Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up!

The Rolling Stones, HONK [Various Formats] (Interscope)

1-CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3-CD deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2-LP standard: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2-LP Target-exclusive blue vinyl: Target.com
4-LP deluxe color vinyl: The Rolling Stones’ Online Shop
Various music/apparel bundles: The Rolling Stones’ Online Shop

Honk is a new compilation album from The Rolling Stones that focuses on the rock titans’ post-1971 output. It will be released in a variety of configurations: 1-CD, 3-CD deluxe, 2-LP, and 4-LP deluxe editions, as well as digital download and streaming.

The 1-CD collection and the 2-LP edition both collect 19 of The Stones’ singles recorded from 1971 to 2016, plus an unreleased live version of “Wild Horses” featuring Florence Welch that was taken from a London Stadium performance on May 22, 2018. The 3-CD edition of Honk includes 36 hits, plus an exclusive third CD with 10 unreleased live recordings from the last 6 years.  For vinyl aficionados, The Rolling Stones’ Online Shop will have an exclusive, 4-LP color vinyl edition of the collection that mirrors the track list of the deluxe CD and will be pressed on purple, red, orange, and yellow-colored 180-gram vinyl. The run will be limited to just 2,500 units in the U.S.

Stevie Nicks, Stand Back: 1981-2017 [3-CD] (Rhino) (Amazon U.S. /Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Rhino looks back on the solo career of 2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Stevie Nicks with a new anthology collecting her hits and rarities. Stand Back 1981-2017 is a 3-CD iteration of the Stand Back compilation released last month.  A 6-LP vinyl version will follow in June.

Various Artists, Poppies: Assorted Finery from the First Psychedelic Age [CD] (Craft Recordings) (Amazon U.S. /Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Poppies is a 13-track collection – the first in a series of themed compilations – that brings together psychedelic rock and pop rarities from the Vanguard, Stax, Hip, Musart, and Original Sound catalogs. Among the cult-classic favorites that feature are Buffy Sainte-Marie (whose eerie 1969 acid-folk track “Poppies” gives the collection its name), Southwest F.O.B. (whose “Smell of Incense” was one of Stax Records’ most surprising best-sellers), and a wealth of other often-forgotten mementos of the era by the likes of The Honey Jug, The Sot Weed Factor, Erik, The Serpent Power, and The Human Jungle. The latter is represented by a previously unreleased track called “When Will You Happen To Me.” Alongside the music, Poppies boasts detailed liner notes written by five-time Grammy nominee Alec Palao which provide details on the artists and songs in the collection.

Allen Toussaint, Artist, Producer, Songwriter (Sunset Blvd.) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Sunset Blvd. Records brings together 20 favorites by the late Allen Toussaint in one or more of the above capacities. Tracks include Lee Dorsey’s “Sneakin’ Sally from the Alley,” Ernie K. Doe’s “Here Come the Girls,” Etta James’ “Wheel of Fire,” Betty Harris’ “Bad Luck,” Toussaint’s own “Working in a Coalmine,” and many more.

Aaron Neville, Love Letters: The Allen Toussaint Sessions (Sunset Blvd.) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

That’s not all from Allen Toussaint. Sunset Blvd. also has this 25-song anthology from the one and only Aaron Neville, chronicling the recordings he made for Toussaint and partner Marshall Sehorn’s Sansu Records between 1969 and the 1977 formation of The Neville Brothers, as well as a handful of bonus cuts. Includes “All These Things,” “Mojo Hannah,” “The Greatest Love,” “Baby I’m-a Want You,” and more.

Various Artists, Ben Bagley’s Ballet on Broadway (Kritzerland)

Kritzerland continues its reissue series of the late Ben Bagley’s Painted Smiles releases with Ballet on Broadway, spotlighting great dance arrangements from musicals including High Button Shoes, Li’l Abner, Jamaica, and Can-Can as conducted by the legendary Lehman Engel. Kritzerland has retained the previous CD edition’s bonus material, mostly composed by Vernon Duke from various musicals including Nantucket, co-written with Harold Rome. This remastered edition is limited to 500 units. CDs will ship by the last week of May, but pre-orders directly from the label will likely arrive earlier.

Bill Evans, Evans In England [CD] (Resonance) (Amazon U.S. /Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Fresh from its debut on vinyl for Record Store Day, Resonance Records releases Evans In England on 2 CDs and in digital configurations today.  The 18-track album transports listeners back to 1969, when the introspective Evans (1929-1980) was joined in his familiar trio setting by bassist Eddie Gomez and guitarist Marty Morell for a stand at Ronnie Scott’s in December 1969. The recording was captured a year into the tenure of what would become Evans’ longest-running Trio.  The accompanying book features essays by Resonance’s Zev Feldman and journalist Marc Myers; interviews with Gomez, Morell and filmmaker Leon Terjanian (who brought the private tapes to the label’s attention); and rare photographs.

Wes Montgomery, Back on Indiana Avenue: The Carroll DeCamp Recordings [CD]
(Resonance) (Amazon U.S. /Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The title of Resonance’s latest dive into the Wes Montgomery archive harkens back to the label’s 2012 collection Echoes of Indiana Avenue, which has since been followed by numerous other significant Montgomery vault excursions. Back on Indiana Avenue returns to the guitarist’s Indianapolis roots, before his 1959 signing with Riverside Records.  These recordings find the late Montgomery in numerous settings including piano quartets, organ trios, sextets, and drummer-less trios a la The Nat King Cole Trio.  The 22 tracks include copious standards and songs that Montgomery would later immortalize at Riverside.  The collection includes a booklet with essays by historian Lewis Porter and Zev Feldman, interviews with jazz legends George Benson and John Scofield, saxophonist-educator Jamey Aebersold, and guitarist Royce Campbell, nephew of Carroll DeCamp.

The O’Jays, The Last Word (S-Curve) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

One of Philly soul’s greatest all-time groups, The O’Jays, return with a new album promised to be their last.  The Last Word includes the politically-charged “Above the Law” and eight other tracks reflecting their rich R&B heritage.  Available on CD, LP, and digital.

Bananarama, In Stereo (Absolute) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Bananarama – currently the duo of Sara Dallin and Kerin Woodward – release their 11th studio album today in the U.K.; it arrives next Friday in North America.  Available on CD, LP, and digital.