Following a string of relatively commercial albums throughout the 90s, The Fall’s music took on a massive shift in the early 2000s. Aided by an entirely new band, Mark E. Smith went back to rough and ready garage rock basics for 2001’s relatively lo-fi ‘Are You Are Missing Winner’.
With the vinyl reissue of the 2-Tone live album ‘Dance Craze’ and the 8CD 2-Tone box set hitting the shelves in the autumn of 2020, it seemed like a good time to be a ska fan. While there seems to be no news regarding a much needed reissue of the ‘Dance Craze’ film as we move into 2021, The Selecter’s fans are given another cause for celebration.
On April 23rd, the classic Selecter debut ‘Too Much Pressure’ will be reissued on vinyl (in clear and black varieties) and a vastly expanded 3CD set.
For the past decade, it’s felt as if Black Sabbath have ignored their post-Ozzy legacy. Although the first six albums with Osbourne will always represent their most career defining work, there’s no getting around the fact that 1980’s ‘Heaven & Hell’ and the following year’s ‘Mob Rules’ – both recorded with vocal powerhouse Ronnie James Dio – are often cited among fan favourites.
Both albums were issued as 2CD deluxe editions back in 2010, but have been out of print for some time. A reissue of those sets would have been welcomed, but two new editions – release date 5/3/21 – offer the bulk of that material with some.variation.
When The Almighty played the Donington Monsters of Rock Festival in August 1992, they were only the opening act, but they played like a band at the top of their game. Those forty minutes still play like one of the era’s most exciting live sets. Particularly notable was the performance of upcoming single ‘Addiction’, taking the band in a heavier direction – a sign of things to come on the soon to be released new album.
In 2008, Universal Music reissued both of Elton John’s 1970 albums (‘Elton John’ and ‘Tumbleweed Connection’) as part of their ongoing Deluxe Edition series. These classic albums joined an excellent 2CD edition of ‘Captain Fantastic & The Brown Dirt Cowboy’ and a long-out of print double disc Super Audio CD of the much loved ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’, giving hope for future reissues.
A decade later, the only further reissue to hit the shelves was a multi-disc box set version of ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’, reprising the earlier material and expanding it with two some excellent live material, some pointless – and unwelcome – modern day covers by other artists and a DVD.
Elton has only ever looked forward and embraced new projects, which has left other potentially worthy deluxe sets – including ‘The Fox’ – unlikely to appear.