Here at Second Disc HQ, we’re longtime fans of writer-producer-musician-historian Andrew Sandoval. In addition to his groundbreaking work with The Monkees catalogue – including, most recently, helming the Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. box set and penning the liner notes for the singles collection The As, The Bs, and The Monkees – Andrew has curated reissues from artists including The Everly Brothers, The Band, Love, Bee Gees, Van Morrison, and The Kinks. Andrew’s longtime association with the latter band has led to a new release coming soon from his boutique publishing house,…
Release Round-Up: Week of July 11
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. Jethro Tull, Still Living in the Past (Parlophone/Rhino) 5CD/1BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Still Living in the Past reinterpret Jethro Tull’s original odds-and-ends compilation from 1972 as a 5CD/1 Blu-ray set boasting some 35 unissued mixes and versions alongside just about every one of the 21 original tracks that appeared on the original double album. Alongside the original mixes of the non-album material that comprised Living in…
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Come Dancing: The Kinks Close 60th Anniversary Celebration with Third and Final Compilation ‘The Journey – Part 3’
Following a pair of compilations in 2023 chronicling earlier parts of their storied career, British rockers The Kinks have one more in the chamber to commemorate their 60th anniversary as a group, focusing on a period of transition and finality in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. The Journey – Part 3 will offer, on two CDs or two 180-gram LPs, a dozen favorites originally released on Arista Records between 1977 and 1984, including the band’s last worldwide smash, “Come Dancing.” The newly remastered selections – which, in a first for The Journey series,…
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Release Round-Up: Week of October 18
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Long After Dark: Deluxe Edition (Geffen/UMe) 2CD/Blu-ray Audio: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD/Blu-ray Audio (with Amazon-exclusive stickers): Amazon U.S. 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Tom Petty Store (Exclusive) Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers’ fifth studio album has gotten a deluxe makeover. Geffen/UMe have revisited 1982’s oft-overlooked Long After Dark, originally released on Backstreet Records, in various formats including 2LP and 2CD+Blu-ray. The bonus disc, featuring outtakes…
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Release Round-Up: Week of November 17
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the many titles available today in the final “big week” of the holiday release season. We are an Amazon affiliate and earn on qualifying purchases. We’re kicking things off with our two Christmas releases from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music! While Amazon’s orders are unfortunately delayed, both of these titles are shipping now from Real Gone’s webstore! Arthur Fiedler and The Boston Pops, The Ultimate Pops Christmas Party! (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music) Arthur Fiedler…
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Short Takes: Josh Groban Expands “Closer,” The Kinks Continue “The Journey,” Daft Punk Goes “Drumless”
Today’s Short Takes gathers news of three upcoming releases, all of which are currently scheduled for this Friday, November 17. We are an Amazon affiliate and earn on qualifying purchases. Josh Groban, currently packing houses as Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, is looking back to his 6x Platinum sophomore album, 2003’s Closer, for a new 2CD or 2LP anniversary reissue (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada). Like his self-titled debut, Closer featured songs in English as well as other languages: in this case,…
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Release Round-Up: Week of March 24
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today. Elton John, Honky Château: 50th Anniversary Edition (Rocket/UMC) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Hot on the heels of his final U.S. live performances, Elton John is looking back with a 50th anniversary edition of his 1972 LP Honky Château. The reissue will feature the original album (boasting such classics as “Rocket Man,” “Honky Cat,” and “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters”) alongside nine session demos covering eight of the album’s tracks (including two versions of “Slave”) and…
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Release Round-Up: Week of September 9
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today! The Kinks, Muswell Hillbillies / Everybody’s in Show-Biz – Everybody’s a Star (BMG) 6LP/4CD/1BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Muswell Hillbillies 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Muswell Hillbillies 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Everybody’s in Show-Biz 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Everybody’s in Show-Biz 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The Kinks are going super deluxe (again!) with a joint reissue of two of the band’s most significant albums featuring remastered audio and a host of bonus tracks. BMG’s box set celebrates The…
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Celluloid Heroes: The Kinks Combine “Muswell Hillbillies,” “Everybody’s in Show-Biz” on New Box
The Kinks are going super deluxe with a joint reissue of two of the band’s most significant albums. On September 9, BMG will issue a combined box celebrating The Kinks’ first two albums for the RCA label: 1971’s Muswell Hillbillies and 1972’s Everybody’s in Show-Biz / Everybody’s a Star. The campaign will encompass a variety of formats including the centerpiece 6LP/4CD/1BD box plus 2CD, 1LP, 2LP, 2CD, 1CD, and digital releases. Muswell Hillbillies, the band’s ninth studio album, was named after Muswell Hill, the area of North London that Ray Davies and…
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Wake Up You Sleepy Head: “Oh! You Pretty Things” Collects 66 Glam Rock Nuggets
Oh! You Pretty Things: David Bowie’s 1971 song became an anthem for the glam era: “Don’t you know you’re driving your mothers and fathers insane? Let me make it plain, you gotta make way for the homo superior…” Bowie’s alien persona – androgynous, dangerous, sexy, and flamboyant – connected with youth and caused a stir among their parents. The song’s title has now been adopted by a new 3-CD box set from Cherry Red’s Grapefruit imprint. Alas, “Oh! You Pretty Things” doesn’t appear anywhere on the collection. If Bowie’s recording couldn’t be…
Look at the View: Cherry Red’s New Strawberry Imprint Collects Mod, Pop, Psych, and Freakbeat on “Halcyon Days”
Last year, Cherry Red’s RPM imprint closed up shop after almost 30 years and some 600+ releases. But a new imprint was announced to pick up where RPM left off: Strawberry. Its inaugural collection, Halcyon Days: ’60s Mod, R&B, Brit Soul, and Freakbeat Nuggets has proved an auspicious debut for the imprint with big shoes to fill. The 3-CD collection traces the development of ’60s British soul and R&B from the mod period to the first flowering of psychedelia featuring a blend of names both familiar (The Animals, The Kinks, David Bowie,…
Release Round-Up: Week of January 22
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Kinks, Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (BMG) 3CD/2 7-inch Box Set (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) 1CD Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) 1LP Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) 2CD Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The Kinks’ 1970 classic Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One arrives in a variety of formats including bonus material such as singles, B-sides, alternate mixes, session outtakes, BBC recordings, and newly-recorded commentary from Ray and Dave Davies. The box set (containing a 60-page book, 3 CDs, 2 x 7″ singles, and 4…
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Release Round-Up: Week of December 18
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Tom Jones, The Complete Decca Studio Albums Collection (Decca/UMC) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Link TBD) This long-awaited box from Sir Tom Jones – counting 17 discs, including 15 studio albums and two CDs of non-LP single and EP sides – boasts over 200 tracks and 10+ hours of music from Jones’ classic Decca period of 1965-1975. It includes hits such as “What’s New Pussycat?,” “It’s Not Unusual,” “Help Yourself,” “Green, Green Grass of Home,” “Delilah,” “She’s a Lady,” and many more. This collection from one of…
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Just Like Cherry Cola: The Kinks Expand “Lola Vs. Powerman” to Box Set Proportions
The Kinks last revisited their 1970 album Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One back in 2014 as a 2-CD set incorporating the soundtrack to Percy. The band’s eighth album, Lola yielded the now-famous U.S. top 10 title track and the U.K. top 5 hit “Apeman” as well as earning to 40 status in America. Now, on December 18, it’s returning in a variety of formats from BMG: Limited Edition, Deluxe 10″ Slipcased book pack (containing 60 page book, 3 CDs, 2 x 7″ singles, 4 color prints) 1LP Gatefold 2CD…
Cherry Red’s “A Slight Disturbance in My Mind” Collects The Psych-Pop Sounds of 1966
By any estimation, 1966 was a pivotal year in rock. On one side of the Atlantic: Pet Sounds, Blonde on Blonde, Sounds of Silence. On the other: Revolver, Fresh Cream, Aftermath. Those albums merely represent the tip of the iceberg, however. 1966 was a year in which psychedelia emerged from the fringes and onto the charts via such artists as The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, and yes, The Beatles with “Tomorrow Never Knows.” The underground scene continued to grow and increasingly attract the attention of major labels. Earlier this year, Cherry Red’s Grapefruit…
ELP, Keith Richards, Kinks, and Ravi Shankar Rarities Feature on BMG RSD Slate
And the Record Store Day news keeps coming! BMG has announced their list of releases to be found in shops April 18 and it’s a great lineup. If you’re looking for live Emerson, Lake and Palmer; a very cool Motorhead shaped picture disc; the beautiful sounds of Ravi Shankar in collaboration with George Harrison; or classics from The Kinks – BMG has you covered! Let’s take a closer look at all their offerings… Ravi Shankar, Chants of India For the first time on vinyl, Ravi Shankar’s 1997 collaboration with George Harrison, Chants…
Release Round-Up: Week of October 25
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Kinks, Arthur, or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire [Various Formats] (BMG) 4CD/4-seven-inch single box: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / The Kinks Official 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / The Kinks Official 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / The Kinks Official The Kinks’ 1969 concept album continued in the quintessentially British vein of The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society but carved out its own musical identity. Building on the…
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Record Store Day Black Friday 2019’s Best Of The Rest
The major labels aren’t the only ones who’ll be part of Record Store Day Black Friday this year. A number of impressive indies (and other major labels with notable catalog friendly material) have announced exciting additions to the RSDBF slate. What’s more, we’ve got coverage of some exciting new music from artists as diverse as Paul McCartney, Tank and the Bangas, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, and Norah Jones! First up… Chuck Berry, Chuck Berry In London (Elemental) By 1965, the British Invasion had brought Chuck Berry’s name back into the rock and roll…
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Young and Innocent Days: The Kinks Prep “Arthur” 50th Anniversary Box Set
50 years ago, The Kinks released Arthur Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire, a concept album which continued in the quintessentially British vein of The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society but carved out its own musical identity. Building on the success of last year’s Village Green box set, BMG has just announced a similarly expansive – make that Kink-size – set for Arthur, loaded with previously unreleased tracks and mixes and incorporating “the great lost Dave Davies album” as well. It’s due on October 25 in a…
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Ace Explores Rock, Jazz Through the Lens of History with “Three Day Week” and “If You’re Not Part of the Solution”
Ace Records, as always, has delivered some of 2019’s finest collections including Songwriter Series volumes dedicated to Eddie Hinton, Leonard Cohen and Merle Haggard, and celebrations of producer Mickie Most and musician Reggie Young. Today, we’re taking a look at a pair of the label’s other recent releases. Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs present Three Day Week: When the Lights Went Out 1972-1975 (Ace CDCHD 1542) is another sublimely curated compilation focusing on a particular period of history following titles such as the acclaimed State of the Union: The American Dream in…
Release Round-Up: Week of October 26
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Kinks, The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society [Various Formats] (BMG) 5CD/3LP/3-7″ Box Set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The Kinks are going back to the Village Green – and it’s grown quite a bit in size! The band’s legendary fifth album, 1968’s The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, is reissued from BMG Rights Management in a massive new box set produced by Andrew Sandoval. The new box will boast 3 LPs, 5…
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Picture Book: The Kinks Expand “The Village Green Preservation Society” In Massive New Box Set
The Kinks are going back to the Village Green – and it’s grown quite a bit in size! On October 26, the band’s legendary fifth album, 1968’s The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, will arrive from BMG Rights Management in a massive new box set produced by Andrew Sandoval. The new box will boast 3 LPs, 5 CDs, 3 seven-inch singles and more, for a total of 174 tracks (3 previously unreleased songs, 55 previously unreleased versions). Considered the band’s most enduring masterwork, Village Green gave full voice to…
Review: “Fab Gear: The British Beat Explosion and Its Aftershocks 1963-1967”
“Yesterday’s Gone”: the song by folk-pop duo Chad and Jeremy opens the first of the six discs comprising Cherry Red and RPM’s new box set Fab Gear: The British Beat Explosion and Its Aftershocks 1963-1967. It’s a most appropriate opener, as yesterday really was gone for an entire generation of artists swiftly rendered obsolete by the emergence of The Beatles. As the box eloquently explains, the Fab Four “in name, song, band structure, image, defined this new Beat music…Until 1967, when The Beatles reinvented pop again with Sgt. Pepper’s, Beat music –…
That’s What Friends Are For: Clive Davis Soundtrack Features Barry, Whitney, Dionne, Aretha, More
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…
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Got Love If You Want It: More Record Store Day 2017 Essentials
Record Store Day’s 10th anniversary couldn’t be anything less than big. And with articles devoted to April 22’s RSD releases from David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Omnivore Recordings, Legacy Recordings, Prince, Warner Music Group and Real Gone Music, you might wonder what there’s left to say before the big day. But you’d be wrong! We’ve scoured the list to find another 23 must-have titles hitting the vinyl racks at fine independent music stores next month. Which of these favorites are on your list? The Art of Noise, Moments in Love/Beat Box…
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