Audio Video News

Justin Roberts: Recess (Carpet Square)
He writes tough power-pop tunes. He just happens to write them for kids (read: “families,” in the preferred parlance of current “kindie” rockers). That doesn’t make these 12 tunes any less excellent. In the photo above, Justin’s the guy with the guitar, surrounded by his crackerjack band, the Not Ready for Naptime Players. They’re all ready to rock listeners of any age. So, if those back-to-school ads that are already showing up on TV have you sweating, then pack everyone in the minivan, pick a favorite drive, slide Recess into the CD slot, and (with a nod to elder statesman Alice Cooper) sing along with the chorus to Track 11: “There’s no doubt that school’s out.” Cuz, attention, all you TV mad men: It’s still summer, and school’s still out.

Marc Anthony: 3.0 (Sony Latin)
Salsa album.

Selena Gomez: Stars Dance (Hollywood)
She turned 21 on Monday, and after three pop albums with the Scene, she now turns solo and ramps up the dance indeed.

Grant Hart: The Argument (Domino)
Ex-Hüsker Dü drummer releases a 20-track concept album based on John Milton’s Paradise Lost.

Guy Clark: My Favorite Picture of You (Dualtone)
Veteran singer/songwriter’s first studio album in 4 years. The title track refers to his wife of 40 years, who died in 2012.

Sara Hickman: Shine (Kirtland)
Her primary collaborator here is L.A. producer/writer/multi-instrumentalist Jim Jacobsen.

The Winery Dogs: The Winery Dogs (Loud & Proud)
Power trio of drummer Mike Portnoy, bassist Billy Sheehan, and guitarist/vocalist Richie Kotzen.

Otis Redding: The Complete Stax/Volt Singles Collection
Archival release (Shout! Factory)
On three CDs, you get every A- and B-side from all the Otis Redding singles released in the 1960s on Stax, Volt, and Atco, during and after his lifetime—all in punchy mono, with many of the mixes appearing on CD for the first time. Among the 70 tracks are eight songs billed to Otis & Carla, taken from King & Queen, Redding’s 1967 album with Carla Thomas.

Inside the die-cut packaging are images of the front and back of each 7-inch vinyl 45, courtesy of the amazing record collection of Billy Vera. Alas, other than a page of credits, the set has no historical annotation—no essays, no track-by-track notes, not even a photograph of the singer himself. But priced at $49.98 (and currently available at Amazon.com for under $44), it’s apparently meant to be a quick, budget-friendly, one-fell-swoop enlargement of your own record collection.

OTHER REISSUES & ARCHIVAL RELEASES

The Smashing Pumpkins: The Aeroplane Flies High (Virgin/UMe)
The original version of this box, released in 1996, was a Limited Edition five-CD set that had expanded versions of the five singles from the previous year’s Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. This reissue further expands each of the discs and adds a sixth CD of live recordings from the Mellon Collie tour, increasing the audio track total from 33 to 90. Then there’s the bonus DVD, featuring a performance in Belfort, France, on July 4, 1997. The booklet includes an essay by David Wild and track-by-track notes (for the original 33 selections) by Billy Corgan. A five-LP version is also available.

Ella Fitzgerald: Best of the BBC Vaults (UMe)
Culled from previously unreleased recordings (dating from between 1965 and 1977) that were recently discovered by archivists at the BBC, this two-disc set offers 17 songs on CD and 34 on DVD. Represented on both are classics like “The Lady Is a Tramp,” “Mack the Knife,” “That Old Black Magic,” and “Sweet Georgia Brown.” The DVD has four full-length shows: two 1965 TV appearances, a 1974 concert at the London jazz club Ronnie Scott’s, and a 1977 set from the Montreux Jazz Festival.

Cannonball Adderley & Milt Jackson: Things Are Getting Better
Chet Baker: Chet Baker Plays the Best of Lerner & Loewe
Bill Evans Trio: How My Heart Sings!
Thelonious Monk & Gerry Mulligan: Mulligan Meets Monk
Wes Montgomery: So Much Guitar! (Concord)
Five more reissues in the Concord series of Original Jazz Classics Remasters. The earliest of this batch is the Monk & Mulligan, recorded in 1957, followed by the Adderley & Jackson in 1958. The Baker, Montgomery, and Evans sets are from 1959, 1961, and 1962, respectively. All sport 24-bit remastering by Joe Tarantino, new liner notes (along with the original notes by producer Orrin Keepnews), and (except for the Baker) bonus tracks.

Various Artists: Roll and Go—Chanteys and Sailor Songs from Grenada (Global Jukebox)
From the imprint of the Alan Lomax Archive comes this digital-only set of 14 tracks (10 of them previously unreleased). All of these field recordings were made by the late musicologist in the summer of 1962.—Ken Richardson