Recent months have been defined by box sets and expanded reissues – but October is different. New music from the Rolling Stones, Ringo Starr, Duff McKagan, Dokken and Trevor Rabin highlights the month’s slate of rock releases.
Oh, there are plenty of in-depth looks back, including Lynyrd Skynyrd’s career-spanning Fifty box set. Joni Mitchell is also returning to the archives for Volume 3: The Asylum Years (1972-1975). Van Halen’s new set chronicles the Sammy Hagar era. Roger Waters’ The Dark Side of the Moon Redux also reinterprets his former band Pink Floyd’s famous 1973 album.
But Hackney Diamonds is the first new Rolling Stones album since 2016’s Blue & Lonesomeand their first collection of new original material since 2005’s A Bigger Bang. Dokken hasn’t put out an LP since 2012’s Broken Bones.
Rabin, of Yes fame, is the principal instrumentalist on the rare solo project Rioworking with drummer Lou Molino from Rabin’s Yes offshoot band with Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman. Elsewhere, Starr’s Rewind Forward is his fourth EP since 2021. Lighthouse is McKagan’s third solo album.
Whitesnake’s expanded deluxe edition of 2015’s The Purple Album commemorates the beginning of David Coverdale’s three-year stint in Deep Purple. Motley Crue is back with a 40th-anniversary reissue package focusing on their second album, Shout at the Devil. The Darkness celebrates the 20th anniversary of their debut with the aptly titled Permission to Land … Again.
More information on these and other new rock-related efforts can be found below. Remember to follow our continuously updated list of 2023 New Music Releases for details on projects issued throughout the year.
Oct. 6
Darkness, Permission to Land … Again
Joni Mitchell, Archives – Volume 3: The Asylum Years (1972-1975)
Roger Waters, The Dark Side of the Moon Redux
Tom Waits, Bone Machine; The Black Rider (vinyl reissues)
Trevor Rabin [Yes], Rio
Van Halen, The Collection II
Oct. 13
Cranberries, To the Faithful Departed (3CD expanded reissue)
Jim Croce, The Definitive Croce (3CD box)
Lynryd Skynyrd, Fifty
Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon (50th anniversary vinyl remaster)
Ringo Starr, Rewind Forward (EP)
Whitesnake, The Purple Album (expanded reissue)
Oct. 20
Blues Traveler, Traveler’s Soul
Bob Dylan, Mixing Up the Medicine: A Retrospective
Chris Shiflett [Foo Fighters], Lost at Sea
Devo, 50 Years of De-Evolution 1972-2023 (2CD set)
Duff McKagen, Lighthouse (featuring Iggy Pop, Slash, Jerry Cantrell)
Duran Duran, Dance of Death
Night Ranger, 40 Years and a Night With Contemporary Youth Orchestra
Prince, Diamond and Pearls (expanded box set reissue)
Rolling Stones, Hackney Diamonds
Various artists, Produced by Tony Visconti (4CD box with David Bowie, T. Rex, Thin Lizzy, U2, Gentle Giant, others)
Oct. 27
Billy Bragg, The Roaring Forty: 1983-2023 (2CD set)
Bruce Hornsby, Spirit Trail (expanded 25th anniversary edition)
the dock, Heaven Comes Down
Motley Crue, Year of the Devil
Nirvana, In Utero (expanded 30th anniversary reissue)
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Bauhaus Staircase
November and Beyond
Christine McVie, Christine McVie; In the Meantime (remixed reissues)
Frank Zappa and the Mothers, Over-Nite Sensation (expanded 50th anniversary reissue)
you can take Sonic Mojo
Bob Dylan, The Complete Budokan 1978
Dolly Parton, Rockstar
Black Crowes, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion (expanded reissue)
Blackberry Smoke, Be Right Here
Top 20 Rock Albums of 2023 (So Far)
The best offerings from the first half of the year.
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