Start Your Ear Off Right: New Releases

Two weeks ago, we kicked off our annual Start Your Ear Off Right reissue campaign, and if this is the first you’re hearing of it, then allow us to steer you toward what we wrote about it at the start. Go ahead and read it now. We’ll wait.

All done? Fantastic! That means you’re all caught up, so we can go ahead and tell you – not to mention all the nice people who already read the previous two weeks of posts and were kind enough to politely loiter around while you finished – about this week’s new Start Your Ear Off Right releases.

And don’t forget: if you see something you like, they’re all limited edition, so don’t waste a single moment before picking up a copy for yourself!

January 24:

The Cars, MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL
1-LP picture disc, limited edition of 4,000 copies, $14.98 – It’s only a single, but as it’s one of the best singles ever released by The Cars, what are you complaining about? Plus, the B-side is “Moving in Stereo,” so just think about Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and this’ll be the best single you’ve ever bought. .

Junior M.A.F.I.A., CONSPIRACY
2-LP Set, limited edition of 3,500 copies, $29.98 – The debut album by a hip-hop group with an amazing lineup. Among the participants: The Notorious B.I.G., Lil’ Kim, Faith Evans, and Lil’ Cease. It’s gone out of print in the past, so don’t miss your chance to own a copy.

Madonna, THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION
2-LP set on blue / white marble vinyl and gold vinyl, limited edition of 6,500 copies, $34.98 – One of the best best-of collections out there, this might not be as all-encompassing as Madonna’s later retrospective, CELEBRATION, but there’s not a false step amongst the tracks.

Cheap Trick, WOKE UP WITH A MONSTER
• : 1-LP on 140-gram black vinyl, limited edition of 3,500 copies, $19.98 – Cheap Trick didn’t have a lengthy run as a member of the Warner Brothers family, but while they were here, they released this album, which is best remembered for the single “You’re All I Wanna Do.”

Foreigner, HEAD GAMES
1-LP picture disc, limited edition of 5,000 copies, $21.98 – It might not contain as many hit singles as some of the band’s other albums, but with songs like “Dirty White Boy,” “Women,” “Rev on the Red Line,” and the title track, it’s still one of the band’s best ‘70s offerings.

The Stooges, FUN HOUSE
1-LP on orange and black swirl vinyl, limited edition of 6,000 copies, $21.98 – If you’ve picked up the soundtrack to the Stooges’ documentary, GIMME DANGER, and you’re looking for a studio album by the band, here’s a great place to start. AllMusic called it "the ideal document of The Stooges at their raw, sweaty, howling peak.” They’re not wrong.