Motorhead Live 1995

I still check the list of upcoming Record Store Day releases each year, but it is more of an exercise in confirming that the event only releases a bunch of shit that I'm not interested in. When I checked the list this year and saw that there was a new Lost Tapes record from Motorhead, I kind of rolled my eyes at the thought. This would be the 7th in the Lost Tapes series of live recordings from Motorhead in the last 5 years and as someone that isn't usually interested in listening to live recordings, it was starting to feel like it was too much.

Still, at some point I found myself in a Motorhead mood and noticed that this latest of The Lost Tapes was available on Spotify, so for the fuck of it I decided to give it a spin... for science... to just confirm that it was useless. This recording was from Motorhead's live show at the Whisky A Go Go back in 1995... a time period that I'm really not too familiar with for the band. 6 of the 16 songs are from the band's two latest albums at the time, Sacrifice and Bastards... both records that I enjoy, but never really spent much time with... so I was at least interested to see how the live set would feel with a good number of newer songs for that time. Much to my surprise, I loved listening to this. The show was Lemmy's 50th birthday party, and it sounds like they were all having a great time... plus the songs are an absolute blast.

It was a great live recording, but I wasn't set on buying a copy. If I came across one, cool, but I wasn't going to put forth much of an effort. I kind of forgot all about Record Store Day, and found myself in Pennsylvania with some friends for that weekend. When Alex suggested that we check out a record store nearby, I thought it would be fun to check out since the two of us were interested in looking for used DVDs and Blu-rays to grow our newly started collections. I didn't really expect to find any records, but when I walked in and saw the bins for Record Store Day releases, it dawned on me that it was that day. I started flipping through the new records and when I saw the live Motorhead record, I figured that I'd grab it as a nice souvenier of my time in PA that weekend.

Siamese Pumpkins

Over the past couple of years, I've come to really like The Smashing Pumpkins... well, I've come to really like Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkins and a bunch of random songs from the band. However, it seems that most fans tend to view Siamese Dream as their favorite Pumpkins record... and while there are some songs here that I really like, I've never spent enough time with the full album to appreciate it as a whole.

Earlier this year, my local record store posted that they were taking preorders for a special RSD edition of Siamese Dream on "red smoke" vinyl, and I figured that it was time I took the plunge and committed fully to the album. As a bonus, if I didn't have to go out on Record Store Day to fight crowds for it, even better. Supporting record stores from the comfort of my home.

Okay look, I can see why people love this record, because it is a great album... for me it still isn't as good as Mellon Collie, but that's cool that people still ride hard for this one because it is deserved. I can't believe that I'm actually writing about a Smashing Pumpkins record on this blog... never saw that coming.

Lastly, the vinyl for this looks amazing. Man, remember when all colored vinyl looked this good and not some shitty splatter pattern on cheap plastic. I guess big bands like this can affort to use the best pressing plants.

Omega Wave

There was a time when Record Store Day was a big deal. I'd meet up early in the morning with my friend Jeff, and wait in line for the store to open. I would have a list of records that I was on the hunt for, and we would spend the entire day going from store to store and buying a ton of vinyl. It was an event... but those days are long gone. Record Store Day happened this year and I didn't even realize it until after it had passed. I was hanging out with Jeff shortly after RSD, and he asked if I'd picked up anything, and I had to look to see if I'd missed anything potentially interesting. There were a couple of records that caught my eye from Record Store Day, but there was only one that I needed to have.

Forbidden was a late 80's / early 90's thrash band. There first two records are absolute classics for me. There next two records were from the early 90's, and I had stopped listening to metal at that time, but when the band reunited and released Omega Wave in 2010, I didn't hesitate to check it out. There were a bunch of older thrash bands reigniting that spark around that time, and Forbidden jumped in to ride that revival. They did not disappoint. Omega Wave sounded like it could have been released 20 years earlier. Russ Anderson's voice was still amazing and Craig Locicero could still shred... it was a great comeback record. Somehow, I never bought the CD or the vinyl at that time, so I obviously needed it now.

I was buying a bunch of records in 2010, but for metal albums, CDs were still my primary focus. I clearly remember checking vinyl prices for Omega Wave at the time and thinking it was prices ridiculously high at $40, or whatever it was, and I was not going to spend that kind of money on a metal record. Add it to the pile of record regrets as that original pressing is currently listed on Discogs for over $300. That's okay, this Record Store Day reissue will get the job done.

400 pressed on red and blue splatter vinyl, and includes a special lyric insert with some history on the band and how the reunion came together.

Dio Live In 1983

Starting in 2018, the Dio band has participated in Record Store Day each year (and sometimes twice if they hit the Black Friday RSD as well). The offering from Dio so far has been a string of seven picture disc singles, and while they haven't been life changing, they have been fun to collect. For 2023, however, they changed things up a bit and this time out we get a live Dio record from '83.

Initially, I wasn't too excited over another live Dio album. I already had seven of them in my collection, and wasn't sure that I needed another one. I was soon set straight, because this is a killer live set as Dio, Viv, Vinny and Jimmy rip through a bunch of songs from the first album, Holy Diver, plus some classics from Sabbath and Rainbow. Dio's voice is incredible here and band are just on fire. Ronnie has been gone for 13 years now, so there won't be any new material from the man... so records like this end up being a bit special and are a nice reminder of how incredible he was as a front man. RJD forever.

Red vinyl and numbered out of 8,000 pressed.

Double Dose Of Donington

Back in 2018, the Dio camp got involved with Record Store Day releases, and started dropping special picture disc singles for each RSD event. With the 2022 Record Store Day, Dio released their 7th single in this series.

Look, I'm a Dio fanboy, so there is no way that I can say no to these RSD releases... no matter how pointless they are. I mean, they are picture discs, so that's gross, and they don't contain anything new outside of the artwork, but I still need them all.

The two songs here were taken from the Dio At Donington double live LP from 2010. I dig the picture disc art, but now I'll stick it on a shelf and not think about it ever again.

God Hates Record Store Day

Record Store Day has taken to releasing a Dio picture disc single with each drop. They are pretty pointless, other than being a nice looking collectible, but it is Dio so I'm basically required to buy it no matter how useless they are. Plus, at this point I was five releases deep so I couldn't back out now and needed to pick up the latest.

This time around, the RSD single is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Dio album Angry Machines. It seems like that album gets brushed aside by a lot of Dio fans, but I love the dark and heavy vibe from that record. It is a bit different for Dio, so I understand why some fans might not enjoy it, but I think it is great.

This single has the song God Hates Heavy Metal on the a-side, which is a rare track that was only available on the Japanese CD pressing of the album. Not the most creative song title, but I still dig it. Over on the b-side we get This Is Your Life from the Angry Machines album, plus a live version of Hunter Of The Heart (which is such a killer song).

Awww hell, might as well pull all six out for a photo. I wonder how long the Dio camp will keep this picture disc single series rolling.

Tied Down RSDemo

One of the few records that some of my old blogger friends had showed any interest in for Record Store Day was the colored vinyl pressing of the Tied Down demo from Negative Approach. I was planning on just ignoring it... I mean, spending $24 for demo versions of songs that I was already familiar with seemed a bit dumb. Then, while I was in the store with two other records in my hands, I figured "fuck it" and I grabbed the one from Negative Approach and headed to the counter to check out.

I'm not sure if I necessarily NEEDED this record in my collection, but it was certainly fun to drop the needle and give it a spin. Negative Approach just pummel you, and these songs are just vicious from start to finish. I feel like I haven't really spent much time with this band over recent years, but this record makes me want to bring them out more often.

This is a typical TAANG! release and they don't really offer much in the way of packaging. No insert with any additional photos or commentary from the band. Kind of weak for the price tag this carries.

The Record Store Day sticker is a nice touch, although I always remove mine from the cellophane wrapper and apply it to my poly sleeve. This one proved to be more difficult to remove than most and I ended up mangling it pretty good.

Through The Mists Of RSD

I've been obsessing over AC/DC records for the last few years, so when I saw that they were releasing a 12 inch single for Record Store Day this year, I knew that I'd at least be picking up that one record for the day. If it wasn't for this one single, I might not have even bothered to get out to the store.

I wasn't excited that this latest single was pressed as a picture disc, but I'm not too bothered about it. I mean, it isn't like I'll probably ever play this record again since both of these songs were on the Power Up album that was released last year. Still, as another record for the AC/DC collection, I'll gladly take it.

Packaging is pretty minimal here, with just an OBI style strip that lists the song names. 5,000 pressed.

I saw that someone posted the other day on Instagram, checking in to see if people are still spinning the Power Up album, or if the hype had died down and it had been shelved. Me? You bet that I'm still playing that thing regularly.

RSD Leppard

There really wasn't anything that I was excited about for this year's Record Store Day, but I still figured that I'd swing by the Bull Moose store around the corner from me to see what was shakin'. Due to COVID restrictions, only one person at a time was allowed to flip through the bins of RSD releases, so I had to stand in line as the clown in front of me took his time to pull out and examine every other record. From the sidelines I could see a live Def Leppard record in the bin so as soon as it was my turn that was the first one that I grabbed.

I can only hang with the first three Def Leppard albums, so when I saw the 1980 date of the show on the front cover, I figured that I'd take a chance and buy it. I'm so glad that I picked this one up, because this live album fucking rips.

The songs here only cover the first EP and the On Through The Night album, as well as early versions of a couple of other songs. The whole thing is electric as the songs jump off the vinyl. I could have easily passed on picking up this live record, but I'm so glad that I didn't. This record sounds great.

The look and layout of this package is fantastic.

Dream Evil RSD

A couple years ago, the Dio camp started releasing a picture disc single for each Record Store Day. At this point, I was four singles deep, so when it was announced that the fifth in the series was going to be released for the Black Friday RSD, I knew that I was going to have to chase it down.

Not wanting to deal with any crowds, or end up waiting outside if the store was over capacity, I casually did a drive-by of the store on the afternoon Black Friday. It looked quiet, so I pulled in to check it out. No crowds...no lines...I was in and out in less than five minutes, and the latest Dio single, Dream Evil, was mine.

Like the other Dio picture disc singles, this isn't giving us any wild unheard tracks. All we get here are two live tracks from Donington '87, which coincidently was the same show the Metallica songs were taken from for their recent 7 inch that I posted the other day. Funny how that worked out...completely unplanned.

I really wish that they would stop using this "first time on vinyl" bullshit. These two songs have been released before...you know, on the Dio At Donington album that was released in 2011. I'm going to buy this stupid single anyway, so you don't need to try and suck me in with some marketing scam.

Doors Stripped

With the global pandemic causing events to cancel all year, Record Store Day tried to adapt and moved to a phased approach for their releases...basically spreading RSD over a three or four different weekends in an attempt to limit crowds, or something like that. Whatever. It was of little consequence to me as there were only a couple of records that I was interested in. I'd picked up the latest Dio picture disk single without any trouble, and was hoping for more of the same when it came to the release from The Doors a few weeks later.

I'm a huge fan of The Doors and when I heard the details around their latest RSD release, I immediately knew that I was going to have to get my hands on it. The record is called The Soft Parade / Stripped and is basically their Soft Parade album without any of the horns and orchestration, and it is just stripped down to a more raw version with only the band playing thier instruments. At the time I purchased it, I was under the impression that the record contained the entire Soft Parade album, but once I received it and paid attention to the track list, I can see that there are really only four songs from the album that appear here in the "Doors Only" recording...with three of those songs appearing a second time on the b-side with Robby Krieger guitar overdubs (which sound fucking cool, if you ask me).

I've seen some complaints from people about the minimal packaging for this record, with only the vellum paper "cover" stuffed into a PVC sleeve, but I think it fits the "stripped" theme of the release... also, that crystal clear vinyl looks amazing... of course the first thing I did was get the record into a proper dust sleeve to keep the PVC one from damaging it (thanks for the pro-tip, Marcus). Ridiculously listed as "limited" to 12,000 copies.

Annica

I've been losing interest in Record Store Day releases for a few years now. I remember a time when I would study the list of upcoming RSD releases, queue up in line the day of, and easily drop over $100 on them. The last couple of years have definitely seen me relax, and with a few rare exceptions, I generally don't really care about those RSD records and I just use the day to hit a few used record stores in town. With the covid-19 pandemic delaying Record Store Day from April, and eventually seeing a phased release over a few weeks, I had basically checked out on the entire event. Only so many people were allowed in the store at a time to allow social distancing, and the whole process of showing up, putting your name on a list and then waiting in your car to be called seemed like a huge pain in the ass so I just skipped the whole thing. It is sad really. Even though I wasn't too bothered with the RSD list of releases, I did miss getting out there and digging through the bins for a day.

There were a couple of RSD releases that I had my eye on this year, but the one that I really needed to own was the latest Dio picture disc single. I've set the precedent by picking up the three previous Record Store Day singles for Dio, so I needed to continue the tradition with the fourth in the set with Annica.

Annica was a bonus song from the Magica sessions that originally only showed up on the Japanese release. It's cool to have it show up as a single, I guess, but as an instrumental, it wasn't really necessary...and with the b-side containing an 18 minute track of Ronnie James Dio reading the story of Magica basically means that I'm going to listen to this once and put on the shelf and never touch it again...but hey, it looks good.

Unsainted

The only thing that I had in my sights for the Black Friday Record Store Day was the latest Dio single. As I started flipping through the bin of RSD releases at the record store, a few more caught my eye. I managed to resist them all, with the exception of a Slipknot picture disc 7 inch.

There was a time in the early 2000's when I was searching for some new music to listen to. I was listening to a bit of hip hop at the time, and I was starting to get interested in metal again, so when I discovered Slipknot it was exactly what I was looking for at the time. Five years down the line, I was more interested in the traditional metal sounds from the 80's, and I no longer cared about Slipknot. When I heard they were releasing a new album this year, I wasn't really interested, but somewhere along the way I decided to check out one of the new songs for the hell of it. I queued up the song Unstainted, and much to my surprise, I found that I really enjoyed the song. I honestly can't believe that I'm listening to this in 2019.

I wasn't sure that I'd be able to hang with the whole album, but fuck me, there are some great songs on We Are Not Your Kind. I'm still not sure if I want to spend the money on the full album, but finding this 7 inch scratched that itch for the moment.

5,000 pressed on a picture disc 7 inch for RSD2019.

Hand Of Dio

When I saw the list of Record Store Day exclusive releases this year, I wasn't very excited about anything on there, and for the couple of records that did catch my eye, I told myself that I wouldn't sweat it if I wasn't able to grab one. Yet, when the latest Dio picture disc didn't show up at the local record stores around here, suddenly I found myself desperate to find one, and I had to rely on Discogs to finally track one down.

There isn't anything new or special with this newest Dio single. The two songs have already shown up on other albums, but you know that I had to buy it for the Dio collection anyway...plus, it will sit nicely next to the Dio picture disc single that was released for the Black Friday RSD last year.

Just like that Holy Diver - Live at 35 single from last year, this one looks nice, but with some serious cupping, the record is kind of shitty quality. This one is definitely for serious collector nerds only.

3,000 pressed.

One Night Stand

I don't pay much attention to Record Store Day releases any more. I'll scan the list to see if anything jumps out at me, but for the most part there is rarely anything that I'll sweat if I don't happen to pick it up. This year there were two items on the list that I wanted to pick up if I happened to come across them...but as it would turn out, I only ended up with one of them, as the Dio single appears to have only been released in Europe. I'm still coming for you Dio...it just may take some time.

Initially, I thought that the Youth Of Today 7 inch released for Record Store Day was goofy as hell, but that's only because I'd forgotten how much fun this One Night Stand cover is. Originally done by The Partridge Family, Youth Of Today completely make this song their own. Considering that I think it was only available on the REV100 CD, it is cool to finally see the song on vinyl.

As much as people grumble about how much they hate Record Store Day, it's funny to see the collector nerds scramble when Revelation poops out 6 different pressings of this single. I don't play that game anymore, and since this 7 inch carried a bullshit price tag of $11.00, I'm happy with just this one pressing. Kincaid labels on magenta colored vinyl is limited to 1,000 pressed.

Dead Kennedys '78

While I was out for my Black Friday Record Store Day shopping, I was in a record buying mood, so I added one more to the stack before heading to the counter to checkout.

I had seen the vinyl pressing of the Dead Kennedys 1978 rehearsal tape on the list of RSD releases, and filed it away as something that I might grab when I was out trying to track down the new pressing of the Only Living Witness record on Black Friday. I was a bit hesitant to bother with it, as I figured that the recording quality was probably sketchy at best, but when a saw the track list, and it showed a few song titles that I didn't recognize, I figured that I'd roll the dice and take the chance.

Yeah, this recording is raw and rough, and while it was cool to hear some long lost Dead Kennedys songs, it is tough sitting through this entire record. Cool to have, but not necessary.

Live From the Astroturf

Sometimes Record Store Day can surprise me. Yes, there can be a lot of garbage that hits the racks on this day, but every once in a while, I unexpectedly find myself excited for one of the RSD releases. I had reviewed the list of Record Store Day releases for Black Friday, and while there were a couple of records that I motivated me to get to the store when the doors opened at 9:00 that morning, the live Alice Cooper record was not on that list.

I headed to the store early on Black Friday because I did not want to miss out on the vinyl pressing of the Only Living Witness album, Prone Mortal Form. This was the one RSD record that I wanted, so I was really disappointed when I got to the store and found that they did not have a single copy in the rack.

In my search through the bins, desperately hoping that maybe I'd just overlooked it, I spotted the new Alice Cooper album, Live From The Astroturf. I wasn't planning on buying this, but coming up short with the Only Living Witness left me feeling incomplete, so on a whim, I grabbed this to fill the emptiness in my heart....plus that reflective silver foil cover, with the pink OBI style strip, and title font that's a throw back to the Love It To Death album, it all looked so damn good, and it was too much to resist.

This live set was recorded back in 2015, when Alice Cooper made a "surprise" appearance at book signing for original bass player, Dennis Dunaway. Original guitarist, Michael Bruce, and drummer Neal Smith were there with Dunaway and had planned a short live set of classics from their time with the Alice Cooper Band, but shit went to the next level when Alice showed up and joined his old bandmates on the stage. This was absolutely historic, and thankfully the entire set was captured on tape, and is finally seeing the light of day with this vinyl release.

I was happy to buy a copy of this, but as soon as I started to open the shrink wrap and go through all the packaging for this record, I started to appreciate it more and more. While the price tag was a little high, it was well worth it for the absolute quality of the packaging and all the extras. Along with the OBI strip that has trading cards printed on the flipside, there is a giant double sided poster and a nice booklet that includes some writing and plenty of photos...plus, that translucent pink vinyl is fucking beautiful.

Absolutely amazing package. Limited to 3,000 and foil stamp numbered on the back cover.

RSD: Record Store Dio

I've never been a fan of the Black Friday Record Store Day. Double dipping on this holiday that was already getting the stink of money making commercialism, instead of an honest support for record stores, was a bit too much for me, and the addition of the Black Friday holiday was not something that I looked forward to. Still, they sucked me back in with a few records that I couldn't pass up.

No matter how I feel towards the Black Friday RSD, when I saw that there was a new pressing for a Dio single this year, it was obvious that I was going to have to get to the store and get my hands on one. After the fun of last year's "Dio-cember" celebration, when I pulled in a good haul of Dio records, I was excited to add something new to the collection.

Sure this thing looks nice, but it is a picture disc, and it sounds as bad as you'd expect a picture disc to sound.

I don't understand why this is packaged and promoted as the "35th anniversary of Holy Diver", because the real selling point is the b-side song, Electra. As the last song that the Dio band ever recorded, and was looking to have it appear on the next Dio album, which I believe was going to be Magica II, this song was the focus for me here. The song has shown up on a couple of compilations since it was recorded, but this is the first time it has seen a vinyl pressing...again, it is too bad it has to be on picture disc. Still, I'm always happy to expand my Dio collection!

RSD 2018 - Part 4: World Up My Ass [RSD Release]

Okay...one last Record Store Day post.

Prior to Record Store Day, I glanced at the list of special RSD releases to see if anything caught my eye. There used to be a time when I could easy drop a couple hundred dollars on RSD records, but things have been getting a bit thin the last couple of years. For this year, there wasn't a single thing that interested me, and skipped the participating stores completely, and just stuck to the smaller used record stores.

When Doug posted a picture on Instagram of his Record Store Day pickups, I was surprised to see an RSD release for the live Circle Jerks album, Gig. Whoa. I didn't know this was coming. The next day I was tracking down a copy for myself, and thankfully, Bull Moose still had a couple copies available.

Over the past couple of years, I'd thought about grabbing the 2014 German vinyl pressing of this album, but this US pressing does the job.

I'm not that big on live records, but this one is a good time. The energy really carries this record, and the setlist is top notch. Totally worth adding to the Circle Jerks collection.