Stevie Wonder - The Second Disc

Formats:

Genres:

Pop, R&B/Soul

The Weekend Stream: November 22, 2025

November 22, 2025 by The Second Disc | 1 Comment

Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. A real grab bag for you before the Thanksgiving holiday: cut songs from Broadway comedies, rarities from a ’60s soul/rock legend, an inexplicably remastered charity single, rare 12″ mixes and remastered jazz. Have a listen, won’t you?? Various Artists, Monty Python’s Spamalot (Original Broadway Cast Recording/20th Anniversary Edition) (Decca Broadway) (Apple / Amazon) Something to (always) look on the bright side of life over: a new reissue of the music…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Country, Disco/Dance, Electronic, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

The Weekend Stream Extra: A Guide to ‘MTV Unplugged’ on Paramount+ (Part 4)

June 15, 2025 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Welcome to a special Sunday feature of The Weekend Stream, which takes a look at one of MTV’s great live music programs thanks to a recent reissue of one of its best-known episodes. We’re running a five-part deep-dive on every episode of MTV Unplugged that’s currently streaming on the station’s parent streaming network Paramount+! (Parts 1, 2 and 3 can be read here, here and here.) The seventh and eighth seasons of MTV Unplugged aired in 1996 and 1997, which were sort of its last years as a regular program. By then, the show locked into a comfortable…

Categories:

Formats:

CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming

Genres:

Classic Rock, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

Tags:

Alice in Chains, Babyface, Bryan Adams, Chris Isaak, Hootie and The Blowfish, Jakob Dylan, Jewel, Oasis, Seal, Stevie Wonder, The Wallflowers, Tori Amos

Try to See Things Their Way: Ace Preps ‘Here, There and Everywhere,’ Third Collection of Beatles Covers Through a Black Lens

November 14, 2024 by Mike Duquette | 1 Comment

As fans prepare for the release of the new Disney+ documentary Beatles ’64, chronicling The Fab Four’s legendary inaugural trip to America, U.K. label Ace Records has an exciting release coming that same weekend, featuring nearly two dozen Black artists paying tribute to a series of songbooks that owed so much to soul music and rhythm and blues traditions. Here, There and Everywhere: Black America Sings Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, available November 29, is the seventh of Ace’s “Black America Sings” releases, which began with a 2011 entry on Bob Dylan and…

Categories:

Formats:

CD, Vinyl

Genres:

Blues, Classic Rock, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

The Weekend Stream: September 28, 2024

September 28, 2024 by Mike Duquette | 5 Comments

Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. There’s a lot of killer stuff on the list today, including two new singles from rock icons, a digital expansion of one of Sting’s best-loved albums, live David Bowie coming from the vaults, a Stevie Wonder syllabus and much more! The Cure, “Alone” (Polydor) (iTunes / Amazon) For the first time in 16 years, The Cure are set to release a new album. Songs of a Lost World is out November…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Disco/Dance, Holiday, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Ben Folds, Chillina Kennedy, Ciara, Daryl Hall, David Bowie, Eric McCormack, Lea Salonga, Madonna, Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder, Sting, The Cure, Tove Lo

The Weekend Stream: September 7, 2024

September 7, 2024 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. This week, there’s new tracks from pop royalty (and rock court jesters), plus expansions and rarities from The 5th Dimension, The Alan Parsons Project, and a very exciting treat for fans of The New Christy Minstrels! Stevie Wonder, “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart” (Republic) (iTunes / Amazon) A gentle, unifying acoustic number from the 74-year-old Motown legend might be easy enough to dismiss as pap. But consider…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Classic Rock, Country, Folk, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

Tags:

Alan Parsons, Blink-182, Daryl Hall, Hank Snow, Stevie Wonder, Sting, The 5th Dimension, The Alan Parsons Project, The New Christy Minstrels

The Weekend Stream: July 29, 2023

July 29, 2023 by Mike Duquette | 3 Comments

Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there’s plenty of great new/old music to float you into the weekend. Big things happening in this column: two big box sets from a legendary prog-turned-pop outfit, rare mixes from one of pop’s most legendary performers, tons of remixes from a soulful producer/performer and 200(!) classical titles from a legendary British label. Whew! Genesis, Archive #1 (1969 – 1975) / Archive #2 (1976 – 1992) (Atlantic/Rhino/Craft) Archive #1: iTunes / Amazon…

Categories:

Formats:

Features, The Weekend Stream

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Disco/Dance, Electronic, Everything Else, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock

The Weekend Stream: April 30, 2022

April 30, 2022 by Mike Duquette | 2 Comments

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 discover! This week’s got live favorites from The Boss, a Record Store Day rarity, a ’90s tribute album to some rock legends and much more. Bruce Springsteen, The Live Series: Songs of Location (Columbia/Legacy) (Apple Music / Amazon) The Thrill Hill Archives have occasionally made some themed Bruce Springsteen playlists available to stream, drawn from various live archival releases issued through Nugs.net. The…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Classic Rock, Country, Poetry, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Anthrax, Blondie, Bruce Springsteen, Debbie Gibson, Garth Brooks, Hilly Michaels, KISS, Lenny Kravitz, Maria McKee, Marina, Melvin Van Peebles, Nino Rota, Poco, Stevie Wonder

The Weekend Stream: October 30, 2021

October 30, 2021 by The Second Disc | 4 Comments

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 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 Temptations, Emperors of Soul: The Rarities (Motown/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify)…

Categories:

Features, News, The Weekend Stream

Formats:

Genres:

Disco/Dance, Everything Else, Folk, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock

Tags:

CHVRCHES, Connie Francis, Ghostface Killah, Ice Cube, Ike Turner, Indigo Girls, Jermaine Jackson, John Mayer, Kim Carnes, Lionel Richie, New Radicals, Old 97's, Stevie Wonder, Syreeta, The Temptations, Tina Turner

Always Love You: Elton John Welcomes Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder, Brandi Carlile, Glen Campbell and More to “The Lockdown Sessions”

September 1, 2021 by Joe Marchese | 6 Comments

Earlier today, Elton John announced a new album, his first new studio release since 2016’s Wonderful Crazy Night. A spiritual successor to 1993’s Duets, The Lockdown Sessions features Elton’s collaborations with 16 diverse artists ranging from the late Glen Campbell and legendary Stevie Wonder and Stevie Nicks to current hitmakers including Lil Nas X, Miley Cyrus, and Nicki Minaj. The album was borne out of the many guest appearances Elton made on various records during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s due on CD, LP, cassette, and digital formats on October 22. In John’s…

Categories:

Formats:

CD, Cassette, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Disco/Dance, Electronic, Pop, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock

Tags:

Brandi Carlile, Dua Lipa, Eddie Vedder, Elton John, Glen Campbell, Metallica, Miley Cyrus, Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder

Release Round-Up: Week of August 29

August 30, 2019 by Sam Stone | No Comments

Here’s your Release Round Up for the week ahead. Various Artists, Country Music — A Film By Ken Burns: The Soundtrack (Legacy Recordings) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD: Walmart.com Filmmaker Ken Burns has tackled many subjects over the years, from the Civil War to baseball. His documentaries have garnered numerous awards over the years. In 2001, he took an in-depth look at the genre…

Categories:

Release Round-Up

Formats:

Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Country, Funk, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Review: Various Artists, “Motown: The Complete No. 1s”

July 3, 2019 by Joe Marchese | 6 Comments

Smokey Robinson’s mama famously told the young singer-songwriter that he’d better shop around, but happily, those looking for the definitive chronicle of Smokey and Diana and Mary and Flo and Martha and Marvin and Stevie and co. need shop around no more. To mark the label’s 60th anniversary, Motown: The Complete No. 1s is back in print in a slightly-expanded edition, and this 11-CD box set is, simply, one-stop shopping. Impressively housed within a sturdy replica of 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan, this collection features all of the company’s chart-toppers…

Categories:

Reviews

Formats:

Box Sets, CD

Genres:

Pop, R&B/Soul

Tags:

Diana Ross, Four Tops, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5, The Supremes, The Temptations, Various Artists

Return To West Grand Boulevard: ‘Motown: The Complete No. 1s’ Box Gets Expanded Reissue

April 19, 2019 by The Second Disc | 9 Comments

For its 60th anniversary year, Universal Music Enterprises has begun reminding fans that “Motown Did It First“; now, the label that launched The Sound Of Young America is revisiting a box set that was released in celebration of its 50th anniversary a decade ago. Motown: The Complete No. 1s is being reissued and expanded on June 28. Motown: The Complete No. 1s featured more than 200 international chart-toppers, plus a handful of bonus masters that went to No. 1 through cover versions or samples. And the packaging was a delight: the discs…

Categories:

Formats:

Box Sets, CD

Genres:

Country, Disco/Dance, Everything Else, Funk, Holiday, Pop, R&B/Soul

Yesterday’s Dreams: UMe Releases “Motown Unreleased: 1968” and “In Loving Memory: Expanded Edition” Copyright Extension Collections

December 14, 2018 by Sam Stone | 8 Comments

In a winter tradition that’s as reliable as any, UMe has released the latest in the annual copyright extension series, entitled Motown Unreleased: 1968. The two-part compilation will arrive to digital download and streaming services today, December 14. Between the two volumes, there’s a whopping 88 tantalizing, previously unreleased gems from the Motown vault! Motown heavy-hitters, soul superstars, and fan favorites abound on these two collections. There’s a wealth of Stevie Wonder rarities, for example, from his cover of “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” and rare original recordings, to live…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Gospel, Holiday, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul

Tags:

Billy Eckstine, David Ruffin, Earl Van Dyke, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Jr. Walker, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops, The Spinners, The Temptations

Eyes On The Prize: John Mellencamp Collects Covers On New Album, “Other People’s Stuff”

December 4, 2018 by Sam Stone | 5 Comments

When John Mellencamp was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, Billy Joel remarked that, “People need to hear a voice like yours to echo the discontent that’s in the heartland. They need to hear stories about it. They need to know that someone out there feels the way they do.” Though Mellencamp has never sought to be the voice of the Small Town, his stories of struggle, loss, perseverance, and love have spoken to the American heartland for more than forty years. For his 24th album, though, Mellencamp…

Categories:

Formats:

CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Tags:

Jimmie Rodgers, John Mellencamp, Merle Travis, Robert Johnson, Stevie Wonder

Lovin’ You: Capitol/UMe to Reissue Minnie Riperton’s Breakthrough Album

October 23, 2017 by Mike Duquette | 4 Comments

No one else could make us feel the colors that Minnie Riperton brings–and this winter, a newly expanded edition of her breakthrough album, 1974’s Perfect Angel, will honor the singer for what would have been her 70th birthday. Born on the South Side of Chicago, Minnie Riperton was a musical pro when she released Perfect Angel in 1974. Blessed with a five-octave range and a compelling high soprano, she’d sung background vocals on many Chess Records releases and had joined the label’s psychedelic soul combo Rotary Connection as a vocalist. Her first solo album,…

Categories:

Minnie Riperton, Stevie Wonder

Formats:

Genres:

Pop, R&B/Soul

Tags:

That’s What Friends Are For: Clive Davis Soundtrack Features Barry, Whitney, Dionne, Aretha, More

September 27, 2017 by Joe Marchese | 6 Comments

This past April, New York’s Radio City Music Hall hosted a prestigious premiere. The film was Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives, and the screening was accompanied by an all-star concert featuring Barry Manilow, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, and others celebrating the life of the music legend. Beginning on October 3, Apple Music will exclusively stream the Chris Perkel-directed documentary, and today, September 27, Legacy Recordings has digitally released an exclusive 34-track deluxe soundtrack on Apple Music boasting four previously unreleased performances. (A standard 20-track digital soundtrack will be…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Classic Rock, Country, Everything Else, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

“Tony Bennett Celebrates 90” With All-Star Concert, Previously Unreleased Songs, More

November 11, 2016 by Joe Marchese | 2 Comments

This past August 3, Tony Bennett celebrated his milestone 90th birthday…and made it clear that he had no intentions of slowing down. Indeed, the legendary vocalist has dates booked well into 2017, but first, he’s looking back with a new 3-CD set including rare and previously unreleased material. Tony Bennett Celebrates 90 premieres the recording of the all-star concert tribute held at Radio City Music Hall on September 15 of this year, but the Amazon-exclusive Deluxe Edition will add two discs of rare and classic Bennett. The first disc of this collection,…

Categories:

Formats:

CD, Digital Download

Genres:

Popular Standards/Vocal

Tags:

Billy Joel, Diana Krall, Elton John, Lady Gaga, Rufus Wainwright, Stevie Wonder, Tony Bennett

Release Round-Up: Week of April 1

April 1, 2016 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Go-Go’s, Beauty and the Beat / Vacation / Talk Show: Deluxe Editions (Edsel) Beauty and the Beat: Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Vacation: Expanded Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Talk Show: Expanded Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Edsel has expanded editions of the three classic albums by The Go-Go’s originally released between 1982 and 1984. While none of the bonus material here is unreleased, these reissues do serve to pair the respective material from Return to the Valley of The Go-Go’s up with their original albums. Beyond that,…

Categories:

Release Round-Up

Formats:

CD, Digital Download, SACD, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

Tags:

Bill Wyman, Earth Wind and Fire, Martha and the Vandellas, Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder, The Go-Go's, The Miracles, The Replacements, The Supremes, Todd Rundgren

Dance Yeah Dance: “Motown Unreleased 1965” Premieres Songs By Stevie Wonder, Spinners, Four Tops, Smokey Robinson

December 11, 2015 by Joe Marchese | 3 Comments

1965 was a key year for The Sound of Young America. In a tumultuous twelve-month period which saw the Selma to Montgomery marches, the United States’ escalation of military forces in South Vietnam, and the assassination of Malcolm X, the music of Motown was a cultural touchstone that spread unifying messages of love and togetherness. Berry Gordy’s label scored five Pop chart-toppers in 1965: The Supremes’ “Stop! In the Name of Love,” “Back in My Arms Again” and “I Hear a Symphony,” The Temptations’ “My Girl,” and The Four Tops’ “I Can’t…

Categories:

Formats:

Digital Download

Genres:

R&B/Soul

Tags:

Brenda Holloway, Martha and the Vandellas, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops, The Spinners, Various Artists

Together In Perfect Harmony: Paul McCartney’s “Tug of War” and “Pipes Of Peace” Join Archive Collection

July 30, 2015 by Joe Marchese | 33 Comments

At last, we can say, say, say it’s true: the next two volumes of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection are on their way for October 2 release in a variety of formats. Macca’s second and third albums of the 1980s, the platinum sellers Tug of War and Pipes of Peace, will arrive from Concord Records and MPL with the expected array of bonus material, highlighted by a complete 2015 remix of Tug of War. 1982’s Tug of War marked McCartney’s first album following the breakup of Wings. It followed 1980’s McCartney II…

Categories:

Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder

Formats:

Box Sets, CD, DVD, Digital Download, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Pop

Tags:

Motown Rarities Uncovered on Vinyl Box, Digital Outtakes Set

December 18, 2013 by Mike Duquette | 4 Comments

Motown aficionados have a lot of fun stuff to dig through on a number of formats, with the recent release of a box set collecting 14 rare cuts on vinyl and a new, copyright law-busting compilation of 52 previously unavailable outtakes from some of the label’s biggest names. Recently issued in the U.K., The Motown 7s Box: Rare and Unreleased Vinyl seems to take more of a tack about “tracks unreleased to vinyl” than “never-before-released tracks on vinyl.” Everything here has been made available in some way, shape or form, including rare studio…

Categories:

Formats:

Box Sets

Genres:

Tags:

Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops, The Miracles, The Supremes, The Temptations, Vinyl

Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye): Final “The Complete Motown Singles” Volume Bows

November 13, 2013 by Mike Duquette | 5 Comments

They did it. Nearly nine years after the first volume in Hip-O Select’s The Complete Motown Singles box set series was released, the 14th and final entry in the series, Volume 12B: 1972, will be released on December 10, just in time for the holidays. The year 1972 marks, for many, the end of the “classic Motown” period. Label founder Berry Gordy moved label operations from Detroit to Los Angeles, and many of his most treasured acts were in periods of transition. Diana Ross was long a solo artist away from The Supremes, while…

Categories:

Formats:

Box Sets

Genres:

Tags:

Lesley Gore, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops, The Jackson 5, The Miracles, The Supremes, The Temptations

Where Were You When We Needed You: Latest Volume of “The Complete Motown Singles” Arrives in June

May 10, 2013 by Mike Duquette | 6 Comments

Let’s dispense with the “Get Ready” puns: after a four-year wait, Hip-O Select’s Complete Motown Singles series inches closer toward the finish line with Volume 12A: 1972. This five-disc set includes every single side released by Motown during the first half of 1972, a time of transition for the company. Berry Gordy had already moved his Detroit-based media empire westward to Los Angeles, leaving some of his flagship groups in a transitional period. The Jackson 5 still had their hits, but not with the blinding intensity of their earliest years (though Michael still enjoyed hits…

Categories: