Release Round-Up: Week of October 2
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 Beatles, Rubber Soul [Various Formats] (Capitol/Apple/UMe)
4CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store (exclusive posters and art cards)
5LP/7″: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store (exclusive posters and art cards)
Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store (zoetrope edition)
Beep-beep, beep-beep, yeah: a remixed and remastered Rubber Soul arrives from Apple Corps. The Beatles’ sixth studio album, 1965’s Rubber Soul is often considered to be the Fabs’ “folk-rock” album, but its mélange of styles makes it far more than that. Now, with the release of a 4CD or 5LP/7″ box set as well as a single-disc Blu-ray, 2CD and 2LP expansions and CD and LP remixes, it’s a richer and fuller collection than ever. This set includes Giles Martin and Sam Okell’s new remix, the original mono album mix, the U.S. version of the album, and an entire disc of session material (including more than 20 previously unreleased tracks, including the previously unknown John Lennon demo “Little Girl”). A separate Blu-ray Audio Disc will feature the remixed U.K. album and the 2023 mixes of the “Day Tripper”/”We Can Work It Out” sides in Dolby Atmos and high-resolution stereo. Additionally, it’ll include the original promo videos for “Day Tripper” and “We Can Work It Out” (with the 2023 mixes overlaid), as well as alternative versions of each that were released on the 1+ package in 2015. Get the track listing here, and read our review here!
Elvis Costello, My Aim Is True: 49th Anniversary Edition (UMe)
5CD: Official Store / uDiscoverMusic.com / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
1CD: Official Store / uDiscoverMusic.com / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
1LP: Official Store / uDiscoverMusic.com / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Elvis Costello is revisiting his debut album, My Aim Is True, as an expansive 5CD 49th (!) Anniversary Edition tracing Declan MacManus’ journey to becoming Elvis Costello. The new set features, by our count, over 65 previously unreleased recordings. The set opens with a new remaster of the original album sourced from the original Pathway Studios masters. The second disc, The Blue Print, collects 17 recordings from 1975-1976, a full 13 of which are previously unreleased. These encompass bedroom recordings, Pathway demos, and tracks from Hope and Anchor Studios. Also featured here is a recently-discovered recording preserved by singer-songwriter Charlie Dore, who taped Costello trying out his songs one hot London afternoon in 1976. The third disc, The Stranger in the House, comprises 28 demos, outtakes, and early band recordings (15 of which are previously unheard), including every surviving outtake and demo from My Aim Is True. Disc Four, Becoming The Attractions, opens with a solo performance of “Alison” from Costello’s U.K. television debut in the What’s On segment of the Granada Reports program and continues with a potpourri of broadcast and live performances including many from American venues such as San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom and Old Waldorf, Cleveland’s Agora, and Washington, DC’s Warner Theater. The final disc, Covered in Clover, jumps ahead to 2007 when Costello reunited with Clover at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall for a special concert in which they played the entirety of My Aim Is True in sequence – and more. Costello places everything in context in a 72-page essay contained within the booklet. Also available in 1CD and 1LP editions with the remastered album only. Get all of the details here, and stay tuned for our review!
John Coltrane, 100: Selections from 1951-1967 (Rhino)
6LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
John Coltrane 100 – Selections from 1951-1967 assembles 37 tracks across six 180-gram vinyl LPs showcasing Coltrane as both a bandleader and a sideman who logged time with Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, and others. Licensed from multiple labels including Atlantic, Impulse!, Columbia, Blue Note and Prestige, it’s one of the most definitive musical portraits of Trane ever assembled. Pressed at Optimal in Germany and remastered by Bernie Grundman, the package will also include a 12-page booklet with new liner notes by writer and Coltrane scholar Ben Ratliff. A 2LP and single CD set will feature 11 highlighted songs from the project. Read more here.
Donna Summer, The Casablanca Studio Albums (Driven by the Music)
7CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
10LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
The legendary singer’s seven albums originally released between 1975 and 1979 on the Casablanca label are now repackaged in this new collection from Driven by the Music. Though no bonus material has been included, each album has been newly mastered, and a 7,500-word essay is included within the booklet. Albums include Love to Love You Baby, A Love Trilogy, Four Seasons of Love, I Remember Yesterday, Once Upon a Time…, Live and More, and Bad Girls. Available on 7 CDs or 10 LPs.
Ray Charles, Live in Concert: The Complete Performance (Tangerine) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
The Genius’ 1965 live album has now been expanded to its full length for the first time. Live in Concert: The Complete Performance, recorded at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium, now adds such beloved classics as “Georgia on My Mind” and “Busted” left off the original single-LP release. Michael Graves has newly mastered the audio, and liner notes and photos are also part of the package. Available on 1CD, 2LP, and digital formats.
Various Artists, Christmas Essentials (Arista/Legacy)
Barry Manilow: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Andy Williams: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Classic Christmas: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Country Christmas: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Legacy has launched a new series of vinyl-only Christmas releases this year. While the series’ nondescript cover artwork is lacking in flair, the music can still reliably be counted upon to bring Christmas joy. The Barry Manilow offering has 14 selections, while the Andy Williams volume offers 16. Entries from Johnny Mathis, Aretha Franklin, and Perry Como – along with a uniquely-branded Dean Martin title (which actually features some radio rarities) – follow later this month. (Watch this space!) In addition, two various-artists compilations drawn from the Sony vaults also arrive on vinyl today, Christmas Classics and Country Christmas.
The Fall, Post Script (Cog Sinister) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Post Script is the final album from the late Mark E. Smith and The Fall, crafted from nine previously unreleased tracks recorded late in the band’s career. Songs include “So Long,” “Final Position,” and “Irish Northern Man.” Available on CD, LP, and digitally.
John Leventhal, National Drift (Rumble Strip) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
While producing his wife and collaborator Rosanne Cash’s latest studio album – the upcoming Blue Note release Ships – John Leventhal found himself improvising. The results of those improvisations are National Drift, his second LP for Rumble Strip Records. Available on CD and digitally.
Johnny Marr, The Age of Everything (BMG) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Johnny Marr’s fifth studio album is an international affair: written in London, worked out on the road in North America, and recorded back in Manchester. Its ten songs are available on CD, LP, and digital formats.
Wynonna, The Hard Truth (ANTI-) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Wynonna returns with a new album co-written and produced by Cactus Moser, her real-life partner. Guests include The War and Treaty, Patterson Hood, and Iron and Wine. Available on CD, LP, and digitally.
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