Vinyl Reports

Athens, Georgia’s legendary indie rock band R.E.M.’s back-to-back initial releases on I.R.S. — August 1982’s five-song Chronic Town EP, and April 1983’s full-length album debut Murmur — are now featured together in a Definitive Sound Series (DSS) One-Step 180g 2LP set from Interscope/Capitol. Read Mark Smotroff’s review — and AP editor Mike Mettler’s extensive footnotes — to see if this double release is well worth the DSS investment. . .

Pre-eminent singer/songwriter Patty Griffin, a two-time Grammy Award-winner, shares a powerful and personal journey with listeners on her latest LP, Crown of Roses. Read Julie Mullins review to see if Griffin and her ace production team deliver the goods on vinyl. . .

A new audiophile-worthy, restored 180g 2LP reissue of Peter Frampton’s breakthrough mega-hit double-live January 1976 Frampton Comes Alive! album seems more than appropriate, especially in order to celebrate this landmark live set’s 50th anniversary. To that end, the new Frampton Comes Alive! Vinylphyle edition that was released as part of UMe’s thus far outstanding Vinylphyle series on January 22, 2026, is on our review slate today. Read Mark Smotroff’s review review (and AP editor Mike Mettler’s footnotes) to see why this AAA Vinylphyle edition of Alive! adds new life to an already stellar live double album. . .

Where have you been? It’s all right, we know where you’ve been. Naturally, many of you already know that I’ve just borrowed some key lyrics from “Welcome to the Machine” to segue into the news that Pink Floyd have just announced a 50th anniversary edition of Wish You Were Here — the album from whence that song comes from — will be released in expanded 3LP and deluxe box set editions on December 12, 2025. Read on to see all the details about all the on-vinyl extras, and which edition(s) they will appear on. . .

Sean Ono Lennon and Yoko Ono Lennon, in conjunction with Mercury Studios and Universal Music Recordings (UMR), have finally answered a decades-long fan request for release of the One To One Concert, a pair of benefit performances at Madison Square Garden in New York City held in the afternoon and evening of August 30, 1972. Long bootlegged, this new release — now officially named Power to the People, in celebration of the Ono-Lennons’ inspiring and tumultuous political activist years in NYC, and officially credited to John & Yoko / Plastic One Band — appears in multiple formats, including a 180g 4LP box set. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if the 4LP Power box set is worth the entry fee. . .

Talk Talk is one of those groups that often fall through the cracks of both music history and mainstream consciousness — beloved by some, overlooked by many. Luckily, we have a pair of new half-speed-mastered LPs from their catalog to share a proper (re)assessment. Read on to see Mark Smotroff’s review of the HSM LPs for 1988’s Spirit of Eden and 1984’s It’s My Life, plus find out what AP editor Mike Mettler thinks of the merits of 2025’s The Very Best of Talk Talk 2LP set. . .

Are we ready for Record Store Day 2026 yet? This year’s big event starts bright and early tomorrow, Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 8 a.m. EST (give or take). See you there? In the meantime, AP editor Mike Mettler shares an exclusive RSD-oriented and vinyl-centric conversation with Romeo Void vocalist Debora Iyall about all the steps taken to ensure the band’s Live ’81-’85 2LP RSD release is up to our respective vinyl standards. . .