2024 was a banner year for music fans and collectors. Several iconic albums were treated deluxe and packaged into stunning, carefully curated box sets. Reissues and box sets often offer a unique, in-depth look at the artistic processes behind these timeless records, with countless versions of the same song, outtakes, intakes, demos, and more. No serious music historian or curious newcomer should skip out on what was released this past year. These vinyl and CD releases offer music lovers excellent sound quality, bonus tracks, and a richer understanding of the stories, influences, and creative innovations that made these albums legendary. And now on with the reissue and box set lists…
Top Reissues of 2024
John Abercrombie, Dave Holland & Jack DeJohnette: Gateway
Joe Henderson: Power to the People (Remastered 2024)
MF Doom: Mm..Food (20th Anniversary Edition)
New Order: Brotherhood (Definitive Edition)
Pat Metheny - Bright Size Life (Luminessence ECM Vinyl Series)
TV on the Radio: Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (20th Anniversary)
The Tony Williams Lifetime – Emergency! (Verve)
Wayne Shorter – JuJu (1964)
Gil Scott Heron & Brian Jackson - Winter in America
Doug Watkins - Watkins At Large (Blue Note Tone Poet Series)
Paul McCartney & Wings: Band on the Run (50th Anniversary)
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, 'Live at the Fillmore East, 1969'
Grateful Dead — From the Mars Hotel
George Harrison, Living in the Material World (50th Anniversary)
John Lennon, 'Mind Games (The Ultimate Collection)'
The Police, 'Synchronicity (Super Deluxe Edition)'
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers — Long After Dark
Hawkwind - In Search Of Space
Alice Coltrane – The Carnegie Hall Concert (Impulse)
Talking Heads – Talking Heads: 77 (Super Deluxe Edition)
Top Box Sets of 2024
Grateful Dead — Friend of the Devils: April 1978 (Grateful Dead/Rhino)
Jimi Hendrix — Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision (Hendrix/Legacy)
Bob Dylan & The Band: The 1974 Live Recordings (Columbia/Sony)
Miles Davis - Miles In France 1963 & 1964- Miles Davis Quintet: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8 (Legacy)
Various Artists: I See You Live On Love Street (Music From Laurel Canyon 1967-1975) (Grapefruit)
The Waterboys - 1985 (Chrysalis)
Ludwig van Beethoven, Alexander Lonquich, Münchener Kammerorchester – The Piano Concertos (ECM)
Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works Volume II (3-disc set) (Warp)
Elvis Presley - Las Vegas Hilton Presents Elvis On Stage February 1973 (Memphis Recording Service, UK)
Various Artists - Ghana Special Volume 2 (Electronic Highlife & Afro Sounds in The Diaspora 1980-93) (Soundway)
Happy New Year! We shall resume posts to Substack and amplified again in 2025.
Be well and enjoy the holiday season. - JB