Happy New Year, and welcome to our first Release Round-Up of 2024, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today!  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Lou Reed, Hudson River Wind Meditations (Light in the Attic)

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

Lou Reed's twentieth solo album (and penultimate studio record) returns from Light in the Attic in CD and LP editions.  Featuring meditative music drawing on Reed's lifelong interest in drone and ambient sounds, Hudson River was co-produced with longtime collaborator Hal Willner.  It's been remastered by John Baldwin, and the CD and LP editions include a new interview with Anderson conducted by Jonathan Cott in which they discuss the album and Reed's dedication to Tai Chi.  Read more here!

Trevor Horn, Echoes Ancient and Modern (Deutsche Grammophon) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Already out in the U.K., producer Trevor Horn's latest album arrives in the U.S. on January 12.  Echoes Ancient and Modern welcomes an array of artists including Marc Almond, Iggy Pop, Rick Astley, Seal, Robert Fripp, and Tori Amos to reinvent classics of the '80s and '90s (including "Owner of a Lonely Heart," "White Wedding," and "Smells Like Teen Spirit") in orchestral fashion.  Available on CD, LP, and digitally.

Mark Eric, A Midsummer's Day Dream (Now Sounds/Cherry Red) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

This 1968 gem, long out-of-print, returns to vinyl in a beautiful new edition from Now Sounds.  Filled with the soft sounds of Beach Boys-inspired sunshine pop (think Pet Sounds and onward) and dashes of surf, jazz, and psychedelia, the new reissue features a gatefold jacket with rare and exclusive photos as well as updated and expanded liner notes.  The album has been produced, annotated, and designed by Now Sounds' Steve Stanley (who helmed acclaimed CD reissues of the album in 2002 and 2009).

The Allman Brothers Band, Manley Field House, Syracuse University, April 7, 1972 (Allman Brothers Recording Company) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

This concert featuring "Midnight Rider," "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed," "Statesboro Blues," and more arrives on 2 CDs or digitally from the Allman Brothers.  Though this concert has circulated for years from radio broadcasts, press materials indicate this release has been newly remastered from the original source recording and is complete, as opposed to truncated broadcasts.

Grateful Dead, In the Dark (Limited Edition 1-LP 140g Silver vinyl) (David Glasser remaster) (Color TBA/available at Amazon U.S.)

Grateful Dead, Terrapin Station (Limited Edition 1-LP 140g Emerald Green vinyl) (David Glasser remaster) (Color TBA/Available at Amazon U.S.)

A pair of Grateful Dead reissues arrive in independent stores and Barnes & Noble locations as part of Rhino's annual Start Your Ear Off Right campaign - both newly remastered by David Glasser - and also hit general retail today.

Merrily We Roll Along: The New Broadway Cast Recording (Masterworks Broadway) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

"It's a hit!"  It took over 40 years, but Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's musical Merrily We Roll Along - which closed after just 16 performances in 1981 - is finally the toast of Broadway. Now everybody can hear why, thanks to this splendid new recording of the revival packing houses at the Hudson Theatre (and recently extended into July). Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, and Lindsay Mendez bring new depth to the three-way friendship at the core of Merrily We Roll Along, while stellar support is provided by Krystal Joy Brown, Katie Rose Clarke, Reg Rogers, a fantastic ensemble, and a brassy, rip-roaring orchestra. This one-of-a-kind show is finally getting its full due.