Short Takes: Queen Prep Collector’s Single, Weezer Ready “Pinkerton Demos” and a Rush of Reissues

• With a new batch of reissues out in the U.K. and an upcoming retrospective exhibition running in London later this month, Queen’s 40th anniversary campaign is going strong. The same week that said exhibition, Stormtroopers in Stilettos, opens at the Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane, Island will release a two-track downloadable single of “Keep Yourself Alive (Long Lost Retake)” b/w “Stone Cold Crazy.” The A-side, from a proposed 1975 single in the U.S., was released on Hollywood Records’ 1991 reissue of Queen (1973) in America and will make its U.K. debut on Island’s forthcoming deluxe edition of A Night at the Opera (1975). (2,000 copies of this single will be pressed to 7″ vinyl and will make their way to America as part of Record Store Day on April 16.)
• Remember how UMe was planning a third volume of Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo’s Alone demo series? It didn’t make much sense to release that compilation alongside so many other Weezer catalogue projects, but the project is finally coming soon. A YouTube clip posted by Cuomo featured him showing off final proofs for an accompanying book, The Pinkerton Diaries; in that clip, he says Alone III will be released in March.
• Rush fans have some forthcoming catalogue releases to get excited about: Richard Chycki, the band’s current engineer, is working on new reissues of Moving Pictures (1981) and Vapor Trails (2002). The latter will be newly remixed, following two tracks from the album Chycki remixed for 2009’s Retrospective 3 compilation; meanwhile, Moving Pictures, which spawned hits “Tom Sawyer,” “YYZ” and “Limelight,” will be presented in a 5.1 surround sound mix! No further release information has been given, although Chycki discusses each set on his official Web site.
• In spite of all the absolute craziness surrounding Warner Bros.’ Tim Burton/Danny Elfman box set, there may be another incentive for purchasing it. The USB accompanying the 16-disc, insanely enormous box – already known to replicate the contents of the box in its entirety – is also going to feature an extra 20 tracks that haven’t been announced or available anywhere else. Here’s the place to order one if you just can’t take it anymore.
• Those previously-reported deluxe editions of some Kinks titles are going to be followed up with more reissues. NME reports planned reissues for Arthur (Or, the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969) and Muswell Hilbillies (1971) are slated for May, while Face to Face (1966) and Something Else by The Kinks (1967) will get the deluxe treatment in July.

U2 x 2: New Fan-Club CD to Explore Duets

Details for U2’s latest fan-club release have been announced, and the band is bringing some very special guests for this disc.

U2 Duals, continuing a tradition of fan-club releases that have included special CD singles, remix albums and vintage live shows, collates some of the group’s most notable duets. From “When Love Comes to Town,” the 1988 single featuring B.B. King, to a live show this past November with a guest appearance by Jay-Z, U2 have gotten around with multiple collaborators including Johnny Cash, Green Day, Luciano Pavarotti and Mary J. Blige.

All but three of the tracks have been previously released – the aforementioned “Sunday Bloody Sunday” featuring Jay-Z and two tracks cut with The Soweto Gospel Choir to commemorate the 2010 FIFA World Cup are new to CD – so collectors who’d rather not spend extra money on a membership for one CD aren’t missing much. For completists, though (you know who you are), this is a noteworthy release indeed.

More info is available at the band’s official Web site, and the track list is after the jump.

Frakkin’ Awesome! Intrada Releases Original “BSG” Score

It’s kind of amazing that the Sci-Fi Channel’s reboot of Battlestar Galactica which ran from 2003 to 2009 was a critical smash. This is especially true when one considers the campy nature of its original source material, the Glen A. Larson-produced ABC program which ran for one season in 1978-1979 and was considered by many to be a quick capitalization on Star Wars mania. Of course, the show was a bit more than that, with a rather captivating story and, for a modest television show, a well-received original score by Stu Phillips. Phillips, a composer and producer best known for his work on the cult film Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and The Monkees, penned a heroic action score for the pilot that would be tracked for many episodes of the series.

Phillip’s BSG pilot score was worthy enough to warrant an LP release on MCA in 1978. That set, partially composed of original and re-recorded cues was reissued on CD by Geffen in 2003 with one bonus track. But now, Intrada presents the complete score to the pilot – featuring all of the original cues, preserved perfectly by Universal in stereo – in what is to be the first of several Galactica releases. Sci-fi fans won’t want to miss this limited set, capped at 3,000 copies.

The label also presents a premiere release of the score to Roger Corman’s horror classic House of Usher, composed by Les Baxter. This release, limited to 1,200 copies, features every cue from the film, including a rarely-heard overture, all presented in mono from the original music track on the film.

Order details and track lists are after the jump.

Release Round-Up: Week of February 8

The Beatles, Love (iTunes Version) (Apple/EMI)

Another Beatles album drops on iTunes: the 2006 soundtrack to the Cirque du Soleil attraction – and this version has two previously unreleased bonus tracks. (iTunes)

Miles Davis, Bitches Brew Live (Columbia/Legacy)

The jazz great lights up the Newport Jazz and Isle of Wight Festivals in this vintage compilation (Sony)

The Stan Getz Quintets, The Clef & Norgran Studio Albums (Verve/Hip-o Select)

A three-disc box collating Getz’s early quintet years, much of it unavailable on CD until now. (Hip-o Select)

“Monument”al Orbison Singles Collection Coming from Legacy

April 23, 2011 would have marked the 75th birthday of Roy Kelton Orbison. The perpetually cool, sunglass-clad, big-voiced singer, a.k.a. Lefty Wilbury and The Big O, may have died in 1988, but he left behind a rich catalogue recorded for on a variety of labels including Sun, RCA and MGM. However, it was at Fred Foster’s Monument label, also an early home to Dolly Parton and Ray Stevens, that Orbison introduced most of his signature songs. Many of these were achingly vulnerable and even quasi-operatic: “Crying, “It’s Over,” “Only the Lonely,” “Running Scared.” Yet as hauntingly beautiful as these songs were, Orbison could rock with the best of ‘em, of course, as evidenced by “Dream Baby” and perhaps his most famous song, “Oh, Pretty Woman.” His “Blue Bayou” didn’t make a great chart impression in America originally, but made up for it years later in Linda Ronstadt’s rendition. Orbison scored his final hit posthumously, when “You Got It,” bequeathed by his friends in The Traveling Wilburys, went Top 10. As a songwriter, singer and unlikely style icon, Roy Orbison’s influence has been mightily felt over the years.

On April 5, Legacy remembers Orbison with a 2-CD/1-DVD collection compiling all of the singer’s A and B sides for Monument with the release of The Monument Singles Collection. Its two CDs begin in 1959 when Orbison had signed with Monument after a short-lived stint on RCA Victor; upon the conclusion of Disc Two, we’re post-“Oh, Pretty Woman” with Orbison on the verge of decamping for MGM. All tracks have been remastered and are presented in their original mono mixes. A special bonus is a DVD containing nine songs performed by Orbison for 1965’s The Monument Concert. This rare footage features Orbison at his peak, running through some of his biggest hits, such as “Only the Lonely,” “Crying,” “Running Scared,” “It’s Over” and “Oh, Pretty Woman.” Roy’s son, Roy Orbison Jr., provides new liner notes for the collection.

Hit the jump for Legacy’s press release, along with the track listing and discographical information for all songs!