Twas the month before Christmas
And all through the shops
The vinyl was spinning,
The needles were dropped.
The crush at the doors causes such a clatter
As everyone scurries for their favorite platter.
No CDs for this crew, it’s LPs or bust
A limited edition spurs feelings of lust.
This year’s bounty means sacks are all full,
With records once treasured and a new one from Tull.
We’ll hear from Jimi and Otis and ol’ Mister Pop,
The vaults keep giving, that never stops.
Now Universal, Now Rhino! Now Sony’s Legacy,
On Cars! On Monkees, on Big Star and Motley C!
To the endcaps! To the racks! To the rest of the store!
With armfuls of records, music to adore.
So check the list,
Review it once or twice,
Record Store Day’s for everyone
Whether naughty or nice.
Here's a rundown of highlights for Record Store Day's Black Friday this week. Among Sony Legacy’s offerings are: Run-D.M.C.’s “Christmas In Hollis”/”Peter Piper” 12-inch picture disc; Alice In Chains' Live Facelift; Bob Dylan’s double-album The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert; Jimi Hendrix’s Morning Symphony Ideas 10-inch LP.
The Rolling Stones will release a one track limited edition electric blue 10-inch featuring Eddie Taylor’s “Ride ‘Em On Down.” The Interscope release is limited to 3,000 copies.
Rhino has a series of limited editions: Blue Man Group’s Three (1,200 copies); Foreigner’s 10-inch The Flame Still Burns (3,250 copies); Jethro Tull’s 7-inch “Ring Out, Solstice Bells” (2,000 copies); Ramones’ Live at the Roxy, Hollywood, CA (8/12/76) (9,500 copies); an expanded edition of The Afghan Whigs’ Black Love (3-LP, 5,000 copies; 2-CD, 4,500 copies); The Cars’ picture disc of “Just What I Needed” (4,000 copies); The Monkees’ 10-inch Good Times! Plus! (4,500 copies); and a split 7-inch of The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper's Delight” and Chic’s “Good Times” (3,500 copies).
To whet the appetite of Frank Zappa fans awaiting the 12/9 release of five early Zappa and the Mothers of Invention LPs, UMe/Zappa will release a 7-inch of "How Could I Be Such A Fool?" b/w "Help, I'm A Rock 3rd Movement: It Can't Happen Here."
The five-track bonus CD of Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger (UMe/A&M) is being released as an EP Satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas (aka SOMMS); it’s limited to 3,000 copies.
Several labels are going with live albums. Republic’s James Bay is releasing a nine-track live album, Chaos and the Calm Live, recorded at London's Hammersmith Apollo in March. Concord’s Stax has a two-LP version of the six-CD set Otis Redding: Live At The Whisky A Go Go: The Complete Recordings. EMI Nashville is issuing a 10-inch EPfrom Eric Church, On The Rocks—Live and (Mostly) Unplugged.
Real Gone Music has two live albums: Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Got a Mind to Give Up Living—Live 1966 and a 1978 live LP from Todd Rundgren & Utopia, Live at the Old Waldorf. Modern Harmonic is releasing a triple LP of a 4/20/1991 show by the Sun Ra Arkestra at the Inter-Media Arts Center in New York.
Caroline, meanwhile, has a solo acoustic version of James Vincent McMorrow's forthcoming third album We Move. Butch Walker’s contribution is the vinyl-only Cassette Backs.
Omnivore continues its Alex Chilton reissues with Big Star Complete Third Vol. 1: Demos to Sessions to Roughs.
From the film side, Walt Disney Records is releasing Shag Kava’s 10” Star Wars Headspace track “Jabba Flow” and "The Mickey Mouse Club Theme" on a picture discs, and Light In The Attic’s Cinewax has Jerry Goldsmith’s score to Chinatown.
And the land of limited edition singles finds Third Man Records issuing the 7-inch of The Raconteurs "Steady As She Goes" b/w "Store Bought Bones" and Yusuf/Cat Stevens "I Love My Dog" b/w "Matthew And Son."
Also being released are LPs from The Bangles, Iggy & the Stooges, Iron Maiden, The Turtles, James Brown’s Funky People, Muddy Waters and others. The Kinks, Conor Oberst, Mike Watt and The Fleshtones are among the acts you’ll find in the 7-inch bins.
Click here for a list of participating stores and here for a list of titles. Most of us at HITS would love to score that Sun Ra album pictured to the right, but we'll be lucky if we can scrape up bus fare to get to Amoeba.
