There’s a literal vinyl flood coming. Some titles are near essentials. Of the top arriving LPs on the calendar, my first choice are the staggered releases of the Pink Floyd catalog. For others, it might be the Prince titles (of which are also being visited by another old media friend, cassette). But tbose aren’t the only titles being re-manufactured for fans.
The Pink Floyd titles will be reissued in remastered state. They will be pressed upon 180g-weight vinyl. Otherwise, according to the band’s PR, they will appear exactly as they were originally issued. The first sets arrive on June 3, and will include Pink Floyd’s first four albums (The Piper At the Gates Of Dawn – 1967, A Saucerful Of Secrets – 1968, More – 1969, Ummagumma (2LP) – 1969).
Throughout the year, the others will find release dates (that we’ll keep you up on). The remaining titles include Atom Heart Mother (1970), Meddle (1971), Obscured By Clouds (1972), The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), The Wall (1979), The Final Cut (1983), A Momentary Lapse Of Reason (1987), and The Division Bell (1994).
All Pink Floyd albums will be released by Pink Floyd Records via the distribution of Sony in the US, and Warner Bros in the UK. Sony will handle the remaining markets.
The Prince sets will include many of his catalog titles. The first was For You (1978), which was released on April 26, and Prince (1979) released on May 3. Coming up will be Around the World In A Day (1985), planned for July 5, Parade (Under A Cherry Moon) (1986) on July 19, Sign ‘O The Times (1987) on August 23, The Black Album (1994) planned for September 20, Batman (1989), and Lovesexy (1988), are scheduled for October 18, Diamonds and Pearls (1991), and Music From Graffiti Bridge (1990) will street on November 22, with Come (1994), and Love Symbol (1992), both set for December 13.
In addition, cassette versions of albums will be hitting the marketplace as well. Of those, you can plan on Controversy (1981), Dirty Mind (1980), Prince (1979), and Purple Rain (1984), all on June 24.
As if those weren’t enough vinyl LPs for you, there are more on the way of other artists. Those include two Madonna re-releases from Rhino Records of Madonna (1983), and Like A Virgin (1984). Both are pressed on 180g-weight vinyl. These are planned for June 21.
Coming quickly are vinyl LP reissues of the Radiohead catalog in advance of the physical release of their latest album. On May 20, XL Recordings will release The Bends (1995), Pablo Honey (1993), Kid A (2000), In Rainbows (2007), Hail To The Thief (2003), OK Computer (1997), Amnesiac (2001), The King Of Limbs (2011), and I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings (2001). Kid A, and Amnesiac will be issued on 10″ vinyl to replicate their special edition releases. All titles will be pressed on 180g-weight vinyl.
On June 24, watch for three collectible 180g-weight color vinyl editions of John Denver titles, which will include Rocky Mountain High (1972) pressed on clear BLUE splatter vinyl, Poems, Prayers & Promises (1971) pressed on RCA ORANGE vinyl, and Back Home Again (1974) pressed on GOLD vinyl. All sets are limited edition releases. These editions are all remastered and will be delivered via Night Fever Music.
On June 24, Rhino will reissue Feats Don’t Fail Me Now, the 1974 Little Feat classic, on 180g-weight black vinyl.
Atlantic Records will reissue the classic 1971 final MC5 album, High Time, on 180g-weight vinyl LP with a scheduled date of July 11.
Interscope will now make the successful 1996 multi-platinum The Wallflowers set, Bringing Down The Horse, available for the first time on vinyl LP. This 2LP set enters the market on May 13.
Parlophone and Rhino Records will reissue Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, the 2LP OMP Soundtrack, on 180g-weight black vinyl. It will be joined by Live Santa Monica ’72, a 2LP vinyl set. It is a break out reissue from the David Bowie Five Years (1969-1973) Box. It is scheduled for June 17.
And finally, Epic Records and Legacy Recordings will reissue a large slate of Electric Light Orchestra titles on vinyl over several dates. Those will include A New World Record (1976), Eldorado (1974), Out Of The Blue (1977), all scheduled for May 27. There are two more planned for June 24 that include Face The Music (1975), and Time (1981). All of these titles are pressed on 180g-weight vinyl. Time, and Face The Music will be pressed on clear vinyl. All titles are limited edition re-releases.
[Note: The Angelo Badalamenti-composed soundtrack to Twin Peaks is planned to finally get it’s rumored released on vinyl during August of 2016.]