It’s time for everyone’s best _____ of the decade/year to come out so I thought I’d contribute a bit. I decided to split up the “best albums of the decade” because I think that the accomplishments in NEW albums should be singled out from the archival stuff. We’ll get to the list of new stuff soon enough, but here’s the list for my top 10 historical/archival releases of the past decade. Boxsets definitely count here, as do albums of previously unreleased content. When it comes to live albums (and there are a few here) I thought that any “historical” releases would go on this list, and anything that essentially came out soon after that tour was considered “new”. I did not include straight up reissues here, but compilation albums were fair game. On to the list!
10. Phish – Live at Madison Square Garden, New Year’s Eve 1995 (2005)
To celebrate the 10th year anniversary of this famous Phish show the band released it in full in December of 2005. It can’t be overstated that this was a welcome release for Phish fans. The band had broken up the previous year and it seemed like they’d never be back. 4 shows known as the “Island Tour” had been released in the Spring, but this NYE ’95 show was the first to be released on a new label, the band’s own JEMP Records. The new label meant that more stuff was pretty much guaranteed from the band. That this was a hugely important and landmark show for the band was equally important in this release. This show ended a year for Phish that finally brought them mainstream success after the popularity of A Live One and much media coverage about the tours that year. Live at MSG was the culmination of this year and the band is really on fire throughout the show. They sound like they’re at the top of their game here and this 3-disc, 3-set show is simply a great time.
9. The Muppets – The Muppet Show 25th Anniversary (2002)
I grew up a huge Muppet fan and the TV/Movies continue to resonate with me as I grow older. It’s not nostalgia…this stuff is still *good*. Well-written songs, wonderful characters, great voice talent, super funny…just all around a good time. Nearly all of the Muppet Show albums & Muppet movie soundtracks have been out of print for many years, so this was definitely a welcome collection. It brings together the best musical moments from the TV show and highlights from all of the movies. You know, songs like Mahna Mahna, Can You Picture That, It’s Not Easy Being Green & the Rainbow Connection…these are classic songs. This is an absolutely fun listen that continuously reminds me how talented Jim Henson was. The only slight blemish here is that a couple of the songs from the Muppet Movie (Rowlf’s & Gonzo’s numbers especially) aren’t here, but they could only include so many without just releasing the whole album. The songs from the later movies aren’t as good, but the album is definitely weighted to the TV show/Muppet Movie songs.
8. Miles Davis – Complete In a Silent Way Sessions (2001)
Who knew one 40 minute album could spawn a 3CD set? There’s a nice chunk of unreleased stuff here, as well as songs that came out many years later after the 1969 original release of the album. In a Silent Way really marked Miles Davis’ first real big step “out there”. Most people seem to point to Bitches Brew as his first “step out” moment, but for me it’s In a Silent Way. The album proper barely hints at it, but hearing the full sessions as displayed on this box, it’s a thing of pure awesomeness. You get to follow the process of Miles Davis making an album, like you were there in the studio with those guys. It’s fascinating to listen to this box all the way through. Miles really had his band stretching out here and it’s a perfect jumping off point before the absolute madness of Bitches Brew. This was Miles completely re-writing what “jazz” could be.
7. Phish – Live Phish, Vol. 11 – 11/17/97 Denver, C0 (2002)
Released in the 2nd batch of Phish’s “Live Phish” series, this is definitely my favorite of the whole series. 1997 was the year of Funk for Phish, starting from their covering of the Talking Heads’ Remain in Light the previous Halloween. They had a successful European tour over the summer and came back to the States in the fall and their funk just got harder and harder. This is a legendary show in Phish circles and on the first listen it was obvious why. It starts out with a rather lame Tweezer, but once the song proper ends and the band starts jamming, they find their feet and there’s no slowing them down after that. Phish is tight and funky for this whole show. It’s a lot of fun to put this show on and just shake your ass for a few hours. It’s highly enjoyable and my favorite full show they’ve yet released.
6. The Beatles – Let it Be…Naked (2003)
This was a much-welcomed release in 2003 as Beatles fans worldwide (who didn’t collect bootlegs) were finally able to hear this “final” Beatles album as it was intended. Gone are the garish Phil Spector overdubs and we finally have the album as it should have been released. It’s not the best album the band ever did, but this is a huge improvement over the original release of Let it Be from 1970. I don’t hate that album at all, but I definitely prefer this version. It’s so great to hear The Long and Winding Road and Let it Be without the orchestral/choir overdubs. They weren’t needed. Finally, 33 years later, we got the band’s original intent for this album. It’s a great listen and I’m so thankful Paul McCartney finally took the leadership to get this release out there.
5. Jellyfish – Fanclub (2002)
I love that a band who released only 2 albums can come out with a 4-disc boxset 10 years after they broke up. And it’s all unreleased songs/rarities! If you’re a fan of Jellyfish (and you should be) then this box is such a wonderful addition to their small catalog. You really get a broader sense of the band after listening to this and it shows how truly great of a band they were. 2 discs of demos for the respective albums and 2 discs of live performances supporting those albums. There are originals you’ve never heard, interviews, surprising covers and radio spots here, in addition to the songs already known and loved. This is out of print, but I highly recommend seeking it out if you already love Bellybutton & Spilt Milk. This is how boxsets should be done.
4. Iron Maiden – Eddie’s Archive (2002)
This is also how boxsets should be done. 6 discs of rare/unreleased music plus the usual Maiden “extra crap” like a parchment family tree and an Eddie shot glass, all housed in a big metal box. It’s Maiden, they’re not gonna do it any other way. I could care less about the box, shot glass or the family tree, but the music here is *excellent*. Three 2-disc sets are included here and it’s such a good release. There’s the full Beast Over Hammersmith show from 1982 (a truly excellent show, performed about a week before Number of the Beast was released), collected BBC live sessions from 1979, 1980, 1982 & 1988 and 2 discs featuring the “best of the B-sides”. My only complaint is that it wasn’t the full cache of B-sides, but it definitely hits the most important ones so it’s not a very big complaint. As I’m a collector, I knew all the B-sides already so the stuff I was really excited about was the 4 discs of previously unreleased live stuff. It’s all excellent. I hold out hope that the band will continue to release archival stuff in the future. Maybe another box with more live shows and the rest of the B-sides? I could go for that. As is, this is a tremendous set and essential for Maiden fans.
3. Journey – Live in Houston 1981 (2005)
It’s available separately, but the one I have is the CD/DVD combo of this show. This is Journey at their absolute best. As a live band, they were never better than in 1981. This show was recorded for a very early MTV broadcast and it’s crazy it took over 20 years for this to see the light of day. The DVD is perfect quality and the audio is as well. The setlist was constructed in an interesting way: a few faster songs followed by a big batch of ballads and finishing up with huge block of rockin’ tunes that bash your face in. As I said, this is the band at their live best. They sound utterly fantastic on this show. I love this release so much.
2. Davíd Garza – A Strange Mess of Flowers (2004)
Hm, another vote for “how a boxset should be done”. 4 CDs with plenty of unreleased tracks + a DVD…all for $25. I think at least a quarter of this box was unreleased. That’s pretty impressive. Davíd Garza’s a really prolific songwriter and it shouldn’t be any surprise that he would have so many GOOD unreleased songs. I love the way this box is constructed, all the songs from different eras of his solo career put together with nothing chronological. In a way, it forced me to listen more actively, esp. to the newer material that I had missed. You get a definite sense of consistency over Garza’s career. Whatever direction he was moving in with the arrangements, when you break it down it’s just consistently good songwriting. There were so many surprises for me in this set – new songs, unreleased gems, old demos, rearrangements of familiar tunes and then the classics. I like that this set wasn’t just his “hits”. I actually think that his most popular songs aren’t here. That’s something truly great, when a musician can put out a boxset, not include the most popular songs and still come out with something phenomenal. Many DG fans think this is the best thing he’s ever done. Hell, it might be. It’s a great collection that shows once and for all what a true talent he is.
1. Frank Zappa – Lumpy Money (2009)
This one gets my vote for best album of 2009. I knew that as soon as I heard it, nothing would probably come close for the rest of the year. For me, this 3-disc set was simply revelatory. In the basic sense it’s about two of FZ’s most famous/important albums: Lumpy Gravy & We’re Only in it for the Money. In the grander sense, I developed a massively deeper appreciation for him after hearing this. The original, all orchestral, Lumpy Gravy & the unreleased 25-minute LG outtake “How Did That Get in Here” absolutely floored me. The 80’s remixes of the albums were cool extras, as was the mono Money, but the orchestral stuff and the LG & Money outtakes (a whole disc) completely knocked me out. This is Frank truly flexing his compositional muscles in a way he never really did on the original releases of these albums. Like I said, it was a revelation hearing this music…and I’m deeply familiar with Lumpy Gravy and Money. This set completely changed what I thought about those two releases, as well as the man himself. Hands down this is the best album of the year and the best archival release of the past decade. Incredible.
Write a comment