From the heavy slab to the heavyweight ticklers, the week’s best new reissues are stonking.
Debuting in February 1993 like a slab of cold, hard granite from the stars, Earth 2 is the first full-length studio album by drone metal pioneers Earth and we are - naturally - just lapping it up over here. Inspired by minimalist composition and structured around the confines only of the tape it was recorded on (they had to record it in 30 minute sections), it runs for 73 minutes and comprises three tracks of the heaviest, gnarliest riffs. So totally epic, a slow-motion drone of apocalyptic energy and an out-of-body listening experience. Very highly recommended.
+ Available as a ‘Loser Edition’, pressed on limited Curacao blue colour vinyl.
+ All LPs are in a double-wide jacket with custom dust sleeves and insert.
To accompany Earth 2’s reissue, Sub Pop also release the limited Earth 2.23 Special Lower Frequency Mix LP, with heavy remixes/reworkings from Kevin Martin aka The Bug, Robert Hampson (Loop/Main), Brett Netson (Caustic Resin/Built to Spill) and Justin K Broadrick (Godflesh/Jesu). Hold tight.
High Tone Poet vibes this week with a Blue Note double to include jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell and hard bop pianist Jack Wilson. Kenny Burrell’s 1957 set K.B. Blues was his third session as a leader for Blue Note, but the album was previously only issued on vinyl in Japan and has mostly been unavailable since. It swings, killer band too! Jack Wilson’s Easterly Winds has another all-star line up and rolls along with a super cool brassy breeze.
K.B. Blues is a mono pressing, Easterly Winds is a stereo pressing, but both were produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analogue master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket. They’re nice!
Looking very handsome at twenty-five years old, Belle and Sebastian have reissued their gorgeous and enduring The Boy With The Arab Strap in limited pale blue artwork with matching coloured vinyl. This edition also includes an exclusive art print of behind-the-scenes photos from the promotional video for the album, taken by the band’s Sarah Martin.
Numero Group reissue the pumping, self-titled Maxx Traxx & Third Rail LP this week. The funk and soul band were one of the last great Chicago club acts as the city progressed towards house and beats. Been playing this loads, they just really had it going on.
XL Recordings present a 20th anniversary edition of Dizzee Rascal’s landmark and breakout Boy In Da Corner. This deluxe edition features 14 rare and previously unreleased tracks, alongside the original album. We also have stickers!
Also back in print this week… Regina Spektor’s major label debut with Soviet Kitsch which is repressed on Yellow colour vinyl. Not exactly a reissue, but to celebrate the two year anniversary of her critically acclaimed album ‘Valentine’, Snail Mail releases an EP of Valentine Demos. Oasis’ much-loved B-Side collection The Masterplan also gets a fresh pressing this week, on heavyweight, limited edition silver colour vinyl. Mogwai’s superb third studio LP, Rock Action, is now with us after a little delay. Man it’s great to have lots of Mogwai in the racks!
Temporary Residence Ltd. have pressed up a couple of essentials from Texan post-rock icons Explosions in the Sky with Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever and The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place. Both artfully remastered by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service, these sound absolutely killer. Both are limited colour editions too.
We end today’s new-not-new dispatches in the esteemed company of Soul Jazz and two crackers.
Jamaica Soul Shake Vol.1 is the first ever collection of the music of The Sound Dimension - a mixture of classic tracks alongside super-rare singles only ever released in Jamaica. The reggae equivalent of Motown’s Funk Brothers! Pressed on double Silver colour vinyl.
First released back in 2002, Studio One Scorcher is one of the most important collections in Soul Jazz Records' Studio One series, bringing together an unmissable collection of stand-out cuts from many of the finest players ever in Jamaica and in reggae music. Ska, rocksteady, roots, dub and more. It’s just such a breeze. Pressed on double Orange colour vinyl.