Some think that oldies music reissues are doomed to be dead history, endlessly repackaging and thus repeating things we've heard already. Believe it or not, however, several pieces of rock cornerstones -- essential, in many cases -- remain in the vaults even decades on, and in any case, endless advances in remastering technology make even the most cherished musical memories seem as fresh as tomorrow. 2006 saw several dozen great re-releases and new compilations of oldies music; this list attempts only to honor the most daring and vital.
1. Frank Sinatra: Sinatra: Vegas
Filling a very distressing void in Sinatra fans' CD collection, Sinatra: Vegas is the first multidisc assemblage of Vegas performances by the Chairman of the Board, comprising four entire shows from four different eras of Frank's career, and tossing in a rare DVD-only 1978 concert that never aired in its entirety. A must for fans of Sinatra AND the town in question, consisting entirely of previously unreleased Frank material.
2. Jerry Lee Lewis: A Half Century of Hits
A three-disc CD box set covering Jerry Lee Lewis' greatest hits from all his labels: the legendary Sun recordings (1956-1962), his eventual comeback as a country artist on the Smash and Mercury labels (1963-1978) and his current career, including stints on Elektra and Sire. Includes three unreleased live and studio tracks, as well as Jerry Lee Lewis' first two recordings, made at New Orleans' J&M studios in 1951. The packaging features rare photos from the collection of Lewis' daughter, Phoebe, as well as an overview of Lewis' career, compiled from interviews with Lewis himself.
3. Various Artists: One Kiss Can Lead To Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost & Found
The world, believe it or not, didn't have a comprehensive box set of the classic early-Sixties girl-group sound before Rhino came up with this five-hour, four-disc, 120 track wonder. Packaged to look like a compact, filled with liner notes that look like pages in a girl's diary, and wrapped up in a faux hat box, it captures the vibe as perfectly as does the music inside, which veers all over the musical map to find the best group (and solo!) odes to big hair, big sound, and big boy-drama. Absolutely essential for even semi-serious fans of the genre.
4. Johnny Cash: Personal File
The Man In Black may have been even more ubiquitous in 2006 than he ever was while alive, but even so, his story's just too damn compelling to run dry so easily -- hence, Personal File, which collects 49 previously unearthed recordings, most of them from a single, spare, acoustic-only private session Cash cut in 1973. Running through and putting his inevitable stamp on everything from brakeman's country to gospel hymns and pre-war pop standards. There are some originals, too, but this collection proves that Cash was already a primal interpretive force of Americana before Rick Rubin ever met him.5. Beatles: Love
When the troupe Cirque du Soleil augmented their Vegas show with Beatles songs in a tribute called, simply, "Love," it was of course a massive hit. But longtime band producer Sir George Martin, along with the approval of the remaining Fabs and their estates, enlisted his son, Giles, to do something very different with the official souvenir album -- handing him the original Abbey Road studios tapes and allowing him to deconstruct and reconstruct the Beatles' classics into some all-new configurations.6. The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds (40th anniversary edition)
Finally, an affordable way to hear the sonic genius that is "Pet Sounds" in mono and stereo mixes, not to mention a surprising amount of scholarly extras for the price. This won't replace the 30th anniversary box set, which broke the album down and revealed its many masterful components, but it is the new standard for anyone who didn't buy that four-disc wonder.7. Various Artists: Rockin' Bones: 1950's Punk & Rockabilly
You read right. Rhino's other '06 marvel, with a title ripped right from Ronnie Dawson, attempts to posit the original 50s rebels as the real thorns in the side of American complacency and puritanism, four solid CDs of well-known and obscure rockabilly that vaccuums out anything with even the slightest pale of pop respectability (no Bill Haley, if you can believe it, and you won't even miss him). Even more complete than their previous mission statement Loud, Fast and Out of Control, this box set showcases hillbilly rock with its switchblades and zip guns out.8. Beatles: The Capitol Albums, Vol. 2
Four whose Beatlemania memories are inextricably tied to the US version of the albums, this box set of discs -- featuring the American Beatles albums in both mono and stereo mixes -- will be as welcome as Volume One. (The band was unique in that they remixed their masters entirely when making mono records rather than simply mixing stereo down into mono, resulting in two different mixes for nearly every early Beatles song.) 31 of these classics are making their first appearance on a CD in stereo; 21 are bowing for the first time in digital mono.9. Secret Agent Man: The Ultimate Johnny Rivers Anthology 1964-2006
Know someone who loves Johnny Rivers? Chances are you do, even if they don't realize it themselves: this Baton Rouge native scored 17 Top 40 hits between 1964 and 1977, most of which get plenty of airplay today. ("Mountain Of Love," "Secret Agent Man," and "Poor Side Of Town" are only the tip of the iceberg.) This new budget 2-disc comp features all of his big Sixties hits on one disc, then switches over to his Seventies "retro" phase, where he puts his signature stamp on several golden oldies, before landing on some brand-new studio material. His output reads like a list of American rock standards. All in one place.10. Richie Valens: In Concert At Pacoima Jr. High
Released in 1960 to capitalize on the singer's untimely recent demise (in the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly), "In Concert" is one of the rarest and most satisfying live concert documents of its era. Happily now available again on CD, it not only captures perfectly the winsome innocence and Tex-Mex flavor of Valens' classic catalog, it also manages to encapsulate the feel of the Fifties sock hop, an invaluable cultural experience rarely captured on record. That alone should make your favorite oldies fan's eyes light up when you tell them you managed to find this one. The sound's not great, but was it ever?