Favorite Archival Releases | AllMusic 2021 in Review

Alice Coltrane

Kirtan: Turiya Sings

A rare mix of her first and only vocal album from 1982, it features the musician/guru chanting, accompanied only by her organ.

Aretha Franklin

Aretha [2021]

A comprehensive four-CD box that is the first set to thoroughly cover every aspect of Aretha's career.

Aunt Sally

The bracing, genre-defying 1979 album from the short-lived band that introduced Phew, one of the Japanese underground's most restless talents.

Bruce Springsteen

The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts

The Boss trims his three-hour concert extravaganza into a tight 90 minutes for a worthy cause, and delivers a musical knockout.

Bush Tetras

Rhythm & Paranoia: The Best of Bush Tetras

Superb anthology that spans 40 years in the life of a band fusing edgy noise guitar and urban paranoia with muscular funk.

Byzantium

Halfway Dreaming: Anthology 1969-1975

One of Britain's great unsung prog-pop bands gets their due on this excellent completist box set.

Calvin Keys

Shawn-Neeq

Issued by the venerable Black Jazz at the dawn of the 1970s, the guitarist's leader debut is an enduring classic of the jazz-funk era.

Can

Live in Stuttgart 1975

Cleaned-up audio of a fully improvised 1975 concert finds these Krautrock legends restlessly exploring and operating as a singular organism.

Colin Blunstone

One Year [50th Anniversary Edition]

The 50th anniversary edition of the debut solo album from the Zombies lead singer includes 14 additional demos and studio tracks from the same time.

Crazy Horse / Neil Young / Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Way Down in the Rust Bucket

A 1990 warm-up show for the Ragged Glory tour shows Young and his favorite band cutting a loose but joyous groove.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Déjà Vu [50th Anniversary]

This deluxe edition of the first collaboration between Crosby, Stills & Nash and Neil Young contains demos and rarities.

David Bowie

Brilliant Adventure (1992-2001)

The fifth "Era" boxed set from David Bowie chronicles his adventurous 1990s and offers the unreleased album Toy.

Deniece Williams

Free: The Columbia/ARC Recordings 1976-1988

Eight-disc boxed set containing 11 albums (and more) from the unmistakable four-octave soprano and highly accomplished songwriter.

Doug Carn

Infant Eyes

The husband-and-wife team initiated their classic run of albums for Black Jazz with this enduring spiritual soul-jazz masterpiece.

Faust

1971-1974

Along with Faust's essential first four albums, this box set includes an album recorded at Giorgio Moroder's studio and other fascinating unreleased material.

Fleeting Joys

Despondent Transponder

2006 debut from the Sacramento shoegaze duo, which matches mind-altering sonics with strong songwriting.

Gang of Four

77-81

A thorough overview of the British "neo-Marxist funk band"'s first era that's smart, challenging, and wildly entertaining.

Gene Russell

Talk to My Lady

The Black Jazz Records founder and keyboardist's 1973 small group album of funky, romantic soul-jazz.

George Harrison

All Things Must Pass [50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition]

The Super Deluxe Editions of All Things Must Pass contain a host of demos and outtakes over the course of five CDs or eight LPs.

Goat

Headsoup

Career-spanning collection of singles, flip sides, and stray tracks from the genre-smashing troupe of psychedelic explorers from Sweden by way of 1969.

Goldie & the Gingerbreads

Thinking About the Good Times: The Complete Recordings 1964-1966

Twenty rare sides from a trailblazing all-female rock & roll band who sounded like the Shangri-Las fronting the Animals.

Hasaan Ibn Ali

Metaphysics: The Lost Atlantic Album

Released nearly 60 years after being recorded, this long-languishing date adds weight to the pianist's critical reputation for genius.

His Name Is Alive

A Silver Thread: Home Recordings 1979-1990

Comprehensive set compiling all three archival His Name Is Alive releases and a wealth of bonus material.

Jackie Leven

Straight Outta Caledonia: The Songs of Jackie Leven

Nearly a decade after his death, the beloved Scottish singer/songwriter gets a well-deserved chance at rediscovery with this best-of.

John Coltrane

A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle

Concealed for 55 years, this epic live performance of the saxophonist's masterwork is an essential addition to his discography.

John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band

Plastic Ono Band [Super Deluxe Edition]

A weighty new box set features a plethora of new mixes, outtakes, and jams.

Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 2: The Reprise Years (1968-1971)

Previously unreleased demos, live material, and studio outtakes track one of the most exciting early phases of this legendary songwriter's development.

Karen Black

Dreaming of You 1971-1976

The award-winning actor's previously unreleased songs make for a fascinating time capsule of 1970s folk ranging from sunny to spooky.

Lee Morgan

The Complete Live at the Lighthouse

The legendary hard bop trumpeter's final dynamic live 1970 concert album is presented in full.

Linda Smith

Till Another Time (1988-1996)

A well-chosen selection of home-recorded pop songs that have lo-fidelity, but high-quality melodies, inventive arrangements and deliver deep feels.

Mary Timony

Mountains [20th Anniversay Expanded Edition]

Matador's 2021 reissue bolsters the former Helium frontwoman's fascinating solo debut with previously unreleased tracks both old and new.

Mose Allison

Complete Atlantic/Elektra Albums 1962-1983

This six-disc box offers 12 albums from the Mississippi pianist and singer/songwriter's best-known period in a gloriously designed package.

Nancy Sinatra

Start Walkin' 1965-1976

An idiosyncratic and effective portrait of Nancy Sinatra's peak years.

Pastor T.L. Barrett & the Youth for Christ Choir / Pastor T.L. Barrett

I Shall Wear a Crown

A vinyl box containing all four seminal '70s recordings by Pastor Barrett and his 45-voice youth choir as well as singles and sermons.

Phyllis Hyman

Old Friend: The Deluxe Collection 1976-1998

At last, a dutiful boxed set of the soul legend's LPs for Buddah, Arista, and Philadelphia International, plus a bounty of contemporaneous works.

PJ Harvey

Is This Desire? [The Demos]

Raw and haunting, the demos for the singer/songwriter's 1998 album provide fascinating insight into the continuum of her music.

Roy Brooks

Understanding

This archival release showcases the drummer leading an incendiary quintet with Woody Shaw, Carlos Garnett, Harold Mabern, and Cecil McBee.

Rudolph Johnson

Spring Rain

The former Jimmy McGriff saxophonist's earthy 1972 debut album showcases his funky, modal style.

Seefeel

Rupt and Flex (1994-96)

Attractive CD/download-only anthology of the hybridists' novel and expansive recordings for Warp and Rephlex.

Shep Pettibone

Arthur Baker Presents Dance Masters: Shep Pettibone - The Classic 12" Master-Mixes

Crucial four-disc summary of Pettibone's visionary and varied remix work throughout the '80s.

Shintaro Nakamura Quintet / Shintaro Nakamura

Evolution

The Japanese bassist's hard-hitting 1984 debut evokes the classic Blue Note sound of the '60s.

Squarepusher

Feed Me Weird Things [Bonus Tracks]

Long out of print, Feed Me Weird Things was reissued by Warp 25 years after its original release date and adds two jazzy B-sides.

Stereo Total

Chanson Hysterique 1995-2005

Gathering the duo's first six albums and rarities, the final project Françoise Cactus worked on celebrates the band's shabbily glamorous style.

Stereolab

Electrically Possessed: Switched On, Vol. 4

The band's fourth collection of EPs, singles, and rarities is a welcome reminder of how much good music they made in the '90s and 2000s.

T2

It'll All Work Out in Boomland [Expanded Edition]

Brilliant collision of prog rock, psychedelia, baroque pop, and proto-metal, collected here with later demos.

Tangled Shoelaces

Turn My Dial: M Squared Recordings and More, 1981-84

Odd, hooky, experimental, and gloriously innocent, this collection gathers all the magical pop songs recorded by the obscure group of Australian teenagers.

The Beach Boys

Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf's Up Sessions 1969-1971

Dozens of previously unreleased tracks join remasters of two original albums from a curious and creatively rich phase of one of rock's most important legacies.

The Beatles

Let It Be [2021 Mix] [Super Deluxe Edition]

The super deluxe edition contains a wealth of riches, chief among them the official release of Get Back, plus two discs of outtakes and a disc of remixes.

The Hawks

Obviously 5 Believers

Essential archival release from a short-lived late-'70s group that included Dave Kusworth and Stephen Duffy and melded Postcard pop, romantic punk, and Stones swagger.

The Misunderstood

Children of the Sun: Complete Recordings 1965-1966

Definitive collection charting the brief and exciting history of a visionary, trailblazing garage-psych band of the '60s.

The Mumps

Rock & Roll This, Rock & Roll That: Best Case Scenario, You've Got Mumps

The recorded legacy of a tuneful, energetic, wickedly funny band who suffered for being too smart and too ahead of their time.

The Rolling Stones

Tattoo You [Deluxe Edition]

The 40th anniversary of the Rolling Stones' 1981 album features an extended collection of outtakes.

The Who

The Who Sell Out [Super Deluxe Edition]

A hefty box containing five CDs, a pair of 7" singles, a hardcover book, and a bunch of memorabilia detailing The Who's 1967 concept album.

Tommy James / Tommy James & the Shondells

Celebration: The Complete Roulette Recordings 1966-1973

Everything the '60s and '70s hitmaker released for the label that made him a star; eclectic and enjoyable throughout.

Various Artists

Somewhere Between: Mutant Pop, Electronic Minimalism & Shadow Sounds of Japan 1980-1988

Light in the Attic continue their Japan Archival Series with this bounty of assorted left-field treats, led by Mkwaju Ensemble and Dip in the Pool.

Various Artists

Shake the Foundations: Militant Funk & the Post-Punk Dancefloor 1978-1984

Another one of the Cherry Red label's deep digs into the post-punk era, this is full of thrills and surprises.

Various Artists

Beyond the Pale Horizon: British Progressive Pop Sounds of 1972

The Grapefruit label argues that the '70s began in 1972 on this excellent year-specific anthology of British pop and rock.

Various Artists

Think I'm Going Weird: Original Artefacts from the British Psychedelic Scene 1966-1968

This stunning and essential collection of peak British psych captures big names, cult favorites, and dusty rarities in a technicolor swirl of sound.

The AllMusic 2021

Year In Review

We round out the year by looking back even further to celebrate the archival releases that stood out in 2021. Boxed sets, deluxe editions and reissues can tell a more complete story with the passage of time.