[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OBogYK_40U] It's like NFL draft day for music geeks*! Today's the big announcement of the full Record Store Day 2014 exclusives list, to kick off with a press conference at Los Angeles' Amoeba Music later today. While we're positive there are some great surprises in store, a number of our favorite labels have already spilled the beans on their spreads for April 19. Sundazed Music, purveyors of great vintage rock on CD and vinyl, have five 45 RPM singles
If you’re looking for a little music to go with your grande toffee nut latte, Starbucks has recently unveiled a number of new audio offerings to kick off 2014. In addition to its annual Sweetheart disc – an anthology of new(ish) artists playing old(ish) love songs including, this year, songs by John Lennon, Bob Dylan and Harry Nilsson – the coffee giant has curated a selection of Music for Little Hipsters, sets dedicated to Women of Jazz and When Jazz Meets Guitar, and an Opus Collection volume
1963 was a landmark year for the favorite sons of Hawthorne, California. During those twelve months, The Beach Boys released three Top 10 studio albums (Surfin’ USA, Surfer Girl and Little Deuce Coupe) and launched three Top 10 singles (“Surfin’ USA,” “Surfer Girl,” and “Be True to Your School”). Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, the outgoing David Marks and returning Al Jardine were perfecting their harmony-laden brand of surf rock and setting the stage for the next step in
La-La Land never fails to amaze when it comes to Black Friday. The soundtrack label often saves some of its biggest and highest-profile titles for announcements on the shopping weekend (see 2010, 2011 and 2012) - and this year is no different, with two premiere releases of acclaimed scores, an expanded edition of a superhero sequel and a box set devoted to one of the biggest action film franchises of all time. First up: call them slobs, call them jerks, call them gross - just don't call them
If everybody had an ocean... Rarely have five simple words in pop music held such promise. The message at the time was an invitation squarely aimed at teens: “If everybody had an ocean, across the USA/Then everybody’d be surfin’ like Califor-ni-a...” But ultimately, the promise and California dream embodied by Hawthorne, CA’s native sons came to mean so much more than mere surfin’. The sound of The Beach Boys – Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Al Jardine, David Marks,
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
On my way to sunny California, on my way to spend another sunny day… The sounds of summer will be in perfect harmony on August 27 when Capitol Records releases the Beach Boys’ long-awaited, retrospective box set Made in California. Word first came last summer of the 50th anniversary box, as the reunited group of Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks were winding down a phenomenally successful world tour. Since then, the Love/Johnston faction of the band has
The Beach Boys, Live: The 50th Anniversary Tour (Capitol) Brian, Mike, Al, Bruce and David may not be touring again anytime soon, but at least we now have two discs of live memories to play. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Townes Van Zandt, The Late Great Townes Van Zandt / High, Low and In Between (Omnivore) You heard the demos, now rediscover these great country albums, on CD or vinyl! Late Great CD (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.), LP (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) High, Low CD (Amazon U.S. / Amazon
Water has always played a key role in the California myth of The Beach Boys – whether via the inviting waves of “Surfin’ USA,” the blue seas of “Hawaii,” or the dark imagery of “Surf’s Up.” But the water onstage for the group’s 50th anniversary tour was of a different sort: it was water under the bridge. If perhaps only for three or so hours each night last summer, all of the oft-publicized tensions that have beset America’s Band over the years seemed to melt away in full view of the
If The Beach Boys are the all-time torchbearers for harmony, surely Crosby, Stills, Nash & (sometimes) Young aren’t far behind. Both of these legendary groups have recently announced live recordings of landmark concert engagements. When The Beach Boys’ acclaimed 50th Anniversary reunion tour concluded last September in London, the band’s triumph was marked by a note of sadness. Acrimony had once again arisen, and it appeared clear that the tour would likely be the last together for Brian
Another few batches of Universal's eye-rolling ICON series are on the way - and while they offer a few genuine surprises, there's a lot, perhaps even more than usual, to shake one's head over. The big surprise right off the bat is that the mid-price compilation series will now chronicle not only Universal-controlled catalogue artists, but EMI-controlled ones as well. This is hardly a surprise, given the past year's big story of music business restructuring that's leaving the world with three
Here in the U. S. of A., Black Friday is almost upon us: that unusual date following the prior day of giving thanks, in which consumers make a mad dash to the local big-box store, mall or shopping center to procure bargains for the holiday season ahead. Retailers are controversially beginning Black Friday “festivities” even earlier than usual this year, with many sales starting on Thanksgiving Day itself and not even at midnight but in the early part of the evening. For a number of recent
It’s about time now! Don’t you know now? It’s about time we get together to be out front and love one another… - Dennis Wilson, Carl Wilson, Bob Burchman and Al Jardine (1970) Isn’t it time we danced the night away? How about doing it just like yesterday? - Brian Wilson, Joe Thomas, Jim Peterik, Larry Millas and Mike Love (2012) No, Mike Love didn’t fire Brian Wilson from The Beach Boys. But that didn’t stop the Beach Boys’ leader, producer and chief songwriter from telling The Los
We’re continuing our series of in-depth features dedicated to America’s band, The Beach Boys, and the various projects that have kept the group occupied throughout 2012! Today, as the Boys launch a new series of album reissues and compilation titles, we explore Greatest Hits, 50 Big Ones and more! It was the headline heard the world (wide web) over: Mike Love Fires Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. Of course, it wasn’t true. No matter, though: suddenly, good, good, good vibrations were
The Beach Boys, 2012 Remasters / Greatest Hits / Greatest Hits: Fifty Big Ones (Capitol/EMI) The summer gets a little more endless with a new compilation (in two formats) and remasters of nearly all of the band's '60s albums. (A full breakdown of those albums is here, and a full review is coming up from Joe today!) The Beatles, Magical Mystery Tour (Apple/EMI) The Fab Four's kooky film is making its Blu-Ray debut in standard and deluxe box formats. Deep Purple, Machine Head: 40th
David Cassidy sure is getting a lot of love on both sides of the Atlantic. Almost simultaneously, reissue campaigns for the singer, actor and former teen idol were launched in the U.S. by Real Gone Music and in the U.K. by Cherry Red's 7Ts imprint. The former label has already reissued 1974's Cassidy Live!, 1976's Gettin' It in the Street, and 1985's Romance. 7Ts began its own campaign with a two-fer of Cherish and Rock Me Baby (both from 1972) and is continuing chronologically with four
Ace Records is cheering “Gabba gabba hey!” with the recent release of The Ramones Heard Them Here First, an overview charting the influences behind New York’s seminal punk pioneers. Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy didn’t exactly try to hide their inspirations when they included a cover of Chris Montez’ 1962 hit “Let’s Dance” on their debut long-player Ramones in 1976 and over the years, they continued to tip the hat to rock and roll heroes from The Ronettes to The Beach Boys. The new
UPDATE 9/10: It appears that the mono/stereo catalogue remasters for The Beach Boys will now arrive from Capitol/EMI on October 9 in North America, alongside the two greatest hits sets, not the previously announced September 25. As of today's date, we have not confirmed any change of date for the international releases. Watch this space for any further updates! BREAKING NEWS 8/8: The Beach Boys have announced plans for the CD and digital release of two new commemorative hits collections by
Frank Zappa, Official Reissues #1-13 (Zappa/UMe) The iconoclastic musician's catalogue is back in print thanks to a new agreement with Universal, and his first 13 albums (most of them newly remastered from the original analog masters) are available today. Joe gave us a great breakdown of what's what on these new masters, which also has convenient links to both these new titles and the forthcoming second wave of remasters next month. Blur, Blur 21 (Virgin/EMI) 21 refers not only to the
2012 has been a big year for The Beach Boys, and the fun, fun, fun shows little sign of abating any time soon. While we still wait for more details on the possible U.S. arrival of a series of reissued original albums, Sony Music Japan is celebrating with a unique tribute to America's band. Good Vibrations: The Beach Boys Songbook is a 25-track compilation drawn mostly, but not exclusively, from the Sony family of labels including Columbia, RCA Victor, Arista, Buddah and Bang, and offers a number
In Part One of our special two-part series, we recalled the ups and downs of The Beach Boys and the band’s chief musical architect, Brian Wilson. Today, in Part Two, we turn the spotlight over to That’s Why God Made the Radio, the new album in stores today from America’s Band! Brian Wilson is still a cork on the ocean floating over the raging sea. But is that a whiff of contentment I hear running through The Beach Boys’ “reunion” album, That’s Why God Made the Radio? Despite the ups and
Tomorrow sees the release of That's Why God Made the Radio, the long-awaited studio album from Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks: The Beach Boys. As the favorite sons of Hawthorne, California continue their enormously successful 50th Anniversary Tour and with the promise of catalogue projects to come later in 2012, we're looking at this new album and the legacy of these musical giants in a special two-part series beginning right now! Where did our long hair
On Tuesday, June 5, The Beach Boys release their long-awaited new studio album, That's Why God Made the Radio. Here at Second Disc HQ, we're counting down to its release. We're kicking off our mini-celebration of the California legends with a look at a duo intertwined with The Beach Boys' history, Jan and Dean! With The Beach Boys currently touring their acclaimed 50th Anniversary reunion concerts, the time has never been better to revisit the entire surf-and-sun legacy of these California
George Harrison, Living in the Material World / Early Takes Vol. 1 (Hip-O/UMe) The big release in the U.S. today: Martin Scorsese's documentary about the esteemed Beatle on DVD and Blu-Ray, and a 10-track disc of entirely unreleased demos and outtakes. The Beach Boys, 50th Anniversary Collection 'ZinePak (Capitol/EMI) A new compilation/mini-booklet, available exclusively at Walmart stores in America, that features classic Beach Boys singles alongside the first-ever album appearance of the
The Beach Boys are finally, officially ready to “Do It Again.” America’s Band kicks off its 50th Anniversary Tour on Tuesday evening in Tucson, Arizona, and a new single, “That’s Why God Made the Radio,” should hit the airwaves imminently, with a promotional video already having been leaked to the public. With the band’s as-yet-untitled new album currently listed on numerous retail sites for a June 5 release but as yet unconfirmed by Capitol Records, news is here about the first music release