rsd-guide

15 Record Store Day 2016 releases we would actually want to own

by Bill Pearis and Andrew Sacher

As mentioned at least a couple other times, Saturday is Record Store Day and, like every year, there a hundreds of exclusive RSD releases coming out. Most of these appeal only to collectors. It’s mainly vinyl reissues (including more than a few that are found in dollar bins of every record store in the county), and a handful of releases that are entirely unnecessary (The Blacklist soundtrack?!?!).  Still there are a few that we wouldn’t mind having in our collection. Here are 15 of them in alphabetical order.

You can also check out our guide to Record Store Day events in NYC.

There are a few Bowie titles released this year for RSD, but this one, collecting his first three singles onto one record, makes for a nice little EP of Bowie before he was really Bowie. [BP]

Fleetwood Mac are most famous for their self-titled album and Rumours, but the “weird” followup to Rumours, Tusk, holds just as special a place in many of our hearts. It’s got Lindsey trying on quirky new wave with “The Ledge” and helping Tame Impala start a career with “That’s All For Everyone,” Stevie coming up with proto-dream pop on “Sisters Of The Moon,” and so much more. This alternate version of the classic album initially came out on the Tusk box set in December. [AS]

PJ007-LP-SLEEVE

The long-lost vocal album by the late, great J Dilla, using other peoples’ beats instead of his own, surfaces 10 years after his death. If nothing else, it’s a fascinating “what could have been?” [BP]

All of Lush’s three original albums (Spooky, Split and Lovelife) and singles compilations Gala and Topolino back on vinyl. Part of the appeal here is the gorgeous packaging, created by onetime 4AD v23 designer Chris Bigg. $89.95 retail price is actually not bad. [BP]

Toronto ear-bleaders METZ and post-punk legends Mission of Burma cover each others songs on this 7″ pressed on starburst wax. METZ also have a collaborative 7″ with Drive Like Jehu/Hot Snakes/Rocket From the Crypt frontman John Reis coming out on RSD too. [BP]

Before he got kids-TV-famous with Polaris and The Adventures of Pete & Pete, Mark Mulcahy led New Haven, CT band Miracle Legion, who were one of the best of the many guitar bands to form in R.E.M.’s wake. Their final album, 1996’s Portrait of a Damaged Family, barely got released on CD, let alone on vinyl. Here’s a chance to hear their great “lost” album ahead of reunion shows. [BP]

It’s the 40th anniversary of the Ramones‘ inarguably classic debut (the best punk album of all time?), so naturally tons of celebrations are happening. This 7″ is one of them, compiling two alternate versions of this fan favorite that are taken straight from the original 1975 master tapes. Here’s some more background: “Recently discovered 1975 lost demo alternate versions of “Judy Is A Punk”. Straight from the original demo master tape. Miriam Linna (Cramps, A-Bones) left Ohio in 1975 in search of the Ramones and found them through working for the legendary record man, Marty Thau. Just prior to Marty launching the groundbreaking Red Star Records label, he funded these first Ramones demos. 30+ years after first meeting Marty, Linna and her husband Billy Miller of the infamous Norton Records label purchased these recordings. Miriam’s search for the Ramones was indeed complete! While listening to this demo tape in the Fall of 2015, these alternate versions were discovered. They are presented here for the first time.” [AS]

Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions

Mazzy Star singer Hope Sandoval‘s collaboration with My Bloody Valentine‘s Colm Ó Cíosóig, The Warm Inventions, have only released two albums so far, 2001’s Bavarian Fruit Breaed and 2009’s Through The Devil Softly. It’s very exciting news that we’re finally getting a third at some point in the near future, but first Hope will release the album’s lead single “Isn’t It True” as a 7″ on RSD. It’s backed by “She’s In The Wall,” which is exclusive to this release. [AS]

Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet

Best known for their song “Having an Average Weekend” (aka the Kids in the Hall theme), Canadian instrumental band Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet have been at it since 1984. This box set collects all three original studio albums on vinyl along with a bonus LP of B-sides, rarities and unreleased material. [BP]

The Summer Hits

Darren Rademaker has had a handful of notable bands, including The Tyde and Beachwood Sparks. Before those he played in The Summer Hits, whose DIY/low-fi singles from the early ’90s owed equal parts to ’60s psych-pop and the shoegaze scene that was happening at the time. (Yes, they were a lot like Lilys.) The 7″s are impossible to find, as is the 1997 CD compilation. Here for the first time, all of The Summer Hits “hits” are on one record with a bonus flexi and new liner notes. 500 copies made. [BP]

Various Artists

Originally a cassette compilation that came free with a copy of the NME, C86 chronicled the new sound of UK indie in the wake of The Jesus & Mary Chain (Primal Scream, The Wedding Present, Close Lobsters). ‘C86’ was so influential people now use it as a descriptor for jangly, shambolic guitar pop. The previous vinyl pressing crammed all 22 tracks onto one vinyl disc, this RSD reissue gives it a more proper double-vinyl release. Only 300 of these were made. [BP]

The soundtrack to this 2014 documentary is a window into a world both strange and familiar, proving that rock and roll may be the universal language. If you’ve never dipped a toe into the pool of Southeast Asian pop, this is a pretty cool place to start. Associate producer Nate Hun will spin original 7″ used in the film at Other Music on RSD. [BP]

The Robotic Empire label will release their third Nirvana tribute album on Record Store Day this year (they’ve already done Nevermind and In Utero). As always, they’ve got great rock bands from various musical backgrounds, including punk (Beach Slang, Mean Jeans, Basement), metal (Thou), noise rock (Daughters, Young Widows), post-rock (This Will Destroy You), indie rock (Rob Crow of Pinback), melodic hardcore/screamo (Defeater, The Saddest Landscape) and more. This one should be fun. [AS]

Various Artists

The Numero Group’s RSD release this year, Los Alamos Grind compiles a new era of divey strip club music. As they put it, “Join the time-traveling A&R of Numbero as they simultaneously visit past and future, compiling a superior collection of sleaze than anything brought to the post-apocalyptic-bachelor-pad scene thus far.” This may be trash, but Numero Group don’t make no junk. [BP]

fullsize

Originally commissioned by Australia’s Gallery of Modern Art for last year’s “David Lynch: Between Two Worlds” exhibition, Xiu Xiu has performed these Angelo Badalamenti compositions from Twin Peaks live a few times and then went into the studio with producer Jherek Bischoff to make the LP. Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier did the mixing duties. Unfortunately, Xiu Xiu didn’t tackle “Rockin’ Back Inside My Heart” for this.

This limited edition pop up version of a GWAR classic isn't too shabby either:




#RecordStoreDay @gwar vinyl! #terriblejokes by @augmentedaudio


A video posted by Metal Blade (@metalbladerecords) on