Release Round-Up: Week of September 18

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today…and it’s one of the biggest weeks in recent memory!  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. David Bowie, The Shel Talmy Recordings (Parlophone) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store (180-gram red vinyl) The Shel Talmy Recordings collects 21 recordings the then-unknown David Bowie recorded with producer Talmy (The Who, The Kinks) during 1965, when he was a member of bands The Manish Boys and The Lower Third. Only four of these tracks…

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Monkeeing Around: Rhino Preps 60th Anniversary Edition of The Monkees’ Debut

In 1967, Monkeemania was sweeping the country. “I told people I would outsell The Beatles, and they laughed at me,” impresario Don Kirshner once recalled. “Then the first album sold four million.” That first album which led the television foursome of Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork to outsell The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys and, well, everybody else in 1967 is being revisited (again) with a new 3CD/1LP box set due October 30 from Rhino. The basis of this set is Rhino Handmade’s long out-of-print 4CD…

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I’m Coming Home Again: Dusty Springfield’s “Home Again: The Complete United Artists Recordings” Coming From Real Gone

Following such past releases as the “lost albums” Longing and Faithful, The Complete Atlantic Singles 1968-1971, A Brand New Me: The Complete Philadelphia Sessions, and Come for a Dream: The U.K. Sessions 1970-1971, Real Gone Music is returning to the late Dusty Springfield’s discography with a new 2-CD or 2-LP set.  On November 6, the label will release Home Again, The Complete United Artists Recordings, collecting the albums It Begins Again and Living Without Your Love as well as a host of bonus tracks. Following her split from ABC/Dunhill Records, the British…

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You’re Gonna Get It! Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers’ Early Years Chronicled in ‘Origins’ Box

50 years ago, Gainesville, Florida native Tom Petty formed the group that would take him and his bandmates into the stratosphere.  Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers blazed a path of rootsy rock and roll for over forty years, curtailed only by Petty’s untimely passing in 2017 at the age of 66.  Now, UMe is celebrating the birth of the legendary band with Origins 1971-1978, a new 4CD/1DVD/1BD or 5LP/1DVD/1BD box set.   (An “Uber Deluxe” vinyl edition limited to just 500 copies will also be available.)  The set shines a spotlight on the…

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Harder Rain: New Bob Dylan Box Continues the Rolling Thunder Revue Review

“I’m trying to get to the core of what this Rolling Thunder thing is all about…and I don’t have a clue!”  Bob Dylan impishly addressed his most famed concert tour – and, indeed, one of the most famed of all time – for the 2019 fact-meets-fiction film Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese.  The Academy Award-winning director knew that there were many stories surrounding Dylan’s carnival-esque Rolling Thunder tour of 1975-1976 – true, false, and everything in between – and all of those stories were manifested in the…

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Kajagogoo Box from Cherry Red (with Amazing Title) Will Leave You Tongue Tied, Short of Breath

A new box from Cherry Red will be the final word on a band whose name sounds like a first word – and wait ’til you see the title of the box, which we can’t stop thinking about. Box of Goo: The Complete Anthology is an 8CD set devoted to Bedfordshire synth-pop act Kajagoogoo. It includes just about everything the band ever released: the EMI-distributed albums White Feathers (1982), Islands (1984) and Crazy Peoples Right to Speak (1985), the latter released under the name Kaja; a self-released live album from the ’80s, two reunion projects with varying line-ups,…

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Like to Get to Know You Well: Recorded Live at High Wycombe Town Hall 1983

CD/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Recorded to cap the breakthrough year of the British singer/songwriter/keyboardist’s career, when “New Song” became a U.K. chart smash, Like to Get to Know You Well finds Howard Jones at the High Wycombe Town Hall just before Christmas 1983 performing hits from debut Human’s Lib (plus a version of holiday carol “Ding Dong Merrily on High” set to electronic elements of “New Song”). It’s been remastered from the original multitracks and presented in its original sequence…

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It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown (Original Soundtrack Recording – Extended Edition)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Barnes & Noble (teal) / Urban Outfitters (magenta) / RSD Outlets (white) The 11th animated Peanuts special, first released in 1974, gets a premiere soundtrack release. Longtime composer Vince Guaraldi flirted with a funkier direction than previous releases, performing piano, electric piano, clavinet and even electric guitar on this set of original cues. (There’s a few classic trio-style covers of jazz standards among the bonus tracks!)

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Summer Magic 1985

20CD: Dead.net Merriweather 6/30/85 3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Merriweather 6/30/85 4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amaazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The latest heavy-duty box set from the Grateful Dead archive offers seven complete shows – released for the first time – from the group’s 20th anniversary tour. (There’s three “official” anniversary shows from the Greek Theatre at UC-Berkeley, plus a further four from the weeks since in Saratoga Springs, New York; Hershey, Pennsylvania; and Columbia, Maryland.) Additional features in the box include a 96-page book, seven art cards…

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Renaissance 1988-2003

A year after a full one-off reunion for an Atlantic Records 40th anniversary concert, part of the Scottish soul-funk combo Average White Band (bassist Alan Gorrie, guitarist Owen “Onnie” McIntyre and saxophonoist/keyboardist Roger Ball) began a second phase of the band that lasted early into the 21st century. The three studio albums they cut during this period (1989’s Aftershoci, 1997’s Soul Tattoo and 2003’s Living in Colour) plus the 1999 live disc Face to Face are collected on this 4CD set with a fistful of bonus tracks, as well.  (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from…

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Release Round-Up: Week of September 11

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 Roches, Runs in the Family: The Warner Bros./Rykodisc Albums (Cherry Red/Lemon/Second Disc) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Runs in the Family, from TSD and Cherry Red’s Lemon Recordings imprint, is the first-ever albums collection from the genre-bending trio of Maggie, Suzzy, and Terre Roche, a.k.a. The Roches.  The set features the sisters’ debut The Roches (1979) produced by King Crimson legend Robert Fripp; Nurds (1980) produced by Simon…

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Go Crazy: Flesh For Lulu’s “Long Live The New Flesh” and “Plastic Fantastic” Reissued, Expanded by Omnivore

For fans of Flesh for Lulu, October 16 is going to be your “Lucky Day.”  On that date, Omnivore Recordings unveils deluxe 2CD expanded editions of two seminal albums from the U.K. post-punk heroes: Long Live the New Flesh (1987) and Plastic Fantastic (1989). These two deluxe sets arrive in advance of the band’s long-awaited reunion onstage at London’s Lexington on February 6, 2027. Lead vocalist Nick Marsh, lead guitarist Rocco Barker, bassist Kevin Mills, and drummer James Mitchell’s 1987 debut on the Beggars Banquet label, Long Live the New Flesh, marked…

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Reissue Theory: 50 Years of ‘Muppet Show’ Memories (and More!)

Welcome to another installment of The Second Disc’s long-unused column Reissue Theory, where we reflect on well-known albums of the past and the reissues they could someday see. As a classic force of television scores big at the Emmys this year – 50 years after their most significant series first started – it’s time to play the music, light the lights, and dream of a wider availability for the music of Jim Henson’s Muppets! There’s a major diva looming over the 78th annual Primetime Emmy Awards this coming weekend. Hacks, HBO Max’s delightful…

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Freak Out! 60th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition

5CD/BD: Zappa.com (opens in new tab)/ uDiscoverMusic.com(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.S.(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.K.(opens in new tab) / Amazon Canada(opens in new tab) 5LP (Pre-Master Mix & Mono Mix + 60th Anniversary Highlights): Zappa.com(opens in new tab) / uDiscoverMusic.com(opens in new tab) 2LP (Remastered 1966 Stereo Mix Only): Zappa.com(opens in new tab) / uDiscoverMusic.com(opens in new tab) Freak Out!  Frank Zappa’s 1966 Verve Records debut with his band The Mothers of Invention was a call-to-arms to the Los Angeles underground music scene.  Subverting notions of traditional pop and…

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My Aim is True (49th Anniversary Edition)

5CD: Official Store(opens in new tab) / uDiscoverMusic.com(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.S.(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.K.(opens in new tab) / Amazon Canada (opens in new tab) 1CD: Official Store(opens in new tab) / uDiscoverMusic.com(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.S.(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.K.(opens in new tab) / Amazon Canada (opens in new tab) 1LP: Official Store(opens in new tab) / uDiscoverMusic.com(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Elvis Costello is revisiting his debut album, My Aim Is True, as an expansive…

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Yours For The Taking: The Found Songs of Jimmy Webb

Yours for the Taking: The Found Songs of Jimmy Webb draws on the songs in the composer-lyricist’s trunk.  Though the songs may date back decades, the recordings are new – and in Webb’s trademark sweeping, poignant, lyrical, romantic, and thoughtful style. Yours for the Taking welcomes Marc Cohn, Amy Grant, and Michael McDonald, and includes two vintage demos alongside the new recordings: “Winter Clothes” (written for Frank Sinatra) and “If I Ever Get to Talk to You Again.” Available on CD, LP, and digitally.  (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying…

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Glad All Over the World: The Hits and Albums Volume 1 (1964-1965)

At last, the long-unavailable albums of The Dave Clark Five are coming to CD…sort of.  BMG has announced a three-volume set reissuing the Five’s core North American album catalogue, beginning with Glad All Over the World: The Hits and Albums Volume 1 (1964-1965).  Five DC5 albums are presented on five CDs in this volume, with the discs housed in a ten-panel fold-out digipak also containing a 24-page booklet.  However, the track listings mirror the 2019 digital remasters which were substantially altered and resequenced; they do not reflect what American listeners first heard…

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Release Round-Up: Week of September 4

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles out today!  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Ben Folds Five, Ben Folds Five (30th Anniversary Edition) (Capitol/UMe, 2026) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada  2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Piano-pounding alternative trio Ben Folds Five have revisited their first album – both versions of their first album – for a new expanded edition.  The group’s self-titled debut has been remastered and expanded, one year after its 30th anniversary…

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Any Way You Want It: BMG Preps First Volume of Dave Clark Five Albums Series

At last, the long-unavailable albums of The Dave Clark Five will be coming to CD…sort of.  BMG has announced a three-volume set reissuing the Five’s core North American album catalogue, beginning with the October 23 release of Glad All Over the World: The Hits and Albums Volume 1 (1964-1965).  Five DC5 albums are presented on five CDs in this volume, with the discs housed in a ten-panel fold-out digipak also containing a 24-page booklet.  However, the track listings mirror the 2019 digital remasters which were substantially altered and resequenced; they do not…

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Total Freedom: Two George Michael Live Releases – One with Wham! – Due This Year

If you’ve never caught George Michael in concert, this year will see the release of not one but two peak-era releases showcasing his live skills – an EP of unreleased live cuts with Wham!, and a full concert album from 1988’s tour in support of solo debut Faith. Both projects are tied to recent or forthcoming film releases. 10 Days in China – The Live EP follows the recent release of Wham! 10 Days in China, unbelievably the third documentary on the duo in the last four years. (The first, a self-titled, career-spanning documentary, bowed…

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This is Not a Review of Prince’s ‘Timeless.’ Here’s Why

Until yesterday, this was going to be a pretty standard review of Timeless (NPG/Paisley Park 19958 44929-2), the newest posthumous Prince project, arriving just over a decade after his tragic passing. You would read about how unusual it is at this juncture to release a short compilation of unrelated outtakes from the Minneapolis icon’s storied vault, one not curated by him or guided by his examples, one that reminds you of projects we’d love to have on our shelves – a pre-1999 deep dive, a complete presentation of his final concerts (or any…

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Ben Folds Five: 30th Anniversary Edition

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada  2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Piano-pounding alternative trio Ben Folds Five have revisited their first album – both versions of their first album – for a new expanded edition.  The group’s self-titled debut has been remastered and expanded, one year after its 30th anniversary mark. This 2CD or 180-gram 2LP release pairs that original album, featuring seminal tracks like “Underground” and “Philosophy,” with a mostly unreleased “Shelved First Attempt” featuring many of the same tracks (and a few others) recorded in an earlier session. Both sets offer expanded liner…

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John Coltrane 100 – Selections from 1951-1967

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…

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Back to Black: 20th Anniversary Edition

3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Zoetrope LP: Official Store UMe reissues the late Amy Winehouse’s 2006 triumph Back to Black on October 23 (the Friday before its official anniversary on October 27) in a variety of formats, most notably 3CD and 3LP sets packed with more than two dozen bonus tracks. (In a coup for CD buyers, five B-sides and three live cuts will not be on the 3LP set, which is pressed on clear vinyl.) Additional pressings of the original album will be available, including a…

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Head Games: Super Deluxe Edition

3CD/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S.(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.K.(opens in new tab) / Amazon Canada(opens in new tab) 1LP: Amazon U.S.(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.K.(opens in new tab) / Amazon Canada(opens in new tab) 7″: Rhino.com Following last year’s deluxe expanded edition of Foreigner’s 1981 album 4(opens in new tab) – the band’s fourth overall album – Rhino turns back the clock to another multi-platinum album, 1979’s Head Games.  Head Games is returning in a 3CD/1Blu-ray edition as well as a standalone 1LP vinyl edition of the new album remix at the centerpiece of the full box set.  The Super Deluxe 3CD/1BD edition…

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