New Wax Wednesday

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. . .

Sometimes, we just wanna drop the needle on a good ol’ — or good new, for that matter — rock opera. Clearly, producer/guitarist/maestro-at-arms Daniel Cervantes must have gotten inside our head, for he and his SoCal classic/roots rock band, Mrs. Henry, have recently gone all-in on the concept with a truly sprawling 38-song, six side opus of epic proportions on Blind Owl Records that’s been earnestly dubbed Keep On Rising. Read on to learn more about the all-analog wonders of the 180g 3LP Keep On Rising box set, and delve into AP editor Mike Mettler’s interview with Cervantes about how it all came together. . .

If it’s early October, then it must be time to announce what’s going to be released on Codename: RSD BF — a.k.a., Record Store Day Black Friday, which is officially slated for November 28, 2025. Over 170 vinyl releases have been slated for that most hallowed of days, so buckle up your budgets now. Read on to see a myriad of our highlighted RSD Black Friday titles. Betcha can’t earmark just one of ’em for your RSD list, let alone ten. . .

Look through any window, and what do you see? In this case, we’re eyeballing the next entry in Bob Dylan’s acclaimed Bootleg Series that’s on deck. More specifically, The Bootleg Series Vol. 18: Through The Open Window, 1956-1963 is arriving via Columbia/Legacy/Sony Music as a 4LP box set on October 31, 2025. Read on to see which 42 tracks of that key early Dylan era — 18 of them previously unreleased, and nine of them considered as being “super-rare” — have made the vinyl cut. . .

For a British band with such a potentially foreboding name as The Darkness, their music is anything but grim. Instead, they choose to celebrate what we call a “tongue in chic” (spelling intended) wink/nudge approach to rock conventionalism by meeting all of it head on with layered riffs, clever arrangements, and operatic vocals galore — and their latest smokin’ hot LP, Dreams on Toast, is the living analog proof. Read AP editor Mike Mettler’s interview with Darkness guitarist/producer Dan Hawkins to see what he doesn’t want to hear on test pressings, why “flow” is critical to vinyl sequencing, and what albums he and his older brother, Darkness lead singer Justin Hawkins, bought and shared together when they were growing up. . .

Here’s an upcoming multidisc collection that practically whispers one of its song titles as an instruction for potential, pun-intended suitors: Take me home. Or, to be more precise, Phil Collins and his team are suiting up for a proper, imminent 40th anniversary release of the sartorially titled No Jacket Required (Fully Tailored) 180g 4LP box set via Atlantic/Rhino on September 12, 2025. Read on to see how it was done, and what all the cool bonus material is. . .

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. . .