Release Round-Up: Week of March 15

Queen, Queen / Queen II / Sheer Heart Attack / A Night at the Opera / A Day at the Races: Deluxe Editions (Island/UMe)

Deluxe editions of the band’s first five albums are out in the U.K., all remastered with bonus discs of rare or unreleased content. (They’ll be out in the U.S. in May!) (Official site)

Nick Lowe, Labour of Lust (Proper (U.K.)/Yep Roc (U.S.))

Lowe’s New Wave classic, featuring the immortal “Cruel to Be Kind,” is reissued on both sides of the Atlantic, featuring all the tracks heard on original U.K. and U.S. pressings and a non-LP B-side. (Yep Roc)

Rick Springfield, Eartha Kitt, Django Reinhardt, Steve Vai, Nina Simone, The 5th Dimension, Paul Revere and The Raiders and Ricky Skaggs, The Essential(RCA/Columbia/Epic/Legacy)

New two-disc compilations for each of the above artist, each featuring their share of hits and deeper cuts. (We’ve posted the track lists for The 5th Dimension and Paul Revere and The Raiders and will post the remaining track lists later today.) (Amazon)

Peabo Bryson, Reaching for the Sky / Crosswinds: Expanded Edition / Billy Preston, Everybody Likes Some Kind of Music / Jennifer Holliday, I’m on Your Side (Soul Music/Cherry Red)

Remastered editions of four soul classics (the Peabo set is expanded with some U.S. single edits) coming out in the U.K. today. (Soul Music: Peabo, Preston, Holliday)

The Collage, The Collage: Expanded Edition (Now Sounds)

A lost psych-pop classic with some impressive people involved in its recording and production gets a deluxe release on the Now Sounds label in the U.S., having been out for two weeks in England. (Now Sounds)

Inner City: Original Broadway Cast Recording (Masterworks Broadway/Arkiv)

The out-of-print soundtrack to the Tony-winning musical is out through Arkiv as a made-to-order CD-R. (Masterworks)

Various Artists, American Idol 10th Anniversary: The Hits (19/RCA)

Notable tracks from various winners and finalists of American Idol in America. (Official site)

RCA to Salute “Idol” Hands in New Compilation

As if music fans needed another reminder that, every now and then, the pop culture ship sometimes docks in unusual waters, Sony is prepping a compilation of hits for American Idol‘s tenth anniversary. I mean, whaaaaaat?

Alright, so the show’s being a bit premature in celebrating its legacy; Idol premiered on FOX in the summer of 2002 and has failed to let up since. The idea of plucking a pop star from obscurity has lost much of its novelty status, but there have been some great artists and acts who gained exposure from the show, whether they won (killer pop act Kelly Clarkson, country star Carrie Underwood) or lost (rocker Chris Daughtry, glam-pop luminary Adam Lambert).

While it would be fair to call the compilation incomplete even by the tenuous standards of the show – Clarkson and Daughtry have had plenty of great pop tunes to go around, and notable contestants Jennifer Hudson and David Archuleta (recently dropped by Sony) are missing – the set looks like a nice, slight reminder of the power Idol has had on pop culture…for better or for worse.

American Idol 10th Anniversary – The Hits is on sale March 15. Check the track list for the disc after the jump.