Johnny Mathis, You Light Up My Life/Mathis Magic and The Best Days of My Life (Funky Town Grooves) You Light Up My Life/Mathis Magic: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. The Best Days of My Life: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Funky Town Grooves has not one, but two, releases from the legendary Johnny Mathis! You Light Up My Life (1978) joins the never-before-on-CD Mathis Magic (1979) on one disc, while FTG's The Best Days of My Life expands the 1979 album with five bonus tracks, two of which are
Burt Bacharach, Together? — Original Soundtrack Recording / Toomorrow: From the Harry Saltzman-Don Kirshner Film “Toomorrow” — Original Soundtrack Recording / The Mamas and the Papas, A Gathering of Flowers / Brotherhood, The Complete Recordings / Smith, A Group Called Smith/Minus-Plus / Troyka, Troyka / Jim Reeves, A Beautiful Life — Songs of Inspiration / The Grateful Dead, Dick’s Picks Vol. 20 — Capital Centre, Landover, MD 9/25/76 — Onondaga County War Memorial, Syracuse, NY 9/28/76 (Real
In the tradition of similar boxes for Deep Purple (released by EMI in 2002) and Dio (released by Universal last year), Universal will release a 19CD box set replicating the singles offering by hard rock outfit Rainbow. Formed toward the end of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's tenure with Deep Purple in 1975, Rainbow was a meticulously-coordinated rock band, inspired by the chord progression of classical music and with a lyrical bent toward medieval imagery. Adding greatly to the mix was the
Arcade Fire, Scenes from the Suburbs (Merge) Last year's Grammy winner for Album of the Year is newly expanded with two unreleased tracks and a bonus DVD documentary. (Official site) Various Artists, Mightier Than the Sword: The Ronnie James Dio Story (Sanctuary U.K.) This new double-disc set, in honor of the late, beloved metal singer, is the first to compile just about every band Dio ever sang for - Elf, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven and Hell. (Official
Ronnie James Dio passed away in 2010, but his spirit has lived on rather nicely in the world of reissues. In recent years, Universal in the U.K. has released expansive deluxe editions of the vocalist's work with Black Sabbath and Rainbow, not to mention a few archival releases through his own estate's Niji Entertainment Group. Now, Universal Music Catalogue will add another compilation to the mix for U.K. fans - one which covers, in two discs, all of the artist's major-label acts. Mightier Than
Billy Joel, Live at Shea Stadium: The Concert (Columbia/Legacy) The best of the Shea Stadium farewell shows on two CDs and a DVD or Blu-Ray. Not my favorite Joel show, but it's now yours for the buying. (Official site) Neil Diamond, The Bang Years 1966-1968 (Columbia/Legacy) Two Bang LPs (and one non-album single) on a nicely put-together disc - hopefully the first of many deserved tributes to the Solitary Man on the eve of his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. (Official site) Simon
As if there weren't enough catalogue options on everyone's plates, here come three more hard-rock reissues - one from Jethro Tull and two from Rainbow. EMI/Capitol is releasing a deluxe edition of Jethro Tull's sophomore LP Stand Up (1969). The first album of JT's in which Ian Anderson had total control over the musical direction was thus a departure from the band's bluesy debut, This Was, opting instead for more of a folk sound. This set will be an expanded three-disc set with a bonus live
The loss of Ronnie James Dio resounds greatly in the world of metal. The famed vocalist, best known for his time in Black Sabbath and his own eponymous band Dio, had a powerful voice that few in the hard rock spectrum could compete with. He was a prolific talent who left behind not only a lot of influences, but a lot of catalogue work from a half-century(!) of recording. That's right: Dio first got his start way back in 1957 as a bassist for The Vegas Kings, a teen-rock outfit that saw plenty