STE's Best Reissues of 2024
A list of 70 compilations, collections, box sets and reissues that caught my ear this past year.
And now for the best old music of 2024!
What follows is a list of the 70 compilations, collections, expansions, box sets and simple old-fashioned reissues that made an impression on me this past year. As always, if something did not make my list I either: a) didn't hear it. b) didn't care for it. c) forgot about it.
Faces—Faces at the BBC: Complete BBC Concert & Session Recordings (1970-1973) [1970-1973]
All the surviving BBC sessions from the world's greatest rock & roll band spread across eight CDs (and one BluRay). Full review on my newsletter
Neil Young—Neil Young Archives, Vol. III [1976-1987]
Neil Young's messy middle age is documented in detail in this third volume of his ongoing Archives. Full review at my newsletter.
Why Don't You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964-1965 [1964-1965]
Lou Reed, the early years: a collection of his time as a rock & roll writer for hire at Pickwick Records. An absolute delight. Review at an earlier newsletter.
Jon Savage's The Secret Public: How the LGBTQ+ Aesthetic Shaped Pop Culture 1955-1979 [1955-1979]
Revelatory double-disc collection that illustrates how queer culture shaped the pop music mainstream. (Note: this compilation accompanies a new book of the same title by Savage; I haven't read it but it looks excellent.
Paul McCartney & Wings—One Hand Clapping [1974]
An official release of the audio portion of McCartney's scrapped television special captures an early incarnation of Wings at a raw, rocking peak. Full review
Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner—Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs' [1966]
A galvanizing unreleased concert from 1966, one that finds Henderson and Tyner testing the boundaries of hard bop. My review is at an earlier newsletter.
Elvis Costello—King of America and Other Realms [1985-2024]
A six-disc box documenting Elvis Costello's journeys through the byways of Americana. My full exploration is here.
Pour a Little Sugar On It: The Chewy Chewy Sounds of American Bubblegum 1966-1971 [1966-1971]
A triple-disc set from Cherry Red that follows a very broad definition of bubblegum, one that encompasses both the Velvet Underground and Melanie, a description that plays more convincingly than it reads.
Ween—Chocolate and Cheese [30th Anniversary] [1994]
A bright spot in a tough year for Gene and Dean Ween was the release of an expanded 30th Anniversary edition of their 1994 masterpiece Chocolate and Cheese. I went into detail in this newsletter, which was blocked on several social media sites due to my inclusion of the 30-year-old cover art.
Popscene: From Baggy to Britpop 1989-1994 [1989-1994]
A four-disc history of the beginnings of Britpop wisely doesn't start way back in the 1960s but with the Happy Mondays ushering the neo-psychedelia of Baggy. Most of the big names are here but the delight lies in the also-runs and forgotten singles, such as "Apple Green," a song from the Milltown Brothers that sounds like a dry run for Oasis's "Up in the Sky"
Gastr Del Sol—We Have Dozens of Titles [1993-1998]
The '90s post-rock outfit takes care of unfinished business on this exquisite set of rare and unreleased recordings. More on an old newsletter of mine.
Dave Edmunds—Swan Songs: The Singles 1976-1981 [1976-1981]
"I Hear You Knocking" is nowhere to be found on this double-disc set but this is nevertheless the peak of Dave Edmunds, the era when his retro-rock seemed vital, vibrant, even edgy. These also are the years when he co-led Rockpile with Nick Lowe and while nothing from Seconds of Pleasure, the only official Rockpile record, is here, Lowe is heard throughout this collection, helping to steer Edmunds in a snappy pop direction. Of special note is the non-LP "Boys Talk," a new wave rocker that's a pseudo-answer song to "Girls Talk."
Jon Savage's 1983-1985: Welcome to Techno City (1983-1985) [1983-1985]
The latest installment in Jon Savage's cultural chronicle of the last 25 years of the 20th Century covers the height of New Pop, the birth of indie, and the rise of techno by hip-hop. It's so electro that R.E.M.'s "Crazy" arrives as a bracing concluding jolt.
New Jill Swing 1988-94 [1988-1994]
Bob Stanley offers an alternate history of New Jack Swing that focuses entirely on women artists. A wonderful release that I explored in detail over here.
Miles Davis—Miles In France 1963 & 1964: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8 [1963-1964]
The birth of the Second Great Quintet is chronicled on the eighth volume of the Miles Davis Bootleg Series. I wrote it up in this newsletter.
Didn't I Blow Your Mind?: Thom Bell and the Sound of Philadelphia Soul 1969-83 [1969-1983]
Bob Stanley compiles twenty productions and arrangements from Thom Bell from the golden age of Philly Soul, nicely balancing standards with deep cuts.
The Waterboys—1985 [1984-1985]
A six-disc box documenting the creation of This Is The Sea, one that's as captivating as it is exhaustive. I wrote about it here.
Kay Adams—The Girl in the Little Pink Mack [1966-1968]
A collection of recordings the Bakersfield country singer cut live-in-the-studio for use on the syndicated television program the Buck Owens Ranch Show. By nature, these tracks are short—the longest is 2:46, most clock in well under two minutes—but that helps keep the energy level high.
The Police—Synchronicity [Super Deluxe] [1983]
The first extensive trawl through the Police archives proves surprisingly entertaining and enlightening, particularly regarding the trio's writing process. This also features the lamest version of Chuck Berry's "Rock and Roll Music" I've ever heard. More at this old newsletter.
Sonic Youth—Walls Have Ears [1985]
The first official release of a classic live Sonic Youth boot from 1985, one that finds the group hitting their stride as they workshop EVOL and add drummer Steve Shelley. I wrote it up over here.
Bob Dylan & The Band—The 1974 Live Recordings [1974]
A behemoth, even if all the sets from the Band have been excised, The 1974 Live Recordings contains 27 discs of live recordings from the tour that brought Bob Dylan back to the stage after a long hiatus. Before the Flood, the double-album souvenir from this tour, sounds a bit strident, suggesting that this collection could be exhausting…and it is, if you plow through the set without a break. A judiciously paced trawl through the box helps focus attention on the vigor and passion Dylan & the Band demonstrated during the first legs of the tour, although cherry-picking any individual show from the set tends to be a pleasurable experience.
Groove Machine: The Earl Young Drum Sessions [1965-1977]
Excellent collection spotlighting the house drummer for Philadelphia International and Salsoul Records at their respective peaks. Wrote it up in this newsletter.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse—Early Daze [1969]
A wildly enjoyable collection capturing Neil & the Horse at their garagiest. More over here
David Bowie—Rock N Roll Star! [1971-1972]
A box set that rounds up demos, live material, BBC Sessions, outtakes and other assorted rarities surrounding the creation and release of The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. More over here.
Wayne Shorter--Celebration, Vol. 1 [2014]
The first installment in a planned series of unreleased recordings from the Wayne Shorter vaults features a fantastic performance from the Stockholm Jazz Festival in 2014. I wrote about it in this newsletter.
Lone Justice—Viva Lone Justice [1993-2024]
Unreleased recordings from the proto-Americana outfit, cut while singer Maria McKee reteamed with Lone Justice while making her first stab at the album that became You Gotta Sin to Get Saved. Wrote it up over here.
Skeeter Davis & NRBQ—She Sings, They Play [1981-1985]
A remarkably casual and fun collaboration, expanded with six bonus tracks by Omnivore Records. I wrote about it in this newsletter.
Tsunami—Loud Is As [1991-1997]
The complete works of the seminal '90s indie-rockers. More over here.
Little Feat—Feats Don't Fail Me Now [50th Anniversary Edition] [1974]
The easy-rolling, occasionally hard rocking, 1974 album from Little Feat is given an anniversary edition featuring a fine disc of outtakes and an excellent live show. More here.
Beatin' on Country Music [circa 1960s]
A Bear Family set that focuses on British Invasion bands covering American tunes that veer toward country: the Downliners Sect tackle Buck Owens's "Above and Beyond," the Searchers do Don Gibson's "Sea of Heartbreak," etc. Sometimes the awkwardness is the most enjoyable thing about the collection.
The Devil Rides In: Spellbinding Satanic Magick & Rockult 1967-1974 [1967-1974]
Satan loomed large not only in the hard rock of the early album-rock era: folkies, art addicts, pomped-up prog, and even pop practitioners dabbled in Magick, as this triple disc set from Cherry Red makes clear.
John Barry—Something's Up! Film, TV & Studio Work 1964-1967 [1964-1967]
