Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc's review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts. Today, we celebrate Crowded House's return, an unreleased track from the Godfather of Soul, six albums from a female country hitmaker and many more! Crowded House, "Oh Hi" (BMG) (iTunes / Amazon) One of Second Disc HQ's favorite bands, Crowded House, is back with the first single from Gravity Stairs, their first album since 2021's Dreamers Are Waiting. This gentle,
Over the years, there have been countless collections of Beatles covers. Cherry Red's Grapefruit imprint threw its hat into the ring late last year with a fulsome new 3-CD set. We Can Work It Out: Covers of The Beatles 1962-1966 concentrates only on the Fab Four's first years, arranging its 85 songs in the order of the original Beatles song releases. Most, though not all, of the versions are contemporaneous, making this set a particularly enjoyable tour through the rapidly shifting pop music
In the course of a career spanning seven decades, Tony Visconti has produced seminal albums in the classic rock genre including high profile collaborations with David Bowie, T. Rex, Gentle Giant, Strawbs, and Badfinger. But Visconti's C.V. runs much deeper, from folk (Ralph McTell, Tom Paxton) to musical theatre (Elaine Paige) and everything in between (Sparks). On October 20, Edsel will release the first large-scale tribute to Visconti's enormous musical legacy. Produced by Tony Visconti has
Fifty-one years ago this past weekend, a crowd of half a million converged at Max Yasgur's Farm in Bethel, New York for the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. The four-day event became a cultural touchstone and mythical ideal, strengthened even more by the Woodstock film and soundtracks that proliferated the marketplace during the early '70s and beyond. While performers, fans, and countless supposed attendees participated in even more myth-building, a small group of historians and researchers worked
Fifty years ago this summer, more than 400,000 fans convened at Max Yasgur's farm for a music festival that would come to define not only the era, but the entire ethos of music festivals to come. With every passing decade, the magic of Woodstock has been celebrated and, indeed, re-marketed to new generations of music fans. The '90s saw two new Woodstock-branded festivals and an array of 25th anniversary products, including a compilation called Woodstock Diary and a 4-CD box set. To mark the
Rolling Stone has broken the news this morning that Rhino Records is getting back to the garden in a big (make that BIG) way. Woodstock 50 - Back to the Garden: The Definitive 50th Anniversary Archive, due August 2, will live up to its name as the last word on the legendary festival. This 38CD/1BD set, limited to 1,969 copies, will include every note performed onstage by every act at Yasgur's Farm over those three days of peace and music, save two tracks by Jimi Hendrix (omitted at the request
With his acumen for gripping poetry, inimitable baritone, and trademark Spanish-influenced fingerpicking, Leonard Cohen married his talents for poetry and song-craft to create some of the most enduring music of the singer-songwriter era and beyond. Like every great songwriter, Cohen's work continues to inspire an array of cover versions. Sure, there's the million-and-one covers of "Hallelujah," but even before the 1967 release of his debut Songs of Leonard Cohen, early supporters like Judy
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Chicago, Chicago II: Steven Wilson Remix (Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Chicago's second album gets a fully remixed edition from producer Steven Wilson, created from the original 16-track multitrack tapes and sure to highlight previously unheard or overlooked elements of this rock classic! Available on CD, with an LP edition to follow later in the year. Read more here! Cream, Fresh Cream: Super Deluxe Edition
This week's Release Round-Up is slimmer than most of late, but still filled with some ideal stocking stuffers... Joe Cocker, The Life of a Man: Ultimate Hits 1968-2013 (UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada) UMe celebrates the life and career of the late, great Joe Cocker with this new 3-CD, 36-track anthology with greatest hits and deeper cuts including a live version of "With a Little Help from My Friends" never before released in the United States. This set was previously released in