New vinyl reissues: June 26, 2026
Greetings and salutations, vinyl friends ’n’ vinyl fiends—it’s another jam-packed week in the realm of newly pressed reissues, so let’s hop to it.
To accompany our journey, here’s the new playlist, which is bursting at the seams with all of this week’s choice reissues. There’s also a ton of stuff that isn’t featured in the blurbs below but is well worth your while, as you’ll be able to hear. Don’t see the playlist? Well, that’s easily remedied. Simply join our paid tier and get brand-new playlists each and every week, showcasing all of the new vinyl reissues hitting stores. The streaming playlist allows you to “try” before you “buy,” a philosophy that has served drug dealers and grocery-store sample-givers since time immemorial.
Also, here’s another reminder about our June vinyl giveaway for our paid-tier subscribers. If you haven’t entered yet, do so before 11:59 pm Pacific on Sunday, June 28. To learn all the details and enter to win, click right here:
Ned Lannamann
Golden Earring: Moontan [Artone Signature/Music on Vinyl]
The launch of a new audiophile vinyl series is always cause for curiosity, and in the case of Artone Signature, they’re off to a very intriguing start. The imprint is part of Artone Group, the Haarlem, Netherlands, company that owns prolific Dutch reissue label Music on Vinyl and also has an interest in Record Industry, the Haarlem pressing plant that is considered one of the finest in the world. For its inaugural release, Artone has chosen a homegrown classic: Moontan, the 1973 global breakthrough by perhaps the greatest Dutch rock band of all time, Golden Earring. (I hear you, Q65 fans. You raise a good point, but we should continue this conversation later.) While Moontan is something of a no-brainer for Artone, it’s an inspired choice if this series is looking to make a global impact: Golden Earring’s ninth(!) studio album is an absolutely phenomenal gem that hasn’t been done to death either by reissue labels or classic-rock radio. Beyond the immortal “Radar Love,” most casual rock fans probably haven’t heard much of it—and they’re in for a real treat, as it’s packed to the brim with fist-pumping magic like “Are You Receiving Me?,” “Vanilla Queen,” and “Candy’s Going Bad.” The Dutch version also has a different tracklist than what we got here in America (the UK release has the altered tracklist as well), so there may even be some longtime Golden Earring fans who have never heard “Suzy Lunacy” and “Just Like Vince Taylor.”
Unlike the analog cuts that American reissue labels are prone to doing, the Artone Signature Moontan is cut from a digital transfer, which was prepared a few years ago by mastering engineer Wouter Bessels from the original master tape—that was the first time it had been used as a source, as all earlier issues used an EQ’ed copy tape. It sounds like two of the tracks were pitch-corrected during that process. Bessel’s digital master was used for the 2021 Red Bullet CD and hi-res files and the 2022 vinyl reissue on Music on Vinyl (and its subsequent represses). This new Artone Signature pressing was cut at 45 RPM using a DMM mastering process and spread across two LPs—slightly reordering the tracklist to fit evenly across four sides—with the pressing done, naturally, at Record Industry. I imagine it sounds phenomenal, and the Record Industry pressing is bound to be flawless, although one always wonders what a lacquer cut from the original analog tape might have offered. Regardless, Artone Signature has my attention and I’ll be curious to see what the series looks like going forward. Perhaps Music on Vinyl/Record Industry’s long-standing relationship with Sony could result in some choice reissues of Columbia/CBS titles. Stay tuned.
Definitive Sound Series Moves to Retail
Interscope-Capitol’s Definitive Sound Series (DSS) has gotten a lot of attention in the vinyl community, both here and elsewhere. Now most of those titles are breaking out of direct-to-consumer containment and hitting brick-and-mortar record stores. These are mega-luxe ultra-high-end one-step pressings done on a near-silent Neotech vinyl compound in limited editions of 3000 (with one exception), and they generally sound pretty amazing across the board, although if you’ve read our reviews, you’ve noticed that they have qualifying factors to consider, price not least among them. The DSS albums hitting record stores are: Dr. Dre’s The Chronic; A Perfect Circle’s Mer de Noms (read our review here); Beck’s Morning Phase (review here); Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song (review here); Lionel Richie’s Can’t Slow Down (review here); and Blink-182’s Enema of the State (review here). The DSS edition of R.E.M.’s Murmur/Chronic Town is already sold out and won’t be available. That leaves the most recent DSS release, the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, which was pressed in double the numbers of the other albums (6000 copies) but is coming close to fully selling out of its run. (Read my thorough examination of it and other Pet Sounds reissues here.) So I can’t guarantee that the DSS Pet Sounds will be available at your local, but it never hurts to ask and see if they can get one for you. For my money, the best-sounding in this batch is Beck’s Morning Phase, which was a digital recording but sounds absolutely phenomenal as a DSS one-step.
Lekan Animashaun: Low Profile [Strut]
Lekan Animashaun was the baritone saxophonist in Fela Kuti’s Africa 70, having joined forces with Kuti in 1965 and playing on all his classic works. Animashaun became the bandleader when Tony Allen left in 1979, leading the renamed Egypt 80 ensemble until Fela’s death in 1997. In the late ’70s, Animashaun recorded this solo album with the Africa 70 musicians—Fela plays organ, Femi Kuti plays alto sax, and Allen drums on a track as well—and it naturally sounds quite similar to Fela’s own work, except with Animashaun providing the vocals. The album remained unreleased and did not see the light of day until 1995; it’s now been reissued by the excellent Strut Records, a British label that is part of the Berlin-based company !K7. Low Profile is an overlooked Afrobeat classic, sure to thrill any Fela devotee; I’ll have more to say in a full-length review in the coming days.
Metallica: ReLoad [Blackened/Rhino]
The big box of the week comes from Metallica, for their 1997 album ReLoad. It was marketed at the time as a companion to their 1996 album Load—the “haircut” album, if you can remember back that far—and together, the two albums marked the point where the bloom had definitively fallen from the Metallica vine, with the band no longer driving the culture forward as they had on their classic ’80s thrash albums or with the more introspective brooding on their 1991 self-titled mega-smash. Nevertheless! ReLoad is getting an absurdly sized mega-box with more bonuses than you would expect from an album that was perceived by many as a collection of Load outtakes. It includes five vinyl LPs: ReLoad on two LPs and a triple-disc live album. Plus it’s got a 7-inch of “The Memory Remains.” And then there are 15 CDs and 4 DVDs with demos, more live stuff, rough mixes, and more, plus a 128-page book, in addition to a, well, load of what could uncharitably be called “junk”: three tour laminates, 10 guitar picks, a sticker, a poster, some Rorschach test cards(?), lyric sheets, and more. Look, this box set is obviously not for me, but I am genuinely happy for Metallica fans and admiring of how the band has opened the vaults to make all of this material available for anyone interested. More artists should follow suit and offer these kinds of truly authoritative warts-and-all editions—although I’d probably be good with just one or two guitar picks. ReLoad is also available as a 2-LP edition without all the other stuff. It’s been remastered by Reuben Cohen at Lurssen Mastering.
Various Artists: Rebel Island Soul: Under the Influence: Reggae, Funk & Soul in Jamaica in the 1970s [Soul Jazz]
A new compilation album from London’s Soul Jazz is always a reason to perk up and take notice, and this one puts an interesting spin on their many excellent reggae comps thus far. Rebel Island Soul collects Jamaican artists’ covers of American soul and R&B of the 1970s, meaning we get island-flavored takes on Isaac Hayes’s “Shaft,” the Temptations’ “Ball of Confusion,” Edwin Starr’s “War,” Bill Withers’s “Ain’t No Sunshine,” and 12 others. There’s nothing as revelatory as Tony Tribe’s version of “Red Red Wine” (later pilfered wholesale by UB40) or Toots and the Maytals’ take on “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” but these tracks are all fascinating and tough to find on their own; they contain the ingredients for what eventually became the English-born phenomenon of lovers rock.
Del the Funky Homosapien: Future Development [Rhymesayers/Hieroglyphics Imperium]
As Oakland rapper Del the Funky Homosapien was preparing his third album, 1997’s Future Development, he was abruptly dropped from Elektra Records. Not missing a beat, Del started his own Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings—named for the Hieroglyphics collective that Del and other Oakland rappers were members of—and dropped Future Development on cassette, available only on the nascent label’s website. It eventually got a wider release in 2002 on CD and vinyl, but it’s been unavailable on wax since then. Rhymesayers have prepped a new double-LP version on metallic blue vinyl and with blue foil-stamped artwork on the jacket. Long neglected due to its initial limited release, it’s worthy for reevaluation as a ’90s hiphop classic.
Chris Squire: Fish Out of Water [Esoteric]
After 1974’s Relayer and its ensuing tour, English proggers Yes took some time apart to record their solo albums. Bassist Chris Squire’s Fish Out of Water, released November 1975, might be the best of that bunch, with a very Yes-like sound and Squire’s bass given plenty of room to shine. His singing, too, serves as a reminder that the Yes vocal sound was always very much Jon Anderson blending with Squire—he could have credibly taken the lead vocal reins on 1980’s Drama without too much fuss, I think. Fish Out of Water contains some prog-minded stuff in the irregular time signatures of “Hold Out Your Hand” and “Lucky Seven” but there’s also heartfelt balladry of “You by My Side” and the epic build of the 15-minute “Safe (Canon Song),” which plays a bit like the “Würm” section of “Starship Trooper” except with an orchestra and Squire’s distinctive Rickenbacker bass providing the sonic fireworks instead of Steve Howe’s lead guitar. The album was reissued in 2018 with 5.1 and stereo remixes by Jakko Jakszyk, but for its slightly belated 50th anniversary, it’s been remixed again by Stephen W. Tayler in Dolby Atmos and stereo, available on a new CD/Blu-ray set. The stereo mix is also available on a half-speed-mastered vinyl version, cut at AIR Studios. Sadly, Squire died in 2015, so there’s no telling what he would have made of this ongoing tweaking of his only solo album.
Alicia Keys: Songs in A Minor [Sony]
On June 22, record executive Clive Davis died at age 94, and among his many credits was signing Alicia Keys to J Records and helping launch her to superstar status almost immediately following the release of her debut album, 2001’s Songs in A Minor. This is not to discount Keys’s own undeniable talent, which is really the responsible factor for the massive success her music attained—Davis simply knew how to bottle it up and bring it to market. Songs in A Minor remains a remarkable debut, a warm and enjoyable blend of Keys’ substantial precocity and the youthful nature that lingered in her music; she had just hit her 20s when the album was released, and she sounded both wise beyond her years and also incredibly fresh and uncynical. Songs in A Minor has gotten anniversary reissues before, but here’s the 25th; it includes the two bonus tracks that also appeared on the 20th-anniversary pressing.
Grateful Dead: Steal Your Face [Rhino/Grateful Dead]
The October ’74 shows at Winterland were the Grateful Dead’s toodle-oo before taking an extended hiatus from the road, and as such, they were extensively documented, both in 1977’s The Grateful Dead Movie and on 1976’s Steal Your Face double live album. (More music from those dates has been released over the years as well.) Bassist Phil Lesh was responsible for putting together Steal Your Face’s tracklist, and he focused on shorter performances and things that hadn’t already appeared on previous Dead releases. That, combined with its oddly subpar sound quality, makes Steal Your Face a lesser document than previous Dead live albums, although it remains one that captures them at a unique moment in their trajectory. Steal Your Face is getting a 50th-anniversary reissue this year (despite the material being closer to 52 years old at this point), and an exclusive red-blue-and-black colored vinyl variant that ships this week is already sold out at Dead.net; it was speed-corrected via Plangent Processes, with the resultant digital file cut to lacquer by Chris Bellman. A wider release, with one disc on red and one on blue, is coming to record stores on July 24 as part of Rhino’s Summer of ’76 reissue campaign. It’s also available for preorder from Rhino’s site, but I keep hearing horror stories about Rhino’s fulfillment (or lack thereof) for their online orders, so you might want to do your local a solid and pick it up in person.
Jazz Alley
It’s a short ’n’ sweet stroll down Jazz Alley this week, with three new ones from Verve’s Acoustic Sounds series. John Coltrane’s Impressions, released on Impulse! in 1963, combines live and studio recordings that document the artistic breakthroughs that led to his magnum opus, A Love Supreme, the following year. Although Coltrane’s playing is put under the microscope here, Impressions also features his classic quartet—drummer Elvin Jones, pianist McCoy Tyner, and bassist Jimmy Garrison—as well as contributions from Eric Dolphy and Reggie Workman on the live material, which was recorded during the same dates that resulted in Live at the Village Vanguard. It’s essential stuff, to say the least. Meanwhile, saxophonist Lester Young collaborated with trumpeters Roy Eldridge and Harry Edison for 1958’s Laughin’ to Keep from Cryin’, a swinging set that was sadly to be one of Young’s last before his death in 1959 from alcoholism. And Ella Fitzgerald’s 1956 double LP Sings the Cole Porter Songbook was the first long-playing release on the newly established Verve, with Fitzgerald providing nearly two hours of authoritative interpretations of Porter’s work. The Verve Acoustic Sounds series was cut from analog tape by Matthew Lutthans at the Mastering Lab and pressed at QRP, with Stoughton tip-on jackets—but you probably knew that already.
OTHER REISSUES OF NOTE:
(*star denotes inclusion in this week’s paid-subscriber playlist)
Afro-Cuban All Stars: A Toda Cuba le Gusta [World Circuit]
Oren Ambarchi: Hubris [Black Truffle]
Atomic Opera: For Madmen Only; Alpha & Oranges [Retroactive]
Band of Skulls: Baby Darling Doll Face Honey [Artist Royalty Collective]
Kenny Barron, Ray Drummond, Ben Riley: So Many Lovely Things: Live in Brecon [Elemental Music]
*Be Bop Deluxe: Axe Victim [Esoteric/Cherry Red]
Blacklyst: Living on the Edge: The Demos [Lost Realm]
*Book of Love: Book of Love [Rhino]
*Boone Creek: Boone Creek [Craft/Hightone]
Butthole Surfers: After the Astronaut [Sunset Blvd]
Canned Heat: On the Road Again: Best of [Pepper Cake/ZYX]
*The Jim Carroll Band: Dry Dreams [Fat Possum]
*Chris Cornell: Carry On [Interscope]
Rodney Crowell: Then Again [New West]
Betty Davis: They Say I’m Different (pearl flip/horizon color variant) [Light in the Attic]
*William DeVaughn: Be Thankful for What You Got [Demon]
Disco Party: Reality [Mr Bongo]
*The Doobie Brothers: What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits 45 RPM 2-LP [MoFi]
D.R.I.: Four of a Kind [Back on Black]
Ian Dury: Lord Upminster; 4000 Weeks’ Holiday [Demon]
The Eighteenth Day of May: The Eighteenth Day of May [Circuitry]
Eldritch Anisette: Complete Fairytales [Numero Group]
Danny Elfman: Pee-wee’s Big Adventure & Back to School soundtracks [Craft/Varèse Sarabande]
Emerson, Lake & Powell: Emerson, Lake & Powell [Spirit of Unicorn/Cherry Red]
Fenomenon: Pacific Memories: The Early Tapes [Music on Vinyl]
Fex: Don’t Look Back [The Outer Edge]
F/i: Invisible Men [Birdman]
Roberta Flack: The Montreux Years [BMG]
Frail: No Industry [Numero Group]
Charly Garcia: Yendo de la Cama al Living; Piano Bar [Universal]
Graven Images: Studio Sessions: ’82–’83 [Beach Impediment]
Ground Zero: Revolutionary Pekinese Opera Ver.1.28 [Spittle Made in Japan]
Buddy Guy: Skin Deep; Born to Play Guitar; The Blues Is Alive and Well; The Blues Don’t Lie [Sony]
Harumi: Harumi [Ebalunga]
Heimat: Heimat [Kuroneko]
The Hydromatics: Powerglide [Bang]
*Imagination: Night Dubbing [WRWTFWW]
Into Eternity: The Scattering of Ashes [M-Theory]
*Jaga Jazzist: A Living Room Hush [Ninja Tune]
Bob James: One [BGP/Ace]
*The Kinks: Low Budget; Give the People What They Want [Sanctuary]
*The Lazarus Plot: Something Good Has Got to Come Out of All of These Goodbyes [Numero Group]
Mad Butcher: Flesh & Blood: The 88 Unreleased Album [Lost Realm]
Rita Marley/Ignacio Scola/Gregorio Paniagua: Spectacles for Tribuffalos [Munster]
Vince Martin: If Jasmine Don’t Get You… The Bay Breeze Will [Cosmic Rock]
Mastodon: Leviathan [Relapse]
The MD’s: Brain Damage [Munster]
Mehta, Pavarotti, Sutherland: Puccini: Turandot [Decca]
*Mobb Deep: The Infamous; Hell on Earth [Sony]
Mono & World’s End Girlfriend: Palmless Prayer/Mass Murder Refrain [Temporary Residence]
Maren Morris: Hero: A Second Wind [Sony]
Nasty Savage: Nasty Savage; Indulgence & Abstract Reality [Brutal Planet]
OneRepublic: Waking Up [Interscope]
Original Cast: The Book of Mormon [Rhino]
*Pixies: Complete B Sides: 1988–97 [4AD]
Rainbow: In Concert 1976: Live in Nürnberg [Demon/Edsel]
Rose Tattoo: Rose Tattoo; Assault & Battery [Music on Vinyl]
Pharoah Sanders & John Hicks: Duo Concert Frankfurt 1986 [Music on Vinyl]
*Savage Grace: Curse the Night 82–84 Demos; New York Daze [Lost Realm]
The Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies: Magnolia [Music on Vinyl]
Seafret: Tell Me It’s Real [Sony]
Shaman: Boss Drum [One Little Independent]
*Nancy Sinatra: Movin’ with Nancy [Light in the Attic]
The 69 Eyes: Back in Blood [Svart]
*Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes: Visions of a New World [Flying Dutchman/Ace]
Sneaker Pimps: Splinter [One Little Independent]
Todd Snider: Aimless Incorporated: Best of All My Songs [Aimless]
The Stone Roses: Sally Cinnamon [Black]
Sun Ra: East Two +5 [Cosmic Myth]
The Survival: La Onda de the Survival [Munster]
Talk Talk: Tomorrow Started: Live in London 1986 [Outsider]
*Thrum: Rifferama [Fire]
*The Tokens: Intercourse [Ace]
Pat Travers Band: Bluesed Out in Houston [Cleopatra]
Tina Turner: Wildest Dreams [Parlophone]
Weaselsnout: Unsung Lies [Seelie Court]
Bill Withers: Live at Carnegie Hall [Music on Vinyl]
Zeke: Kicked in the Teeth [Music on Vinyl]
Various Artists: Chicha Por Favor Volume 2: Grooves from Difa (The Pulse of Peruvian Dance Floors) [Ritmo del Barrio]
Various Artists: Dressed in Black: Goth Divas from the Dark Side 1941–2025 [Ace]
*Various Artists: Ethiopian Rare Groove [Wagram]
Various Artists: Eurodance Collected [Music on Vinyl]
Various Artists: Have You Heard About the World Coming to an End [Death Is Not the End]
Various Artists: Mr Bongo Record Club Vol. 8 [Mr Bongo]
Various Artists: Rumble in the Jungle [Soul Jazz]
*Various Artists: Stax Does the Beatles [Craft]
Various Artists: Timeless Records Presents From the Archives (1974–1991) [Music on Vinyl]
