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….

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Yes It Is: Grapefruit Collects 85 Beatles Covers on “We Can Work It Out”

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 landscape. We Can Work It Out boasts artists both…

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It’s Only “Words”: Playback Collects Rarities on “A Bee Gees Songbook”

While The Bee Gees have never truly faded from the popular consciousness, it’s fair to say the group founded by Barry Gibb and his late brothers Maurice and Robin is currently experiencing a renaissance.  Director Frank Marshall’s documentary How Can You Mend a Broken Heart earned acclaim for its candid chronicle of the group’s ups and downs while Barry has reaffirmed his legacy with the new album Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook Vol. 1.  On the latter, he’s joined by an array of country artists to reinvent the Bee Gees’ venerable songbook. …

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Light My Fire: Legacy Brings Unheard José Feliciano Concert to Digital and Streaming with “Live 1967”

Over the last several months, Legacy Recordings has been quietly releasing gems from the vault and reissuing overlooked titles from the Columbia, RCA Victor, Arista, Bang, Monument, Ode, and Epic vaults as part of a digital music series.  While our primary focus at The Second Disc remains with physical media, periodically we will shed some light on the best of these digital compilations and reissues, such as this previously unreleased live recording from one of the best guitarists and interpreters of song, José Feliciano. Last Friday, Legacy Recordings quietly dropped a veritable…

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Sunny Day: Warner Licenses Sesame Street Catalog for Digital, Streaming, and Future Physical Reissues

Warner Music Group and Sesame Workshop have recently announced a joint effort that marks the relaunch of Sesame Street Records, the label that released over 60 classic originalSesame Street albums from 1970 to 1984.  To celebrate 50 years since the program first aired, the extensive Sesame Street music catalog, including original titles and newer collections from Golden Music, Koch and Sony Wonder, has finally joined the streaming age.  As of this writing, a whopping 119 titles–many previously unavailable in the digital domain–have been added to streaming services and digital download retailers.  The effort is…

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Stop The World! Cherry Red’s él Label Reissues Anthony Newley, Peter Sellers, John Barry, José Feliciano, More

Cherry Red’s él imprint had a busy 2016, most recently with a number of titles from Anita Kerr including We Dig Anita! and box sets dedicated to her recordings with The Anita Kerr Singers and The San Sebastian Strings.  We’ve already filled you in on most of the imprint’s titles from last year, but here are some nice things you might have missed from the él catalogue, many of which have been drawn from the vaults of Ember Records. John Barry Plays 007 and Other ’60s Themes for Film, Television and Radio (Amazon U.S….

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