Release Round-Up: Week of April 22
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up!
The Impressions, The Best of The Impressions: The Curtom Years (Varese Vintage) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Varese Vintage has an impressive line-up of releases this week! First up, the label has brought together 18 prime cuts from the premier purveyors of Chicago soul, Curtis Mayfield and the legendary Impressions. This set features singles released on the Curtom label between 1968 and 1976 including the R&B hits “Fool for You,” “Choice of Colors,” “Say You Love Me,” “Finally Got Myself Together (I’m a Changed Man)” and more. A. Scott Galloway provides a new essay in this exemplary set of rare and classic soul. Watch this space for full coverage of this set!
Doris Day, The Love Album (Varese Vintage) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
The Love Album, first released in 1994, brings together the songs recorded by the luminous Doris Day over three sessions in Hollywood, 1967, including “Are You Lonesome Tonight?,” “For All We Know” and “Street of Dreams.” Varese’s reissue of this romantic classic arranged by the great Sid Feller features new period photography and three (previously issued) bonus tracks of “Both Sides Now,” “It’s Magic” and “Sentimental Journey.”
Eric Carmen, Eric Carmen (Varese Vintage) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Eric Carmen’s second self-titled and fifth overall solo album, produced by The 4 Seasons’ Bob Gaudio for the Geffen label, has been unavailable on CD for more than 20 years. Varese’s new reissue features one bonus track: the rare single mix of the Top 40 hit “I Wanna Hear It From Your Lips.”
Bill Evans, Some Other Time: The Lost Session from the Black Forest (Resonance) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Resonance Records has uncovered a remarkable lost studio session cut for MPS Records in 1968 by Bill Evans, Jack DeJohnette and Eddie Gomez – this iteration of The Bill Evans Trio’s only studio recording. Watch this space for our review of this 2-CD set!
Earth, Wind & Fire, Head to the Sky (Quadraphonic Hybrid SACD) (Audio Fidelity) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Earth, Wind & Fire’s sophomore album for Columbia Records, 1973’s Head to the Sky, comes to hybrid SACD in its original 4.0 quadraphonic surround mix (with a 2.0 stereo layer playable on all CD players). Features the singles “Evil” and “Keep Your Head to the Sky.” Mastered by Steve Hoffman and Stephen Marsh.
Sandy Denny, I’ve Always Kept a Unicorn: The Acoustic Sandy Denny (Island U.K.) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
This 2-CD, 40-song set has the late Sandy Denny on stripped-down versions of her recordings with Strawbs, Fairport Convention, Fotheringay, The Bunch and splo. Exclusive to this release are three demos from the original recording sessions for the 1972 Bunch album Rock On including a duet with Linda Thompson on Phil Everly’s “When Will I Be Loved” and Buddy Holly’s “Love Made A Fool Of You” and “Learning The Game.” Available today in the U.K. and next Friday in the U.S.!
Jethro Tull, Aqualung: 40th Anniversary Edition (2-CD/2-DVD Reissue) (Chrysalis/Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
The 40th anniversary reissue of Aqualung, originally released with a vinyl disc in an LP-sized box, has been reconfigured and reconceived to match other recent Jethro Tull reissues in a smaller hardcover-book style format dropping both the vinyl component and the Blu-ray disc but adding select other material. Aqualung was the first Jethro Tull album remixed by Steven Wilson, in 2011; this new reissue is promised to feature “the remixes as Steven delivered them and a flat transfer of the EP Life Is A Long Song. Three additional tracks – ‘Just Trying To Be,’ ‘Wind Up (early version)’ and ‘Wondring Aloud, Again (Full Morgan Version)’ are now available as 5.1 mixes. Two of the tracks, ‘Life Is A Long Song’ and ‘Up The Pool’ have never previously been available on CD in this form.” Also included is an 80-page booklet with articles and photos from the 40th anniversary box set. The 1971 Life Is A Long Song promotional film with new remixed stereo soundtrack is also available for the first time on the new, second DVD.
Bernard Herrmann, Jane Eyre: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Kritzerland)
Kritzerland has a limited 1,000-unit edition of Bernard Herrmann’s classic score to the 1943 film adaptation of Jane Eyre. This is the first stand-alone complete release of this seminal score from a cinema master.
Marvin Hamlisch, Ordinary People/Save the Tiger: Original Soundtracks (La-La Land)
What’s better than one world premiere score CD from the late, great Marvin Hamlisch? How about two? La-La Land pairs the multiple Academy Award winning composer’s scores to 1980’s Ordinary People and 1973’s Save the Tiger? This limited edition of 1,500 units showcases Hamlisch’s versatility as he tackles classical and jazz styles, filtered through his own melodic sensibility.
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Got Aqualung on the way, arriving today. Peter Mew ruined the mastering of Wilson’s remixes on the last go-round, so I’m looking forward to hearing what they really sound like.