Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up!

New Order, Education Entertainment Recreation (Live at Alexandra Palace) (Rhino)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2CD/BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2CD/BD/3LP (Clear Vinyl) Box Set: New Order Store

Education Entertainment Recreation (Live at Alexandra Palace) documents New Order’s only U.K. show of 2018.  The November 9 gig was played at London’s Alexandra Palace with the current line-up of Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris, Gillian Gilbert, Phil Cunningham, and Tom Chapman.  At 2 hours and 20 minutes in length, the band celebrated its 2015 release Music Complete in addition to revisiting New Order and Joy Division classics.  Education Entertainment Recreation will be available in various formats including 2-CD; 2-CD/1-BD; 3 LPs; and a limited edition box set (exclusive to the band’s online store) with all formats plus a book and art prints.  This is the first New Order live Blu-ray release to feature this iteration of the band.  Read more here.

Amy Winehouse, At the BBC (Island/UMe)

3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

Amy Winehouse’s posthumous live release Amy Winehouse at the BBC, first issued in 2012, returns as a 3-CD or 3-LP expanded edition.  This presentation brings together her earliest BBC Radio sessions, music from her first television appearances, and more.  It features the original album on one disc plus A Tribute to Amy Winehouse by Jools Holland on Disc Two and BBC One Sessions Live at Porchester Hall on Disc Three.  The expanded Amy Winehouse at the BBC, with 38 tracks up from the original 14, contains a 20-page booklet featuring rare photographs.  Read more here.

Various Artists, Yesterday’s Tomorrow: Celebrating the Winston-Salem Sound (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Omnivore’s release today of Yesterday’s Tomorrow: Celebrating the Winston-Salem Sound preserves a way-cool concert held on May 12, 2018 at that city’s Ramkat club.  On that evening, original members of Winston-Salem bands of days gone by including Arrogance, Little Diesel, Sacred Irony, and Rittenhouse Square – boasting such familiar names as Mitch Easter (Let’s Active), Peter Holsapple, Will Rigby, and Chris Stamey (the dB’s); singers Don Dixon, Dale Smith, Lynn Blakey, and Bob Northcott; and many others – got together to make a big noise in a (relatively) small space in celebration of Winston-Salem’s rich musical legacy.  The illustrious roster ran through plenty of band originals along with crackling revivals of “Got to Get You Into My Life,” “Maybe I’m Amazed,” “I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night),” and more.  The accompanying 24-page booklet has Chris Stamey’s terrific liner notes, and flips over to offer “The Official (Unauthorized) History of Winston-Salem Rock.”  Yesterday’s Tomorrow is a party, indeed!  Michael Graves has mastered.  Get more info here.

Alex Chilton and Hi Rhythm Section, Boogie Shoes: Live on Beale Street (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Omnivore’s new release documents the late Alex Chilton’s 1999 show at Memphis’ New Daisy Theater when Chilton and the Hi Records Rhythm Section tore through a spirited assortment of oldies including “Maybellene,” “Lucille,” “Where Did Our Love Go,” and “Big Boss Man.”  We’ll have more on this release later today!

Alphaville, Afternoons in Utopia: Deluxe Edition (Rhino)

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

Rhino has a remastered and expanded edition of German synthpop trio Alphaville’s 1986 LP Adventures in Utopia.  It arrives as a 1-LP edition pressed on 180-gram vinyl with the remastered album plus a 24-page booklet with rare and unreleased photos in a gatefold sleeve; and a 2-CD edition with the remastered album on CD 1 plus a bonus disc with 14 remastered B-sides, 12″ & 7″ mixes, remixes, demos as well as a rare live version of the single “Dance with Me” plus a 20-page booklet.

Alphaville, The Breathtaking Blue: Deluxe Edition (Rhino)

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

Rhino’s remastered and expanded edition of Alphaville’s 1989 album The Breathtaking Blue arrives in 2CD/DVD and LP/DVD formats: the 1-LP/DVD features the remastered original album on 180-gram vinyl including a 24-page booklet with many and rare photos in a gatefold sleeve, plus The Breathtaking Blue: Songlines on DVD; and the 2-CD/DVD with the remastered album on CD 1 plus a bonus disc with 16 remastered and remixed B-sides, 12″ mixes, and remixes of album tracks, plus The Breathtaking Blue: Songlines on DVD and a 20-page booklet.  The DVDs also feature the 1989 CD-G animations while the booklets have been created in consultation with the original albums’ designers.  Read more about both Alphaville titles here.

Tom Jones, Surrounded by Time (S-Curve) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Sir Tom Jones is back for his first studio album since 2015 – and it’s already an international hit (the digital version arrived earlier).  Surrounded by Time reunites him with co-producer Ethan Johns and features a diverse array of songs including Michel Legrand and the Bergmans’ “The Windmills of Your Mind,” Bob Dylan’s “One More Cup of Coffee,” Tony Joe White’s “Old Mother Earth,” Cat Stevens’ “Popstar,” Michael Kiwanuka and Paul Butler’s “I Won’t Lie,” and Todd Snider’s “Talking Reality Television Blues.”  Tom has co-written “Samson and Delilah” with his son Mark Woodward and Ethan Johns.  Surrounded by Time is released today on CD, LP, and digitally.

Van Morrison, Latest Record Project Vol. 1 (Exile/BMG)

Deluxe 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Standard 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

Van Morrison is back with a new, expansive double-album featuring such eye-opening titles as “Big Lie,” “Where Have All the Rebels Gone,” “Stop Bitching, Do Something,” “They Own the Media,” and “Why Are You on Facebook.”  Available on standard CD, deluxe CD (with expanded packaging), and vinyl.

Judy Collins, White Bird: Anthology of Favorites (Cleopatra) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Judy Collins has revisited some of her favorite songs including “Turn! Turn! Turn!,” “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today,” and “Chelsea Morning” on this recently-recorded collection which features guest spots from Joan Baez, Willie Nelson, and Stephen Stills.  Available on CD and white vinyl.

Tony Joe White, Smoke from the Chimney (Easy Eye Sound) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Easy Eye Sound premieres a new album of nine never-before-released songs from the late Tony Joe White (“Polk Salad Annie,” “Rainy Night in Georgia”), completed and produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach (also Easy Eye’s founder) with a host of talented musicians including keyboardist Bobby Wood of The Memphis Boys, Nashville pedal steel titan Paul Franklin, and Grammy-winning fiddler Stuart Duncan, as well as younger players such as guitar wunderkind Marcus King.  Available on CD, LP, and digital services.  Get more info here.

Mandy Barnett, Every Star Above (BMG) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Nashville vocalist Mandy Barnett teamed with the late, great arranger Sammy Nestico (who died earlier in 2021 before the album could be released) for this new set of classic standards from Billie Holiday’s Lady in Satin including “I’m a Fool to Want You,” “But Beautiful,” and “Glad to Be Unhappy.”  Available on CD, LP, and digital services.

Nancy Wilson, You and Me (Carry On Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Heart’s Nancy Wilson steps out with her first solo studio album.  You and Me features original songs (including the Eddie Van Halen tribute “4 Edward”) as well as covers of Simon & Garfunkel (“The Boxer”), The Cranberries (“Dreams”), Pearl Jam (“Daughter”), and Bruce Springsteen (“The Rising”).  Sammy Hagar, Duff McKagan, and Taylor Hawkins all guest.  Available on CD and digitally.

Young Frankenstein: Original London Cast Recording (NoteforNote Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

First available as a digital download and then earlier this year on CD as an online exclusive, the Original London Cast Recording of Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein finally makes it to wide release today.  Read all about it here.