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”:
The duco01 25 Favourite Reissues and Archival Recordings of 2024
by 30 Comments
Bubbling under:
Sidney Crooks – Bag-O-Wire
Richard Thompson Band – Historic Concert series: Live at Nottingham Rock City 1986
The Doors – Live at Konserthuset, Stockholm, 1968
Chicago – Live at The John F. Kennedy Center for The Performing Arts, Washington D.C. 9/16/1971
25. Wayne Shorter – Celebration, Volume 1 (Live at Konserthuset, Stockholm, 18 October 2014)
I was at this gig. No, honestly, I was. I really enjoyed it, and as I was leaving the venue, I thought “I’d like to hear that again, as a live album”. Well, 10 years later, here it is. And somehow, I don’t enjoy it quite as much as a record as I did as a concert.
24. Pixies – At the BBC
An expanded version of the original compilation, which features all six of the band’s sessions for the Beeb between 1988 and 1991.
23. Jerry Garcia Band – GarciaLive Volume 21: Keystone, Berkeley, CA, February 13, 1976
The 21st volume in this series, with Garcia on home turf in Berkeley, is a rather uneven affair. I know that we Deadheads like tracks that go on and on interminably, but let’s just say that the 19-minute version of “The Harder They Come” here outstays its welcome just a tad. On the positive side, “Catfish John” and “Mission in the Rain” are always nice to hear.
22. Tracey Thorn – A Distant Shore
You can keep the Todd Terry remix of “Missing” and all that dancefloor stuff. My favourite Tracey Thorn record is this bedsit confessional, her debut solo mini-album from 1982. The bonus tracks aren’t too exciting, but the original eight songs and Tracey’s sleeve notes are all fab.
21. Bill Evans – In Norway – The Kongsberg Concert
This isn’t the best Bill Evans live album. It isn’t even the tenth best Bill Evans live album. But it’s still a Bill Evans live album.
20. Creation Rebel – Rebel Vibrations
An enjoyable dub set, which also constitutes one-sixth of the “High Over Harlesden” boxed set.
https://creationrebel.bandcamp.com/album/rebel-vibrations
19. Revolutionaries – Meditation in Dub
The newly minted 333 reggae label has already put out some quality reissues, including this set by one of Sly and Robbie’s bands for Ossie Hibbert.
https://deathisnot.bandcamp.com/album/meditation-in-dub
18. Van Morrison – Live at Orangefield: Be Just and Fear Not
In 2014, Van the Man returned to his old school in Belfast, to play three gigs before the buildings were demolished. The album gets better as it goes along, and by the time we get to the three-song climax of “On Hyndford Street”, “Ballerina” and “In the Garden”, the Famous Curmudgeon is finally hitting top form and approaching the glories of old.
17. Na Hawa Doumbia – Volume 2
Awesome Tapes from Africa continue their exemplary series of reissues of early albums by “La Grande Cantatrice Malienne” with this little gem from 1982. It’s a pretty sparse affair, with just Ms Doumbia on vocals and her husband N’Gou Bagayoko on acoustic guitar.
https://nahawadoumbia.bandcamp.com/album/vol-2
More coming up a bit later!
Many thanks for bringing the early Nahawa Doumbia re-issues to my attention – volumes 1 to 3 have now been ordered in great anticipation!
Okey-dokey … I think it’s time to reveal the middle tranche of the chart now, i.e. numbers 16 to 9:
16. Paul McCartney & Wings – One Hand Clapping
Soundtrack to the studio documentary from 1974 that was never released at the time. McCartney is in tremendous voice.
15. Rory Gallagher – Best of At the BBC
I’m not enough of a Rory Gallagher fan to purchase the full, 20-disc collection, and so this 2-disc abridged version suits me just fine. I wish I’d seen Rory live, but sadly, I never did.
14. Rolling Stones – Live at the Wiltern
Recorded at a small theatre in Los Angeles in 2002, with Solomon Burke guesting on one track. The setlist features plenty of deep cuts that the Stones seldom played live.
13. Comsat Angels – Sleep No More
A bog-standard reissue of a classic post-punk album from 1981. Who is your favourite Sheffield band/artist? Pulp, the Human League, Cabaret Voltaire, Joe Cocker, Heaven 17, Arctic Monkeys, Clock DVA, Richard Hawley? Mine are the Comsat Angels. Fine band. Somehow, they don’t seem to be as well-remembered as some of their peers.
12. Can – Live in Paris 1973
Well, here we have a live recording from Paris by everyone’s favourite Can line-up, namely Holger-Damo-Irmin-Jaki-Michael. The band really stretch out and give it plenty. Why on earth did it take them 51 years to release this?
11. Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock & Paul Motian – The Old Country
The original “At the Deer Head Inn” from 1992 is one of my favourite Keith Jarrett live albums, so it’s nice to have another set of recordings from those gigs in smalltown Pennsylvania.
10. Noel Kelehan Quintet – Ozone
OK – name an all-Irish jazz album that’s more than 40 years old. Tricky, isn’t it? – even if you’re a big jazz fan. For what it’s worth, “Ozone” by the Noel Kelehan Quintet is supposed to be the first Irish jazz album ever. It’s basically a modal set. I like it a lot; check out “Castle of Dromore” on the Bandcamp page:
https://noelkelehan.bandcamp.com/album/ozone
9. Various Artists – Les Cousins: The Soundtrack Of Soho’s Legendary Folk & Blues Club
72-track, 3CD compilation of artists who played at Soho’s legendary Les Cousins folk and blues club in the sixties. A good mixture of familiar names with more obscure artists. Useful sleeve notes by Ian A. Anderson, who himself was one of the performers (with the Country Blues Band). What an incredibly varied and fertile scene it was!
Right … that’s it for now.
Stay tuned for the Titanic Top Eight tomorrow morning (Saturday).
@duco01
That Comsats reissue has passed me by but seeing as it’s bog standard I probably don’t need it to replace my current cd.
Very good band. First two albums very dense post punk and then they lightened up a bit. I think I prefer their poppy phase.
Hello Mr Steady,
Good to hear that there’s another Comsats fan on the site!
As you say, you probably don’t need this rather plain reissue. The “bonus” tracks have all been released before:
“Eye of the Lens”
“Another World”
“At Sea”
“(Do The) Empty House”
“Red Planet Revisited”
Still, it’s nice that someone still cares enough about the band to re-release an album from the classic first trilogy. And the music still sounds great: thick, claustrophobic, rather doom-laden, with Mik Glaisher’s drums sounding absolutely huge. As soon as I hear it, I’m transported back to my student years…
I had already just ordered Can live in Paris before seeing your post so glad you rate it so highly
Will be ordering the Revolutionaries as a massive fan of anything Sly and Robbie.
Thanks for the heads up.
As you probably know, Steve, there were two other Can live sets released later in the year – recordings of gigs just two days apart, when Can toured the great seats of learning of the West Midlands in 1977.
The first release was live at the University of Aston, Birmingham, 4 March 1977.
The second release was live on 2 March 1977 at the University of Keele in … where on earth is Keele? Is it near Stoke or something? [Googles Keele] Ah! – it’s near Newcastle-under-Lyme. Right.
Anyway, I don’t have the Aston Album.
I have just bought the Keele album, but as I haven’t listened to it yet, I couldn’t really put it in my Top 25. My knowledge of, and liking for, Can extends up to about 1974 (Soon Over Babaluma). So it’ll be fun to hear something from the Rosko Gee era.
I hope you’ll let us know what you thought about it in due course!
@duco01 I would hope there might be other Awers ready to crawl out of the woodwork and profess their admiration for Sheffield’s finest. At the right demographic I reck!
You’re right about the drums. Absolutely immense and a big influence on a certain John Lever of the Chameleons, just across the Pennines.
If I’m honest I prefer them slightly dialed down. Would say that Fiction is my favourite from the early days. Having said that, Eye of the Lens is a corker and my entry point to the band.
@freddy-steady, @duco01 – I am confused. Having been born at Jessops hospital in 1967, I was always under the impression that I was Sheffield’s finest……..
“Which one is Sheffield’s Finest?”
“Every one of them is Sheffield’s Finest.”
A band which, in my head, I associate with the Comsat Angels is the Sound, led by Adrian Borland. The two bands were around at the same time, had a big, bold post-punk sound, and neither of them had the success they deserved.
The first two albums by the Sound, “Jeopardy” and “From the Lion’s Mouth”, were reissued on vinyl towards the end of last year, after several long delays. I’m rather surprised that no Afterworder voted for them in the Archival/Reissues chart. I’ll probably be getting the CD reissues when they come out next week (hopefully).
I tried more than once to get into The Sound as I’m a big fan of The Chameleons and Mark Burgess is a fan and was a mate I think. But they didn’t do it for me for whatever reason. Maybe I should try again
The DuCool Reissues List is a real treat. Not least because it’s so radically different from the DuCool Best of 2024.
It’s a cavalcade of superb artists from a whole variety of different genres.
Macca and Wings, the Stones, The Pixies, .Bill Evans, Rory Gallagher, Can, Nahawa Doumbia, Van Morrison. Wayne Shorter, Jerry Garcia Band, The Doors, Tracey Thorn, The Doors…
Not many of those would appear in the DuCool 2024 List.
Which is exactly as it should be.
I’m the same. Following in the footsteps of the Venerable Peel, I am always looking for new ( to me) artists.
I was fascinated by the idea of Van the Man going back to play at his old school before it was demolished. So I was chuffed to find this film which combines amateur footage from the concert with scenes from East Belfast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgFfLINRWkk
George Ivan Morrison must have been the coolest kid in school. His dad had probably the best record collection in Belfast.
“Morrison recalls being brought by his father to Solly’s record shop in Belfast every Saturday where his father always bought a record. Therefore the aspirant musician had `a direct connection’ for which he considers himself ‘lucky.’
Solly’s was a smoke-filled room, as he recalls it, “All these guys smoking cigars and stuff, it was like a haze of smoke.” Morrison says in the new interview.”
https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2019/1227/1103209-van-morrison-wanted-to-be-a-vet-as-a-schoolboy/
Van the Man was almost Van the Vet!
I Googled. That record shop was owned by Solly Lipsitz, a very influential figure in te Belfast jazz scene.
https://suncoastvanfans.blogspot.com/2013/04/soilly-lipsitz-dead-at-92.html
“Solly said in an interview, Van’s father used to come in every Saturday. He was more interested in the blues side of things – Howlin’ Wolf and Little Brother Montgomery. I remember Van very well in a grey school cap. “
I can’t imagine Van being cool as a kid. Pudgy, shy, curt and sullen is my expectation.
Not so sure about that, Junior. “shy, curt and sullen” perhaps.
But he certainly wasn’t pudgy in the days of Them.
Good point.
The Van album is even better than A night in San Francisco..
Very well recorded and his band on top form.
Much improved by a distinct absence of yer man Kennedy…
Much improved by a distinct lack of yer man Kennedy…
Right, thanks for your comments so far, and now I think it’s time to reveal the top tranche of the chart from this vintage year for Reissues and Archival Recordings…
8. Jutta Hipp – At the Hickory House, Volume 1
Jazz reissue of the year in glorious mono – a live trio recording from a small club in New York City in 1956. Pianist Jutta Hipp wasn’t really your typical Blue Note recording artist. Most were African American men; she was a white German woman. A really nice set. Recommended for all Blue Note jazz fans.
7. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Live at Fillmore East, 1969
This was one of the supergroup’s earliest gigs. A good quality recording, and a judicious balance of acoustic and electric material. Terrific singing all the way through. A more than worthy addition to the CSNY catalogue.
6. Taj Mahal Sextet – Swingin’ Live at the Church in Tulsa
Hang on a minute … this is a live recording from 2023 that was released this year, so should it have been in the “New Albums” chart instead? I’m confused …. Anyway, the 81-year-old Taj and his fabulous sextet really swing here, and sound like they’re having a grand old time. I can think of few live blues albums that I prefer to this.
https://tajblues.bandcamp.com/album/swingin-live-at-the-church-in-tulsa
5. Niney the Observer – Tubby’s Want the Channel: Dubbing With The Observer 1976-1978
I simply haven’t been able to keep up with Doctor Bird’s exhaustive programme of reissues from Niney’s vaults, but this is a first class selection of 40 Niney productions from the 70s, dubbed by King Tubby.
4. Prince Jammy – Kamikazi Dub
Good to see a vinyl reissue of one of Jammy’s very finest dub sets, from 1979: Sly & Robbie, Earl Chinna Smith, Augustus Pablo, Ansel Collins, Bobby Ellis on the trumpet, “Deadley” Headley Bennett on sax. A dream team indeed.
https://cinedelic.bandcamp.com/album/kamikazi-dub
3. Prince Philip Presents: Dubplates And Raw Rhythm From King Tubby’s Studio 1973-1976
No – not THAT Prince Philip. Some of King Tubby’s protégés at his Dromilly Avenue studio went on to world domination on the dub scene, the two best-known examples being Prince Jammy (later King Jammy) and Scientist. But what of the late ‘Prince’ Philip Smart, Tubby’s first ever apprentice? He seems to have faded into obscurity, so kudos to Digikiller in New York for unearthing these 20 dub cuts from Smart’s personal archive and putting them on a double vinyl set.
2. Joni Mitchell – Archives Volumes 4: Asylum Years 1976-1980
I’ve tried to like Joni’s ‘Mingus’ album, honestly I have. But I just can’t. So I struggle with the Mingus-heavy Disc 4 of this 6-disc collection. The rest of the box is all quite impeccable – one almost runs out of superlatives. And the ‘Hejira’ demos on disc 3 are the absolute crown jewels.
1. Fleet Foxes – Live on Boston Harbor
This first existed as a 130-minute YouTube concert video from August 2022, but it finally got a release as a (vinyl) album on Record Store Day this year. Robin Peckinold and the band are supplemented by Seattle’s finest brass quartet, the Westerlies. And the result is simply a triumph, from the very moment that Peckinold walks out onstage and attempts to pronounce “Shore Tour” in a Boston accent, much to the amusement of the locals. Basically, you get exquisite versions of the Fleet Foxes’ 25 best songs, plus a cover of the Bee Gees’ “In the Morning” and a sparkling rendition of Judee Sill’s “The Kiss”. Peckinold and his friends sing beautifully from start to finish. If you’ve ever had a liking for Fleet Foxes, this concert – the longest they’ve ever done – is indispensable.
https://fleetfoxes.bandcamp.com/album/live-on-boston-harbor
Right. That’s it from me. Warm greetings to all Afterworders for the between-Christmas-and-New-Year period!
//duco
Marvellous list, as always, but I’m afraid Taj Mahal is neither historical nor archival. It’s new!
😁
Yes, I’ve admitted to my terrible blunder over on the “The Afterword Archival, Historical, Compilation & Remix Poll 2024” thread.
We’ll have to take out the Taj Mahal, move the others up one space, and bring in Keith Jarrett’s “The Old Country” at no.10!
No worries
If anyone wants to dip into all the wonderful stuff on this list, this may help…
No Comsat Angels or Prince Philip and I can’t find exactly the right King Tubby album, but otherwise, they’re all on Spotify. Enjoy!
Thanks for drawing our attention to all these wonderful gems, DuCool!
I’ve been enjoying dipping into the albums on this list.
A pleasure to listen to Tracey Thorn’s A Distant Shore again. I actually do like the reinvented electronic ETBG of Walking Wounded. But hearing Tracey solo reminded me of EBTG’s first album, Eden: a perennial favourite here in Bagis. It featured some excellent jazz musicians.
Here’s the single.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/eden-mw0000473290#review
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_but_the_Girl
Wiki reminded me that TT was also in another band during these early days, the Marine Girls from Hatfield.
Once again, Wiki gives some interesting details.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Girls
Let’s go back to 1983 and a Peel Session which opens with a fine Buzzcocks cover.
The songs from their 1982 Peel Session are all on YouTube.
That Taj Mahal album is a real pleasure.
I first heard Taj on the Rock Machine Turns you on sampler playing this song.
And he’s still going strong with much the same sound. Respect!
I have to get the KamikazI dub lp.
Your list is an exquisite – thank you for taking the time to post this.
Why, thank you, Mr T – I always enjoy putting together my end-of-year lists.