As MOJO’s rundown of the 50 best albums of the year showed, 2024 has produced a landslide of excellent new music in the shape of albums from artists including Nick Cave, Paul Weller, Jack White, Fontaines D.C., Beth Gibbons, Shabaka Hutchings and many, many more. It’s also been a vintage year for fans of a thoughtfully put together – and often lavishly presented – reissue. Box sets and repressing that unearth lost gems and shine new light on some of the greatest records ever committed to tape.
Below is our pick of the very best of the year, ranging from familiar faces - David Bowie, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Oasis – to fresh appraisals of previously overlooked artists (see New York composer Dorothy Carter 1976’s avant-folk curio Troubadour and Margo Guyan’s overdue career retrospective Words And Music). For a sneak peak at what reissue treasure troves are on their way next year, check out the essential 2025 music preview in the latest issue of MOJO!
20.
KING CRIMSON
Red: 50th Anniversary Edition
(PANEGYRIC)
2024’s essential prog reissue built out the precision-tooled heft of the album that closed King Crimson’s first phase, by including bootleg recordings of the line-up’s final US show in July 1974. Plus, happily, new surround sound mixes by Steven Wilson.
19.
MARK LANEGAN
Bubblegum XX
(BEGGARS ARKIVE)
If Lanegan’s early solo LPs were stark, minimal, bluesy, 2004’s Bubblegum revealed his wider ambitions, alongside Josh Homme, P.J. Harvey and – newly revealed on this 4-CD set – Beck. Lots of extras completed the picture of this key release by a fundamental voice.
18.
WEEN
Chocolate And Cheese (Deluxe Edition)
(RHINO)
“We probably picked all the wrong songs,” Dean Ween mused on the 30th anniversary of Ween’s fourth LP. But chaotic sprawl suited Chocolate And Cheese in its original incarnation, so 15 extra tracks only added to the fun.
17.
MARGO GURYAN
Words And Music
(NUMERO GROUP)
Guryan’s baroque, Carole King-adjacent magnum opus Take A Picture (1968) has long been a cratedigger favourite, but this chunky set finally gave the oft-overlooked singer the soup-to-nuts treatment (16 unreleased cuts) that she deserved.
16.
GALAXIE 500
Uncollected Noise New York ’88-’90
(SILVER CURRENT)
The subtly fraught Galaxie 500 only lasted three LPs on the cusp of the ’90s, but this outtakes set fleshed out a pivotal chapter of US indie rock – and revealed how they reached their beatific sound, via surprisingly forthright early Clash homages.
15.
DOROTHY CARTER
Troubadour
(DRAG CITY)
A contender for cult rediscovery of 2024, the New York composer had two LPs of Appalachian dulcimer music reissued – Waillee Waillee (1978) and this 1976 marvel, an eerie summoning of ancient drone, between folk and avant-garde. Vocals an acquired taste, mind.
14.
JONI MITCHELL
Archives Volume 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980)
(RHINO)
Mitchell’s ongoing trawl through her past reached the jazz years, tracking her freewheeling adventures on six CDs from late-’75’s Rolling Thunder Revue through to dazzling ’79 gigs, via lost songs, alternate lyrics and unheard jazz sessions.
“There’s a fascinating, real-time evolution here… ★★★★★” Read MOJO’s review of Archives Volume 4 in full.
13.
OASIS
Definitely Maybe: 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
(BIG BROTHER)
An amuse-bouche before next year’s reunion, as the Gallaghers’ epochal debut was bolstered by tracks from two unused sessions from the Monnow Valley and Sawmills studios – the latter transformed by producer Owen Morris.
“It’s about shagging birds, taking drugs, drinking and the glory of all of that…” Read Noel Gallagher on Definitely Maybe 30 years on.
12.
BROADCAST
Spell Blanket: Collected Demos 2006-2009
(WARP)
James Cargill’s audit of the music he made with Trish Keenan before her 2011 death ended with two collections – Distant Call: Collected Demos 2000-2006 and this superb compilation. True British originals merging psych, folk and electronica.
11.
BEASTIE BOYS
Ill Communication
(GRAND ROYAL/CAPITOL)
Another 30th anniversary bonanza, as the pick-and-mix invention of the Beasties’ ultra-funky fourth – from Sabotage to Buddhist ritual, and most points in-between – returned on two weighty slabs of vinyl, alongside a third disc of rarities and remixes. Plus! Lenticular cover art!
"Beastie Boys were behind the times in a totally prophetic way, and it’s a joy to go back to their future…★★★★” Read MOJO’s review of Ill Communication in full.
10.
ALICE COLTRANE
The Carnegie Hall Concert
(IMPULSE!)
MOJO’s 2024 jazz pick was this unheard set from 1971, with the pianist/harpist – fresh from an India sojourn and the release of Journey In Satchidananda – leading an expanded line-up featuring Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp and drummer Ed Blackwell.
“It’s a communion. Drink deep… ★★★★” Read MOJO’s review of The Carnegie Hall Concert in full.
9.
THE WATERBOYS
1985
(CHRYSALIS)
Few musicians curate their past as diligently as Mike Scott, who revisited The Waterboys’ fruitful This Is The Sea phase with 95 mostly unheard tracks and a 30,000-word essay. A fitting memorial, too, to Scott’s prodigious foil of the era, Karl Wallinger, who died in March.
“A musical mission to channel the elements and the landscape into a sound that went beyond previous Waterboys epics … ★★★★” Read MOJO’s review of 1985 in full.
8.
VARIOUS
Why Don’t You Smile Now: Lou Reed At Pickwick Records 1964-1965
(LIGHT IN THE ATTIC)
Portrait of the artist as a bubblegum hack: the latest revelation from the Reed archives spotlit his time as pop artisan-for-hire, finessing his songwriting chops with dance-craze cash-ins such as The Ostrich.
“I’m a guitar player who liked feedback, I’m really not that complicated…” Read Lou Reed’s final MOJO interview.
7.
BOB DYLAN AND THE BAND
The 1974 Live Recordings
(COLUMBIA LEGACY)
The second longest Dylan box set yet (a mere 27 CDs, and 431 tracks, compared with the 36 CDs of The 1966 Live Recordings) provided a new perspective on one of his most divisive tours – the 1974 arenas reunion with The Band.
“Pick a track at random and you’ll find yourself stunned by how hard these six were pushing…★★★★” Read MOJO’s review of The 1974 Live Recordings in full.
6.
PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS
Band On The Run (50th Anniversary Edition)
(MPL)
A fab year for Macca fans started with this bumper edition of the Wings landmark, “underdubbing” the originals to reveal the songcraft beneath the orchestrations. Also essential: August 1974 session One Hand Clapping.
“Imagine starting another band after The Beatles…” Read Paul McCartney on the birth of Wings.
5.
FACES
Faces At The BBC
(RHINO)
Rowdy even in a BBC studio, a 1973 live show on this 8-CD round-up of sessions and gigs was never broadcast due to audible aggro. Hijinks were balanced out by thrilling playing, though, so that a great live band were finally done justice by an official release.
“Faces and their offshoots’ ballsy roots rock’n’roll will thrill forever…” Read MOJO’s rundown of the 20 best Faces, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan and Ronnie Wood albums.
4.
NICO
The Marble Index/ Desert Shore
(DOMINO)
Nico’s stark solo masterpieces, from 1968 and 1970, returned in crisp remastered form, the better to hear the forlorn power of these recordings with John Cale: a potent midpoint between early church music and post-punk.
“That antithetical location, where two vast spaces of emptiness meet, is Nicoworld, the music you imagine from thousands of years ago.…★★★★★” Read MOJO’s review of The Marble Index and Desert Shote in full.
3.
CAN
Live In Paris 1973
(SPOON)
The Can archives conjured up three live sets this year – from Aston and Keele in 1977, and this peak manifestation of their powers from Paris 1973, as Ege Bamyasi favourites emerged from the protean jams. Poignant, too: Damo Suzuki passed two weeks before its release.
“Life is so short, so face in front of you, not backside…” Read MOJO’s interview with Can’s Damo Suzuki in full.
2.
NEIL YOUNG
Archives Vol. III
(REPRISE)
A fecund year from rock’s most conscientious archivist also included 1969 Crazy Horse jams (Early Daze) before this 22-disc survey of 1976-1987 landed. Key ’70s years investigated in depth; contentious ’80s reframed with countless surprises.
“More legacy than most artists muster in a lifetime… ★★★★★” Read MOJO’s review of Archives Vol. III in full.
1.
DAVID BOWIE
Rock ‘N’ Roll Star!
(PARLOPHONE)
It might have arrived two years late but the Ziggy-era anniversary box set provided a five-disc deep dive into the origins and real-time development of David Bowie’s greatest and most enduring creation, shining a new light on the mother of all pop fantasies. Worth the wait? You bethca!
“Bowie was balling his eyes out!” Read MOJO’s interview with The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars/Hunky Dory co-producer Ken Scott in full.