New vinyl reissues: May 1, 2026

It's that time of the week when we rummage through the current release schedule and pick out the best, coolest, and most notable new vinyl reissues coming at you on Friday. Now, we know that Friday is International Workers Day and that there are lots of May Day Strong events planned across the US specifically, including economic blackouts among several communities. We support those efforts and recognize the importance of economic disruption at this particular time. So maybe tomorrow is not the day you want to hit up the record store.

However, there are plenty of shopping days after that, so if there is something here to tickle your fancy, chances are good it will be waiting for you. To wet your whistle and whet your interest, we’ve got our weekly playlist right here for all our intelligent, kind, and attractive paid subscribers. Thank you!

Speaking of paid subscribers, we’d like to give a big shout-out and congrats to Jeffrey, the winner of our April vinyl giveaway. He’s getting a shiny new copy of John Coltrane’s Giant Steps in its fantastic-sounding Rhino Reserve pressing. Thank you, Jeffrey!

Wish that could have been you? Then please join our paid tier and get all of the benefits of a paid subscription, including giveaways, playlists, our comments section, full access to our entire archives, and our undying gratitude.

All set? Good. Let’s see what this week has in store.

Funkadelic: Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow [Org Music/Westbound]

The Westbound Records reissues from Org Music are coming slowly, but they are coming. Just this past Record Store Day, we got an absolutely killer compilation of B-sides and non-album tracks from the legendary funk/R&B label’s archives—read our review here and then go cop it from your local, if they haven’t already sold out. And now the second installment of their Funkadelic reissues is here, not quite hot on the heels of last August’s sterling reissue of their 1970 self-titled debut (our review of that is right here) but hot all the same. Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow, also from 1970, has been rendered in an all-analog cut that is nothing short of revelatory, in both 1-LP 33 RPM and 2-LP 45 RPM formats. It’s positively stupendous, and if you haven’t already, read our full-length review of the new 33 cut right here. When you’re all done reading up, get down to the record store and get yourself one. It may well be the funkiest, freakiest thing that happens to your ears this entire year. NL

Grateful Dead: Workingman’s Dead [Rhino High Fidelity]

Amid a particularly fraught period when the band was still dealing with a New Orleans drug bust and the financial hole made by their soon-to-be ex-manager Lenny Hart, the Grateful Dead made possibly their best album, 1970’s Workingman’s Dead. Setting aside the psychedelic exploration of previous records, the group went for a back-to-basics approach that emphasized their country, bluegrass, and R&B foundations and their delightful vocal harmonies. Bookended by two instantly engaging classics—“Uncle John’s Band” and “Casey Jones”—the album is filled out by the shuffling “Dire Wolf,” the lumbering “Black Peter,” and the hip-shaking “Easy Wind.” As with much of the Dead’s discography, Workingman’s Dead has been reissued multiple times over the years, but this newly released Rhino High Fidelity vinyl pressing has the potential to be the best sounding of the bunch. As with all the entries into this audiophile-tempting series, this limited edition version is all-analog, cut by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes and pressed at Germany’s Optimal Media, with new liner notes penned by Dead expert David Gans. RH

UFO: The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent [Chrysalis]

UFO lost their headline attraction—once and future Scorpions guitarist Michael Schenker—after 1978’s Obsession. But by the time of 1981’s The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent, replacement guitarist Paul Chapman had fully acclimatized, and the band delivered a solid pop-rock album that found the English group navigating its own way through the dominant forces of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal at the time. With one foot firmly anchored in their ’70s hard-rock past and the other taking tentative steps into the realm of radio-friendly pop, the band dodged prevailing fashions to make a record that set them apart from their peers. A hit at the time, it also softened the band’s image, but a good 45 years later, The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent is remarkably enjoyable, with a welcoming big-tent arena-rock sound, hooky melodies, some nicely cutting guitar riffs, and great performances all around. Chrysalis Records is reissuing WWI in a three-disc set that includes a live show recorded on January 29, 1981, at the Hammersmith Odeon on the two bonus LPs. The set was mastered and cut at AIR Mastering and includes liner notes by Michael Hann. NL

Wesenyeleh Mebreku: Resonance of Time [Tone Poem/Incidental Music]

In the mid-’80s, educator and musician Wesenyeleh Mebreku released a pair of cassettes that found him playing a selection of instrumental folk songs and pop tunes from his native Ethiopia, all performed on a Casiotone CT-201 keyboard. On paper, it sounds like pure kitsch, but there is a strange beauty to these recordings, as if Mebreku had this deep-seated pull to express himself and the only tools he had on hand were this chintzy synthesizer and a rudimentary rhythm machine. This music found its way into the ears of the Portland team behind the labels Tone Poem and Incidental Music, who are re-releasing the second of these tapes on vinyl this week with remastered audio and liner notes from Tone Poem’s Austin Tretwold and Mebreku himself. RH

Dio: Holy Diver; The Last in Line [Rhino Reserve]; Sacred Heart; Dream Evil; Lock Up the Wolves; Strange Highways [Rhino]

A smorgasbord of Dio platters are making their way to your local record store, documenting the band’s first decade as some of the most reliable practitioners of mainstream-friendly, swords-and-sorcery heavy metal. Most of these are just represses, but two are not: The first and second albums by the namesake band of former Elf vocalist Ronnie James Dio—1983’s Holy Diver and 1984’s The Last in Line—have received Rhino Reserve pressings, which means they’ve got new masterings cut from analog tape by the excellent Matthew Lutthans and pressed at MoFi’s Fidelity plant. These should be top-notch discs all around, drawing out the band’s weight and heft, not to mention Dio’s operatic tenor as it rises to valkyrie-soaring heights. The other reissues are of the next four studio LPs in the band’s catalog: 1985’s Sacred Heart, 1987’s Dream Evil, 1990’s Lock Up the Wolves, and 1993’s Strange Highways. These are carveouts from the A Decade of Dio 1983–1993 and will feature the same mastering that appeared in that 2016 box set, which was repressed on colored vinyl last year for D2C sales on Rhino.com and also turned up in stores just a few weeks ago. Those should be solid enough (Dream Evil has its moments), but the Lutthans cuts of Holy Diver and The Last in Line will definitely be worth investigating. NL

Carly Simon: Anticipation [Mobile Fidelity]

For her second album, New York singer/songwriter Carly Simon went to London and recorded with Yardbirds bassist-turned-Cat Stevens producer Paul Samwell-Smith, working with a relatively stripped-down ensemble that included drummer Andy Newmark and Stevens himself popping in for the occasional backing vocal. The collection of ballads includes the title track, which became a big hit, and a cover of Kris Kristofferson’s “I’ve Got to Have You.” On the whole, it’s a mellow, introspective listen with a somewhat damp, downtrodden air—perhaps the London vibes seeping through—and its tendency toward melodrama serves as a shining example of how some of the early-’70s singer/songwriters, while plying their trade with acoustic guitars and plaintive vocals, were really not playing anything resembling folk music. Anticipation is now here in a 2-LP 45 RPM version from Mobile Fidelity, who have transferred the analog master to a DSD file and cut the discs from that, as is their custom. NL

INXS: Kick [Rhino High Fidelity]

INXS were already on an upward trajectory by the time they recorded their sixth album Kick. Their previous LP, 1985’s Listen Like Thieves, cracked the cultural consciousness with a more radio-friendly sound and a lot of help from MTV. But once Kick was released in 1987, the Aussie sextet was sent into the stratosphere. Working with producer Chris Thomas, INXS honed their glammed-up pop for maximum impact and leaned on the serpentine sensuality of their impossibly pretty lead singer Michael Hutchence, resulting in the ear-candy rock of “New Sensation” and “Devil Inside” and the steamy ballad “Never Tear Us Apart.” Just ahead of the album’s 40th anniversary, Rhino is issuing a new vinyl edition of Kick as part of their High Fidelity series. This limited-edition release was cut from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray, pressed at Optimal Media in Germany, and includes liner notes from Rolling Stone mainstay David Fricke. RH

The Orb: Bicycles & Tricycles [Cooking Vinyl]

Bicycles & Tricycles, the 2003 album from the Orb, was pretty much par for the course for this long-running electronic music project: a puckish, funky collection of tunes dipped in dub, house, and downtempo featuring fun guests like reggae toaster the Corpral, British actor Neville Jason, bassist Gbatokai Dakinah, and Jimmy Cauty, the man who co-founded the Orb with Alex Paterson in the late ’80s. The record was initially only available on CD in Japan but given a UK and US release the following year, including a limited 2-LP set with a much different tracklist. Released in April as part of Record Store Day in the UK and EU, the reissue is getting a US release this week. This pressing uses the UK tracklist and adds on “Now Here,” a song previously only available in Japan. RH

Various Artists: Tokyo Pulse: Japanese Funk, Modern Soul and City Pop from the Tokyo Scene 1974–88 [Wewantsounds]

In addition to their fine collections of music from Africa and the Middle East, French imprint Wewantsounds have been delving into the sleek sound of Japanese pop and funk made in the ’70s and ’80s. Guiding them on this journey is DJ Notoya, a young selector from Tokyo who helped compile a series of compilations for the label including 2024’s wonderful Funk Tide. Out this week is Tokyo Pulse, which finds Notoya digging into the archives of Nippon Columbia to uncover rarely heard gems like Yumi Murata’s discofied jam “Ranhansha”; “Memory,” a groovy fusion-funk tune by the group Bread & Butter; and “Mitsumeteirunoni,” a city-pop classic from singer Nami Shimada that would fit comfortably on the soundtrack of Miami Vice. RH

Deutsche Grammophon Avantgarde Vinyl Series 2.0

The second wave of reissues from Deutsche Grammophon’s Avantgarde series is here, selecting work from the German classical label’s imprint that explored the works of contemporary classical and experimental composers during the years 1968–1971 as well as exploratory work from years afterward, as released on Deutsche Grammophon’s main label. This second batch of cut-from-tape reissues—mastered by Rainer Maillard and cut by Sidney C. Meyer at Emil Berliner Studios—includes a 1970 disc from French composer Luc Ferrari, with his “Presque Rien Nr. 1” and “Société II” pieces. The first is a found-sound environmental recording of a Croatian seaside village at daybreak, while the second is radically different: a stage piece of jarring dissonance and stabbing tonal clusters, performed by the Ensemble Instrumental de Musique Contemporaine de Paris led by Konstantin Simonovitch. Also, the Tashi ensemble and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Seiji Ozawa, take on two pieces by Japanese composer Tōru Takemitsu: “Quatrain” and “A Flock Descends into the Pentagonal Garden” are each richly colored by their instrumentations, with variegated chordal clusters meant to evoke motion and shifting backdrops. And lastly, Mauricio Kagel’s Acustica from 1972 is an electroacoustic tape piece from the Argentinian composer that incorporates live elements performed by Kölner Ensemble für Neue Musik reading from graphic-score cards, with episodes of randomized sound designed to capsize traditional notions of music. It’s almost unlistenable. NL

Cancer Bats: Birthing the Giant; Hail Destroyer; Bears, Mayors, Scraps & Bones [SBAM]

Toronto punks Cancer Bats are one of the brighter lights in the hardcore scene. Frontman Liam Cormier’s thoughtful lyrics blend his existential fears and societal rage into a potent cocktail set alight by the band’s churning, volatile playing. It’s been a few years since the group has released any new music, which leaves plenty of time for fans to reconnect with their older material. Austrian label SBAM is here to support this cause with vinyl reissues of Cancer Bats’ first three albums. The best of the bunch is 2010’s Bears, Mayors, Scraps, & Bones, which finds the band expanding their sound via slower tempos and more dynamic arrangements informed by black metal. Also arriving this week are Birthing the Giant, the group’s 2006 debut that hits with the power and directness of a nail gun, and 2008’s Hail Destroyer, which adds elements of post-punk and sludge rock into their arsenal. RH

Gordon Lightfoot: Sundown & Montrose: Montrose [Acoustic Sounds 40 Series]

The Acoustic Sounds 40 Series continues with two more reissues plucked from the vast catalog of Warner Music. What did Chad Kassem select this time? One of them is Sundown, the 1974 album from Gordon Lightfoot that contains two of the Canadian bard’s biggest hits: the title track, a decidedly creepy song about seeing red when your girlfriend goes out to cheat on you, and “Carefree Highway,” which is crisp and clear as a cold refreshing can of Canada Dry, sipped while cruising on the back of a gliding Canada goose. The other is Montrose’s 1973 self-titled debut, the hard-rockin’ album that introduced Sammy Hagar to the world; without it, we wouldn’t have the immortal work of Chickenfoot or any delicious Cabo Wabo tequila. I can’t imagine the type of person who would throw down for both of these reissues, but maybe they exist. Like other entries in the series, these were cut by Matthew Lutthans at 45 RPM across two LPs and pressed at QRP. NL

Nas: Nastradamus; The Lost Tapes; Made You Look: God’s Son Live 2002 [Sony]

There's a decent argument to be made that New York rapper Nas peaked early with his 1993 debut Illmatic. That record is still his most complete expression of urban ennui and cocksure attitude, but every album he has released since has plenty to offer both musically and lyrically. Sony is offering a nice overview of some of Nas’s later work with a trio of vinyl reissues out this week. On tap is 1999’s Nastradamus, a record that finds the rapper tangling with productions from Timbaland, Havoc, and Dame Grease; The Lost Tapes, a 2002 compilation of material discarded from 1999’s I Am… and 2001’s Stillmatic; and Made You Look: God’s Son Live 2002, a document of a fiery performance Nas gave at Webster Hall in December 2002. RH

Eagles: One of These Nights [Rhino]

Has a single line of dialogue ever done as much damage to a band’s reputation as the Dude’s immortal line in The Big Lebowski? (“I had a rough night and I hate the fuckin’ Eagles, man!”) One forgets that the Dude’s complaining gets him kicked out of the cab and abandoned on the curb. It’s the Eagles’ world, man—we’re just lucky to be living in it. To that end, the band that refused to get back together (and then, once they did, refused to ever stop touring) has entered the next phase of their legacy plan, with a 3-LP expansion of their 1975 album One of These Nights, just a little bit tardy for that album’s 50th anniversary. Featuring a new album remix by producer Rob Jacobs and two LPs from a live show recorded in Anaheim on September 28, 1975, this looks to be about par for the course for deluxe reissues, although no outtakes or demos or any other kinds of peeks behind the curtain seem to be included in the package. This is the album that contains Bernie Leadon’s bluegrass-prog instrumental “Journey of the Sorcerer” and Randy Meisner’s legit great “Take It to the Limit,” (perhaps the Eagles’ best song) as well as the interminable and interminably boring “Lyin’ Eyes” (perhaps their worst). The CD version comes with a Blu-ray that has the album and live show in Dolby Atmos mixes. This makes for the Eagles’ first deluxe edition since the 40th anniversary set for Hotel California in 2017—I fully expect we’ll get a 50th for that album by the end of next year to keep the cash flowing. After all, the Eagles have to come off the road sometime… don’t they? NL

Burial: Truant/Rough Sleeper EP [Hyperdub]

British electronic label Hyperdub has consistently had a tough time keeping the work of Burial in print. As soon as the enigmatic DJ and producer announces a new EP, it seems to sell out immediately. To its credit, Hyperdub has been trying to keep up with demand through regular represses of Burial’s most-adored work. This month, Hyperdub is putting back into circulation the 2012 EP featuring the spectacular tunes “Truant” and “Rough Sleeper.” Both are quintessential Burial, on which he breaks the UK garage sound down to its rawest elements with simple, halting beats, wobbly synth lines and bass wows that sound like they’re being played underwater, and the occasional interjection of a soul singer expressing heartache. And underpinning it all is that lovely sound of a crackly piece of vinyl spinning away into eternity. RH

The Wedding Present: Seamonsters [Sony UK]

With the Wedding Present currently touring North America in honor of the 35th birthday of their third studio album Seamonsters, Sony UK is joining in the celebration with a bare-bones repress of the album this week. The 1991 record found the English group in Minnesota working with Steve Albini and embracing the producer’s much rawer sound, which befit the unfiltered emotions frontman David Gedge was spilling forth on songs like “Suck,” “Lovenest,” and “Corduroy.” While the deluxe reissue from 2021 that included the non-album tracks the band released around the time of Seamonsters is lovely to have, this single-disc colored vinyl repress of the original album—released in March in the UK and now making its way to US retailers—is a must-have for any discerning fan of UK indie and jangly guitar pop. RH

Jazz Alley

It’s a reasonably short ’n’ sweet stroll down Jazz Alley this week, and we’ll kick it off with the first vinyl reissue of keyboardist Gap Mangione’s heavily sampled soul-jazz-lounge-funk slab Diana in the Autumn Wind, originally released on the GRC label in 1968. Featuring future session aces Steve Gadd and Tony Levin, the album is a diverse and remarkably well-appointed collection of groovy cocktail jazz, tightly played by the core trio and embellished by occasional horn and string via arrangements from Gap’s brother Chuck. At its best, the music sounds like a really ace library music album or the soundtrack to a nonexistent ’60s thriller starring Steve McQueen, Alain Delon, Julie Christie, and Claudia Cardinale. Be With Records’ reissue pulls out all the stops, with Gap-approved mastering by Simon Francis, a lacquer cut at Abbey Road by Cicely Balston, and pressing done at Record Industry in the Netherlands.

Two new Tone Poets also crack their shells and emerge into the world this week: Pianist McCoy Tyner delved into African music and spiritual jazz with the 1970 album Asante, a densely rhythmic set featuring saxophonist Andrew White, guitarist Ted Dunbar, bassist Buster Williams, drummer Billy Hart, percussionist Mtume, and vocalist “Songai” Sandra Smith. And tenor-man Dexter Gordon’s 1962 set Dexter Calling was recorded nearly simultaneously with his first album for Blue Note, 1961’s Doin’ Allright, although it featured a completely different lineup, with bassist Paul Chambers, drummer Philly Joe Jones, and pianist Kenny Drew delivering a set that swings from, well, swing to hard bop to modal jazz and all the way back around again. Both Tone Poets were cut by Kevin Gray from the original analog tape and were pressed at RTI.

Last up, the May selection for Verve Record Club’s subscription series is From the Hot Afternoon from former Dave Brubeck saxophonist Paul Desmond (he composed “Take Five”). It’s an easygoing, bossa nova-leaning set from 1969 that relies heavily on songs by Milton Nascimento, with contributions from singer Wanda de Sah; it was cut from analog tape by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound and pressed at RTI. NL

OTHER REISSUES OF NOTE:
Afroman: Crazy Rap [X-Ray]
Art Programming: Art Programming [Outer Edge]
A2L: The Sound Collides with Colour and Shadows Explode [Musique Pour la Danse]
Avenged Sevenfold: City of Evil [Hopeless]
Bring Me the Horizon: That’s the Spirit [Legacy]
Roland Brival: Creole Gypsy [Soundway]
Buena Vista Social Club: Lost and Found [BMG]|
Roy Budd: The Stone Killer soundtrack [Music on Vinyl]
The Business: Keep the Faith [Back on Black]
Chicago: Chicago X [Friday Music]
Chicken Shack: O.K. Ken? [Music on Vinyl]
Cranes: Future Songs [Music on Vinyl]
The Cravats: In Toytown; Colossal Tunes Out; Singles 78–81 [Foad]
Robert Cray: Time Will Tell [Music on Vinyl]
Discharge: Why; 1980–1986 [Radiation]
Divine: Native and Queer (The Complete Experience) [Music on Vinyl]
Liliane Donskoy: Integrale Acousmatique [Metaphon]
Evil Grave: Death from Malta [Rise Above Relics]
The Exploited: Let’s Start a War [Radiation]
4 Skins: The Good, the Bad and the 4 Skins; Fistful of 4 Skins [Radiation]
Marvin Gaye: Trouble Man [Universal UK]
GBH: City Baby Attacked by Rats; Leather, Bristles, No Survivors and Sick Boys; City Babys Revenge [Radiation]
Ghia: Tender Rain [Outer Edge]
The Head and The Heart: The Head and The Heart [Head and the (Chord)]
In Flames: The Jester Race/Black Ash Inheritance [Nuclear Blast]
Rhoma Irama: Begadang: Soneta Group Best Songs 1975–1980 [Elevation]
Shooter Jennings: Countach (For Giorgio) [Black Country Media]
Paul Johnson: Bump Talkin [Peacefrog]
Jo Dee Messina: Jo Dee Messina [Curb]
Microwave: Much Love [SideOneDummy]
James Morrison: Undiscovered [Cooking Vinyl]
Motta: La Fine Dei Vent’Anni [Universal Italy]
NOFX: The War on Errorism [Fat Wreck Chords]
Old Wainds: Where the Snows Are Never Gone; Religion of Spiritual Violence; Scalding Coldness [Darkness Shall Rise]
Roy Orbison: Monument Singles Collection 1960–1964 [Monument]
Pagan Altar: Mythical & Magical [Dying Victim]
Gino Paoli: Milestones [Universal Italy]
Poison Idea: Record Collectors Are Still Pretentious Assholes; War All the Time [American Leather]
Reagan Youth: Volume Two [New Red Archives]
Rodrigo y Gabriela: Rodrigo y Gabriela [Virgin]
Sanctuary: Refuge Denied [Music on Vinyl]
Shed Seven: A Maximum High [Proper]
Shudan Sokai: Sono Zenya - Live at Hachioji Alone [Aguirre]
Sultans of Ping: Teenage Drug [Music on Vinyl]
Super Furry Animals: Precreation Percolation [Strangetown]
Unbelievable Truth: Almost Here [Proper]
Glenn Underground: Atmosfear; The Jerusalem EPs [Peacefrog]
John Williams: Conducts John Williams: The Star Wars Trilogy [Music on Vinyl]
Wired: Kyoto 1970 [Metaphon]
Various Artists: Antler Records: Early Years Vol. 2; Vol. 3 [Antler]
Various Artists: The Devil Wears Prada soundtrack [Real Gone Music]
Various Artists: Lounge Psychédélique: The Best of Lounge & Exotica 1954–2022 [Two-Piers]
Various Artists: Sing Street soundtrack [Decca]
Various Artists: Spinnin’ 25 Years… Chapter 1; Chapter 2 [Music on Vinyl]