Sure, there are only seven titles in today’s roundup — but if you plan to listen to them all, it might take you a couple of days. How come? There’s only one way to find out:
Mott The Hoople
All The Young Dudes 50th Anniversary Edition
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Legendary rock act Mott The Hoople celebrate the 50th anniversary of their landmark album All The Young Dudes with a limited-edition deluxe box set, featuring newly remastered audio, rare mixes, session tracks and more. Originally released in the U.K. on Sep. 8, 1972, the title track (penned by David Bowie) became their highest-charting hit single. The record also included their definitive cover of Lou Reed’s Sweet Jane, alongside the inventive and suggestive Momma’s Little Jewel, the Rolling Stones-styled Jerkin Crocus and Mick Ralphs’ heartfelt Ready For Love. Mott The Hoople’s fifth studio album remains a special and vital record. Cited as an inspiration from artists from Queen, The Clash and KISS to Primal Scream, Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard — whose frontman Joe Elliott remains a devoted fan.
Les Rallizes Dénudés
Baus ’93
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Baus ’93 contains the storied comeback performance from Baus Theater in Kichijoji, Tokyo, which took place on Feb. 13, 1993 in what was their first live appearance in five years. Baus ‘93 follows the widely acclaimed worldwide release of Citta ’93, which captured the Rallizes’ fiery gig that took place four days later at Club Citta in Kawasaki. Newly mixed and mastered by Makoto Kubota, Baus ’93 features the previously unheard live recording meticulously restored using the original eight-channel digital multitrack masters, as well as additional sources including cassettes recorded off of the mixing board and from the audience. The Rallizes’ lineup at Baus Theater consisted of Takashi Mizutani (vocals, guitar), Katsuhiko Ishii (guitar), Kiyohiro Takada (bass), Toshiro Mimaki (drums). Featuring a rhythm section different from the lineup heard at Club Citta, the band on Baus ’93 performed with an approach and intensity that took the performance to new levels.”
Omar Rodríguez-López
Amor de Frances
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Only very few songwriters and arrangers have succeeded in leaving their mark on several generations with their compositions and their performances. Omar Rodríguez-López is one of these exceptional artists. Within 20 years, multi-instrumentalist and mastermind Rodríguez-López released multiple solo records on top of his works with The Mars Volta, At-The Drive In, Bosnian Rainbows, De Facto and Antemasque. Pending somewhere between jazz, prog, Latin, alternative, electronica and classical, his music covers an impressively wide range of genres. His complete solo works from 2004-2024 will now be honored with the impressive vinyl box set Amor de Frances — a 57-album package including records that have only been digitally available until now, along with two previously unreleased records. The collection contains highlights like the collaborative record with John Frusciante, the chaotic but beloved Cryptomnesia, the more accessible Solar Gambling or a classic like the early Se Dice Bisonte, No Bùfalo. All records in this extraordinary collection are pressed on black, recycled vinyl. Most of the cover artworks were recreated as close as possible to the original releases, but some of the records have also been given a completely new design at Omar’s personal request.”
Various Artists
Burn On The Bayou: A Heavy Underground Tribute To Creedence Clearwater Revival
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Burn On The Bayou is a Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute album featuring 32 bands heavy bands like War Cloud, KIND, Great Electric Quest, High Priestess, Kabbalah, Stonebirds, Thunder Horse, Void Vator, Cities of Mars, Kyle Shutt (The Sword) and many more. About the compilation, Ripple Music label founder Todd Severin says: “I chose Creedence Clearwater Revival for our first compilation because I wanted to do something different. I didn’t want to do Sabbath, Lizzy or such because bands have such reverence for them that they would turn in their best take on Sabbath or Lizzy. I wanted a band with amazing songs, that the bands could make their own, and boy did they. Plus Creedence Clearwater Revival is rooted in the sludge of the swamp, an aesthetic that plays well to stoner/doom bands. And to really bring out the swamp in the songs, the whole project was mastered by Kent Stump of the legendary swamp rockers Wo Fat.”
Various Artists
The Faithful: A Tribute to Marianne Faithfull
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The benefit album The Faithful: A Tribute to Marianne Faithfull, sports 19 spirited selections from Marianne’s songbook, including Tracy Bonham’s take on 1964 chart-topper As Tears Go By, a duet of her arrangement of Working Class Hero between Cat Power and Iggy Pop, plus Shirley Manson (Garbage) and Peaches’ cover of 1979’s Why D’Ya Do It and a rendition of This Little Bird by Tanya Donelly (Belly, Throwing Muses) and the Parkington Sisters, is now streaming. “Their interpretations of songs that I have recorded and performed over the course of my 60-plus year career is incredibly moving,” says Marianne. Everyone involved with this tribute record has graciously and enthusiastically donated their talent, time and energy so that all proceeds go directly to the British Invasion hitmaker as she recovers from Long COVID.”
Sonny Vincent
Primitive 1969-1976
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “American guitarist and vocalist Sonny Vincent was the founder of New York punk heroes Testors and bandmate of Bobby Liebling in the doom metal band The Limit. Primitive 1969-1976 is a collection of recordings from his early proto-metal days. Vincent was truly ahead of his time, and the world is finally catching up. These are incredible snapshots from the N.Y.C. music scene in the pre-77 punk era that defied definition. These tracks all show the foundation on which Vincent’s appeal was built: Ripping guitar riffs, raw energy, and soulful, authentic vocals from the gutters of New York. Criss-crossed between heavy-handed biker rock and thug rock supreme, dripping with chain grease and burnt skin, a true ball-crushing, tit-ripping rock ’n’ roll gem for the ages, sadly unreleased and completely unknown during its time. Compiling rarely heard rocking tracks from Distance (1969-71), Fury (1972) and Liquid Diamonds (1973-75), as well as one of the earliest Testors demos from 1976, this LP collection shines a light on one of New York City’s darkest corners of proto-metal history.”
Neil Young
Before & After
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “On his new album Before And After, Neil Young has approached a totally eclectic collection of mostly obscure songs like a painter with a new palette. Picking from a vast array of his originals, Young chooses favorites from his playbook like a trip into his music history and performs them mostly alone, taking a solo acoustic journey to a new place. Each of the songs blend and create one continuous flow, clocking in at a 48-minute pure and intimate listening experience. Produced by Lou Adler and Young and mixed by Young and Niko Bolas, aka The Volume Dealers, this is unlike any other album he has released to date. Young describes it as “songs from my life, recently recorded, (that) create a music montage with no beginnings or endings… The feeling is captured, not in pieces, but as a whole piece — designed to be listened to that way. This music presentation defies shuffling, digital organization, separation. Only for listening. That says it all.”
