Release Round-Up: Week of June 19
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.
Sheena Easton, The Singles: 1980-1987 (Cherry Pop) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Cherry Pop’s Sheena Easton series has a new crown jewel: a 25CD box set chronicling her singles from the EMI years in the ’80s – and yes, this set has unreleased material as well. The Singles 1980-1987 follows two recent boxes following Easton’s EMI recordings in full (not strictly the original albums, but plenty of unreleased and alternate material in the mix). While this box has some similarities – the A and B-sides were present there, and many period remixes and even alternate or live versions of the same songs are repeated as bonus tracks – there’s still some stuff to pore over for the most faithful fans. A total of 35 tracks make their debut in this package, including alternate versions and mixes of favorites like “For Your Eyes Only,” “Strut,” “Sugar Walls” and “Eternity” (the last two written by Prince). You’ll also hear some additional tracks from Easton’s 1983 TV special Act One (after the release of others from the telecast on that first EMI recordings collection last year), as well as an instrumental of the soundtrack single “So Far So Good,” which makes its first appearance since an original vinyl single. It’s another lavish, impressive celebration of a long-underrated vocalist. Get the track listing and more here!
Miles Davis, Miles ’56: The Prestige Recordings (Craft Recordings)
3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Following the previously released collections Miles ’54 and Miles ’55, Craft Recordings is continuing its survey of the early Miles Davis discography for a new installment. The sensibly-titled Miles ’56 is another archival dive into the Prestige Records catalogue as it chronicles a pivotal year in Davis’ musical history. It’s out in 3CD, limited-edition 4LP, and digital formats (including hi-res audio) with all audio sourced from the original analog masters and restored using Plangent Processes. Though these dates closed the door on Davis’ affiliation with Prestige Records and he ascended to even greater heights at Columbia, these early recordings set the stage for those later triumphs. Audio for Miles ’56 has been mastered by Paul Blakemore, while lacquers were cut for the vinyl box by Kevin Gray at Cohearant Audio. Both the CD and LP editions, produced by Nick Phillips, include an essay by Ashley Kahn and track-by-track notes courtesy of the late Dan Morgenstern. Read more here.
Judas Priest, The Best of Judas Priest (Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Legacy brings together a career-spanning selections of tracks from Judas Priest – 10 on vinyl and 16 on CD – including such favorites from the metal titans as “Breaking the Law,” “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming,” “Electric Eye,” “Turbo Lover,” and “Painkiller.”
John Williams and “The President’s Own,” Vol. 1 & 2 (Naxos) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
For the first time on a widely available physical format, this 2CD set captures two thrilling performances in which Oscar-winning composer John Williams conducts the United States Marine Band in 2003 and 2008. The set (first released as a longer, free download and first pressed on CD by the ensemble as a concert giveaway in 2023) also includes “For The President’s Own,” an original musical tribute to the Marine Band penned by the Maestro and recorded with them in 2013. Read more here.
Labi Siffre, 1970-1971 (Edsel) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
With a new album – his first in 28 years, appropriately titled Unfinished Business – on the horizon, singer-songwriter Labi Siffre is also looking back with this new collection from Edsel. 1970-1971 collects his self-titled debut and follow-up The Singer and the Song, along with a disc of bonus tracks collated from the now out-0f-print 2020 box set My Song.
Various Artists, The Boroughs: Soundtrack from the Netflix Series (Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Legacy has a soundtrack to the Netflix sci-fi series starring Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodward, Geena Davis, Denis O’Hare, and Clarke Peters. The vinyl edition includes ten tracks while the CD doubles that number, but both formats offer a sampling of the classic rock and pop tunes heard in the show including Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road” and “Born to Run,” Santana’s “Oye Come Va,” The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Do You Believe in Magic,” Heart’s “Barracuda,” Bob Seger’s “Night Moves,” and Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day.”
K-Pop Demon Hunters: Soundtrack from the Netflix Film – Anniversary Edition (Republic) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
K-Pop Demon Hunters is turning one year old, and Republic Records is getting in on the celebration. It’s not hard to see why – the animated fantasy yielded the first film soundtrack on the Billboard Hot 100 to have four of its songs in the top ten simultaneously. The original album was certified double Platinum by the RIAA last October; it received five Grammy nominations, winning Best Song Written for Visual Media for HUNTR/X’s international chart-topper “Golden,” which was the first Grammy win ever for a K-pop song. “Golden” also won the Oscar for Best Original Song. This new edition, available on CD or LP, adds four new-to-physical bonus tracks (though it’s not as comprehensive as the previous digital deluxe edition). Amazon has exclusive CD and vinyl packaging, and other various color variants are available for the LP.
Haircut One Hundred, Boxing the Compass (October Is Orange Ltd.) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Here’s the third studio album from Haircut One Hundred – the British band’s first since 1984’s Paint and Paint, and their first with frontman Nick Heyward since their 1982 debut Pelican West. Available on CD, LP, and digital formats.
The Queen of Versailles: Original Broadway Cast Recording (Masterworks Broadway) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
While the Broadway musical The Queen of Versailles closed at the St. James Theatre last December after just 49 performances, its score by Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin, Godspell) lives on in this new cast recording, previously available digitally. Kristin Chenoweth stars as “American royalty” Jackie Siegel, with F. Murray Abraham lending support as her husband, “timeshare king” David Siegel. The album preserves their performances as well as the fine turns by Greg Hildreth, Melody Butiu, Stephen DeRosa, and Isabel Keating among others.
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