Universal’s overseas arm developed the Collected series as a line of compilations that would appeal to both casual and hardcore fans, combining an artist’s biggest hits with harder-to-find material. (For instance, a 2017 volume on Huey Lewis and The News offered rare edits and 12″ mixes, guest appearances and even a single track from the group’s pre-News existence as American Express.) Now distributed through the Music on CD label, Collected is still going strong – as evidenced by a forthcoming volume offering a comprehensive summary of the king of punk funk himself, Rick James. Rick’s Collected volume…
The Weekend Stream: September 17, 2022
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 time out we’ve got Motown rarities, a couple of albums with comic book roots, early music from future legends, and more! Roger Miller, Roger Miller (RCA/Camden/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon) Legacy has resuscitated this 1964 compilation of early sides from singer-songwriter Roger Miller (produced in Nashville by Chet Atkins). The self-titled album was originally released on RCA’s budget Camden imprint in the…
Categories:
Formats:
The Weekend Stream: June 25, 2022
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 we’ve got continuing celebrations of Bob Marley and Roger Miller, a lost country trailblazer, a rare early classic from a turn-of-the-millennium hip-hop hero, and Cyndi Lauper singing for a cause. Bob Marley & The Wailers, Exodus (2022 Deluxe Edition) (Tuff Gong/Island/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon) The final piece of UMe’s 45th anniversary celebration of Marley’s Exodus comes in the form of…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Release Round-Up: Week of January 28
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Various Artists, Summer of Soul (…or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised): Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Legacy Recordings delivers a soundtrack to Questlove’s acclaimed 2021 documentary Summer of Soul, chronicling the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. Live recordings are featured from headliners including The 5th Dimension, Nina Simone, David Ruffin, Sly & The Family Stone, Gladys Knight & The Pips, B.B. King, The Chambers Brothers, and more. Available on CD and digital formats, with the digital edition adding one bonus cut…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Ace Records Round-Up: Spotlight on Petula Clark, Norman Whitfield, and “More Motown Girls”
The soundtrack of director Edgar Wright’s recent film Last Night in Soho features two interpretations of Tony Hatch’s classic pop hit “Downtown” performed by star Anya Taylor-Joy: one perky and uptempo, one haunting and downbeat. But the Soho soundtrack isn’t the only way to hear “Downtown” as you likely haven’t heard it before. The irresistible ode to that place where you can “forget all your troubles, forget all your cares” can be heard in Italian as sung by its originator, Petula Clark, as one of the 31 tracks on Ace International’s delightful…
The Weekend Stream: October 30, 2021
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:
Formats:
Genres:
The Weekend Stream: September 11, 2021
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! Aaliyah, Aaliyah (Blackground/EMPIRE) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify) The Blackground Records digital rollout…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
“It’s What’s Happening, Baby!” Historic, All-Star Music Special Returns To TV After 55 Years
It’s What’s Happening, Baby! That’s the name of the 1965 television special hosted by influential New York disk jockey Murray Kaufman, a.k.a. Murray The K. Over the course of 90 minutes, the jocular, hep-talking Murray (who christened himself The Fifth Beatle as an early friend and supporter of the Fab Four) shared musical performances by the day’s biggest pop and soul acts including The Supremes, Dionne Warwick, Ray Charles, The Righteous Brothers, The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, Johnny Rivers, Herman’s Hermits, The Temptations, The Ronettes, Martha and The Vandellas, Patti LaBelle and The…
A Miracle Happened: “A Cellarful of Motown” Returns with Gems from The Temptations, Martha and The Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Kim Weston, Blinky, and More
The classic Motown vaults are, once again, open. This Friday, the U.K.’s Caroline label will release the long-anticipated fifth volume of A Cellarful of Motown, the rarities series which last saw a volume in 2010. But this 2-CD, 43-song collection promises to have been worth the wait as it features previously unreleased and new-to-CD tracks from such household name artists as Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, Gladys Knight and The Pips, and The (Detroit) Spinners as well as cherished favorites including Chuck Jackson, Barbara McNair, Billy Eckstine, Brenda…
Release Round-Up: Weeks of December 20 and 27, and January 3
Welcome to our final Release Round-Up of 2019! This edition covers today’s releases as well as those of the next two weeks, the quietest time of the year for new releases. The weekly Release Round-Up will be back on January 10. In the meantime, Happy Holidays to all! Frank Zappa, The Hot Rats Sessions (Zappa/UMe) 6CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada This 6-CD box set explores Frank Zappa’s 1969 primarily instrumental solo album Hot Rats from every angle. The first…
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Release Round-Up: Week of August 29
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:
Formats:
Genres:
Shop Around: “Motown: Greatest Hits” Arrives From Universal U.K.
Back in March, we filled you in about Universal Japan’s plans for Motown’s 60th anniversary campaign, which included a series of reissues and a 3-CD, 60-song collection. We recently reviewed the U.S.’ reissue of the definitive Motown: The Complete No. 1s box set. Now, the U.K. is getting into the act with a different 3-CD, 60-song anthology of its own. Motown: Greatest Hits arrives on August 16. Like the Japanese set, it boasts 60 classics from the label on three CDs, but the selection is largely different and, naturally, tailored to the…
Review: Various Artists, “Motown: The Complete No. 1s”
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…
Return To West Grand Boulevard: ‘Motown: The Complete No. 1s’ Box Gets Expanded Reissue
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:
Genres:
Motown Did It First: Japan’s Motown 60 Campaign Reissues Supremes, Temptations, Four Tops, Gladys, Martha, Brenda, and More
Motown Did It First! That’s the campaign slogan for Universal Japan’s ongoing program celebrating the venerable label’s 60th anniversary. And indeed, the influence of Motown – still the most successful African-American-founded record label of all time – can’t be underestimated when considering the current music scene. A number of physical releases have already been released in Japan to mark the anniversary, most of which are available as affordable imports and include titles not commonly available on the CD format. This first wave of titles is anchored by the compilation Motown 60, featuring…
Yesterday’s Dreams: UMe Releases “Motown Unreleased: 1968” and “In Loving Memory: Expanded Edition” Copyright Extension Collections
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:
Release Round-Up: Week of June 1
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Michelle Phillips, Victim of Romance: Expanded Edition (Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) “Mama” Michelle Phillips’ 1977 solo album, produced by Jack Nitzsche, returns to CD in a new expanded edition collecting the artist’s complete sessions with Nitzsche. It adds three outtakes from the album sessions, including a Bee Gees cover (“Had a Lot of Love Last Night”), Dennis Lambert and Fil Spina’s “Practice What You Preach,” and Michelle’s own, tropically-flavored “Guerita.” These three songs were not featured on previous reissues of the album. …
Categories:
Formats:
Genres:
Release Round-Up: Week of May 4
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Frank Sinatra, Standing Room Only (Capitol/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) This new 3-CD, book-style box set from Capitol/UMe features three spectacular live concerts from three decades of Frank Sinatra’s storied career, including the January 28. 1966 second show with The Count Basie Orchestra and conductor Quincy Jones at The Sands in Las Vegas, making its CD debut; and two previously unreleased shows: October 7, 1974 at Philadelphia’s Spectrum, and October 24, 1987 at Dallas’ Reunion Arena. Read more here, and watch this space for Joe’s…
Categories:
Formats:
I Hear a Rhapsody: “Motown Unreleased: 1967” Features Marvin Gaye, Four Tops, Temptations, Mynah Birds
As has become a yearly tradition for the past several years, Motown released a “copyright extension” compilation of previously unreleased tracks at the very end of 2017, only a couple of weeks after last year’s similar set got a physical release. Motown Unreleased: 1967 gathers 89 tracks across the equivalent of 4 CDs, all previously unheard treasures from the seemingly inexhaustible Motown vaults. Like the collections of the past couple of years, there is a wide range of Motown talent on display here. Unlike, however, say last year’s compilation, the set is…
The Soulful Shack: “Motown Unreleased 1966” Box Set Comes to Limited Edition CD
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…
Ain’t Too Proud To Beg: New Digital Releases Premiere Unreleased Beach Boys and Motown Featuring Marvin Gaye, Supremes, Temptations and Many More
As has become commonplace over the past several years due to the copyright laws in the U.K. and Europe, a couple of “copyright extension” releases came out at the end of 2016 to come in right at the deadline for 1966 recordings. While sometimes these collections have taken physical form like the two large Bob Dylan box sets that have been released over the past couple of years, they are more often than not digital-only releases. And in keeping with the traditions of the past several years, that is the format for two new sets…
Ace Collects Classic Beatles Covers On “Let It Be: Black America Sings Lennon, McCartney and Harrison”
If there was ever any doubt as to the versatility, adaptability and endurance of the songs of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison, it would certainly be dispelled by Ace’s new release of Let It Be: Black America Sings Lennon, McCartney and Harrison. The latest volume in the label’s Black America Sings series (also encompassing volumes dedicated to Sam Cooke, Bob Dylan, Otis Redding, and the team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David) and the second dedicated to the music of The Beatles, Let It Be features a staggering array of…
My Oh My What A Groove: Ace Collects Unreleased Motown on “One Track Mind”
The first volume of Ace/Kent’s series dedicated to the male artists of Motown was entitled Satisfaction Guaranteed – but that title would be equally apt for the recent release One Track Mind: More Motown Guys, a second disc of rarities from the Sound of Young America. With 16 previously unissued cuts among this collection’s 24 tracks, it proves that the treasures of the Motown vault are far from exhausted. This is also one volume sure to keep your foot tapping and your body moving, with each track selected for maximum danceability! Many…
Ace Is Twistin’ the Night Away with Sam Cooke Tribute, Motown Rarities and More
When it comes to rare soul, Ace Records never sleeps! The label has recently released a compilation celebrating the career of Sam Cooke not as a singer but as a songwriter, along with collections dedicated to excavating the vaults of two great Detroit labels: Westbound Records, and of course, Motown! Countless albums have anthologized the short but influential oeuvre of Sam Cooke, but Bring It on Home: Black America Sings Sam Cooke takes a different approach, featuring 24 versions of Cooke compositions recorded between 1959 and 1976, performed by some of the…
Temptin’: SoulMusic Reissues The Temptations’ Atlantic Albums On One CD
When The Temptations departed Berry Gordy’s historic Motown label in 1977, the Motown roster was in the midst of dramatic change. The Tempts followed in the footsteps of their onetime labelmates like The Four Tops, Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Spinners and even The Jackson 5, all of whom had departed Motown. The Tempts – Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, Richard Street, Glenn Leonard and newest recruit Louis Price – signed to R&B powerhouse label Atlantic, where they remained for two albums collected on one CD from Cherry Red’s SoulMusic Records imprint…
