As the holiday shopping season begins its long approach, here are some of vinyl treasures that have arrived recently, most of it reissues of classic jazz, soul, rock and roll, and more, with a couple books.

Stay tuned for a vinyl gift guide closer to the holidays.

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Willie Colon Presents Ruben Blades – "Metiendo Mano!" (Fania/Craft) & Celia Cruz and Willie Colon – "Celia y Willie" (Vaya/Craft)

A couple great duet records were recently reissued by Craft Recordings as part of its ongoing series of Latin reissues. Especially exciting is the debut by Panamanian singer/songwriter Ruben Blades, who went on to international acclaim as a singer but also on the silver screen. This is the first vinyl reissue of this set, produced and arranged by Willie Colon, since its release in 1977. Already evident is Blades conscious lyrics and his almost theatrical singing. There’s an extremely limited red vinyl version, but the music is so colorful that it hardly matters the hue of the 180-gram vinyl.

Meanwhile, Craft’s ongoing devotion to reissuing the work of late GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Awardee Celia Cruz in honor of the 100th anniversary of her birth continues with a reissue of her 1981 duet record with Willie Colon in a cover that reminds me of the cool Jamal Peete sleeves on reggae LPs released in Brooklyn around the same time. Here the Queen of Salsa is paired with the king, whose arrangements here feel more intimate, but no less joyful.

Miles Davis – "Miles ‘55: The Prestige Recordings" (Prestige)

Following on the heels of the acclaimed “Miles ‘54” box set, Craft Recordings issues this lovely box set of tracks recorded by a refreshed and re-fueled Miles Davis in 1955 at Rudy Van Gelder’s New Jersey studio. Originally released on “The Musings of Miles,” “Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet” and “Miles Davis and Milt Jackson Quintet/Sextet,” these tunes are now all in one place on three 180-gram vinyl discs (or two CDs) in poly-lined sleeves in a heavy duty die-cut box. The discs have been remastered from the original analog tapes, with lacquers cut by Kevin Gray and pressed by Optimal in Germany, so they sound great. The accompanying booklet has notes by no less than Ashley Kahn and Dan Morgenstern. Landmark stuff.

Nick Drake – "The Making of Five Leaves Left" (Island)

During his tragically brief life and career, modern British folk singer Nick Drake only released three LPs, but good luck picking a favorite as each of the three was brilliant and had its own sound, all knitted together by Drake’s unique voice, songwriting and guitar-playing. Island has put together this amazing box set focused on the Drake’s 1969 debut record, “Five Leaves Left.” Four discs – vinyl or CD – trace the development of the record via rare recordings of demos and studio outtakes – as early as March 1968 – culminating in the final LP.

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Helping to explain it all is a 12x12 book with an in-depth essay and notes, detailed notes on everything Drake recorded leading up to the final album, photos of original tape boxes and lyrics written in Drake’s own hand. The design, concept and execution of this set is top-notch and I hope we’ll get similar versions of Drake’s other two LPs, too.

"The Kingston Lions" (Bulletproof) & "The Mighty Rootsmen" (Bulletproof)

Bulletproof Records releases two sets of cover tunes by a pair of all-star agglomerations of Jamaica’s top session musicians, too many of which have since sadly passed on. While The Mighty Rootsmen – which also feature some of the island’s most-beloved singers – focus on covers of rock tunes, The Kingston Lions devote their energy to new versions of reggae classics. That instantly biases me more toward the latter, as my tastes run much more toward “Max Romeo’s War In A Babylon” and The Heptones’ “Book of Rules” than to Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” and John Denver’s “Sunshine On My Shoulders.”

That said, the musicianship on both records is as exquisite as you’d expect from Sly and Robbie, Mikey Chung, Sticky Thompson, Robbie Lyn, Mikey Boo Richards, Boris Gardner, Bubbler Waul, Glen DaCosta, Cat Coore, David Madden and the rest. The vocalists on The Mighty Rootsmen disc are Mykal Rose, Luciano and the late Toots Hibbert and Gregory Isaacs ... also truly all-star. Still, if you need to see Steve Miller’s name in the credits and familiar song titles like “Summer Breeze” and “Love The One You’re With” to get into Jamaican music, then The Mighty Rootsmen are for you.

Hector Lavoe – "El Sabio" (Fania/Craft)

The sixth LP by Puerto Rico’s late great “El Cantante” – released in 1980 on the legendary Fania imprint – gets its first-ever vinyl reissue, again via Craft’s Latin reissue series. Lavoe’s familiar tenor – which brought him acclaim during his time fronting Willie Colon Orchestra – is set into a bed of percussion with horns that sometimes recall the great Big Bands of the 1930s and syrupy strings ripped right from the disco scene of the ‘70s. There’s also a limited edition green vinyl version bundled with a T-shirt if you want the collectible stuff.

Furry Lewis – "Back On My Feet Again" (Bluesville/Craft)

If you read these columns you know I’m in love with the Craft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds Bluesville and Original Jazz Classics reissues on 180-gram vinyl in tip-on, heavy cardboard covers that replicate the original releases in an authentic way that few other labels can seem be bothered with. Two of the latest Bluesville ones offer two different styles of the blues. Lewis’ 1961 recorded for Prestige’s Bluesville imprint is classic front porch blues, with just Lewis’ voice and guitar and a slide in his left hand. It’s foundational and beautiful.

Memphis Slim – "At the Gate of Horn" (Vee Jay/Craft)

This soulful 1959 set for Chicago’s Vee Jay Records is a glitzier, jazzier blues with pianist Slim and his rich voice augmented by a band, recorded at the Windy City’s Gate of Horn folk music club on Dearborn Street. It’s alternately swinging with blowing sax and riffing R&B guitar on some tunes alongside some deep blue forays into slow and low late-night blues. A perfect complement to the Lewis disc.

The Charlie Rouse Band – "Cinnamon Flower: The Expanded Edition" (Resonance)

In 1977, saxophonist Charlie Rouse, who had made his name working alongside Thelonious Monk, recorded “Cinnamon Flower” as a tribute to the music of Brazil with a group of sidemen that included bassist Ron Carter and drummer Portinho, among others. However, after the tapes were delivered to the label, producer Alan Douglas brought in funk drummer Bernard Purdie, Todd Rundgren’s Utopia keyboardist Roger Powell and Kool and the Gang trombonist Clifford Adams to “sweeten” the tracks. That original release is here on this expanded reissue – on two LPs or one CD – that also thankfully includes the tracks as they were originally recorded, along with an unreleased track from the sessions. The sound is buoyed by Rouse’s warm, melodic playing, but is also heavy on ‘70s electric piano and synths, so if that’s not your idea of great jazz, this one might not be for you.

"Stax Revue Live in ‘65!" (Stax/Craft)

Memphis’ legendary Stax Records was firing on all cylinders when the label recorded two shows by its top talent at home at the Club Paradise and in L.A. at the 5-4 Ballroom in Watts. Backed by Booker T. & the M.G.’s – with guitarist Steve Cropper, drummer Al Jackson, bassist Duck Dunn and organist Booker T. Jones – there are ace performances here by William Bell, Wilson Pickett, Rufus Thomas, The Mar-Keys and Carla Thomas, as well as The Astors, Wendy Rene. The Mad Lads and David Porter (who along with Isaac Hayes wrote some of Stax’s biggest hits). The M.G.’s also get plenty of time to shine on these 18 tracks, six of which are previously unreleased. The discs are in poly-lined sleeves in a gatefold sleeve with liner notes in the center spread and on a slip-in glossy sheet. Unbeatable.

Yusuf/Cat Stevens – "On the Road to Findout" (Island)

Recent generations might not realize just how important and popular a voice Cat Stevens was in the music world during the 1970s, but this double-LP retrospective ought to help. It includes all the hits – “The First Cut is the Deepest,” “Wild World,” “Peace Train” and one of my mom’s favorites, “Morning Has Broken” – alongside some other career highlights. It seems only right that we should be reminded periodically of Stevens’ (now Yusuf Islam) distinctive voice and his excellent songwriting. The discs are in heavy cardboard sleeves with printed lyrics in a gatefold cover and are pressed on 140-gram vinyl.

Supertramp – "Crime of the Century" & "Crisis? What Crisis?" (A&M)

The recent passing of co-frontman Rick Davies makes the timing of these reissues of the British band's 1974 and '75 outings especially poignant. Supertramp also had a long love affair with Milwaukee (as Roger Hodgson noted here), so I'm guessing a god few of you will be excited to hear these new 180-gram vinyl editions – half-speed mastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road – of two of Supertramp's most important records. "Crime of the Century" was the band's breakthrough, with "Bloody Well Right" and "Dreamer," and though it spawned no big hits, the follow-up served as a bridge to the band's mega-success with "Even The Quietest Moments" and "Breakfast in America."

The Who – "Live at the Oval 1971" (Universal)

The night the 20-year-old me walked around the Kennington Oval cricket ground to reach a gig at The Cricketers Pub in South London had no idea that the sports venue tucked into a residential area had – just 16 years earlier – hosted a benefit concert for Bangladesh that featured what many to be a legendary performance by The Who. This double LP – in a gatefold sleeve with a glossy 12x12 booklet – is proof that the band was at its hard-hitting, ramshackle best that September night. A mix of the early stuff – “My Generation” and “I Can’t Explain,” for example – intermingled with tunes from the then-six-week-old “Who’s Next,” captures at an important moment in the band’s career. The speckled colored vinyl on this set is really nice, too, with each of the four sides offering a different splatter.

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Books

“Buzz Me In: Inside the Record Plant Studios,” by Martin Porter and David Goggin (Thames & Hudson)

As I was reminded on a summer visit this year to the former home of Minneapolis’ Sound 80 Studio, the places where great records were made often have interesting stories of their own and this fat – beautifully printed and designed – tome shares the stories of the Record Plant Studios in New York and California, where darn near everyone recorded, from Hendrix to Lennon to Wonder and beyond.

The stories of the artists are the most engaging, but also interested are tales that make it clear that while electricity fueled the equipment at these landmark studios, a vast array of drugs and alcohol seemed to fuel the humans involved. The book would make a fabulous jumping off point for a documentary film. But don’t wait for that, read the book now.

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“Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run,” by Peter Ames Carlin (Doubleday)

On the 50th anniversary of the release of Bruce Springsteen’s breakthrough record, his 2012 biographer Peter Ames Carlin tightens his focus onto the the creation of “Born to Run,” released to great acclaim in 1975.

Carlin, with access to the Boss, explores how Springsteen found himself on the brink of being dropped by his label after two relative flops and how that, along with the arrival of his future manager and producer Jon Landau, led Springsteen to find a path through the pressure to emerge with an enduring classic. Extremely readable and with lots of time devoted to how the album’s favorites evolved.