Record Store Day "RSD" April 2018 Releases*

At the moment Discogs is full with new RSD releases and many at retail price or only marginally more. Need to get one or two items from the USA myself but that's RSD!

 

The Curved Air picture disc is unsurprisingly not great. Mine skips for the first 30 seconds or so on the first side, then there's light crackle throughout. I wonder if the skip at the beginning is a defect, or if my copy was damaged somewhere along the way? It's hard to tell by looking at it. I really hope this new mastering gets a normal pressing on black vinyl someday, as I think it would sound pretty fantastic.

David Axelrod is very fine, AAA if the hype sticker is to be believed. You can hear the tape hiss.

Monterey Pop is also very good, although mine had a couple bits of noise that I hope will be removed after a cleaning. Most noticeable during Mama Cass' spoken intro to "California Dreamin'." I also wish they had added one more song per side; each one is around 12-14 minutes long and the dead wax is huge. The package is cool.

That's all I've listened to so far; a lot more to get through in the coming days.

 

Whiffed on both Grant Green titles today, but just bought them on Ebay from a reputable seller, for only a few dollars (each) over the retail price.

I'm happy.

 

Round up of the titles I've listened to so far:

Neil Young - Roxy: Tonight's the Night - A great set, sounding magnificent. Less intense than the album (which is one of my favourite of Young's), with Young kidding around between songs, but that just gives a slightly different perspective on classic material.

V/A - Independent Venue Week Live 2018 - Hit and miss live grab bag which I picked up mainly for the Gaz Coombes track (a moody 'The Oaks'), but there are a couple of other acts among the relatively unknown remainder that I'll keep an eye out for (Horsey and Nadine Shah). Good pressing.

Tim Burgess - As I Was Now - 'Lost' sessions from 2008, this is actually a really great album, possibly his best The highlight is the glorious pop of 'Another Version of the Truth', which would later be reworked as The Charlatans' 'Who We Touch Don't Mind'. Lots of clicks to deal with on side one, but otherwise this was a decent pressing.

Where the Good Times Are - Beverley - Collection of her pre-John Martyn recordings, and a reminder of what a great songwriter she was in her own right. Includes her Deram singles and fascinating early versions of songs radically reworked for Stormbringer!, with an especially winning 'Can't Get the One I Want' as uptempo psych-pop. Flawless pressing, sounded great.

Sneaky Feelings - Living Up to Their Name: Live at the Gluepot - Soundboard recording of a 1987 gig. I remember them being an inconsistent band live, but this was a good night. Charmingly artisanal sleeve and a band patch of no use to anybody! Album comes with a download of six additional tracks.

Sigur Ros - Liminal Remixes - I'm not a huge fan of the band (have a few of their albums and a couple of EPs) but I took a punt on their four RSD releases. This was a pleasant quasi-ambient experience. No tracklist for any of these albums, but there's a makeshift one available on Discogs.

Sigur Ros - Route One - Album-length track extracted from a 24-hour piece. I really liked this: cool ambience with interesting mood shifts throughout.

Cheikh NDiguel Lo - Ne La Thiass - Bought because somebody here said it was good, and boy, were they right! A sensational album, with a great diversity of style and mood, superb arrangements and excellent production.

Brian Eno with Kevin Shields - The Weight of History / Only Once Away My Son - Fascinating collaboration. Good pressing, though there's lots of distortion in the music.

Miles Davis - Rubberband EP - The song they made out of this, 'Rubberband of Life', is horrible, but the instrumental version on the B-side is okay and the original Miles track is good, if not great (but I'm not much of a fan of his post-hiatus work).

David Bowie - Let's Dance - Bought out of morbid curiosity, because I've never liked this song. The demo is more interesting than the finished version, but it runs way too long, and the live flip is mediocre.

Le Pacha OST - Picked up for the previously unreleased instrumental version of 'Requiem pour un con', which is exactly what I expected, but the whole album is terrific: exotic, dissonant, psychedelic.

Uncle Tupelo - No Depression Demos - Picked up on a whim because this is a band I feel I should know more about. Some fine songs on here (especially the R.E.M.-ish opener 'Outdone'), so I might put them on my mental Bargain Bin list.

Linda Perhacs - I'm a Harmony - Great dreamy pop-folk album, bought because of recommendations here. Vinyl has four bonus tracks. Pressing has a few problems (second disc dished but plays okay, lots of noise on one of the tracks on side four, sound like somebody walking through snow at the end of side two!).

Sun Ra - The Cymbals / Symbols Sessions (CD) - I've only listened to the first disc of this so far, and it's great stuff. Possibly the best of the many Sun Ra RSD releases I've picked up over the past several years.

Marvin Pontiac - Greatest Hits - Just started listening to this and I love it! Didn't realise this was John Lurie until somebody pointed it out here, so I went back out to pick it up today.

Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison - Haven't listened to all of this yet, but I can let people know that the download promised on the box is not of the box set, but of some other edition of the album (35 tracks, divided into two live sets, neither of which match the sets as they appear on the box).

SINGLES

Buffalo Springfield - Live at Monterey 1967 - Yeah, it's a bootleg, and I already had three out of four of these tracks on an old Monterey Pop bootleg CD set.

Fleet Foxes - Crack-Up - Not a big fan of the band, but I like a few of their songs. Both sides of this are okay.

Led Zeppelin - Rock and Roll - Two not-very-exciting mix variants of old warhorses for completists.

Elvis Costello - Someone Else's Heart - Another one for completists. Costello makes a decent fist of the Squeeze song, but I'd rather hear new self-penned material!

Robyn Hitchcock & His LA Squires - Fun mini-live set, with a jokey new song, a passable version of 'If I Were a Priest' and a great 'Insanely Jealous'

Kevin Morby & Waxahatchee - Farewell Transmission - Two very good Magnolia Electric Co. covers. Neither of them are a patch on the originals, but nothing else I bought on RSD was either!

 

Yes all shows will be released in this format.

 

I wonder why every copy I've ever seen is literally trashed and stores still want around $15-$20 for it?

 

If you didn’t nab the title you wanted, go ASAP to 1234 Go Records. There’s 275 titles for sale at msrp with fairly priced shipping. 1234 GO:
RECORD STORE DAY 2018 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

 

I agree. Great sound on it

 

My RSD 2018, all bought online today at retail or close enough to retail that I feel good about it.

Bunk Johnson - Rare & Unissued
Chris Robinson Brotherhood - Raven's Reels
Grant Green - Slick!
Grant Green - Funk in France
Grateful Dead - Fillmore West 2/27/69

I've waited in line in years past, but I'm just not a people person. There are downsides to my method (seam-splits, difficult returns, no instant satisfaction) but I've made my peace with it. Enjoyed living vicariously through the rest of you today; thanks to everyone that posted their stories.

 

I was early in line at one of the most well-stocked Dutch record stores (Sounds in Venlo, Netherlands) and even they didn't have this Gov't Mule 12" RSD release.
It was the only item i didn't score (also after visiting another store in another city) so it was a bit of a bummer. But i went home happy with the stuff i did get (and with the help of summer weather and a bunch of German and Belgian brewskies). Last night i found out Amazon.uk marketplace dealers had it in stock at a reasonable price RSD wise: GBP 14.50. Bought it. My RSD quest is over with a 100% score (although i was thinking about the Jimi Hendrix "Mannish Boy" single and Bobby Gentry Live at the BBC, but i persevered and stayed within my budget ha-ha).

So give it a try at Amazon UK or USA!

 

I'd like the Gary Stewart Motown single but can only find it being sold by mercenary gits on ebay for >£50.

 

The Piper Mono plays great!

 

Nice list.
Whats the Steven Wilson like?

 

Let us know how the Rascals sounds - thanks!

 

is it good?

 

Yes, the plan is to release the whole lot, so there’ll be a RSD release every year for the next few years. I can’t remember where I read it - either the official RSD website or dead.net.

 

How is the Eno Shields 12"?

 

Thanks - I just checked the original price and it has shot up, so a reissue is a good idea. Great album - and I remember seeing them on the Can't be Sure tour - brilliant.

 

Is it an exact replica of the handmade CD set, with regards to track listing?

 

Did anyone pick up Uriah Heep-Look at yourself? Would be interesting to hear about SQ of this one.

 

Ref. The Johnny Cash Box set is yours numbered?
Can’t find a number anywhere on mine and the “ booklets is a big disappointment, it took a while to work out that disc 5 was the extra stuff as I had understood it would be a 10” single.
All in all these things need to be advertised correctly

 

Oh man, that Gun Club I would _______ for. Nice.

 

Total haul —
Bert Jansch: A Rare Conundrum; LA Turnaround (He’s the best at meddling traditional British folk and contemporary folk)
Pink Floyd: Piper (The best Floyd, the Syd Floyd)
AF: AF EP (Best indie EP ever?)
De Johnette ...: Hudson (One of the jammiest amalgamations of jazz, rock, bluegrass— impeccable musicianship, production, and vinyl pressing)
Grant Green: Live at Oil Can (Great live album from one of jazz’s legendary guitarists)
The Open Mind: The Open Mind (A masterclass in UK late 60s psych)

Would still like to get the Perhacs and possibly the Grateful Dead releases.

 

The alternate vinyl sounds very, very good. But the Kevin Gray is superior to me. The detail, especially in the acoustic guitars is so much better. Fine example why AAA still rules!

 

You tv needs hanging straight...