'Tis the season! The big guns for the fourth quarter are starting to be drawn. Elvis Presley, The Young Man with the Big Beat / Elvis Presley: Legacy Edition (RCA/Legacy) The newest Elvis box set is all about 1956: five CDs of complete studio masters, outtakes, vintage audio interviews and live material. For the casual fan, the […]
Continue ReadingThe music world was kind of shocked when R.E.M. announced their breakup. (We even devoted a whole Reissue Theory to their 1987 B-sides compilation Dead Letter Office.) It's certainly interesting timing, then, that the band has one last act of catalogue material before they split: a double-disc compilation coming in November. Named after a quippy […]
Continue ReadingThe name Chester Arthur Burnett might not mean anything to the average music fan, but mention his famous nickname - Howlin' Wolf - and the game changes. Howlin' Wolf was one of the pioneers of the blues, a legend on the Chicago scene and a powerful force to be reckoned with on the electric guitar. […]
Continue ReadingBrowsers of Sunday morning's Best Buy circular might have been surprised to find Pink Floyd Sampler pictured among the long-awaited titles arriving Tuesday as the first salvo in EMI's Why Pink Floyd? reissue series. Though the electronics retailer is also offering both the Discovery (single-disc) and Immersion (4 CD/1 DVD/1 BD) box set editions of […]
Continue ReadingMotown's 50th anniversary was celebrated in style in 2009 - a year before The Second Disc even existed - with some excellent box sets and reissues. But this year marks another important set of golden anniversaries for the label: the debut of Motown's world famous groups, The Supremes and The Temptations. And no commemoration would […]
Continue ReadingAudio Fidelity has reached overdrive. Bachman-Turner Overdrive, that is. On October 18, the audiophile specialist label will release on 24K Gold CD the third album by BTO, 1974’s Not Fragile. It will be joined by Audio Fidelity’s third reissue from the Phil Collins catalogue, 1982’s Hello, I Must Be Going!, the singer’s second solo album. […]
Continue ReadingWelcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on notable albums and the reissues they may someday see. As we mourn the passing of one of the most beloved American rock bands of the last few decades, we look at their all-too-often ignored early B-sides, compiled only once on disc - and how […]
Continue ReadingYesterday we reported on eight new box sets drawn from the Columbia and RCA Victor archives and available through Sony’s PopMarket site. While those titles dedicated to Earth Wind & Fire, Electric Light Orchestra, Leonard Cohen, Paul Desmond, Dexter Gordon, Wynton Marsalis, Woody Shaw and Nina Simone are all currently available or due for release […]
Continue ReadingAnd the (complete) hits just keep on comin’. Sony’s PopMarket site has become a must-visit destination for many music fans, not only due to daily deals on existing box sets and back catalogue titles but also due to a line of new boxes under the Complete Albums Collection umbrella. Initial recipients of this treatment were […]
Continue ReadingWhen Stax Records severed its distribution deal with Atlantic in 1968, it was time to rebuild from the ground up. The entire back catalogue went to Atlantic, as did Sam and Dave’s contract. Gone was the “Stax o’wax” label logo; in its place was a new, finger-snapping Stax. The stewards of the Stax legacy at […]
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