Release Round-Up: Week of May 5

May 5, 2015 By Joe Marchese — No Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Oddly, releases were split between yesterday and today, but both days add up to a wealth of titles in nearly every genre! Without a doubt, this is one of the most packed weeks yet this year!

Jackie DeShannon, All the Love: The Lost Atlantic Recordings (Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

All the Love–The Lost Atlantic Recordings brings together DeShannon’s entire 1973 Atlantic Records material in one place for the first time, including seven previously unreleased tracks plus her four collaborations with Van Morrison and the songs which originally premiered on Rhino Handmade’s Jackie…Plus. I’ve written the liner notes based on a new interview with Jackie!

Perry Como, Look to Your Heart: Expanded Edition (Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. )

Perry’s 1968 album of love songs and Broadway showtunes makes its debut on CD, expanded with an entire second’s album worth of material: non album-singles and five previously unreleased recordings capturing Perry in a time of musical transition. Chances are you haven’t heard Perry Como like this before – this collection features songs from Harry Nilsson, Sedaka and Greenfield, Bacharach and David and more! It’s all newly remastered by Maria Triana, and I’ve provided the liner notes!

Jethro Tull, Minstrel in the Gallery: 40th Anniversary La Grande Edition (Chrysalis/Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Jethro Tull’s Minstrel in the Gallery celebrates its 40th with a 2-CD/2-DVD book-style edition including new 5.1 and stereo mixes of the original album, the original stereo and quadraphonic mixes, a previously unreleased concert in 5.1 and stereo, and more! Also available in single-disc and vinyl iterations.

Todd Rundgren, Hans-Peter Lindstrom and Emil Nikolaisen, Runddans (Smalltown Supersound) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Runddans is described by the label as “the result of the collaboration between Todd Rundgren, Hans-Peter Lindstrom and Emil Nikolaisen. It’s a spiritual magnusopus, that stands alongside Rundgren’s most worshipped trippy albums of the seventies, fusing his blue eyed soul with Lindstrom’s disco epics and Emil Nikolaisen’s studio trickery into a cosmic mix of soul, synth, pop and disco.” Got all that? Then maybe you’d like to check out the latest from one of music’s most restless innovators and his newest collaborators!

Nils Lofgren, Nils Lofgren / Jorge Ben, Ben: Expanded Edition / Billy Ward and His Dominoes, The Complete Federal/King Singles (Real Gone)

Nils Lofgren: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Jorge Ben: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Billy Ward and His Dominoes: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

It’s another auspicious slate from Real Gone Music featuring the return of Nils Lofgren’s “Fat Man” album with new liner notes by the guitar hero himself; an expanded edition of Brazilian great Jorge Ben’s album Ben; and a complete collection of 45s from Billy Ward and His Dominoes, the group that launched Jackie Wilson and Clyde McPhatter to stardom!

Original Soundtrack Recording, The Sound of Music (Hybrid SACD) (Analog Spark) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Razor and Tie’s audiophile imprint Analog Spark launches with the first-ever high resolution SACD issue of the original 1965 soundtrack to Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music!

Grace Jones, The Disco Years (Universal U.K.) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

This new box set includes the fashion and music icon’s Portfolio, Fame and Muse, three albums recorded for Island Records at the height of the disco era with contributions from Tom Moulton, Vince Montana and more. The albums are expanded with over 20 bonus B-sides, edits, instrumentals and extended mixes, some previously unreleased.

Miles Davis, Take Off: The Complete Blue Note Albums / Herbie Hancock, Empyrean Isles/Maiden Voyage / John Coltrane, Blue Train : Blu-Ray Audio Editions (Blue Note)

Miles Davis: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. TBD
Herbie Hancock: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. TBD
John Coltrane: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. TBD

Blue Note brings some of the heaviest hitters in its catalogue to high-resolution Blu-ray Audio for the very first time – with titles from Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and John Coltrane!

Dames at Sea; Original London Cast Recording (Masterworks Broadway) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The 1969 London Cast Recording of George Haimsohn, Robin Miller and Jim Wise’s 1968 musical features an all-British cast performing the musical comedy with orchestrations that vary considerably for those created for the original off-Broadway album. Available since April 14 on CD-R from Masterworks Broadway’s website, it’s now available as a digital download through the usual sources (see Amazon link above) and a CD-R exclusively through Arkiv Music. The Original Broadway Cast Recording of Two’s Company starring Bette Davis should also be hitting the Masterworks Broadway store at any time now!

John Lodge, 10,000 Light Years Ago (Esoteric Antenna/MVD) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

10,000 Light Years Ago marks the first solo album since 1977 for the Moody Blues’ bassist/vocalist/songwriter! It features guest contributions from Ray Thomas and Mike Pinder of The Moody Blues as well as guitarist Chris Spedding, and includes songs such as “Those Days in Birmingham,” “Love Passed Me By” and the title track! The U.K. edition (at the above link) includes a bonus DVD!

Don’t forget to visit our new Release Calendar for the lowdown on all the music to come!

Categories:

Release Round-Up

Formats:

Blu-Ray Audio, Box Sets, CD, DVD, Digital Download, SACD, Vinyl

Genres:

Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Disco/Dance, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks

Tags:

Billy Ward and His Dominoes, Herbie Hancock, Jackie DeShannon, Jethro Tull, John Coltrane, John Lodge, Jorge Ben, Julie Andrews, Miles Davis, Nils Lofgren, Perry Como, Todd Rundgren

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.