Brian Robson Rankin of Newcastle-upon-Tyne moved to London while still a teenager, armed with a guitar and a dream. He adopted the name Hank Marvin, melding his childhood nickname of “Hank” with the first name of American country singer Marvin Rainwater, and put on a pair of glasses inspired by Buddy Holly’s. His school friend Bruce Welch joined him, and before long, the pair had met Cliff Richard’s manager. In 1959, Richard’s band then known as The Drifters became The Shadows, and Richard, Marvin, Welch, and Brian Bennett (who replaced drummer Tony…
Their Latest Trick: Dire Straits Expands ‘Brothers in Arms’
Dire Straits’ biggest album is getting expanded for its 40th anniversary. 1985’s Brothers in Arms will be available in a variety of formats, including a 3CD or 5LP set that pairs the classic album with a live show from the period. The album, which featured two of the band’s biggest singles including the American chart-topper “Money for Nothing” and “Walk of Life,” will also feature 16 pages of liner notes offering new insight on the album through interviews with the band’s frontman/guitarist Mark Knopfler, keyboardist Guy Fletcher and bassist John Illsley. (Among other…
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Elvis Costello, Elton John, John Lennon, Sting Feature on UMG’s Record Store Day Slate
Universal Music Group’s 2025 Record Store Day roster is heavy on British rockers: Elvis Costello, John Lennon, Elton John, Sting, Queen, Mark Knopfler, and The Verve among them! But there’s also some highly-anticipated items from The Killers and Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, and Passengers, a.k.a. U2 and Brian Eno, among the other highlights. Visit RecordStoreDay.com for the full list of participating retailers you can visit on Saturday, April 12, to join in the festivities. Elvis Costello, The Kings of America Live At The Royal Albert Hall (Third Man – limited to 2,000 units) EC…
Release Round-Up: Week of April 12
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Eagles, To the Limit: The Essential Collection (Rhino) 3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Rhino.com 3CD with replica tour pass: Target.com 6LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Rhino.com 2LP Highlights: Target.com To the Limit: The Essential Collection celebrates Eagles’ current Long Goodbye tour. The first major compilation for the band since 2003’s 2-CD The Very Best of Eagles (released in some territories as The Complete Greatest Hits), To the Limit presents 51 songs on 3 CDs vs. that earlier release’s 33. …
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Twisting by the Pool: Dire Straits Offer Expanded, Unreleased Material for Live Box Set
When Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits reissued their classic catalogue in a box set in 2020, it only covered studio recordings. Now, a companion box will feature their live material, including 29 unreleased tracks. Live 1978-1992 will offer expansions of two classic Dire Straits concert albums (1984’s Alchemy: Dire Straits Live and 1993’s On the Night, one of the last releases before their dissolution), the 1993 companion EP Encores, 1995’s Live At The BBC compilation and, for the first time anywhere, an album drawn from sets at The Rainbow Theatre in London at the end of 1979….
Release Round-Up: Week of October 7
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of new releases arriving in stores today! John Cafferty and The Beaver Brown Band, Greatest Hits (Iconoclassic) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Iconoclassic offers the first-ever anthology from rock-and-roll revivalists John Cafferty and The Beaver Brown Band. Its 16 tracks encompass all nine of the band’s chart hits (including “On the Dark Side”) as well as fan favorites from the Eddie and the Cruisers albums, the Rocky IV soundtrack, and more. Vic Anesini at Battery Studios has remastered everything from the original tapes. Read more here!…
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Mark Knopfler’s Late-Period Solo Albums Get Their Time in the Sun on New Box Set
Mark Knopfler released his first full-length solo album in 1996. Golden Heart began a new chapter for the singer-songwriter-guitarist who had already carved out two distinct paths as leader of Dire Straits and as a film score composer. The 2021 box set The Studio Albums 1996-2007 collected Knopfler’s first five studio albums, from Golden Heart through 2007’s Kill to Get Crimson, along with a bonus disc of B-sides. Now, a follow-up box is bringing Knopfler’s studio discography up to date. This Friday, October 7, EMI and UMC (U.K.)/UMe (U.S.) will release The…
The Weekend Stream: July 17, 2021
While The Second Disc prides itself on connecting people to reissues and box sets they can keep on their shelves, it’s no secret that listening audiences are also digital – catalogue music lovers, too – and our passion is connecting people to music from the past that they might adore. So we’ve introduced a new feature: The Weekend Stream, which focuses on hidden gems that recently made it to digital channels that might make your playlists a little brighter! This week is light on releases but heavy on sentiment, as we say…
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Sultans Of Swing: Dire Straits Albums Collected In New Box
That’s the way you do it: Dire Straits’ studio discography will be released as a box set this fall. The aptly-named The Studio Albums 1978-1991 will be released by Virgin/UMC in Europe and Warner/Rhino in the U.S. on October 9. It contains the band’s six original albums: Dire Straits (1978), Communiqué (1979), Making Movies (1980), Love Over Gold (1982), Brothers In Arms (1985) and On Every Street (1991). All of these releases reached the Top 5 of the U.K. charts (with the latter three going to No. 1) and were certified gold,…
For The Good Times: Rhino Expands Kris Kristofferson’s “Austin Sessions”
Next month, Rhino Records will revisit a latter-day classic from one of the leaders of the “new country” movement, Kris Kristofferson. The 1999 release The Austin Sessions will be reissued on CD, vinyl LP and DD in a newly-remastered edition also featuring two previously unreleased bonus tracks. The Austin Sessions was recorded by the famed singer-songwriter with producer Fred Mollin at Arlyn Studios in 1997 as part of a songwriter-focused series also featuring retrospectives from Jimmy Webb (Ten Easy Pieces) and Barry Mann (Soul and Inspiration). During the low-key, stripped-down sessions, Kristofferson…
The Nashville Sound: New Set Spotlights Chet Atkins’ Collaborations
Fourteen-time Grammy winner Chet Atkins (1924-2001) was a man of many hats. At RCA Victor between 1947 and 1982, as a performer, producer and executive, he was a key player in the creation of the “Nashville Sound” which made country palatable to crossover audiences. Indeed, though the style has changed, the pop influence on the country genre certainly hasn’t, and fans of Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney and Carrie Underwood all owe something to Chet Atkins. Also one of Nashville’s most pioneering and virtuosic guitarists, Atkins notched a number of hit…
Call Him The Breeze: Clapton and Friends Celebrate Music of J.J. Cale On New Album, Exclusive Box Set
In 2006, Eric Clapton teamed with singer-songwriter J.J. Cale for the collaborative album The Road to Escondido. The guitar god had long been a fan and patron of Cale’s; he included “After Midnight” on his 1970 solo debut and took “Cocaine” to the Top 30 in 1977. Escondido earned both men a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album, and it would prove to be among Cale’s final recordings. He released the album Roll On in 2009, featuring Clapton on its title track. Then, in 2013, Cale passed away at the age of…
