Release Round-Up: Week of August 21
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 B-52’s, Ancient Culture: Mesopotamia Revisited (Sire/Rhino) (Amazon U.S.(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.K.(opens in new tab) / Amazon Canada(opens in new tab))
The B-52’s are returning to Mesopotamia. The band has revisited their 1982 David Byrne-produced EP on Ancient Culture: Mesopotamia Revisited, a new and generously expanded 3CD/1LP box set premiering outtakes, alternate mixes, and a previously unreleased concert from the era. The new “Full-Length Version” of Mesopotamia featured on CD and LP in Ancient Culture reassembles the track list as closely as possible to what was originally intended. Newly remastered versions of the original six EP tracks are joined by three outtakes: the previously unreleased recordings of “Big Bird” and the exotica-flavored “Adios Desconocida,” along with “Queen of Las Vegas.” The second disc gathers up the various remixes that have surfaced over the years of Mesopotamia’s material including the “international mixes” mistakenly included on the early U.K. pressings of the EP. They’re joined by Tom Durack’s remixes which appeared on Reprise’s 1991 expanded Party Mix / Mesopotamia CD. A previously unreleased recording of the April 19, 1982 concert at New York City’s Roseland Ballroom concludes the collection. Read more here.
John Williams, Legacy (Deutsche Grammophon)
Gold 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store (with hand-numbered lithograph)
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
John Williams Legacy is a 2LP, CD and digital album featuring Williams’ best-known works in renditions he recorded for the Deutsche Grammophon label, mostly in special concert halls around the world through the 2010s and 2020s. Star Wars, E.T., Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, the Harry Potter film series and even his stirring, still-used theme for the 1984 Summer Olympics will all be represented, taken from three of the five albums he’s recorded for Deutsche Grammophon: 2019’s Across the Stars – a reinvention of his catalogue highlighting solo violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, and a series of concerts with the philharmonic orchestras of Vienna(opens in new tab) and Berlin(opens in new tab) in 2020 and 2021. The package includes new liner notes from film music historian and journalist Jon Burlingame offering a concise biography of Williams’ incredible work and some vital context-building of Williams’ newfound place in modern classical music history. Read more here(opens in new tab).
John Williams, In Session (Jasmine) (Amazon U.S.(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.K.(opens in new tab) / Amazon Canada(opens in new tab))
The U.K. Jasmine label has drawn on public domain material to compile this collection of Maestro Williams’ work as a top-tier session pianist in L.A. during the early days of his long career. In Session features Williams supporting such talents as Henry Mancini, Harry Belafonte, Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Les Baxter, Marty Paich, Pete Rugolo, The Four Freshmen, Anita O’Day, Carmen McRae, and future Munsters and Follies star Yvonne de Carlo. (Plus: did you know that it was Williams tinkling the ivories on Sheb Wooley’s “Purple People Eater”?) Richard Moore has curated and produced this collection. Available on CD-R.
KISS, Destroys Anaheim ’76 (UMe) (Amazon U.S.(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.K.(opens in new tab) / Amazon Canada(opens in new tab))
This new release captures KISS’ August 20, 1976 concert in front of over 40,000 fans in Disneyland’s backyard at Anaheim Stadium (today Angel Stadium). Eddie Kramer recorded the concert and has newly mixed it for this release on 1 CD or 2 LPs. Also available digitally.
The Cramps, Gravest Gravy (Vengeance) (Amazon U.S.(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.K.(opens in new tab) / Amazon Canada(opens in new tab))
In October 1977, The Cramps entered Ardent Studios in Memphis with producer Alex Chilton (Big Star, The Box Tops) with a plan to record their song “TV Set.” Chilton encouraged them to record a number of songs including covers of The Trashmen’s “Surfin’ Bird,” Jack Scott’s “The Way I Walk,” and Roy Orbison’s “Domino.” Five of the tracks produced by Chilton at Ardent surfaced by 1979; now, the rest can finally be heard. This 12-track set doesn’t have “Surfin’ Bird” or “The Way I Walk,” but does have “Domino” and eleven other cuts including “Rocket in My Pocket,” “Twist and Shout,” “TV Set,” and “Rockin’ Bones.” Available on CD and LP as well as digitally.
Various Artists, Verve Records: The Sound of America (Verve/UMe) (Amazon U.S.(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.K.(opens in new tab) / Amazon Canada(opens in new tab))
This new 2CD or 4LP set looks back on the enormous legacy of Verve Records by concentrating on its early years under the stewardship of founder Norman Granz. Artists represented include Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Margaret Whiting, Fred Astaire, Billie Holiday, Mel Torme, Spike Jones, and such groundbreaking spoken-word artists as Jack Kerouac, Mort Sahl, Jonathan Winters, and Shelley Berman.
Various Artists, JEM Records Celebrates Bob Dylan (JEM) (Amazon U.S.(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.K.(opens in new tab) / Amazon Canada(opens in new tab))
JEM Records has rounded up indie artists including The Weeklings, The Anderson Council, Paul Collins, The Grip Weeds, and Richard Barone to celebrate the Dylan songbook on this new 12-track compilation. Available on CD, LP, and digitally.
Anthony Hopkins, Life Is a Dream (Decca Classics) (Amazon U.S.(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.K.(opens in new tab) / Amazon Canada(opens in new tab))
Sir Anthony Hopkins is showcasing another side of his talent on Life is a Dream, his debut album for Decca Classics. The LP presents a host of original compositions by the Academy Award-winning actor, recorded with Gustavo Dudamel and The Philharmonia Orchestra and featuring such musicians as Argentinian pianist Sergio Tiempo, Venezuelan cellist Gregorio Nieto, the Bach Choir, and the Choristers of Winchester Cathedral. Available on CD, LP (arriving October 30), and digitally.
