New Wax Wednesday

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) . . .

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. . .

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. . .

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. . .

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. . .

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. . .