Peter Gabriel

The reissue mania of the last couple of years can be seen as cynical market manipulation on the part of the big record labels—"You loved the record, now relive the thrill of your original purchase by buying it again on CD!"—and indeed, there’s something to that. But at their best, reissues justify themselves with greatly improved sound and, even better, new material. Geffen’s Peter Gabriel reissue series, which now includes So, Security and Melting Face, delivers on the sonic front with remastering that turbo-charges the clarity and depth of the originals, though you’ll need a pretty good stereo to really hear the difference. No bonus tracks, unfortunately, but the insert booklets offer lots of new photos. So remains Gabriel’s finest moment, less psychologically obsessed and more emotionally engaged than most of his other work before or since. All three reissues are recommended.