Known primarily as a trio consisting of singer Mark Hollis, bassist Paul Webb and drummer Lee Harris (though featuring keyboardist Simon Brenner from 1981 to 1983 and unofficial fourth member/keyboardist/producer/songwriter Tim Friese-Greene afterward), Talk Talk started as a band in the New Romantic vein, opening for Duran Duran and working with their first producer, Colin Thurston. During the mid-’80s, with an increasingly experimental batch of songs, the group actually had a solid brush with success in Europe and even the U.S., thanks primarily to the catchy single “It’s My Life,” the band’s only Top 40 hit in America and highest-charting single in England. (Younger fans might know it through a cover version recorded by No Doubt in 2003, which peaked within Billboard‘s Top 10.)

The group’s last two albums for Parlophone/EMI, 1986′s The Colour of Spring and 1988′s Spirit of Eden, were successful steps away from synthpop and toward more artier, straightforward rock and beyond. But a protracted legal battle to get out of their contract and a shift in personnel ultimately exhausted the group. Hollis and Friese-Greene recorded Laughing Stock for Polydor in 1991 under the Talk Talk name, and the group disbanded afterward. (Hollis would release a solo album in 1998 before retiring from the business altogether.)

On April 10, the band’s four EMI-controlled albums – 1982′s The Party’s Over, 1984′s It’s My Life and The Colour of Spring and The Spirit of Eden – are being reissued. There are no bonus tracks, and the discs will be struck from the same digital mastering of the catalogue as released in 1997. For vinyl lovers, there is a bit of excitement, though: Spring and Eden are getting reissued on double-vinyl as well (only the latter looks to be available on Amazon U.K. as of this writing). And, for what it’s worth, EMI is giving away a bundle of these as well.

Are you thinking you should take a chance on Ace Records’ supremely soulful duo of releases from The Apollas and Eddie Holland?  If so…you’re absolutely right!  For The Apollas’ Absolutely Right: The Complete Tiger, Loma and Warner Bros. Recordings (Kent CDKEND 365, 2012) and Holland’s It Moves Me: The Complete Recordings 1958-1964 (Ace CDTOP2 1331, 2012) both belong on the shelf of any serious fan of classic soul and R&B.

If you haven’t heard of The Apollas, you’re forgiven.  This Bay Area girl trio didn’t see much chart action, but the 25 mid-sixties tracks compiled here by Alec Palao (including five unreleased titles) prove that their output was first class.  Top tier talents like Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, Artie Butler, Barry White, Jimmy Wisner, Billy Vera, Dick Glasser and H.B. Barnum were behind these recordings.  With a pedigree like that, it’s hard to believe that these sides have languished for so long.  The music on Absolutely Right! sounds better than ever, and should raise more than a few eyebrows.

Like so many African-American artists of the era, and indeed, still today, the members of The Apollas began their vocal careers in church.  The Apollas then honed their sound working nightclub engagements and teen nights at Disneyland, and even added a soulful touch to the recordings of their early patron, Frankie “Jezebel” Laine!  The gospel background of lead singer Leola Jiles always shines through, adding an extra layer of passion to unlikely material like Don Everly’s “Who Would Want Me Now.”  Just as delicious is the Ellie Greenwich/Jeff Barry composition “He Ain’t No Angel” and the smoldering “You’ll Always Have Me” from the pen of Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson.  Nearly one-third of the collection’s cuts were written by that famed duo, sometimes with their frequent collaborator Josephine Armstead.  The songs of the trio were previously celebrated by Ace with The Real Thing: The Songs of Ashford, Simpson and Armstead (CDKEND 318) on which The Apollas’ “Mr. Creator” (“Won’t you hear my prayer?”) appears.  Every color of the Ashford and Simpson palette is employed, from the storming “You’re Absolutely Right” to the eminently danceable “I Just Can’t Get Enough of You.”  Hit the jump for more on The Apollas, plus Eddie Holland, too!

Leola Jiles and Ella Jamerson were the backbone of The Apollas; the group was in a state of flux with Ronnie Brown, Joann Forks, Dorothy Ramsey and Billie Barnum (sister to arranger H.B. Barnum) also among its members at one point or another.  But despite Leola’s leads, each vocalist made an integral contribution to the sassy sound.  Warner Bros. (parent of Loma Records) had designs on Leola for solo stardom; “I’ve Got So Used to Loving You” is a big, brassy ballad in the Burt Bacharach or Tony Hatch mode, with a suitably majestic vocal; “Keep it Coming” is another solo song with an ethereal chorus, slinky, shifting melody and brass accents.  The odd couple of Clint Ballard (“You’re No Good,” “The Game of Love”) and Walter Marks (Broadway’s Bajour and Golden Rainbow) supply two songs in the form of the clattering “Payin’ (For the Wrong I’ve Done)” and the smoky blues of “Wait ‘Round the Corner.”  Gene Page arranged most of the tracks on Absolutely Right! with his typical sophistication and style.

Though there are not track-by-track notes, San Francisco music scholar Alec Palao contributes a lengthy essay filling most of the lavish booklet’s 26 pages.  Palao draws on interviews with Leola, Ella and Billie, and the booklet also features a number of gorgeous, full-color photos of the girls with an array of celebrities: Glen Campbell, Lou Rawls, even Barbra Streisand!  The vivid stereo practically jump from the speakers thanks to the fine mastering job by Nick Robbins.

Though he was a premier exponent of the Sound of Young America, the musical career of Eddie Holland actually predated Berry Gordy’s Motown empire.  Ace’s authoritatively comprehensive 2-CD set, It Moves Me: The Complete Recordings 1958-1961, offers a staggering array of sounds recorded by one third of Holland-Dozier-Holland on his way to “Stop! In the Name of Love” and “Baby, I Need Your Loving.”  It also lets a wider audience in on a secret that Motown connoisseurs have known for ages: that Eddie Holland was one splendid vocalist, himself.  Divided into two discs, The Singles and Rare and Unissued, It Moves Me may be the most significant set yet to come out of the incredibly fruitful partnership between Universal Music Group/Motown and Ace.  (Past titles have been dedicated to The Satintones, The Contours, The Monitors, Marv Johnson and Patrice Holloway.)

It Moves Me encompasses recordings not only on Motown, but on Mercury, Kudo and United Artists.  All told, you’ll find 56 songs, including a full LP, 15 singles and a boatload of unreleased material.  Producer Keith Hughes and mastering engineer Robbins have worked sonic wonders on most of these tracks, and where such magic was impossible (i.e. the Kudo recordings), the liner notes are forthcoming.

Eddie Holland was at the ground level of virtually every aspect of the Motown operation.  The previously-unissued “I’m So Glad to Do the Cha-Cha-Cha” is heard in a Holland home demo likely circa 1958, the same year it was recorded by Herman Griffin for the House of Beauty label.  Griffin’s record was the very first to bear the Jobete Publishing imprint established by Berry Gordy; the transformation of Gordy from songwriter to mogul is yet another journey documented here.  Gordy produced the doo-wop-influenced “You (You You You You)” and rocking-and-rolling “Little Miss Ruby,” and co-wrote the latter; he’s finding his own sound even as Holland is.  The latter betrays an Elvis Presley influence; the song was introduced by Presley’s backing group, The Jordanaires, in the film Country Music Holiday, and a bit of Elvis style can be detected in Holland’s hiccupping vocal.  The collection’s title comes from “It Moves Me,” the flip of Holland’s “Merry-Go-Round,” the second ever Tamla/Motown single.  (Marv Johnson was first with “Come to Me” b/w “Whisper” on Tamla 101.)  Both sides appeared on Tamla as well as United Artists.

Berry Gordy originally enlisted Eddie Holland to demo songs for Jackie Wilson, and some of Wilson’s vocal style was evidently picked up by the younger man, too, as heard on tracks like the Riley Hampton-arranged “You Deserve What You Got.”  Some songs intended for Wilson never received another recording (the previously unreleased “Bashful Kind”) and others weren’t picked up by Wilson but were recorded by other artists (“Action Speaks Louder Than Words,” sung by Bobby Darin on his first album).  Although Eddie Holland’s career as a singer was curtailed (by his choice) before he developed a distinct vocal persona, it’s fascinating to track the evolution of the Motown Sound on these recordings; the breakneck “If It’s Love (It’s Alright)” is one of the tracks with a subtle Drifters influence, particularly in the use of strings and a lightly Latin feel.  The young sound of Young America was a diverse one; “The Last Laugh” is a maudlin teen romance ballad while “Baby Shake” is an an altogether atypical, jazzy dance number.

Holland himself plays tour guide for this journey through his musical past on the excellent track-by-track liner notes.  He recalls the arduous process of teaching himself the craft of songwriting, which he feels he mastered with Martha and the Vandellas’ “Come and Get These Memories,” the fifth song he wrote with Lamont Dozier and brother Brian.  (With Eddie acting primarily as lyricist, the team went on to write “Stop! In the Name of Love,” “Baby, I Need Your Loving” and “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You),” just to name the tip of the iceberg!)  There are few H-D-H tracks on It Moves Me, but you’ll hear a number of tracks written by Eddie with either Brian or Lamont.   The breezy “A Little Bit of Lovin’” (1962) was a Brian Holland/Lamont Dozier composition, the first of their collaborations to be recorded by Eddie.  The first-ever H-D-H song, “Dearest One,” was released by Lamont just one month before “A Little Bit of Lovin’.”  The notes reveal that “Little” Stevie Wonder recorded “Lovin’,” too, although his version is unreleased to this day.  And other tantalizing tidbits abound, too.  The gently up-tempo R&B of “Why Do You Want to Let Me Go” (“When I do everything that you want me to do?”) was also covered by Gino Parks and Mary Wells, though their versions likewise remain unreleased!  Berry Gordy’s “Because I Love Her” was subsequently recorded by the Valadiers on the Gordy label (their version did see release!) and it’s one of the more interestingly-arranged tracks with its haunting strings, flute, and ethereal female backing vocals accompanying Holland’s pleading lead.

The Motown practice of trying songs out on a number of artists led to some of the label’s finest releases; here, you’ll hear the H-D-H “Darling, I Hum Our Song,” introduced by Eddie but also tackled by Martha and the Vandellas and The Four Tops.  Smokey Robinson’s unmistakable rhythms appear on “Love is What You Make It,” which was remade by one of Robinson’s favorite groups, The Temptations.  Smokey also is also represented with two versions of “Twin Brother,” co-written by Robinson with Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier (H-D-R?).  Eddie’s first version is up-tempo while the recut song sounds like a blueprint for a smooth, sultry Smokey solo rendition.  Eddie candidly comments in the liner notes that they tried “to get it right…We never did.”  Norman Whitfield, producer and overseer of the Temps’ most stunningly psychedelic period, co-wrote “I Couldn’t Cry If I Wanted To” with Eddie, a sort of up-tempo riff on Chuck Jackson’s “Any Day Now.”  There’s a long tradition among composers of retaining “trunk songs,” i.e. songs that didn’t land for one reason or another, and are recycled into a new form at some later date.  Eddie was no different, and his languid “You’re Sweeter as the Days Goes By” was an early solo composition with lyrics that were later re-used for Marvin Gaye’s “You’re a Wonderful One.”  Its title was borrowed by Frank Wilson for a wholly different song!

Eddie Holland’s only major hit as a vocalist, the 1961 “Jamie” (No. 6 R&B, No. 30 Pop), is of course, included, as is his second charting title, 1964’s “Leaving Here” (No. 76 Pop).  Good as “Jamie” is, with its prominent strings and beat, “Leaving Here” is an absolute jolt of zing!  In addition to their mono single versions, both songs also appear in stereo on this otherwise all-mono set.  “Pretty Little Angel Face,” intended for Marvin Gaye, is one of the collection’s most potent discoveries, with a stomping urgency that recalls “Can I Get a Witness?”.  You’ll likely also marvel at the fantastic, fully-produced demo of “Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)” energetically sung by Eddie.

The beautifully-designed 26-page booklet offers plenty of label scans, including singles by one “Briant Holland.”  Holland confirmed that he didn’t want his name on the songs, so his brother’s name was instead used, though where the extra “t” originated is a mystery!  The booklet also contains fun reviews from magazines such as Billboard and Cash Box.  The Second Disc’s friend Harry Weinger is credited with the initial idea for this compilation, and what a great idea it was; if you’re a fan of the Motor City sound, it’s likely that you’ll be moved by It Moves Me.

Both Absolutely Right! and It Moves Me are now available and can be ordered by clicking the album titles!

As the above image shows, it’s finally true: La-La Land Records is releasing an expanded edition of John Williams’ stirring score to Steven Spielberg’s 1991 adventure film 

To MV and the LLL staff,

A product of the lively Manchester music scene, Fontana and the Mindbenders scored a minor British Top 50 hit with their very first single in 1963 (a cover of Fats Domino’s “My Girl Josephine,” retitled “Hello, Josephine”) but didn’t break stateside until 1965 with a cover of Clint Ballard’s “The Game of Love.”  The catchy ditty went all the way to the top in the U.S. and back home in England climbed to No. 2.  The band’s initial album had arrived in Britain in December 1964, with the U.S. edition on the Fontana label arriving just three months later with a typically altered line-up for American buyers. 

What’s on Bear Family’s expanded reissue?  Hit the jump for more on the story of Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders!

A mid-1965 tour of America was quickly set up by manager Ric Dixon to capitalize on the success of “The Game of Love,” but the tour was a tumultuous – and delayed – one.  The band had been beset by visa problems, and promoters threatened lawsuits due to cancelled appearances as a result of the delay.  When another Ballard song, “It’s Just A Little Bit Too Late” (co-written with Les Ledo) was released as the band’s follow-up, it went Top 20 in Britain but only made it to No. 45 in the United States, a clear disappointment for all concerned.  A third Ballard number, “She Needs Love,” did even worse in the U.S., failing to chart.  (It did hit No. 32 in England.)  Fontana was primed for his departure, but Fontana Records persevered, planning to relaunch The Mindbenders. The label felt that a demo of “A Groovy Kind of Love” would have been ill-suited for Fontana’s voice, but that Eric Stewart might like to take a go at it.  The gamble paid off, with the song hitting No. 1 in the U.S. and No. 2 abroad.  Fontana had less success with his solo career, and recorded one lone album (Wayne One) that never saw a follow-up, despite its title.

Bear Family’s CD reissue captures the final days of the Fontana-led group.  The original LP includes songs by top-tier American songwriters like Burt Bacharach and Bob Hilliard (“(Don’t Go) Please Stay”), Carole King and Gerry Goffin (“Honey and Wine”), Gene Pitney (“She’s a Rebel”), Chuck Berry (“Memphis, Tennessee”) and even Willie Dixon (“I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man”).  The LP also includes the hit “It’s Just a Little Bit Too Late.”  All four tracks from the EP Walking on Air have been added as well as five more non-LP sides including “Too Much Monkey Business” and both sides of “Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um” b/w “First Taste of Love” (a hard-to-find Phil Spector/Doc Pomus collaboration) and “Stop, Look and Listen” b/w “Duke of Earl.”

The  digipak edition will include a 24-page booklet including rare photographs, notes and a singles/EP discography of this period of the band’s career.  The “adequately enhanced” Eric, Rick, Wayne, Bob (in Bear Family’s customarily understated words!) arrives on March 12, and you can pre-order below!   And don’t hesitate to view Bear Family’s EPK for a sneak peek!

Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Eric, Rick, Wayne, Bob…Plus (Fontana LP 1965 – reissued Bear Family BCD 17233 AH, 2012)

1. Some Other Guy
2. She’s a Rebel
3. Like I Did
4. Memphis, Tennessee
5. It’s Just a Little Bit Too Late
6. The Shadow Knows
7. I Remember Love
8. Skinnie Minnie
9. Honey and Wine
10. I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man
11. Please Stay
12. Long Time Comin’
13. Stop, Look and Listen
14. Duke of Earl
15. Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um
16. First Taste of Love
17. She Needs Love
18. Too Much Monkey Business
19. Walking on Air
20. Remind My Baby of Me
21. I’m Qualified

Tracks 1-12 from Eric, Rick, Wayne, Bob (Fontana LP STL-5257, 1965)
Tracks 13-14 from Fontana single TF-451, 1964
Tracks 15-16 from Fontana single TF-497, 1964
Tracks 17, 19-21 from Walking on Air (Fontana EP TE 17453, 1966)
Track 18 from Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um (Fontana EP TE 17435, 1965)

Seven James Bonds at Casino Royale/They came to save the world and win the gal at Casino Royale!  Six of them went to a heavenly spot, the seventh one is going to a place where it’s terribly hot…

Hal David’s lyric captures just a small fraction of the insanity of Charles K. Feldman’s 1967 Casino Royale, the big-budget comic extravaganza that was “too much…for one James Bond!”  And so, David Niven as James Bond was joined by 007s of all shapes and sizes (and genders!), and even by his nephew, Jimmy Bond, portrayed by Woody Allen.  But the iconoclastic score by Burt Bacharach was too much for one soundtrack album, too.  We’ve told the entire (sordid?) tale of the film here, so if you’re not caught up with this Bacharach bacchanal, do click, and join us later.  Back?  Good.  Following two CD reissues on the Varese Sarabande label, a DVD-A from Classic Records and a 2010 edition from Kritzerland that many listeners (including this writer) considered the last word on Casino Royale, Spain’s Quartet Records has thrown its hat into the ring.  Quartet has just announced a 45^th Anniversary edition of Bacharach’s seminal score, and it’s a doozy, a slipcased 2-CD set with two booklets, one of which is 64 pages in length.  Yes, Casino Royale is back yet again!  This follows Quartet’s remastered edition of Bacharach’s score to What’s New Pussycat?, the earlier Feldman-produced film also starring Peter Sellers and Woody Allen.

Quartet’s ambitious set not only commemorates the 45^th anniversary of this monument to Hollywood excess but also the 50^th anniversary of Ian Fleming’s James Bond franchise.  Though the film is hardly canon for the long-running series, its greatest asset is a score that can stand alongside the best of the official Bond scores composed by the legendary John Barry.  Dusty Springfield sang the Academy Award-nominated “The Look of Love” over a scene in which Peter Sellers and Ursula Andress are cavorting, as viewed through a giant fish tank; Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass contribute the instrumental title theme.

Kritzerland’s sold-out expanded edition of Casino Royale (Kritzerland KR 20017-6) offered the score in two presentations.  On the first half of the CD, Bacharach’s music was presented in film order, with material not on the original Colgems album including the climactic song performed by Mike Redway, “Have No Fear, Bond is Here.”  The original album master and the film’s DVD were both utilized for this presentation.   The second half of the disc was the original LP sequence, mastered from a mint vinyl copy, with no added EQ or processing; as good as that sounds (its best yet!), the new, complete presentation made this the definitive treatment of a classic score to date.  What is Quartet bringing to the table?  Hit the jump to find out!

Quartet reports that the label has “found two different DMEs [Dialog-Music-Effects] in MGM’s vaults and although the music stems were in mono, they were in excellent condition except for the obligatory volume shifts in mixing.”  Quartet enlisted engineer José Luis Crespo to edit and remaster the tapes, and the label’s statement promises “every single note recorded by Bacharach for the film is here.”  This marks the first time the original Colgems LP presentation has not been the basis of a Casino Royale soundtrack.  Quartet has created a stereo image using Pro-Tools software, and mastered with the CEDAR process.  (The apparent choice to present this material in artificial stereo rather than mono could prove controversial.)

Disc Two presents the original soundtrack LP, but with a difference.  Quartet praises “the superb Kritzerland issue the past year, and his [producer Bruce Kimmel’s] valiant effort to present this soundtrack from mint condition vinyl, maintaining the brightness of the original LP.”  For the new reissue, however, Quartet drew upon a 1/2 15 i.p.s. tape in the vaults of Sony Music Spain, which was utilized for the release of RCA Victor’s Spanish release of the soundtrack album in March 1968. This is not a first generation tape, but Quartet feels it is a “good alternative and… possibly as good as Casino Royale is going to sound in the digital domain.”

The slipcased package includes an 8-page full color booklet and a separate 64-page full color book with notes by Bond music historian Gergely Hubai.  Hubai discusses the film’s troubled production history, and analyzes Bacharach’s music via track-by-track notes, while the book is illustrated with rare stills, poster artwork and other memorabilia.

The 45^th Anniversary Edition of Casino Royale is limited to 1,500 copies and is due to ship late this month.  It can be pre-ordered now from both Screen Archives Entertainment and Quartet Records itself.  Have no fear…Bond is here!

Burt Bacharach, Casino Royale: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Quartet Records QRSCE037, 2012)

CD 1: The Complete Original Soundtrack

1. Main Titles (2:36) – Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
2. Opening Cars Converging / To the Bond Chateau (1:54)
3. The Black Rose (0:33)
4. Pipe Lament / James Bond in Scotland (1:14)
5. Cock O’ the North (1:52)
6. The Widow Duty of Lady Fiona / Wassail (3:41)
7. Agent Mimi Locked in Her Room (1:35)
8. Grouse Shoot (0:33)
9. Mimi’s Lament (1:29)
10. Little French Boy (Drink a Pint of Milk a Day) (2:08)
11. Money Penny’s Bedroom (1:36)
12. Gymnasium Training (1:48)
13. Buckingham Club (1:19)
14. The Look of Love (3:46) – Dusty Springfield
15. Proposals, Super 8 and Costumes (1:35)
16. Sir James’ Trip to Find Mata / Temple Dance (3:14)
17. Sitar Background / Back to London (2:54)
18. Arrival in Berlin (1:03)
19. Old Berlin House / Mata-Hari School for Spies (2:43)
20. Escape from the Berlin House (1:19)
21. Bond Arrival in France (0:39)
22. Vesper in the Shower (0:42)
23. Hi There Miss Goodthighs (1:15)
24. Dream On James, You’re Winning (1:17) –  Mike Redway
25. Le Chiffre’s Magic Act / My Name is Bond, James Bond (1:14)
26. Vesper’s Kidnapping (0:44)
27. Torture Sequence (0:29)
28. Mata’s Kidnapping / Flying Saucer (1:05)
29.  Sister McTarry (0:36)
30. Fight in Casino Manager’s Office / Dr. Noah’s Headquarters (2:09)
31. The LSD Room (0:34)
32. The Big Fight at Casino Royale (4:30)
33. Seven Bonds in Heaven / End Title (2:25) – Mike Redway

CD 2: The Soundtrack Album (originally released as Colgems LP COSO-5005, 1967)

1. Casino Royale Theme (Main Title) (2:36) – Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
2. The Look of Love (4:09) – Dusty Springfield
3. Money Penny Goes for Broke (1:38)
4. Le Chiffre’s Torture of the Mind (2:10)
5. Home James, Don’t Spare the Horses (1:31)
6.  Sir James’ Trip to Find Mata (3:48)
7. The Look of Love (Instrumental) (2:46)
8. Hi There Miss Goodthighs (1:14)
9. Little French Boy (2:21)
10. Flying Saucer / First Stop Berlin (2:52)
11. The Venerable Sir James Bond (2:30)
12. Dream on James, You’re Winning (1:18)
13. The Big Cowboys and Indians Fight at Casino Royale / Casino Royale Theme (Reprise) (4:57) – Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass

One of the early supergroups in rock history, comprised of keyboardist Keith Emerson of The Nice, King Crimson bassist Greg Lake on guitar and vocals and drummer Greg Palmer of Atomic Rooster, ELP were a defining force in progressive rock music, melding traditional rock statements with jazz and classically-inspired arrangements, quoting composers from Bach and Copland to Prokofiev and Mussorgsky.

Though they were never major presences on the charts (save the U.K. No. 2 hit “Fanfare for the Common Man”), their works enjoy constant rotation on classic rock radio, notably “Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression (Part 2),” featuring the iconic opening line that gives this post (as well as a 1974 live album) its name. ELP broke up in 1979, after which Emerson and Lake toured with former Rainbow drummer Cozy Powell in the 1980s; the band reunited from 1991 to 1998 and played a one-off anniversary concert in 2010.

In addition to a new, 14-track compilation, The Best of Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Come and See the Show, which is available today, the label announced remastered, expanded releases of the band’s first six albums (studio albums Emerson, Lake & Palmer (1970), Tarkus (1971), Trilogy (1972) and Brain Salad Surgery (1973) and live albums Pictures at an Exhibition (1971) and Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends…Ladies and Gentlemen, Emerson, Lake & Palmer (1974)) as due this year.

It will not be the first reissue campaign for the band; Rhino remastered and expanded several of the band’s albums in the 1990s, as did Shout! Factory with different bonus material in the last five years.

Hit the jump to check out the new compilation (“currently unavailable” on Amazon) and keep it here for ELP reissue news as it’s reported!

The Best of Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Come and See the Show (Razor & Tie, 2012)

1. Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression (Part 2)
2. Lucky Man
3. From the Beginning
4. Knife-Edge
5. Hoedown (Taken from Rodeo)
6. Jerusalem
7. C’est La Vie
8. Still…You Turn Me On
9. Tank
10. Fanfare for the Common Man
11. Toccata
12. Peter Gunn (Live @ The Olymic Stadium, Montreal – 8/26/1977)
13. Nutrocker
14. I Believe in Father Christmas

Tracks 1, 6, 8 and 11 from Brain Salad Surgery (Manticore, 1973)
Tracks 2, 4 and 9 from Emerson, Lake & Palmer (Island (U.K.), 1970/Cotillion (U.S.), 1971)
Tracks 3 and 5 from Trilogy (Island (U.K.)/Cotillion (U.S.), 1971)
Tracks 7 and 10 from Works, Volume 1 (Atlantic, 1977)
Track 12 from In Concert (Atlantic, 1979)
Track 13 from Pictures at an Exhibition (Island (U.K.), 1971/Cotillion (U.S.), 1972)
Track 14 from Works, Volume 2 (Atlantic, 1977)

When the singer’s gone, let the song go on…

How lucky we are that Arthur Garfunkel is still very much with us. Jimmy Webb wrote those words for the unlikely rock star, a former architecture student endowed with a purity of tone and the ability to pierce the heart. Garfunkel, of course, was the yin to Paul Simon’s yang, the Tom to his Jerry. And so, he once again bookends his old friend with a new anthology coming from Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings. Art Garfunkel: The Singer serves as a welcome companion to the recently-released Paul Simon: Songwriter.

Set for release on April 10 from Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings, Art Garfunkel’s The Singer is the first ever 2-CD career-spanning anthology for Garfunkel. Its forty tracks have been personally selected by the artist, beginning with 1964’s Simon and Garfunkel debut Wednesday Morning, 3 AM and going right up to his most recent studio set, 2007’s Some Enchanted Evening. Twelve original studio tracks from the legendary duo have been chosen for inclusion, as well as three live tracks and two “reunion” cuts: the hit singles “My Little Town” and “What a Wonderful World,” on which Garfunkel was joined not only by Simon but by James Taylor. Like the Paul Simon collection, this isn’t a standard “greatest hits” but rather a chronicle of the artist’s personal journey in music.

The Forest Hills-born Garfunkel, who turned 70 on November 5, met his future partner Paul Simon in the halls of P.S. 164 in the sixth grade, with both young men cast in a school production of Alice in Wonderland. They soon bonded over a mutual love of music, with Garfunkel citing Nat “King” Cole as just one early influence. (Garfunkel would come full circle, recording an entire album of American standards in 2007.) Beginning in 1956, Simon and Garfunkel locally performed as “Tom and Jerry,” modeling themselves on the Everly Brothers, with whom they would later collaborate. Though he and Simon briefly split in the early 1960s, with Garfunkel pursuing his continuing education at New York’s Columbia University, they reunited for Wednesday Morning 3 AM, a low-key collection of folk songs, including a number of originals penned by the precociously talented Simon. It was lost in the shuffle of the British Invasion, however, and Simon retreated to England while Garfunkel resumed his studies. When Columbia Records decided to reissue Wednesday Morning’s “The Sound of Silence” with electric overdubs in September 1965, Simon and Garfunkel were presented with ample reason to reform: the song was climbing its way to No. 1, hitting that coveted spot on New Year’s Day, 1966. Their second album, Sounds of Silence, was recorded in December 1965 during that heady time when “Silence” was making waves in the music industry. The rest is history.

Hit the jump to explore The Singer, plus a pre-order link and full track listing with album discography!

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel called it quits following the release of 1970’s epochal Bridge Over Troubled Water, but Garfunkel (always a renaissance man) had already begun a second career as an actor, receiving a Golden Globe nomination for his work in Mike Nichols’ 1971 film Carnal Knowledge. Nichols, of course, had directed The Graduate, featuring Simon and Garfunkel’s evocative score. Garfunkel returned to Columbia Records in 1973 for his solo debut, Angel Clare. It included two songs from the pen of Jimmy Webb, who would become a close ally to Garfunkel, and one of them, “All I Know,” became Garfunkel’s first solo hit. The album peaked at No. 5, and also featured compositions by such luminaries as Randy Newman, Van Morrison, and the team of Paul Williams and Roger Nichols. Rather than the orchestrated original version of “All I Know” (featuring “Bridge Over Troubled Water”-styled piano from that recording’s Larry Knechtel), Garfunkel has opted to include the song in a later rendition recorded with Jimmy Webb from 1993’s Up ‘Til Now. Webb is also represented on the new anthology with “Scissors Cut” and “In Cars” from Scissors Cut (1981) and a duet with Amy Grant, “The Decree,” from Webb’s cantata The Animals’ Christmas (1986).

Eight of Garfunkel’s solo albums between 1973 and 1993, all recorded on the Columbia label, have been tapped for The Singer. (1997’s intimate Songs From a Parent to a Child is the only overlooked solo LP.) Every No. 1 hit from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee is featured, including three Adult Contemporary No. 1s all from the 1975 album Breakaway: the title track, a revival of the standard “I Only Have Eyes For You” and the darkly-tinged Simon and Garfunkel duet “My Little Town.” Garfunkel’s gift of interpretation served him well, allowing him to tackle the works of many respected composers. On The Singer, you’ll hear songs written by Bruce Johnston (“Disney Girls,” introduced on The Beach Boys’ Surf’s Up), Carole King and Howard Greenfield (“Crying In The Rain” (with James Taylor joining Garfunkel in this Everly Brothers homage), Antonio Carlos Jobim (“Waters of March”) and Frank Loesser and Hoagy Carmichael (“Two Sleepy People”). After having contributed to the arrangements of many traditional songs both with Paul Simon and as a solo artist, Garfunkel began songwriting himself. “The Thread” and “Perfect Moment” are both co-written by Garfunkel, included from 2002’s Everything Waits to Be Noticed.

Art Garfunkel: The Singer celebrates but one central aspect of this performer, writer, actor and poet. It arrives in stores on April 10, and you can pre-order below. Listening to its forty songs, it’s clear that, at least for a couple of hours, what a wonderful world this will be.

Art Garfunkel, The Singer (Columbia/Legacy 88691 95801 2, 2012)

CD 1

1. Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon and Garfunkel)
2. All I Know (with Jimmy Webb)
3. Perfect Moment (with Buddy Mondlock and Maia Sharp)
4. Scarborough Fair/Canticle (Simon and Garfunkel)
5. Cryin’ in the Rain (with James Taylor)
6. I Only Have Eyes For You (with Nicky Hopkins)
7. The Boxer (Simon and Garfunkel)
8. Cecilia (Bridge Over Troubled Water)
9. 99 Miles From LA
10. Wednesday Morning 3 AM (Simon and Garfunkel)
11. (What A) Wonderful World (with James Taylor and Paul Simon)
12. Bright Eyes
13. Two Sleepy People
14. Skywriter
15. My Little Town (Simon and Garfunkel)
16. For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her (Simon and Garfunkel)
17. Some Enchanted Evening
18. Disney Girls (with Bruce Johnston and Toni Tennille)
19. The Thread (with Maia Sharp and Buddy Mondlock)
20. Barbara Allen

CD 2

1. Kathy’s Song (Simon and Garfunkel)
2. Scissors Cut
3. The Sound of Silence (Simon and Garfunkel)
4. Breakaway (with Graham Nash and David Crosby)
5. So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright (Simon and Garfunkel)
6. Waters of March (with Billy Payne)
7. Old Friends/Bookends (Simon and Garfunkel)
8. The Decree (with Amy Grant)
9. A Hazy Shade of Winter (Simon and Garfunkel)
10. El Condor Pasa (Simon and Garfunkel)
11. I Wonder Why (with Kenny Rankin)
12. The Promise (with Steve Gadd)
13. I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face
14. When A Man Loves A Woman (with Michael Brecker)
15. O Come All Ye Faithful (with Eric Weissberg)
16. April Come She Will (Simon and Garfunkel)
17. Mrs. Robinson (Simon and Garfunkel)
18. A Heart in New York (with Michael Brecker)
19. Song for the Asking (Simon and Garfunkel)
20. In Cars

CD 1, Tracks 1 & 7-8 and CD 2, Tracks 5 & 10 from Bridge Over Troubled Water (Columbia, 1970)
CD 1, Tracks 2, 5 & 13-14 from Up ‘Til Now (Columbia, 1993)
CD 1, Tracks 3 & 19 from Everything Waits to Be Noticed (Blue Note/Manhattan, 2002)
CD 1, Track 4 from Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme (Columbia, 1966)
CD 1, Tracks 6, 9, 15 & 18 and CD 2, Tracks 4 & 6 from Breakaway (Columbia, 1975)
CD 1, Track 10 from Live From New York City: 1967 (Columbia/Legacy, 2002)
CD 1, Track 11 from Watermark (Columbia, 1978)
CD 1, Track 12 from Fate for Breakfast (Columbia U.K., 1979)
CD 1, Track 16 from Simon & Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits (Columbia, 1972)
CD 1, Track 17 & CD 2, Track 13 from Some Enchanted Evening (Atco, 2007)
CD 1, Track 20 from Angel Clare (Columbia, 1973)
CD 2, Track 1 from Simon & Garfunkel – Old Friends: Live on Stage 2004 (Columbia, 2004)
CD 2, Tracks 2, 18 & 20 from Scissors Cut (Columbia, 1981)
CD 2, Track 3 from Wednesday Morning 3 AM (Columbia, 1964)
CD 2, Tracks 7, 9 & 17 from Bookends (Columbia, 1968)
CD 2, Track 8 from The Animals’ Christmas (Columbia, 1986)
CD 2, Tracks 11-12 & 14 from Lefty (Columbia, 1988)
CD 2, Track 15 from Acoustic Christmas (Columbia, 1990)
CD 2, Track 16 from Sounds of Silence (Columbia, 1965)
CD 2, Track 19 from Simon & Garfunkel – Live 1969 (Columbia/Legacy, 2008)

The United Kingdom’s JSP Records has received considerable and deserved acclaim for two recent anthologies of the singer’s material, 2010’s Judy Garland: Lost Tracks and 2011’s Smilin’ Through: The Singles Collection 1936-1947. With the original 1961 Capitol LP having fallen out of copyright in the U.K., JSP has now brought that mono album to compact disc for the first time as the slipcased, 2-CD Judy Garland: The Historic Concert Remastered (JSP 4232, 2012), adding another wrinkle to the saga of this seminal recording. John Stedman and Lawrence Schulman have produced this reissue, following their work on those previous sets. Scott Brogan, founder of The Judy Room and webmaster of Liza Minnelli’s official website, provides four pages of historical liner notes.

In 1987, Judy at Carnegie Hall made its CD debut in an unfortunately abridged single-disc version (Capitol CCDP 7 46470 2). This disc omitted that famous overture (!), plus “Do It Again,” “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” and “Alone Together.” Capitol’s next CD issue in 1989 (CDP 7 90014-2) presented the LPs in full on two discs and even added some of Garland’s patter as a bonus for the first time. Yet this reissue was hardly definitive; Capitol couldn’t locate the concert performance of “Alone Together,” and replaced it with the artist’s studio version recorded for the That’s Entertainment! LP. Capitol was unaware that while tape ran out on one of the two recorders in use during the concert, the song was preserved for posterity on the second recorder’s backup tape.

Mastering guru Steve Hoffman of the DCC label located this tape in the EMI vaults, and persuaded Capitol’s powers-that-be to allow DCC to release the first-ever complete Judy at Carnegie Hall, from curtain-up to curtain-down, with all of Garland’s stories and talk intact, and in the correct sequence. 2000’s 24K Gold release (DCC GZS (2) 1135) quickly became a highly sought-after collectible as it featured “every second of this legendary night,” according to the mastering engineer. Capitol based its own complete release in 2001 (72435-27876-2-3) on this edition, though reissue producer Paul Atkinson brought in Bob Norberg to remaster the album yet again. Norberg liberally added reverb and other “enhancement” to the more “pure” Hoffman master in an attempt to capture the “hall sound,” and that version remains the standard edition available from Capitol. Oddly the label didn’t mark the album’s 50^th anniversary in 2011 despite its place in history: Judy at Carnegie Hall spent 95 weeks on the Billboard chart, 13 of them at the top. At the Grammy Awards, Carnegie Hall reaped five trophies, including Album of the Year (the first by a female artist) and Best Female Vocal Performance.

How essential is JSP’s new Judy at Carnegie Hall? Hit the jump!

The chief attraction of JSP’s reissue is the preservation of the original album sequence in its punchy and powerful mono mix. Here, as in any edition, the music is – put simply – thrilling. Judy Garland brought a near-unparalleled honesty to her vocals, regardless of the material. So when combined with some of the greatest works of the American songbook, as at Carnegie Hall, the results were even more magnificent. There’s an utter lack of artifice in these performances. Garland has been credited with introducing the two-act, solo, one-woman pop concert format, but it’s clear that by 1961, she had already perfected it, too.

The two-CD set (26 tracks on two LPs) includes heartbreaking ballads and uptempo, often-swinging displays of “pow!” that Garland’s fans expected. The entirety of the emotional spectrum is marshaled by the singer, whether via the high drama of “Alone Together,” the smoldering intoxication of “You Go to My Head” or the wistful reflection of “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love.” That latter song is one of the most potent examples of Garland as a jazz singer. She’s attuned to the orchestra, giving the musicians room to breathe even as she reinvents the song. The applause virtually drowns out the orchestra in this original album mix, and the ebullience of Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz’s “That’s Entertainment!” sounds correct following it. Yet “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” actually followed “That’s Entertainment!” as the second song of the concert’s second act! JSP’s reissue is the first compact disc to replicate the original 2-LP presentation as released in 1961, alterations and all.

Much has been written of Garland’s rapport with her audience, and indeed, it so often appears that the performer is speaking directly to her fans: “Who cares? As long as I care for you, and you care for me!” Despite the high level of intensity sustained throughout the concert on such songs as Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin’s “The Man That Got Away,” humor is very much in evidence, too, especially on a crowd-pleasing “San Francisco.” Garland brought a stunning intimacy as well as vulnerability to that beloved Arlen/Gershwin torch song (which she introduced in 1954’s A Star is Born), and indeed, her connection with Arlen, the composer of “Over the Rainbow,” is prominent throughout the set. A true exponent of the blues and the unrivaled master of the torch song, Arlen has been admired by the likes of Stephen Sondheim and Bob Dylan, and he never found a more sympathetic voice for his compositions than that of Judy Garland. He was in attendance on that April night, surely savoring her swinging “Come Rain or Come Shine” (with its insistent bongos and deeply affecting vocal that gets to the heart of Johnny Mercer’s lyric) and impassioned “Stormy Weather,” a bravura, theatrical performance on which the singer’s voice floats on a bed of strings. The quieter moments register, too, including a hushed reading of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart’s “You’re Nearer” and a sensitive take on Noel Coward’s “If Love Were All,” on which Garland’s voice is joined by piano.

So many songs are greeted with the “recognition applause” with which dedicated concertgoers are familiar. Garland fans long marveled at the changing nature of her performances, taking songs she had mastered as a child and reinventing them with a newfound and altogether different depth. Her mature “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart!” is brash and definitive, and “Over the Rainbow” touchingly rendered. When she invites the audience to sing along to another remnant of her MGM days, “For Me and My Gal,” they’re clearly all too happy to acquiesce to her request!

The original Judy at Carnegie Hall, as heard here, lacks the charming and funny between-song patter added for the complete, official Capitol and DCC compact disc editions. JSP’s The Historic Concert Remastered has been remastered by Peter Rynston at Tall Order, who has been doing fine work of late for the Edsel label. The JSP edition cannot compete with the stunning clarity of the Hoffman remaster, and many modern ears might miss the spatiality of the stereo mix present on both Hoffman and Norberg’s editions. The latter is still available from Capitol Records. Rynston has done an accurate and clean job based on the non-master tape sources he had available. With Judy at Carnegie Hall in the U.K. public domain, the floodgates are open, and another release by a competing label has already been scheduled. JSP’s edition has been produced by a team with a long association with the music of Judy Garland, and that care and attention to detail in this labor of love does show through.

Near the end of that historic Sunday evening in April 1961, Judy Garland announced, “I’ll sing ‘em all and we’ll stay all night!” She didn’t quite stay all night, but if she had chosen to, it’s doubtful that a single one of the 3,165 people in attendance would have minded one bit.

Add another name to the super-deluxe-box set pile in 2012: Motörhead. London’s biggest badasses, through Sanctuary Records in the U.K., are prepping a 16-disc collector’s set – one that’s heavy on artifice, if not necessarily revelatory in terms of content.

The Complete Early Years features CDs of all the band’s major releases from 1977 to 1984, from their iconic albums (Motörhead (1977), Overkill (1979), Bomber (1979), Ace of Spades (1980), the live No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith (1981), Iron Fist (1982) and Another Perfect Day (1983)) to a handful of non-LP singles and EPs and 1984′s No Remorse double-disc compilation. All reports have touted the set as a CD and vinyl box set, and while it’s unclear as to what will be featured on the latter format, the package photo shows what looks like a 7″ single amid the CDs (in wallet-style slipcases) and extra swag. The icing on the cake for fans is likely the package itself: a massive replica of the band’s iconic “War-Pig” logo.

Unfortunately, it seems the only audience the set exists for are new, extremely curious fans with deep pockets. All of these albums have been previously reissued with not only all the non-LP content contained herein but additional B-sides and live and studio vault material, making the set far from complete. And with a jaw-dropping price tag – $617.41 on Amazon, with no sign of the set on Amazon’s U.K. pages – one could argue you’d have to be as crazy as band frontman Lemmy Kilmister to snap up a copy.

Whatever your take, the box is to be released on February 21, and you can view its contents after the jump.

UPDATE: Much like Elvis Costello, Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister has spoken out against the price of the box. “Unfortunately greed once again rears its yapping head,” the singer said in a statement. “I would advise against it even for the most rabid completists!”

Motörhead, The Complete Early Years (Sanctuary (U.K.), 2012)

Disc 1: Motörhead (originally released as Chiswick WIK-2, 1977)

1. Motörhead
2. Vibrator
3. Lost Johnny
4. Iron Horse/Born to Lose
5. White Line Fever
6. Keep Us on the Road
7. The Watcher
8. The Train Kept A-Rollin’

Disc 2: Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers EP (recorded 1977, originally released as Big Beat NS-61, 1980)

1. Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers
2. On Parole
3. Instro
4. I’m Your Witch Doctor

Disc 3: Overkill (originally released as Bronze Records BRON 515, 1979)

1. Overkill
2. Stay Clean
3. (I Won’t) Pay Your Price
4. I’ll Be Your Sister
5. Capricorn
6. No Class
7. Damage Case
8. Tear Ya Down
9. Metropolis
10. Limb from Limb

Disc 4: “Louie Louie” single (originally released as Bronze Records BRO 60, 1978)

1. Louie Louie
2. Tear Ya Down

Disc 5: Bomber (originally released as Bronze Records BRON 523, 1979)

1. Dead Men Tell No Tales
2. Lawman
3. Sweet Revenge
4. Sharpshooter
5. Poison
6. Stone Dead Forever
7. All the Aces
8. Step Down
9. Talking Head
10. Bomber

Disc 6: Golden Years EP (originally released as Bronze Records BRO 92, 1980)

1. Leaving Here (Live)
2. Stone Dead Forever (Live)
3. Dead Men Tell No Tales (Live)
4. Too Late Too Late (Live)

Disc 7: Ace of Spades (originally released as Bronze Records BRON 531, 1980)

1. Ace of Spades
2. Love Me Like a Reptile
3. Shoot You in the Back
4. Live to Win
5. Fast and Loose
6. (We Are) the Road Crew
7. Fire Fire
8. Jailbait
9. Dance
10. Bite the Bullet
11. The Chase is Better Than the Catch
12. The Hammer

Disc 8: St. Valentine’s Day Massacre EP (originally released as Bronze Records BRO 116, 1980)

1. Please Don’t Touch – Motörhead and Girlschool
2. Emergency - Motörhead and Denise Duford
3. Bomber – Girlschool

Disc 9: No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith (originally released as Bronze Records BRON 535, 1981)

1. Ace of Spades (Live)
2. Stay Clean (Live)
3. Metropolis (Live)
4. The Hammer (Live)
5. Iron Horse/Born to Lose (Live)
6. No Class (Live)
7. Overkill (Live)
8. (We Are) the Road Crew (Live)
9. Capricorn (Live)
10. Bomber (Live)
11. Motörhead (Live)

Disc 10: Iron Fist (originally released as Bronze Records BRNA 539, 1982)

1. Iron Fist
2. Heart of Stone
3. I’m the Doctor
4. Go to Hell
5. Loser
6. Sex and Outrage
7. America
8. Shut It Down
9. Speedfreak
10. (Don’t Let ‘Em) Grind You Down
11. (Don’t Need) No Religion
12. Bang To Rights

Disc 11: Wendy O. Williams and Lemmy, Stand by Your Man EP (originally released as Bronze Records BRO 151, 1982)

1. Stand by Your Man – Wendy & Lemmy
2. No Class - Wendy & Lemmy
3. Masterplan - Wendy & Lemmy

Disc 12: Another Perfect Day (originally released as Bronze Records BRON 546, 1983)

1. Back At the Funny Farm
2. Shine
3. Dancing on Your Grave
4. Rock It
5. One Track Mind
6. Another Perfect Day
7. Marching Off to War
8. I Got Mine
9. Tales of Glory
10. Die You Bastard!

Disc 13: “Shine” single (originally released as Bronze BROX 167, 1983)

1. Shine
2. (I’m Your) Hoochie Coochie Man (Live @ Sheffield University – 6/9/1983)
3. (Don’t Need) Religion (Live @ The Apollo, Manchester – 6/10/1983)

Disc 14-15: No Remorse (originally released as Bronze Records PROLP 5, 1984)

1. Ace of Spades
2. Motörhead
3. Jailbait
4. Stay Clean
5. Too Late, Too Late
6. Killed by Death *
7. Bomber
8. Iron Fist
9. Shine
10. Dancing on Your Grave
11. Metropolis
12. Snaggletooth *

1. Overkill
2. Please Don’t Touch
3. Stone Dead Forever
4. Like a Nightmare
5. Emergency
6. Steal Your Face *
7. Louie Louie
8. No Class
9. Iron Horse
10. (We Are) the Road Crew
11. Leaving Here (Live)
12. Locomotive *

* denotes new tracks first released on this compilation

Disc 16: “Killed by Death” single (originally released as Bronze Records BROX 185, 1984)

1. Killed by Death
2. Under the Knife
3. Under the Knife

All the Years Combine: The DVD Collection is a 14-disc set that collects more than a dozen vintage Grateful Dead films and concerts from 1977 to 1991, with loads of bonus content to boot. The Grateful Dead Movie, The Closing of Winterland, Dead Ahead, Ticket to New Year’s, Truckin’ Up to Buffalo, Downhill from Here and the four volumes of View from The Vault will all be packaged into this set, featuring all their original DVD bonus features (including bonus discs from The Grateful Dead Movie and Winterland).

For collectors, there are some great treats coming from the vaults, too: the box will feature the first-ever DVD release of So Far, an hour-long Dead documentary released on VHS and laserdisc in 1987 and largely unseen since, as well as a bonus disc featuring Backstage Pass, a 1992 documentary, bonus performances and a new interview with David Lemieux, the band’s archivist since 1999 (he of 2012′s new Dave’s Picks series).

All the Years Combine, available April 17, will keep you truckin’ for hours on end. Click the jump to order a copy and view a rundown of the discs.

The Grateful Dead, All the Years Combine: The DVD Collection (Shout! Factory, 2012)

Discs 1-2: The Grateful Dead Movie (Theatrical film, originally released in 1977)

• Original film with original multichannel sound mix, new stereo mix and new 5.1 surround sound mix
• More than 95 minutes of bonus concert footage
• Bonus songs transferred from original 16 mm film negative
• Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1 audio mixes on all bonus songs mixed from original multitracks
• The Making of The Grateful Dead Movie documentary
• The Making of The Animated Sequence documentary
• The Making of The DVD documentary
• Mars Hotel TV commercial
• Multi-camera/multitrack audio demonstration
• Photo gallery featuring productions notes, photos, film stills and other historical items from the Movie’s production

Discs 3-4: The Closing of Winterland (Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, – 12/31/1978)

• Exclusive interviews
• Bonus footage
• Blues Brothers songs (“Soul Man,” “B Movie Box Car Blues” – John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Donald “Duck” Dunn and Paul Shaffer)
• New Riders of the Purple Sage photo montage with audio (“Glendale Train”)
• Winterland histroy with archival photos
• Archival interviews from 1978, photos, newspaper items
• Detailed history of Grateful Dead at Winterland photo gallery
• Winterland documentary film

Disc 5: Dead Ahead (Radio City Music Hall, New York City – October 1980)

• More than 50 minutes of previously unreleased concert footage
• Transferred from original master 1″ video in full color
• Original stereo mix and new 5.1 surround mix for original program and bonus songs

Disc 6: So Far (Originally released on VHS and laser disc in 1987 — first time on DVD)

Disc 7: Ticket to New Year’s (Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, CA – 12/31/1987)

• Bonus features include fan Q&As, Jerry’s backstage kitchen and more

Disc 8: Truckin’ Up to Buffalo (Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY – 7/4/1989)

Disc 9: Downhill from Here (Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI – 7/17/1989)

Disc 10: View from The Vault (Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh – 7/8/1990)

Disc 11: View from The Vault II* (RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. – 6/14/1991)

• Includes four bonus performances from the RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. – 7/12/1990

Disc 12: View from The Vault III (Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA – 6/16/1990)

• Includes four bonus performances from the Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA – 10/3/1987

Disc 13: View from The Vault IV (Oakland Stadium, Oakland, CA, 7/24/1987 and Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, CA, 7/26/1987)

Disc 14: Bonus disc

• Five previously unreleased live performances from the Grateful Dead archive
• Backstage Pass, the 1992 documentary directed by Justin Kreutzmann
• Brand-new interview with Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux