Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! Frank Zappa, Zappa ’75: Zagreb/Ljubljana (Zappa/UMe) (Zappa Official Store / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Zappa ’75: Zagreb/Ljubljana captures The Mothers’ first and only concerts in Yugoslavia. Zappa referred to the dates as “The Mothers of Invention Yugoslavian Extravaganza,” and the performances lived up to that mighty moniker. The shows were staged in Zagreb and Ljubljana, now the capital cities of Croatia and Slovenia, respectively. He was joined by the short-lived line-up of Andre…
The Minor Fall, The Major Lift: New Leonard Cohen Compilation Out in October
As oversimplifying as it may seem, if a songwriter can get one work to bury deep in the public consciousness, then they’ve done their job and followed the creative muse that drives them. Leonard Cohen had more than a few entries from his songbook take hold of listeners in a career that spanned nearly 50 years – but the one that truly passed through generations was “Hallelujah,” now the centerpiece of a new career-spanning collection of Cohen’s work. Already available digitally, Hallelujah & Songs from His Albums, coming to CD and translucent…
The Weekend Stream: June 4, 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 is packed with a few digital-led campaigns for Leonard Cohen, Bob Marley and Avril Lavigne, plus batches of releases for fans of Gloria Estefan and country singer Gene Watson! Leonard Cohen, Hallelujah & Songs from His Albums (Columbia/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon) It’s getting to the point where Weekend Stream concerns are leaders for bigger catalogue news out there. This week,…
The Second Disc’s Picks for Record Store Day Black Friday 2021
From all of us here at Second Disc HQ to all of you, we hope you’ve enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving in the company of beloved family and friends. (And with plenty of delicious food, too!) Now, Record Store Day’s annual Black Friday event is upon us, so we’re spotlighting a dozen of the most eagerly anticipated releases arriving to your local independent brick-and-mortar record shop! Here are our personal picks for RSD BF must-haves; visit Record Store Day’s official website for a list of participating retailers. Happy Listening, and have a great…
Feel the Earth Move: Legacy’s Record Store Day Black Friday Slate Features Carole, Jimi, Ozzy, Miles, and More
It’s that time of year again! Record Store Day has released the full list of titles for its annual RSD Black Friday event, happening this year on Friday, November 26 and unofficially kicking off the holiday shopping season. Legacy Recordings’ slate draws on some of the most beloved artists on the label’s roster, representing genres including pop, folk, rock, metal, jazz and R&B. Below, we’ve reprinted the descriptions supplied by the label. All titles are due in your local independent record store on Friday, November 26. Visit here for the full list…
Thanks For the Dance: Leonard Cohen’s Final Farewell Reviewed
“I’m ready, my lord…” so sang Leonard Cohen on You Want It Darker, his final album that hit shelves just weeks before his death. If You Want It Darker was his farewell, then Thanks For the Dance – released today from Columbia/Legacy – is a gift from beyond. The album was completed by son Adam Cohen, as the younger Cohen had been instructed. The pieces were in various stages of completion when Adam began to reappraise the work. Some were no more than vocal tracks with no accompaniment at all. Yet, in their completed form…
Release Round-Up: Week of November 22
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Various Artists, The Great Songs of Christmas: Classic Carols and Pop Favorites (Second Disc/Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music proudly present the first new volume of The Great Songs of Christmas in nearly 50 years bringing many of the exclusive tracks featured on Goodyear’s original 1961-1970 series together. Expect to hear rarities from Percy Faith, Andre Kostelanetz, Johnny Mathis, Robert Goulet and Carol Lawrence, and Ray Conniff, and even more new-to-CD tracks from The Harry Simeone…
To The End of Love: Leonard Cohen’s Final Recordings Collected on “Thanks For the Dance”
When Leonard Cohen passed away in November 2016, he left behind fifty years of words and music, including his final album, You Want It Darker. Now, Columbia and Legacy have announced a new collection, “a continuation of the master’s final work” called Thanks For The Dance. Due on November 22, Thanks For The Dance was produced by Cohen’s son Adam, who followed Leonard’s wishes to complete the musical sketches that remained after You Want It Darker. Contributions came from many of Leonard’s closest collaborators and most celebrated acolytes. Javier Mas, the Spanish laud player…
In Memoriam: Leonard Cohen (1934-2016)
Leonard Cohen, one of the most distinctive troubadours to arrive on the musical scene in the 1960s, passed away today at the age of 82. An uncompromising talent who mordantly titled his most recent album (released just weeks ago) You Want It Darker, Cohen continued to create, inspire, and provoke until his final days. His gifts of song and art, always infused with boldness, a deep spirituality and a keen observer’s eye, will always resonate with truth, honesty, power and passion. In tribute to Mr. Cohen, we’re reprinting our original 2011 review of…
Release Round-Up: Week of October 21
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up – one of the year’s biggest! Frank Sinatra, World on a String (Capitol/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K./ Amazon Canada) Featuring performances spanning 1953 to 1982, this new live collection boasts more than four hours’ worth of rare audio and video from the legendary Chairman of the Board – over 90 tracks on CD alone including such Sinatra favorites as “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “The Lady is a Tramp,” “Witchcraft” and “Bewitched” right up through “Strangers in…
Light As The Breeze: Leonard Cohen Returns With Live Rarities Set
Just a few months after the September 2014 release of Leonard Cohen’s new studio album Popular Problems and subsequent concert release Live in Dublin, the troubadour is back with a new offering drawn (like Live in Dublin) from his Old Ideas World Tour. Whereas Dublin presented an overview of Cohen’s extraordinary career, the upcoming Can’t Forget: A Souvenir of the Grand Tour presents rarities performed during the international trek. The May 12 release from Legacy Recordings features a pair of never-before-released songs alongside classics and choice covers from the Rock and Roll…
He’s Your Man: Leonard Cohen’s “Live in Dublin” Captures Full-Length Concert
Canadian poet-troubadour Leonard Cohen’s most recent album, issued earlier this year, was entitled Popular Problems, but one of Cohen’s problems is not a lack of available material for his fans. Following that LP as well as the Mastered-for-iTunes release of his studio album catalogue, Cohen has announced the December 2 release of Live in Dublin via Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings. His first full-length high definition concert film, Live in Dublin will be available in 3-CD/1-DVD and 3-CD/1-BD configurations as well as from digital service providers. The concert was filmed last year…
Release Round-Up: Week of September 23
George Harrison, The Apple Years 1968-1975 (Apple/Universal, 2014) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Here, at last, are George Harrison’s complete albums for Apple Records, all beautifully remastered and featuring select bonus material. These six albums are available in a deluxe box set with a bonus DVD or as individual reissues: Wonderwall Music (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Electronic Music (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) All Things Must Pass (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Living in the Material World (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Dark Horse (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Extra Texture (Read All About It) …
Black Friday 2012: Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Rolling Stones, Frank Zappa Lead Off Packed Slate of RSD Exclusives
Here in the U. S. of A., Black Friday is almost upon us: that unusual date following the prior day of giving thanks, in which consumers make a mad dash to the local big-box store, mall or shopping center to procure bargains for the holiday season ahead. Retailers are controversially beginning Black Friday “festivities” even earlier than usual this year, with many sales starting on Thanksgiving Day itself and not even at midnight but in the early part of the evening. For a number of recent years, music buyers have had our…
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Leonard Cohen, “The Complete Columbia Albums Collection”
Welcome to our Second Disc Holiday Gift Guide, in which we review some titles we might have missed over the past few weeks! The titles we’re spotlighting in this occasional series just might be candidates on your own holiday shopping list! It’s hard to believe that Leonard Cohen was once tarred with the infamous “New Dylan” brush, even though he was in rather rarefied company alongside other “New Dylans” like Loudon Wainwright III and even Bruce Springsteen. Sure, both Mr. Cohen and the former Mr. Zimmerman shared non-traditional voices and a gift…















