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25 Record Store Day 2018 exclusive releases we'd actually like to own

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Record Store Day is Saturday (4/21) and the list of exclusive titles available this year can be overwhelming to pour through, even for record collector nerds. There’s a lot of chaff amongst the sonic wheat but here are 25 (technically a few more that that) RSD18 titles that we’ll be on the lookout for on Saturday. (Our list is in alphabetical order.) What records are you looking for?

If you’re not so much a collector, there’s always free in-store performances, swag, and beer.

Arcade Fire
EP

Before Arcade Fire released their 2004 LP debut, the modern classic Funeral, they put out a self-titled EP in 2003, and it’s being released on vinyl for the first time this year for Record Store Day. An early version of “No Cars Go” and final track “Vampire/Forest Fire” are highlights here, and the whole EP is full of hints of the band Arcade Fire would grow to become. [Amanda Hatfield]

Courtney Barnett is releasing a new album, Tell Me How You Feel Feel, in May, and all the songs we’ve heard from it sound great so far. City Looks Pretty/Sunday Roast is an early look at two songs off Courtney’s upcoming album, while The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas collects her 2012 and 2013 EPs on an LP picture disc, and includes a Mom + Pop 10 year poster and temporary tattoo. [AH]

The Beau Brummels

The Brummies’ country folk treasure (with an added disc of demos), here given that special treatment by the great new vote-for-what-you-want, limited-release label Run Out Groove. They also have the Baby Huey Story deluxe vinyl I’m gunning for as well. [PSquared]

Car Seat Headrest

Earlier this year, Will Toledo released a rerecorded version of his 2011 Car Seat Headrest album Twin Fantasy, a digital release that had been downloaded from Bandcamp over 30,000 times. This marks the first time the original Bandcamp version has been pressed to vinyl. [Bill Pearis]

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Celtic Frost

The legendary and highly influential Celtic Frost helped change the shape of extreme metal forever with their first few albums and EPs, and the last of their raw, proto-black/death sound was the 1986 EP Tragic Serenades. (They would go in a different direction for 1987’s Into the Pandemonium.) That classic EP has been out of print on vinyl for over three decades, but it’s back for Record Store Day. This is also the first official release on picture disc in North America. [Andrew Sacher]

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Circle Jerks
Gig

Punk vets Circle Jerks initially broke up in 1990, and two years later they released Gig, a live album recorded during what was then their final tour. It was never released on vinyl in the US… until now. [AS]

The Cure

Released at the height of “Madchester” mania, The Cure’s 1990 remix album Mixed Up is a bit of a curio, but some of the remixes are great (like the shuffle-beat rework of “Close to Me”) and the new song, “Never Enough,” a fine follow-up to Disintegration‘s many hits. Weirdly this was never released on vinyl (apart from, according to Discogs, in Zimbabwe?), which has now finally been rectified. [BP]

Descendents

Descendents returned in 2016 with Hypercaffium Spazzinate, which was their first album in 12 years and ripped just as hard as their classic material. They followed it the next year with the digital protest single “Who We Are,” which was just as spirited as the Hypercaffium Spazzinate, and now that song is getting its first physical release with two previously unreleased tracks. [AS]

A triple LP and double LP of unreleased live recordings by the jazzy funky guitar legend Grant Green. Brought to you by the good folks at Resonance Records who have struck home runs on basically everything (the past 2 RSD were Bill Evans recordings) they have released so far. [PSQ]

Bert Jansch

The English folkie came to America, hooked up with Mike Nesmith of the Monkees as well as others and made an absolutely beautiful country folk rock record (and 2 other LP’s as well). [PSQ]

Pink Floyd

The 2017 Floyd vinyl catalog remasters done by Mastering Maestro Bernie Grundman so far have been spectacular. Can’t wait to hear what he does with the 1-2 mono punch of the first album. 6000 copies but it’s gonna go bye bye quick so grab it or maybe try to get an original. Good luck, the most recent mint copy listed for $1200. [PSQ

Plush
Fed

Liam Hayes’ orchestral pop (and whatever else you wanna call it) masterpiece has never been released on vinyl but now gets the royal treatment it deserves: a double LP cut at 45rpm for optimum clarity. [PSQ]

Quicksand

After returning in 2017 with Interiors, their first album in 22 years, post-hardcore greats Quicksand are already releasing three more new songs. We haven’t heard them, but going by Interiors, we’re very excited. All three songs are on the A-side of this 12″ EP, and there’s an etching on the B-side. [AS]

The Regrettes/The Distillers

One of the long-running Record Store Day traditions is the Side By Side split, which features a cover version of a song alongside the original. This one is especially exciting — we compared The Regrettes to The Distillers the first time we wrote about them back in 2016, and since then, The Distillers reunited! Now we get to hear them side by side. [AS]

One of the most influential (and fun) martial arts movies of all time, Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon also boasts a groovy, funky score by soundtrack master Lalo Schfrin that is equally influential, having been sampled by Dr. Dre, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes and more. This repress is on a a very cool picture disc — who wouldn’t want Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly and John Saxon spinning on their turntable? [BP]

Pete Kember aka Sonic Boom’s second album with his post-Spacemen 3 group Spectrum is more trancey goodness. Out of print for years, this is the first reissue in any format since its first issue. Good luck picking this one up, though, as they only pressed 300 copies. [BP]

Sun Ra

Sun Ra released a few albums in the ’70s on the Impulse label instead of his own Saturn records. This is one of the best and it’s being reissued in its proper form for the first time (there are also three other Sun Ra releases this RSD). [PSQ]

Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens was nominated for a Best Original Song Oscar for his Call Me By Your Name track “Mystery of Love.” He lost to “Remember Me” from Coco, but the song’s first vinyl pressing, along with another “Visions of Gideon,” also from Call Me By Your Name, and a Doveman remix of “Futile Devices” is a must have for fans of Sufjan or the film. [AH]

The Sundays’ shimmering 1990 debut picked up where The Smiths left off, at least musically, but with Harriet Wheeler’s beguiling vocals leading the way and featuring such rainy day classics as “Here’s Where the Story Ends” and “Can’t Be Sure.” This is the first vinyl pressing since its initial release. [BP]

Television Personalities

After years of being poster boys for UK DIY indie, The Television Personalities toyed with bigger budgets and proper studios in the late ’80s and early-’90s to great effect. Both of these records are loaded with some of Dan Treacy’s most memorable songs. Privilege also boasts hilarious liner notes. [BP]

Newport Folk Festival is renowned as a festival where special, once in a lifetime sets and collaborations take place. The 2017 edition was no exception: it included Speak Out, an ensemble performance of protest music from Sharon Van Etten, Jim James, Margo Price, Lucius, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Shakey Graves, members of The Decemberists, and more. Those performances are collected in 8 tracks on this LP. [AH]

Yung Wu

A Feelies album by any other name, Yung Wu put invaluable percussionist Dave Weckerman in the spotlight with this winning, gentle batch of songs and a few interesting covers (Eno, the Stones). First time on vinyl in 31 years. [BP]

Blast off, a heretofore unreleased live show from their heyday on the Youth of America tour and mixed from the original tapes by main man Wiper Greg Sage. Yes please, thank you. [PSQ]

This 7″ box set features Wire’s six singles that were originally released on the Harvest label, one released on Rough Trade (1981’s terrific non-LP single “Our Swimmer”), and one single recorded in 1980 that was never released on 7″. There’s also the rare EP that came with initial copies of 154

Wire’s first three album’s are being reissued on vinyl later this year. [BP]

Neil Young – 'Tonight’s The Night: Live at the Roxy' and David Bowie – 'Welcome to the Blackout 1978'

OK so both of these are in huge numbered runs (and the Neil Young will be avail after RSD just without the poster) but they are gonna fly off the shelves (along with the previously mentioned Floyd as well as the Hendrix and Zeppelin 7”s). Whatever, you know you want ’em. [PSQ]

Check out the full list of exclusives and a guide to in-store performances, free beer, and more.