'Round again

The best of a big batch of reissues

by Bob Gulla

Emmylou Harris

We like reissues. Even though it seems like record companies and reissue specialists like Sundazed and Rhino are scraping the barrel, gems still make their way into the marketplace. I'm not serviced with all of the industry's reissues, but I do receive a fair number, the best of which I've listed here.

Rock/Pop/Blues

Badfinger: Head First (Snapper). Badfinger, one of the great, tragic stories in all of pop music, never really got their due here in the States. Over the past few years, though, their catalog and vault material is in danger of becoming Hendrixized (i.e., exploited). Fortunately, Head First, a two-disc set of the "lost" last Badfinger album and demos from 1974, is a supremely important addition to their canon.

Time Capsule: The Best of Matthew Sweet (Volcano). Another great pop tragedy is the career of Matthew Sweet, who could never capitalize on his early Girlfriend success, despite writing oodles of excellent material. (Just ask the ol' Velvet Crush guys, a couple of whom make select appearances on this disc.) Listening to Sweet's Time Capsule does ultimate justice to his young legacy.

Bryan MacLean: Candy's Waltz (Sundazed). OK, so here's still another tragic story. (I didn't do this on purpose.) Bryan MacLean, brother of former Lone Justice songbird Maria McKee, and guitarist/co-writer of the once-great LA rock band Love, had success in hand, before bandleader Arthur Lee let it all slip away in a barrage of excess. MacLean never earned back his status in the rock world, but he did manage to release two discs of early material in the '90s, the latest being Candy's Waltz, a collection of Jeff Buckley-esque acoustic numbers and vocal workouts. MacLean died last year, before enjoying a recent cult resurgence.

The Meters (Sundazed). The kindly folks at Sundazed have trotted out a half-dozen or so seminal Meters remastered reissues, an event which amounts to nothing less than a rediscovery of what could possibly have been the Crescent City's best-ever band. Spurred on by the fabled production tandem Allen Toussaint and Marshall Sehorn, Cabbage Alley, Rejuvenation, and Fire On the Bayou are so tight they're nearly telepathic. The opening reissue salvo includes The Meters, Look-Ka Py Py, and Struttin'.

The Band (Capitol). Capitol released a box set from the band a few years back, but it doesn't come close to measuring up to the standards of these single-album remasters. Of course, everyone talks about classic like Music from Big Pink, or the band's self-titled debut -- which are two of the greatest rock albums ever recorded -- but Cahoots and Stage Fright rank as unqualified triumphs by any standard as well. All are packaged with bonus tracks.

Creedence Clearwater Revival (Fantasy). Fantasy sunk its teeth into the Creedence catalog last year to good result, remastering straight reissues of eight albums, including the awe-inspiring self-titled debut and the band's magnum opus, Green River. All entries were arranged and produced by Fogerty himself with liner notes by Dave Marsh.

The Stax Story (Stax/Volt). For those of us who considered it unrealistic to jump on both expensive volumes of the Complete Stax/Volt singles boxes, here's good news: A four-disc distillation of those massive collections, featuring highlights from one of the great soul/R&B imprints. That means you get the goods from Booker T, the Mar-Keys, Rufus Thomas, Otis Redding, and, well, you name it. Then buy it.

Johnnie Taylor: Lifetime (Stax). And speaking of Stax, one of their most successful, at least during the '70s, was Johnnie Taylor, a sexy, passionate, talented soul/blues/gospel singer who some refer to as one of the most gifted singers of the pop generation. This three-disc set released, coincidentally, soon after his death spans the man's whole career, from 1959 to 1999.

Mississippi John Hurt: The Complete Studio Recordings (Vanguard). Vanguard, one of the dedicated labels of the folk-music '60s, released some excellent blues and folk retrospectives last year, including a three-disc collection of Buddy Guy material, and single disc odes to Cisco Houston and Ramblin' Jack Elliott. Still, this Hurt collection tops 'em all, with three-discs of sublime acoustic blues from Hurt's renaissance in the late '60s.

Country/Roots

Johnny Horton: The Spectacular Johnny Horton (Legacy). Horton was an overlooked talent in the country music of the late '50s, cutting a series of excellent story-songs as well as some hot, hard-edged honky-tonk. Though his career was cut short by a drunk driver, his material was revived by George Jones ("I'm a One Woman Man") and Dwight Yoakam ("Honky Tonk Man").

Willie Nelson: Red Headed Stranger (Legacy). What would music critics do without Willie Nelson? One of the top five all-time pop artists, Nelson may be under-appreciated by the general populace, but he certainly knows how to write some stirring music. The reissue of this understated acoustic masterpiece is breathtaking by any measure, and essential for any roots/country fan.

Waylon Jennings: The Ramblin' Man (Buddha). Fellow Nelson outlaw Waylon has made some pretty great records in his day, too, the best of which are being reissued by the Buddha label. Fresh and inspired, this one could be his best.

Emmylou Harris: Last Date (Eminent). Harris received some notoriety recently for Red Dirt Girl, the first album featuring her own songwriting in nearly two decades. But the real Harris news come with her reissues, a trio of which includes this excellent live album, made at the peak of her prowess in 1982. And don't forget her aptly-monikered Hot Band, one of country music's best all-time backing outfits.

Johnny Cash: Love God Murder (Legacy). Cheeky but effective three-disc set collected conceptually, with the first disc consisting of love songs, the second addressing spiritual issues, and the third highlighting Cash's murder ballads.

Merle Travis: Best of Merle Travis: Sweet Temptation (Razor & Tie). As a guitarist, Travis would ultimately inspire such players as Chet Atkins, Scotty Moore, and Duane Eddy. If that weren't enough, he had an impressive run of Top Ten singles on the country charts from 1946 to 1950.

Don Williams: Millennium Collection (MCA Nashville). In the early days of commercial country music, back when it didn't matter how you filled out your jeans or how you looked in a hat, there were guys like Don Williams. A former folksinger, he didn't cut a very impressive figure with his long sideburns and wrinkled old hat, but he sang like Nashville's own Perry Como. This is one of two new anthologies dedicated to Williams's work.

Kelly Willis: One More Time -- The MCA Collection (MCA Nashville). Strange to see this come through, but it's a nice surprise. Willis has never really gotten her career in gear, despite having considerable promise and lots of early hype. Unlike many hits collections, this one feels more like a beginning than an end. Let's hope so.

WANDERING EYE. Ellis Paul played Stone Soup last year and rocked it so good, he had some folks dancing in the aisles. Well, not really, but if the generally staid folk crowd had its druthers and a little more space, the packed house would've been up and cuttin' a rug but good. The Soup's new home might be a little more conducive to Paul's show, which is bright and lively and funny and charming all at once. It could be a sell-out, so do get there early. Showtime this Saturday is 8 p.m., and admission is $10. The night starts with an open mike.