Vinyl Reports

Fans of The Monkees will be pleased to learn that a new release from Rhino’s esteemed High Fidelity reissue series shows how they took significant steps to deliver a significant update of the band’s November 1967 smash hit album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see why the new 180g 1LP Hi-Fi edition of Pisces trounces all previous editions. . .

If it’s November, then it must mean it’s time for another round of Beatles-related vinyl reissues, remasters, and upgrades — and we are all-in to cover everything that’s coming our way. First up, it’s time to give the drummer some — meaning that today’s Fabs-centric focus is on Richard Starkey, a.k.a. Ringo Starr, who saw his first four 1970s solo LPs on Apple reissued by Capitol/UMe on limited-edition color vinyl on October 25, 2025. Read AP editor Mike Mettler’s combo review to see if you should order the new vinyl copies of Sentimental Journey, Beaucoups of Blues, Ringo, and Goodnight Vienna as soon as possible. . .

Before we all drive and/or fly off to our respective Thanksgiving festivities for the long weekend ahead, we want to share the full aural bounty that comprises today’s New Wax Wednesday column. This one is all about Wings, a self-titled 180g 3LP compilation of 32 tracks culled from the better-than-you-may-think output of Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles 1970s band that was released on November 7, 2025, via MPL/Capitol/UMe. Read AP editor Mike Mettler review to see if the Wings box is indeed fab enough for you to add to your collection (plus, you’ll get his firsthand impressions of seeing Macca’s just-completed Got Back tour). . .

When it comes to recordings of the blues, there are different pockets of reissue-related activity that remain of interest to many music enthusiasts these days. Three new recent LP upgrades from three different iconic names span several generations of interest — namely, mid-20th-century icons John Lee Hooker and Memphis Slim along with Furry Lewis, who began recording in 1927. Read Mark Smotroff’s combo Short Cuts review to see if BMG’s new reissue of Hooker’s 1992 Pointblank/Charisma album Boom Boom, along with Craft Recordings’ Bluesville Series reissues of both pianist Memphis Slim’s 1959 Vee-Jay debut At The Gate of Horn and acoustic fingerpicking/slide guitarist Furry Lewis’ 1961 Prestige/Bluesville LP Back on My Feet are all worthy of buying and spinning. . .

Two albums recently reissued as part of Rhino’s esteemed High Fidelity Series could not be further apart stylistically, sonically, and emotionally — but in some ways, these two releases are inevitably connected in time and space. In this special Short Cuts combo review, Mark Smotroff explores the value of picking up the Hi Fi Series versions of these platinum-selling hits from Fleetwood Mac and Sex Pistols, and draws some interesting parallels in the process. . .

Many music fans consider Electric Warrior, the classic September 1971 Reprise LP by Marc Bolan’s T. Rex, to be ground zero for the music genre known as glam rock. Indeed, popular music’s trajectory at that time would likely be very different if not for the success of this album, which has long been an in-demand fan-favorite LP. And thus, a new, audiophile-worthy remastered 180g 1LP version of it courtesy Rhino’s most excellent High Fidelity Series was very much in order. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if you need to get it on with the Kevin Gray remaster of Electric Warrior ASAP. . .

Rush’s tenth studio LP on Mercury, April 1984’s Grace Under Pressure, chronicled how the vaunted Canadian trio were able to shift creative gears mid-decade and construct eight technology-driven tracks that confront fear, rue containment, and question conformity. To properly celebrate this important album, UMe/Mercury and Anthem recently released a newly expanded 5LP/1BD Super Deluxe Edition of Grace Under Pressure (a.k.a. GUP40) on March 13, 2026. Read AP editor Mike Mettler’s in-depth box set review that also includes an all-new exclusive interview with longtime Rush production wizard Terry Brown — who remixed the original album and the live material exclusively for this box set — to see why his work may forever change the way you hear this Cold War-era music. . .