Metallica. Load Remastered. To date Metallica have sold up more than 163 million album sales which, if you’re counting, is more than double Oasis’s total. The Los Angeles band built up an enormous worldwide following with their brutal and intense brand of no-mercy thrash metal. Their 1983 debut album Kill ’Em All went multi-platinum and subsequent releases sold even more. But Load was different. Released in 1996, their sixth studio album put the mainstream cat among the headbanging pigeons. Suddenly the masters of “harder-faster” extremities were exploring new directions, as they moved from the awesome wallop of the Master Of Puppets era to a simpler, more melodic heavy metal sound.
As well as an abundance of bluesy southern rock, Load also finds singer, rhythm guitarist and prime songwriter James Hetfield embracing country on the underwhelming ballad Mama Said and soft rock Americana on Hero Of The Day. Some hardcore fans saw Load as a calculated sellout rather than a natural progression, but numbers like opener Ain’t My Bitch and King Nothing were concrete-hard metal stompers. The emotional eight-minute-plus epic Bleeding Me became a live set favourite and the longer, heavier The Outlaw Torn was even more effective. This deluxe reissue of the album has been remastered by award-winning Reuben Cohen, with producer Greg Fidelman overseeing, improving the sound quality and making the listening experience more immersive. But critics who felt Load’s real problem was it was over-stuffed with uneven songs might baulk at the deluxe box set which packs in a whopping 245 never-before-released tracks, including demos, rough mixes, and live material. Available as a 180g 2xLP release, as well as on CD, cassette and digitally, the limited edition set also packs in mid-90s TV appearances, patches, posters, guitar picks, lyric sheets, a 128-page book, and more.
Blood Sweat & Tears. What Goes Up. The 32-track ‘Best of’ comp celebrates the New York jazz-rockers who broke big in the late 60s with numbers like their soulful cover of Brenda Holloway’s You’ve Made Me So Very Happy. Their own Spinning Wheel from 1968 still crops up on film and TV soundtracks. Driving brass is jubilantly in evidence on songs like Lucretia Mac Evil, the lively tale of a “backseat Delilah”.
Van Morrison. Remembering Now. He might be a cantankerous codger, but Van the Man’s 47th studio album reminds us why he’s still one of the giants of UK music. Opening with the sublime Down To Joy, these 15 tracks show Van’s tireless ability to craft songs rich with warmth, heart, and humanity. Post break-up number Cutting Corners is another corker. He’s back to writing love songs. Don’t stop.
Cynthia Erivo. I Forgive You. Best known as Elphaba in Wicked south Londoner Cynthia conjures up magic of her own on her 2nd solo album. I Forgive You is a four-chapter study of an evolving relationship, encompassing soul, heartfelt ballads and of course nods to musical theatre. Her powerful expressive voice comes to the fore on numbers like What You Want. She Said is the most carefree.