Welcome to our brand-new, exhaustive feature to take us to the end of another great year for reissues and box sets: our first-ever official Second Disc Buyers Guide! From now until Christmas, we’re taking you on a delightful trip through the 100 greatest albums of all time, as selected by Rolling Stone in 2003, through the filter of when and how these classic albums have been reissued, remastered and repackaged. If you’ve ever wondered to yourself which versions of these albums to buy for
Since its formation on April 20, 1983, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has inducted a slate of accomplished musicians into its ranks on a yearly basis, causing excitement, consternation and everything in between. Though the worthiness of nominees and inductees is hotly debated with each “class” and a number of distinguished artists continue to be ignored year after year, one thing can be agreed upon: a lot of great music has been played for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It continues to host
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we focus on notable albums and the reissues they could someday see. On the 30th anniversary of the first album by one of Prince's most notable associated acts, we picture a release that's never happened: a career-spanning compilation for The Time. Thirty years ago, a major musical milestone occurred: Prince started transforming from a freaky, funk-rock gem of the Minneapolis music scene into an all-consuming musical entity. The conduit
The fine folks at Big Break Records have got another large batch of new titles for release in the U.K. on July 25, and we figured now was a good time to share not only the track lists and details with you, but look ahead at some of the huge titles they're prepping for next month. There are a few really great, underrated titles from some big-name acts in next week's batch, including expansions of The Isley Brothers' Between the Sheets (1983) and I Can See Clearly Now (1972) by Johnny Nash. But
1986's Tutu marked a rebirth for Miles Davis. It was his first album after nearly 30 years as a Columbia Records recording artist, and appeared on the Warner Bros. label. Producer Marcus Miller was Davis' chief foil, composing nearly every track and playing multiple instruments, while Jason Miles, George Duke, Paulinho da Costa and Michal Urbaniak all made appearances. Duke's "Backyard Ritual" was covered on the album as well as pop group Scritti Politti's "Perfect Way." Tutu was very much a
Aerosmith, Tough Love: Best of the Ballads (Geffen/UMe) Geffen augments the craziness of American Idol host/Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler (who has a solo single out today) by putting out a compilation of the band's Geffen-era ballads hits ("Love in an Elevator" isn't a ballad in any configuration). Apparently it's only available at Target, so if you visit a local indie store you should be fine. (Official site) Booker T. & The MG's, McLemore Avenue / The Staple Singers, Be Altitude:
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on notable albums and the reissues they could someday see. With anticipation running high for a new album from Stevie Nicks in a few months, we bring you a special look back at her first two solo albums - which have never been expanded - and that one record she's on that fans have been anxiously waiting for an official CD release... This post is dedicated with love to Stephen Sears, a good friend of The Second Disc. Today is his
It's perhaps the second-best Prince news next to CD remasters: Prince's three albums of the 1980s are being repressed on vinyl. Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981) and the double-album 1999 (1982) are all being repressed on 180-gram vinyl. While they don't seem to (and likely will not) boast new remastering, it's particularly interesting to see Prince's Warner Bros. catalogue getting any kind of attention by Rhino - especially some of the earlier, bawdier works that the devout Jehovah's
By now, you've likely heard the 1,000th No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 - Lady Gaga's new single "Born This Way." The dance anthem has come under a bit of fire for critics thanks to its striking similarity to another dance-pop icon's hit, Madonna's "Express Yourself." The Madonna-Gaga comparisons have been wildly obvious from the start - Italian-American, dyed blonde singers with decent if not fantastic voices, a flair for the visual and a desire to control every aspect of their iconography
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on great albums and the reissues they could someday see. One of the biggest-selling albums of all time. A rock and roll classic. Soon to be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Still un-reissued in any way, shape or form. This is Purple Rain. With the Grammy Awards on Sunday, there's been some thought at Second Disc HQ regarding some of the Grammy Hall of Fame inductees. While there are more single recordings on the list than
Cherry Pop has announced details for a new reissue that will have Prince fans excited: an expansion of Wendy & Lisa's sophomore album, Fruit at the Bottom. Childhood friends, band mates, lovers, soundtrack composers - Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman have had a lengthy, prolific career in the music industry. Both daughters of session musicians, Coleman was approached by Prince in 1980 to play keyboards for his Dirty Mind album. Three years later, with the exit of Dez Dickerson from the band,
Just as we noted the box sets and other catalogue sets that were nominated for Grammys this year, we would also like to tip the hat to the recordings that were put into the Grammy Hall of Fame, as announced Monday. Thirty recordings, including nine LPs, have been added to a group that now includes 881 classic pieces of music. The oldest recordings on the list are two singles, "Dark Was the Night - Cold Was the Ground" by Blind Willie Johnson and "My Mammy" by Al Jolson (both released in 1927);
It's no secret that The Second Disc HQ holds a lot of love for Prince - remember our weeklong blitz for The Artist back around his birthday this past June? - so this bit of news is, to put it mildly, rather massive. After the jump, learn what an Australian podcast got His Royal Badness himself to say about the potential future remastering of the Prince catalogue.
Here's something that'll get tongues wagging: gossip blogger Dr. Funkenberry, known for his commentary and scoops around the Prince camp, reported that The Artist partook in a meeting at the headquarters of former label, Warner Bros. The idea is that his upcoming album, 20Ten, will get a release with several European publications (similar to the release of 2007's Planet Earth), but will be released through WB in the U.S. PLEASE let this mean that reissues are in the cards somewhere. Pitchfork
Our continuing look at The Time's back catalogue culminates with some of the biggest hits in the band's career - and the weird career turns that seemed to prevent them from ever enjoying them as a band. By 1982, The Time were a well-received seven-piece electro-funk outfit that could play rings around other live bands. Despite their live quality, none of their studio efforts were their own, with Prince meticulously playing all the instruments and guiding lead vocalist Morris Day through all his
After last week's Prince binge on The Second Disc, it was inevitable that we'd double back to some of The Purple One's best side projects. One of those great ensembles is The Time, arguably the funkiest band to come out of Minneapolis in the 1980s and a criminally underrated side-project to this day. The Time was basically Prince's rearranged version of a similarly named local funk outfit, Flyte Tyme. That band was led by vocalist Alexander O'Neal and featured among its ranks keyboardists Monte
And one last foray into the Prince catalogue on The Second Disc with what is arguably one of the dopiest entries in his catalogue. To some, it seems like a total work for hire, a hatchet job, a cash-in - and while that may be the case, it's kind of a fun listen. That's right: Prince's album devoted to the 1989 film Batman. The story goes that star Jack Nicholson was the one who suggested Prince to director Tim Burton. After editing two scenes to a temp track of Prince tunes ("1999" for the
In the penultimate entry of Prince Week (I know, this is Day 7, but we got one more piece for you tomorrow), The Second Disc turns its attention to one of the most fertile times in Prince's life. From 1986 to 1987, just two short years, His Royal Badness managed to record enough material for a good four or five albums; it should go without saying that this material would be greatly served in a box set from Rhino at some point in time. Hit the jump to get your world rocked with a story of lots
In determining what was going to make up the contents of Prince Week, a great deal of agonizing was endured over where to place Prince's many side projects. Prince, ever the purple brain trust, developed a lot of side projects over time, particularly during the beginning of his success as a pop artist. The Time, Sheila E. and Vanity 6 are still the best acts he ever squired in the early Paisley Park years, but there were plenty others that deserve a look back someday - and ultimately, the sheer
Talking about Prince on a blog devoted to back catalogue music usually results in three considerations: 1) Prince really should allow remasters/reissues of his astounding discography, 2) Prince won't ever allow remasters/reissues of said discography and 3) why the heck not? As many of his fellow contemporaries (Madonna, Michael Jackson, Rick James, etc.) and other luminaries (The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, even The Beatles) have enjoyed remastering and rediscovery on compact disc, Prince has
This particular installment of Prince Week is an unorthodox one. The Second Disc is usually a place for just catalogue type stuff, since that is the gateway to most of our feelings about classic music. But sometimes the feelings themselves are worth writing about, if they're particularly strong. It's with this in mind that The Second Disc presents a bit of an emotions-based look at Prince's music. The following (admittedly lengthy) essay is something I've worked on for a few years in college,
We continue our Prince week with a little something for the fans out there that may have never caught on to His Royal Badness enough to buy any of his music. Often times, in cases where you want to get a firm start on following an artist, a greatest-hits compilation is the way to go. But Prince, like many other rock legends, has more than one such set on the market. And money's tight for a lot of folks. So which one do you end up buying? Follow the jump for a detailed breakdown of each one.
The Second Disc reader Robert Altman was predicting the future when he suggested a week devoted to Prince a few days ago. Prince - one of the most polarizing and intriguing figures to ever saunter onto the pop music scene - deserves reams (or gigabytes, in this case) written about his music and its impact, and The Second Disc promises to deliver in that regard. From this Friday to next Friday - going right through Prince's 52nd birthday on Monday - TSD will present a few features on Prince's
Tuesday was the 20th - count it! - anniversary of I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, the polarizing breakthrough LP by Sinead O'Connor. There's a fascinating write-up about the record and its aftermath over at Popdose that really shows off what an intriguing figure O'Connor was at the time. It certainly says something that an album with one Top 40 hit (her only one) sold over 7 million copies in its day. Clearly something was up here. I completely forgot that the record was given a double-disc
I've been listening to Pet Sounds a lot lately. Maybe it's the dreary weather; whenever I put on some Beach Boys things feel a bit sunnier. But it's a heck of a record (as I'm sure most of you know) - one of those rarified few that's hard to chop down entirely. It's also fascinating that it's one on a rather short list of pop albums that have supported its own box set. The sprawling The Pet Sounds Sessions, released in 1997, chronicles the process of the album through alternate mixes, outtakes,
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