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.

Christopher Cross, Christopher Cross: Expanded Edition (Omnivore)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

Omnivore will offer an expanded reissue of the self-titled debut album from Christopher Cross, the unforgettable 1979 release that became a commercial juggernaut and propelled the unlikely star to the music business' upper echelon. The CD or 2LP release features 11 bonus tracks such as the rare non-album single "Mary Ann" and a slew of demos, six of which are made available for the first time anywhere - including several songs never before issued by Cross. (The set uses Bernie Grundman's impeccable original album master, with engineer Michael Graves restoring the bonus material to prime condition.) The package features liner notes by journalist Gene Sculatti - the former editorial director of Cross' then-label Warner Bros. Records - complete with new insights courtesy of an interview with the album's producer Michael Omartian. Read more here!

Natural Gas, Natural Gas: Original Master Edition (Iconoclassic) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Earlier this year, Badfinger's Joey Molland passed away the age of 77. In addition to his work with that Beatles-linked band, however, Molland's discography encompasses plenty of other music worth discovering. Foremost might be his affiliation with Natural Gas, the band he formed with Humble Pie's Jerry Shirley upon his departure from Badfinger. Not to be confused with the Canadian horn-rock band of the same name, Molland and Shirley's Natural Gas also featured bassist/vocalist Mark Clarke (Colosseum) and keyboardist Peter Wood (co-writer of Al Stewart's "Year of the Cat").   Ultimately, Natural Gas just lasted for one studio album, released on the Private Stock label in 1976 and produced by Felix Pappalardi. Iconoclassic gives this a first-time CD reissue from the original master tapes, adding two pre-album demos ("Little Darlin'" and "Christmas Song") as well as a previously unreleased eight-song 1976 concert taken from a soundboard source. Ralph Chapman's new liner notes draw on interviews with Shirley, Clarke, and Peter Frampton as well as archival quotes from the late Molland; Vic Anesini has remastered. The first 1,000 copies of Natural Gas will come in a foil-stamped slipcase replicating the original cover artwork. Read more here!​​

Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, The Best Years of Our Lives: 50th Anniversary Edition (Chrysalis)

2CD/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

One of the best-loved British albums of the mid-'70s has been revisited with a fresh new mix and a host of bonus material: Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel's The Best Years of Our Lives. Previously released as a 4CD/DVD set, Chrysalis' new 2CD/DVD shuffles things around a bit. The original nine-track album, featuring the national chart-topper "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)," has been newly mixed in stereo by the album's original co-producer Alan Parsons. Bonus audio material includes the B-side "Another Journey" and 11 demos and outtakes, nine of which premiere on this set. A DVD includes high-resolution audio and video of the group's April 14, 1975 concert at Hammersmith Odeon (released as a video package under the name Star Rider); additional features include a concert documentary and appearance on Top of the Pops. The hardback mediabook package - sized like a DVD case - includes new liner notes by Peter Doggett that feature new commentary from this line-up of Cockney Rebel's surviving members (guitarist Jim Cregan, keyboardist Duncan Mackay and drummer Stuart Elliott) and Parsons, along with a trove of previously unpublished photographs by the late Mick Rock. A remaster of the original mix by Abbey Road's Miles Showell is also available on 180-gram, half-speed mastered vinyl. Get more details here.

The B-52's, The Warner/Reprise Years (Warner/Reprise/Rhino)

8CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
9LP: Rhino

A new box set from Rhino offers nearly all the studio material of Athens, Georgia alt-rock icons The B-52's.  The Warner Reprise Years brings together the six albums and two EPs the quirky quintet put together between 1979 and 1992 - a period where they went from cult favorites to unlikely hitmakers. The collection will feature the group's 1979 self-titled debut, 1980's Wild Planet, the 1981 and 1982 EPs Party Mix and Mesopotamia, Whammy! (1983), Bouncing Off the Satellites (1986) - the last album to feature all five original members - plus Cosmic Thing (1989) and Good Stuff (1992). The set will be available on CD as well as a 9LP vinyl set, limited to 2,000 copies and pressed on a rainbow of colored vinyl. (A representative a Rhino has confirmed that Mesopotamia is presented in its original mix, having been revisited in 1990 for a "two-fer" CD reissue alongside Party Mix! and subsequently never on CD on its own in America.) The box is a nearly complete chronicle of the group's output, minus a few major omissions from various compilations and expanded editions. Get more info here!

Melanie, United Kingdom Live (Cleopatra) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The latest in Cleopatra's extensive series dedicated to the late singer-songwriter, United Kingdom Live presents Melanie's 2008 concert in the seaside town of Morecambe in Lancashire.  Dave Thompson's new liner notes draw on quotes from Melanie's son Beau, who performed with her that evening.  Songs include "Ruby Tuesday," "Beautiful People," "The Nickel Song," and "Brand New Key."

Gregg Allman Band, One Night in DC: May 15, 1984 (Sawrite) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

This new release recorded at Washington, DC's The Bayou club in 1984 is drawn from the late Allman Brother's archives, and includes performances of "Trouble No More," "Statesboro Blues," "Melissa," and "Midnight Rider."

Jeff Bridges, Slow Magic, 1977-1978 (Light in the Attic) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Years before The Big Lebowski made him a pop cultural elder icon but well into a celebrated acting career that by then had two Oscar nominations to his name, Jeff Bridges had also spent parts of the '70s indulging his passion for music. Slow Magic (previously available digitally as well as on vinyl for Record Store Day) is a chronicle of a period during which he recorded some genre-bending jam sessions with a group of "childhood friends, artists, and assorted L.A. oddballs." (Rocky co-star Burgess Meredith - a.k.a. television's The Penguin in the 1966 Batman series - features on two tracks: "Here on This Island" and the closer "Kong.") It's something that'll really tie your record collection together!

John Mellencamp, A Biography (Music on CD) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Music on CD revives John Mellencamp's second album, released in 1978 under the Johnny Cougar name.  A Biography wasn't released in the U.S. until 2005, but its songs "Taxi Dancer" and "I Need a Lover" found their way to his John Cougar album in 1979; the latter gave him his first top 40 hit.