New Music Monthly: October 2020 releases

October is here and the labels will be emptying their vaults and clearing their slates to get Q4 releases off the books with an eye towards January and maybe, just maybe a more sympathetic commercial environment. Considering that artists are unable to tour much, if at all, in support of new records, it's no surprise that the record labels are hedging their bets, releasing a lot of goodies from the archives, and hoping for the best in terms of sales. 

There's a lot of very cool archival material that will resurface in October, including albums by Memphis rocker Van Duren, rarities from NRBQ, and big box sets from folks like Bob Mould (24-CDs), Bobby Bare (8-CDs), Tom Petty (4-CDs), and Thin Lizzy (6-CDs, but no more info is available right now, so it's your guess is as good as mine if it will actually be released this month). But it's not all just vault-diving, there's also new tunes from folks like Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Chris Smither, Joey Molland of Badfinger, and Dream Theatre guitar whiz John Petrucci, among others. 

Release dates are probably gonna change and nobody tells me when they do. If you’re interesting in buying an album, just hit the ‘Buy!’ link to get it from Amazon.com...it’s just that damn easy! Your purchase puts valuable ‘store credit’ in the Reverend’s pocket that he’ll use to buy more music to write about in a never-ending loop of rock ‘n’ roll ecstasy! If you're boycotting Amazon and don't have an indie record store close by, may we suggest shopping with our friends at Grimey's Music in Nashville? They have a great selection of vinyl available by mail order, offer quick service, and if you don't see what you want on their website, check out their Discogs shop!

OCTOBER 2
45 Grace - Sleep In Safety [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Coven - Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Death Valley Girls - Under the Spell of Joy   BUY!
Bob Mould - Distortion 1989-2019 [24-CD set!]   BUY!
New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies: Definitive Edition BUY!
NRBQ - In • Frequencies BUY!
Robert Plant - Digging Deep: Subterranea [2-CD set]   BUY!
Chris Smither - More From the Levee   BUY!
Corey Taylor - CMFT   BUY!
Roger Waters - Us + Them   BUY!
Frank Zappa - Halloween 81 [6-CD box set]   BUY!

OCTOBER 9
Buffalo Tom - Birdbrain [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Dire Straits - The Studio Albums 1978-1991 [6-CD set]   BUY!
The Doors - Morrison Hotel: Deluxe Edition   BUY!
The Replacements - Please To Meet Me: Deluxe Edition [3-CD box set]   BUY!
Thin Lizzy - Rock Legends [6-CD box set]

OCTOBER 16
Allman Brothers Band - The Final Note   BUY!
Joey Molland (Badfinger) - Be True To Yourself   BUY!
Kevin Morby - Sundowner   BUY!
Tom Petty - Wildflowers & All the Rest [Deluxe vinyl & CD reissue]   BUY!

OCTOBER 23
Bobby Bare - Bobby Bare Sings Shel Silverstein Plus [8-CD box set]   BUY!
Shemekia Copeland - Uncivil War   BUY!
John Frusciante - Maya   BUY!
Greg Lake - The Anthology: A Musical Journey   BUY!
Little Richard - Lifetime Friend   BUY!
Little Richard - The Second Coming   BUY!
The Mountain Goats - Getting Into Knives   BUY!
Pearl Jam - MTV Unplugged   BUY!
Bruce Springsteen - Letter To You   BUY!
Jim White - Misfit's Jubilee   BUY!

OCTOBER 30
Black Stone Cherry - The Human Condition   BUY!
Elvis Costello - Hey Clockface   BUY!
Grateful Dead - American Beauty [3-CD Deluxe 50th anniversary]    BUY!
Joni Mitchell - Joni Mitchell Archives - Volume 1: The Early Years (1963-1967)   BUY!
Mr. Bungle - The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo   BUY!
John Petrucci - Terminal Velocity   BUY!
Van Duren - Are You Serious? [CD & vinyl reissue]  BUY!
Van Duren - Idiot Optimism [CD & vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Jimmie Vaughan - The Pleasure's All Mine: The Complete Blues, Ballads & Favorites Collection   BUY!

Album of the Month: Tom Petty's Wildflowers finally receives a deluxe reissue that restores the album to the two-disc set that the rock legend originally envisioned. The four-CD or seven-LP set features 54 tracks, 8 unreleased songs, and 24 unreleased alternate versions. In addition to the 15 track original album (remastered), the deluxe edition contains the album All The Rest (10 songs from the original Wildflowers sessions), a full CD of 15 solo demos recorded by Petty at his home studio, and a disc of 14 live versions of Wildflowers songs recorded from 1995 – 2017.