There is no sense in complaining anymore. Tons of people on eBay already had this stuff for pre-order. the idea for what Record Store Day was supposed to have been just went out the window baby. Yep, right out the window and into my record collection. I don’t even care about the price anymore. Possession is power~hah! Anyways, I’m really happy with the actual bands represented this time out. I don’t see how April 2012 will compare to today’s list? there was surf, 60′s, classic rock, folk, good time music, white funk and a couple of very highly ranked classic albums on nice colored vinyl or mono single mixes. (Ed. Note: Yes, the 7″ Singles Boxes were a fantastic addition, but the prices on these were overpriced to say the least. in 2007, the John Lennon 3 Singles Bag listed for $14.99. the Bob Dylan (same situation) this year in 2011 listed for $49.99~something is rotten in Denmark.)
Anyways, here is the good, the bad and the ugly:
Sundazed gave us really good prices and really fun product. They had 3 LP’s or CD’s of surf/novelty releases of mr. Gasser & the Weirdos. even though we probably all shrug when we hear CD…I commend them for issuing them on CD as well. Also they did a rare Capitol Records soundtrack called “the Golden Breed” and the band was called the Back-Wash Rhythm Band which had Davie Allan doing his usual guitar snarl all over it. this title was also available on CD. there were 5 seven inch singles. 2 by the Yardbirds with Jimmy Page and 2 by the Byrds (one is on RED vinyl.) the other single is a rare tracks thingy by the Lovin’ Spoonful.
Another cool release was the Red Hot Chili Peppers classic breakthrough, “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” remastered and on a SOLID BRIGHT RED 2 LP vinyl set. Warner Brothers is reissuing it on red vinyl in celebration of their 40th Anniversary.
There was a Pink Floyd 7″ Box Set called the Wall and it featured all 3 singles that came from the 1979 classic album. It also used the rare Japanese picture sleeve and labels on one of the singles. It comes with a cool 45 RPM adaptor printed with the animation artwork from the Wall and last but not least…a beautiful the Wall poster. this thing carried a hefty price at $66.00, but it really is cool lookin’.
There were 2 Janis Joplin pieces. one was a 180 gram remaster boxed set of her 1st four albums (Big Brother, Cheap Thrills, Kozmic Blues & Pearl.) the other one was a 7″ singles box set with 4 singles and probably 3 total rare tracks.
Bob Dylan got in on the action too. They put out a 7″ singles box set and kept the price at $49.99 and I’m sure they sold lots because it also used rare European picture sleeves and there were 2 songs on this set that haven’t been on 7″ format in over 45 years, only released as a single circa 1965?
Syd Barrett at $41.99 was a rip off, actually. there were only 3 photos and one 7″ single on YELLOW vinyl.
Tom Petty put out a live E.P. called “Kiss My Amps” and at $21.99 was not really that bad. It did only have live tracks from the Mojo album which…well…hmmm? I sure miss the Wildflowers LP is all I can say.
The Doors and RhinoVinyl are still rippin’ us off. Rhino is quickly becoming the champions at ripping people off. this wasn’t the case when Harold & Richard owned it. value for money? You betcha. It’s a corporate nut-house now. Anyways, this Doors 7′ singles box is called, “the L.a. Woman” singles. You get 3 singles, and a single with studio chatter. Guess what? the same song is on both sides of each single. That means you get 3 songs for $66.00. Like Johnny Rotten once said, “Hello EMI…goooooodbyyyyyyye RHINO!
Ah yes, let me not forget the honest Tim Armstrong & Jimmy Cliff. They worked together on Jimmy’s Sacred Fire E.P. You guys, Tim plays guitar on this and Jimmy sings Rancid’s “Ruby Soho” but this is a reggae/african project. there is no hardcore on it at all…but all can be forgiven because Jimmy sings the Clash’s “Guns of Brixton” magnificently and if that isn’t the coolest…this puppy comes on BRIGHT SOLID YELLOW BANANA vinyl, spins at 45 RPM’s and get this…it has a Bob Dylan cover song and it only costed $12.99. this is probably the winner for RSD best of show?
The Misfits who have always been cool have lost their minds. Their newest studio album lists for $50.00. It has a 3D cover similar to that of the Rolling Stones’ “Their Satanic Majesties Request”…that’s all…..for a 50 dollar rip-off.
The Black Keys 12″ Single: I would say whoop de doo but it is a killer song, a killer video with the soul brother security guard just dancin’ to white boy rock and this puppy plays BACKWARDS. That means you put the needle in the middle and it tracks from center to outer edge. the only thing funner is the cheap list price at $11.99.
I’ve already dissed RhinoVinyl’s ridiculous prices and here we go again. the Grateful Dead~Europe ’72 part Two is a 4 LP 180 gram box set that will only cost you a mere $88.00 for 5 songs? Never even heard of those songs much, stick with the original 3 LP 1972 Warner Brothers set with the better songs and find a used clean copy for $15.00 at a store near you!
OK, it gets good again. Miles Davis Quintet’s original 10″ LP remastered and pressed on CLEAR PURPLE vinyl for only $12.99 and mine sounds G~R~E~A~T! We want MILES!!! Indeed!!!
I can’t really say anything negative (no pun intended) about the GREEN VINYL Type O Negative box set with all 8 LP’s. I didn’t get to see the price on this and I’m sure it was expensive, but why get these all over again if you have them on 180 gram vinyl in black (like me)? even though this must have been $150.00, it’s not the rip-off that a lot of the other stuff was.
The Nirvana 10″ Box Set of all 4 singles originally released on “Nevermind” was a really neat idea, but as I recall, it was way, way a rip off on the price. I already have the U.K. CD box set of all the singles from “Nevermind” & “in Utero” anyways…and all the original Picture Disc versions from “Nevermind.” the thing is that Nirvana (and Sonic Youth for that matter) were pretty good about giving you bonus tracks and over 2/3′s of this box set is rare material.
I guess that’s about it for the major stuff?Oh yeah, there was a remastered John Lennon “Imagine” box set and as I recall it had a 12″ WHITE VINYL record with 6 extra tracks? I’m sure this was in the neighborhood of $100.00 too? It sure ain’t John’s fault, but, as much as everyone seems to LOVE TO HATE YOKO…she has really been generous and fair with material and pricing of her late huband’s archives. GO YOKO!
I noticed that there was no Lady Gaga, no Ozzy, no Led Zeppelin, no White Stripes, no U2, and the Rolling Stones 7″ wasn’t announced until it was too late. Let’s see what they offer us for April 2012? better yet, let’s see the crazier prices?
And in closing, I will say this: Record Store Day this time out was much better than previous celebrations. Most stores got what they ordered because the wonderful powers that be pressed less titles and more quantities. Hats off to Warner Music & Sony/CBS…they did great this time out.