Release Round-Up: Week of March 25

Johnny Cash, Out Among the Stars (Columbia/Legacy)

This new album of newly-discovered mid-’80s outtakes is perhaps better than what was released at the time. Gorgeous and, at times, haunting, the way Johnny Cash albums should be.

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

Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: 40th Anniversary Edition (Mercury/Rocket/UMe)

Elton’s classic double album comes back to glorious life with several lavish editions, featuring new covers of songs from the set, B-sides, live material and more.

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

Merle Haggard, Okie from Muskogee: 45th Anniversary Special Edition (Capitol Nashville)

Haggard and The Stranger’s classic 1969 live album is remastered and paired with the next year’s follow-up The Fightin’ Side of Me, in its first-ever CD release. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Miles Davis, Miles at the Fillmore – Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3 (Columbia/Legacy)

Four discs of mostly-unheard jazz experimentation from one of Miles’ most challenging and enjoyable periods. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Rod Stewart, Live 1976-1998: Tonight’s the Night (Warner Bros./Rhino)

This long-rumored box, featuring 58 unheard recordings, now offers a fitting chronicle of Rod in concert. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

My Chemical Romance, May Death Never Stop You: The Greatest Hits 2001-2013 (Reprise)

New Jersey’s own late lamented My Chem, one of the best alt-rock bands of the past decade, release a career-spanning compilation with one unreleased song and several demos.

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

Eric Carmen, The Essential Eric Carmen (Arista/Legacy)

A lovingly-assembled two-disc compilation honoring the talents of the singer/songwriter, from The Raspberries to today. Includes the gorgeous new track “Brand New Year.” (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The Blue Nile, Peace At Last: Deluxe Edition (Virgin/UMC)

A surprise expansion of the Glasgow pop group’s 1996 album. (Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S.)

Pantera, Far Beyond Driven: 20th Anniversary Edition (EastWest/Rhino)

The band’s hit 1994 album paired with a live bootleg disc of the band’s Monsters of Rock Festival 1994 performance. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Aztec Camera, High Land Hard Rain: Deluxe 30th Anniversary Edition (Domino)

The Scottish rock band’s first album is expanded to just about completion, with single sides and unreleased tracks on a bonus disc.

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

Toto, Toto/ Hydra / Turn Back (Rock Candy)

Toto’s perfectly crafted AOR-pop blend is represented by their first three albums, newly remastered for CD by Rock Candy.

Toto: Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S.
Hydra: Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S.
Turn Back: Amazon U.K. / Amazon U.S.

Various Artists, A MusiCares Tribute to Bruce Springsteen (Columbia)

Last year’s multi-artist live tribute concert in honor of The Boss, capped with a mini-set by Springsteen and The E Street Band.

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

Micky Dolenz, Micky Dolenz Puts You to Sleep / Broadway Micky (Friday Music)

Two of Micky’s children’s albums for Kid Rhino from 1991 and 1994 reappear in print on one disc. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Blue Magic, Message from the Magic (FunkyTownGrooves)

The Philadelphia soul band’s fifth album from 1977 is remastered and released for the first time on CD. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Ronnie Lane and Slim Chance, Ooh La La: An Island Harvest (Mercury)

A hits-and-rarities compilation from the late Small Faces/Faces bassist’s mid-’70s group. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Joni Mitchell, Woman of Heart and Mind + Painting with Words and Music / Lou Reed, Classic Albums: Transformer + Live at Montreux 2000 (Eagle Rock)

Eagle Rock brings four vintage programs back to video with these two Blu-ray releases, both part of the label’s new “SD Blu-ray” line.  As indicated, these programs are in upscaled standard definition video but have been upgraded to “uncompressed stereo and DTS-HD high resolution surround sound.”

Joni: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Lou: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Welcome (Back) to The Black Parade: My Chemical Romance Announce Greatest Hits Album

Alt-rock darlings My Chemical Romance may have broken up in a surprise move last spring, but the band’s getting a fitting postscript with a new compilation to be released almost a year after the split.

May Death Never Stop You: The Greatest Hits 2001-2013 chronicles the entire discography of the New Jersey rockers. Led by singer-songwriter Gerard Way and anchored by his brother Mikey on bass, lead guitarist Ray Toro and rhythm guitarist Frank Iero (drummers Matt Pelissier and Bob Bryar were full-time percussionists from 2001-2004 and 2004-2010, respectively), MCR deftly combined the theatrical, verbose, heart-on-sleeve tendencies of the burgeoning “emo” punk scene (which the band were quick to distance themselves from) with some of the best soaring rock hooks of the past decade. Their sophomore album, 2004’s Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, was their first on a major label (Reprise Records), earning them platinum status and wider recognition. Their long-honed live act got them on the 2005 installment of the Warped Tour, where they blossomed further.

The rest of the band’s discography is amusingly esoteric: The Black Parade (2006) was a rock opera about a dying man’s final moments that saw the band have its biggest single (the Top 10 hit “Welcome to the Black Parade”) and stretch their creative muscles even further, touring in character and creating a mythology around the characters they wrote about. Follow-up Danger Days: The True Lives of The Fabulous Killjoys (2010) spun a similar conceptual arc, this time about a post-apocalyptic rebellion against corporate control. A collection of pre-Danger Days material, cut with producer Brendan O’Brien, was released as a singles set in 2012 and 2013 under the title Conventional Weapons, just before the band’s sudden split.

But May Death Never Stop You features a small amount of unheard material to keep fans happy. In addition to an unreleased song, “Fake Your Death,” the package will also include three of the first My Chem tracks, recorded in then-drummer Pelissier’s attic. (Final versions of all of these tracks surfaced on the band’s debut, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, in 2002.) An deluxe edition includes and 11-track DVD featuring the band’s complete music videos, with some unreleased content as well.

The set is available in multiple formats on March 25. Hit the jump for full specs!