Release Round-Up: Week of February 25

Morrissey, Your Arsenal: Definitive Master (Parlophone)

We don’t hate it when Moz becomes successful, as was the case with his third non-compilation album from 1992, which now comes with an unreleased live show on DVD.

CD/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Johnny Winter, True to the Blues: The Johnny Winter Story (Columbia/Legacy)

A four-disc tribute to the influential blues guitarist, who turned 70 on Sunday. (Amazon U.S./ Amazon U.K.)

Bob Mould, Workbook: 25th Anniversary Edition (Omnivore)

After the disbandment of Hüsker Dü, singer/guitarist Mould was on the solo beat with this album, now expanded with an unreleased 1989 concert at the Cabaret Metro in Chicago.

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Silversun Pickups, The Singles Collection (Dangerbird Records, 2014)

The L.A. rockers collect their last nine or so years of A-sides on a professionally-pressed CD-R compilation or a box of six vinyl singles; both feature a newly released track, “Cannibal.”

 

CD-R: Amazon U.S.
6 x 7″ box:  Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Various Artists, The Tabu Records Box (Tabu/Edsel)

A 6CD/1DVD/1 45 RPM overview of the classic ’70s/’80s R&B label, whose works have been thoroughly reissued by U.K. label Edsel over the past year. (Amazon U.K.)

Isaac Hayes, For the Sake of Love: Expanded Edition / And Once Again: Expanded Edition /Patti LaBelle, Released: Expanded Edition (Big Break Records)

Three new BBR reissues include two Isaac Hayes LPs for Polydor in the ’80s and LaBelle’s final studio album for Epic, which reunited her with producer Allen Toussaint. Joe, of course, has a full summary coming soon!

For the Sake of Love: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
And Once Again: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Released: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Bob Mould, Lone Justice, Dream Syndicate Added to Busy Omnivore Release Schedule

Happily for fans, Omnivore Recordings has willfully ignored the unwritten rule that reissue labels wind down for a bit toward the end of the calendar year. They’ve just announced the latest catalogue projects of what is already shaping up to be a busy 2014, with rare and unreleased recordings due from Paisley Underground group The Dream Syndicate, country-rockers Lone Justice and legendary ex-Hüsker Dü member Bob Mould.

 

Omnivore announced yesterday the expansion of Workbook, Mould’s 1989 solo debut, as a 2CD or 2LP set. Released a year after the Minnesota punk band’s acrimonious split, the album saw Mould exploring intensely personal and furiously proficient songcraft (critics and fans have called Mould’s guitar playing on Workbook some of his best), more than a little removed from the noisy power-pop bliss of his follow-up band Sugar. The two-disc Workbook 25 features the remastered album and non-LP B-side “All Those People Know” on one disc, and a mostly-unreleased live show from Chicago’s Cabaret Metro, just two weeks after the album’s original release. (Mould will also embark on seven tour dates to commemorate the album, commencing with a special set at San Francisco’s Noise Pop Festival in February.) A double-vinyl version will add “All Those People Know,” as well.

Mere weeks before The Dream Syndicate convened in the studio to record their full-length debut, The Days of Wine and Roses, they took to a studio inside the offices of KPFK-FM in Los Angeles, playing a rapturous set of new and old originals (from their self-titled EP released earlier that year) and covers of Donovan (“Season of the Witch”), Bob Dylan (“Outlaw Blues”) and Neil Young (“Mr. Soul”) to a receptive audience that included members of R.E.M. and The Bangles. First released nearly a decade after the band’s split, The Day Before Wine and Roses captures the live spirit of this seminal band – a spirit which audiences recently got to experience in California for a special set of reunion shows alongside fellow Paisley Underground bands The Three O’Clock, Rain Parade and The Bangles. This reissue features both new liner notes by band frontman Steve Wynn and vintage ones from producer Pat Thomas.

Finally, a spate of unreleased tracks by L.A. rockabilly/roots group The Lone Justice, will be released by Omnivore. Recorded two years before their debut LP for Geffen (which featured an all-star supporting cast including producer Jimmy Iovine, songs co-written by Tom Petty and Steven Van Zandt and session work by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers’ own Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench) with engineer David Vaught, the aptly-named This is Lone Justice: The Vaught Tapes is a successful snapshot of the band’s raucous spirit as a then-primarily live act. In addition to its 12 tracks, nine of which are unreleased, the CD or red-vinyl LP package features a host of liner notes and essays, from guitarist Ryan Hedgecock and bassist Marvin Etzioni, Billboard‘s Chris Morris and even longtime fan Dolly Parton.

Expect This is Lone Justice on January 14, The Day Before Wine and Roses on February 4 and Workbook 25 on February 25. Hit the jump for full track listings for all of them!

Will You Take Any SUGAR? Win a Set of Deluxe Reissues from Edsel Records!

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNER, MARK WOLFE!

Release Round-Up: Week of June 19

A quick heads-up to our fans: we’ve finally joined modern times and become an Amazon Associate. So if you click on any of our links and add to your collection, you’ll be supporting The Second Disc in our quest to become the best catalogue music site around!

The Ventures, The Ventures On Stage / Wild Things! / Super Psychedelics / Hawaii Five-O (Sundazed)

Four classic Ventures albums, remastered on CD and LP.

Bob Mould, Bob Mould / The Last Dog + Pony Show / LiveDog98 (Edsel)

After the revelatory Sugar reissues, Mould’s late ’90s albums (plus one rare live disc from the same time period) are collated into one last deluxe set from the label.

Can, The Lost Tapes (Mute)

A triple-disc box set of completely unreleased works from the German band.

Ernie Kovacs, Percy Dovetonsils…Thpeaks / Buck Owens, Live at the White House (Omnivore)

The two newest from Omnivore: an unreleased set from iconic comedian Kovacs, and an expanded live album from Bakersfield’s favorite country musician.

BJ Thomas, The Complete Scepter Singles (Real Gone)

Cryin’s not for you with this collection of Thomas’ A and B-sides for the Scepter label.

Kylie Minogue, The Best of Kylie Minogue (EMI)

The U.S. release of Kylie’s newest greatest hits set, available as a deluxe CD/DVD edition.

Sweet As Sugar: Bob Mould’s Other Trio Gets Expanded Treatment

While Bob Mould has gained rock immortality as one third of the criminally underrated alt-rock outfit Hüsker Dü, his work as frontman for alt-rockers Sugar in the 1990s deserves its own recognition. In May and June, the hard workers at Demon/Edsel will give Sugar its due in the form of expanded, remastered editions of their entire catalogue.

After the split of Hüsker Dü in 1988, Mould locked himself away in a Minnesota farmhouse, attempting to write new material and purge himself of the substance addictions he had developed over the years. He succeeded on both fronts, releasing two solo albums, the abnormally subdued Workbook (1989) and the familiar, loud Black Sheets of Rain (1990).

In 1992 he formed Sugar with former Mercyland bassist David Barbe and ex-Human Sexual Response drummer Malcolm Travis. Their familiar, Mould-esque style of post-punk and power-pop bought them commercial and critical acclaim in the U.K., with all three of their major releases cracking the Top 10 and debut album Copper Blue crowned NME‘s Album of the Year.

The band’s tenure was short-lived: Barbe sought to spend more time with his family and working on his own material, so the band parted in 1996. Mould continues to record and perform today, and will embark on a European tour commemorating Copper Blue this summer.

To commemorate this, Edsel will reissue Copper Blue, the 1993 EP Beaster and 1995’s File Under: Easy Listening as expansive CD/DVD sets. Both studio albums are augmented with extra material including B-sides, remixes and BBC sessions as well as bonus live concerts on a second CD. (The Copper Blue-era concert, recorded at Chicago’s Cabaret Metro, was partially utilized for CD single B-side material, while the 1995 First Avenue show in Minneapolis was released as The Joke is Always on Us, Sometimes, a bonus disc included with limited pressings of the band’s Besides rarities compilation. All sets will include bonus DVDs featuring music videos, live footage and television appearances on both sides of the Atlantic, including several bits from MTV’s popular alternative show 120 Minutes.

Edsel will also release the band’s most popular single, “If I Can’t Change Your Mind,” with the B-side “Clownmaster” on a special limited 7″ single for Record Store Day in England. Only 750 copies will be made.

The reissues will be released one week at a time starting May 28. Hit the jump for Amazon U.K. links and full track lists.