A new box set next month will anthologize most of the output of influential ska/punk label 2 Tone Records. 2 Tone: The Albums will collect eight major long-playing albums issued by the British label between 1979 and 1984: The Specials' Specials (1979), More Specials (1980) and In The Studio (1984, issued under a revised line-up and new name, The Special AKA); The Selecter's Too Much Pressure (1980); Cuban-born Rico Rodriguez's That Man Is Forward (1981) and Jama Rico (1982); and two
A recent pair of offerings from Cherry Red Records turns the clock back to the 1990s! Suggs (real name: Graham McPherson) came to fame as the lead singer of ska band Madness before striking out on his own with the 1995 release The Lone Ranger. The album, a No. 14 U.K. hit, has recently been reissued as a 2-CD set with a whopping 23 bonus tracks. The original 11-track album (included in full on Disc One of this release) was largely composed by Suggs with writer/Madness co-founder Mike
Madness may be all in the mind, but in October it'll be on your TV screens thanks to a new reissue of the band's film, Take It or Leave It, coming from Salvo Music in October. Directed by Stiff Records founder Dave Robinson and released in 1981, Take It or Leave It is a docudrama about the beloved British ska group, combining staged vignettes with live footage and other fun stuff. Released in conjunction with the band's third album, 7, the film features various studio and live versions of songs
KISS, Destroyer: Resurrected (Mercury/UMe) The 1976 classic gets a new mix from original producer Bob Ezrin for its 35th anniversary. (It's also available on vinyl, too!) Taj Mahal, The Hidden Treasures of Taj Mahal (Columbia/Legacy) Tomorrow may not be your day, but today certainly is if you're a Taj Mahal fan: two discs of unreleased material - one of studio tracks, one from a 1970 show at the Royal Albert Hall. Los Lobos, Kiko: 20th Anniversary Edition / Kiko Live (Shout!
Howard Jones, One to One / Cross That Line / In the Running: Remastered Edition (Dtox) HoJo's last set of remasters is a five disc set featuring his last three Warner-era albums from 1986 to 1992, plus two generous discs of B-sides and remixes. Parts of this era are really underrated, and if this box is as loving as the last one was, it may well earn your everlasting love. Various Artists, Philadelphia International Classics: The Tom Moulton Mixes (Harmless) This gorgeous four-disc set,
Madness' "Our House" is just one of those songs that's impossible to forget. From that opening hook to the singalong chorus, you can recognize "Our House" from a mile away - even if you don't know Madness was, first and foremost, a ska outfit. And if you didn't know that, there's a new compilation coming from Salvo Records to fill in the gaps for you. Forever Young: The Ska Collection focuses on the tunes that made Madness a staple of the 2 Tone movement in the late 1970s as well as the tracks
Last week's revelation that American media conglomerate Clear Channel had let go of dozens of local radio DJs made music fans yearn for the simpler times of when jockeys weren't limited to playlists from on high and could shape the public's music taste in a positive way. Ironically, as the Clear Channel news spread, EMI prepares the release of a new compilation devoted to one of England's most famous radio presenters, the late, great John Peel. Peel, a jockey on BBC's Radio 1 from 1967 until
Miles Davis Quintet, Live in Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 1 (Columbia/Legacy) A three-CD/one-DVD collection of live stints from Belgium, Germany, France and Sweden, and the inaugural title in a new series of archival material for Miles. And Joe's got the review this week! (Official site) DeBarge, Time Will Reveal: The Complete Motown Albums (Hip-o Select/Motown) All four of DeBarge's classic '80s R&B LPs on two discs, with a further bonus disc of remixes and rarities. (Hip-o
Many of the box sets announced this year have been pretty nuts, in some way, shape or form. But none have been quite as nutty as this one: a career-spanning box by those nutty boys in Madness. The long-running British ska band, whose large handful of U.K. hits like "Our House" and "One Step Beyond" have filled dance floors the world over, has had an exceptionally busy few years with their catalogue, offering nearly all their discography, from their early hits on Stiff Records to their late-'90s
With the holiday reissue bonanza in full swing, it's no surprise that announcements of expanded titles and box sets are coming in fast. Some of them, it seems, are coming in faster than the actual information behind them, like track listings and such. These next couple titles you're about to read about have nothing more than rough information about them right now, but we wanted to at least bring them to your attention when more info springs up. Hit the jump to check out some developments on a
With the calendar about to turn over to September, it's definitely catalogue season. We've seen a lot of reissues, expansions and box sets announced - enough to make my post-vacation-hazed head spin - and plenty more are certainly on the way. Before we get into that, though, I want to thank not only Joe for holding the fort down expertly while I was away, but to you, the reader, for sticking with us. The rest of the year is going to be awesome for catalogue enthusiasts, and The Second Disc is
After yesterday's Miles Davis pricing madness, The Second Disc brings you some much more appreciable madness, through another set of reissues by Madness, one of the best-known ska acts of the '80s. Continuing the band's ongoing reissue project, Salvo and Union Square Music has prepped the band's fourth and fifth LPs, The Rise & Fall (1982) and Keep Moving (1984), as double-disc deluxe reissues. Both sets will feature various remixes, B-sides and promo videos to boot. It's notable that The