While this decade may have been tough for the recording industry, music fans can’t complain about the number and quality of the hundreds of archival releases that have flown out of the vaults since 2000. Record labels realize that there’s plenty of money to be made after the comparatively negligible cost of mixing and digitizing these old releases.
2009 was another fantastic year for live archival releases as we’ve seen massive box sets from the likes of Neil Young, Tom Petty and the Grateful Dead that featured impressive recordings of high-caliber performances. Let’s take a look at Hidden Track’s Top 10 Archival Releases of 2009…
10. Widespread Panic – Huntsville ’96
The Widespread Panic Archives opened wide in 2009 after years and years of fan requests for older material to be released. Carbondale 2000 started the action last year, Valdosta 1989 came next followed closely by Huntsville 1996 and Montreal 1997. Out of the three that were released this year, Huntsville ’96 stands out due to Panic’s spine-tingling performance of an incredible setlist as well as the quality of the recording.
Where You Can Sample This Release: WSP Archives Blog
READ ON for the rest of our list of the top archival releases of 2009…
In our never-ending quest to dig up some great bands that cost less than a corned beef sandwich at Katz’s Deli, we bring you another round of Blips. Blips highlights some great bands that are largely still in their larvae stage, but will soon morph into their beautiful butterfly. In this edition, we have some really cool new music, so take a sec, poke around their various websites, and see what you think of these three under the radar musical groups…
Lissie
I know what you’re thinking, didn’t we already write a Blips on someone named Lissie? While technically true – that was Lissie Trullie – this Lissie (full name Lissie Maurus) sounds nothing like the downtown New York rock we’ve previously written about. With her unassuming girl-next-door looks Lissie puts out an enchanting and powerful blend of Gospel-infused, dusty Americana that’s influenced by equal parts the blues of her native state of Illinois and the sun-baked folk sounds of her current home California.
READ ON for more on Lissie, Morningsides and Local Natives…
GNR has been touring Asia and the adoring crowds have loved every second of it. We saw this clip of Axl and his hired hands rockin’ a killer Sweet Child
Attention hipsters – Phish is responsible for the current trend of indie-bands playing special full album shows. Back in 1994, the Vermont jam-act used the second set of their stop
Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle) returns to the road this spring, bringing his latest incarnation, the shape-shifting Puscifer, to cities throughout Eastern North America for an all encompassing
Chris "Spacewolf" Feinstein, the bassist in Ryan Adams‘ former band The Cardinals has died. Passing away on Monday (December 14) at the age of 42, as of yet, the cause
After three (mostly) triumphant shows in Oakland in September, Furthur began its mini-tour of the Northeast in Manhattan last week. With a New Year’s show and February swing already scheduled, Bobby and Phil have given guitar responsibilities to former DSO frontman John Kadelick for the foreseeable future. Wednesday, the second of the two shows began with a nice “Stranger,” that was more upbeat than the half-speed version that was unveiled in Oakland.
Well, we did it again. Despite a loud constituency of music fans out there who abhor these end of the year lists for their arrogance, their subjectivity, their self-indulgent ways, we came up with a short list of our favorites from the year. And we have to make one thing clear: these best-of-the-year lists should be more accurately called “the-best-of-what-we-know” lists.
