101 (or so) Best Reissues of 2015
- Ork Records: New York, New York
Terry Ork isn’t known as one of the great music-biz impresarios and that’s why this set, chronicling his short-lived NYC-based label, is necessary: it, at the very least, elevates him to his proper position. I rank it so highly because it’s revelatory — it shines light on some of the shadowy areas of ’70s punk and power pop, alternating between scuzzbags with bohos — but also because hearing these early, rarely-circulated singles by Television, Alex Chilton, the Feelies and Chris Stamey is a flat-out gas. It’s history as a party.
2. Bob Dylan — The Cutting Edge: 1965–1966
There are three different incarnations of this twelfth volume of Dylan’s bootleg series, each worthwhile but the six-disc is where it’s at: edited so it’s easier to digest, it nevertheless runs deep. The two disc is good too and I’ve liked dabbling in the 16 disc, but it tends to underscore how necessary selective curation is.
3. Little Richard — Directly From The Heart
Triple disc set doesn’t just get the bulk of Richard’s Specialty masters back in print, it adds some Vee Jay sides, amounting to the best-ever in-depth anthology of the architect of rock & roll
4. Bobby Bare — Storyteller: The Anthology 1960–83
Comprehensive Bare anthologies are rare, maybe because he recorded for too many labels to make it an easy job or maybe because he wasn’t big enough of a star to make it a priority. Either way, Raven’s double-disc is a stunner, containing all the major items from the nearly quarter decade when Bare was a presence on the country charts
5. Bruce Springsteen — The Ties That Bind
My favorite Springsteen album, expanded with leftovers and a live show, along with the scrapped original album that mirrored Darkness On The Edge Of Town perhaps a bit too closely. I’d prefer if Bruce didn’t record new vocal tracks for a handful of songs but that doesn’t hurt a set that emphasizes all the mess and heart of The River.
6. Miles Davis — At Newport 1955–1975
The fourth volume of Miles’ bootleg series can be seen as a capsule history of Davis’ prime. All the existing recordings of Miles’ at Newport — some previously released, some heavily bootlegged — are here over the course of four discs and hearing his rapid progression condensed remains astonishing.
7. Slim Harpo — Buzzin’ the Blues
The dirty secret of this Bear Family box is that Slim Harpo recorded so few masters that they can be found on a 2003 Hip-O Select set but it’s a pleasure to have those sides paired with live cuts that underscore that the laid-back Harpo could tear it up on stage. As always with Bear Family boxes, context is king.
8. The Velvet Underground — The Complete Matrix Tapes
All of the tapes from the Velvets’ 1969 residency at San Francisco’s Matrix are here and they sound brilliant. The sound quality alone is worth the upgrade but this is also sweet and soulful, some of the best music VU made. (Side note, the super deluxe Loaded — released nearly simultaneously — is nice but overblown; a great record that doesn’t become better with too many alternate takes.)
9. Dylan, Cash & The Nashville Cats
Terrific two-disc various-artists set that makes a case for Nashville’s role in the birth of country-rock.
10. Jerry Lee Lewis — At Sun Records: The Collected Works
Essentially a revision of Classic, the original Bear Family box on Sun, this is mammoth — 18 discs, all the masters, all the alternates, all the studio chatter, all the overdubs. Session by session discs are never easy listening — it’s why the 18-disc The Cutting Edge is a bit of a chore — but hearing Jerry Lee Lewis arrive at Sun fully formed and ready to play every song he knows is something to behold. In his 2015 biography of Sam Phillips, Peter Guralnick compares it to Alex Lomax field recordings and that’s a great gateway into this monumental bit of American music.
11. Zachary Thaks — It’s The End: The Definitive Collection
Ace goes deep with the Texan garage band, finding unreleased material and relying on single mixes. This stuff is dynamite: they were tougher than many of their peers and more imaginative, too.
12. Truckers, Kickers & Cowboy Angels: Vols 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Bear Family rounded up their country-rock series this year, taking it into the tail-end of the ’70s. Each volume covers a year, all are worthwhile.
13. Craig Fuller/Eric Kaz — Craig Fuller/Eric Kaz
This great 1978 soft-rock LP from American Flyer vets finally got a domestic reissue this year. Country-rock and even yacht rockers are strongly encouraged to check it out.
14. Grateful Dead — 30 Trips Around The Sun
I listened to the 80-disc box, embracing the challenge of it but soon I was won over to the logic of hearing a concert from every year the Dead were a going concern. Some songs are rarely if ever heard — big ones, too, like “Box Of Rain” — and some are played into the ground, with their repetition helping to underscore all the different phases of the band. The four-disc version is very good, truncating the concept to a track a year, but if you’re into the Dead, there’s really only one choice for you.
15. Sam Phillips — The Man Who Invented Rock & Roll
Excellent collection of Phillips productions — extending to his 1979 John Prine record — assembled as a soundtrack to the Peter Guralnick bio.
16. Paul Williams — A Little On The Windy Side
Real Gone reissue of a 1979 album for Portrait, one that saw Paul reuniting with his brother Mentor Williams for the first time since they worked together in Holy Mackerel. This is not that psych-pop band: it’s a ’70s soft rock record through and through, one that’s tighter than most of Williams records and certainly smoother.
17. The Valentinos — Lookin’ For A Love: The Complete SAR Recordings
First-ever digital release of all the sides Bobby Womack recorded with his brothers for Sam Cooke’s SAR: they’re church boys singing rock & roll and R&B, hitting highs with the title track and “It’s All Over Now,” but all of it crackles with the excitement of discovery.
18. Pretty Things — Bouquet Full Of Cloudy Skies
Heavy box containing all of the Pretty Things recorded work, including a bunch of rarities. The Pretty Things always existed in the shadows — sometimes, it seemed that they got to trends about a year or two late — but listening to the albums as a set, they always seem fierce and tough and also fearless: they not only did one of the best concept albums but one of the best new wave cash in albums.
19. 1966: The Year Everything Changed
Soundtrack to the Jon Savage book recreates the adventure and thrill of listening to radio at the height of mod, Motown and swinging art-pop.
20. Micky Dolenz — The MGM Singles
Right after the Monkees broke up, Micky Dolenz recorded a bunch of bubblegum and Nilsson covers, all eventually forgotten but this excavation shows how fun they were.
21. Happy Lovin’ Time: Sunshine Pop from the Garpax Vaults
Deep dive into the swinging studio pop cut for Gary S. Paxton’s label circa 1966 and 1967.
22. The Rolling Stones — Sticky Fingers [Super Deluxe Edition]/Live At The Marquee Club 1971
This has the first-ever official release of an alternate “Brown Sugar” with Clapton on slide guitar but the big news is the appearance of Get Yer Leeds Lungs Out, a live date that showcases the Stones at a peak. It’s taken from the same tour that yields Live At The Marquee Club 1971 and that’s also worth your while.
23. David Bowie — Five Years
I’m still a little annoyed how this set abandons some of the bonus discs from the Rykodisc reissues — I am a huge fan of “Bombers” — but this is a handsome box capturing everything Bowie released during his golden early years. Sounds and looks great, so it’s worth the upgrade.
24. Buck Owens — Buck Em!, Vol. 2
The second volume of alternate takes, oddities and second-run singles is better than the first because it chronicles an era that isn’t quite as celebrated or consistent as the first. By highlighting the best moments of the late ’60s and early ’70s, it makes it seem like Buck went out in a blaze of glory.
25. Faces — You Can Make Me Dance
One of Rhino/Warner’s cheap all-inclusive box sets, this nevertheless rises above its ilk because it adds bonus tracks to each record, many of which were unreleased. Nothing as great as what showed up on Five Guys Walk Into A Bar — still a candidate for best box set ever made — but it’s always good to hear more Faces.
26. The Shadows Of Knight — Live 1966
An expansion of an earlier released archival live set, this is dynamite: it’s a portrait of a working band working hard at an era when rock & roll just was about to change.
27. Sneakers — Sneakers
The seminal pop group — this is where Chris Stamey and Mitch Easter first made waves — has their original EP slightly expanded. The unheard material is good collector bait but, really, if you’re a fan of REM or anything they influenced, this is necessary.
28. John Coltrane — A Love Supreme, The Complete Masters
The Archie Shepp session, cut a day after the date that produced the final record, is the draw here and it illuminates the grace of the original album.
29. Sly & The Family Stone — Live At Fillmore East
Deep dive into a two-day stint at the Fillmore East when Sly & The Family Stone may have been the best live act in the country. There is some repetition — they’re delivering a show, not playing for themselves — so this is better to be explored a show at a time, not in succession. That way, they still seem like the best band in the land.
30. The Isley Brothers — The RCA Victor & T-Neck Album Masters
Nearly all the isleys that matter in a brickstop of a box, highlighted by some unreleased live records but best as a thorough overview of when the group mastered the R&B long-form format.
31. Small Faces — The Decca Years 1965–1967
The Decca Years stops short of the prime years of the Small Faces — it’s an eternal frustration that there are so few compilations that touch upon all of the band’s best work — but it presents the early years in sterling fashion, making the lysergic explosion of ’67 seem like a logical conclusion to the group’s mod party.
32. The Knickerbockers — The Challenge Recordings
Really, the Knickerbockers stumbled upon their great single — “Lies,” a knockoff of the Beatles — but this set shows their charm is how they could ape all the fashions of the ’60s. They didn’t master, but there is appeal in their mimicry.
33. Led Zeppelin — Coda/In Through the Out Door/Physical Graffiti/Presence
Jimmy Page’s overhaul of the Zeppelin catalog lost momentum because he always made the right choice the first time: the outtakes are interesting but not compelling. Coda is the exception to the rule, because this expansion is treated as a clearinghouse for what didn’t make it on the reissues, but the other reissues have their moments, particularly In Through The Out Door, which feels like Plant and Jones dreaming of their own separate band.
34. Dusty Springfield — Faithful/Come For A Dream
Two Real Gone reissues, both exploring Dusty’s early ’70s. Come For A Dream reconstitutes a contractual obligation but Faithful is what lingers for me, a record that should’ve come out in 1971 and is nearly as good as A Brand New Me.
35. Paul McCartney — Tug Of War/Pipes of Peace
Companion albums — Pipes Of Peace was largely recorded during the Tug Of War sessions — these two records play off each other well, with Tug Of War slightly overpraised and Pipes Of Peace unfairly dismissed. The latter benefits from its looseness, the former from its concision and each wind up showcasing the last time where Paul was a true force on the pop charts.
36. Clarence Frogman Henry — Baby Ain’t That Love
A bunch of ’60s sessions, recorded after Clarence started having hits — and would even rework hits he had years before. Not perfect but part of the appeal is hearing how Henry weathered the changes, sounding at ease even when he lingered at the bottom of the soul charts.
37. Eddie Bo — Baby I’m Wise: Ric & Ron
One of the great New Orleans R&B artists gets a thorough overview of his peak.
38. The Standells — Live On Tour — 1966!
A concert recorded at the University of Michigan during the band’s peak, this is pure trashy fun.
39. Don’t Be Bad! 60s Punk Recorded in Texas
Sides recorded by Huey P Meaux, the producer and bands both hoping to strike Sir Douglas Quintet magic. They didn’t, but he results are exciting.
40. The Sweet — Funny How Sweet Co Co Can Be
Early bubblegum from the Sweet expanded with singles as good — or better — than the album.
41. Swamp Dogg — I’m Not Selling Out — I’m Buyin’ In!
Swamp Dogg tackles the era of Reagan with gusto. He’s not a true believer, but who is in later-period capitalism?
42. Link Wray — Three-Track Shack
Ace’s rendition of Acadia’s reissue of Wray’s early ’70s is better, not just because it’s available or because the sound is better but because the music remains dynamic. This is proto-Americana that sounds more visionary with each passing year.
43. Ian Levine’s Solid Stax Sensations
The longtime British DJ dives into the recesses of the Stax vaults and finds sides even the hardcore might’ve overlooked.
44. Tennessee Ernie Ford — Portrait of An American Singer
Ford was proud to be a square but he also was hip, finding a space between country and pop that emphasized both the working class plight and sophisticated crossover swing. This big box highlights his idiosyncrasies alongside his commonalities.
45. Reaching Out: Chess Records At Fame Studios
Chicago’s best soul artists went down to Muscle Shoals to cut some sides in the late ’60s, winding up with a great hybrid of sensibilities.
46. Allen Toussaint — Toussaint: The Real Thing 1970–1975
Raven’s three-fer contains the entirety of Toussaint, Life Love And Faith and Southern Nights, maybe Toussaint’s best three albums.
47. Tommy Ridgley/Bobby Mitchell — Same Old Way: The Complete Ric, Ron & Sho-Biz Recordings
All the ’60s Ric & Ron recordings from two New Orleans R&B greats — friends, colleagues and mutual influences.
48. The Fame Gang — Grits & Gravy: The Best Of The Fame Gang
The backing band from Muscle Shoals rides grooves on their own.
49. Super Furry Animals — MWNG
One of the great psych albums from one the great psych bands, expanded with B-sides, outtakes and miscellania.
50. Robin Gibb — Saved By The Bell
During the Bee Gees’ brief breakup, Robin Gibb made odd, curiously exquisite, psych-pop, all captured here.
51. Game Theory — Real Nighttime
Maybe Scott Miller’s peak, maybe not, but Real Nighttime walks the line between art and power pop.
52. Johnny Adams — I Won’t Cry: The Complete Ric & Ron Recordings
Ace’s Ric & Ron reissues recycle familiar material, including this collection, but they’re also the best iterations of these often reissued sides — which means this Johnny Ace disc trumps any similar collection.
53. Dr. John — The Atco/Atlantic Sessions
Highlighting the singles of Dr. John shows how he was happy to address the times, if not quite tackle them.
54. Warren Storm — The Bad Times Make The Good Tunes
Nobody outside Louisiana or Texas knows Warren Storm but he emodied the weird, soulful avenues of Gulf R&B and rock & roll. You went into a dancehall or roadhouse in the ’80s or ’90s this is what you heard, but probably not as good.
55. Billy Ward & His Dominoes — The Complete Federal/King Singles
The best and most comprehensive dive into the peak of Billy Ward & the Dominoes’ career.
56. They Tried To Rock, Vols. 3 & 4: The Popsters
A novelty, but a good one. A collection of pop stars trying to rock. sometimes the cluelessness results in inspiration, sometimes just trash but both are fun.
57. Texas Tornados — A Little Bit Is Better Than Nada
Highlights from the early ’90s albums, the best seeming to be the earliest, where the band still pretended to be egalitarian but remained in sway to Dough Sahm.
58. Rhythm’ & Bluesin’ On The Bayou: Mad Dogs/Rhythm & Bluesin By The Bayou: Vocal Groups/Boppin’ By The Bayou: Rock Me Mama
If you can keep these straigth, you’re a better man than I. Still, these excavations of Louisiana’s swamp-pop roots remain a blast on a disc by disc basis.
59. Andrew Gold — The Late Show — Live 1978
The perennial pop guy sounds tougher on stage.
60. Tampa Red — The Unsung King Of The Blues
Most people know Tampa Red’s earlier recordings but this gets his livelier electric material, the things that opened the door to BB King.
61. Here Today! The Songs Of Brian Wilson
Not all of the great Brian tunes the Beach Boy never recorded but enough to make it worthwhile.
62. The Beckies — The Beckies
Michael Brown, the guy who paid his dues with the Stories, turns out a good ’70s pop album, one where the production was as sharp as the songs.
63. Jimmy Holiday — Spread Your Love: The Complete Minit Singles 1966–1970
He wrote “Put a Little Love In Your Heart,” but the slower, soulful sides are what resonates.
64. Johnny Horton — The Singing Fisherman
Too many discs, but the scope of Horton’s worldview is apparent, as is his achievement
65. Carl Hall — You Don’t Know Nothing About Love: The Loma/Atlantic Recordings 1967–1972
Maybe he’s a journeyman but that’s part of his charm: he’s just a great soul singer, not setting the pace but also not lagging behind.
66. Bob Crewe — The Complete Elektra Recordings
He worked with the Four Seasons, but this highlights his ’70s recordings where he struck a balance between disco and prog.
67. Soul Stirrers — Joy In My Soul: The Complete SAR Recordings
Gospel that exists on the razor edge between spiritual and secular.
68. Go-Betweens — G Is For Go Betweens
The band’s first three albums paired with a boxload of rarities.
69. London American Label: Year By Year 1966
Not quite a companion to the Jon Savage comp, this is an entertaining collection of hits and oddities London licensed from the US in ‘66.
70. Tony Joe White — The Complete Warner Bros Recordings
A more barebones version of Rhino Handmade’s older complete Tony Joe White box, this keeps some terrific swampy music in circulation.
71. Bobby Lance — First Peace/Rollin’ Man
Real Gone with a pair of funky, progressive roots-rock records from the early ’70s rocker.
72. The Dictators — Go Girl Crazy
The bonus tracks are fine but the real attraction is the original album, which remains dynamite and sounds even crazier with each passing year.
73. The Fantastic Four — The Lost Motown Album
Another case of a scrapped Motown project that sounds good enough to be released at the time (in this case, the late ‘60s.
74. Wynonie Harris — Don’t You Want To Rock?
Nice repackaging of the jump blues singer’s Federal and King acetates, including alternates.
75. Lesley Gore — California Nights: Expanded Edition/Someplace Else Now
Two nice curious: swinging soft psychedelia, soulful singer/songwriter-ish record on Motown.
76. Herman’s Hermits — Best Of: The 50th Anniversary Anthology
Two discs is a lot but it also shows that when the group wasn’t doing cheeky novelties, they did some nice British Invasion pop.
77. Roy Orbison — The MGM Years/One of the Lonely
Rocky patch for Roy. He always sounded a couple years behind the times but there are interesting moments and the unreleased One Of The Lonely — not in the box — is better than some of the released LPs.
78. Van Morrison — Astral Weeks/His Band & Street Choir/Essential
Van’s catalog finally starts getting a revamp through these two reissues, plus a compilation
79. Sonny Burns — The Devil’s Disciple
The ’60s recordings from neglected honky tonk singer, who always was more interesting when he pushed at the edges of the genre.
80. Wes Montgomery — In The Beginning
Nice collection of early rarities from the guitarist.
81. Conway Twitty — Rocks: At The Castaway
Rough in spots, but this collection of live recordings — cut between his early rock & roll recordings and country makerover — showcases Conway’s charisma.
82. Groove With A Feeling: Sounds of Memphis Boogie, Soul and Funk 1975–1985/Superfunk’s Soul Emissaries
Ace with two fun and funky collection of little-heard soul records made in the wake of disco.
83. Scott Fagan — South Atlantic Blues
I think this is slightly overrated by cultists but it’s a nice proggy ’60s folk album in the vein of Van Morrison and Tim Hardin.
84. Frank Sinatra — A Voice On Air
Radio broadcasts from the 40s and 50s — a little difficult to listen to due to the re-creation of the programs but there are plenty of rare Frank songs to treasure.
85. The Jam — Fire & Skill: The Jam Live
Like the Dead’s 30 Trips, this presents a concert a year from each year the Jam were active. The best is the early ’80s, when the band was as restless and fearless on stage as they were on record.
86. Little Bob Story — Off the Rails
Cracking record from the French pub rocker.
87. Martians, Demons and Fools Like Me: The MCI Records Story
History of the Arizonan indie label — more MOR pop than you’d think, but a lot of nice odd rarities, including sides written or produced by Lee Hazlewood.
88. Birth of Surf, Vol. 3
A good collection of surf hits and rarities from the early ‘60s
89. Brinsley Schwarz — Live Favourites
Digital and vinyl reissue of a heavily-bootlegged — and quite good — Brinsleys set.
90. The Michigan Box
A bunch of weird rock & roll rarities from the ’50s and ’60s, all recorded for Michigan indies and rarely heard since. Better as sociology than music.
91. Local Customs: Cavern Sound
Psych and heavy rock from the Missouri indie studio of the ’60s and ‘70s.
92. Ben E King — Complete Atco/Atlantic Singles
Double disc of all the singles Ben E. King released between 1960–1966.
93. Elvis Presley — Today
Expanded version of Elvis Presley’s last album, a record that featured “T-R-O-U-B-L-E” but had a lot of other good rockers, country tunes and adult contemporary.
94. Bobby Rush — Chicken Heads
Excellent four-disc box chronicling the history of the soul-blues master.
95. Acoustic Blues: The Roots Of It All, Vols. 1–4
A good multi-volume history of acoustic blues from its beginnings to present by Bear Family.
96. Eddie Noack — Ain’t The Reaping Ever Done
This set kind of proves Eddie Noack’s limitations — it’s not nearly as good as the Bear Family sets — but it’s worthwhile listening for ’60s jukebox country.
97. Sweet Things from the Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry Songbook
Ace’s third collection of songs from the Brill Building songwriters showcases the duo’s range and legacy.
98. Pied Piper: Follow Your Soul
Second collection of singles from the 60s Detroit soul label.
99. Second Helpings: Sequels to the Songs That Left ’Em Hungry For More
Clever collection of sequels to big ’50s and ’60s hits — none of these are as good as the originals, but the fun is hearing how craven the attempts are.
100. Sam Dees — It’s Over: 70s Songwriter Demos & Masters
Nice collection of demos and little circulated masters from a king of late-night soul.
101. The Unforgiven — The Unforgiven
This is not a good record. However, this odd combination of overheated mid-’80s production, roots rock signifiers and Sunset Strip sleaze is an interesting curio that’s worth a listen.
