REISSUES EXTRA
Elton John
★★★★★
Madman Across The Water
UMC/EMI. CD/LP
Multi-format anniversary for Elton and Bernie’s second intricate 1971 pop travelogue around mythic America. Extras on the 4-LP and CD box sets include piano demos, BBC Sounds For Saturday concert, the Mick Ronson-featuring original of the title track and more.
JB
Sex Pistols
★★★★★
The Original Recordings
UMC. CD/LP/MC
Released to coincide with Steve Jones’s mini-series Pistol, this 20-track comp has the unenviable job of choosing what not to include: all key stonkers are present, while democracy reigns with Swindle vocal cuts by Jones, Vicious and, cripes, Cook (his Silly Thing).
PG
Various
★★★★
Lovers Rock TROJAN. CD/DL/LP
Subtitled: The Soulful Sound Of Romantic Reggae, a 2-LP or 3-CD set of golden age lovers in ’70s/ ’80s Britain and JA, where soul met roots and women’s voices dominated. Inevitably, there is overlap with 2015’s Trojan Lovers Rock (eg, Louisa Marks’ influential Caught You In A Lie) but much more besides.