Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up!
Peter Gabriel, Rated PG (Real World)
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Last year, Peter Gabriel issued Rated PG, a collection of one-off songs he'd performed for motion pictures across his solo career. This year, that album gets a wider release beyond its picture disc pressing for Record Store Day; it'll now be available on CD and vinyl on Friday, June 12. The 10-track compendium features PG favorites from WALL-E, Against All Odds, Natural Born Killers, and more; "In Your Eyes" from Gabriel's seminal album So is included here as a result of its key appearance in Cameron Crowe's Say Anything, and "This Is Party Man" from Virtuosity is presented in a new version. All told, four tracks (including "This Is Party Man") are previously unreleased.
Tim Buckley, The Dream Belongs to Me: Rare and Unreleased Recordings 1968-1973 (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Real Gone has a new double-LP gold vinyl edition of the celebrated Tim Buckley collection The Dream Belongs To Me: Rare and Unreleased Recordings, 1968-1973. Originally released on CD in 2001, the 14-track set celebrates one of the era's most captivating artists with early versions of fan favorites circa 1968 and demos for 1973's Sefronia. These stark and stripped-down versions are a fascinating glimpse into the creative process of a unique, singular artist whose work continues to endure. This gold vinyl edition retains the original liner notes and rare photos and is presented in a gatefold sleeve. It's limited to 1,000 copies only.
The Electric Prunes, Release of an Oath (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
The Electric Prunes' 1968 concept album Release of an Oath, produced by Dave Hassinger and composed and arranged by maverick David Axelrod, returns to vinyl in this new 140-gram edition pressed on maroon and white splatter vinyl. Read more about both Buckley and the Prunes here.
Iggy Pop, The Bowie Years (Virgin/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Lust for Life (2-CD Edition) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
The Idiot (2-CD Edition) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Today's the delayed release date for Iggy Pop's The Bowie Years, chronicling the Stooges frontman's recordings with David Bowie during their seminal Berlin period. The 7-CD box set together remastered versions of 1977's The Idiot, its even more successful follow-up Lust for Life, and the TV Eye Live 1977 concert album plus a disc of demos and singles, and three discs of live performances. All audio has been mastered from best available sources, and a 40-page booklet includes new liner notes and rare photos. Read more here. UMC is also breaking out both Lust for Life and The Idiot with bonus material. The 2-CD deluxe edition of Lust for Life (already available) has the original album andTV Eye Live 1977. The 2-CD edition of The Idiot offers the remastered album plus the 15-song set from The Rainbow Theatre in London, March 1977.
Little Steven, Revolution (Wicked Cool/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Little Steven is revisiting his back catalogue on CD after the box set Rock 'n Roll Rebel: The Early Work presented the remastered albums on vinyl. (Those were later made available as standalone LPs, too.) 1989's Revolution, his politically-charged fourth solo disc, packed a powerful punch even if the sound was largely electronic. This marks its first appearance on U.S. CD. The vinyl release is still available, as is a streaming edition with a couple of bonus tracks (exclusively available on CD in the box set).
Little Steven, Born Again Savage (Wicked Cool/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Little Steven's fifth album, 1999's Born Again Savage, was a ferocious return to a raw garage-rock power trio sound inspired by the hard rock pioneers of his youth (think Cream, The Who, The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin). Jason Bonham (drums) and Adam Clayton (bass) joined writer-arranger-producer Van Zandt for what would be his final album until 2017's Soulfire. Streaming and vinyl editions of this remastered album are already available; the streaming version has one bonus track (the 2019 acoustic version of "It's Been a Long Time").
Erroll Garner, Plays Gershwin and Kern (Octave/Mack Avenue) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Octave/Mack Avenue reissues Erroll Garner's 1976 tribute to two masters of American song, George Gershwin and Jerome Kern; it proved to be his final album released in his lifetime. The album has been remastered with the Plangent Process, and includes one previously unreleased bonus track. This marks the final release in Octave/Mack Avenue's 12-title reissue series for the late pianist's 100th birthday.
Brian Auger, Introspection (Sunset Blvd.) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
This 3-CD, 35-song retrospective features 18 previously unreleased tracks marking 50 years of the Oblivion Express founder dubbed "the godfather of acid jazz." Cuts include "This Wheel's on Fire," "Light My Fire," "Season of the Witch," and "The Lady's in Love."
Professor Longhair, The Bach of Rock (Sunset Blvd.) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Over 2 CDs and 36 live and studio tracks, The Bach of Rock celebrates Roy Byrd, a.k.a. Professor Longhair, the influential New Orleans piano legend. Tracks include "Mardi Gras in New Orleans," "Jambalaya," "Rum and Coca-Cola," and the timeless "Tipitina."
Warren Zevon, Life'll Kill Ya (Ship to Shore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
The late, great Warren Zevon's tenth studio album comes to vinyl in a limited edition of 1,000 units. This 20th anniversary edition features new liner notes from Warren's son Jordan Zevon, his longtime collaborator Jorge Calderon, and Dawes' Taylor Goldsmith.
Burt Bacharach and Daniel Tashian, The Bells of St. Augustine (Big Yellow Dog) (Now streaming / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
The Los Angeles Times broke the news yesterday of Burt Bacharach's "first new music in 15 years." While that's not accurate - the legendary composer has been writing and recording and releasing music steadily since his 2005 solo album At This Time - the significant part is that Bacharach will be releasing his first long-form release since then. It's a five-song EP with Nashville singer-songwriter-producer Daniel Tashian (The Silver Seas, Kacey Musgraves' Golden Hour) to be titled Blue Umbrella, due for release this summer. The first single, the hauntingly moody and reflective "Bells of St. Augustine," has just been released to streaming services. Listen below!
ed says
Re: the Professor Longhair set - Do we know how many of the tracks have appeared elsewhere? Are there any rarities in terms of live performances? How about alternate versions? Early works? You know, the sort of thing that would prevent this from becoming a largely unnecessary purchase for those who already have a lot of Roy Byrd in their collection... This wasn't featured separately on this site, so wondering if more info is going to be provided. What more can you tell us?