Tower of Power - The Second Disc

Woke Up with a Monster: Rhino’s Start Your Ear Off Right Titles Run the Gamut

January 8, 2026 by Mike Duquette | 9 Comments

Why wait for Record Store Day? Rhino continues their January tradition of “Start Your Ear Off Right” with just over three dozen exclusive vinyl titles being released through January at independent record stores. (A small handful, linked below, are also available at Rhino’s official web store.) The majority will be released in two waves split between last Friday (January 2) and this Friday (January 9), with five more arriving between January 23 and January 30. Altogether, this list spans all forms of rock, pop, R&B, jazz, soundtracks and even comedy. In addition…

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News

Formats:

Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Comedy, Country, Everything Else, Folk, Funk, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock, Soundtracks

The Weekend Stream: February 22, 2025

February 22, 2025 by Mike Duquette | 2 Comments

Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts! A great Carly Simon deep cut gets a fresh mix, plus Phil Collins in concert and new music from The Stylistics. Carly Simon, “Share the End” (2025 Remaster) (Elektra/Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon) Though merely billed as a remaster in the metadata, this upbeat, heartbreaking side-two opener to Simon’s sophomore album Anticipation has been newly remixed. It’s a dramatic revisit of a song that resonates still, and hopefully a portent of…

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The Weekend Stream

Formats:

Digital Download, Digital Streaming

Genres:

Classic Rock, Country, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

Tags:

Bill Champlin, Billy Gibbons, Carly Simon, Gene Simmons, Larry Coryell, Phil Collins, Ray Parker Jr., Ron Wood, Shania Twain, Steve Lukather, Tatyana Ali, The Stylistics, Tower of Power, Will Smith

Run Back to Mama: Ace’s “Horn Rock” Anthology Features Chase, Blood Sweat and Tears, Delaney and Bonnie, More

August 15, 2019 by Joe Marchese | 1 Comment

The new collection on Ace Records’ BGP imprint packs a mighty punch. That’s because it’s dedicated to Horn Rock (with the equally-important subtitle And Funky Guitar Grooves), that boldest and brassiest of rock subgenres. The phrase “horn rock” immediately brings to mind the sound popularized by Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears (only one of which is represented here) but the added colors afforded by horns were applied to recordings in the baroque-rock, art-rock, psych-rock, and jazz-rock idioms, just to name a few. This 17-track sampler from artists both unfamiliar and unknown…

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News, Reviews

Formats:

CD, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Pop, R&B/Soul

Tags:

Al Kooper, Blood Sweat and Tears, Chase, Delaney and Bonnie, The Electric Flag, The Flock, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Sons of Champlin, Tower of Power, Various Artists

SoulMusic Records Round-Up: Spotlight on Thelma Houston, Carrie Lucas, Tower of Power

February 12, 2019 by Joe Marchese | 1 Comment

Periodically this month, we’ll be looking at titles released in the latter part of 2018 that we either didn’t cover, or only covered briefly, the first time around! We hope you enjoy this look at “some nice things we’ve missed”… Cherry Red’s SoulMusic imprint has kept busy with an eclectic roster of releases drawn from labels including Motown, Solar, and Columbia. First up is a set of four albums from the “Don’t Leave Me This Way” soul queen Thelma Houston, all originally released on Motown: The Devil in Me (1977), Ready to…

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News

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Genres:

Disco/Dance, Funk, R&B/Soul

Tags:

Carrie Lucas, Thelma Houston, Tower of Power

Release Round-Up: Week of November 30

November 30, 2018 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Neil Diamond, 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition (Capitol/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Neil Diamond revisits a 50+-year career with a new 6-CD, 115-song retrospective box set featuring hits, rarities, and 15 previously unreleased tracks including the original demos of “America” and “I Am…I Said.” Everything is packaged within a deluxe hardcover book-style format. 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition expands upon 2017’s 3-CD 50th Anniversary set and is the first comprehensive Diamond career overview in more than 20 years. Read the track listing here, and…

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Release Round-Up

Formats:

Blu-Ray, Box Sets, CD, DVD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Country, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Badfinger, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Creedence Clearwater Revival, David Bowie, Def Leppard, Elvis Presley, Howard Jones, Janis Joplin, John Barry, Kalapana, Kate Bush, Neil Diamond, Neil Young, Procol Harum, The Bobby Fuller Four, Toby Keith, Tower of Power

You Got to Funkifize: SoulMusic, Cherry Red Reissue Tower of Power, Graham Central Station, Starpoint

February 23, 2017 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

Over the years, Tower of Power‘s rip-roaring horns have enlivened a host of recordings from artists as diverse as Elton John, Grateful Dead, Poison, Neil Diamond, Santana, and Aerosmith, but the group also has had a long career as one of the most smoking outfits in R&B. Now, Bump City and Tower of Power, the group’s first two Warner Bros. Records releases, have been collected as one expanded 2-CD set from SoulMusic Records and Cherry Red. 1972’s Bump City marked the Warner debut of the Oakland, California band. ToP’s second album (following…

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News

Formats:

Genres:

Disco/Dance, Funk, R&B/Soul

Tags:

Graham Central Station, Starpoint, Tower of Power

Review: Tower of Power, “Hipper Than Hip: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow – Live on the Air and In the Studio”

January 27, 2014 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

What is hip? Based on the evidence of Tower of Power’s Hipper Than Hip: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow – Live on the Air and in the Studio (RGM-0208), the Bay Area band certainly qualifies. Real Gone Music’s crackling first-time release of a 1974 concert recorded for radio is a potent reminder of why Tower of Power’s rip-roaring horns have enlivened a host of recordings from artists as diverse as Elton John, Grateful Dead, Poison, Neil Diamond, Santana, and Aerosmith. Tower of Power scored its commercial breakthrough with its third, self-titled album (and…

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News, Reviews

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Tower of Power

Release Round-Up: Week of November 26

November 26, 2013 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

The Animals, The Mickie Most Years and More / Tower of Power, Hipper Than Hip: Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow – Live on the Air & in the Studio 1974 / Lisa Fischer, So Intense / The Alabama State Troupers, Road Show / The Obsessed, The Church Within (Real Gone Music) An Animals box set and a compilation of unreleased Tower of Power greatness head off Real Gone’s slate for the end of the year! The Animals: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.Tower of Power: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.Lisa Fischer: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.The Alabama State Troupers: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.The Obsessed: CD (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) LP (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Badfinger, Timeless: The Musical Legacy (Apple)…

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News, Release Round-Up

Formats:

Box Sets, DVD

Genres:

Soundtracks

Tags:

Barbra Streisand, Big Star, Lisa Fischer, Soundgarden, The Animals, Thelonious Monk, Tito Puente, Tower of Power, Vinyl

UPDATE: Real Gone Music Is “Obsessed” With Late November Slate, Featuring Animals Box Set and Live Tower of Power

October 16, 2013 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

Real Gone Music’s November 25 release slate is so packed that the label has decided to roll it out a few titles at a time. The label is kicking things off for the pre-Thanksgiving rush with some soulful Southern rock, a hidden gem from one of the stars of 20 Feet from Stardom, a slab of metal, a previously unissued live concert from the soulful horn band Tower of Power, and a 5-CD box set from the pride of Newcastle upon Tyne, The Animals! Real Gone is going wild with perhaps its…

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News

Formats:

Box Sets

Genres:

Tags:

Lisa Fischer, The Alabama State Troupers, The Animals, The Obsessed, Tower of Power