News

The full list is here plus links to other countries' RSD sites:

http://recordstoreday.com/

Going through the full list, which titles do you believe will have the "AAA" audiophile seal of approval?

Lots of really cool stuff musically but with details on mastering so scant, seems like I'll be wittling down my list a significant amount this year.

Steve Reich
Music for 18 Musicians
Nonesuch
http://www.recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/7828

Junior Wells
It's My Life Baby
Vanguard
http://www.recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/8052

The Reich is surely digital, but the Wells Vanguard, "mastered from the original tapes" could be AAA?

Step right up and get your big black cd's!

Record Store Day, when you can't get at the racks for hipsters and money-grubbers.

The only day of the year I deliberately avoid record shopping.

We used to do this every year. ...get up early stand in line in 40 degree weather.... run in, grab what you can... hopefully swap what you grabbed for something you really wanted that someone else grabbed... ask the clerk where so and so item is and he replies, everything is already gone.
This year, we are sleeping-in. Later in the day I'll buy the item I wanted on ebay and pay about a $30 premium. Plenty worth it to me.
btw... shopping later also allows you to actually pick the color and look of the actual vinyl you will be buying.

Sorry, can someone explain, what happens on RSD? In other words how does it differ from any other day at any one particular record store?

Only the Mats will make you forget hifi.

My Squelchy Life, 2-lp, circa $28.

is in my experience a label that cares about quality. Dispite the fact that RL mastered exclusively in digital, I think, chances are he wanted a good source and the pressing is at Pallace, so I'm going to see about getting Music For 18 Musicians after Record Store Day. I think there is a reasonable expectation that it will sound better than my CD. The discriptiion says it was released in 98 but I know it's more like 89 because my Sound teacher in art school played part of it in class and on the way home from school I bought the CD and listened to the rest at home. Graduated 89. Thanks for the tip.

I just got back from Record Store Day at Crooked Beat in DC. I went with my nephew who has just started getting into records he is in 20’s and I am 50. I would say the crowd was mostly people in their 20’s and the mix of male and female was pretty equal. I arrived about a half hour before the store opened and there were probably a little over a hundred people in front of me. Maybe it was the fact that I went with my nephew, but I had a blast. It is not very often you can get that many people in one place that dig records. Whatever the reason I think it is awesome that a younger generation is discovering the virtues of LP’s. Maybe some of these kids will stop buying records when they get older and for them this is just a cool thing to do, but I know for many of them this is just the beginning in their journey of discovering and listing to great music.

The Nonesuch version is from 1996. I picked it up. I have the ECM version from the late 70's that I always liked. I actually bought way too much since all was in stock nearly. Got The Zombies, Otis Redding, Jaco Pastorius, Johnny Cash, and Sly Stone, and Jimmy Cotton.

Like a nut I bought both the hand stamped and hand signed versions of the Basement Tapes (pricey $39 and $89). Also got The Animals We're Gonna Howl Tonight ($29) and the McCartney ($18) and the Sun Records RSD LP (a bargain at $13). I mentioned prices because I thought some of them were a bit higher this years. That Dylan for $89, did others encounter the same prices?

Though the RSD listing only listed the 2 versions of The Basement Tape, there were actually 3 offered. A Basic Black 130gm (OPM261), a Bootleg Black 180gm (OPM271), and a Big Pink 200gm(OPM 281). The 1st 2 were hand stamped with an autograph whereas the Big Pink is actually signed. 2500 of the Black pressings and only 1000 of the Big Pink. That explains a bit of the price differences. My store usually discounts but sold these at list I believe. That Big Pink was the real surprise but so was the price. I got number 412 (Not to bad).

Picked up the latest 10" EP Animal release from ABKCO. These have all been consistently well produced and great sounding all in Mono. Another Animal LP was available, knew nothing about it, as with a lot of RSD releases you roll the dice and take your chances. This was supposed to be live recordings with mainly early material. The songs selection was quite good, the sound quality not so much. It sounded like they had mastered it from a third generation cassette. You like to go to support your neighborhood store, it would be nice if the labels treated us with a little more respect and actually provided information to make make an informed purchase decision.