Features / Release Round-Up

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up!

The Kinks, Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (BMG)

3CD/2 7-inch Box Set (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
1CD Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
1LP Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
2CD Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The Kinks’ 1970 classic Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One arrives in a variety of formats including bonus material such as singles, B-sides, alternate mixes, session outtakes, BBC recordings, and newly-recorded commentary from Ray and Dave Davies.  The box set (containing a 60-page book, 3 CDs, 2 x 7″ singles, and 4 color prints) was released today after a slight delay while the other formats have already been available.  Read more here.

Richard Hell, Destiny Street Complete (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) / Destiny Street Remixed (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Forty years after the release of his sophomore album Destiny Street, Richard Hell has returned to the surviving original tapes for the 2-CD (or digital) set Destiny Street Complete.  This comprehensive release features three versions of the album: the controversial 1982 original, the 2009 Destiny Street Repaired reconstruction, and the new 2021 remix.  And that’s still not all.  This 40th anniversary celebration also features Destiny Street Demos, an LP’s worth of demos and earlier studio versions for a chronicle of Richard Hell’s songwriting oeuvre between Blank Generation and Destiny Street.  Hell has penned new liner notes to put everything into perspective.  Everything has been newly mastered by Michael Graves at Osiris Studios.  The release also serves to preview Omnivore’s Record Store Day 2021 vinyl release of Destiny Street Demos.  Today, the remix is available on standalone vinyl as Destiny Street Remixed.

Sam Cooke, Ain’t That Good News / Keep Movin’ On / At the Copa (ABKCO)

Ain’t That Good News: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Keep Movin’ On: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
At the Copa: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

To commemorate what would have been his 90th birthday today as well as the release of the film One Night in Miami, three Sam Cooke classics return to vinyl including Ain’t That Good News (1964), the final studio album released in Cooke’s lifetime;  the 2001 compilation Keep Movin’ On, on 2 LPs; and his 1964 triumph At the Copa.

Brian Eno, Film Music 1976-2020 (UMe)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2-LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

This first-ever compilation of Eno’s film and television soundtrack work, Film Music 1976-2020 brings together highlights from five decades of music, including songs from Dune, Heat, and Married to the Mob, and seven tracks previously unreleased in an audio-only format. Digital configurations were released last year while CD and 2-LP editions arrive today.  Read more here.

Nicolas King, Act One: Celebrating 25 Years of Recordings (Club 44 Records) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

While planning a new album, vocalist and onetime child star Nicolas King has looked back on his career with Act One.  This starry retrospective of new and older recordings alike features a spoken introduction from Liza Minnelli, arrangements from Mike Renzi and Charles Calello, liner notes by Connie Francis, and guest appearances by Jane Monheit, Norm Lewis, and Blue Bloods star Tom Selleck (with whom King appeared in Broadway’s A Thousand Clowns).  Tracks include King’s compelling renditions of such varied pop standards as “God Bless the Child,” “How Deep Is the Ocean,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “Sing,” and “But Beautiful.”  Act One is out today at all digital service providers and arrives in CD format on February 26.

Janet Jackson, Number Ones (A&M/UMe) (Target.com)

Target has an exclusive vinyl edition of Janet Jackson’s 2009 collection of Number Ones.  This 2-LP, 12-track “highlights” set is pressed on translucent red vinyl.  While pre-orders have sold out, this will be available in Target stores and may return to availability online, too.

Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese (Criterion)

Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Your Local Record Shop / Criterion Collection
DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Your Local Record Shop / Criterion Collection

Part concert document and part mockumentary, Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed film saw Bob Dylan, some original Rolling Thunder participants, and a cast of characters tell a not-entirely-truthful story around that wild tour.  After over a year as Netflix exclusive, Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese is released today on Blu-ray and DVD as part of the Criterion Collection. The special expanded set features the full film – presented in 4K with a 5.1 surround sound audio mix – along with some welcome extras.  Among them: a trailer, unused interviews with Rolling Thunder Revue participants, and bonus performances of “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You,” “Romance in Durango,” and “Tangled Up in Blue.”  Read more here.