Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up!
Black Sabbath Deluxe Reissue Series (Warner Bros./Rhino)
Black Sabbath: Deluxe Edition - Amazon U.S.: 2CD / 2LP
Amazon Canada: 2CD / Amazon U.K.: 2CD
Paranoid: Deluxe Edition - Amazon U.S.: 2CD / 2LP
Amazon Canada: 2CD / Amazon U.K.: 2CD
Master of Reality: Deluxe Edition - Amazon U.S.: 2CD / 2LP
Amazon Canada: 2CD / Amazon U.K.: 2CD
Past Lives: Amazon U.S.: 2CD / 2LP
Amazon Canada: 2CD / Amazon U.K.: 2CD
Rhino is reissuing the hard rock legends' first three albums-Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970) and Master of Reality (1971)-as deluxe 2CD and 2LP sets, along with the 2002 live collection Past Lives. These collections feature the original albums, as remastered by Rhino in 2012, alongside bonus discs of rare material previously only released in U.K.-exclusive deluxe sets issued by Sanctuary Records in 2009. (The track list for the band's self-titled debut has been rearranged to reflect the original U.S. pressing on Warner Bros., swapping out "Evil Woman (Don't Play Your Games with Me)" for its original non-LP B-side, "Wicked World"; "Evil Woman" thus features on the bonus disc.) Read full details and tracklistings here.
America, Hearts (Quadraphonic Hybrid SACD) (Audio Fidelity) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Audio Fidelity brings the original 4.0 quadraphonic mix of America's 1974 Hearts (featuring "Daisy Jane" and "Sister Golden Hair") to hybrid SACD for the first time. The 2.0 stereo layer is playable on all CD players.
Loggins & Messina, Sittin' In (Stereo Hybrid SACD) (Audio Fidelity) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Audio Fidelity presents Loggins and Messina's 1971 Sittin' In (featuring "House at Pooh Corner" and "Danny's Song") on a hybrid stereo SACD. The standard CD layer is playable on all CD players.
Carly Simon, Carly Simon (Stereo Hybrid SACD) (Mobile Fidelity) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
Mobile Fidelity has recently made available a stereo SACD of Carly Simon's 1971 Grammy-winning debut album featuring "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be." SACDs of Anticipation, No Secrets, and Hotcakes are expected to follow.
Chicago, Chicago II (Stereo Hybrid SACD) (Mobile Fidelity) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
Also recently arrived from Mobile Fidelity on stereo hybrid SACD is the 1970 sophomore album from new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Chicago. II premiered such Chicago staples as "Colour My World" and "25 or 6 to 4."
All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records (FilmRise)
DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada
Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
The 2015 must-see documentary about Russ Solomon's legendary Tower Records empire is now available on home video - and it's the next best thing to a trip to Tokyo or Dublin to visit one of the world's few remaining Tower stores!
And don't forget to "Start Your Ear Off Right" with Rhino Records' vinyl and CD campaign featuring retailer-exclusive titles from The Monkees, The Cars, The Replacements, The Velvet Underground, Devo, Bad Company, and more - all available at participating brick-and-mortar stores! For full details on the titles in this campaign and the stores at which you can purchase them, see here!
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The two Audio Fidelity discs--"Sittin'" In and "Hearts"--are must-haves, IMO. The music is great, of course, but the remastering is fantastic on both. I had an older MFSL silver disc of "Sittin' In," and I think the AF SACD blows it into the weeds.
I got the Audio Fidelity SACDs about three weeks ago, and yes, they are fantastic!