April 21, 2012 is Record Store Day, the annual holiday where indie record stores remind us that, yes, there is still a reason to get away from our computers and purchase some real, non-virtual, music. Analog music, even!
To that end, each year participating stores and record labels unveil some cool vinyl releases that can only be found on Record Store Day. Here are ten RSD-only releases that The Fretboard Journal staff is excited to rush out and buy.
1. Ricky Skaggs & Tony Rice, Skaggs & Rice (Sugarhill). This legendary 1980 album of instrumental perfection returns to vinyl in a limited edition run of just 1,000 copies. For those who’ve worn out their old LPs, here’s your chance to hear this bluegrass gem on the turntable again. Remastered from the original analog tapes.
2. Blues Project, “Parchman Farm” / “Bright Lights, Big City” (Sundazed). The Blues Project existed in its original form for just a couple of years in the mid-‘60s. The group – featuring Danny Kalb on guitar and Al Kooper on keyboards – took the Greenwich Village folk vibe to a whole new level, fusing blues, rock and psychedelic music (which hadn’t been invented yet). The two covers on this 45 rpm single are outtakes from the group’s essential debut album, recorded live at the Café Au Go Go in 1965.
3. The Buck Owens Coloring Book. Yes, you read that right. Tiny label Ominovre Recordings reached out to the Buck Owens estate and procured 2,500 new old stock copies of a 1970 Buck Owens coloring book, a 75 cent keepsake from the Crystal Palace. As if that wasn’t enough, the label is including a flexi-disc (in red, white or blue, natch) inside each book of Owens’ tunes and a mp3 download code.
4. Townes Van Zandt, At My Window (Sugar Hill). Townes’ 1987 album celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and Sugar Hill wisely is putting it back on vinyl for one more time. Included on this reflective album are TVZ favorites such as “Buckskin Stallion Blues” and “The Catfish Song.” One of Townes’ best records and the only studio album he recorded in the 1980s.
5. Buddy Guy, This Is Buddy Guy (Vanguard). This 1968 live recording from Berkeley’s New Orleans House gets remastered onto vinyl, thanks to Vanguard. Granted, this is arguably not Buddy Guy’s finest hour, but it’s still a great chance to hear the blues legend on pristine vinyl, at the height of his prowess. Crank up those solos.
6. Grateful Dead, Dark Star: Europe ’72 Olympia Theatre (Rhino). At over 40 minutes, the Olympia Theater “Dark Star” is one of the longer Dark Star jams that ever took place. It’s also too long to fit on one side of an LP, which is perhaps a good argument for CDs or MP3s. Regardless, Rhino is reissuing this insane jam on 180 gram vinyl, limited to 4,200 copies (I guess only 420 copies would have pissed too many people off).
7. Richard Thompson, “Haul Me Up” (Beewswing). Another one for the jukebox: a 45 featuring two of Richard Thompson’s must-have tunes. The a-side of this picture disc is a live 2011 recording of “Haul Me Up.” The b-side is a live 2008 recording of “1952 Vincent Black Lightning.”
8. Sara Watkins & Fiona Apple, “You’re the One I Love” (Warner Bros). Two of our favorite female vocalists pair up to perform the Everly Brothers’ 1964 single “You’re the One I Love” on green vinyl. No word on if there is even a b-side, but I’ll gladly shell out a few bucks for this anyhow.
9. Lee Hazelwood, The LHI Years: Singles Nudes & Backsides (Light in the Attic). You probably know him as the guy who penned “These Boots Are Made for Walking” but the career of Lee Hazlewood goes so far beyond that. This double-LP (with an R-rated cover) features some of the best recordings the vocalist and producer created for his Lee Hazelwood Industries imprint between 1968-1971. As with everything on Light in the Attic, we imagine that no stone went unturned (you can get a video preview of the set here). Some FJ trivia for you: if you ever find yourself in our Seattle neighborhood, go visit the bar Hazelwood down the street from our offices. It’s named for Lee and we’ve had plenty of great cocktails there.
10. Skip James, Devil Got My Woman (Vanguard). Thanks to Vanguard, we can once again hear Skip James’ 1968 masterpiece the way it was meant to be heard, on vinyl. In addition to the title track, this album features “22-20 Blues,” “Little Cow, Little Calf Blues,” “Careless Love” and more.
Finally, we couldn’t resist mentioning a few ultra-rare RSD releases that are up our alley. FJ favorites Wilco are releasing a Whole Love box set (limited to 300 copies worldwide). In it you get the vinyl version of the album, a limited edition single with “I Might”/”I Love My Label,” a 10” single of “Speak Into The Rose” on red vinyl and a special Wilco 45 record label adapter. I want it. And our friends at Tompkins Square are taking this obscure vinyl thing one step further: they’re putting out a pair of 78s! One platter features previously unreleased recordings from Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars; the other features Ralph Stanley performing “Single Girl” with “Little Birdie” on the flipside. Both 78s are limited to 500 copies a piece.
