VWMusic

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By Andrew Earle
dandyinc668@gmail.com

Record Store Day (RSD) can be a polarizing topic in the vinyl community, from high prices to questionable releases and the dreaded “flippers” who buy up popular titles to resell (often with eBay listings up before RSD has taken place). I have some beef with RSD, but I am still glad it exists.

The last few installments of RSD left me underwhelmed, to say the least. But before you question my taste in music, I ask that you reserve your judgment until you’ve read the entire article. I was again unimpressed with the April 22, 2023, list when I first looked it over.

There was only one title I felt I needed to get: the double live album by Hüsker Dü, which was recorded over three shows. I was also kind of interested in the Motörhead live recording from 1984 in Germany, but I thought to myself, “Nah….” As for Hüsker Dü, I have listened to Land Speed Record for thirty years. That live document’s raw power and energy make this new early live recording a must for me. So, that was the only reason I was initially heading out to this RSD.

Apparently, “was” is the operative word here because I recently looked at the RSD ’23 list again, and to my surprise, I saw a few things I must have missed the first time around (weeks and weeks ago). First up is Brownout Presents: Brown Sabbath Vol 1. If you’re unfamiliar, imagine an eight-piece African/Latin American meets funk re-interpretation of Black Sabbath.

And yeah… I’ll admit it… I love the horn section ever so much. Check the Brownout crew out on YouTube to see for yourself. If you’re a fan of the Ozzy years of Sabbath, then I’m sure you’ll be impressed. I have Vol. 2 and was hoping to come across the out-of-print Vol. 1 someday, so it’s good news that a reissue has come to pass for RSD.

Image pulled from Andrew Earle’s personal archive

Moving on to another release that caught my eye, I’ve been searching for a used copy of this next artist for years, and it floored me to see it on the list for my second look. The release is called Klark Kent, aka Stewart Copland of The Police. For the uninitiated, this record was the first solo release by Mr. Copland and originally was released via 10″ green vinyl. But this time around, it’s being reissued on 12″ green vinyl.

While the colored vinyl isn’t important to me, it’s still a nice nod to the original release. But even if it were on black vinyl, I would have been down for it. As a massive fan of the Police and Stewart’s drumming since I was 11 or 12, I am ecstatic to have a chance to get this album. This one is special and connects to my last pick from the list that I hope to find this Saturday at one of my local shops. 

The last one I’ll mention is a Police “Every Breath You Take” double 7-inch. This one contains the titular single with the original B-side, “Murder by Numbers,” on disk one. The whole shebang also comes with a reworked version called “Every Bomb You Make,” the instrumental version of “Every Breath You Take.”

Maybe it’s a little hokey, but “Murder by Numbers” is my favorite song from those recording sessions. And to be honest, I still don’t understand how it was left off of Synchronicity. Thank God it was released as a B-side. I have the original 7-inch, a little noisy after years of use and abuse, so a nice new clean copy is in order.

I suppose I better end this now before I go on a negative rant about the things I dislike about RSD… like the fact there’s yet another Fleetwood Mac reissue. Many of us know that we needed like we needed a hole in the head, considering there are already 150,000 used copies available. But I digress… see you in line Saturday morning.

– Andrew Earle (@p.s.idiot_music) is a contributor for www.vwmusicrocks.com and may be reached at dandyinc@gmail.com