All this week we’re focusing on the best music we heard in 2012. Today’s post looks at the top reissues from the past year, truly a banner year for reissued material from around the world, but particularly from some sought after and long-cherished artists. Here are my picks for the top 5 reissues of 2012, let me know your picks here on the blog or on our facebook page!
***Honorable Mentions: Country Funk: 1969-1975 (Light In The Attic), The Best of Perception & Today Records: Funk, Soul, Breaks, Jazz, Latin & Rock From One Of NYC’s Finest Underground Labels (BBE), Wendy Rene – After Laughter Comes Tears: Complete Stax & Volt Singles + Rarities 1964-1965 (Light In The Attic), Soul-Cal: Disco and Modern Soul Masterpieces 1971-1982 (Now-Again), Thom Janusz – Ronn Forella…Moves!(Luv’n’Haight/Ubiquity), Donnie & Joe Emerson – Dreamin’ Wild (Light In The Attic), Personal Space: Electronic Soul 1974-1984 (Chocolate Industries)
5. Eccentric Soul: Omnibus Vol. 1 (Numero Group)
The Procedures – Give Me One More Chance
First came Light On The Southside, then the Syl Johnson Complete Mythology then last year’s expansive Boddie Recording Co., set. At some point you’d think that we’d stop saying “How are they going to top this?” But for three years running, amazingly, Numero has. Another year and another marvel from the folks at Chicago’s Numero group. What better way to mark the 45th release of the label than with a box set featuring 45 45s…every one of them a gem, most never before reissued, or at least not issued on 7” wax. You could spend a lifetime of digging and a minor fortune collecting all of these records (and I’m sure some purists out there are certainly going to try). Simply dynamite and just when you think they couldn’t possible top this one, by calling this “Vol. 1” they’ve already got us guessing about Vol. 2 and beyond!
4. Listen Whitey: The Sounds of Black Power 1967-1974 (Light In The Attic)
Light In The Attic had possibly the best year of any label, reissue or otherwise, in 2012. They celebrated their 10th anniversary with a really ambitious slate of releases, virtually every single one a winner (just look above, almost half of the honorable mentions are from LITA!). This collection of music associated with and inspired by the Black Power movement remained one of my favorites since it first hit my hands in February. It’s not a perfect collection (though from our conversation with Pat Thomas, there will be further volumes, particularly highlighting the jazz music created during this period which is completely absent from this set) but it does include such a wealth of obscured tracks that it was impossible to ignore when putting together this list. While there have been a few collections to highlight the music associated with the Civil Rights Movement, this particular moment, more intense, more confrontational and more militant hadn’t really been fully accounted for. I can’t tell you how long I’ve been looking for that Lumpen 45, I still can’t believe that after 8 ½ years of living in Oakland I was never able to turn it up! Bringing back Bob Dylan’s acoustic version of “George Jackson,” a song as powerful as any of his vaunted protest tunes also more than justifies this collection being on this list.
3. Tim Maia – Nobody Can Live Forever: The Existential Soul of Tim Maia (Luaka Bop)
Very much a no-brainer, considering what a cherished artist Tim Maia is for me. While I do still wish that Luaka Bop had included tracks from his first two albums, they more than make up for any shortcomings of this set with the wealth of material from his mid-1970s output. You should probably still track down all of his post-1973 Lps, but what you’ll find is that truly the best tracks are included here (with possibly the exception of the 1973 LP which I featured here at this blog’s founding). Finally, the godfather of Brazilian Soul music gets the acclaim he deserves!
2. Loving On The Flipside: Sweet Funk and Heavy Soul Ballads 1969-1977 (Now-Again)
Rhythm Machine – Whatcha Gonna Do
A major part of the reason this record places this high is deeply personal. That’s not to discount the quality of the music or lovingly put together packaging, but there’s no way to escape that much of my connection to the style of music presented on Loving On The Flipside relates to the passing of my friend Matthew Africa. Many of the best songs on this collection first found their way to my ears via Matthew’s fantastic Soul Boulders mixes. Listening to this music helped in ways I can’t fully express to deal with the grief of losing one of major music mentors and a friend who I wished I had been much closer to in recent years. It also helped to solve several mysteries of Soul Boulders 2 which did not include any tracklisting. When I first heard “Whatcha Gonna Do” from Rhythm Machine, I was convinced that many of the effects were added by Matthew and B. Cause, but actually they were there in the mix to begin with. Egon also does us all a major favor by tracking down an extended mix of Thomas East’s “Slipping Around” where everything falls away and all you’re left with are glorious funky drums until everything comes back to slowly burn away. A cherished addition to my collection.
1. Can – The Lost Tapes (Mute)
Despite the sentimental pull of Loving On The Flipside, I cannot deny (and likely Matthew Africa wouldn’t either) that the most momentous and amazing collection of music I heard in 2012 was this astounding 3 CD box set featuring unreleased music from German heavyweights Can. Over the past several years we’ve seen similar archeological work going on, where someone literally stumbles upon recordings that never saw the light of day. There are echoes of songs that were released, “Dead Pigeon Suite” has elements of “Vitamin C” loosened up and sprawled out over 12 minutes. “A Swan Is Born” has all the makings of an early version “Sing Swan Song” which is one of my favorite Can tracks. Perhaps, truthfully, there’s too much of a good thing spread out throughout all three discs, and a single release of just the best tracks would be stronger. But how would you make the decision? I’m firmly in the camp that Damo Suzuki “led” Can is it’s best material, but the tracks that feature Malcolm Mooney on this set are more than worthy of inclusion, as are the instrumental numbers here from after Suzuki left the band. I’ve exclusively focused on the studio material when I’ve played tracks from this on my radio show, but the live material gives you an even stronger sense of what a powerhouse Can was at their height. I appreciate and applaud the decision to include all of the material, perhaps as a final emptying out of the Can closet. Can was/is an extraordinary band, getting the chance to hear new music from their “heroic” period, that had never been heard before and that we’d never thought we ever get is truly the stuff of legends and exactly why this release deserves the top spot for reissues in 2012.