Happy 2024! Welcome, friends, to Part Two of The Second Disc's 14th Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! As we yet again look to a new year with optimism and a hopeful spirit, we recognize the many roles music has played in our lives. With that spirit in mind, The Second Disc wishes to recognize 2023's cream of the catalogue music crop - those exemplary reissues and box sets, big and small, that proved to be truly outstanding for music lovers worldwide. After much deliberation, we're excited
Tomorrow, April 28, Varese Vintage will reissue one of the most delightfully unexpected Monkees-related titles in recent memory with the compact disc premiere of Stu Phillips Presents The Monkees Songbook, as played by The Golden Gate Strings. The 1967 Epic Records release featured ten favorites from the height of Monkeemania, all rendered in lushly orchestral "easy listening" style. Veteran composer-arranger Stu Phillips (Battlestar Galactica, Knight Rider) spearheaded the project.