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 Power Station, The Power Station DLX (Parlophone/Rhino)

4CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

Rhino is expanding the self-titled debut from The Power Station into a 4CD box set.  The Power Station DLX includes the remastered album (featuring the hits “Some Like It Hot” and a cover of T. Rex’s “Get It On (Bang a Gong)”) alongside three discs of bonus material, including unreleased “raw instrumental” versions, single mixes and live material, including the band’s performances from the charity concert Live Aid and an unissued full set from nearly a month later at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. The clamshell-cased collection includes a 12-page book of liner notes featuring liner notes by John Earls including new interviews with the band’s surviving members, John Taylor and Andy Taylor of Duran Duran. (The lineup was rounded out by vocalist Robert Palmer and CHIC drummer Tony Thompson.)  A recycled double-vinyl version will include the remastered album and a sample of the rarities on the second disc of the box. Read more here.

Squeeze, Play: Expanded Edition (Reprise/Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Squeeze’s first album of the ’90s (and only release for the Warner-controlled Reprise) began another artistic renaissance for songwriters Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, with some of their most satisfying songwriting in a songbook already full of cult pop classics. Play was produced by Tony Berg and features guest appearances from Steve Nieve of Elvis Costello and The Attractions, Bruce Hornsby and others. This new remastered and expanded edition will be available on vinyl at all participating indie record stores as part of Rhino’s “Start Your Ear Off Right” initiative, and on CD at general retail; both versions feature four out-of-print B-sides from original U.K. CD singles. Read more here.

Carolina Chocolate Drops, Genuine Negro Jig: 15th Anniversary Edition (Nonesuch) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The Grammy Award-winning 2010 album from string band Carolina Chocolate Drops – featuring Rhiannon Giddens, Dom Flemons, Justin Robinson, and Sule Greg Wilson – returns in an expanded edition with nine bonus tracks (seven previously unreleased) including a new mix of “Memphis Shakedown” and a remastered version of “City of Refuge.”  Available on CD, 2LP, and digital formats.

The Phantom of the Opera: Original Cast Recording (The Other Songs) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Even as the immersive theatrical event Masquerade packs houses nightly in New York City, the Original Cast Recording of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, and Richard Stilgoe’s Phantom of the Opera starring Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman returns in a remastered edition on 2 CDs following a limited vinyl release late last year.

Van Morrison, Somebody Tried to Sell Me a Bridge (Orangefield) (Orangefield Store / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Van Morrison returns with his 48th studio album, this time on his own Orangefield label.  On Somebody Tried to Sell Me a Bridge, he’s paying tribute to his blues heroes by covering their classic songs and welcoming a host of friends including Taj Mahal, Buddy Guy, Elvin Bishop, John Allair, David Hayes, Bobby Ruggerio, Mitch Woods, Anthony Paule, and Larry Vann.  Tracks include “Ain’t That a Shame,” “Rock Me Baby,” and “Delia’s Gone.”  Though today’s the official release date, Amazon U.K. isn’t showing availability until next Friday, January 30, and the North American Amazon stores show a week later, February 6.

Lucinda Williams, World’s Gone Wrong (Thirty Tigers) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Norah Jones and Mavis Staples are among the guests on Lucinda Williams’ new album filled with biting and topical originals including “The World’s Gone Wrong,” “How Much Did You Get for Your Soul,” and “Low Life” plus a cover of Bob Marley’s “So Much Trouble in the World.”  Available on CD, LP, and digitally.

Various Artists, Keep Me in Your Heart: The Songs of Warren Zevon (Paradiddle Records)

This 33-track, 2-CD set pays tribute to the songs of the late, great Warren Zevon, with contributions from Jimmy Webb, Willie Nile, Richard Barone, Freedy Johnston, James Maddock, Kerry Kearney, Jack Licitra, Pete Mancini, Gene Casey, and more.