Album Reviews

We didn’t have a new album from Elvis Costello and T Bone Burnett on our 2024 checklist — but here we are enjoying an unexpected yet long overdue brand-new self-titled 2LP set by their alter-ego personas known as The Coward Brothers. We also get a second, related vinyl gift — a 2024 reissue of Elvis’ masterful February 1986 LP credited to The Costello Show, King of America. Read Mark Smotroff’s combo review to see if both of these Costello/Burnett LP collabs are worthy, right-before-the-holiday-break additions to your collection. . .

As the 1980s gave way to the 1990s, legendary British Invasion songwriter, singer, guitarist, and all-around rock icon Pete Townshend of The Who was working hard, reinventing himself as something of a senior statesman clearly not ready to follow the directive of his iconic band’s October 1965 breakout hit single, “My Generation.” To that end, two of his more adventurous solo releases have just been reissued as new half-speed mastered 180g vinyl editions: June 1989’s The Iron Man: The Musical by Pete Townshend and June 1993’s Psychoderelict: Music Only — the latter making its first appearance on vinyl ever, and as a 2LP set to boot. Read Mark Smotroff’s combo review to see if either/both of these underappreciated latter-era Townshend solo LPs belong in your collection. . .

The phrase “auspicious debut” is often overused when discussing many an upstart band’s first album — but when it comes to Talking Heads, it’s a phrase that certainly fits the bill whenever you’re both discussing and listening to the fledgling punk/new wave NYC quartet’s first LP, September 1977’s Talking Heads: 77. And now, this important debut album gets its full box set due today, November 8, 2024, with Rhino’s 4LP + 4 7-inch singles-comprised Talking Heads: 77 – Super Deluxe Edition box set, with the original album therein remastered AAA all the way. Read AP editor Mike Mettler’s review to see why 77 is another vital vinyl box set to add to your collection — plus see his suggestion for the official, more affordable alternate option of half the box’s contents if your bankbook is currently lacking. . .

There are probably many behind-the-scenes reasons why indie-rock/power-pop legends The dB’s just could not get their first two albums released by an American record company back in the early 1980s. Whatever the cause or the case, that outright crime for fans of all things jangly power pop and indie rock has long been overdue for amending. Thankfully, a new reissue series by independent record label Propeller Sound Recordings has gone a long way to make up for that unfortunate ’80s misstep. The second entry in The dB’s vinyl reclamation series is their 1981 sophomore LP, Repercussion. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see why Propeller’s truly wonderful Repercussion LP reissue belongs on your turntable today. . .

The challenge of writing a review about a band you are admittedly not intimate with — one that some interwebs sources consider to be “the most successful group of the 21st century,” having sold more than 100 million albums and counting — has upsides, as well as down. Such is the case with Coldplay’s new 140g LP Moon Music, which was released by Parlophone on October 4, 2024, on a new vinyl alternative called EcoRecord. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if the songs on Moon Music spoke to him, and how well the EcoRecord format got across the band’s intentions. . .

In honor of Audiophile Day (October 2), I spent the balance of my afternoon and evening hours spinning some of my favorite LPs, both new and old alike. With that in mind, let me tell you a story about The Doors and the big beat of Analogue Productions’ new 200g 1LP UHQR edition of their April 1971 studio swan song with Jim Morrison behind the mike during his lifetime, L.A. Woman. Read on to see why this new Clarity Vinyl edition belongs on your turntable now. . .

What becomes a cult-favorite legend most? When it comes to onetime Bob Dylan tour manager, noted folk artist, songwriter, painter, and producer Bob Neuwirth, it seems quite befitting that a long-awaited reissue of the artist’s self-titled 1974 debut album is set to receive new life on vinyl with a 50th anniversary 1LP reissue on Sunset Blvd. Records on September 27, 2024. Read on to see why you might want to get your hands on Bob Neuwirth sooner than later. . .