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.
Deep Purple, Rapture of the Deep: 20th Anniversary Edition (earMusic)
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
A 20th anniversary edition of Rapture of the Deep, Deep Purple's 18th studio album, offers a remix and resequencing of the album by Roger Glover, with two non-LP tracks ("MTV" and "Things I Never Said") now added into the sequence. This was the second album from the band's longest-tenured line-up, the "Mk. VIII" arrangement that joined Ian Gillan, Glover, and Ian Paice with former Rainbow keyboardist Don Airey (who replaced Jon Lord in 2002) and guitarist Steve Morse (a member since 1994, who'd worked with Kansas and co-founded Dixie Dregs). Recorded without a label at a time when bands of Deep Purple's vintage were a bit hard to categorize, the album remains a bit of a hidden gem in the group's discography, putting a fresh coat of paint on their heavy progressive sound. (The band wouldn't release another album for nearly a decade, but the time away from the studio revitalized their bond with fans on the road, and their next five albums all performed well in England, with 2017's Infinite and 2019's Whoosh! both hitting the Top 10. Since 2022, the band has been in its "Mk. IX" configuration, replacing Morse with Irish guitarist Simon McBride.) The bonus disc, which will not be available digitally, offers an additional five rehearsal tracks, including a solo piece by Morse called "Closing Note." Liner notes by Geoff Barton and a newly-redesigned cover will complement the update of this album. Read more here!
Marshall Crenshaw, From the Hellhole (Yep Roc)
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Yep Roc / Bandcamp
The singer-songwriter's From the Hellhole is essentially a resequenced, expanded version of #392: The EP Collection, a 2015 album drawn from tracks he'd recorded in his home studio from 2012 to 2015 and released on various 10" EPs distributed in limited quantities to independent retailers for Record Store Day. Those discs included re-recordings of some of his biggest hits alongside originals ("I Don't See You Laughing Now," "Stranger and Stranger," "Move Now," "Grab the Next Train") and covers of treasured favorites (the Carpenters' "Close to You" and The Move's "No Time." Eight of the 11 EP tracks - only "Right Here Now" from #392 is missing - have been remixed for this set. Three rare and unreleased cuts round out From the Hellhole (so named for Crenshaw's home studio). There's a cover of Rare Earth's "I Just Want to Celebrate," billed as previously unreleased but possibly available on a limited CD pressed as a fundraiser for perennial New Jersey community radio station WFMU. A demo of "Walkin' Around," from Crenshaw's sixth album Life's Too Short (1991), is the oldest track on the set, while a cover of Todd Rundgren's "Couldn't I Just Tell You," issued on a tribute album to the super-producer's landmark Something/Anything? back in 2022, is the newest. Available on CD and LP. Get the full track listing here!
Evie Sands, I Can't Let Go (Ace) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
This new compilation from Ace brings together New York singer Evie Sands' 60s recordings, containing all 26 tracks from her first 14 singles originally released between 1963 and 1970 including "Take Me for a Little While" and "The Love of a Boy." Numerous sides here make their official CD debut, including unique mono single mixes. A truncated vinyl edition (15 tracks vs. the CD's 26) is available, as well; out today in the U.K. and next Friday, September 5, in North America.
Belinda Carlisle, Once Upon a Time in California (Edsel) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
The Go-Go and "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" hitmaker returns with a new album revisiting favorite covers including "Anyone Who Had a Heart," "Superstar," "The Air That I Breathe," "If You Could Read My Mind," "Never My Love," and more. Available on CD, LP, and digitally.
Bryan Adams, Roll with the Punches (BAD) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Bryan Adams' 17th studio album and first for his new, self-owned label, Roll with the Punches features original songs co-written with Mutt Lange, Eliot Kennedy, and Adams' longtime collaborator Jim Vallance. The 2CD Deluxe Edition adds a bonus disc of acoustic versions of several of the tracks. Available on CD, LP, and digitally; out today in the U.K. and next Friday, September 5, in North America.
Rodney Crowell, Airline Highway (New West) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Named for a Louisiana road, Airline Highway is singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell's latest studio album, and it welcomes guests including producer Tyler Bryant, Lukas Nelson, and Ashley McBryde. Available on CD, LP, and digitally.
JEM Records Celebrates David Bowie (JEM) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
New Jersey's own JEM Records fetes the late superstar with this covers set featuring Paul Collins ("Hang on to Yourself"), The Grip Weeds ("Space Oddity"), The Anderson Council ("Boys Keep Swinging"), The Weeklings ("Diamond Dogs"), Richard Barone (a live "Starman"), and other indie rock luminaries. Available on CD, LP, and digitally.
Eventually i will get some of those picks (Belinda covers, Marshall Crenshaw, Rodney Crowell as he is a regular on the Cayamo & Outlaw Country Cruises...and will be on Cayamo in March, 2026), but had to limit it to 4 other new releases instead...new albums by Margo Price (headlining Outlaw in '26), Kiwi powerpop genius band The Beths, the Hives & new one by Tift Merritt...