The news this week that digital downloads surpassed CD sales last year for the first time ever serves as a reminder to all that digital is the way of the future. Yet, old skool, vinyl releases pose a challenge to digital. In fact, Nielsen SoundScan reported that more than 9.2 million vinyl albums were sold in 2014 (up 52% from 2013), the highest number since NSS started tracking music sales in 1991.
Since its inception in 2007, Record Store Day, now a globally successful ‘Christmas’ for music enthusiasts and vinyl collectors, has set out to change the trajectory of downward trends in the sales of vinyl by encouraging artists and bands to drop special vinyl releases during the annual April event. And of course labels and bands are all for the promotion of any sales where fans pay real money for music. The main objective of RSD, or so they lead us to believe, is to help promote sales for participating indie record stores across the U.S. and around the world. Music lovers also win, especially IF they’re lucky enough to score limited edition vinyls from their favorite artists and bands.
With that said, vinyl lovers in the U.S. alone have 1,400 participating indie record shops to choose from which can be searched for on RecordStoreDay.com. Let’s get right to it:
Here are many of our top picks, out of 550+ releases, for Record Store Day 2015, including exclusive limited edition drops from Metallica, Deep Purple, The Kinks, The White Stripes, The Black Keys, Built To Spill, Foo Fighters, Bob Dylan, Wu-Tang Clan, Death Cab For Cutie, REM, The Violent Femmes, David Bowie, The Stooges, Father John Misty, Run The Jewels.
Metallica – No Life Til Leather
Metallica – Easily one of the most anticipated vinyl releases on RSD will be Metallica’s never before officially released 1982 demo bootleg cassette, No Life Till Leather. Many of the songs later ended up on the triple-platinum-selling album, Kill ‘Em All. The original bootleg cassette, that has made the rounds for over 30 years, was recorded when Dave Mustaine was still the lead guitarist, and before he was unceremoniously kicked out. Mustaine didn’t suffer; he went on to form Megadeth.
David Bowie – Changes
- “Changes”: The first ever 7″ vinyl picture disc of David Bowie‘s classic track features a previously unreleased AA side recorded in 1971 for a small run of Bowie promo LPs dropped by GEM Records. Die-hard Bowie fans worldwide are going to be fiercely gunning for this one – just want until the post-RSD eBay listings.
Built To Spill – Untethered Moon
The Boise jangle pop/jam-rock legends of alternative rock deliver their first full length since 2009’s There Is No Enemy. A must-have for serious BTS and vinyl fans. “Never Be The Same” is a single from Untethered Moon. Every one else can pre-order the CD or digital copy via Amazon.
Foo Fighters – Songs From The Laundry Room
The Foo Fighters, led by RSD 2015 ‘ambassador’ Dave Grohl, will drop Songs From The Laundry Room, a recording studio in Seattle. During the sessions the band knocked out a cover of Kim Wilde‘s 1981 hit “Kids In America,” as well as early versions of songs like “Alone + Easy Target” and “Big Me” and a previously unreleased track, “Empty Handed” on a limited edition 10-inch vinyl.
The White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan
It’s almost hard to believe that this Record Store Day marks the first time ever that The White Stripes‘ double-album, Get Behind Me Satan, will be available on vinyl. The set features one disc in white vinyl and the other in red. (In case you didn’t hear, White will be performing a number of $3 spontaneous acoustic solo shows in five states in the coming weeks before he goes on a break from touring for a ‘long hiatus.’) Check out the freaky teaser video for the wax release.
The Kinks – Three EPs
The legendary band, The Kinks, now 50 years strong, continue to gather more fans every year, even though the band hasn’t released a new album in 20 years. In some ways, The Kinks are more popular now than ever before. That belief is given further validity by the very fact that, just in the past decade, artists and bands like Mumford & Sons, Bruce Springsteen, The Black Keys, Aerosmith, Jackson Browne, Of Montreal, OK Go, Yo La Tengo, Lampchop, Pearl Jam, Colin Meloy, Elvis Costello, Elliott Smith, and many, many others, have released Kinks’ cover songs.
There are three previously out-of-print compilation collector 7-inch vinyls celebrating The Kinks’ 50th anniversary that are dropping on RSD: Kinksize Hits, a long out of circulation second EP dropped in 1965, containing the massive hits like “You Really Got Me” (complete with the screaming teenage girls) and “All Day and All of the Night”.
Those two hit songs are considered by some music critics as the first real hard rock songs ever, and went on to influence trends like heavy metal and punk in the ensuing years. In 1964 and 1965, no one else had busted out riffs that aggressive and chunky before The Kinks did. At that same time, The Beatles were singing “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” while The Kinks were singing about doing it all day and all night.
The other two EPs being reissued include the 1964 original release of the band’s first EP, Kinksize Sessions, featuring songs like “I Gotta Go Now” and “I’ve Got That Feeling.” The final 7-inch reissue on vinyl is the band’s single version of “You Really Got Me” with the B-side “Milk Cow Blues.” For good measure, check out The Kinks’ live performance of “Apeman” in 1970. Geniuses!!!
Deep Purple – “Black Night”/”Speed King” and Montreux
The British hard rock band, Deep Purple, will drop two releases – a blue 7″ vinyl of their classic song, “Black Night,” featuring a previously unavailable single edit of Roger Glover‘s 2005 remix, along with the B-side piano version of “Speed King,” which was released in 1970 in Holland as an A-side, as well as a 3-LP colored vinyl box set of Montreux (2011).
Brian Eno – My Squelchy Life
The legendary ‘lost’ Brian Eno album, My Squelchy Life, will drop on vinyl for the first time this Saturday. This is a big deal. While the album was slated for release on Warner Bros in September 1991, it was pulled at the last minute, not to see daylight until now. Last year, the album was dropped as a bonus disc of the expanded All Saints edition of the follow up album, Nerve Net. Now the RSD edition is presented in a deluxe gatefold vinyl edition, including an additional track, “Rapid Eye”, that has never been heard before.
The Black Keys- Meet Me In The City 7″
Long before they became the reigning kings of commercial arena rock, The Black Keys were students of bluesman Junior Kimbrough and his hypnotic Hill Country compositions. The Keys RSD 7-inch vinyl release features Kimbrough’s original, “Meet Me In The City,” and The Keys’ cover from their 2006 EP, Chulahoma.
Bob Dylan – The Basement Tapes
Dylan’s legendary bootleg, The Basement Tapes, has become a classic over the years. For fans around the world, there are two limited edition vinyl versions set to drop on RSD, a regular vinyl version and a 180 gram black vinyl mono master, each numbered and autographed by Garth Hudson.
Wu-Tang Clan – “Protect Ya Neck”
For the first time ever, a 12-Inch split yellow and black vinyl of “Protect Ya Neck”, the 1993 hit song that changed everything for the eight-member band and for hip hop. The limited edition of 3,000 vinyl includes the original cover art and a plastic Get On Down-branded outer sleeve.
The Stooges – Have Some Fun Live at Ungano’s
While the sound quality lacks some luster, Iggy Pop and The Stooges‘ limited edition live vinyl album, Have Some Fun Live at Ungano’s, complete with a sax coda on “Fun House.” This is definitely a must-have for die-hard Stooges and Iggy fans.
The Violent Femmes – Happy New Year
The Violent Femmes drop a 12″ vinyl EP featuring four totally new songs that the 80’s alternative rockers recorded in Hobart, Tasmania in 2014. The EP marks the first new material from the band in 17 years. The songs on the EP include “Happy New Year Next Year,” “Love Love Love Love Love,” “Good At/For Nothing,” and “Fast Horses.”
Run The Jewels – RTJ2
Fresh from dropping one of the most thunderous albums of 2014, Killer Mike and El-P of Run The Jewels are back with a limited edition 12″ RTJ2 with “Bust No Moves,” along with “Love Again” and two other tracks.
Father John Misty – “I Love You, Honeybee”
Father John Misty’s “I Love You, Honeybear,” alternative version, titled (although many sites are not reporting this change) “I Love You, Honeybee,” will be available on a limited edition (5,000 copies) red heart-shaped 7-inch, with an exclusive B-side, “I’ve Never Been A Woman.”
Various Artists – Rhino Records Side-by-Side
The Rhino Records 7-inch colored vinyl series for RSD continues this year with a compilation that includes REM‘s cover of Syd Barrett (Pink Floyd, 1965-1968)’s song, “Dark Globe.” Michael Stipe and REM’s masterful and touching cover of Barrett’s “Dark Globe” will be available on a 7″ colored vinyl.
Various Artists – The Darjeeling Limited
Director Wes Anderson‘s terrific soundtrack to 2007’s The Darjeeling Limited film will receive the limited vinyl release featuring classics from The Kinks (“Powerman,” and “This Time Tomorrow”) and The Rolling Stones (“Play With Fire”), with the film score by Bengali filmmaker Satyajit Ray. RSD exclusive version is a 12-inch 180 gram transparent green vinyl in a gatefold jacket featuring stills from the film.
Bowie, Death Cab For Cutie, Lemonheads, Stiff Little Fingers, The Stranglers
Other 7 inch drops include David Bowie and Tom Verlaine versions of Verlaine’s song, “Kingdom Come,” plus Death Cab For Cutie and Freedy Johnston recording of “Bad Reputation,”; Gram Parson and the Lemonheads versions of Parson’s track, “Brass Buttons,” plus Stiff Little Fingers cover (and the original) of Grandmaster Flash‘s “The Message,” and the unlikely pairing of Dionne Warwick and The Stranglers “Walk On By” versions.
Grizzly Bear, The Decemberists, Blitzen Trapper, Ex-Cult
Grizzly Bear is offering up their spectacular debut, Horn Of Plenty on vinyl. The Decemberists will drop Picaresque and Blitzen Trapper Harvest, on 12-inch red vinyl . One of the best riff-rockers of the past decade, Ty Segall, teamed up with Ex-Cult to record the 7-inch vinyl drop of the songs, “Ties You Up” (with Zumi Rosow of the K-Holes on saxophone) and “New Virtues” from the upcoming re-release of the album Midnight Passenger.
Vinyls From The Doors, Slowdive, Adam & The Ants
The Doors‘ Strange Days (Spotify stream) LP, mono version on 180 gram vinyl, Slowdive‘s 1992 first album – Blue Day – on the Creation Records label. Far from the best album cover, the tunes are legendary (rumors a new album is forthcoming abound). Adam & The Ants – “Kings of the Wild Frontier” on 7-inch gold vinyl.
Wax Drops from Mumford & Sons, Buzzcocks, Dandy Warhols, and Suede
Mumford and Sons put away their banjos to go electric on two previously unreleased tracks “Believe” and “The Wolf,” tracks from the much-anticipated new album, Wilder Mind. Buzzcocks drop a colored 7-inch vinyl of “The Way”/”Generation Suicide”; Dandy Warhols release a double colored vinyl LP set of Dandys Rule OK. Suede‘s best-ever album, Dog Man Star (Live At The Royal Albert Hall), recorded live in London to a hometown crowd, is a limited double vinyl treat.
Sly and The Family Stone, Johnny Mar, D’Angelo
Purveyors of funk, Sly and The Family Stone, drop Live at The Fillmore East, recorded in October 1968 at New York rock temple Fillmore East. The Roots guitarist Kirk Douglas put the release together of previously unreleased live tracks. Comes in one red and one blue vinyl set. The Strokes guitarist Johnny Mar will officially drop “I Feel You,” a cover of Depeche Mode. D’Angelo‘s “The Cherade” and “1000 Deaths” from the new album, Black Messiah, drops on a 12 inch black vinyl.
Releases from The Flaming Lips, Warpaint on Daughter and Neko Case
The Flaming Lips celebrate the 20 anniversary of the ground-breaking, Clouds Taste Metallic, with the Bad Days EP limited edition on solid white and transparent green wax and transparent yellow mixed vinyl. The Oklahoma band also drops the This Here Giraffe EP, another spin-off of Clouds, featuring songs like the title track and “Life on Mars” (Live Peel Session version). Warpaint remixes Daughter member Elena Tonra‘s haunting vocals on a 12″ inch vinyl release of “Feelin Alright.” Neko Case drops a red vinyl reissue of the 2006 album Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, which had gone out of print for years.
Interpol’s RSD VInyl and Grouplove’s Covers
Interpol drops a 7-inch vinyl limited edition of the ‘Everything Is Wrong’ release featuring the previously unreleased track, “What is What?” Grouplove drops Under The Covers with two unreleased covers, one of The Who‘s “Baba O’Riley” (with Portugal The Man) and The Beach Boys‘ “Don’t Worry Baby.” Yet Grouplove’s cover of Cage The Elephant‘s “Spiderhead” has racked up more than 370,000 streams on YouTube.