Marvin Gaye, What's Going On: 40th Anniversary Edition (Motown/UMe)
Two CDs feature the original album and a host of rarities, single mixes, and all the best outtakes leading up to the making of this R&B classic (almost a dozen of which are unreleased). The deluxe package is rounded out by the great Detroit mix of the album on vinyl. (Check out our two-part interview with Harry Weinger on the set!) (Amazon)
Paul Simon, Paul Simon / There Goes Rhymin' Simon / In Concert: Live Rhymin' / Still Crazy After All These Years (Columbia/Legacy)
The Rhino reissues (plus Simon's first live album with two unreleased tracks, which was never released when Warner reissued his catalogue) are back in print, only on Legacy instead. Plenty of worthwhile stuff if you missed it the first time around, and not a total loss thanks to Live Rhymin'. (Official site)
Frank Sinatra, Ring-a-Ding-Ding! Expanded Edition (Concord)
The Chairman's first release for his own label, Reprise, comes out on Concord with two bonus tracks (including the unreleased "Have You Met Miss Jones?"). (Joe has a review coming up later today.) (Official site)
INXS, INXS Remastered (Universal U.K.)
A 10-disc boxset featuring straight remasters of all the band's albums, from INXS (1980) toElegantly Wasted (1997). Don't forget, though, that expanded reissues of some of these albums exist - and another reissue of Kick is allegedly in the works. (Official site)
Suede, Suede: Expanded Edition (Demon Music Group)
The Britpop band's first album was reissued in the U.K. last week as a 2 CD/1 DVD package, and it's now available on U.S. shores. The remainder of the band's catalogue shall be expanded over the next month. (Official site)
Dean Martin, Classic Dino: The Best of Dean Martin / Dino: The Essential Dean Martin (Capitol/EMI) / Cool Then, Cool Now (Hip-O/UMe)
On the very day of Dino's birth, three(!) compilations are released: a single-disc set, a double-disc reissue of Martin's 2004 compilation (with an unreleased track), and another two-disc CD with book from Hip-O featuring some rarer tracks. (Official site)
Depeche Mode, Remixes 2: 81-11 (Mute)
A hefty collection of remixes old and new, including some mixes by Vince Clarke and Alan Wilder - essentially reuniting the band's original lineup. (Official site)
Joy Division/New Order, Total: The Best of Joy Division and New Order (Rhino U.K.)
The first commercially-available compilation of both bands on one package. Outside of the one New Order track on the set, though, there isn't much for anyone but brand new fans. (Rhino U.K.)
David Bowie, Golden Years (Digital EP) (Virgin/EMI)
Some new digital-only remixes of the Station to Station classic. (iTunes)
AC/DC, Let There Be Rock (Warner Bros.)
The DVD/Blu-Ray debut of the Aussie rockers' 1980 concert film, shot in Paris at the end of 1979, mere months before original lead singer Bon Scott died. (Official site)
Iron Maiden, From Fear to Eternity: The Best of 1990-2010 (EMI)
Two discs of Iron Maiden from 1990 to now, including one rare live B-side. (Official site)
Black Sabbath, Born Again: Deluxe Edition (Sanctuary/UMC U.K.)
The only Sabbath album with Deep Purple's Ian Gillan on lead vocals, this import reissue - already available in the U.K. - comes with an unreleased live show and a few outtakes. (Amazon U.K.)
Roger Waters, Roger Waters Collection (Sony Music U.K.)
Remasters of all of Roger Waters' solo studio LPs plus the live CD/DVD set In the Flesh from 2000. Worth picking up if you'd like to catch up with all of the ex-Pink Floyd member's solo work at once. (Official site)
Justin Bieber, My Worlds Acoustic (Island)
Nope, not making this one up! This cash-grab EP is making its debut to general retail, having been a Wal-Mart exclusive since last Christmas. (Official site)
Release Round-Up: Week of November 22
Try to See Things Their Way: Ace Preps 'Here, There and Everywhere,' Third Collection of Beatles Covers Through a Black Lens
Shot Right Through with a Bolt of Blue: New Order Outline Definitive Edition of 'Brotherhood'
"Les Cousins: The Soundtrack to Soho's Legendary Folk and Blues Club" Features Paul Simon, Nick Drake, Cat Stevens, Al Stewart
This compilation is very good because is covers both great bands from Joy Division and New order. Hellbent is a classic New order song with great music in it, whatever this band touches turns to gold, I still can’t wait for the WFTSC leftovers, if Hellbent sound this good which is a leftover from the WFTSC sessions just imagine how the other songs are going to sound, some of the left over tracks are called Sugarcane, Madonna and Brothers and sisters, I am very eager to listen to these songs and again Hellbent is a great song.
So are the Suede reissues getting actual US releases, or are they just being imported?
If the album cover in the us release appears changed, with the infamous "the london suede", i'll get bored!...
I got Black Sabbath's Born Again and the massive Ozzy Osbourne Blizzard and Diary Boxset last week and it was a huge metal weekend for me! The Born Again remaster is great and has a little more clarity than the 1996 Castle remaster. The bonus disc with 2 rarities and a live BBC concert featuring Sabbath performing a very heavy version of Smoke on the Water is terrific! I think the latest remaster could have been tweaked a little more but this has always been a murky sounding album which has often detracted from the fact that there are some great songs.
The Ozzy boxset is great and it is nice that the Osbournes came to their senses and brought back the original Blizzard and Diary albums properly restored. George Marino did a great job bringing it all back with a sonic clarity that wasn't on the 1995 remasters. Those remasters are good, but the 2011 reissues are the best and of course the less said about the 2002 reissues the better!!!!!
As for the bonus tracks on Blizzard, I like You Looking At Me Looking At You and the Randy Rhoads solo outtake RR which is like a cross between Van Halen's Eruption and Brian May's Brighton Rock solo. The guitar/vocal remix of Goodbye to Romance is good, but I would have prefered to have seen the hard to find Ozzy Mr Crowley Live EP featuring live cuts of Mr Crowley, Suicide Solution and the very cool track unreleased track, You Said It All. Perhaps we could see those tracks at a later date or maybe even as an exclusive iTunes download?
The bonus Ozzy live disc on Dairy of A Madman is just way too cool for words. I think it is the definitive Ozzy and Randy live album and rumor has it that it might be the official release of a bootleg called Bat's Head Soup. Compared to 1987's Tribute disc, which is great, Ozzy Live 1981 is just better. Randy Rhoads is on fire here but Ozzy really sounds great! I would go as far to say that Live 1981 is Ozzy's equivalent to Led Zeppelin's How The West Was Won.
I haven't played the vinyl yet, but the coffee table book is great although I suspect that the Osbournes still have some animosity towards bass player Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake. I have seen many of the pictures in the book before in magazines and in one picture Daisley has been cut out and in another he and Kerslake have been brushed out. But they both are on the back jacket of the Blizzard album which is good. The DVD is great even if the 30 Years after Blizzard documentary seems like a hasty production somewhere between a Behind The Music and a Classic Albums program. The best of the rare footage is with the After Hours program. The rare film of the 1981 Palladium concert is rough and was hard to get into at the first viewing. But after the second viewing, it is great for what it is and the DVD ends on a good note with some rare news footage from a 1982 concert featuring Over The Mountain and Mr Crowley. Overall, this is the ultimate set for arguably Ozzy's best two albums. I just hope there are more rare Ozzy and Randy concert recordings to come.
But I hope that the rest of Ozzy's catalog is going to get an upgrade as well. Even though The Ultimate Sin isn't Ozzy's best album (some people regard it as his worst) I would like to see it reissued since it has been out of print since the dreaded 2002 editions!