1. A 2-fer of both Ian McCulloch‘s solo albums on Sire, each with bonus tracks.

2. A 2-disc set of Electrafixion‘s lone album which includes a myriad of B-sides, remixes, and live tracks…and, no, it is not overkill, thank you very much.

3. Magnitude, a complete collection of The Wild Swans‘ recordings for Sire Records, each with bonus tracks. (And if you don’t know who The Wild Swans were, read up on them here, then go buy this set.)

4. All six of Banaranama‘s albums from 1983 to 1993, each remastered and with bonus tracks.

5. Merciful Release, a box set which contains the trio of recently-remastered Sisters of Mercy albums (First, Last, and Always, Floodland, and Vision Thing), all of which are laden with bonus tracks.

6. Nico, The Frozen Borderline: 1968-1970, a 2-disc set which contains the remastered and expanded contents of the three albums released by The Velvet Underground’s resident chanteuse to close out the ’60s.

7. The four studio albums released by Doll by Doll (Jackie Leven’s former band) between 1979 and 1982.

8. A reissue of Christy Moore‘s 1986 album, The Spirit of Freedom.

9. Director’s Cut: Music from the Films of Michael Mann, a crazy-fantastic compilation which includes tracks from Iron Butterfly, Shriekback, Moby, Brian Eno, Clannad, William Orbit, Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis, Massive Attack, Nina Simone, Calexico, and House of Pain, then even makes room for the theme from “Crime Story” (Del Shannon’s “Runaway”) and the original “Miami Vice” theme by Jan Hammer.

10. Groovin’: The Genius of Arif Mardin, a collection of some of the master producer’s best work, including songs from The Young Rascals, Dusty Springfield, Cher, John Prine, Willie Nelson, the Bee Gees, Hall and Oates, Culture Club, Boy Meets Girl, Phil Collins, Bette Midler, Eric Clapton…even freakin’ Scritti Politti! (Talk about a guy who didn’t limit himself to any one genre!)

Oh, and for shits and giggles, here are 5 reasons to believe that this trend will continue throughout the rest of the year, none of which have been confirmed as being on the schedule for Rhino Stateside:

1. A 2-disc collector’s edition of Lou Reed‘s New York.
2. A 2-disc collector’s edition of The Lemonheads‘ It’s A Shame About Ray.
3. Remastered and expanded versions of The Levellers‘ back catalogue.
4. Remastered and expanded versions of The Faces‘ back catalogue.
5. A remastered and expanded version of Y, the classic post-punk album by the ironically-named Pop Group.

The thing is, I’m not entirely sure what to make of this. I see that there are plenty of similarities between the two Rhinos, including the Warren Zevon, Robert Plant, Doors, and Depeche Mode reissues…but where Rhino UK is busy with all of this incredible stuff, it appears that our Rhino is busy putting out greatest-hits collections of artists who – for the most part – already have several greatest-hits albums in existence.

My question: WHY?