2017 Record Store Day releases we'd actually like to own
As you may know, Saturday is Record Store Day and there are hundreds of exclusive titles being released just for the occasion. Some of them don’t seem so essential — do you really need a 12″ picture disc of Toto’s “Africa” that’s in the shape of Africa? (ok, maybe you do) — but there are always a few things that get us excited. (We did want those Spacemen 3 reissues until we learned Sonic Boom and Jason Pierce asked fans not to buy them.) We also hope to find one of those free Hollie Cook singles on our journeys Saturday, but here are 17 things we’re actually looking for.
Note: There are way more than 17 cool records that are getting a release on Record Store Day, but a lot of these are represses and not necessarily new or rare. We tried to keep our list to stuff you may not find every day (though we probably still missed stuff).
Even if you aren’t into vinyl, you can enjoy free live music (and beer) on Record Store Day in NYC.
Read on for the list, in alphabetical order. What RSD releases are you excited for?
While we await for Andre 3000 to hopefully one day bless us with a solo album, anything he touches in the meantime warrants a ton of excitement. For this year’s Record Store Day, he’s releasing a 7″ single of his cover of The Beatles’ “All Together Now,” which first surfaced in a Nike commercial that aired during the 2010 NBA Finals.
Especially because Jim Morrison died before many of us younger fans could ever see him perform, The Doors’ live recordings and live films are worth treasuring. In honor of The Doors’ 50th anniversary, they’re giving the first-ever vinyl release to the recording of this show from the first year they were a band.
Not only are the Grateful Dead’s live recordings often more beloved than their studio recordings, but there are Deadheads worldwide who aim to hear every single show that they can. This is a special one — it’s the Dead’s first non-US show, and it’s got a handful of songs that became rarer to hear as the band’s career went on.
We really miss Sharon Jones, who passed away last year, but she lives on through her music. This 7″ single, coming out via Daptone Records, is a way to own some of her material that’s on the rarer side. These are her first Gospel Funk recordings, recorded in the late ’70s with E.L. Fields and The Gospel Wonder. Sharon wrote the music and sang lead vocals.
Here’s a preview:
Counter-culture icon Ken Kesey was very responsible for the spread of LSD during the 1960s hippie movement, thanks to his famed Acid Tests. This record is a live-in-studio recording that was “intended to recreate the live acid test shows for listeners.” It originally got a very limited release in 1966 (less than 500 copies), but now it’s getting a reissue of 2000 copies for Record Store Day 2017. Fun fact: the Grateful Dead were in attendance for this recording.
Luna’s near-perfect third album gets a deluxe reissue, with a new vinyl master (created by Scott Hull at Masterdisk) plus a second disc of early mixes by Mario Salvati, including an extended version of “23 Minutes in Brussels” and an early recording of “Traci I Luv You.”
Nothing you haven’t heard before, but a very cool item for collectors and big fans. This box set collects the Ramones’ 7″ singles from their best era as a band, and it puts them in a cigarette-style box.
What better way to enhance your collection of merch from the “Children’s Story” rapper than with something that actually resembles a children’s book? This book has Rick’s lyrics “re-created in visual form in a 16 page book with a puffy cover – presented like a legit children’s book, thick pages and all.”
The Smiths remain broken up but there’s an official new 7″ coming out featuring a demo version of “The Boy With the Thorn in His Side” on the A-side, and a “previously unissued” version of “Rubber Ring” on the flip. (“Rubber Ring” was, along with “Asleep,” the b-side to the original “The Boy with the Thorn in His Side” 12″.) Cover art features onetime actual Salford lad Albert Finney.
Welsh indie heroes Super Furry Animals’ great debut album found them at their most anarchic (that’s Welsh-born drug smuggler Howard Marks on the cover), with classics like “God! Show Me Magic” “Hometown Unicorn” and “Something for the Weekend.” Fuzzy Logic barely came out on CD in America at the time, let alone on vinyl.
Way before Tegan and Sara became pop heartthrobs, they self-released an album heavy on acoustic guitar under the name Sara and Tegan. This is the first time it’s being released on vinyl, and a must to complete your collection of the twins’ discography.
Matt Johnson has officially dusted off his The The moniker for his first new music in over 15 years. New single “You Can’t Stop What’s Coming” will be released for Record Store Day in the UK as a one-sided 7″ single with an etching on the flip. The record features many past The The members including Johnny Marr, bassist James Eller and drummer (and onetime Orange Juice member) Zeke Manyika. This is a Record Store Day UK release, but we’re hoping some US stores manage to snag one. And if not, there’s a new LP on the way.
U-Roy was one of the first “toasters,” Jamaican DJs who chanted along with the records they were playing, and he was also one of the first to become famous for it. Released in 1975, Dread in a Babylon was U-Roy’s breakout release and still sounds vital some 40 years later. Also: the album art is pretty awesome.
The War On Drugs’ first album for Atlantic (and followup to 2014’s great Lost In The Dream) is on the way, but first we’re getting this 12″ single. You can hear the song here, but you’ll have to hit a record store if you want TWOD’s first Atlantic Records release in your hands. The record has part one of the song on side A and part two of the song on side B.
Scared to Get Happy was a 5-disc CD box set, that tracked indiepop from its roots in early-’80s UK labels Postcard, Cherry Red, Whaam!, Fast Product, through the heyday of C-86 and early Creation Records, Sarah and the beginnings of Madchester and shoegaze. Now out of print, this double-LP distills the box set’s 134 tracks to to 28 essentials.
Whatever the Numero Group is putting out for Record Store Day is usually worth buying, and this compilation of extremely rare soul singles all from ’60s-era San Antonio, TX is sure to be fascinating.
This tribute to 13th Floor Elevators frontman Roky Erickson came out in 1990 and was a college radio hit, featuring terrific covers by Primal Scream (“Slip Inside This House” would be reused for Screamadelica), The Jesus & Mary Chain, Julian Cope, REM, ZZ Top and more. This will be the first-ever vinyl release.
