2018 was a huge year for anniversary reissues and box sets. Here are nine of our favourites that were released over the last 12 months. Keep an eye out for our wrap up of the best new albums of 2018 too - this list is just for reissues, best-of collections and box sets - although some of them do feature new recordings and previously unreleased material.
Eagles - Legacy
The Eagles created an indelible musical legacy over an extraordinary career that spans more than 40 years and includes six number one albums, more than a dozen Top 40 hits, and six GRAMMY Awards. Legacy brings together all the music that made the Eagles one of the best-selling bands in music history in one extraordinary collection.
Two versions of Legacy were released - the first has 12 CDs and includes all seven of the band’s studio albums, three live albums, and a compilation of singles and b-sides. It also includes two concert videos: Hell Freezes Over (DVD) and Farewell Tour: Live From Melbourne (Blu-ray). The vinyl version has all the music from the CDs on 15 LPs, but none of the videos. Both sets are housed in handsome slipcases and accompanied by a 54-page hardbound book that’s filled with rare and unseen photos, memorabilia, and artwork that encompasses the band’s entire career.
Kate Bush - Remastered
This is the first (and definitive) programme of remastering undertaken by Kate Bush and includes the release of many rarities and cover versions on the vinyl and CD formats for the first time.
The albums, many of which have been unavailable on vinyl for a decade, have been remastered by Kate and James Guthrie. Kate’s ten studio albums are spread over 18 LP's in three vinyl boxes, whilst the fourth box contains many rarities previously unavailable on vinyl, including a whole disc of cover versions.
Chic - The Chic Organization (1977 - 1979)
Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Chic's "Le Freak", both the 5CD and 6LP versions include Chic’s first three albums – Chic (1977), C’est Chic (1978) and Risqué (1978) – which have been newly remastered from the original Atlantic stereo tapes by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios. As executive producer, Nile Rodgers personally oversaw the remastering process with the approval of Bernard Edwards’ estate.
Exclusive to the vinyl version is an exact reproduction of Chic’s first single, a 12” promo for "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" that Buddah Records released in 1977 prior to the band signing to Atlantic. This was an especially important inclusion to Rodgers as he and Edwards always felt the bass and bottom end on this master was superior to the Atlantic issue.
Roxette - Look Sharp! 30th Anniversary
Look Sharp! featured two U.S. #1 singles, "The Look" and "Listen To Your Heart", along with the high-charting singles "Dangerous" (an Australian #2) and "Dressed For Success" (#14 in Australia). Lavishly packaged in a classic LP-sized box with the original album on 180g vinyl, a 21-track CD with Gessle’s demos and rarities, as well as Gessle’s 45-minute “home movie” DVD, the Look Sharp! 30th Anniversary Edition takes fans behind the scenes and into the studio. A richly illustrated booklet, featuring track by track, interviews with Gessle, Fredriksson, Clarence Ofwerman, Anders Herrlin, Mats “MP” Persson and Alar Suurna offers insight and memories from the recordings and is the icing on the sharp-looking cake.
Tom Petty - An American Treasure
This 60 track collection was compiled by Petty's widow Dana, daughter Adria, his two longest-serving bandmates - guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench - and longtime engineer Ryan Ulyate. It does a brilliant job of tracing Tom’s career without repeating the same old same old. It really does show the depth of his brilliance, and in addition to a good number of much-loved classic recordings, it includes plenty of unreleased live and studio recordings.
Yes - The Steven Wilson Remixes
Yes marked their 50th anniversary this year by releasing Yes: The Steven Wilson Remixes which spotlights five studio albums that helped secure the band’s recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The 5 album set includes remixed versions of: The Yes Album (1971), Fragile (1971), Close To The Edge (1972), the double album Tales From Topographic Oceans (1973), and Relayer (1974). Each album features remixed audio by renowned producer Steven Wilson, released on vinyl for the first time.
The record case features artwork created specifically for the set by Roger Dean, whose artwork and trademark calligraphy are synonymous with the band’s identity, two of the albums, Close To The Edge and Tales From Topography Oceans have new cover art, while the remaining three covers have been reworked by Dean.
David Bowie - Loving The Alien (1983 - 1988)
Loving The Alien (1983 – 1988) contains a brand new production of the 1987 album Never Let Me Down by Bowie producer / engineer Mario McNulty with new instrumentation by Bowie collaborators Reeves Gabrels (guitar), David Torn (guitar), Sterling Campbell (drums), Tim Lefebvre (bass) as well as string quartet with arrangements by Nico Muhly and a guest cameo by Laurie Anderson on "Shining Star (Makin’ My Love)".
The eleven CD box, fifteen-piece vinyl set and standard digital download set is named after the opening track from the Tonight album and includes newly remastered versions of David’s most commercially successful period Let's Dance, Tonight, Never Let Me Down (original and 2018 versions), the live album Glass Spider (Live Montreal ’87), the previously unreleased Serious Moonlight live album, a collection of original remixes entitled Dance and the non-album / alternate version / b-sides and soundtrack music compilation Re:Call 4.
The Doors - Waiting For The Sun 50th Anniversary
The 50th anniversary of the album this year was celebrated with Waiting For The Sun: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition. This 2-CD/1-LP collection features a new version of the album’s original stereo mix on both CD and 180-gram vinyl LP, which has been newly remastered from the original master tapes by Bruce Botnick, the Doors’ long-time engineer/mixer. The set also includes a second disc of 14 completely unreleased tracks: nine recently discovered “rough mixes” from the album recording sessions and five live songs from a 1968 Copenhagen show.
Ramones - Road To Ruin 40th Anniversary
To celebrate the milestone, two versions of the album were reissued on September 21, a day before the anniversary of the album’s original release on September 22, 1978. The 3CD/1LP boxed set Road To Ruin: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition contains a newly remastered version of the original album.
Road To Ruin: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition contains two different mixes of the album, unissued rough mixes for every album track, and an unreleased 1979 concert recording of the Ramones in New York. It was produced in a limited and numbered edition of 7,500 copies worldwide and comes packaged in a 12 x 12 hardcover book. Along with the music, the set also features rare photos and artwork, including the unused, alternate cover image, plus essays by former New York Rocker writer Roy Trakin, album cover artist John Holmstrom, and Road To Ruin producer Ed Stasium, who details the making of this classic record.
