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.

The Beatles, Anthology Collection (Capitol/Apple/UMe)

8CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store
12LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store

The Beatles’ Anthology Collection premieres remastered editions of the original three collections of rarities and outtakes compiled by George Martin and released through 1995 and 1996, available across six CDs or nine LPs. Martin’s son Giles, who remastered those albums for this release, also curates a new collection, Anthology 4, across a further two CDs or three LPs. Anthology 4 is drawn mostly from archival sets released in the wake of the band’s 2009 remastering of the catalogue, with 13 unreleased tracks taken from eras that have not been covered by such releases. The album is rounded out by new mixes from producer Jeff Lynne of Anthology‘s then-new tracks “Free As a Bird” and “Real Love,” along with “Now and Then,” the “final” Beatles recording released in 2023. Mark Lewisohn’s comprehensive notes for the original three volumes are complemented by new liner notes by Kevin Howlett. Copies sold in the official Beatles web store include a set of art cards. Read more here, and watch this space for a full Holiday Gift Guide Review!

Dr. John, Live at The Village Gate (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Omnivore)

One day after what would have been his 84th birthday, Omnivore Recordings premieres a 1988 concert from the late Night Tripper, Dr. John, recorded at New York’s Village Gate on March 5, 1988.  Accompanied by such accomplished musicians as Lou Marini, Lew Soloff, and Ronnie Cuber, the Good Doctor ran through favorites and rarities alike for an appreciative audience. This joyful set of classic N’awlins R&B is out on 2 CDs and digital formats.

Prince and The Revolution, Around the World in a Day: Deluxe Edition (NPG/Legacy)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
1LP (black): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
1LP (blue marble): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Picture Disc: Official Store

Prince’s estate celebrates the 40th anniversary of Prince and The Revolution’s Around the World in a Day with a deluxe edition gathering all the non-LP material from the original release. Available in a variety of formats including 2CD and 140-gram 3LP editions, the set features the 1985 follow-up to Purple Rain, along with 13 non-LP remixes and B-sides – four of which will make their debut on CD. (The set includes no outtakes or unreleased Vault material.) Original mastering engineer Bernie Grundman has overseen the remastering along with engineer Chris James. Additional formats include the remastered album on standalone CD and black vinyl (with the CD featuring the 12″ extension of “America” as a bonus track, being present separately from the bonus disc on the deluxe version as well), picture disc and blue marble vinyl variants and a streaming-only Dolby Atmos mix.  Read more here!

The Replacements, Let It Be: Deluxe Edition (Sire/Rhino)

3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 
4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

Rhino’s series of deluxe Replacements reissues continues with 3CD and 4LP expanded editions of the Minneapolis band’s seminal 1984 Twin/Tone album cheekily titled Let It Be.  The deluxe Let It Be takes a different format than the previous reissues of Tim, Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash, Pleased to Meet Me, and Dead Man’s Pop (an alternative presentation of Don’t Tell a Soul), all of which included both vinyl and CD in one package.  This time, the formats are split into individual releases.  Both the CD and LP packages feature a remastered version of the original album with previously unreleased live and studio material – in this case, a disc’s worth of rarities (including all of the bonuses on the 2008 expansion) and a live concert from 1984 in Chicago. Read more here!

Eric Clapton, Journeyman: Deluxe Edition (Surfdog) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Eric Clapton’s 1989 album featuring Phil Collins, George Harrison, Daryl Hall, Chaka Khan, and others returns in a new edition with four bonus tracks from the original sessions including a rendition of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s “Border Song.” Available on CD, 2LP, and digitally.

Smashing Pumpkins, Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness: 30th Anniversary Edition (Capitol/Virgin/UMe)

4CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
6LP: Official Store

Smashing Pumpkins are revisiting the seven-time-Grammy-nominated Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness for its 30th anniversary, pairing the original, sprawling album with a new double album of unreleased live performances on the band’s ensuing tour in support of the record. It’s available today as a 4CD or 6LP set.  So prolific were the Pumpkins in this period that a box of singles and B-sides, The Aeroplane Flies High, was released not long after Mellon Collie – and both albums were given lavish box set editions in 2012 and 2013, packed with unreleased studio and live material. (Similar treatment was recently afforded 2000’s Machina/The Machines of God, the band’s last album before a brief hiatus.) For this reissue, that extra material will be swapped out for 14 different live cuts recorded during the band’s Infinite Sadness Tour in 1996 – more than 80 minutes of material getting its debut release. The album’s classic cover has been redesigned for this new edition, with the vinyl version featuring luxe packaging that includes a hardbound book of liner notes, a tarot deck and lithographs, all in a velvet slipcase with cloth bag. Read more here!

The Bill Evans Trio, Haunted Heart: The Legendary Riverside Studio Recordings(Riverside/Craft)

3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
5LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

Craft Recordings is revisiting a halcyon period of The Bill Evans Trio.  Haunted Heart: The Legendary Riverside Recordings collects the complete studio recordings by the Bill Evans Trio lineup of Evans, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Paul Motian. The 3CD or 5LP set presents the complete albums Portrait in Jazz (1960) and Explorations (1961) plus 26 alternate takes – 17 of which are previously unreleased. The set includes rare photos, an introduction by The Doors’ John Densmore, liner notes by Eugene Holley Jr., and remastered audio by Paul Blakemore. The vinyl version has had lacquers cut by Kevin Gray and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl. Read more here.

Ray Charles, No One Does It Like…Ray Charles (Tangerine) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The late Ray Charles’ Tangerine label resuscitates a lost album with the release of No One Does It Like…Ray Charles.  The label explains, “In late 1964, ABC-Paramount prepared to release Ray Charles Sings for You. The album was assigned catalog number ABC-500, with liner notes and artwork completed. However, the release was shelved in favor of issuing Ray Charles Live in Concert in January 1965. As a result, Ray Charles Sings for You remained unreleased, and its tracks were scattered across various compilations over the years. Now, for the first time ever, this lost album is officially restored and released as the artist originally intended” despite the change in title!  It’s out on CD, LP, and digitally.

The Return of The Blues Brothers: The Escape of Joliet Jake (Z2 Comics)

Standard: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Deluxe with LP: Z2 Comics

A previously unreleased set of recordings by The Blues Brothers is set for release as part of a new illustrated story featuring the beloved characters.  The Blues Brothers: The Escape of Joliet Jake will pick up the story of Jake and Elwood Blues in 1997, when Jake goes missing after a jailbreak. It’s up to a detective and a youth from the same Chicago orphanage the brothers were raised in (with a little help from Elwood, of course) to pick up the trail and embark on a new adventure inspired by the 1980 film. The story is penned by Stella Aykroyd (daughter of co-creator Dan), Evan Pisano (whose late mother Judy was co-creator John Belushi’s widow) and indie musician James Werner. The book is illustrated by Felipe Sobreiro – whose work has been seen in several books dedicated to “Weird Al” Yankovic – and lettered by Troy Peteri. Dan Aykroyd also contributes a foreword to the book.  Publisher Z2 Comics will offer a handsome deluxe edition of the book with a host of extras including art prints, a slipcase and even a harmonica – but the centerpiece for music collectors is a 12″ royal blue vinyl titled The Lost Recordings. Available only in this package, the set features 13 recordings of Belushi, Aykroyd and their band of ace session musicians running through classics like “Flip, Flop & Fly,” “Hey Bartender,” “Green Onions” and, of course, Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man,” which gave the group an unlikely Top 40 hit more than four decades ago. Uncovered by Judy Belushi Pisano during the making of a 2020 documentary about the firebrand Saturday Night Live veteran, the album is truly putting the band back together.  Get more details here.

Wicked: For Good [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] (Republic) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The hotly-anticipated soundtrack to Part Two of the film opus starring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, and Jonathan Bailey arrives today in a variety of formats, including Amazon, Target, and Barnes & Noble-exclusive vinyl variants; Target has an exclusive CD with unique artwork, and the official Republic Records store also offers various editions.

Disney’s Hercules: Original London Cast Recording (Walt Disney Records) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

After runs at New York’s Central Park, New Jersey’s Paper Mill Playhouse, and Hamburg, Germany’s Neue Flora, Disney’s Hercules has come to the West End of London, where it’s packing houses at Theatre Royal Drury Lane. This new cast recording of the Alan Menken/David Zippel score features Luke Brady as Hercules, Trevor Dion Nicholas as Phil, Stephen Carlile as Hades, Mae Ann Jorolan as Meg, and Brianna Ogunbawo, Candace Furbert, Malinda Parris, Sharlene Hector, and Robyn Rose-Li as The Muses. Fans of the movie can expect such favorites as “Go the Distance,” “Zero to Hero,” and “I Won’t Say (I’m in Love)” alongside all-new songs. Alan Menken’s demo of the new ballad “To Be Human” is included on the cast album as a bonus track. The CD is out today with the vinyl LP to follow on December 5.

Kiss of the Spider Woman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Lakeshore/Center Stage) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Following its digital release, Lakeshore and Center Stage Records premiere the full soundtrack to writer-director Bill Condon’s recent big-screen adaptation of Terrence McNally, John Kander, and Fred Ebb’s Kiss of the Spider Woman on CD today.  Starring Jennifer Lopez, Diego Luna, and Tonatiuh, the soundtrack features both classic songs from the original musical and “new” songs written for the show but originally unused in the final production including “Never You,” “An Everyday Man,” and “I Will Dance Alone.”  The film failed to meet commercial expectations, but its score remains as potent and powerful as ever.

Aerosmith and YUNGBLUD, One More Time (Capitol) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Aerosmith is saying “One more time!” with British singer-songwriter YUNGBLUD.  The five-song EP features vocals from YUNGBLUD and Steven Tyler and encompasses four new songs by the duo, Joe Perry, and Matt Schwartz, plus a new version of Aerosmith’s “Back in the Saddle.”  It’s out on CD, LP, and digitally.

Rufus Wainwright, I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Wainwright Does Weill (Rock & Roll Credit Card) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Rufus Wainwright has teamed with The Pacific Jazz Orchestra for the album I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Wainwright Does Weill celebrating the late composer Kurt Weill.  Songs include “Mack the Knife,” “Lost in the Stars,” and “The Saga of Jenny.” Available on CD, LP, and digitally.

Lainey Wilson, Peace, Love and Cowboys: Holiday Edition (BMG) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Country-rocker Lainey Wilson celebrates the season with this festive new four-song EP featuring a virtual duet of “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” with the late Bing Crosby; the track is already a staple on SiriusXM’s Holiday Traditions radio station. Available on CD, vinyl, and digitally.