The last calendar page of the year (and, in this case, even the first!) means a bounty of soundtrack reissues! La-La Land Records, Varese Sarabande and Quartet have all recently planned some exciting expansions for your favorite score collector. La-La Land may have claimed that they were “serving coal” this year, with a lot of their typically big end-of-year titles stuck in approval delays – but they still prepared two late-period favorites from two classic film composers (plus an exciting vinyl title for James Bond fans) before kicking off January with two…
Soundtrack Watch: La-La Land Spins ‘Thelma & Louise,’ Intrada Revisits ‘First Blood’ and New Varese Club Titles
The month ahead brings even more soundtrack news than the big John Williams box set! New archival reissues from La-La Land Records, Varese Sarabande and Intrada are all on the calendar. First up, after expansions of Rain Man, A League of Their Own and Gladiator in recent months, La-La Land will give the expanded treatment to Hans Zimmer’s score to the 1991 hit Thelma & Louise. Directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by writer-director Callie Khouri (her first credit!), Thelma & Louise starred Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis as two midwestern friends whose road trip escape…
Release Round-Up: Week of April 25
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. Neil Young, Oceanside/Countryside (Reprise/NYA) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Neil Young is unveiling another once-lost album with the release of Oceanside Countryside which arrives on CD today following its vinyl release.The LP was recorded from May to December 1977; the first side comprised solo Young performances, while most of the second featured a full band. It never saw release, though. Instead, Comes a Time hit store shelves in October 1978. Both albums…
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King of the High Cs: Decca Celebrates Pavarotti with Reissues of Famed Compilation, Henry Mancini Collaboration
In a career spanning more than 50 years, Luciano Pavarotti brought opera to the masses, singing with a host of popular artists from Bono and Meat Loaf to Frank Sinatra and Elton John. He won five competitive Grammy Awards, a pair of Emmys, and a Kennedy Center Honor, along with numerous recognitions from his native Italy, France, and Monaco. At the time of his death on September 6, 2007 at the age of 71, he had sold over one hundred million records, while The Three Tenors – the opera supergroup he formed…
It Had Better Be Tonight: Quartet Records Celebrates Henry Mancini with “Pink Panther” Premiere Plus “Darling Lili” and More
April 16, 2024 marked what would have been the 100th birthday of Henry Mancini (1924-1994). With over 125 films and 90 albums to his credit (not to mention television shows, stage productions, and more!), the late composer’s richly melodic music is still very much a part of the American cultural tapestry. Spain’s soundtrack specialist label Quartet Records wasn’t about to let the Mancini centennial go unnoticed. The label has delivered four new Mancini releases just in time for the holidays, all of which look to be deserving of the composer’s great legacy….
Release Round-Up: Week of December 6
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles out today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Laura Nyro, Hear My Song: The Collection 1966-1995 (Madfish) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Madfish) Over three years after the release of its 8LP vinyl box set American Dreamer 1967-1978, the Madfish label is returning to the discography of late singer-songwriter Laura Nyro for the 19CD box set Hear My Song: The Collection 1966-1995. This collection includes every one of Nyro’s original studio albums, six live albums (two of which are previously…
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The Weekend Stream: August 31, 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. You’re not hallucinating this week – there are more Daryl Hall and U2 EPs! – but there’s also some great new soundtrack scores and vintage vocal jazz to peruse, too. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Daryl Hall, I’m in a Philly Mood (Epic) (iTunes / Amazon) Hall’s third album, 1993’s Soul Alone, was more than a cheeky reference to a lyric from Daryl Hall & John…
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The Weekend Stream: April 21, 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. This week’s super-sized post-Record Store Day lineup includes more: more remixes, more covers, more Mancini and yes, more Taylor Swift. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Taylor Swift, The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology (Republic) (iTunes / Amazon) Can you really call this a reissue? Pop’s most ubiquitous A-lister whipped fans into a frenzy by announcing her 11th studio album shortly before picking up her fourth Grammy Award for…
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The Weekend Stream: April 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. This week’s lineup includes a rare Prince B-side, classic remixes by U2, a country icon taking on a rock legend and much more! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Prince, “United States of Division” (NPG/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon) Late March marked the 20th anniversary of 2004’s Musicology, Prince’s first Top 10 album in nine years (thanks to a combination one-off deal with Columbia Records, an…
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The Weekend Stream: March 30, 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. This week’s lineup includes features a country-pop legend, film soundtrack royalty, and more! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Brenda Lee, The International Brenda Lee (Brenda Lee Sings in German, French and Italian) (UMG Nashville/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon) Bear Family’s 1992 collection featuring Brenda’s songs in German, French, and Italian has hit streaming and download; tracks include versions in all three languages of “Anybody But Me” and…
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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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Hooked: Williams, Horner, Mancini, Jarre Bring Black Friday Gifts to La-La Land
Two scores from a late, modern icon of film soundtracks; a classic late-period soundtrack to a Hitchcock classic, an informal kickoff to another soundtrack legend’s centennial celebration; and a major gap filled in the most notable director-composer canon? La-La Land always brings out the big titles for their last batch of releases on Black Friday, but they’ve really outdone themselves this year with an era-spanning offering of five great archival score CD releases. Perhaps the most exciting is a stunning new reissue of John Williams’ stirring score to Steven Spielberg’s Hook. The 1991 blockbuster told…
The Weekend Stream: October 7, 2023
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. Ahead of a three-day holiday weekend, it’s all about re-imagining, from Paramore to Melissa Manchester to the disco mixes of John Luongo – plus some cool rock, jazz and soundtrack work making digital debuts. Paramore, Re: This is Why (Atlantic) (iTunes / Amazon) Pop-punk trio Paramore released their sixth album This is Why back in February; now, a year from the…
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Quartet Records Is In a “Frenzy” With Mancini and Goodwin’s Scores for Hitchcock Classic
Alfred Hitchcock’s 1972 film Frenzy was widely considered a return to form for the master of suspense, then in his seventh decade. “This is the kind of thriller Hitchcock was making in the 1940s, filled with macabre details, incongruous humor, and the desperation of a man convicted of a crime he didn’t commit,” wrote Roger Ebert. “We are nearly back in the days of his great English films,” opined Penelope Gilliatt in The New Yorker, while Vincent Canby in The New York Times praised it as a “passionately entertaining film.” From his…
The Year In Review: The 2022 Gold Bonus Disc Awards, From A to Z – Part One
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 many delays caused by…
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It’s Only a Paper Moon: Cherry Red’s El Imprint Celebrates Director Peter Bogdanovich on New Anthology
Writer-director Peter Bogdanovich (1939-2022) rose to fame as part of the “New Hollywood” movement of cinematic auteurs. While these maverick filmmakers shattered conventions and reshaped film to modern sensibilities, many had a deep and abiding love of the medium – and perhaps none more so than Bogdanovich. The onetime film critic and Museum of Modern Art programmer wrote extensively about Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, and Howard Hawks; shot The Last Picture Show in black-and-white; and almost singlehandedly resuscitated the screwball comedy genre. One constant in his filmmaking was his inventive use of…
The Weekend Stream: June 25, 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! This week we’ve got continuing celebrations of Bob Marley and Roger Miller, a lost country trailblazer, a rare early classic from a turn-of-the-millennium hip-hop hero, and Cyndi Lauper singing for a cause. Bob Marley & The Wailers, Exodus (2022 Deluxe Edition) (Tuff Gong/Island/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon) The final piece of UMe’s 45th anniversary celebration of Marley’s Exodus comes in the form of…
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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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The Clouseau Museum: Quartet Collects Henry Mancini’s Final Three “Pink Panther” Scores in New Box
Quartet Records closed out 2021 with an impressive slate of soundtracks from some of the most legendary names in film score history, including Henry Mancini, John Barry, Ennio Morricone, and Nino Rota. Today, we’re spotlighting the 3-CD box dedicated to Mancini’s final Pink Panther scores. The Pink Panther: The Final Chapters Collection gave full due to the final three scores composed by Henry Mancini in writer-director Blake Edwards’ long-running series of comedies. The deluxe 3-CD collection presents expanded editions of Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), Curse of the Pink Panther (1983),…
The Year In Review: The 2021 Gold Bonus Disc Awards, From A to Z – Part Two
Happy 2022! Welcome, friends, to Part Two of The Second Disc’s 12th Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! Once again, we’ve all faced unprecedented challenges over the past twelve months. A year that began with hope and promise has ended with further uncertainty for many of us. But music continues to fill a significant role in our lives, providing solace, comfort, and escape in a time unlike any other. With that spirit in mind, The Second Disc wishes to recognize 2021’s cream of the catalogue music crop – those exemplary reissues and box…
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The Weekend Stream: June 19, 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 Saturday feature: The Weekend Stream, which focuses on hidden gems that recently made it to digital channels that might make your playlists a little brighter! Henry Mancini, Condorman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Walt Disney Records) (iTunes /…
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Quartet Records Unveils Holiday Slate with Soundtracks from Henry Mancini, Jerry Goldsmith, Quincy Jones, More
Following La-La Land Records’ recently-announced mega-slate of Black Friday releases, Spain’s Quartet Records label has revealed its own impressive line-up of end-of-the-year reissues. The label has brought out the heavy hitters – including Jerry Goldsmith, Henry Mancini, Ennio Morricone, and Quincy Jones – for an exciting group of limited edition soundtracks. Below, you’ll find Quartet’s own write-ups for each title, with pre-order links to the label as well as to Screen Archives Entertainment. Jerry Goldsmith, The Great Train Robbery: Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack (Quartet / Screen Archives) Quartet Records and MGM…
Release Round-Up: Week of August 17
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Neil Diamond, Hot August Night III (Capitol) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD/BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Neil Diamond’s August 2012 concerts at Los Angeles’ Greek Theater marking the 40th anniversary of the original Hot August Night are captured on this new live release which also follows 1987’s Hot August Night II and 2009’s Hot August Night/NYC (with honorable mention to 1977’s Love at the Greek). Expect all of Diamond’s greatest…
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Universal Pictures, La-La Land Team For New Soundtrack Imprint
On Friday, Universal Pictures announced plans to preserve and restore its classic library of movie music as well as the birth of a new imprint to release those scores on compact disc. The Universal Pictures Film Music Heritage Collection will launch this week as a joint venture with La-La Land Records with the premiere release of Michel Colombier’s 1970 score to the sci-fi thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project. In August, Henry Mancini’s score to the 1979 Peter Sellers remake of The Prisoner of Zenda will follow. Titles are expected to be released…
Release Round-Up: Week of December 8
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Debby Boone, You Light Up My Life: 40th Anniversary Expanded Edition (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Finally, the platinum LP containing the biggest hit of the 1970s arrives on CD! Real Gone’s new edition expands Debby Boone’s original You Light Up My Life album by a whopping thirteen tracks, tracing Debby’s career back to her earliest recordings with her sisters as The Boone Girls. You’ll hear their effervescent covers, originally released on labels including Motown and Warner Bros./Curb, of songs by John Denver, The Marvelettes, The Supremes, Mary…
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