Originally released 15 years ago as a compilation of UK & US #1 hit singles, The Beatles' 1 was as close to being complete as a single disc could be, even with the exclusion of "Please Please Me" and "Strawberry Fields Forever." The expanded CD/DVD version 1+ (Apple/Universal) contains all the 2000 release tracks, remixed. From "Love Me Do" in 1962 to 1970's "The Long and Winding Road," these timeless songs tell the Beatles' story. The set also includes two DVDs chock-full of promo videos. The first DVD contains all 27 songs introduced by clever title animations, and there's animated "Yellow Submarine" and "Eleanor Rigby" footage. The second DVD features alternate takes and the official music videos. The DVDs function as visual histories of the band's music, its fashion and grooming transformations, including hair length and facial hair.
Then there's the latest round of solo Paul McCartney reissues. Skipping ahead a few years to avoid London Town and Back to the Egg, we have 1982's masterwork Tug of War and its fast follow-up Pipes of Peace (1983, both MPL/Concord). It took the murder of John Lennon in 1980 for McCartney to produce his strongest album in 10 years, Tug of War, essential for a few reasons. First, it permitted McCartney to finally come to terms with his complex relationship with his former bandmate. The title track and "Here Today" pack emotional wallops. Second is McCartney's renewed interest in collaboration, this time with high-profile artist Stevie Wonder. "What's That You're Doing?" is a first-rate funk effort, McCartney sounding thrilled to be following Wonder's lead. "Ebony and Ivory" is McCartney at his most schmaltzy. These songs would set the precedent for McCartney's later collaborations with Michael Jackson and Elvis Costello. Jackson can also be heard in a duet with McCartney on the clubby "Say Say Say." Continuing the metaphor of its predecessor, Pipes of Peace falls short. But it has its allure, including the title cut, which finds McCartney experimenting with synthetic instrumentation. Both albums include second discs with bonus audios and visuals.
Van Morrison released his own masterpiece, Astral Weeks (WB), in 1968. Reissued in an expanded-gatefold CD edition with four bonus tracks, this chamber-pop album sounds eternal. Driven by Morrison's distinctive vocals and songwriting, it's considered one of the greatest recordings of all time. Acoustic guitars, strings, woodwinds, brass and vibraphone are some of the elements that make this sprawling song sequence so effective. "The Way Young Lovers Do" and "Madame George," an epic tune about a drag queen, are essential listening. The expanded reissue of His Band and the Street Choir (1970) is the sound of Morrison getting back to his soulfully rocking roots, beginning with the classic hit "Domino." Morrison gets retro on "Give Me a Kiss," sings the blues on "I've Been Working," reaches falsetto heights on "Gypsy Queen," and goes gospel on "If I Ever Needed Someone."
The 10-CD box set Five Years 1969-1973 (Parlophone) continues the run of modern rock legend David Bowie. This year included the success of the exhibition David Bowie Is at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and the release of Nothing Has Changed, a thorough singles compilation (ISO/Legacy). Five Years represents seminal recordings remastered: David Bowie a.k.a. Space Oddity, The Man Who Sold the World, Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Aladdin Sane and Pinups. The CD covers are faithful reproductions of the original artwork, some gatefold, inner sleeves, and lyric sheets.
All the members of British blues rockers Bad Company came from previous bands (Mott the Hoople, King Crimson). Kings of the mid-70s rock stance, Bad Company had a string of hits found on Rock'n'Roll Fantasy: The Very Best of Bad Company (Swan Song/Rhino). Not quite as heavy as Led Zepplin, Bad Company was still able to rock out on chart-topping hits "Shooting Star" and "Feel Like Makin' Love."
Led by the late Michael Brown, formerly of the Left Banke and Stories, the Beckies were a mid-70s signing to Seymour Stein's Sire Records label (Ramones, Talking Heads, the Smiths). Meant to fit into the punk/new wave scene, the Beckies were really neither. Still, "Fran," "Other Side of Town" and "Run Jenny Run" justify a CD reissue (Real Gone Music).
It's only been five years since the remastered 25th anniversary edition of Hunting High and Low, the debut album by Norwegian superstars a-ha. For the 30th anniversary, HH&L (WB/Rhino) gets the deluxe remastered treatment with four CDs, one DVD. Still-hot Morten Harket's tricep and cheekbones on the cover appeal. There's also the music, sounding as good today as in 1985. The videos, especially "Take on Me," remain classics. The first disc contains the original album, the second disc boasts 25 demos from 1982-84. Disc three includes 15 singles, B-sides and extended versions; disc four has 10 alternate mixes.
Musical variety defined the 1990s, beginning with People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (Legacy) by NY trio A Tribe Called Quest, one of hip-hop's most sophisticated acts. Combining social commentary, smoothly delivered rhymes and jazz samples, this debut paved the way for brilliance. Three bonus tracks fill out the 25th anniversary reissue, including a Pharrell Williams remix of "Bonita Applebum" and a "Footprints" remix featuring CeeLo Green.
1995 was a big year for female singer-songwriters including queer acts Jill Sobule and Melissa Ferrick. Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill (Maverick) is available in a four-disc collector's edition to mark its 20th anniversary. JLP was Morissette's collaboration with producer Glen Ballard. Morissette co-wrote the music and wrote the lyrics. This edition includes a remaster of the album, a disc of demos, the 2012 Jagged Little Pill Acoustic and a live recording from 1995 London.
Insurgent country became its own thing in 1990 with the release of Uncle Tupelo's No Depression album. The band soon parted ways, with Jeff Tweedy heading off to form Wilco, while Jay Farrar formed Son Volt. The remastered 20th anniversary edition of Son Volt's 1995 debut Trace (WB) adds eight bonus demos and an unreleased live disc recorded at the Bottom Line in 1996.