Record Store Day 2014 is here (April 19) and this year loads of new releases specifically crafted for the day.
This seventh annual event marks when independent and specialty music stores open their doors and drop these limited, rare and inspired releases, on vinyl, CD and a bevy of other formats. It helps bolster sales for these smaller shops, as well as raise awareness of new and lasting artists.
Below, HitFix editors pondered the question, “If you had $50 just to spend on 2014 Record Store Day purchases, what would you pick up?”
Granted, some sets would be more than $50, some are hard to find… just as some are worth searching for and paying top dollar for, to collectors. So just play along. Read more about RSD here.
HitFix's Melinda Newman
The Pogues, “Live with Joe Strummer,” 12”
Yep, you read that right. In 1991, troubled Pogues leader Shane MacGowan took a hiatus and The Clash”s Joe Strummer took his place for this London Forum show. The concert is in included in the import, “Pogues 30” box set, but this is its first and only release on vinyl in the U.S. (on red vinyl, no less).
Lake Street Dive, “What I”m Doing Here” b/w “Wedding Band,” 7”
The band”s Rachael Price recorded this previously unreleased tune (and its B side), “What I”m Doing Here,” in one take and there”s a video to prove it. Her low, smoky tone fits the questioning, bluesy ballad to perfection.
If I have any money left: Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, “Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth,” 12”
The 12-inch limited edition, numbered vinyl re-issue of the Blackhearts” debut comes in pretty pink vinyl and includes the Blackhearts” remake of Jett”s previous band, The Runaways” tune, “Cherry Bomb.”
HitFix's Dave Lewis
Dinosaur Jr. – “Visitors” 7″ box set
Those tireless archivists at Numero Group have compiled the legendary trio's first four singles on SST and Homestead into a handsome 7″ box set including a fancy book. In addition to such college rock standards as “Little Fury Things” and “Freak Scene,” you'll hear Dino's beloved cover of The Cure's “Just Like Heaven” and a rarely-heard take on The Byrds' “I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better.”
If I have any money left over: Hank Williams – “The Garden Spot Programs, 1950”
The music legend recorded a relatively small body of work, so anytime some “lost” music is re-discovered is time for celebration. The 24-song radio session originally aired on country stations in 1950, and the tapes were long thought lost, until a small station in Creston, Iowa recently discovered a copy in their vaults.
HitFix's Katie Hasty
Big Mama Thornton, “Sassy Mama!” on LP
This live album from 1975 live LP promises an “exact replica” of the original artwork, which is Ms. Mama in panorama of portraits. With the way she sings on this blues epic, you can imagine her in every which pose.
The Notorious B.I.G, “Life After Death” 3xLP
Reissued clear vinyl of Biggie's 1997 ground-shaker — his last studio effort — which has gone long without the vinyl treatment. A bevy of producers, a huge crop of guests, and a large legacy left behind, “Life After Death” truly deserved this resurrection.
If I have any money left over: Parquet Courts, “Sunbathing Animal” b/w “Pilgrims to Nowhere” 7″
Creative, loud, flexible, irresistable.
HitFix's Whitney Phaneuf
Gil Scott-Heron, “Nothing New,” 12″
We lost the visionary soul musician, poet and rap progenitor Gil Scott-Heron too young when he died in 2011, but his work lives on largely thanks to XL Recordings” owner Richard Russell. Using the sessions that yielded the 2010 album, “I”m New Here,” XL has collected stripped-down versions of Scott-Heron”s best-loved tracks with Russell”s personal notes on the vinyl-only release “Nothing New.”
Devo, “Devo: Live at Max's Kansas City” 11/15/77 LP
Devo”s appearance at Max”s Kansas City in November 1977 put the Ohio band on the map. Even David Bowie was there to witness the art rock weirdos” New York City debut, calling them “The band of the future!” Now – for the first time – we can hear the groundbreaking performance in its entirety on “Devo: Live at Max's Kansas City,” complete with Bowie”s unearthed audio.
If I have any money left over: Ronnie Spector & The E Street Band”s “Say Goodbye to Hollywood”/”Baby Please Don”t Go” 7”
A 1977 recording of two songs featuring the Ronettes” singer with Springsteen”s band.