We've already filled you on a number of titles from Real Gone Music's January slate, including our Second Disc Records release of Laura Nyro's rare mono More Than a New Discovery on vinyl and the first-ever reissue of Miss Barbara Eden on CD and vinyl. Now, Real Gone has announced a pair of titles from a true iconoclast: the late Rod McKuen. On January 31, the label will premiere New Ballads, the singer-songwriter-poet's highest-charting Warner Bros. album, on CD alongside a newly-expanded edition of his original Greatest Hits. And that's not all. A whopping 17 McKuen albums will come to all streaming services on the same day.

McKuen led a life unlike any other.  Before he turned 35, he had actually lived many lives - from farm hand, lumberjack, rodeo cowboy, disk jockey, and U.S. Army veteran to singer, songwriter, actor, and the most commercially successful poet of his time (or any other). His songs have been memorably covered by Frank Sinatra (who dedicated an entire album to his works), Johnny Cash, Dusty Springfield, and Nirvana, and sampled by Madonna. In 1969, McKuen released his first volume of Greatest Hits on Warner Bros. Records, but with a twist. Rod teamed with arranger-conductor Arthur Greenslade to re-record and reinterpret his already classic repertoire including "Seasons in the Sun," "If You Go Away," "I'll Catch the Sun," "Kaleidoscope," and even the spoken-word "Stanyan Street." This unconventional approach led to a Gold record and one of the most beloved records in his immense catalogue.

Real Gone's reissue of Greatest Hits of Rod McKuen adds six bonus tracks including "Love's Been Good to Me" (famously recorded by Sinatra and Cash), the bossa nova-flavored "Listen to the Warm," "I Think of You," "Rock Gently," "Jean" (the Oscar-nominated, chart-topping hit for single-named vocalist Oliver), and a duet with Petula Clark on "The Importance of the Rose." New liner notes have been provided by McKuen biographer Barry Alfonso - watch this space for a review of his A Voice of the Warm: The Life of Rod McKuen - and the booklet also features numerous rare photographs. Mike Milchner has remastered at SonicVision.

Greatest Hits is joined by the world premiere CD release of 1970's New Ballads. Rod teamed with renowned arranger-conductor Don Costa for this remarkable collection of songs including "As I Love My Own," the dramatic Jacques Brel collaboration "I'm Not Afraid," "Thank You for Christmas," and a composition which could have been McKuen's credo: "Hit 'Em in the Head with Love." New Ballads showcases many of McKuen's favorite lyrical themes supported by Costa's lush, elegant orchestrations worthy of his work with Sinatra. It's no wonder that this 15-track album became among McKuen's most successful; it's a cohesive and timeless collection that proved why he earned his spot among the premier singer-songwriters on the venerable Warner Bros. label. The Second Disc's Joe Marchese has written the liner notes for the deluxe booklet, and Mike Milchner has again remastered.

For those wishing to immerse themselves further into the world of McKuen, Real Gone will release the following albums to streaming services on the same date, January 31:

• Through European Windows;
• The Single Man;
• The Loner;
• Prolific Composer Rod McKuen Sings His Own;
• Other Kinds of Songs;
• Pastorale;
• Greatest Hits Vol. 2;
• Greatest Hits Vol. 3;
• Greatest Hits Vol. 4;
• Stanyan Street and Other Sorrows;
• Rod McKuen Sings Jacques Brel;
• Lonesome Cities;
• McKuen Country;
• Alone;
• Beautiful Strangers;
• Odyssey; and
• Goodtime Music.

Look for Rod McKuen's Greatest Hits and New Ballads on January 31 and rediscover why his gentle, affecting music became such a touchstone for so many in the 1960s and 1970s. You'll find pre-order links and track listings below!

Rod McKuen, Greatest Hits of Rod McKuen (Warner Bros./Stanyan WS 1772, 1969 - reissued Real Gone Music, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Link TBD)

1. Kaleidoscope
2. The World I Used to Know
3. Blessings in Shades of Green
4. Stanyan Street
5. The Ivy That Clings to the Wall
6. The Lovers
7. Ally, Ally Oxen Free
8. The Marvelous Clouds
9. I'll Catch the Sun
10. Lonesome Cities
11. One by One
12. If You Go Away
13. Doesn't Anybody Know My Name
14. Seasons in the Sun
15. Jean (*)
16. Listen to the Warm (*)
17. Love's Been Good to Me (*)
18. I Think of You (*)
19. Rock Gently (*)
20. The Importance of the Rose (Duet with Petula Clark) (*)

(*) bonus tracks

Rod McKuen, New Ballads (Warner Bros./Stanyan WS 1837, 1970 - reissued Real Gone Music, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Link TBD)

1. Statement: Before I Loved No One
2. As I Love My Own
3. All I Need
4. Thank You for Christmas
5. And Tonight
6. I Looked at You a Long Time
7. I'm Not Afraid
8. Resolution: Before I Loved No One
9. Rock Gently
10. Philadelphia
11. Gone with the Cowboys
12. Tomorrow and Today
13. In Someone's Shadow
14. Hit 'Em in the Head with Love
15. A While More with You