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.
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.
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.
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 …
A decade ago, I wrote a series of entries ranking my favorite albums from 1985 to 2004. My collection has expanded greatly since then, particularly in the last five years. So I wanted to see what has changed in 10 years.
1979 is officially the year I started collecting music. And it’s all because of a post-disco hit about the Twilight Zone theme song. This list, though, couldn’t have been compiled till 2006.
Gang of Four, Entertainment!
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Evita
Stephen Sondheim, Sweeney Todd
Philip Glass, Einstein on the Beach
Midnight Oil, Head Injuries
Talking Heads, Fear of Music
The Clash, London Calling
Michael Jackson, Off the Wall
The Police, Reggatta de Blanc
Emmylou Harris, Blue Kentucky Girl
Other favorites from the year:
The Manhattan Transfer, Extensions
The B-52’s, The B-52’s
The hit in question is “Twilight Tone” by the Manhattan Transfer.
Though more renowned as a jazz vocal quartet, the group wouldn’t get on my radar till “Twilight Tone” invaded the airwaves. Search YouTube for a performance of the song on a variety show — it’s amazing what people will endure for art. Or gimmickry.
My parents relented and bought the Extensions album for me. Of course, I played “Twilight Tone” to death, but I also dug the other songs on the album. Unlike “Twilight Tone”, they ranged from doo-wop to a capella. One song was a bizarre novelty with the singers voices rendered at chipmunk speed. You could say this was Manhattan Transfer’s disco album.
I’ve included it in the extended list. As fond as I am of the album, I have a better sense of what 1979 really offered as a year in music.