Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up!

Norma Tanega, Walkin’ My Cat Named Dog [Sky Blue Vinyl] (Real Gone Music)  (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Norma Tanega’s 1966 folk-pop classic returns to vinyl in a re-pressing from Real Gone Music.  This new presentation replicates the original, utilizing the stereo mix and boasting the original artwork (which was replaced on prior CD issues).  It’s pressed on sky blue vinyl.  Grab it fast, though: Walkin’ My Cat Named Dog is a limited pressing.

Charles Bukowski, Reads His Poetry [Vomit Vinyl] (Real Gone Music)  (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Charles Bukowski’s Reads His Poetry captures the notorious author and libertine at a 1972 reading at which the topics included perversion, poverty, drunkenness, gambling and bodily functions. The ultimate non-PC record, Real Gone returns it to vinyl in this re-pressing: a “vomit”-colored edition limited to 1,000 copies.

Horace Tapscott Quartet, The Giant Is Awakened [Black Vinyl] (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Earlier this year, Real Gone delivered the first-ever vinyl reissue of The Horace Tapscott Quintet’s 1969 album The Giant Is Awakened.  Originally released on the Flying Dutchman label,  the recording is a masterful mix of free jazz and pan-African influences.  Pianist Tapscott leads the band, which also features alto saxophonist Arthur Blythe, bassists David Bryant and Walter Savage, Jr., and drummer Everett Brown Jr.  The Giant Is Awakened was the debut album by Tapscott and his quintet and it would be nearly ten years before the industry-leery pianist would record another.  In the decades since its release, The Giant Is Awakened gained a cult-like following, with original pressings fetching triple-digit dollar amounts.  Real Gone’s first pressing sold out quickly, but now, it returns to wax once again with a limited black vinyl pressing.

Tom Tom Club, Tom Tom Club [Yellow and Red Vinyl] (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Real Gone digs back to reissue Tom Tom Club’s self-titled album.  Previously issued on green vinyl and in a blue-and-yellow starburst hue, the danceable and funky Talking Heads side-project featured Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth alongside Weymouth’s sisters and Adrian Belew and Steven Stanley from the Remain in Light band.  Nearly 40 years on, the album remains influential and is a worthy addition to any record library.  So if you missed either previous edition, do yourself a favor and pick up this tropical yellow and red color vinyl variant and get ready to dance.  Read more about all four of Real Gone’s new releases right here.

Vince Guaraldi and George Winston, Peanuts Portraits (Craft Recordings)

Black Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Red Vinyl: Vinyl Me Please

Over its eleven tracks, Peanuts Portraits portrays each character from Charles M. Schulz’s beloved comic strip in music. Beginning with “Linus and Lucy,” it presents such musical portraits as “Sally’s Blues,” “Peppermint Patty,” “Frieda (With Naturally Curly Hair),” “Schroeder” (in an alternate take),” and “Joe Cool,” an ode to Snoopy’s hip alter ego. In addition to the classic Vince Guaraldi recordings – the above five plus four more – the set features two tracks recorded in the 1990s by pianist George Winston: his take on “Linus and Lucy” plus another portrait of a Snoopy persona, “The Masked Marvel.” A total of eight tracks make their vinyl debuts here. Peanuts Portraits will be released to general retail in a black vinyl edition, while Vinyl Me Please will offer an exclusive version of the album pressed on 180-gram red vinyl.  Read more here!

Pilot, The Albums (Cherry Red/7Ts) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Cherry Red’s 7Ts arm brings together all four albums from Pilot (“Magic”) plus bonus cuts in a clamshell case, for a total of 56 tracks.  Michael Heatley provides new liner notes based on an interview with lead singer David Paton.  Watch this space for more in-depth coverage of this title soon.

Mandy Barnett, A Nashville Songbook (BMG) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Vocalist Mandy Barnett puts her stamp on a number of classic country tunes including “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” “Hey Won’t You Play (Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song),” and “I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love with You).”  The album was produced by Fred Mollin who also helmed Rumer’s Nashville Tears: The Songs of Hugh Prestwood.  Available on CD, LP, and digital.

Jefferson Starship, Mother of the Sun (Secret Knock)

Standard CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Deluxe CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

Jefferson Starship presses on despite the 2016 passing of Paul Kantner with this new, seven-song EP.  Grace Slick has returned to the fold to co-write “It’s About Time,” while the late Marty Balin (who died in 2018) co-wrote “Don’t Be Sad Anymore.”  Original bassist Pete Sears returns to play on three tracks, as well.  Available in a standard digipak, a deluxe box, and a Target-exclusive version of the deluxe box, limited to 500 units, with signed and numbered band photos.

The Killers, Imploding the Mirage (Island) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

For their sixth album, The Killers welcome a star-studded roster of guests including ex-Fleetwood Mac Lindsay Buckingham and k.d. lang.  Available on CD, LP, and digital.

Cidny Bullens, Walkin’ Through This World (Cidny Bullens Store)

The artist once known as Cindy Bullens has re-emerged as Cidny Bullens.  The singer-songwriter – who has sung with Elton John, Bob Dylan, and Rod Stewart and can be heard on the best-selling soundtrack to Grease – has released his first album as a transgender man.  Produced by Ray Kennedy and the artist, Walkin’ Through This World is an accessible, intimate, and autobiographical journey that pulsates with the beating heart of rock-and-roll.  Recorded in Nashville, the album welcomes guests including Rodney Crowell, Beth Nielsen Chapman, and Bullens’ daughter Reid Bullens Crewe.  With such affecting tracks as “The Gender Line,” “Little Pieces,” and “Healing the Break,”  Walkin’ Through This World is a survivor’s singular and moving song cycle of loss, reflection, discovery, gratitude, and love.