New stuff (CDs / vinyl)
| Artist: | Title: | Label: |
| Alborosie & King Jammy | “Alborosie Meets King Jammy – Dub of Thrones” (21st century dubmaster is paired with the original king of dub; See/read here; Vinyl) | (Greensleeves / VP) |
| Antigone Rising | “Whiskey & Wine Vol. II” (five-song EP; Hear here; MP3) | (Blackheart) |
| Ava Luna | “Infinite House” (first single: “Billz”; Hear here; Vinyl; MP3) | (Western Vinyl) |
| Avid Dancer | “1st Bath” (first single: “All Your Words Are Gone”; Hear here; MP3) | (Grand Jury) |
| Randy Bachman | “Heavy Blues” (producer: Kevin Shirley; guests: Neil Young, Peter Frampton, Joe Bonamassa, Robert Randolph, the late Jeff Healey; See here; MP3) | (Linus Entertainment) |
| The Blow Monkeys | “If Not Now, When?” (first single: “‘OK, Have It Your Way”; Hear here; MP3) | (U.K. – Blow Monkey Music, April 13) |
| Calexico | “Edge of the Sun” (guests: Neko Case, Sam Bean, Ben Bridwell, Nick Urata; first single: “Cumbia de Donde”; Hear here; Vinyl; MP3; MP3 Deluxe Edition, with six bonus tracks) | (ANTI- / City Slang) |
| Sabrina Carpenter (stars on Disney Channel’s “Girl Meets World”) | “Eyes Wide Open” (producers: Brian Malouf, Matt Squire, Matthew Tishler, Captain Cuts, Jordan Higgins, John Gordon; first single: “We’ll Be the Stars”; Hear here; MP3) | (Hollywood) |
| The Damnwells | “The Damnwells” (producer: Salim Nourallah; Hear here; MP3) | (Rock Ridge Music) |
| Dance Gavin Dance | “Instant Gratification” (producer: Kris Crummett; first single: “On the Run”; Hear here; Vinyl; MP3) | (Rise) |
| The Doughboys (1960s-era N.J. garage rock band) | “Hot Beat Stew” (Hear here; MP3) | (Ram) |
| Lila Downs | “Balas y Chocolate” (producers: Paul Cohen, Downs, Aneiro Taño; guests: Juan Gabriel, Juanes; first single: “Patria Madrina”; Hear here; MP3) | (RCA) |
| Earl Sweatshirt | “I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside” (released digitally on March 23; guests: Da$H, Wiki, Na-kel, Vince Staples; first single: “Grief”; Hear here; See here; MP3) | (Tan Cressida / Columbia) |
| Eels | “Royal Albert Hall” (two-CD, one-DVD concert film; See here; Vinyl; MP3) | (PIAS America) |
| Flash Bastard | “Wild” (Hear here; MP3) | (Metropolis) |
| Halestorm | “Into the Wild Life” (producer: Jay Joyce; first single: “Apocalyptic”; Hear here; Vinyl; Deluxe Edition; MP3; MP3 Deluxe Edition) | (Atlantic) |
| Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree drummer) | “Cheating the Polygraph” (Hear here; MP3) | (Kscope) |
| Beth Hart | “Better Than Home” (Hear here; See here; Vinyl; MP3; MP3 Deluxe Edition) | (Provogue / Mascot Label Group) |
| Greg Holden | “Chase the Sun” (producer: Greg Wells; first single: “Hold On Tight”; Hear here; Vinyl; MP3) | (Warner) |
| The Ides of March | “The Ides of March: Last Band Standing – 50th Anniversary Collection” (five-disc CD/DVD box set, featuring special videos, live concert tapings, special guests, vintage recordings and some new songs; Hear here; See here) | (Baker & Taylor) |
| JeConte (world music-blues singer/harp player) | “Down By the Bayou” (producer: Anders Osborne; guest: Osborne; Hear here; MP3) | (Red Parlor) |
| Kodaline | “Coming Up For Air” (producers: Jacknife Lee, Jim Eliot, Steve Harris; first single: “Honest”; Hear here; See here; Vinyl; MP3) | (RCA) |
| Kenny Lattimore | “Anatomy of a Love Song” (first single: “Love Me Back”; Hear here; MP3) | (Sincere Soul / eOne Music) |
| The Lilac Time | “No Sad Songs” (Hear here; Vinyl; MP3) | (Tapete) |
| Little Texas | “Young For a Long Time” (the country group’s first album since 2007; features two bonus tracks; Hear here; MP3) | (Goldenlane) |
| Charles Lloyd | “Wild Man Dance” (a live recording of a long-form suite commissioned by the Jazztopad Festival in Wroclaw, Poland; Hear here; Vinyl; MP3) | (Blue Note) |
| Local H | “Hey, Killer” (producer: Andy Gerber; Hear here; MP3) | (G&P) |
| Lotus Crush (led by Scottish singer Terry McDermott, runner-up on “The Voice” in 2012) | “Rabbit Hole” (the band features two former members of Candlebox; producer: Todd Buman; first single: “Hearts and Minds”; Hear here; See here; MP3) | (CaviGold) |
| Lulu | “Making Life Rhyme” (Hear here) | (U.K. – Decca, April 13) |
| Reba McEntire | “Love Somebody” (producers: Tony Brown, McEntire, James Stroud, Doug Sisemore; songwriters include Brandy Clark, Rhett Akins, Shane McAnally, Sam Hunt and Ashley Gorley; first single: “Going Out Like That”; Hear here; MP3) | (Nash Icon Music / Big Machine) |
| Shawn Mendes (16-year-old Toronto native) | “Handwritten” (new single: “A Little Too Much”; Hear here; Read here; MP3; MP3 Deluxe Edition) | (Island) |
| Mighty Oaks (Berlin-based indie-folk trio) | “Howl” (Hear here; See here; Vinyl; MP3) | (Astralwerks) |
| The Mowgli’s | “Kids in Love” (producer: Tony Hoffer; first single: “I’m Good”; Hear here; MP3) | (Photo Finish / Republic) |
| Pale Blue | “The Past We Leave Behind” (first single: “The Past We Leave Behind”; Hear/read here; Vinyl; MP3) | (2MR / Captured Tracks) |
| David Phelps | “Freedom” (producers: Phelps, Bill Gaither; Hear here; MP3) | (Gaither Music Group) |
| Spirit Family Reunion | “Hands Together” (producers: Spirit Family Reunion; mixed by Paul Q. Kolderie; Hear here; Vinyl; MP3) | (Spirit Family Reunion) |
| Stranger Cat (Brooklyn-based duo) | “In the Wilderness” (guests: Sufjan Stevens, Christopher Powell, Darby Cicci, Reggie Pace; new single: “Unzip Your Skin”; Hear here; MP3) | (Joyful Noise Recordings) |
| Suuns and Jerusalem In My Heart | “Suuns and Jerusalem In My Heart” (first single: “Gazelles in Flight”; Hear here; Vinyl; MP3) | (Secretly Canadian) |
| Villagers | “Darling Arithmetic” (first single: “Courage”; Hear here; Vinyl) | (Domino) |
| The von Trapps (four great-grandchildren of the Captain and Maria von Trapp) | “Dancing in Gold” (four-song EP; Hear here) | (Heinz) |
| Hank Williams III | “Take As Needed For Pain” (guests: David Allan Coe, Rebel Meets Rebel; Hear here; Vinyl) | (Curb) |
| The Wombats | “Glitterbug” (producers: Mark Crew, The Wombats; Hear here; Vinyl; MP3) | (14th Floor / Warner) |
| Dwight Yoakam | “Second Hand Heart” (producers: Yoakam, Chris Lord-Alge; Hear/read here; MP3) | (Reprise) |
More Releases for the Week of April 14, 2015
New stuff (MP3s)
| Artist: | Title: | Label: |
| Rob Carlyle & The Compulsions | “Dirty Fun” (first single: “Lucky”; Hear here) | (Compulsions) |
| Christine and The Queens | “Saint Claude” (five-song EP; first single: “Tilted”; Hear here; See here) | (Neon Gold / Because Music / Atlantic) |
| Marie Davidson (Montreal electronic artist) | “Un Autre Voyage” (five-song EP; new single: “Insomnie”; Hear here; See here) | (Holodeck) |
| Lowland Hum (North Carolina duo) | “Lowland Hum” (Hear here) | (Lowland Hum) |
| The Slow Readers Club | “Cavalcade” (first single: “Forever In Your Debt”; Hear here) | (Extenso Music, April 13) |
| Stealing Sheep | “Not Real” (producers: band members Becky Hawley, Emily Lansley and Lucy Mercer; Hear here; See here; CD) | (Heavenly Recordings) |
| Tei Shi | “Verde” (five-song EP; Hear here; See here; Vinyl) | (Mermaid Avenue) |
| Tyler, the Creator | “Cherry Bomb” (guests: Charlie Wilson, Toro y Moi’s Chaz Budnick, The Black Lips’ Cole Alexander; first single: “Fucking Young/Perfect”; Hear here; See here; CD, out April 28) | (Odd Future / Columbia, April 13) |
More Digital Releases for the Week of April 14, 2015
Reissues (CDs / vinyl)
| Artist: | Title: | Label: |
| Tori Amos | “Little Earthquakes (Deluxe Edition)” (1992 album; remastered, with a second disc of rare B-sides and bonus tracks; MP3), “Under the Pink (Deluxe Edition)” (1994 album; remastered, with a second disc of rare B-sides and bonus tracks; Hear here; MP3) | (Rhino) |
| James Brown | “Playlist: The Very Best of James Brown” | (Volcano / Legacy) |
| Canned Heat with John Lee Hooker | “Carnegie Hall 1971” (with bonus track “Tease Me Baby”; Vinyl; MP3) | (Purple Pyramid / Cleopatra) |
| Freddy Cannon | “The Swan Records Story” (two CDs, 53 songs; Track list) | (U.K. – One Day Music, April 13) |
| DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince | “Playlist: The Very Best of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince” | (Jive / Legacy) |
| Ben Folds Five | “Playlist: The Very Best of Ben Folds Five” (MP3) | (Epic / Legacy) |
| Girlschool | “Glasgow 1982” (recorded at the Apollo Theater; Vinyl; MP3) | (Cleopatra) |
| Amy Grant | “Be Still and Know … Hymns & Faith” (a compilation of songs from her two hymns albums with a few new tracks; MP3) | (Sparrow / Capitol CMG Label Group) |
| Jagged Edge | “Playlist: The Very Best of Jagged Edge” | (Columbia / Legacy) |
| James | “Laid (Deluxe Edition)” (1993 album; remastered, with a second CD of B-sides, BBC sessions, rehearsal demos and previously unreleased tracks; Read here; Super Deluxe Edition, with its 1994 companion piece “Wah Wah”; Vinyl) | (Island / UMe) |
| Looper | “These Things” (five-CD retrospective; Hear here) | (Mute) |
| The Newbeats | “The Singles A’s & B’s” (two CDs, 40 songs; See here; Track list) | (U.K. – Not Now Music, April 13) |
| The Replacements | “The Complete Studio Albums 1981-1990” (eight-disc box set) | (Rhino) |
| Sviatoslav Richter | “The Complete Album Collection” (18 discs; MP3) | (Sony Classical) |
| Santana | “Playlist: The Very Best of Santana” | (Columbia / Legacy) |
| Paul Simon | “The Ultimate Collection” (19-song collection includes Simon & Garfunkel and solo hits; See here; Track list) | (U.K. – Sony, April 13) |
| Peter Tosh & Friends | “An Upsetters Showcase” (produced by Lee Scratch Perry; Track list; Vinyl; MP3) | (Cleopatra) |
| Frank Turner | “The Third Three Years” (21 non-album rarities; Hear here; MP3) | (Xtra Mile Recordings) |
| Van Halen | “Deluxe” (four-CD box set contains “Van Halen,” “1984” and “Tokyo Dome in Concert”; Vinyl) | (Rhino) |
| Various artists | “NOW That’s What I Call a Song” (three CDs, 60 songs; Track list) | (U.K. – Now!, April 13) |
| Dionne Warwick | “The Real … Dionne Warwick” (three CDs, 50 songs; Track list) | (U.K. – Legacy, April 13) |
More Releases for the Week of April 14, 2015
Reissues (MP3s)
| Artist: | Title: | Label: |
| Bobby Bare | “This I Believe” (1966 album), “The English Country Side” (1967 album, with the Hillsiders) | (RCA / Legacy) |
| Various artists | “Central African Republic,” “Central African Republic: Banda Polyphony” | (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings / Auvidis-UNESCO) |
| Various artists | “I Love House: Ministry of Sound” (26 tracks, featuring Lana Del Rey, Sam Smith, David Guetta, Disclosure, Clean Bandit, Jessie Ware, etc.) | (Ministry of Sound Recordings, April 13) |
More Digital Releases for the Week of April 14, 2015
DVD / Blu-ray
| Artist/cast: | Title: | Label/studio: |
| Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz | “Big Eyes [DVD]” (2014 film, directed by Tim Burton; Blu-ray) | (Shout! Factory) |
| Tom Berenger, Michael Pare | “Eddie and The Cruisers / Eddie and The Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! [Blu-ray]” (1983, 1989 films on one disc) | (Shout! Factory) |
| Yaya DaCosta | “Whitney [DVD]” (Lifetime Channel’s 2015 biopic, directed by Angela Bassett) | (Lionsgate) |
| David James Elliott, Catherine Bell, et al | “JAG: The Complete Series [DVD]” (55 discs) | (Paramount) |
| Steve McQueen | “I Am Steve McQueen [DVD]” (2014 documentary, narrated by Robert Downey Jr.; See here; Blu-ray) | (Shout! Factory) |
| Stephen Sondheim | “The Stephen Sondheim Collection [DVD]” (six-disc set includes “Into the Woods,” “Company,” “Sunday in the Park With George,” “Follies In Concert,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Sondheim! The Birthday Concert”) | (Image Entertainment) |
More DVD/Blu-ray Releases for the Week of April 14, 2015
Music books
| Subject/ Author(s): | Title: | Publisher: |
| Bert Berns | “Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues” (Paperback; author: Joel Selvin) | (Counterpoint) |
| Black Sabbath | “Black Sabbath: Symptom of the Universe” (Hardcover; author: Mick Wall; Kindle) | (St. Martin’s Press) |
| Elvis Costello | “Elvis Is King: Costello’s My Aim Is True” (Paperback; author: Richard Crouse; Kindle) | (ECW Press) |
| Adam Faith | “Big Time: The Life of Adam Faith” (Hardcover; authors: David and Caroline Stafford; Kindle) | (Omnibus Press, April 13) |
| Paul Hemphill and Donald F. Cusic | “The Nashville Sound: Bright Lights and Country Music” (Paperback) | (University of Georgia Press, April 15) |
| The Jesus and Mary Chain | “Barbed Wire Kisses: The Jesus and Mary Chain Story” (Kindle; author: Zoë Howe) | (Polygon, April 16) |
| Les McCann | “Invitation To Openness: The Jazz & Soul Photography of Les McCann 1960-1980” (Hardcover) | (Fantagraphics, April 19) |
| Linda McCartney | “Linda McCartney: Life in Photographs” (Hardcover) | (Taschen, April 15) |
| Gram Parsons | “Calling Me Home: Gram Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock” (Paperback; author: Bob Kealing) | (University Press of Florida) |
| The Rolling Stones | “The Rolling Stones FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the Bad Boys of Rock” (Paperback; author: Gary J. Jucha) | (Backbeat Books) |
| Mike Spitz and Rebecca Villaneda | “The Record Store Book: Fifty Legendary and Iconic Places to Discover New and Used Vinyl” (Paperback) | (Rare Bird Books) |
More Book Releases for the Week of April 14, 2015
Now See Here:
“Hold On Tight,” Greg Holden