Well, things are slowly getting back to a semblance to normalcy, which means most record stores that usually participate in Record Store Day will actually be open for Record Store Day. But of course, we’re not quite all the way back to normalcy, so they’ve split Record Store Day into two Record Store Days, so you can stand in line and be frustrated that the records you wanted are sold out … twice. Welcome to the new normal.
These are the 10 RSD releases on my list to pick up this Saturday if I can get to the store early enough to get in line to the front enough to fight my way through whatever limited hordes they allow in at one time enough to get my greedy paws on.
The usual caveats: They’re not the 10 best releases, or the 10 most noteworthy releases, or the 10 releases most likely to appreciate in value. They’re the 10 releases I want to add to my collection. And no Dead. I’ll tell you where you can jam your Dead. Don’t like my list? Make your own.
Here’s my June list, alphabetically by artist:
Beck
Hyperspace (2020)
- Capitol, black vinyl w/exclusive cover, 24-page booklet & holographic etchings, run of 1500
Beck Hansen couldn’t leave well enough alone with his well-received 2019 release, so last August, he re-released Hyperspace with four tracks remixed and two new tracks tacked onto the end as part of a collaboration with NASA. This RSD limited edition features the re-released version and comes with a expansive booklet containing full lyrics and images provided by NASA to accompany each tune, along with holographic images carved into the runoff grooves. Should go fast.
The Creation
In Stereo
- Demon Records (UK), 2xLP, clear vinyl w/gatefold cover, run of 1200
Import vinyl release comprised of all of the stereo recordings compiled back in 2016 for the Numero Group’s comprehensive overview of the modsters, Action Painting, which featured every studio recording of the band in its CD format, both mono and stereo (out of print, and an essential – and still inexpensive – pickup), but cherry-picked between the two in its double-album format.
Jim Croce
“You Don’t Mess Around With Jim” / “Operator (That’s Not The Way It Feels)”
- BMG, 12″ 45, tangerine vinyl, run of 2000
OK, I know Jim Croce isn’t very fashionable, but I’m allowed some sentimentality. When I was young, I had an 8-track player, and his Photographs and Memories greatest hits compilation got played a lot. Just know that for every bizarre limited-edition private-press multicolored Yugoslavian death jazz album bought from Bandcamp I post on Fridays that I have in my collection, there’s something like this in there to even it out. Why tangerine? Why not?
The Flaming Lips
The Soft Bulletin Companion
- Warner, 2xLP, silver vinyl, run of 11250
Legendary promo CDr finally released as a double album. This promo was compiled by the band’s management back in 1999 and includes early mixes and unreleased songs from The Soft Bulletin sessions, stereo versions of Zaireeka tracks, B-sides and international bonus tracks. It wasn’t uncommon for the CDr to trade hands for $100 or more when you could find it. Not sure how this release might affect the market for the original, but it’s sure to make a lot of Lips fans happy.
Donny Hathaway
Live
- ATCO, 180g black vinyl, run of 8500
There’s nothing particularly special about this release as a Record Store Day release. Original copies aren’t super rare to find. Music On Vinyl did a numbered reissue of this album on marbled turquoise vinyl just five years ago. What IS special about this 1972 recording is the talent that was Donny Hathaway. To hear him work his vocal magic here on tracks like his “The Ghetto,” John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” and Carole King’s “You’ve Got A Friend” makes his loss by suicide in 1979 all the sadder.
Elton John
Regimental Sgt. Zippo
- Island/Mercury, black vinyl, run of 7000
Most Elton John fans will tell you that his debut album was his eponymous 1970 LP, the one that featured “Your Song” and earned worldwide acclaim. Diehard Elton John fans will tell you that his debut album came the year before, when he released Empty Sky to a largely indifferent British public. And then there are the most fervent of fans of the Rocket Man, who have long held out hope that this album, recorded in 1968 but ultimately shelved, would see the light of day. Odd tracks trickled out here and there on bootlegs. Last year’s Jewel Box saw all but one of its songs included in one form or another. Well here it is. It’s very much a work in progress by an artist who himself was the same, but glints of future greatness are there.
The Lemonheads
Hate Your Friends
- TAANG!, yellow vinyl, run of 1000
The debut album from Evan Dando & Co., before they sold out, man. This reissue will sell out fast, too.
The Raybeats
The Lost Philip Glass Sessions
- Ramp Local, black vinyl, run of 1350
Of course a Philip Glass release is on my list. Only not really. The Raybeats were a New York instrumental neo-surf combo that came out of the No Wave scene of the late ’70s. They attracted the attention of Mr. Glass, who joined the band along with collaborators Michael Riesman and Kurt Munkacsi for a June 1982 session that included a tear through Link Wray’s “Jack The Ripper.” It was then shelved for 30 years before a 2013 CD release. This is its vinyl debut.
Various Artists
Other Music Soundtrack
- Factory 25, LP & DVD, run of 1300
Other Music was an eclectic record store in the Noho section of Manhattan that closed shop in 2016. To fans of underground, rare and experimental music, it was a huge loss. A 2019 documentary looked at the outsized influence of the store on the city’s indie scene at the beginning of the new millennium, the shifting landscape both of the city itself and how music was consumed in the intervening years, and the run up to the store’s closure. The soundtrack includes music from artists the store helped popularize, some of which was performed live at the store.
The Zombies
Oddities & Extras
- Craft Recordings, 180g black vinyl, run of 3000
Couple notes on this:
Shouldn’t it be called Odetteys & Extras?
Also, I love The Zombies, but what are they doing in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame? They basically had two great British Invasion singles, and one exceptional album that had a third single on it, and that was it. How is that deserving? I mean, seriously, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE The Zombies, but it’s not like you ever hear anyone say, “Oh yeah, definitely, I heard ‘Time of the Season’ and was like, I need to start a band.” You can’t say they were all that influential. BUT I LOVE THE ZOMBIES. Anyway, this is a bunch of collected tracks from UK-only albums and B-sides.
So that’s the June list. There’ll be another one in mid-July when it comes time for RSD ’21 Part Deux. It’s Wednesday as I write this, so it’s Wednesday at the earliest if you’re reading this. Better set up that tent outside your local indie store now …
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