VIA PRESS RELEASE | Jethro Tull Under Wraps: The Unwrapped Edition brings together two of Ian Anderson’s most ambitious and fearless albums—1984’s Under Wraps, a Jethro Tull album, and his debut solo album Walk Into The Light released in 1983.

These two albums hold significant importance in Ian Anderson’s vast body of work, marking a notable shift from Jethro Tull’s established sound. Already recognised as one of his generation’s most innovative songwriters, Anderson embraced cutting edge technology, integrating synthesizers and drum machines. This was a considerable move away from the band’s traditional folk roots and illustrated their ability to adapt to the evolving musical landscape.

This comprehensive 5CD & Blu-Ray set has been overseen by Ian Anderson and includes both original albums extensively remixed twice by Bruce Soord—”2026 Drums” and “Original Drums” remixes. These discs also include associated recordings from that period. The fifth CD is a live recording from a BBC Radio 1 concert at The Hammersmith Odeon in 1984 and the Blu-Ray contains stereo and DOLBY ATMOS mixes, along with promo videos from the era. The set comes complete with a 100-page book offering an extensive article on the making of the records.

Additionally, Walk Into The Light is available as single vinyl featuring Bruce Soord’s 2026 Drums remix and includes its own booklet.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | It’s one of the most eagerly awaited 45s of 2026 so far. Five months after 69 Eyes and guest Steve Stevens (Billy Idol) gave a digital release to their 20th anniversary update of the classic “Lost Boys,” April 3 will see this seething classic finally make it into the physical realm.

Available as a red vinyl 45rpm single, “Lost Boys (20th Anniversary Version)” will be backed by another band classic, a raw and raucous take on 69 Eyes favorite, “Brandon Lee,” recorded live at Helsinki’s House Of Culture, on June 26, 2020. And, like the a-side, the song is a tribute to a Hollywood great, the late actor Brandon Lee. “Lost Boys,” of course, was inspired by director Joel Schumacher epochal vampire movie Lost Boys, as singer Jyrki 69 explains. “The movie came out in the best ’80s hard rock and glam times, and that’s what we wanted to capture—like dreaming what would have happened if Billy Idol, Guns N’ Roses, and Mötley Crüe had come together to make music for it.”

Clearly it was a potent image. Across the decades that followed, “Lost Boys” has become the band’s undisputed anthem, topping 20 million streams. As Jyrki continues, “It is the main song The 69 Eyes is known for around the world. We always end our show with it. It is impossible to play anymore after that.” And it was impossible to allow the song’s birthday to pass by unmarked. Or was it? At first, admits Jyrki, “We really did think that there is no reason to rerecord the song.” Unless they could add something very, very special to the brew.

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Remembering Marvin Gaye, born on this day in 1939. —Ed.

Since his tragic and premature death in 1984, Marvin Gaye’s discography has steadily risen in critical esteem, and particularly What’s Going On, his eleventh album and the enduring apex of the man’s posthumous ascension, as it’s landed atop at least one noted list of the Greatest Albums of All Time. And so, Motown/uMe has understandably endeavored with due diligence in marking the half century since that LP was originally released, their work culminating in a 50th Anniversary Edition on double vinyl, which adds six original mono single versions, plus four rare mixes of the title track, to the nine masterful selections that comprise the original album.

As fruitful as the 1960s were for Marvin Gaye, he didn’t really hit his stride until the first half of the following decade, with What’s Going On the record that began his run as a fully-formed, mature artist. It took until the second half of the ’60s for Gaye to really find his footing inside the Motown hit machine, and there was indeed a bunch of excellent singles and even a few classic LPs during that stretch, but with his second record of the ’70s, he began transcending the boundaries of the Motown framework.

Records like What’s Going On can be intimidating to engage with in print, mainly because they can inspire mere rephrasing of long-established observations, or to the other extreme, straining for a fresh perspective (which frequently ends up having little to do with the actual music). It’s been said that any truly great record is inexhaustible, and by that metric, there should always be something new to say about their individual qualities, but it’s just as true that many masterpieces are relatively straightforward in their brilliance.

It’s true that What’s Going On is something of a rarity in how it stylistically advances its genre while remaining pretty firmly inside the realms of pop. There’s nothing edgy about the music (a la Funkadelic), or uncompromising (like James Brown’s work of the period). Instead, Gaye favored sophisticated string arrangements that came to define soul at its most urbane in the first half of the ’70s (Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield, Gamble & Huff), and as the decade progressed, served as a primary building block in the emergence of pop-disco.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Twenty years after the album that launched them into the global spotlight, Blue October celebrates the anniversary of their platinum-selling record Foiled with two special vinyl releases, arriving May 29 via Republic/UMe.

Available for pre-order now, the anniversary edition comes in two distinct versions: a newly remastered Foiled 2LP on 180-gram black vinyl, featuring a gatefold jacket and fold-out lyric insert, and the Foiled Deluxe 2LP, pressed on smoky translucent vinyl. The deluxe edition serves as the crown jewel of the collection, featuring exclusive bonus tracks not available on any other version—including an acoustic recording of the platinum-certified “Hate Me” and two rare remixes of “X Amount of Words.”

Blue October’s deeply personal songwriting and emotionally resonant sound on Foiled cemented the Houston-bred band as one of rock’s most distinctive voices. While Foiled marked a breakthrough moment for the band, it was only the beginning. Its impact continues to ripple outward as new listeners discover the album alongside the expansive catalog that followed. The connection forged through its lyrics has only deepened over time, helping grow a devoted global audience. Blue October’s catalog now surpasses one billion streams and continues to climb.

Foiled initially sent frontman Justin Furstenfeld and Blue October’s life into a whirlwind, now, as the singer looks back on it 20 years in the rearview, and particularly as the band prepares to launch a yearlong Foiled 20th-anniversary celebration, he has come to realize what a true blessing his band’s most beloved body of work has been in his life.

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On April 17, Guerssen Records is releasing four singles to mark the label’s 30th anniversary. All but one 45 is a split, and the bands include The Attack, The Voice, In Black and White, Mandrake Paddle Steamer, Fairfield Ski, Ngozi Family, and Crossbones. The stylistic range, from freakbeat to psych-rock to Zamrock, makes picking up more than one or even the entire batch of these limited editions quite tempting. Happy anniversary to Guerssen Records!

Formed by singer Richard Shirman in 1966, The Attack cut four singles for Decca across a two-year existence. Each record documented a unique lineup of the band, with Sherman the only constant member. Perhaps remembered best for releasing the original “Hi Ho Silver Lining” (Jeff Beck’s more famous version following quickly after), The Attack’s finest moment might just be “Magic In the Air,” a slice of prime freakbeat that was rejected by the label for being too raw and raucous.

“Magic In the Air” is combined with the fuzzed-out and dark, indeed apocalyptic, freakbeat mayhem of “Train to Disaster” by Scotland’s The Voice. It’s the A-side to the band’s only single, released by Mercury in 1966. The Voice might’ve cut another record except that a portion of the lineup bailed for the Bahamas as part of The Process church. Knowledge of this cult affiliation intensifies the darkness of “Train to Disaster,” but it’s a nasty burst of proto-punk scuzz all on its own.

Speaking of Mercury Records, it was the US branch of the label that issued the sole LP by The Wizards From Kansas, a bunch of Sunflower Staters transplanted to San Francisco. But before the formation of Wizards From Kansas, member John Paul Coffin played in the band In Black and White, a psychedelic affair that cut a few songs in a Prairie Village, KS studio in 1967. Guerssen has pulled “Nowhere This Time,” a fine serving of garage-psych for the A-side of this very welcome archival edition.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Beloved synth-pop pioneers Book of Love announce the 40th Anniversary edition of their landmark self-titled debut, arriving June 26 via Rhino Records. Originally released on April 1, 1986, Book of Love introduced a new voice in American electronic pop with enduring classics including “Boy,” “I Touch Roses,” and “You Make Me Feel So Good” and more.

40 years later, this special anniversary edition—remastered by its original engineer, Ted Jensen—will arrive during Pride Month in a clear vinyl variant. The album artwork has also been refreshed in collaboration with original art director Nick Egan to honor the anniversary, including a four-page insert featuring outtakes from the iconic photo session with Michael Halsband. Furthermore, in celebration of this milestone release, it features new liner notes by writer and music historian Kurt B. Reighley, who sat down with founding members Susan Ottaviano and Ted Ottaviano to reflect on the album’s creation and its lasting cultural impact. GRAMMY®-winning producer Dave Audé has also shared a new remix of “Boy,” reimagining the band’s breakout single for a new generation of listeners, out today.

Amid the neon haze and grit of 1980s Manhattan, Book of Love were trailblazing innovators—four art-school outsiders who turned synths and drum machines into anthems for queer and marginalized youth, crafting a sound as bold, offbeat, and electric as the city itself. Signed to Sire Records by the legendary Seymour Stein, members Susan Ottaviano, Ted Ottaviano, Jade Lee, and Lauren Roselli released their debut album on April 1, 1986, ushering in a new chapter for synth-driven pop music emerging from downtown New York.

Beyond its shimmering hooks, the album resonated deeply with LGBTQ+ audiences, with “Boy” becoming an underground club anthem that gave voice to a community long before queer stories were celebrated in pop music. Four decades later, its perspective remains strikingly relevant.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Analogue Productions announces the forthcoming release of Tres Hombres, the 1973 breakthrough album by ZZ Top, as a definitive Ultra High Quality Record (UHQR) 45 RPM 2LP edition—the pinnacle of high-fidelity vinyl production. Arriving April 24, 2026, and limited to 5,000 numbered copies worldwide, this meticulously crafted release offers the most sonically and visually stunning presentation ever produced for the Texas trio’s landmark recording.

Originally released in 1973, Tres Hombres transformed ZZ Top from regional heroes into national rock contenders, capturing the band’s signature swagger and grit alongside some of the most infectious guitar tracks ever recorded. Powered by the unmistakable chemistry of Billy F. Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard, the album fused Texas blues, boogie, and rock into a lean, electrified style that remains instantly recognizable. Decades later, its influence continues to reverberate across rock and blues music, earning recognition on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

At the center of the album is the immortal single “La Grange,” whose iconic opening riff would become a cornerstone of 1970s blues-rock. But Tres Hombres is far more than a one-song showcase: from the driving frunk of “Waitin’ for the Bus” and “Jesus Just Left Chicago,” to the smoky soul of “Hot, Blue and Righteous” and “Move Me on Down the Line,” the album delivers groove after groove with an effortlessly cool attitude, capturing ZZ Top at the moment their sound fully came into focus.

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Two recent Mobile Fidelity reissues with New York roots, originally released on Elektra, but from two different decades and two very different musical genres, both had a seismic impact on music when they were first released.

East-West, from The Butterfield Blues Band, was the group’s second album, released in 1966, and expanded on the vital promise of its self-titled debut, released in 1965. A veritable supergroup, the band featured the twin-guitar attack of Elvin Bishop and, especially, the iconic Mike Bloomfield. Both would go on to make music beyond their time with Butterfield, but to hear them play together on the first two Butterfield Blues Band albums proved that lightning could indeed strike twice.

Bassist Jerome Arnold and drummer Billy Davenport both played with Howlin’ Wolf, and Davenport also played with Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, and Otis Rush. Keyboardist Mark Naftalan would go on to play with Mother Earth and Quicksilver Messenger Service and has a long list of credits.

Members of the group would be part of Bob Dylan’s infamous 1965 Newport Folk Festival appearance, when the former folkie went electric, backed by, among others, Bloomfield, Arnold, and the drummer of the first Butterfield Blues Band album, Sam Lay. East-West was released on the esteemed Elektra label, and although a blues album, it was a pivotal release in the label’s gradual and organic evolution from a folk/ roots/ world music label to a pop and rock powerhouse.

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Midge Ure is one of the architects of the sound that defined a generation.

As the frontman and creative co-architect of Ultravox, co-writer of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, and the producer behind some of the most enduring records of the new wave era—including “Fade to Grey” and “Vienna”—he shaped synth-pop and post-punk at the moment both genres were finding their footing. His fingerprints are all over many eras.

On this episode of Radar, Midge joins us to talk about five decades of making music and his first new album in twelve years. A Man of Two Worlds is out May 8 on Chrysalis—sixteen tracks split across two distinct worlds, instrumental and vocal, from one of the most quietly influential figures in modern British music.

Ure will tour the UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand with dates kicking off on May 8th in Bath. More information can found at www.midgeure.co.uk.

Tune in.

Radar features discussions with artists and industry leaders who are creators and devotees of music and is produced by Dylan Hundley and The Vinyl District. Dylan Hundley is an artist and performer, and the co-creator and lead singer of Lulu Lewis and all things at Darling Black. She co-curates and hosts Salon Lulu which is a New York based multidisciplinary performance series. She is also a cast member of the iconic New York film Metropolitan.

Minimalism is alive and strappingly healthy in 2026, in no small part due to the creative efforts of Erik Hall. This past January, Hall’s Solo Three was released as the culmination of the multi-instrumentalist-composer’s Minimalist trilogy. On April 3, Hall joins with the Metropolis Ensemble and Sandbox Percussion to revisit and expand upon the source of part two in Hall’s trilogy, a piece by noted, if still undersung, Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt. Canto Ostinato is an absolute stunner of a collaborative effort available on LP, CD, and digital from Western Vinyl.

For Canto Ostinato (Simeon ten Holt), which was released by Western Vinyl in February 2023, Erik Hall utilized multitracking as he played grand pianos, electric piano, and organ. That recording proved a resounding success as it hipped many who live outside the Netherlands to the importance of composer Simeon ten Holt.

Born in 1923, Simeon ten Holt died in 2012, leaving behind a substantial body of work, of which Canto Ostinato is his most famous composition. In this case, famous is a relative term, as ten Holt has long been one of Minimalism’s best-kept secrets. Hall’s initial solo recording was clearly an attempt to eradicate this unjust international obscurity.

But first, Hall recorded Music for 18 Musicians (Steve Reich), tackling a celebrated work by one of Minimalism’s most famous composers. Unsurprisingly, this reinvigoration of Reich made a big splash that swept up Canto Ostinato and, more recently, Solo Three, which included another piece by Reich, plus one each by Charlemagne Palestine, Glenn Branca, and Laurie Spiegel.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Fans of Heavy Metal, Hardcore Punk, and the like have been told since forever, whether by their parents, teachers, or religious leaders, that these genres are “not music,” but noise. Each has been labeled as disorderly, violent, and detrimental to the physical and mental health of young people.

Be that as it may, many who have been affected by a wide variety of debilitating conditions have come to rely on heavy artists to successfully assist them through the worst of times, such as severe illness, weighty medical conditions, and mental health challenges. The new documentary film Heavy Healing seeks to dispel rumors and shine a much-needed light on the healing powers of aggressive music.

You will hear directly and candidly from artists, fans and industry types—remarkable individuals who have leaned on (or even become) “controversial” music-makers in order to inspire and be inspired through the grueling process of recovery from the likes of cancer, anxiety and depression, strokes, heart attacks, cerebral palsy, blood diseases, diabetes and HIV/AIDS to name a few.

Appearing in Heavy Healing are Jesse Leach (Killswitch Engage), Lou Koller (Sick of It All), Jaret Reddick (Bowling for Soup), Mike IX Williams (EyeHateGod), Vinnie Stigma (Agnostic Front), Eddie “Sutton” Pomponio (Leeway), Jesse Malin (Heart Attack, D-Generation), Jimi Hazel (24-7 Spyz), Michael Alago (A&R Metallica, White Zombie…), Michael “Kaves” McLeer (Lordz of Brooklyn), Jimmy G. Drescher (Murphy’s Law), Brian “Mitts” Daniels (ex-Madball), Adam Blake (H2O), as well as one of HH’s filmmakers, and the inspiration for this documentary, music business veteran Seth Abrams, among others.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Craft Latino is pleased to announce a wide mono vinyl reissue for Ray Barretto’s 1968 masterpiece, Acid.

Produced by the legendary Harvey Averne, this album is a cornerstone of the Nuyorican boogaloo sound and a seminal title in the evolution of salsa music, the album includes such classic tracks as “A Deeper Shade of Soul,” “El Nuevo Barretto,” and “Acid,” and boasts an all-star line-up of salsa greats, including Adalberto Santiago, Bobby Rodriguez, Orestes Vilató, Roberto Rodriguez, and Louis Cruz. Fans and crate diggers can also find a limited-edition Orange Sunshine color pressing (only 350 copies), as a stand-alone or bundled with a collectible “Acid” T-shirt, featuring the album cover art, available at Fania.com, in addition to a Fat Beats limited-edition (only 300 copies) Marbled Yellow color vinyl variant.

Set for release on May 22, Acid is pressed on 180-gram vinyl and features all-analog (AAA) lacquers cut from the original master tapes by Dave Polster and Clint Holley. Rounding out the package is a tip-on jacket that faithfully replicates the album’s original psychedelic cover art.

One of the most revered percussionists of his time, conguero, composer, and bandleader Ray Barretto (1929–2006) was not only a defining force in Latin music but also one of the most recorded conga players in jazz history. Born in Brooklyn to Puerto Rican parents and raised in the Bronx, Barretto came of age admiring the swing of Count Basie and Duke Ellington, alongside the rhythms of Arsenio Rodríguez and Machito Grillo. He cut his teeth playing alongside Dizzy Gillespie and Tito Puente, before becoming a house percussionist for such esteemed labels as Blue Note, Prestige, and Riverside, appearing on albums by giants like Wes Montgomery, Cal Tjader, and Kenny Burrell.

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