5. Joey Purp Featuring Chance the Rapper – Girls (Song): The Pitchfork Music Festival clip of Joey Purp playing his “Phonebooth” track last summer had us searching for his other highlights where we discovered this one with Chance the Rapper. The Sound Opinion podcast guys have been banging on for people like me to check out Chance but we never fully have. We should definitely have done it sooner as we love this track from 2016!
4. Curve – Doppelganger (Album): Perpetually ranking as one of our top 50 albums of all time, this 1992 release got the deluxe treatment in 2017. Adding the Pubic Fruit EP collection along with a handful of bonus tracks, it was easy to see why this one had fans excited. While there was a missed opportunity by not including much in the way of a booklet and the volume right at the beginning of “Ten Little Girls” is far too low, it was nice to have Curve back in our lives.
3. Radiohead – I Promise (Single): Is this a new or old release? Finally, officially put on the deluxe edition of OK Computer, this beautiful track from the mid-90s certainly would have been a hit single if released at that time but the band didn’t think it was good enough. In reality, it may have made them even more popular… if that is at all possible.
2. Saint Etienne – Kiss And Make Up (Single): In the past year, The London band re-released virtually all of their albums in two disc sets and this Field Mice cover was from the first one, Foxbased Alpha. One of their earliest singles; it’s simple percussion, reggae lite synth line, and a breezy vocals from New Zealand singer Donna Savage make this an unstoppable living room dancefloor filler.
1. The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead 2017 Deluxe Edition (Album): Another one of our all time favourites, The Queen Is Dead also received the deluxe treatment in 2017. Deluxe sets have two purposes, present classic albums with great new sound and provide a clutch of material from the vaults to make fans want to keep purchasing the same material over and over again. While the add-ons of demo recordings and a live concert were fine, it was the brilliant new mix of the original album that made us fall in love with this album all over again.
The Light Appears 