It's not every day you see a big piece of catalogue get loosed from the jaws of rights holding or format availability - which is why we're extremely pleased to pass on the news that, four decades after its original release, The Police's first video album is coming back into print. The Police Around the World, a travelogue/live chronicle showcasing Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers on their ascent to the mantle of biggest band in the world, will get its first release on DVD and Blu-ray
Once again, Record Store Day here in the U.S. looks a little - make that a lot - different this year. The usual offerings have been split among two dates in 2021 with Drop 1 taking place tomorrow, June 12, at your local independent record retailer. Drop 2 then takes place on July 17. Every retailer is handling the Drop a bit differently thanks to the necessary accommodations for social distancing, smaller crowds, and better safety precautions. So please check in with your favorite store to
Sting spent this year releasing and touring an unconventional collection of his own songs - and now, he's reissuing it with a bonus disc of live material. My Songs found the venerable singer-songwriter revisiting his catalogue - both solo and with The Police - on an album that included revisited versions of his greatest hits. Some were remixed, some were re-recorded, but all showcased the influence of the man born Gordon Sumner for several decades running. Indeed, beyond chart-toppers like
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Chet Atkins, The Complete RCA Victor and Columbia Christmas Recordings (Second Disc/Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music are proud to present The Complete RCA Victor and Columbia Christmas Recordings from legendary guitarist-producer Chet Atkins on a deluxe 2-CD, 46-song anthology remastered by Vic Anesini at Sony's Battery Studios and featuring new liner notes by the set's
UPDATE (9/26/2019): Just short of a year after this vinyl box set was issued, A&M/UMe will issue a CD version with the same contents on November 8. Amazon links are below! ORIGINAL POST (11/12/2018): Over the course of just five albums released between 1978 and 1983, The Police synthesized pop, rock, New Wave, and world music sounds including, most notably, reggae into a style all their own. Incorporating influences of punk and jazz into the mix, their sound still reverberates today.
Record Store Day 2019 is just under five weeks away. In anticipation of the April 13th celebration of vinyl, The Second Disc presents a round-up of Universal Music Group's RSD selections! The Charlatans, Us and Us Only - LP, clear vinyl - 1,000 copies Originally released in 1999, Us and Us Only was the British alt-rock group's sixth album. It will be reissued for the first time ever for Record Store Day, pressed on limited-edition transparent vinyl. Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker With
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Fleetwood Mac, 50 Years: Don't Stop (Warner Bros./Rhino) 3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 5LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada In celebration of its 50 years, Fleetwood Mac is issuing a new career-spanning collection featuring 50 songs on either 3 CDs or 5 LPs. These include hits, favorites, and a smattering of rarities such as the CD premiere of 2013's "Sad Angel"
Welcome to our annual rundown of Must-Haves for this year's Record Store Day event! Once you're through reading, let us know what you're most looking forward to picking up tomorrow at your favorite local independent retailer! Our list features just a sampling of our favorites from our friends at Legacy Recordings, Varese Sarabande, Rhino Records, Real Gone Music, Demon Music Group, Walt Disney Records, Omnivore Recordings, and more! Joe's kicking things off with five essential picks (in
We've already filled you in on the upcoming Record Store Day releases from Legacy Recordings, Rhino, and Real Gone Music, but there's still much more on offer from many of our other favorite labels! Here's a selection of "the best of the rest" to be released in brick-and-mortar independent record stores on Saturday, April 21! ABBA, Summer Night City (Polydor) (2000 copies) (Record Store Day UK) (Quantity TBA) Clear/yellow-splatter 7-inch release of ABBA's 1978 non-LP single Baby Huey,
Sex, drugs and rock and roll have been closely linked since, well, the dawn of rock and roll itself. But those who have been lucky enough to make a living in the rough-and-tumble world of rock have also frequently given themselves over to more noble pursuits. George Harrison’s 1971 Concert for Bangla Desh wasn’t the first time a rock superstar had performed for charity, but The Quiet Beatle’s star-studded event is rightfully considered the first benefit concert of such stature. Since then,
Tony Bennett,
Since its founding in 1961, Amnesty International has endeavored “to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated.” The Nobel Peace Prize-winning international human rights organization has, naturally, attracted a number of high-profile supporters over the years. In 1988, a number of those men and women took the road to spread Amnesty’s message and raise funds via the Human Rights Now!
Though CBGB closed its doors at 315 Bowery on October 15, 2006 following a concert by Patti Smith, the legendary New York club never truly disappeared. Though plans to open a new location in Las Vegas fell through - some might say, mercifully! - Hilly Krystal's famous club has survived in spirit. CBGB Radio launched in 2010, the CBGB Festival of music hit the Big Apple in 2012, and the original awning even migrated to Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This October, CBGB gets another
On its surface, it seems kind of crazy to make a compilation of tunes from A&M Records. There are plenty of labels with clearer narrative arcs: Columbia was a hotbed for melodic singer-songwriters in the '60s and '70s, from Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel to Springsteen and Billy Joel. Burgeoning soul fans started with Motown and graduated to Stax or Atlantic, depending on their region. ZTT was the place for avant-garde dance-pop/rock in the '80s, much like Elektra was the source for dreamy
Frank Zappa, Official Reissues #15-26 (Zappa Records/UMe) FZ's 1972-1979 discography, almost entirely sourced from original analog masters. (Joe breaks it all down for you here!) Various Artists, A&M 50: The Anniversary Collection (A&M/UMe) Three discs of hits and favorites from a most eclectic of major labels. Elvis Presley, A Boy from Tupelo: The Complete 1953-1955 Recordings (Follow That Dream) The King's complete Sun tenure, with single masters, alternates, live takes and more -
Ask the most voracious of music trivia buffs what "A&M Records" stood for and they'll tell you simply: Herb Alpert, noted jazz trumpeter and bandleader; and music promoter Jerry Moss, a duo who crafted the label from Alpert's garage in 1962. 50 years later, with the upcoming release of the three-disc A&M 50: The Anniversary Collection, it's clear that A&M stood for something else, too: one of the most intriguingly eclectic rosters in pop history, encompassing everything from jazz
On this day in 1978, A&M Records signed a bunch of blonde guys masquerading as punk rockers to their label. That doesn't sound like a blueprint for success, but those guys - vocalist-bassist Gordon Sumner (better known as Sting), guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland - were well on their way to becoming one of the biggest bands in the world, then one of the most lamented and celebrated after their messy breakup (and inevitable reunion). The Police were like few others,
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, here we reflect on well-known albums of the past and the reissues they could someday see. Today's installment concerns a former Police man and his lack of decent compilations over the past few decades. There's something disconcerting when an artist gets to the point where they're comfortable enough to do whatever they want, but that "whatever they want" just doesn't count toward reissues, box sets or the like. One such example I've been
We're sure readers of The Second Disc are relaxing after what was surely a delightful Fourth of July. (I know I am.) But if you've managed to pry yourself away from your back porch or grill and have a look at our humble catalogue compendium, allow yourself to consider - in honor of our country's independence - a true American musician. One who, in his musical travels, fought for truth, justice and the American way. He may not have been exactly as he seemed, but his work is worth the appreciation