Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Melanie, One Night Only: The Eagle Mountain House (Cleopatra) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
This 1984 concert recorded at The Eagle Mountain house in Jackson, New Hampshire features some of the late singer-songwriter's classics including "Brand New Key," "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)," and "Look What They've Done to My Song, Ma." Dave Thompson provides the liner notes. Also available in truncated "highlights" form on vinyl.
Steeleye Span, Live at The Bottom Line 1974 (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Omnivore premieres a previously unreleased concert from the fabled New York venue, recorded during the folk-rock band's Now We Are Six tour in July 1974. The concert aired on New York radio at the time, and those original tapes have been used for this reissue. Also available digitally.
Aaron Copland, Copland Conducts Copland: The Complete Columbia Album Collection (Sony Classical) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
This 20-CD box rounds up great American composer Aaron Copland's complete recordings for Columbia Masterworks from 1935 to 1976 (and a detour to RCA Victor) on 19 CDs plus recordings of two of his works by Leonard Bernstein on one additional CD. While Sony Classical has issued many of the composer's CBS/Columbia recordings on CD before, including a 5-CD set in 2013, this 20-disc collection marks the most comprehensive release yet. The box includes collaborations with Benny Goodman, Isaac Stern, the Juilliard String Quartet, William Warfield, and Henry Fonda, and also premieres six of his early recordings on Sony Classical CDs. Available today in Europe and next Friday in North America.
Betty Hutton and Co-Stars, The Paramount Years 1938-1952 (Sepia) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Dorothy Lamour and Co-Stars, The Paramount Years 1936-1952 (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Sepia has a pair of 2-CD releases celebrating the Golden Age of Hollywood with two of Paramount Pictures' greatest stars, Betty Hutton and Dorothy Lamour. The Hutton set is drawn from soundtracks, playback discs, and recording sessions (with some sources from Hutton's own collection). Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Tommy Dorsey, and Bob Hope are all heard on these discs. The Lamour volume has radio tracks, studio recordings, and soundtrack songs, many of which were derived from studio acetates. Hope and Crosby again appear, as well as Phil "Baloo" Harris, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Dick Powell, and Victor Moore. Both of these titles are made possible via current U.K. public domain laws.
Paul Collins, Stand Back and Take a Good Look (JEM) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Power pop hero Collins (The Nerves, The Paul Collins Beat) returns with a new studio album which is available on both CD and LP. The album also contains the late, great Dwight Twilley on background vocals, in his final recorded performance.
Bela Fleck, Rhapsody in Blue (Bela Fleck Productions) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
The banjo great celebrates 100 years of George Gershwin's masterwork with this new album featuring three variations: "Rhapsody in Blue(grass), " "Rhapsody in Blue(s), " and the classic orchestration, but with banjo instead of piano, performed with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Eric Jacobson. The album also features Gershwin's "Rialto Ripples" and "Unidentified Piece for Banjo, " an unrecorded and unreleased composition discovered at the Library of Congress. Available on CD, LP, and digitally.
Steve Hackett, The Circus and the Nightwhale (Inside Out) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Ex-genesis guitarist Steve Hackett releases this new semi-autobiographical concept album featuring Roger King (keyboards, programming and orchestral arrangements), Rob Townsend (sax), Jonas Reingold (bass), Nad Sylvan (vocals), and Craig Blundell (drums) and Amanda Lehmann on vocals. Nick D'Virgilio and Hugo Degenhardt guest on drums, engineer Benedict Fenner appears on keyboards, and John Hackett adds flute. Available on CD and LP.
The Immediate Family, Skin in the Game (Quarto Road) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
The Immediate Family - a.k.a. legendary session veterans and recent documentary subjects Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar, Waddy Wachtel, Russ Kunkel, and Leland Sklar, plus singer-songwriter-guitarist-producer Steve Postel - returns with a new studio album capturing their classic yet contemporary sound. Available on CD, LP, and digitally.
Tony Christie, We Still Shine (Universal U.K.) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
British singer Tony Christie ("(Is This the Way to) Amarillo," "Avenues and Alleyways") unveils a new album in the wake of his recent dementia diagnosis. We Still Shine, reflecting the vocalist's indomitable spirit, arrives on CD as Christie continues to tour Europe (with dates currently scheduled through October). Available today in the U.K. and next Friday in North America.
Larry Davis says
To be honest, not sure what I will buy if anything today, except I will be preordering the bundle of the 2 Wham BluRay Audios from SuperDeluxeEdition.com ...but I have to mention something...you usually cover someone's passing immediately, like Melanie, but recently, on February 7, we lost a BIG one...Mojo Nixon!! And I was looking for a mention here on him and what do I see?? NOTHING, nada, zip!! I wonder why?? I was there on the ship when it happened, the Outlaw Country Cruise #8, when we were docked in San Juan, PR, and it sent shockwaves, not just across the ship, but across the web...the night before, he did possibly the best show he ever did, but like a select few, Mojo was one of the most original, irreplaceable characters to ever hit the music business, period...just curious why I only saw crickets...did I miss anything??
Jeremy Holiday says
The Paul Collins album includes Dwight Twilley’s final recorded performance, on background vocals.
Joe Marchese says
Thanks, Jeremy! We'll add that to the blurb.
Larry Davis says
Paul Collins has always been consistent in quality, energetic powerpop, and both Dwight Twilley & Mojo Nixon were 2 of the most potent losses in music, not just this year, but ever...