Sinatra at the Sands: 60th Anniversary Edition

Frank Sinatra Enterprises and Capitol/UMe are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the original Sinatra at the Sands with a new campaign encompassing a 2LP remixed reissue of the album, a 5CD box set premiering five previously unreleased concerts from the Sands “residency,” and digital versions including a Dolby Atmos mix of both releases.  (The Atmos mix is not included within the physical package.) The main attraction for CD fans and collectors alike will be the 5CD box.  Whereas the original album’s performances were culled from various nights at the Copa Room with Count Basie…

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The Quiet Celebration Concert

Paul Simon came out of live retirement for his acclaimed Quiet Celebration tour, reflecting his acknowledged hearing loss with new arrangements of classic favorites alongside a full presentation of his Seven Psalms album.  This live album recorded at Seattle’s McCaw Hall features both acts of the concert, including Seven Psalms, “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” “The Boxer,” “Homeward Bound,” “Graceland,” and more. (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.)

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And The Music’s All Right: “The Who By Numbers” Goes Super Deluxe

May 1975 found Pete Townshend turning 30 and troubled by thoughts of the future.  What would it hold for The Who, the music business, and rock and roll itself?  He poured his anxieties and emotions into The Who by Numbers, the October ’75 release of which would become the band’s seventh studio album.  On October 30, Polydor and UMe celebrates 51 (!) years of The Who by Numbers with a new 5CD/1Blu-ray Super Deluxe Edition. Sessions for the album began in April 1975 and continued through early June, with producer Glyn Johns…

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Let Me Entertain You: On the Road with Davy

U.S. Customers: ImportCDs.com(opens in new tab) (Recommended) / Amazon U.S. U.K. Customers: Amazon U.K. Let Me Entertain You: On the Road with Davy boasts two dozen concert recordings from the late Davy Jones spanning 1979-2003 from venues in the United States, United Kingdom, and Japan. The set features his live interpretations of Monkees songs both expected (“Daydream Believer,” “I Wanna Be Free,” “Valleri,” “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You”) and somewhat less expected (“Papa Gene’s Blues,” “Listen to the Band,” “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone”) as well as solo classics (The Brady Bunch…

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One Step Closer to the Danger Zone: Foreigner Sets Expanded Remix of ‘Head Games’

Following last year’s deluxe expanded edition of Foreigner’s 1981 album 4(opens in new tab) – the band’s fourth overall album – Rhino is turning back the clock to another multi-platinum album, 1979’s Head Games.  On October 30, Head Games will return 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. Head Games marked a time of transition for Foreigner. Co-produced by Roy Thomas Baker (Queen, Dusty Springfield), Mick Jones, and Ian McDonald, it featured Lou Gramm…

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Release Round-Up: Week of August 28

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. Prince, Timeless (NPG/Legacy) CD: Amazon U.S.(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.K.(opens in new tab) / Amazon Canada(opens in new tab) LP: Amazon U.S.(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.K.(opens in new tab) / Amazon Canada(opens in new tab) / Official Store(opens in new tab) (140-gram Purple Marbled Vinyl) Ten years after his tragic passing, a newly-curated release from Prince’s vault offers 10 unreleased tracks spanning his entire recording career – mostly unconsidered, in their respective forms, for any formal versions…

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In Other Words: “Sinatra at the Sands” 60th Anniversary Celebrated with New 5CD Box Set, Remixed LP

“How did all these people get in my room?”  Frank Sinatra quipped when he strode onstage at The Sands’ Copa Room in January 1966 for his sold-out concerts, but, in truth, there was no doubt that it was Sinatra’s room.  Las Vegas was his kind of town.  Supported by Count Basie and His Orchestra under the baton of arranger-conductor Quincy Jones, the Chairman of the Board – who had recently turned 50 years old and entered the September of his years, was in his element.  His electrifying shows were preserved on his…

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Favorite Things: John Coltrane’s Centennial Celebrated with New Compilations

A heavy-duty vinyl collection from Rhino Records will tell the story of John Coltrane in honor of his centennial – one of several forthcoming titles set to honor the legendary saxophonist. 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…

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In Memoriam: Dolly Parton (1946-2026)

The Second Disc joins the myriad voices of musical enthusiasts stunned by the news of Dolly Parton’s passing on August 25, 2026. Mike remembers an enduring icon who may have been the most universally beloved person on the planet. Joe’s tribute will run later this week. Ten years removed from a year when it felt like a shocking amount of musical luminaries passed away – and knowing full well that time only moves forward to make us bid others farewell – Dolly Parton’s passing at the age of 80 still stuns. In…

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She Was Trouble: UMe Celebrates 20th Anniversary of Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back to Black’ with Deluxe Edition

Twenty years after it became a worldwide blockbuster – and more than 15 years since her passing broke the hearts of fans everywhere – Amy Winehouse’s final album will be reissued with a host of bonus material, including unheard demos and an unreleased live set. UMe will reissue 2006’s 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…

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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…

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It’s Nice to Be with You: 7A Readies Davy Jones’ “Let Me Entertain You: On the Road with Davy” Live Album

Both solo and with The Monkees – and various permutations thereof – Davy Jones spent decades on the road sharing the music he loved all over the world.  While a Monkees setlist would be painstakingly constructed, the solo Jones was far more freewheeling, incorporating new and old songs and crossing genre lines with abandon.  Now, on September 11, 7A Records celebrates the late singer’s legacy with a new live compendium. Let Me Entertain You: On the Road with Davy boasts two dozen concert recordings spanning 1979-2003 from venues in the United States,…

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Throw That Beat in the Garbage Can: The B-52’s Expand ‘Mesopotamia’ EP with Outtakes, Remixes and More

The B-52’s are returning to Mesopotamia.  This Friday, August 21, the band will revisit 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. Following two back-to-back albums (1979’s self-titled debut and 1980’s Wild Planet), The B-52’s were creatively tapped out.  Moving the group into a house in upstate New York to concentrate on writing only inflamed tensions further.  A compilation, Party Mix!, was issued in 1981 as a stopgap measure to…

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The Shel Talmy Recordings

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 were released at the time as singles, with another seven alternate and outtake versions turning up on compilations over the years; that makes a full 10 tracks debuting on this package, including lead track “I Want Your Love.” Some of…

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Ancient Culture: Mesopotamia Revisited

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…

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Release Round-Up: Week of August 14

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 Monkees, Made for TV (Rhino) (Amazon U.S.(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.K.(opens in new tab) / Amazon Canada(opens in new tab) / Rhino.com(opens in new tab) / Monkees.com(opens in new tab)) Rhino celebrates Season 1 of The Monkees just in time for its 60th anniversary.  This new 2CD/1LP/1Blu-ray multimedia box set brings together all of the music heard on Season 1 of the groundbreaking television series in one deluxe…

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Light Shine on Me: The Waterboys Revisit “Fisherman’s Blues” with New “Atlantic Rain” Box

Since bursting onto the post-punk scene with 1983’s self-titled album The Waterboys, the band led by Scottish singer-songwriter Mike Scott has lived up to its moniker as “the big music.”  The Waterboys’ sound has taken in rock, folk, rhythm and blues, soul, pop, country, classical, jazz, and beyond.  Perhaps no album in the band’s catalogue, however, was more expansive than their fourth album, 1988’s Fisherman’s Blues. Recorded over two years in Dublin and Galway by Scott, saxophonist/mandolinist Anthony “Anto” Thistlethwaite, violinist Steve Wickham, bassist Trevor Hutchinson, and many others, Fisherman’s Blues found…

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How It Is Done: Cherry Red Collects The Riot Squad, Including David Bowie Recordings, On New 3CD Collection

The Riot Squad only released seven singles on the U.K.’s Pye label between 1965 and 1967.  But thanks to the discovery of Joe Meek’s Tea Chest Tapes, the story of the band that might be best known for a short-lived collaboration with David Bowie can now be told in full.   I Take It That We’re Through: Anthology 1965-1967 arrives from Cherry Red’s Strawberry imprint on August 21, with 3 CDs and 83 tracks (40 of which are previously unreleased and another 14 of which are new to CD). Ron Ryan (guitar), Graham…

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Release Round-Up: Week of August 7

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. Tom Tom Club, Let There Be Love (Warner/Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Rhino assembles most of the Talking Heads offshoot group’s discography on a new 6CD or 7LP box set.  Let There Be Love contains Tom Tom Club (1981), Close to the Bone (1983), Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom (1988), Dark Sneak Love Action (1991), The Good, the Bad, and the Funky (2000), and Downtown Rockers (2012).  Get the detail on what’s included on what’s not by clicking here. Whitney…

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John Williams Legacy

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…

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Don’t Let Go: Real Gone’s August Lineup Includes En Vogue, Obituary, Elephant’s Memory, and Absolute Grey

Real Gone’s August slate of releases hitting stores tomorrow, August 7, spans from the 1970s to the 1990s and includes genres from soul to rock death metal to punk (!) on vinyl and CD.  Read below for more details on each title! Absolute Grey formed in September 1983 in Rochester, New York, consisting of vocalist Beth Brown, guitarist Matt Kitchen, bassist Mitchell Rasor, and drummer Pat Thomas. Drawing inspiration from the melodic guitar work of bands such as R.E.M., Rain Parade, and the Paisley Underground movement, Absolute Grey developed a distinctive sound…

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Wowie Zowie: Frank Zappa’s “Freak Out!” Goes Super Deluxe For 60th Anniversary

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 rock, the album blended searing social commentary with doo-wop pastiches, rhythm and blues, absurdist comedy, jazz, and musique concrete.  Even today, the Mothers’ clarion call to the counterculture sounds like no other album, but it was just a portent of things to come from Zappa.  On September 25, Zappa Records and UMe will revisit Freak Out! on the occasion of its…

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Being Rhythmically Admired: Elvis Costello’s Debut Gets Box Set Edition This Fall

With Buddy Holly glasses, a slender frame, and a famous moniker, Elvis Costello burst onto the album scene in July 1977 with My Aim Is True.  Though critics and listeners alike were quick to place the artist born Declan Patrick MacManus as a punk or new wave artist, his musical roots ran far deeper.  My Aim Is True, produced by Nick Lowe, set Costello on the uncompromising path to a current tally of 33 studio albums, six live sets, numerous singles and EPs, and a still-flourishing concert career.   Now, on October 2,…

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Face The Promise: Expanded Edition

Bob Seger is revisiting his 2006 album Face The Promise, including the AC chart-topper “Wait for Me” and the Patty Loveless duet “The Answer’s in the Question,” for its 20th anniversary.  It’s available on 1 CD or 2 LPs with remastered audio, four bonus tracks (“Time,” “Little Jane,” “Red Eye to Memphis,” and “Let Me Try”) as well as an expanded booklet containing lyrics and photos.  (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.)

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Release Round-Up: Week of July 31

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available this week.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Alice Cooper, The Studio Albums 1975-1978 (Warner/Rhino) 5LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Rhino celebrates the early years of shock rock legend Alice Cooper with a new 5CD or 5LP box set.  The Studio Albums 1975-1978 begins with 1975’s Welcome to My Nightmare, his first proper solo album, and continues with Alice Cooper Goes to Hell (1976), Lace and Whiskey (1977), and From the Inside (1978).  The collection is rounded out with a…

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