Woke Up with a Monster: Rhino’s Start Your Ear Off Right Titles Run the Gamut

SYEOR 2026

Why wait for Record Store Day? Rhino continues their January tradition of “Start Your Ear Off Right” with just over three dozen exclusive vinyl titles being released through January at independent record stores. (A small handful, linked below, are also available at Rhino’s official web store.)

The majority will be released in two waves split between last Friday (January 2) and this Friday (January 9), with five more arriving between January 23 and January 30. Altogether, this list spans all forms of rock, pop, R&B, jazz, soundtracks and even comedy. In addition to standard black and colored vinyl titles, nine are part of the Rhino Reserve series, offering albums on 180-gram vinyl prepared from lacquers cut from analogue tape sources by Matthew Luthans at The Mastering Lab. A further eight are part of Rhino’s High Fidelity vinyl series – 180-gram LPs that were AAA cut by Kevin Gray from analogue tapes and pressed at Optimal, featuring premium packaging that includes gatefold jackets and obi strips.

Without further ado, here’s a thorough rundown of each title.

January 2 (Available Now)

Alt-J, An Awesome Wave: The 2012 debut from the British indie rockers won the Mercury Prize as well as an Ivor Novello Award for album of the year. It’s newly available on recycled metallic vinyl.

America, America (Rhino Reserve): The fresh folk rock arrangements and pristine vocal harmonies helped America’s debut LP become a favored nation in record stores, topping the Billboard 200 and featuring the indelible hits “A Horse with No Name” and “I Need You.”

Cheap Trick, Woke Up with a Monster: After more than a decade with Epic Records (and bolstered someone by the slick, unlikely No. 1 “The Flame” in 1988), Rockford’s finest joined forces with Warner Bros. and producer Ted Templeman for a harder-edged, back-to-basics album. First released on vinyl in 2017, it’s now available on pink wax.

The Flaming Lips, Clouds Taste Metallic (Rhino Reserve): Following the unlikely crossover success of “She Don’t Use Jelly,” The Flaming Lips’ next album, released in 1995, was a further bid for mainstream success. Just kidding! It was weird. And it was their last to feature guitarist Ronald Jones.

Fleetwood Mac, Future Games (Rhino Reserve): For their fifth album, issued in 1971, Fleetwood Mac added two key members: along with drummer Mick Fleetwood, bassist John McVie and vocalist/guitarist Danny Kirwan came McVie’s wife Christine on keyboards/vocals and American guitarist/vocalist Bob Welch.

Steve Martin, Let’s Get Small / A Wild and Crazy Guy Comedy is Not Pretty! The Steve Martin Brothers: The complete stand-up discography of one of comedy’s undeniable icons was recently compiled in the 2024 set Steve in a Box; now, those pressings are broken out individually.

John Prine, Sweet Revenge (Rhino Reserve): Prine’s third album, issued in 1973, was one of the sharpest of his early Atlantic period, and featured the favorite track “Dear Abby.”

Rush, Vapor Trails / Feedback Snakes and Arrows: Three latter-day Rush records – the 2013 remix of 2002’s Vapor Trails (available on two LPs), the 2004 covers set Feedback and penultimate double album Snakes and Arrows (2007) – are part of the first SYEOR wave, identical to mid-’10s pressings from lacquers cut by Sean Magee.

Sturgill Simpson, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth (Rhino Reserve): The modern alt-country singer’s third album (and his first for a major label) arrived in 2016, featuring eight striking originals and a cover of Nirvana’s “In Bloom.” It took home a Grammy for Best Contemporary Country Album and remains a favorite in Simpson’s blossoming discography.

Utopia, Another Live: Todd Rundgren’s art-prog outfit commemorated a summer 1975 tour in fine fashion on Another Live. The SYEOR reissue is its first time on LP since that original release, pressed on ultra clear vinyl and featuring the set’s U.K. cover art.

Various Artists, Queen of the Damned (Music from the Motion Picture): While this sequel to Interview with the Vampire (which recast most of its principals) starred R&B hitmaker Aaliyah – a performance completed before her untimely passing in a plane crash in 2001 – the accompanying soundtrack was all nu-metal and hard rock, offering songs penned by Jonathan Davis of Korn and score composer Richard Gibbs (sung by frontmen for Static-X, Disturbed and Linkin Park) as well as cuts from Papa Roach, Deftones and others. It’s bowing on 2LP (what else?) blood red vinyl.

January 9

John Coltrane, Giant Steps Coltrane Jazz My Favorite Things Olé Coltrane Coltrane Plays the Blues Coltrane’s Sound (High Fidelity Editions): Taken from last year’s 1960-1964 vinyl box, these six extraordinary albums from the jazz innovator are some of the genre’s most important works, presented in audiophile quality: new heavyweight pressings cut from the original mono master tapes and featuring heavyweight, glossy tip-on jackets that showcase alternate French artwork with the original American sleeves reproduced on the inner gatefold as well as inserts featuring liner notes by Syd Schwartz.

The Dust Brothers, Fight Club (Original Soundtrack): A vinyl reissue you’d be forgiven for talking about, this soap-pink double LP pressing offers more than a dozen score cues from David Fincher’s lauded 1999 adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s gritty novel, composed by Mike Simpson and John King of alt-rock/hip-hop production duo The Dust Brothers (Beastie Boys, Beck, The Rolling Stones, Hanson).

Faces, Long Player / A Nod is As Good As a Wink… to a Blind Horse: The second and third albums by the British rockers, released in 1971, are sure to stay with you!

Roland Kirk, The Inflated Tear (Rhino Reserve): A few years before he added “Rahsaan” to his name, the acclaimed multi-instrumentalist was fashioning albums like this eclectic selection from 1968.

Gordon Lightfoot, If You Could Read My Mind (Rhino Reserve): The fifth album from the Canadian folkie (and first for Reprise Records) was originally titled Sit Down Young Stranger, but the worldwide success of the gentle “If You Could Read My Mind” made some changes when the tune cracked the American Top 10 in 1971.

Charles Mingus, Blues & Roots (Rhino Reserve): “I was born swinging and clapped my hands in church as a little boy,” Mingus wrote in the liner notes to this 1960 favorite, presented here in its original mono mix. “But I’ve grown up and I like to do things other than just swing.”

The Monkees, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. (High Fidelity Edition): Fresh off Rhino’s last of the major box sets devoted to the classic Monkees albums comes this new vinyl pressing, the first to be sourced from the original unaltered 1967 stereo masters (which turned up after considerable searching). Features some of the group’s best songcraft, including the Goffin-King classic “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” the Boyce-Hart winner “Words” and favorites by Harry Nilsson (“Cuddly Toy”) and Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil (“Love is Only Sleeping”).

Ramones, Greatest Hits: Based on their 2006 CD compilation (but, as a single vinyl, ostensibly cut down from its near hour-long runtime), it’s a blistering collection of all the Ramones classics you’d expect (and some you might not?), including “Blitzkrieg Bop,” “Sheena is a Punk Rocker,” “Pinhead” and “Wart Hog.”

Sex Pistols, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols (High Fidelity Edition): The Magna Carta of British punk gets a high-quality vinyl version, featuring new liner notes by original producer Chris Thomas.

Sly & The Family Stone, Who in the Funk Do You Think You Are? Selections from the Warner Recordings: First released in 2001 on the Rhino Handmade imprint, Who in the Funk assembled the last albums of original material credited to Sly Stone’s legendary ensemble (1979’s Back on the Right Track and 1982’s Ain’t But the One Way), plus five unreleased bonus tracks from the sessions. As this orange LP (with a newly-designed cover) is only a single vinyl release, this will almost certainly feature highlights from that original 22-track disc.

January 23

Les Nubians, Princesses Nubians One Step Forward: The very model of a surprise success, sisterly duo Les Nubians, born in France and raised in the west African nation of Chad, drew inspiration from neo soul, jazz, hip-hop and the music of their homeland. That 1998’s Princesses Nubians cracked the middle of the Billboard 200 was an historic occasion, becoming the first LP almost entirely in French to do so; they followed it in 2003 with One Step Forward, which offered collaborations with rapper Talib Kweli and Cameroonian jazz musician Manu Dibango. Both are now reissued on vinyl, with Princesses pressed on two blue discs and Forward on one white and one orange.

Squeeze, Play (35th Anniversary Edition): Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook enjoyed a mini-artistic renaissance with this deeply underrated 1991 release (their only as a quartet alongside bassist Keith Wilkinson and, in his last appearance on a Squeeze LP, original drummer Gilson Lavis). Unavailable on vinyl for decades, this remastered double album version adds four rare non-album B-sides from the sessions.

January 30

The Monkees, The A’s, The B’s & The Monkees: Hey, hey! Another Monkees title for SYEOR, this brand-new compilation offers the group’s original dozen singles (A-sides on one disc and B-sides on the other) alongside original 7″ single artwork and liner notes by Monkees authority Andrew Sandoval.

Tower of Power, Back to Oakland (Rhino Reserve): Coming on the back end of their most commercially successful period, the fourth album from the Bay Area funk heroes offers the minor hit “Time Will Tell” and “Don’t Change Horses (in the Middle of a Stream),” their third and final Top 40 hit.

Mike Duquette
Mike Duquette

Mike Duquette (Founder) was fascinated with catalog music ever since he was a teenager. A 2009 graduate of Seton Hall University with a B.A. in journalism, Mike paired his profession with his passion through The Second Disc, one of the first sites to focus on all reissue labels great and small. His passion for reissues turned into a career, having written at and worked for all three major catalogue music labels and contributing to Allmusic, Billboard, Discogs, City Pages and Ultimate Classic Rock. He's penned liner notes for Verve, Chess, Mondo and Soul Music Records.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Mike lives in Astoria, Queens with his wife, a cat named Ravioli, twin daughters and a large yet tasteful collection of music.

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9 thoughts on “Woke Up with a Monster: Rhino’s Start Your Ear Off Right Titles Run the Gamut”

    1. We’re spacing out our coverage, but two of the more unique titles here are indeed also coming out on CD, too!

        1. As Mike mentioned, our coverage is being spaced out, so we will have reports on both the Monkees and Squeeze releases.

    2. Squeeze, Play (35th Anniversary Edition) does look like it’s getting a cd. It’s listed at Amazon. The Monkees The A’s, The B’s & The Monkees is also on CD. Hopefully more will be too.

  1. Some of these titles are great, but already AAA reissued (Fleetwood Mac, Faces…) so not sure if I’m going to buy them again – though I probably will eventually.

    I believe it’s Matthew Lutthans (double T)

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