Last week, Rock Music Menu asked if people even go out for Black Friday anymore.
But after some consideration, there must be a good number of shoppers braving the traffic and overall madness that comes with venturing out the day after Thanksgiving, especially given the number of excellent vinyl available this year’s Record Store Day Black Friday.
There’s so much on deck, in fact, that we’ve had to dedicate two weeks to all the quality, limited edition wax hitting shelves this Friday.
Whether it’s psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll, piano jazz, Irish rock, an amalgamation of hip-hop and alternative rock and metal, country and singer/songwriter, there’s bound to be something if not for the music lover on your gift list, then maybe for yourself this RSD Black Friday.
Here are 10 more of the best titles to keep an eye out for beginning next Friday at your local record shop.
• The Doors: “Live in Bakersfield”
“The Doors: Live in Bakersfield,” recorded Aug. 21, 1970, at the Bakersfield Civic Auditorium, is one of the more unique shows from the band during a tumultuous year when frontman Jim Morrison was on trial on trumped-up charges in Miami. At that point, they had been playing together live for five years and were tight enough to be able to veer into the unknown, which is one reason why they opted for a California agriculture town on a hot summer night. Featuring improvisations and medleys of Doors songs like “Love
Me Two Times” and “When the Music’s Over,” the two-LP set is “limited” — in a very loose sense of the word — to 12,500 copies and comes on 140-gram transparent orange vinyl.
• U2: “Under a Blood Red Sky”
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of U2’s “Under a Blood Red Sky,” the iconic live album has been newly remastered on 180-gram red vinyl. Consisting of recordings from three concerts on the band’s 1983 “War Tour,” the album helped to cement the Irish rock outfit’s reputation globally as one of the greatest live acts of all time. Featuring legendary live versions of “Gloria,” “I Will Follow” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” the LP remains faithful to the original track list but is newly remastered at Bernie Grundman Mastering. Limited to 7,000 copies, it includes a double-sided insert with credits and lyrics, plus a large two-sided poster.
• Ahmad Jamal: “Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse, 1966-1968”
Coming on the heels of the recent two “Ahmad Jamal Emerald City Nights” albums, producer Zev Feldman brings the superb streak to a close with third and final 2LP set of the jazz pianist’s previously unreleased live recordings. “Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse 1966-1968” captures spectacular performances by the Jamal’s trio with bassist Jamil Nasser and drummer Frank Gant. The package is limited to 2,300 copies and was produced by Feldman and supervised by Ahmad Jamal himself shortly before his passing in April 2023. It’s pressed on 180-gram vinyl transferred from the original tapes and mastered by the legendary Bernie Grundman.
• Various artists: “Judgment Night Soundtrack”
The highly anticipated re-press of the original soundtrack to the 1993 film “Judgment Night” revolutionized the world of film soundtracks by bringing together an eclectic lineup of renowned rock and hip-hop artists together. Strange bedfellows on paper — like Faith No More and Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E., Slayer and Ice-T and Sonic Youth and Cypress Hill — surprisingly worked more often than not musically. Limited to 3,150 copies, the LP comes on red vinyl.
• Coheed and Cambria: “Live at the Starland Ballroom”
For the first time on vinyl, “Live at the Starland Ballroom” features tracks from Coheed and Cambria’s performance at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, N.J., on Aug. 20, 2004. Released the following spring across other formats, it was the progressive heavy rockers’ first official live album. Pressed on “solar flare” colored vinyl, the two-LP set is limited to 4,900 copies.
• Joni Mitchell: “Court and Spark Demos”
As the most commercially successful album of Joni Mitchell’s career, “Court and Spark” contained some of the singer/songwriter’s favorites like “Down to You” and “Free Man in Paris” This demos LP features the never-before-heard demos from the iconic album, including those for “Help Me” and “Raised on Robbery.” It’s — ahem — “limited” to 12,300 copies and pressed on 180-gram vinyl.
• Gil Evans & Ten: Gil Evans & Ten [Mono]”
Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most forward-thinking orchestrators in jazz history, Canadian composer/arranger Gil Evans upheld an extraordinary career that included arranging for the Claude Thornhill Orchestra and working with Miles Davis on a series of historic albums, including 1957’s “Birth of the Cool” and “Miles Ahead” and 1960’s “Sketches of Spain.” At the encouragement of Davis, the illustrious Prestige Records ultimately granted Evans his own opportunity at doing a record, a turn of events that led to the making of the classic 1957 album “Gil Evans & Ten.” Evans made his recording debut as a pianist on the lush and innovative album, cut from the original master trapes, pressed on 180-gram vinyl and limited to 7,000 copies.
• Rilo Kiley: “Under the Blacklight”
“Under the Blacklight” was the fourth and final studio album released by alternative rock band Rilo Kiley, led by singer Jenny Lewis. The critically acclaimed effort features a number of guest artists including Jackson Browne, Alex Greenwald of Phantom Planet and James Valentine from Maroon 5. Available for the first time on vinyl since its release in 2007, it’s pressed on a translucent “blacklight” purple vinyl and limited to 5,715 copies.
• Willie Nelson: “Shotgun Willie (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)
Willie’s groundbreaking 1973 album, which many consider as signaling the beginning of the “outlaw country” movement, was the 16th album from the country legend. The 50th anniversary two-LP set comes with a second disc of outtakes and alternates from the album sessions and is available for the first time on vinyl. Limited to 8,500 copies, it’s pressed on 140-gram black vinyl.
• Various artists: “Light in the Attic and Friends”
For more than two decades, the celebrated archival label Light in the Attic has cast a spotlight on some of music’s most unique, and often forgotten, voices. Over 10 years in the making, and taken from the acclaimed 7-inch vinyl and digital singles releases “Covers Series,” this new collection features an incredible bill of legendary artists rendering interpretations of other songs including Charles Bradley & The Menahan Street Band covering Sixto Rodriguez, Iggy Pop Zig Zags covering funk queen Betty Davis, Angel Olsen covering folk singer Karen Dalton and so many more. The double LP is pressed on “smash colored” wax, limited to 1,500 copies and housed in a wide spine jacket featuring new cover art by renowned British artist Sophy Hollington, plus a booklet of new liner notes by Lydia Hyslop.
Vinyl of the Week will return in December.
To contact music columnist Michael Christopher, send an email to rockmusicmenu@gmail.com. Also, check out his website at thechroniclesofmc.com.
