Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the titles available today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
The Beatles, 1962-1966 (Apple/Capitol/UMe)
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
The famous "red" compilation chronicling The Beatles' early years returns in a new, expanded edition featuring extra songs and brand-new stereo mixes by Giles Martin and Sam Okell. "I Saw Her Standing There," "Twist and Shout," This Boy," "Got to Get You Into My Life," and "Here, There, and Everywhere" are among the added tracks while "Help!," "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," "Day Tripper," "In My Life," and "Girl" are among the newly-mixed tracks. The new liner notes are by John Harris.
The Beatles 1967-1970 (Apple/Capitol/UMe)
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Joining The Beatles' 1962-1966 is the "blue album," 1967-1970, in a new expanded edition with additional songs and new remixes by Giles Martin and Sam Okell. "Within You, Without You," "Revolution," "Glass Onion," "Hey Bulldog," and "I Me Mine" are among the "new" tracks while "I Am the Walrus," "The Fool on the Hill," and "Magical Mystery Tour" are just a few of the newly mixed tracks. The compilation closes with "the last Beatles song," the brand-new "Now and Then." John Harris again provides new liner notes. Get the full tracklistings of both titles here.
Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, That Holiday Feeling! (Real Gone Music)
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music
Real Gone Music presents a newly-remastered edition of Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme's joyous 1964 Christmas classic That Holiday Feeling! Their son David Lawrence has written an introduction, and TSD's Joe Marchese provides the liner notes. The album has been remastered for vinyl by Eric Boulanger at The Bakery under the supervision of David Lawrence. Also available on CD and digitally; both of those formats are expanded with additional tracks. Read more here.
Neil Young, Archives Vol. 1 (Reprise/NYA) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Neil Young re-presses the long out-of-print 8CD version of his first, expansive Archives box set, originally released in 2009. This reissue replicates the original's unique "Garypak" packaging designed by Young's longtime art director, the late Gary Burden.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Hollywood Bowl: August 18, 1967 (Experience Hendrix/Legacy)
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Experience Hendrix and Legacy travel back to the Summer of Love to premiere a never-before-bootlegged concert from the Hollywood Bowl when The Jimi Hendrix Experience was opening for The Mamas and The Papas. Jeff Slate provides the liner notes for the new release which has been overseen by Janie Hendrix, John McDermott, and Eddie Kramer. The latter restored the audio which has been mastered by Bernie Grundman. In addition to CD and digital releases, Hollywood Bowl: August 18, 1967 will be issued on individually numbered 150-gram vinyl. The package will include previously unpublished photos by Ed Caraeff, Henry Diltz, and Allen Daviau from the evening. These include performance shots as well as candid images of the band with The Mamas & The Papas, DJ Rodney Bingenheimer, and manager Chas Chandler. Read more here.
R.E.M., Up: 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Craft Recordings)
2CD/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
A quarter century ago, R.E.M. made some surprising steps in their storied career that will be re-examined in a new 25th anniversary reissue of 1998's Up. The remastered album will be reissued on CD, vinyl and digitally, including a deluxe set that includes a previously unreleased live performance undertaken for the TV drama Party of Five. A Blu-ray includes the album's long-unavailable 5.1 surround and hi-res mixes, plus rare footage and music videos from the period. Read more here.
Wes Montgomery, The Complete Full House Recordings (Riverside/Craft) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
This expanded edition of the late jazz guitarist's 1962 album - recorded in Berkeley with Jimmy Cobb, Johnny Griffin, Wynton Kelly, and Paul Chambers - adds two previously unreleased performances. Available on 2 CDs, 3 LPs, or digitally.
Powerman 5000, Mega!! King Fu Radio (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Last year, Real Gone reissued Powerman 5000's 1999 album Tonight the Stars Revolt! on vinyl. Now, the label is bringing the group's Mega!! Kung Fu Radio from 1997 to vinyl for the first time. The band was founded in 1991 in Boston by Spider One (whose real name is Michael Cummings and is the younger brother of Rob Zombie). The group has had many members over the years with Spider One being the constant presence. After recording a couple of EPs, Powerman 5000 independently released their first full-length album, The Blood-Splat Rating System in 1995. It would win The Boston Phoenix's Readers' Poll for Best Metal Album, Best Rap Album, and Album of the Year. DreamWorks took notice and signed the group in 1996. Their first order of business was to re-release The Blood-Splat Ratings System. But the effort went beyond a simple reissues. The album was remixed and released as Mega!! Kung Fu Radio. Two new songs were added, the title cut and "20 Miles to Texas To Hell." While this new version didn't set the charts on fire, Powerman 5000's national breakout would come two years later with Tonight the Stars Revolt!. It would sell over a million copies and spawn the hit singles "When Worlds Collide" and "Nobody's Real." Follow-up album Anyone For Doomsday? would end up being cancelled and lead to legal issues. But the group persevered and continues to today with their last album, The Noble Rot, being released in 2020. Real Gone's vinyl reissue of Mega!! Kung Fu Radio comes with a printed inner sleeve and is pressed on blue and black swirl vinyl.
Bush, Loaded: The Greatest Hits 1994-2023 (Round Hill)
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
The career-spanning Loaded: The Greatest Hits 1994-2023 arrives from Bush, the British band launched in 1992 by Gavin Rossdale, Nigel Pulsford, Dave Parsons, and Robin Goodridge. The first greatest-hits set since 2005 for the enduring alt-rockers, it boasts numerous No. 1 singles including "Comedown" (U.S. Alternative Airplay), "Glycerine" (U.S. Alternative Airplay), "Machinehead" (Canadian Alternative Rock), "Swallowed" (U.S. Alternative Airplay and Canadian Alternative Rock), "The Chemicals Between Us" (U.S. Alternative Airplay), and "The Sound of Winter" (U.S. Alternative Airplay). Many of these became top ten hits on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart, as well. Frontman/singer-songwriter Gavin Rossdale leads the current iteration of the band (also featuring Chris Traynor, Corey Britz, and Nik Hughes) on a new single "Nowhere to Go But Everywhere," and the 21-song set also features a rare cover of The Beatles' "Come Together."
New Order, Substance 1987: Deluxe Edition (Factory/Warner Music U.K.)
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
4CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2 cassettes: New Order Store (U.S.) / New Order Store (U.K.)
New Order's landmark 1987 compilation is getting expanded as a 4CD set. The newly-remastered Substance 1987 collected a dozen classic sides from the British electronic band, from 1981's "Ceremony" to the then-new "True Faith" as well as exclusive updates of "Temptation" and "Confusion." The double vinyl reissue is pressed on black or retail-exclusive red and blue discs, while the 2CD and double cassette (the latter exclusive to the band's official stores) add the same program of B-sides to the 12 tracks. The third disc of the 4CD set adds another 10 cuts, including dub versions and the original takes of "Temptation" and "Confusion"; the fourth disc debuts a much-coveted live set recorded in California in the wake of the original album release - a unique set that matched the Substance 1987 track list. Get more details here.
Danny O'Keefe, Circular Turns (Sunset Blvd.) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Sunset Blvd. collects previously unreleased live and studio recordings from singer-songwriter Danny O'Keefe ("Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues") recorded between 1999 and 2018 - the first official release of new material from O'Keefe in nearly a quarter of a century. Available on 2 CDs.
Galley says
Had the Neil Young Archives Vol. I collection been reissued in the same packaging as Vol. II, I would’ve bought it. As it is, I will be satisfied with the Hi-Res digital downloads I purchased a few years ago.
Harry Cohen says
Mostly re releases of re releases...sigh.
John Cunningham says
Oh look. Another gathering of the Friday Morning Whiners!!
JG says
NO CD, NO SALE
John C. says
Since every item above has a cd component (save Powerman) I'd like to thank you for making it that much easier to acknowledge you as a Friday Whiner!
B. says
Real Gone re issues in Canada are so unaffordable. $32.00 for Steve and Eydie!!!.
David B says
me .. i love the Beatles red album ...to hear the "Rubber soul" tracks as good as this is incredible .. just love it .. haven't bought the blue one as have the surround sound sets, but may do to get the singles esp "all you need is love" .. also i'm interested in the Hendrix release .. anyone heard it yet?
John C. says
To me, the Hendrix is somewhat lo fi but when he rips into Sgt Pepper you cease to care...
Larry Davis says
The only new releases I'm interested in are the New Order & Maneskin, probably the REM...the Beatles?? I personally want to BOYCOTT the Beatles!! I personally do not care one whit about them...and all this coverage being shoved down my throat makes me actually resent them!! They take up way too much oxygen and space and the way people talk about them makes me think they are not aware of 53 years of great music that came afterwards...i wanted to avoid & boycott the "new" song "Now & Then" & almost succeeded until friends of mine knew my stance, and in one's car, he put it on without telling me, which was not right...the song to me was just...there...not bad, not great, just...there...it sounded like Oasis to be honest...so I'll stop here...I'm not saying I dislike the Beatles, if I want to hear em, it has to be on my own terms, not invading my listening space which I find offensive...I may get red & blue eventually, but it's bottom of my wantlist or not on it at all...
Randy says
Interesting. I run into your comments all the time both here and on SDE, and I admire that despite my vast collection of music across most genres, Larry seems to have an even deeper and far more extensive one. That said, this Beatles diatribe was curious.
I get it though, everyone has that one band they just don't always vibe with. For me, it was peak era Bon Jovi (basically mostly everything after the second album). It all sounded like a beer commercial jingle to me and there was no escaping it. I had trouble respecting it then because I was aware of the Bonnie Tyler song that Desmond repurposed into that megahit that really made Bon Jovi ubiquitous that year. Anyway, I was more of a Def Leppard guy during those years anyway.
Just wanted to say I understand. I got the Blue 67-70 already and am excited to hear the new mixes on 62-66. I do believe it could have been a much better and unique package. Like you, I'm excited to listen to the New Order release - it's high up on my wantlist, just right under the Beatles 😉
Guy Smiley says
Biggest band of all time, still beloved, still commercially viable.
No one cares that you have you undies in a wad about them. Would you like a lollipop? Maybe a juice box? Would that help?
Larry Davis says
The band broke up in 1970, the problem is people still think of them as an ongoing concern while giving off the impression that nothing that came afterwards either matters or exists...it's the most closedminded mentality you can ever have, and frankly, it's quite offensive...so I try to avoid the Beatles at all costs because I don't ever want to fall into that trap...and it's quite a challenge to be honest...
Larry Davis says
My 2 big issues with the Beatles is one, I didn't discover them on my own for myself, so they are not important to me personally, so when their overexposure rams them down my throat against my will, I resent them...and two, this is down to taste, with many powerpop bands citing them as an influence, they should be a powerpop band themselves, but they are not...the only true powerpop person in the band is Paul, and the Beatles are not Paul's backup band...very few Beatles songs give me that chill down the spine tingle that powerpop bands give me consistently...that's why I'm not a Beatles fan...