Soundgarden - A-Sides Reissue (Vinyl)

According to a post by photographer Kevin Westenberg on Instagram (Instagram post by KW • Jan 29, 2018 at 8:10am UTC ), Soundgarden's A-Sides compilation is due to be issued on vinyl sometime in the near future. Hoping for some unreleased material to go along with it, but that's doubtful.

"SOUNDGARDEN are currently in the process of releasing the first material since Chris’s untimely passing. Turns out that the initial greatest hits collection, ‘A-Sides’ was never released on vinyl. Now that vinyl is “back”, this album on vinyl will soon be re-released. Of course this makes perfect sense especially for sound quality. Release date TBC. Sourcing new unseen photos and refining the older photos in the original package is now under way with various images being looked at for inclusion. I went through a period 20-25 years ago where I felt that with certain artists, a black background was the purest form of expression. In my mind it was also representative of the anti-white background. This represented the opposite of commerciality, which also allowed visual focus on the artists face, expression and enhanced the dark mood of the era. The void and black space always meant more to me in my earlier works, than the parts of the photo one could see. If there was ever a subject that would fit this prerequisite, it was Soundgarden and my vision of what Soundgarden was for me as a band. This set up was also part of the 18 hour marathon shoot at the Ok Hotel for the DOWN ON THE UPSIDE campaign."

 

This is something I'll be looking forward to...

 

Confirmed for RSD with a full release to follow:
@soundgarden on Instagram: “Soundgarden is releasing 'A-Sides' on vinyl for the first time ever for Record Store Day! More details at www.recordstoreday.com #RSD18”

RSD '18 Special Release: Soundgarden - A-Sides

 

Want

 

I’m disappointed that there’s only going to be 5000 pressed. Has the retail price for it been released? I’m guessing around $40 if people on eBay are already selling it for $60.

Is there a chance it will be released again down the road?

 

It's an "RSD First" release so will be widely available in the near future.

 

Bull Moose has it listed for $34.97.

 

I hope so. Aren’t some releases though more exclusive, and not re-released?

I just don’t get why it’s such a limited pressing. I would figure there wouldn’t even be enough produced so that each store participating would receive one.

 

That isn’t an unreasonable retail price. I can’t see paying $60 for it though. I would trade my extra copy of Live On I-5 for it however.

 

Yes, those that do not fall under the RSD First category are exclusive to RSD. This release is not exclusive.

Kinda the whole point of RSD. Manufactured rarity to encourage you to patronize your local independent record store, rather than just ordering from Amazon or something.

 

I feel like when the pressing is limited, it attracts scalpers. The scalper probably makes more of a profit than the record store.

 

Yeah, that's definitely a side effect

 

I still haven't seen any signs of a re-release of the Poncier EP that was released as an "RSD first" last November.

 

That's a good point. You know, I was almost positive that wasn't an "RSD First" release since I hadn't heard of it being one before but I just went on the RSD site now and see it listed as it - RSDBF '17 Special Release: Poncier - Poncier

 

I can kind of understand if Poncier doesn’t get re-released. It’s not going to appeal to the masses.

I wouldn’t mind buying one (or all three) of Poncier, but I wouldn’t fight people for it on RSD, nor would I pay scalper prices. If it’s repressed and is around $10, I feel like it’s worth getting.

A-Sides, on the other hand is a greatest hits by a pretty significant band. I would think that sales would be pretty good if it got a proper release. As long as it’s a good pressing.

Another thing I don’t like about RSD is that people are forced to buy records without getting any input on if it’s a good pressing. I feel like that’s more for record collectors who keep all of their records sealed and never listen to them, and not music enthusiasts.

 

It completely contradicts the purpose of RSD. It’s supposed to be fans of music buying from a local store. Instead it turns into random people buying them up and selling them on eBay. It wouldn’t surprise me if some stores just bypassed their local clientele and sold their RSD records on eBay from the start. Why shouldn’t the record stores sell them for more online instead of the scalpers? From what I’ve been told record stores only make about 10% profit on new record sales.

 

Stores caught selling RSD items on or before the day risk being banned from participating in the event.

Stores generally make more than 10% depending on their cost and how much they mark it up. 30-40% is more likely.

 

It still listed on the RSD site as a RSD First title. Those classifications are always weird and can change. I recall a few years ago when that big LCD Soundsystem box came out on RSD, it was listed as an RSD First thing. Then they never pressed more.

Poncier is a weird one to not be an exclusive. I don't see the demand for that one being so high as to require a repress and you can still find it online for a decent price if you search around - so maybe they scrapped the second press.

 

An update on this - it's actually pressed on green vinyl. I don't remember seeing that mentioned anywhere before.

 

This was the one RSD record I wanted I was able to lay my hands on today. Mine is green vinyl with some black marble mixed in. And I only had time to listen to one side of one record, but what I heard sounded fantastic. I can’t wait to let this one rip.

 

Do we know who cut the RSD version and where it was pressed?

 

Would like to know as well. I missed this at RSD so I had to pay about $15 more on discogs. Hoping it's worth the extra effort. I'd hate to find out it's a bad pressing on such a wonderful album

 

And how does it sound?