The JamBase List | 10 Best Archival Releases Of 2014
By Scott Bernstein Dec 5, 2014 • 7:50 am PST
10. Gov’t Mule –Dark Side Of The Mule
Gov’t Mule always does Halloween right with their Mule-O-Ween tributes, but arguably the best one ever took place back in 2008 at The Orpheum in Boston. The band will soon finally release the official recording of the show along with video as Dark Side Of The Mule -a fantastic set filled with Mule’s takes on Pink Floyd classics such as “Fearless,” “Money” and “Comfortably Numb.”
9. Wilco –Alpha Mike Foxtrot
Sure, all the dozens of tracks on Wilco’s Alpha Mike Foxtrot compilation had been released in some form or another over the past 20 years, but even the most devout of Tweedy fans have been hard pressed to find them all. Now there’s no need as all of the group’s non-album studio outtakes, B-sides and live recordings have been put together in one awesome package.
8. The Kinks –Anthology 1964 -1971
British rockers The Kinks had an era few bands could ever touch from 1964 to 1971. A new anthology shows just how deep the legendary group’s catalog went during those years by presenting over 100 tracks from the era including many that had never been released. There’s interviews, live tracks, demos and outtakes and more to keep The Kinks lover in your life well-satiated.
7. Jerry Garcia Band –GarciaLive Volume 5
The Garcia family continues to score with each installment of the outstanding GarciaLive series of releases. We’re particularly fond of the latest and greatest set, which features the lone Jerry Garcia Band New Year’s Eve performance. The release finds Jerry backed by bassist John Kahn, drummer Greg Errico and keyboardist Nicky Hopkins. In addition to the core band, the JGB was augmented by two special guests from Jerry’s other band, Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, as well as Matt Kelly of Kingfish for portions of the show.
6. Led Zeppelin –I, II, III, IV & Houses Of The Holy Reissues
Jimmy Page dug deep into Led Zeppelin’s archives for the first five installments of the band’s remaster program. Not only do we get the best-sounding editions of the studio albums yet, but more importantly each LP comes with a companion disc featuring previously unreleased material. While each is well worth the purchase price, as live music fans we’ve been most impressed by the Led Zeppelin I companion disc containing a live set from 1969.
5. Miles Davis –Miles At The Fillmore -Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3
MILES AT THE FILLMORE – Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3 is a 4-CD box set documenting Miles Davis’s memorable four-night stand at the Fillmore East in NYC that ran from June 17 -20. For these performances, Miles was joined by Chick Corea, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette, Steve Grossman, Airto Moreira and Keith Jarrett. The box set presents the material in its full, unedited form for the first time and if that isn’t enough for ya, there’s also bonus tracks from Miles’s April ’70 visit to The Fillmore West.
4. Grateful Dead –Spring 1990 (The Other One)
You can always count on the Grateful Dead to put out comprehensive archival releases each year and 2014 was no exception. The best of the batch was a whopping 23-disc box set featuring eight complete shows played during Spring 1990 -one of the last great Dead tours. We especially dig the incredibly crispy recording of saxophonist Branford Marsalis’ first appearance with the band, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
3. Crosby Stills Nash & Young –CSNY 1974
This long-in-the-making Crosby Stills Nash & Young box set collects audio of 40 tracks as well as video recorded live during rock’s first “mega tour.” Band members had put down the tour over the years thanks in part to what a struggle it was for each of them to make it through the drug-addled run alive, but the music paints a different picture. Each of the four musical legends make impressive contributions to the tunes, but it’s Neil Young whose talents shine through most.
2. The Allman Brothers Band –The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings
The Allman Brothers Band’s At Fillmore East live album is one of the best of all-time and earlier this year we got to hear more from the legendary run with the release of The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings. There’s 14 tracks that were never released prior included on the six-CD set that also contains a recording of the band’s venue-closing performance from later in the year. Not only is the music wonderful, but the liner notes provide a fascinating look at the run.
1. Bob Dylan & The Band –The Complete Basement Tapes
Rock’s original bootleg finally had its most complete release yet last week, when one of the genre’s holy grails was unveiled more than 45 years after Bob Dylan & The Band came together at various sites in Woodstock for the first “home” recordings. It’s one thing to put out previously-unreleased tracks, but there’s many recordings in this set that weren’t even thought to exist! We can’t get enough of The Complete Basement Tapes and are still in shock that it’s actually in our hands.
