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.

Grateful Dead, Gratest Hits (Grateful Dead/Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Rhino assembles a single-CD or single-LP, nine-song Gratest Hits [sic] from Grateful Dead, marking the band’s 60th anniversary with the original studio versions of such classics as “Truckin’,” “Sugar Magnolia,” and “Touch of Grey.”  Read more here.

Neil Sedaka, Sedaka’s Back [Expanded Edition] (Neil Sedaka Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Neil Sedaka remasters and reissues the 1974 Rocket Records album which relaunched his career in America.  Sedaka’s Back includes “Laughter in the Rain,” “Love Will Keep Us Together,” “Solitaire,” and “The Immigrant,” as well as four bonus tracks carried over from the long out-of-print Varese Sarabande reissue.  Read more here.

Oasis, Time Flies…1994-2009 (Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

With their hotly-anticipated reunion tour kicking off in less than a month, Oasis has remastered their 26-track singles collection, originally released in 2010.  Available on 2 CDs or 4 LPs.

Queen, Queen I [Blu-ray Audio] (Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Queen brings the 2024 Dolby Atmos mix of their debut album to this standalone Blu-ray Audio release.  Eleven bonus tracks are also included.

New Kids on the Block, Step by Step (35th Anniversary Edition) (Columbia/Legacy)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Target (with bonus track)
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Target (White Opaque)

New Kids on the Block revisit their blockbuster Step by Step with a new expanded edition. The 35th anniversary package is out today in a handful of physical and digital formats, with some exclusive variants and bonus tracks throughout. The 1990 release will be available on CD with two tracks from the vault and four mostly promo-only remixes. A pressing of the CD at Target will have an extra track – a recent live version of the cut “Where Do I Go from Here?” – which will apparently also be on the digital version along with several other vintage mixes. The original LP will be pressed anew on black vinyl, with another Target-exclusive variant in the form of a white opaque pressing.  Whew!  Get all of the info right here.

Next to Normal: Original Broadway Cast Recording [15th Anniversary Edition] (Ghostlight) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Hot on the heels of a successful London revival, the Original Broadway Cast Recording of the 2009 Tony Award-winning musical Next to Normal is revisited for this special 2CD edition which premiered last year on digital services.  Composer Tom Kitt and co-producer Derik Lee have remixed the original album from the multitracks, bringing out new elements in both the orchestration and vocals, and revitalizing it with a newfound energy better reflective of the cathartic experience in the theatre.  Next to Normal, co-written with Brian Yorkey and starring Alice Ripley, J. Robert Spencer, and Aaron Tveit, explored mental illness in a frank and authentic fashion all too infrequently seen on stage; this newly-revitalized recording is a reminder of its searing score and the powerful emotions it conjures.​

Ultravox, Lament: Deluxe Edition (Chrysalis) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Chrysalis releases a 40th Anniversary Edition of Ultravox’s 1984 Lament album, which includes the hit “Dancing with Tears in My Eyes.”  This 72-track, 7CD/1DVD Deluxe Edition box set brings together the remastered original album, plus single versions, B-sides, 12-inch remixes and rarities, plus a whopping 45 previously unreleased tracks including extended remixes of every track on the album by Moby, Steven Wilson, Blank & Jones, and Midge Ure, new 5.1 and stereo mixes by Wilson, a newly-mixed 1984 concert from Hammersmith Odeon, and a handful of work-in-progress mixes.  The 56-page booklet has a new interview conducted by John Earls, a reproduction of the tour program, and previously unpublished photos.

Metallica, Load: Expanded Edition (Blackened Recordings) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

15CD/4DVD/6LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Cassette: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

Metallica expands 1996’s Load, featuring “Until It Sleeps,” “Hero of the Day,” and “King Nothing.”  Produced by Bob Rock, Load followed up the band’s self-titled LP Metallica.  In addition to the massive 25CD (!) box set with 301 total tracks (245 previously unreleased), the 3CD expanded edition offers the original, extended version of “The Outlaw Torn” that was originally edited down plus demos, remixes, alternate versions, and live tracks from 1995-1996. The LP has been remastered by Reuben Cohen at Lurssen Mastering and overseen by executive producer Greg Fidelman.  The remastered album is also available on vinyl and cassette.

Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts, Talkin’ to the Trees (Reprise/NYA) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Neil Young’s latest album pairs the veteran singer-songwriter and bandleader with the group he’s dubbed The Chrome Hearts: Spooner Oldham (organ); Micah Nelson (guitar/vocals); Corey McCormick (bass/vocals); and Anthony LoGerfo (drums).  Produced by Young and Lou Adler, the album features ten new compositions by Neil.  Available on CD, LP, and digitally.

Van Morrison, Remembering Now (Exile) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Van Morrison releases his first album of original material since 2022.  Remembering Now is anchored by “Down to Joy,” which was featured in director Kenneth Branagh’s film Belfast.  Its 14 songs feature the singer-songwriter’s trademark meld of blues, soul, jazz, folk, and gospel, and he’s supported throughout by Richard Dunn (Hammond organ), Stuart McIlroy (piano), Pete Hurley (bass), and Colin Griffin (drums and percussion).  Fiachra Trench has arranged strings, and other collaborators include Seth Lakeman, Michael Beckwith, and Academy Award-winning lyricist Don Black.