THIS WEEK

ZZ Top: The Complete Studio Albums 1970–1990

Archival release (Warner Bros.; tour dates)

A 10-disc box set of ZZ Top’s London and Warner Bros. studio releases: ZZ Top’s First Album, Rio Grande Mud, Tres Hombres, Fandango!, Tejas, Degüello, El Loco, Eliminator, Afterburner, and Recycler. All have the original mixes — which means that those for First Album, Rio Grande Mud, and Tejas are appearing on CD for the first time. In a statement, the band members said they’re “especially delighted” that those three restorations have been incorporated: “It’s good to have been made whole again on a certain level.” Each of the 10 discs is in a wallet sleeve, with the original gatefold designs for Tres Hombres and Tejas.

The Grateful Dead: May 1977

Archival release (Dead.net)

Press release: “The Grateful Dead played more than 2,000 concerts over 30 years, but none has achieved a more mythical status than the May 8, 1977, show at Cornell University’s Barton Hall. It’s practically required listening for all probationary Dead Heads. While that show is well known, the astounding tour that surrounded it has flown largely under the radar, due to the uneven quality of tapes in circulation. Dead.net will change all of that with a box set that zeroes in on that crucial tour, one regarded as a high-water mark from the band’s long, strange trip.”

The 14-disc box includes five complete shows from consecutive stops on that spring tour, each mastered for HDCD by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering. As of the June 11 release date (following a period of pre-ordering), only 5,000 of the limited-edition 15,000 copies were left. The booklet includes liner notes for each show, period photos, and an essay by Steve Silberman.

Richard Pryor: No Pryor Restraint — Life in Concert

Archival release (Shout! Factory)

More than 12 hours of the late comedian Richard Pryor on seven CDs and two DVDs, beginning in 1966 and ending with one of his final onstage performances in 1992. A deluxe book includes rare photos and multiple essays. If you order the set directly from shoutfactory.com, you’ll also receive a previously unreleased concert CD, Live at the Comedy Store: October 1973 (while supplies last).