What’s (Re)New?Favorite Reissues of 2023
For as much as I pride myself on not being a nostalgia junkie, there are some years when the reissue selections and acquisitions outdo the list of current releases. Call it being inextricably tethered to my era whether I want to be or not, or perhaps simply being excited to find something that didn’t reach me when it was new, this year in particular brought with it some solid anniversary editions and long-overdue recirculation (ahem, De La Soul). Here are my favorite new-old items that were added to my library this year:
10. Bardo Pond
No Hashish, No Change Money, No Saki Saki
Three Lobed Recordings
Released: 2/3/23
Originally released in 1993 as an independently issued cassette, Bardo Pond’s No Hashish, No Change Money, No Saki Saki is a loose compilation of live and studio recordings. Reissued on vinyl by Three Lobed Recordings, Bardo Pond’s free-roaming improv and stylized distortion carries with it the low-light and second-hand smoke of the era, audible grit and grime of the early 90s which is thankfully left intact. This album sounds like a multi-gen cassette. All is right with the world.
9. Duster
Stratosphere
Numero Group
Released: 9/29/23
“A slowcore essential, its pace focused and patient, the lo-fi mist that gently hangs above every chord stroke and cymbal rub to be heard in Stratosphere occasionally merges with shoegaze-level discordance but remains consistent throughout the album’s runtime. Duster exhibit full immersion into occasional and extended bouts of feedback-laced tangents and the familiar indie-centric proclivity toward loud-quiet-loud song arrangements, but I love how they do it. At times, those bursts of energy are unexpected and almost qualify as a jump scare. I recommend headphones for this one, especially for the B-side.”
8. Heroin
Discography
Southern Lord
Released: 4/22/23 - RSD
Yes, I may be playing fast and loose with the definition of a reissue, but Heroin’s Discography compilation is built from a library of music that had been previously unavailable AND out of print, so maybe that counts? This was a Record Store Day acquisition, packaged as a double-LP pressed on “black ice” variant vinyl. Lots of loud to absorb.
7.
Julee Cruise
Floating Into The Night
Sacred Bones
Released: 8/11/23
Regarded as a companion soundtrack for David Lynch’s celebrated Twin Peaks series, Julee Cruise’s Floating Into The Night stands on its own as a beautiful and distinct work of ethereal jazz pop. Written and composed by Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti, Floating Into The Night is the product of a wonderful and symbiotic creative partnership, two-thirds of which are sadly no longer with us.
6.
Eric Dolphy
Musical Prophet (The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions)
Resonance Records
Released: 4/22/23 - RSD
This set is a monster and I’ll admit that I haven’t gotten through it entirely. The RSD edition of Eric Dolphy’s Musical Prophet (The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions) isn’t the first version of this compilation to have been released, but I was happy that it was made available in 2023. There’s quite a bit to review, read, and hear.
5.
De La Soul
3 Feet High And Rising Buhloone Mindstate
AOI Records/Chrysalis
Released: 3/3/23
and 5/5/23 respectively
De La Soul’s much celebrated Tommy Boy discography was finally reissued and made available to stream online. I immediately picked up 3 Feet High And Rising and Buhloone Mindstate. I still need to pick up Stakes Is High. Much respect to the sadly departed David Jolicoeur, a.k.a. Trugoy the Dove / Plug Two.
4.
Sunn O)))
& Boris
Altar
Southern Lord
Released: 4/22/23 - RSD
I’ve wanted a vinyl copy of this collaboration for a long time. Back in 2006, I picked up a CD copy of Altar, the Sunn O)))/Boris collaboration, and it was on rotation for much of that year. It’s an album that I return to quite a bit. Once I found out that an Altar reissue was on the list for Record Store Day, it was an immediate add on to my shopping list. The vinyl variant is “lava red” and the gatefold package is beautifully illustrated.
3.
Tom Waits
Rain Dogs
Bone Machine
Island
Released: 9/23 and
10/23 respectively
I wrote pretty extensively about how I’d procured a promo copy of Tom Waits’s Swordfishtrombones for $50 only to find out days later that his entire Island era catalogue was being reissued. Murphy’s Law at its fullest. Acquiring both Rain Dogs and Bone Machine was a no-brainer, especially Bone Machine as it hadn’t been available on LP before this latest campaign of Waits reissues.
2.
Ol’ Dirty Bastard
Return To The 36 Chambers (The Dirty Version) Rhino/Elektra
Released: 4/22/23 - RSD
“I haven’t listened to Return to the 36 Chambers in a long time. I feel compelled to jack up the volume, but I’m mindful of my wife and daughter who may not want to hear ODB rapping, ‘Oh, I BEGGED! I BEGGED, Easy on my balls, they’re fragile as eggs.’ This truly is an off-the-wall album.”
1.
Beauty Pill
Blue Period
Ernest Jenning Record Co.
Released: 1/20/23
"On the surface, Blue Period is a reissue and the first time this music’s been available on vinyl, a few relevant and worthwhile odds and ends filling out side D. But, when you consider this era of (Chad) Clark’s creative life, his efforts unfairly assessed at the height of Pitchfork’s influence, the fact that Blue Period exists is remarkable. Clark trusted his appreciators enough (a passionate lot for sure), that he pushed himself beyond his own feelings about this work to willingly revisit it for the remastering process and put it back out in the world. Granted there’s comfort in knowing Blue Period would have an audience, but I imagine that there could've been some apprehension when it came to reissuing this music almost two decades later, the possibility of new detractors identifying flaws and submitting self-important word salad to whichever music-centric review sites still attract viewers these days.”
Entry — What's (Re)New?: Beauty Pill's Blue Period — A Few Words From A Grateful Fan
Sincerely,
Letters From A Tapehead
