Release Round-Up: Week of September 30

ABBA, Live at Wembley Arena (Polar/Universal) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. )

As part of ABBA’s 40th anniversary celebration, the band unveils this 2-CD, hardcover book-style set preserving its 1979 concerts at Wembley Arena.  The 25-track set features the first-ever release on record of Agnetha’s “I’m Still Alive” along with perennials like “Dancing Queen,” “Waterloo,” “Knowing Me, Knowing You” and “Fernando.”  Live at Wembley is also available on vinyl.

Oasis, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? (Big Brother)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Box Set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Britpop’s favorite battling brothers have their seminal 1995 record remastered and reissued in various editions including vinyl, a single-disc edition, a 3-CD set with 28 bonus tracks and a super deluxe CD/LP edition loaded with swag!

Genesis, R-Kive (Universal/Rhino)  (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Here’s the  3-CD set bringing together selections from 4o+-years of Genesis and its individual members – Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Steve Hackett.

Robin Gibb, 50 St. Catherine’s Drive (Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The final solo recordings of the late, great Robin Gibb are collected on this new 17-track collection, including a new version of his Bee Gees favorite “I Am the World.”

Stories: Stories Untold — The Very Best of Stories (Amazon U.S.  / Amazon U.K. ) / Barbara Lynn: The Complete Atlantic Recordings (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. ) / Ronnie Dyson: Phase 2/Brand New Day (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. ) / Faith Hope & Charity: Life Goes On (Expanded Edition) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. ) / Kerry Chater: Part Time Love (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. ) / Kerry Chater: Love on a Shoestring (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. ) / Grateful Dead: Dick’s Picks Vol. 15 — Raceway Park, Englishtown, NJ 9/3/77 (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. )

Real Gone Music has a whole batch of rare titles coming to CD – click on the cover collage above for full details!

Paul Parrish, The Forest of My Mind (Now Sounds) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Now Sounds excavates a lost psych-pop classic from Detroit, circa 1968, produced by Motown’s Clay McMurray!  This remastered edition features the original album and bonus singles, all in typically lavish Now Sounds fashion!  Watch for a full review coming soon.

Ray Charles, Genius Loves Company: 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Concord) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The eight-time Grammy-winning album from the late Ray Charles (featuring duets with Elton John, Diana Krall, James Taylor, Van Morrison, Johnny Mathis and others) is expanded with two bonus tracks on CD – “Mary Ann” with Poncho Sanchez and “Unchain My Heart” with Take 6 – plus a DVD of the hourlong “Making of Genius Loves Company.”

Gap Band, IV and V: Jammin’ / Yarbrough and Peoples, Heartbeats: Expanded Editions (Big Break)

BBR continues the story of the Gap Band and Yarbrough and Peoples with three more deluxe, expanded and remastered editions!  Look for our full rundown coming soon!

Gap Band, IV: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Gap Band, V: Jammin’: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Yarbrough and Peoples, Heartbeats: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Motown 25 various editions (StarVista)

6-DVD Set: StarVista

3-DVD Set: Amazon U.S.

3-DVD Set with exclusive bonus content: Best Buy

The classic 1983 television special that reunited The Supremes and introduced the world to Michael Jackson’s moonwalk finally appears on DVD in a variety of formats including an online-exclusive 6-DVD box set available only from StarVista and a 3-DVD set with bonus disc available only at Best Buy.  (A 6-DVD/8-DVD set is also listed at StarVista as “backordered,” but no details are available at the website.)

Monty Python’s Total Rubbish: The Complete Collection (Virgin)

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

The Monty Python troupers have a new 9-CD set boxing up all of the band’s original U.K. albums from 1970 to 1983!

Engelbert Humperdinck, Engelbert Calling (Megaforce) (Amazon U.S.  – new U.S. edition / Amazon U.K. – original U.K. edition)

Tom Jones reportedly rejected the invitation, but Engelbert Humperdinck snagged duets with Elton John, Dionne Warwick, Neil Sedaka, Lulu, Olivia Newton-John, Willie Nelson and others on his new album, receiving its belated U.S. bow this week.

Original Cast Recording, Tess of the D’Urbervilles (Stage Door) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Stage Door Records premieres the first complete recording of the 1999 West End musical Tess of the D’Urbervilles with music by Stephen Edwards and lyrics by Justin Fleming.  This release brings together tracks from the 1999 original London production alongside the previously unreleased 1998 studio cast recording, and includes performances by Philippa Healey, Alasdair Harvey, Jonathan Monks, Cathy Sara, Martin Crewes, Mark Umbers, Heather Craney, Eliza Lumley and an ensemble of forty singers.

Prince, ART OFFICIAL AGE / Prince and 3RDEYEGIRL, PLECTRUMELECTRUM (Warner Bros.)

ART OFFICIAL AGE: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

PLECTRUMELECTRUM: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Prince has not one, but two, new albums due this week – as always, the favorite son of Minneapolis is doing things his way!

Herb Alpert, In the Mood (Shout! Factory) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. TBD)

The great trumpeter follows up his acclaimed 2013 Steppin’ Out and returns with a new set of various standards including “Begin the Beguine,” “Let It Be Me,” “Blue Moon,” “Spanish Harlem” and “All I Have to Do is Dream” – and even better, the Amazon-exclusive edition features two additional tracks!

The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts – Complete Collection (StarVista) (Amazon U.S. )

This staggering 25-DVD collection features ALL 54 Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts, pally, with such legendary showbiz icons as Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, Jack Klugman, Tony Randall, Jack Benny, George Burns, Sammy Davis, Jr., Betty White and more – plus over 15 hours of bonus material:  11 newly-produced featurette interviews with former participants and fans: Don Rickles, Betty White, Jackie Mason, Phyllis Diller, Tim Conway, Rich Little, Norm Crosby, Carol Burnett and many others; 4 classic TV Specials including Dean’s Place and Red Hot Scandals of 1926, featuring Dean and friends including Jonathan Winters, Dom DeLuise, Robert Mitchum and more; rare, exclusive home movies from Dean’s private collection; bonus comedy sketches; 2 Dean Martin Variety Show DVDs featuring Bob Hope, John Wayne, Peggy Lee, Rodney Dangerfield and many others.  A 44-page book rounds out this package which is arriving now to general retail after a period of online exclusivity.

Release Round-Up: Week of November 11/12

The Beatles, Live At The BBC / On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2 (Capitol)

What’s better than a remaster of The Fab Four’s 1994 double-disc set of live BBC sessions? How about another two-disc set of those sessions?

Live At The BBC (2CD): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Live At The BBC (3LP): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2 (2CD): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2 (3LP): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Live At The BBC: The Collection (4CD): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Donny Hathaway, Never My Love: The Anthology (ATCO/Rhino)

A fine-looking four-disc anthology for the late, great soul singer, featuring his greatest hits and rare singles, a disc of unreleased studio outtakes, an unissued live performance at New York’s Bitter End in 1971, and his complete duets with Roberta Flack. Beautiful, beautiful stuff here. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Miles Davis, The Original Mono Recordings (Columbia/Legacy)

A nine-disc set featuring a crash course in jazz education in glorious monaural sound! Classics ‘Round About Midnight (1957), Miles Ahead (1957), Milestones (1958), Porgy and Bess (1959), Kind of Blue (1959), Sketches of Spain (1960) and Someday My Prince Will Come (1961) are joined by two rare, out-of-print LPs: 1959’s Jazz Track (featuring a side of quintet recordings for a French soundtrack and a side of rarities from the sextet that cut Kind of Blue) and Miles & Monk At Newport (1964), featuring two live sets recorded five years apart at the Newport Jazz Festival. (Look for several of these albums on LP once again for Record Store Day’s Black Friday event!) (Amazon U.S. /Amazon U.K.)

Herbie Hancock, The Complete Columbia Album Collection 1972-1988 (Columbia/Legacy)

This 34-disc set features every one of the jazz pianist’s albums for Columbia/CBS, including 11 which have never been on CD in the U.S. before (eight of these albums were only released in Japan). (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The Who, Tommy: Deluxe Editions (Geffen/UMe)

Another expanded version of The Who’s magnum opus features the original album with an unissued spread of demos, outtakes and live bootlegs.

2CD Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
3CD/1BD Super Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
1CD Remaster: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2LP Remaster: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Various Artists, Disney Classics (Walt Disney Records)

A neat new four-disc box set spanning the entire Disney gamut (film, television and theme parks) in celebration of 90(!) years of musical magic. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The Waterboys, Fisherman’s Box: The Complete Fisherman’s Blues Sessions 1986-1988 (Parlophone)

After some delays, the six-disc version of this mammoth box (sans “influences” bonus disc or vinyl LP) is available this week. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Creedence Clearwater Revival, Creedence Clearwater Revival (Box Set) (Fantasy)

A reissue of the band’s career-spanning six-disc 2001 box, featuring all nine of their studio and live albums and a disc of pre-CCR single sides, is now available in a new package not made of wood. (Amazon U.S.)

Ry Cooder, 1970-1987 (Rhino)

All 11 of the famed guitarist’s Warner-Reprise albums in one box. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The Killers, Direct Hits (Island)

The Vegas modern-day New Wavers release their first compilation, with new single “Shot At the Night.” A deluxe edition adds a few more bonus tracks, including the original demo for hit single “Mr. Brightside.”

Standard: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Super Deluxe CD/10″ edition: Amazon U.K.

Keane, The Best of Keane (Island)

Another Island act from the ’00s (albeit one from England), Keane too release a compilation in a variety of formats.

Standard 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Deluxe 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Super Deluxe 2CD/DVD (Amazon exclusive): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Live in Montreal 1977 (Shout! Factory)

Welcome back, my friends, to a complete show in support of Works Volume 1 on two discs. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Lamb of God, As the Palaces Burn: 10th Anniversary Edition (Razor & Tie)

The thrash/groove quartet’s breakthrough 2000 album is remixed, remastered and expanded with three demos and a DVD documentary.

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

Grizzly Bear, Shields: Expanded (Warp)

The Brooklyn band’s 2012 album, now with a bonus disc of demos and remixes.

Shields: Expanded (2CD): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Shields: B-Sides (LP): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Bound For Glory: Rosanne Cash, Judy Collins, John Mellencamp, Donovan Celebrate Woody Guthrie at 100

On July 14, 2012, Woody Guthrie would have turned 100 years old.  The Oklahoma-born “Dust Bowl Troubadour” died in 1967, just 55 years of age, but all these many years later, his compositions such as “This Land is Your Land,” “Grand Coulee Dam” and “The Sinking of the Reuben James” are cornerstones of American song.  The folk hero, whose guitar was famously emblazoned with the slogan “This machine kills fascists,” was celebrated last year with Smithsonian Folkways’ impressive 3-CD/hardcover book box set Woody at 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial.  On June 11 of this year, Legacy Recordings will release a special CD/DVD set which should prove a fine companion to that hefty musical tome.  The October 14, 2012 concert Woody Guthrie at 100! Live at the Kennedy Center found the late songwriter feted by musicians young and old, all of whom were influenced by Guthrie’s captivating folk songs and many of whom have carried on his life’s work of singing for a better life and better country.

The concert’s line-up included politically-minded singer-songwriters decades apart but close in ideals (Jackson Browne, Tom Morello), country music royalty (Rosanne Cash), rockers (John Mellencamp), folk singers (Ramblin’ Jack Elliott), genre-defying vocalists (Judy Collins, Lucinda Williams), psychedelic survivors (Donovan), an a cappella ensemble (Sweet Honey in the Rock) and even a string band (Old Crow Medicine Show).  All showed their great affection for the immortal music of Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Guthrie.

Legacy’s release coincides with the television premiere of Woody Guthrie at 100! Live at the Kennedy Center which will occur on PBS in June.  But the CD/DVD package makes room for eight performances from the Washington, DC show which were excised from the broadcast version of the film: two spoken-word pieces from actor Jeff Daniels, and six musical performances from Old Crow Medicine Show, Rosanne Cash, Jimmy LaFave, Lucinda Williams, Judy Collins and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott.  The CD has nineteen tracks in total, while the DVD boasts 22.

After the jump: we have plenty more details, including pre-order links and track listings for both the CD and DVD portions of the package!

Sit Down I Think It’s Van Dyke Parks: Music Man’s “Arrangements” Arrive on CD

Forgive the hyperbole, but there’s nobody quite like Van Dyke Parks.  Composer, arranger, producer, singer, musician, actor, author, raconteur, Parks is one-of-a-kind.  Known for his dazzling, sometimes oblique wordplay, and sheer musical invention, Parks has contributed production, arrangements and songs to an incredible number of renowned artists over the years, often blazing new trails while harnessing his vast knowledge of popular music.  For the first time, the renaissance man’s work as a multi-hyphenate is being collected.  Fifteen tracks are being compiled for September 20 release by the artist’s own label, Bananastan, as Arrangements, Volume 1.

Arrangements is drawn primarily from the catalogue of Warner Bros./Reprise, where Parks toiled as artist, producer, arranger and A&R man, often working closely with his good friend Lenny Waronker.  While at Warner Bros., Parks lent his considerable skills to Randy Newman, The Beau Brummels, The Mojo Men, Ry Cooder, Little Feat, and others.  Still, these names just scratch the surface.  Consider some of his other musical cohorts: The Byrds, Tim Buckley, Harry Nilsson, U2, The Everly Brothers, Carly Simon, Gordon Lightfoot, and Cher.  Parks’ work isn’t exclusive, though, to classic artists.  He’s lent his expertise to a younger generation of musicians including Rufus Wainwright, Joanna Newsom, Silverchair, Inara George and Fiona Apple.

Did I forget something?  Oh, yeah.  Parks also was the co-architect of The Beach Boys’ SMiLE, playing lyrical foil and inspiration to Brian Wilson’s limitlessly creative composer.  (Though Capitol Records has been quiet in recent months, plans are still afoot to finally release that legendary lost album later this year.)  Though Arrangements spotlights some of his favorite collaborations, Parks has also included a number of his own performances, making a collection of material, both familiar and tantalizingly rare, that is a veritable tour of American music.  (The emphasis, however, is not on cuts from Parks’ solo albums, but rather singles and rarities.  Anybody who’s read this far shouldn’t hesitate to explore 1968’s Song Cycle – in many ways a further exploration of the modular songwriting employed on SMiLE – and his other offbeat solo confections for some of the wildest, most devilishly creative music out there.)

Hit the jump to find out just which Arrangements have been included, plus discography and pre-order links!