Hundred-word Reviews for January 2026: Archival Releases

I’m still clearing out the decks full of great music released in 2025; each of the following is an archival or reissue release. The styles of music covered below vary widely, but what all share is quality. The last one runs over my self-imposed 100-word limit, but I make (and occasionally break) the rules around here.

Shoot – On the Frontier
Rock trivia buffs love to trot out obscure tidbits like the fact that post-Yardbirds, Keith Relf and Jim McCarty founded Renaissance, a band that (without them) went on to success, sounding very, very different. Another notch forward on the obscurity spectrum is Shoot. That band was McCarty’s post-Renaissance project. It’s jazzy prog, not miles away from Colosseum. The four-man group – augmented by sessioners – makes a great (and great-big) sound on On the Frontier. The breezy harmonies have a West Coast feel, but the songwriting and Dave Green’s guitar work) are top-notch, belying the “soft-prog” tag mentioned on the obi strip.

David Bedford w/ Scottish National Orchestra – The Orchestral Hergest Ridge
Among some Mike Oldfield fans, there’s the opinion that his second album, 1974’s Hergest Ridge is in fact superior to his landmark debut, Tubular Bells (1973). For me it’s to Tubular Bells what In the Wake of Poseidon is to In the Court of the Crimson King: largely a rethink in which the edges are fiddled with a bit. But there’s no doubting that the album has a symphonic quality, thanks to the orchestral instrumentation that characterizes it. This 1975 live version with symphony features Steve Hillage on guitar. Seeing as Bedford arranged Oldfield’s studio recording, this performance makes sense.

New Math – Gardens
This goth-flavored band from upstate New York made some excellent EPs and singles in the early-to-mid ‘80s before changing its name (and making more fine albums). They made but one long player as New Math, released (after the end of their 415 Records association) on a tiny label that was also home to the Wipers. The eight-song Gardens is quite rare today, so a CD reissue is welcome. Gardens is even better than the EP, the product of a more mature, seasoned band, though “The Flesh Element” sounds a bit like a new wave “Richard Cory.” They shoulda been contenders.

Johnnie Johnson – I’m Just Johnnie
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Johnnie Johnson was a wonderfully expressive pianist. And outside of his work with Chuck Berry, Johnson created an impressive body of work. His solo debut, Organ in Hi-Fi was released in 1959; in 2003 he was still recording (he died in ‘05). A cache of unreleased recordings from those final sessions, I’m Just Johnnie is a delight. A top-flight band, great backing vocalists and sturdy tunes characterize the set. A second disc features interviews and conversation with noted radio personality Pat St. John. Equal parts historical gem/artifact and just plain great album, it’s essential.

Mercyland – Mercyland
The story of Athens postpunk trio Mercyland is a reminder that the college town was home to a deep well of talent and creativity beyond R.E.M. and B-52s. Often mentioned as a footnote to a discussion of Bob Mould’s Sugar (who are back together!), Mercyland recorded a lot but released only a little during their five years together. A hard-charging, nuclear blast power-trio, Mercyland could add solid vocal harmonies to the mix. While the lineup which with I’m most familiar featured my old friend (and high school classmate!) Joel Suttles on drums, an earlier version of the band had Harry Joiner (who was younger but had also attended the same Atlanta prep school) on drums. It’s that lineup which is featured on the new self-titled set, featuring recordings from 1985 to ‘87. Melodic yet uncompromising, they deserved wider success but didn’t find it. But now there’s this, a reminder of what could have been.