Release Round-Up: Week of June 3

Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin I / Led Zeppelin II / Led Zeppelin III: Deluxe Editions (Swan Song/Atlantic)

Anyone ever heard these albums? Interesting stuff. I don’t know about you, but I’d predict big things for these guys.

Led Zeppelin
1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
1LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2CD/3LP Super Deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Led Zeppelin II
1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
1LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2CD/2LP Super Deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Led Zeppelin III
1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
1LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2CD/2LP Super Deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Soundgarden, Superunknown: 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (A&M/UMe)

This grunge-pop classic comes back with a vengeance as a bonus-filled box set featuring demos, outtakes, rare tracks and a surround mix on Blu-ray.

1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
4CD/1BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Morrissey, Vauxhall and I: 20th Anniversary Definitive Master (Parlophone/Rhino)

It would appear that Moz and I share the same opinion of this record: so good, the track list doesn’t need to be played with. Add an unreleased live show from 1995 on a bonus CD, and this is a heck of a set for the discerning fan.

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

The 5th Dimension, Earthbound/ Vikki Carr,  Love Again – The Lost Columbia Masters / Vikki Carr, The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face) (Expanded Edition) / Robert Bearns & Ron Dexter, The Best of the Golden Voyage / The Sweet Inspirations, The Complete Atlantic Singles Plus / Faith Hope & Charity, Faith Hope & Charity (Expanded Edition) /Fanny, Charity Ball (Expanded Edition) / Linda Martell, Color Me Country / The Grateful Dead, Dick’s Picks Vol. 18 – Dane County Coliseum, Madison, WI 2/3/78 Uni-Dome, University of N. Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 2/5/78 (Real Gone Music)

Another great Real Gone slate features two titles with liner notes from our own Joe Marchese – The 5th Dimension’s Earthbound and Vikki Carr’s The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face)!

The 5th Dimension: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Vikki Carr/Love Again: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Vikki Carr/The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Robert Bearns & Ron Dexter: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
The Sweet Inspirations: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Faith Hope & Charity: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Fanny: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Linda Martell: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Grateful Dead: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Nat “King” Cole, The Extraordinary Nat “King” Cole (Capitol)

This new compilation – available as a two-disc deluxe edition with a host of rare and newly-discovered tracks – does a pretty darn good job of living up to its name.

Standard 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Deluxe 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Blu-ray Audio: Analogue Productions

Elvis Presley, Bossa Nova Baby: The Ultimate Elvis Party Album (RCA/Legacy)

A new Elvis compilation for your summer party features some of the usual hits plus a few tracks from the Cirque du Soleil Viva Elvis show to rediscover. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Carol Williams & The Salsoul Orchestra, ‘Lectric Lady: Expanded Edition (Big Break)

An expanded version of the debut album by Carol Williams, the first female solo act signed to the Salsoul label! (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Hold On to Your Friends: Morrissey’s “Vauxhall and I” to Be Expanded

On June 3, Morrissey is picking up where he left off.  Parlophone Records will follow the February CD/DVD reissue of 1992’s Your Arsenal with the next album in his considerable catalogue, 1994’s Vauxhall and I.  Like Your Arsenal, the remastered CD of Vauxhall will be packaged with a previously unreleased live concert performance, this time also on CD.

Vauxhall and I was a very different animal than its predecessor.  Since the release of Arsenal, the artist had suffered the loss of that album’s producer, Mick Ronson.  He paired with producer Steve Lillywhite (U2, Big Country) for Vauxhall.  Lillywhite crafted a spare, often acoustic aesthetic to match the dark, somber and introspective songs written by Morrissey with his collaborators Alain Whyte and Boz Boorer.  Whyte and Boorer both contributed guitar to the LP and were joined by Jonny Bridgwood on bass and Woodie Taylor on drums.  The result was a stripped-down, elegiac, less heavily guitar-oriented LP.

Parlophone’s press release describes it as follows: “Vauxhall and I signaled an acceptance of ageing amidst the tyranny of time, casting off the shackles of the past, with a will to embrace the future. Along the way the album visits a cast of characters, including, references to Brighton Rock – gorgeous, exhilarating album opener ‘Now My Heart Is Full’ – those whom disregard all social conventions and ‘take life at five times the average speed’ (‘Spring-Heeled Jim’) and rejected romantics (‘Billy Budd’ – also a Herman Melville character). It also lays waste to ignorant and selfish tourist whom are ‘jaded by stagnation’ (‘The Lazy Sunbathers’), the unthinking and unquestioning (‘Why Don’t You Find Out For Yourself’ – later covered by The Killers), and tackles the inevitable loss of innocence (‘Used To Be A Sweet Boy’), amongst other inimitable themes.”

Despite the personal nature of the material, however, the artist scored an unexpected hit.  Lead single “The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get” became his only song – either solo or with The Smiths – to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S., where it reached No. 46.  It also reached No. 1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. In his native United Kingdom, the track went all the way to No. 8, and was the artist’s only Top 10 of the decade.    The album itself was also a success.  In the U.S., it made the Top 20 of the Billboard 200; in the U.K., it became Morrissey’s second No. 1 album after his 1988 solo debut Viva Hate.

After the jump, we have more on Vauxhall and I including pre-order links and the full track listing of both CDs!

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.

Morrissey Reloads “Arsenal” for February Reissue

Maybe it’s his catalogue in the hands of a new owner, with Parlophone now being managed by Rhino/Warner Music Group. Maybe it’s the rushing wave of acidic nostalgia that came with publishing his hit Autobiography. Or maybe it’s just been too long since the last reissue. Whatever the reason, Morrissey’s 1992 album Your Arsenal is getting remastered and expanded for a February release.

Featuring a new band anchored by guitarists Boz Boorer and Alain Whyte – still Moz’s chief collaborators to this day – and a rockabilly-inspired production by the late Mick Ronson, Your Arsenal was the first of many Morrissey albums hailed as a return to form for the ex-Smiths frontman. While it was not without its share of controversy (the war on Morrissey waged by NME had perhaps hit a fever pitch at this time, thanks to their perception of some of the album’s lyrics as glorifying of hooliganism and far-right English politics), it nonetheless did well on both sides of the Atlantic, with audiences embracing songs like “Glamorous Glue,” “We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful” and “Tomorrow” on the U.S. modern rock charts.

It wouldn’t be a Morrissey reissue without a little bit of original album tweaking, and while this is perhaps his most subtlest reconfiguration yet, it is indeed a reconfiguration: “Tomorrow” is featured in its U.S. single mix version. But this “Definitive Master” edition will include perhaps more bonus material than ever before seen or heard on a Moz re-release: a DVD featuring a complete show from the previous year’s Kill Uncle tour, recorded at California’s Shoreline Amphitheater on Halloween 1991. This set not only featured the band that would record Your Arsenal, but includes two new tracks that would be recorded at that time: “We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful” and non-LP B-side “Pashernate Love.”

Your Arsenal: Definitive Master is out on February 24 and 25 as a CD/DVD or vinyl remaster (the latter featuring a new gatefold sleeve). Hit the jump for the full specs and pre-order links!

Best Laid “Van”s: Do Artists’ Opinions on Their Catalogue Titles Influence Your Purchases?

Not long after Joe had posted about Rhino’s upcoming expansion of Van Morrison’s Moondance, I vocalized my pleasant surprise at the news. Morrison’s history with reissues has been spotty at best; a late-2000s reissue campaign was quickly halted and almost instantly commanded top dollar on the secondary market.

The next day, however, Morrison issued a statement denouncing the project, taking particular issue with the wording of the press release suggesting he was involved. “It is important that people realise that this is factually incorrect,” the statement read in part. “I did not endorse this, it is unauthorised and it has happened behind my back.”

This is hardly the first time an artist has openly criticized their own catalogue works. Prince, who was allegedly paid to stay out of the compilation and release of The Hits/The B-Sides in 1993, insisted on a bevy of changes to 2006’s Ultimate Prince and then planned a new album to curtail its release. Elvis Costello, whose catalogue has been released three times as expanded CDs on three different labels, suggested that current rights owners Hip-O/UMe had “gotten off on the wrong foot” with a series of live reissues, “doing too many records from the same time period and the same repertoire.” And Morrissey, even as he has gotten involved in radically revisiting his own catalogue, has had choice words for previous box set efforts.

Generally, though, such instances are rare. When it comes to the major labels, most will not (and in some cases cannot) embark on a vault project for a beloved artist without the consent (if not participation) of the artist in question. This isn’t for fear of bad publicity, but the more obvious legal entanglements.

The question we pose for you today, in light of Van Morrison’s opinions, is this: will his – or anyone’s – opinion of this apparently “unauthorised” catalogue activity stop you from opening your wallets? Have a vote in our poll and let us know what you think!

Sandie Shaw Reissues Are At Your Feet from Salvo (UPDATED 6/3)

UPDATE (6/3): Available today, Salvo has expanded and reissued three more Sandie Shaw LPs. They are 1968’s The Sandie Shaw Supplement, featuring covers of The Rolling Stones (“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”) and Simon & Garfunkel (“Scarborough Fair”); the self-produced cult hit Reviewing the Situation (1969) and 1988’s Hello Angel, her first LP for Rough Trade and featuring a heap of single-only material with labelmates and fans The Smiths.

ORIGINAL POST (4/8/2013): British pop chanteuse Sandie Shaw is at the center of a new reissue campaign in 2013 from U.K. label Salvo Records, with three expanded albums and one new compilation hitting the shops overseas today.

Born Sandra Ann Goodrich in Dagenham, Essex, Shaw was one of U.K. pop’s most notable female performers, thanks to her idiosyncratic performances (she was often seen on Top of the Pops and other British pop shows performing to her singles while barefoot) and reputation as an interpreter of other peoples’ songs. Between 1964 and 1969, Shaw had eight U.K. Top 10 hits for the Pye label, including No. 1 singles “(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me” (the first hit interpretation of the Burt Bacharach-Hal David classic, before Naked Eyes made it a U.S. hit in the ’80s), “Long Live Love” and “Puppet on a String” – the latter of which, although not a favorite of the performer’s, earned her wider acclaim when her performance won the Eurovision Song Contest. It was the first time a British act took home the prize.

Shaw briefly retired from the industry in the 1970s, but was lured out again in the 1980s by a new generation of performers that counted themselves fans. B.E.F., the electronic music duo of Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh (after their departure from the Human League but before recruiting Glenn Gregory to form Heaven 17), backed her up on a version of another Bacharach-David gem, “Anyone Who Had a Heart.” Chrissie Hynde invited her to perform her biggest U.S. hit “Girl Don’t Come” with The Pretenders. And so taken were the duo of Morrissey and Johnny Marr by Shaw that they got her signed to Rough Trade Records alongside their band, The Smiths, and joined her on several of her first singles for the label – all covers of the band’s songs. (Morrissey and producer Stephen Street would pen “Please Help the Cause Against Loneliness” for Shaw’s 1988 album Hello Angel; his own version was released on the expanded edtion of the Bona Drag compilation in 2010.)

Shaw still records and tours today; for her 60th birthday, she re-recorded “Puppet on a String” to her liking with Howard Jones and producer Andy Gray. And her (self-owned) catalogue will come to Salvo this year, with one batch including a new compilation (Long Live Love: The Very Best of Sandie Shaw) and expanded editions of her first three albums, appended with dozens of non-LP single tracks.

After the jump, check out full track details and pre-order links for all of Salvo’s expanded titles!

Release Round-Up: Week of April 9

Brainstorm / S.O.S. Band / Cherrelle / Alexander O’Neal, “Tabu Reborn” Expanded CD Editions (Wave 1) (Tabu/Edsel)

After a fresh batch of vinyl last week, the Tabu Records reissue campaign (going strong through next year) kicks off with expanded editions of Brainstorm’s Stormin’, The S.O.S. Band’s III, Cherrelle’s Fragile and Alexander O’Neal’s self-titled debut. All feature bonus tracks (Alexander O’Neal has a bonus disc) and fresh deluxe packaging.

Stormin‘: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
III: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Fragile: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Alexander O’Neal: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Morrissey, Kill Uncle: Expanded Edition / The Last of the Famous International Playboys (Single) (EMI)

Moz’s latest remastered, reconfigured album is his 1991 sophomore effort (featuring a revised track list with two B-sides and an unreleased alternate version of “There’s a Place in Hell for Me and My Friends”), and it will be promoted with new versions of his hit 1989 single with unreleased songs from a BBC session serving as the B-sides.

Album (CD): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Album (LP): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Single (CD): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Sandie Shaw, Sandie / Me / Love Me, Please Love Me: Expanded Editions / Long Live Love: The Very Best of Sandie Shaw (Salvo)

The irrepressible Sandie Shaw’s first three albums are remastered and expanded with many single sides, and a new career-spanning compilation puts it into perspective for the new fan.

Sandie: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Me: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Love Me: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Long Live Love: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Julio Iglesias, 1: Greatest Hits (Columbia/Legacy/Sony Music Latin)

Celebrate the Spanish crooner with this two-disc set of classic and newly-recorded versions of his greatest hits, also available as a deluxe set with a remastered 1990 concert on DVD.

Standard: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Paul Anka, Duets (Legacy)

The acclaimed singer-songwriter has a new compilation of old and new duets with legends from Michael Jackson to Willie Nelson and almost everyone in between! (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Electronic, Electronic: Special Edition (EMI)

A double-disc expansion of this collaborative effort between New Order’s Bernard Sumner and former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, with a bonus disc of mostly unrelated extras. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Bravo Giovanni and Lady in the Dark: Cast Recordings (Masterworks Broadway)

Two musical scores from the Masterworks vault make their way to digital retailers, with the latter score featuring six bonus tracks from the show’s star, Danny Kaye.

Such Things I Do to Make Myself More Attractive to You: Morrissey Re-Tools “Kill Uncle” for Reissue (UPDATED 3/6)

UPDATE (3/6): Morrissey has released the artwork for these new titles. The single cover for “The Last of the Famous International Playboys” was slated to feature an unreleased pic of Moz and David Bowie until the latter denied use of the image. Instead, the singer has cheekily used a picture of himself with pop Rick Astley backstage at Top of the Pops in 1988. No word as to whether or not the single will be intentionally mis-pressed to feature “Never Gonna Give You Up.”

ORIGINAL POST (2/5/2013): Dear hero imprisoned: iconoclastic crooner Morrissey is continuing his trend of tweaked catalogue projects with a forthcoming new version of sophomore album Kill Uncle and a reissue of non-LP single “The Last of the Famous International Playboys.”

Released in 1991, two years after the superb (and also recently re-imagined) Bona Drag compilation, Kill Uncle marked an intriguing transition away from his work with former Smiths producer Stephen Street. Producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, known for their work with Madness and Elvis Costello & The Attractions, helmed the album, featuring musical contributions by guitarist Mark E. Nevin, then of the recently-split Fairground Attraction, plus ex-Madness bassist Mark Bedford and session drummer Andrew Paresi. (Nevin co-wrote all but two of the album’s songs with Morrissey.)

Featuring a pair of unconventional-sounding singles, “Our Frank” and “Sing Your Life” (neither of which charted anywhere past the lower half of the British Top 40), Kill Uncle marked an unusual departure for the singer, less heavy on rock riffs and with lots of unconventional production techniques. Moz treaded into more muscular rock territory with the following year’s Your Arsenal, produced by iconic guitarist Mick Ronson and featuring the first work with longtime collaborators Alain Whyte and Boz Boorer.

Parlophone’s new edition of Kill Uncle features a tweaked track list – adding two non-LP B-sides not recorded during the album sessions (“Pashernate Love” and “East West,” a Herman’s Hermits cover), and replacing album-closing torch song “There’s a Place in Hell for Me and My Friends” with an unreleased “live-in-studio” version that now serves as the album’s penultimate track. Bill Inglot at D2 Mastering has remastered the album, which will be available on both CD and vinyl and feature new, as-yet unreleased gatefold cover art and rare photos.

The same day of Kill Uncle‘s re-release, April 8, Moz reissues one of his most enduring singles – and specs on that are after the jump!

Release Round-Up: Week of April 3

Johnny Cash, Bootleg IV: The Soul of Truth (Columbia/Legacy)

Three complete gospel albums – one of which was never released – and a heap of unreleased material make this one to look out for if you like The Man in Black at his sacred best.

Morrissey, Viva Hate: Deluxe Edition (Liberty/EMI)

If you can call it that, an expanded edition of Moz’s debut album, remastered with one bonus track, one edited track and one excised track.

Elvis Costello & The Imposters, The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook!!! (Hip-O/UMe)

The standalone CD and DVD contents of that box set that everyone rightfully hated, including Costello himself.

Doris Day, With a Smile and a Song (Turner Classic Movies/Sony Masterworks)

Just in time for the legend’s birthday! A two-disc set of highlights personally selected by Day, devoted equally to her songs in film and on standalone albums.

fIREHOSE, “lowFLOWs”: The Columbia Anthology 1991-1993 (Columbia/Legacy)

Mike Watt’s late ’80s/early ’90s punk trio’s last two albums, with a heap of B-sides and rarities, in honor of fIREHOSE’s reunion tour.

The Human League, Dare: Deluxe Edition (Virgin/EMI)

Don’t you want this expanded edition of the British synthpop band’s breakthrough album?

The Smiths, The Smiths / Hatful of Hollow / Meat is Murder / The Queen is Dead / The World Won’t Listen / Louder Than Bombs / Strangeways, Here We Come / “Rank” (Sire/Rhino)

The remasters released in that mega box set last year are now available on their own.

Viva Morrissey! U.K. Singer’s First Album and Single Gets Reissued

Inifintely brilliant, often fickle rock icon Morrissey is reissuing one of his most beloved albums this spring – but it’s another one of those situations where fans are going to want to hold on to their old copies, too.

Semi-official fansite True to You posted a news release today for a reissue of Viva Hate, Morrissey’s debut solo album from 1988. Released just six months after the breakup of The Smiths and featuring longtime Smiths engineer/producer Stephen Street, Viva Hate was a always-verbose, often-cutting burst of creativity from the singer, featuring two of his greatest solo singles, the U.K. Top 10 hits “Suedehead” and “Everyday is Like Sunday.”

The new release, to be available on CD and vinyl and remastered personally by Street, will feature only one bonus track, an outtake from the Viva Hate sessions called “Treat Me Like a Human Being” which is actually replacing “The Ordinary Boys” on the standard track list. It was first released last year as a B-side to 1991 single “Glamorous Glue,” itself reissued to promote a new compilation of Moz’s. (This is not the first time Viva Hate has been reissued; in 1997, EMI issued an expanded edition with new artwork for the label’s centennial.)

In addition, EMI will release a 10″ vinyl EP for Record Store Day, featuring a remix of “Suedehead” by Ron and Russell Mael, better known as Sparks (Slicing Up Eyeballs suggests this may be an edit of a previously-released remix), as well as two unreleased live tracks from 1995.

The new Viva Hate, which also features new liner notes by Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, will be released March 26. Hit the jump for full details.