Release Round-Up: Week of April 1

April 1, 2016 By Joe Marchese — No Comments

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up!

The Go-Go’s, Beauty and the Beat / Vacation / Talk Show: Deluxe Editions (Edsel)

Beauty and the Beat: Deluxe Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Vacation: Expanded Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Talk Show: Expanded Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Edsel has expanded editions of the three classic albums by The Go-Go’s originally released between 1982 and 1984. While none of the bonus material here is unreleased, these reissues do serve to pair the respective material from Return to the Valley of The Go-Go’s up with their original albums. Beyond that, extra bonus material includes the live bonus disc from EMI’s 30th anniversary reissue of Beauty and the Beat, plus a re-recording of the band’s cover of “Cool Jerk” by The Capitols, first released on a 1990 greatest hits compilation! Read more here!

Various Artists, Motortown Revue in Paris: Deluxe Edition (Motown/Universal U.K.) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Universal U.K. expands Motortown Revue in Paris, originally released in 1965, to 2 CDs or 3 LPs – both of which add a previously unreleased twelve tracks of live Motown magic! Martha and the Vandellas, Stevie Wonder, The Miracles, Earl Van Dyke and, of course, The Supremes are all here. 31 tracks total.

Miles Davis, Miles Ahead: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Columbia/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The soundtrack to Don Cheadle’s Miles Davis biopic Miles Ahead features eleven original Davis performances culled from his recordings at both Prestige and Columbia spanning 1956-1981 as well as dialogue excerpts from the film and five original compositions by Robert Glasper. His contributions include “What’s Wrong with That?” (a jam that closes the movie imagining Cheadle as Davis playing in the present day with guest performers Glasper, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Gary Clark, Jr., Esperanza Spalding and Antonio Sanchez) and “Gone 2015,” an end-credits song with a guest turn from rapper Pharoahe Monch. Available on CD, DD and LP.

Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, Kings of Rhythm Volume 2: Keep on Truckin’ (Edsel) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

This second mini-box set in Edsel’s Bill Wyman series contains four CDs chronicling Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings’ work from 2000 to 2002. The twelve-piece band that Bill put together after leaving the Rolling Stones in 1992 recorded three albums in this period, including the 2-CD Double Bill. Disc 4, the live Travlin’ Band, was previously issued only in limited release. These discs feature such diverse talents as Gary Brooker, Georgie Fame, Albert Lee, Andy Fairweather Low, Chris Rea, Beverley Skeete, Mick Taylor and George Harrison on both covers and originals.

Earth, Wind & Fire, Head to the Sky (Quadraphonic Hybrid SACD) (Audio Fidelity) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Earth, Wind & Fire’s sophomore album for Columbia Records, 1973’s Head to the Sky, comes to hybrid SACD in its original 4.0 quadraphonic surround mix (with a 2.0 stereo layer playable on all CD players). Features the singles “Evil” and “Keep Your Head to the Sky.” Mastered by Steve Hoffman and Stephen Marsh.

The Replacements, The Sire Years (Sire/Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The 4-LP box set The Sire Years brings together all four of The Replacements’ albums for Seymour Stein’s fabled Sire label: Tim (1985), Pleased To Meet Me, (1987), Don’t Tell A Soul (1989) and All Shook Down (1990). It follows last year’s 4-LP box set The Twin/Tone Years which collected the band’s early albums on vinyl. All four albums feature the original album sequences with full original artwork. The set is limited to 8,700 numbered copies.

Todd Rundgren, Live at the Forum: London 1994 (Esoteric/Cherry Red) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Cherry Red’s Esoteric imprint continues its Todd Rundgren Archive Series with this re-release of his 1994 concert at London’s Forum. This 2-CD set preserves a performance from one of Rundgren’s most interactive tours on the heels of his No World Order album.

Todd Rundgren, For Lack of Honest Work: A Live History 1971-2006 (Edsel) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

There’s even more Todd this week! Edsel reissues the 3-CD, 43-track compilation of board mixes, demos and live in-studio recordings from the one and only wizard, a true star, adding new liner notes from Paul Myers.

Categories:

Release Round-Up

Formats:

CD, Digital Download, SACD, Vinyl

Genres:

Classic Rock, Jazz, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock

Tags:

Bill Wyman, Earth Wind and Fire, Martha and the Vandellas, Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder, The Go-Go's, The Miracles, The Replacements, The Supremes, 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.