News Catch-up 25 September 2023

Welcome back everybody. You may have noticed that we were away for a little longer than usual, but we can assure you that the wait was worth it, because there are some absolutely brilliant upcoming releases for us to talk about. Let's start off with some Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan, and more Bob Dylan!

To celebrate the 45th anniversary of Bob Dylan's legendary live concerts at the Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo, Japan, a special 4 CD box set is being released, containing two complete performances recorded on February 28 and March 1, respectively.

Bob Dylan At Budokan was originally released in 1978 and contained excerpts from the two shows. The new box set sees original engineer of the album, Tom Suzuki, return to remix and remaster the audio from the original 24-channel multi-track analog tapes. In his own words: "We mixed the record with the keyword 'passion' in mind. The result is a mix that surpasses the original 1978 release, providing a crisper and clearer sound where each instrument and Bob Dylan's voice are distinctly audible."

The CDs are contained within a deluxe box along with physical merch including:

• replica concert tickets
• replica pamphlet and flyers
• posters
• 60-page full-colour photo book containing previously unreleased photos and exclusive liner notes.

Bob Dylan The Complete Budokan 1978 deluxe 4 CD box set is expected to release in late November and is available to pre-order HERE.

Accompanying the release of the CD box set will be an exclusive double LP release titled Another Budokan 1978. This double record serves as a 'highlight edition' and contains 16 previously unreleased tracks.

Bob Dylan Another Budokan 1978 vinyl 2 LP is available to pre-order HERE.

And yet another Bob Dylan title will be releasing around the same time.

Mixing Up The Medicine is a vinyl compilation meant to serve as a companion to the book of the same name. The record contains some of the best tracks from Dylan's 60-year career, including Hurricane, Like A Rolling Stone, and All Along The Watchtower.

Bob Dylan Mixing Up The Medicine vinyl LP is available to pre-order HERE.

Dire Straits The Live Albums 1978 - 1992 is a 12 LP box set focusing on the band's live recordings, set to coincide with the 40th anniversary of their show at Hammersmith in 1983, immortalized in the live album Alchemy. 

The box set will feature:

• Newly remastered versions of Alchemy and On The Night, both of which are currently unavailable on vinyl (Alchemy was last pressed in the mid 80's, On The Night was last pressed for the original release in 1993).
• An expanded version of Alchemy to include the existing digital/CD tracklist which includes Love Over Gold and the extended versions of Telegraph Road, Solid Rock and Going Home, with the addition of the full length performance of Portobello Belle (an edit of which was released on the Money For Nothing compilation in 1998) as well as the unreleased songs from the performance – Industrial Disease and Twisting By The Pool (3LP)
• An expanded version of On The Night to include tracks performed during the tour which have never been released, taken from multitrack recordings of shows in Nimes, Rotterdam and Paris: Tunnel Of Love, Telegraph Road, Sultans Of Swing, Two Young Lovers, When it Comes To You, I Think I Love You Too Much. (4LP)
• The EP Encores (remastered for Black Friday 2021) (12” EP)
• Licenced 1995 collection Live At The BBC (1LP)
• The unreleased Dire Straits Live from the Rainbow Theatre show, 1979 – mixed by Guy Fletcher, and featuring guest performances from Phil Lynott and Tony de Meur on the last four tracks of the set (3LP)
• Brand new booklet featuring a new essay by journalist Paul Sexton – ‘Making Milestones: The Momentous Road Years Of Dire Straits’

Dire Straits The Live Albums 1978 - 1992 vinyl 12 LP box set is expected to release in late November is available to pre-order HERE.

Dolly Parton, the musical icon who needs to introduction, is released her magnum opus, Rockstar, later this year. This new 4 LP album contains 30 tracks which includes 9 originals and 21 covers. Joining Dolly on this amazing record are some of the most talented and equally iconic musicians in the industry such as:

• John Fogerty
• Peter Frampton 
• Kid Rock
• Sting
• Miley Cyrus
• Elton John
• Mick Fleetwood
• Debbie Harry
• Pink
• Paul McCartney
• Ringo Starr

And more!

Dolly Parton Rockstar vinyl 4 LP is expected to release in early December and is available to pre-order HERE.

And last, but not least: 

This year also sees the 50th anniversary of David Bowie's legendary covers album, Pinups. Filled with renditions of songs from Pink Floyd, The Who, The Kinks, and more; Pinups has made its mark in music history as one of the most energetic and hard-partying glam album from Bowie's extensive discography.

The new limited edition that is being released for the 50th has been cut on a customised late Neumann VMS80 lathe with fully recapped electronics from 192kHz restored masters of the original master tapes, with no additional processing on transfer. This new half-speed version has been cut by John Webber of AIR Studios.

David Bowie Pinups 50th anniversary half-speed mastered vinyl LP is expected to release in late October and is available to pre-order HERE.