Favorite Archival Releases | AllMusic 2022 in Review

Albert Ayler

Revelations: The Complete ORTF 1970 Fondation Maeght Recordings

Recordings of some of the triumphant and rapturous final live dates of this free jazz legend presented in their entirety for the first time.

Asha Puthli

The Essential

Mr. Bongo follows its reissue of the artist's 1976 classic The Devil Is Loose with the first-ever comprehensive overview of her career.

Aunt Sally

The bracing, genre-defying 1979 album from the short-lived band that introduced Phew, one of the Japanese underground's most restless talents.

Barbra Streisand

Live at the Bon Soir

A previously unreleased 1962 nightclub date captures the legendary singer blending skill and savvy with a tremendous youthful joy.

Bert Jansch

Bert at the BBC

This boxed document contains all the surviving performances by the guitar icon, both solo and with collaborators, from 1966 to 2009.

Biff Bang Pow!

Better Life: Complete Creations 1984-1991

Career-spanning collection filled with melancholy rarities and jangling goodies from a chronically underrated early Creation Records band.

Blondie

Against the Odds 1974-1982

A comprehensive, complete set chronicling Blondie at their prime captures what made them such a striking, special band.

Broadcast

BBC Maida Vale Sessions

Both familiar and surprising, the group's BBC sessions from the late '90s and early 2000s emphasize how brilliant they were from the beginning.

BTS

Proof

Expertly-crafted, three-disc anthology that packs hits, rarities, and personal curation from the K-pop septet.

Cecil Taylor

The Complete, Legendary, Live Return Concert

The first full issue of the pianist and quartet's 1973 Town Call Concert contains nearly 90 minutes of previously unreleased music.

Charles Stepney

Step on Step

A compilation of home demos recorded by the legendary Chicago instrumentalist and soul producer.

Cheap Trick

Live at the Whisky 1977

Two nights and four shows (professionally) recorded during the band's early rock & roll peak, stripped of studio gloss and full of rambunctious joy.

David Bowie

Divine Symmetry: The Journey to Hunky Dory

A fascinating four-disc chronicle of how David Bowie created the multifaceted Hunky Dory.

Dennis Bovell

The Dubmaster: The Essential Anthology

This 38-track anthology compilation culls material from 50 years of wide-ranging material from this reggae and dub innovator.

Dexys Midnight Runners / Kevin Rowland / Kevin Rowland & Dexys Midnight Runners

Too-Rye-Ay, As It Should Have Sounded

Remixed version of the classic album with bonus discs of rarities and a stunning live show from 1982.

Donald Byrd

Live: Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux

In commemoration of the trumpeter's 90th birthday, this impeccably recorded, unissued concert finally sees release after nearly 50 years.

Elvin Jones

Revival: Live at Pookie's Pub

Sweaty, intense live album featuring the drummer's quartet with saxophonist Joe Farrell in New York City in 1967.

Ferry Djimmy

Rhythm Revolution

Rescued from obscurity by England's Acid Jazz label, the lone album by this Afro-funk master is a treasure we didn't know existed.

Guided by Voices

Scalping the Guru

Archival compilation of lesser-known gems from these lo-fi heroes draws from four long out-of-print EPs originally issued in the early '90s.

Hermeto Paschoal / Hermeto Pascoal / Hermeto Pascoal & Su Grupo

Planetário Da Gávea

Long-lost 1981 live gig that showcases the stunning potential of Hermeto Pascoal's then-fledgling O Grupo.

Joe Strummer / Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros

Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years

This collection from Joe Strummer's final years reveals some of the best work of his post-Clash career.

John Carter

My World Fell Down: The John Carter Story

Well-curated collection of singles and demos culled from the English songwriter and performer's work during his heyday.

Joyce / Mauricio Maestro

Natureza

In 2022, after 45 years, a long-lost album from Brazilian singer/songwriters Joyce and Mauricio Maestro, produced by Claus Ogerman, finally surfaced.

Kitty Craft

Mew (1996-2004)

Welcome anthology of tracks from Pamela Valfer's sampladelic indie pop project.

Lee "Scratch" Perry

King Scratch

Fantastic anthology of the late reggae legend, mainly focusing on Black Ark-era productions and including numerous rare and previously unissued mixes.

Louis Philippe

Sean O'Hagan Presents: The Sunshine World of Louis Philippe

An impeccably curated anthology from one of indie pop's greatest cult heroes.

Mandy Morton / Mandy Morton & Spriguns / Spriguns

After The Storm: Complete Recordings

A thorough and compelling document of one of U.K. folk-rock's lesser-known talents.

Neil Young

Citizen Kane Jr. Blues 1974 (Live at the Bottom Line)

A remarkably loose and light live reading of the doomy songs from Neil Young's On the Beach era.

Neu!

50

This 50th anniversary box set collects classic 1970s and '80s albums from the genre-defining Krautrock act, and includes additional new remixes from Mogwai, the National, and more.

Norma Tanega

I'm the Sky: Studio and Demo Recordings 1964–1971

Gathering highlights from her released and unreleased body of work, this collection reveals just how rich the singer/songwriter's music truly is.

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Near-faultless audio companion to the crucial Questlove-directed documentary on the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival.

Ornette Coleman

Round Trip: Ornette Coleman on Blue Note

The vinyl box contains the musician's five leader albums and his appearance as a sideman on Jackie McLean's New and Old Gospel.

Patrice Rushen

Feels So Real: The Complete Elektra Recordings 1978-1984

Five of the era's finest jazz-infused R&B albums, lovingly bundled with well over a dozen relevant (and often revelatory) bonus tracks.

Pavement

Terror Twilight: Farewell Horizontal

A double-disc expansion of Pavement's final album filled with demos, rehearsals, B-sides, and live tracks.

PJ Harvey

B-Sides, Demos & Rarities

This comprehensive set of the singer/songwriter's harder-to-find material is a fascinating testament to her artistry and the multitudes within it.

Plainsong

Following Amelia: The 1972 Recordings & More

An elaborate and defining collection documenting Ian Matthews' excellent 1972 country folk-rock project.

Ride

4 EPs

This compilation release brings together all non-album tracks from the canonical shoegaze band's earliest, quickly evolving phase between 1990 and 1991.

Saâda Bonaire

1992

The genre-mashing German collective's later recordings add house, trip-hop, and acid jazz inspirations to their global mix of sounds.

Stereolab

Pulse of the Early Brain: Switched On, Vol. 5

Featuring 1992's Low-Fi EP and collaborations with Nurse with Wound and Autechre, the band's fifth rarities collection is one of their most exciting.

Steve Arrington

Dancin' in the Key of Life [Bonus Tracks]

Joy and spirituality fill the Dayton funk legend's third post-Slave album, boasting two of 1985's brightest R&B and club hits.

Tall Dwarfs

Unravelled: 1981-2002

Career-spanning anthology from this New Zealand lo-fi duo illuminates just how profound their influence was on most of the indie rock that followed.

The Beach Boys

Sail On Sailor [Super Deluxe Edition]

The inclusion of two studio albums plus a live set and many rarities makes for a compelling look at a transitional year for the band.

The Beatles

Revolver [Super Deluxe Edition]

This special edition offers a new stereo mix by Giles Martin that uses the original mono mix, along with two discs of session outtakes and a bonus EP.

The Dance

Do Dada

Compilation release that collects material from every phase of this short-lived New York art funk/no wave band's brief existence in the early '80s.

The Flaming Lips

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots [20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition]

With a wealth of rarities, live performances, and interviews, this 20th anniversary edition celebrates one of the band's finest albums.

The Living Daylights / Living Daylights

Let's Live for Today: The Complete Recordings

Lost for half a century, this album by an obscure freakbeat combo fully earns its lost-classic status upon long-awaited reissue.

The Rolling Stones

Live at the El Mocambo

Dynamite document of the Rolling Stones' surprise 1977 gig at the 300-seat Toronto club the El Mocambo.

The Sons of Adam

Saturday's Sons: The Complete Recordings 1964-1966

Compilation of unreleased live tracks, studio outtakes, and more from this obscure '60s L.A. psych rock band with surf roots.

Tinariwen

Kel Tinariwen

An early cassette-only recording from the acclaimed Malian Tuareg collective, featuring vocalist Keltoum Sennhauser.

Tom Petty / Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Live at the Fillmore, 1997

A spectacular document of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers sounding like the world's best garage band.

Various Artists

John Sinclair Presents Detroit Artists Workshop

A revelatory compilation of music associated with the historic Detroit Artist's Workshop sourced from the archives of co-founder John Sinclair.

Various Artists

Something Borrowed, Something New: A Tribute to John Anderson

Filled with full-blooded reinterpretations of the hardcore country singer's catalog, this is a step above the average tribute album.

Various Artists

Under the Bridge

A mix of artists from Sarah Records past and present paying tribute to the enduring magic of the legendary indie pop label.

Various Artists

V4 Visions: Of Love & Androids

Fine underground R&B, house, jungle, lovers rock, and more from a small London-based label active during the first half of the '90s.

Various Artists

Valley of the Sun: Field Guide to Inner Harmony

Stunning compilation of meditative (and surprisingly beat-heavy) new age from the Arizona-based company founded by therapist Dick Sutphen.

Various Artists

Gotta Get a Good Thing Goin': Black Music in Britain in the Sixties

Deep and outstanding survey of soul, calypso, ska, rocksteady, and other Black sounds that emanated from Britain in the 1960s.

Various Artists

Climb Aboard My Roundabout! The British Toytown Sound 1967-1974

Wonderfully curated collection of eccentric, innocent, and sweet psychedelic pop created in the wake of "Penny Lane" comprised of big names and total obscurities.