Essentials

October: Gus Cannon's Walk Right In

October’s Essentials ROTM is one of the rarest albums to exist on earth: Gus Cannon’s Walk Right In. Originally released in 1963, only 500 copies were ever pressed, and those 500 copies mostly languished in thrift stores in the Memphis metroplex. An original copy will set you back at least $1500, and the only copy available right now is $3500.

An album of jug band blues delivered by Cannon – one of the earliest players of Jug Band Music, who started playing it in the late 1890s – the album is like a time capsule to a world that no longer exists, music that was originally played to open Medicine Shows being brought to the ‘60s. And now, back to the 2020s.

This ADA edition – tapes were lost sometime in the years between Stax’s closure and a reissue campaign – comes on 180g Yellow vinyl, and was remastered by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound. It comes with an original poster.

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November: Creedence Clearwater Revival's Willy And The Poor Boys

Essentials in November goes down on the corner with CCR’s Willie and the Poor Boys. Their third album of 1969, and their third to launch massive hits, the album is a stone cold classic of the roots-rock style Creedence more or less invented, melding blues, rock and roll, jazz, bluegrass, and all other American styles into their own thing.

With lacquers cut by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound, this edition comes on 180g Washboard vinyl, and with a photo print of the band.

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December: Neon Indian's Psychic Chasms

In December, Essentials brings you something entirely different: the landmark 2009 album Psychic Chasms by Neon Indian. A masterpiece of what would later be cynically called “chillwave,” Psychic Chasms predicted where vast swaths of electronic music would eventually head, and pop music too.

This edition has lacquers cut by Barry Grint at AIR Mastering, and comes on 180g "Mind, Drips" vinyl, with an art print by Alicia Scardetta. It’s in the 1LP format at the request of the artist, presenting the proper album in all its glory.

Sign up here to receive an email notification when Psychic Chasms becomes available starting November 25.

Jazz, Blues, Funk and Soul

October: Ahmed Abdul-Malik's The Eastern Moods of Ahmed Abdul-Malik

An oft-overlooked, hardly known bass player and purveyor of spiritual jazz, Ahmed Abdul-Malik’s masterpiece is this album, one of only six the Thelonious Monk and Art Blakey sideman got to make as a band leader. It’s VMP Classics’ October ROTM, and comes on 180g black vinyl with AAA lacquers cut by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound.

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November: Bill Frisell's Have a Little Faith

November’s Classics is the most recent album we’ve ever featured in the subscription, as its Bill Frisell’s 1993 masterwork Have A Little Faith, which makes its first appearance on vinyl with this release. Envisioning a new way forward for jazz, as it incorporates many strands of American music, Have a Little Faith broke new ground when it was released, and this AAA version cut by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound only cements that.

Sign up here to receive an email notification when Have a Little Faith becomes available starting October 28.

December: Jimmy Scott's Falling in Love is Wonderful

Jimmy Scott was beloved by Billie Holiday and other jazz singers for his high voice and phrasing, but most of his career he was a commercial after thought. Ray Charles signed Scott, however, as the first artist for his Tangerine records, his own label, banking on Scott to finally make the jump from the clubs to the charts. Just as the album was released, a contract dispute made the album need to be recalled and destroyed, and the album languished for years as a myth, a whisper, a record you had to know.

This ADA version – original tapes are in rough shape – comes on 180g vinyl, and finally takes Jimmy Scott off the shelf this December, with lacquers cut by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound.

Sign up here to receive an email notification when Falling in Love is Wonderful becomes available starting November 25.

Hip-Hop

October: eLZhi's The Preface

A Detroit rap roll call is October’s Hip-Hop ROTM, as this album from Slum Village’s eLZhi gets its first reissue since its original release date. Featuring performances by a young Danny Brown, Black Milk and everyone else from the Detroit underground, this album comes on Black and Gold A-side/B-side vinyl with lacquers cut by Cicely Balston at AIR Mastering.

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November: Freeway & JakeOne's The Stimulus Package

Freeway was an exile of the major label system in 2010, moving on from the collapsing Roc empire, and forging his own way again. He met up with Seattle producer JakeOne, and the rest, they say, is boom-bap history.

The Stimulus Package is the November Hip-Hop selection, and comes on 2LP Greenback Galaxy vinyl, with lacquers cut by Cicely Balston at AIR Mastering.

Sign up here to receive an email notification when The Stimulus Package becomes available starting October 28.

December: Ja Rule's Pain is Love

And finally, in December, Hip-Hop celebrates the mega smash album from Ja Rule. In the early ‘00s, rap was on the verge of becoming not only the coolest music, but also the most popular in all of pop. The boy band craze had crested, and Kanye West was ascendant. But in the meantime, there was Ja, who married the hard and the soft, the pop and the rap, to megastardom. Forget everything that came since; this album is like 2003 in audio time capsule form. We can go back, Kate.

This edition comes on 2LP Red and Black Galaxy vinyl, with lacquers cut by Cicely Balston at AIR Mastering.

Sign up here to receive an email notification when Pain is Love becomes available starting November 25.