Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up!

Joni Mitchell Archives - Volume 1: The Early Years (1963-1967) (Rhino)

5-CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
5-CD + Lithograph bundle: Joni Mitchell Online Store

The first in a series of box sets, Joni Mitchell Archives - Volume 1: The Early Years (1963-1967) features nearly 6 hours of unreleased material - 119 tracks across 5 CDs - all from the period prior to the commencement of the legendary singer-songwriter's recording career. You'll hear her first-ever recorded performance, intimate and newly unearthed coffeehouse concerts, home demos, and much more. There's a total of 29 previously unheard Joni Mitchell songs, among them "Jeremy," "Free Darling," and "Gemini Twin," which had been slated for Song to a Seagull, plus other early favorites like "Urge For Going," and "Eastern Rain," and many tracks that she'd revisit on later albums.  Each disc of Joni Mitchell Archives - Volume 1 comes housed in its own printed wallet sleeve. An enclosed 40-page booklet features unseen photographs from Mitchell's personal archives and new liner notes by Cameron Crowe, drawn from new conversations with Joni Mitchell. It's all packaged in a slipcase that Joni helped design.  Watch this space later today for a special interview about Joni Mitchell Archives!

Joni Mitchell, Early Joni - 1963 [1 LP] (Rhino)

LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Clear vinyl LP + Lithograph bundle: Joni Mitchell Online Store

Early Joni - 1963 is a standalone LP featuring a complete radio session recorded by Joni Mitchell for CFQC-AM out of her hometown in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.  It'd be years before she'd begin writing songs of her own, but here 19-year-old Joni transfixes the audience with just her voice,  her baritone ukulele, and a repertoire of Child ballads and folk songs.  It will be pressed on a single 180-gram LP and features a new portrait by Joni Mitchell based on a photograph from the period.  CFQC DJ Barry Bowman was working at the station at the time and provides liner notes.  This performance is also part of the 5-CD box set, Joni Mitchell Archives - Volume 1: The Early Years (1963-1967).  Available on standard black vinyl and on a clear vinyl variant exclusive to the new Joni Mitchell Online Store.

Joni Mitchell, Live at Canterbury House - 1967 [3 LPs] (Rhino)

3-LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
White Vinyl 3-LP + Lithograph bundle: Joni Mitchell Online Store

Live At Canterbury House - 1967 includes all three of Joni's sets at the famed Ann Arbor venue as presented on CD within the Archives Volume 1 box set.  The complete unreleased and uncirculated show will be pressed on 180-gram vinyl and packaged in a triple gatefold sleeve. The cover features a photo taken at the show by Al Blixt. Bob Franke, who was assigned to review the show for The Michigan Daily, provides new liner notes alongside his original review.  Available on black vinyl or on white vinyl exclusively at the new Joni Mitchell Online Store.  Read all about these three Joni Mitchell releases here.

U2, All That You Can't Leave Behind: 20th Anniversary Edition [Various Formats] (Island/UMC)

1-CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2-LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2-CD Deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
5-CD Super Deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
11-LP Super Deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

U2 is revisiting its seven-time-Grammy-winning album with a variety of remastered iterations.  The centerpiece is a 5-CD affair that includes nearly every contemporaneous release from the period plus 19 tracks across two discs from Live From Boston, recorded at the Fleet Center during the Elevation Tour and previously only available on DVD.  The set also includes a disc of B-sides and session material, and a further disc of hard-to-find or unreleased remixes.   For the more casual listener, there will be standalone 1-CD and 2-LP configurations that feature the new remaster with the bonus track "The Ground Beneath Her Feet." A 2-CD deluxe edition will pair the remastered album and "Ground" with 13 selected (and sometimes edited) highlights from the Boston show. The 11-LP super deluxe set contains all the material from the 5-CD, presented in eight sleeves: one for the remastered album, another for the B-Sides and Demos disc, and a further one for the 19-track Boston set. The remixes will be spread across 5 discs, each in its own sleeve. A digital download card will also be enclosed.​  Read more here!

Grateful Dead, American Beauty: 50th Anniversary Edition (Grateful Dead/Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Rhino is marking 50 years of a Grateful Dead classic.  American Beauty: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition features a remastered version of the original album on its first disc, while a previously unreleased concert recorded on February 18, 1971 at Port Chester, New York's Capitol Theatre comprises Discs 2 and 3.  The show has been mixed from the original 16-track analog masters by Jeffrey Norman at Bob Weir's TRI Studios and mastered by David Glasser.  Also on October 30, Rhino will release an anniversary picture disc limited to 15,000 copies with just the remastered album audio.  Get more details here.

Thin Lizzy, Rock Legends (UMC) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Irish rockers Thin Lizzy launch a new archival series with the release of Rock Legends, a career-spanning 6CD/1DVD box set that offers a new overview of their work through an almost entirely unreleased selection of tracks. The series celebrates their 50th anniversary as a band, but plans for a box on this scale have been gestating since 2012, when it was reported that Universal had acquired a decade's worth of tapes kept by Lynott featuring demos, alternate versions and outtakes. The final result certainly looks worth the wait: five of the six discs are entirely or nearly stocked with unreleased material - 74 of the set's 99 tracks - while another nine cuts are making their CD/digital debuts.  Rock Legends was compiled by longtime guitarist Scott Gorham and band expert Nick Sharp. Packaged in a 10″ x 6″ slipcase, the set also features copious book material, including a hardback collection of replica tour programs, selections from Lynott's poetry books, and quotes from not only all members of the band but famous fans like Slash, Lemmy Kilmister, Henry Rollins, Billy Corgan, Joe Elliott and more.  Get more information here.

Van Duren, Are You Serious? / Idiot Optimism (Omnivore)

Are You Serious?: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Idiot Optimism: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

Omnivore celebrates Memphis power pop hero, Big Star pal, and Andrew Loog Oldham protégé Van Duren with the reissue of his 1978 debut Are You Serious? and its once-shelved follow-up, Idiot Optimism.  Duren is the subject of the new documentary film Waiting: The Van Duren Story, but there's no more waiting involved for this pair of fully-authorized releases featuring new liner notes by, and rare photos of, the artist.  Both albums have been remastered from the original analog tapes, and are available today on CD and vinyl.

Ron Dante, Ron Dante's Funhouse (Sunset Blvd.) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Producer/songwriter/Archies vocalist/studio guru Ron Dante collects 54 rarities and previously unreleased tracks on this 2-CD collection including music from The Cuff Links, The Chan Clan, and of course, The Archies as well as duets with Bruce Johnston, Andy Kim, and Ron's fellow Archies singer (and another accomplished songwriter), Toni Wine.  It's all topped off with fantastic front and back cover artwork from Archie Comics' Dan Parent in a package designed by John Sellards.  Dig!

The Who, WHO + Live in Kingston (Polydor/UMC)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
6 Seven-Inch Singles/1 CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

The Who are revisiting their 2019 self-titled album in a new edition featuring one bonus track appended to the album (a remix by Pete Townshend of "Beads on One String") and a bonus disc of eight intimate acoustic performances from their February 2020 pre-pandemic concerts.  Unfortunately, the 2019 bonus tracks associated with WHO are not reprised.  The 2-CD edition arrives October 30 while the collection of seven-inch singles from the album plus the concert on CD is set for December 4 release.

Elvis Costello, Hey Clockface (Concord) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Elvis Costello has followed up his Grammy-winning Look Now with a wildly eclectic new LP recorded in Helsinki, Paris, and New York with various collaborators including Bill Frisell, Wilco's Nels Cline, and The Imposters' Steve Nieve.  Featuring a wide-ranging variety of styles from edgy rock to retro jazz and laced with lacerating wit and righteous indignation, Hey Clockface is a powerful, messy, and defiant statement from an uncompromising artist.  It's available on CD, 2-LP vinyl, and digital/streaming formats as well as a Japan-exclusive SHM-CD with a bonus track.

Stevie Nicks, The 24 Karat Gold Tour (BMG) (U.S. - Target / U.K. - Amazon U.K. / Canada - Amazon Canada)

Stevie Nicks brings her acclaimed tour to CD today.  It's a Target exclusive 2-CD set in the U.S. and available from Amazon in other territories.  It comes to vinyl on November 20 from Barnes & Noble in the U.S., in December in Canada, and January 2021 in the U.K.!

Yes, The Royal Affair Tour - Live from Las Vegas (BMG) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Yes' summer 2019 tour comes to 1-CD, 2-LP, and digital formats today featuring favorites such as "I've Seen All Good People," "Starship Trooper," "Siberian Khatru," and "Roundabout" plus a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" with guest John Lodge of The Moody Blues.

Suzzy Roche and Lucy Wainwright Roche, I Can Still Hear You (Storysound) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Suzzy Roche of The Roches teams with her daughter, Lucy Wainwright Roche, for their third collaboration.  I Can Still Hear You was recorded by the duo in their homes during COVID quarantine, and its songs reflect the times in which we're living.  It features eight original songs and three covers including an affecting "Bein' Green."  Amy Ray and Emily Salier of The Indigo Girls guest on this beautiful set of powerful contemporary folk from two generations of one of music's most prolific and beloved extended families.  Available on CD and digital formats.

The Style Council, Long Hot Summers: The Story of The Style Council (UMC) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

To coincide with a new Sky Arts documentary, Paul Weller has revisited his days in The Style Council, curating this new anthology with hits, rarities, and two previously unreleased tracks.  Available on 2 CDs, 3 LPs, or digitally.  Available today in the U.K. and next Friday in North America.

Elton John, Elton John [Gold Vinyl] (Mercury) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Elton John's 1970 self-titled sophomore album with "Your Song," "Take Me to the Pilot," and "Border Song" receives a new pressing on gold vinyl for its 50th anniversary.  This single-LP edition does not feature the bonus tracks included on the Record Store Day reissue from earlier this year.

Lady A, On This Winter's Night: Deluxe (BMX) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The former Lady Antebellum is expanding their 2012 Christmas album on CD with four bonus tracks: covers of The Beach Boys ("Little Saint Nick"), Paul McCartney ("Wonderful Christmastime") and Ray Charles ("The Spirit of Christmas," co-written by Motown and Stax's Mable John) plus the band's original song "Christmas Through Your Eyes."