New Wax Wednesday

On any particular night, King Crimson founder/guitar iconoclast Robert Fripp’s penchant for playing music always leaned toward quote, “new whenever it is performed.” That M.O. was most definitely in place for the seven-man band’s four-night run at what was then called the Best Buy Theater in the heart of midtown Manhattan between September 18-21, 2014. A most aptly named 200g 2LP set on black vinyl, 2014 NYC (coming out on July 10, 2026), celebrates some of the best performances of that storied run. AP editor Mike Mettler — our resident KC fanatic who attended three of those four shows — shares all the details. . .

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 AP editor Mike Mettler has all the Hip details, including some exclusive, previously unpublished bandmember comments about the joys and pitfalls of playing different songs from different albums live, and then capturing it all properly on record. . .

Carry the Light, Peter Frampton’s 19th studio album and his first collection of all-new rock material in 16 years, will be released by UMe in various formats on May 15, 2026 — but of most import to we analog planeteers, it will be appearing on 180g yellow vinyl. Read on to see what Peter and his son and co-producer Julian Frampton exclusively told AP editor Mike Mettler about the making of Light. . .

By almost all accounts, Record Store Day 2026, which took place last Saturday, April 18, 2026, was a rousing success. We here at AP were, of course, out in full force that day, and we can now report back on what we were able to get our hands on in the moment and what we think of them. (Some of our thoughts may surprise you.) We’ll also discuss what we didn’t get, and/or what we’re still looking to get our hands (and ears) on. Read on to see AP editor Mike Mettler and chief LP reviewer Mark Smotroff’s mutual RSD 2026 assessments. . .

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. . .

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). . .