Record Store Day, 2022: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Record Store Day celebrates 15 years this April. 

Another 15 year anniversary, one that is not so happy, is the closing of the legendary Slipped Disc Records on Long Island, whose last day of business was on the very first Record Store Day. 

How's that for irony?

I have had a love/hate relationship with RSD from day one. The hate stems from closing my store just two years before RSD came to the rescue. In 2005, people were throwing their vinyl and CDs out in the street for curbside pickup. Then one day, "Look! A red vinyl edition of a live Iron Maiden show for $40! Let's wait in a line for 5 hours!"

The love, of course, is for the records and the music. 

I won't go into too much detail over the good and bad of RSD. Some proprietors love the sudden rush of business, while others hate the whole process. What I have said in the past, is strictly from a consumer point of view. In a perfect world, the records would just be released and everyone would buy what they wanted when they wanted it. But with RSD, it becomes a price-gouging circus, with true fans getting up before dawn, waiting in all types of horrible weather for hours, hoping there favorite record store was allocated with everything on their want list, which most of the time is 20-30% more expensive than your standard release. 

Then of course, there are the eBayers and on line scalpers, who immediately ask for three times the sticker price before RSD officially begins. That is against RSD rules, but the RSD police have never once enforced this.

Record Store Day sounds like fun, doesn't it?!

Well, as I said, there is the music, and so here are some highlights and lowlights, according to yours truly.

 

 

Highlight:

DANA GILLESPIE- FOOLISH SEASONS

This is a smart release, a 1968 cult classic, featuring Jimmy Page on guitar that All Music calls "an exhilarating, slice of eclectic late-'60s Swinging London-tinged pop." This has never been reissued and originals fetch well over $200 if you can find one. 

 

 

Lowlight:

AMERICA- HISTORY (WHITE VINYL)

You can find America's Greatest Hits LP "History" for $2, anywhere. But press it on white vinyl and throw it in a gatefold, and suddenly you are supposed to justify the $35 price tag. A perfect example of what's wrong with RSD.

 

 

Highlight:

ULTRAVOX- LIVE AT THE RAINBOW, 1977

This is one I am very excited about. I have written about the John Foxx version of Ultravox a number of times on these pages and have included their Brian Eno produced debut on my "Other 100" list. Now, their legendary Rainbow performance from 1977, released digitally last year, gets a proper vinyl release. This is appealing because it is the first time on vinyl, and the set list includes three songs that had never been recorded by the band. "Live At The Rainbow" is another smart RSD release.

Lowlight:

Elton John- The Complete Thom Bell Sessions (EP)

No one bought the Thom Bell Sessions when they were first released, does anyone want them now? How about reissuing "Peachtree Road," a late career classic from Elton that has only ever had one issue on vinyl? That pressing fetches over $500! I have to believe there'd be more Elton fans in line for "Peachtree" over that weak E.P.

Highlight:

 

 

PETE TOWNSHEND- FACE THE FACE: DEEP END LIVE

This is the classic Rockpalast broadcast from 1986 featuring a killer band that included David Gilmour on guitar and a really hot set list. First time on vinyl, 2 LP set, limited to 3500. This is a release that makes sense, just for the version of "Won't Get Fooled Again!"

Lowlight:

The Who- It's Hard

An expanded version of The Who's worst record? Really? Maybe if it had less songs...
There is a version of "Eminence Front" with Roger on lead vocal, but who the fuck cares? This is a waste of time, wax and money.

 

Highlight:

PRINCE- THE GOLD EXPERIENCE

Limited to 25000 copies!!! Okay, this will probably be a RSD first release, meaning, it will eventually get a standard issue, but it is still good to see this one back. Having only gotten a promo vinyl release, "The Gold Experience" is arguably the last consistently good Prince record.

Lowlight:

DAVID BOWIE- BRILLIANT ADVENTURE/TOY E.P.S

The Bowie camp is getting out of hand. Having just issued the monster "Brilliant Adventures" box, a 30 pound extravaganza, covering supposedly everything from 1995-2001, they now milk the loyal fans for more, by dangling a few extra tracks that could have easily fit into the boxed set. For shame!!

IN BRIEF:

The Replacements live set, "The Lost KFAI Concert," is the same exact show found in the recent deluxe box of "Sorry Ma..." That box had the show on CD. This is now a vinyl release. Why wasn't it originally put on vinyl for the box? So, they could ripoff fans for RSD. I would have bought that box if it was all vinyl. Now, I will buy nothing! So there.

Sandy Denny's "Gold Dust Live" is a 2 LP documenting her very last live performance.

The Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset" 10" offers nothing new, but that EP had a great track list and with the replica sleeve, it becomes a cool and inexpensive piece.

Nick Lowe "Wireless World" is this:

In true Stiff Records fashion, Jake Riviera (Stiff's founder) and Nick Lowe were looking for any opportunity to mess with music journalists ahead of the release of Nick's debut solo record. Jake and Nick had already learned that the album title, Jesus of Cool, would not be appropriate for the US release on Columbia; stateside it would be known as Pure Pop for Now People. Jake and Nick loved that the album would have two titles because it would lead to confusion. But then they thought "why stop at two titles?" Jake and Nick made it their goal to feed as many conflicting stories as possible to journalists, including giving fake album titles for Nick's debut to interviewers. This resulted in one paper "exclusively revealing" to readers that Nick's solo debut would be titled Wireless World. While Jesus of Cool and Pure Pop for Now People gave Nick his rightful place on the power pop plateau, the whispers of Wireless World faded away as mysteriously as they appeared. Now, for the first time ever, Wireless World is being issued on LP more than 40 years after first being reported. The album combines the tracklisting of Jesus of Cool and Pure Pop for Now People into one studio album.

A1. Music for Money
A2. I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass
A3. Little Hitler
A4. Shake and Pop
A5. Tonight
A6. So It Goes
A7. No Reason
B1. 36 Inches High
B2. Mary Provost
B3. Nutted by Reality
B4. Heart of the City (Live)
B5. They Called It Rock
B6. Rollers Show
B7. Heart of the City (Studio Version)

And that was just a fancy way of saying this is a reissue with two extra tracks.

Meh.

 

There are hundreds of titles coming out in April, and I want to say something about all of them. But I am not going to.