Release Round-Up: Week of October 27

 

Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV (Atlantic/Swan Song)

Jimmy Page has assembled an entire alternate version of Led Zeppelin IV as the bonus content for this new reissue, including the “Sunset Sound” mix of “Stairway to Heaven” and an alternate U.K. mix of “When the Levee Breaks.”

1-CD Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

2-CD Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Super Deluxe Box Set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

1-LP Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

2-LP Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Digital Download: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Led Zeppelin, Houses of the Holy (Atlantic/Swan Song)

The new Houses of the Holy boasts seven bonus cuts including rough and working mixes of such tracks as “No Quarter” and “The Song Remains the Same.”

1-CD Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

2-CD Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Super Deluxe Box Set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

1-LP Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

2-LP Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Digital Download: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Chuck Berry, Rock and Roll Music: Any Old Way You Choose It (Bear Family) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Bear Family’s massive 16-CD survey of the complete career of the rock and roll pioneer includes every single and LP track recorded in the studio by Chuck Berry plus special bonus material!

Judy Garland, The Garland Variations: Songs She Recorded More Than Once (JSP)  (Amazon U.S. TBD /Amazon U.K.)

This exciting set rounds up, on five CDs and 115 tracks, songs the immortal Judy Garland recorded in the studio on multiple occasions between 1937 and 1962!

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, The Complete Epic Recordings Collection (Epic/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. )

Epic and Legacy have a true “Texas flood” with twelve discs from guitar hero Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble!  Look for Joe’s review tomorrow!

The Who, Hits 50! (Geffen/UMe)

The Who celebrate 50 years of heavy rocking with this new collection, available in multiple formats!

Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

1-CD Highlights: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Blu-ray Pure Audio: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. TBD

KISS, Love Gun: Expanded Edition (Casablanca/Mercury/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

KISS expands its 1977 classic with an 11-track bonus CD of mostly new-to-CD music!

Paul McCartney, New: Deluxe Edition (Hear Music)  (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Macca expands his 2013 hit album in a DVD-sized hardcover book format including a bonus disc of audio material and a lengthy DVD compendium of live performances and more!

Silver Convention – Madhouse (1976) / Anita Pointer – Love For What It Is (1987) / 5000 Volts – 5000 Volts (1976) / Rinder & Lewis – Seven Deadly Sins (1978) (Big Break/Hot Shot)

Big Break Records has a quartet of releases in stores today!  As always, a full rundown is coming up from Joe!

Silver Convention: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Anita Pointer: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
5000 Volts: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Rinder & Lewis: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Leonard Bernstein, Edition: Concertos and Orchestral Works  (Masterworks) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Masterworks has an 80-CD (!) box set drawn from the label’s vast catalogue of CBS/Columbia recordings by the legendary maestro, Leonard Bernstein.  The label promises “every concerto, symphonic poem, overture, ballet, dance, march etc. that Bernstein recorded in New York between 1950 and 1976 (plus some in London, Paris and Israel) by nearly every composer in the standard repertoire” in this follow-up to 2010’s The Symphony Edition.

Yusuf, Tell ‘Em I’m Gone (Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens returns with his latest studio album.  On this soulful and bluesy collection, the recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee blends originals with eclectic favorites including “You Are My Sunshine” and “Dying to Live.”

Barry Manilow, My Dream Duets (Verve) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

When Verve Records asked the newly-signed veteran entertainer to record a duets album, Manilow responded with a hearty “Yes!” – but only if he could record with his dearly departed favorite artists.  And so we have this collection on which Manilow has composed new duet arrangements for classic vocalists including Whitney Houston (“I Believe in You and Me”), Cass Elliot (“Dream a Little Dream of Me”), Andy Williams (“Moon River”) and Sammy Davis, Jr. (“The Candy Man”) plus some off-the-beaten-path choices like Jimmy Durante (“The Song’s Gotta Come from the Heart”) and Marilyn Monroe (“I Wanna Be Loved by You”)!

Dionne Warwick, Feels So Good (Caroline) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The pop legend returns with her latest studio album.  Produced by her son Damon Elliott, it’s heavy on “modernized,” new duet covers of Bacharach/David classics (“A House is Not a Home” with Ne-Yo, “You’ll Never Get to Heaven” with Ruben Studdard, “This Girl’s in Love with You” with Phil Driscoll) plus a couple of recycled tracks (“Message to Michael” with Cyndi Lauper and “I’ll Never Love This Way Again” with Gladys Knight) and some new songs including the title track featuring Cee-Lo Green.

Jerry Lee Lewis, Rock and Roll Time (Vanguard) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!  The veteran rock-and-roller is still pounding his piano on this new 11-track album featuring such friends as Keith Richards, Robbie Robertson, Ron Wood, Neil Young, Shelby Lynne, Nils Lofgren, and Daniel Lanois.

Shine Her Light: “The Midnight Special” Box Set Arrives In September with Fleetwood Mac, Bee Gees, ELO, More

Between August 1972 and May 1981, late night television was a little more rockin’.  Producer Burt Sugarman’s The Midnight Special followed Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show on Friday evenings, welcoming viewers with Johnny Rivers’ rousing rendition of the traditional tune (a Top 20 hit for Rivers in 1965).  Over the course of 450 episodes, The Midnight Special presented a staggering array of music’s top talent on network television with most songs performed live for the majority of its run.  The program, featuring announcer Wolfman Jack and a variety of guest hosts, premiered as a one-off special in August 1972 but was promoted to full-time status in February 1973.  It first arrived on DVD in 2006 with episodes available as mail order exclusives, heavily promoted via infomercials.  On September 9, however, StarVista/Time Life will make The Midnight Special more widely available for the first time with 11-DVD, 6-DVD and 1-DVD releases.  With the resurgence in many of the ‘70s’ greatest pop hits thanks to the hit Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack the time couldn’t be better!  (Indeed, many of the Star Lord’s favorite songs were performed on The Midnight Special and will be included on these DVDs.)

The 11-disc Midnight Special Collectors’ Edition is now available to order exclusively online at MIDNIGHTSPECIALDVDS.COM for just under $100.00; while it’s expected that this set may eventually arrive to general retail (in the tradition of other StarVista sets for The Carol Burnett Show, Mama’s Family and The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts), it will remain a website exclusive for the foreseeable future.  This edition features roughly 10 hours of musical performances plus 5 hours of newly-produced bonus material and a 32-page booklet.  The single-disc and 6-disc versions will be released on September 9 to stores everywhere. The Midnight Special played host to artists from the many genres that occupied the Top 40 slots on the Billboard Hot 100 during the 1970s, including Fleetwood Mac, The Bee Gees, Linda Ronstadt, The O’Jays, Dolly Parton, David Bowie (who broadcast his final television appearance as Ziggy Stardust on the program), Alice Cooper, Electric Light Orchestra, Neil Sedaka, Barry Manilow, Alice Cooper, frequent host Helen Reddy, and countless others who are featured on StarVista’s new sets.  The Midnight Special also gave the spotlight over to the era’s top comedians like Richard Pryor, Billy Crystal, George Carlin, Andy Kaufman, Steve Martin and Freddie Prinze.

After the jump: a look at what you can expect to find on these collections!

Still Here: Elaine Paige Celebrates Career On New “Ultimate Collection” With Previously Unreleased Songs and Rare Singles

Though her appearances on the Broadway stage have been rare, Elaine Paige remains one of the reigning first ladies of musical theatre around the world. Paige has been a fixture in London’s West End since her debut there in the 1968 production of Hair, rising to fame as the first actress to portray Eva Peron onstage in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Evita in 1978. Paige went on to introduce the role of Grizabella and the song “Memory” in Cats, and subsequently starred in such musicals as Chess, Anything Goes, Sunset Boulevard, The King and I, The Drowsy Chaperone, and most recently in New York, Follies. What might be less well-known (in the U.S., at least!) is that Paige has also recorded a number of U.K. hit albums and singles.   The May 12 release from Rhino U.K. of The Ultimate Collection draws on Paige’s remarkable body of recordings between 1978 and 2011, and the standard edition premieres a couple of unreleased songs as well as a new club remix.  The 2-CD Special Edition adds 20 more tracks, all culled from Paige’s singles discography and featuring 4 new-to-CD tracks.

The Ultimate Collection recognizes Paige’s acclaimed 50 years in show business, beginning with her professional debut onstage in 1964. The chronologically-sequenced set begins, of course, with “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina,” which was already familiar to listeners thanks to Julie Covington’s performance on the Evita concept album. Paige made the song her own, however, and began her collaboration with composer Andrew Lloyd Webber who is also represented here with “Memory” from Cats, the two key songs from Paige’s star turn in Sunset Boulevard, and a studio rendition of “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” from Jesus Christ Superstar. Paige didn’t portray Mary Magdalene onstage in the show, but recorded the song for her 1983 studio album and third solo LP, Stages. Produced by David Bowie’s famed collaborator Tony Visconti, Stages was a phenomenon in Paige’s native United Kingdom. It remained on the British album chart for 48 weeks, garnering a 2x Platinum certification by the BPI (The British Recorded Music Industry) for U.K. sales. From that collection of theatre music, The Ultimate Collection also reprises its songs from A Chorus Line, Dreamgirls and Nine. “Be on Your Own,” from Nine, is heard not in its original version, but in the radio edit of its new Almighty Remix.

Visconti and Paige reunited for the follow-up to Stages. Instead of Broadway showstoppers, Cinema took aim at the songs of Hollywood. The result was another Top 20 Platinum-seller, from which the standard “Unchained Melody” and the song “Sometimes,” from the films Unchained and Champions, respectively, have been culled. 1985’s Love Hurts showed off Paige’s pop side, which she previously visited on albums including 1981’s Warner Music debut Elaine Paige. That album featured new songs from Paul McCartney (“Hot as Sun”), Barry Gibb (“Secrets”) and Vangelis (“The Second Time”); though none are featured here, The Ultimate Collection offers three Love Hurts tracks: Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word,” Judie Tzuke’s “For You” and a little song from the musical Chess which became one of Britain’s biggest-selling singles of 1985. “I Know Him So Well” was penned by Tim Rice and ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. Paige’s duet with Barbara Dickson sold over 900,000 copies, and the Love Hurts album went Top 10.

Hit the jump for more on The Ultimate Collection, including the complete track listing with discography!

Sophisticated Lady: Phyllis Hyman’s Arista Debut Is Expanded By SoulMusic Label

When Phyllis Hyman took her own life on June 30, 1995, one of the most potent, poignant voices in soul music was silenced.  A singer as well as a Tony Award-nominated actress, Hyman did leave behind a small but important discography of eight studio albums, which has since been bolstered by posthumous releases.  Indeed, it’s understandable why “new” recordings from the expressive vocalist are so sought after.  While the native Philadelphian never had a commercial pop breakthrough, notching far more successes on the R&B charts, she could inimitably make both pain and pleasure real with her effortless delivery and crystalline tone.  SoulMusic Records, an imprint of the Cherry Red Group, has recently reissued Hyman’s 1979 Arista Records debut Somewhere in My Lifetime in an expanded edition that retains the two bonus tracks included on U.S. label Reel Music’s previous reissue, and adds three more.

Hyman wasn’t thrilled, to say the least, when Clive Davis’ Arista label purchased her contract from the foundering Buddah Records.  She was a big fish in the small pond of Buddah, where she had released two albums to little fanfare.  From the start, Hyman was right at home in the emerging Quiet Storm format, but also deftly traversed the dance and jazz realms, too.  The first of her Buddah efforts, Phyllis Hyman, featured her rendition of Thom Bell and Linda Creed’s “I Don’t Want to Lose You,” as well as Thom and Leroy Bell’s “Loving You – Losing You.”  Her affinity with the Philadelphia soul pioneer’s music was evident as early as 1976 when she made her first major splash as vocalist on Norman Connors’ version of Bell and Creed’s “Betcha by Golly Wow.”  Bell would later produce Hyman at both Arista and Philadelphia International as well as on his soundtrack to The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh.  Her sophomore Buddah LP, Sing a Song, only saw U.K. release, and Clive Davis saw it as the perfect entrée for Hyman onto his U.S. label roster – with a few changes.

Davis retooled Sing a Song’s original production by Skip Scarborough and [Hyman’s then-husband] Larry Alexander, dropping three of their tracks from the album and adding four new ones.  Three of the four were produced by T. Life, fresh off his successes with Evelyn “Champagne” King, and the fourth was the work of a hitmaking team with close ties to Arista: Barry Manilow and Ron Dante.   Taking its cue from the Jesus Alvarez ballad produced by Manilow and Dante, the album was retitled Somewhere in My Lifetime.

After the jump, we have more details, a full track listing and order link for the expanded Somewhere in My Lifetime!

He Picks The Songs That Make The Whole World Sing: Clive Davis Curates “The Soundtrack of My Life”

In a year that counts Tommy Mottola, Cissy Houston, Burt Bacharach and Paul Anka among the music biz icons who have published, or will publish, their memoirs, one such figure’s autobiography has already made headlines: Clive Davis’ The Soundtrack of My Life.  The attorney-turned-music mogul took a no-holds-barred approach to chronicling his history, including his tenures at Columbia, Arista, J and the RCA Label Group.  This should come as no surprise to anybody who’s followed his illustrious and admittedly controversial career, but some readers might still be surprised at the sheer volume of remarkable musicians affected in one way or another by Davis’ “golden ears,” including Bob Dylan, Donovan, Lou Reed, The Kinks and Sean “Puffy” Combs.  Since his appointment by towering music industry leader Goddard Lieberson to lead Columbia Records in 1965, Davis has never stopped making waves with his bold, hands-on hitmaking style.

Now, as Chief Creative Officer of Sony Music Entertainment (a position Davis has held since 2008 at the current parent company of all the aforementioned labels), Davis has teamed with Legacy Recordings to reflect on his career via a series of Spotify playlists with special commentary tracks.  Though it’s unusual here at this branch of Second Disc HQ to direct our readers to Spotify – after all, aren’t there plenty of amazing physical releases out there demanding your listening attention? – the opportunity to hear a venerable legend reflecting on his considerable C.V. isn’t one to pass up.  And Legacy’s “The Legacy Of” app, on which Davis’ playlists are featured, is a prime example of how the online streaming service’s offerings can complement a physical music collection.

Spotify users who navigate to “The Legacy Of” app will discover Davis as the Featured Artist.   The menu provides links to: Albums / Biography / Photos / Playlists / Discography. Head over to “Playlists” to listen or subscribe to six new playlists curated by Davis himself. Each is populated by artists with whom he has worked during his career at CBS Records (Columbia and Epic and their associated labels), Arista Records (including LaFace and Bad Boy), J Records and more.  You can directly visit the “Legacy Of” app at this link. Davis’ six playlists are entitled The Soundtrack of My Life, Best of 2000s, Best of 1990s, Best of 1980s, Best of 1970s, and Best of 1960s.  Naturally, the Soundtrack of My Life playlist is the one with commentary from Davis.  He has recorded reminiscences for fourteen of the playlist’s 20 tracks, and the playlist includes songs from many of the artists with whom he is most associated.

Which songs has Davis selected?  Hit the jump for details and more!

WE HAVE A WINNER! A Complete Set of “Classic Christmas Album” Titles from Legacy Recordings Can Be Yours!

CONGRATULATIONS TO JIM WAGNER – YOU’VE WON THESE CLASSIC CHRISTMAS ALBUMS FROM LEGACY RECORDINGS!

Holiday Gift Guide Reviews: Legacy’s “Classic Christmas Album” Series from Manilow, Vandross, Presley, Nelson, Denver, Kenny G

If you’re a resident of the storm-ravaged East Coast, you might have recently found yourself singing, “We need a little Christmas, right this very minute! “  I know I have.  As happens every year around this same time, holiday albums have already begun to fill the shelves, with new albums arriving from artists old and new as well as reissues from Christmases past.  In 2011, Legacy Recordings issued The Classic Christmas Album for Tony Bennett, combining tracks from Bennett’s three holiday-themed albums with rare offerings and one-offs.   This year, the Classic Christmas Album series has expanded to include offerings from five diverse artists, building on the template established by the Bennett set.  Elvis Presley, John Denver, Barry Manilow, Willie Nelson and Kenny G all have made their mark in Christmas music, and these new (and very reasonably priced) compilations make an enjoyable place to start with each of their holiday-themed catalogues.  And two of the titles are even more of a treat, as the Willie Nelson and Luther Vandross sets are actually resequenced and expanded editions of the artists’ seminal Christmas LPs.

It’s simply impossible to go wrong when you combine one of the great voices of our time with some of the greatest songs of our time.  Hence, you can’t go wrong with Luther Vandross’ Classic Christmas Album (Epic/Legacy 88691 96832 2).  His entire 1995 album This is Christmas is the centerpiece of this release, and its ten tracks have been supplemented by some very well-chosen bonuses.  Producers Leo Sacks and Jeff James have added Vandross’ Quincy Jones-produced take on “The Christmas Song” from 1992’s A Very Special Christmas, the original Cotillion recordings of “May Christmas Bring You Happiness” and “At Christmas Time” from 1976, and one previously unreleased track: Vandross and Chaka Khan’s duet of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” from the 1998 Soul Train Christmas Starfest.

This is Christmas, produced by Vandross with contributions from longtime collaborators Nat Adderley Jr. and Marcus Miller, offered ten tracks of slick soul, with Vandross’ impassioned vocals set to gleaming and modern arrangements.  The unmistakable Vandross pipes are most resonant on the classic songs: Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” with its melancholy undercurrent, or Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s evocative “My Favorite Things.”  These timeless songs have aged better than, say, “The Mistletoe Jam,” with the singer seductively intoning, “Girl, get over here and come under this mistletoe with me!” and the chorus imploring, “Everybody kiss somebody!”  Vandross veers a bit close to parody on that up-tempo, pop-soul confection, but he’s more successful when applying his velvet tones to his other originals like the big ballad “With a Christmas Heart” or the fun, Motown-styled “I Listen to the Bells” with the brassy Darlene Love and the equally legendary Cissy Houston (who is audible on a number of the album’s tracks).  You’ll also savor the unmistakable tenor sax of the Big Man, Clarence Clemons on “Bells.”  Vandross is reverent on a stately, martial “O Come All Ye Faithful,” the most atypical track on This is Christmas.

The “bonus tracks” are all strong additions.  Vandross and Chaka Khan are both emotive on “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and the two Cotillion songs (originally credited to Vandross’ group Luther) are both real gems.  “May Christmas Bring You Happiness” is a big, funky, R&B production while “At Christmas Time” is a sweet, traditional soul ballad arranged by Motown stalwart Paul Riser.

After the jump: take a sleigh ride with Willie Nelson, Barry Manilow, Kenny G, John Denver and The King!

Release Round-Up: Week of October 2

Barry Manilow, Elvis Presley, Kenny G, Willie Nelson, John Denver, Luther Vandross, The Classic Christmas Collection (Legacy)

Oh my goodness, it really is almost sort of kind of close to Christmas, yes? Legacy’s getting your seasonal fix early with new compilations full of cheer (and, in a few cases, some harder to find Yuletide songs and tracks licensed from non-Legacy albums).

Dion, The Complete Laurie Singles / Shoes, 35 Years: The Definitive Shoes Collection / David Cassidy, Romance / The Grateful Dead, Dick’s Picks Volume 27 – Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA – 12/16/1992 / John Zacherle, Monster Mash/Scary Tales (Real Gone)

A diverse slate from Real Gone for the month of October: the first collection of Dion’s many, many hits for the Laurie label; a brand-new compilation for power-pop legends Shoes; David Cassidy’s U.K.-only hit LP for Arista; the latest Dick’s Picks reissue and two novelty Cameo-Parkway LPs by a legendary horror broadcaster.

Walt Disney’s Cinderella: Collector’s Edition Soundtrack (Walt Disney Records)

To coincide with the film’s Diamond Edition DVD/Blu-ray release today, the soundtrack to the Disney animated classic Cinderella is expanded with seven rare demos and brand-new recordings of each of those seven songs!

Weekend Wround-Up: Barbra Streisand Joined by Bennett, Wonder, Krall on DVD and BD; Pixar Compiles More “Favorites”

On February 11, 2011, Barbra Streisand joined some illustrious company, including Bono, Brian Wilson, Aretha Franklin and her “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” duet partner, Neil Diamond.  That was the evening Streisand was recognized as the MusiCares Person of the Year, following in the footsteps of those above-named artists.  Streisand was a natural candidate for the honor, as the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences annually bestows it upon an artist with significant artistic achievement in music and commitment to philanthropy.  Part of the MusiCares tradition finds that person being celebrated by a line-up of peers and younger talent, and so that evening, Streisand was joined in Los Angeles by Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, Barry Manilow, Stevie Wonder and others, to perform many of the songs she made famous throughout her career. On November 13, Shout Factory will release A MusiCares Tribute to Barbra Streisand on DVD, with a selection of the performances from the celebratory concert.

Diana Krall was in the producer’s chair for Streisand’s 2009 album Love is the Answer, and she opens the Blu-ray/DVD with a medley of three famous Streisand songs: “Down with Love,” “Get Happy,” and “Make Someone Happy.”  The first two, of course, were co-written by Harold Arlen, one of Streisand’s most admired composers.  Tony Bennett, who has performed with both Krall and Streisand in the past, performed a rendition of Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile” (the opening track of Streisand’s 2003 The Movie Album).  Barry Manilow offered his take on Andrew Lloyd Webber and Trevor Nunn’s “Memory” from the musical Cats; both Brooklyn natives released the song as a single and made the Billboard Hot 100 and Top 10 AC charts with it.  Stevie Wonder performed Jule Styne and Bob Merrill’s “People” from Funny Girl with Arturo Sandoval, and Jeff Beck offered a scorching “Come Rain or Come Shine” (another Arlen song) with LeAnn Rimes and BeBe Winans.  The younger set was represented not only by Rimes, but by Leona Lewis (“Somewhere” from West Side Story), Faith Hill (Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns”) and a trio of stars from Glee (Lea Michele with Fanny Brice’s signature song, “My Man,” and Matthew Morrison and Kristin Chenoweth reprising their television duet of Bacharach and David’s “One Less Bell to Answer/A House is Not a Home” in Streisand’s arrangement).   Streisand herself brings the DVD to a close with performances of “The Windmills of Your Mind” and “The Promise (I’ll Never Say Goodbye).”

A MusiCares Tribute to Barbra Streisand is due for release on November 13 and follows Shout! Factory’s last MusiCares release celebrating Neil Young.  Pre-order links are currently not available, but we will add them as soon as possible!  You’ll find the complete track listing after the jump, down below!

Last week, Walt Disney Records quietly released a second volume of modern-day classics from Pixar’s animated films.  The new Disney-Pixar All-Time Favorites follows 2009’s Disney-Pixar Greatest, which brought the studio’s output up to date as of the Academy Award-winning Up.  In addition to revisiting some of the films represented on the first compilation with newly-compiled tracks, All-Time Favorites adds songs and score cues from Toy Story 3 (2010), Cars 2 (2011) and this year’s Brave.

Randy Newman is, of course, prominently featured, singing “I Will Go Sailing No More” from 1995’s Toy Story and “We Belong Together” from Toy Story 3, while his compositions are also sung by Riders in the Sky (“Woody’s Round-Up” from 1999’s Toy Story 2), the Gipsy Kings (the Spanish-language “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from Toy Story 3).  Newman’s scores from A Bug’s Life (1998) and Monsters, Inc. (2001) are also excerpted.  Randy’s cousin Thomas Newman is represented via score excerpts from the just-about-to-be-re-released Finding Nemo (2003) and WALL-E (2008), while another frequent member of the Pixar team, Michael Giacchino, takes the spotlight for tracks from 2007’s Ratatouille, Cars 2 and 2004’s The Incredibles.  One song and one score cue appear from Brave: Julie Fowlis’ rendition of Alex Mandel’s “Into the Open Air,” and Patrick Doyle’s “In Her Heart.”

Disney-Pixar All-Time Favorites is available in stores now, and can be ordered after the jump!   You’ll also find the complete track listing there.

Because It’s Christmas: Barry Manilow’s “Classic Christmas Album” Coming in October

Believe it or not, Christmas is just around the corner…and Barry Manilow is teaming with Legacy Recordings for the festivities.  The pop superstar has recorded three very different holiday albums between 1990 and 2007, and all three can be sampled on his Classic Christmas Album, due in stores on October 2, part of Legacy’s all-new holiday series.

Manilow made his first memorable contribution to the holiday songbook with his own composition “It’s Just Another New Year’s Eve,” co-written with Marty Panzer (“It’s a Miracle,” “This One’s for You,” “Even Now”).  It was included on 1977’s chart-topping Barry Manilow Live and also released as a single.  A favorite of the late Dick Clark to ring in January 1 on his New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, the reflective ballad takes its rightful place among the sixteen tracks on Manilow’s Classic Christmas Album.

His next major holiday statement on record was 1990’s Because It’s Christmas, the first of three such efforts.  The album blended original songs alongside familiar favorites, and even featured “It’s Just Another New Year’s Eve” in a new recording.  Manilow paid homage to The Andrews Sisters and stepped in for Bing Crosby on a loving remake (with female vocal trio Exposé) of the famous, swinging Crosby/Andrews take on “Jingle Bells,” and deftly weaved religious and classical compositions with new songs and standards throughout the album: “Silent Night” was paired with the bluesy “I Guess There Ain’t No Santa Claus,” and “Joy to the World” with Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane’s wistful “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”  (“I Guess There Ain’t No Santa Claus” is one of two songs on the album with Johnny Mercer lyrics set to music by Manilow; it’s also the one selected for Classic Christmas.)  An excerpt from Handel’s “Messiah” introduced his own bid for a seasonal standard, “Because It’s Christmas (For All the Children).”  Manilow incorporated many of his own musical penchants on this disc, from big-band to jazz and of course, lush balladry.  Four tracks make an appearance on the new compilation.

Jazz and swing took a back seat, however, on the belated sequel to Because It’s Christmas.  2002’s A Christmas Gift of Love was a much more traditional affair, almost entirely composed of standards with one original, the title track (like that of Because It’s Christmas, written by Manilow with Bruce Sussman and Jack Feldman), plus a revival of Joni Mitchell’s “River” that gained Manilow airplay on many holiday radio stations.  Several songs from A Christmas Gift have been pulled for the new collection, including “River,” the title cut, the Perry Como/Robert Goulet-popularized chestnut “Home for the Holidays,” with an arrangement from the great Patrick Williams, and three songs penned by Irving Berlin: “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” and a medley of “Happy Holiday” and “White Christmas.”

When Manilow was called upon by greeting card giant Hallmark to craft a third Christmas long-player in 2007 as an exclusive for its retail stores, he returned to jazz, but with a twist.  Whereas Because It’s Christmas had a big-band feel to some tracks, Manilow aligned himself with two jazz trios for In the Swing of Christmas, the most adventurous of his three holiday albums.  From that set, Classic Christmas Album reintroduces “Silver Bells,” with an intricate vocal arrangement performed entirely by Manilow, and Berlin’s “Violets for Your Furs,” with The Randy Kerber Trio.  (The trio MaD Fusion also performed on the album.)  In 2009, Arista reissued the album, with two bonus tracks, both of which reappear here.  The infectious “Christmas is Just Around the Corner,” written by Manilow for the television special A Cranberry Christmas (just try not to tap your toes!), reappears here, as does a version of the perennial “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

After the jump, we have more, including the complete track listing with discography, and a pre-order link!