Reissue Roundup: Summer Sets From David Bowie, Deep Purple, More

The best reissues, archival recordings, expanded box sets and deluxe editions from the past three months showcase a summer bounty.

On the surface, the collections discussed below appear to be a typical seasonal offering of anniversary sets, thematic compilations and vinyl-only releases first issued during Record Store Day, now available in other formats. But dig a bit, and there’s more going on here. Way more.

Live recordings — one from the start of an artist’s career and another from when they were among the most popular performers in the world — reveal superstars working without nets and, in their respective ways, with nothing to lose.

READ MORE: 2025 Album Reviews

Other reissues and archival collections from the summer months include a massively huge live album expanded to six discs; a different concert recording that was shelved for the past six decades; a prog landmark expanded for its 50th anniversary; a live EP from one of rock’s biggest acts; and a ’70s-era compilation, initially released to capitalize on a band’s newfound success, expanded to a five-CD box with bonus tracks, outtakes and new mixes.

Releases also pull from specific eras (Elvis Presley‘s post-comeback early ’70s included a stop to record in Los Angeles, now collected in a new box, the last volume in David Bowie‘s career box sets) and genres (Joni Mitchell‘s various jazz recordings, first a detour and then the destination, are collected in a set that features demos and other previously unreleased tracks from over the decades). Plus various-artist compilations that turn the microscope to the American blues explosion of the ’60s, Bob Dylan cover songs by his contemporaries and more.