Nick Drake Vinyl Reissues

Bryter Music and Universal are in the process of reissuing Nick Drake's core catalog on vinyl. I am happy to report they are doing an exceptional job.

A couple years ago I sent an email to Martin Calliman (aka 'Cally') asking that he consider reissuing Nick's catalog on high quality LPs. I was pleasantly surprised that he wrote me back. It was clear from my email exchange with him that he is not a vinyl "true believer." Nevertheless, it was a refreshing correspondence because it is rare to hear someone in the industry speak so frankly. Perhaps my email, along with those from many other vinyl enthusiast Nick Drake fans, convinced Cally that a vinyl reissue campaign might be worthwhile after all.

So far, Bryter Layter and Pink Moon have been issued as both deluxe sets with bells and whistles, as well as reasonably priced standard vinyl reissues. A deluxe box of Five Leaves Left is due out at the end of the month, to be followed by a standard issue vinyl LP. Universal also issued a Record Store Day version of the self-titled compilation that was Drake's debut release in the United States.

While the boxes look to be of very high quality, I opted for the standard reissues. From what I have gathered the mastering on the deluxe and standard titles are identical.

So, how do they sound? In short: fantastic.

I had a much sought after and highly praised U.K. first pressing of Pink Moon on loan (I could never afford one) for several days and compared it to the new reissue. I don't go in for a lot of precious audiophile language, but the reissue sounded at least as good as the original to me. I'm sure someone with a $50K turntable will show up to tell me I'm wrong, but for normal folks the differences in sound quality (other than the fact that the reissue was quieter) are not going to be important.

I also own a U.S. Antilles pressing of Bryter Layter, and I preferred the sound of the new reissue to it. Likewise, the self-titled album sounds wonderful to me although I have nothing to compare it to.

I've seen conflicting accounts as to whether these were all cut from the original master tapes or not. It appears Pink Moon, at the very least, was. I'm not sure how much it matters. Original engineer John Wood has remastered these titles with great care, and with obvious respect for the sound of the original vinyl releases. They sound and look brilliant, and if you are a Nick Drake fan with a turntable these are easy to recommend.

Bryter Music, Martin Calliman, John Wood and everyone involved in this reissue program are to be congratulated for getting it right.

Record Store Day 2013: In Your Ear Records, Warren, RI

I'll be spinning some tunes this Record Store Day, Saturday April 20th at 5:00PM, at In Your Ear Records, 462 Main Street, Warren, Rhode Island. If you've followed this blog for long, you know I will probably play a fairly eclectic mix of music. If you're local to the area, stop in and say hi.

Some band called the Feelies will play an acoustic set at 2:00 PM at What Cheer Antiques on Angell Street in Providence, RI in advance of their show at the Met in Pawtucket that evening. That might be worth checking out too...

Record Store Day 2013: Brubeck and Tjader 10" LPs

Concord music group will reissue replica, colored vinyl 10" records from Cal Tjader and Dave Brubeck for Record Store Day 2013. These look beautiful.

Record Store Day 2013: Nick Drake

Perhaps no release better encapsules my ambivalent feelings about Record Store Day than reissue of Nick Drakes' U.S. debut album for Record Store Day 2013. Originally released in 1971 when Island first started distributing records in the U.S. through Capitol Records, Nick Drake drew three songs from Five Leaves Left and five from Bryter Layter, which would not be released in the U.S. in their entirety until 1975.

Let me state the obvious: Nick Drake (the album) was always a poor substitute for the first two albums, and any fan of Drake's music needs all three of his studio albums in their collection. Nick Drake was a flawed addition to his catalog in 1971, but it at least introduced the man's music to the U.S. (although it's questionable how many of these actually made their way into record stores in 1971, as almost all copies seem to have cut-out or promo marks on them).

So why do I find myself wanting to purchase this album in 2013 when I already own every song on it and more? Well, for starters, there's the undeniably great artwork featuring Keith Morris' legendary photographs on the exterior and and a gorgeous photo of Nick in a field on the inner gatefold. This is a nice looking product, and it appears Universal has taken great care with the both the packaging and the sound quality (the music was remastered from the original analog tapes by original engineer John Wood at Abbey Road Studios). Further, as interest in Nick Drake's music has grown over the years this discographic curiosity has become something of a collector's item in its own right. You could probably expect to pay between $80 to $120 for an original copy in nice condition.

Do I need this album? No, absolutely not. Do I want it? I hate to admit it but, yeah, kinda I do. It's an ambivalent kind of desire, I'm cognizant on the one hand of how I'm being manipulated by economies of manufactured scarcity on the one hand, on the other hand...well, I just want it damn it!

Record Store Day 2013: Tommy Keene - Back To Zero Now

12XU Austin will re-issue one of the greatest slabs of 7" vinyl ever released in honor of Record Store Day 2013. Tommy Keene's "Back To Zero Now" b/w "Mr. Roland" originally appeared as a bonus 7" with later pressings of his first LP, Strange Alliance, on Avenue Records. This limited edition RSD release will feature a picture sleeve for the first time ever.

The label will also reissue Tommy's impossible to find Strange Alliance album in May with two songs not originally featured on the LP, "Nothing Is Gray" and "Stuck On A Ship," making it a necessary purchase even for those of us lucky enough to already own a copy of the original 1982 LP.

Serious kudos are due 12XU Austin for reissuing this crucial music.

Record Store Day 2013: Big Star - Nothing Can Hurt Me

One of my all-time favorite Record Store Day releases was Omnivore's 2011 reissue of the Test Pressing of Big Star's Third. This year Omnivore is back with a new Big Star RSD release, Nothing Can Hurt Me, a two LP compilation of alternate versions and remixes of Big Star classics that also serves as the soundtrack to the soon-to-be-released Big Star documentary film.

Nothing Can Hurt Me will be pressed on colored vinyl and will include a download card for those who think there is any other way to listen to Big Star than on LP. If you don't get your greedy mitts on these two slabs of colored vinyl on Record Store Day, resist the urge to pay big bucks on eBay and keep in mind that Omnivore eventually did a second pressing of Third.

This looks nice, but what I really want is a top-notch reissue of Alex Chilton's Like Flies On Sherbert. Perhaps for RSD 2014?

Here's the track list:

1. O My Soul (1973 Demo)
2. Give Me Another Chance (Control Room Monitor Mix 1972)
3. In The Street (2012 Movie Mix)
4. Studio Banter (1972)
5. Try Again - [Rock City] (2012 Movie Mix)
6. My Life Is Right (Alternate 1972 Mix)
7. The Ballad Of El Goodo (Alternate 1972 Mix)
8. Feel (Alternate 1972 Mix)
9. Don't Lie To Me (Alternate 1972 Mix)
10. Way Out West (Alternate 1973 Mix)
11. Thirteen (Alternate 1972 Mix)
12. You Get What You Deserve (Alternate 1973 Mix)
13. Holocaust (Rough 1974 Mix)
14. Kanga Roo (Rough 1974 Mix)
15. Stroke It Noel (Backwards Intro 1974)
16. Big Black Car (Rough 1974 Mix)
17. Better Save Yourself (2012 Movie Mix)
18. I Am The Cosmos [Chris Bell] (2012 Movie Mix)
19. All We Ever Got From Them Was Pain (2012 Movie Mix)
20. September Gurls (2012 Movie Mix)

Record Store Day 2013: The List (Official)

The official Record Store Day 2013 list is now available.

Record Store Day 2013: Sub-Pop

Sub Pop has announced its releases for Record Store Day 2013. These will include a limited edition, various artists compilation entitled Sub Pop 1000. This release very much takes the label back to it's roots, harkening back to compilations like Sub Pop 100 and 200. Like those now collectable releases, Sub Pop 1000 will be limited to a pressing of 5,000 copies on vinyl.

The label will also release a collaborative 7" single from Shearwater and one of my favorite young artists, Sharon Van Etten. The single will feature a cover of the Stevie Nicks/Tom Petty duet "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" b/w "A Wake for the Minotaur."


Sharon Van Etten and Shearwater cover “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around”

The label will also release a free (!) CD sampler entitled, Terminal Sales, Vol. 6: The Silver Ticket, featuring new and "occasionally rare" tracks from Mudhoney, Low, Shabazz Palaces, Father John Misty, Still Corners, Pissed Jeans, and 13 others. Free is good.

Record Store Day 2013: Public Image Ltd.

Light In The Attic will reissue a reproduction of the first Public Image Ltd. single, "Public Image" b/w "The Cowboy Song," for Record Store Day 2013. The 7" single will feature an "exact reproduction" of the fold-out newspaper packaging of the original U.K. single. This marks the first time the single has been issued in the U.S. The pressing will be limited to 2,200 hand-numbered copies.

If John Lydon were dead he would no doubt be rolling over in his grave at the sentimental, fetishistic nature of this gesture, but since he's alive and well, he'd just as soon have your money.

Record Store Day 2013: Orange Juice LP Reissues

All four of Orange Juice's Polydor era albums are being reissued on LP for Record Store Day 2013. The seminal Scottish post-punk/pop band's albums -- You Can't Hide Your Love Forever (1982), Rip It Up (1982), Texas Fever (1984), and The Orange Juice (1984) -- set the tone for much of the British pop wave of the 80s. Led by Edwyn Collins, Orange Juice are a hugely under-acknowledged influence on everyone from The Smiths to Belle and Sebastian. More importantly, their albums, and the band's refreshingly open-minded approach to music making, hold up very well in their own right. "Rip It Up" was a good enough that when Simon Reynolds set out to write a history of post-punk he named his book after it.

The material on these albums was out-of-print altogether for many years until Domino released the ...Coals To Newcastle 6 CD/1 DVD box set in 2010. No doubt it will be good to finally have these classic albums back in circulation in their original configuration and format.

In other Orange Juice news, former front-man Edwyn Collins plans to release a follow up to his terrific 2010 comeback album Losing Sleep. The album, entitled Understated, will be released on April 16, just in advance of Record Store Day.

Record Store Day 2013: The List (Unofficial)

The official Record Store Day list has not been made public yet. But you can download a PDF of the list that was sent to distributors here. If you see things you want, you would be wise to ask your local retailer to order them in advance.

Record Store Day 2013: Robyn Hitchcock - There Goes The Ice

For Record Store Day 2013 Robyn Hitchcock will make all 8 songs from his previously download only "Phantom 45" series available on an honest-to-goodness 12" long-playing microgroove vinyl record. I'm sure there is a lesson in there about the persistence of the vinyl record in the as the age of the download gives way to the age of streaming. As a reward for supporting your local independent music retailer, the record will also include 2 new previously unreleased songs.

Hitchcock's latest Phantom 45, "There Goes The Ice" b/w "Twitch For Surfer Sam," is currently available for free download at his website. You can download the songs now in anticipation of getting your groovy new vinyl LP on Record Store Day, April 20th. I hope to be one of the 750 lucky Robyn Hitchcock fans to score a copy.

Record Store Day 2013: Hüsker Dü - Amusement

To celebrate Record Store Day 2013, Hüsker Dü will reissue two songs originally released on their debut 7" along with two other songs recorded at their first studio sessions ("Writer's Cramp" and "Let's Go Die") on a four song 2 X 7" vinyl set.



Three of the songs on the set were recorded in August of 1980 at Minneapolis' Blackberry Way Studio with the band hoping the results would land them a deal with hometown indie label Twin/Tone Records. Twin/Tone passed them up in favor of The Replacements, and the Hüskers ended up releasing "Amusement" and "Statues" as a 7" single on their own Reflex Records. The band eventually signed to California indie label SST, and the rest is history. Fans of those SST releases might find themselves slightly confused to discover their heroes started out sounding suspiciously like PiL.

According to Numero Records, "the Blackberry Way cuts have been remastered from a first generation sub-master (the originals have long been lost), while "Amusement" was cut from the original live board tape. The original artwork has been polished and beefed up with a 28pt board gatefold jacket." The 2 X 7" set will be limited to 4,000 copies.

Record Store Day 2013

 

Jack White is the official Record Store Day 2013 Ambassador. White, through his work with the White Stripes and his Third Man Records label, has long been an advocate for independent record stores and the vinyl medium in particular. From White's statement:

"As Record Store Day Ambassador of 2013 I’m proud to help in any way I can to invigorate whoever will listen with the idea that there is beauty and romance in the act of visiting a record shop and getting turned on to something new that could change the way they look at the world, other people, art, and ultimately, themselves."

White is a good an obvious choice, but will I sound like a jerk if I admit to not being a fan of either his music or his marketing techniques? (That is a rhetorical question, I know I sound like a jerk). Nevertheless, there has always been something about White that rubbed me the wrong way. In particular, I find the endless stream of limited-edition collectible novelty records he releases (fluid filled records, triple decker records, etc.) annoying. It's vinyl record as fetish object taken to an absurd extreme. Maybe that's the idea, and I'm not sophisticated enough to get the joke.

It also bugs me that White will go on and on about the superiority of analog to digital, and yet press his records at United, who are known for producing noisy pressings. I actually have nothing against digital, even though I'm a big fan of LPs. There is a lot to be said for digital recording, mixing, etc. both in terms ease of use, convenience, and the ability to make good sounding recordings at minimal cost. White's advocacy of analog recording always stuck me as something closer to a fashion statement than a genuine commitment to high quality recording, which can certainly be attained in either the digital or analog domain.

But enough complaining! (And I admit, I am probably not being fair to White.) I support Record Store Day because it is a great opportunity to raise the profile of independent music retailers. In the coming weeks I plan to profile what I consider some of the more interesting Record Store Day 2013 releases.