10. The Verve - A Storm In Heaven / A Northern Soul (UMC)
While The Verve is better known in America for their 1997 album, Urban Hymns, and its inescapable "Bitter Sweet Symphony", they actually had a long headstart working their way through swirling psychedelia that was only hinted at by that point. These lovingly crafted boxes, three discs of music each, bring together the album, B-sides and session works, along with contemporaneous radio sessions and live cuts. It all makes for a great deep dive into the less well known, but far more rewarding, era of these Britpop stalwarts.
9. Judy Henske & Jerry Yester - Farewell Aldebaran (Omnivore)
This is one of those long hyped "lost" '60s records that was a collector's dream, thankfully reissued for the rest of us to check out. Originally released on Frank Zappa's Straight label back in 1969, this is a really easy album to love, but tough one to wrap your arms around. All ten tracks are so wildly different from each other that it often feels like a completely different band, between the styles and Judy Henske's incredible vocal range that often made her sound like different vocalists altogether. The only common thread being Jerry Yester's piano, otherwise this plods through folk, sunshine pop, guitar rock and even some early use of synthesizers. The reissue also includes five revealing demos.
8. Various Artists - Day of the Dead (4AD)
While they've never really gone away, it seemed like the Dead has seen a higher profile with the mainstream culture than they've had since Jerry died. It was kicked off by the 50th anniversary and the Fare Thee Well shows, but continued with some love from the indie rock world. The brothers Dessner, Aaron and Bryce of The National fame, once again teamed up with the Red Hot Organization for a charity tribute album that ended up stretching to 59 tracks and 5 discs. All Dead covers, it includes an astounding array of musicians from the hip (Courtney Barnett, The War On Drugs, Kurt Vile, Angel Olsen, Tim Hecker) to the weirdos (Marijuana Deathsquads, Fucked Up, Man Forever, Lee Ranaldo) to the stalwarts (Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Wilco, The National, Lucinda Williams) to those that actually worked with or were in the Dead (Bruce Hornsby, Bob Weir, Joe Russo). As expected, the quality varies wildly, but there are some really great, loving, experimental performances - enough to show the band's continued inspiration.
7. Cows - Cunning Stunts (AmRep)
This was a revelation for me in 2016. While I'd read the band's name before, this was my first chance to hear this Minneapolis noise band for myself. It wasn't as strictly noise as I expected, there was a lot more melody than I'd been led to expect, but that didn't make it any less engaging or weird. Though I don't think they sound exactly like either, it reminded me of the way No Age and Sonic Youth combined noise with melody. From the spoonerism of the title to the bugle, it's delightfully weird noise rock that deserves a wider airing.
6. Manuel Gottsching - E2-E4 (MG Art)
By 1981 Manuel Gottsching had, as a member of both Ash Ra Tempel and the later offshoot Arhra, released, by my count, at least six classic albums - the self-titled, Schwingungen, and Join Inn by the former; as well as New Age of Earth, Blackouts and Correlations by the latter. With E2-E4, he added another one to the list, through a decidedly different approach. Gottsching pumped up the influence of electronic music, creating an hour-long progressive electronic suite that heavily influenced the development of house and tehcno in the years to come, all while still including his fluent guitar playing.
5. Game Theory - Lolita Nation / The Big Shot Chronicles (Omnivore)
The wonderfully on point Omnivore folks continued their reissue of the Game Theory catalog with expanded editions of their 1986 and 1987 albums. Each packed with bonus tracks, live cuts, demos, home recordings and irreverent covers, they both help explain why Scott Miller remains a touchstone for so many to this day. Lolita Nation revealed itself to be my favorite of the three I've heard so far (also including Blaze of Glory), but The Big Shot Chronicles has plenty of high points as well.
4. Tad - Salt Lick / God's Balls / 8-Way Santa (Sub Pop)
I've been waiting for these for a long, long time. I've had a few scattered Tad tracks on various compilations and I used to have a cassette with many of these songs on the two sides. But it's been really hard to track down their albums, so I'm thrilled that Sub Pop finally did this trilogy justice. If you don't know Tad, quite possibly the heaviest and most influential of the original grunge warriors, these are a great place to jump in - cleaned up reissues that add singles and compilation tracks that tell the story of a sorely underrated band. Now, let's hope that Inhaler and Infrared Riding Hood get the same treatment some day.
3. Big Star - Complete Third (Omnivore)
Omnivore strikes again, they had a wonderful year in 2016, with yet another take on the long misunderstood and futzed with third album from power-pop legends Big Star. So why do we need yet another take on this? What makes this time different? Is it better than the 1992 Rykodisc version? Maybe, but it certainly is more inclusive. The first disc includes 24 demos, sessions and rough mixes, while the second disc includes 25 more rough mixes and demos that continue the evolution of the songs. The final disc, disc 3, gives us 21 "final mixes" for the third album - in a drastically different running order from the Rykodisc version. The final statement? I'm doubtful about that, but it is a wonderful deep dive into an incredible period by a sorely missed band.
2. Trad, Gras och Stenar - Djungens Lag / Mors Mors / Kom Tillsammams (Anthology)
This was another godsend for me, as I've long been seeking out more albums from this legendary Swedish underground rock band. I've had their 1970 self-titled debut and a later record from 2002, but I was hungry for more. Anthology Recordings delivered big time here, with three discs packed with essential early 70s live jams. The first two discs are expanded versions of live albums from 1972 and 1973, while disc three adds even more previously unreleased live material from 1972. The band was clearly at its heights during these years and every track is a thrill ride.
1. Pink Floyd - The Early Years (PinkFloyd)
How could number one be anything else? As has long been established, Pink Floyd rules. Though, here is where I have to admit a little egg on my fave. Being so far behind in putting this list up allows me to cheat ever so slightly - I was never able to justify the cost of the mega box, I bought each volume individually when they were released in early 2017. though I did have the 2-disc distillation back in November of 2016 - which alone was enough to justify a place on this list. Anyway, large box or no, this is a beautiful attempt to repackage the band's first seven years. In addition to the expected early studio sessions and live performances, you get quite a few holy grail inclusions - the 1967 John Latham recordings, The Man and The Journey live from Amsterdam, unreleased Zabriskie Point soundtrack recordings and the 1972 Pompeii performance. Toss in tons, and I mean tons, of great video footage and gorgeous reproductions of memorabilia makes this a no-brainer for any Pink Floyd fan.
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