Today's Black Friday shopping will likely look a little different thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. But one thing will remain the same: Record Store Day's yearly event. It's been a packed year with RSD Drops in the months of August, September, and October. Now, they're going out with a bang. Labels big and small will release limited-edition vinyl with the collector in mind. Whether you're after new music from legends, reissues of sought-after recordings, or unreleased rarities from the vault,
Craft Recordings, the catalogue arm of the Concord label, has announced their roster of titles for Record Store Day Black Friday, all of which will be available exclusively through brick-and-mortar record shops on November 27. Among the diverse titles: a complete 1982 concert by George Thorogood and the Destroyers, early live sessions from Jewel, a 7" single of Vince Guaraldi's "Christmas Time Is Here," a 10th-anniversary re-press of Norma Jean's Meridional, and a new Jazz Dispensary compilation
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! John Lennon, Gimme Some Truth: The Ultimate Mixes [Various Formats] (Capitol/UMe) 2CD/Blu-ray Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada CD: 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 4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Today would have been John Lennon's 80th birthday. To mark the occasion, Capitol and UMe have released
The timeless comic strip Peanuts will turn 70 this year. To celebrate, Craft Recordings will release special one-time vinyl pressings of the holiday soundtrack A Charlie Brown Christmas by The Vince Guaraldi Trio, paired with a bonus lenticular print of the Charles Schulz-designed album cover. The classic album is not only among the best selling jazz records of all time, it's also synonymous with the holiday season. A standard black vinyl edition will be released October 9. A range of
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Norma Tanega, Walkin' My Cat Named Dog [Sky Blue Vinyl] (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Norma Tanega's 1966 folk-pop classic returns to vinyl in a re-pressing from Real Gone Music. This new presentation replicates the original, utilizing the stereo mix and boasting the original artwork (which was replaced on prior CD issues). It's pressed on sky blue vinyl. Grab it fast, though: Walkin' My Cat Named Dog is a
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul, Men Without Women [CD/DVD] (Wicked Cool/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Little Steven Van Zandt's 1982 debut with The Disciples of Soul, Men Without Women, remains a high watermark in the Jersey shore bar band sound with its fusion of classic rock and soul sounds. Van Zandt was joined by members of The E Street Band, The Asbury Jukes, and The Miami Horns as well as pals like The
On October 2, 1950, cartoonist Charles M. Schulz debuted Peanuts in seven newspapers, introducing the world in that first strip's four panels to Charlie Brown and his friends Shermy and Patty. Peanuts and its memorable cast of characters went on to inspire television specials, motion pictures, stage musicals, and countless merchandise items as well as numerous albums. This summer, Craft Recordings will celebrate 70 years of Peanuts with two vinyl reissues. On July 24, the label will release a
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.
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! The Emmy-nominated 1966 television special was the third overall for Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts series and the second to be holiday-themed, after A Charlie Brown Christmas. It earned a whopping 49 share in the ratings and was so successful that CBS re-aired it every year through 2000, with ABC picking up the tradition after that. Yet despite a beloved score by Vince Guaraldi (who else?), a soundtrack album to Great Pumpkin had never been released in any
For many listeners, Vince Guaraldi's legacy will forever be tied to the merry Yuletide melodies that he recorded on the landmark soundtrack album, A Charlie Brown Christmas. Though it arrived a decade into his recording career, the album solidified in the public consciousness Guaraldi's unique and playful piano style, the impact of which has endured for generations. Now, Omnivore Recordings puts the spotlight on another chapter of the pianist's career in a new 2-CD set called The Complete
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! David Bowie, Loving the Alien (1983-1988) (Parlophone) 11CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 15LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The fourth annual volume of Parlophone's ongoing series of box sets dedicated to the late David Bowie, Loving the Alien (1983-1988), arrives on 11 CDs or 15 vinyl LPs. This lavish set is filled with more exclusive material than any of its predecessors, as only three studio albums are
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! The Emmy-nominated 1966 television special was the third overall for Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts series and the second to be holiday-themed, after A Charlie Brown Christmas. It earned a whopping 49 share in the ratings and was so successful that CBS re-aired it every year through 2000, with ABC picking up the tradition after that. Yet despite a beloved score by Vince Guaraldi (who else?), a soundtrack album to Great Pumpkin has never been released in any
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Beatles, Yellow Submarine [7-Inch Single] (Capitol/Apple/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" b/w "Eleanor Rigby" returns to 7-inch vinyl as a picture disc single to mark the 50th anniversary of the animated film classic. It will be housed in a die-cut card sleeve. Read more here. Judy Garland, I Can't Give You Anything But Love 1938-1961 (Jasmine) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon
Omnivore Recordings has been living up to its name with a little bit of everything - and the next few months promise to continue in that tradition with high-profile titles from artists including Vince Guaraldi, Gene Clark, The Rose Garden, Dennis Coffey, and Malo! Good grief! Jazz great Vince Guaraldi is best known for his immortal scores for Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts animated television specials and first feature film, but the multi-faceted pianist and composer was a man of many talents.
For nearly 50 years, getting the complete score to 1969's animated feature A Boy Named Charlie Brown was as fruitless as kicking a football held by Lucy Van Pelt. Kritzerland's newest album changes all that, offering Vince Guaraldi and John Scott Trotter's score and Rod McKuen's songs as they appeared in the film for the very first time. A Boy Named Charlie Brown found producer Lee Mendelsohn and director Bill Melendez teaming up again to bring Charles M. Schulz's beloved Peanuts comic strip
How many children over the years had their first introduction to jazz via Vince Guaraldi? The late composer/piano man established the definitive sound of Charlie Brown via his scores to some seventeen of Charles Schulz's Peanuts television specials (plus a feature film and other projects. When The Peanuts Movie arrived on the big screen in 2015 with songs from contemporary artists like Meghan Trainor and Flo Rida, Vince Guaraldi's compositions were still front and center. Last year,
The Culture Factory label, which reissues classic albums in limited edition mini-LP replica sleeves, has a trio of Christmas titles due this Friday likely to make spirits bright. The label has already released Vince Guaraldi's oft-reissued soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas as an exclusive release for retailer FYE. It's joined this week by straight reissues (no bonus material) of The Beach Boys' Christmas Album and James Brown's Soulful Christmas at general retail, as well as an
Led Zeppelin, Presence / In Through the Out Door / Coda [Various Editions] (Swan Song/Atlantic) Presence: Super Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Deluxe Edition CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Original Album CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Original Album Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Deluxe Edition Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. In Through the Out Door: Super Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Deluxe Edition CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Original Album
Michael Jackson, Xscape (Epic) Where was this three years ago? This collection of eight outtakes, augmented with tasteful future-retro production by Timbaland, Stargate, L.A. Reid and others, is possibly the best project to escape the MJ vaults yet. For the discerning fan, Epic's done you a solid, offering a deluxe package with the same songs in their untouched demo form. It's really something. Standard CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Deluxe CD/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. LP: Amazon U.S. /
UPDATE (9/27/2013): If you missed this remaster of A Charlie Brown Christmas (which we later reviewed) last year, fear not: it's being released again - same disc, same master - with special "Snoopy Doghouse" packaging on October 22, 2013. That version can be bought by clicking the image above. ORIGINAL POST (8/23/2012): Around Second Disc HQ, it's hardly a Christmas season without good friends and family, beautiful decorations, and classic holiday music. For this holiday, a new CD edition of
Who buys a reissue? It's a question many of us catalogue enthusiasts probably struggle with at one point or another. When I was a younger, more naive music fan in the New Jersey suburbs, my logic was unique but relatively sound: I could pay $13 or so for a classic album I wanted on CD, or I could save up what I earned mowing the family lawn and spend $30 on a version with more material, nicer packaging, all of that. More was always better, in my mind. Of course, it's that mindset that's
The Beach Boys, 2012 Remasters / Greatest Hits / Greatest Hits: Fifty Big Ones (Capitol/EMI) The summer gets a little more endless with a new compilation (in two formats) and remasters of nearly all of the band's '60s albums. (A full breakdown of those albums is here, and a full review is coming up from Joe today!) The Beatles, Magical Mystery Tour (Apple/EMI) The Fab Four's kooky film is making its Blu-Ray debut in standard and deluxe box formats. Deep Purple, Machine Head: 40th
What makes a legend most? When it comes to the legends of jazz, Concord Music Group has that answer for you. Earlier this year, Concord launched The Very Best Of, a new series of "Jazz 101" collections designed at an affordable price point. These compact sets might introduce new fans to daunting catalogues, or offer longtime fans a compact sampler of a favorite artist. The first wave of titles arrived for Miles Davis (trumpet), John Coltrane (tenor saxophone), Sonny Rollins (tenor