Release Round-Up: Week of April 21

Today’s Release Round-Up features an array of titles including a box set from the one and only Chairman of the Board, a number of vintage albums in surround sound, a classic reissue from a new Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, and more!

Ultimate Sinatra

Frank Sinatra, Ultimate Sinatra (Capitol/UMe)

4-CD Box:  Amazon U.S.Amazon U.K.
1-CD Highlights:  Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2-CD Target Exclusive: Target.com
2-LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Standard Edition DD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

The 100th birthday of Ol’ Blue Eyes is celebrated with a variety of releases under the Ultimate Sinatra umbrella, including a 4-CD box set drawing on the RCA, Columbia, Capitol and Reprise eras, highlights on 2 LPs or 1 CD, and a digital download.  Full track listings and details on bonus material can be found in our article!  A Target-exclusive edition of the standard version features a second disc of highlights from a never-before-released Australian concert available in full on the Australian edition.

Paul Revere - Revolution

Paul Revere and the Raiders, Revolution! (Now Sounds) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Today’s the date for the U.K. release of Now Sounds’ Deluxe Expanded Mono Edition of Paul Revere and the Raiders’ 1967 classic Revolution!  This lavish and generously expanded reissue, which arrives in the U.S. next week, features the entirety of the mono and stereo album mixes plus other bonus cuts.  Look for Joe’s review soon!

EWF - Open Our Eyes

Earth Wind and Fire, Open Our Eyes Hybrid SACD (Quadraphonic and Stereo Mixes) (Audio Fidelity) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Labelle - Nightbirds SACD

Labelle, Nightbirds Hybrid SACD (Quadraphonic and Stereo Mixes)  (Audio Fidelity) (Amazon U.S./ Amazon U.K. )

America - Homecoming SACD

America, Homecoming Hybrid SACD (5.1 Surround and Stereo Mixes) (Audio Fidelity) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Audio Fidelity has a host of surround releases this week on hybrid SACD (with stereo mixes playable on both SACD and the standard CD layer): quadraphonic (4.0) versions of Labelle’s Nightbirds and Earth Wind and Fire’s Open Our Eyes; and the 5.1 mix of America’s Homecoming.  You can read full details here!  The quad SACD of Billy Joel’s Streetlife Serenade appears to have been delayed until May 12!

Rush - Farewell

Rush, A Farewell to Kings Blu-ray Audio (Mercury/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Rush’s fifth studio album, originally issued in 1977, gets the Blu-ray Pure Audio treatment with 5.1 and stereo mixes in 96/24 high resolution sound.

Joan Jett - I Love Rock n Roll 33

Joan Jett, I Love Rock ‘N Roll: 33-1/3 Anniversary Edition (Blackheart) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

This 2-CD or 2-LP set from the newly-inducted Rock and Roll Hall of Famer includes the I Love Rock ‘N Roll album plus a second disc of previously unreleased live recordings from New York from 1981, the year of the album’s original release.

Dick Hyman - Moon Gas

Dick Hyman and Mary Mayo, Moon Gas: Expanded Edition (Omni) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Jazz pianist Dick Hyman teamed with vocalist Mary Mayo and producer Creed Taylor for this space-age classic, originally released in 1963.  U.K. reissue label Omni describes it as “propulsive otherworldly swing…crafted from a sublime melange of Hammond organ, Ondes Martenot, prepared guitar, oscillators and re-purposed door buzzers and kitchen appliances. Bathe in the helium highs of ‘Moon Gas’, prepare for blast-off with ‘Space Reflex’ – the future was never such a.gas!”  The label promises that the album has been remastered from the original tapes.  Hyman’s 1969 Moog album Moog – The Electric Eclectics is included in the bonus material along with two additional tracks.  A 20-page booklet also boasts new liner notes.

Jim Peterik - Risk Everything

Jim Peterik and Marc Sherer, Risk Everything (Frontiers) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

A true rock survivor returns!  Ides of March and Survivor founder Jim Peterik (also recently represented by “Sail Away” on Brian Wilson’s new album No Pier Pressure) has a brand new set of songs tailored to his collaborator, singer Marc Sherer!

Don’t forget to visit our JUST-UPDATED Release Calendar – and keep checking back for the latest release dates for all of your catalogue favorites!

Joe Marchese
Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song and beyond, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with labels including Real Gone Music and Cherry Red Records, has released newly-curated collections produced and annotated by Joe from iconic artists such as Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Spinners, Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Meat Loaf, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Liza Minnelli, Darlene Love, Al Stewart, Michael Nesmith, and many others.

Joe has written liner notes, produced, or contributed to over 200 reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them America, JD Souther, Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, BJ Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, Petula Clark, Robert Goulet, and Andy Williams.

Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray.

Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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9 thoughts on “Release Round-Up: Week of April 21”

  1. There is also an Australian exclusive 2-CD set of Ultimate Sinatra with a bonus disc of a live show (I believe it has more songs than the Target exclusive).

  2. Is it the same bonus material or different performances?? Target claims their extras are ‘previously unreleased.’ Might want to wait on the Target CD if that’s the case.

    1. The Target bonus disc features 15 tracks from the 27-track concert disc (Live at Sydney Stadium 12/2/61) being simultaneously released as the Australian-exclusive bonus disc. As such, Target’s claim is accurate, but those wishing to get the full concert recording should seek out the Australian import.

      1. I might want to do just that – Amazon doesn’t list it yet. Target’s CD is $13.99 U.S. – how much is the Australian one??

        Being that Target didn’t release all extras, I’ll probably skip their version.

        1. Depends on the retailer; the Australian edition appears to be selling on eBay for about $25 USD shipped to the States.

  3. In Re: Moon Gas: Is Omni out of business? I really love their releases, but the website link has been dead for some time.

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