The list of May 2025 new music releases is topped by deep dives into signature live performances, song ideas brought up from the vaults and expanded reissues of a few best-known albums.
Pink Floyd‘s legendary 1972 concert film from Pompeii will be released for the first time on vinyl and 5.1/Dolby Atmos. Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII was recorded just before the release of 1971’s multi-platinum Meddle. Eric Clapton‘s remixed, remastered and expanded Unplugged: Enhanced Edition includes music not heard on the original MTV broadcast and never-before-heard conversations with Clapton.
Don Felder‘s fourth solo album, The Vault: 50 Years of Music, features both new songs and polished-up archival material from his time with the Eagles. “I went back and started listening to some of these older demos of mine and found what I think are some magical gems that I’ve re-recorded and reproduced,” Felder told UCR. “I also wrote some new songs to go with it, as well. The recordings came out amazing and I’m really excited about it.”
There are two Grateful Dead projects set for release in May: Enjoying the Ride, a massive limited-edition 60-CD box set with more than 60 hours of music, includes concert recordings from 1969 to 1994. The Music Never Stopped distills all of it into three CD, six LP and digital formats. INXS‘s expanded anniversary deluxe edition of their breakthrough fifth album Listen Like Thieves features a new mix by Giles Martin and Paul Hicks, demos, outtakes and a London concert from 1986.
READ MORE: 10 Things Classic Rock Fans Can Look Forward to in 2025
Dire Straits also added a previously unreleased contemporary live recording to complete an expanded three-disc anniversary reissue of Brothers in Arms. Strike Up the Band is the second release in just under a year for the rejuvenated Little Feat. Prior to 2024’s bluesy Sam’s Place, the band’s last new LP dated back to 2012.
More information on these and other pending rock albums can be found below. Remember to follow our continuously updated list of scheduled new music for details on records issued throughout the year.
May 2
Alice Cooper, Hey Stoopid (magenta vinyl reissue)
Andy Bell [Erasure], Ten Crowns
Cat Stevens, Saturnight: Live From Tokyo (remastered 50th anniversary reissue)
Flower Kings, Love
Gentle Giant, Playing the Fool: The Complete Live Experience (2CD, 2CD/Blu-ray, 3LP)
Iron Butterfly, Unconscious Power: An Anthology 1967-1971 (remastered 7CD box set)
Pet Shop Boys, Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits Live (2CD/Blu-ray)
Pink Floyd, At Pompeii – MCMLXXII (first-ever 2LP vinyl and CD release)
Various artists, Try a Little Sunshine: The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1969 (3CD set with the Move, Spencer Davis Group, Procol Harum, Dave Davies, Status Quo, others)
Wilco, The Whole Love: Expanded (2CD deluxe edition)
May 9
Eric Clapton, Unplugged: Enhanced Edition (2CD or 3LP set)
Counting Crows, Butter Miracle: The Complete Sweets
INXS, Listen Like Thieves (expanded 40th-anniversary deluxe edition)
Jesse Ed Davis [John Lennon, Bob Dylan, George Harrison] Tomorrow May Not Be Your Day: The Unissued Atco Recordings 1970-1971
Little Feat, Strike Up the Band
Peter Murphy [Bauhaus], Silver Shade
Pilot, The Singles Collection (2CD set)
Roxy Music, Avalon (Blu-ray reissue with new Dolby Atmos 5.1 and stereo mixes)
Sly and the Family Stone, Sly Lives!: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Thom Yorke [Radiohead] and Mark Pritchard, Tall Tales
Wang Chung, Clear Light/Dark Matter (compact disc or 2LP white or black vinyl)
May 16
Dire Straits, Brothers In Arms (expanded 3CD 40th anniversary set)
Neal Casal [Blackfoot, Chris Robinson Brotherhood], No One Above You: The Early Years 1991-1998 (vinyl release)
Robin Trower [Procol Harum], Come and Find Me
Status Quo, Live! (expanded 8CD reissue box)
Various artists, Lee “Scratch” Perry Presents ‘Confusion: The Jamaican Upsetter Singles 1971’ (2CD set)
May 23
Chicago, Chicago II (2LP Steven Wilson Dolby Atmos remix)
Don Felder [Eagles], The Vault: 50 Years of Music (With David Paich, Steve Lukather, Jim Keltner, others)
Don Henley, Inside Job (remaster 2LP vinyl reissue)
Daryl Hall and John Oates, Abandoned Luncheonette (reissue)
Green Day, Saviors: Edition de Luxe (expanded reissue)
Howard Jones, Piano Composed; Piano Composed Spirio (CD and ivory LP releases)
Mike Oldfield, Tubular Bells 2003 (CD and blue vinyl reissue)
Van Der Graaf Generator, World Record (remastered vinyl or 2CD/Blu-ray reissues)
Various artists, Young and Wild: A Decade of American Glam Metal 1982-1992 (3CD set with Bon Jovi, Kiss, David Lee Roth, Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, others)
May 30
Atomic Rooster, Atomic Rooster (expanded 2CD reissue)
Dead Daisies, Lookin’ For Trouble
Garbage, Let All That We Imagine Be the Light
Grateful Dead, Enjoying the Ride (60CD box); The Music Never Stopped (6LP, 3CD and digital release)
Lovin’ Spoonful, A’s and B’s (2CD set)
Renaissance, Running Hard: The Albums 1974-1976 (4CD box)
Pet Shop Boys, Discography: The Complete Singles Collection 1985-1991 (2LP blue vinyl reissue)
June and Beyond
The Babys, Silver Dreams: Complete Albums 1975-1980 (6CD box)
Doobie Brothers, Walk This Road (with Mick Fleetwood, Mavis Staples, others)
Sixx: A.M., Prayers for the Damned and Blessed: Deluxe Edition (3LP smoked-colored vinyl reissue)
Genesis, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway: 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition (4CD/Dolby Atmos mix Blu-ray or 5LPs/Dolby Atmos mix Blu-ray)
Pretenders, Live: Kick ‘Em Where It Hurts!
Van Morrison, Remembering Now
Bruce Springsteen, Tracks II: The Lost Albums (7CD, 9LP and digital release); Lost and Found: Selections From ‘The Lost Albums’ (1CD and 2LP)
Lynyrd Skynyrd, Celebrating 50 Years: Live at the Ryman
Peter Buck [R.E.M.] and Luke Haines, Going Down to the River … To Blow My Mind (vinyl edition)
Nick Drake, The Making of ‘Five Leaves Left’
Top 25 Rock Albums of 2024
Once again, reports of the genre’s death have been greatly exaggerated.
Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
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