Features / Release Round-Up

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up!  Due to the U.S. holiday, there’s less than usual on offer this week, but our usual large gathering of titles will resume soon!  In the meantime, here’s a rundown of some highlights from today’s releases plus a truncated version of The Weekend Stream (on hiatus this weekend). As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.  From all of us at TSD HQ to all of you, we wish you and your loved ones a very happy Fourth of July weekend!

Grateful Dead, Fillmore Audtitorium, San Francisco, CA (7/3/66) (Grateful Dead/Rhino)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3LP: Dead Official Store

Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA (7/3/66) arrives on 2 CDs, digital/streaming, or 3 LPs, with the latter format exclusive to Dead.net.  The concert, recorded by Owsley “Bear” Stanley, previously appeared as part of the 2015 box set 30 Trips Around the Sun.  Featuring Jerry Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, and Bob Weir, the show has been mastered for this release by Jeffrey Norman with speed correction and restoration by Plangent Processes.  Songs include the earliest known recordings of “Cardboard Cowboy,” “You Don’t Have to Ask,” and “Tastebud,” as well as a cover of Johnny “Guitar” Watson’s “Gangster of Love.”  One song that was more enduring in the Dead’s repertoire, “Cold Rain and Snow,” is also present in an early, more uptempo arrangement.  Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA (7/3/66) captures the Dead on the cusp of transforming from a supercharged R&B dance band (just listen to their “Dancing in the Street” or “In the Midnight Hour” here!) into something altogether more cosmic.  Read more here!

Deep Purple, SPLAT! (earMusic)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 
Black 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 
Purple 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 
CD/5LP/1-7″ Box Set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 

Deep Purple return with a new album produced by Bob Ezrin.  Based on a concept by frontman Ian Gillan, SPLAT! explores mortality and metamorphosis.  The album is available in multiple formats including CD, black 2LP, limited purple 2LP, limited transparent yellow 2LP, and a limited box set containing the album on CD and 2LP; 3 ten-inch LPs with live tracks from Purple’s 2024 tour; and a 7-inch single with the studio outtake “Guinnesis” and a live version of “No Need to Shout.”

Madonna, Confessions II (Warner)

Standard CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 
Deluxe CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 
Standard Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 
Amazon-Exclusive Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 
Deluxe Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 
Cassette: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 
Icon Edition: Apple Music

Madonna releases her fifteenth studio album, a belated sequel to 2005’s Confessions on a Dance Floor.  For the occasion, she reunited with that album’s co-producer Stuart Price, while Confessions II also welcomes Sabrina Carpenter, Feid, Stromae, and Madonna’s daugher Lola Leon.  Martin Garrix, Cirkut, and Andrew Watt also are among Madonna’s collaborators.  Available in a variety of formats including standard CD (16 tracks), standard LP (12 tracks), deluxe CD (16 tracks with book-style packaging), deluxe LP (16 tracks), Amazon-exclusive cover LP (digital Icon Edition (17 tracks), standard digital edition, and cassette (16 tracks).

WEEKEND STREAM EXTRAS:

Gary Stewart, “Woman Will Tear the Heart Right Out of a Man” (Delmore Recording Society) (Apple / Amazon)

A second single hits digital services today from late singer-songwriter Gary Stewart’s upcoming collection of previously unreleased and rare material, One Track Mind, due July 17 from Delmore Recording Society.  “Women Will Tear the Heart Right Out of a Man” is a tasty slice of honky-tonk from the country warbler that’s sure to whet appetites for the rest of this collection.

Galt MacDermot feat. Ronnie Dyson, Then Came the Dawn EP (Kilmarnock) (Apple / Amazon)

Late Hair composer Galt MacDermot’s Kilmarnock label has released a new EP featuring much-missed soul man and original Hair cast member Ronnie Dyson on vocals.  Then Came the Dawn features five songs (three previously unreleased) with lyrics by MacDermot’s frequent collaborator William Dumaresq (The Human Comedy, Isabel’s a Jezebel) including “The Saddest Moon” from Isabel’s.  All tracks were recorded between 1968-1973; the latter year was when Dyson’s One Man Band album arrived on Columbia Records featuring four sublime productions by Philadelphia maestro Thom Bell.

Imani Coppola, Tiramisu (7a Records) (Apple Link TBD / Amazon)

Singer-songwriter-violinist Imani Coppola returns with a new single for 7a Records featuring A-side “Tiramisu” and B-side “Don’t Wanna Think About It.”  These perfect-for-summer tracks embody the DIY ethos, with Coppola writing, producing, and performing both songs in her inimitable style.

Mike Rocket feat. Florianna Heun, “I Am a Patriot” (Apple / Amazon)

And for the Fourth of July weekend, a little treat from friends of The Second Disc, Tri-State area musicians Mike Rocket and Florianna Heun, with a cover of Steven Van Zandt’s “I Am a Patriot” (also known from Jackson Browne’s 1989 fan-favorite version). With the 250th anniversary of America occurring this Saturday, some will look at the state of things in this country and feel less than patriotic. But America—its people and places—is a place known for defying expectations. We share in a dream of a nation that cares for and protects everyone in its borders, and we know that this nation’s self-evident truths held from generations past are still worth fighting for. Let no religion, gender, economic class or personal preference stand in the way of caring for each other, the way it was meant to be. That’s what Little Steven was telling us more than 40 years ago, and we think he’s still got a point.