Top 5 Reissues of 2007

Reissues are like the Special Edition DVD of music, so here's what I liked this year.

5. Vangelis, Blade Runner -- I would think that Air, Stereolab and Daft Punk took some cues from this ahead-of-its-time score for the ahead-of-its-time film. UNKLE/DJ Shadow even sampled parts for Psyence Fiction. The 25th-Anniversary reissue has the complete score spread over two discs and a third disc of audio interviews with Ridley Scott and other directors.

4. The Brit Box: U.K. Indie, Shoegaze, and Brit-Pop Gems of the Last Millennium -- It's a great primer to get caught up on the 80s/90s British music scene and for the already versed, you can discover some obscure jems. For me, I'll have to get some more Chapterhouse.

3. Sonic Youth, Daydream Nation -- I've never been the biggest follower of Sonic Youth, just because they have such a vast catalog, it's hard to soak in all of their music. In any event, if the band wants to reissue one of the albums, it might as well be this one. You kind of get the feeling when listening to the album that the whole Seattle scene was inspired by this album. In this version, you get some sweet live tracks from back in the day.

2. U2, The Joshua Tree -- I've been hard on U2, because they are just too much these days. They can fart into a can and critics and fans will call it brilliant. With that said, I do think The Joshua Tree is one of the best albums ever made and the on;y U2 album you need. They perfected that fine line in music making where a song can be taken as a political or a personal statement. "Where the Streets Have No Name" is one the best openers of an album in rock music and with the remaster you can feel the swelling of the guitar opener. In the next 20 years since the album's release, I just feel that the band hasn't done anything as important as this album.

1. Joy Division, Unknown Pleasures & Closer -- It's an all-80s Top 5 list, with this double shot of Joy. You can say that these albums paved the way for the Brit Box, U2 and Sonic Youth. On this reissues, you get some high quality live performances, complete with random screams from the crowd.

Comments

[Gabe]

My wife got me the Brit Box for Christmas. It is a great listen, good to see it here among your list. While I already have some of the songs, the ones I don't have are a great find.

[Jeff K]

I valued the Pylon re-issue on DFA the most not only for being rad, but because it was legitimately out of print and non existant on CD.

[Trey sanders]

I just feel that the band hasn't done anything as important as this album.
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are you crazy? Actung baby is masterpiece of music. U2 has alot more music than just Joshua tree, even though that record is epic.