Favorite Reissues of 2019

In an attempt to make myself feel young and relevant, I always try to split my bounty between reissues and new releases. This year, I failed miserably. The old stuff was just too good. This is the longest list of reissues I have ever had in the 11 years of doing this on these pages, and that's with leaving an incredibly long list of wants I didn't pick up because they were either too expensive or seemed silly to buy because I owned so much of the material. That would almost make sense if not for the fact there are plenty of titles below I didn't really need to buy... again. We the music obsessed are a strange lot. I could have made this a top 40, but I combined some titles and created meaningless ties to keep it to a strong 30.

A few bands you won't find on the list but would be here if money was no object include Happy Mondays, Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie, Chet Baker, the Replacements, the Dukes Of Stratosphear, A Certain Ratio, the Pooh Sticks, OMD, Beat Happening and the Go-Betweens. I asked Santa for the mammoth 'G Stands for Go-Betweens Volume 2' box (retails for $180!), but I'm not sure I was that good this year. Outside shot the Pooh Sticks 7" box could be under the tree too.

Seeing these together, I find it interesting the CD and vinyl formats are pretty evenly split. Some of these were available only on CD, but I went CD in some instances because the vinyl was so expensive. Many of these were imports and killers to the pocketbook. Josef K and Stephen Duffy, for examples, were $35 each before shipping. Madness! On with the countdown. I hope you find something that piques your interest...

30. (tie) Queue Dance - 'Full Stop'
Jo and Nick were made for Paul Weller's Respond label. Too bad they didn't form until the late '80s.



30. (tie) Andy Pawlak - 'Lost Demos 1985-1986' and 'Low Beat Folk'
'Demos' expands on last year's excellent 'In the Kitchen' album. As for 'Low Beat Folk,' Pawlak records under the moniker Monkey, and a Japanese label resurrects it many years after a major label shelved it. Bad decision, Universal!



29. Prefab Sprout - 'I Trawl the Megahertz'
This is miles from the pop of 'Steve McQueen.' Paddy is pretty out there with this orchestral manoeuvre, but the results range from interesting to stunning.



28. Remember Sports - 'Sunchokes'
The original 2014 pop-punk album clocked in at about 20 minutes of angst but is now twice as long with bonus tracks. With lyrics like "you're looking real clean in your jeans and it's making me sick, and I haven't showered since Tuesday and my shoes are too big," if I was a surly teenager, this would be my favorite purchase this year.



27. Sparks - 'Past Tense: The Best Of Sparks'
This was to plug some serious gaps in the collection. Do yourself a favor and opt for the 58-song three-disc version. You won't be disappointed.



26. Ian Broudie - 'Tales Told'
First released in '04, this is the pop genius' one and only solo album, and it's issued on vinyl for the first time. Don't expect his usually sunny synth self, but it's quality nonetheless.



25. The Gerbils - 'Are You Sleepy'
Scott Spillane was the resident horn player at the peak of the Elephant 6 collective, but the Gerbils were his baby. This '98 album is as weird and wonderful as you're thinking.



24. Various Artists - 'The Sound of Leamington Spa: German Edition'
Uwe does it again. Firestation sticks around home and still manages to find plenty of obscure jangle pop.



23. The Wedding Present - 'Tommy 30'
This may not have worked as well as the 'George Best' redo, but it's still a joy to hear Gedge interpret his earliest songs through a mature lens. Yes, you could argue this belongs on the list of new releases.



22. The Nightingales - 'No Love Lost - Expanded Edition'
The brilliant 2012 album goes vinyl (limited to 500) for the first time and is blown out to a double. Proceeds go to Robert & Co. for a trip to America to support the release of a documentary film about them. Big thanks for that! This band has quietly (well, not so quietly, but you get my meaning) had a hell of a decade.



21. Pylon - "Cool/Dub"
DB Recs had a stable of Georgia's stars... the B-52's, Oh-OK, Guadalcanal Diary, the Swimming Pool Q's. As this debut single shows, nobody topped Pylon.



20. Stephen Duffy - 'I Love My Friends'
Duffy and new label Needle Mythology play with the '97 tracklist a bit and release the album on vinyl for the first time. Completely missed this one back then.



19. Mick Trouble - "It's The Mick Trouble EP"
I also missed this 7" first time around a couple of years ago, but it got a second life with the release of a 2019 LP (sold separately) via Emotional Response Records. More on this mysterious bloke when we get to the list of new releases.



18. Supercrush - 'Never Let You Drift Away'
Seattle duo has its first four singles (front and back) compiled. Think Teenage Fanclub.



17. Prince - 'Originals' and '1999: Super Deluxe Edition'
A big thumbs up to Prince's estate for opening up the vault. On 'Originals,' hear the demos of the songs Prince wrote and gave to other artists. I opted for the five CD/one DVD version of '1999' for the great price and because I have had the original double album on vinyl since I was a kid. Now this is how to put together a deluxe edition.



16. The Popguns - 'Love Junky'
This '95 album is issued on vinyl for the first time. If you only know the Brighton band from the Midnight Music era, you've missed a lot.



15. Television Personalities - 'Some Kind Of Happening (Singles 1978-1989)' and 'Some Kind Of Trip (Singles 1990-1994)'
Rediscover the genius of Daniel Treacy through the 50-plus songs lovingly assembled by Fire Records.



14. Various Artists - 'A Sunday Records Compilation'
The Midwest has had a few indie labels all about the jangle, and Sunday is just about the best of them. They brought back their legendary and long sold out 'Sunny Sunday Smile' (1993) and 'Songs About Our Past' (1996) comps in one package... a must for all indie-pop enthusiasts.



13. The Motorcycle Boy - 'Scarlet'
Former members of Meat Whiplash and Shop Assistants had an indie smash for Rough Trade with "Big Rock Candy Mountain" before signing to Chrysalis. Their LP never made it off the shelf until now.



12. Josef K - 'The Scottish Affair (Part 2)'
Les Disques du Crepuscule presents a live show recorded from the mixing desk at Beursschouwburg Arts Centre in Brussels on April 8, 1981. This one sounds better than both shows on 'Crazy to Exist.'

11. The Claim - 'Boomy Tella'
What a year! A Turntable Friend dusts off this album from 1988 and also releases their first full-length LP in 31 years. More on that gem when we get to the next list.



10. Friends Again - 'Trapped and Unwrapped' and 'In the Beginning'
One of my favorite bands goes deluxe double CD with LP, B-sides, 12" versions, demos and the EP. I didn't need much from this one, but I couldn't resist. My vinyl has been sounding tired anyway. A couple of years ago a little birdie delivered a slew of demos to my inbox. 'In the Beginning' could be the start of a series of demo-related releases.





9. Dolly Mixture - 'Other Music'
I made a major investment in the tough-to-find three-disc 'Everything and More' a few years back, but this covers some songs not on that box set. If you don't already have it, 'Demonstration Tapes' is available again on vinyl too, but hurry. I'll stick to my CD copy of that one.

8. Various - Optic Sevens 1.0
Optic Nerve's first series of 12 classic indie 7" singles in 12 months wrapped up in the spring of 2019. Selections from East Village, Apple Boutique, the Servants, the Siddeleys and the Wake were my favorites.
Optic Sevens 2.0 has already kicked off and is certain to be on this list next year.



7. Kate Bush - 'The Other Sides'
For those who already had her albums years ago, these four discs of mixes, B-sides and covers practically made buying those fancy album reissues moot.



6. The Springfields - 'Singles 1986-1991'
Here are the five singles Ric and Paul released on Sarah, Picture Book, Summershine and Seminal Twang (plus one extra song) before the Velvet Crush days.



5. Baby Lemonade - 'Baby Lemonade'
Roque at Cloudberry Records gives these late '80s Scottish indie popsters the attention they always deserved. Other than appearances on comps, all I ever had before this was the 7" of "A Secret Goldfish."



4. Jazzateers - 'Blood Is Sweeter Than Honey'
The shelved second album (which included new faces and was post Bourgie Bourgie) has never been released as a stand-alone LP and never on vinyl... until now. I can't seem to take this off my turntable. Beautiful presentation by Creeping Bent too.



3. Stereolab - 'Emperor Tomato Ketchup' and 'Dots And Loops'
This is my favorite era of the band so I splurged for the expensive expanded vinyl editions. These look and sound spectacular.





2. Echo & the Bunnymen - 'The John Peel Sessions 1979-1983'
Remember that legendary four-track session from '79 Strange Fruit put out in 1988? That's about 12 minutes long. This is 78 minutes and takes you from there to just before the release of 'Ocean Rain.'



1. Various Artists - 'Big Gold Dreams: A Story Of Scottish Independent Music 1977-1989'
Cherry Red beats all of their other geographical box sets with this one because, hey, it's Scotland. Even if you're a fanatic, there is bound to be enough here you haven't heard to keep you interested. For me, there were quite a few new discoveries on disc 1.