BY JOHN M. JAMES

This Tuesday brings the new Sonic Youth album, Murray Street, influenced by the recording's interruption last fall by the Sept. 11 attacks. Named for the band's lower Manhattan studio address, which was hastily abandoned after only one month's recordings, the album features dual saxophonists Jim Sauter and Don Dietrich of Borbetomagus. The CD bears the Geffen Records imprint, while vinyl purists who discovered the band 15 albums ago on wax need not worry -- the indie Smells Like Records label is issuing a nice gatefold sleeved vinyl edition. ... After blowing XTC fan's minds with pop rocks and fizzies in their recent A Coat of Many Cupboards box set, the Caroline Records label has begun their promised reissue campaign of 10 XTC albums that originally bore the Virgin Records imprint. This Tuesday brings the first three selections from that catalog -- Go 2 from 1978, Black Sea from 1980, and English Settlement from 1982 -- all digitally remastered with bonus tracks. These rare bonus tracks are extra special, considering that the box set featured nearly 70 percent previously unreleased tracks, and these gems don't cross over any of that material. A limited-edition pressing of each CD will duplicate the original LP packaging, down to the green paper outer sleeve that covered the original UK pressing of English Settlement. ... More sugary delights are due early next month as the pop purists at Not Lame Records are finally releasing Fan Club, their much-anticipated Jellyfish box set. Clocking in at over three hours, the four-CD set is entirely composed of outtakes and rarities that coincide with their classic Bellybutton and Spilt Milk albums. From the 44 live tracks and 37 demos, highlights include interview segments, songs written for Ringo Starr, acoustic versions recorded for Japanese television and a 24-page booklet of essays. ... Similar to the budget priced samplers CDs that labels often hawk on record store countertops, next week Music Video Distribution releases a super-cheap ($7.95 or less) DVD-only collection What the Punk? The 21-track collection features an amazing array of artists that have branched out from the many limbs of the Punk ethos. Not a throwaway collection by any means, What the Punk? features ear- and eye-opening videos ranging from the Patti Smith Group's "Dancing Barefoot" and Johnny Thunders' "Born To Lose" to Psychic TV's hypnotic "Godstar" and GG Allin's "Die When You Die." Other highlights include the Butthole Surfers' "Hey" from their Blind Eye Sees All video, Richard Kern's "X Is Y," and the Dead Kennedys' "Let's Lynch the Landlord." And don't worry about the kids -- all foul language and GG Allin's bodily fluids have been deftly removed.

Releases Coming Tuesday
And like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change ... Fatboy Slim - Live On Brighton Beach (Ministry of Sound/MCA); Freestylers - Pressure Drop (Mammoth); John Wesley Harding - The Man With No Shadow (Mammoth); Juliana Hatfield - Gold Stars: 1992-2002 (Rounder); Arto Lindsay - Invoke (Righteous Babe); Nickelback - Curb (Roadrunner) domestic reissue of their first album; Nelly - Nellyville (Universal); Rollins Band - The Only Way To Know For Sure (Sanctuary) two-CD set recorded live at The Metro in Chicago this past spring; Joe Satriani - Strange Beautiful Music (Epic) featuring guest Robert Fripp of King Crimson on a cover of Santo and Johnny's "Sleep Walk"; Soulfly - 3 (Roadrunner) reunited with drummer Roy Mayorga; Geoff Tate - Geoff Tate (Sanctuary) solo debut from the Queensryche founder and vocalist; Tricky - A Ruff Guide (Island) 17-track collection culled from five albums; Vida Blue - Vida Blue (Elektra) Phish bassist Page McConnell's new side project; Wire - Read & Burn 1 (Pink Flag) all new six-track CD EP from the reunited original lineup..

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