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.
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Bruce Springsteen, Nebraska ’82 (Columbia/Legacy)
4CD/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
4LP/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
It’s no surprise that, as Hollywood recounts the story of Bruce Springsteen’s most striking solo release with the film Deliver Me from Nowhere (out today), a box set tells the tale of the (literal) tape. Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings are releasing Nebraska ’82, a new box set showcasing the start-to-finish journey of Bruce’s most stark collection of songs and the attempts to record them in a way befitting of their haunting qualities. The set – four CDs or four LPs and a Blu-ray – offers two discs of almost entirely unreleased outtakes, both from that legendary home recording in Colts Neck, NJ as well as the now-mythic “electric” run-throughs of the songs with The E Street Band. Nebraska ’82 will also include a new solo performance of the album filmed by Thom Zimny earlier this year at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, NJ and will close with that classic original album, newly remastered. Read more here.
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Elton John, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy: 50th Anniversary Edition (Rocket/EMI/UMR)
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Elton John’s landmark Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy returns today with a bonus disc of unreleased material in time for its 50th anniversary. Available on CD and purple/white swirl vinyl, the album (remastered in 2016) is now paired with a second disc featuring unreleased session demo versions of five songs from the original LP (including two takes on the title track) as well as a near-full album performance of the album in Atlanta, GA in 2005, featuring additional vocals from the Voice of Atlanta Choir. The 2LP set truncates the live performance, and the 2CD package adds to the album a quartet of single-only tracks, including a cover of The Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and the smash hit “Philadelphia Freedom.” However, the vinyl packaging is expanded from what’s in the CD, offering not only the liner notes and photo scrapbook but also including never-before-seen excerpts of Elton’s own diary entries from the period. (UMR also has a D2C-exclusive purple vinyl edition of a full-album performance just after its original release at Wembley Stadium in the summer of 1975, which was included as a bonus disc of a previous deluxe edition in 2005.) Read more here.
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Frank Zappa, Halloween ’78 (Zappa/UMe) (Zappa Online Store)
Frank Zappa’s annual Halloween concerts in New York City were far more treat than trick. Now, following similar releases for his shows in 1973, 1977, and 1981, Zappa Records and UMe have released Halloween 78 on October 24 in a variety of formats. The nearly four-hour long, marathon October 31, 1978 show at the late, lamented Palladium (now the home of a New York University dormitory) is available as part of a 5CD set also including a bonus show from the beginning of the Palladium run, on October 28, 1978. The 5CD edition follows in the tradition of the past boxes in including a costume – in this case, Frank as a devil. To make the transformation complete, the box includes a mask as well as a pitchfork (!) with a UV light that will illuminate “secrets” in the package. A grimoire-style book presents Lynn Goldsmith’s photos of the evening plus liner notes by Vaultmeister Joe Travers and artwork by the team at Fantoons (who also designed the mask). Is that too much Zappa for you? (Say it ain’t so!) If so, Zappa/UMe will also release two unique-colored vinyl LPs and a 1CD edition. Lastly, a digital version will include all tracks on the 5CD set. Get the track listing and more here, and watch this space for a full review!
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Little Feat, The Last Record Album: Deluxe Edition (Warner/Rhino)
5CD: Rhino.com
4CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Little Feat’s 1975 The Last Record Album, the group’s fifth LP, will be expanded by Rhino in multiple formats. The 4CD set will pair the remastered album with a bonus disc of studio rarities (half of which are previously unreleased) along with an unissued live set at Boston’s Orpheum Theater recorded on Halloween of 1975. A 2LP set includes all the studio material in the CD box, and an exclusive bundle, available only at Rhino.com, will add a fifth CD featuring eight tracks from a live set recorded in London in the spring of 1976. The package will include new liner notes by Dennis McNally. Click here for more details, and watch this space for a full review!
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The Pogues, Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash: 40th Anniversary Edition (Pogue Mahone/Rhino)
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
The Pogues’ second album Rum Sodomy & the Lash goes deluxe as a 2CD and 2LP set (following a similar package for 1984’s Red Roses for Me, released last year) that features the original album alongside a baker’s dozen tracks of non-album studio and live material. Extras include two non-album B-sides, six live cuts (including a complete live session recorded for Janice Long’s BBC Radio 1 program) and the 1986 EP Poguetry in Motion, alongside a then-unissued cover of The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Do You Believe in Magic” from the same session. The double LP, pressed on red marbled vinyl, hits stores December 12, with the 2CD equivalent out today. Read more here.
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Neil Young, Original Release Series Discs 26, 27, 28 & 29 (Reprise, 2025)
4CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / The Greedy Hand
8LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / The Greedy Hand
After a 2+-year break, Neil Young is continuing his Official Release Series with new box sets on both CD and LP rounding up another four albums from the 1990s. ORS Vol. 6 arrives October 24 on the Reprise label with newly remastered editions of Harvest Moon (1992, ORS Disc 26), Unplugged (1993, ORS Disc 27), Sleeps with Angels (1993, ORS Disc 28), and Mirror Ball (1995, ORS Disc 29). Each disc of the limited and numbered box sets will contain the four albums with original artwork; the vinyl versions will be on two LPs each while the CDs are all single discs. Get the track listings and more here.
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Pulp, Different Class: 30th Anniversary Edition (Island/UMR)
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Released in 1995, Pulp’s fifth album became a classic of the ’90s Britpop movement. It debuted atop the U.K. charts, put four singles in the Top 10 (including “Common People” and “Disco 2000”) and won the Mercury Music Prize in 1996. For its 30th anniversary – less than a week shy of its date of original release – and following the release of their latest studio LP More. in June, Different Class has been remastered and given newly-cut lacquers by Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road (who mastered the original release with engineer Kevin Metcalfe), overseen and approved by frontman Jarvis Cocker and guitarist Mark Webber. Available on two CDs or four LPs, the remastered album comes with the premiere release of the band’s headlining set at the Glastonbury Festival in the summer of 1995, where several of these tracks had live premieres. The vinyl version recreates the original “choose-your-own cover” artwork with a 12″ x 12″ poster of scenes from the original package, while the CD is housed in a standard digipak. Both versions come with a 28-page book of liner notes, including a new essay featuring new quotes from the band and unseen archival photos. Different Class is out today in the U.K. and next Friday in North America.
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Hazell Dean, The Decca Years (Cherry Red/SFE) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Before breaking through as a dependable club act in the U.K. during the mid-’80s, Hazell Dean inked a contract with Decca in the U.K. from 1975 to 1978, issuing a series of commercially obscure but artistically striking singles with songwriter/producer/Eurovision stalwart Paul Curtis. Astoundingly, none of these tracks – 14 tracks on seven 7″ singles, plus two planned for an ultimately cancelled release – have ever made it onto CD until this release, which features fully remastered audio by Ted Carfrae and a written introduction from Dean in the liner notes.
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KISS, Dressed to Kill: 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition (UMe)
5CD/Blu-ray: Official Store
8LP/Blu-ray: Official Store
KISS’ third album was one of their most down ‘n’ dirty, recorded over 10 days at Electric Lady Studios (with Casablanca president Neil Bogart as de facto co-producer alongside the band themselves) and clocking in at a taut 30 minutes (with long, silent grooves between each song on the original vinyl). While audiences had yet to really push the made-up camp-rockers into the mainstream, Dressed to Kill was one of the strongest arguments for their future dominance yet: the LP closed with the raucous anthem “Rock and Roll All Nite,” which would be heard at just about every KISS concert to come (several of which were recorded that year for the breakthrough album Alive!). This deluxe edition of Dressed to Kill is done up to the nines, offering the album newly remastered by Bernie Grundman; 23 demos and outtakes (including unissued songs “Mistake” and “Burning Up with Fever”); two unissued 1975 concerts, newly mixed by Eddie Kramer and featuring no studio overdubs; and a Blu-ray disc featuring the original album Dolby Atmos, 5.1 surround and hi-res stereo plus newly restored promo videos of “Rock N’ Roll All Nite” and “C’mon and Love Me.” Get more details here!
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Bon Jovi, Forever: Legendary Edition (Island/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Bon Jovi has just announced new concert dates, and now he’s revisited his 2024 album Forever in a “Legendary Edition.” This version of the album features such famous guests as Bruce Springsteen, Lainey Wilson, Jason Isbell, Robbie Williams, Ryan Tedder, Avril Lavigne, and Jelly Roll as well as couple of new tracks: “Red, White, and Jersey,” and a Spanish version of “We Made It Look Easy” with Carin Leon. Available on CD, LP, and digitally.
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Jackdawg (Liberation Hall) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
After playing together in Southern Pacific, The Doobie Brothers’ John McFee and Keith Knudsen joined with Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Stu Cook as Jackdawg. Rather than continuing in the same country-rock vein as Southern Pacific, the trio embraced straight-ahead rock-and-roll for their new endeavor. McFee collaborated primarily with Cook and/or Knudsen on all of the new songs, and the band also covered Van Morrison’s “Wild Night” – McFee had played on Van’s original – and Roky Erickson’s “Cold Night for Alligators.” Now, Jackdawg’s lone album (recorded in the late 1980s and early 1990s but unreleased until 2009) is back on CD and premiering on vinyl from Liberation Hall. The reissue features new cover art as well as fresh liner notes from Bill Kopp.
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The Blasters, American Music (Liberation Hall) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Liberation Hall is revisiting The Blasters’ 1980 indie-label debut with the original artwork restored and new liner notes by Chris Morris. On American Music, The Blasters blended songs by singer-guitarist Phil Alvin and lead guitarist Dave Alvin (including “Marie, Marie,” a hit for Shakin’ Stevens, and the title track) with covers by the likes of Buddy Holly, Billy Boy Arnold, and Jimmie Rodgers. This Americana/rockabilly/roots-rock-and-roll classic has been remastered by Randy Perry and is housed in a digipak with an eight-page booklet. Liberation Hall will follow this release up on November 7 with Non-Fiction, the band’s third album. Available on CD and LP.
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Ray Charles, Love, Country Style (Tangerine) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Ray Charles’ 1970 country-flavored album comes to CD for the very first time and returns to vinyl for the first time in over 50 years. Love, Country Style finds the piano man surveying songs by the likes of Mickey Newbury and Jimmy Webb with arrangements by Sid Feller.
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America, Holiday Harmony (Green Hill) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
America’s 2002 yuletide album – the band’s 15th studio LP – returns to CD and premieres on vinyl (minus the bonus track “A Holly Jolly Christmas” which was included on the 2010 reissue). Produced and arranged by Andrew Gold, Holiday Harmony features Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell’s breezy, harmony-rich takes on Christmas classics as well as the original songs “A Christmas to Remember,” “Christmas in California,” and “Winter Holidays.”
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Carl Perkins, Some Things Never Change (Sun) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
A lost album has been unearthed from late rock and roll pioneer Carl Perkins (1932-1998). Some Things Never Change was recorded in Nashville and at Perkins’ Jackson, Tennessee pool house. Produced by Bill Lloyd, the album features original songs as well as versions of John Hiatt’s “Memphis in the Meantime” and Perkins’ old pal Johnny Cash’s “Get Rhythm.” The recordings feature Carl’s sons Stan and Greg Perkins and studio aces Jerry Douglas and Pete Finney. Available on CD, LP, and digitally.
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Horace Silver, Live at the Penthouse (Blue Note) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Blue Note unveils a recently-discovered recording of pianist-composer Horace Silver and his band (Woody Shaw on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone, Teddy Smith on bass, and Roger Humphries on drums) at Seattle’s Penthouse in 1965. Available on CD, LP, and digitally.
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Brandi Carlile, Returning to Myself (Interscope/Lost Highway) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
After high-profile collaborations with such artists as Joni Mitchell and Elton John, Brandi Carlile is returning with her eighth solo studio album and first since 2021. Returning to Myself has been co-produced with Andrew Watt (who also helmed the Carlile/John set Who Believes in Angels), Aaron Dessner, and Justin Vernon. Available on CD, LP, and digitally.
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Dion, The Rock ‘n’ Roll Philosopher (KTBA) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Dion DiMucci’s book The Rock ‘n’ Roll Philosopher came out earlier this year, and now here’s the companion audio release. The album features pals such as Eric Clapton, Joe Bonamassa, Mark Knopfler, and Sonny Landreth joining Dion for new songs and live performances of classics such as “Ruby Baby,” “Runaround Sue,” “The Wanderer,” and “Abraham, Martin, and John.” This new release from the King of the New York Streets is available on CD and digital platforms.
