New Releases (CDs / vinyl)
| Artist: | Title: | Label: |
| The Avett Brothers | “Live Vol. Four” (CD/DVD combo captures the band’s New Year’s Day 2014 concert at Raleigh’s PNC Arena, with two new songs, “Satan Pulls the Strings” and “Rejects in the Attic”) | (Republic) |
| Baroness (stoner metal band) | “Purple” (producer: David Fridmann; second single: “Shock Me”; Hear here; MP3) | (Abraxan Hymns) |
| Chris Brown | “Royalty” (album is named after his daughter; new single: “Zero”; Hear here; Deluxe Edition; MP3) | (RCA) |
| Cage the Elephant | “Tell Me I’m Pretty” (producer: Dan Auerbach; Hear here; Vinyl; MP3) | (RCA) |
| Ludwig Goransson | “Creed (Original Motion Picture Score)” (MP3) |
(WaterTower Music) |
| Kid Cudi | “Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven” (released digitally on Dec. 4; four songs were co-written by Mike Judge; producers: Kid Cudi, Plain Pat; second single: “Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven”; MP3) | (Wicked Awesome / Republic) |
| L.A.F. | “Project 87” (producers: De Knight, Stevie Keith; guest: Boogie Bryan; first single: “Year of the Dope”; Hear here; MP3) | (HippieValley, Dec. 22) |
| Monica | “Code Red” (guests: Timbaland, Lil Wayne, Missy Elliott, Akon, Laiyah; first single: “Just Right for Me”; Hear here; MP3) | (RCA) |
| Ennio Morricone, et al | “Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” (Hear here; MP3) | (Verve) |
| Pusha T | “King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude.” (guests: Jill Scott, The-Dream, Beanie Sigel, Kehlani, Ab-Liva; new single: “M.F.T.R.”; Hear here; MP3) | (G.O.O.D. Music / Def Jam) |
| Various artists | “Brooklyn (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” | (Lakeshore) |
| John Williams | “Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” (J.J. Abrams-directed film opens Dec. 18; See here; MP3 ) |
(Walt Disney) |
More Releases for Dec. 18, 2015
New Releases (MP3s)
| Artist: | Title: | Label: |
| Before Their Eyes (post-hardcore band from Findlay, Ohio) | “Midwest Modesty” (producers: Craig Owens, Nick Ingram; first single: “We Won’t Make the Same Mistake Again,” feat. Hotel Books; Hear here) | (InVogue) |
| The Bloodhound Gang | “Hard-Off” (guest: Joey Fatone; Hear here) | (Jimmy Franks Recording Company) |
| Cartel | “Bare Essentials” (acoustic versions of 11 of the band’s best-known songs; producers: Zack Odom, Kenneth Mount; Hear here) | (ZK Productions, Dec. 21) |
| Cowboy Troy | “Saloons on Neptune” (Hear here) | (Heart Songs for Veterans) |
| James Newton Howard | “Concussion (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” | (Sony Classical) |
| Pacing Pluto (alt-rock trio from Plainville, Conn.) | “Another Bright Idea” (first single: “Queens of Spring”; Hear here) | (Niveo) |
| Various artists | “Joy (Music From the Motion Picture)” (21 songs, including songs by The Rolling Stones, Bee Gees, The Ronettes, etc., and Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes does a version of Cream’s “I Feel Free”; Jennifer Lawrence film opens Christmas Day; Hear here; See here) | (ABKCO) |
| (Z) (futuristic soul artist) | “For the Mad Ones” (seven-song EP; Hear here) | (Z) |
More Digital Releases for Dec. 18, 2015
Reissues (CDs / vinyl)
| Artist: | Title: | Label: |
| Electric Light Orchestra | “Eldorado [Vinyl]” (1974 album), “A New World Record [Vinyl]” (1976 album), “Out of the Blue [Vinyl]” (1977 double album) | (Epic / Legacy) |
| Maynard Ferguson | “Storm” (1982 album; remastered; Hear here), “Live From San Francisco” (1983 show at the Great American Music Hall; Hear here) | (Omnivore Recordings) |
| Cass McCombs | “A Folk Set Apart” (19-song anthology is subtitled “Rarities, B-Sides & Space Junk, Etc.”; Vinyl; Hear/read here) | (Domino) |
| New Grass Revival | “Live in Illinois 1978” (with Sam Bush) | (Hotspur) |
| Pantera | “The Complete Studio Albums 1990-2000” five-CD box set; Vinyl) | (Rhino / Atlantic) |
More Releases for Dec. 18, 2015
Reissues (MP3s)
| Artist: | Title: | Label: |
| Sarah Brightman | “Rarities I,” “Rarities II,” “Rarities III” | (Nemo) |
| James Brown | “I’m Real (Expanded Edition)” (1988 album; with 10 bonus tracks) | (Legacy Recordings) |
| Benny Goodman | “Meeting at the Summit” (1965 album) | (Columbia / Legacy) |
| Billy Griffin (former Miracles lead singer) | “Respect (Expanded Edition)” (1982 album; with four bonus tracks) | (Columbia / Legacy) |
| Isaac Hayes | “Presenting Isaac Hayes” (1968 album), “Ultimate Isaac Hayes: Can You Dig It?” (2005 compilation; 32 songs) | (Stax) |
| Phyllis Hyman | “Phyllis Hyman (Expanded Edition)” (1977 album; remastered, with five bonus tracks), “You Know How to Love Me (Expanded Edition)” (1979 album; remastered, with seven bonus tracks) | (Arista / Legacy) |
| Kongos | “Kongos” (2007 album) | (Epic / Legacy) |
| The Lemon Pipers | “Green Tambourine” (1968 album), “Jungle Marmalade” (1968 album) | (Buddah / Legacy) |
| Lynyrd Skynyrd | “Twenty” (1997 album), “Edge of Forever” (1999 album), “Then and Now” (2000 album) | (Sanctuary) |
| Burr Tillstrom with Fran Allison | “Kukla, Fran & Ollie” (1965 album), “Songs by Kukla, Fran and Ollie” (1965 album) | (RCA / Legacy) |
| Dionne Warwick | “No Night So Long (Expanded Edition)” (1980 album; remastered, with two bonus tracks), “How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye (Expanded Edition)” (1983 album; remastered, with six bonus tracks), “Finder of Lost Loves (Expanded Edition)” (1985 album; remastered, with 12 bonus tracks) | (Arista / Legacy) |
| Jesse Colin Young | “Song for Juli” (1973 album), “Songs for Christmas” (2008 album) | (Kani Kapila Music, LLC) |
More Digital Releases for Dec. 18, 2015
DVD / Blu-ray
| Artist(s)/cast: | Title: | Studio: |
| Halle Berry | “Extant: The Second Season [DVD]” (Blu-ray) | (Paramount) |
| William S. Burroughs | “Burroughs: The Movie (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]” (1983 documentary, directed by Howard Brookner; Blu-ray) | (Criterion Collection) |
| Tom Cruise | “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation [DVD]” (2015 film; Blu-ray) | (Paramount) |
| Dexter Darden, Dylan O’Brien, et al | “Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials [DVD]” (2015 film; Blu-ray + DVD) | (20th Century Fox) |
| Placebo | “Placebo MTV Unplugged [DVD]” (filmed on Aug. 19, 2015, at London Studios in the U.K.) | (UMe) |
| Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell, Toby Kebbell | “Fantastic Four [DVD]” (2015 film; Blu-ray) | (20th Century Fox) |
| Mark Wahlberg, Seth MacFarlane, et al | “Ted 2 [DVD]” (2015 film; Blu-ray + DVD) | (Universal Studios) |
| Malala Yousafzai | “He Named Me Malala [DVD]” (2015 documentary) | (20th Century Fox) |
Complete List of Upcoming DVD/Blu-ray Releases
Music Books
| Subject/ Author(s): | Title: | Publisher: |
| Stephen Sondheim | “On Sondheim: An Opinionated Guide” (Hardcover; author: Ethan Mordden) | (Oxford University Press, Dec. 17) |