New Wax Wednesday

Direct from the WWNC files (as in, “Will Wonders Never Cease”) comes an LP reissue that so many of us have been hoping and praying to get back onto our turntables for literal decades — and now, it’s finally come unfrozen. I’m talking about September 1973’s Buckingham Nicks, perhaps one of the last true Holy Grails of coveted 1970s vinyl, and it is finally set to be reissued under the auspices of the oft-excellent Rhino High Fidelity series on September 19, 2025. Read on to see the source materials and how you can pre-order your copy (or copies!) of Buckingham Nicks today. . .

Joni knows jazz, and jazz knows Joni. To reinforce the point, Joni Mitchell is getting ready to release Joni’s Jazz, a massive 8LP passion project years in the making, via Rhino on September 5, 2025. It’s a career-spanning collection that features a wide range of recordings specifically chosen by Mitchell herself that reflect jazz’s profound influence on her music. Read on to see which tracks made her final cut, and why this box is a most worthy addition to your collection. . .

Sounds caress my ear and the story is quite clear, as Led Zeppelin have just announced plans for how they’re going to celebrate the 50th anniversary of 1975’s seminal double-album extravaganza Physical Graffiti. To that end, the mighty Zep will be releasing a) an all-new Live E.P. on 180g vinyl, in addition to b) an updated 50th Anniversary edition of 2015’s Physical Graffiti Deluxe Edition 180g 3LP set, both of which are coming out on September 12, 2025. Read on to get all the related analog graffiti, including details about the new E.P.’s four previously unreleased live tracks and which legendary Zep shows they’ve been culled from. . .

I’m sure most of us can recall the first time we heard the golden throat of Rochester, New York’s finest, Lou Gramm, sing a song that has now long since embedded into our collective consciousness — and it most likely came from his time as the frontman for Foreigner. AP editor Mike Mettler talks with Gramm about his newly released solo album Released, the art and science of sequencing album sides, and which Foreigner song he feels sounds best on vinyl, and why. . .

Fortune, fame, mirror vain. If you automatically know the next lines are “Gone insane / But the memory remains,” then the next upcoming mondo Metallica box set is clearly for you. Read on to see AP editor Mike Mettler outline what you can expect from the Bay Area band’s ReLoad Remastered 5LP/15CD/4DVD limited edition deluxe box set that will be released on June 26, 2026 (and, yes, there will also be a standalone 180 2LP reissue of the core album as well). . .

Mobile Fidelity have been on quite a tear of late. Besides their consistent slate of Original Master Recordings (OMRs), they’ve also been making a mark with their Ultradisc One-Step releases — most especially with the ongoing UD1S 180g 45rpm 2LP OMR Van Halen reissue series. Read AP Editor Mike Mettler’s combo review of all five UD1S VH OMR LPs, as well as his exclusive interview about how they came to be with MoFi President Jim Davis and MoFi mastering engineers Rob LoVerde and Shawn R. Britton. . .

Welcome to our new weekly New Wax Wednesday column, in which we will highlight upcoming new LP releases and/or important vinyl reissues worthy of preordering and spinning again and again once they arrive in prime, direct from doorstep to turntable fashion. What better way to start off this new series than by commencing with a calling out to transit, as the saying goes — as in, sharing the news that R.E.M.’s Radio Free Europe 2025 five-track benefit EP is set for release via Craft Recordings on September 12, 2025. Read on to see what rare tracks and new mixes will appear on this limited-edition 10-inch orange-vinyl EP. . .