In the Moonlight: La-La Land Returns with New Williams Expansion, Unused Score Releases

Not long after La-La Land Records issued one of their best archival soundtrack batches for Black Friday 2022, they made a stunning proclamation: after one release in January, the label would take a long break. Any third-party music licensing post-COVID has been a challenge, and the label sought to take a breather, offer some great sales, restock some old favorites and let the rights and clearance pipelines unclog with time. And unclog they have! The label’s first batch of titles in nearly five months includes a special expansion of an underrated score…

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The Weekend Stream: April 22, 2023

Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there’s plenty of great new/old music to usher you into the weekend. Follow up your Record Store Day with a few digital versions of the latest exclusive vinyl releases, plus rare live material from Bruce Springsteen, rare studio material from Little Richard, one of Billy Joel’s first bands, a new way to hear an old favorite by The Police and even more! Billy Joel, Live At The Great American Music…

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The Weekend Stream: February 25, 2023

Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there’s plenty of great new/old music to usher you into the weekend. A veritable bonanza of titles feature an expanded album by Sting, two classic Madonna 12″s, a George Michael-produced rarity, a first-time duet by a country legend and a soul icon, a new recording of a late-period classic from Hollywood’s most famed composer, and so much more! Sting, Ten Summoner’s Tales (Expanded Edition) (A&M/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon) Sting’s camp…

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The Weekend Stream: February 18, 2023

Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there’s plenty of great new/old music to usher you into the weekend. Today, Joe and Mike are sharing the latest from the Stream: new posthumous singles from Burt Bacharach and Olivia Newton-John, a new song from Ben Folds, a demo from Sting and more – plus a way you can voice your support for members of the LGBTQ+ community who need it. Burt Bacharach & Elvis Costello, “You Can Have…

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A Big Enough Umbrella: ‘Ghost in the Machine’ Picture Disc Details a “Lost” Police Release

For most fans of The Police, the story of their penultimate album, 1981’s Ghost in the Machine, is pretty cut and dried. But a forthcoming picture disc release hints at a road not taken for the beloved LP. On November 4, UMC will reissue the record with its “original” expanded track list that was apparently shortened at the last minute. In addition to the inclusion of three non-album tracks – the haunting tracks “I Burn for You” and “Once Upon a Daydream” (released on the soundtrack to Brimstone & Treacle and the…

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The Weekend Stream: October 15, 2022

Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles.  There may be no CD or vinyl, but there’s plenty of great new/old music to usher you into the weekend – including a few surprise digital expansions from some ’80s U.K. legends, holiday remixes, a lost fitness favorite and more! Sting, …Nothing Like the Sun (Expanded Edition) (A&M/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon) This week marked the 35th anniversary of Sting’s second solo album, and UMe commemorated the occasion (much like they did the 30th anniversary of follow-up The Soul…

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Release Round-Up: Week of July 8

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles out today! George Michael, Older: Deluxe Edition (Legacy) 5CD/3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada George Michael’s third solo album – and the one he believed to be his finest – returns from Legacy Recordings in a new 5CD/3LP edition and a 2LP set.  This expansion of 1996’s Older features both the remastered album and the EP Upper (included with reissues of the album in 1997) on 180-gram vinyl and CD, along with an additional three CDs featuring 27 B-sides, live tracks,…

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The Weekend Stream: March 26, 2022

En Vogue, Funky Divas (Expanded Edition) (Elektra/Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon) The R&B quartet’s sophomore album, released in 1992, was their biggest, featuring the Top 10 pop hits “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It),” “Giving Him Something He Can Feel” (a cover of Aretha Franklin’s Curtis Mayfield-penned classic from the film Sparkle) and the rock-oriented “Free Your Mind.” This digital expansion offers an additional eight vintage remixes. Sting, Russians (Guitar/Cello Version) (A&M) (iTunes / Amazon) An affecting song from Sting’s solo debut The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985) has, of course,…

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Trimondo Blondomina: ‘The Police Around the World’ Set for First Release in 40 Years

It’s not every day you see a big piece of catalogue get loosed from the jaws of rights holding or format availability – which is why we’re extremely pleased to pass on the news that, four decades after its original release, The Police’s first video album is coming back into print. The Police Around the World, a travelogue/live chronicle showcasing Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers on their ascent to the mantle of biggest band in the world, will get its first release on DVD and Blu-ray on May 20. In addition…

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The Weekend Stream: February 12, 2022

Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there’s plenty of great new/old music to discover! Michael Giacchino, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack/Expanded Edition) (Walt Disney Records) (iTunes / Amazon) A genuine, out-of-nowhere surprise: a generous expansion of Oscar-winner Giacchino’s score to the first Disney-era Star Wars spin-off in 2016, about the ragtag group of Rebels who stole the plans for the Death Star right before the original movie. The composer subtly mixes…

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Release Round-Up: Week of March 19

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Neil Young, After the Gold Rush: 50th Anniversary [Vinyl + 7″ Box] (Reprise) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) This 50th Anniversary remastered edition of Neil Young’s classic album was released on CD in December; now the vinyl version arrives.  The set includes two different recordings of the outtake “Wonderin’” on the bonus 45.  The A-side was recorded in March 1970 in Topanga (previously heard on Archives Vol. 1) while the B-side is a previously unreleased performance.  The box is rounded out with and…

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Setting Sail to the Island of Souls: Sting’s ‘The Soul Cages’ Receives Digital Expansion

A surprise archival release from Sting dropped this weekend: a digital expanded edition of his third solo album, The Soul Cages, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this month. A deeply-felt song cycle, The Soul Cages found Sting simultaneously looking backward and forward. In the studio, he reunited with producer Hugh Padgham, who’d overseen The Police’s Ghost in the Machine and Synchronicity; he also diversified his backing band, picking up session guitarist Dominic Miller – his musical right hand ever since. (Saxophonist Branford Marsalis and keyboardist Kenny Kirkland return from Sting’s original solo band; other musicians include drummer…

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We’ll Be Together: Sting Preps New Duets Collection

While known as a singular performer – even his stage name is one word – Sting’s next album is a collection of (mostly) previously released collaborations with other artists. But don’t expect Duets to be a simple compilation of hits: only three of these tracks are from the former Police frontman’s studio albums (four, if you count deluxe editions). Everything else is from Sting’s guest appearances on albums by others and the occasional soundtrack appearance. Highlights include his 1999 hit “Desert Rose,” recorded with Algerian rai singer Cheb Mami; “Don’t Make Me…

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Release Round-Up: Week of November 15

Welcome to another installment of Release Round-Up!  Here’s what’s on the way this week. David Bowie, Conversation Piece [Various Formats] (Parlophone/Rhino) Conversation Piece box set: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Space Oddity 2019 Mix CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Space Oddity 2019 Mix LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada “Space Oddity” 360 Reality Audio single: Amazon HD / TIDAL / Deezer Links TBD The 5-CD box Conversation Piece traces David Bowie’s development as a songwriter and performer throughout 1968-1969 with home demos, BBC sessions, and studio recordings with his friend and collaborator John “Hutch” Hutchinson and the mime group Feathers. The box also…

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Shape Of His Heart: Sting To Expand This Year’s ‘My Songs’ With Live Bonus Disc

Sting spent this year releasing and touring an unconventional collection of his own songs – and now, he’s reissuing it with a bonus disc of live material. My Songs found the venerable singer-songwriter revisiting his catalogue – both solo and with The Police – on an album that included revisited versions of his greatest hits. Some were remixed, some were re-recorded, but all showcased the influence of the man born Gordon Sumner for several decades running. Indeed, beyond chart-toppers like The Police’s “Message In a Bottle” and “Every Breath You Take,” there…

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Put On The Red Light: New Box Collects The Police’s Studio Recordings (UPDATED WITH CD INFO)

UPDATE (9/26/2019): Just short of a year after this vinyl box set was issued, A&M/UMe will issue a CD version with the same contents on November 8. Amazon links are below! ORIGINAL POST (11/12/2018): Over the course of just five albums released between 1978 and 1983, The Police synthesized pop, rock, New Wave, and world music sounds including, most notably, reggae into a style all their own.  Incorporating influences of punk and jazz into the mix, their sound still reverberates today.  Vocalist-bassist Sting, guitarist Andy Summers, and drummer Stewart Copeland called it…

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Release Round-Up: Week of May 24

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! America, Classic Album Collection: The Capitol Years (Capitol/Caroline) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) All six of America’s Capitol albums are collected in one newly remastered box set.  Classic Album Collection: The Capitol Years presents newly remastered versions of 1979’s Silent Letter, 1980’s Alibi, 1982’s View from the Ground, 1983’s Your Move, 1984’s Perspective, and 1985’s In Concert in one deluxe, affordable package complete with a booklet.  It’s been compiled by America archivist Jeff Larson and remastered by Andy Pearce.  Read all about it…

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Release Round-Up: Week of April 20

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Who, Live at the Fillmore East 1968 (UMe) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The Who’s April 6, 1968 concert from New York’s Fillmore East gets its first-ever official release just in time for its 50th anniversary.  For the occasion, it’s been restored and fully remixed from the original four-track tapes by longtime Who engineer Bob Pridden, who was responsible for the mix heard that night in the Fillmore East. The 2-CD iteration of…

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Can’t Stop This Thing He Started: Bryan Adams Plans New “Ultimate” Set

Bryan Adams is releasing a new compilation encapsulating the best of his 35-plus-year career into one disc. Ultimate, available November 3, features 21 tracks including two new recordings, the single “Please Stay” and “Ultimate Love.” The Canadian singer/songwriter/photographer’s biggest hits are here, including some of his biggest breakthrough singles during the ’80s (“Cuts Like a Knife,” “Heaven,” “Summer of ’69”), soundtrack smashes from the ’90s and ’00s and two tracks from his most recent album, 2014’s Get Up!, which paired Adams and longtime songwriting partner Jim Vallance with the instantly recognizable production…

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Got Love If You Want It: More Record Store Day 2017 Essentials

Record Store Day’s 10th anniversary couldn’t be anything less than big. And with articles devoted to April 22’s RSD releases from David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Omnivore Recordings, Legacy Recordings, Prince, Warner Music Group and Real Gone Music, you might wonder what there’s left to say before the big day. But you’d be wrong! We’ve scoured the list to find another 23 must-have titles hitting the vinyl racks at fine independent music stores next month. Which of these favorites are on your list? The Art of Noise, Moments in Love/Beat Box…

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Release Round-Up: Week of November 11

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up!  It’s another big week for box sets from classic rock’s heaviest hitters, and much, much more… Bob Dylan, The 1966 Live Recordings (Columbia/Legacy)  (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) 36 discs of music from Bob Dylan’s 1966 world tour – every recording of the tour known to exist – are brought together on this monumental new collection.  Read our full review here! Bob Dylan, The Real Royal Albert Hall Concert (Columbia/Legacy) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K./ Amazon Canada) This two-CD set culled from the box set presents Dylan’s historic…

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Release Round-Up: Week of September 30

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Rolling Stones, The Rolling Stones in Mono (ABKCO) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The Rolling Stones in Mono captures, on 15 CDs or 16 LPs, the original mono albums released on both sides of the Atlantic between 1964 and 1969 including the exceptionally rare mono editions of Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967), Beggars Banquet (1968) and Let It Bleed (1969).  Exclusive to the box is Stray Cats, a single-CD/double-LP collection of mono single-only material and odds and ends,…

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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…

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Release Round-Up: Week of December 15

The Kinks, Anthology 1964-1971 (BMG/InGrooves, 2014) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Producer Andrew Sandoval (the recent The Monkees: Super Deluxe Edition) helms this kink-sized 5-CD kollection of hits, demos, interviews, alternate mixes, session outtakes, 25 previously unavailable tracks, an exclusive 7-inch single and copious, new liner notes! Dionne Warwick, Finder of Lost Loves: Expanded Edition (Arista/Funky Town Grooves) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) This 2-CD edition of Warwick’s 1985 album features a bonus disc with 12 additional tracks – three rare single versions and nine previously unreleased recordings, including the Barry Gibb-produced Heartbreaker outtake “Broken…

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“Lethal Weapon” Box, “Superman Returns” and More Due from La-La Land

La-La Land never fails to amaze when it comes to Black Friday. The soundtrack label often saves some of its biggest and highest-profile titles for announcements on the shopping weekend (see 2010, 2011 and 2012) – and this year is no different, with two premiere releases of acclaimed scores, an expanded edition of a superhero sequel and a box set devoted to one of the biggest action film franchises of all time. First up: call them slobs, call them jerks, call them gross – just don’t call them when you’re in trouble!…

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