THE REVIEW OF 2019 REISSUES OF THE YEAR
30 REM
Monster 25th Anniversary CRAFT
Perhaps REM’s most divisive album got a full remix this year courtesy of producer Scott Litt. Once a heavy, glammy return to rock after the lighter textures of Automatic For The People, the new Monster was now a little more in keeping with its predecessors, for better and for worse. Those keen to discover more about this period could also delve into a world of demos.
29 PETER LAUGHNER
Peter Laughner SMOG VEIL RECORDS
This vital, 56-track retrospective assembled home and rehearsal recordings, live cuts and radio appearances by Laughner, an important American catalyst, best known for his work with Rocket From The Tombs and Pere Ubu. The mix of covers (Dylan, Reed, Television) and originals illustrate his development and his fixations. A final disc had 13 solo recordings made on the night Laughner died in his sleep – June 22, 1977.
28 SUPER FURRY ANIMALS
Guerrilla: 20th Anniversary BMG
The sampladelic third album by Cardiff’s most forward-thinking band celebrated its sounding as revolutionary in 2019. Plus, a plethora of B-sides, demos and unheard tracks – including early versions of this century’s “Lazer Beam” and “Frequency” – shed light on the record’s strange (and costly) gestation.
