From his very first solo hit in 1970 (a cover of Dave Bartholomew's "I Hear You Knocking") to his final album release (2015's On Guitar...Rags and Classics), Welsh guitarist-singer-songwriter-producer Dave Edmunds proselytized for the power of pure rock-and-roll. Whether stripping the sound down to basics or doing a spot-on emulation of Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, Edmunds emphasized the joy of the genre. In January 1972, he released his first solo album: Rockpile. Its title would augur
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. More EPs from Duran Duran, rarities from Alanis Morissette and a tribute to an '80s jukebox musical are part of the fun this Saturday morning! Duran Duran, My Own Way / Hungry Like the Wolf / Save a Prayer / Rio EPs (Parlophone/Rhino) My Own Way: iTunes / Amazon Hungry: iTunes / Amazon Save a Prayer: iTunes / Amazon Rio: iTunes /
Happy 2024! Welcome, friends, to Part Two of The Second Disc's 14th Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! As we yet again 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 2023'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. After much deliberation, we're excited
John Luongo is a good liar. Well, maybe he's good at being tongue-in-cheek. "I'm bashful," he says at the start of our interview back in October. "You're gonna have to really drag these things outta me, 'cause I'm a little shy!" What follows is about 100 minutes of captivating stories and thoughtful, enthusiastic lessons from one of the most notable names in dance music. The Boston-born DJ and mix engineer made a name for himself transforming dozens of soul and pop tracks for disco 12"
Demon/Edsel's Dance Masters series only just released its second volume this summer - but a third one is on the way this fall, spotlighting the work of acclaimed remixer John Luongo. The Arthur Baker-presented series follows generous box sets on Shep Pettibone and Baker himself with a new overview of John "T.C." Luongo, who parlayed working in and around the Boston club scene into more than a decade of 12" remix work, first for some of the greatest R&B artists crossing over into disco,
Have you heard The News? The sweet pop/rock/soul sound of San Francisco's Huey Lewis & The News has sadly gone silent in recent years, thanks to its one-of-a-kind frontman's battle with Ménière's disease, which causes intermittent hearing loss. But a surprise new reissue campaign courtesy of Universal Music Group's Japanese division promises the most comprehensive look at the band's blockbuster catalogue of the '80s and early '90s. UMG will remaster, expand and reissue the six albums the
Producer-DJ Arthur Baker has brought his magic touch to recordings by everybody from Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen to Tina Turner and Diana Ross, turning pop, rock, and R&B hits into dance floor-fillers. Now, Baker is looking back and taking stock of his fellow Dance Masters with a new series from Demon Music Group. Arthur Baker Presents Dance Masters: The Shep Pettibone Master Mixes is an expansive salute from one legendary remixer to another. Available on 4 CDs (47 songs in one box
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Band, Stage Fright: 50th Anniversary Edition [Various Formats] (Capitol/UMe) 2CD/1BD/1LP/1-7″ single: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD (CD 1 & 2 of box set): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP (Remixed Album Only): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The Band slightly belatedly revisits 1970's Stage Fright for its 50th anniversary in a variety of editions anchored by Bob Clearmountain's stereo and
If you miss the sound of Huey Lewis and The News - and who doesn't, really? - the band will reissue on CD their last two albums before last year's Weather. 2001's Plan B and 2010's Soulsville were, before Weather, the entirety of the band's 21st century studio output after a blockbuster run through most of the '80s and a measure of success in the early '90s. Plan B marked the group's first album of original studio material in a decade - their last full album, 1994's Four Chords and Seven
On July 3, 1985, mass audiences got to take a trip Back To The Future thanks to the year's top-grossing film. For its 35th anniversary, the film and music fans at Mondo are bringing the film's classic soundtrack back to vinyl with a cool twist: an unused piece of front cover artwork courtesy of the series' beloved poster artist. Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale's time-travel fantasy found Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), an average California teen in 1985, accidentally transported 30 years into the
A sincere thanks to our readers and friends who joined in to last Friday's live tweet of Prince and The Revolution's Around The World In a Day. It was a nice way to revisit a classic album, a fine memorial to one of our favorite artists, and a nice little show of community in some unusual times. So it's only natural that we'd do it again - and this time, we're celebrating the 20th anniversary of the striking slasher film American Psycho by giving a listen to one of the albums it gave a most
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Johnny Mathis, The Island (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The 1989 "lost" album by Johnny Mathis is lost no more! Renowned producer Sergio Mendes of Brasil '66 fame and arranger-guitarist Dori Caymmi joined Mathis on The Island to subtly modernize the classic sounds of bossa nova and samba. He delivered some of his most sensual vocals ever for ten smoldering songs by Caymmi, Mendes, Ivan Lins,
The major labels aren't the only ones who'll be part of Record Store Day Black Friday this year. A number of impressive indies (and other major labels with notable catalog friendly material) have announced exciting additions to the RSDBF slate. What's more, we've got coverage of some exciting new music from artists as diverse as Paul McCartney, Tank and the Bangas, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, and Norah Jones! First up... Chuck Berry, Chuck Berry In London (Elemental) By 1965, the British
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Carole King, Tapestry: Live at Hyde Park (CD/DVD) (Legacy/Rockingale) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) This new CD/DVD release features Carole King's 45th anniversary performance of her seminal 1971 classic Tapestry, performed live in front of 65,000 fans in London's Hyde Park on July 3, 2016. The setlist, preserved on both CD and DVD, includes the entire original album plus numerous highlights from King's illustrious songbook both
Fans looking for a wildly thorough compilation for pop-rock band par excellence Huey Lewis & The News--or those hunting for rarities in the wake of their 30th anniversary edition of Sports that may have left fans wanting--have got some unlikely good (pardon the pun) news coming out of Europe. An entry on the San Francisco bar band in Universal Music's triple-disc Collected series looks to be not only a deep dive into the band's hits and favorites from their debut album in 1980 to the