Happy 2023! Welcome, friends, to The Second Disc's 13th Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! A lot has happened in the last twelve months, but as we look to a new year with optimism and a hopeful spirit, we recognize the many roles music has played in our lives. With that spirit in mind, The Second Disc wishes to recognize 2022's cream of the catalogue music crop - those exemplary reissues and box sets, big and small, that proved to be truly outstanding for music lovers worldwide. Despite the
Ace's long-running Songwriters and Producers series has recently yielded two stellar entries celebrating two gentlemen equally versed in both crafts: Gary Usher and Bob Crewe. Part One of our Ace Round-Up today looks at Happy in Hollywood: The Productions of Gary Usher. Gary Usher (1938-1992) would have gone down in pop history as one of his neighborhood pal Brian Wilson's earliest collaborators, penning lyrics for both a popular hot rod tune ("409") and one of Wilson's most introspective,
High Moon Records' new collection from Curt Boettcher and Friends, Looking for the Sun, takes its title from a 1968 Boettcher production for singer-songwriter Gordon Alexander. Given Boettcher's participation, one might expect the song to be a dreamy SoCal pop fantasia with richly layered harmonies. But instead it's a rather sparse, dark rumination with an acid coffeehouse feel. Alexander, in the song at least, doesn't find the sun, and arguably, neither did Curt Boettcher in his lifetime. But
2015 has been a banner year for Brian Wilson. The Beach Boys legend has already released a new album, is currently preparing for a tour with Searching for Sugar Man cult hero Rodriguez, and will next month see the full release in theatres of his biopic Love and Mercy. Ace Records is joining the celebration with the June 29 U.K. release (July 10 in the U.S.) of Here Today! The Songs of Brian Wilson. One of Ace's first releases in its Songwriters and Producers Series was 2003's Pet Projects:
What do Brian Wilson, MC Lyte and Sam Phillips have in common? All three are among the artists and producers represented on Omnivore Recordings’ trio of delicious vinyl offerings for this April 18’s upcoming Record Store Day! Sessions ’64!! is so exciting that no less than two exclamation points will do!! This groovy 10-inch slab of translucent gold vinyl transports listeners back to 1964. It includes nine tracks produced by Brian Wilson and Jimmy Bowen for the Warner Bros. and