Record Store Day celebrates its 10th anniversary tomorrow, Saturday, April 22, with St. Vincent following in the steps of Jesse Hughes, Joshua Homme, Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, Jack White, Chuck D, Dave Grohl and Metallica (in that chronological sequence) as this year’s official ambassador. What better time then to launch the newest feature on The Future Heart, a weekly series to cover vinyl news including recently announced releases, interesting asides and recap the week’s headlines for record collectors. This inaugural post will stray a bit from the format of editions to come in future weeks, as there’s much to report solely about Record Store Day.
By common consensus 2017’s release list is among the strongest in the event’s decade history. There’s some big names involved this year that are sure to sell well – several items each from David Bowie and Jack White for instance, or U2’s picture disc, Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks’ alternate takes and rarities, The Grateful Dead’s first ever 1966 vinyl live album, The War on Drug’s first new music since their critically acclaimed 2014 album Lost In The Dream – but also lesser hyped nuggets not to be overlooked. From The Flaming Lips new fictitious-live album and the debut single from Filthy Friends (a supergroup featuring members of R.E.M., Sleater-Kinney and Swans); to the debut LP from BNQT (a supergroup with Grandaddy, Band of Horses, Franz Ferdinand, Midlake members); a previously unreleased Odessey and Oracle recording by The Zombies; a 10″ reissue by The Art of Noise that’s shaped like a bunny mask; nine live albums (yes you read that right, nine separately released LPs) by Peter Hook featuring his classic albums with Joy Division and New Order performed in full; Les Claypool and Sean Lennon’s covers of Pink Floyd and King Crimson (which you can preview here), and Johnny Marr reuniting with The The for what’s essentially the band’s first new single in 15 years; the deeper you dig into the list, the more not-to-be-missed goodies you’ll find.
If you follow this site or The Future Heart on twitter or facebook, you probably noticed coverage of this year’s offerings began in early March with a complete release list following here on March 19th. That list has been continually updated since, as there’s been some additions, and some deletions. More on that below, along with a round-up of other recent Record Store Day news:
Deleted Items
The following releases will no longer be issued on Record Store Day:
- LP – Brent Hinds Cold Dark Place
- LP – The Runaways Gold Star Cherokee Sessions
- 7″ – Gary Clark, Jr. / Kaleo
- 7″ – Sam Hunt “Drinkin’ Too Much”
Added Items
The following releases have recently been confirmed for issue on Record Store Day:
- Book – The Blue Series: The Story Behind The Color
- 7″ – Jack White “Battle Cry”
- 7″ – Bob Seger System “2+2=?”
- 7″ – Lillie Mae “Over The Hill and Through The Woods” 7″
- LP – Lillie Mae Forever and Then Some
- 7″ – The Beatles “Strawberry Fields Forever” b/w “Penny Lane”
- 7″ EP – The Spencer Davis Group Rambling Rose (UK only)
- LP – Elton John 17-11-70+
Discrepancies
The following releases are not included on US or UK Record Store Day lists but are on some websites. Possibly they are European-only releases, or possibly the websites listing them need to be updated:
- LP – The Gun Club Live At Manila Club, Florence Italy November 26th (listed on some websites)
- 7″ – MC5 “I Can Only Give You Everything” (listed on some websites)
Spacemen 3 Updates
As first posted about here on The Future Heart last month, former Spacemen 3 manager Gerald Palmer has been accused of ripping off the band in numerous ways, among them underpaying royalties and releasing unauthorized reissues, including the three out this weekend for Record Store Day. Since that initial post and several other mentions here and there on this site and facebook.com/TheFutureHeart, The Future Heart has been in contact with both Palmer and former Spacemen 3 bassist Pete Bassman. Meanwhile, in a surprising turn of events J Spaceman and Sonic Boom have issued a joint statement condemning Palmer and urging fans not to purchase these reissues. “Jason now on board and working in tandem with Sonic is a game changer,” Pete Bassman tells The Future Heart, “so an interesting situation is unfolding.”
Indeed it is. A detailed summary of how it got to this point and all the most recent updates is here. If that’s too long for you to read, here’s an abbreviated version highlighting all the main points.
Something For Pink Floyd Fans To Look Forward To
Last month The Future Heart posted a report documenting that details in the press release for the previously unreleased version of “Interstellar Overdrive” Pink Floyd is releasing on Record Store Day are without doubt incorrect. That same post also specifies what is most likely the correct information and includes a stream of the entire 15 minute recording. Since then the family of Frank Thompson, the man who recorded this historic Pink Floyd session, has been in contact with The Future Heart for a future story on this little-reported moment in Pink Floyd’s origins.
No Such Thing As A Stupid Question
Numerous people, many who have never shopped on Record Store Day before but are interested in doing so this year, have sent messages to facebook/TheFutureHeart in the past month inquiring the event basics. To summarize, here’s some tips on how to buy records you want:
You can make a wish list ahead of time by scrolling through the complete, updated RSD 2017 release list here, or on the event’s official website. Next go to the Record Store Day locator to find participating stores near you. To check if your local store(s) have ordered the items you want, stop by or call ahead of time, as it will most likely be crowded on Record Store Day. This probably is not necessary for big releases, but can help for lesser in demand ones that some stores may not stock if they don’t assume they’ll sell or simply don’t have the shelf space. This is especially true of stores in less populated areas that only order a limited selection. If they haven’t stocked the releases you want, find another store that has and plan to go there instead. You can also ask how many copies they have to judge how early you will need to arrive to claim a copy. Aside from making sure what you want will be available at the store(s) you plan to visit on Record Store Day, the other main step is to show up early, as it’s first-come-first-serve on release day. As per Record Store Day rules, shops are not supposed to hold releases for customers, though some do. Finally a cautionary note about the secondary market that exists around Record Store Day: some people will try to buy out popular items to “flip” them on ebay or elsewhere with jacked up prices. Don’t expect to get everything on your wish list, especially if it contains high demand limited editions. One more thing: Record Store Day is intended to highlight the service these independent shops offer not just one day, but every day. If you don’t already regularly support your local record store, consider doing so. For all the hype, in some ways Record Store Day is the worst day to start: it can be frustrating finding items, especially if the aisles are packed and you’re new to the store; the lines can be long; you might come across some jerks. This isn’t meant to discourage participation, rather just to point out you may have a better experience at your local store any other day of year and if you become familiar with the shop and its employees it may make future Record Store Day’s easier to navigate.
Any other questions? Ask here.
The Future Heart 