Stephen Wilkes

Dropping the Colonel from his name and stepping away from the Legendary Shack Shakers, J.D. Wilkes indulges in his American gothic fantasies on his debut solo album, Fire Dream. Hiring an all-star Americana cast featuring members of the Drive-By Truckers and the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Wilkes conjures ghosts of old medicine shows and carny barkers with his husky howl and old-timey folk-blues.

Gene Clarks 1974 masterpiece gets the reappraisal its long overdue. One of the greatest albums ever made. Initially celebrated for its obscurity, No Other is now celebrated for its magnificence. It was in every way a magnum opus: epic, sprawling, poetic, choral, rococo. 45 years on and recently remastered at Abbey Road, 4AD are giving No Other the reappraisal it deserves. As stated on 4AD's website, the original tapes were remastered at Abbey Road Studios, featuring a 5.1 surround mix of the album created for the first time. All the studio tapes were forensically worked on and mixed by the duo of Gene Clark aficionado Sid Griffin and producer John Wood; the extra tracks have not been edited or composited in any way, "allowing for everything to be heard exactly as it went down in the studio and before any overdubbing took place".