REISSUES EXTRA
Hector ★★★ Demolition RADIATION. CD
Junk shop glam cults from Portsmouth, Hector’s early ’70s revisited, with unreleased tracks, outtakes and more. For obsessives-only, rough in parts, but 45s Wired Up and Bye Bye Bad Days (which appears in three versions) are top-drawer Sladestyle pre-punk boogie. IH
Magnetic Fields ★★★★ The House Of Tomorrow MERGE. LP
First time on vinyl for excellent, 30-year-old EP. Stephin Merritt was, he says, in thrall to JAMC at the time. East Kilbride’s exotic adopted son emerges from tinny, mechanised sounding riffola in a rich, lachrymose baritone (Alien Being). While Young & Insane has a whiff of early Bunnymen. JB
U-Roy ★★★★ Version Galore DOCTOR BIRD. CD
Treasure Isle producer Duke Reid was Jamaica’s late-’60s king of rocksteady, so when he joined up with the era’s premier deejay U-Roy, it was musical dynamite. This 1970 debut (plus 30 extra tracks) from ‘The Originator’ is genre-defining, U-Roy’s jive-talk flow riding the exquisite rhythms in fine style. SM
Joy Division ★★★★ Still RHINO. LP
Forty years on, in a spiffedup ‘ruby red’ sleeve on clear vinyl, this posthumous outtakes and live comp still bursts with preternatural, Orphic promise. The raw last gig recording has deathly connotations, but the magic’s fiercely alive. IH
Paul McCartney & Wings ★★★ Wild Life UME. LP
Limited 2-LP of Macca’s first with Wings (Linda, Dennys Seiwell and Laine). Wince at Give Ireland Back To The Irish, but Mickey & Sylvia’s Love Is Strange is a reggae-lite delight. Lennon-directed Dear Friend is particularly devastating as a home recording on LP2. JB
Various ★★★ C91 CHERRY RED. CD
1991’s indie strivers and success stories, over three nugget-selecting discs. Shoegazers, indie dancers, jangly diehards and more play on, unaware that in a few post-crossover years its inkiesand-toilet circuit scene will sink beneath the waves. Better enjoy it, quick. IH
Thomas Leer & Robert Rental ★★★★ The Bridge THE GREY AREA OF MUTE. CD/LP
On wax for the first time since 1979 release on Throbbing Gristle’s label, invention-overtechnical limitations synth strangeness from Port Glasgow. Near-pop in parts, coldly abstract in others, it sounds antique and futuristic at the same time. IH
Jeff Tweedy ★★★★ Chelsea Walls OST OMNIVORE. CD/LP
Oft-overlooked Tweedy soundtrack to an Ethan Hawke movie revealed, 21 years on, as a critical point in the evolution of Wilco. Drummer Glenn Kotche arrives for the sort of improv sessions and roots/post-rock workouts that proved catalytic for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. First time on vinyl; bonus tracks too. JM
Various ★★★★ Straight To The Head DOCTOR BIRD. CD
A 27-track 1970 collection of early reggae cuts has producer Joe Gibbs in the ascendant, with stellar work from vocal group The Immortals and crack studio band The Destroyers. Best of all is Johnny Lover’s nimble toasting on the title track, while rarelyrecorded deejay Count Matchuki is exuberant on Movements. SM