Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up!

Elliott Smith, Either/Or: Expanded Edition (Kill Rock Stars)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

The Kill Rock Stars label has a new remastered, expanded reissue of Elliott Smith’s 1997 Either/Or on 2 CDs or 2 LPs.  The bonus material includes five live tracks, the unreleased tune “I Figured You Out,” a new mix of B-side “I Don’t Think I’m Ever Gonna Figure It Out,” and alternate versions of tracks “New Monkey” and “Bottle Up and Explode!” which first appeared on Smith’s DreamWorks debut XO in 1998.  Read more here!

Chickenfoot, BEST+LIVE (eOne/EarMusic) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

A new double-disc offering from Chickenfoot – Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony and Chad Smith – arrives, with greatest hits, live tracks, and previously unreleased music.  It includes 10 tracks from the group’s two studio albums; the newly-recorded “Divine Termination” (praised by Satriani as “bone crunching, hell raising rock, dripping with attitude and vibe” in the official press release); live covers of Deep Purple (“Highway Star”), The Who (“My Generation”) and Hagar’s former band Montrose (“Bad Motor Scooter”); and more than a dozen live tracks from a 2009 gig in Phoenix (first released on the DVD Get Your Buzz On LIVE and making their CD debuts here).  Whew!  Read the full details here!

T. Rex, Bolan’s Zip Gun + Futuristic Dragon: Deluxe Edition (Edsel) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Edsel continues its hardcover book-style series of T. Rex reissues (following 2016’s releases of Born to Boogie and Tanx + Zinc Alloy) with an edition pairing 1975’s Bolan’s Zip Gun and 1976’s Futuristic Dragon.  This attractive collection houses three CDs within a 40-page book.  26 bonus tracks are spread across the three discs, including 21 outtakes and demos.  Of these, seven have been remastered from newly discovered first generation tapes – the first time these tapes have been used.  Mark Paytress supplies the lengthy essay, and newly-researched lyrics have also been included.  Watch this space for a full review soon!

? and the Mysterians, 96 Tears (Limited Orange Vinyl Edition) (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

? and The Mysterians’ debut 1966 album 96 Tears returns to vinyl from Real Gone Music and ABKCO.   It has been mastered at 45 RPM for this reissue, pressed on orange vinyl and limited to 600 copies.

Jackie Gleason, Music For Lovers Only (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The 1952 mood-music classic Music for Lovers Only from TV superstar Jackie Gleason has been reissued on CD numerous times in the past, including on a 2012 edition from Real Gone Music of its definitive, 16-track mono presentation.  Since that release has gone out-of-print, RGM has seen fit to re-release it for the enjoyment of lovers everywhere!

Mortimer, On Our Way Home (Cherry Red/RPM) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The lost Apple Records LP from Mortimer, with production by Peter Asher and a version of the Lennon/McCartney Let It Be classic “Two of Us,” sees release after nearly 50 years on this expanded CD edition.  Read our full review right here!

Marc Almond and Soft Cell, Hits and Pieces: The Best Of Marc Almond and Soft Cell (Mercury/UMe)

1CD: Amazon U.S. Link TBD / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

This new collection, available in single-disc 19-track and double-disc 35-track editions, looks back on Marc Almond’s career including his time as one-half of Soft Cell, and collaborations with Gene Pitney, Jools Holland, and Bronski Beat.

Soundgarden, Ultramega OK: Deluxe Edition (Sub Pop)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Cassette: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

This expanded edition of Soundgarden’s 1988 album, available on CD, double vinyl LP and cassette (!), features the original album in remixed form as well as six previously unreleased outtakes of Ultramega OK songs recorded with producer Jack Endino in 1987, offering a truly alternative look at these songs as they were first heard. Endino and guitarist Kim Thayil will contribute liner notes, and the package will include a previously unseen photograph of the band by Sub Pop photographer Charles Peterson.  You’ll find the full track listing and more here!

The Jerry Garcia Band, GarciaLive Volume 8: November 23, 1991 – Bradley Center (ATO) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The 2-CD release of GarciaLive Volume 8 presents the Jerry Garcia Band’s November 23rd, 1991 performance at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI on a snowy Saturday evening.  Keyboardist Melvin Seals commented of the group heard on this set, “That was the magic band. It’s not that the other scenarios didn’t work out but once we got to that level of the band with (drummer) Dave Kemper, John Kahn, Jerry, myself and the singers, Jackie (LaBranch) and Gloria (Jones) we all knew we had something special. That was the band.”  Includes “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” “That Lucky Old Sun,” “Tangled Up in Blue” and more.

Various Artists, Great Drums at Sun (Bear Family) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Bear Family looks at a rarely-chronicled aspect of the Sun Records success story: the contribution of the record label’s great drummers to records by Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and others.  WS Holland, Billy Weir and Jimmy Van Eaton are all here, along with lesser-known names like Joey Riesenberg, Bobby Crafford, Johnny Bernero and Houston Stokes.  The release boasts track-by-track listening notes by musicians and Sun historians Hank Davis and Scott Parker.  Great Guitars at Sun follows next month with a similar approach to the label’s guitar heroes.