A wish list of vinyl reissues

[Fastball - All the Pain Money Can Buy]

When you can find a second-hand vinyl copy of Suzanne Vega’s Solitutde Standing for $1, does the world really need a reissue that costs $30? Same goes for the soundtrack to Top Gun — was it really such a cultural watershed?

Vinyl reissues make up just a sliver of recorded music sales, but it’s the only sector experiencing rapid growth. So if Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em by MC Hammer can get a reissue, then nothing should stop the following titles from showing up on wax. From what I can tell, none of these titles have ever been issued on vinyl.

Fastball, All the Pain Money Can Buy

The stars aligned for Fastball on this album, but tensions in the band prevented them from capitalizing on that momentum. It still holds up well after nearly 20 years. Reissued on Nov. 9, 2018.

Patty Griffin, Flaming Red

You need look no further than Silver Bell to hear how well Flaming Red would sound on vinyl. Griffin doesn’t usually indulge her rock side, but like the title of this album, she burns when she does.

Freedy Johnston, This Perfect World

This album was in constant rotation on my player back in 1994, and I didn’t care if it storm up the charts. It didn’t, so the likelihood for a reissue are slim. Reissued Feb. 2019.

Hajime Chitose, Hainumikaze

I’ve so far not been impressed by vinyl pressings of domestic Japanese albums. The market is still driven mostly by CDs, so Japanese labels don’t put much care into the sound of vinyl releases. In my fantasy world where they did, I would so want to hear Hajime Chitose’s voice on vinyl.

Onitsuka Chihiro, INSOMNIA

All the ballads on this album should make remastering it for vinyl not insurmountable. Right? Reissued Sept. 2023.

Hem, Rabbit Songs

I’m surprised the only album in Hem’s discography available on vinyl is Departures and Farewells. I would have thought Rabbit Songs had been reissued a long time ago.

Utada Hikaru, Ultra Blue

The last Utada album to be issued on vinyl was DEEP RIVER. Reissued April 27, 2022

Duran Duran, Medazzaland

The masters for Duran Duran’s most underrated album is owned by the band, so the fate of a vinyl reissue is entirely up to them. Nick Rhodes has mentioned he would love to see it happen. Reissued Oct. 14, 2022.

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Comments

  1. There was a project aiming to get Onitsuka’s first five albums reissued on vinyl two-and-a-half years ago, although I think it didn’t work out in the end – none of the albums received enough orders to get them pressed.

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