Trip Shakespeare To Re-Release First Two Albums 'Applehead Man' And 'Are You Shakespearienced'

Trip Shakespeare never received the same attention as fellow '80s Minneapolis rock acts such as Soul Asylum, The Replacements and Hüsker Dü (don't forget about Prince, either) but they earned a loyal fanbase, and the guitar/bass pairing of Dan Wilson and John Munson eventually went on to achieve stardom with Semisonic in the '90s.

Joined by drummer Elaine Harris and Matt Wilson (lead vocalist and Dan's brother), the quartet put out on of Minnesota's most cherished indie rock records, Are You Shakesperienced, in 1988.

Now, Omnivore Records is re-releasing that album as well as the group's 1986 debut Applehead Man (both due Dec. 16).

Check out the trailer below:

Dan Wilson commented on the forthcoming release via Facebook:

The reissues feature a generous helping of previously unreleased bonus tracks, and not just B-sides, either: many of the bonus tracks are recordings that even we band members didn't know about until this past year. It was hard for us to choose which ones to release (our mostly-democratic band always had a hard time deciding anything, to be fair.) But I love the new additions, and of course the original tracks too.

This music represents an amazing time for me and my bandmates, all the intense pleasures and devastating pains of trying to make great recordings, traveling the USA, and learning (mostly the hard way) the ins and outs of the music business, populated as it is by lovely people and also by the most shameless grifters.

The 53-year-old also recently announced a short U.S. tour featuring "illuminated set lists."