Weekend Music Roundup: Record Store Day!

 

Today is one of my most favorite days of the year...Record Store Day. I went out early and waited for the local shop to open. This year, they had all of the titles I was looking for, which was great for me, bad for the wallet. I encourage everyone to get out there today and support your local shops which have been hurting over the past year. In the meantime, here's some things you might look for while your out. Enjoy.

The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan (Alternate Set): This unofficial release of live/broadcast versions of the album was released in 2005 on red vinyl. I recently came across a copy, and seeing as I didn't have this album on vinyl (only CD), I figured it was worth getting since it was alternate takes, it didn't feel like I was buying something I already owned. This was the band's fifth album and saw Jack exploring country influences more and really putting the "garage band" sound behind them. This is a band that always worked amazing live.

 

The Mars Volta - Landscape Tantrums: This newly released archival album explores unfinished demos from the band's debut album which was released in 2003. They're not songs that we don't know. They developed into finished songs eventually. The joy of this album is hearing a band whose music is so complicated in a bit looser form. That is one of the signs of the brilliant bands. That said, this is really an album for fans who know their music.

The Byrds - Sweetheart of the Rodeo: Released in '68, this is the California band's sixth album. This is also the Gram Parson's dominated album. I'd avoided this record until now, despite being a big Byrds fan since college. I avoided it because I knew it was country rock, and knew it would unrecognizable to the Byrds albums I loved. The odd thing about that flawed logic is that I've been Gram fan since right around the same time. I picked this up recently and can't believe I denied myself so long. This is full on country rock and and foreshadows Gram's solo albums that would come out in the early '70s. A landmark album of the genre, this was a glaring hole in my collection. 

Gnome - Six-Hi Surprise Tower: Released in '92, this is the Seattle band's debut album, which would be followed a year later by their last album "Fiberglass," both on 90s Seattle label C/Z. I've had their second album on CD since it came out and recently came across a sealed vinyl copy of this for less than $10. This is a far superior album. It came with a C/Z catalog, and the description in that is pretty fitting: "Bubble-grunge pop-core from the Sub-Pop stable of losers. Early Cheap Trick for the 90's." This is pretty raw and emblematic of the underground Seattle sound of the time, a sound that wasn't ever snatched up by the major labels.

 

Eddie Money - Eddie Money: The '77 debut from the L.A. icon was the one of his first four that I was missing and found a copy recently for a few bucks. It opens with "Two Tickets to Paradise", one of the best side one, track one songs in pop rock history. It also includes "Baby Hold On", those two tracks alone are worth the price of admission. The rest of the album is also solid late '70s rock. This was definitely one that was missing from my collection.

 

 

 (My official RSD purchases)