tap, pairing a 2014 remaster of the album (which initially came with additional bonus material) with a bonus EP of new unplugged mixes of four of the album’s tracks (plus a non-album B-side, “Acquiesce”). The group’s songwriter/guitarist Noel…
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The Song Is You: SING Premieres Previously Unreleased Live Sinatra on “At The Hollywood Bowl”
The Voice is back. On October 3, the SING label – an offshoot of the blockchain tech company – will premiere Frank Sinatra At The Hollywood Bowl 1943-1948, bringing together eighteen tracks on CD and eleven on vinyl from the late legend’s early performances at the storied Hollywood venue. This landmark title will be followed during the holiday season by Christmas on the Air and a vinyl-exclusive box set entitled Long Ago, Far Away. All tracks on these collections have been mastered from original broadcast sources. At The Hollywood Bowl, recorded during…
Look Out, Ol’ Frankie’s Back: Sinatra’s Final Solo Album Gets Remixed and Expanded for 40th Anniversary
Start spreading the news! Frank Sinatra may have taken John Kander and Fred Ebb’s timeless “(Theme From) New York, New York” to the charts, but the Chairman of the Board also had a soft spot for the City of Angels. In 1984, he teamed with the legendary Quincy Jones, fresh off a little 1982 album called Thriller, to craft what would become the final solo studio album of Sinatra’s extraordinary career. On October 25, Frank Sinatra Enterprises and UMe will reissue L.A. Is My Lady in a remixed and expanded edition on…
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Release Round-Up: Week of August 9
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Also, don’t miss out on today’s eclectic slate of releases from Real Gone Music; click here to find out what’s new from Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Firehouse, Azar Lawrence, Charlie Nothing, and 3 Inches of Blood! Elvis Presley, Memphis (RCA/Legacy) 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada This new 5CD set (also available as a double vinyl album of highlights) showcases five crucial periods in which The…
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When You’re Smiling: Impex Returns to “Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra” with Lavish 1STEP Box
Roughly four years ago, the Impex label revisited Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra in both hybrid mono SACD and deluxe LP formats. The 1950 album was a landmark in the legendary vocalist’s career. After he released the very first pop long-playing record with Columbia’s 1948 reissue of The Voice of Frank Sinatra, he took advantage of the format with Sing and Dance. Initially available as a set of four 10-inch 78s or a single 33-1/3 RPM record, the album saw Sinatra at the dawn of his transformation from the bobbysoxers’ idol…
Nice to Be Around: Extensive John Williams Box Set Released in France
If you’re a Second Disc reader, you’re no doubt aware of the immense musical power film composer John Williams has over us (and people like us!). Even a casual fan surely knows his most familiar works for the screen, from Star Wars and Indiana Jones to Jurassic Park and Harry Potter; the films of Steven Spielberg (JAWS, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Schindler’s List); themes for everything from Superman to the Olympics. He’s picked up five Oscars (53 nominations, second only to Walt Disney), 25 Grammys, the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award (the only composer to receive the honor),…
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Release Round-Up: Week of October 27
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the (many, many!) new titles available today! As an Amazon associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. The Salsoul Orchestra, Christmas Jollies I + II: The Extra Jolly Edition (SoulMusic/Cherry Red/Second Disc) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Cherry Red) The Second Disc has teamed with SoulMusic Records for the definitive celebration of the Christmas disco/Philly soul classic. The Salsoul Orchestra’s Christmas Jollies I + II: The Extra Jolly Edition brings together Vincent Montana, Jr.’s original Christmas Jollies plus Tom Moulton’s complete 1992 remix and producer Patrick Adams’ rare follow-up, Christmas…
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Here Goes: Frank Sinatra’s “Platinum” Offers Retrospective of His Capitol Recordings
70 years ago, in 1953, Frank Sinatra made the move from Columbia Records to the Capitol label. Having chafed under the direction of Columbia’s pop guru Mitch Miller, the future Chairman of the Board sought – and received – creative freedom at the Tower on Hollywood and Vine. Co-founded by songwriter Johnny Mercer, Capitol provided an artist-friendly environment in which Sinatra could, and would, thrive. On October 27, the label will release Frank Sinatra: Platinum, a 2CD, 4LP, or digital overview of The Voice’s time on the Capitol roster. The remastered collection…
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Release Round-Up: Week of June 3
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, highlighted by our newest Second Disc Records release and featuring a selection of the week’s other new titles! Stoney and Meatloaf, Everything Under the Sun: The Motown Recordings (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music) Stoney and Meatloaf’s Everything Under the Sun: The Motown Recordings from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music is the ultimate celebration of late rock superstar Meat Loaf’s singular collaboration with the extraordinary, Grammy-nominated Shaun Murphy (who went on to sing for more than four decades with Bob Seger…
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Hooray for Hollywood: New Box Set Celebrates 100 Years of The Hollywood Bowl with Sinatra, Bernstein, Doors, Newman, Dudamel, More
2022 marks 100 years of The Hollywood Bowl. The famous amphitheater nestled in the Hollywood hills has hosted luminaries of every genre of music from classical to rock in its instantly familiar bandshell (actually two bandshells, as the first one from 1929 was demolished in 2003 and replaced with a larger model). The Bowl has been featured in movies including the original A Star Is Born, Double Indemnity, Xanadu, and Beaches and cartoons starring Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry, and The Pink Panther. Now, its resident orchestra – the prestigious L.A. Philharmonic…
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So Much Excitement to Be Found: UMe Reissues Frank Sinatra’s Concept Album “Watertown”
Old Watertown/Nothing much happening down on Main, ‘cept a little rain… Something’s happening in Watertown – on June 3, to be precise. That’s the date when UMe and Frank Sinatra Enterprises (FSE) will release a remixed and expanded edition of Frank Sinatra’s 1970 masterwork Watertown on CD and digital/streaming platforms. In addition, the remixed album only will be reissued on vinyl. Watertown remains an album unlike any other in the Sinatra discography. The seeds of the two-part suite were planted when Sinatra met with Frankie Valli of The Four Seasons. Valli’s longtime…
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The Weekend Stream: February 5, 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! Some fascinating finds ahead from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and far beyond – but first, another streaming housekeeping note… You may have read our thoughts last week about streaming services, what they’re doing, what they should be doing, and how artists are reacting. We had no intention of telling people where they should or shouldn’t get their digital catalogue fix. However, this…
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Fly Me to the Moon: Vinyl Me, Please Chronicles “The Story of Quincy Jones” on New Anthology Box Set
Following the recent announcement of an Anthology box set for the Philadelphia International Records, record club Vinyl Me, Please has turned its attention to one of music’s most famous multi-hyphenate talents: Quincy Jones. The multi-instrumentalist-composer-producer-arranger-conductor’s credits are too numerous to mention, but VMP’s Anthology – due in January 2022 – provides a career overview bookended by two of his most acclaimed jazz recordings. The 12-LP box set The Story of Quincy Jones Anthology is produced in cooperation with Quincy Jones Productions and is cross-licensed from labels including Universal and Warner. The box…
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The Weekend Stream: September 25, 2021
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! A Tribe Called Quest, Check the Rhime (Remixes) / Hot Sex / Jazz…
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The Weekend Stream: August 7, 2021
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! Madonna, True Blue (35th Anniversary Edition) (Sire/Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify) Madonna…
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All or Nothing at All: Frank Sinatra’s “Reprise Rarities Vol. 3” Features Movie Songs, Pop, Disco, and More
Last Friday, Frank Sinatra Enterprises and UMe released Reprise Rarities Vol. 3, the third of five planned digital-only collections of material previously available only in a physical format. Its 15 new-to-streaming tracks were recorded between 1960-1977. Much of the set finds the venerable artist coming to terms with the changing sound of popular music…and, of course, doing it his way. (Read about Vol. 1 here and Vol. 2 here.) The collection opens with the Reprise remake of “The Last Dance” from Sinatra’s frequent and prolific collaborators Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen,…
Short Takes: More of Frank Sinatra’s “Reprise Rarities” Compiled, Universal Reissues Peggy Lee and David Bowie
Frank Sinatra Enterprises and UMe have released a second volume of their digital-only Reprise Rarities series, bringing together another 13 sides from Frank Sinatra‘s time at the label he founded, all of which are new to download and streaming. This baker’s dozen from the Chairman of the Board spans 1960-1995 and is arguably even more eclectic than the first collection. Reprise Rarities Vol. 2 includes single B-sides (“Tina,” “Blue Lace,” “Star!,” “It’s Sunday”) as well as the sublime 1976 A-side “I Love My Wife” (the title ballad of Cy Coleman and Michael…
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Release Round-Up: Week of December 11
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Neil Young, After the Gold Rush: 50th Anniversary Edition (Reprise) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The 50th Anniversary Edition of Neil Young’s classic album features new art based on Gary Burden’s original album cover design. The CD is out today while the vinyl edition will be released in March, 2021 and presented in a box set with the LP and a bonus 7″ single in a newly designed picture sleeve. This set includes two different versions of the After the Gold Rush outtake “Wonderin’.” …
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My Blue Heaven: Impex Preps Expanded Audiophile Reissue of “Sing and Dance With Frank Sinatra” on LP and SACD
Over the course of his long and storied career, Frank Sinatra made many game-changing moves. He released the very first pop long-playing record with Columbia’s 1948 reissue of The Voice of Frank Sinatra, pioneered the concept album with In The Wee Small Hours at Capitol, founded his own independent record label (Reprise), and transformed the art of pop vocal performance. In 1950, the future Chairman of the Board released an album (then available as either a set of four 10″ 78s or a single 33-1/3 RPM LP) called Sing and Dance with…
Release Round-Up: Week of June 5
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Frank Sinatra, Nice ‘n’ Easy: 60th Anniversary Edition (Capitol/UMe) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP (Remixed Album Only): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Capitol Records, Frank Sinatra Enterprises, and UMe have a 60th anniversary edition of Frank Sinatra’s classic 1960 album arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle. For the occasion, the album has been completely remixed and features three bonus tracks: the outtake “The Nearness of You,” plus the previously unreleased session takes for “Nice ‘n’ Easy” and “I’ve…
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Release Round-Up: Week of May 15
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Frank Sinatra, Nice ‘n’ Easy: 60th Anniversary Expanded Edition (Capitol/UMe) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP (Remixed Album Only): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Capitol Records, Frank Sinatra Enterprises, and UMe have a 60th anniversary edition of Frank Sinatra’s classic 1960 album arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle. For the occasion, the album has been completely remixed and features three bonus tracks: the outtake “The Nearness of You,” plus the previously unreleased session takes for “Nice ‘n’ Easy” and…
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