Release Round-Up: Week of November 19

Led Zeppelin,Celebration Day (Swan Song/Atlantic)

The one-off reunion nobody expected and everyone loved – a 2007 gig at the O2 in London – is now available in a variety of formats for your listening enjoyment. (Odds are this isn’t the last LZ catalogue bit you’ll see in the next year.) (2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) (2CD/1DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) (2CD/Blu-Ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) (2CD/1DVD/Blu-Ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) (Blu-Ray Audio: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) (3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Frank Zappa, 8 album reissues (Zappa/UMe)

A good chunk of the fifth and final wave of Zappa album remasters (the other three in the wave have been moved back to December 18), including the first-ever CD release of the Mothermania compilation and four volumes of You Can’t Do That on Stage Anymore. The link above has more info and pre-order links!

The Jam, The Gift: Deluxe Edition (Polydor/UMC U.K.)

A lavish deluxe version of The Jam’s final album, augmented with B-sides, unreleased demos, live tracks and video footage, all in a fancy “gift” bag. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

10cc, Tenology (UMC U.K.)

One of the more underrated bands of the ’70s, 10cc finally gets their due with a multi-disc CD/DVD box set. Hits, album cuts and B-sides abound. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

ABBA,ABBA: Deluxe Edition (Polydor/UMC U.K.)

Mamma Mia! The Swedish legends’ 1976 album is reissued as a CD/DVD set with rare archival video. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Naked Eyes, Burning Bridges: Expanded Edition (Cherry Pop)

The album that gave us hits like “Always Something There to Remind Me” and “Promises, Promises” is expanded by Cherry Pop with B-sides and bonus remixes. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Kelly Clarkson, The Hits: Chapter One (RCA/19)

The first true greatest hits collection from an American Idol winner. That crushing feeling is the sands of time upon you. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Elvis Costello, In Motion Pictures (UMe)

If E.C. had a song in a movie, it’s probably here. Probably. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The Beach Boys, Live in Concert: 50th Anniversary (SMC)

Good news: a live Beach Boys show from this year’s tour! Bad news: hugely edited. Like, more than half. (DVD: Amazon U.S. Blu-Ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

AC/DC, Live at River Plate (Columbia)

The band’s 2009 set in Argentina, released on DVD a few years back, is now available on two CDs or three red LPs. (2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) (3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Art Pepper, Neon Art Volume 3 (Omnivore)

The third and final volume of Omnivore’s Art Pepper colored vinyl series; this one features part of a 1981 live show on yellow wax.

3 Doors Down, The Greatest Hits (Universal Republic)

A greatest hits compilation we only just found out about, like, two days ago. Full story coming up later. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

t.A.T.u., 200 Km/H in the Wrong Lane: 10th Anniversary Edition (Cherrytree/Interscope/Universal Russia)

Wait, what? Yup. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Release Round-Up: Week of October 22

Peter Gabriel, So: 25th Anniversary Edition (3CD Deluxe Edition: U.S./U.K.; 4CD/2DVD/2LP Box Set: U.S./U.K.; Classic Albums: So DVD (U.S./U.K.)/BD (U.S./U.K.)) (Real World)

A year late for the actual 25th anniversary (PG never was one for deadlines), So sledgehammers record shops with a variety of expanded formats, including one of many mega box sets released this year.

The Beatles, Love Me Do (50th Anniversary Single) (U.S./U.K.) (Capitol/EMI)

Originally bungled due to a mispressing, The Fab Four’s debut 45 is replicated and reissued a few weeks after the actual 50th anniversary.

The Doors, Live at The Bowl ’68 (CD: U.S./U.K.; LP: U.S./U.K.; DVD: U.S./U.K.; BD: U.S./U.K.) (Elektra/Rhino/Eagle Rock)

The Lizard King returns with an incendiary audiovisual live set, newly remixed and remastered from the original elements.

Change, Disco Recharge: The Glow of Love/Miracles (U.K./U.S.) (Harmless)

Demon’s dance imprint reissues the two albums by Italian disco studio band Change (whose iconic “The Glow of Love” featured lead vocals by a then-unknown Luther Vandross); both are packed with various edits and remixes from the period.

Clifford Brown, The EmArcy Master Takes, Vol. 2: The Singers Sessions (U.S./U.K.) (Hip-O Select/Verve)

Brownie sits in with Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan and more.

Thelma Houston, The MoWest Album: Expanded Edition (U.K./U.S.) / The Miracles, Love Crazy: Expanded Edition (U.K./U.S.) / The Miracles (U.K./U.S.) (SoulMusic)

From this Cherry Red imprint comes a Motown rarity from Thelma Houston and two albums by The Miracles on Columbia Records.

Art Pepper, Neon Art: Volume 2 (U.S./U.K.) (Omnivore)

The second of three unreleased volumes of Art Pepper on colored vinyl, taken from a 1981 concert in Japan.

Mike + The Mechanics, Mike + The Mechanics (Gold CD) (U.S./U.K.) (Audio Fidelity)

Mike Rutherford’s side project, released before Genesis hit pop pay dirt with Invisible Touch, features the hits “Silent Running” and “All I Need is a Miracle.”

Original Broadway Cast Recording, The Mystery of Edwin Drood (U.S./U.K.) (Verve)

Rupert Holmes’ “Solve-It-Yourself Broadway Musical” is finally back on CD to coincide with the show’s current Broadway revival!  A full rundown on Verve’s reissue is coming soon!

Vinyl Renaissance: Omnivore Recordings Offers Art Pepper, Josh Haden’s Spain on Vinyl, Plus “Music City” Rarities

The term “record store” (two rather hallowed words in these parts!) has long been used to describe those stores that sell music, even well into the age of the CD, and now, the digital download.  But lately, record store walls have been lined with more and more actual vinyl records.  In 2011, more records were purchased than in any other year in the past two decades, with sales up 36 percent over 2010, to a not-too-shabby 3.9 million. Sales for 2012 are likely to best that number.  Since its founding in 2010, Omnivore Recordings has been committed to the art of the vinyl record, even as it continues to make music available in CD and digital formats, too.  Omnivore has recently announced three vinyl-only projects sure to excite collectors.

The late Ray Dobard’s Music City Records label, of Berkeley, California, is one of the most acclaimed regional labels of all time.  Its deep catalogue reflects the titanic changes in African-American music styles from doo-wop to funk, and that catalogue has been the foundation for recent releases from Omnivore and its U.K. distributor, Ace Records.  Ace’s 3-CD box set The Music City Story spanned 25 years and 78 tracks of R&B in all its guises, while Omnivore has tapped the label further for Darondo’s Listen to My Song: The Music City Sessions and The Two Things in One’s Together Forever: The Music City Sessions.  Three vinyl-only, various-artists releases are coming soon from Omnivore with more classic Bay Area funk from the early 1970s.  The Music City Sessions, Volume 1: Richmond Experience, just arrived on August 14.  It will be followed by The Music City Sessions, Volume 2: Super Strut on September 18, and finally, The Music City Sessions, Volume 3: Soul Show on October 23. Each unlimited edition will be pressed on black vinyl, and will include a digital download card. All three volumes have been researched, produced, and annotated by Alec Palao, whose essay for Ace’s 2011 Music City Story box, received a Grammy Award nomination.

What can you expect on these three LPs?  Hit the jump to find out – plus news on Omnivore’s reissue campaign for Josh Haden’s ’90s group Spain and alto sax great Art Pepper, with pre-order links and track listings for all titles!