The Year That Was: Best Reissues of 2019
The Year That Was: Best Reissues of 2019
Like so many other aspects of the music business, the reissue industry appeared to be somewhat in flux during 2019. Apart from Greatest Hits albums, which have largely disappeared thanks to the rise of streaming playlists, variations of all the usual reissue suspects remain: handsome, expensive box sets, super deluxe editions of classic records, anniversary editions of beloved albums, vinyl revivals and various artists collections spotlighting certain eras, labels or scenes. There just seemed to be just a little fewer titles than in year's past.
Some of that feeling is due to how some of the major labels aren't digging deep into their vaults, preferring to concentrate on superstars. Some of these releases paid back great dividends: the Bob Dylan Bootleg Series continues to surprise, it remains a delight that the Beatles are finally offering expanded editions of their albums, and it's a wonder that there still is terrific Elvis Presley material being unearthed in 2019. It's also true that it's likely that only a major could fund my pick for favorite/best reissue of the year, the extraordinary set Woodstock: Back To The Garden, which is a triumph of archival work and historic preservation.
In either its extensive (and limited) The Definitive 50th Anniversary Archive edition--which contains virtually the entire festival over the course of 38 CDs--or in its slimmed-down, affordable 50th Anniversary Experience edition, Woodstock: Back To The Garden reveals that commonly-held perceptions about the festival were wrong. Bands who were cut out of the 1970 Michael Wadleigh documentary are restored and often sound much better than their reputation; listen to the Creedence Clearwater Revival set, released separately by Craft, or the Band concert added as a bonus to the 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition of The Band for proof.
To me, this is what an archival release should do: it should offer a sense of discovery and surprise, challenging or offering new dimensions to an existing catalog or perhaps expanding it as well. Needless to say, it's also good if they're fun to hear, as well. Most of the following 2019 reissues hit these marks and I recommend seeking them out.
(Editor's Note: I'm well aware that a list of 100 reissues kind of undercuts my central thesis that there were fewer reissues this year, but I still stand by that assessment. There is definitely a slowing of physical reissues across the board.)
Woodstock: Back To The Garden [Archive Editon]
The Bakersfield Sound
Jobcentre Rejects: Ultra Rare New Wave Of British Heavy Metal 1978-1982
Nat King Cole—Hittin' The Ramp: The Early Years (1936-1943)
Ronnie Lane—Just for a Moment: Music 1973-1997
Stereolab Deluxe Edition Reissue Series: Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements, Mars Audiac Quintet, Emperor Tomato Ketchup, Dots and Loops, Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage In The Milky Night, Sound-Dust, Margerine Eclipse
Jon Savage's 1969-1971: Rock Dreams On 45
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood [Original Soundtrack]
Bob Dylan—Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings
Prince—1999 [Super Deluxe Edition]
Three Day Week: When The Lights Went out 1972-1975
Roger C. Reale & Rue Morgue—The Collection
The Daisy Age
The Replacements—Dead Man’s Pop
Cadillac Baby’s Bea & Baby Records
All the Young Droogs: 60 Juvenile Delinquent Wrecks
Peter Laughner—Peter Laughner
Bob Dylan—Travelin' Thru, 1967-1969: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 15
Elvis Presley—Live 1969
World Spirituality Classics 2: The Time For Peace Is Now
The Beatles—Abbey Road [50th Anniversary]
Mike McGear—McGear [deluxe]
Gong—Love from the Planet Gong
John Coltrane—Blue World
James Brown—Live at Home With His Bad Self
Neil Young & Stray Gators—Tuscaloosa
Chick Corea—Now He Sings, Now He Sobs
Prince—Originals
Harry Nilsson—Losst and Founnd
Across The Great Divide: Getting It Together In The Country 1968-1974
Tangerine Dream—In Search of Hades: The Virgin Recordings 1973-1979
Bill Evans—Evans in England
Land of 1000 Dances: The Rampart Records 58th Anniversary Complete Singles Collection
Jimi Hendrix—Songs for Groovy Children
Ann Arbor Blues Festival 1969, Vols. 1 & 2
Eric Dolphy—Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions
Wes Montgomery—Back on Indiana Avenue
David Bowie—Conversation Piece
R.E.M.—Monster [25thAnniversary Edition]
New Moon’s In The Sky: The British Progressive Pop Sounds of 1970
Music from Jarvis Cocker's Sunday Service
Holding Things Together: The Merle Haggard Songbook
Grateful Dead—Ready Or Not
If You’re Not Part Of The Solution: Soul, Politics and Spirituality in Jazz 1967-1975
Reggie Young: Session Guitar Super Star
The Kinks—Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) [50th Anniversary]
The Pop Genius of Mickie Most
Grateful Dead—Saint of Circumstance
Super Furry Animals—Guerilla [20thAnniversary]
Mick Ronson—Only After Dark: The Complete Mainman Recordings
Pink Floyd—The Later Years
Marvin Gaye—You’re the Man
Paul McCartney—Amoeba Gig
Gene Clark—No Other [Super Deluxe]
The Band—The Band [50th Anniversary]
American Tunes: Songs By Paul Simon
Dukes of Stratosphear—Psurroundabout Ride
The White Stripes—The White Stripes XX
Alex Chilton—From Memphis to New Orleans/Songs from Robin Hood Lane
Curtis Mayfield—Keep On Keeping On: Studio Albums 1970-1974
Soul Explosion
Mercury Rev—All Is Dream [Deluxe Edition]
Miles Davis—Rubberband
Waiting: The Van Duren Story
Steve Miller Band—Welcome to the Vault
Booker T. & The MG's—The Complete Stax Singles, Vol. 1 (1962-1967)
Pacific Northwest Fuzzbox/Pacific Northwest Stashbox
Atlanta Rhythm Section—The Polydor Years
Patrice Rushen—Remind Me: The Classic Elektra Recordings 1978-1984
Johnny Mathis—I Love My Lady
Jobcentre Rejects: Ultra Rare New Wave Of British Heavy Metal 1980-1985
Come On Let's Go! Powerpop Gems from the 70's and 80’s
Mighty Baby—At A Point Between Fate And Destiny: The Complete Recordings
Creedence Clearwater Revival—Live At Woodstock
Big Star—Live on WLIR
The Electric Banana—The Complete De Wolfe Sessions
Country Music—A Film By Ken Burns: The Soundtrack
Hootie & The Blowfish—Cracked Rear View [25thAnniversary]
Linda Ronstadt—Live in Hollywood
Ray Charles—Modern Sounds In Country & Western. Music, Vol.s 1 & 2
Glen Campbell—Legacy 1961-2017
James Taylor—The Warner Bros. Albums: 1970-1976
Van Morrison—The Healing Game
Gordon Lightfoot—Complete Singles 1970-1980
Jazz Fest: The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
John Coltrane—Coltrane '58: The Prestige Recordings
Miles Davis—The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions
Traffic — The Studio Albums
Miles Davis—The Complete Birth Of The Cool
America—Classic Album Collection
Horn Rock
The Beatles—Singles Collection
Gerry Rafferty—Who Knows What The Day Will Bring? The Complete Transatlantic Recordings
Poppies: Assorted Finery from the First Psychedelic Age
Buck Owens & The Buckaroos—The Complete Capitol Singles: 1971-1975
Janie Fricke—It Ain’t Easy: The Complete Hits
The Ramones—It's Alive [40thAnniversary Deluxe Edition]
The Doors—Soft Parade [50thAnniversary Edition]
Keith Richards—Talk Is Cheap [Deluxe Edition]
The Prime Movers—The Prime Movers Blues Band
Editor's Note: I feel like I can't rank The Prime Movers album because two of my uncles were in the band alongside a young Iggy Pop. I did want to note that a Prime Movers record has finally hit the market after a decades-long wait, since I think that's pretty cool. (I may write about this release in detail for my newsletter later.