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 time out we've got Motown rarities, a couple of albums with comic book roots, early music from future legends, and more! Roger Miller, Roger Miller (RCA/Camden/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon) Legacy has resuscitated this 1964 compilation of early sides from singer-songwriter Roger Miller (produced in Nashville
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, Marvin Gaye gets remixed, two pop icons from different generations join forces, an underrated Olivia Newton-John album resurfaces and more. Marvin Gaye, I Want You: The John Morales M+M Mixes (Motown/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon) Sort of the quiet masterpiece in Marvin Gaye's impressive '70s run, the
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! A short but sweet release week has jazz, soundtracks and a lost pop record from one of the best-loved rock frontmen of the last few decades. Max Q, Max Q (Golden Rebel) (iTunes) INXS may have announced some activity around the 40th anniversary of their classic Shabooh Shoobah this fall (more on that as we keep
A wise philosopher...or maybe a punk kid...or maybe an astute screenwriter?...once wrote "Life moves pretty fast - if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." A new box set devoted to that iconic filmmaker - the late John Hughes - will help fans enjoy some of that life a little more through a diverse collection of pop songs he helped bring to the masses. Life Moves Pretty Fast. The John Hughes Mixtapes offers four volumes of songs from the writer/director's popular
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 features digital debuts from a country legend, a new theme from a galaxy far, far away and some 21st century hip-hop for your consideration. Roger Miller, A Trip in the Country / Making a Name for Myself / Roger Miller (Capitol Nashville/UMe) A Trip: iTunes / Amazon Making: iTunes / Amazon Miller:
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! Some classic compilations, a Who-related soundtrack and a posthumous Notorious B.I.G. appearance are all part of the experience this week. Various Artists, The Sound of the R&B Hits (Motown) Original: iTunes / Amazon Deluxe: iTunes / Amazon As a new wave of British rockers from The Beatles and The
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles arriving in stores today! Daryl Hall, BeforeAfter (RCA/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Daryl Hall is looking back with his first-ever solo anthology. BeforeAfter, curated by the artist, draws on all five of his acclaimed solo albums: the Robert Fripp-produced cult classic Sacred Songs (1980), Three Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine (1986, including the top five hit "Dreamtime" and top
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 features some new remixes for Marvin Gaye and Teddy Pendergrass, a revisit of Josh Groban's debut and some great rarities for soul and alt-rock fans. Marvin Gaye + SaLaAM ReMi, Save the World Remix Suite (Motown/UMe) (iTunes / Spotify / Amazon) From remixer SaLaAM ReMi - who helped organize Gaye's
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! Aaliyah, Aaliyah
Washington, D.C. is associated with a great many things...but R&B? Leave it to German label Bear Family to take the emphasis off politics to uncover a lost chapter of the American capital's rich story. R&B in D.C. 1940-1960 is the name of the upcoming LP-size, 16-CD box set comprehensively surveying two decades of regional music as only Bear Family can - with 472 tracks (that's around 20 hours of music) and a 352-page hardcover book. This one-of-a-kind set is due on September 3 and
David Hepworth's 2017 book Never a Dull Moment: The Year That Rock Exploded set forth the author's belief that the year crystallized the "rock era," producing more enduring recordings than any other year in the genre's history. It's difficult to argue with any year that yielded John Lennon's Imagine, The Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers, Carole King's Tapestry, Joni Mitchell's Blue, Elton John's Madman Across the Water, Carly Simon's Anticipation, Sly and the Family Stone's There's a Riot Goin'
It's What's Happening, Baby! That's the name of the 1965 television special hosted by influential New York disk jockey Murray Kaufman, a.k.a. Murray The K. Over the course of 90 minutes, the jocular, hep-talking Murray (who christened himself The Fifth Beatle as an early friend and supporter of the Fab Four) shared musical performances by the day's biggest pop and soul acts including The Supremes, Dionne Warwick, Ray Charles, The Righteous Brothers, The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, Johnny Rivers,
As one of the most striking albums in Motown Records' deep catalogue and one of the most moving pieces of conscientious Black expression in pop music, What's Going On has been in the spotlight many times since its release nearly a half-century ago. This week, Universal Music Enterprises seeks to streamline the album's reissues in the 21st century with three new digital products. What's Happening Brother: Earlier Reissues What's Going On first got the deluxe treatment for its 30th
The classic Motown vaults are, once again, open. This Friday, the U.K.'s Caroline label will release the long-anticipated fifth volume of A Cellarful of Motown, the rarities series which last saw a volume in 2010. But this 2-CD, 43-song collection promises to have been worth the wait as it features previously unreleased and new-to-CD tracks from such household name artists as Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, Gladys Knight and The Pips, and The (Detroit) Spinners
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Little Steven, Voice of America [CD/DVD] (Wicked Cool/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Little Steven's sophomore album from 1984, featuring "Voice of America," "Solidarity," "Los Desaparecidos," and "Among the Believers," returns to CD in Bob Ludwig's remaster previously available only on vinyl. The CD edition gets even sweeter with the addition of the full Live at Rockpalast 1984 concert. Voice of America was written,
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Andy Williams, Emperor of Easy: Lost Columbia Masters 1962-72 (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Real Gone Music has the first-ever collection of never-before-heard music from Andy Williams' Columbia Records years. Emperor of Easy: Lost Columbia Masters 1962-72 boasts 20 selections direct from the Columbia vault encompassing 16 previously unreleased studio outtakes and four rare singles. Every track on Emperor of Easy
Between What's Going On and Let's Get It On, Marvin Gaye released a masterwork that still remains one of the less-heralded items in his remarkable '70s catalogue. Trouble Man was the soundtrack to a 20th Century-Fox "blaxploitation" film, and while it was Gaye's only foray into film scoring, it proved that the Motown superstar could hold his own against the other soul stars-turned-film composers such as Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield - as if there was ever any doubt. The soundtrack album made
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Jethro Tull, Stormwatch: 40th Anniversary Edition (Chrysalis) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Jethro Tull continues its long-running box set series with a new 4CD/2DVD expansion of 1979's Stormwatch, the final Tull album to feature the "classic" line-up of Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, John Glascock, John Evan, David (now Dee) Palmer, and Barriemore Barlow. The new edition features: The original album and associated recordings
With the lead-up to Record Store Day Black Friday in full swing, it's time to take a look at what Universal Music Group has prepped for the semi-annual vinyl bonanza. The label's eight major catalog vinyl releases are familiar to longtime RSD consumers. Some celebrate an iconic anniversary (as is the case for titles by U2, Frank Sinatra and Frank Zappa), one complements a general catalog title (an unreleased live James Brown album), and some just feature great music in rare
This weekend, Motown fans and alumni are descending on Detroit for the ultimate celebration of Hitsville, USA's 60 years of music and memories culminating in the Hitsville Honors gala. But the label doesn't want fans elsewhere to be left out in the cold. In a surprise, the annual digital collection of Motown Unreleased won't be arriving in December, but instead is available now. To mark 60 years, Motown Unreleased 1969 boasts 60 tracks, all recorded in 1969 and left unheard - until now. The
A classic live performance by Motown legend Marvin Gaye is being released for the first time on its own this fall. What's Going On Live features one of Gaye's only performances in the wake of the immortal 1971 album, recorded at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in the spring of 1972. At the time, Gaye had not performed live in four years, and, before recording What's Going On, had struggled with depression after the passing of his close friend and duet partner, Tammi Terrell. "I
Here's your Release Round Up for the week ahead. Various Artists, Country Music -- A Film By Ken Burns: The Soundtrack (Legacy Recordings) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD: Walmart.com Filmmaker Ken Burns has tackled many subjects over the years, from the Civil War to baseball. His documentaries have garnered numerous awards over the years.
Back in March, we filled you in about Universal Japan's plans for Motown's 60th anniversary campaign, which included a series of reissues and a 3-CD, 60-song collection. We recently reviewed the U.S.' reissue of the definitive Motown: The Complete No. 1s box set. Now, the U.K. is getting into the act with a different 3-CD, 60-song anthology of its own. Motown: Greatest Hits arrives on August 16. Like the Japanese set, it boasts 60 classics from the label on three CDs, but the selection is
Smokey Robinson's mama famously told the young singer-songwriter that he'd better shop around, but happily, those looking for the definitive chronicle of Smokey and Diana and Mary and Flo and Martha and Marvin and Stevie and co. need shop around no more. To mark the label's 60th anniversary, Motown: The Complete No. 1s is back in print in a slightly-expanded edition, and this 11-CD box set is, simply, one-stop shopping. Impressively housed within a sturdy replica of 2648 West Grand Boulevard
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Prince, Ultimate Rave (Legacy/NPG) Ultimate Rave (2-CD/1-DVD): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic (2-LP Purple Vinyl): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic (2-LP Purple Vinyl): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada This new 2-CD/1-DVD collection brings together two of Prince's albums from the turn of the new millennium: Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic from 1999 and Rave In2