Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up!

 

Little Richard, Mono Box: The Complete Specialty and Vee-Jay Albums (Concord/Specialty) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

This new, 5-LP vinyl box set collects all of the studio albums that Little Richard recorded for both the Specialty and Vee-Jay labels between 1957 and 1965. The mono albums, each replicating the original label and jacket art, have been remastered from analog tapes. A 16-page booklet featuring new liner notes by Bill Dahl, plus era-specific photos, rounds out the collection.  Read more here!

Diana Ross, Diana Ross (1976) (Motown/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Miss Ross' self-titled 1976 set - featuring such enduring classics as the chart-topping "Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" and "Love Hangover" plus "I Thought It Took a Little Time" - returns to vinyl for its 40th anniversary in a new pressing from Motown.  With productions from Michael Masser, Hal Davis, Berry Gordy and Don Costa, Gil Askey, and Ashford and Simpson, Diana Ross remains one of the great lady's most remarkable achievements on record.  No additional tracks are featured on this LP reissue.

Sonny and Cher, Good Times: Expanded Mono Edition (Varese Vintage) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The soundtrack to Sonny and Cher's zany 1967 film Good Times features new songs written by Sonny, as well as two new recordings of the duo's beloved No. 1 hit "I Got You Babe."  Varese's reissue of the original mono album adds two bonus singles: "Plastic Man" and the single edit of "It's The Little Things."

Maynard Ferguson, Complete High Voltage (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Omnivore brings together High Voltage and High Voltage 2, from 1987 and 1988 respectively, on this new set which also features two previously unissued bonus tracks. Featuring liner notes by the late, legendary trumpeter's co-producer Jim Exon, Complete High Voltage fully chronicles the memorable small-group sound that bandleader Ferguson created during this time.

Various Artists, The Music of DC Comics: Volume 2 (WaterTower Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

WaterTower Music follows up this 2010 compilation with 29 more tracks drawn from film and television adaptations featuring the heroes of DC Comics from 1940 to 2016!  You'll hear classics from John Williams, Neal Hefti and Danny Elfman, memorable television themes from Hanna-Barbera's Hoyt Curtin, Batman-inspired cuts from Sun Ra and The Blues Project, video game music and much more.  Read all about it right here!

Frank Zappa, The Crux of the Biscuit (Zappa/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Zappa Records revisits Frank Zappa's 1974 best-selling album Apostrophe' with this new, 15-track release.  As part of the ongoing Project/Object Audio Documentary Series, it presents rare alternate mixes, live performances & studio session outtakes from the Apostrophe' era.

Frank Zappa, Frank Zappa for President (Zappa/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Just when you thought this year's Presidential election was already an unusual one...the late Frank Zappa throws his hat in the ring with this new archival release!  Zappa Records promises that Frank Zappa for President  "gives us a glimpse into what could have been. This album is comprised of unreleased compositions realized on the Synclavier along with other relevant tracks mined from the Vault with a political thread tying it all together. Don t forget to Register and Vote!"

Nina Simone, The Philips Years (Verve/UMe)

180-Gram Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

The legendary artist's 1964-1967 tenure on Philips Records is celebrated on a new vinyl box set.  180-gram editions of Nina Simone in Concert (1964),Broadway-Blues-Ballads (1964), I Put a Spell on You (1965), Pastel Blues (1966), Let It All Out (1966), Wild is The Wind (1966) and High Priestess of Soul (1967) are all featured in this deluxe box set.

Various Artists, Classic Folk Songs for Kids (Smithsonian Folkways) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Here's a fun one for the young and the young at heart.  Smithsonian Folkways has collected 26 vintage folk tunes on one CD, encompassing "centuries-old European ballads, an American Revolutionary tune, 19th-century American folksongs, African-derived game songs, a sea chantey, a railroad jingle, camp songs, and even an opera song!"  Artists include Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Cisco Houston, Suni Paz, Tom Glazer, Lord Invader, and many more.  A 40-page booklet rounds out the package.

The Hollywood Brats, Sick on You (Cherry Red) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The Hollywood Brats were in on the ground floor of the punk revolution, and this 2-CD release - titled after lead singer Andrew Matheson's 2015 memoir of the same name - chronicles the band's story in full.  Disc One features the Brats' original Cherry Red album while the second disc is filled with rarities.

Jeff Beck, Loud Hailer (Atco) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Guitar god Jeff Beck returns with his first studio album in six years, Loud Hailer.  Its 11 tracks are co-written with singer Rosie Bones and guitarist Carmen Vandenberg, while Beck produced the LP with Filippo Cimatti.  Loud Hailer also features drummer Davide Sollazzi and bassist Giovanni Pallotti, who were both recruited by Cimatti.  Available on CD, DD and LP.

Marvin Gaye, What's Going On 10-Inch Single (Motown/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

We missed this one a couple weeks back, but we don't want you to miss it.  To mark the 45th anniversary of Marvin Gaye's seminal What's Going On, the label has issued this special 10-inch single.  Side One boasts the original mono single versions of "What's Going On" and "God is Love," while Side Two has a posthumous duet between Gaye and current Motown artist BJ The Chicago Kid on "What's Going On," as well as a spare "Coffeehouse" remix of the Gaye original emphasizing a previously-unheard acoustic guitar part formerly buried the mix.  In any version, Gaye's stirring song remains powerfully relevant.