Band break-ups can be traumatizing, no matter how they happen. Philip Bailey, whose high falsetto vocals were a key part of Earth, Wind & Fire during their most commercial years in the '70s and '80s, has frequently described the band's (temporary) dissolution, brought up during a 1983 band meeting by founder Maurice White, as one of the lower points of his career. Bailey's next moves could shape his trajectory as an artist for better or worse. Of course, what happened over the rest of the
Though the exhaustive archival work that accompanied Genesis' 2007 touring did not extend to the group's latest (and likely last) outing in 2021 and 2022, this year brings a new box set for fans of the prog-turned-pop/rock icons: a collection of their live material as recorded by the BBC. BBC Broadcasts, curated by founding keyboardist Tony Banks and longtime engineer Nick Davis, offers a trove of concert audio from all the major eras of Genesis from 1970 to 1998. The earliest material, taken
We at The Second Disc are not musicians. Well - I don't want to speak for Joe, but outside of an enthusiastic karaoke night every now and again, I am not a musician. But I obviously think of what it takes to mix brain power and artistic expression so brilliantly in the creation of a song, as well as the struggles that every artist faces when trying to "make it." Earning a living is one thing, sure, but so is the magic of connecting with a friend or a stranger through a song of your own creation.
Late last year, Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings arm reissued the rock-meets-classical interpretation of Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf conceived by Jack Lancaster (Blodwyn Pig) and Robin Lumley (Brand X). Now, on March 25, Esoteric will turn its attention to the next album from the pair of Lancaster and Lumley. The 1976 concept album Marscape was inspired by the landing on Mars of NASA's Viking Explorer 2 in September of that year Though the success of Peter and the Wolf directly
Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev wrote Peter and the Wolf in 1936 as "a symphonic fairy tale for children." As conceived, the narrator tells a story for children in which every character is musically "played" by a different instrument, i.e., the bird is a flute, the duck is an oboe, the cat is a clarinet, the grandfather is a bassoon, the Wolf is French horns, the hunters are woodwinds and trumpets, and Peter is string instruments. Prokofiev's composition earned the attention of Walt Disney
On November 15, Phil Collins, Tony Banks, and Mike Rutherford are planning to take the stage at Chicago's United Center as Genesis to launch the band's first North American tour since 2007. (The European leg kicked off in September.) The tour is entitled The Last Domino? (note the question mark), and four days after its debut, Rhino in the U.S. and Virgin/UMC in the U.K. will release a companion collection. The Last Domino?, the album, is due on November 19 and will offer 27 tracks, including
On July 3, 1985, mass audiences got to take a trip Back To The Future thanks to the year's top-grossing film. For its 35th anniversary, the film and music fans at Mondo are bringing the film's classic soundtrack back to vinyl with a cool twist: an unused piece of front cover artwork courtesy of the series' beloved poster artist. Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale's time-travel fantasy found Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), an average California teen in 1985, accidentally transported 30 years into the
In 2017, Howard Jones took his scintillating synthpop catalogue from Warner Music to U.K. indie Cherry Red Records, releasing a new compilation as well as expanded editions of his first two albums. After releasing the new album Transform earlier this year, Jones will continue revisiting his discography alongside the label early next year with a deluxe edition of his third LP One To One. Released at the end of 1986, One To One followed Jones' biggest-ever hit in America: a re-recording of the
When Phil Collins' Take a Look At Me Now... reissue campaign commenced in 2016, some fans were understandably, justifiably sore at the exclusion of most of his rarest material - non-LP B-sides and remixes - in favor of unreleased demos or, more often, non-contemporaneous live material sitting next to the original albums on bonus discs. This month, Rhino will finally collect that much-coveted material - albeit in digital form - on two new compilations: Other Sides and Remixed Sides, due May
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Johnny Mathis, I Love My Lady (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Link TBD) Johnny Mathis' legendary lost 1981 collaboration with CHIC receives its first-ever standalone release from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music! For the occasion, I Love My Lady has been outfitted with brand-new artwork and a deluxe 24-page booklet featuring an introduction from Nile Rodgers and interviews with Johnny and
It's been a busy few years for Phil Collins. Most recently, he wrapped up the U.S. leg of the successful Not Dead Yet Live! Tour. He released the recent compilation, Plays Well With Others, which saw him dipping into his archives to find his session appearances and collaborations. He also released The Singles and oversaw the remastering of his studio work with the "Take A Look At Me Now" reissue series. Now, the campaign continues with the February 1 release of two remastered live albums
Serious Hits... Live! is considered one of the most successful live albums ever made. Since its release in 1990, it has been certified 4x Platinum with over 4 million copies sold. Culled from stadium and arena shows from his Seriously, Live! World Tour, the album finds Collins performing many of his biggest hits, from "Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)" and "You Can't Hurry Love" to "Another Day In Paradise" and "Easy Lover" featuring Philip Bailey.
Phil Collins' live album A Hot Night In Paris features instrumental performances of songs from across Collins' solo discography, as well as select tracks from his time in Genesis. Credited to The Phil Collins Big Band and featuring Collins on drums, the album also includes covers of Miles Davis's "Milestones" and The Average White Band's "Pick Up the Pieces." The latter features George Duke on keyboards. The remastered album will be available on CD February 1 from Atlantic/Rhino.
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Tom Petty, An American Treasure (Reprise) 4CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 6LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada This career-spanning retrospective of rare and previously unreleased material from the late Tom Petty arrives on Reprise Records. The aptly-titled An American Treasure will be the first posthumous collection of Petty material, and it should prove a vital
Cherry Red Records has a pair of treats for fans of English singer-songwriter and '80s synthpop hero Howard Jones. On November 30, the label will expand and remaster Jones' chart-topping debut album Human's Lib and its follow-up, Dream Into Action. Originally issued in March 1984, Human's Lib rocketed into the U.K. Album Chart at No. 1 with sales of over 100,000 units in the first week alone. The double platinum smash spent a total of 57 weeks on the British chart, and yielded four top 20
Throughout his career, Phil Collins has always been willing to share his talents - whether at the microphone or the drum kit, as a songwriter, or in the producer's chair - with his fellow musicians. On September 28, the superstar will collect 59 of his favorite collaborations on a new 4-CD box set. Rhino/Atlantic will release Plays Well with Others just one week before Collins launches his Not Dead Yet, Live! tour on October 5 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Collins states in the press
Robbie Dupree's invitation to "Steal Away" on his 1980 Elektra Records self-titled debut earned the singer-songwriter a U.S. top ten hit as well as a Best New Artist Grammy nomination. Now, a new reissue label has launched with expanded editions of Robbie Dupree and his sophomore effort, Street Corner Heroes. This pair of initial releases from Los Angeles-based indie Blixa Sounds celebrates the soft rock sound of the late 1970s and early 1980s, sometimes known as "yacht rock." The style is
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! "Weird Al" Yankovic, Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic (Legacy) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The world's premier parodist celebrates his discography with a box set unlike any other: all 14 of his original albums, newly remastered; Medium Rarities, a bonus album of rare and unreleased material; and a 100+ page book of rare photos and memorabilia--all packaged
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Big Star, Complete Third (Omnivore Recordings) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Omnivore does an in-depth vault dive into the creation of Big Star's Third for a new 3-CD box set. Complete Third includes every demo, rough mix, outtake, alternate take and final master from the Third sessions known to exist. The 69 tracks on this set represent the culmination of a decade-long search to assemble all extant recordings for the album
Phil Collins isn't ready to stop asking fans to "Take a Look At Me Now," with a new compilation to finish out his yearlong reissue campaign. The Singles, due in stores October 14, a week ahead of his autobiography, Not Dead Yet: The Memoir, collects Phil's various A-sides through nearly 30 years of recording. While nearly all the tracks, newly remastered by Nick Davis, have appeared in each batch of his expanded albums, The Singles collects a dozen tracks not included in those sets. There
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, with some of the most high-profile releases yet for 2016! The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds 50 (Various Editions) (Capitol/UMe) 4-CD/1-BD Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2-CD Deluxe Edition (CD 1 + highlights from 4-CD set): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Mono 180-Gram Vinyl Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Stereo 180-Gram Vinyl Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The Beach
The Take a Look At Me Now campaign has featured reissues of all of Collins' solo albums, each with a disc of bonus material personally selected by Collins, featuring mostly unreleased demos and live material. While Collins' participation has added some panache to the whole proceedings, with his creative album cover reshoots only recently going viral, some fans have been rightly perplexed as to what was left off from the campaign. To wit, the voluminous B-sides and demos released through
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Phil Collins, No Jacket Required and Testify: Deluxe Editions (Atlantic/Rhino) No Jacket Required 2-CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada No Jacket Required LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Testify 2-CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Testify LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Phil Collins' No Jacket Required, originally released in 1985 and still the artist's most commercially successful album,
The next two titles in Phil Collins' ongoing Take a Look at Me Now reissue program have been announced. On Friday, April 15, Deluxe Editions of No Jacket Required and Testify will arrive in stores, joining the previously issued quartet of Face Value (1981), Hello, I Must Be Going! (1982), Both Sides (1993) and Dance into the Light (1996). Nick Davis has newly remastered all titles which feature new cover photographs of Collins creating his famous cover poses. No Jacket Required, originally
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up filled with deluxe reissues on vinyl and CD, box sets, new releases from veteran artists, and more! Michael Jackson, Off the Wall (Epic/Legacy) CD/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada CD/BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The King of Pop's 1979 Epic solo debut Off the Wall is revived for 2016 with an additional DVD or BD of Spike Lee's acclaimed new documentary about the making of the album, Michael Jackson's Journey from