Spring Sets From Bowie, McCartney and More

The past three months’ best reissues and archival releases focus on artists’ key albums and the stories behind their creations.

This is especially true of new releases by David Bowie, Deep Purple and Billy Idol, whose respective best records are expanded for their anniversaries with demos, alternated versions, outtakes and live tracks.

But other great records from the first part of the year turn the spotlight on previously unreleased concert recordings. Late-’60s era Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, “Godmother of Rock ‘n’ Roll” Sister Rosetta Tharpe and spiritual jazz icon Alice Coltrane all saw releases of their unheard stage work during the first quarter of 2024. Plus an oft-bootlegged Paul McCartney & Wings live album from the ’70s gets an official release.

READ MORE: The Best Reissues From Winter 2024

Then there are sets by Timothy B. Schmidt’s early bands before he joined Poco and Eagles, and a British garage-rock combo that recorded under several different names; these collections gather the artists’ complete recorded output for the first time.

There are also new reissues and archival sets from Nancy Sinatra (Light in the Attic continuing its excellent series of her records with B-sides and outtakes) and cult baroque pop singer-songwriter Margo Guryan, whose career is outlined in a new collection from Numero Group.

All this plus an overview of the Los Angeles music scene, via Laurel Canyon, in the late ’60s and early ’70s on a three-CD compilation featuring some of the era’s biggest and best names, and a newly expanded box set about Black artists in country music. These records are highlighted below in the spring 2024 edition of Reissue Roundup.