Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up!

Chicago, Chicago at Carnegie Hall: Complete (Rhino) (Rhino.com)

For the first time, Rhino brings together all eight of Chicago's concerts between April 5-10, 1971 at New York's Carnegie Hall in one deluxe, 16-CD box set.  The original 4-LP box Chicago at Carnegie Hall was a commercial smash, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard 200.  This set features every note played by the band as newly restored by the band's Lee Loughnane and engineer Tim Jessup.  The box takes the form of a white folio embossed with Chicago's famous logo.  In addition to the 16 CDs, it also includes the replica posters and a 28-page booklet with the concert photos as well as liner notes from Lee Loughnane, archivist Jeff Magid, David Wild, and comedian/Chicago enthusiast Jimmy Pardo.  Chicago at Carnegie Hall: Complete is a Rhino.com exclusive release.  It's been remastered at Bob Ludwig's Gateway Mastering.  Read here for more info, and here for a rundown of the technical aspects of the reissue.

Laura Nyro, Go Find the Moon: The Audition Tape (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Go Find the Moon: The Audition Tape captures the summer 1966 performance of 18-year-old Laura Nyro auditioning for Milt Okun and Artie Mogull.  The audition on which Nyro accompanied herself on piano, went so well that Mogull signed the young artist and budding songwriter to a management contract and Okun promptly booked studio time with arranger Herb Bernstein to record her debut album, More Than a New Discovery.  It's not hard to realize why: Laura Nyro heard music differently than everyone else - and her songs reflected that.  At the audition session, she performed a pair of the remarkable songs that would soon appear on that LP, the precociously mature "And When I Die" and "Lazy Susan."  She also previewed an embryonic "Luckie," the final version of which would be included on her even more acclaimed sophomore album, Eli and the Thirteenth Confession.  The ballad "Enough of You," brief "In and Out," and deliciously swooning "Go Find the Moon" were never released in studio form, making their appearances here all the more welcome.  The audition tape is rounded out with fragments of "When Sunny Gets Blue," "Kansas City," and "I Only Want to Be with You."  While Nyro was prompted to sing them when it was asked if she could perform something she hadn't written, they hint at the stylistic diversity that informed her passionate songwriting and performing.  In just 18-1/2 fly-on-the-wall minutes, this is the sound of an incandescent talent.  Omnivore's first-time release is annotated by Jim Farber and mastered by Michael Graves.  Available on CD, LP, and digital formats.​  Read more here!

Laura Nyro, American Dreamer (Madfish) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

In what's clearly a good week for fans of Laura Nyro, the U.K.'s Madfish label returns her 1967-1978 catalogue for Verve and Columbia to vinyl in a new box set.  The 8-LP box set American Dreamer presents newly remastered versions of her original studio albums:

• More Than a New Discovery (1967)
• Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968)
• New York Tendaberry (1969)
• Christmas and the Beads of Sweat (1970)
• Gonna Take a Miracle - with Labelle (1971)
• Smile (1976); and
• Nested (1978).

A bonus LP of 15 previously released singles, demos, and live performances is also included, as is a 36-page booklet with liner notes by Peter Doggett.  Read more here.

Ray Charles, True Genius (Tangerine) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Ray Charles' True Genius features nearly 100 tracks culled from almost every one of the legendary artist's post-Atlantic albums originally issued on his own Tangerine Records and its successor Crossover Records as well as the Impulse!, RCA, Columbia, Warner Bros., and Concord labels.  In addition to album tracks (many of which haven't been previously released on CD), the collection features non-LP singles and a previously unreleased 1972 concert recorded in Stockholm.  All six discs have been newly mastered and are housed in a 44-page hardcover book featuring liner notes by Ray Charles Foundation President Valerie Erwin and journalist A. Scott Galloway plus a message from Quincy Jones.  Read more here.

Metallica, The Black Album (Blackened Recordings)

14CD/6LP/6DVD Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
1CD (Original Album): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP (Original Album): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3CD Expanded Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Cassette (Original Album): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

This week's box set bonanza continues.  Metallica's self-titled 1991 album - otherwise known as The Black Album - turns 30 this year, and the band isn't about to let that milestone go unnoticed.  The Black Album gave the band its first chart-topping album in ten countries, including the U.S. where it spent four weeks atop the Billboard 200.  It also yielded a string of singles led by "Enter Sandman," a No. 16 hit on the Hot 100.  To date, Metallica remains the biggest-selling album in the history of Nielsen's SoundScan, a testament to the timeless metal riffs laid down by James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Jason Newsted, and Lars Ulrich.  Metallica's own Blackened Recordings will revisit The Black Album in a variety of newly-remastered formats (with the core album remastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering and the remaining material by Reuben Cohen at Lurssen Mastering) including a massive 14CD/6LP/6DVD box set stuffed with rough mixes, alternates, demos, rehearsals, interviews, single edits, and live shows.  Get more details here.

Elvis Costello and The Attractions with Various Artists, Spanish Model (UMe)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP:  Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP with This Year's Model: uDiscoverMusic.com / Sound of Vinyl

Elvis Costello, producer Sebastian Krys, and a host of Latin rock and pop superstars have teamed up to reinvent Costello's 1978 sophomore album This Year's Model.  All of the artists have recorded new vocals in the Spanish language over Costello and The Attractions' original tracks.  The result is a thrilling cross-time, cross-cultural exchange.  Available on CD, LP, and as part of an exclusive 2-LP set (available at uDiscoverMusic.com) with the original This Year's Model on LP 2.  Target has an exclusive CD edition of Spanish Model with three bonus tracks.

Elvis Costello and The Attractions, This Year's Model [Remastered and Expanded Edition] (UMe)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP:  Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP with This Year's Model: uDiscoverMusic.com / Sound of Vinyl

To coincide with the reimagined Spanish Model, Elvis Costello is reissuing his 1978 sophomore album This Year's Model with two bonus tracks, "Radio Radio" and "Big Tears."  The album has been remastered.  Available on CD, LP, and as part of an exclusive 2-LP set with Spanish Model (available from uDiscoverMusic.com).  Read more about both Elvis Costello releases here.

Various Artists, R&B in DC: 1940-1960 (Bear Family) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

R&B in D.C. 1940-1960 is Bear Family's latest treasure trove: a 16-CD box set comprehensively surveying two decades of American regional music as only Bear Family can - with 472 tracks (that's around 20 hours of music!) and a 352-page hardcover book.  It spotlights the early days of future marquee artists including Marvin Gaye, Billy Stewart, and Don Covay (all of whom spent their early days on the D.C. scene) as well as dozens of artists who never broke out beyond local stages but are nonetheless worthy of rediscovery.  The box is a snapshot of the many sounds percolating in broader American culture during those years - not just "R&B" per se but swing, doo-wop, rock-and-roll, and soul, too.  Master tapes have been utilized when possible (including the 1951 RCA Victor sessions by Tribble, Frank Motley, The Heartbreakers, and Jimmy McPhail) but hundreds of recordings for which no master tapes survive have been transferred and restored by Doug Pomeroy especially for this release.  This one-of-a-kind set is limited to just 1,500 copies worldwide. Click here for the full track listing.

Aaliyah, Aaliyah (Blackground) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The late Aalilyah's self-titled 2001 album is reissued by Blackground on CD, LP, and digital formats.  One bonus track, "Try Again," is included.

Andrea Bocelli, Concerto: One Night in Central Park - 10th Anniversary Edition (Verve) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The pop/opera crossover superstar's 2011 concert album featuring Tony Bennett, Celine Dion, David Foster, and Chris Botti returns to CD and vinyl with the addition of bonus track "O Sole Mio."

Marillion, Fugazi (Parlophone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Post-punk band Marillion's 1984 album Fugazi, a U.K. No. 5 smash, returns in a 3CD/1BD deluxe edition with a new remix of the original album; two CDs with a 1984 concert; and a packed Blu-ray with the original album in high-resolution stereo and surround, additional audio tracks, documentaries, music videos, and more.  A 4-LP vinyl iteration has the remix and the concert only.

The London Suede, Coming Up: 25th Anniversary Edition (Demon) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Demon reissues The London Suede's Coming Up (featuring five U.K. top ten hits including "Beautiful Ones," "Trash," "Lazy," "Filmstar," and "Saturday Night") as a 2-CD mediabook edition featuring a bonus disc with seventeen B-sides.

Donny Osmond, Start Again (BMG) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Donny Osmond is back with his first studio album in seven years which coincides with his current Las Vegas residency at Harrah's.  Available on CD and digitally.

Rufus Wainwright, Unfollow the Rules: The Paramour Session (BMG) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Rufus Wainwright has an LP/digital only release of a live concert from Los Angeles' Paramour Mansion focusing on songs from his most recent studio album and a handful of old favorites.

Chris Jagger, Mixing Up the Medicine (BMG) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Singer-songwriter-musician (and Mick's little brother) Chris Jagger has a double offering today: a new studio album and a new memoir, both from BMG.  The album, Mixing Up the Medicine, features his longtime collaborator Charlie Hart as well as John Etheridge, Olly Blanchflower, Jody Linscott, Dylan Howe, and others including his big brother on background vocals.  The memoir, Talking to Myself, takes readers from the Jaggers' childhood home through Chris' latter-day travels and explorations.  Talking to Myself is available from Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada.