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.

Davy Jones, The Bell Records Story (7a)

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

7a Records reissues and expands the late Davy Jones' second solo LP, 1971's Davy Jones as part of the artist's The Bell Records Story.  The album was in a sunshine pop-meets-bubblegum vein, but it carried on the spirit of the early Monkees with strong tunes including some from songwriters who had written for the group (David Gates, Neil Sedaka). Davy Jones: The Bell Records Story arrives as a deluxe single CD or 180-gram vinyl LP with six non-LP bonus tracks.  Everything has been newly remastered from master tapes in the Sony vaults, and the CD edition includes a deluxe, 36-page booklet with liner notes by Monkees historian Mark Kleiner.  The vinyl version, with the same expanded track listing, is pressed on 180-gram transparent green vinyl housed in a gatefold sleeve.  Read more here.

The Dream Academy, Religion, Revolution, and Railways (The Complete Recordings) (Cherry Red) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Cherry Red U.K.)

Religion, Revolution & Railways (The Complete Recordings) indeed offers everything you could want from The Dream Academy.  In addition to remastered versions of their studio albums for the Blanco y Negro and Warner Bros. labels - The Dream Academy (1985), Remembrance Days (1987) and A Different Kind of Weather (1990) - there's four bonus discs of material: two collections of B-sides and demos, a disc of instrumentals and all the group's 12" mixes. Frontman Nick Laird-Clowes has been intimately involved in the set's creation: not only did he write liner notes for the box and approved the mastering and artwork, but he also helped comb the Warner vault to include more than a dozen unreleased tracks on the bonus disc, diving even further than the double-disc collection The Morning Lasted All Day - A Retrospective, issued nearly a decade ago.  Available today in the U.K. and next Friday in North America.  Read more here.

Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Dume (Reprise/NYA) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Neil Young brings Dume to vinyl for the first time.  The 16-track double album with Crazy Horse was assembled for Young's second volume of Archives from material recorded during the sessions for 1975's Zuma and features both outtakes and songs from that album - in essence, creating a new, more expansive version of Zuma minus one song ("Through My Sails") and plus seven others.

The Waterboys, 1985: Deluxe Edition (Chrysalis) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

This new 6CD box chronicles the making of The Waterboys' album This Is the Sea and the single "The Whole of the Moon" via 95 tracks including 64 previously unreleased home recordings, demos, alternate versions, outtakes, live recordings, and more.  A 220-page (!) hardcover book adds session details, previously unpublished photos, memorabilia, lyrics, and text by The Waterboys' Mike Scott with contributions from Anthony Thistlethwaite and Max Edie. Available today in the U.K. and next Friday in North America.

Kim Wilde, Love Blonde: The RAK Years (Cherry Pop) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

This 4CD box collects Kim Wilde's recordings on Mickie Most's RAK Records, with 50 tracks on four CDs including the studio albums Kim Wilde, Select. and Catch as Catch Can.  Each has been remastered and expanded with bonus tracks including extended 12-inch versions of ten singles, B-sides, and album outtakes.  Each album in this package is housed in a gatefold sleeve featuring the original vinyl artwork. The 48-page booklet features lyrics, a RAK discography, rare photos, and new liner notes from Marcel Rijs.  Available today in the U.K. and next Friday in North America.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears, Brand New Day (Music on CD) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Brass-rock titans Blood, Sweat, and Tears departed their longtime home of Columbia Records in 1977 for the ABC label, where they recorded their tenth studio album, Brand New Day.   Though drummer Bobby Colomby had left the band, he guested on percussion and vocals, and co-produced the album with Roy Halee (Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan).  Lead singer David Clayton-Thomas was joined by drummer Roy McCurdy, guitarist Mike Stern, keyboardist Larry Willis, bassist Danny Trifan, and a brass section consisting of Tony Klatka, Forest Buchtell, Dave Bargeron, and Bill Tillman.  Chaka Khan made an appearance on the album, as did Pete Jolly, Ernie Watts, King Errison, Venetta Fields, and others.  Brand New Day makes its worldwide CD debut here.

Various Artists, SAM Records Anthology: The Sound of New York City 1975-1983 (Edsel) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Edsel anthologizes Sam Weiss' disco label SAM Records - one of the major movers in disco alongside Salsoul, West End, and Prelude.  This compilation focuses on the classic hits on SAM released between 1975 and 1983 including music from Doris Duke, Gary's Gang, John Davis and The Monster Orchestra, Komiko, Rhyze, Convertion, Vicky "D", and Greg Henderson, among others.  The audio has been sourced from the SAM archives, and original 12-inch mixes have been used whenever possible. Watch this space for a closer look on the SAM Records Anthology soon!

Kissing the Pink, Anthology (1982-2024) (Cherry Red) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

This 5CD anthology celebrates new wave artists Kissing the Pink, bringing together for the first time the band's three studio albums, plus many extended versions, B-sides, and remixes plus eight previously unreleased remixes and new recordings. In total, over 30 tracks/mixes appear on CD for the first time.

Melissa Manchester, RE:VIEW (Green Hill) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Melissa Manchester celebrates 50 years since her 1973 album debut Home to Myself with this new studio album, her first since 2017's The Fellas.  RE:VIEW looks back on that extraordinary career with new arrangements and renditions of her classic songs, including "Midnight Blue" with Dolly Parton and "Whenever I Call You Friend" with her co-writer Kenny Loggins and saxophonist Dave Koz.  Melissa also debuts her own recording of "Confide in Me," originally recorded by Diana Ross.  Gerald Albright guests on the touching "Just You and I."  These ten songs add up to a warmly nostalgic yet always contemporary journey with one of music's most remarkable artists.  Available on CD and digital/streaming.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Michael Feinstein, Gershwin Rhapsody (Decca) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

"Ambassador of the American Songbook" Michael Feinstein and renowned pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet bring their acclaimed concert show to records as Gershwin Rhapsody. Commemorating the 1924 premiere of Rhapsody in Blue, this all-new album features familiar Gershwin favorites alongside world premiere recordings of four rediscovered Gershwin tunes: "Graceful and Elegant," "Dance of the Waves," "Sutton Place," and "Under the Cinnamon Tree."  In addition, the album features a medley based on Rhapsody in Blue comprising a selection of piano duos, solos, and Feinstein vocals; a Gershwin-esque setting of Vincent Youmans and Irving Caesar's "Tea for Two," and a rendition of "Jasbo Brown Blues" from Porgy & Bess.  With these two pianists serving up some of the best-loved songs of all time, who could ask for anything more?  Available on CD and digitally.

Rod Stewart with Jools Holland, Swing Fever (Warner) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Rod Stewart teams with pianist-bandleader Jools Holland for a return to the standards milieu, this time with an emphasis on swing.  The result looks to be an eclectic collection of favorites including Fats Waller's "Ain't Misbehavin'," Brigadoon showstopper "Almost Like Being in Love," tunes associated with Nat "King" Cole ("Walkin' My Baby Back Home"), Doris Day ("Sentimental Journey"), Louis Prima ("Oh, Marie"), Patti Page ("The Tennessee Waltz"), and more.  Available on CD, LP, and digitally.

Natalie Douglas, Back to the Garden (Club44) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Thirteen-time MAC Award winner Natalie Douglas makes the connection between disparate eras of American pop on Back to the Garden, an all-new album featuring standards and hidden gems from pop, rock, and jazz genres, as well as stage and screen.  The vocalist brings her distinctive, contemporary yet timeless touch to songs by Cole Porter ("Begin the Beguine"), The Sherman Brothers (Kaa the snake's haunting "Trust in Me" from The Jungle Book), Ewan MacColl ("The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"), and Joni Mitchell ("Woodstock," of course), as well as pop standards "Let It Be Me," "True Colors," and "You'll Never Know."  Album producer Wayne Haun provides the orchestrations, while Joel Mott handles the big-band charts.  Available on CD and digitally.