INDISPENSABLE REISSUES & COLLECTIONS
March 2024
Kristine England
March 31, 2024
Issac Hayes
Hot Buttered Soul
The second album released in 1969 by one of the giants of soul music, Hot Buttered Soul set a benchmark for how the genre would evolve in the next decade. Recorded with the Bar-kays, the album contains only four songs, with Hayes stretching out on his interpretations of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David hit “Walk On By" (12+ minutes), and the Jimmy Webb classic, "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" (18+ minutes).
FEATURED TRACK: “By the Time I Get to Phoenix”
Highway to Hell + 8
AD/DC
This month we get not one, not two, but a slew of AC/DC vinyl reissues. From the Bon Scott era to Brian Johnson, nine titles get the remastering, 180 gram vinyl treatment. My favorite is and always will be Highway to Hell, which, for me, is the pinnacle of AC/DCs great and grimy achievements. “Night Prowler” is creepy as hell, and I love it.
Titles: Back in Black, Dirty Deeds Done Cheap, For Those About to Rock (We Salute You), High Voltage, Highway to Hell, Live, Powerage, The Razors Edge, and Who Made Who.
FEATURED: LIVE Colchester, England, October 28, 1978 Full concert
The Cars
Candy-O
The Cars released their second album in 1979. Candy-O is one of the band’s quintessential albums, with the title track, “It’s All I Can Do,” “Let’s Go,” and “Dangerous Type,” among the many standouts. The band’s signature sound that was unmistakable, with vocalists Ric Ocasek (guitar) and Benjamin Orr (bass) trading duties since they first started playing together in Ohio in the late 60s before they headed east to Boston. Eventually adding Elliot Easton on lead guitar. Once Greg Hawkes and David Robinson were on board, the line-up was complete. Cut from the original master tapes, this vinyl reissue is on 180 gram vinyl.
FEATURED TRACK: "Candy O"
Psychic…Powerless…
Another Man’s Sac + 2
Butthole Surfers
March brings us a few of classic Buttholes titles. The noisy, dirty, Texas rock band were true iconoclasts, and both their music, titles, and album covers reflected their unique aesthetic. While some considered their music psychedelic or surf rock or punk or some other label, they embodied a rebellion from the familiar trappings of those genres.
Titles: Psychic…Powerless…Another Man’s Sac, Rembrandt Pussyhorse, and PCPPEP (Live)
FEATURED TRACK: “Cowboy Bob”
Alice in Chains
It’s hard to believe it could possibly be 30 years since this EP was released. Jar of Flies came at the height of AiC’s powers, and it made history too. Debuting at number one at the Billboard album chart was unheard of for an EP. The songs were a departure from the group’s customarily heavy sound. Songs like “No Excuses” and “I Stay Away” became instant Alice classics.
FEATURED TRACK: "No Excuses"