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 TrapperHarvest, 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.
The Cake vinyl box set. Photo by thedreamcomparison via InstagramFor rock and vinyl lovers, Record Store Day is like Christmas in April; this year, Christmas came on Saturday, April 19th, and there was plenty to be excited about.
There were hundreds of official RSD limited edition vinyls released this year, and so it obviously took time to go through all of the vinyls, pick our favorites, listen to them, review them and organize this extensive report and playlist. Much of the RSD coverage has been fairly limited to a rehashing of top vinyl picks from staff and bloggers, and Jack White‘s history-making event.
Even though it was historic and exciting, as well as a brilliant promotional tactic, RSD14 wasn’t just about White’s ‘fastest-ever record release’, which conveniently for him, served as his official RSD limited edition vinyl release – the title track from his upcoming sophomore solo album, Lazaretto, set to drop in June. To learn more about the event, read our coverage of White’s record-setting release, listen to the track and watch a video clip of the actual event.
While “Lazaretto” may have received the most media and buzz, it’s not the only vinyl release this RSD sought after by vinyl lovers, collectors and music enthusiasts; in fact, not even close. One of the most popular releases for RSD14 has been Cake’s gorgeously-designed vinyl box set. Only 900 of the eight 12-inch, 175-gram colored vinyl LP sets were pressed. In addition to a live LP and a rarities and singles LP, the box set features six of the band’s studio albums, including classics like Comfort Eagle, Fashion Nugget and Prolonging The Magic.
This post features an extensive look into the top RSD14 vinyl singles and albums, and includes tracks that have only so far been released on vinyl, as well as tracks from dozens of the most popular RSD14 releases; RSD vinyl covers artwork, designs and packaging; RSD releases bidding on eBay; details of, and interesting stories behind, certain releases; and numbers and figures that clearly demonstrate the explosive popularity of RSD and vinyl releases.
That said, let’s browse more of the most popular and unique limited edition RSD vinyls, many of which are also our personal picks in the cafe. There’s so many worthy new vinyls, that we’ll never get to them all, but we will do our level best to present as many as we can in the coming days, including a post to be published very soon that looks at even more top rare, special and novelty vinyl releases, and what they’re going for on eBay.
This is our favorite Top 30 vinyl albums released on RSD that also include vinyls that were the most popular among record lovers and highest on the charts. Tomorrow, we’ll publish the top vinyl singles released exclusively on RSD, and still being sought out online by music lovers and record collectors.
Special: Record Store Day 2014 Spotify Playlist – In addition to the 20+ songs in this playlist, stream 60 songs representative of IRC’s top vinyl picks for RSD14.
The Cake box set is a great example of a collector’s item because no matter what digital does, it can never offer the beauty, uniqueness and intrigue of a vinyl physical release – specially crafted and designed, compelling album and other artwork, liner notes, black and colored vinyl, booklets and inserts, and other goodies. As the ante is upped – which Cake did this year – that means more labels and artists will have to come up with even more quality releases that push the envelope for vinyl quality, design, packaging, price and other goodies – considerations that many thought were a thing of the past due to digital, the Internet, CDs/DVDs. The success of RSD, and the overall resurgence of vinyl is largely being driven by young people who are demonstrating that is a promising as weto see more and more young people, especially, who appreciate the value of a limited edition exclusive release, and have something tangible that they paid for to hold in their hands, and show to friends, and as the years pass, to their children.
The Most Sought-After RSD Box Set: A Lesson in ‘Can You Have Your Cake And Eat It Too’?
As it turned out for many Cake fans, snagging a copy of the limited edition vinyl box set was more elusive than exclusive. Afterall, only 900 were pressed and distributed. We would not be surprised to see the box set re-emerge for Black Friday, when exclusive vinyls are also released. For disappointed Cake fans who actually went to their local indie record store (or to a number of indie stores in their area) on RSD to discover that the few copies the store had were purchased already, or that they did not receive any box sets at all, there is still the eBay option, but it’s going to cost. The mark-up from the original RSD price just goes to show how many people want this Cake box set.
Everyone knows that high demand for a limited supply drives up the price, but it’s safe to say that some Cake fans suffered a case of extreme sticker shock once they looked up the bid prices for the box set. In fact, for the past week, there have been ferocious bidding battles with closing prices ranging from $250 to $300, and Buy It Now prices starting at $300 and going up to $600 dollars, depending on condition and, of course, greed. The latter are playing basically a ‘hold-out’ and ‘wait-and-see’ game, realizing that eventually the other higher, non-bidding copies will sell and then they’ll be only his available, so that if he keeps resubmitting it just the same, some Cake fan who has to have it, and realizing they might miss the chance to get it (one-time limited edition of must 900) will take the plunge and pay the greedy guy the $500 or $600. Plus, there are surely a couple of savvy, and coy, scalp hoarders with editions of the Cake box set who have been watching the bidding of the past week before they even list their own copies online.
The Cake RSD-only limited edition vinyl box set is going for hundreds of dollars more on eBay than its original retail price.
While Cake’s box set is the most expensive of all the RSD14 releases in ‘after hours’ selling by scalpers online, when calculated to determine the price per vinyl unit – it is not; White’s “Lazaretto,” with the B-side cover of Elvis Presley’s “Power of Love,” is the vinyl that really takes the cake, so to speak, with closing bids ranging from $150 to $225 for the past week on eBay, and ‘Buy It Now’ sellers asking between $400 to $600 – for a single 7-inch vinyl. Of course, the price is being mostly driven by the historic value of it, and will likely be re-sold again by others for even higher dollar amounts.
We would not be surprised at all if the label, Legacy Records, struck a deal to press another couple thousand of the Cake box sets to release on Black Friday (or ‘Record Store Day 2’ as some call it – even though that’s a misnomer) due to demand. With that, the following triple play from Cake features some of the band’s most popular, even cult-classic, songs – one each from a successive string of spectacular albums that the band released during a five-year span, from 1996 to 2001.
Top RSD Vinyl Albums According to SoundScan, Billboard and BuzzAngle
The numbers and sales of exclusive RSD vinyls have been coming in for the past week or so, and are unlike anything anyone has ever seen before, greatly exceeding even the most optimistic pre-RSD sales forecasts. In fact, because of RSD, vinyl albums sales hit a historic high for the week ending April 21st, with slightly more than 244,000 vinyl albums sold, the highest that Nielsen’s SoundScan has ever recorded since it began tracking album sales in 1991. The previous record of vinyl sales took place on December 23rd, 2012, when 172,000 vinyl LPs were sold – more evidence of the increasing popularity of vinyl albums.
According to SoundScan, and Border City Media’s BuzzAngle Music, the top-selling albums for the week were all RSD releases, with Tame Impala‘s Live Versions coming out at the top, followed by The Grateful Dead‘s new live album, Live at Hampton Coliseum, and Joy Division‘s reissue of their debut, An Ideal For Living (see below.) Live Versions includes great concert performances of tracks like “Endors Toi,” “Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind?” and “Apocalypse Dreams,” among others.
Overall, indie record stores’ sales jumped by 646% overall from the previous week; vinyl sales increased 1,855% altogether, and by 2,042% at indie stores. Billboard charts were also dominated by RSD vinyl sales. In fact, “only three albums” of the 25 LP positions on Billboard’s Tastemakers‘ chart – which measures vinyl album sales at independent and small chain stores – for the week ending April 20th were not RSD releases.
That’s stunning: 22 of the hottest vinyl albums on Tastemakers‘ were RSD official releases, including Green Day‘s new album, Demolicious, capturing the top of the chart (more on that below); No. 5, the reissue of Life After Death by Notorious B.I.G.; No. 7, a reissue of American Beauty EP by Bruce Springsteen, with four previously unreleased tracks; No. 8, first-ever vinyl release of a live album, Hampton Coliseum, by The Grateful Dead; and at No 10., Live at Silver Platters by Jake Bugg.. In addition to classic rock artists, popular singer/songwriters and one of the most influential rappers ever, the other indie releases that made the Top 25 included
On Billboard’s Vinyl Albums chart for the week ending April 20th, RSD releases dominated the list (with the exception of Afghan Whigs’ new album, Do To The Beast) with Jimi Hendrix‘s Live At Monterey performance on vinyl ranking at No. 5; Tame Impala’s Live Versions at No. 7; Joy Divisions’ An Ideal For Living EP; The Flaming Lips’ 7 Skies H3 and the first-ever U.S. release of Meltdown With The Ramones EP. Childish Gambino‘s RSD release, Because The Internet, topped the Vinyl Albums‘ chart. Perhaps one of the aspects that drove the Gambino release to the top was its packaging and extras. The official RSD vinyl album came in metallic o-card sleeves and a 72-page booklet. The two LP discography includes “Crawl,” “Worldstar,” “The Worst Guys,” featuring Chance, and “The Party.”
The 2-LP vinyl RSD release for Green Day's new album, 'Demolicious'
According to Neilsen’s SoundScan, and BIllboard’s Tastemakers chart, the top-selling vinyl record on RSD was Green Day‘s Demolicious, which was also dropped simultaneously on a limited number of CDs and cassettes. The special edition, limited release, dropped by Reprise Records, presents 18 unreleased demo recordings by the band recorded from band sessions held at Jingletown Studios in Oakland in 2002. The album, which sold nearly 4,000 on RSD, 42% vinyl, and surprisingly, 42% on CD, while the other 16% were cassettes. The album itself will be available retail on May 19, but will not be the same physical configuration as the RSD release, which is currently bringing in between $35 to $45 on eBay. Demolicious contains one previously unreleased track – “State of Shock” – available to stream below.
Additional evidence of the explosive popularity of Record Store Day, and vinyl releases, has been streaming in for the past 10 days from indie record store owners across the 50 states, with many proclaiming that their best sales day ever was on Saturday, April 19th, the day of Record Store Day 2014. In fact, sales of vinyl LPs alone increased from 244,000 for RSD 2013 to an impressive 369,000 this year – that’s the highest ever percentage increase of vinyl album sales in one week since Neilsen’s SoundScan started tracking vinyl album sales in 1991.
Vinyl Gold: Velvet Underground Reissue Last Album; Built To Spill Reissue Debut and The Ramones First-Ever U.S. Vinyl EP
The reissue of The Velvet Underground‘s accidental last album, Loaded, was pressed on pink, black and white splattered vinyl, and recorded from the 1970 Cotillion Records master tape. The album release spawned classic rock tracks like “Sweet Jane” and “Rock And Roll,” and is listed as No. 109 on Rolling Stone‘s ‘500 Greatest Albums of All-Time.’
Did You Know?: The iconic founding member, singer/songwriter and guitarist, Lou Reed, decided to leave The Velvet Underground shortly before Loaded was released in 1970, truncating the run of one of the most influential American rock bands of the 1960s.
Practically indie gods in our book, and undeniably one of the most significant indie rock trailblazers, Built to Spill, have one of the most exciting releases of RSD14 – the first vinyl (12-inch) pressing of their classic 1993 debut album, Ultimate Alternative Wavers, with the awesome album cover portrait (above) that absolutely qualifies to be posted on the fun, and often hilarious, website, AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com.
“Nowhere Nothin’ Fuckup” – Built to Spill from Ultimate Alternative Wavers (original release: Oct. 7th, 1993)
For the first time ever in the U.S., ironically enough – considering they’re a notorious New York band, Rhino released The Ramones’ rarity, Meltdown With The Ramones, which was pressed and distributed only in the U.K. in 1980 as a promotional sampler. Isn’t that crazy? The Ramones’ RSD EP, re-issued on 10-inch navy vinyl and limited to 3,000 copies, features songs like “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow” and “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend,” and is currently going for about $25 to $35, on average, a pop on eBay.
Another RSD vinyl album worth checking out is Visitors from Dinosaur Jr. The album is in part a tribute to the band’s go-to artist, Maura Jasper, who the band teamed up with from 1985 to 1990, during which time Jasper created the band’s official artwork, inspired by Norwegian expressionist Edvard Munch and English anarchist Gee Vaucher.
The limited vinyl release features the band’s first four singles, and a bonus 7-inch vinyl of “Show Me The Way” with a B-side cover of The Byrds’ “Feel A Whole Lot Better.” The package includes an essay from Jasper and a booklet of unused artwork from those five years. Dinosaur Jr., who will also be featured in our Top Vinyl Singles post on Sunday, were tremendously influential in making ‘noise rock,’ popular, and in adding a harder edge, via heavily distorted, yet melodic, guitar riffs and feedback, to alternative and indie music in the late 1980’s, influencing countless numbers of amazing bands to follow in their footsteps during the ensuing decades, and up to the present time. “Little Fury Things,” the band’s second single released way back in 1987.
Reissues on Vinyl – Man Man, MGMT, Spoon, Bruce Springsteen and Husker Du
The San Francisco band, Man Man, saw the first vinyl release via the label, Ace Fu, of their spectacular 2004 debut album ,The Man in Blue Turban with a Face, and Austin‘s hometown indie favorites, Spoon, reissued the EP, Loveways, which was remastered and pressed to 12-inch limited edition vinyl for the first time. Plus, Bruce Springsteen dropped a vinyl reissue of his American Beauty EP with four previously unreleased songs.
“Zebra” – Man Man from The Man in Blue Turban with a Face
“American Beauty” – Bruce Springsteen from American Beauty EP vinyl (with previously unreleased songs)
Rhino dropped a new grey vinyl of Husker Du‘s amazing 1986 album, Candy Apple Grey, the band’s fifth album, and their first major label debut, with Bob Mould and Grant Hart each contributing their own songs – in addition to their usual method of sharing songwriting duties – that reinforced the band’s evolution from mainly hardcore punk tracks to a decidedly more alternative rock sound at the very time that other bands were fueling the engine of popularity that would help make alternative rock a major new genre. The album does retain, however, their signature frenetic style and features plenty of acoustic guitar parts.
For the first time, the album that made MGMT global rock stars, was released on vinyl on RSD
RSD Vinyls of MGMT’s ‘Oracular Spectacular’ and The Flaming Lips’ Novelty Release
MGMT fans can now listen to the breakthrough album, Oracular Spectacular, like never before thanks to the release of the album as a 12-inch, 180-gram black vinyl pressing. Rather than including the already-heard-a-million-times studio version of “Kids,” the biggest song from the album, we decided to feature a terrific live version instead. In 2011, Oklahoma psych-punk-pop indie rock band, The Flaming Lips, well-known for their unconventional, even flamboyant, alternative music, recorded a 24 hour-long “song” called “7 Skies H3.” Initially, the band only sold a limited number of copies on vinyl, that came inside of a real human skill, for $5,000 a pop – obviously not something for the average Lips fan considering the price, and definitely not for the squeamish, considering the rather morbid delivery method. For RSD, the band cut the song to 50 minutes and sold “7 Skies H3” as an exclusive RSD-only 10-inch vinyl single.
“Kids” (Live) – MGMT from Oracular Spectacular (2008)
“7 Skies H3” – The Flaming Lips from RSD vinyl release – not a streaming link here; click through to listen to the 50-minute song on YouTube.
Excerpt – The RSD14 Playlist: What better way to represent the sounds of RSD14 than to assemble a streaming soundtrack of many of the best songs that appear on official Record Store Day 2014 releasesthere are a good number and one of the best ways to boil it down and represent After diligent research, and flipping through over one hundred of official Record Store Day releases, we created a Record Store Day 2014 Spotify Playlist for all to enjoy; the playlist is also embedded below and some tracks are presented separately.
Limited Edition Vinyls from Joy Division, Mudhoney, Drive-By-Truckers, Chvches, Cults
Die-hard Joy Division fans from New York to Tokyo pillaged record stores last weekend in attempt to get a limited edition 12-inch vinyl reissue of the band’s breakthrough 1978 debut album, An Ideal For Living, featuring remastered tracks like “No Love Lost” and “Warsaw.”
As fervent of fans as Jo Div’s following of both young and old fans in the present time, make no question about it that Mudhoney fans are also clamoring for copies of the limited 12-inch vinly, On Top, that captures the sonic magic of a rare concert the band held last year a the top of Seattle‘s most iconic landmark, the Space Needle, in celebration of the simultaneous 25th birthdays of the band, and their long-time label, Sub Pop (Happy Birthday to one of the best indie bands and indie labels ever!!). The live Mudhoney recording was produced by the famous Seattle radio station, KEXP; so, you know the sound quality will be superior.
Drive-By Truckers offer up a 10-inch vinyl, titled Dragon Pants EP, featuring B-sides and outtakes from the band’s new 2014 album, English Oceans. Songs include the EP title track, “Rock Solid,” and the puzzlingly, yet awesomely-named, “Trying To Be The Boss (On A Beaver Brown Budget).” Watch the band’s live performance on Record Store Day. Chvches pressed 2,000 copies of their popular Recover EP, featuring two new remixes of “Recover;” Cults drop a vinyl of their Upstairs at United EP with live recordings of “Were Before” and “You Know What I Mean.”
“Recover” (Travelogue Mix) – Chvches from Recover EP
Live Concert Vinyl Releases Featuring Guitar Gods Jimmy Page with Black Crowes and Jimi Hendrix with the Experience
Speckled within the sleuth of freshly-minted, limited edition live recordings on vinyl for RSD14 is the rock and rolling blues jammin’ of the legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist, Jimmy Page, and The Black Crowes live at the historic Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. The album, Live at The Greek, was recorded from two sold-out shows at the venue. Page had asked The Crowes to be his back-up band for a mini-tour in 1999.
The Crowes, as this recording demonstrates, were a perfect match for playing Zeppelin songs, and Chris Robinson‘s soulful vocals a suitable pairing for Page’s heavily blues-oriented guitar sound, and part of what easily puts him on the list as one of the greatest rock guitarist of all time. that comes in three vinyl discs inked red, blue and clear with a gold sticker, and also has a number of copies bidding and for sale on eBay and other sites for between $45 and $120. One of the vinyls includes enhanced studio tracks and various multimedia files. For contractual reasons, however, the set does not include any Crowes’ songs, but that’s OK when you consider how amazing Page and the Crowes sounded those two nights in LA.
Live Vinyls from Devo, The Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, Foals, The Pogues with Joe Strummer
In addition to Page and The Black Crowes, and Jimi Hendrix’s monumental Monterey performance, there were a bunch of other live vinyls dropped on RSD. In fact, Devo‘s Live at Max’s Kansas City: November 15, 1977 RSD vinyl release includes an introduction from Devo-head, Mr. Major Tom, aka, David Bowie. Next, Deadheads – who often have copies of dozens, sometimes even hundreds, of live shows of their idols – have a new double 12-inch vinyl set to seek out, featuring the live recording of The Grateful Dead‘s first-ever performance at the beautiful Hampton Coliseum in Virginia on May 4th, 1979. Highlights include “Truckin”, “Good Lovin'”, “Eyes of The World,” “Passenger,” and a dozen others. The concert opens with “Loser” and closes with “Around And Around.”
LCD Soundsystem, The Pogues and Joe Strummer, The Allman Brothers, Foals and Many Others
One of the biggest live vinyl ‘gets’ of RSD14 is the special four-disc vinyl box set from LCD Soundsystem’s The Long Goodbye (Live at Madison Square Garden farewell concert. Considering this limited edition vinyl set marks the end of an era for a band that has achieved respect among their peers, and more importantly, the adoration of millions of fans worldwide, it’s no surprise that it’s selling for between $150 to $175 on eBay.
“All My Friends” – LCD Soundsystem from The Long Goodbye (Live at Madison Square Garden
The Pogues‘ legendary 1991 concert at the London Forum with Joe Strummer, the former guitarist of one of rock music’s best-ever bands, The Clash, was released for the first time in the U.S. on RSD, and is a must-have for serious fans of The Pogues and The Clash. Strummer was filling in during Shane MacGowan‘s hiatus from the band. Concert goers buzzed for days, weeks, and years afterwards, using words and phrases like historic, magical, amazing, best-ever, pinnacle moment, and so on. Now, anyone can listen to this famous concert on Live with Joe Strummer.
“London Calling” – The Pogues and Joe Strummer from Live with Joe Strummer
Other artists and bands with new live albums dropped on limited edition vinyl for RSD14 include The Allman Brothers (Beacon Theatre); Foals (Royal Albert Hall); The Civil Wars (Eddie’s Attic); Jake Bugg (Silver Platters); Medicine (Part Time Punks), and well as Tame Impala, Death Cab For Cute with Magik Magik Orchestra, Frightened Rabbit and the Dave Matthews Band.
Jimi Hendrix fans are still vying for copies of the newest vinyl of their hero, since it is a brand new, remastered vinyl reissue of a historic performance as well as some one of the most iconic moments in rock history all wrapped into one. Even though pretty much all of Jimi Hendrix‘s legendary, break-through performance at the historic 1967 Monterey Pop Festival in California was extensively recorded and filmed for the movie, and the live album that followed, someone at Legacy/Sony decided it would be a good idea to reissue the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s sizzling nine-track set, Live at Monterey, but with a little touch here and there, to make it more marketable. And while it is definitely proof-positive of the major labels increasingly taking up a larger share of RSD releases with simple reissues, the fact is that Live at Monterey offers fans the chance to get this piece of history on remastered vinyl, including fans who may have an older copy they want to replace (considering the album was first released 45 years ago). If you are a die-hard Hendrix fan – and there are easily millions of you – and must have this RSD vinyl release, there are a number of copies available on eBay going for between $25-$35.
The reissue is pressed on 180-gram black vinyl, re-mastered by renowned analog engineer, Bernie Grundman, and includes an essay from Mitch Mitchell, the original Jimi Hendrix Experience’s drummer. All 3,000 limited editions are numbered and include the original artwork. The stunning performance – which is also viewable, in various clips, on YouTube – of songs like “Foxy Lady,” the Dylan cover, “Like A Rolling Stone,” the riveting “Purple Haze,” and the epic tale of “Hey Joe,” are what made the Jimi Hendrix Experience an immediate rock sensation in the United States, an honor that remains fully in place 45 years later.
“Hey Joe” – Jimi Hendirx from *In this one historic moment from a historic set, Hendrix plays the guitar with his teeth, and does it well.
Another star was made at the ’67 Monterey Pop Fest – Janis Joplin, and The Who’s explosive set propelled them to a higher tier of popularity in the U.S. due in part to the subsequent Monterey Pop Festival album and movie that came out in the ensuing months, on top of the sensational media coverage of the festival in newspapers across the nation. In fact, Monterey Pop is often considered the first major outdoor rock festival. In the video clip below, you can spot Joplin sitting alongside Mama Cats (Mamas and The Papas). But of course the meat and potatoes of the video is Hendrix and his band. At that time, no one had ever heard anything like it, another reason they were just a phenomenon. If you want to watch the full and original Live at Monterey film, it’s available for free streaming, and includes lots of great outtakes besides in addition to stellar footage of the historic performances that took place there.
Monterey achieved a lot of ‘firsts’ in rock and roll, and was a prelude to the youth generation’s musical, political and cultural revolution of the late 1960s. In fact, Live at Monterey is not only an amazing rockumentary, it is widely regarded as the first rockumentary ever – shot and released two years before the Academy Award-winning Woodstock film. If you want to see what the whole rock and roll, flower power and hippie revolution in California was about, no other film encapsulates that time period better than Monterey because it was right there archiving it as it happened. Two years later, in 1969, Woodstock, made headlines around the world, and made Hendrix even more famous, although he would pass away tragically a couple of months later.
“Purple Haze” (Live, Monterey, 1967) – Jimi Hendrix from Live at Monterey
Did You Know? The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 was only the band’s second gig in the United States (and yet it remains of the most historic of all live performances in the history of rock music). Also, Hendrix, a left-hander, played a right-handed by placing strings in opposite order, and he earned his early dues playing backup guitar for the likes of Little Richard and B.B. King.
The British Invasion: 50 Years Later – The Animals, The Zombies, The Stones and The Yardbirds
There are die-hard music fans in their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s who probably have a hard time comprehending, while doing so with great memories of yesteryear, that the world-changing British Invasion – that brought us The Beatles, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Who, and many, many others – made landfall on the shores of America 50 years ago, in 1964. The British Invasion brought a wave of new bands and music from England that would change America, not just popular music, forever. It all pretty much started with The Beatles’ historic performance on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, an event that was viewed by 1 out of every 3 Americans at the time.
Unless we missed it somewhere, we were surprised that record labels did not think about releasing compilations of exclusive vinyl releases featuring a compendium of the top hits from British Invasion bands for the 50th anniversary. After seeing the success of the latest Record Store Day, there has to be a record label executive somewhere kicking himself/herself in the ass for not playing up the 50th anniversary of the invasion on RSD. Talk about missed opportunities, especially considering all of the bitching record label execs have done over the years about lost record sales – seriously: helloooo. It just goes to show that labels these days really do not understand the culture and the marketplace – people are hungary for anything but the crap that is played on Top 40 radio over and over again.
Some of the big groups that came over in the original, and subsequent waves, of the British Invasion – The Animals, The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones, and The Zombies – dropped special vinyls on RSD, and most can still be acquired online, usually for a higher price than the original RSD price (which is the case with just about every RSD vinyl now for sale on sites like eBay).
For admirers of mid and late-60s blues-driven rock by The Animals, headed by frontman, Eric Burdon, the band celebrates its 50th anniversary of breaking through in the U.S. with the reissue of The Animals’ 1964 self-titled debut British EP, featuring the hit single, “Boom Boom,” which was never officially released in the States until now. “Boom Boom” is a cover of the original Johnny Lee Hooker. Many of the bands from the British Invasion were heavily influenced by American rhythm and blues musicians like Hooker, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, B.B. King, and others, who were really the the musicians who founded rock and roll, not Elvis Presley or Buddy Holly.
Anyways, if The Animals’ version of “Boom Boom” sounds familiar to you, and you think you’ve heard it sometime in the past couple of years, it’s possible you recognize it from the latest James Bond movie, Skyfall. The song boomed from the loudspeakers during the scene when the helicopters were approaching the island were Bond first met his nemesis.
“Boom Boom” – The Animals from The Animals EP (1964)
For fans of The Zombies, RSD offered a couple of special treats. First, the band’s 1967 album, I Love You, pressed on a 12-inch vinyl, was released on April 19th for the first time in the United States. Previously, it was only available, not just on vinyl, but at all, in Japan and Europe. Another RSD by The Zombies, the band’s classic 1966 album, Odessey and Oracle, was reissued on RSD14 on 12-inch vinyl, including the mega-hit, “Time of the Season,” easily one of the most recognizable songs of the classic rock era, and a track that just never gets old.
Next, the legendary Rolling Stones, who actually celebrated their 50 years as a band in 2013, were still part of the initial 1964 British Invasion, so the fact that they did not go all out and do something really cool for the half of a century mark on American radio and millions of young people’s turntables, seems a bit odd to us, if nothing less than a missed opportunity for their fans. Rather, the band quietly released a reissue vinyl of their second British EP, Got Live If You Want It, which marks the first time the EP has been fully released on vinyl in the U.S.
The live EP, recorded during March of 1965, chronicles the band’s fifth British tour, playing to sold out, and sometimes, hysterical, mobs of amped up teenagers in Manchester, London, and Liverpool. This EP is the third and final of a series of live Rolling Stones’ performances released by ABKCO; for RSD13, the EP, Live By Live, was released exclusively to indie shops. This final EP of the series includes songs like “Every Needs Somebody To Love;” “Route 66,” “I’m Moving On” and “Pain in My Heart.” Check out this live video of “I’m Alright” circa 1965 – the video quality is amazing considering it was nearly 50 years ago, and the historical value to the story of rock and roll from that time cannot be overstated – not to mention the fact that it’s probably one of the best early Stones’ live video footage available anywhere.
Then there is the most strange and unavoidable aspect of the video – can you guess before you read the next sentence? Yes, the screaming girls. What is that all about? Has anyone ever figured it out? No matter how many times most people see footage of the ubiquitous mobs of screaming girls from rock shows between 1964 to 1966, it’s always baffling, strange, other worldly, and even alarming. No wonder the adults at that time were worried about these girls and the media, dumbfounded and unable to explain such behavior, went with ‘mania,’ like Beatlemania – although no one ever said Stones-mania or Kinks-mania. It remains a sociological, psychological and cultural phenomenon to this day, as far as we can tell without dedicating real time to researching it – maybe a post for another time.
The Rolling Stones did not hit it really big like The Beatles did until about the time that Beatlemania – circa 1968 – began to lose some of its previous unrelenting steam, and the Stones obviously went on to become one of the biggest rock and roll bands ever, thanks largely to a string of mind-bogglingly superb rock albums dropped between 1968 and 1978, and sold out worldwide arena and stadium concerts every time.
Rhino Releases Psychedelic Vinyl of The Yardbirds’ Last Studio LP, Little Games
Although they did not arrive in ’64, they were still part of the British Invasion of bands from England that changed rock and roll forever, not just in their homeland and the U.S., but around the world, and to this day. That is, The Yardbirds. The band’s RSD14 release from Rhino Records is a 12-inch psychedelically-splattered vinyl reissue of their 1967 album, Little Games. Unlike the band’s previous three albums, Little Games did not produce a hit single, and is largely considered the band’s least accomplished record; in fact, the closest the band came to a hit was a ranking of No. 45 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts for the track, “Ha Ha Said The Clown” – but listening to the song, even the band’s most ardent fans may wonder how it made the Top 100 at all. As a whole, the album is a mess, and practically unlistenable; Page himself later called it “horrible,” while The New Rolling Stone Album Guide added that the LP was “a disastrous attempt at conventional pop.”
In 1992, the same year the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the album was remastered and reissued with new songs, mono and instrumental versions of existing songs, outtakes, demos and stereo mixes, tripling the original number of tracks from 10 to 32. The expanded edition featured perhaps the most stand out track – which is to say a lot – of this recording session, “Think About It,” which encapsulates the Jimmy Page lineup at its best, and demonstrates the signature guitar playing that would, just a couple of years later – and subsequently, forever more – make Page one of the most respected, and critically-acclaimed, guitarists in rock music history.
“Think About It” – The Yardbirds from Little Games (1992 Expanded Edition only)
The members of The Yardbirds, circa 1966, with Harleys and manager Peter Grant as Santa. A young Jimmy Page, who began as a session guitarist at only 16 years old, is to the far right.
It does make you wonder exactly why Rhino dropped this vinyl to begin with, especially since it does not include the expanded edition, which is actually the version that saves the session from total obscurity. The original version does include the notable, “White Summer,” an acoustic instrumental with Page on lead. In listening to the guitar work, it clearly foreshadows the acoustic style of guitar playing that Page became famous for later on. For all of its faults, Little Games, on vinyl and remastered, is a necessity for the most die-hard Yardbirds’ fans, and may even serve nicely as a good study in development of skill and style for guitarists who admire, and emulate, Page’s indisputable guitar wizardry.
“White Summer” (Instrumental) – The Yardbirds from Little Games (1967)
This was the only Yardbirds’ studio album (and the last altogether) that Page, who joined Led Zeppelin the following year, performed on before the band broke up. Previously, the group had two other rock guitar legends – Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton, who had brief stints as well with The Yardbirds, but during those limited times, helped make The Yardbirds one of the best guitar bands – and posthumously you could say a ‘supergroup’ in the aggregate – of the time and even more so in the years since their disbanding. Of course credit also goes to rhythm guitarist/bassist, Chris Dreja; bassist and producer Paul Samwell-Smith; drummer Jim McCarty; and vocalist and harmonica player, Keith Reif.
Did You Know? Jimmy Page was a studio guitarist at the time The Yardbirds approached him to replace Eric Clapton, but he actually ended up playing bass before he teamed up with Jeff Beck as the second lead guitarist.
Legitimate Concerns About Record Store Day’s Wild Popularity and Success
While last week’s event is being reported as the most successful RSD since its inception in 2008, with a 35% jump in vinyl purchases, and RSD releases that invaded the traditionally Top 40 radio-leaning Billboard charts, there is also understandable, and valid, criticism, and concerns about RSD becoming too big, which naturally is posing challenges for RSD organizers, smaller indie labels and indie stores, especially with the major labels flooding RSD with more releases than ever before, and for some critics, many of the releases – remastered or repackaged singles, EPs, LPs, demos and live recordings particularly – are diluting the truly worthwhile and ‘value-added’ releases that are supposed to make RSD special.
While these issues require attention and robust debate, the fact is that labels and bands putting together limited edition vinyl releases with cool-designed colored vinyls, sleeves with album art, liner notes, booklets and inserts, and turning around and selling these special packages to willing, enthusiastic fans to purchase and to cherish can only be a good thing for music, in so many ways, for freedom.
Jack White returns to his studio after pressing the 'fastest' vinyl release ever on Record Store Day. Photo by Steven S. Harman of The Tennessean The prolific rock musician, producer, and record label owner, Jack White, has created yet another milestone in his 20+ year high-profile career.
White, with help from collaborators, released what is said to be the fastest record every made – from the moment of the recording, through the pressing of the vinyl, to the distribution – just under four hours.
As a promotional stunt on Record Store Day, Saturday, April 19th, White assembled a select group of media, friends and fans at his Third Man Records‘ headquarters in Nashville where he put on a live show, and performed and recorded a live version of “Lazaretto,” the title track from his upcoming sophomore solo album, due to drop in June.
White was joined by some of the same band members that worked with him on his critically-acclaimed, and gold-certified, debut solo album, Blunderbuss. The live set started at 10 a.m. with the previously released instrumental track, “High Ball Stepper,” one of the tracks from Lazaretto. The following features clips from the press conference, events of the day and interviews with fans who waited outside Third Man Records on Saturday for copies of the fastest vinyl single ever (that we know of).
As soon as the single, “Lazaretto,” was recorded in studio, the master tape was rushed across town to be pressed to vinyl. White returned, with escorts and an entourage, to his Third Man studio with the still-warm vinyls in hand, and distributed them to eager and excited press folks, area record store owners and others.
“I never even looked into who has the fastest record,” White revealed during the press conference later that afternoon.
It turns out that Guinness World Records’ digital database contains no established category for “fastest released record,” and there were no officials from Guinness present at the event – which we understand means it will not be recorded officially by Guinness since they must have a representative present for any record-breaking milestones. However, some blogs are mistakenly reporting that White’s achievement – which is undeniably impressive and newsworthy – is a new Guinness record.
But White was more focused on making sure the record got recorded, cut and distributed on RSD, than on setting a record for the fastest vinyl recording and release ever.
“I woke up at about 4 in the morning last night [Saturday], and I thought, ‘Wow. I think there’s about 12 or 13 things that could really go wrong tomorrow,’ White said. “I just thought how difficult it was going to be to explain to people if we didn’t pull it off, so thank God we did.”
While we’ve not been able to get an audio copy of the vinyl single quite yet, we’re working on it, and hope to have the full version included in IRC’s full RSD 2014 report and playlist that will be published later today (and will include all kinds of great RSD tracks – many of which are re-mastered classic rock and indie/alternative songs). Follow IRC on Twitter or Facebook to be notified as soon as it’s published.
In the meantime, Al Ford, program director of the Edmonton radio station Sonic 102.9, travelled on an invitation to Nashville from Canada for the event, and returned to explain the experience itself, and to play the vinyl single, in the following YouTube video.
White accomplished his goal to record, press and distribute the “Lazaretto” vinyl in under four hours, shattering the reported previous record held by Swiss polka trio Vollgas Kompanie. White was able to accomplish the goal in approximately three hours, 55 minutes and 21 seconds, just under his initial four hour target.
Two weeks ago, White released the advanced instrumental track, “High Ball Stepper,” with a visually striking music video to compliment the crackling, heavily distorted guitar riffs that smoke and blaze relentlessly throughout, and unlike any other rock song we’ve heard so far in 2014. Leave it up to White to top himself once again in just how far one can push an electric guitar to new heights. Is it too much to say that White is perhaps the closest Gen-X has ever come to having its own Hendrix?
Since its humble beginning in 2007, Record Store Day has grown into a huge international success for independent record stores across the nation and the world. In fact, it is now considered the music holiday of the year for indie music lovers, artists, record stores and music collectors. The special day started six years ago as a way to promote independent record stores, which have been largely decimated nationwide over the past decade due to consolidation by the mega record store chains and the Internet.
The real success behind Record Store Day has been the exclusive release of rare recordings, special covers, creative formats and packaging, and limited editions, especially in regards to vinyl that are not available for purchase online; although some releases are available online after Record Store Day in formats other than the limited edition vinyls. However, for die-hard fans of particular bands and artists, eBay and other sites often have limited edition RSD releases at auction, or for instant purchase, sometimes fetching 10 or more times as much as the original price of the in-store purchase. There were more than 350 exclusive releases for the seventh Record Store Day celebration.
While The White Stripes duo of Jack White and Meg are no longer making new music together (following their 2011 disbandment of the famous garage rock duo), that hasn’t stopped them from releasing new and limited editions, as they did for RSD. Not only was Jack White the official spokesperson, or ‘ambassador,’ for RSD, but he also put together a special 10th anniversary collector’s limited edition vinyl of the duo’s breakthrough album, Elephant, for the special day. The limited edition release is available on two LPs, one a black and red vinyl and the other on white vinyl, mastered from the original analog tapes and housed in a double pocket gatefold, tip on sleeve with a MP3 download card and printed inner sleeves.
Best Coast released a special vinyl 7″ double-single for RSD, “Fear of My Identity/Who Have I Become.” Bethany Cosentino‘s father, Ricky Cosentino, plays drums on the first track. Check out a Pitchfork video of Bethany talking about her musical influences, including America, The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac.
The Black Keys released a cover of The Stooges‘ track, “No Fun,” which appeared on The Black Keys EP, The Moan. The special Record Store Day release was pressed on orange tie-dye vinyl and limited to 1,000 copies. The vinyl includes “Black Chandelier” (Live Zurich, Switzerland 1/19/13) and “City Of Dreadful Night.”
The electro-pop duo MGMT released a ‘cassingle’ (cassette single) on RSD last Saturday for the track, “Alien Days.” The track, as evidenced by the responses on the Soundcloud cut below, has received a big, warm welcoming from fans, as the first single from the duo’s upcoming album. The band also included a free MP3 download for the lucky few across the country, and the world, who were able to get their hands on the cassingle.
The popular electro-pop band Phoenix dropped a limited edition grey (why grey?) vinyl 7″ via Glassnote on RSD that features the track “Entertainment” with a B-side of the single in Korean.
Synth master Dan Deacon released “Konono Ripoff No. 1″ 7″ vinyl with only 500 copies made worldwide. The 7” features two versions of the track in a hand numbered jacket with the cover art from the winner of the Dan Deacon America Instagram contest. View the SXSW 2012 version of “Konono Ripoff No. 1” recorded at the NPR showcase.
Brian Eno teamed up with Grizzly Bear and got the remix treatment from Nicolas Jaar on a 12″ vinyl double-single featuring Eno’s “LUX 2” and Grizzly Bear’s “Sleeping Ute,” recorded on black vinyl with a large, bold typed cover sleeve.
The 70’s glam pop band, Big Star, released a limited edition (1000 copies) double LP 12′ inch, 180 gram yellow vinyl pressing, Nothing Can Hurt Me, on Record Store Day, via Omnivore Recordings, which is now available in limited quantity via Amazon – view the the track listing. The double album title is also the title of the recent Big Star documentary, that was an official selection at 2012 SXSW film festival. Big Star are best known today as the band behind the title track for the popular and long-running TV series, That ’70’s Show.
The iconic band, The Flaming Lips, released a four LP box set on RSD 2013 of the previously released album, Zaireeka. The limited edition vinyl release features multi-colored vinyls, new artwork and a booklet for die-hard fans to cherish forever. In this promo video for Zaireeka, does anyone know what happened to Wayne Coyne? He looks very different than the last time we saw him. Is it plastic surgery or something else? Regardless, the Lips remain a unique band we’ll always hold dear to our hearts for providing so many special moments over nearly two decades.
Bill Densmore, the original drummer for the classic rock band The Doors, kicked off an indie record and book store author signing tour for his new book The Doors Unhinged on RSD.
Additionally, a 7″ milky translucent vinyl single of The Doors 1967 track, “Soul Kitchen” was released as part of the Side By Side series from Elektra Records.
Yesterday, we published Volume 1 of IRC’s Record Store Day 2012 recap coverage, featuring digital versions of limited edition vinyls from The White Stripes, The Flaming Lips with Bon Iver, Wilco, Beach House, J. Mascis with Built to Spill’s Brett Nelson, Dirty Projectors, Animal Collective, and Real Estate.
Just as with Vol. 1– which included albums like The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends compilation and Animal Collective‘s Transverse Temporal Gyrus, Vol. II also includes rare RSD releases, most of which are vinyl, rare, collectable and must-haves for fans since they may never be released in CD or MP3 format.
Each year since Record Store Day officially launched in 2008, the number of participating independent record stores (chain records stores are not permitted) around the world has grown, including in countries like Brazil, Germany, Romania and Japan. Not surprisingly, record stores in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Seattle, Boston, Portland and dozens of other big cities, and smaller towns as well, heavily promoted Record Store Day because the event has increased vinyl record sales in recent years significantly, not just on RSD, but throughout the year.
In fact, in 2011, vinyl albums sales grew 39 percent, with about 3.9 million albums being sold, and sales are up about 10 percent so far this year, according to Nielsen Soundscan. Last year, Record Store Day represented, by far, the largest day of the year for vinyl sales. But about 2,000 stores remain in business today, and the number has been relatively stable over the past few years, said Ken Glaser, vice president of sales for Alliance Entertainment, the nation’s largest wholesale distributor of compact discs, DVDs and vinyl record albums.
“I still see a place for a strong indie store in every community that can support one. I just think there’s still the lure of people wanting to walk into a store and touch and feel things and talk to people,” said Joel Oberstein, president of Almighty Institute of Music Retail, a market research firm based in Studio City, California.
Since it is impossible to get a hold of audio copies of all of the over 300 Record Store Day 2012 releases, we’ve created a series of playlists of RSD releases that are preferences, and secondly, those which have an accessible audio file – whether an MP3 or Soundcloud. We’ve already seen an increasing trend of Soundcloud and other embedded, non-MP3 files in recent years, but especially when it comes to RSD releases – which makes some sense. We happen to support vinyl because of the superior sound quality, especially with a good turntable and speakers. But there are a number of issues that come up with vinyl that range from practical, economic, environmental and physical aspects.
This second RSD 2012 playlist (don’t miss RSD 2012 Mix Vol. I) features a range RSD-only releases featuring new tracks, unreleased tunes, reissued and remastered works, cover songs, live music, remixes, and collaborative recordings from The Flaming Lips with Mastodon, No Bunny, Blitzen Trapper, Arctic Monkeys, Obits, Jeff The Brotherhood, Rosie Thomas, Xiu Xiu, Dirty Beaches, Shuggie Otis. The following is a combination of MP3s, Soundcloud embeds and YouTube audio links, which you can use the built-in Yahoo media player to listen to right on this page by clicking the tiny play button to the left of each song title. The only tracks that can be saved are MP3s.
“Hey Joe” (Billy Roberts) – Blitzen Trapper from 7″ vinyl. Note: The song was not written by Jimi Hendrix – he just recorded the best known cover version.
“You Gotta Lose” – Obits from Moody, Standard and Poor (RSD 2011; reissued on red vinyl for RSD 2012 due to popular demand)
View a list of participating Record Store Day outlets to find the indie record store closest to you. Even if you missed RSD, supporting your local record store is one way to contribute to your community, fight off the spread of chain stores (like Tower Records) and malls, and a great place to meet people, talk about music, find releases you may not discover otherwise, and get out of the house.
Which vinyls did you buy on Record Store Day 2012? Leave a Comment below, tell us via our Facebook page or via IRC’s Twitter.
IRC’s post-RSD installments will continue as we discover more and more RSD releases in digital format – involves a lot of searching on search engines, but the sense of discovery is always rewarding, especially when we get to share them with our listeners. Also check out Vol. 1 of our RSD coverage, in case you missed it.
When you think of album promotion, there are two ends of the scale. At one end – where most bands live – is a van driving from club to club and merchandise ready to sell at the end of each show. At the other end is the iTunes marketplace takeover where the likes of Jack White and Of Monsters and Men are able to promote pre-sales, new tracks and full albums.
“Lakehouse” – Of Monsters and Men fromMy Head Is an Animal
Record Store Day reminds us of the place in-between those two worlds – where indie record stores still remain, in-store performances are held, store window fronts are transformed, and, in some places, were external facades become canvases for life-sized album cover art.
At the heart of Record Store Day is the celebration the “art of music,” and for the indie record store of yore, there was no greater art than the album mural. Yet, like every aspect of the music industry over the years, technology has changed just about everything. But it wasn’t iTunes and the Internet that killed the mural; music murals went the way of vinyl as computers and printing presses made it possible to churn out giant, weather-resistant posters.
But just as vinyl is upheld as the purest way to listen to music, in a few places around the country, the album mural is considered the purest way to market music. One such place is Seattle, where record stores like Easy Street and Silver Platters offer up their exterior walls to artistic recreations of albums covers by Pearl Jam, The Lumineers, and even Lana Del Rey.
Glenn Case is the man behind the paint brush in Seattle. He believes murals are flourishing globally, “but as far as record stores utilizing the talents of a mural artist goes, I know of very few. As the profit margins in the music industry have shrunk in this MP3 era, stores and record labels have relied on sign companies to pump out vinyl billboards and banners to get their messages across.”
Fortunately, Case doesn’t think all is lost; he theorizes that, as more people return to vinyl, album artwork will regain some significance.
“I do believe that as people are re-discovering vinyl at their local stores, the artwork is regaining some significance as the proportions of the record sleeve square are very flattering for the presentation of the album’s artwork. [It’s] something to draw the eye and reflect the tone of that particular music, and sell, of course.”
“Sell” is the key word there. Why do some indie record stores – already squeezed by smaller margins – still invest in something so costly? Matt Vaughn, president of Easy Street Records, admits he views the album mural as a tribute to the time, thought and care that musicians put into each release.
“It’s tasteful. It’s honorable. It’s a bit of a nostalgic approach,” says Vaughn. “It is an art form, and there is an experience that comes with that.”
Vaugh, who is also the store’s used vinyl buyer, believes that giving passersby and store customers the chance to witness the multi-day mural creation process provides a window into a lost craft: “It’s not unlike how a song eventually becomes a full record and an influence that reflects who you are or stimulates your curiosity.”
Wesley Shultz of The Lumineers agrees that murals stimulate like no other promotional medium. The Lumineers are one of the bands temporarily immortalized on the sides of Easy Street and Silver Platters.
“Ho Hey” – The Lumineers from The Lumineers
While Schultz hasn’t visited the Seattle murals in person, he’s seen pictures and was blown away. Shultz suggests that because murals are no longer a go-to element in the music marketing toolbox, the ones that do get made are that much more powerful.
“In the age of digital photography and Kinko’s-style print-outs that you can stick to the sides of buildings, murals are less and less common.But this also leads to their value – because they are so uncommon, you are struck when you see something done by hand.”
Even more sweet is that the tribute in Seattle holds higher meaning for the band’s lead vocalist, piano and guitar player: The album cover is based on a photo of his mother and grandmother.
“It is surreal to imagine that on the side of a wall: A picture I have been in love with for so many years.”
Says Shultz: “I think these murals have a far reaching impact on those who walk by because it’s this interesting thing happening. It feels like an honor for the album art to be treated this way, and I think it helps to further legitimize something we are damn proud of.”
Which, is exactly why indie store owners like Vaughn still invest dollars in the art. “It can take a lot of time to write, produce and release a record. We are simply just recognizing that.”
Record Store Day is here, and we’re presenting this comprehensive guide with recommended limited edition vinyls, including singles, split singles, compilations, reissues, covers, EPs, unreleased tracks, and much more. So, far, we’ve posted a massive volume one of IRC’s top RSD releases, followed by volume two, featuring recommended vinyl cover songs being released as singles, EPs and LPs on RSD only. You might also want to check out the video review of RSD releases from Chris Brown. And, at last, volume three here within.
According to the U.K. Telegraph, there are approximately 1,000 participating stores on four continents. Spencer Hickman, the founder of Rough Trade Records, and organizer of the U.K. RSD recognition, believes that the future for independent record stores is looking better.
“There’s lot of love out there for the old independent record shop,” he told the Telegraph. “People are waking up to the fact that all towns across the country are becoming identikit, and the small indie retailers are disappearing. They don’t want this anymore and are finally saying ‘No, enough is enough’.”
With the resurgence in the popularity of vinyl over the years, and events like Record Store Day, there are glimmers of hope for indie record stores, not just in the U.K., but also in the U.S. and Canada. There seems to be a growing number of young people realizing that the sound quality of vinyl and CDs can simply not be achieved digitally, even with 320 kps-ripped MP3s; not even FLAC files. Plus, the physical copy of music in vinyl – with it’s large cover artwork, track listing, notes and whatever else bands and labels add on – cannot be replicated digitally, as hard as it’s been tried.
Because of the number of releases on RSD, it’s impossible to cover everything we’d like to, but we’ve managed to write something about most of them. So, let’s get into it. But first, you may wish to check out volume one, which full of lots of interesting releases and rare songs.
RSD 2011 Singles Vinyl Releases
There are all kinds of goodies in the vinyl singles set for limited edition release on Saturday. Together with covers and split singles, the group easily makes up the largest collection of vinyl releases on RSD since it’s beginnings in 2008.
Radiohead will drop “Supercollider” and “The Butcher” on a seven-inch vinyl single with only 2,000 copies for the 1,000 stores on four continents participating in RSD. Both tracks are previously unreleased, which obviously generates a lot of anticipation among RH fans. Even though these tracks have been performed at Radiohead shows, thisis the first time we’ll hear the studio takes. Based on this live version of “Supercollider” in Amsterdam, the song sounds great; can’t wait to her the studio version. No word on if the two tracks will be released beyond the 2,000 copies. It would only make sense to, at least for download on Radiohead.com (which has recently had a site redesign).
The Kills will release a special dub version of of “Satellite” on a 10-inch vinyl, featuring a B-side a mix by Mad Professor. The track is from the band’s new album, Blood Pressures.
Fleet Foxes will release a vinyl single with “Helplessness Blues,” the title track of their forthcoming album.
Blitzen Trapper will release 1,000 copies of a vinyl double single featuring the tracks “Maybe Baby” and “I Don’t Know What.” Subpop is also releasing a vinyl sampler called Please to Enjoy, which includes the Blitzen Trapper track, “Maybe Baby.”
The sampler features an awesome collection of songs from Subpop artists, including Fleet Foxes, Lower Dens, Mogwai, J.Mascis, Papercuts and Low. Stream Please to Enjoy.
Jamie Woon offers fans a version of his single “Lady Luck” as a limited edition 500 copies seven-inch vinyl.
Cults drop seven-inch featuring “Abducted” and a RSD-only remix version of “Go Outside.”.
The Heartbreaks will release 300 seven-inch vinyl copies of “Jealous Don’t You Know” Produced by Edwyn Collins.
The Go! Team will drop a 12-inch vinyl will remixes of “Apollo Throwdown” and “Voice Yr Choice” from Star Slinger and the Ruby Suns, respectively.
Warpaint will issue 500 blue vinyl copies only of ‘Undertow’ backed with ‘Warpaint’.
“Undertow” – Warpaint
Foster the People will release a special 10-inch vinyl single of their awesome track, “Pumped Up Kicks.”
“Pumped Up Kicks” – Foster The People
Death Cab For Cutie are releasing a seven-inch vinyl called Death Cab For Cutie in Living Stereo with samples of the upcoming release Codes and Keys.
While the long-awaited release of Danger Mouse‘s special project of paying homage to Italian film scores, Rome, will be released next month, a few thousand lucky fans will have the chance to grab a seven-inch vinyl copy featuring two advance tracks from the album – one “Two Against One,” with Jack White on vocals, and Norah Jones performance of the track “Black.” Together with composer Danielle Luppi, Danger Mouse’s realization of his dream is coming to fruition on May 17th, the official release date of Rome.
“Two Against One” – Danger Mouse and Danielle Luppi (featuring Jack White) from Rome – out May 17th
My Chemical Romance will release the track “Na Na Na” with an unreleased b-side called “Zero Percent” on a seven-inch picture vinyl disc.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will make available a 10-inch vinyl single with the A-side, “Gotta Get That Feeling,” and “Racing in the Street” from last year’s Asbury Park, New Jersey concert ‘Songs From the Promise.’
The new supergroup, Wild Flag, consisting of Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney), Mary Timony (Helium), Rebecca Cole (The Minders), and Janet Weiss, are said to begin recording soon their debut album for release later in 2011. But on RSD, the band will give the world it’s first listen to their sound with Wild Flag’s first official single, “Future Crimes,” with the B-side “Glass Tambourine,” on seven-inch vinyl and a free download code.
Queen (yup, the remaining members are still going) will release a limited seven-inch of “Stormtroopers in Stilettos,” which includes a remastered version of “Stone Cold Crazy” and a never before released version of ‘Keep Yourself Alive’ recorded in 1975.
RSD Previously Unreleased Vinyls
R.E.M. will release a special RSD-only vinyl set titled Three, featuring three seven-inch records with the first three singles from their latest (and one of their best) album, Collapse Into Now. But the reason we included this in the unreleased section is the more exciting news that R.E.M. are releasing three previously unreleased songs as B-sides.
It’s amazing after all of these years that 13th Floor Elevators, pioneers of psychedelic rock, are having possibly a bigger influence on music now than they did when they were together 40 years ago. On Saturday, they’ve release “Wait for My Love,” a never released song, on green seven-inch vinyl.
The Rolling Stones will release the almost previously unreleased cover of Chuck Berry‘s “Let It Rock” (see above for more details and sample from a Live Leeds show in 70s). The song definitely sounds similar to the classic “Johnny B. Good.”
“Let It Rock” (Chuck Berry) – The Rolling Stones from a live in Leeds U.K. recording (circa 1971)
Eric Clapton played in a numer of influential classic rock bands.
For a brief time in the history of classic rock, Derek and The Dominos were one of the top guitar rock bands of the late 60’s and early 70’s, largely thanks to the smooth, but riveting, guitar work of the legendary Eric Clapton (who was also in the Yardbirds and Blind Faith, also amazing bands).
Decades later, Clapton and the Dominos are releasing a double vinyl for RSD – “Got To Get Better In A Little While” and “Layla.”
While Clapton only recorded one album with the Dominos, it’s had a long-lasting effect, especially due to the huge hit single, “Layla” that often pops up on Top 100, 200, 500 rock song of all time listings. The exciting news for Clapton fans is that the B-side, “Got To Get Better In A Little While,” never before released, was recently discovered from a long-lost master Dominos recording session tape for a follow-up album that never happened. Original Dominos member Bobby Whitlock added the vocals, but Slow Hand is at the gears. The 7” vinyl is limited to 2,500 copies in the U.S., and likely to be a collector’s item.
“Layla” – Derek and The Dominos
RSD Single, EP and LP Reissues
Deerhoof will release a limited 1,000 copies of 2007’s Friend Opportunity. It’s been out of print on vinyl for years, but on Saturday, some 1,000 lucky folks will get the exclusive translucent green 180-gram vinyl RSD release. The vinyl also includes a track not previously on the original release, titled “Makko Shobu,” as well as a new mix for “Matchbook Seeks Maniac.”
NME called the album “unfathomable brilliance from start to finish,” and The New York Times tagged Friend Opportunity as “Miraculous…A defining statement…Deerhoof is one of the most original rock bands to have come along in the last decade.”
“Plus 81” – Deerhoof from Friend Opportunity (2007)
Ryan Adams will drop 2,500 vinyl copies of a new EP called Class Mythology, will be available April 16th. The release will consist of a double seven-inch with Cardinology-era “unreleased outtakes”. Wax Poetic reported that the EP will come with a sticker and poster.
Fans of The Clash: Check this out: The Magnificent Seven re-issue comes out on RSD on seven-inch, heavyweight red vinyl, and includes a bonus 4-track CD.
Panda Bear, like Foo Fighters, continues his big week of releases with a 12 clear vinyl of Tomboy and an exclusive T-shirt.
The Beach Boys will release 2,000 78 RPM double disc vinyl sets featuring original and alternative take versions of the songs “Good Vibrations” and “Heroes and Villains”
“Good Vibrations” – The Beach Boys
Primal Scream are releasing a triple vinyl set with two red vinyls including a re-issue of the The Dixie Narco EP, which hasn’t been available for two decades on vinyl. The RSD release will include a 16-page, 12-inch booklet with rare photos, interviews and liner notes.
One of the greatest influential pop-rock bands of the 1970s, who inspired bands like R.E.M. and The Talking Heads, Alex Chilton and Big Star will re-issue their last album, Third, on 180 gram 12-inch vinyl. The album was released shortly before the band broke up in 1974. Most interesting to fans might be the fact that the reissue was recorded off the original studio master tapes.
The reissue of Third will also include new artwork comprised of notes and the like. Plus, one of every 300 pressing will include the authentic test tapes, signed by the band’s only surviving member, Jody Stephens. Sadly, the band’s frontman Alex Chilton died a few days before a Big Star reunion was to take place at Austin‘s 2010 South By Southwest festival.
The Rolling Stones will issue 5,000 seven-inch vinyls of “Brown Sugar” that includes a rare B-side of Chuck Berry’s “Let It Rock,” which was only released once on an out-of-print compilation. On Tuesday, the Stones will release of their The Complete Singles (1971-2006) box-set.
“Let It Rock” (Chuck Berry) – The Rolling Stones
The Black Angels will release a limited edition red vinyl album – with download card – featuring the band’s first two EPs.
Among the 2,000 copies, 100 inserts signed by the band will be randomly packed through the pressing. This marks the first time the band’s two EPs have been collected together on one vinyl.
The special release will also include original artwork from guitarist Christian Bland. The disc will include previously unreleased tracks, including “Winter ’68” and a cover of Black Mountain‘s “No Satisfaction” (not the same as the Stones’ classic “Satisfaction”).
“Winter ’68” – The Black Angels
Daft Punk will issue a four song clear 10-inch vinyl that will feature three songs from the soundtrack of last year’s Tron Legacy. It also includes the rare single, “Castor.” What’s especially interesting is the fact that the clear vinyl discs will be available in various colors that will match the colors of the “identity discs” fashioned by the film’s main characters. We weren’t able to find out how many copies would be made for RSD.
“Castor” – Daft Punk from Tron Legacy (2010)
The New York City Rastafarian hardcore punk band, Bad Brains, will re-issue their 1980 debut, minute-and-half track, “Pay to Cum” on seven inch vinyl. Unlike the original, it will also contain a B-side of “Stay Close to Me.” The original release of “Pay To Cum” is on SPIN‘s ’20 Greatest Punk Songs Ever.
“Pay To Cum” – Bad Brains
Record Store Day Split Singles on Vinyl
Bear In Heaven & Lindstrøm are releasing a split 12-inch for Record Store Day. It includes a remix by Lindstrøm of Bear In Heaven’s “Lovesick Teenagers” and Bear In Heaven’s cover of Lindstrøm & Christabelle’s “Lovesick.”
“Lovesick Teenagers” – Bear In Heaven
Bibio and Clark (sounds like a law firm) will kick out a split 12-inch vinyl wrapped in “classic ‘Warp’ purple sleeve”
Jenny & Johnny, Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris will release a split seven-inch
Altogether, Polyvinyl Records will drop 11 7-inch and 12-inch releases on Record Store Day – the largest single day set of single releases in the 15-year-old Champaigne, Illinois’ label’s history. One of our most anticipated is the Deerhoof/Xiu Xiu split 7-inch, featuring Jamie Stewart singing to Deerhoof’s “Almost Everyone, Almost Always,” and Deerhoof drummer Greg Saunier singing the Xiu Xiu track, “Dear God, I Hate Myself.”
Toro Y Moi and Cloud Nothings will split a seven-inch
There also other one-time-only split singles of cover songs. Check out the RSD Cover Songs section below for full details.
RSD Cover Song Releases
See Vol. II of IRC’s Record Store Day 2011 Music Guide featuring a complete section of RSD Cover Songs on Vinyl.
Special Color Vinyl Album Releases
As picture above, Daft Punk will release a translucent blue vinyl on RSD (scroll up to read more about this release)
The Black Angels, as mentioned above, on heavy red vinyl!
Vivian Girls will release “I Heard You Say” on seven-inch colored vinyl, featuring exclusive B-side “I Won’t Be Long.”
Antony and The Johnsons will release a special 10-inch limited edition blue vinyl of their Swanlights EP, which officially drops on April 26th. The 10-inch vinyl edition will includes a remix of the title track by Oneohtrix Point Never as well as two exclusive B-sides. Here is the brand new video for Swanlights.
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin will offer a deluxe colored vinyl reissue of the awesome album, Broom, featuring three songs not found on the original CD, plus a download code that includes two digital bonus tracks.
RSD 2011 Vinyl Compilations
There are a bunch of compilations coming out on RSD, and record stores will also have free ones available as well, usually in the form of compact disc samplers, and usually from record labels.
The Kill Rock Stars label are reissuing 2,000 limited edition vinyl LPs of a 1991 compilation featuring Nirvana, The Melvins and Bikini Kill, among others.
Mute Records, newly indie again after cutting ties with EMI in October 2010, will release its first ever RSD vinyl, a compilation called, Vorwarts, featuring previously unreleased tracks from Depeche Mode, The Bad Seeds, Liars, Junip, and Moby, among others.
There are only 1,000 orange vinyl editions, each which include an additional bonus CD insert.
Apparently, the 1,000 copies will be distributed only in U.K. record stores. So, you can Stream and buy the LP via the Mute website.
Black Bell Records will release a free 12-inch compilation vinyl in addition to a free download from their website featuring tracks from ARMS, The Joy Formidable, Girlfriends, Dom (with Cults), Pretty & Nice, and many others. The compilation is streaming now via the label’s website.
When you purchase two items from the Black Bell store, you’ll get a free copy of the compilation in either white or yellow vinyl. The rising Massachusetts band Dom with Cults track, “Bowl Cut,” was produced by Passion Pit band member Ayad Al Adhamy.
Locate Participating RSD Stores Near You
Find a record store in your area. Some stores don’t participate in Record Store Day, so make sure to check first. You also want to get to your record store early on April 16th to make sure you get the vinyls you want. We don’t however recommend buying more than one copy just because they are so limited and it’s just right to give as many other people as possible the chance the own the same exclusive record you want. It’s the right thing to do.
We love the fact that indie record stores are hanging on, and even showing signs of expanding – individual shops, not outlets. The American landscape is already scared by chains and outlets and strip malls (just ask Arcade Fire), so the more individual businesses there are, the better for us all. We think the backlash against the mallification of America over the past 30 years is growing, especially among young people. That’s a good sign for independent record stores, and for the future in general. Community power!
Bull Moose Record Store Owner Chris Brown Reviews Nearly 100 RSD Releases
After producing a popular YouTube video last year highlighting top RSD releases, the owner of the Maine based Bull Moose record stores, Chris Brown, has made another nearly 15-minute video review of 2011’s Record Store Day releases. Plus, if you’re not in the Portland, Maine area, you can also stream online Brown’s appearance on local radio station WCLZ in which he’ll play exclusive RSD releases, including some of the live tracks from The Decemberists special live show at Bull Moose in January. Brown will appear on the morning show with Lara Seaver.
Recommended RSD Movie: I Need That Record!
In 2008, Brendon Toller‘s fantastic documentary titled I Need That Record, won a number of independent film awards. It’s really a spectacular documentary that, in part, pays homage to the independent record store. You can watch part one of the documentary below, and check out the INeedThatRecord YouTube page, where you can watch it in parts, or watch it in its entirety for $1.99 via YouTube Rentals. More preferable, the film is also available via Netflix on DVD or Instant Watch. Either way, if you’re a hard-core music fan or vinyl collector, or just someone interested in an well-made, in-depth documentary about the record industry, record stores, the MP3, and much more.
RSD 2011 In-Store Appearances
The ultimate psychedelic indie rock band, The Black Angels, will perform an already sold out in-store performance at Culture Clash Records in Toledo, Ohio.
My Chemical Romance will appear at Vertigo Music in Grand Rapids, Michigan for a record signing. No confirmation that they won’t perform at least one song; if they did, it would be a surprise for the MCR fans that we know will show up.
At Criminal Records in Atlanta, the band Fan Modine will be celebrating the vinyl release of Gratitude For The Shipper, with 100 copies on 150 gram double 12″ vinyl. There will be appearances all afternoon and into the late evening including Fan Modine, British Sea Power, Holly Golightly, The db’s, Turf War, Oryx & Crake, Emily Kempf & Akuyou.
“Julu Road” – Fan Modine
In Seattle, the rising band, The Head and the Heart, will perform at both Easy Street Records and Sonic Boom Records. They’ll also be issuing a vinyl version of the track “Rivers and Roads” – a deluxe gatefold, with gold foil printing and an MP3 download. Some versions will include tickets to the band’s sold out Seattle shows.
At Dave’s Records on N. Clark Street in Chicago, the band I Was Totally Destroying It will perform an acoustic set at 4 pm that will include new songs from their LP, Preludes, that dropped earlier this week.
“The Key & Rose” – I Was Totally Destroying It from Preludes
Tips for Scoring LE Vinyls on RSD
With so many limited editions coming out on Record Store Day, April 16th, it’s going to take some good timing and some luck to make you sure get the LEs you want the most. It’s almost a guarantee that many will sell out fast.
Get to the record store early on Saturday. Most record stores have a very limited number of the already limited editions
While many record stores limit one special release by a single artist to a quantity of one, there are still folks, especially in large metropolian areas like NYC or London where there are are two to four RSD participating outlets, who will try to buy as many copies of the most sough out limited editions with the goal, usually, of either selling them right away on sites like eBay and Craigslist, or holding on to them, for years with the hopes that the value for the records will increase over time.
It’s our personal opinion that everyone should limit themselves to one copy for each release, in order to give as many people as possible a chance to buy an original RSD vinyl.
If you haven’t already, you might want to check the first volume of IRC’s Record Store Day 2011 Music Guide, featuring a lot of great suggestions for limited editions vinyls that you want to get your hands on if at all possible this Saturday.
First things first, you might want to check out the official list of record stores participating in RSD, whether your in Nebraska or California, Texas or Minnesota. Make sure to check back late on Friday or early on Saturday for the final, and huge, volume three to our special RSD guide.
So, as work continues on Volume Three, we wanted to make this second volume all about the wonderful number of cover songs that are coming on especially for RSD 2011. Some were already featured in volume one, including the tribute album to Guided By Voices and Beach Fossils and Wild Nothing split single vinyl featuring two covers of The Wake.
First up, RSD will see the release of a special 12-inch vinyl EP compilation of Franz Ferdinand covers from artists like the soon-to-be-disbanded LCD Soundsystem, Debbie Harry of Blondie, Stephen Merritt of Magnetic Fields, and others who take a stab at covering FF songs, many of them from the Scottish band’s 2009 LP, Tonight.
We can only hope that there will be a MP3 (maybe FLAC as well?) rip of the compilation that we can eventually get. It just wouldn’t make sense if there wasn’t.
The Foo Fighers are having a big week; they release their exclusive covers EP, Medium Rare, on RSD
It’s a big week for hard-core Foo Fighters fans. In addition to the release of one of the band’s best album ever this week – Wasting Light – the Foo Fighters are also releasing a vinyl of cover songs called, Medium Rare. The 12-inch, 120-gram vinyl comes with covers of Husker Du‘s “Never Talking to You Again”; The Wings “Band on the Run”; Prince‘s “Darling Nikki,” plus previously unreleased covers of Thin Lizzy‘s “Bad Reputation” and the Zombies‘ “This Will Be Our Year.” If you can’t grab the vinyl release, you can buy the MP3 download version here.
“Band on the Run” (Paul McCartney & Wings) – Foo Fighters from Medium Rare
Note: You can watch, for a limited time, the Foo Fighters‘ Late Night special nearly two-hour live show with the band playing Wasting Light in entirety, as well as some of their new covers. Apologies to vegans and others who find the inclusion of the cover art to Medium Rare a bit disturbing – we do not intend to offend anyone, but at the same time, it would be a disservice for us to censor the cover image as well. Hope that makes sense :)
Special RSD Covers from Deerhoof, Xiu Xiu, The Decemberists, Clinic, Dennis Coffey
In an interesting collaboration, Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu are releasing a 2,000 split seven-inch orange vinyls on RSD with Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu singing Deerhoof’s “Almost Everyone, Almost Always.” Greg Saunier of Deerhoof takes on Xiu Xiu’s “Dear God, I Hate Myself.” Here’s the original Xiu Xiu track.
“Dear God, I Hate Myself” (Xiu Xiu) – Greg Saunier of Deerhoof
You can beat that special release on RSD by The Decemberists will sell out fast. The band are releasing a vinyl limited edition of the new Live At Bull Moose EP. In true RSD fashion, the EP was recorded in January at the Bull Moose record store in Scarborough, Maine. The EP contains six songs from The King Is Dead. The EP also includes a cover of the Louvin Brothers‘ “If I Could Only Win Your Love,” complete with a slide guitar. The track as also a hit for Emmylou Harris way back in 1975.
Clinic will drop an EP of cover songs, Ladies Night, featuring covers of songs by Cilla Black, Man Parrish and the Seeds and Audrey Hepburn.
The Deftones will release a 12-inch vinyl of cover songs, including tracks from B-sides or CD import singles. The band covers The Smiths, The Cure, Duran Duran, The Cars, The Caridgans, Drive Like Jehu and Sade.
Dennis Coffey, the widely regarded guitarist, is dropping a new album of heavy Motor City funk that features a number of cover songs featuring collaborations with a line-up of musicians, including Kings Go Forth, Mayer Hawthorne, Paulo Nutini, Mick Collins (The Dirtbombs). This is also a cover of Parliament‘s “All Your Goodies Are Gone” by Mayer Hawthorne is one of the album’s highlights. There will be a special limited seven-inch vinyl featuring a remix by Steinski.
Covers from Green Day, Manchester Orchestra, Toadies, Superchunk and Coliseum
Green Day will drop a seven-inch vinyl cover of Husker Du‘s “I Don’t Want to Know If You Are Lonely.” The B-side will include the original from Husker Du. Manchester Orchestra will drop a vinyl cover of Built to Spill’s “The Plan” on the B-side with the A-side featuring MO’s new single, “Simple Math.” While LCD Soundsystem may no longer be, Texas band Toadies will issue a cover of LCD’s “Someone Great” on seven-inch vinyl, and Superchunk and the hardcore rockers Coliseum will drop a split seven-inch vinyl featuring covers of The Misfits‘ “Horror Business” and “Bullet,” respectively.
Ty Segall Covers T. Rex; Of Montreal does Buffalo Springfield
The indie band Ty Segall will release a 12-inch clear vinyl featuring six raw retakes on Marc Bolan‘s (T. Rex) joyous shimmering symphonic dementia and cool-ass 70s glam pop rock, tapping into T. Rex‘s feral and lusty sing-along allure. The vinyl will also come with a download code.
The release will only be available at Goner Records stores, TS shows, while the MP3 version will be available for an indefinite amount of time.
Some of the covers include “Fist Heart Mighty Dawn Dart,” “The Slider” and “Salamanda Palaganda.”
The wacky Georgia musical collective, Of Montreal, will drop a seven-inch vinyl cover of Buffalo Springfield‘s “Expecting to Fly.” The band are admirers of Neil Young (who founded Buffalo) having covered “Harvest Moon” for the 2010 Haiti relief.
As they prepare for the release of their interesting concept album, the band Fu*ked Up will drop a compilation of fictional U.K. punk bands from the main character, David’s, hometown. Fictional band names include the silly British non-existent bands like Crown and Criers, Redstockings, Wonderer.
The RSD-only compilation, David’s Town, will unfortunately be limited to 500 pressings, so it’s going to be a hard one to get your hands on. As we’ve said with so many of the limited edition vinyls, we can only hope that many RSD releases will eventually be available in MP3 format, CD or another vinyl release, so that everyone has a chance to hear these great special releases.
You might want to refresh this page later as we add more material and songs as they’re discovered, as well as the video review of RSD 2011 releases, and the mega-mix guide to our top RSD releases.
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”.
