The Beatles: 40th Anniversary Abbey Road Deluxe Vinyl Box -- Coming November 7, 2009

Now that September 9, 2009 has come and gone--and we've had an opportunity to see and hear the stereo and mono Beatles remasters on compact disc, anticipation for the remastered vinyl continues to build. With the originally rumored release date of November 14, 2009 only two weeks away, and still nothing announced regarding their release, it seems highly unlikely that we'll see anything in the way of remastered vinyl by then.

Nonetheless, in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the original release of Abbey Road, there will be a special vinyl edition of the album released on November 7, 2009. The Beatles Abbey Road Deluxe Vinyl box will include a vinyl copy of the album, a t-shirt featuring the original artwork from the 7" single Come Together/Something, and a corresponding poster. This boxset will be released on Vinyl Saturday, which is sposored by the folks behind Record Store Day and will be limited to 5,000 copies worldwide.

Sinatra: Live in Paris MFSL 180 gram vinyl

On the heels of their two excellent Sinatra releases last year, Nice 'N' Easy, and Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely, Mofi is back with the first-ever vinyl release of Sinatra: Live in Paris. In this 1962 concert, which remained unreleased until 1994, Sinatra is backed by a jazz sextet--rather than the full orchestra or big band that often accompanied him on live dates. The result is a slightly more intimate experience, where he has the chance to show off his fantastic voice as well as his charm, without the bombast that sometimes comes with a larger band.

When I first heard Sinatra at the Sands, I almost instantly developed a preference for Sinatra live. To me, his charisma and charm are fully realized in his live recordings, and while I still enjoy his studio recordings, I gravitate toward his live albums when I want to hear him. Unfortunately, his live catalog is fairly limited.