Release Round-Up: Week of April 17
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available this week. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
a-ha, Analogue: 20th Anniversary Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
The eighth album by Norwegian trio a-ha – the late-period triumph Analogue – is the band’s latest to be expanded and reissued by Rhino. Released for its 20th anniversary, the new Analogue package includes the newly remastered album alongside a B-side and three single mixes as well as a 17-track bonus disc of mostly previously unreleased demos and alternative versions of every track on the LP plus more. It’s available as a 2CD set today, with a 2LP version available tomorrow in indie shops everywhere as a Record Store Day exclusive. Get the track listing and more here.
Todd Rundgren, Runt Live: The Necessary Cosmic Frenzy (Bearsville/Rhino, 2026) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Runt Live: The Necessary Cosmic Frenzy, out today on CD, collects highlights from Rundgren’s June 30th, 1971 performance at Philadelphia’s famed Sigma Sound Studio, as originally broadcast live over WMMR. (The full version of the concert was issued on CD in 2016 as part of the Box o’ Todd.) He was supported by future Utopia keyboardist Mark “Moogy” Klingman, bassist Stu Woods, guitarist Tom Cosgrove, and drummer Norman “N.D.” Smart as well as mime-rock troupe The Hello People on a set including such rarities as “I Got My Pipe,” “Lady on the Terrace” (in two different mixes), and “Tonight I Wanna Love Me a Stranger.” The Record Store Day vinyl edition, available tomorrow. is limited to 3,000 copies and is pressed on transparent light blue vinyl.
John Prine, BBC Sessions (Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
The late John Prine’s BBC Sessions offers nine tracks from the archives of the British broadcasting titan including a sidelong set from In Concert, the landmark 1970-1976 program bookended with performances by Joni Mitchell and Johnny Mercer. The lion’s share of BBC Sessions reprises songs from Prine’s 1971 self-titled Atlantic Records debut including “Illegal Smile,” “Spanish Pipedream,” “Sam Stone,” “Pretty Good,” “Donald and Lydia,” “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore,” and “Hello in There,” which Atlantic labelmate Bette Midler would quickly cover on her own 1972 debut The Divine Miss M. “Rocky Mountain Time” and “Everybody” would appear on Prine’s second Atlantic set, Diamonds in the Rough. The Record Store Day vinyl edition in shops tomorrow is pressed on 140-gram black vinyl and is limited to 7,100 copies.
The Oscar Peterson Trio, At Baker’s Keyboard Lounge (Verve)
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3LP: Verve Official Store
Eight-time Grammy-winning, Montreal-born pianist Oscar Peterson (1925-2007) recorded prolifically over the years, releasing studio and live albums throughout his lifetime on the Mercury, Verve, MPS, Prestige, Pablo, and Telarc labels, among others. Verve now adds a new title to his already voluminous discography with the debut of The Oscar Peterson Trio At Baker’s Keyboard Lounge on CD, LP, and digital formats. The label captured the trio’s Friday evening sets at Baker’s for a live album that was ultimately shelved but now sees the light of day after 65 years. The standard 1CD and 1LP edition offer highlights from the five sets performed that Friday evening in August 1960; a direct-to-consumer 3LP version mirrors the digital presentation with all five sets in order. Read more here.
Beastie Boys, To The 5 Boroughs (Capitol) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
The Beastie Boys’ Platinum-certified, chart-topping 2004 album gets the expanded treatment as a 2CD or 2LP set with 11 bonus tracks including single remixes and B-sides.
The Blasters, Rare Blasts: Studio Outtakes and Movie Music 1979-1985 (Liberation Hall) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Liberation Hall has a new collection from The Blasters, also available tomorrow on vinyl for Record Store Day. Rare Blasts has six outtakes from American Music which first appeared in 1997; two songs from the Streets of Fire soundtrack; and six tracks from the band’s Slash/Warner Bros. years, all of which were collected on the 2002 compilation Testament: The Complete Slash Recordings. This tasty set is packaged in a digipak with a six-panel foldout containing Chris Morris’ liner notes, and audio has been mastered by Randy Perry.
Romeo Void, Live ’81-’85 (Liberation Hall) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Liberation Hall is bringing another RSD title to CD today, this time from San Francisco new wave/post-punk heroes Romeo Void. Live ’81-’85 contains tracks from Ann Arbor 1982, Albany 1981, Berlin 1985, and London 1985; it’s all housed in a jewel case containing a 12-panel foldout with lyrics, photos, and memorabilia. These rare tracks recorded by Louie Beeson have been mastered by Patrick Haight.
Jimmy Scott, Falling in Love Is Wonderful (Tangerine) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
The onetime “Little” Jimmy Scott’s sublime 1963 album of jazz vocal standards inaugurated Ray Charles’ Tangerine label; Charles supervised sessions and played piano while Marty Paich and Gerald Wilson provided charts. Now, the reactivated Tangerine label is reissuing it on both CD and vinyl.
