Release Round-Up: Week of December 15

The Kinks, Anthology 1964-1971 (BMG/InGrooves, 2014) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Producer Andrew Sandoval (the recent The Monkees: Super Deluxe Edition) helms this kink-sized 5-CD kollection of hits, demos, interviews, alternate mixes, session outtakes, 25 previously unavailable tracks, an exclusive 7-inch single and copious, new liner notes!

Dionne Warwick, Finder of Lost Loves: Expanded Edition (Arista/Funky Town Grooves) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

This 2-CD edition of Warwick’s 1985 album features a bonus disc with 12 additional tracks – three rare single versions and nine previously unreleased recordings, including the Barry Gibb-produced Heartbreaker outtake “Broken Bottles” and two alternate versions of the Burt Bacharach/Carole Bayer Sager title track featuring Dionne joined by Luther Vandross!

Aretha Franklin, Aretha: Expanded Edition (Arista/Funky Town Grooves) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

FTG adds a staggering 19 bonus tracks to create a 2-disc edition of The Queen of Soul’s 1986 album featuring “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” – including rare remixes of five songs as well as the Aretha Megamix!  It appears that the companion disc – an expanded edition of Through the Storm – won’t be available until next month.

The Manhattans, Black Tie / Forever by Your Side (Columbia/Funky Town Grooves)

Black Tie: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Forever: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

FTG continues its series of reissues from The Manhattans’ catalogue with expanded editions of the legendary vocal group’s 1981 and 1983 albums of silky R&B!

Trip Shakespeare, Applehead Man / Are You Shakespearienced? (Omnivore)

Applehead CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Applehead Translucent Red Vinyl & Download Card: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Are You... CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Are You… Translucent Green Vinyl & Download Card: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Omnivore remasters and expands the first two albums from Minnesota band Trip Shakespeare – the training ground for John Munson and Dan Wilson, two members who would later go on to form Semisonic!

Foreigner, The Best of Foreigner 4 and More (Sony) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Just two months ago, on October 3 and 4, 2014, Foreigner took the stage at Atlantic City’s Borgata.  Now, highlights from those concerts are being released on one budget-priced ($5.99 as of this writing!) CD including the hit songs from 1981’s landmark Foreigner 4 and other favorites. Tracks include “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” “Cold as Ice,” “Hot Blooded” and “I Want to Know What Love Is.”

 

 

Stephen Sondheim, Into the Woods: 2-CD Deluxe Edition Soundtrack (Walt Disney Records) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Okay, this isn’t a reissue, but we’re looking forward to it all the same.  This week, Walt Disney Records releases the original soundtrack to the new film version of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s 1987 Broadway musical Into the Woods, featuring Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt and future Late Late Show host James Corden.  The 2-CD edition features all of Sondheim’s songs plus the film’s orchestral underscore.

Original Broadway Cast Recording, The Last Ship (UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Sting recently stepped into his Broadway musical The Last Ship for a limited run through January 24; here’s a chance to experience his songs for the musical as performed by the original cast of Michael Esper, Jimmy Nail, Fred Applegate and others.  Sting himself is heard on a bonus track singing “What Say You, Meg?” from the show’s impressive score.

Release Round-Up: Week of October 14

Diana Ross, Why Do Fools Fall in Love / Silk Electric / Ross / Swept Away / Eaten Alive / Red Hot Rhythm and Blues (Expanded Editions) (Funky Town Grooves)

Why Do Fools Fall in Love: Expanded Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
Silk Electric: Expanded Edition  (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
Ross: Expanded Edition  (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
Swept Away: Deluxe Edition  (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
Eaten Alive: Deluxe Edition  (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
Red Hot Rhythm and Blues: Deluxe Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Funky Town Grooves has remastered and expanded all six of Miss Ross’ RCA albums, first released between 1981 and 1987 during what turned out to be an extended hiatus from Motown.  These editions are loaded with rarities and remixes; see full details here!

Foreigner, The Complete Atlantic Studio Albums 1977-1991 (Atlantic/Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Rhino boxes up 7 CDs from Foreigner, including five U.S. multi-platinum smash LPs and hits like “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” “Feels Like the First Time,” “Cold as Ice,” “Hot Blooded,”  and “I Want to Know What Love Is.”

The Kinks, The Essential Kinks (RCA/Arista/Legacy)  (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Legacy kicks off its Kinks campaign (kampaign?) with this 48-song, 2-CD anthology featuring just about every Kinks hit except for the original studio recording of “Lola.”  (A live recording from 1979 takes its place.)  Every track has been newly (and splendidly) remastered by Vic Anesini, and the deluxe 28-page booklet include liner notes from David Bowie and critic Bob Mehr, plus appreciations from Iggy Pop, Howard Kaylan, Creed Bratton, Pete Townshend and many more!

Jaco Pastorius, Anthology: The Warner Bros. Years (Warner Bros./Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Rhino has 2 CDs and 22 tracks from jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius (1951-1987) drawing on the albums Word of Mouth, Invitation and The Birthday Concert plus tracks on which Jaco joined Mike Stern and Airto Moreira and one previously unreleased bonus track, “Donna Lee,” from 1981.  Bill Milkowski, author of Jaco: The Extraordinary And Tragic Life Of Jaco Pastorius, provides new liner notes.

Ozzy Osbourne, Memoirs of a Madman (Legacy)

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

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

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

This career spanning release features 17 of the Black Sabbath legend’s greatest hit singles compiled in one place for the first time in his career and will be available in a single CD, two-LP set and two-LP picture disc set configurations. The companion 2-DVD set includes classic music videos, plus previously unreleased and out-of-print live performances, and interviews from his solo career.

Sly Stone, I’m Just Like You: Sly’s Stone Flower 1969-1970 (Light in the Attic) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. )

During those creatively fertile days of the late 1960s, producer-arranger-composer Sly Stone couldn’t be confined to work with his band Sly and the Family Stone, so he formed the Stone Flower label and production company.  Stone Flower released a handful of tracks on its own label as well as on Scepter and Atlantic by the artists Little Sister, Joe Hicks, and 6ix; those are collected here along with ten previously unissued songs.  The sound on these tracks recalls the Family Stone’s groundbreaking There’s a Riot Goin’ On thanks to Sly’s use of the early Rhythm King drum machine/beat box.  Light in the Attic packages this fascinating and essential chapter of the Sly and the Family Stone story with a 52-page booklet including a new interview by Alec Palao with Stone himself.  Also available on vinyl.

Dean Martin, The Essential Dean Martin (Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. )

Legacy has 40 tracks on 2 CDs from the king of cool, Dean Martin.  Though this compilation concentrates on Dino’s Reprise years, five key Capitol cuts are included as well as one late-period single at Warner Bros. Records.  You’ll hear “Volare,” “That’s Amore,” “Sway,” “Everybody Loves Somebody,” “Memories Are Made of This,” “Houston,” “I Will” and many more on this set which has been remastered by Vic Anesini and annotated by James Ritz.

Meat Loaf, ICON (UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Universal’s budget-priced ICON series is back with a new entry for Meat Loaf.  This odd volume features six of the eleven tracks from 1993’s smash hit comeback Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell and four songs from its follow-up, 1995’s Welcome to the Neighborhood.  “Hot Patootie (Bless My Soul)” from Rocky Horror rounds out the 11-song compilation.

White Christmas: Diamond Edition Blu-ray with CD (Paramount) (Amazon U.S.)

This new Blu-ray edition of the 1956 musical film has, among its bonus features, a 12-song CD featuring Crosby, Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney, with guest appearances by Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee and Judy Garland. Eight of the songs on this exclusive bonus CD are previously unreleased.

Miles Davis, Bitches Brew (Hybrid SACD) (Mobile Fidelity) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The great trumpeter’s revolutionary 1970 jazz-rock double album arrives on stereo hybrid SACD as part of Mobile Fidelity’s series of Davis reissues.

Madeleine Peyroux, Keep Me In Your Heart For A While: The Best Of Madeleine Peyroux (Rounder) (Amazon U.S.)

Here’s the very first compilation release in the singer-songwriter’s 18-year career, including tracks from the Rounder, Atlantic and Decca/Emarcy catalogues. Keep Me in Your Heart will include one previously unreleased song, the Warren Zevon title track which appeared in 2011’s independent film Union Square. Liner notes by former Atlantic Records A&R man Yves Beauvais, complete the package of the chanteuse’s greatest performances.  A 2-CD edition is also available from Amazon U.K. with 27 tracks vs. the domestic version’s 15.

Billy Strayhorn, Out of the Shadows (Storyville) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

This 7-CD/1-DVD box set from venerable label Storyville turns the spotlight on a man who preferred to remain in the shadow of his close friend, collaborator and benefactor, Duke Ellington.  62 of Strayhorn’s compositions are presented here, both with and without Duke’s company, featuring such personnel as Art Tatum, Tommy Flanagan, Johnny Hodges, Clark Terry and Ben Webster plus Strayhorn and Ellington.  Tracks were recorded between 1939 and 2007; see here for more details!

Swing Out Sister, The Essential Swing Out Sister (Salvo) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. )

This set has 17 tracks from the Manchester band formed in 1985 including their breakout hit “Breakout” and more originals and covers like “La La Means I Love You,” “Am I the Same Girl” and “The Windmills of Your Mind.”  This survey of the sophisti-pop duo’s career concludes with a previously unreleased “Big Band” version of “Forever Blue,” a track arranged in its original version by Jimmy Webb.

Bob Seger, Ride Out (Capitol) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. )

The Detroit rocker returns with his first studio album since 2006 and seventeenth overall.  It’s available in a variety of formats including deluxe edition CD, vinyl and a Target exclusive with two bonus tracks.

 

Jerry Goldsmith, Our Man Flint/In Like Flint: Original Motion Picture Scores (Intrada)

Intrada brings two of Jerry Goldsmith’s grooviest scores to CD for the very first time, remastered from the recently discovered original 20th Century Fox stereo album session masters! Differing from the Varese Sarabande release of soundtrack highlights from these spy capers, this single disc offers both classic original albums exactly as Goldsmith recorded them.  For more background, see Joe’s review of Our Man Flint at The Digital Bits!

Michel Legrand, Summer of ’42/The Picasso Summer: Original Motion Picture Scores (Intrada)

Here’s the world premiere expanded release of two “summer” Michel Legrand soundtracks including his Oscar-winning score for Summer Of ’42 (1971).  Legrand’s complete score runs just 17 minutes, so to fill the original Warner Bros. soundtrack album, 30 minutes of his score for the 1969 film The Picasso Summer was included.   Intrada premieres the entire 55-minute Picasso score on the second disc of this 2-CD set, while the original album assembly of his “Picasso Suite” also plays intact on CD 1, following Summer Of ’42.

Make It Fast, Make It Urgent: Foreigner Box Up Atlantic Albums

You’ve been waiting for a box like this.

On October 14, Rhino will unveil the 7-CD collection from Foreigner, The Complete Atlantic Studio Albums 1977-1991.  As the classic rock band’s discography has amounted to just three albums since its departure from Atlantic in 1991, this box brings together Foreigner’s prime material including five U.S. multi-platinum smash LPs and hits like “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” “Feels Like the First Time,” “Cold as Ice,” “Hot Blooded,”  and “I Want to Know What Love Is.”

Foreigner, founded by vocalist Lou Gramm, guitarist Mick Jones, drummer Dennis Elliott, bassist Ed Gagliardi and multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, was a hot property from the time of its very first release.  1977’s 5x platinum Foreigner reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and yielded the hit singles “Feels Like the First Time,” “Cold as Ice” and “Long, Long Way From Home.”  The album began an unabated string of hits for the British/American band, straight through 1987’s Inside Information.    By the time of Foreigner’s Atlantic swansong Unusual Heat (1991, and the last CD in this box set), only Jones and Elliott remained from the original line-up.  Rick Wills had replaced Gagliardi as of the group’s third album, 1979’s Head Games, while Unusual Heat marked the debut of Wild Horses singer Johnny Edwards, replacing Lou Gramm.  (Gramm returned to the fold in 1992, and was with Foreigner for its 1994 Arista debut, Mr. Moonlight.)

Rhino expanded Foreigner’s first four albums in 2002, fleshing out each release with demos, live tracks and outtakes.  Happily, this box will replicate the contents of those four releases, adding a total of nine bonus tracks to the original album sequences.   Typical of this program of complete albums from Rhino, it doesn’t appear that The Complete Atlantic Studio Albums 1977-1991 will include a booklet with any liner notes or additional credits beyond those which appeared on the original LP sleeves.  All albums will be presented in replica mini-LP jackets and retain the most recent prior masterings.

After the jump, we have more information including the complete track listing with discography!

Release Round-Up: Week of July 2

CHIC and Various Artists, Nile Rodgers Presents The CHIC Organization: Up All Night – The Greatest Hits (Rhino U.K.)

This new double-disc compilation, featuring hits from CHIC, Sister Sledge, Debbie Harry and more, might be the best Nile Rodgers-centric compilation in its price range. (Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S.)

Blood Sweat & Tears, Rare, Rarer & Rarest / Joe Farrell Quartet, Joe Farrell Quartet / Herbie Hancock, Treasure Chest / Sha Na Na, The Night is Still Young (Wounded Bird)

A new batch from Wounded Bird includes a compilation of rarities from Blood, Sweat & Tears (featuring, among other things, their soundtrack to The Owl and The Pussycat) and a disc featuring all three of Herbie Hancock’s albums for Warner Bros., before joining Columbia in the ’70s.

Blood, Sweat & Tears: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Joe Farrell Quartet: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Herbie Hancock: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Sha Na Na: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

The Association, The Association: Deluxe Expanded Edition (Now Sounds)

The Association’s 1969 album is newly expanded with 10 bonus cuts, including mono mixes and non-LP singles! (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The Allman Brothers Band, Eat a Peach / Bob Dylan, Blonde on Blonde / Foreigner, 4 /Billy Joel, An Innocent Man (SACDs) (Mobile Fidelity)

The latest hybrid SACDs from MoFi.

The Allman Brothers Band: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Bob Dylan: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Foreigner: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Billy Joel: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Hackamore Brick, One Kiss Leads to Another (CD/LP) / Russ Giguere, Hexagram 16 / The Browns, Complete Pop & Country Hits / Ahmed Abdul Malik, Spellbound / George Braith, Musart / Stan Hunter & Sonny Fortune, Trip on the Strip / Grateful Dead, Dick’s Picks Vol. 22 – Kings Beach Bowl, Kings Beach Lake Tahoe, CA 2/23-2/24/68 / Fire on the Mountain: Reggae Celebrates the Grateful Dead Vols. 1 & 2 (Real Gone Music)

Among the highlights of Real Gone’s release slate this week is the expanded reissue of the long-lost One Kiss Leads to Another by cult Brooklyn band Hackamore Brick.

Various Artists, Los Nuggetz: 1960s Punk, Pop, Psychedelic from Latin America (RockBeat)

America and Europe weren’t the only happening scenes in the ’60s, as this new box showcases.

Release Round-Up: Week of May 21

The Beach Boys, Live: The 50th Anniversary Tour (Capitol)

Brian, Mike, Al, Bruce and David may not be touring again anytime soon, but at least we now have two discs of live memories to play. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Townes Van Zandt, The Late Great Townes Van Zandt / High, Low and In Between (Omnivore)

You heard the demos, now rediscover these great country albums, on CD or vinyl!

Late Great CD (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.), LP (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
High, Low CD (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.), LP (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Various Artists, FM: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Culture Factory USA)

The hit-filled soundtrack, featuring the Steely Dan single of the same name, is the latest to get the Culture Factory LP replica treatment. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, Diana Ross, Donna Summer, Jeff Buckley, Chet Atkins et al., Playlist: The Very Best of (Legacy)

A dozen or so new entries in the Playlist series are coming your way this week. Watch this space tomorrow for a full breakdown on them all!

Eagles, Deep Purple, Yes! Out-Of-Print DVD-Audios Coming To SACD

It wasn’t so long ago that high-resolution audio formats like SACD and DVD-Audio were shelved alongside CDs at major retailers such as Best Buy, Barnes and Noble and Borders. Yet with today’s retail landscape perhaps irrevocably altered (and still evolving and shrinking, thanks to the likely-imminent liquidation of Borders), those formats have been consigned to niche shoppers. For those who discovered high-rez and 5.1 audio late, the best source for many releases has been eBay, often at outrageously steep prices. Well, slight relief may be forthcoming. The Japanese SACD market has been booming of late, with Universal having issued a number of titles as stereo SACDs, including some new to the format. Now, Warner Japan is one-upping its rival label with the August release of five 5.1 surround SACDs drawn from the long-dormant Warner Bros./Rhino DVD-Audio line and six further additions in September. Unlike the Universal titles, these will be hybrid multichannel SACDs, with the stereo layer playable on all CD players. And while the prices of Japanese SACDs are indeed high, they’re in most cases lower than what the original DVD-Audio titles are currently commanding on the secondhand market.

The five titles launching the series are all bona fide classics of popular music: Eagles’ Hotel California; Deep Purple’s Machine Head; Yes’ Fragile; Chicago’s Chicago V and Linda Ronstadt’s What’s New. These will be followed in September by another round of five acclaimed titles: Donald Fagen’s The Nightfly, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, The Doobie Brothers’ The Captain and Me, Foreigner’s 4 and The Doors’ self-titled debut album. The majority of these titles were originally mixed for surround and released by Rhino on DVD-Audio between 2001 and 2003. The Nightfly was reissued in 2004 as a short-lived experiment in the DualDisc format and again as an “MVI” disc in the 2007 Nightfly Trilogy box set (that last one lacking Advanced Resolution), while the surround mix of The Doors arrived in 2006 as part of Rhino’s Perception box.

For collectors, these could be a great boon. CDJapan (one of the many trusted sites from which to purchase Japanese imports) offers the titles at roughly $38 USD a pop.  At the time of this writing, the least-expensive Amazon Marketplace prices for the original DVD-As (most, used) are much higher: $124.95 for Hotel California, $69.69 for Machine Head, $50.00 for Fragile, and $69.93 for Chicago V. What’s New is the most affordable title of the first batch in the DVD-A format, available now for $25.50. Of the second batch, Foreigner 4 is another high-priced title at $124.97; the others hover around the $50.00 mark, and The Doors is making its stand-alone surround debut.

Three of these titles have been mixed into surround by the dean of the format, Elliot Scheiner. His 5.1 mixes are notable for generous (but not gimmicky!) use of all channels for a truly immersive, atmospheric listening experience. The Scheiner titles included in the first two waves are Hotel California, The Nightfly, and The Captain and Me.  Any of those three would make a terrific introduction to surround music and, in fact, The Nightfly is this author’s reference-quality disc of choice.

Hit the jump for the complete track listings to these titles! We have included the bonus tracks present on the original DVD-Audio releases, as it is thought they will be included on the new SACDs.

Music Club Deluxe U.K. Preps Double-Disc Compilations for Redding, Cross, Foreigner

Music Club Deluxe, part of the U.K.’s Demon Music Group, has prepped a trio of new budget-minded, double-disc sets for a few legendary artists.

While there’s nothing new on the forthcoming compilations by dearly departed soul legend Otis Redding, soft-rock maestro Christopher Cross and platinum-selling hard rock band Foreigner (and only one general rarity among any of the three – a non-LP B-side closing out the Foreigner set), their two-disc running times and decent price tag might be of interest to first-time fans in British record shops.

Each set hits England on June 20 and a week later as U.S. imports. Hit the jump for order links and discographical information!