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Record Store Day 2017 for Guitarists: Our Shopping List

The thought of waiting in a long line to buy recorded music in 2017 seems downright quaint. But tomorrow thousands will do just that for the annual tradition known as Record Store Day. Independent music stores around the country will have hundreds of exclusive Record Store Day releases, including expanded reissues, short run vinyl singles of classics and oddball cuts you never even knew existed. It’s a celebration of sorts for those of us who still spin vinyl, go to live shows and want to support what’s left of the music industry. With that in mind, we scoured the list of RSD exclusives to see what we guitar lovers are hoping to buy, crowds-willing. Here’s our shopping list:

Various Artists, Guitars of the Golden Triangle: Folk and Pop Music from Myanmar (Burma) Vol. 2

In the ‘70s and ‘80s, Burma (yes, Burma) had its own unique garage rock, folk, blues and country scene. This double-LP compiles some of the best (and weirdest) and features plenty of wild guitar sounds.

Wes Montgomery,  Smokin’ in Seattle: Live at the Penthouse

We’re biased on this one… a 1966 live session with Wes Montgomery performing in our hometown of Seattle? Sign us up! That aside, this album sounds incredibly promising. It features previously unreleased live sets with Montgomery and pianist Wynton Kelly and his trio, with Jimmy Cobb on drums. This album will be out next month as a digital release, but the vinyl version is a RSD exclusive, limited to 1500 copies.

Bob Seger System, 2+2=?

If you haven’t heard Seger’s “2+2” before, this is about as far as you can get from “Night Moves” and his later fare. This was Seger’s first single on Capitol, a fuzz-filled anti-war protest song that he recorded back in 1968. Jack White has often sung the praises of this tune (and echoes of it can easily be heard in much of his White Stripes and post-Stripes output) so it makes sense that his Third Man label is remastering it and re-releasing it on yellow vinyl.

Various Artists, Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye

Speaking of psych-rock classics, in 1990 Bill Bentley produced this tribute anthology to help the 13th Floor Elevators’ frontman Roky Erickson out. It features tracks from ZZ Top, John Wesley Harding, Poi Dog Pondering, Primal Scream, R.E.M. and Doug Sahm all covering Erickson’s best… Like a lot of great tribute albums from that era, it’s been out-of-print for years (copies still float around on Amazon and used markets), but it’s coming back on vinyl for RSD.

David Crosby and the Lighthouse Band

David Crosby’s solo output for the last few years has been nothing short of remarkable. From collaborations with Snarky Puppy to solo shows and more (we’re just glad he found the time to perform at the first Fretboard Summit back in 2015). This release features four songs (including “Guinnevere”) that he recorded on NPR’s World Café, backed by Michael League (Snarky Puppy), Becca Stevens and Michelle Willis.

Jimi Hendrix/Curtis Knight, Live at George’s Club 20, 1965 & 1966

Before moving to the England and transforming the world as we know it, Jimi Hendrix (then Jimmy James) played guitar for Curtis Knight’s band the Lovelights. These recordings show him blossoming as a solo player and finding his voice as they perform tunes by Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters and others. A rare early glimpse at guitar greatness.

Link Wray, Beans and Fatback

Those accustomed to Link Wray’s heavier electric guitar sounds will be surprised to hear some of the rootsy and swampy sounds he pulled off on Beans and Fatback. Each track you’re left guessing what exactly is going on instrument wise, there’s dobro, mandolin, some jews’s harp and crazy mic placements. Weird and fun and finally reissued in its entirety.

 

 

Jerry Cole, The Astro-Sound From Beyond the Year 2000

In 1969, the Wrecking Crew’s Jerry Cole and select studio musicians created this wonderfully futuristic album of instrumentals that went from swinging jazz to otherworldly rock sounds. It’s wild, totally unique and fun.

Pink Floyd, Interstellar Overdrive

It’s not an album, it’s not a 7″ single, it’s a 33 1/3 LP featuring a previously unheard 15-minute version of “Interstellar Overdrive” from 1966, on 12″ vinyl. We’re guessing this is Syd Barrett at his finest and a great way to alter your mind or at the very least scare the neighbors.

Dolly Parton, “Puppy Love”

When she was 13, Dolly Parton boarded a bus with her grandmother for a 30 hour (!) ride to to Lake Charles, Louisiana to record “Puppy Love,” a song she had written a couple years earlier. It’s upbeat, fun and is coming out on RSD as a limited edition 45 with packaging mimicking the original 1959 single.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Welcome to 1979

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit recorded six songs straight to acetate, including two Stones’ tracks (“Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” and “Sway), John Prine’s “Storm Windows” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City.”

See all the 2017 Record Store Day releases here.