Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a host of titles on CD and vinyl!

Fleetwood Mac, In Concert (Warner Bros./Rhino)  (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

This 3-LP concert album features 22 live recordings from Fleetwood Mac’s 1979-1980 tour, originally presented in December on the Tusk Deluxe Edition box set, for the very first time on vinyl.  The music heard on In Concert was recorded at four stops (Wembley, Tucson, St. Louis, Omaha) during the band’s 111-show world tour promoting Tusk.  This release has been pressed on 180-gram vinyl with Tusk-inspired artwork, and its three LPs will be housed in a tri-fold jacket.

The O’Jays, Back Stabbers (Limited Edition Vinyl) (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1972’s Back Stabbers was the breakthrough album for The O’Jays and also put Philadelphia International Records on the map.  Produced by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, the album went to #10 on the Billboard charts while the title song was a #3 hit and the immortal “Love Train” went to #1.  The sounds coming out of Philadelphia would help to define soul music for the rest of the 1970s and into the 1980s with Gamble and Huff, along with Thom Bell, producing some of the decade’s biggest hits with artists like the O’Jays, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Teddy Pendergrass, MFSB, Billy Paul and Lou Rawls.  This new 180-gram black vinyl edition is limited to 700 copies.

Janis Joplin, Little Girl Blue: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Columbia/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Legacy presents the soundtrack to director Amy J. Berg’s new documentary portrait of the late Janis Joplin.  This 17-track disc includes the Rodgers and Hart-penned title song as well as classic performances from Big Brother and the Holding Company, the Kozmic Blues Band, Janis and the Full Tilt Boogie Band and the singer’s solo output.  One previously unreleased track, a live “Piece of My Heart” with Big Brother, makes its debut here.  It was recorded live at the Generation Club in New York City in April 1968 during the Wake for Martin Luther King concert and included in the 1991 D.A. Pennebaker/Chris Hegedus short film Comin’ Home, has been never been available as a commercial audio release until now.  Berg also provides new liner notes here.

Margaret Whiting, The Complete London Recordings (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The Complete London Recordings by Margaret Whiting, a new 2-CD set, brings together the three albums the classic pop vocalist recorded for the London label in the 1960s and also features non-LP singles and rarities.  Real Gone originally released these two CDs separately in 2013.

Lords of the New Church, The Complete I.R.S. Albums Collection (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Real Gone has a definitive collection from the punk supergroup Lords of the New Church.  The Complete I.R.S. Albums collection is a 3-CD set which brings together the three albums recorded by the group for the label beginning with their 1982 debut.  These were originally released separately by Real Gone in 2012.

Loretta Lynn, Full Circle (Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The legendary Loretta Lynn returns with her first new studio album in over a decade.  Full Circle, produced by John Carter Cash at Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, TN, features 14 new tracks from the country queen including duets with Elvis Costello and Willie Nelson.  Available on CD, DD and vinyl.

Loretta Lynn: Still a Mountain Girl DVD (Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Joining Full Circle is this DVD release of a new American Masters documentary exploring Loretta Lynn’s remarkable career.  The 132-minute film Still a Mountain Girl includes interviews with Jack White, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and many others, as well as footage from Lynn’s own archives.

The Three Degrees, Strategy: Our Tribute to Philadelphia (SoulMusic/Cherry Red) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

SoulMusic Records and Cherry Red present The Three Degrees’ thirteenth studio album, and first since 2009.  Strategy: Our Tribute to Philadelphia brings the vocal trio (now consisting of Helen Scott, Valerie Holiday and Freddie Pool) full circle with a selection of their favorite songs from the golden age of Philly soul and disco including “Love Train,” “Disco Inferno” and “Me and Mr. Jones.”  Read more about this release here!

Brett Harris, Up in the Air (Hit the Deck) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

North Carolina-based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Brett Harris has made quite a splash collaborating with the dB’s and celebrating Big Star’s Third at a series of acclaimed performances; his solo album Up in the Air features 10 new songs from the rising star pop auteur.  Also available on digital download, with a vinyl release coming in April.  Watch a full review in this space soon!

Bing Crosby, Good and Rare: Volume 3 (Sepia) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Sepia Recordings continues its long-running series of Bing Crosby releases with the third volume ofGood and Rare.  Here you’ll find previously unissued recordings, alternates and rehearsal recordings beginning with an alternate take of his hit Victor recording of “Ol’ Man River.”  Also featured are three previously unissued recordings Crosby made for the war effort and rehearsal recordings of “It’s Easy to Remember” (1934) and “Where is Central Park?” (1938).  This is a public domain release in accordance with EU laws.

Vic Dana, Warm and Wild/This is Vic Dana (Sepia) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Vic Dana’s debut album This is Vic Dana, from 1961, is joined on one CD by its follow-up, 1962’s Warm and Wild.  Dana started his recording career in the early 1960s as a teenager and made the Top Ten with “Red Roses For A Blue Lady” a few years later.  Here you’ll find his first chart entry, “Little Altar Boy,” also recorded by artists including Andy Williams and Glen Campbell.  This is a public domain release in accordance with current EU laws.

Mario Lanza, Never Till Now (Sepia) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Sepia has a new offering from legendary tenor Mario Lanza (1921-1959) comprising English-language studio recordings, radio broadcasts, film outtakes, and a live performance, all spanning the years 1950 to 1958. This new compilation also includes previously unreleased spoken introductions by the singer.  This is a public domain release in accordance with current EU laws.