Feel the Heat: Supergroup The Power Station Goes Deluxe on New Box Set

Fans of Duran Duran and supergroups will multiply for this one: Rhino is expanding the self-titled debut from The Power Station into a 4CD box set next year. The Power Station DLX includes the remastered album (featuring the hits “Some Like It Hot” and a cover of T. Rex’s “Get It On (Bang a Gong)”) alongside three discs of bonus material, including unreleased “raw instrumental” versions, single mixes and live material, including the band’s performances from the charity concert Live Aid and an unissued full set from nearly a month later at…

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Release Round-Up: Week of February 14

Happy Valentine’s Day! 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. Melanie, Ace o’ Diamonds: The Lost Broadway Musical (Cleopatra) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) In the early 1980s, singer-songwriter Melanie lent her talents to the score of a new musical intended for Broadway.  Ace o’ Diamonds, with a book by Ed Kelleher and Seymour Vall, revolved around the relationship between Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok.  It was workshopped in New York…

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Release Round-Up: Week of February 17

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today! Dionne Warwick, Sure Thing: The Warner Bros. Recordings (1972-1977) (Cherry Red/SoulMusic) (Cherry Red / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Dionne Warwick’s new 6-CD box set Sure Thing: The Warner Bros. Recordings (1972-1977) anthologizes the superstar singer’s years for the famous label, including five full albums and over 40 additional recordings.  This adds up to the most comprehensive chronicle of Warwick’s Warner Bros. period ever, including productions by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Jerry Ragovoy, Thom Bell, Randy Edelman, Ashford and Simpson,…

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Give Me the News: Edsel Preps New Box Set of Robert Palmer Classics

For as long as CD reissues have been a thing, Robert Palmer’s catalogue has been crying out for some real respect. The late blue-eyed soul singer, only 54 when a heart attack ended his life in 2003, has been in real need of rediscovery – and efforts to rebuild his discography for the modern age are few and far between. Next year, U.K. label Edsel will throw their hat in the ring (again) with a deluxe box set of his most famous work. The Island Records Years is an in-depth look at…

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The Weekend Stream: October 15, 2022

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 usher you into the weekend – including a few surprise digital expansions from some ’80s U.K. legends, holiday remixes, a lost fitness favorite and more! Sting, …Nothing Like the Sun (Expanded Edition) (A&M/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon) This week marked the 35th anniversary of Sting’s second solo album, and UMe commemorated the occasion (much like they did the 30th anniversary of follow-up The Soul…

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Ride Me, Easy Rider: Cherry Red, Esoteric Collect Vinegar Joe’s “Island Recordings” Featuring Robert Palmer, Elkie Brooks

Today, Vinegar Joe is best remembered for launching the careers of Robert Palmer and Elkie Brooks.  The band had risen from the ashes of a group called Dada intended by co-founder Pete Gage as “a combination of Mothers of Invention/Frank Zappa, Blood, Sweat & Tears, and The 5th Dimension.  Power vocalists plus brass and crazy arrangements.” But that heady brew was too much for Atlantic Records’ Ahmet Ertegun who urged Dada to strip away the fusion elements and concentrate on blues and rock.  The result was Vinegar Joe, and late in 2021,…

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The Weekend Stream: May 1, 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 Saturday feature: The Weekend Stream, which focuses on hidden gems that recently made it to digital channels that might make your playlists a little brighter! The Jacksons, Triumph / Victory / 2300 Jackson Street: Expanded Editions (Epic/Legacy)…

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Release Round-Up: Week of August 27

The Beach Boys, Made in California (Capitol/UMe) Six discs of career-spanning tunes – hits and rarities aplenty – from the best band to come out of Hawthorne, California. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Bob Dylan, Another Self Portrait (1969-1971): The Bootleg Series Vol. 10 (Columbia) Revisit one of the most polarizing periods of Dylan’s career with the latest Bootleg Series entry, featuring outtakes from Nashville Skyline, Self Portrait and New Morning. A deluxe version includes Dylan and The Band’s complete Isle of Wight performance and a remastered version of Self Portrait, and a vinyl version also exists. 2CD standard edition: Amazon U.S….

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Edsel Reissues Robert Palmer’s Island Discography for Every Kinda People

One of the most truly odd omissions in catalogue history, the lack of expanded reissues for Robert Palmer’s iconic Island Records catalogue will finally be rectified by Edsel in August. Palmer’s nine albums for the Island label will be collected onto four two-disc sets, all remastered and featuring a large swath of bonus material. (The albums are grouped in twos, with the exception of a set collating Secrets (1979), Clues (1980) and Maybe It’s Live (1982).) Taken together, they represent one of the most original British rock and soul voices of the ’70s and ’80s, from…

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Culture Factory Reveals “Supreme” Slate with Motown, James Taylor, Robert Palmer and More [UPDATED]

UPDATE: In the days since this article has been posted, Culture Factory has revised the street dates for all of the titles mentioned here.  See below for corrected information as of March 28, 2013. ORIGINAL POST OF 3/25: Since its inaugural wave of releases in 2011, the Culture Factory label has carved out a niche in the catalogue field. Artists such as Robert Palmer, Hot Tuna, Paul Williams, Bob Welch, The Flamin’ Groovies, Sylvie Vartan, Rare Earth and The Motels are all among the recipients of the Culture Factory treatment. The label’s…

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Simply Irresistible: Edsel Plans Expanded Robert Palmer Two-Fers

The point is irrefutable! Edsel is releasing two double-disc sets containing all of the late, great Robert Palmer’s albums for EMI, with a few audio extras. One of the best blue-eyed soul singers from across the pond, Palmer had been well-known among pop gurus for his eclectic discography on Island Records in the 1970s and 1980s, including hits like “Every Kinda People” and “Bad Case of Loving You.” His big break in the U.S., however, came when Andy and John Taylor, the guitarist and bassist for Duran Duran, hired Palmer to sing…

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Entering the Culture Factory: New Reissue Label Launches with Robert Palmer, Paul Williams’ “Paradise”

Despite the spurious reports of the “death of the CD,” the reissue biz is still thriving on the little silver platter, offering up all manner of deluxe editions for the discerning customer.  (That means you, dear reader!)  In 2011, we’ve seen the launch of such heavyweights-to-be as Real Gone Music, Omnivore Recordings and RockBeat Records, and we’re now happy to welcome another name to the fold.  Culture Factory USA quietly launched this past September, with releases from Mink DeVille, Moon Martin, Kim Wilde and the Motels.  This month brings deluxe audiophile reissues…

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Reissue Theory: Robert Palmer – “Riptide”

It’s no secret that I’m a huge Duran Duran fan (these upcoming reissues are seriously a thing of beauty). But I also credit them with opening me up to a whole lot of other acts. Had I not started listening to them in middle school, I would not have been drawn to other synth/New Wave bands, CHIC, Madonna, David Bowie or Robert Palmer. Palmer in particular was quite the performer. His Duran connections were smallish – he was the lead vocalist for DD side-project The Power Station – but he was a…

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