John Lydon’s first, best known band, The Sex Pistols, were recently the subject of a four-disc live box set. But Lydon’s most lasting ensemble, Public Image Ltd., will celebrate two of their most beloved albums as newly expanded deluxe editions this fall. On October 28, PiL and Universal will release expanded editions of 1979’s Metal Box and 1986’s Album. Each will be presented as 4CD or 4LP boxes, featuring the remastered albums, B-sides, rare live tracks, alternate mixes and outtakes. Metal Box, featuring Lydon, guitarist Keith Levene and bassist Jah Wobble, who’d…
Warm Ride: HNE Collects Graham Bonnet’s Pre-Rainbow Albums Including Lost LP
Cherry Red’s Hear No Evil Recordings imprint has returned to the catalogue of Graham Bonnet with a pair of recent releases. Before stepping into the role vacated by Ronnie James Dio in Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, the big-voiced Bonnet had cut a number of records in a pop/R&B, rather than a hard rock, vein. HNE has reissued and expanded the vocalist’s never-before-released 1974 DJM album Back Row in the Stalls on one CD, as well as Graham Bonnet (1977) and No Bad Habits (1978) on a two-fer. In addition to his considerable accomplishments, Graham…
There In The Spotlight: R.E.M. Expands “Out of Time” for Its 25th Anniversary
Back in December, it was announced that Concord Bicycle Music had picked up the rights to R.E.M.’s Warner Bros. catalogue. Now, the first major reissue project from that deal has been announced: a remastered 25th anniversary deluxe edition of the band’s most successful album Out of Time to be released on November 18. This new package will be released in several configurations: a 3 CD/1 Blu-ray set, a 2-CD set, a 3-LP set, a single LP of the original album and as a digital download. Out of Time was R.E.M.’s second Warner Bros. album,…
Release Round-Up: Week of August 26
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Beach Boys, Becoming The Beach Boys: The Complete Hite and Dorinda Morgan Sessions (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) This 2-CD set, a tie-in with Jim Murphy’s recent book Becoming The Beach Boys 1961-1963, chronicles the earliest years of America’s Band. Featuring 62 tracks (over 40 previously unreleased), Omnivore’s CD is released in conjunction with The Beach Boys’ Brother Records, and features all of the extant session material and masters for the band’s earliest recordings (including embryonic versions of “Surfin’,” “Surfer Girl” and “Surfin’ Safari”). Watch for…
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Release Round-Up: Week of August 19
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Turtles, The Complete Original Album Collection (Manifesto/FloEdCo) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The definitive Turtles box set is here! The Complete Original Albums Collection presents all six albums released by The Turtles between 1965 and 1970, expanded with rare bonus material. Each of the group’s first three albums — It Ain’t Me Babe, You Baby and Happy Together — is presented in its original mono and stereo mixes, while each of the remaining three — The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands, Turtle Soup and Wooden Head -boast rare bonus tracks, including previously…
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The Best of the Atlantic Years
A new Twisted Sister compilation celebrates their loudest hits as they celebrate their fourth decade together with one last tour. The Best of The Atlantic Years, a 19-track compilation containing their best ’80s tracks (plus an unreleased cover of Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild,”) accompanies their “Forty and Fuck It” Tour, one last major touring trek with Snider, Ojeda, French, Mendoza and former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy (replacing A.J. Pero, who died of a heart attack in 2015).
Stay Hungry: Twisted Sister Release New Career Compilation
A new Twisted Sister compilation celebrates their loudest hits as they celebrate their fourth decade together with one last tour. Most know Twisted Sister–the Long Island-based quintet famously comprised of vocalist Dee Snider, guitarists Eddie “Fingers” Ojeda and Jay Jay French, bassist Mark “The Animal” Mendoza and drummer A.J. Pero–for their catchy riffs and over-the-top fashion sense (notably Snider’s wild blonde mane and made-up face). This is, of course, what earned them constant rotation on MTV with teen-riot hits like “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock.” But, as recently…
You Remind Me Of The Sun: New Collections Arrive from Jeff Larson, Jeffrey Foskett
More than fifty years have passed since John Phillips so vividly encapsulated the California myth with The Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin’,” but the Golden State continues to inspire artists with its promise of eternally sunny days. The strains of “California music” are as varied as the state’s regions, from surf to punk to psychedelia to country to metal. Despite changing times and changing tastes, however, richly melodic pop-rock has never gone out of fashion in California. Two recent anthologies from veteran artists (and collaborators) Jeff Larson and Jeffrey Foskett showcase…
The Studio Collection
This new 11-LP set covers all of Sting’s eight solo albums between 1985 and 2013 in deluxe fashion, featuring meticulously recreated packaging, new vinyl masters cut at Abbey Road Studios for all albums, and the debuts of both Brand New Day (2000) and Sacred Love (2003) on the vinyl format. The box comes ahead of Sting’s ninth solo LP, the rock-oriented 57th & 9th (which the press release states will “complete” The Studio Collection – we’re currently unclear if that means there’s room for it in the box when it debuts November 11).
The Black Parade/Living with Ghosts: 10th Anniversary Edition
The 10th anniversary of My Chemical Romance’s dark concept album The Black Parade will be celebrated as a deluxe 2CD or 3LP set, featuring a bonus disc of 11 unreleased demos and outtakes entitled Living with Ghosts. Final versions of “My Way Home is Through You” and “Kill All Your Friends” were issued as B-sides, and lead track “The Five of Us Are Dying” is an early version of the title track.
I Would Die 4 Blu: Prince’s Filmography Coming to High Definition Video
While fans may still have to wait some time for archival Prince material to emerge from that fabled vault, there will be at least one release ready for the holidays: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has announced The Prince Movie Collection, featuring all three of his feature films on Blu-ray with newly remastered picture, due out this fall. Of course, Purple Rain needs nearly no introduction: the stylized, vaguely autobiographical feature starred Prince as “The Kid” alongside his band, The Revolution; a potential protégée (Apollonio Kotero); and a bitter rival (the comically villainous…
Saviors of the Broken: My Chemical Romance Expand “The Black Parade,” 10 Years On
Ten years after My Chemical Romance released their magnum opus The Black Parade, the New Jersey emo-punk heroes will revisit it in a special double-disc set featuring a host of demos and outtakes. After the success of their major-label breakthrough, 2004’s dark, hook-filled Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, My Chemical Romance went a little deeper for their follow-up. Inspired by Queen and Pink Floyd sonically and The Beatles and David Bowie in terms of visualization, the band effectively morphed into the titular band for a concept album about a cancer patient’s last…
All This Time: Sting to Issue Vinyl Box Set
Can’t get enough of the vinyl resurgence? Looking to bone up on the solo works of Sting ahead of his first rock album in nearly 15 years? A new box set has got you covered. A&M/Interscope will release The Studio Collection, an 11-LP set covering all of Sting’s eight solo albums between 1985 and 2013, on September 30. The set, which features meticulously recreated packaging, new vinyl masters cut at Abbey Road Studios and the debuts of both Brand New Day (2000) and Sacred Love (2003) on the format, comes ahead of…
Chapter and Verse
Bruce Springsteen releases a companion CD to his long-awaited autobiography Born to Run. He has selected the 18 career-spanning tracks on Chapter and Verse, including five previously unreleased songs from his pre-E Street Band days (1966-1972)!
Out On The Run Tonight: Bruce Springsteen to Release Companion Album to Autobiography With 5 Unreleased Tracks
Being in the public eye for over 40 years and being one of the biggest rock stars on the planet for much of that time, there has been much written and documented about Bruce Springsteen – from articles to interviews to documentaries to books. But despite some of his songs having some personal content, The Boss had never sat down to tell his own story. Happily, this fall, Springsteen’s autobiography Born To Run is released by Simon and Schuster on September 27. Four days before that, on September 23, Columbia will release a companion 18-track…
Release Round-Up: Week of July 22
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Dio, A Decade of Dio 1983-1993 (Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) A Decade of Dio 1983-1993 collects all six studio albums released by Warner Bros. and Reprise in the first decade of the band Dio’s soaring career. Formed by Ronnie James Dio and drummer Vinny Appice after their split from Black Sabbath in 1982, the group first gained prominence with the title track of debut Holy Diver, a staple of MTV and a recurring metal cult classic. Decade features new remasters of all this…
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They Say It’s Wonderful: Real Gone September Slate Includes Robert Goulet, Porter Wagoner and The Meters
Even though summer has just begun, Real Gone Music is already looking toward the end of the season with its September releases. As per the label’s norm, the artists represented span a wide range of styles and genres. We’ve already told you about the Second Disc Records/Real Gone release of The Isley Brothers’ lost Groove With You…Live! album. Joe has also written the liner notes for another of Real Gone’s September offerings: Robert Goulet’s 2-CD The Definitive Collection. Joe put together and wrote the notes for Goulet’s Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings back in 2014. This…
Release Round-Up: Week of July 15
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Little Richard, Mono Box: The Complete Specialty and Vee-Jay Albums (Concord/Specialty) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) This new, 5-LP vinyl box set collects all of the studio albums that Little Richard recorded for both the Specialty and Vee-Jay labels between 1957 and 1965. The mono albums, each replicating the original label and jacket art, have been remastered from analog tapes. A 16-page booklet featuring new liner notes by Bill Dahl, plus era-specific photos, rounds out the collection. Read more here! Diana Ross, Diana Ross…
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Review: Everclear’s First Two Capitol Releases on Audiophile LP from Intervention
Joining its sonically and visually beautiful releases from the likes of Stealers Wheel and Joe Jackson, Intervention Records has recently released deluxe 180-gram audiophile pressings of Everclear’s first two proper Capitol albums: Sparkle and Fade (1995) and So Much for the Afterglow (1997). These are the two albums that first put the trio of Art Alexakis (guitar and vocals), Greg Eklund (drums) and Craig Montoya (bass guitar) on the map and made Everclear a major part of the alternative rock movement that swept through popular music during the 1990s. While typically grouped…
Release Round-Up: Week of July 8
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! John Coltrane, The Atlantic Years in Mono (Atlantic/Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Rhino’s new box set, available on both CD and LP, includes original mono mixes of Trane’s Giant Steps; Bags & Trane (with Milt Jackson); Ole Coltrane; Coltrane Plays The Blues and The Avant Garde (with Don Cherry) plus one disc of outtakes. All of these remastered albums are housed in replica jackets and a 32-page booklet is also included with new liner notes by Ashley Kahn and photos by Lee Friedlander. The CD version has…
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Town + Country
Omnivore offers a 30th anniversary expanded edition of The Rave-Ups’ Town + Country. The band may be best known for its appearance in the film Pretty in Pink, but this reissue proves there’s plenty more to the group. The reissue of this lost Americana classic produced by Stephen Barncard (Grateful Dead’s American Beauty) features the original 10 songs, plus 11 previously unissued bonus tracks–including live radio performances recorded for Deirdre O’Donoghue’s KCRW-FM program Snap and material produced by Steve Berlin (Los Lobos) and longtime Beach Boys associate Mark Linett. The Rave-Ups’ Jimmy Podrasky supplies the…
Release Round-Up: Week of June 23
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Bangles, Ladies and Gentlemen…The Bangles! (Omnivore) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Ladies and Gentlemen…The Bangles!, first released digitally in 2014, features all of the band’s pre-Columbia studio material, plus four unreleased demos, two live tracks and other odds and ends! It arrives in stores from Omnivore just before Susanna Hoffs, Vicki Peterson and Debbi Peterson hit the road again! Read more here! Laura Nyro, Eli and the Thirteenth Confession Hybrid Quadraphonic SACD (Audio Fidelity) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) The classic 1968 album…
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Crossroads Revisited: Selections From The Crossroads Guitar Festivals
On this new 3-CD set, Eric Clapton is joined by a cadre of top guitar heroes including Jeff Beck, Gary Clark Jr., Robert Cray, Billy Gibbons, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, John Mayer, Carlos Santana, Joe Walsh, Ronnie Wood, and Jimmie Vaughn. Crossroads Revisited features 41 tracks of landmark performances from all four Crossroads Guitar Festivals, which were held in 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013 – and most of these selections have not previously appeared on CD.
Human Highway: Director’s Cut
Neil Young premieres the restored “Director’s Cut” of his 1982 film Human Highway, starring Young, Dennis Hopper, Devo, Sally Kirkland, Russ Tamblyn and Neil’s co-director Dean Stockwell, on DVD and BD. Audio is presented in 5.1 and stereo mixes.
Earth
Neil Young teams with Lukas and Micah Nelson’s band Promise of the Real for a new quasi-live album. Earth features live performances of songs from 2015 drawing on Young’s albums including The Monsanto Years, Ragged Glory, and After the Gold Rush. The live tracks feature musical overdubs, as well as “sounds of the earth” (car horns, insect noises, and sounds from bears, birds, crickets, bees, horses, cows, frogs, etc.). Young describes it as “Ninety-eight uninterrupted minutes long, EARTH flows as a collection of 13 songs from throughout my life, songs I have written about living here on our…
