Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring some of the most hotly-anticipated sets of the year!
Fleetwood Mac, Tango in the Night [Various Editions] (Warner Bros./Rhino)
3CD/1DVD/1LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Fleetwood Mac's 1987 album featuring "Little Lies" and "Everywhere" returns in a variety of formats including a 3-CD/1 DVD/1 LP version (with the original album on CD, high-resolution stereo DVD, and LP; a CD of outtakes; and a CD of rare single mixes), a 2-CD version with the album and outtakes only; and a single-disc remaster with the original album only. Get the full details here!
The Doors, The Doors: 50th Anniversary Edition (Elektra/Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
This super deluxe reissue of the 1967 debut from The Doors is similarly formatted to Rhino's 40th anniversary edition of the Ramones' self-titled debut released last year. Across the first two discs, the original stereo and mono mixes will be included (the mono mix is presented here on CD for the first time while the stereo mix makes its first appearance since a new mix was created by engineer Bruce Botnick in 2007). A third disc includes more vintage live recordings, from San Francisco's Matrix club on April 7, 1967. These live cuts were first heard from a third-generation source on a Rhino release in 2008, but are here sourced for the first time from the original master tapes. An accompanying LP includes the mono mix, while the package is rounded out with liner notes by David Fricke and a trove of rare and unseen photos. Read more here!
Neil Diamond, 50: The 50th Anniversary Collection (Capitol/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Capitol Records rounds up 50 tracks for Neil Diamond's 50 years since "Solitary Man" first propelled him to superstardom. Diamond has handpicked the selections on this 3-CD set, concentrating mostly on the big hits but also finding room for lesser-known tracks such as "Skybird," "Lonely Looking Sky," "Morningside," and "I Believe in Happy Endings." Read the full tracklisting and more here!
Various Artists, Leonard Bernstein: The Composer (Sony Masterworks) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
The LP-sized box set Leonard Bernstein: The Composer contains 25 CDs of the maestro's most enduring compositions in remastered and/or remixed form including his Broadway musicals, all of the original stereo "Bernstein Conducts Bernstein" recordings made for Columbia Masterworks, new compilations, and more. View our original article for full details on this comprehensive collection!
Bob Dylan, Triplicate (Columbia)
3-CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3-LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Deluxe 3-LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Bob Dylan returns with his third consecutive collection of standards - times three! Dylan's first triple album, Triplicate is a 3-CD or 3-LP set, with each 10-song disc based on one theme: 'Til the Sun Goes Down, Devil Dolls, and Comin' Home Late. Harold Arlen, Charles Strouse and Lee Adams, Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh, Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke, Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, and Hoagy Carmichael and Mitchell Parish are just some of the classic songwriters represented. Triplicate will also be available on vinyl, as a DD and as a deluxe, numbered 3-vinyl box set (with no additional audio content).
Vera Lynn, 100 (Decca) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Dame Vera Lynn turned 100 on March 20, 2017. To celebrate the great World War II-era British singing star, Decca has released 100, placing her original vocals in new orchestrated settings (a la Sony's successful Elvis Presley-and-orchestra albums). Color Purple star Cynthia Erivo, Alfie Boe, Alexander Armstrong , Aled Jones and the RAF Squadronaires all guest on the album.
Various Artists, To Love Somebody: The Songs of The Bee Gees 1966-1970 (Ace) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Watch for our full review soon of Ace's latest addition to its Songwriters series - capturing classic early songs of The Bee Gees as performed by such luminaries as Al Green, Nina Simone, Percy Sledge, Lulu, Sandie Shaw, The Staple Singers and more!
Various Artists, More From The Other Side of the Trax (Ace/Kent) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Ace continues to uncover rare Stax B-sides for their CD premieres on this second volume of The Other Side of the Trax! Artists include Eddie Floyd, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, William Bell, and more!
Various Artists, Jon Savage's 1967: The Year Pop Divided (Ace) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Author Jon Savage and Ace Records look back 50 years with this anthology reflecting the diversity of pop circa 1967, featuring tracks from Sonny and Cher, The Byrds, The Rascals, James Brown, The Monkees, Buffalo Springfield, Aretha Franklin, and more! Read about the previous volume, 1966, here!
Derrick Anderson, A World of My Own (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
The Bangles' bassist since 2008, Derrick Anderson, steps out with his own solo release on Omnivore. The label isn't kidding when it confirms that "A World Of My Own draws inspiration from the Cavern Club, Brill Building and Laurel Canyon," and in doing so, Anderson has been aided by a "Who's Who" of guests including The Smithereens, Matthew Sweet, The Cowsills, The Muffs' Kim Shattuck, and The Bangles' Susanna Hoffs, Vicki Peterson and Debbi Peterson! In other words, Anderson's world is one of is pure pop pleasure! Available on CD and DD.
Big Country, Wonderland: The Essential Big Country (Spectrum Audio) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Universal's U.K. budget arm, Spectrum Audio, celebrates the legacy of Big Country with this new 3-CD anthology featuring 47 tracks!
Johnny Cash, The Original Sun Albums 1957-1964 (Sun/Charly) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
This hardcover book-style set collects every classic Cash album released by Sam Phillips' legendary Sun Records between 1957 and 1964. This new box contains 83 songs as they appeared on seven original LPs, plus a bonus disc of alternate versions, rare recordings and outtakes, all newly remastered from the original Sun master tapes. Also included are every Johnny Cash seven-inch single A and B side originally released on Sun. The 60-page book reproduces original album artwork, liner notes and labels and includes rare photos and memorabilia from the Sun Records archives plus a Cash career retrospective, album sleeve notes, track-by-track annotations, discography, the late Sam Phillips' recollections, and a new introduction by Sun Entertainment Corporation President John A. Singleton.
John Scott, Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon: Original Soundtrack (Kritzerland)
Kritzerland has the CD debut of the soundtrack album (only released in the U.K.) to the all-star 1967 Rocket to the Moon, composed and conducted by John Scott! Limited to 1,000 units!
Steve Bruun says
Clicking on the Amazon link for Derrick Anderson's album, I see they have pushed the release date back a week to April 7th. Cool to see his name here! Fans of melodic 90s/00s power pop should check out his former band, Chewy Marble, which was helmed by Brian Kassan. Also check out Kassan's previous band, Wondermints. (Most of the other Wondermints ended up in Brian Wilson's touring ensemble. The musical chops are beyond dispute.)