Reissues continue to shine a fresh spotlight of records that were overlooked when they first surfaced or were so limited that they instantly became sought-after. In 2021, we are back with another collection of outstanding albums, lovingly re-issued and repressed, saving us from those Discogs sharks or listening to these records only on YouTube. The number of quality reissue album doesn't seem to be abating despite the pandemic, and across many genres.
More than once Jay Richford and Gary Stevan’s Feelings has been described as the greatest library record ever released. Insanely rare and immensely sought-after, it’s a tough funk, street jazz masterpiece. Groove-laden bass, irrepressible horns, sweet flute lines, warm Rhodes, lush string arrangements, blaxploitation-styled wah-wah guitars and so, so much more make this one of the finest instrumental soul LPs of the 70s, if not of all time.
At the start of the year, we were saddened to hear of the death of MF Doom at the age of only 49. He had died at the end of October. His untimely death led to a renewed appreciation of his work and discography from his collaboration with Madlib as 'Madvillainy' to his opus,' Operation Doomsday', an underground classic.
Other gens worth highlighting are the 2002 electro classic from Arpanet, Arthur Russell collections in the form of both 'World of Echo' and 'Another Thought' and, the stunning 'Likemind 06' - A true unsung hero of mid 90's techno, Nurmad Jusat aka Nuron helped cement the UK sound that became synonymous with labels like Likemind, B12 and A.R.T With his original releases long out of print and selling for serious money on Discogs, Likemind finally gave fans what they were asking for - 8 of his most sought after tracks, remastered and repackaged in the form of a 2 x 12" compilation. For a truly breathtaking snapshot of 90's UK electronica, look no further.
