Available exclusively through Interscope Records’ online store, Wang Chung’s soundtrack to William Friedkin’s 1985 neo-noir will be pressed on two opaque orange “L.A. sunset” LPs. The first offers a chronological sequence of the music from the film, with two additional tracks: the hit single “Dance Hall Days” and the unreleased “This One’s for You, White Boy.” The second LP offers eight bonus remixes and edits, five of which are previously unreleased. (A futher expanded digital edition is promised, but the long-discussed CD edition seems to be off the table.)
Thin Lizzy (Deluxe Edition)
3CD/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP (green): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store (blue) Though markedly different from the twin-guitar attack they’d be known for later in the decade, Thin Lizzy’s 1971 debut makes for a fascinating listen, taking cues from folk and Celtic rock and introducing the burgeoning mastery of much-missed singer/songwriter/bassist Phil Lynott. This 55th anniversary deluxe box set offers the group’s self-titled debut and the New Day EP in their original forms as well as new stereo remixes by Richard Whittaker, more than a dozen unreleased outtakes and BBC sessions and…
Release Round-Up: Week of June 12
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 5th Dimension, Let the Sunshine In: The Soul City & Bell Albums 1967-1974 (Second Disc/Cherry Red/Strawberry) Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Cherry Red 2026 marks 60 years of The 5th Dimension–and the celebration is kicking off with the first-ever box set dedicated to the legendary “champagne soul” fivesome! Second Disc Records is proud to team with Cherry Red’s Strawberry imprint for Let the Sunshine In: The Soul City &…
Spill the Wine: WAR’s “Greatest Hits” Returns in Expanded Form
Rhino is revisiting the 1976 collection which reaffirmed WAR’s status as reliable hitmakers. On July 31, the label will reissue WAR’s Greatest Hits on both CD and vinyl. Whereas the 2021 edition entitled Greatest Hits 2.0 added an entire disc’s worth of favorites, this release is more compact. The CD version adds four cuts (including “Spill the Wine”) to the original collection while the LP, part of Rhino’s Spirit of ’76 summer vinyl campaign, replicates the original album track listing. (The campaign encompasses 23 releases from 1976 including Yes’ Live at Roosevelt Stadium.)…
Review: Frank Zappa, “Zappa ’66, Vol. 1: Live at TTG Studios”
Freak Out! Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention’s 1966 debut record on the venerable Verve label introduced an artist for whom no cow was sacred; Zappa spent his entire career successfully pushing the boundaries of popular music and, some might add, of taste. He always had his finger on the pulse of pop culture, unafraid to poke fun at its excesses. Now, with Zappa ’66, Vol. 1: Live at TTG Studios – No. 134 in the Official Release Series – Zappa Records’ recently-relaunched Vaulternative imprint has given fans a real treat:…
Miles ’56: The Prestige Recordings
3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Following the previously released collections Miles ’54 and Miles ’55, Craft Recordings is continuing its survey of the early Miles Davis discography for a new installment. The sensibly-titled Miles ’56 is another archival dive into the Prestige Records catalogue as it chronicles a pivotal year in Davis’ musical history. It’s out in 3CD, limited-edition 4LP, and digital formats (including hi-res audio) with all audio sourced from the original analog masters and restored using Plangent Processes. Though these dates closed the door on Davis’ affiliation with Prestige Records and…
Review: The Beach Boys, “Pet Sounds” 60th Anniversary Releases
By the time Pet Sounds hit stores on May 16, 1966, The Beach Boys had already released ten studio albums. The group’s sound had undoubtedly matured since their earliest days, culminating in an exquisite mini-suite that filled most of Side Two of 1965’s The Beach Boys Today! and the increasingly sophisticated, if still teenage-themed, productions of its follow-up, 1966’s Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!). Still, even those recordings didn’t fully prepare listeners for Pet Sounds. Composer-arranger-singer-producer Brian Wilson and his bandmates Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Al Jardine, and Bruce Johnston…
Nothing Left But Stone: ‘Timeless’ Collects 10 Unreleased Prince Recordings
The faithful fans hoping for more music from Prince’s vault have something to look forward to. Timeless, a new collection from NPG Records and Legacy Recordings, offers 10 previously unreleased recordings spanning the breadth of the Minneapolis legend’s career, from a 1978 home recording to a live take of a favorite B-side from one of his final concerts. The album will be available on CD and vinyl on August 28. Prince’s version of “With This Tear,” an early ’90s ballad given to Celine Dion and released to mark the 10th anniversary of…
Return of a ‘Hero’: Maren Morris’ Breakthrough Gets Expanded for Its 10th Anniversary
Almost exactly a decade after catapulting into the upper tier of country music, Maren Morris will celebrate the album that put her there with a new deluxe edition. HERO: A Second Wind expands Morris’ major-label debut HERO for its 10th anniversary with a generous nine tracks – nearly double the length of the original record. In addition to three previously available tracks on a Target-exclusive deluxe edition, the set (available on CD, 2LP and digitally) offers two previously unheard songs, “We Can’t Be Friends” and “Hard Liquor and Soft Rock,” and demo versions…
The Best of Judas Priest
Legacy brings together a career-spanning selections of tracks from Judas Priest – 10 on vinyl and 16 on CD – including such favorites from the metal titans as “Breaking the Law,” “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming,” “Electric Eye,” “Turbo Lover,” and “Painkiller.” (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.)
The Boroughs: Soundtrack from the Netflix Series
Legacy has a soundtrack to the Netflix sci-fi series starring Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodward, Geena Davis, Denis O’Hare, and Clarke Peters. The vinyl edition includes ten tracks while the CD doubles that number, but both formats offer a sampling of the classic rock and pop tunes heard in the show including Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road” and “Born to Run,” Santana’s “Oye Come Va,” The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Do You Believe in Magic,” Heart’s “Barracuda,” Bob Seger’s “Night Moves,” and Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day.” As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
ZAPPAtite (Frank Zappa’s Tastiest Tracks)
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Zappa.com UMe and Zappa Records are dipping into the recent past for the vinyl debut of the 2016 compilation ZAPPAtite (Frank Zappa’s Tastiest Tracks). The 18-track collection is sequenced in the manner of a meal, with tracks representing Appetizers (“Dancin’ Fool,” “Peaches En Regalia”), Entrees (“Valley Girl,” “Tell Me You Love Me”), a Second Course (“Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow,” “Titties and Beer”) and Dessert (“Zoot Allures,” “Strictly Genteel”) – one course per side of vinyl. Collectively, these tracks encompass some of the late composer-guitarist-sonic…
Live at Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, 17 June 1976
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Yes’ 50th anniversary release Live at Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, 17 June 1976 takes listeners back to the long-gone New Jersey venue for the concert broadcast on WNEW-FM and bootlegged countless times since. It will be available on 2 CDs or 3 LPs, including an edition exclusive to Rhino.com with a Roger Dean lithograph and a “Spirit of ‘76” edition exclusive to independent record stores as part of Rhino’s summer campaign. The show boasts such Yes favorites as “Siberian Khatru,” “I’ve Seen All Good People,”…
Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA (7/3/66)
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP: Dead Official Store Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA (7/3/66) arrives on 2 CDs, digital/streaming, or 3 LPs, with the latter format exclusive to Dead.net. The concert, recorded by Owsley “Bear” Stanley, previously appeared as part of the 2015 box set 30 Trips Around the Sun. Featuring Jerry Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, and Bob Weir, the show has been mastered for this release by Jeffrey Norman with speed correction and restoration by Plangent Processes. Songs include the earliest known…
8-Tracks
CD: Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Target.com LP (Blue Vinyl): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP (Black Vinyl): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Pink Floyd celebrates the era of the 8-track with a new compilation entitled (what else?) 8-Tracks. The collection, available in the U.S. as a Target-exclusive CD as well as on vinyl and digitally, brings together eight (yup, eight!) tracks from the band’s seventies heyday including “Money,” “Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2,” “Wish You Were Here,” and “Comfortably Numb.” Steven Wilson has edited the tracks in an exclusive sequence, utilizing sound effects from the songs’ original multitrack tapes…
Short Takes, Classic Rock Edition: Yes, Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa
This Friday, Pink Floyd celebrates the era of the 8-track with a new compilation entitled (what else?) 8-Tracks. The collection, available in the U.S. as a Target-exclusive CD as well as on vinyl and digitally, brings together eight (yup, eight!) tracks from the band’s seventies heyday including “Money,” “Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2,” “Wish You Were Here,” and “Comfortably Numb.” Steven Wilson has edited the tracks in an exclusive sequence, utilizing sound effects from the songs’ original multitrack tapes to create a continuous listening experience unique to this title. Also…
Harpo Speaks! The Riverside Symphony Concert Featuring “Peter and the Wolf”
Indeed…Harpo Speaks! The legendarily silent Marx Brother is heard on this surprising new release from Ramseur Records. On March 20, 1964, the semi-retired Harpo joined Southern California’s Riverside Symphony for a benefit performance. But this time, Harpo wasn’t mute. Instead, he narrated Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. The enchanting performance took place just six months before his death at the age of 75. The evening was recorded but the tapes disappeared…until now. Marx Brothers archivist John Tefteller and biographer Robert Bader have spearheaded this restored release. Bader explains, “The fact that we have a…
The Montreux Years
BMG compiles thirteen tracks from five of the late Roberta Flack’s concerts recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival between 1971 and 2008 including renditions of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” “To Love Somebody,” and “Feel Like Makin’ Love.” Suzanne Koga provides the liner notes. Available on 1 CD or 2 LPs. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Reach Out: ‘Four Tops Live!’ Set for New Remix, Expansion
UMe is making it a soulful summer thanks to the release of a newly remixed and expanded edition of one of Motown’s prime single-artist concert albums: Four Tops Live! Pressed on vinyl by the Elemental Music label with a July 24 release date (with a digital edition dropping on the same date), this 60th anniversary edition of Four Tops Live! offers even more from the two dates at Detroit’s Roostertail club which comprised the original LP. Now expanded to four sides of vinyl with 10 tracks not featured on the original album, the concert…
Wildest Dreams: 30th Anniversary Edition
4CD/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Rhino.com 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Rhino.com 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Rhino.com Tina Turner’s long-running series of expanded editions continues with a new 30th anniversary 4CD/1Blu-ray edition of the late superstar’s 1996 album – and ninth solo studio release, overall – Wildest Dreams. The deluxe set, featuring a remaster of the original album, adds a bonus disc of ten singles and remixes. It continues with Turner’s July 20, 1996 concert at London’s famed Wembley Stadium on 2 CDs, while the Blu-ray (with remastered audio in 96/24 stereo and video upscaled from standard…
Release Round-Up: Week of May 29
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. Paul McCartney, The Boys of Dungeon Lane (MPL/Capitol) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Paul McCartney Store LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Paul McCartney Store Paul McCartney releases his first new studio album since 2020’s McCartney III. The Boys of Dungeon Lane, like McCartney III and its two predecessors, was recorded almost entirely by the artist. Andrew Watt, whose credits include the most recent albums from Elton John and The Rolling Stones, is in the producer’s…
Foreign Tongues
CD (Yellow Cover): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada CD (Standard Red Cover): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada CD (Red Disc): Rolling Stones Store CD/Blu-ray: Rolling Stones Store / Amazon U.S. (Link TBD) / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP Pink Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP Black Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP Blue Vinyl: Target.com 2LP White Vinyl + Art Print: Rolling Stones Store 2LP/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Cassette: Rolling Stones Store…
It’s A New Orleans Thing: Craft Recordings Expands “The Allen Toussaint Songbook”
It’s been more than a decade since Allen Toussaint passed away at the age of 77 in November 2015. Yet the New Orleans native’s music and lyrics remain as powerful, funky, sweet, and moving as ever. In 2013, the singer-songwriter-producer-arranger-musician looked back on his extraordinary career with The Allen Toussaint Songbook, his first live album since 1975 (and that set remained on a shelf for nearly three decades before seeing release). Yet even that Grammy-nominated 25-song album couldn’t reflect the full breadth of Toussaint’s mighty discography. Now, Craft Recordings has revisited The…
In the Dark of the Night: Wang Chung’s ‘To Live and Die in L.A.’ Soundtrack Gets Expanded
A much-anticipated ’80s soundtrack reissue is finally coming – even if it’s taking a different shape from what might have been expected. Interscope Records will release a new deluxe edition of To Live and Die in L.A., the beloved soundtrack to William Friedkin’s 1985 neo-noir film, as performed by pop duo Wang Chung. The set will be greatly expanded from the outset, offering a newly sequenced version of the original eight-track album featuring two bonus recordings (one of which is unreleased) as well as a further eight bonus tracks, five of which are,…

























