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Matthew Berlyant: January 15, 2006

  1. The Fall – The Complete Peel Sessions 1978-2004 (Sanctuary)
    Last week I listed my 10 favorite shows of last year and the week before I listed my 10 favorite shows of 2005. Thus, continuing with the theme for this month, I want to spotlight 10 reissues that I bought last year that I really dig. This is by far my favorite reissue of the year. It’s not only an excellent addendum to The Fall’s studio albums and a must for serious fans, but it can also be viewed as an alternate history of popular (or not so popular) music of the last quarter century since The Fall’s music encompasses everything from post-punk to synth-addled noise to Krautrock, sometimes within the same song and all with the foundation of rockabilly-based backing and Mark E. Smith’s distinctive vocals. This 6 CD box set encompasses every Peel Session that The Fall ever did and while most of it is is indispensable (though the 1998 session is weak, to say the least), the version of “New Puritan” (from a 1981 session) on here is worth the price tag alone!
  2. The Gun Club – _The Las Vegas Story (Sympathy for the Record Industry)
    I know that this technically came out in 2004, but I bought it last October and I’ve listened to it a lot since then, so I feel that it deserves a mention here. It’s often overlooked in favor of their scorching 1981 debut Fire of Love, much like the similarly overlooked and just as great Miami, but this may be their best effort overall. It’s not punk, hard rock, blues or roots-rock, but a terrific hybrid of all of these genres with Jeffrey Lee Pierce’s vision and excellent songwriting being the center of attention here, as with every Gun Club album. The version of the standard “My Man’s Gone Now” (from West Side Story) and Pierce’s own “Secret Fires” are 2 of the most emotional and affecting pieces of music I’ve ever heard.
  3. The Damned – The Black Album (Chiswick)
    In my opinion this is The Damned’s finest album. On it, they moved even further away from their punk beginnings on songs such as the 17-minute plus “Curtain Call”, which took up an entire album side on its original double-album release. Furthermore, the bonus disc is great, including killers such as “Rabid (Over You)” and the Christmas single “There Ain’t No Sanity Clause”. Complete with the excellent and informative liner notes and photos, this is an essential purchase. The only downside is that the sound isn’t what it could be.
  4. James Chance – Irresistible Impulse (Tiger Style)
    This 4 CD box set is recommended for anyone curious about Chance and all of his various permutations. It came out in 2002, but I finally got around to gettting it last year after watching an incredible performance of “Sax Maniac” in the movie Downtown 81 and I’m glad I did. The albums Buy the Contortions, Off White and Sax Maniac (the latter two as James White and the Blacks) are represented here along with EPs such as Theme from Grotzi Elvis and other rarities. This isn’t everything Chance ever recorded (the tracks from the No Wave compilation aren’t included, for example), but it’s as close as you’re gonna get and with 3 different versions of the classic “Contort Yourself”, how can you go wrong?. The liner notes and packaging are sparse, but the sound is incredible and so is the music.
  5. The Go-Betweens – 16 Lovers Lane (JetSet)
    This is another reissue that came out in 2004, but I got it last year, so it’s included here. This is one of my favorite albums of all-time and the finest moment of their remarkably consistent career, with the 1986 album Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express a very close second. Suffice it to say that if you’re a fan of ‘80s indie-pop and you don’t have this album, run don’t walk. Every song is a classic from the college-radio hit “Streets of Your Town” to lesser-known gems like my personal favorite “You Can’t Say No Forever”. The bonus disc is terrific as well, including a cover of Bob Dylan’s “You’re a Big Girl Now” and the excellent “Casanova’s Last Words”.
  6. The Go-Betweens – Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express (JetSet)
    In my opinion, this is their 2nd best album and a pivotal turning point in their career. With added strings and inspired songwriting such as Robert Forster’s “Head Full of Steam” and my personal favorite “Twin Layers of Lightning” (a dead ringer for similarly-inclined songs by the early ‘80s version of The Cure) and Grant McLennan’s “In the Core of the Flame” and heart-wrenching “Apology Accepted”, this is a must-have. Like the other Go-Betweens reissues, the bonus disc is excellent, including early and single versions of album tracks such as “Head Full of Steam” and “Bow Down” along with a BBC session version of “Casanova’s Last Words”.
  7. The Fall – Hex Enduction Hour (Sanctuary)
    Although the bonus disc consists of Peel Sessions (available on the box set) and not particularly great or noteworthy live stuff (and don’t even get me started on the fact that the single “Look, Know” is missing, though at least its great B-side “I’m Into CB” is included), it’s great to have a decent-sounding version of this spectacular album that doesn’t sound like it was mastered from a vinyl version (though the master tapes are still missing). Indeed, this 24-bit remastered version is a huge upgrade from the 2002 reissue, making such stompers as “The Classical”, “Jawbone and the Air Rifle” and “Who Makes the Nazis” come alive with all the power and energy they demand.
  8. The Fall – Perverted By Language (Sanctuary)
    The reissue of this excellent and underrated 1983 album is most noteworthy for fixing the track listing from the previous version. On the previous reissue, the singles “The Man Whose Expanded” and “Kicker Conspiracy” (along with their respective B-sides) started things off, but on this reissue, they’re tacked on the end so that the 1st track is the great “Eat Y’Self Fitter”. If you have the Peel Sessions box set, the bonus disc is mostly negligible since it consists of the sessions from that time period as well as a few demo versions and a live version of a song called “Backdrop”, but if you don’t have this album, this is the version to get.
  9. Jeffrey Lee Pierce – Wildweed(Sympathy for the Record Industry)
    It’s great to have Jeffrey’s 1st solo album finally available again on CD. While it’s a bit slicker than The Gun Club with its booming mid ‘80s drums, the songs are still great and at times it reminds me of some of Tom Verlaine’s better solo work, such as on the astounding last track “Midnight Promise” (check out the guitar work on this track).
  10. The Damned – Machine Gun Etiquette (Chiswick)
    The Damned’s 1st great album in a run of 3 straight classics (followed up by The Black Album and Strawberries), this album found them moving away from straight punk into more atmospheric territory such as “These Hands”, “Plan 9, Channel 7” and “I Just Can’t Be Happy Today” along with ‘60s garage rock rave-ups such as their cover of MC5’s “Looking at You”. This reissue restores the original cover and tacks on some bonus tracks, though sadly it doesn’t reprise our own Jack Rabid’s terrific liner notes from the 1989 Imago reissue.