Features / Release Round-Up

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.

Dusty Springfield, Longing (Real Gone Music)

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

Real Gone Music premieres a lost album from Dusty Springfield: 1974’s Longing.  Produced by Brooks Arthur, the album features a number of singer-songwriter-oriented compositions including songs from Colin Blunstone (“Exclusively for Me”), Melissa Manchester and Carole Bayer Sager (“Home to Myself”), Janis Ian (“In the Winter”), Stephen Schwartz (“Corner of the Sky” from Pippin), Chi Coltrane (“Turn Me Around”), and Barry Manilow (“I Am Your Child”), among others.  The album would languish in the vault until the early 2000s, when every song other than “Corner of the Sky” was issued. A completed version of the ballad could not be located at the time so its official release had to wait until 2007 when Dusty’s vocal was reworked into a duet with Petula Clark for her Duets album.  Now, much as the label did with Springfield’s Faithful, Real Gone is releasing Longing in its originally intended form on its own for the first time.  For this new version, eight tracks have been newly mixed and “Corner of the Sky” will debut Dusty’s solo version of the song.  It has been mastered by Mike Milchner at SonicVision.  The package includes vintage artwork and rare images.  It also includes track-by-track annotations from Paul Howes and a tribute to the late Brooks Arthur from our very own Joe Marchese.  It arrives today on both CD and LP.  Get the track listing and more information here.

WAR, Why Can’t We Be Friends? 50th Anniversary Collectors’ Edition (Avenue/Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Following its release on vinyl for Record Store Day, the expanded 50th anniversary edition of WAR’s seminal 1975 album Why Can’t We Be Friends? (featuring the hit title track and “Low Rider”) arrives on 3CD and digital formats.  This expanded edition has been remastered from the original tapes by Bernie Grundman, with the core album presented on CD 1.  The second and third discs, The Making of ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends?,’ comprise outtakes (“Zorro,” “Roam and Ramble,” “Oatmeal Box”); unedited versions of “Don’t Let No One Get You Down,” “Low Rider,” and “So;” the “Heartbeat” jam; and an audio documentary tracing the development of the album’s tracks.  Read more here and watch this space for a full review.

Steely Dan, The Royal Scam (Geffen/UMe)

180-gram black vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
UHQR Vinyl Box: Acoustic Sounds
Hybrid Stereo SACD: Acoustic Sounds

Are you gonna do it without the fez on?  1976’s The Royal Scam, Steely Dan’s fifth album featuring “The Fez,” “Kid Charlemagne,” and “Green Earrings,” is returning in a variety of formats to conclude the band’s reissue campaign which began in November 2022 with Can’t Buy a Thrill.  Like the past titles in this series encompassing the Dan’s ABC/MCA discography, The Royal Scam is reissued on 180-gram vinyl from Geffen/UMe while an audiophile-aimed UHQR 45 RPM, 200-gram vinyl edition and a hybrid stereo SACD (playable on all CD players) both arrive from Analogue Productions.  All formats have been newly remastered; Bernie Grundman has mastered the UHQR and SACD iterations from the original tapes while Joe Nino-Hernes at Sterling Sound handles the standard 180-gram LP.  The latter has been sourced from high-resolution digital transfers of the tapes, and pressed at Precision.  Nino-Hernes’ remaster will also be released digitally.​ Read more here.

Alden Shuman, The Devil in Miss Jones (Original Soundtrack Recording) (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

After 2023’s release of the Pool-Pah and Rupert Holmes soundtrack to the adult film The Flasher, Real Gone is returning to the genre with a reissue of the soundtrack to 1973’s The Devil in Miss Jones.  Released at a time when pornographic films were receiving more mainstream acceptance, the movie was directed and produced by Gerard Damiano, who had found great success the year before with Deep Throat.  Re-teaming with a star from that film, Harry Reems (who also coincidentally starred in The Flasher), Damiano based The Devil upon a Jean-Paul Satre play, No Exit.  The ostensible plot revolves around Justine Jones (played by Georgina Spelvin) becoming the embodiment of lust after she commits suicide.  The film ends tragically but boasted high production values which also included the score.  Alden Shuman’s score for the movie boasted a full orchestra and piano which was a departure from the usual musical language of the genre.  The score album was originally released on Janus Records.  Real Gone’s new “Hellfire” vinyl reissue is limited to 900 copies.

Rick James, Collected (Music on Vinyl) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Universal’s overseas arm developed the Collected series as a line of compilations that would appeal to both casual and hardcore fans, combining an artist’s biggest hits with harder-to-find material. Now released through the Music on CD label, Collected is still going strong – as evidenced by this volume offering a comprehensive summary of the king of punk funk himself, Rick James.  Rick’s 3CD Collected volume offers his biggest and most soulful hits for Motown’s Gordy imprint, from “You and I,” “Bustin’ Out,” “Give It to Me Baby” and “Super Freak” to “Standing on the Top,” “Dance Wit’ Me,” “Cold Blooded” and “Ebony Eyes.” But that’s not all: the triple-disc offering shines a light on his earliest recordings with groups like The Mynah Birds and The Great White Cane, an album he produced for his backing group The Stone City Band, off-label duets and productions with Chaka Khan and comedian Eddie Murphy, highlights from his late ’80s work on the Reprise label, and even a selection of 12″ dance mixes. (By our count, about 10 of the 47 tracks are new to CD, and some of the material didn’t even make Motown and UMe’s digital box set of Rick James’ albums, issued alongside his posthumous memoirs in 2014.)  Get more details here.

Joe Henderson and Woody Shaw, Jazz Patterns (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

In 1970, jazz tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson and his quintet (trumpeter Woody Shaw, keyboardist George Cables, bassist Ron McClure, tumbador Tony Waters, and drummer Lenny White) released the live album If You’re Not Part of the Solution, You’re Part of the Problem.  The album was taken from a stand at The Lighthouse Café in Hermosa Beach, California and was released on Milestone Records.  What was not known at the time was that Milestone president Orrin Keepnews had some 2-track reference masters from the gigs which he subsequently sold to Everest Records owner Bernie Solomon.  After Woody Shaw signed to Columbia in the late 1970s and gained a higher profile, Solomon decided to release some of these masters as Jazz Patterns in 1982, credited not to the quintet but only to Henderson and Shaw.  A budget release, the LP even got some of the names of the tracks wrong and quickly came and went.  Real Gone’s new reissue corrects the title errors and features new liner notes by Skip Heller; it has been remastered by Kevin Chubirka.  It comes on black vinyl and a peach vinyl variant, limited to 100 copies is available exclusively from Real Gone’s website. Click here for more on Real Gone’s slate for today including titles from Deicide, J.D. Crowe and The New South, and Blue Murder!

My Chemical Romance, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge: Deluxe Edition (Reprise) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The band’s 2004 album has been newly remixed and also adds four bonus tracks as recorded in concert for BBC Radio 1 in 2005.  Available on CD, 2LP, and digitally.

Eli “Paperboy” Reed, Sings Walkin’ and Talkin’ and Other Smash Hits (20th Anniversary Edition) (Yep Roc) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The singer-songwriter and soul music revivalist’s 2005 debut album is being reissued for its 20th anniversary with four outtakes and 11 live tracks recorded in 2005 at Harvard University. Available on CD, 2LP, and digitally.

The Doobie Brothers, Walk This Road (Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The Doobie Brothers are back with Walk This Road, the band’s first album of original material with Michael McDonald since 1980’s One Step Closer.  It’s also the Doobie’s first album ever of original music to fully feature the line-up of McDonald, Johnston, Simmons, and John McFee.  The title track, co-written by returning member Michael McDonald and album producer John Shanks, is a gospel-flavored slice of soul with guest vocals from Mavis Staples. Tom Johnston joined Shanks to pen the contemporary country-styled “Call Me,” while Shanks, McDonald, and Patrick Simmons contributed the evocative, haunting ode to “Lahaina,” the Maui town which was devastated by the 2023 wildfires. Mick Fleetwood (whose restaurant in Lahaina was among the properties destroyed by the fires), Jake Shimabukuro, and Henry Kapono (of Cecilio and Kapono) all guest on the latter.  In short, Walk This Road is a return to form for the classic band.  Available on CD, LP, and digitally.

Seth MacFarlane, Lush Life: The Lost Sinatra Arrangements (Verve/Republic) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

For this new release, Family Guy star Seth MacFarlane has unearthed a dozen arrangements written by the legendary likes of Don Costa, Nelson Riddle, and Billy May for Frank Sinatra but never recorded by the Chairman.  MacFarlane and conductor John Wilson have finally brought these to life with a 70-piece orchestra of both American and British players, recording at Skywalker Sound.  Songs include “Lush Life,” “A Wonderful Day Like Today,” “When Joanna Loved Me,” and “Give Me the Simple Life.”  Available on CD, LP, and digitally.

Mary Chapin Carpenter, Personal History (Thirty Tigers) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The singer-songwriter’s latest album was conceived during the waning days of the pandemic and recorded earlier in 2025 at the U.K.’s Real World Studios, produced by Josh Kaufman.  Available on CD, LP, and digitally.

Pulp, More (Rough Trade) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Pulp is back with the band’s first album in 24 years.  More was recorded over a brief period of just over three weeks in late 2024 and is built around brand-new songs plus a couple which originated in the last century and have just been finished.  Available on CD, LP, cassette, and digital formats.

Death Becomes Her: Original Broadway Cast Recording (Concord Theatricals) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Concord unleashes the Original Broadway Cast Recording of the 10-time Tony-nominated musical Death Becomes Her starring Megan Hilty, Jennifer Simard, Christopher Sieber, and Michelle Williams on CD today; a vinyl edition is due in July 11.  The Best Musical nominee penned by librettist Marco Pennette and songwriters Julia Mattison and Noel Carey (all of whom were nominated for their work, along with Hilty and Simard)

Cynthia Erivo, I Forgive You (Verve/Republic) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Target.com)

The Tony Awards air this Sunday evening on CBS, and they’re being hosted by Wicked star Cynthia Erivo.  Today, Erivo releases her second solo LP blending pop, R&B, folk, and gospel filtered through her own theatrical sensibility.  Available on CD, LP, and digitally, as well as in a Target-exclusive CD edition with two bonus tracks.