Release Round-Up: Week of July 1

Bob Marley,  Legend: 30th Anniversary Edition (Tuff Gong/Island/UMe)

The best-selling reggae album of all time is back with two unreleased studio rarities and, on Blu-ray, a new 5.1 surround mix.

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

Pink Floyd, The Division Bell: 20th Anniversary Edition (Parlophone)

The 20th anniversary of the last Pink Floyd album means an Immersion-level box set with a new 5.1 surround sound mix on Blu-ray and bonus vinyl pieces.

CD (2011 Discovery Edition): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
CD/BD/Vinyl box set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Bon Jovi, New Jersey: Deluxe Edition (Mercury/UMe)

The New Jersey rockers celebrate the 25th anniversary of their fourth album (and their 30th anniversary as a band) with an expanded edition of the record that gave us “Bad Medicine,” “I’ll Be There for You” and others. Rarities include a bonus disc of demos and a DVD of rare video content.

1CD remaster: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2CD Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2CD/1DVD Super Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, The Classic Albums Box / Frankie Valli, Selected Solo Works / Various Artists, Audio with a G: Sounds of a Jersey Boy – The Music of Bob Gaudio (Rhino)

Following up the release of the soundtrack to the Jersey Boys film last week, Rhino is releasing two box sets of The Four Seasons’ complete albums and most of Valli’s solo efforts (his Motown works are omitted), plus a compilation of the best of Four Seasons member/co-writer Bob Gaudio’s lengthy discography.

The Four Seasons: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Frankie Valli: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Bob Gaudio: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

The Jayhawks, Sound of Lies / Smile / Rainy Day Music: Expanded Editions (American Recordings/UMe)

The alt-country group’s full studio discography from 1997 to 2003 is remastered and expanded on CD with rare and unreleased bonus tracks.

Sound of Lies: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Smile: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Rainy Day Music: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Jethro Tull, A Passion Play: An Extended Performance (Chrysalis/Rhino)

Jethro Tull’s sixth album, released in 1973, get the deluxe treatment with new stereo and surround mixes from Steven Wilson plus unreleased sessions and video content.

2CD/2DVD box set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
LP (Wilson stereo mix of original album): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Spanky & Our Gang, The Complete Mercury Singles / Lulu, The Atco Sessions 1969-1972 / Gal Costa, Gal Costa / Ronnie Dove, The Complete Original Chart Hits 1964-1969 / X, More Fun in the New World: Expanded & Remastered Edition / The New York Community Choir, Make Every Day Count: Expanded Edition / Grateful Dead, Dick’s Picks Vol. 17 — Boston Garden 9/25/91 (Real Gone Music)

The latest Real Gone slate features a little something for everyone, from harmonic ’60s pop (Spanky & Our Gang) to ’70s R&B (The New York Community Choir) to ’80s punk (X) – and some Grateful Dead, for good measure.

Spanky & Our Gang: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Lulu: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Gal Costa: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Ronnie Dove: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
X: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
The New York Community Choir: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
The Grateful Dead: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

The The, Soul Mining: 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Legacy)

The The’s breakthrough 1983 album plus seven bonus tracks, pressed on 180-gram vinyl. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Brain Salad Surgery: 40th Anniversary Edition (U.S. Release) (Razor and Tie)

Reissued some time ago in the U.K., ELP’s show that never ends is a three-disc affair featuring the remastered album in stereo, and alternate album assembly plus a DVD of old and new stereo mixes. (Amazon U.S.)

Bad Medicine is What You Need: Bon Jovi Expands “New Jersey”

With the summer fast approaching, New Jersey stalwarts Bon Jovi are celebrating their 30th anniversary by, 25 years later, revisiting one of their biggest hits: fourth album New Jersey.

Released in the fall of 1988, New Jersey was the follow-up to 1986’s Slippery When Wet, the band’s commercial breakthrough which spun off the No. 1 hits “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Livin’ on a Prayer,” plus the Top 10 stadium classic “Wanted Dead or Alive.” Working again with producer Bruce Fairbairn and songwriters Desmond Child, Holly Knight and Diane Warren, New Jersey – originally conceived as a double album called Sons of Beaches – was an expert repetition of the emotional and musical beats that made its predecessor such a touchstone of ’80s rock. And the results were even more stellar: the album spawned five Top 10 singles – “Bad Medicine” (No. 1), “Born to Be My Baby” (No. 3), “I’ll Be There for You” (No. 1), “Lay Your Hands on Me” (No. 7) and “Living in Sin” (No. 9) – and was certified seven times platinum.

To commemorate this milestone, New Jersey is being remastered and expanded in two different formats: a standard double-disc deluxe edition includes three original B-sides and 13 unreleased demos and outtakes from the Sons of Beaches sessions, and a super deluxe box adding expanded book packaging and a DVD of two rare features: Access All Areas: A Rock & Roll Odyssey, a Wayne Isham-directed feature on the band from 1990, and seven promo videos, including a live version of album cut “Blood on Blood” and two versions of “Bad Medicine.” (A single-disc straight remaster will also be available.)

The New Jersey celebration kicks off July 1. Hit the jump to check out the track list and pre-order your copies!

Merry Christmas, Baby! “A Very Special Christmas” Reissued with New DVD at Target Stores

If you can get over the shock of a good amount of holiday CDs available on the shelves at Target, you’ll find a surprise new exclusive: a reissue of the classic 1987 compilation A Very Special Christmas with a brand new DVD about the long-running holiday benefit series.

Produced by acclaimed engineer-turned-label impresario Jimmy Iovine, A Very Special Christmas featured the brightest stars in pop music, from Springsteen to Madonna, recording new versions of classic carols (plus one modern classic, Run-D.M.C.’s “Christmas in Hollis”). Nearly all of its 15 tracks have become staples of holiday radio, and the original album has moved more than 4 million units in the United States. The best part? Proceeds from the sale of the album went to The Special Olympics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s worldwide organization allowing intellectually-disabled children and adults to compete in sporting events. (Over $100 million has been raised by the album series, now spanning across nine titles.)

With a new subtitle, The Story and The Music, appended to its iconic Keith Haring-designed album sleeve, this new version of A Very Special Christmas features a new 60-minute DVD of highlights from the series’ quarter century-plus history. It comes alongside the most common pressing of the original AVSC album – which substituted a live cover of “Back Door Santa” by Bon Jovi for the same band’s studio recording of a new ballad, “I Wish Every Day Could Be Like Christmas.” (You’ll hear more from us soon on the package, from mastering to bonus content, in a forthcoming review – albeit one closer to the holiday season!)

Head to your local Target to buy this new set now, or order it through the store’s website. Full product specs are after the jump!

“ICON” is Now a Capitol Idea

Another few batches of Universal’s eye-rolling ICON series are on the way – and while they offer a few genuine surprises, there’s a lot, perhaps even more than usual, to shake one’s head over.

The big surprise right off the bat is that the mid-price compilation series will now chronicle not only Universal-controlled catalogue artists, but EMI-controlled ones as well. This is hardly a surprise, given the past year’s big story of music business restructuring that’s leaving the world with three major music labels including a Universal/EMI conglomerate.

But the budget compilation idea is nothing new for EMI artists – and frustratingly, ICON is starting off by covering those EMI artists with more than enough compilations to go around, including The Beach Boys, Poison and Pat Benatar. While we have a few surprises to go around on the Universal side of the ICON list – Liberace and Captain & Tennille are prime examples on the “didn’t see that coming” list – there’s very little new or exciting in these batches. (The ICON entry for Bon Jovi is, in fact, a clone of the band’s 1994 compilation Cross Road with the cover art poorly repurposed.)

The only real boon for collectors is the ICON title for Go-Go’s frontwoman (and recent acquisition by Demon Music Group) Belinda Carlisle, whose set will feature a brand-new recording, “Sun,” her first recording to hit U.S. stores in 15 years.

These new batches kick off tomorrow with five EMI-controlled gospel artists (including Amy Grant, whose biggest pop hits were ironically on Universal’s A&M label). Another 15 follow the next week, and two more (Jimmy Cliff and Bon Jovi) follow the week after that. And they’re all yours to consider after the jump.

Springsteen, U2, Queen, Joel, McCartney, Taylor Featured On “Rock Hall of Fame” Live Box Set

Since its formation on April 20, 1983, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has inducted a slate of accomplished musicians into its ranks on a yearly basis, causing excitement, consternation and everything in between.  Though the worthiness of nominees and inductees is hotly debated with each “class” and a number of distinguished artists continue to be ignored year after year, one thing can be agreed upon: a lot of great music has been played for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  It continues to host performances at its Cleveland home, which opened its doors in 1995.  Each year, inducted musicians take the stage in Cleveland and at a New York induction ceremony, often with old colleagues or young musicians whom they have influenced.  Hence, Eddie Vedder joined the remaining Doors for “Break On Through,” Bruce Springsteen teamed with Mick Jagger on “Satisfaction,” Dhani Harrison accompanied two Wilburys, Steve Winwood and Prince for his late father George’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” and the Allman Brothers partnered with Sheryl Crow for “Midnight Rider.”

In past years, only one major album came from The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s vast archives, a 1996 release collecting performances from the 1995 concert that inaugurated the actual museum.  In 2009 and 2010, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame teamed with Time-Life for a series of DVDs (available as a box set and individually) bringing together highlights from those often-controversial induction ceremonies, as well as CD and DVD releases of 2010’s 25^th Anniversary concerts, held at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

The Time-Life association will continue this fall with the release of Best of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum Live, a 3-disc box set bringing many of these blazing performances to CD for the very first time.  Longtime Hall supporter Bruce Springsteen appears no fewer than six times on the box, joined by performers like Chuck Berry, Wilson Pickett, Mick Jagger and U2.  It’s a guitar-lover’s dream when a team of axemen including Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Ron Wood, Joe Perry, Flea and Metallica take on “The Train Kept A-Rollin’,” and when Cream reunites on “Sunshine of Your Love” for the first time in over two decades.  Other highlights include James Taylor’s solo performance of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock,” the Dave Clark Five’s “Glad All Over” as interpreted by the supergroup of Billy Joel, Joan Jett, John Fogerty and John Mellencamp, and Green Day paying homage to the Ramones with “Blitzkrieg Bop.”  The Righteous Brothers and The Ronettes celebrate the heyday of Philles Records, and the definitive line-up of rock legends also includes Paul McCartney (“Let It Be”) and The Who (“Won’t Get Fooled Again”).

Hit the jump for more, including the full track listing!

Legacy Provides Relief for Japan

Now here’s a surprise. iTunes, in concert with the major record labels, put together a 38-song compilation called Songs for Japan, the proceeds of which would go to relief funds for the ongoing crises in Japan following a massive earthquake and tsunami that left the country in a state of peril.

And now, Amazon has a listing for the compilation on CD from Legacy. (This two-disc set actually omits some of the tracks heard on the iTunes version, namely tracks by Madonna and David Guetta.) While it’s not a boon for collectors – collecting notable tracks by John Lennon, U2, Sting, Bob Dylan, Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen and almost every other famous rock artist one can think of – it’s certainly worth the $10 for a good cause, and we would be remiss if we didn’t pass on to our loyal readers that one can help by simply buying some music – something you and I likely do a lot!

Order Songs for Japan here and hit the jump for the track list.

Release Round-Up: Week of November 9

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Damn the Torpedoes: Deluxe Edition (Geffen/UMe)

With a bonus disc of B-sides and unreleased outtakes and an optional Blu-Ray audio version, audiophiles hopefully won’t have a reason to say “don’t do me like that” with this set. (Official site)

Bon Jovi, Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection (Island)

If 1994’s Cross Road isn’t enough of a Bon Jovi comp for you, this career-spanning set (available in single and double-disc formats) combines all the usual hits with two new tracks (or four, depending on what set you buy). (Official site)

Elvis Presley, Viva ELVIS: The Album (RCA/Legacy)

The King gets his own equivalent to The Beatles’ Love, complete with a soundtrack of remixed, re-imagined classics. (More material you’re not going to find on the box set.) (Official site)

The Rolling Stones, Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones (Box Set) (Eagle)

The Stones’ classic Exile-era concert film (just recently released on DVD) is paired with this year’s The Stones in Exile and a bunch of bonus material in a limited, numbered box. (Amazon)

Bing Crosby, The Crosby Christmas Sessions (Collector’s Choice) / The Television Specials Volume 2: The Christmas Specials (Infinity)

Hooray for Christmas catalogue titles! Collector’s Choice honors Bing’s holiday spirit with a trove of mostly-unreleased Yuletide tracks, while Infinity Entertainment gets his holiday television specials on DVD. (Official site)

Does the New Bon Jovi Comp Have a Prayer?

Island Def Jam’s official pre-order page finally revealed the track list to Bon Jovi’s upcoming Greatest Hits package, and – well, it’s exactly what you might expect.

A friend said it best: for Bon Jovi, the grunge-inspired These Days (1995) was a fork in the road for the band. They could either continue down the path of rock royalty, or they could follow the newest trends in pop-rock music, no matter what the cost to their sound. They chose the latter, and it led to things like having songs written by Max Martin, the guy who wrote “Baby One More Time,” or the mid-2000s clutch of country snoozers.

Admittedly, this new set does slightly hew more toward tunes from the early days of the band (from 1984’s self-titled debut to 1994’s Cross Road, their first compilation – almost all the tunes from said compilation are here). But it’s the Cliff’s Notes version. Early singles like “In and Out of Love” and “The Hardest Part is the Night” are nowhere to be found, which isn’t much of a surprise – this is a greatest-hits set devoted to the most mainstream of fans, plus the band doesn’t seem to like those pre-Slippery When Wet albums (they briefly attempted to incorporate some of those album sides on their latest tour but quickly gave up when audiences failed to respond much). But as a fellow New Jerseyan who regards Jon, Richie, Tico, David (and Alec) as part of the Garden State’s pop-cultural legacy, it’s awkward to see them move some distance from their roots.

In any case, this set will be available in two packages: the standard, single-disc edition, boasting 14 hits and two new tracks; and the two-disc Ultimate Collection, armed with another disc of hits and two more new tracks. Those who pre-order the set from Island Def Jam directly will receive lead single “What Do You Got” a day earlier than its September 21 release date and an exclusive new song as well.

The whole affair streets on November 9. Hit the jump to get the track list.

News Round-Up Part II: Expansions All Over, TV Treasures and a Bon Jovi Compilation

With the calendar about to turn over to September, it’s definitely catalogue season. We’ve seen a lot of reissues, expansions and box sets announced – enough to make my post-vacation-hazed head spin – and plenty more are certainly on the way.

Before we get into that, though, I want to thank not only Joe for holding the fort down expertly while I was away, but to you, the reader, for sticking with us. The rest of the year is going to be awesome for catalogue enthusiasts, and The Second Disc is more than pleased to help bring awareness of it to your door.

Now here are a few more releases to keep you in the know.

• Not only did Hip-o Select announce Tammi Terrell‘s Come On and See Me: The Complete Solo Collection last week, they also unveiled two other titles. First, the Dinah Washington singles set that Harry Weinger promised us last month only has a title – The Fabulous Miss D: The Keynote, Decca and Mercury Singles – and a cover photo (viewable here) – but more info on this set should be available soon. Then there’s a limited, double-disc live set from The Neville Brothers ready for order; Authorized Bootleg: Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA – February 27, 1989 captures Aaron, Art, Cyril and Charles delivering New Orleans-style soul ahead of that year’s hit album Yellow Moon. Order that here.
• Yet another Madness LP is being expanded by Salvo Music: this time, it’s Wonderful, the 1999 LP that saw the original line-up of the band reunited for the first time since 1984. Remixes and B-sides abound on this set, available here.
• Rhino Handmade, in addition to unearthing The State’s unreleased Comedy for Gracious Living record, announced a deluxe edition of Shoot Out the Lights, the final album by Richard and Linda Thompson released in 1982. This set includes the original LP (minus the non-LP B-side “Living in Luxury” included on an earlier reissue on Rykodisc Records) with a bonus disc of unreleased live tracks recorded during the famed American tour in which Richard and Linda – headed for divorce and full of contempt for each other – put on a mesmerizing show. Preliminary information is available from Rhino right here.
• Film Score Monthly has announced a clutch of television titles. One is another volume of Alan Silvestri’s early work for the hit show CHiPs, the other is TV Omnibus Volume One (1962-1976), an intriguing five-disc collection of obscure television works by some of the most recognized composers in film and television history, including Jerry Goldsmith, Dave Grusin, John Williams, Lalo Schifrin and others. Find them here and here.
• Again we turn to the genius (or geniuses, I honestly have no idea) of Slicing Up Eyeballs, who got two neat reissue stories while your catalogue correspondent was on holiday. Last week they sorted through potential future catalogue titles for The Cure – including a potential expansion of remix LP Mixed Up (1990), a box set of BBC recordings and the premiere DVD release of The Cure in Orange – and then, in a great Q&A with Martyn Ware of Heaven 17, got him to shed some light on some recently unearthed demos to be included in a forthcoming reissue of the band’s 1981 debut LP Penthouse and Pavement. Good stuff all around.
• Finally – for now, anyway – we come full circle with some news from Universal Music Enterprises. That promised reissue of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers’ Damn the Torpedoes, expected October 26 from UMe/Geffen, is said to have some unreleased outtakes from the original album sessions as bonus material. (This is coming from a little blurb in the latest issue of Rolling Stone.) And Island will stuff the stockings of Bon Jovi fans with a new compilation. Greatest Hits will street November 9 and include 14 hits alongside two new tracks, including new single “What Do You Got?” A double-disc set with 28 cuts in total will have two additional new tracks.

News Round-Up: Prince Possibilites, Soundtrack Bits, Plus Bon Jovi Reaction

• Here’s something that’ll get tongues wagging: gossip blogger Dr. Funkenberry, known for his commentary and scoops around the Prince camp, reported that The Artist partook in a meeting at the headquarters of former label, Warner Bros. The idea is that his upcoming album, 20Ten, will get a release with several European publications (similar to the release of 2007’s Planet Earth), but will be released through WB in the U.S. PLEASE let this mean that reissues are in the cards somewhere.
• Pitchfork provides some more details on the upcoming reissue of Queens of the Stone Age’s Rated R, now scheduled for August 2. The two-disc set will feature all the B-sides previously speculated here (plus another, a live version of “Monsters in the Parasol”). They will fill the second disc of the set, alongside the band’s 2000 set at The Reading Festival. (What, is Pitch
• We’ve been saying that Alex North’s music to the film Spartacus will get the deluxe treatment this year, and it looks like it’ll be announced next week. Varese Sarabande has set June 28 as the day to announce producer Robert Townson’s 1,000th set with the label. “Never has there been as elaborate a production of a single film score in all of film music history,” the brief goes on to say. (Rumors abound that the set will include a thorough presentation of the original score plus a set of tribute cues conducted by other luminous film composers.)
• The La-La Land score label has also clarified its release dates for the remainder of 2010. On July 15, the label (which will have some both space at this summer’s San Diego Comic-Con) will reveal two new limited edition titles (one set at 3,000 units, another at 5,000). Another set of limited sets will follow on August 10 and titles will be announced every two weeks afterward through November 26, which will see three major titles announced. Guesses as to what the sets may be are more than welcome (one massive rumor for Comic-Con is a reissue of Danny Elfman’s iconic score to Batman).
• Feeling like the Bon Jovi reissues were mostly ignored by critics? The die-hard Bon Jovi fans at Metal Asylum (good friends of The Second Disc) have turned in a thoughtful review of the first four LPs in the series.