Record Store Day 2016 - Part One: RSD Releases

Nine years on, and I still get excited for Record Store Day. I've calmed down on buying one of everything, and no longer get sucked into every overpriced reissue, but you know, it is still a cool day to get out and hit as many record stores as I can. I'm already looking forward to what the 10 year anniversary has in store for us next year.

While I may have been looking forward to Record Store Day, my want list was surprisingly very small. What can I say? RSD reissues excite me less and less each year, and as I headed out the door that Saturday morning, I only had two "must have" items on my list.

At the top of that list was the new Clutch 12 inch.

I didn't need to worry about missing out on the Clutch record, as the store had around twenty of them in stock...and they didn't appear to be flying out of the bins.

Featuring two songs leftover from the Psychic Warfare sessions last year, this is a pretty cool record as you can never have too much Clutch. Plus the etched b-side of the record is pretty badass.

I don't necessarily jump for vinyl discographies anymore, especially when most of the material was originally pressed on vinyl anyway. I guess they make sense for CDs, but vinyl discographies seem a bit obnoxious. I would have much rather seen those three new songs that Insted recorded for the discography back in 2004 pressed to a 12 inch EP, instead of this double LP. Still, seeing this in the store I couldn't help but purchase a copy. The vinyl looks amazing for this thing.

I'm no longer excited over REV reissues. Too much, too fast, and I got burned out on them. They only way that I'll pick them up now is if I don't own an original pressing, and such was the case with the Shades Apart reissue.

The band were never as good after their self titled LP and the Dude Danger 12 inch, but I still enjoy their REV albums from time to time. I haven't listened to Save It in over 10 years, so it was nice to revisit it with this reissue.

I bought the reissue of Burn's Last Great Sea simply because it was there. If it wasn't Record Store Day, and I could only get this in the REVHQ store, I wouldn't have put forth the effort to grab a copy. Now that RSD is done, I see that REV have pressed this again...this time it is available in their webstore on green vinyl. Meh...no thanks. Fool me once...

Besides the Clutch record, the only other thing on my Want List for the day was the new Iron Maiden 12 inch single for Empire Of The Clouds.

I don't care that it is a picture disc, and I'm not bothered that it is just a song from their newest album. Maiden vinyl rules. Period. The packaging for this looks amazing...and considering Maiden didn't release any singles on vinyl for 2010's Final Frontier, I'm glad to see them back in the record game.

Empire of the Clouds is an epic 18 minutes long, and the b-side on the single features an interview about writing the band's longest song.

Yup...that's it for RSD releases. 5 records. Not even close to the epic hauls of years past. I guess it is a good thing that REV and Indecision released something for this years Record Store Day...if it wasn't for them, I may have been tempted to spend a ridiculous $60 on another live record from The Doors.

Shades Apart

When I was picking up the Moving Targets LP, the seller had it listed with a Make An Offer option. I took advantage of this and sent over my offer, and in an attempt to sweeten the deal, I told him that I'd also take the Shades Apart record he was selling as well. I figured that the opportunity to unload another record at the same time would make my offer more attractive, and it paid off, as I walked away with both pieces of vinyl for a great price.

I first heard Shades Apart back when their Dude Danger EP was released back in '91. I loved that record and even got the chance to see them live in some small room behind a Harvest Co-op around Boston around that time. It was sometime during the early to mid 90's...you know, when it was frowned upon to move or show any kind of excitement when a band played...so 50 of us squeezed into that room, and tried to pretend like we weren't having any fun. Shades Apart were cool to see at that time, even though I didn't know most of the songs they played for their set. I'd never heard the band's debut LP at the time, and didn't get a chance until my brother picked up the '94 CD release. Once I'd heard it, it instantly became my favorite Shades Apart record. Nothing they did after this or Dude Danger could come close.

Even though this was my favorite by Shades Apart, I still had never owned a copy. It was a good feeling to finally add this to the collection.