"Come with me/What wonders we'll find," sings Rod McKuen to open his lilting waltz "Kaleidoscope" in his recognizable sandpaper voice. But the more revealing lyrics come later, when the poet-singer-songwriter asserts, "You'll look in my eyes and see you." Over a career spanning seven decades - but particularly during a purple patch in the late 1960s and early 1970s - McKuen's loyal legion of fans saw themselves in his deceptively simple art. His empathetic words conveyed the beauty of everyday
We've already filled you on a number of titles from Real Gone Music's January slate, including our Second Disc Records release of Laura Nyro's rare mono More Than a New Discovery on vinyl and the first-ever reissue of Miss Barbara Eden on CD and vinyl. Now, Real Gone has announced a pair of titles from a true iconoclast: the late Rod McKuen. On January 31, the label will premiere New Ballads, the singer-songwriter-poet's highest-charting Warner Bros. album, on CD alongside a newly-expanded
With Halloween less than a week away, we thought we'd take a look at a new compilation which was recently released from Cherry Red's Righteous Records imprint: the 2-CD Trick or Treat: Music To Scare Your Neighbours - Vintage 45s from Lux and Ivy's Haunted Basement. The Lux and Ivy in the title are the husband and wife mainstays of the punk/rockabilly group The Cramps, who debuted in the 1970s and were active until Lux's death in 2009. Aside from being punk innovators, the pair also
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Melissa Manchester, Mathematics: The MCA Years (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music bring Melissa Manchester's 1985 MCA album to CD for the very first time in an expanded 2-CD deluxe edition! Mathematics: The MCA Years features the original Mathematics (produced by George Duke, Brock Walsh and Robbie Nevil, Trevor Veitch and executive producer Quincy Jones!) on
Even though Fall has just begun, we are already looking ahead to Christmas as several artists have already announced yuletide albums for this year. And, continuing their annual tradition, our friends at Real Gone Music are releasing selection of classic Christmas CDs this year, the first three of which they have just announced. All three of these are due on November 2. First up is Season's Greetings From the McGuire Sisters - The Complete Coral Christmas Recordings. The singing trio of
In the canon of all-time great film composers, the name of Henry Mancini still looms large. Cherry Red's El imprint has brought two of his classic 1960s scores together on one CD: the original RCA Victor soundtrack album of Two for the Road (1967) and the Columbia Records release of Me, Natalie (1969) - the latter of which has only been previously available on CD as part of a large Mancini box set. Mancini scored four films for Audrey Hepburn - Breakfast at Tiffany's, Charade, Wait Until
For nearly 50 years, getting the complete score to 1969's animated feature A Boy Named Charlie Brown was as fruitless as kicking a football held by Lucy Van Pelt. Kritzerland's newest album changes all that, offering Vince Guaraldi and John Scott Trotter's score and Rod McKuen's songs as they appeared in the film for the very first time. A Boy Named Charlie Brown found producer Lee Mendelsohn and director Bill Melendez teaming up again to bring Charles M. Schulz's beloved Peanuts comic strip
In the case of Rod McKuen, "prolific" might well have been an understatement. Before he turned 35, McKuen had already lived many lives - from farm hand, lumberjack, rodeo cowboy, disk jockey, and U.S. Army veteran to singer, songwriter, actor, and the most commercially successful poet of his time - or any other. Despite an enviable career that saw him receive two Academy Award nominations and Frank Sinatra dedicate an entire album to him, the songs of Rod McKuen frequently haven't received
When singer-songwriter-poet Rod McKuen teamed with composer-arranger-conductor Anita Kerr for the 1967 album The Sea, neither had any inkling that the record's success would lead to an entire series of albums under the San Sebastian Strings moniker through 1975. The oft-imitated, never-duplicated, platinum-selling The Sea epitomized the now-moribund genre of "mood music," offering spoken word and music in a relaxing, spellbinding mélange. Cherry Red's él imprint has recently reissued the box
Cherry Red's él imprint has a trio of recent releases continuing its commitment to truly eclectic sounds of the pre-1964 era. Two of these are musical odes to the big city life of London and New York, from arrangers Wally Stott and Bobby Scott, respectively; the third reissues and expands a compilation from the late Rod McKuen. Singer-songwriter-poet-author-renaissance man McKuen, who died earlier this year, was recently the subject of Varese Vintage's Reflections: The Greatest Songs of Rod
CONGRATULATIONS! The following 15 entrants have won a copy of Varese Vintage's brand-new Rod McKuen anthology, Reflections: The Greatest Songs of Rod McKuen, on CD! If you entered our contest via Facebook and your name is on the list below, please drop us a line at theseconddisc-at-gmail-dot-com or a Private Message on Facebook with your name and mailing address! If you entered via email, you don't have to do anything - your CD will be in the mail soon! Watch this space soon for more
Varese Vintage recently celebrated a singular career when the label released Reflections -The Greatest Songs of Rod McKuen. This definitive overview of McKuen's work as a singer-songwriter features 24 of his most famous compositions including "If You Go Away," "Jean," "Seasons in the Sun," "A Man Alone" and "Love's Been Good to Me." I was proud to pen the liner notes for this collection, and now, Varese and I would like to give you a chance to WIN THIS NEW RELEASE! Though a self-professed
Well, this is it - the final big release week of the year! While next week will see releases slow to a trickle, this week is packed with exciting box sets and much more! Bruce Springsteen, The Ties That Bind: The River Collection (Columbia) 4-CD/3-DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada 4-CD/2-BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada This 4-CD/3-DVD or 4-CD/2-BD set celebrating The Boss' seminal album The River features a treasure trove of previously unreleased material across its 53 audio tracks
On November 13, Varese Vintage will celebrate a singular career when the label releases Reflections - The Greatest Songs of Rod McKuen. This definitive overview of McKuen's work as a singer-songwriter features 24 of his most famous compositions including "If You Go Away," "Jean," "Seasons in the Sun," "A Man Alone" and "Love's Been Good to Me." Though a self-professed loner who often wrote of isolation and solitude, McKuen had an extraordinary ability in music, poetry and prose to
When Charles Schulz, director-producer Lee Mendelson and co-producer Bill Melendez announced they were bringing Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the Peanuts gang to the big screen for the very first time, anticipation was naturally high. A Boy Named Charlie Brown was well-received upon its December 1969 theatrical debut, going on to do good business and receiving credit for breaking the Disney monopoly on feature-length animation. Today, it's still remembered as the best of the four Peanuts animated
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a vintage live concert from The Rolling Stones in a variety of formats, an all-star salute to the great Carole King, a rare soundtrack from a beloved performer to a classic children's film, and much, much more! The Rolling Stones, From the Vault: The Marquee Club Live in 1971 (Eagle Rock) DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. SD Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. SD Blu-ray + CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. TBD DVD + CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon
On January 29, 2015, we lost a true American original with the passing of Rod McKuen, 81. Poet, composer, lyricist, singer, author, artist; there were few mountains that McKuen didn't climb to great success. An Oscar and Pulitzer nominee, and a Grammy winner, McKuen also was among the earliest to champion the works of Jacques Brel, and was a longtime advocate for gay rights. "It doesn't matter who you love, or how you love, but that you love," McKuen once said. In his own recordings and
It's been a good year to be a fan of Henry Mancini. And it's about to get even better! The career of the composer, arranger and conductor - the rare artist for whom the word "legendary" is not only apt, but perhaps an understatement - has been recognized on disc in 2014 by labels including Varese Vintage, Vocalion, Intrada and Sony's Legacy Recordings. Legacy previously marked the 50th anniversary of Mancini's iconic music of The Pink Panther with a limited edition pink vinyl release for
Fanny, Fanny / Freddie King, The Complete King Federal Singles (2-CD Set) / Rod McKuen, Sold Out at Carnegie Hall (2-CD Deluxe Edition) / Rod McKuen, Listen to the Warm (Deluxe Edition) / Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys, The Street Giveth...and the Street Taketh Away / The Hello People, Fusion / The Grateful Dead, Dick's Picks 25 - May 10, 1978 New Haven, CT / May 11, 1978 Springfield, MA (4-CD Set) (Real Gone Music) Much to enjoy from Real Gone today: four discs of live Dead, deluxe
From a lost classic produced by Jimi Hendrix to Grateful Dead playing Warren Zevon, Real Gone Music’s February release slate has a little bit of soul, rock, pop, blues and even poetry! The label founded by Gordon Anderson and Gabby Castellana has an impressive line-up of titles due on February 26, including the first-ever standalone CD reissue of the Richard Perry-produced Reprise debut of Fanny (the first all-female rock group signed to a major label), a definitive 2-CD singles collection from