Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings are headed to Newport with Miles Davis. The Friday, July 17 release of Miles Davis at Newport 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 chronicles the evolution of Davis’ style as it treks from 1955 to 1975 with live performances from the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island as well as New York City, Berlin, and Switzerland. The set arrives sixty years to the day of the first performance it includes (July 17, 1955) and just before this summer’s annual Fest, to be held on July 31-August 2….
Release Round-Up: Week of May 5
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Oddly, releases were split between yesterday and today, but both days add up to a wealth of titles in nearly every genre! Without a doubt, this is one of the most packed weeks yet this year! Jackie DeShannon, All the Love: The Lost Atlantic Recordings (Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) All the Love–The Lost Atlantic Recordings brings together DeShannon’s entire 1973 Atlantic Records material in one place for the first time, including seven previously unreleased tracks plus her four collaborations with Van Morrison and the…
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Liquid Spirit: Raising A Coffee Cup to Starbucks’ Final CD “Blue Note Blend”
On April 1, 1995, Starbucks launched its line of CDs with Blue Note Blend, a selection of thirteen tracks from the catalogue of the venerable jazz label and its sister labels. Available as a standalone release or bundled with a pound of Starbucks’ same-named coffee, the album was an unqualified success, selling over 75,000 copies and spawning sequel volumes. Twenty years later, the coffee house is returning to its roots for a new edition of Blue Note Blend which features many of the same musicians and brings the Blue Note story up…
Ella, Satchmo, Aretha, Miles and The Merm Featured On Starbucks’ “Fascinating Gershwin”
When The Library of Congress established a Prize for Popular Song in 2007, one name was affixed to it: Gershwin. With no disrespect to Messrs. Berlin, Porter, Rodgers and company, George and Ira’s surname is synonymous with the gold standard in American popular song. The recipients of the award to date – Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Carole King and Billy Joel – have all followed in the Gershwins’ footsteps of marrying smart, sophisticated and incisive lyrics to unabashedly melodic, sweeping musical statements. Starbucks’ recent compilation…
Give ‘Em a Spin: The Second Disc’s Essential Back to Black Friday 2014 Release Guide
Yes, it’s that time of year again. Thanksgiving is here, and with each Thanksgiving comes another Black Friday, the day for consumers to start off the holiday shopping season on a mad, frenetic note. This year is just in the latest one in which numerous retailers in the U.S. have made headlines by blackening Thursday, or Thanksgiving Day itself, with sales starting on the holiday. So many might give thanks that the folks behind Record Store Day are waiting until the traditional Friday for the second of their twice-yearly events. In keeping with tradition,…
Birth Of The Blue: “Uncompromising Expression” Box Set Celebrates 75 Years of Blue Note
Blue Note Records’ 75th anniversary celebration has already encompassed compact disc and vinyl reissues from the venerable jazz label’s classic roster of artists including Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Clifford Brown and Thelonious Monk. On November 4, the Blue Note party continues with the release of a new 5-CD box set. Blue Note: Uncompromising Expression is the title of both the box set, a 75-track compendium of key Blue Note singles, and an accompanying hardcover book. Uncompromising Expression, the book, has been written by jazz historian Richard Havers who has also curated the…
From “Last Christmas” To “Blue Xmas”: Legacy’s Black Friday Slate Features Wham!, Miles Davis, Hendrix, Kinks, Elvis, More
It’s that time of year again! Announcements are finally coming in for Record Store Day’s annual Black Friday event happening on Friday, November 28. Rather than storming malls and big box stores, maybe you’ll want to pay a visit to your favorite local independent record store for an assortment of exclusive vinyl goodies. Legacy Recordings certainly hopes you will; the label’s roster for Black Friday’s RSD event includes titles from heavy-hitters including David Bowie, Joe Satriani, Miles Davis, Dave Matthews Band, Elvis Presley, The Kinks and Jimi Hendrix! And that’s not all!…
Release Round-Up: Week of October 14
Diana Ross, Why Do Fools Fall in Love / Silk Electric / Ross / Swept Away / Eaten Alive / Red Hot Rhythm and Blues (Expanded Editions) (Funky Town Grooves) Why Do Fools Fall in Love: Expanded Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Silk Electric: Expanded Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Ross: Expanded Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Swept Away: Deluxe Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Eaten Alive: Deluxe Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Red Hot Rhythm and Blues: Deluxe Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Funky Town…
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Release Round-Up: Week of July 15
Average White Band, All the Pieces: The Complete Studio Recordings 1971-2003 (Edsel) Nineteen discs of AWB goodness, including two discs of rarities? Now that’s something to blow your horn over. Full specs will be posted later today. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) John Coltrane and Friends, Sideman: Trane’s Blue Note Sessions (Blue Note) Three discs of ‘Trane’s time as a sideman, with performances by Miles and Monk, all in glorious mono. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) The Jerry Garcia Band, Garcia Live Volume 4: March 22, 1978 – Veteran’s Hall (ATO) The latest volume in this official vintage live series is…
Release Round-Up: Week of May 19
Oasis, Definitely Maybe: Chasing The Sun Edition (Big Brother/Ngrooves) Oasis’ debut album is remastered and expanded; the first in a planned series of multi-format reissues from the legendary Britpop band. 1CD remaster: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.2LP remaster: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.3CD deluxe edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.3CD/2LP/1 x 7″ box set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Billy Joel, A Matter of Trust: The Bridge to Russia (Columbia/Legacy) The Piano Man’s 1987 sojourn to the USSR is chronicled anew, with expansions of both the original KOHUEPT album and video program and a newly-filmed retrospective documentary on Billy’s trip. 2CD/1DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.2CD/1BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. DVD: Amazon…
Review: Miles Davis, “Miles at the Fillmore – Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3”
Miles Davis was never one to embrace the predictable. When many of his peers were turning to orchestrated pop-jazz and embellishing the era’s AM radio hits, he was embracing rock and roll – not just the sound, but moreover, the spirit – with the vivacity of a younger man. Davis was 44 when he stepped onstage at Manhattan’s Fillmore East for the series of concerts recently issued in full for the very first time as the third volume of his Bootleg Series. The title, Miles at the Fillmore – Miles Davis 1970: The…
Release Round-Up: Week of March 25
Johnny Cash, Out Among the Stars (Columbia/Legacy) This new album of newly-discovered mid-’80s outtakes is perhaps better than what was released at the time. Gorgeous and, at times, haunting, the way Johnny Cash albums should be. CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: 40th Anniversary Edition (Mercury/Rocket/UMe) Elton’s classic double album comes back to glorious life with several lavish editions, featuring new covers of songs from the set, B-sides, live material and more. 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 4CD/1DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 1BD:…
It’s About That Time: Complete Concerts On “Miles at the Fillmore” Box Set Chronicle Davis’ Rock Revolution
Between June 17 and 20, 1970, the fresh musical possibilities of a new decade were on vivid display in New York City’s East Village when the bill at the Fillmore East was shared by two titanic talents on the Columbia Records roster – Miles Davis and Laura Nyro. Though the pairing might seem an incongruous one, both Davis and Nyro shared an affinity for pushing the envelope and synthesizing various genres into a singular style of music that was easily identifiable as their own. Davis’ stand as Nyro’s opening act was first…
Review: Miles Davis, “The Original Mono Recordings”
“Mono featured less audio trickery and fewer audio distractions, so you can actually hear the musical conversation between Miles and the other musicians as it occurred in the studio.” That’s producer George Avakian as quoted in the liner notes for Columbia and Legacy’s new nine-album box set Miles Davis: The Original Mono Recordings. And that purity of sound – further described by the producer of Davis’ first two Columbia albums as “truer to the studio sound and the original intent” – is raison d’etre enough for this compact but substantial box set…
Release Round-Up: Week of November 11/12
The Beatles, Live At The BBC / On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2 (Capitol) What’s better than a remaster of The Fab Four’s 1994 double-disc set of live BBC sessions? How about another two-disc set of those sessions? Live At The BBC (2CD): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Live At The BBC (3LP): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2 (2CD): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2 (3LP): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Live At The BBC: The Collection (4CD): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Donny Hathaway, Never My Love: The Anthology (ATCO/Rhino)…
Back to Black: Legacy Unveils Record Store Day Black Friday Exclusives From Simon, Dylan, Davis, Nilsson, Hendrix & More
It’s that time of year again! Though Black Friday has taken a backseat in recent years to the once-unheard-of Thanksgiving Day sales, the folks at Record Store Day still hold the day after Thanksgiving in high esteem. News has begun to trickle out about this year’s RSD Back to Black Friday exclusives, and the team at Legacy has certainly put together a collection of special vinyl releases – and a handful of CDs, too – that look back to recent releases from the label and forward to future titles. All titles are…
They Shall Be “Released”: Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Joni Mitchell, U2, Peter Gabriel, Miles Davis on Amnesty International Box
Since its founding in 1961, Amnesty International has endeavored “to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated.” The Nobel Peace Prize-winning international human rights organization has, naturally, attracted a number of high-profile supporters over the years. In 1988, a number of those men and women took the road to spread Amnesty’s message and raise funds via the Human Rights Now! world tour. The 25-city trek was headlined by Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Tracy…
Legacy is Miles Ahead on Davis’ Mono CD Box Set
Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings are getting Miles Ahead with a new box set due on November 12. Miles Davis’ The Original Mono Recordings is a definitive portrait – in crisp monaural sound – of the legendary trumpeter’s earliest, era-defining period at Columbia Records. Its nine albums, recorded between 1956 and 1961 (and released between 1957 and 1964), include some of the greatest landmarks in recorded jazz as well as a couple of lost treasures: ‘Round About Midnight (1957) Miles Ahead (1957) Milestones (1958) Jazz Track (1959) Porgy and Bess (1959) Kind…
The Second Disc’s Record Store Day 2013 Essential Releases
Raise your hand if you’ll be joining 2013 Ambassador Jack White tomorrow to celebrate Record Store Day 2013! Yes, on Saturday, April 20, independent record stores everywhere will offer an eclectic roster of limited edition releases of all kinds – most on vinyl, but some on CD, too. As usual, the labels participating in RSD ’13 have a number of surprises on the way, previewing future releases, revisiting past titles and even curating completely new packages. As is our tradition here, we’re taking the occasion to count down the titles to which…
The Legacy of Record Store Day: Upcoming Exclusives Revealed From Sly, Willie, Miles, Taj, Aerosmith and More
It’s not quite the summertime yet, but Legacy Recordings has some hot fun planned for Record Store Day thanks to a diverse slate of releases from A (Aerosmith) to, well, S (Sly and the Family Stone)! April 20 is the date when Legacy will join 2013 Record Store Day Ambassador Jack White to celebrate not only those beloved black vinyl discs, but also the brick-and-mortar retail record store experience which we hold very dear at The Second Disc. Titles for the sixth annual Record Store Day have already been announced from artists…
Release Round-Up: Week of March 19
Duane Allman, Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective (Rounder) A massive seven-disc box set celebrates the life and work of a guitar legend, gone far too soon. Read Joe’s review here! (Amazon U.S.) Elvis Presley, Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite: Legacy Edition (RCA/Legacy) The classic best-selling live album, taken from the famed TV special, is paired with a newly-remixed version of The Alternate Aloha (a rehearsal show recorded days earlier) and rare bonus performances. You’ll find Joe’s review here. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Bing Crosby, Bing in Dixieland / Seasons: The Closing Chapter – Deluxe Edition / Return to Paradise Islands: Deluxe Edition / On…
Review: The Miles Davis Quintet, “The Bootleg Series Volume 2: Live in Europe 1969”
“Directions in music by Miles Davis,” read the subtitle of the trumpeter’s late-1968 Columbia album Filles de Kilimanjaro. It was the first, but not the last, of his albums to bear those words. But listeners couldn’t have been expected to know which direction Davis would take with each album. Nefertiti, recorded in June-July 1967 but released in March 1968, turned out to be Davis’ last fully acoustic LP, with its follow-up Miles in the Sky (recorded January and May ’68 and released in September) introducing electric piano, electric bass and electric guitar…
Release Round-Up: Week of January 29
Fleetwood Mac, Rumours: Expanded/Deluxe Editions (Warner Bros.) Ahead of the band’s forthcoming tour, a new 4CD/1DVD/LP deluxe box set edition of their most popular album, featuring the original album on CD and vinyl, two discs of studio outtakes (including the one from the 2004 reissue) and an unreleased documentary. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) A three-disc edition collects the album and the two new bonus CDs, so if you own the last expansion and can live sans DVD, you can pick the rest up for a reasonable fee. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Miles…
Miles Runs The Voodoo Down: “The Bootleg Series Volume 2” Sheds Light on Third Great Quintet
Where was Miles Davis at in 1968? In a June 1968 interview with Leonard Feather of Downbeat, the journalist observed of Davis’ hotel suite, “I found strewn around the room records or tape cartridges by James Brown, Dionne Warwick, Tony Bennett, The Byrds, Aretha Franklin and the Fifth Dimension. Not a single jazz instrumental.” Feather asked “Why?” but concluded that most likely, “when you have reached the aesthetic mountaintop, there is no place to look but down.” Feather’s summation was harsh, perhaps, but Davis was operating on a different plane than his…
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…
