Sacred Bones and the Vega Vault Project are reissuing the first two solo records by late Suicide co-founder Alan Vega. Remastered from the original tapes, 1980’s Alan Vega and 1981’s Collision Drive arrive January 23 on LP, 8-track, and, for the first time, digital streaming platforms. A deluxe, 2xLP edition of the self-titled album will also be released, featuring previously unheard demos. One song from each record is available to stream today. Watch a new music video for “Ice Drummer,” directed by The Jesus and Mary Chain’s Douglas Hart, and listen to “Outlaw” below.
“Alan’s music thrived on interpretation,” shared Liz Lamere, Vega’s widow and frequent collaborator, in a press statement. “He believed the meaning of his songs belonged to the listener. His lyrics painted emotional and conceptual landscapes but he resisted explaining them. He always wanted the listener to bring their own experiences, imaginations, and emotions into what listening to his music and words meant to them, and ultimately that openness is part of its power.”
After Vega died in 2016, his friends and collaborators began gathering his remaining unreleased material. His first posthumous album, IT, came out in 2017 on the Fader Label. In 2021, Sacred Bones issued Mutator, an album of material recorded with Lamere between 1996 and 1998. Last year saw the release of Insurrection, the latest archival Vega album to date, via In the Red.
Revisit the 2016 feature “Infinity Punk: A Career-Spanning Interview With Suicide’s Alan Vega.”
Alan Vega (Deluxe Remastered Edition):
01 Jukebox Babe
02 Kung Foo Cowboy
03 Fireball
04 Love Cry
05 Speedway
06 Ice Drummer
07 Bye Bye Bayou
08 Lonely
09 Ice Drummer (Demo)
10 Fireball (Demo)
11 Speedway (Demo)
12 Love Cry (Demo)
13 Kung Foo Cowboy (Demo)
14 Lonely (Demo)
15 Bye Bye Bayou (Demo)
Collision Drive (Remastered):
