60730

Marilyn Manson started out as a depraved, marginally talented group of freaks that played a caustic but undeveloped brand of metallic industrial noise. Then Trent Reznor stepped into the studio for seven months with the band, and Manson emerged with the most intense, visceral, mechanical metal album since The Downward Spiral. Antichrist Superstar is a horror-house of grisly atrocities that stains as indelibly as a bathful of warm blood. Brooding rhythms collide with corrosive samples and buzzsaw guitar riffs, while vocalist Marilyn croons irresistible melodies in the voice of a vagrant regurgitating broken light-bulb shards. Essential listening, regardless of how much input Reznor had.

Edsel is proud to present 07-11, a new collection of recordings by legendary American singer-songwriter Black Francis. Best known as the frontman of iconic alternative rock band Pixies, Black Francis' music has inspired generations of musicians from Nirvana to Radiohead. Compiled with the assistance of Black Francis himself, 07-11 gathers together eight albums from one of the most prolific periods of his career. This expansive new boxset features 129 tracks across nine CDs including five studio albums - 'Bluefinger' (2007), 'Sv n F ng rs' (2008), 'The Golem' (2010), 'NonStopErotik' (2010), and 'Paley & Francis' (2011). Plus, 'Abbabubba', a collection of B-sides, rarities and remixes, as well as two live albums 'Live In Nijmegen' and 'Live At The Hotel Utah Saloon' (which is released on CD for the very first time). All eight albums have been newly mastered for this release by Phil Kinrade at Alchemy Mastering at AIR.

Tubular Bells III is a record quite similar to Mike Oldfield's second update of the original classic, recorded just six years prior. The production methods are a bit more polished and the tone is more serious, but the music remains dreamy, somewhat overevocative new age-with-a-beat music, quite similar to Enigma – thanks to the Eastern textures of vocalist Amar on three tracks…

Blind Pig's 2002 release Mighty Joe Young is a compilation that picks from Mighty Joe Young's Ovation releases Chicken Heads (1974) and Mighty Joe Young (1976). These are generally considered to be among Young's best work, yet they have been out of print for years and never have appeared on CD. Thankfully, this collection picks the 12 best tracks from these records, bringing back into circulation the work that showcases Young at his best. While it would have been nice to have these two albums in their entirety in their original running order, the music is so good and so rare, it's nice just to have it out officially, since this is the place to go to hear him at his best.

Tony Joe White's self-titled third album, Tony Joe White, finds the self-proclaimed swamp fox tempering his bluesy swamp rockers with a handful of introspective, soul-dripping ballads and introducing horn and string arrangements for the first time. The album – White's 1971 debut for Warner Bros. – was recorded over a two-week period in December 1970, in two different Memphis studios (one was Ardent Studios, where Big Star later recorded their influential power pop albums). His producer was none other than London-born Peter Asher, who had just produced James Taylor's early hits for the label (he would continue to produce hits for Taylor and Linda Ronstadt on his way to becoming one of the most successful producers of the '70s). One can surmise that Warner Bros. may have put White and Asher together as a way for the producer to work his magic with an artist who had much promise.

Released after the studied, meticulous Flowers in the Dirt, the live acoustic concert album Unplugged was a breath of fresh air, and it remains one of the most enjoyable records in McCartney's catalog. Running through a selection of oldies – not only his own, but Beatles and rock & roll chestnuts – McCartney is carefree and charming, making songs like "Be-Bop-a-Lula" and "Blue Moon of Kentucky" (which finds Paul melding Bill Monroe with Elvis) sound fresh. But the real revelations of the record are the songs McCartney hauls out from his debut – "That Would Be Something," "Every Night," and "Junk" – which sound lovely and timeless, restoring them to their proper place in his canon. They help make Unplugged into a thoroughly enjoyable minor gem.