Release Round-Up: Week of October 27

 

Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV (Atlantic/Swan Song)

Jimmy Page has assembled an entire alternate version of Led Zeppelin IV as the bonus content for this new reissue, including the “Sunset Sound” mix of “Stairway to Heaven” and an alternate U.K. mix of “When the Levee Breaks.”

1-CD Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

2-CD Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Super Deluxe Box Set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

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

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

Digital Download: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Led Zeppelin, Houses of the Holy (Atlantic/Swan Song)

The new Houses of the Holy boasts seven bonus cuts including rough and working mixes of such tracks as “No Quarter” and “The Song Remains the Same.”

1-CD Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

2-CD Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Super Deluxe Box Set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

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

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

Digital Download: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Chuck Berry, Rock and Roll Music: Any Old Way You Choose It (Bear Family) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Bear Family’s massive 16-CD survey of the complete career of the rock and roll pioneer includes every single and LP track recorded in the studio by Chuck Berry plus special bonus material!

Judy Garland, The Garland Variations: Songs She Recorded More Than Once (JSP)  (Amazon U.S. TBD /Amazon U.K.)

This exciting set rounds up, on five CDs and 115 tracks, songs the immortal Judy Garland recorded in the studio on multiple occasions between 1937 and 1962!

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, The Complete Epic Recordings Collection (Epic/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. )

Epic and Legacy have a true “Texas flood” with twelve discs from guitar hero Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble!  Look for Joe’s review tomorrow!

The Who, Hits 50! (Geffen/UMe)

The Who celebrate 50 years of heavy rocking with this new collection, available in multiple formats!

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

1-CD Highlights: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Blu-ray Pure Audio: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. TBD

KISS, Love Gun: Expanded Edition (Casablanca/Mercury/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

KISS expands its 1977 classic with an 11-track bonus CD of mostly new-to-CD music!

Paul McCartney, New: Deluxe Edition (Hear Music)  (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Macca expands his 2013 hit album in a DVD-sized hardcover book format including a bonus disc of audio material and a lengthy DVD compendium of live performances and more!

Silver Convention – Madhouse (1976) / Anita Pointer – Love For What It Is (1987) / 5000 Volts – 5000 Volts (1976) / Rinder & Lewis – Seven Deadly Sins (1978) (Big Break/Hot Shot)

Big Break Records has a quartet of releases in stores today!  As always, a full rundown is coming up from Joe!

Silver Convention: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Anita Pointer: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
5000 Volts: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Rinder & Lewis: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Leonard Bernstein, Edition: Concertos and Orchestral Works  (Masterworks) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Masterworks has an 80-CD (!) box set drawn from the label’s vast catalogue of CBS/Columbia recordings by the legendary maestro, Leonard Bernstein.  The label promises “every concerto, symphonic poem, overture, ballet, dance, march etc. that Bernstein recorded in New York between 1950 and 1976 (plus some in London, Paris and Israel) by nearly every composer in the standard repertoire” in this follow-up to 2010’s The Symphony Edition.

Yusuf, Tell ‘Em I’m Gone (Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens returns with his latest studio album.  On this soulful and bluesy collection, the recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee blends originals with eclectic favorites including “You Are My Sunshine” and “Dying to Live.”

Barry Manilow, My Dream Duets (Verve) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

When Verve Records asked the newly-signed veteran entertainer to record a duets album, Manilow responded with a hearty “Yes!” – but only if he could record with his dearly departed favorite artists.  And so we have this collection on which Manilow has composed new duet arrangements for classic vocalists including Whitney Houston (“I Believe in You and Me”), Cass Elliot (“Dream a Little Dream of Me”), Andy Williams (“Moon River”) and Sammy Davis, Jr. (“The Candy Man”) plus some off-the-beaten-path choices like Jimmy Durante (“The Song’s Gotta Come from the Heart”) and Marilyn Monroe (“I Wanna Be Loved by You”)!

Dionne Warwick, Feels So Good (Caroline) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The pop legend returns with her latest studio album.  Produced by her son Damon Elliott, it’s heavy on “modernized,” new duet covers of Bacharach/David classics (“A House is Not a Home” with Ne-Yo, “You’ll Never Get to Heaven” with Ruben Studdard, “This Girl’s in Love with You” with Phil Driscoll) plus a couple of recycled tracks (“Message to Michael” with Cyndi Lauper and “I’ll Never Love This Way Again” with Gladys Knight) and some new songs including the title track featuring Cee-Lo Green.

Jerry Lee Lewis, Rock and Roll Time (Vanguard) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!  The veteran rock-and-roller is still pounding his piano on this new 11-track album featuring such friends as Keith Richards, Robbie Robertson, Ron Wood, Neil Young, Shelby Lynne, Nils Lofgren, and Daniel Lanois.

“The Who Hits 50!”

Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, the last men standing of the original Who, have confirmed that they won’t be spending their 50th anniversary lying down.  The Who will be embarking on a celebratory jaunt, The Who Hits 50, beginning in November in Glasgow, and will be releasing a double-disc retrospective to tie in with the tour.  The new compilation is set for U.K. release on October 27 and U.S. release one day later on October 28.

The Who Hits 50 follows such past Who anthologies as 2002’s The Ultimate Collection, a 35-track collection on 2 CDs, 2004’s 20-song Then and Now, and 2009’s Greatest Hits with 19 songs.  This set is more expansive than The Ultimate Collection, offering two CDs packed with 42 songs including the premiere release of “Be Lucky,” the band’s first recording since 2006’s studio album Endless Wire.  The set begins in 1964 with the single A-side “Zoot Suit” from Daltrey, Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon as The High Numbers, and other than “Be Lucky,” concludes with “It’s Not Enough” from Endless Wire.  In between, the collection features songs from every one of the band’s studio albums plus various singles, tracks from compilations and a live recording from 1970’s seminal Live at Leeds.  You can expect the standard fare with “Pinball Wizard,” “My Generation,” “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere,” “Bargain,” “Baba O’Riley,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “Who Are You” plus comparatively deeper cuts like The Who’s 1967 non-LP single of The Rolling Stones’ “The Last Time,” the Entwistle-penned “Trick of the Light” from Who Are You, and the band’s final U.K. Top 40 single, “Athena” from It’s Hard.

Roger Daltrey told Rolling Stone earlier this year that the band is likely to return to the studio to cut more music; however, he believes the anniversary tour could be The Who’s final large-scale outing.  The vocalist was quoted as confessing, “We intend to go on doing music until we drop, but we have to be realistic about our age…The touring is incredibly grinding on the body and we have to draw a line in the sand somewhere. This will be the last old-fashioned, big tour.”

After the jump, we have the complete track listing for you with discography, plus pre-order links!

Release Round-Up: Week of June 10

Various Artists, Chicago Hit Factory: The Vee-Jay Story 1953-1966 (Charly) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

This import box set tells the story of great R&B label Vee-Jay Records via a whopping 10 discs, 269 tracks (including 112 hits) by more than 120 different artists, and a 72-page book.  Artists include Jerry Butler, The Four Seasons, The Beatles, Gene Chandler, Little Richard, Betty Everett, The Dells and The Standells!  Jazz, gospel, blues and doo-wop all figure prominently along with the label’s trademark soul and R&B sounds.  The full track listing can be found here.

Louis Armstrong, Louis Armstrong and His Friends (Ace) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Ace has a straight reissue of Satchmo’s 1970 album for the Flying Dutchman label on which the jazz legend was joined by producer and label owner Bob Thiele (co-writer of “What a Wonderful World”) and arranger-conductor Oliver Nelson for a set including standards (“My One and Only Love,” “Mood Indigo”), contemporary material (“Give Peace a Chance,” “Everybody’s Talkin’”) and, yes, a new recording of “What a Wonderful World.”  Of special note is the star-studded rendition of “We Shall Overcome” with a chorus including Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman and Tony Bennett!  Armstrong’s ill health prevented him from playing his horn on this LP, but his message of peace and brotherhood came through loud and clear.

Clifford Brown, Brownie Speaks: The Complete Blue Note Albums (Blue Note) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The latest Blue Note Select release brings together the jazz trumpeter’s three 10-inch albums from 1953 as recorded with trombonist J.J. Johnson (Jay Jay Johnson with Clifford Brown), saxophonist Lou Donaldson (New Faces New Sounds) and his own sextet (New Star on the Horizon), and adds live recordings from New York’s Birdland.  The 3-CD set presents the three original 10-inch album sequences for the first time since the mid-1950s, with the Birdland shows in their original performance sequence for the first time ever.  Look for more details later today!

Tony Hatch, Colour My World: The Songs of Tony Hatch (Ace) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Look for Joe’s review tomorrow of this hit-packed anthology from Ace dedicated to the British hitmaker behind “Downtown,” “Call Me,” “Sugar and Spice” and so many other songs that defined the sound of the Swingin’ Sixties!  Colour My World features tracks from Petula Clark, Scott Walker, The Searchers, Jack Jones, Chris Montez, and more!

Arthur Prysock, Too Late Baby: The Old Town Singles 1958-1966 (Ace/Kent) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Ace delivers the very first CD compilation of the R&B baritone’s classic singles for New York’s Old Town label. Many of these 24 tracks have never been reissued at all, in any format. A versatile singer who might bring to mind Lou Rawls or Billy Eckstine, Prysock was equally comfortable with R&B and smooth balladry; all sides of his talent are on display on this collection of some of the rarest material in his considerable catalogue.

 

The Who, Quadrophenia: Live in London various formats / Quadrophenia (Original Album) Blu-ray Pure Audio (Universal)

Quadrophenia: The Original Album Blu-ray Pure Audio Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Live in London Deluxe Metal Box Set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Live in London Single-Disc Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Live in London Single Disc DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Live in London 2-CD Soundtrack to the Concert Film: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend bring their epic 2013 concerts celebrating Quadrophenia to Blu-ray, DVD and CD, and also unveil the first-ever complete 5.1 mix of the original 1973 Who album on Blu-ray Pure Audio!  Full details can be found here.

It’s 5:15 Again: The Who Revisit “Quadrophenia” In New Live Box, Release 5.1 Surround of Original Album

For fans of The Who, Christmas is coming early this year. The band has taken, in recent years, to marking the holidays with super-sized box sets dedicated to such classic albums as Live at Leeds, Tommy and Quadrophenia. The latter, Pete Townshend’s 1973 mod rock opera, was celebrated in 2011 via a multitude of releases including a 4-CD/1-DVD box set with the original album, two discs of demos, and a DVD of selected songs in surround sound. This June, Townshend and Roger Daltrey will follow up that box with the multi-format (that’s seven different formats, for those keeping count!) release of Quadrophenia: Live in London. And what’s most exciting is that this campaign, centered on The Who’s Quadrophenia 40th Anniversary tour, will premiere the full, original 1973 album in 5.1 on Blu-ray.  In the past, only selections from the album have been made available in surround.

After Tommy, there was Jimmy. He’s the protagonist of Quadrophenia, first a 2-LP studio album by The Who, then a 1979 film and most recently a 2009 musical. Never one for small ideas, Townshend intended Quadrophenia as his way to explore the relationship between the band and its fans by telling the story of a prototypical Mod Who fan. The album yielded some of the most beloved songs ever recorded by Townshend, Daltrey, John Entwistle and Keith Moon: “The Real Me,” “Love Reign O’er Me,” “5:15.”

In 2012 and 2013, Townshend and Daltrey revisited the material in an acclaimed international series of concerts featuring the original Quadrophenia album sequence and a tight encore set of six Who favorites. That tour wrapped up at London’s Wembley Arena on July 8, 2013, where it was preserved for this audiovisual presentation. Following in the footsteps of other artists including The Beach Boys, The Who used the concerts as an opportunity to reunite with their late bandmates, too. Keith Moon was heard on “Bell Boy” and John Entwistle on “5:15.” Conceived in large part by Daltrey, the concerts (and the film) featured archival footage of The Who as well as images of the historical events that informed the original album and beyond. Appropriately enough for Quadrophenia, the concerts merged rock and theatre into a singular experience.

After the jump, we’ll explore all of the various Live in London releases! Plus: full track listings and pre-order links!

Five Sundazed Singles to Rock Your Record Store Day

It’s like NFL draft day for music geeks*!

Today’s the big announcement of the full Record Store Day 2014 exclusives list, to kick off with a press conference at Los Angeles’ Amoeba Music later today. While we’re positive there are some great surprises in store, a number of our favorite labels have already spilled the beans on their spreads for April 19. Sundazed Music, purveyors of great vintage rock on CD and vinyl, have five 45 RPM singles releasing on the big day, including big hits and rare rockin’ sides from Link Wray, The Standells, Ray Lanham and more!

First up, guitar master Wray’s third single for Epic Records, “Slinky” b/w “Rendezvous,” features the six-string innovator in full-on badass mode on one side, all stinging riffs and hot solos, while exploring a more nuanced (but no less swagger-heavy) sound on the other. Sundazed faithfully reproduces the single’s original labels and ultra-rare picture sleeve for your collecting pleasure.

The Standells foresaw punk rock a good two decades ahead of schedule with the raucous Top 20 hit “Dirty Water.” Sundazed’s new single features an unearthed live concert version of this classic, recorded at the University of Michigan in 1966 (where the group was opening for The Beach Boys). It’s backed with a previously unheard 1963 instrumental, “Twitchin'” and the single features new liner notes by band member Larry Tamblyn.

Speaking of The Beach Boys, Hawthorne, California’s favorite sons were something of an inspiration for the next singles act, The Sunrays, in more ways than one. The band’s manager was none other than Murry Wilson, father to Brian, Dennis and Carl. After The Beach Boys fired Wilson as manager, he took on this teenage act; while none of their singles ever became more than regional hits, the two tracks making their vinyl debut here – “Our Leader,” a paean to the band’s manager, and “Won’t You Tell Me,” a Murry-penned track featuring contributions from Dennis Wilson and the legendary Wrecking Crew – are interesting curios in the ever-sprawling story of The Beach Boys and their endless summer. Band member Rick Henn supplies liner notes for the single.

Sundazed then turns its attention to The Litter, a Minneapolis garage rock group on the Scotty Records label. Two of their fuzzed-out sides, “Action Woman” and a cover of The Who’s “A Legal Matter,” are pressed on blue vinyl with a replica Scotty label; the new picture sleeve (featuring a rarely-seen photo of the band) features liner notes from Mike Markesich, author of the book Teen Beat Mayhem!

Finally, Sundazed releases four recordings from acclaimed guitarist Ray Lanham. Recorded in 1959 and released only for the first time on this red-vinyl EP, this set features three standards (“My Adobe Hacienda,” “Song of India,” “Carnival in Paris”) and an original, “Lanham Boogie.”

All titles will be available in limited quantities at fine participating indie retailers on Record Store Day, April 19!

* Speculative – writer does not understand sports

Holiday Gift Guide Review: The Who, “Tommy: Super Deluxe Edition”

The opening chords of The Who’s Tommy may be among the most famous in all of rock.  By the time the horns kicked in, around the forty-second mark, it was already clear that this double-album wasn’t business as usual for the heavy mod-rockers.  In fact, the melodic, thunderous, commanding piece of music that opened the 1969 album sounded a bit like the overture to a Broadway musical, weaving together themes that would follow.  Thirty-four years later, it would become one.  By the time The Who’s Tommy opened at New York’s St. James Theatre, the deaf, dumb and blind boy created by Pete Townshend had already been reborn in various stage productions, a controversial film, all-star record albums, and of course, on the concert stage as embodied by Roger Daltrey.  What’s left to discover, then, about Tommy?

Following the 2011 Super Deluxe box set dedicated to The Who’s Quadrophenia, the band has turned its attention to the album that put “rock opera” squarely in the lexicon, remastering the original work and adding 20 demos (most previously unissued), a new 5.1 album mix on Blu-ray and a 21-track live disc primarily culled The Who’s 1969 performances.  Just as essential to the package is an 80-page hardcover book that explores the phenomenon of Tommy.  This is the most immersive edition of Tommy yet, inviting listeners to revisit The Who’s amazing journey.  It’s also a more daunting project than even Quadrophenia.  That album has always existed in the shadow of big brother Tommy, and the Super Deluxe Edition revealed – particularly with Townshend’s demos – a fascinating world of might-have-beens and alternate roads not taken.  The material on Tommy is so much more familiar, and the revelations aren’t nearly as plentiful.  But that’s not to say that it’s not a journey worth taking.

Read on after the jump!

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.

Go To The Mirror! The Who To Reissue “Tommy” In Super Deluxe Style

The amazing journey is about to continue.

Following the massive box sets accorded Live at Leeds and Quadrophenia, The Who have confirmed a Super Deluxe set of 1969’s Tommy just in time for the holidays.  The 3-CD/1-BD set, due in the U.K. on November 11 and in the U.S. on November 12, will include a newly remastered edition of the original album on one CD, a second disc of previously unissued demos and outtakes, a third CD of a 1969 live performance (drawn from numerous shows), and a Blu-ray containing the entire album in 5.1 surround sound.  The remastered Tommy will also be available in digital and vinyl formats.

Tommy, The Who’s fifth album, effectively added the phrase “rock opera” into the lexicon.  Chief songwriter Pete Townshend had previously experimented with extended song forms, most notably on 1966’s “A Quick One While He’s Away” from the A Quick One album.  But Tommy, produced by Kit Lambert, crystallized Townshend’s lofty ambitions into an electrifying work that was as creative as it was accessible.  With Roger Daltrey in the title role of the “deaf, dumb and blind boy,” Tommy combined muscular rock riffs with a rich array of characters that made the work so appealing to directors of both stage and screen.  Cinematic auteur Ken Russell brought Tommy to life in an exceedingly bizarre film version in 1975, and Des McAnuff worked with Townshend to give Tommy, Captain Walker, Cousin Kevin, Uncle Ernie and the rest stage immortality in 1993 via the Broadway musical The Who’s Tommy.  Those weren’t the only indelible incarnations of Tommy, though.  The band’s Woodstock performance has gone down in history, and other memorable versions include the original 1970 Seattle Opera staging (with the young Bette Midler as the Acid Queen!) and Lou Reizner’s 1972 symphonic concert event, preserved on its own two-LP set.

The 2013 Tommy reissue campaign will be available in a wide array of formats:

• 3-CD/1-BD Super Deluxe Edition
• 2-CD Deluxe Digipak Edition (CD 1 – Original Album, CD 2 – Live Bootleg)
• 1-CD Remastered Edition (Original Album)
• Deluxe 2-Piece Heavyweight Vinyl Edition (Original Album)
• UVINYL website-exclusive vinyl version of live ‘bootleg’ album
• Hi Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-ray standalone release
• Digital Super Deluxe box set (Tracks from box set excluding 5.1 mixes, also available in Mastered-for-iTunes)
• Deluxe Digital Edition (2-CD configuration, also available in Mastered-for-iTunes)

After the jump, we have more details including the full track listings for each disc!

Release Round-Up: Week of December 4

Johnny Cash, The Complete Columbia Collection (Columbia/Legacy)

Perhaps the biggest box set of the quarter (maybe the whole year?), this 63-disc set collects all of The Man in Black’s Columbia albums from The Fabulous Johnny Cash (1959) to Live at Madison Square Garden (recorded in 1969 and released in 2002), plus an expansion of the Sun album Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar (1957) and two discs of non-LP singles and other odds and ends.  Here’s Joe’s review of the whole set!   (Amazon U.S. / U.K.)

Smashing Pumpkins, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness: Deluxe Edition (Virgin/EMI)

“Tonight, Tonight” (or today, today) is the day to get the latest Smashing Pumpkins catalogue project: four discs (three CDs and a DVD) of bonus material appended to the original double LP! (Amazon U.S. / U.K.) A triple-vinyl remaster of the original album is also available (Amazon U.S. / U.K.), as is a basic remaster of the album on two discs. (Amazon U.S. / U.K.)

The Who, The Studio Albums (Geffen/UMe)

Every one of The Who’s 11 main albums, newly remastered and replicated for vinyl. (Amazon U.S. / U.K.)

KISS, The Casablanca Singles 1974-1982 (Mercury/Casablanca/UMe)

Every A and B-side from KISS’ Casablanca years, replicated on CD (Amazon U.S. / U.K.) and, allegedly, vinyl singles, though we’ve never found a retail link for that version, outside of an outsize expensive link from Universal itself.

T. Rex, The Slider: 40th Anniversary Edition Box Set (Edsel)

A super-deluxe take on T. Rex’s iconic LP, featuring the original album remastered by Tony Visconti, two discs of B-sides, demos and outtakes, a DVD, two books, a vinyl LP and three 7″ singles. (Amazon U.K. / U.S.)

Mary Wells, Something New: Motown Lost & Found (Hip-O Select/Motown)

Two discs of rare and unreleased Mary Wells tunes from the fabled Motown vaults! (Amazon U.S. / U.K.)

Johnny Mathis, So Nice/Johnny Mathis Sings / John Hatford, Aero-Plane/Morning Bugle: The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings / The Grateful Dead, Dick’s Picks Vol. 26–4/26/69 Electric Theater, Chicago, IL 4/27/69 Labor Temple Minneapolis, MN / Gene Harris, Gene Harris/The Three Sounds/Gene Harris of The Three Sounds / Bobbi Humphrey, Dig This / Jeremy Steig, Wayfaring Stranger (Real Gone)

Real Gone’s December slate includes the last of the Johnny Mathis/Mercury two-fers, another Dick’s Pick reissue and three Blue Note selections reissued on the resurrected Dusty Groove imprint! (Head here for pre-order links on all these sets.)

The Prodigy, The Fat of the Land: 15th Anniversary Edition (XL)

The Prodigy’s breakthrough album remastered and expanded with Added Fat, an EP of new remixes of tracks like “Firestarter,” “Breathe” and “Smack My Bitch Up.” (Amazon U.S. / U.K.) That EP is available separately on vinyl (Amazon U.S. / U.K.), as is a vinyl reissue of the original LP (Amazon U.S.).

Alice Cooper, Old School 1964-1974 (Bigger Picture)

Remember this box set? This is a condensed version – just CDs, no vinyl or extra swag. (Amazon U.S. / U.K.)

The Hooters, Nervous Night/One Way Home/Zig Zag (BGO)

All three of The Hooters’ Columbia albums on one handy two-disc set. (Amazon U.K. / U.S.)

And here are some vinyl reissues for your enjoyment!

Love, Forever Changes (180 Gram) (Elektra/Rhino)

The Moody Blues, Days of Future Passed (180 Gram) (Friday Music)

Linda Ronstadt, Heart Like a Wheel (RockBeat)

Sade, Promise (180 Gram) (Audio Fidelity)

Tuesday Tidbits, Classic Rock Edition: News from The Rolling Stones, The Who and Del Shannon

Starbucks’ latest Opus Collection CD release is tying in with the recent release of Who frontman Pete Townshend’s memoir Who I Am. The Who: Opus Collection offers 15 tracks from the legendary band and as per the usual for this series of releases, combines both familiar songs and tracks which might be unfamiliar to the casual fan. Opus Collection begins with “I’m the Face,” from the band’s very first single released under the name of The High Numbers in 1964, and concludes with “Who Are You,” the anthem and CSI theme from 1978’s album of the same name. Though classics like “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere,” “The Kids are Alright” and “Pinball Wizard” have been overlooked, the set does include perennials like “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “Baba O’Riley.” (Oddly, one-third of Opus Collection consists of tracks from 1971’s Who’s Next.) As is typical for Starbucks’ releases, the packaging is deluxe. The 20-page booklet features a six-page essay from Steven Stolder and detailed track-by-track liner notes, as well. If you’re looking for a little mod action with that pumpkin spice latte, Opus Collection is in Starbucks locations now. It can be ordered here.

From the 1961 release of his first-ever single “Runaway,” a chart-topper on both sides of the Atlantic, to his tragic death by his own hand in 1990, Del Shannon was rock-and-roll royalty. He’s now receiving an exhaustive career anthology via Music Club Deluxe’s The Essential Collection 1961-1991. This budget-priced 52-track collection offers just about every highlight from Shannon’s singular career. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee followed up “Runaway,” with its memorably eerie Musitron organ part, with another Top 10 hit “Hats Off to Larry.” “Little Town Flirt” did almost as well, and Shannon continued his winning streak when he became the first American artist to record a Beatles song with his 1963 cover of “From Me to You.” More hits followed: revivals of “Do You Wanna Dance” and “Handy Man,” and “Keep Searchin’ (We’ll Follow the Sun).” As the sixties progressed, Shannon experimented with psychedelic productions, but his alcoholism slowed his productivity in the 1970s. Still, he found time to work with younger artists for whom he had been an influence, including Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Dave Edmunds and the Smithereens. The final track on The Essential Collection, “Walk Away,” was a posthumously-released collaboration with Petty and Lynne. Michael Heatley’s liner notes round out the package chronicling the career of a truly underrated singer and songwriter. The melancholy underneath the surface eventually got the better of Del Shannon, but he left behind a memorable body of work both haunting and joyous. You can order The Essential Collection here.

After the jump: details on The Rolling Stones’ latest Archives release plus track listings for all three titles!