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The Issue is Reissues
by Gregg Shapiro
2004-04-28

This article shared 1376 times since Wed Apr 28, 2004
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** Laurent Garnier at Sound Bar, (773) 787-4480, on April 30

Neither the commercial nor critical success that was hoped for, Let It Be … Naked (Capitol) provides the chance to hear the Beatles last album again from a different perspective, while the bonus disc of takes and studio conversation offers some insights. Then there is the re-sequencing of the album, along with the substitution of 'Don't Let Me Down,' for 'Dig It' and 'Maggie Mae.' Minus the towering wall of Phil Spector production, on some of the songs, it's almost like hearing the Beatles covering themselves. In its stripped-down version, 'The Long And Winding Road,' is a bit more haunting than the previous rendition. 'Across The Universe,' still floats above the listener's head, although it doesn't soar heavenward, the way it did with Spector's angelic choral background. 'Nothing's gonna change my world,' indeed.

Released a scant three years after Let It Be, Elton John's epic Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Island/Rocket) actually has more in common with the Beatles' legendary 'white album.' It provided EJ a palette on which to explore a variety of musical styles and genres, not restricted by the time limits of a single LP. The reissue, coinciding with the thirtieth anniversary of the album, contains four previously unreleased bonus tracks: 'Whenever You're Ready (We'll Go Steady),' 'Jack Rabbit,' 'Screw You (Young Man Blues),' and an acoustic mix of 'Candle In The Wind.' As a not-yet-out-kid, I remember being drawn to the song 'All The Young Girls Love Alice,' with its allusions to same-sex attraction, being sung by a not-yet-out Elton John. And don't get me started on the clues in the Marilyn Monroe and 'yellow brick road' references.

David Bowie and Elton John share more in common than just their birth year (1947) and birthplace (England). They also share a past fondness for platform boots, dressing up on-stage, and well, gender-fuck. Few traces of that are found on the funk-heavy, expanded reissue of Bowie's 1993 White Noise Black Tie (Virgin/EMI), which reunited him with his Let's Dance producer Nile Rogers. Disc one contains the original album in its entirety and disc two contains a dozen album track remixes, among others.

The third disc in the limited edition set is a DVD featuring extensive Bowie interview footage, as well as videos from the CD. Additionally, Bowie's three remaining '90s albums, 1995's Outside, 1997's Earthling and 1999's Hours … (all on ISO/Columbia) have been reissued in expanded editions. While none of these three albums did much to renew interest in the once cutting-edge icon, Earthling did yield a minor hit ('I'm Afraid Of Americans,' the Nine Inch Nails remix of which is included here), while the ambitious, but rambling, Outside and the somewhat more timely Hours … (featuring the underrated Holly Palmer on 'Thursday's Child'), reminded us Bowie was still worth a listen.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that my introduction to the legendary, groundbreaking rock opera Tommy, by The Who, came not with the original 1969 studio/concept album, but through Ken Russell's psychedelic cinematic adaptation from 1975. With the remixed and remastered Super Audio CD reissue of Tommy: Deluxe Edition (Geffen), I am finally able to appreciate the original in all its 'See Me Feel Me' glory. The original album takes up disc one of the set, while disc two includes outtakes, demos and stereo only demos that are sure to please Who fans the world over.

The latest in the 'Bootleg Series,' Live 1964: Concert at Philharmonic Hall (Columbia/Legacy) by Bob Dylan, isn't so much a reissue as a premiere with the legendary concert from almost 40 years ago getting its official release, replacing 'scratchy bootlegs and incomplete CDs'. The now-legendary concert includes Dylan performing acoustic versions of 'The Times They Are A-Changin',' 'Mr. Tambourine Man,' 'The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll' and 'With God On Our Side,' to mention a few.

Scarlet Rivera first came to our attention as the violinist in Bob Dylan's mid-'70s band. Her virtuoso violin playing could be heard on Dylan albums such as Desire and Hard Rain. Later in her career, she performed on albums by Tracy Chapman and the Indigo Girls. Rivera released a pair of jazz/rock fusion solo discs on Warner Brothers in the late '70s, Scarlet Rivera and Scarlet Fever (Collectors' Choice Music), that have now been reissued. The superior eponymous disc captures the fusion spirit that was increasing in popularity in 1977 and shows of Rivera's fiddle skills in the best light on tracks such as 'Leftback,' 'Gypsy Caravan,' and 'Ring Around The Moon.' Scarlet Fever boogies to a different beat, with a definite disco (circa 1978) influence on the title track, 'Frenzy' and 'Morning Glories.'

Released in 1997 on his own record label, Laurent Garnier's acclaimed second album 30 (Mute) is getting a major-label reissue. Heavily influenced by house music, the French DJ turned musician demonstrates his skills as both a student and an innovator on the tracks 'Crispy Bacon,' 'The Hoe,' 'Feel The Fire,' 'Flashback,' and 'I Funk Up.'

Emerging from the British punk scene of the late '70s, Echo & The Bunnymen benefited from good timing. The band released a series of albums that fit well into the college rock radio format of the early 1980s. Five nicely packaged expanded reissues—Crocodiles, Heaven Up Here, Porcupine, Ocean Rain, and the self-titled disc (all on Sire/Rhino)—illustrate that point quite well. Moody, gloomy, British post-punk/new wave that begged for dancing was just the ticket for the Reagan/Thatcher era, and songs such as 'Rescue,' 'Do It Clean' (Crocodiles), 'A Promise' (Heaven Up Here), 'The Cutter,' 'The Back of Love,' 'Never Stop' (Porcupines), 'Silver,' 'The Killing Moon' (Ocean Rain), and 'Lips Like Sugar' (Echo & The Bunnymen), all sung in Ian McCulloch's distinctive distantly emotive vocal style provided a soundtrack.

You can almost detect the influence of the time on Keith Carradine's second album, Lost And Found. Whereas Carradine's 1976 debut album I'm Easy was all about the Academy Award-winning song of the same title that was the centerpiece of his Southern California style folkie debut album, a song such as 'Neutron Bomb,' with its near-disco beat and new-wave attitude hinted at something else entirely on his second album. Also, Carradine's choices in cover material, including a sincere cover of the Tom Waits classic 'San Diego Serenade' and the Lennon/McCartney tune 'Rain,' indicated that the actor turned pop star wanted to be taken more seriously. Long out of print I'm Easy/Lost And Found (Collectors' Choice Music) have now been reissued together on one CD.

In 1975, around the time that Keith Carradine made his lasting musical impression in the movie Nashville, Emmylou Harris released two albums that would officially introduce the singer and budding songwriter to the world as a solo artist. Those two groundbreakingalbums, Pieces Of The Sky and Elite Hotel (both on Rhino/ Reprise/Warner Brothers), along with the three that followed (Luxury Liner, Quarter Moon In A Ten Cent Town and Blue Kentucky Girl) set the standard for Harris and her contemporary country music contemporaries throughout the '70s and beyond, and have been reissued with two bonus tracks apiece.


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