The Reverend's Favorite Reissues & Archival Albums of 2024

As a child of the '70s, although my musical tastes didn't calcify after the decade like so many of my contemporaries, the exciting and adventuresome music I heard during my teenage years left an indelible imprint on the development of my musical preferences. My purchases of archival and reissue albums tend to be of the classic rock and blues genres, which is why the following list of my favorites in this category for the year tend to lean towards albums released during the 1970s, '80s, and '90s...

A lifelong curmudgeon, I bitch and moan and avoid pricey box set reissues that load multiple discs down with demo tracks and alternate takes...there's a reason why a lot of this stuff remained unreleased for decades and they largely bore me to tears. In many cases, unless a reissue provides a sonic upgrade on the CD or vinyl that I already own, or the value-added inclusion of an unreleased live set, I'll spend my money on graphic novels instead. But show me a long-lost rock or blues LP from the '60s and I'm all in. This year provided a wealth of archival releases, and a pleasant surprise in my discovery of Paul Ngozi and the Ngozi Family, '70s-era African rockers that kicks ass. Here to follow are my favorite reissue and archival albums of 2024...

Bad Brains - I Against I
Bare Jr. - Boo-Tay
Can - Live In Keele 1977
Albert Collins, Robert Cray & Johnny Copeland - Showdown!
James Cotton, Junior Wells, Carey Bell & Billy Branch - Harp Attack!
Dead Boys - Return of the Living Dead Boys
Flamin' Groovies - Let It Rock!
Rory Gallagher - The Best of Rory Gallagher At the BBC
Grateful Dead - From the Mars Hotel
Joe Grushecky - Houserocker: A Joe Grushecky Anthology
Lightnin' Hopkins w/Sonny Terry - Last Night Blues
Skip James - Tonight!

Steve Marriott - Lost & Found 1973-1977
Steve Marriott - Poor Man's Rich Man 1978-1987
Paul Ngozi - The Ghetto
Ngozi Family - 45,000 Volts
Pearl Harbour - Don't Follow Me, I'm Lost Too
Little Feat - Feats Don't Fail Me Now
Albert King - Live Wire/Blues Power
Charlie Patton - Father of the Delta Blues
Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
Hound Dog Taylor - Beware of the Dog!
The Damned - AD 2022: Live In Manchester
The Damned - Shadowed Tales From Mulhouse
The Faces - The BBC Session Recordings    
The Pixies - Pixies At the BBC

The Replacements - Not Ready for Prime Time
The Who - Live At Shea Stadium
The Yardbirds - Psycho Daisies
Robin Trower - Bridge of Sighs

The Reverend's Favorite New Albums of 2024

For whatever prurient reasons, I've been checking out the various "best of" album lists for 2024 in different publications. As I've stated elsewhere, I'm old as dirt, and a lot of today's pop music isn't being made for me. I'm OK with this...my tastes are pretty eclectic, anyway. But I've noticed a trend where rock 'n' roll and blues music have been edged out by pop and hip-hop (f/k/a R&B) artists, many of whom will likely record an album or two before disappearing into obscurity...

Much of today's disposable pop music does little but enrich the bank accounts of record label execs, and few of those featured today will forge long-term careers. As for rock 'n' roll, with the exception of Fontaines D.C. and Jack White, I'm seeing few legit "rock" LPs on these young writers' lists, and absolutely no blues grooves. So I thought I'd put together my own danged list. These aren't necessarily the 30 "best" albums of the year to anybody but me, and the list largely reflects the new music I bought (or was sent a promo copy of & loved) in 2024...

The Black Keys - Ohio Players
Cedric Burnside - Hill Country Love
Calidoscopio - Scorpio Rising
Steve Conte - The Concrete Jangle
Alejandro Escovedo - Echo Dancing
Fontaines D.C. - Romance
Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band - Rare Dreams
Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers - Can't Outrun A Memory
Robyn Hitchcock - 1967
Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets - Indoor Safari
Willie Nile - Live At Daryl's House Club
Peter Perrett - The Cleansing

Greg Prevost - After the Wars
Sugaray Rayford - Human Decency
Redd Kross - Red Kross

Sour Ops - Evangeline
Aaron Lee Tasjan - Stellar Evolution
Tennessee Blues Mob - Deep Dark Alibi
The Blessings - Woke Up With the Noonday Devil
The Church - Eros Zeta + The Perfumed Guitars
The Fleshtones - It’s Getting Late (...and More Songs About Werewolves)
The Higher State - Internecine Free
The Loons - Memories Have Faces
Walter Trout - Broken
Various Artists - Can't Steal My Fire
Jack White - No Name

White Animals - Star Time
Steve Wynn - Make It Right
X - Smoke & Fiction

Sami Yaffa - Satan’s Helpers War Lazer Eyes & The Money Pig Circus