The Spinners - a.k.a. John Edwards, Henry Fambrough, Bobbie Smith, Billy Henderson, and Pervis Jackson - were at a crossroads when longtime producer-arranger-conductor Thom Bell confirmed that he would no longer be working with the group. Where would they go next? On June 28, SoulMusic Records and The Second Disc chronicle the next chapter of The Spinners' illustrious career with a new 7-CD box set. Keep on Keepin' On: The Atlantic Years (Phase Two: 1979-1984) picks up where last year's Ain't
Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Thom Bell might have been The Mighty Three, but dozens of musicians joined them in shaping The Sound of Philadelphia. That triumvirate's lush, lithe productions were brought to life by the loose aggregation of players known as MFSB, or the house band at Sigma Sound Studios. These are the same musicians who went on to form The Salsoul Orchestra under the baton of Vincent Montana, Jr., including Norman Harris, Ronnie Baker, Bobby Eli, Ron Kersey, Lenny Pakula,
The stockings are hung, the presents are wrapped, and the time is now to wish all of our readers at The Second Disc a wonderful holiday season before we enter a brief winter hibernation until the new year! 2023 was our 13th year as (we hope!) one of the more fun destinations for music reissues, box sets and catalogue releases. The business has certainly changed a lot in that time - maybe too much vinyl, maybe not enough CDs? - but labels big and small keep finding new, old and interesting
Rhino's Quadio series, presenting original four-channel quadraphonic album mixes on Blu-ray, relaunched earlier this year with a quartet of titles from Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, J. Geils Band, and Jefferson Starship - watch this space for a review of all four releases tomorrow! Now, the label has unveiled the next batch of Quadio titles which are all available now exclusively through Rhino.com. This group is an even more eclectic one, with R&B (The Spinners), jazz (Charles Mingus),
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! The Spinners, Ain't No Price on Happiness: The Thom Bell Studio Recordings (1972-1979) (SoulMusic/Cherry Red) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Earlier this year, Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music celebrated the extraordinary legacy of The Spinners with the release of The Complete Atlantic Singles: The Thom Bell Productions 1972-1979, collecting a whopping 43 single sides
2023 has shaped up to be a banner year for The Spinners. The famed vocal quintet, now in their eighth decade, will be inducted on November 3 into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside the illustrious likes of Willie Nelson, Kate Bush, and George Michael. Earlier this year, Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music celebrated the group's extraordinary legacy with the release of The Complete Atlantic Singles: The Thom Bell Productions 1972-1979, collecting a whopping 43 single sides on two
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today! Spinners, The Complete Atlantic Singles: The Thom Bell Productions 1972-1979 (Real Gone/Second Disc) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music) This definitive 2-CD anthology from upcoming Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees The Spinners presents every one of the quintet's beloved A- and B-sides helmed by the late, great Thom Bell on Atlantic Records, with each and
Could it be you're falling in love? Tomorrow, just three months before their long-awaited induction into the 2023 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the world-renowned Spinners will be celebrated by Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records with The Complete Atlantic Singles: The Thom Bell Productions 1972-1979. This definitive 2-CD anthology presents every one of the quintet's beloved A- and B-sides helmed by Thom Bell on Atlantic Records during that halcyon period-with each and every
Could it be you're falling in love? On August 4, just three months before their long-awaited induction into the 2023 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the world-renowned Spinners will be celebrated by Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records with The Complete Atlantic Singles: The Thom Bell Productions 1972-1979. This definitive 2-CD anthology presents every one of the quintet's beloved A- and B-sides helmed by Thom Bell on Atlantic Records during that halcyon period-with each and every
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
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Beach Boys, Feel Flows: The Sunflower and Surf's Up Sessions 1969-1971 (Capitol/UMe) 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 4LP Black Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 4LP Translucent Blue & Translucent Gold: The Beach Boys Shop Feel Flows: The Sunflower and Surf's Up Sessions 1969-1971, a hardcover book-style set
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
After having previously celebrated two of his musical inspirations - Burt Bacharach and Teddy Randazzo - with their own volumes, Ace's Songwriters and Producers series is turning its attention to legendary soul maestro Thom Bell. On June 26, the label's Kent imprint will release Ready or Not: Philly Soul Arrangements and Productions 1965-1978. As the title indicates, all 23 tracks were either produced or arranged (or both!) by the multi-hyphenate musician-composer-producer-arranger-conductor who
This weekend, Motown fans and alumni are descending on Detroit for the ultimate celebration of Hitsville, USA's 60 years of music and memories culminating in the Hitsville Honors gala. But the label doesn't want fans elsewhere to be left out in the cold. In a surprise, the annual digital collection of Motown Unreleased won't be arriving in December, but instead is available now. To mark 60 years, Motown Unreleased 1969 boasts 60 tracks, all recorded in 1969 and left unheard - until now. The
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,
Welcome to another Release Round-Up. Here's a look at what's coming out today, December 14! Bruce Springsteen, Springsteen on Broadway [2CD] (Columbia) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Springsteen on Broadway captures songs and selected stories from The Boss' acclaimed, Tony Award-winning engagement on the Great White Way. Mixed by Bob Clearmountain and mastered by Bob Ludwig, the album arrives one day before the closing show, and also just before it's broadcast in full on
Here at Second Disc HQ, tomorrow is the biggest day of basketball season - because tomorrow is when we're unveiling Second Disc Records' first release of the year! Thom Bell's soulful, all-star soundtrack to The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh - featuring The Spinners, The Four Tops, Loretta Lynn, Phyllis Hyman, Doc Severinsen, Eubie Blake, and more - arrives from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music for the very first time in a newly expanded, freshly remastered edition! Trust us: this is one
Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records are tipping off 2017 with a slam dunk release! On February 3, we will be bringing Thom Bell's soulful, all-star soundtrack to The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh - featuring The Spinners, The Four Tops, Loretta Lynn, Phyllis Hyman and more - to CD for the very first time in a newly expanded, remastered edition! The 1979 cult favorite film The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh featured an all-star team from the worlds of basketball and Hollywood - Julius "Dr. J"
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
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Ronnie Spector, English Heart (Savoy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The one and only Ronnie Spector returns with an all-new studio album saluting her British Invasion friends. Expect Ronnie-ized renditions of the Jagger/Richards-written "I'd Much Rather Be with the Boys" (as "I'd Much Rather Be with the Girls") as well as "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying," "Tell Her No," "Girl Don't Come" and more! Amazon has an exclusive
1965 was a key year for The Sound of Young America. In a tumultuous twelve-month period which saw the Selma to Montgomery marches, the United States' escalation of military forces in South Vietnam, and the assassination of Malcolm X, the music of Motown was a cultural touchstone that spread unifying messages of love and togetherness. Berry Gordy's label scored five Pop chart-toppers in 1965: The Supremes' "Stop! In the Name of Love," "Back in My Arms Again" and "I Hear a Symphony," The
When The Spinners left Motown Records after nearly a decade, the vocal group had never scored a Top 10 Pop hit. They'd come this close in 1970 with the irresistible, Stevie Wonder-penned "It's a Shame" (No. 14) - one of many fine tracks recorded for Berry Gordy's empire that, for one reason or another, never crossed The Spinners over to major stardom. That all changed when Thom Bell - the multi-hyphenate musician, producer, songwriter, arranger and conductor - declared that he wished to
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
It’s a shame, isn’t it? When Motown mainstays The Spinners departed the venerable Detroit label for the greener pastures of Atlantic Records, lead singer G.C. Cameron didn’t make the switch. Cameron, the unmistakable main voice of The Spinners’ Stevie Wonder-penned No. 14 hit “It’s a Shame,” remained with Motown. Cameron suggested his cousin and close friend Philippe Wynne replace him, and soon watched Wynne and co. score the group’s first ever Top 10 pop singles. In fact, Atlantic debut
Wow! Was it just over a year ago when a rather dubious report began circulating (that, shockingly, was picked up by many otherwise-reputable publications) that proclaimed the death of the CD was secretly scheduled by the major labels for 2012? Well, 2012 has come and (almost) gone, and it might have been the most super-sized year in recent memory for reissues, deluxe and otherwise, from labels new and old. Here at the Second Disc, we consider our annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards a companion