I wrote an entry similar to this one back in 2017 (almost to the day!) Five years later, vinyl sales account for 7 percent of total music revenue, according to Variety. The last stat I heard was 2 percent, and that was around the time I wrote that previous entry.
At this point, I’m surprised when I don’t find a title on vinyl, but that doesn’t mean titles haven’t fallen through the reissue cracks. So here’s a sequel — albums I would love to see reissued on vinyl.
Café Tacvba, Cuatros Caminos Café Tacvba, Ré
Vinyl pressings of Café Tacvba albums exist, but they’re usually limited and quick to run out of print. To my knowledge, neither Ré nor Cuatros Caminos have ever been issued on vinyl, but I wouldn’t mind repressings of albums that had been issued on vinyl.Cuatros Camino was reissued March 2023. Ré has been reissued outside the US, most recently in 2023.
Tracy Chapman, New Beginning
New Beginning had “Give Me One Reason”, Chapman’s biggest hit since “Fast Car”, so it’s curious to see the album never getting a vinyl reissue. I’ve seen RSD titles reissued for far less.
Orgy, Candyass
Orgy’s cover of New Order’s “Blue Monday” rivals the original, but the entire Candyass album was actually really good. Reissued Feb. 2024.
Kanye West, Yeezus
A lot of unofficial pressings exist, so an official release would be nice. Kanye annoys me, but this album is pretty unhinged.
Nick Lachey, What’s Left of Me
I have a soft spot for Nick Lachey and this album. I was definitely not the target market for his reality TV show, but the angst resulting from the end of his marriage led to some pretty honest art. I don’t expect What’s Left of Me to get the vinyl treatment. I would probably be the only person interested in getting it.
Pansy Division, Absurd Pop Song Romance
It’s not hard to sense a hunger for commercial success on this album, and I think it deserves to be revisited.
Stephen Sondheim, Assassins (Original Cast Recording)
By the time Stephen Sondheim opened Assassins off-Broadway, cast recordings migrated entirely to CD, so the original cast recording of this show never saw a vinyl release.
Sam Sparro, Sam Sparro
Sparro got a Grammy nomination for “Black and Gold”. Surely, that’s enough to warrant a vinyl pressing? Don’t call you Shirley?
STRAIGHTENER, LOST WORLD’S ANTHOLOGY ART-SCHOOL, LOVE/HATE
Among fans of SUPERCAR, NUMBER GIRL, Quruli and Shiina Ringo, these albums by ART-SCHOOL and STRAIGHTENER could be considered classics of early 2000s Japanese indie rock. But that’s a pretty narrow audience to justify a vinyl pressing. UPDATE: LOVE/HATE was reissued Nov. 2023.
SUPER JUNKY MONKEY, A.I.E.T.O.H
This EP was actually issued on vinyl, so let’s have a repressing!
Harry Connick, Jr., She
I am mostly ambivalent to the work of Harry Connick, Jr., but his two albums of New Orleans rock — She and Star Turtle — are the only two albums of his I own. Given how uncharacteristic these albums are with the rest of his discography, I don’t imagine they have much goodwill among his fans. So a vinyl reissue? Unlikely. But She was released on vinyl in the Netherlands …
Whenever I do a Google search for the best albums of the current year, I don’t recognize most of the results. So it becomes a game: how many of these best albums are made by artists I do recognize, and do I own any of them?
I have to confess a bit of disappointment when there’s an overlap between my tastes and that of the critical consensus.
These days, my favorite lists pretty much hew close to artists who’ve occupied the list before, so the lack of overlap is more an indication of my fossilizing tastes.
2022 is faring no different.
Utada Hikaru, Bad MODE: This album is definitely in the upper tier of favorite Hikki albums. Maybe right behind ULTRA BLUE, which says tons.
Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Morale and the Right Steppers: “We Cry Together” is compellingly uncomfortable and probably most of the reason this album is on this list. Also, I find this album far more engaging than DAMN.
The Linda Lindas, Growing Up: It sounds like there’s a bit of professional polish on this album, but it’s not enough to dull the band’s rough edges. I’ve rediscovered the Donnas recently, and part of me thinks I would have liked the Donnas more if they had been even remotely indignant as the Linda Lindas.
TwoSet Violin, Fantasia: Hey guys, some of us olds wouldn’t mind even a FLAC download somewhere.
Midnight Oil, RESIST: Billed as the final album, RESIST is every bit as urgent as a Midnight Oil album at the start of the band’s career. It’s just unfortunate that the world is not listening. Still.
Tears for Fears, The Tipping Point: Like Duran Duran’s FUTURE PAST, The Tipping Point finds Tears for Fears sound much like themselves without being too beholden to the past.
UA, Are U Romantic?: Imagine the Horizon EP with an updated sound. This EP is the most melodic we’ve heard from UA in a while.
Catalog
Black, Wonderful Life: I wish this album was a bigger deal in the States. It’s too bad I had to discover it through a thrift shop purchase.
Cave-In, Antenna: I vaguely remember this album being somewhat controversial among my metalhead co-workers at Waterloo Records in the early 2000s.
Mieczyslaw Weinberg, Violin Concerto / Sonata for Two Violins (Gidon Kremer): Kremer performed the concerto with the Seattle Symphony, and I came away from that concert impressed. After hearing this recoding, I understand Kremer championing the work of Weinberg, a friend of Dmitri Shostakovich.
Paula Cole, This Fire: It’s too bad Paula Cole became the Sound of the WB Network. I didn’t take this album seriously at the time of its release, despite admiring Cole’s backing vocals on Peter Gabriel’s Real World Live. This Fire is a far stranger album than its big hits would indicate.
Viktor Vaughan, Vaudeville Villain: It’s fucking MF DOOM.
Kraftwerk, Techno Pop (a.k.a. Electric Café): Kraftwerk is the first band I’m discovering on vinyl instead of CD. Rather than wait for a CD to show up at the thrift store, I’ve been picking up the band’s albums as used records. I probably like this album the most because of the Sprockets skit on Saturday Night Live.
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![[Nick Lachey - What's Left of Me]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/NickLacheyWhatsleftofme31169_f.jpg)
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