It seems like there are more great reissues out there this holiday season than in any other in recent memory.
I'm still waiting for my copy of the 30th anniversary edition of The Jam's "Sound Affects" and I haven't even ordered Paul Weller's "Find the Torch, Burn the Plans" CD and DVD set yet.
But, in the meantime, Bruce Springsteen's sprawling "The Promise" reissue of "Darkness On the Edge of Town" has arrived and reminded me why "Darkness" has always been my favorite Springsteen record.
Now there's also a three-disc reissue of The Teardrop Explodes' "Kilimanjaro" and the six-disc plus DVD Orange Juice box set called "... Coals to Newcastle" to remind me of my high school days.
Recently I wrote about the deluxe edition of my favorite Stereophonics record, "Word Gets Around" and I'm sitting on -- but haven't yet listened to -- a two-disc reissue of "Damn the Torpedoes," the only Tom Petty record I ever went out and bought.
Hendrix's "West Coast Seattle Boy" is, to my mind, the best Jimi box out there thanks to its awesome disc full of R&B tracks he played on. And I'm happy to see McCartney's oeuvre is getting a makeover, starting with a three-disc reissue of "Band on the Run."
Stereophonics' deluxe "Performance and Cocktails" has the great 1999 record on one disc and another disc of b-sides and rarities in a fold-out digipak. This was one of my favorite records that year and I saw the band play a couple times on the tour for "Performance." The live tracks here, then, really take me back.
I hope Universal considers doing The Teardrop Explodes' "Wilder" in a three-disc version, too. Then, I'll hope that the labels revisit some of the bands that have yet to get good re-issues: The Undertones, The Specials, Buzzcocks, Stiff Little Fingers. Let's mine the archives, folks.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
