Record Store Day 2017 Vinyl Releases - Our Picks
Record Store Day 2017 is on April 22nd, 2017. At Turntable Lab, we study the 100's of exclusive releases and narrow them into our Record Store Day 2017 Offering. This post goes one step further, as we pick our favorite releases from our edited list. Please join us at our new NYC storefront location on Record Store Day. If you can't make it, sign up for stock notifications for any leftovers. Check out Part 2 of picks here.
the 90s alternative sophomore, wish it was the debut album pick
The Sundays: Blind (25th Anniversary Edition) Vinyl LP
Fugitive Records
The Sundays' second album Blind was the London group’s highest-charting album in the United States and is only now getting its first vinyl pressing here for RSD 2017. This 25th anniversary pressing will include the band’s gorgeous cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses” which previously only appeared on the U.S. CD version and the U.K. “Goodbye” single. While we’re still waiting patiently for a reissue of Reading, Writing & Arithmetic, we’re excited to have “Love” on repeat this summer. Sign Up For Stock Notification on Product Page.
the pressing techmology pick
Blowfly: Forever Fly Etched Vinyl 12”
Anti-Corp
The legacy of Blowfly deserves an RSD release as wild and unorthodox as the man himself. The notoriously dirty funkster passed away last year, and his 40+ year career is being commemorated with one of the most unique pieces of vinyl we’ve ever seen. One side features two tracks with grooves spiralling parallel to one another, so depending on where you drop the needle, there’s a 50/50 chance of which song will play. The flip side features an intricate drawing etched into the vinyl, with grooves that actually pass through the etching. Sign Up For Stock Notification on Product Page.
we'll take whatever we can get pick
The Smiths: The Boy With The Thorn In His Side Vinyl 7”
Rhino
We’ve given up on the prospect of a Smiths reunion in our lifetime, so even a lost snippet of Morrissey coughing into a hot mic at a Smiths recording session is worthy of a vinyl issue at this point. Luckily, we’re being treated instead to an unheard demo version of “The Boy With The Thorn In His Side”, one of The Smiths’ most beloved songs. Backed with an “early Drones version” of “Rubber Ring” with brand new sleeve art in trademark Smiths style. Sign Up For Stock Notification on Product Page.
cooler in real life pick #dadrap
Slick Rick: The Great Adventures Of... Deluxe Children’s Book
Get On Down
Dads stand up! Get On Down continue to raise the bar with their spectacularly packaged reissues, from the purple tape box set edition of Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx to the oversized Food Stamp card pic disc of ODB’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” for Record Store Day 2016. For 2017, they’ve cooked up a special deluxe edition of Slick Rick’s storytelling masterpiece The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick. This one features a vinyl seven-inch with picture sleeve, the full album on CD and a 16-page “children’s book” with thick pages and puffy cover. Sign Up For Stock Notification on Product Page.
the completionist pick
The Cure: Greatest Hits Vinyl Picture Disc
Elektra
Greatest Hits… yeah, we know. But don’t roll your eyes: this is The Cure we’re talking about here; a band who managed to get some of the gloomiest songs ever recorded onto top 10 radio. Plus, Robert Smith picked the tracklist himself, and the album includes two songs that don’t appear on any other vinyl release (“Cut Here” and “Just Say Yes”). Greatest Hits will be released on vinyl for the first time for RSD 2017 on limited edition picture disc. Sign Up For Stock Notification on Product Page.
i know i won't like this in a couple months, but still gotta have it pick
Lil Uzi Vert: Lil Uzi Vert Vs. The World Purple Vinyl LP
Atlantic
“Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah…” After the massive success of Lil Yachty’s Lil Boat colored vinyl pressing for RSD Black Friday 2016, it seems the majors are slowly getting back into the habit of hip-hop full-length vinyl releases. Lil Uzi Vert Vs. The World was a standout release last year and is finally getting the purple colored vinyl treatment, so you can stop sneaking an ipod into your DJ night just to play “Money Longer”. Sign Up For Stock Notification on Product Page.
the in-the-know pick
Numero Group: Southwest Side Story “Texas Crude” Colored Vinyl LP
Numero Group
If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Numero Group ditch their signature design aesthetic for this special RSD release; “a bootleg you can be proud of”. Compiled in the tradition of southwest San Antonio, Texas bootleg lowrider comps (super collectable these days) featuring 14 songs which were previously released in miniscule 45 pressings and never distributed outside of Texas. Limited to 1000 copies on “Texas crude” colored vinyl, naturally. Sign Up For Stock Notification on Product Page.
that cover pick
U-ROY : Dread In A Babylon Vinyl LP
Get On Down
U-Roy, “The Originator”, was the first “deejay” in reggae music, pioneering a proto-rap style of chatting over riddims that became known as “toasting”, laying the framework for dancehall, and later, hip-hop. Dread In A Babylon, his third full-length album, has become a digger favorite in part for its iconic sleeve art depicting U-Roy exhaling an epic cloud of chalice smoke (a case where cover art increases the value of a record). This special pressing for RSD 2017, the first official U.S. pressing in over 40 years, is worth it for the giant fold-out poster alone. Sign Up For Stock Notification on Product Page.
thanks for reminding this existed pick
LUNA: Penthouse Deluxe 180g Vinyl 2LP
Elektra
23 Minutes In Brussels.... forgot about this one... the super-trio comprised of former members of Galaxie 500, The Feelies and The Chills went on hiaitus for ten years but reformed in 2015 and played a number of Penthouse complete shows. Until last year’s boxset reissue of all of Luna’s albums, Penthouse had been out of print since it’s original 1995 release, with original pressings frequently fetching over $100 on the second hand market. Luckily, Penthouse will see a standalone vinyl reissue with remastered sound, covers of Talking Heads, Wire and Serge Gainsbourg, and five previously unreleased tracks for RSD 2017. Sign Up For Stock Notification on Product Page.
before they were heroes pick
WHITE ZOMBIE: Gods On Voodoo Moon “Zombie Blood” Colored Vinyl 7”
Numero Group
White Zombie’s first ever seven-inch single will see its first vinyl reissue in over 30 years for RSD 2017. Legend has it that Gods On Voodoo Moon was recorded in only two hours at a studio that was chosen right out of the phone book for being the cheapest in New York City, and bassist Sean Yseult hand-photocopied the sleeve art at the Parsons campus print shop right around the corner from the new Turntable Lab! It’s crazy to hear the young band on more of a punk tip, before they blossomed into full-fledged groove metal gods in the 90s. On “zombie blood” colored vinyl limited to 750 copies. Sign Up For Stock Notification on Product Page.
the real weight pick
ROBERT JOHNSON: The Centennial Collection - The Complete Recordings Vinyl 3LP
Legacy
Robert Johnson’s incredibly brief career yielded just two recording sessions in 1936 and 1937. Many of his songs were distributed on 78s which are now impossible to find. His influence is unquantifiable and his recordings have appeared on countless compilations and bootlegs over the past 80 years. This triple vinyl set compiled for RSD 2017 marks the first time Johnson’s complete recorded works will be available on one release. Grab one on Record Store Day, or you may have to sell your soul to a flipper. Sign Up For Stock Notification on Product Page.
the record as object as aesthetic obsession pick
VANGELIS: Blade Runner Picture Disc Vinyl LP
Atlantic
This one is close to our hearts. Reissues of Vangelis’ excellent Blade Runner score in 2013 and 2015 flew out of the Lab so fast, we couldn’t even get a good look at them. To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the film’s release, Atlantic are rewarding patient fans by treating us to a truly special picture disc pressing of Vangelis’ cyber-noir masterpiece for Record Store Day 2017. Sign Up For Stock Notification on Product Page.
i had these bedsheets pick
CROSLEY: Star Wars Cruiser Turntable
The Crosley Cruiser has become an affordable audio canvas for our childhood obsessions. For previous RSDs, Crosley has produced a ultra-popular Peanuts turntable and an old school Mickey model. This year, they go for the pubic homerun with this vintage Star Wars design that's seared into the minds of a quarter of the population. Sign Up For Stock Notification on Product Page.
check out Part 2 of our picks.