Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up!

Pete Seeger, The Smithsonian Folkways Collection (Smithsonian Folkways) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Smithsonian Folkways’ newly curated collection celebrates the late troubadour with 137 tracks over 6 CDs – classic songs, collaborations, and live recordings including 20 previously unreleased tracks, all of which were remastered by Pete Reiniger.  From his first recording sessions with Folkways founder Moses Asch through his ’90s performances, the box offers a comprehensive look at Seeger’s career on Folkways, Asch, Disc, Young People’s Music, and Paredon.  The set is presented as a 200-page, 12 x 12″ book with essays, commentary, photos, and a discography.  Read more here!

Johnny Shines, The Blues Came Falling Down – Live 1973 (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Chicago blues legend Johnny Shines toured with Robert Johnson and made his first recordings for Columbia Records in 1946.  He was still singing the blues in 1973 when this concert at Washington University’s Graham Chapel in St. Louis was recorded.  Featuring his original compositions as well as tributes to Johnson, The Blues Came Falling Down – Live 1973 is as authentic as it gets.  Omnivore’s handsome CD edition is housed in a digipak and includes liner notes from co-producer Leroy Jodie Pierson of Nighthawk Records.  Michael Graves has remastered for optimum sound quality.  It’s also available today on all digital platforms.

Be More Chill: Original Broadway Cast Recording (Ghostlight) [Digital Only] (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

If Evan Hansen were to meet up with Audrey II, the result might be chronicled in a show like Be More Chill.  Tony-nominated composer-lyricist Joe Iconis and librettist Joe Tracz’s viral musical sensation, currently packing houses at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre, has its new Broadway cast recording available today on all digital platforms.  It has some pretty big shoes to fill; the 2015 original cast recording from New Jersey’s Two River Theater has been streamed over 300 million times.  Happily, the new album crackles with energy and excitement as original cast members George Salazar, Lauren Marcus, Stephanie Hsu, Gerard Canonico, and Katlyn Carlson are joined by New York additions Will Roland and Jason Tam.  While the digital versions are out now, CD and vinyl editions will be released later this year.

Lamb of God, Ashes of the Wake: 15th Anniversary Edition (Epic/Legacy) [Vinyl] (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

To celebrate its 15th anniversary, Legacy is expanding Ashes of the Wake on vinyl with four bonus tracks including the B-side “Another Nail for Your Coffin” and demos of “Laid to Rest,” “Ashes of the Wake,” and “Remorse is for the Dead.”

Simon Bonney, Past, Present, Future (Mute) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Mute has a retrospective for Crime and the City Solution’s Simon Bonney including tracks from his 1992 and 1994 albums Forever and Everyman (respectively) plus a cover of the late Scott Walker’s “Duchess” – one of six previously unreleased tracks.  Available on CD and vinyl.

The Prom: Original Broadway Cast Recording (Masterworks) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

On Tuesday, Bob Martin, Matthew Sklar, and Chad Beguelin’s zany but heartfelt musical comedy The Prom earned seven Tony Award nominations.  Today, the tuneful 2018 Broadway Cast Recording is reissued by Sony’s Masterworks division as a 2-LP vinyl set preserving the larger-than-life performances of Tony nominees Beth Leavel, Caitlin Kinnunen, and Brooks Ashmanskas as well as Christopher Sieber, Isabelle McCalla, and Angie Schworer.

And we wouldn’t want YOU to miss a couple of titles that WE missed last week…

Jim Peterik & World Stage, Winds of Change (Frontier) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The one and only Jim Peterik (Ides of March, Survivor) returns with Winds of Change from World Stage, the group he assembled shortly after parting ways with Survivor in 1996.  His concept was to assemble a loose group of like-minded musical friends.  Now celebrating their 20th year, the live band consists of Peterik, Ed Breckenfeld on drums, Klem Hayes on bass, Mike Aquino on guitar, Christian Cullen on keyboards, and Joel Hoekstra on second lead guitar.  Many of the live musicians are featured on the album as well as 38 Special’s Don Barnes, Loverboy’s Mike Reno, Dennis DeYoung, REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin, Kevin Chalfant, Pride of Lions’ Toby Hitchcock, Gunnar and Matthew Nelson, Chicago’s former lead singer Jason Scheff, and the late Jimi Jamison of Survivor, among others.

Alan Parsons, The Secret (Frontiers) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Alan Parsons is back with a new studio album, and The Secret is out: it’s available in a variety of formats including standard CD, CD/DVD-A, vinyl LP, and a box set with the CD, DVD, LP, and exclusive 2CD “LiveSpan” set plus T-shirt, poster, and lithograph of the cover artwork.  Guest stars include Lou Gramm and Jason Mraz.