The Miracles - The Second Disc

The Weekend Stream: September 3, 2022

September 3, 2022 by Mike Duquette | 4 Comments

Stream

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! From a Prince-ly duo of two queens to a Beach Boy gone solo and more, you’ll find some great picks for the holiday weekend. Wendy & Lisa, B-Sides / Instrumentals / Edits / Extended Versions (Virgin) B-Sides: iTunes U.K. / Amazon U.K. Extended: iTunes U.K. / Amazon U.K. An exciting treat for fans of Wendy & Lisa, the killer pop/rock guitar/keyboard duo…

Continue Reading

Categories:

The Weekend Stream

Formats:

Digital Download, Digital Streaming

Genres:

Classic Rock, Country, Disco/Dance, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock, Soundtracks

The Weekend Stream: May 21, 2022

May 21, 2022 by Mike Duquette | 5 Comments

Stream

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! Some classic compilations, a Who-related soundtrack and a posthumous Notorious B.I.G. appearance are all part of the experience this week. Various Artists, The Sound of the R&B Hits (Motown) Original: iTunes / Amazon Deluxe: iTunes / Amazon As a new wave of British rockers from The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and more took the world by storm with their groundbreaking spin on…

Continue Reading

Categories:

Features, The Weekend Stream

Formats:

Digital Download, Digital Streaming

Genres:

Classic Rock, Country, Disco/Dance, Electronic, Everything Else, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock, Soundtracks

A Second Disc Interview: TJ Lubinsky Shares Details on New “Rock, Pop, and Doo Wop” DVD Set

July 8, 2020 by Joe Marchese | 23 Comments

TJ Lubinsky and Jerry Butler

“Be My Baby.” “Can’t Take My Eyes off You.” “Stand by Me.” “You Don’t Own Me.” Songs such as these not only defined the era in which they were first written and performed, but continue to resonate today. They’re just four of the classic songs included on an upcoming 7-DVD set from Treasury Collection that serves as a definitive concert anthology of classic American R&B music. Rock, Pop, and Doo Wop has been curated by executive producer and director TJ Lubinsky from his acclaimed onstage reunions of original artists performing their biggest…

Continue Reading

Categories:

Formats:

Box Sets, CD, DVD

Genres:

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

Tags:

Aretha Franklin, Ben E. King, Four Tops, Frankie Valli, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Maestro, Lesley Gore, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Little Richard, Ronnie Spector, The Isley Brothers, The Miracles, The Righteous Brothers

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

April 19, 2019 by The Second Disc | 9 Comments

product shot Motown The Complete No 1s

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…

Continue Reading

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

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

The Soulful Shack: “Motown Unreleased 1966” Box Set Comes to Limited Edition CD

December 1, 2017 by Randy Fairman | 10 Comments

Motown Unreleased 1966

Given the speed and frequency with which the Motown label made recordings during its heyday, the company’s vaults are known to be vast. Large amounts of unreleased material have been added to compilations and reissues over the years, while still other collections have been solely devoted to never-before-heard tracks from the label’s superstars. Due to European copyright laws that allow unused recordings to enter the public domain, Motown has been releasing digital-only copyright-extension compilations for the past several years beginning with multiple Motown Unreleased 1962: Guys, Girls, Jazz, and Gospel volumes. Last…

Continue Reading

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Gospel, Pop, R&B/Soul

Tags:

Gladys Knight and the Pips, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops, The Marvelettes, The Miracles, The Supremes, The Temptations, Various Artists

Release Round-Up: Week of April 1

April 1, 2016 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

Go Gos Vacation

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,…

Continue Reading

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

Motown Rarities Uncovered on Vinyl Box, Digital Outtakes Set

December 18, 2013 by Mike Duquette | 4 Comments

motown unreleased 19632

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…

Continue Reading

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

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

Holiday Tunes Watch: Sony CMG Celebrates The Season with Bing, Buck, B.J., JB, Elvis and More

December 16, 2013 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

christmas with bing cover3

Occasionally the aisles of your local grocery or big-box store turn up releases you won’t find even in your local indie music store. Such is the case with a recent batch of holiday-themed titles from Sony Commercial Music Group. Just in time for Christmas ’13, CMG has unveiled a number of holiday compilations – and a handful of straight album reissues – for fans of classic pop (Bing Crosby, Patti Page), country (B.J. Thomas, Buck Owens, Roy Clark), rock-and-roll (Elvis Presley) and R&B (James Brown, and latter-day incarnations of The Drifters, The Platters, The…

Continue Reading

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

B.J. Thomas, Bing Crosby, Buck Owens, Patti Page, Roy Clark, The Drifters, The Miracles, The Platters

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

the complete motown singles volume 12b2

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…

Continue Reading

Categories:

Formats:

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

motown 12a

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…

Continue Reading

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, The Commodores, The Four Tops, The Jackson 5, The Miracles, The Supremes, The Temptations

Release Round-Up: Week of March 12

March 12, 2013 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

motown musical originals

Various Artists, Motown the Musical – Originals: The Classic Songs That Inspired the Broadway Show (Motown/UMe) The Sound of Young America is now the sound of The Great White Way, with a new musical entering previews this week. This new compilation presents all the original versions of the songs that feature in the show! 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. TV Mania, Bored with Prozac and the Internet? (Tapemodern) Completed by Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes and former band guitarist Warren Cuccurullo in the late ’90s and presumed lost until…

Continue Reading

Categories:

News, Release Round-Up

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

Paul Revere and The Raiders, Stevie Wonder, The Andrews Sisters, The Miracles, The Supremes, The Temptations, Vinyl

Ooo Baby Baby: Two Lost Miracles LPs Arrive on CD

November 26, 2012 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

miracles love crazy

The times they were a-changin’. The Miracles, the group founded in 1955, by Smokey Robinson, Warren “Pete” Moore and Ronnie White, had been synonymous with Motown Records since 1960, and survived chief songwriter and lead vocalist Smokey’s departure in 1972. But despite a chart smash in 1976 with the No. 1 “Love Machine,” the group was dissatisfied with Motown. Pete Moore recalled in 2012, “Even after all of this success, we never had any calls from Smokey or Berry [Gordy].” Indeed, Miracle Bobby Rogers once observed that “Motown ceased to be a…

Continue Reading

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

Release Round-Up: Week of June 26

June 26, 2012 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

beat deluxe edsel

The Beat, I Just Can’t Stop It / Wha’ppen? / Special Beat Service: Deluxe Editions (Edsel) The Beat’s discography is expanded in the U.K. by Edsel in fashionable 2 CD/1 DVD editions. (Don’t forget: a similar five-disc box is coming out from Shout! Factory in the U.S. next month.) The Miracles, Renaissance / Do It Baby (Hip-o Select/Motown) The first two post-Smokey LPs by The Miracles on one CD. The Electric Prunes, The Complete Reprise Singles / The New Christy Minstrels, A Retrospective 1962-1970 / The Tokens, It’s a Happening World: Deluxe Edition / Timi Yuro, The Complete Liberty Singles / Rita Pavone, The International…

Continue Reading

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

Teena Marie, The Beat, The Electric Prunes, The English Beat, The Miracles, The New Christy Minstrels, The Tokens, Timi Yuro

Two Miracles! Classics from Motown Group Make CD Debut

June 11, 2012 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

miracles renaissance do it baby

What does it sound like when one of Motown’s most famous lead singers of the ’60s does the unthinkable and amicably parts from his group? For the first time on CD, fans are about to find out, with the release of The Miracles’ Renaissance and Do It Baby albums on the Hip-O Select label this month. Longtime Miracles frontman and legendary singer Smokey Robinson had a hankering to walk away from his group for awhile, not due to infighting but his own multitude of commitments. His wife and bandmate, Claudette Rogers, had been off…

Continue Reading

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

Eight More ICON Sets for You to Briefly Consider

March 8, 2012 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

What you will see after the jump are eight more of Universal’s generic ICON titles, released this past Tuesday. There are two country acts, two Motown acts, two Motown compilations, one from Dean Martin and one from pop/rock band Fall Out Boy. A stranger collection you’ll rarely find. I’d give a halfhearted recommendation to the Motown ones if you want to spend a little money on someone who has the distinct displeasure of never having heard any Motown song, ever. If you have more money to spend, though, get a box set or…

Continue Reading

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops, The Jackson 5, The Miracles, The Supremes, The Temptations

The Need for Back-Up: Rock Hall Finally Inducts Classic Backing Bands

February 9, 2012 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

hi were the miracles

One of the many, many criticisms of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is their occasional neglect of certain bands in favor of other artists. From the first year of induction in 1987, when Smokey Robinson was inducted instead of all of The Miracles, it’s been a legitimate concern. Today, the Hall attempted to alleviate some of that concern by announcing five such bands would be inducted alongside the five previously-announced members of this year’s class. The additional bands are: The Blue Caps: Tommy Facenda, Cliff Gallup, Dickie Harrell, Bobby Jones, Johnny…

Continue Reading

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

Open Forum, Smokey Robinson, The Miracles

Motown Memories Captured on New DVDs

September 1, 2011 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

j5 sullivan

Oh, for the days when there was a bounty of venues to hear the latest, greatest music on television. By far, one of the greatest vanguards of popular music in the halcyon days of the medium was Ed Sullivan, host of his eponymous show from 1948 to 1971. While Sullivan found himself somewhat bemused by the wide variety of talent he showcased – legendarily confining camera angles on Elvis Presley to tight shots that wouldn’t expose too much of his gyrating hips – he generally picked performers regardless of the approval of…

Continue Reading

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, The Four Tops, The Jackson 5, The Miracles, The Supremes, The Temptations

The Year in Reissues, Part II

December 23, 2010 by Mike Duquette | 4 Comments

hendrix wcsb cover layers web

You’re probably wondering where Part I of The Year in Reissues is. Happily, the fine folks at Popdose have put my ramblings about the best reissues, box sets and other catalogue sets on their Web site. But there are plenty more good ones I wanted to shine the spotlight on after filing the story. So here’s are five other notable catalogue sets to remember from the past year. And do share your opinions in the comments below, as always!

Continue Reading

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

Open Forum, The Miracles

Release Info: The Miracles “City of Angels”

January 29, 2010 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

More info has come through on last week’s mention of the reissue of City of Angels, a “lost” 1975 album by The Miracles. City of Angels, the fourth Miracles LP with vocalist Billy Griffin (who’d replaced Smokey Robinson in 1972), was a smash thanks to its huge No. 1 hit “Love Machine (Part 1).” But amazingly, it’s never gotten a proper CD release until now. Hip-O Select, Universal Music Enterprises’ boutique label, has reissued the disc with its original album art, a new essay written by soul music writer David Nathan, a…

Continue Reading

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Tags: