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.
Queen, Queen Rock Montreal (Hollywood/EMI)
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Queen Online Store
3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Queen Online Store (Exclusive - Blue)
4K UHD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Queen Online Store
Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Queen Online Store
Queen's electrifying 1981 Montreal concert returns in a variety of formats. Queen Rock Montreal, recently released to IMAX cinemas, arrives in 2CD; 3LP black vinyl; Queen Store-exclusive 3LP transparent blue vinyl; and double 4K UHD and Blu-ray editions from EMI and Hollywood Records (audio) and Mercury Studios (video). Queen Rock Montreal was shot at the 18,000-capacity Montreal Forum on November 24 and November 25, 1981 as Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon were wrapping up the band's tour for The Game. The band performed their then-recent smashes "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Another One Bites the Dust" as well as such inevitable favorites as "We Will Rock You," "Somebody to Love," "Killer Queen," "Under Pressure," "We Are the Champions," and "Bohemian Rhapsody." Read more here!
John Entwistle, The Ox (Edsel) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
John Entwistle's solo material - between and after his time as founding bassist of The Who - is being compiled into a new box set from Edsel. The Ox collects six of his solo albums - Smash Your Head Against the Wall (1971), Whistle Rymes (1972), Rigor Mortis Sets In (1973), Mad Dog (1975), Too Late the Hero (1981) and The Rock (1996) - along with 29 previously released bonus tracks, including demos, B-sides and other rarities. (The track lists mirror individual reissues of these albums from 2005, as distributed by Castle Music in the U.K. and Sanctuary in the U.S.) A 28-page booklet includes full album credits and liner notes by Alan Robinson. Each disc is packaged in a gatefold mini-replica of its original album sleeve, with albums and booklet housed in a clamshell case. Read more here!
The Staple Singers, Africa 80 (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Omnivore)
In 1980, the legendary Staple Singers were engaged in a tour of Africa sponsored by the U.S. government. The set opened with Charlie Smalls' rousing "Ease on Down the Road" from his Broadway musical The Wiz (which, as of this writing, is once again packing houses on Broadway) and continued with a clutch of Staples favorites including "Let's Do it Again," "Respect Yourself," and "Touch a Hand, Make a Friend." The group also brought their singular style to such varied standards as "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," "Come Go with Me," and "A House Is Not a Home." Mavis Staples previously covered the latter Burt Bacharach/Hal David classic on her 1969 Stax/Volt solo debut. Now, a document of the Staples' African tour returns to CD and digital formats as Africa 80, restored and remastered by Michael Graves and featuring new liner notes by Tim Dillinger-Curenton. Read more here.
Todd Rundgren, Live in Chicago '91 (Cleopatra) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Cleopatra reissues this 2-CD set from Todd Rundgren, originally issued in 1991 as a Japan exclusive and then as part of the 2003 U.S. box set Can't Stop Running. Live in Chicago '91 preserves Todd's Riviera Theatre set featuring such favorites as "Real Man," "Love of the Common Man," "Change Myself," "Hello, It's Me," and a Marvin Gaye medley.
Keane, Hopes and Fears 20 (Island/Interscope) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Keane celebrates 20 years of their debut album, Hopes and Fears, with this new 3CD edition featuring the original, remastered LP plus B-sides and previously unreleased demos and rarities. The new liner notes feature commentary from the band members. 1LP and 2LP editions are also available.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Killer in Stereo: Good Rockin' Tonight (Sun) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Sun culled a dozen recordings in stereo from the late Killer on LP last year; now, that collection is available on CD.
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