Booming now more than ever, the album reissue market repeatedly grabbed our attention this year, as we regularly emptied our bank accounts for re-released records packing newly imagined art, must-have extras and tasteful remastering. Below, we shine a light on those re-releases where labels went the extra mile instead of offering simple vinyl represses.
Top 10 Reissues of 2013:
10. Cleaners From Venus
Vol. 2
(Captured Tracks)
The world of indie pop really does owe Captured Tracks a big, affectionate pat on the back. The label's reissue efforts have repeatedly dug out treasure after long-lost treasure, the albums by Martin Newell's Cleaners From Venus being some of the best of the bunch. The label proved this again with its second volume of Cleaners From Venus reissues, with the series now including the previously impossible-to-find albums In the Golden Autumn (1983), Under Wartime Conditions (1984) and Songs for a Fallow Land (1985), as well as the rarities collection A Dawn Chorus: Early Cleaners and Beyond (all of which are available separately or in one packaged-up box). Dig into any of these records and it doesn't take long to realize the England-born Newell is a true master of DIY guitar pop, not to mention one hell of a punk poet, rivaling like-minded songwriters such as XTC's Andy Partridge, Chris Knox and Television Personalities' Dan Treacy. Best of all, Cleaners From Venus still sound like true originals all these decades later. (Brock Thiessen)
9. Ashrae Fax
Static Crash!
(Mexican Summer)
Without context, anyone would assume Ashrae Fax were some long lost Eastern European new wave treasure uncovered by the crate-digging folks at Mexican Summer. Nope. Turns out, this duo were from Greensboro, North Carolina and released their one and only CD-R, Static Crash!, in 2003. Nonetheless, this was a diamond-in-the-rough find, a perfect re-imagining of mid-'80s period Cocteau Twins forcibly produced by an amphetamine-fuelled Martin Hannett. (C.L.)
8. Various
Change the Beat: The Celluloid Records Story 1979-1987
(Strut)
In the late 1970s, New York City was a melting pot of experimental and urban music, and at the forefront was Celluloid Records. Founded by Parisian Jean Georgakarakos, the label became a hub for just about every sound busting out of the city's vibrant communities. Change the Beat tells the Celluloid story and spans the label's far-reaching canon: from Ferdinand's French post-punk and Massacre's avant-rock to Fab 5 Freddy's rap and Material's acid-funk. Change The Beat does just that, from track to track; it's a mixed bag in the best way possible. (C.L.)
7. Various
I Am the Center: Private Issue New Age Music in America, 1950-1990
(Light in the Attic)
While the likes of psych, kosmische, krautrock and prog have all been rebranded as that slippery term "cool" over the years, sister genre new age hasn't been so lucky. Regularly panned as yuppie-approved musical fare best fit for a chilled-out spa sesh, it's hardly been the type of music seen as offering a real, worthwhile artistic statement. Light in the Attic's sprawling three-LP set I Am the Center shows just how wrong that assumption is. Featuring obscure tracks recorded between 1950 and 1990, the comp shines a needed light on little-known DIY new agers such as Eno collaborator Laraaji, Gail Laughton, Daniel Emmanuel and Larkin, all of whom show exactly why current electronic visionaries (see Oneohtrix Point Never) have looked back to new age for their blissfully spaced-out sounds. On a smaller scale, I Am the Center is simply great to chill out to. (B.T.)
6. Rodion G.A.
The Lost Tapes
(Strut)
Romanian music seems like an untapped treasure trove, considering the extent of known recordings out there. But this year saw the revelation of The Lost Tapes, a collection of work by Rodion G.A. — an experimental collective that operated in the '70s and '80s — finding colour in a somewhat dreary, culturally suppressed landscape. Using a DIY ethic, leader Rodion Ladislau Roșca followed a staggeringly cosmic path, incorporating psych, Krautrock and early synth music to build a far out sound that seems like the basis for many electronic acts today. (C.L.)
5. Various
The Ecstasy of Gold - Killer Bullets from the Spaghetti West
(Semi-Automatic)
Think "Spaghetti Western" and the timeless classics of Ennio Morricone immediately come to mind. However, newly launched imprint Semi-Automatic proved that there's so much more to the genre than The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Culled from apparently "one of the most complete Spaghetti Western audio archives," this five-volume set is one inspiring piece of work, offering everything from cascading surf guitars, tripped-out organ tones, heart-tuggingly powerful vocals, visionary percussion, booming brass, unnamable sound effects and beyond. And it all comes at the hands of Italian maestros like Piero Umiliani, Alessandro Alessandroni, Bruno Nicolai and Gianni Ferrio, among many others. Each volume in the series (as of press time, the fifth has yet to be released) comes as an individually packaged double-LP set with some appropriately vintage-looking cowboy art. If modern music has you feeling bored and tired, put on one of these suckers and hear just how imaginative music can really be. (B.T.)
4. Shuggie Otis
Inspiration Information/Wings of Love
(Epic/Legacy)
It was great year to be a Shuggie Otis fan. Not only did the reclusive funk-soul figure re-emerge for a series of live dates, but his final studio album, 1974's Inspiration Information, was packaged up for this reissue. As great as that record is, though, it's this reissue package's second disc, Otis's forever-in-the-works follow-up Wings of Love, that's the real draw (after all, David Byrne already reissued Inspiration Information back in 2001). Recorded between 1975 and 2000, the previously unreleased Wings of Love is eclectic as hell, jumping from synth-led bedroom jams to psyched-out rockers to soaring power ballads and, of course, a big helping of funk butt-shakers. However, it also gives a stunning glimpse of just how genius Otis can really be. The only bummer about this reissue set is that it never made its way to vinyl. (B.T.)
3. BL'AST
Blood!
(Southern Lord)
The story behind this lost classic hardcore album was unfortunately overshadowed by Dave Grohl's involvement, but it's because of the Foo Fighters frontman that we have a remastered alternate reissue of BL'AST's It's In My Blood. Retitled Blood!, this new version contains freshly discovered master tapes that were salvaged and invigorated by Grohl in his Virginia studio. Sounding ripe and ruthless, this is a grimy blast of '80s hardcore/thrash that somehow maintains its original gnash while benefiting from a contemporary makeover. (C.L.)
2. John Carpenter
The Fog
(Death Waltz)
When rising UK soundtrack hub Death Waltz put out its vinyl reissue of John Carpenter's The Fog, the label nearly broke the internet — or at the very least, its website. Demand for this deluxe double-vinyl pressing was so high that it was gone in minutes, leaving Death Waltz scrambling to deal with a bevy of tech issues due to more traffic than it could handle. And it was understandable: director/composer Carpenter's synth-fuelled score for his 1980 film was classic enough as is, but add in 180-gram coloured-splattered clear vinyl, a screenprinted overbag, downright killer new art and extensive new liner notes, and it was the sort of thing record nerds' dreams are made of. Oh, and best of all: the second slab of wax included an amazing set of original movie cues that actually outshines the album proper. Add it up, and Death Waltz's The Fog is as essential as it gets. (B.T.)
1. Nirvana
In Utero
(Universal)
A 20th anniversary edition of Nirvana's best album is one of those compulsory releases, but who knew revisiting a record so familiar to us would be this rewarding? The deluxe reissue offers a crisper 2013 mix of the album, which original producer Steve Albini, along with surviving members, oversaw, as well as Albini's scratched versions of "Heart Shaped Box" and "All Apologies," the demos and the B-sides (including Dave Grohl's Foo Fighters-foreshadowing "Marigold"). On top of that, Albini himself admitted it's a "better transfer" than the original, which for most fans is worth the price alone. (C.L.)
Note: We skipped out on those fancy-pants box sets; those got their very own list here.
To see more of the best music of this year, head over to our Best of 2013 section.
Top 10 Reissues of 2013:
10. Cleaners From Venus
Vol. 2
(Captured Tracks)
The world of indie pop really does owe Captured Tracks a big, affectionate pat on the back. The label's reissue efforts have repeatedly dug out treasure after long-lost treasure, the albums by Martin Newell's Cleaners From Venus being some of the best of the bunch. The label proved this again with its second volume of Cleaners From Venus reissues, with the series now including the previously impossible-to-find albums In the Golden Autumn (1983), Under Wartime Conditions (1984) and Songs for a Fallow Land (1985), as well as the rarities collection A Dawn Chorus: Early Cleaners and Beyond (all of which are available separately or in one packaged-up box). Dig into any of these records and it doesn't take long to realize the England-born Newell is a true master of DIY guitar pop, not to mention one hell of a punk poet, rivaling like-minded songwriters such as XTC's Andy Partridge, Chris Knox and Television Personalities' Dan Treacy. Best of all, Cleaners From Venus still sound like true originals all these decades later. (Brock Thiessen)
9. Ashrae Fax
Static Crash!
(Mexican Summer)
Without context, anyone would assume Ashrae Fax were some long lost Eastern European new wave treasure uncovered by the crate-digging folks at Mexican Summer. Nope. Turns out, this duo were from Greensboro, North Carolina and released their one and only CD-R, Static Crash!, in 2003. Nonetheless, this was a diamond-in-the-rough find, a perfect re-imagining of mid-'80s period Cocteau Twins forcibly produced by an amphetamine-fuelled Martin Hannett. (C.L.)
8. Various
Change the Beat: The Celluloid Records Story 1979-1987
(Strut)
In the late 1970s, New York City was a melting pot of experimental and urban music, and at the forefront was Celluloid Records. Founded by Parisian Jean Georgakarakos, the label became a hub for just about every sound busting out of the city's vibrant communities. Change the Beat tells the Celluloid story and spans the label's far-reaching canon: from Ferdinand's French post-punk and Massacre's avant-rock to Fab 5 Freddy's rap and Material's acid-funk. Change The Beat does just that, from track to track; it's a mixed bag in the best way possible. (C.L.)
7. Various
I Am the Center: Private Issue New Age Music in America, 1950-1990
(Light in the Attic)
While the likes of psych, kosmische, krautrock and prog have all been rebranded as that slippery term "cool" over the years, sister genre new age hasn't been so lucky. Regularly panned as yuppie-approved musical fare best fit for a chilled-out spa sesh, it's hardly been the type of music seen as offering a real, worthwhile artistic statement. Light in the Attic's sprawling three-LP set I Am the Center shows just how wrong that assumption is. Featuring obscure tracks recorded between 1950 and 1990, the comp shines a needed light on little-known DIY new agers such as Eno collaborator Laraaji, Gail Laughton, Daniel Emmanuel and Larkin, all of whom show exactly why current electronic visionaries (see Oneohtrix Point Never) have looked back to new age for their blissfully spaced-out sounds. On a smaller scale, I Am the Center is simply great to chill out to. (B.T.)
6. Rodion G.A.
The Lost Tapes
(Strut)
Romanian music seems like an untapped treasure trove, considering the extent of known recordings out there. But this year saw the revelation of The Lost Tapes, a collection of work by Rodion G.A. — an experimental collective that operated in the '70s and '80s — finding colour in a somewhat dreary, culturally suppressed landscape. Using a DIY ethic, leader Rodion Ladislau Roșca followed a staggeringly cosmic path, incorporating psych, Krautrock and early synth music to build a far out sound that seems like the basis for many electronic acts today. (C.L.)
5. Various
The Ecstasy of Gold - Killer Bullets from the Spaghetti West
(Semi-Automatic)
Think "Spaghetti Western" and the timeless classics of Ennio Morricone immediately come to mind. However, newly launched imprint Semi-Automatic proved that there's so much more to the genre than The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Culled from apparently "one of the most complete Spaghetti Western audio archives," this five-volume set is one inspiring piece of work, offering everything from cascading surf guitars, tripped-out organ tones, heart-tuggingly powerful vocals, visionary percussion, booming brass, unnamable sound effects and beyond. And it all comes at the hands of Italian maestros like Piero Umiliani, Alessandro Alessandroni, Bruno Nicolai and Gianni Ferrio, among many others. Each volume in the series (as of press time, the fifth has yet to be released) comes as an individually packaged double-LP set with some appropriately vintage-looking cowboy art. If modern music has you feeling bored and tired, put on one of these suckers and hear just how imaginative music can really be. (B.T.)
4. Shuggie Otis
Inspiration Information/Wings of Love
(Epic/Legacy)
It was great year to be a Shuggie Otis fan. Not only did the reclusive funk-soul figure re-emerge for a series of live dates, but his final studio album, 1974's Inspiration Information, was packaged up for this reissue. As great as that record is, though, it's this reissue package's second disc, Otis's forever-in-the-works follow-up Wings of Love, that's the real draw (after all, David Byrne already reissued Inspiration Information back in 2001). Recorded between 1975 and 2000, the previously unreleased Wings of Love is eclectic as hell, jumping from synth-led bedroom jams to psyched-out rockers to soaring power ballads and, of course, a big helping of funk butt-shakers. However, it also gives a stunning glimpse of just how genius Otis can really be. The only bummer about this reissue set is that it never made its way to vinyl. (B.T.)
3. BL'AST
Blood!
(Southern Lord)
The story behind this lost classic hardcore album was unfortunately overshadowed by Dave Grohl's involvement, but it's because of the Foo Fighters frontman that we have a remastered alternate reissue of BL'AST's It's In My Blood. Retitled Blood!, this new version contains freshly discovered master tapes that were salvaged and invigorated by Grohl in his Virginia studio. Sounding ripe and ruthless, this is a grimy blast of '80s hardcore/thrash that somehow maintains its original gnash while benefiting from a contemporary makeover. (C.L.)
2. John Carpenter
The Fog
(Death Waltz)
When rising UK soundtrack hub Death Waltz put out its vinyl reissue of John Carpenter's The Fog, the label nearly broke the internet — or at the very least, its website. Demand for this deluxe double-vinyl pressing was so high that it was gone in minutes, leaving Death Waltz scrambling to deal with a bevy of tech issues due to more traffic than it could handle. And it was understandable: director/composer Carpenter's synth-fuelled score for his 1980 film was classic enough as is, but add in 180-gram coloured-splattered clear vinyl, a screenprinted overbag, downright killer new art and extensive new liner notes, and it was the sort of thing record nerds' dreams are made of. Oh, and best of all: the second slab of wax included an amazing set of original movie cues that actually outshines the album proper. Add it up, and Death Waltz's The Fog is as essential as it gets. (B.T.)
1. Nirvana
In Utero
(Universal)
A 20th anniversary edition of Nirvana's best album is one of those compulsory releases, but who knew revisiting a record so familiar to us would be this rewarding? The deluxe reissue offers a crisper 2013 mix of the album, which original producer Steve Albini, along with surviving members, oversaw, as well as Albini's scratched versions of "Heart Shaped Box" and "All Apologies," the demos and the B-sides (including Dave Grohl's Foo Fighters-foreshadowing "Marigold"). On top of that, Albini himself admitted it's a "better transfer" than the original, which for most fans is worth the price alone. (C.L.)
Note: We skipped out on those fancy-pants box sets; those got their very own list here.
To see more of the best music of this year, head over to our Best of 2013 section.