Category: Reviews – Classics

  • Alice In Chains – Jar Of Flies 12” EP (30th Anniversary Reissue)

    Alice In Chains – Jar Of Flies 12” EP (30th Anniversary Reissue)

    Alice In Chains Jar Of Flies 12” EP (black vinyl 30th Anniversary reissue) (Legacy Recordings/Columbia/Sony Music) After seeing the multitude of “deluxe” variants of Alice In Chains’ Jar Of Flies EP that have been released in celebration of its thirtieth anniversary (on multi-colored vinyl, on vinyl with little replica houseflies pressed into it and so…

  • The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (20th Anniversary 5LP Super Deluxe Edition Box Set)

    The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (20th Anniversary 5LP Super Deluxe Edition Box Set)

    The Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (20th Anniversary 5LP Super Deluxe Edition Box Set) (Warner Records) While The Flaming Lips had already established themselves in the pop and rock communities by the time Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots was released in 2002, the album holds the distinction of being the one that really…

  • The Modernettes – View From The Bottom EP reissue

    The Modernettes – View From The Bottom EP reissue

    The Modernettes View From The Bottom EP (Porterhouse Records) What Porterhouse Records has been doing over the last couple of years has proven to be pretty thought-provoking. The label had already established a name for itself – releasing deluxe edition vinyl reissues from bands like Circle Jerks, Urge Overkill and All – but keeping a…

  • The White Stripes – Elephant 2LP Reissue

    The White Stripes – Elephant 2LP Reissue

    The White Stripes Elephant 2LP (20th Anniversary reissue) (Legacy/Columbia/Sony Music) I’m not so proud that I cannot admit I didn’t like The White Stripes when the band first appeared on the great, big, popular radar with “Fell In Love With A Girl” in 2001. I didn’t like White Blood Cells at all, in fact; crammed…

  • Poe – Hello LP reissue

    Poe – Hello LP reissue

    Poe Hello LP (reissue) (MNRK Music Group) The fact is that, by intention and not by accident, Poe (born Anne Decatur Danielewski) has always chosen to present herself in a manner completely separate from any artist who might pretend to be her peer. Most recently, the proof of presenting herself that way can be found…

  • SC.U.M. – Born Too Soon LP Reissue

    SC.U.M. – Born Too Soon LP Reissue

    SC.U.M. Born Too Soon LP (Reissue) (Porterhouse Records) Listening to the reissue of Montreal-based punk/hardcore outfit SC.U.M.’s Born Too Soon LP really takes me back. I mean, I understand that the idea of a reissue is supposed to recall a time where the album in question was new and is capable of allowing a listener…

  • Alice In Chains – Dirt 30th Anniversary 2LP Reissue

    Alice In Chains – Dirt 30th Anniversary 2LP Reissue

    Alice In Chains Dirt (30th Anniversary 2LP) (Columbia/Sony/Legacy) While there are plenty of deluxe reissue versions of classic albums on the market at the moment (including of Dirt, actually; there are multi-disc sets of the album which include enough 7” singles to contain all the songs on the album’s hype sticker, and then some), that…

  • The Senders – All Killer No Filler (1977 – 2001) 2LP

    The Senders – All Killer No Filler (1977 – 2001) 2LP

    The Senders All Killer No Filler (1977 – 2001) 2LP (Left For Dead Records) It’s funny how, as perfectly well-exposed as a scene and its associated lore might be, there are always bits which are obscured by shadows. In the New York punk scene of the 1970s, for example, everybody knows many of the stories…

  • NastyFacts – “Drive My Car” (Limited Edition Deluxe 12” single)

    NastyFacts – “Drive My Car” (Limited Edition Deluxe 12” single)

    Nastyfacts “Drive My Car” (Limited Edition Deluxe 12” single) (Left For Dead Records) As every punk knows, it’s not terribly uncommon for many bands of a certain vintage to have a pretty abbreviated catalogue of releases. The idea of “one and done” isn’t uncommon at all, really – but it’s still saying something when a…

  • L7 – Bricks Are Heavy 30th Anniversary vinyl reissue

    L7 – Bricks Are Heavy 30th Anniversary vinyl reissue

    L7 Bricks Are Heavy (30th Anniversary reissue) LP (Licorice Pizza Records) Looking back on it now, it’s pretty pitiful how unprepared the music industry was for L7. When the band first appeared in 1988 with their debut album, it’s easy enough to understand how nobody noticed; L7’s self-titled debut came out on Epitaph Records (which,…