Beatles, Pink Floyd, Prince And Sinatra Among 2023 Music Reissue Highlights

For music fans, the second half of this 2023 delivered the goods when it came to archival music and reissues. Whether it’s from the Beatles, Grateful Dead, Joni Mitchell, Prince or Pink Floyd, these historical releases are destined to become surefire hits with sophisticated music-obsessed who swoon over such enticements as previously unreleased tracks, fancy packaging and liner notes. Below is a partial list of those recordings from the vaults for shoppers to keep in mind for holiday gift giving.

The Beatles

1962-1966

1967-1970

First released in 1973 and commonly known as the “Red” and “Blue” albums, 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 are considered the popular of Beatles compilations—the original track selections of the band’s biggest hits and iconic album tracks were faultless. To mark the 50th anniversary of their release, the beloved collections have been expanded to include bonus tracks (among them “Twist and Shout,” “You Can’t Do That,” “Taxman,” “Got to Get You Into My Life,” “Within You Without You,” “Blackbird” and “I Me Mine”). Most notably, the updated version of 1967-1970 contains the long-awaited final new Beatles song, the reflective “Now and Then.” A John Lennon demo that had been worked on by the three surviving Beatles for The Beatles Anthology but later shelved, “Now and Then” was finally completed nearly 30 years later thanks to new advancements in technology.

Grateful Dead

Wake of the Flood (50th Anniversary Edition)

1973’s Wake of the Flood was the Grateful Dead’s first release on their eponymously named record label after their tenure with Warner Bros. It remains one of the band’s outstanding releases and several of its songs, such as “Eyes of the World,” “Here Comes Sunshine” and “Weather Report Suite,” became part of the band’s set lists. On its golden anniversary, Wake of the Flood was reissued along with previously unreleased demos and a second disc of performances from a 1973 show at Northwestern University.

Joni Mitchell

Archives — Vol. 3: The Asylum Years (1972-1975)

The latest installment in the acclaimed Joni Mitchell Archives series, this 5-CD set focuses on the period when the singer recorded the cornerstone albums For the Roses, Court and Spark and The Hissing of Summer Lawns. The anthology includes a treasure trove of demos and sessions from those records along with live concert performances (one from Carnegie Hall in 1972, and another at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in 1974) and collaborations with James Taylor, Neil Young, David Crosby, Graham Nash and Tom Scott.

Van Halen

The Collection II

This new box set contains the four Van Halen studio albums (1986-1996) featuring lead singer Sammy Hagar, who succeeded the band’s original frontman David Lee Roth after the 1984 album. At first, the thought of replacing a singer as charismatic as Roth seemed impossible, but Hagar held to his own distinctive singing style and Van Halen went on to have another string of success (including such hits as “Why Can’t This Be Love,” “When It’s Love,” “Poundcake” and “Can’t Stop Loving You”). In addition to the four albums, the box includes a disc of non-album rarities—among them three reunion tracks with Hagar that originally appeared on the 2004 compilation The Best of Both Worlds.

Yes

The Yes Album (Super Deluxe Edition)

Yessingles

The British progressive rock band’s third album from 1971 was a crucial release in two ways—it marked the debut appearance of guitarist Steve Howe and was the commercial breakthrough release that Yes needed at that point in their career. The Yes Album featured three of the band’s beloved compositions—“Yours Is No Disgrace,” “Starship Trooper and “I’ve Seen All Good People” — all of which are still performed at their shows. This new 4-CD expanded edition features the original album, rarities, two never-before released concerts, and new mixes by Steven Wilson.

Meanwhile, the band’s singles—a good number of them heavily edited from their original incarnations—have been now collected for the first time on vinyl as Yessingles. Spanning from 1971’s The Yes Album to 1983’s 90125, this compilation contains some of the group’s famous songs like “Roundabout,” “Starship Trooper,” “Wonderous Stories” and “Owner of a Lonely Heart.”

Bob Dylan

The Complete Budokan 1978

This new archival release significantly expands the previous 1978 live collection, Bob Dylan at Budokan, which captured the singer dramatically and stylistically reworking much of his popular material, such as “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Don’t Think Twice,” “Maggie’s Farm” and “Tombstone Blues”—all of which further confirmed Dylan’s willingness to take his music in different directions regardless of fans’ and critics’ expectations. The new set features two complete shows from that Budokan run—56 tracks in total with 36 of them previously unreleased.

Pink Floyd

The Dark Side of the Moon

Atom Heart Mother (Special Edition)

On its 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s timeless magnum opus, this special remastered edition of The Dark Side of the Moon—featuring the band standards “Time,” “Money,” “Us and Them,” “Brain Damage” and “Eclipse”—was given a new standalone release following its initial appearance on a recent box set. Additionally, another Pink Floyd classic album, 1968’s Atom Heart Mother, is being re-released as a special edition on CD/Blu-ray containing footage of a 1971 band performance of “Atom Heart Mother” at Hakone Aphrodite Festival in Japan.

New Order

Substance

A compilation of New Order’s best known singles through 1987, Substance introduced the Manchester-based British quartet to a wider audience and contained their then-new single “True Faith.” More than 35 years later, Substance continues to be one of New Order’s most commercially successful and popular releases — now expanded as a 4-CD collection with alternate versions of songs, additional B-sides and a live concert from 1987.

Tina Turner

Queen of Rock ‘N’ Roll

The loss of Tina Turner earlier this year still hits hard, so this brand-new career collection is both an appropriate and poignant tribute. It spans her solo work from 1975 through the end of her performing career, and most notably includes her mid-1980s triumphant comeback (“What’s Love Got to Do With It,” “Private Dancer,” “Better Be Good to Me,” “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)”). A new version of “Something Beautiful” is exclusive to this set.

Steely Dan

Aja

Steely Dan’s classic 1977 jazz-rock masterpiece, with such famed tracks as the title song, “Peg,” “Deacon Blues” and “Josie,” was reissued on vinyl and remastered from the analog tapes under the supervision of the band’s co-founder Donald Fagen. This new vinyl repressing of Aja is must-own for both Dan fans and audiophiles.

Olivia Newton-John

Totally Hot

Olivia Newton-John’s 1978 album revealed a more glam side of the singer in marking her transition from country music to mainstream pop—a precursor of Taylor Swift’s eventual career path decades later. Totally Hot became a smash album for Newton-John thanks to two hit songs: “A Little More Love” and “Deeper Than the Night.” On its 45th anniversary, Totally Hot has been reissued on CD as well as neon coral red vinyl and black vinyl.

Jethro Tull

The Broadsword and the Beast: The 40th Anniversary Monster Edition

WarChild II

Continuing the Jethro Tull’s anniversary reissue program is the re-release of the band’s 1982 album The Broadsword and the Beast, which at the time marked a return to the ornate and theatrical folk-rock sound after the electronic-influenced A record. Additionally, Tull’s output from the sessions for 1974’s WarChild album has been revisited for a new vinyl collection, WarChild II, featuring Steven Wilson’s remixes of songs such as “Glory Row,” “SeaLion” and “Rainbow Blues.”

Fleetwood Mac

Rumours Live

By the late 1970s, Fleetwood Mac was a hot act thanks to the crucial additions of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks that further established the band’s shift from a blues outfit to mainstream pop powerhouse. This concert recording from the Forum in 1977 captured the group coming off the successes of their 1975 self-titled album and the massively popular Rumours. A good chunk of the material on Rumours Live feature the classic cuts from both albums as well as a performance of Peter Green’s fervent “Oh Well” from the early incarnation of the Mac.

The Who

Who’s Next/Life House (Super Deluxe Edition)

One of the defining albums of rock, the tracks from the Who’s 1971 album Who’s Next have become standards on AOR radio via such classics – “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “Baba O’Reilly,” “This Song Is Over, Bargain,” “Going Mobile” and “Behind Blue Eyes” — it’s essentially a Who’s greatest hits record in itself. As the famous story goes, the album was born out of the Life House sessions, intended to be an opera follow up to Tommy and was later abandoned. Now the classic album has been reexamined in a new Super Deluxe edition, titled as Who’s Next/Life House, containing in all 155 tracks with an astounding 89 previously unreleased songs among them.

Prince and the New Power Generation

Diamonds and Pearls (Super Deluxe Edition)

After the somewhat tepid reaction to his 1990 movie Graffiti Bridge—though its soundtrack album performed better—Prince rebounded in a big way the following year with Diamonds and Pearls. The Purple One’s 13th studio record brought him back on the charts with the hit singles “Get Off,” “Cream,” “Money Don’t Matter 2 Night” and the title song. As part of the ongoing Prince archival music campaign, Diamonds and Pearls has now been expanded to a super deluxe edition containing 7 CDs/1 Blu-ray with a whopping 33 never-before released studio tracks, single mixes and edits, and concert performances from Grand Slam in 1992.

Lynyrd Skynyrd

FYFTY

Marking the 50th anniversary release of their debut album (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd), Lynyrd Skynyrd has unveiled a new career-spanning 4-CD collection containing the Southern rock band’s iconic hits such as “Tuesday’s Gone,” “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Gimme Back My Bullets” and “That Smell.” Unique to this compilations are two previously unreleased live tracks, among them the signature “Free Bird” from 1976, and “Gimme Two Steps” taken from the final 2022 performance by original co-guitarist Gary Rossington before his passing earlier this year.

Nirvana

In Utero (Super Deluxe Edition)

Commemorating the 30th anniversary of Nirvana’s third and final studio record, this new super deluxe edition of In Utero contains the original album, B-sides and two live concerts from 1993 and 1994. At the time it may have seemed an impossible task for the grunge band to follow up the massively successful Nevermind, but In Utero accomplished that and more with such memorable tracks as “Heart Shaped Box,” “Dumb” and “All Apologies.”

The Kinks

The Journey: Part 2

The follow-up to The Journey: Part 1, this installment collects some of the beloved British rock legends’ additional hits, B-sides and album tracks, as well as three never-before-released live performances in London from 1975—among the popular cuts featured in The Journey: Part 2 are “Til the End of the Day,” “Lola,” “Dedicated Follower of Fashion,” “A Well Respected Man” and “David Watts.”

Bryan Adams

Live at the Royal Albert Hall

Recorded last year, Live at the Royal Albert Hall captured the Canadian rocker on stage performing three of his earlier albums in their entirety—1983’s breakthrough album Cuts Like a Knife (the title song, “This Time” and “Straight From the Heart”); 1987’s brilliant if criminally underrated Into the Fire (“Heat of the Night,” “Hearts on Fire,” “Victim of Love”); and 1991’s massive smash Waking Up the Neighbours (“(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, “Can’t Stop This Thing We Started” and “Do I Have to Say the Words”).

Jason Isbell

Southeastern (10 Year Anniversary Edition)

First released 10 years ago, Southeastern earned alt-country artist Jason Isbell wide acclaim with such enduring songs as “Cover Me Up” and “Stockholm.” To usher the milestone, Isbell’s crucial breakthrough work has been expanded with demos and live recordings of Southeastern’s songs.

Johnny Marr

Spirit Power: The Best of Johnny Marr

Though he’ll always be associated with the Smiths, guitarist and composer Johnny Marr has carved a successful and consistent solo career in the last 10 years following the group’s demise. This new compilation features 21 tracks from his own discography, including two new ones “Somewhere” and “The Answer.” The release of Spirit Power coincides with the publication of his latest book Marr’s Guitars.

Jimi Hendrix Experience

Live At The Hollywood Bowl: August 18, 1967

A previously unreleased concert recording, this new archival set features the trio in performance at the famed venue just days before the American release of their groundbreaking debut album Are You Experienced. In addition to renditions of iconic songs as “Foxey Lady,” “The Wind Cries Mary” and “Fire,” Hendrix, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell tackled covers of songs from such contemporaries as The Beatles (“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”) and Bob Dylan (“Like a Rolling Stone”).

Bryan Ferry

Mamouna

The former Roxy Music frontman’s ninth studio album from 1994 covers the similarly lush and subdued sonic terrain of Roxy’s swansong Avalon, highlighted by the groove-powered title song and the exquisite ballad “Your Painted Smile.” Nearly 30 years later, Mamouna is now paired with the previously unreleased Horoscope album as well as Mamouna Sketches consisting of instrumentals and demos (Ferry’s revisit of the Roxy Music deep cut “Mother of Pearl” is featured in this new collection).

Bob Marley and the Wailers

Catch a Fire (50th Anniversary Edition)

Bob Marley and the Wailers’ debut Island Records release turned 50 this year, and this seminal album remains one the reggae icon’s greatest works containing “Stir It Up” and “Slave Driver.” This new edition of this classic carries two bonus discs, including a 1973 live concert in London and alternative and instrumental Jamaican versions of the original record.

DJ Rashad

Double Cup

This year commemorates the 10th anniversary of the pioneering Chicago-based DJ Rashad’s debut album, Double Cup, which drew attention to the genre of footwork (or juke) genre; it was Rashad’s first and only record as the artist died at the age of 34 in 2014. To celebrate the milestone, the acclaimed Double Cup will be rereleased next month containing new artwork.

Christine McVie

Christine McVie

In the Meantime

The beloved Fleetwood Mac co-singer two solo albums from 1984 and 2004 have been reissued; the self-titled Christine McVie from 1984 is notable for the late McVie’s two solo hits “Got a Hold on Me” and “Love Will Show Us How.” Twenty years later, McVie would release the follow-up In the Meantime, co-produced by her guitarist and nephew Dan Perfect; this new reissue of her final solo album also contains the new bonus track “Little Darlin’”.

The Replacements

Tim: Let It Bleed Edition

One of this year’s most anticipated reissues was the Replacements’ fourth studio record as a 4-CD box featuring the original album (containing the beloved “Bastards of Young,” “Here Comes a Regular” and “Left of the Dial”) newly remixed by Ed Stasium; previously unreleased alternate versions of Tim’s tracks; and a 1986 concert at Chicago’s Cabaret Metro.

Commemorating the 70th anniversary of Frank Sinatra’s signing to Capitol Records, Sinatra Platinum collects the popular songs Ol’ Blue Eyes recorded for the venerable label. The singer’s towering performances of “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “Love And Marriage,” “Come Fly With Me,” “The Lady Is A Tramp” and others from his Capitol tenure have become engrained in pop culture ever since. Also included in the 44-track anthology are alternate and session takes and radio spots that should entice Sinatra fans to snap this up.