We all love a nice reissue, don’t we? Maybe some obscure album from the 1970s or 80s, which you inexplicably missed at the time, has been remastered with acoustic demos, fascinating outtakes, handsome packaging and a lavish 24-page booklet? Similarly, what could be more appealing than an archival release? Maybe a soundboard recording of an old favourite band playing a rough and ready show at the St. Austell Coliseum or Leicester de Montfort Hall has just resurfaced after lying unnoticed on a shelf for 40 years? Such releases tend to be irresistible, don’t they? I’d like to think that there’s a diverse spread of genres in the 25 albums here, although the top end of the chart does, admittedly, incline towards reissues from the golden era of reggae (say 1972-82). Right: let’s kick off with the bottom third of the chart, from numbers 25 to 17, plus the obligatory “bubbling unders”:

Hello everyone,

What a vintage twelve months it’s been for music! In December every year, I normally present a 50 Favourite New albums chart, But 2024 has been such a bumper year that I feel compelled to offer a Top 60. Looking at the list, it would seem that one genre is particularly prevalent this time, although it’s difficult to give it a neat label. It’s a sort of … roots-flavoured guitar- or keyboard-led instrumental music in a loose ambient packaging. I appear to be a sucker for it.

In my sixty-third year, music attracts and intrigues me as much as ever. I like reading about it, I like writing about it, and most of all, of course, I just like listening to it. Even if you think that most of this list sounds like it’s not your thing, I hope you find an unfamiliar album or two here that you enjoy investigating. As ever, the chart is presented in reverse order, to ramp up the excitement to fever pitch as we count down. Let’s start off with the bottom 20, i.e. numbers 60 to 41. Eyes down for a full house…

A top Reissues and Archival Recordings chart is always going to a decent list, isn’t it? If it’s an old live recording by a favourite artist, or a gem of an album from decades ago given an immaculate spruce-up, then chances are that’s it’s going to be pretty good. Having said that, I’m bound to admit that there aren’t quite as many all-time classics on the 2023 list as there have been in some past years. That’s just the way it goes. Reissues from the golden era of reggae (say 1972-82) make a predictably strong showing, though, occupying eight out of the 20 places on the chart.

Right – without any further ado, let’s have a look at the lower half of the chart…

Hello all. Hope you’re coping with the rather frantic run-up to the holiday season. You’re probably seen plenty of best-albums-of-the-year lists in the past couple of weeks, but will you indulge me again this December? It’s been a good year for new albums and – as always – an even better year for reissues and archival recordings. I’ll try to get the duco01 20 Favourite Reissues and Archival Recordings of 2023 list out in the next 10 days or so, but for the moment, let’s focus on the new records.

Looking at the chart, it’s populated with the usual genres that I have a weakness for. You know the ones I’m referring to: ambient, chamber jazz, world music, solo acoustic guitar and other types of roots/folky stuff, with the odd classical recording thrown in for good measure. There are some recent releases that would definitely have been in the chart, but the CDs that I’ve ordered seem to be stuck in the pre-Christmas postal rush. And so sadly I can’t include the new albums by Peter Gabriel, James Elkington, Bruce Brubaker or Claire M. Singer in my list.

In my sixty-second year, my enthusiasm for music is undimmed, unsated. » Continue Reading.

Taking the National Trust tour of John Lennon’s and Paul McCartney’s childhood homes in Liverpool, Sunday, 13 August 2023

[A while back we had a thread about various Beatles-themed tours in Liverpool. I just thought I’d throw my two pennies’ worth in here…]

As quite a few Afterworders have already pointed out, it’s been a sensational year, a vintage grand cru year, for reissues and archival recordings. One hardly knows where to start. On average, my reissues and archival recordings list is ‘better’ than my new albums chart. Of course it is, by its sheer nature. No record company bothers to do a lavish 16CD super deluxe reissue of an album that was absolute garbage in the first place. Eight out of the 25 albums here are 1970s reggae reissues, because 1970s reggae reissues are just about my favourite thing in the world, after the really obvious things like fresh air, love, etc. The other 17 albums cover a pretty wide range of genres, so dig in. There’ll be something for everyone. We start with the first third of the chart: numbers 25 to 17.

Hello everyone. Hope you’re enjoying the holiday season. You’re probably not in the mood for another best-albums-of-the-year list, but will you indulge me? It’s been a decent year for new albums and a fantastic year for reissues and archival recordings. I’ll try to get the duco01 25 Favourite Reissues and Archival Recordings of 2022 list out before the end of the year, but for the moment, let’s concentrate on the new records.

Looking at the chart, it’s fairly even distributed over my standard favourite genres that crop up every year. You know the usual suspects: ambient, chamber jazz, world music, solo acoustic guitar, and other types of folky stuff. All the classical recordings that I bought this year were not 2022 releases so, unusually, there’s no classical albums on the list.

In my sixty-first year, music is still my sustenance, my succour. And the record that I’m usually most excited about is the one I’ve ordered but have yet to hear – it’s still in a padded envelope from a retailer, making its way rather slowly across Europe towards my address. I hope you find an unfamiliar album or two here that you enjoy investigating. As ever, the chart » Continue Reading.

In my view, it’s been another really excellent year for Reissues and Archival Recordings. I like to think this is quite an eclectic list, with something for everyone. A few years ago, my Reissues chart included countless live Grateful Dead recordings, but at the moment I’m taking a bit of a sabbatical from the Dead, and I only bought one Jerry Garcia Band album. Neither is there as much reggae as there used to be in my Reissues chart. A few years ago, I wondered whether the great re-release wellspring of classic 70s roots reggae and dub would ever run dry, and I fear that’s starting to happen now. Finally, there’s the rather worrying trend of reissues not being put out on CD, but only streaming/downloads (which I don’t like) and vinyl (which is rather expensive if one is a keen fan).

Anyway. Let’s start with the first batch of seven, from 20 down to 14. The next batch will come in a few hours’ time.

Greetings, Afterworders,

‘Tis that time of year again. The time when I present my favourite new albums of the year for general scrutiny and perusal. And, just like last year, there are 45 of them. Forty-five: the number of rpm of the old seven-inch singles that started my love of music a very long time ago. Looking through this list now that I’ve compiled it all, I realise that I must have spent much of 2021 listening to albums of tasteful American acoustic guitar instrumentals. This wasn’t a conscious choice; it just happened. Sometime before the end of December I’ll post my list of Favourite Reissues and Archival Recordings of the year, but, as I say, we start with the new albums of 2021. It’s been an okay but not great year for new albums, I think. There’s been an abundance of albums that I’ve enjoyed well enough, but not one record that has really stood out as being brilliant, making me want to shout from the rooftops. I’m sure I WILL eventually find a 2021 album that blows my mind … but I won’t discover it until about 2023 or later.

I hope you find an unfamiliar album or » Continue Reading.

In my view, it’s been a really good year for Reissues and Archival Recordings. I hope the list is a little more varied than usual. Most years, my Reissues chart includes lots of live Grateful Dead shows; this year, for the first time in decades, I didn’t buy any Grateful Dead or Jerry Garcia archival recordings. None at all. I shall probably be expelled from the local Deadheads association. Neither is there as much reggae as there usually is in my Reissues chart: maybe the great re-release wellspring of classic 70s roots reggae and dub is finally starting to run dry. I hope not.

So, here we go, then, with the first batch of seven reissues or archival recordings, from 19 down to no. 13.

Greetings, Afterworders,

‘Tis that time of year again. The time when I present my favourite new albums of the year for general scrutiny and perusal. And this year there are 45 of them. Forty-five: the number of rpm of the old seven-inch singles that started my love of music a very long time ago. When I was a teenager, I listened almost exclusively to records of songs written in English. Now, such records make up less than one-third of my annual list.

Sometime next week I’ll post my list of favourite reissues and archival recordings of the year, but, as I say, we start with the new albums of 2020. The records on this list – and particularly, I suppose, the music towards the top of the list – has given me a certain amount of succour in this wretched year. I hope you find an unfamiliar album or two here that you enjoy investigating.

As ever, the chart is presented in reverse order. Eyes down for a full house ….

//duco

It’s been a good year for Reissues and Archival Recordings, although maybe not quite up to the sky-high level of 2017 and 2018. Presented here are my Top 24 albums for 2019. I found it impossible to put them in a straight 24-down-to-1 ranking order, so I’m presenting nos 17 to 24 in alphabetical order, followed by nos 9 to 16 in alphabetical order, and finally nos 1 to 8, also in alphabetical order. So, here we go, then, with the first batch of eight reissues or archival recordings…

Greetings once again, Afterworders. It’s that time of year again. Time for the platters that mattered, the songs that were strong, the tunes that made me swoon, the tracks that weren’t cack, and the CDs that were the bees’ knees. Yes, indeed, the hugely anticipated duco01 60 Favourite New Albums of 2019 list finally makes landfall.

You will remember, I’m sure, that my Favourite New Albums of 2018 chart contained a mere 40 albums. Well, 2019 must have been a bumper year, because I seem to have come up with a 60-album chart this time. Having said that, the ones lurking in the lower reaches of the charts only receive rather lukewarm recommendations.

Like anyone, I suppose, I tend to move chiefly within the safe zones of music that I know I’ll probably go for: low-key jazz, early music, American primitive guitar, 1970s roots reggae, the ambient genres, modern chamber music, English, Scottish & Irish folk, dub, a small dose of Americana, West African acoustic music, solo piano, and judiciously chosen singer/songwriter stuff. It’s more than enough to be getting along with.

In the time-honoured fashion, we count down from number 60, with the first batch of albums ending at » Continue Reading.

It’s been a corker of a year for Reissues and Archival Recordings. An absolute CORKER – I tell you. And here are my Top 30 titles for 2018. Overall, I’d say it’s a stronger list than my 40 favourite new albums of the year – maybe that’s inevitable. And in no way is it a ‘balanced’ list in terms of genres featured. When it comes to reissued albums and old live recordings, four types of music dominate my acquisitions: 23 out of these 30 albums fall into one of the following categories…

Reggae Jazz African music The Grateful Dead

I found it impossible to put them in a straight 30 down to 1 ranking order, so I’m presenting nos 21 to 30 in alphabetical order, followed by nos 11 to 20 in alphabetical order, followed by the top 10, also in alphabetical order. So, here we go, then:

Well, here we all are again. Another two lists of favourite records for 2018. It’s been a vintage year, I think, for Reissues and Archival Recordings, and that list will be along in a week or so. But we start with my 40 Favourite New Albums of 2018, where it’s been an okay-ish year, all in all. In 2017, I had no problems selecting 50 new gems, but this year I just about scraped together a list of 40 albums.

There were fair number of records that I liked, but few that I considered great. Maybe only one, really. I see that only 8 out of the 40 titles are basically albums of songs in English – when I was a teenager, the whole list would’ve been made up of such records. Instead, now, I find I gravitate towards instrumental music of hard-to-define genres in the border-zones between jazz, ambient, modern chamber music, folk and dub. It’s fertile ground.

In the time-honoured fashion, we count down from number 40, reaching no. 26 today.

Here are my 30 favourite Reissues and Archival Recordings for 2017. It’s a list that bears no resemblance at all to my 50 Favourite New Albums of the year. And in no way is it a ‘balanced’ list in terms of genres featured. When it comes to reissued albums or old live recordings, four types of music dominate my purchases: 26 out of these 30 albums fall into one of the following categories…

Reggae Jazz African music Jerry Garcia / the Grateful Dead

I found it impossible to put them in a straight 30 down to 1 ranking order, so I’m presenting nos 21 to 30 in alphabetical order, followed by nos 11 to 20 in alphabetical order, followed by the top 10, also in alphabetical order.

So, here we go, then:

We’ve all read so many “Albums of the year” lists now, that we’ve hardly got any room for another 50 titles painstakingly selected from the flood of releases that overwhelms us every year. But I hope you can spare some time for at least one more helping. Because here comes the duco01 50 Favourite New Albums of 2017 list, and I like to think that it’s worth at least a quick glance.

Looking at the list, my taste as regards new releases seems to be drifting ever further towards instrumental music, rather than songs. An alarming number of my favourites are rather discreet, low-key affairs, with influences from the chamber jazz and ambient genres. If this sort of stuff isn’t really your cup of tea, then fair enough. I invite you return between Christmas and New Year, when I’ll be presenting my Top 25 Reissues and Archival Recordings of 2017. That list will be crammed with indubitable funkiness, in the form of vintage reggae and African music. Oh, and … erm … old Grateful Dead shows, as well.

So here we are. I’ll start the New Albums list with the also-rans, numbers 31 to 50. But 2017 has been » Continue Reading.

I know I’m not the only Hüsker Dü fan on this board.

I was sad to read to day that drummer/songwriter/vocalist Grant Hart has died of cancer aged only 56. Grim news indeed.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7964914/husker-du-drummer-grant-hart-obit

Greetings once again, Afterworders.

Thanks for your comments on my Favourite New Albums list of 2016 a few days ago.

And now, logically, it’s time for my Favourite 35 Reissues and Historical recordings of 2016.

I found these much harder to put in a strict ranking (pun probably intended) order.

So let’s start off with Nos 16 to 35 in Alphabetical order…

Greetings, Afterword brothers and sisters,

We’ve all read so many “Albums of the year” lists now, that we’re full to bursting. But I hope you have room for at least one more helping. Because here comes the duco01 Favourite New Albums of 2016 list, and I like to think that it’s worth at least a quick glance. When I’ve done lists of previous years, I’ve restricted myself to 40 albums, but 2016 has been such an outstanding 12 months full of fine records that I’ve been compelled to expand the chart to an unprecedented 60 titles. And I still found there wasn’t room for albums by perennial favourites like Paul Simon and Lucinda Williams in the sixty. Looking at the list, I see that 40 out of the albums are wholly or almost wholly instrumental, while only 20 are basically albums of songs. I don’t know why this is. I’ve certainly never made a conscious decision to seek out more music without the human voice on it; it’s just happened that way. One’s tastes mutate and evolve. So here we are. I’ll start with the also-rans, numbers 41 to 60. But 2016 has been such a gem of a musical » Continue Reading.

Dear Afterword brothers and sisters,

Here we go with my favourite 15 reissues and historical recordings so far in 2016. The list is rather reggae-heavy, because … well, because I like vintage 1970s reggae and dub, basically.

In the traditional style(e), we start with the lower ten…

Dear Afterword brothers and sisters,

Well, the first half of the year is just over, and I reckon I can put together a decent list of 25 Favourite albums with a 2016 release date that may be of interest to the Afterword community. I haven’t listed the albums in a strict 1 to 25 order, because many of them I haven’t really heard enough to judge fully yet. So often, a record’s qualities manifest themselves gradually, over a longer period.

I’ve just divided the albums into two groups: 10 favourites so far, in alphabetical order, with a few comments about each, and an additional 15 good‘uns, also in alphabetical order.

I’ll keep the compilations, reissues and historical recordings for another list.

To make things very exciting, we’ll start with the lower fifteen…

Here’s the list of my favourite Reissues and Archival Recordings for 2015.

I can say right away that this is in no way a ‘balanced’ list in terms of genres featured. When it comes to reissued albums or old live recordings, two types of music dominate my purchases: this list of 20 albums includes 8 reggae/dub releases and 6 live albums by Jerry Garcia or the Grateful Dead. Then there are two jazz albums, two West African albums and two ‘others’.

I found it impossible to put them in a straight 20 down to 1 ranking order, so I’m presenting nos 6 to 20 in alphabetical order, followed by the top 5, also in alphabetical order. I hope Afterworders will find something that’s of interest …