New Wax Wednesday

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Mike Mettler  |  Mar 25, 2026

Wouldn’t it be nice if The Beach Boys were to somehow celebrate the upcoming 60th anniversary of one of the most important album releases of the 20th century, May 1966’s Pet Sounds? Oh, wait — they will be doing just that with a few different analog-oriented, vinyl-centric releases to come via Capitol/UMe on May 15, 2026. Read AP editor Mike Mettler’s report to see which LP version of Pet Sounds 60 you should get (or simply get all of them, just like he will). . .

Mike Mettler, Mark Smotroff  |  Nov 19, 2025

As we noted last week, the month of November traditionally means there will be major Beatles-related releases in the hopper — and this year is no different, as a Holy Grail 180g 12LP Beatles box set is being released by Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMG this Friday, November 21, 2025. It is known as Anthology Collection, and it features upgraded versions of the first three Anthology 3LP editions originally released in 1995-96, in addition to an all-new, 3LP fourth volume consisting of additional rarities and 2025 demixes alike. Read AP editor Mike Mettler and chief vinyl reviewer Mark Smotroff’s deep-dive combo review to see if Anthology Collection is worth its aural weight in Beatles gold (and/or platinum) . . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jun 25, 2025

What’s in your heh-ed, in your he-ehh-ehh-ed? If that deliberately enunciated lyrical refrain instantly brings to mind a certain chilling but ultimately cathartic song by Irish alt-rockers The Cranberries — “Zombie” — then you’ll be eternally pleased to learn that a trio of 30th anniversary vinyl editions of the album that song is from, October 1994’s No Need to Argue, will be released in spurts on both June 27, 2025, and August 15, 2025. Read on to see which version is coming out on wax when, and what tracks each edition contains. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jun 17, 2026

We be jammin’ now — 50 years on, that is. Fifty years ago this week, Bob Marley & The Wailers headlined a four-night residency at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England, spanning June 15-18, 1976. The first-ever official release of 18 of the best tracks culled from those shows comprise the Roots, Rock, Reggae: Live at the Hammersmith Odeon 180g 2LP set that’s coming from Tuff Gong/Island/UMe on August 14, 2026. AP editor Mike Mettler sparks, er, shares all the details. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jan 07, 2026

Welcome to the first installment of New Wax Wednesday for 2026! We already have plenty of great 2026 releases to cover in future columns, but we wanted to kick off the new year by instead diving into something we ran out of time to post about at the tail end of 2025 — namely, Rhino’s 4LP deluxe edition commemorating The Replacements’ final indie release on Twin/Tone, October 1984’s truly seminal Let It Be. Read AP editor Mike Mettler’s inside look at how the expertly expanded Let It Be collection should in no way leave any of its listeners “Unsatisfied”. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Feb 18, 2026

Upon the first listen to the opening notes of The Smashing Pumpkins’ debut single “I Am One” in mid-1990, we were immediately hooked on the four-piece Chicagoland band’s conjoined drive hard but also play dreamy dynamic — which was even more in evidence on the next song, “Siva,” which sported not one but two low-volume vocal/noodly guitar breaks before the band chaos returned to take the track back by storm. The ensuing album those tracks appeared on, May 1991’s Gish, further cemented our love of SP’s inventive explosiveness. To celebrate the impending 35th anniversary of Gish, multiple 180g 1LP vinyl variants via Martha’s Music/Virgin/UMe will mark the occasion on May 29, 2026, literally 35 years and a day after the album’s original release. Read AP editor Mike Mettler’s report to see why Gish endures, and why you need to hear it anew on vinyl. . .

Mike Mettler  |  May 20, 2026

In the wake of the impending 10th anniversary of their final tour, The Tragically Hip have just announced that Live July 22 – August 20, 2016, a 3LP set commemorating that historic 15-show run with 29 of their best performances spread across six sides of vinyl, will be released on August 21, 2026. AP editor Mike Mettler has all the Hip details, including some exclusive, previously unpublished bandmember comments about the joys and pitfalls of playing different songs from different albums live, and then capturing it all properly on record. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Sep 03, 2025

While The Who are currently traversing North America on their (allegedly) “final-final” tour that’s been dubbed (of course) The Song Is Over, they’re also quite keen on continuing with a finely curated catalog reissue series that’s been chock full of remastered originals and unreleased studio and live tracks galore. To that end, The ’Oo have just announced that their Who Are You 180g Deluxe Edition 4LP box set is forthcoming from Polydor/UMe on October 31, 2025. Read on to see what all the bonus material is, and what other versions of the set are also available. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jan 14, 2026

Some like it hot and some sweat when the heat it on, as the saying goes — at least that’s how the mid-’80s supergroup dubbed The Power Station put it in their February 1985 hit single of a mostly similar name. The album that housed that incendiary lead single, March 1985’s eponymously dubbed The Power Station, is seeing a well-deserved, expanded 40th anniversary 2LP set that’s duly been subtitled DLX via Parlophone on January 23, 2026. Read AP editor Mike Mettler’s review to see just how fiery this newly upgraded edition of The Power Station is on wax. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Dec 10, 2025

Tori Amos is the type of artist who relishes pushing the creative envelope at practically every turn, and she went all-in by creating 12 separate character identities/personas for how she approached interpreting the dozen, male-penned covers she tackled on her September 2001 release on Atlantic, Strange Little Girls. The album has never been officially released on vinyl, but Rhino plans to rectify that ill by dropping a 2LP Strange Little Girls (Expanded Edition) on February 20, 2026, that will also feature a pair of B-side rarities along with an additional pair of previously unreleased recordings. Read AP editor Mike Mettler’s Strange Little assessment, in addition to some exclusive, vinyl-centric comments he got directly from Amos herself. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Apr 15, 2026

Let’s not beat around the bush: Queen are absolute kings when it comes to putting together historical box sets. Current case in point is what they’ve done for March 1974’s Queen II, which was just released by Hollywood in a legitimately lavish 5CD/2LP Collector’s Edition on March 27, 2026. Read AP editor Mike Mettler’s review to see why the 180g 2LP twist helps put Queen II over the top. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Nov 05, 2025

My fellow analog audiophiles, take note — we are now all members in good standing in a newly spelled subset called vinylphyles. Vinylphyles, of course, have the same, er, obsessive-about-SQ-on-wax laser-focus as we do — and we can credit UMe for coming up with that double-y sobriquet, which also happens to serve as the name of their exciting new reissue program. Read on to see which four titles are coming out on November 14, 2025, that will inaugurate this all-important AAA series. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Feb 11, 2026

Progressive music and classically trained orchestras go together like, well, progressive music and classically trained orchestras. Truth is, the marriage of music made by forward-thinking artists with widely expanded symphonic arrangements has always appealed to our own open-minded compositional sensitivities. Though sometimes it’s a union that perhaps works better on staff paper, when the prog/orchestral sonic matrimony works, it really works — and that was clearly the idea behind Yes’ Symphonic Live, a 180g 4LP set that documents a full 14-song set from the band’s 2001 Symphonic Tour that was released via Mercury Studios/UMG on January 23, 2026. Read AP editor Mike Mettler’s review to see if the half-speed-remastered Symphonic Live conducts itself in a manner worthy of immediate acquisition. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jul 02, 2025

If I blow my top, will you let it go to your head? Put a pin in your answer for now, please, and let’s instead focus on the, er, explosive related box set announcement at hand. Getting a jump on the holiday weekend, ZZ Top have just confirmed that From The Top: 1979–1990, a limited-edition 5LP collection from Rhino High Fidelity (a.k.a. Rhino Hi-Fi), will be released just two days from now on July 4, 2025. Read on to see which albums from the pivotal mainstream-success era of that little ol’ band from Texas constitute this box, and what the source material for each 180g LP in it is. . .

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