XTC - The Second Disc

Formats:

Genres:

Classic Rock, Comedy, Country, Folk, Gospel, Latin, Pop, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Andy Partridge, Foreigner, George Michael, Jim Reeves, John Williams, Madonna, Reba Rambo, Taylor Swift, The Who, Tom Petty, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, XTC

The Weekend Stream: May 24, 2026

May 24, 2026 by The Second Disc | No Comments

Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts, plus new works from legacy acts and even some personally curated favorites. Rare George Michael remixes, late period a-ha and more Andy Partridge demos are kicking off another great week of streaming tunes – including three new soundtracks from theme park attractions! George Michael, “Monkey” (Columbia/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon) The latest of the Faith-era digital EPs is here, and it’s a corker: these 1988 remixes of “Monkey” by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis helped…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Country, Disco/Dance, Folk, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Andy Partridge, Billy Stritch, Billy Walker, Bruce Broughton, Clodagh Rodgers, George Michael, Jerry Goldsmith, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, John Powell, Nina Simone, Randy Newman, Reba McEntire, Smashing Pumpkins, XTC, a-ha

The Weekend Stream: April 25, 2026

April 25, 2026 by The Second Disc | 1 Comment

Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts, plus new works from legacy acts and even some personally curated favorites. Some of our favorites lead this pack: an archival Prince single, a new Duran Duran song, a vintage George Michael EP, outtakes from The Beach Boys, demos from Andy Partridge – and plenty more where that came from. Prince, “With This Tear” (NPG/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon) Last Tuesday, the 10th anniversary of Prince’s death, The Artist’s estate released the latest posthumous…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Disco/Dance, Jazz, Latin, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

The Second Disc’s Guide to Record Store Day 2026

April 18, 2026 by The Second Disc | 1 Comment

Tomorrow, Record Store Day is once again upon us! And it wouldn’t be a RSD without The Second Disc chiming in with our annual RSD Guide featuring some of our favorite picks. As always, it wasn’t easy for us to narrow ’em down, so we’d like you to sound off on your hoped-for titles, too! Looking for the nearest shop? Visit RecordStoreDay.com in the U.S., RecordStoreDay.co.uk in the U.K., and RecordStoreDayCanada.ca in Canada for the complete list of participating stores. Without further ado, Mike, Joe, and Randy have a handful of the titles upon which…

Categories:

Formats:

Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Country, Disco/Dance, Folk, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Ariana Grande, Brian Wilson, Carly Rae Jepsen, Crosby Stills and Nash, Cynthia Erivo, Doctor Who, Jeff Buckley, John Prine, Joni Mitchell, Leon Russell, Sheena Easton, Steely Dan, Stewart Copeland, T Rex, Todd Rundgren, Tony Bennett, Weezer, XTC

The Weekend Stream: April 11, 2026

April 11, 2026 by The Second Disc | 4 Comments

Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts, plus new works from legacy acts and even some personally curated favorites. Another George Michael single is redelivered, XTC demos get delivered and a reinvented video game dance classic enters the arena – plus a whole lot of oddities and buried treasure from 1976! George Michael, Faith (Single) (Columbia/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon) The second of George Michael’s Faith singles to be delivered to digital with the original covers and B-sides is the effortlessly classic title…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Blues, Cast Recordings, Country, Electronic, Everything Else, Folk, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Abbey Lincoln, Andre Kostelanetz, Andy Partridge, Aztec Two-Step, Cedar Walton, Chet Atkins, Danny Davis, David Gates, Earl Scruggs, Freddy Weller, Gary Stewart, George Michael, John Lee Hooker, Lea Michele, Lou Courtney, Lynn Anderson, Markolino Dimond, Tim Rice, XTC

Release Round-Up: Week of September 26

September 26, 2025 by The Second Disc | 1 Comment

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.’ Spike Jones in Stereo: A Spooktacular in Screaming Sound! (Omnivore) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Omnivore Recordings LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Omnivore Recordings The late, great Spike Jones’ side-splittingly spooky 1959 album In Stereo: A Spooktacular in Screaming Sound! returns from Omnivore Recordings in time for Halloween as freshly remastered from the original tapes. Led by an illustrious company including Paul Frees (Boris Badenov, The Haunted Mansion’s Ghost Host), Thurl Ravenscroft (“You’re…

Categories:

Formats:

Blu-Ray Audio, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Blues, Classic Rock, Comedy, Country, Everything Else, Folk, Holiday, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

Tags:

Annie Golden, Billy Joel, Cher, Frank Zappa, Genesis, Jeff Beck, Jeff Tweedy, Lady A, Mariah Carey, Robert Plant, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Spike Jones, The Rolling Stones, XTC

Life Begins (Again) At the Hop: XTC’s ‘Drums and Wires’ Gets New Atmos Mix on Slightly Expanded Reissue

August 5, 2025 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

One of XTC’s great early albums is getting another facelift courtesy of remixer Steven Wilson. The Porcupine Tree musician and engineer counts the Swindon cult heroes among his earliest remix work, fashioning new stereo and surround mixes of Drums and Wires, Black Sea, The Big Express, Skylarking, Oranges & Lemons and Nonsuch between 2013 and 2023 (along with a compilation of the group’s psychedelic work under the alter ego The Dukes of Stratosphear). With multitrack tapes for additional Virgin-era XTC albums proving tough to come by, Wilson revisited Skylarking in Dolby Atmos last year, and has now done the…

Categories:

Formats:

Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray Audio, CD

Genres:

Pop, Rock

Tags:

XTC

The Weekend Stream: July 5, 2025

July 5, 2025 by Mike Duquette | 5 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. Lots of Fourth of July musical statements were made this week, from a Prince rarity coming out of the vaults to Ben Folds’ surprisingly politically charged, surprise live album. Plus, the last two albums by a terrific British rock band and a new song from an American classic rock act reflecting on its 30 years together (even the last few tough ones). Prince and The Revolution, “America” (NPG/Legacy) (Apple /…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Classic Rock, Disco/Dance, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

Tags:

Ben Folds, Foo Fighters, Prince, XTC

Wake Up: XTC to Release Remixed ‘The Big Express’

August 17, 2023 by Mike Duquette | 2 Comments

Break out your speakers and climb aboard: another remix of an XTC album by Steven Wilson is coming to CD and Blu-ray this fall. Following expanded remixes of Drums and Wires, Black Sea, Skylarking, Oranges & Lemons and Nonsuch as well as the Dukes of Stratosphear collection Psurroundabout Ride, Wilson has worked his stereo and surround magic on one of the two missing releases in that 1980-1992 run: The Big Express. The CD/Blu-ray set, available September 22, features the new mixes of the album in hi-res stereo and 5.1 surround, plus the…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

Open My Eyes: Ace Celebrates Todd Rundgren and Gus Dudgeon in Label’s Producers Series

March 17, 2022 by Joe Marchese | 3 Comments

In recent weeks, Ace Records has made two new additions to its ongoing Producers Series, and both titles spotlight the versatility of the respective talents, Todd Rundgren and Gus Dudgeon. The Studio Wizardry of Todd Rundgren is, in many senses, an update of Rhino’s 1992 compilation An Elpee’s Worth of Productions. Like that set, it paints a portrait of the singer-songwriter largely in service of others’ songs, though a handful of his own compositions appear, too. Ace’s collection spans 1970-1990, when the prolific Rundgren worked his studio magic on essential recordings by…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Classic Rock, Pop, Rock

Tags:

Cheap Trick, Daryl Hall and John Oates, David Bowie, Elton John, Gus Dudgeon, Joan Armatrading, Patti Smith, Sparks, Strawbs, The Zombies, Todd Rundgren, Utopia, Various Artists, XTC

Release Round-Up: Week of October 25

October 25, 2019 by The Second Disc | 2 Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Kinks, Arthur, or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire [Various Formats] (BMG) 4CD/4-seven-inch single box: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / The Kinks Official 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / The Kinks Official 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / The Kinks Official The Kinks’ 1969 concept album continued in the quintessentially British vein of The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society but carved out its own musical identity. Building on the…

Categories:

Formats:

Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Country, Funk, Holiday, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul

Tags:

Big Star, Bruce Springsteen, Curt Boettcher, David Byrne, Fleetwood Mac, Frank Zappa, Harry Connick Jr., Howard Keel, Jackson 5, James Brown, Jim Sullivan, Mandy Patinkin, Neil Young, Rick Astley, Ringo Starr, The Kinks, The Oak Ridge Boys, Van Morrison, XTC

Curse You Red Barrel: XTC’s Dukes Of Stratosphear Years Remixed by Steven Wilson For New Collection

September 18, 2019 by The Second Disc | 4 Comments

XTC’s next Steven Wilson remix project is coming soon…only it’s not really XTC at all. The beloved surround engineer and Porcupine Tree frontman has worked his magic on several albums by the British rockers (Drums and Wires, Black Sea, Skylarking, Oranges and Lemons and Nonsuch) – and this year, he now turns his attention to The Dukes Of Stratosphear, the group’s beloved psychedelic project. The band’s core group (Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding and Dave Gregory), along with Dave’s brother Ian, suited up as Sir John Johns, Lord Cornelius Plum, The Red Curtain…

Categories:

Formats:

Blu-Ray, CD, Vinyl

Genres:

Pop, Rock

Tags:

XTC

Release Round-Up: Week of November 24

November 24, 2017 by The Second Disc | No Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! “Weird Al” Yankovic, Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of “Weird Al” Yankovic (Legacy) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The world’s premier parodist celebrates his discography with a box set unlike any other: all 14 of his original albums, newly remastered; Medium Rarities, a bonus album of rare and unreleased material; and a 100+ page book of rare photos and memorabilia–all packaged in a replica of Al’s signature accordion! INXS, Kick 30 (Atlantic/Rhino (U.S.)…

Categories:

Formats:

Blu-Ray, Box Sets, DVD, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Holiday, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

Tags:

"Weird Al" Yankovic, Bananarama, Bonnie Tyler, Eagles, Electric Light Orchestra, Elvis Presley, INXS, Phil Collins, Ramones, The Fall, The Scorpions, Wilson Pickett, XTC, Yes

Generals and Majors: Steven Wilson Remixes XTC’s ‘Black Sea’ (UPDATED WITH TRACK LIST)

October 10, 2017 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Sgt. Rock (or is that Steven Wilson?) is going to help XTC fans this season with the fifth in an ongoing series of remixes of the beloved Swindon band’s albums for Virgin Records: 1980’s Black Sea. XTC’s fourth album (and second with the lineup of singer/guitarist Andy Partridge, singer/bassist Colin Moulding, guitarist/keyboardist Dave Gregory and drummer Terry Chambers) was almost immediately praised by critics upon its release, thanks to a potent brace of catchy, frenetic, barbed pop/rock songs (mostly written by Partridge, save for two by Moulding). Singles like “Generals and Majors,”…

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

Generals and Majors: Steven Wilson Remixes XTC’s ‘Black Sea’

September 27, 2017 by Mike Duquette | 7 Comments

Categories:

Formats:

Genres:

Tags:

Release Round-Up: Week of October 30

October 30, 2015 by Joe Marchese | 2 Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Packed with over 30 titles including highly-anticipated reissues, a slew of box sets, collections and more, it just may be the mightiest of the year! The Velvet Underground, Loaded: Re-Loaded 45th Anniversary Edition (Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) The Velvet Underground’s 1970 album – and Lou Reed’s swansong with the band – gets the deluxe expanded treatment from Rhino in this new box set featuring the original stereo and mono albums plus a wealth of bonus material, two live concerts and a DVD featuring high…

Categories: