Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today!

Pool-Pah, The Flasher: Original Soundtrack Recording (Real Gone/Second Disc) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music)

Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music celebrate 50 years of the best album you've never heard: Pool-Pah's The Flasher.  In 1973, the sexual revolution was on, streaking was taking college campuses by storm, and Deep Throat was edging pornography ever closer to the mainstream.  Against this backdrop, a talented New York band with the unlikely moniker of Pool-Pah teamed with up-and-coming singer-songwriter, musician, and arranger Rupert Holmes to write and record an unforgettably far-out soundtrack blending rock, psychedelia, jazz, prog, pop, and electronica.  It had - and has - to be heard to be believed.  Now, you can hear it.  The Flasher began life as the soundtrack to a porno flick called Forbidden Under Censorship of the King (get it?) but transcended its origins with music recalling The Bee Gees and The Beatles one minute, and Superfly and Shaft the next - with BS&T-style horns and futuristic ARP synth sounds.  The whole wild and woolly story of The Flasher is told on this deluxe reissue.  The four-page insert has Joe Marchese's liner notes (based on new interviews with lead singer Lenie Colacino and Rupert Holmes) plus rare and previously unpublished photos. The LP, pressed on "night sky" vinyl, has been sourced from the pristine tapes housed in the Universal Music vaults, and the whole package has been designed by John Sellards.  Rupert Holmes has autographed a limited number of copies which are available now at no additional charge, directly from Real Gone Music!  Mondo also has an exclusive creamsicle-colored variant, limited to 300 copies.  Read more here.

Janet Jackson, janet. [Deluxe Edition] (Capitol/JDJ/UMe)

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

With her fifth album, Janet Jackson took her artistry and popularity into a new gear for a new decade. Now, 30 years after janet. was released, it's coming back into print as an expanded edition featuring rare bonus material.  Though the album only comes with seven bonus tracks, they're all prime cuts. The album's three non-LP B-sides are here - "And On and On" (the flip to "Any Time" which garnered radio airplay on its own), "70's Love Groove" and "One More Chance" (a rare in-family cover, first performed by her brothers on 1984's Victory) - along with various 7" versions of "That's the Way Love Goes," "Because of Love," "You Want This" and non-single "Where Are You Now."  Available on 2 CDs or 3 LPs.  Read more here.

WHAM!, The Singles: Echoes from the Edge of Heaven (Epic/Legacy)

10CD box set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
10 x 7" box set: 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

More than 40 years after they took the U.K. - and then the world - by storm, the story of pop duo WHAM! will be told in a multi-format compilation to coincide with the release of a new documentary. The Singles: Echoes from the Edge of Heaven is arguably the most comprehensive look at the work of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley as they combined their glossy good looks with an almost unsuspecting penchant for pop brilliance. In just five short years, the pair notched nearly a dozen singles into the U.K. Top 10, helping establish Michael as one of the decade's most gifted artists. The collection will be available in several different physical formats:

• A 10CD set replicates the artwork of their original singles, while also offering nearly every track from their U.K. 7" and 12" releases - including dozens of remixes and B-sides that have not been widely available in decades
• A companion 7" singles box sticks to the 45s, adding extras including a hardcover booklet of liner notes (including a new interview with Ridgeley), a cassette of 12" mixes, a key ring, postcards and a numbered certificate of authenticity - all in a collectible carrying case
• Finally, there's a basic overview of the group's A-sides (plus a varying assortment of 12" mixes and B-sides) available on one CD or two LPs. A zoetrope picture disc will also be separately available.​

Get more information on these releases here!

Ill Biskits, Chronicle of Two Losers (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Real Gone has three additional titles on vinyl today.  First up is the lone album from the hip-hop duo Ill Biskits; the original Atlantic pressing was quickly withdrawn and even the subsequent CD reissue remains sought-after. It features an inner sleeve showcasing the original CD artwork and comes on coke bottle clear vinyl.  It is limited to 1,000 copies.

Owsley, Owsley (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Next up from Real Gone is the 1999 solo debut from late singer-songwriter Owsley.  This lost power pop gem makes its vinyl debut in this new reissue.  Featuring a full-color inner sleeve, it comes on tan vinyl and is limited to 1,000 copies.

Hans Zimmer, The Last Samurai: Original Motion Picture Score (Real Gone) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Director/co-writer Edward Zwick's 2003 epic The Last Samurai featured Hans Zimmer's 100th score.  Now, Real Gone brings that stirring score to vinyl. The 2-LP set comes in gatefold jacket on gold vinyl and is limited to 1,000 copies.  Read more about all three releases later today!

Billy Burnette, Billy Burnette / Gimme You (Iconoclassic)

Billy Burnette: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Gimme You: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

Iconoclassic remasters and reissues two Columbia LPs from rockabilly scion and future Fleetwood Mac member Billy Burnette.  Bill Dahl has written new liner notes for both, and Vic Anesini has remastered them at Sony's Battery Studios.  Get all of the details on the pair here!

Rory Gallagher, All Around Man: Live in London (UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The new concert release All Around Man: Live in London has been culled from two of the late guitarist's concerts at London's Town & Country Club (today the O2 Forum) in December 1990.  It's been newly mixed from the original multitracks and mastered at Abbey Road Studios.  Available on 2 CDs or 3 LPs.

Flamin' Groovies, Rockin' the Roundhouse (Cleopatra) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Cleopatra releases a live show from The Flamin' Groovies plus a handful of bonus tracks on this new CD release.  Dave Thompson provides the liner notes.

Suede, The London Suede: 30th Anniversary Edition (Edsel) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Edsel reissues the American version of Suede's 1993 debut album in a new 2-CD edition housed in 7-inch packaging.  The second disc is loaded with non-LP sides, and the booklet contains lyrics.  The album has been newly mastered by Phil Kinrade at AIR from the original half-inch tapes and production masters, overseen and approved by the album's original producer Ed Buller.

Taylor Swift, Speak Now: Taylor's Version (Republic)

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

The international superstar and top concert draw revisits her 2010 self-penned, chart-topping third album, Speak Now, as part of her ongoing Taylor's Version series.  Taylor announced the album on the first night in Nashville of her record-breaking Eras Tour, and it features six additional "From the Vaults" tracks including collaboration with Fall Out Boy and Hayley Williams.  Available on 2CD, 3LP, cassette, and digitally.  Target has an exclusive color variant of the vinyl version.