Release Round-Up: Week of October 21

Ray Parker Jr. & Run-DMC, Ghostbusters: Stay Puft Edition Super Deluxe Vinyl (Legacy)

The Marshmallow Man is back!  The Stay Puft Super Deluxe Edition Vinyl is a limited edition collectible that every Ghostbusters fan will want to take home!  Co-produced by The Second Disc’s Mike Duquette, this set contains the No. 1 hit single “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr. and the “Ghostbusters” rap by Run-DMC for the film’s hit sequel, with both tracks on a white 12” single in a deluxe, puffy, package that smells like marshmallows!

Suzi Quatro, The Girl from Detroit City (Cherry Red) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Cherry Red has a 4-CD, 82-track overview of the glam rock icon (and Happy Days star)’s career, including her early, 60s pop sides, her prime hitmaking period, and even her forays into musical theatre!  Joe will have a full review up soon!

The Hollies, 50 at Fifty (Parlophone/Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

This new 3-CD Hollies anthology, marking the harmony purveyors’ 50th year of recording, arrived in the U.K. last month but today gets its American release from Rhino.

Mike Oldfield, The Studio Albums 1992-2003 (Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Rhino boxes up eight Oldfield albums in one CD box set, including three Tubular Bells variations.

Spandau Ballet, The Very Best of Spandau Ballet: The Story (Rhino)

The New Romantic hitmakers behind “True” look back on their career with this set, available in 1-CD and 2-CD iterations.

1-CD: Amazon U.S.  / Amazon U.K.

2-CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. 

Ian Hunter, All-American Alien Boy (Varese Sarabande) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Varese is restoring the second solo album from Mott the Hoople’s Ian Hunter to print in the U.S. with the six bonus tracks first appended to the 30th anniversary edition.  The 1976 album features personnel including Jaco Pastorius, David Sanborn, Lew Soloff, Auyn and the members of Queen!  Watch this space for an exciting opportunity to WIN a copy of this reissue!

Gavin DeGraw, Finest Hour: The Best of Gavin DeGraw (RCA) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The singer-songwriter and Dancing with the Stars contestant has an 11-track compilation, featuring producer Max Martin’s previously unreleased version of “In Love with a Girl” and a new version of “Finest Hour.”

Neil Diamond, Melody Road (Capitol) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Neil Diamond returns with his 32nd studio album and first for Capitol, and its 12 songs in the artist’s vintage style add up to a warmly nostalgic trip for longtime fans.  Target has an exclusive edition with two bonus tracks which may be outtakes from his 2010 covers project Dreams: renditions of George Harrison’s “Something” and Harry Nilsson’s”Remember,” and this edition is also available as an import at this link.  Look for my review of Melody Road soon!

Earth, Wind & Fire, Holiday (Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The venerable R&B outfit offers its first-ever holiday album, with favorites like “Winter Wonderland” and “Sleigh Ride” alongside reworked versions of “September” (yup, it’s “December”!) and “Happy Feelin'” – which this joyous celebration just might give you!

Scott Walker and Sunn O))), Soused (4AD) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The sixties pop crooner-turned-avant garde hero Scott Walker teams up with California drone metal band Sunn O))) for a 5-track, 50-minute record that pushes the envelope for both artists.  We’re marking this unusual release this week with a look back at the entirety of Walker’s career in a special two-part Back Tracks retrospective beginning tomorrow!

Aretha Franklin, Sings the Great Diva Classics (RCA) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The Queen of Soul reunites with Clive Davis for her latest studio album, a tribute to her fellow divas – then and now – including Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Dinah Washington and Adele!

Billy Idol, Kings and Queens of the Underground (Kobalt) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Billy Idol is back with his rebel yell and sneer intact on his first album since 2005, produced by Trevor Horn and Greg Kurstin!

Annie Lennox, Nostalgia (Blue Note) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Annie Lennox usually hasn’t been one to bask in nostalgia, but here she is, bringing her own spin to such Great American Songbook standards as “Summertime” and “God Bless the Child.” The Amazon U.S.-exclusive edition has a bonus disc featuring a Lennox interview and a live version of blues staple “I Put a Spell on You.”

Pop Quiz, Hot Shot! La-La Land Celebrates 200th Release in Latest Batch

While there’s a month to go before La-La Land releases the expanded soundtrack to Hook, they’ve got three great releases available to buy today – including their 200th title!

First up is a reissue of Jerry Fielding’s score to the cult classic The Mechanic, with Charles Bronson as the efficient hitman who takes the son of a recent contracted kill under his wing. Save a few audio tweaks, title changes and changes in sequence, this disc features the same material from Intrada’s long out-of-print 2007 release of the score, and the 1,200-unit pressing is intended to connect more fans who missed out the first time with the soundtrack.

Next, it’s Jennifer 8, a 1992 thriller starring Andy Garcia as an L.A. cop investigating a string of brutal murders in a small California town. Christopher Young, who wrote scores for the Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser and Spider-Man series, expands his score – one that put him in the upper tier of film composers – for this set, but the real treat is a bonus disc featuring an unreleased original score from composer Maurice Jarre, who composed a good portion of music for the film before being replaced by Young. The double-disc set is limited to 2,000 units.

The 200th release is hurdling your way after the jump!

News Round-Up: Coming Soon from Audio Fidelity, Kritzerland & Masterworks Broadway

There’s lots of label action to report today, so let’s just jump right in:

• Hot on the heels of this week’s release of Stevie Wonder’s Talking Book and Laura Nyro’s Time and Love: The Essential Masters, Audio Fidelity has announced two more titles to receive the 24K Gold CD reissue treatment. Coming up are two 1980s classics: Rickie Lee Jones’ 1989 Flying Cowboys, produced by Walter Becker of Steely Dan, and Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell, the 1983 album that catapulted Idol to superstardom. Steve Hoffman is mastering Rebel, while Kevin Gray handles the honors for Cowboys. Both titles are set for August 3 release.
• At time of The Second Disc’s review, Kritzerland’s limited edition release of the Original Broadway Cast Album of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s Promises, Promises had already sold out. This 2-disc set offered the original LP mix on Disc 1, and a sparkling new remix on Disc 2. For those who missed out, Kritzerland has some good news. The second disc of the Promises set, comprising the complete remix of the album with all tracks in show order, will be released as a stand-alone CD, and is now available for pre-order as, again, a limited edition of 1000 copies only. Get this one while you can, folks.
• Sony’s Masterworks Broadway division announced on Friday a new initiative that will see the reissue of one new-to-CD vault classic per month, available as MP3s from major digital download providers and as made-to-order CD-Rs through Sony’s partner, Arkiv Music. On July 20, the 1958 New York City Opera cast recording of Marc Blitzstein’s Regina will arrive, restoring to the catalogue this classic work that walks the line between musical theatre and opera. This will be followed on August 17 with the 1959 Jones Beach Marine Theater cast album of Song of Norway starring John Reardon and Brenda Lewis under the baton of Lehman Engel, and on September 14 with the Broadway Cast Recording of Hugh Martin’s Make a Wish (1951). The latter will contain a bonus track of Judy Holliday singing the score’s “What I Was Warned About.” Information on all three releases and the new reissue campaign can be found at Masterworks Broadway’s spiffy site.

Track listings are available after the jump!

Back Tracks: Billy Idol

Lately, I’ve been unable to turn the radio dial to a rock-oriented radio station without happening on the music of Billy Idol. There’s nothing wrong with that – Idol was one of the best artists of the ’80s – but it’s a bit jarring, if only because it’s hard to think of Billy Idol as a rocker, in the truest sense.

Sure, his music is dominated by some excellent guitar (usually from the axe of the fantastic Steve Stevens), and it has a bit of an edge thanks to Idol’s irrepressible snarling vocals. But Idol is not a rock guy. He’s a very overtly pop guy. He covered a few ’60s pop and R&B songs, and released them as singles. That blond, spiky hair atop his head, the skintight leather get-up and even his punk-rock past can’t disguise that he’s got as big a heart, musically, as that tough-looking guy in shop class that also sang in the glee club.

In honor of the one Idol I have no problem hearing this week (sorry, FOX Network), here’s a look at Billy’s (semi-)rockin’ catalogue from the past two decades or so. Take a look after the jump.