Release Round-Up: Week of July 24

Booker T. & the MGs, Green Onions (Concord/Stax)

The 1962 album from the Stax legends is expanded with two previously issued, live bonus tracks from Los Angeles in 1965.  Read more here.

David Cassidy, Cherish / Rock Me Baby (7Ts/Cherry Red)

The Partridge Family star was on top of the world when he released his first two solo albums in 1972.  They arrive on American shores today as one two-fer!  Read more here.

The Guess Who, # 10 / Road Food (Iconoclassic)

Iconoclassic’s series of expanded and remastered reissues for the Canadian rockers continues with these 1973 and 1974 RCA albums.  Read more here.

Jerry Lee Lewis, The Killer Live! 1964-1970 (Hip-o Select/Mercury)

This limited edition 3-CD set compiles a bevy of live albums from the piano pounder: “Live” At The Star Club, Hamburg and The Greatest Live Show On Earth, both from 1964; 1966’s By Request: More Of The Greatest Live Show On Earth; and 1970’s Live At The International, Las Vegas.  A full 16 bonus tracks, including 10 previously unreleased tracks, round out the set.

Rodriguez, Searching for Sugar Man: Original Soundtrack (Legacy/Light in the Attic)

Never heard of Rodriguez?  Let Legacy and Light in the Attic spin this fascinating yarn about a musician who had no idea that his long-lost LP had acquired a new lease on life: as the soundtrack to a revolution taking place oceans away.  We’ll have more on the amazing story of Rodriguez later today!

Neil Sedaka, The Show Goes On: Live at the Royal Albert Hall (Eagle Rock)

A 2006 set of hit tunes from the “Calendar Girl” and “Laughter in the Rain” hitmaker arrives on CD for the first time.

Sugar, Copper Blue/Beaster (Deluxe Edition) / File Under Easy Listening (Deluxe Edition) (Merge)

American reissues arrive from Bob Mould’s Sugar in modified form from the recent Edsel deluxe editions.   All the DVD content from the Edsel sets has been dropped, along with the BBC session tracks that featured on Copper Blue. All the other copious bonus audio content will be retained, though, with Copper Blue and the Beaster EP brought together as one 3-CD package, and FU:EL as one 2-CD set.  Read more about these Merge Records releases here.

Various Artists, Country Funk 1969-1975 (Light in the Attic)

The anthology experts at Light in the Attic have put together this fun set exploring the crossroads of – yup! – country and funk.  Expect rarities from Bobby (then Bob) Darin, Mac Davis, Tony Joe White, Bobbie Gentry and more!

GZA, Liquid Swords: The Chess Box (Get On Down)

One of The Wu-Tang Clan’s great solo albums from the group’s initial wave, Liquid Swords is expanded with a bonus disc of instrumentals and a collectible chess set package. Read more here!

The Pharcyde, Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde: Expanded Edition (Delicious Vinyl)

The underrated alternative hip-hop group gets their debut album expanded 20 years later in a three-disc set featuring a deluxe box and two extra discs of B-sides, remixes and other bonus material.

Slipknot, Antennas to Hell (Roadrunner)

The nu-metal band’s first compilation, featuring either straight hits or a bonus live disc to match. Full story is here.

Jennifer Lopez, Dance Again: The Hits (Epic)

The former American Idol judge’s comeback comes full circle with this compilation of some of the hottest dance floor fillers of the past 15 years. Have a look here.

Checkmate: Get On Down to Expand GZA’s Acclaimed “Liquid Swords”

When it was first released in 1995, Liquid Swords, the acclaimed solo album from GZA of the immortal rap collective Wu-Tang Clan, was credited to its maker as “Genius/GZA.” Nearly two decades later, with a deluxe edition forthcoming from specialty label Get On Down, it’s hard to argue that.

Liquid Swords came at a time when the Wu-Tang Clan, who’d turned many a head with their patchwork lyrical style, idiosyncratic sense of humor and straightforward look at urban life. Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) was a critical and commercial smash, buoyed by singles “Method Man,” “C.R.E.A.M.” and “Protect Ya Neck.”

In a bold move, the Clan were able to negotiate with Geffen solo record deals for the group’s members. From there, the members of Wu-Tang Clan went from strength to strength, with Method Man’s Tical in 1994 and the seminal Return to the 36 Chambers (The Dirty Version) from Ol’ Dirty Bastard (recently reissued by Get On Down), Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and GZA’s Liquid Swords all dropping in 1995.

With a perfect blend of Wu-Tang guest slots, production from fellow band member RZA and what The Chicago Tribune called “one of the most substantial lyrical journeys in hip-hop history,” it’s easy to see why Liquid Swords stands head and shoulders above its hip-hop contemporaries, making it a killer choice for a deluxe reissue from Get On Down. In the label’s typical fashion, the content is not only expanded – adding a bonus disc featuring an instrumental version of the entire album – but lavish packaging featuring a full chess set.

Liquid Swords: The Chess Box is available July 24 and can be ordered here. Hit the jump to check out the track list!