RSD Essentials

Frank Ballard brings the party to Sun Records’ 70th Anniversary celebration with the newly remastered Rhythm Blues Party. Nicknamed “The Golden Voice,” he brings each track to life with his powerful vocals, backed by the Memphis-based Phillip Reynolds Band. Originally released in 1962 and last pressed on vinyl in 1981, Rhythm Blues Party features tracks written by Ballard, like the bluesy “I Just Can’t Help It,” the sultry “After Hours,” and the upbeat “You Gotta Learn to Rock & Roll.”

The fourth studio album by rock legend Chris Isaak was originally released in 1993 and subsequently certified gold in the US, Canada and the United Kingdom. Dedicated to the memory of sound consultant Louie Beeson, the album includes the titular track “San Francisco Days” in Isaak’s modern blues style, “Two Hearts”, “Can’t Do a Thing” and a cover of Neil Diamond’s “Solitary Man”. The lush, guitar-heavy record features James Calvin Wilsey, Rowland Salley, Danny Gatton, Jeff Watson and Tom Brumley.

Lou Reed's second solo album Transformer is an album that everyone should own and without a doubt - Essential. Considered an influential landmark of the glam rock genre and anchored by Reed's most successful single, "Walk on the Wild Side" along with “Perfect Day” & “Satellite of Love”. Produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, the album was released in November 1972 by RCA Records.

There's Nothing Wrong with Love is the second full-length album released by legendary indie rock band Built to Spill. It was originally released September 13, 1994, on the Up Records label. The line-up for the album was Doug Martsch, bassist Brett Nelson, and drummer Andy Capps, with Phil Ek producing. There’s Nothing Wrong with Love was wonderfully received by critics upon its release. It went on to earn “Best Albums of 90’s” notices from the likes of Pitchfork, PASTE & SPIN.

Odessey and Oracle is a landmark recording that follows Sgt. Peppers’ Lonely Hearts Club Band as among the most influential British rock records from the 1960’s. Mostly recorded at Abbey Road, (using some of the Beatles’ instruments leftover from the Peppers sessions), the album features “Time of the Season” which went to #1 in both the U.S. and Canada.  The album has been cited as a favorite by Dave Grohl, Paul Weller and Tom Petty, who wrote the foreword to The Odessey: The Zombies in Words and Images, a hardcover coffee table book on the album released in 2017.  Odessey and Oracle is an essential record by any measurement and directly responsible for The Zombies’ induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.

Indie Exclusive * Newly remastered vinyl by Richard Dodd. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of King Of Hearts original release. Featuring the Grammy-winning duet “Crying” with k.d. lang. Producers on the record include T-Bone Burnett, Jeff Lynne, Robbie Robertson, and Don Was

RSD Essential 035 * 10th Anniversary * RSD Essentials Limited Edition Alternate Cover + Coke Bottle Clear Colored Vinyl

40th Anniversary celebration of the album responsible for naming a genre! Originally released in 1982, Black Metal was the second full-length album from Venom and remains a major influence on Thrash Metal, Death Metal, and Black Metal.  Includes the classic trio of Cronos, Mantas & Abaddon.

First time on colored vinyl. Remastered for the first time since its original release in 2000, Mirror Conspiracy is the second studio album from ambient duo Thievery Corporation, the brainchild of Eric Hilton and Rob Garza. The lasting influence of this effervescent album on modern lo-fi music cannot be understated. The record includes the popular hits “Lebanese Blonde” which features vocals by Pam Bricker, and “Le Monde” with vocals by French singer Lou Lou Gehlickhani.

First time on colored vinyl. The debut album from Thievery Corporation was released in 1997 as a first-of-its-kind electronica record. The phrase “trip-hop” was coined in 1994 during the influx of alt-rock techno music and perfectly describes the acid-jazz tracks that make up the album. With a blend of lounge, electronic, and folk influences, this is a listening experience that caters to everyone. The remastered album features the signature track “Shaolin Satellite” and bonus tracks “Sun, Moon, and Stars” and “Sleeper Car.”

Forty years after the Summer of Love (and 30 years after the Summer of Hate), MGMT is celebrating the grand re-opening of the third eye of the world with Oracular Spectacular, an enigmatic and prophetic collection of hallucinatory sounds and hook-riddled Pop tones for the new millennium.

MGMT is: Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser, two psychic pilgrims whose paths first intersected in the green pastures of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, circa 2002. The pair was drawn to the music of other duos and found themselves incorporating the implications of the hallucinatory power-twee of the Incredible String Band, the roaring subway minimalist Electronica of Suicide, the silky Pop-Soul of Hall & Oates, the pulsing narcotic trance of Spacemen 3, the avant-garde Industrial romanticism of Royal Trux and much more into the constantly evolving sounds of MGMT.

Introducing BLUEWERKS: The first-ever collaboration series between the two iconic record labels Blue Note & Astralwerks. Bringing together a collection of lo-fi tracks pairing the best of downtempo electronica together with jazz-infused sounds while bringing influences from all corners of the world.

- First Time on Colored Vinyl

- Death Grips’ landmark double 2015 album, available again on opaque red vinyl as an RSD Essential pressing!

With such iconic tracks as “Christmas Time is Here” and the instantly recognizable “Linus and Lucy”, the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas remains the second–best-selling jazz title in history, and was certified 4x Platinum by the RIAA in late 2016. 

First time on colored vinyl. Déjà Vu is the first album by the rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and the second by the trio configuration of Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Released in March of 1970 by Atlantic Records, it topped the pop album chart for one week and generated three Top 40 singles: "Teach Your Children," "Our House," and "Woodstock." Without a doubt - Essential. 

BDP's first album--and the only one to include the late DJ Scott La Rock--sounded harder than hell when it came out in 1987. Though the simple beat-box patterns on a few tracks sound dated, most of La Rock's tracks are bluntly effective, especially the AC/DC riff he appropriates on "Dope Beat." And KRS-One still performs most of his Criminal Minded rhymes, because his audience knows them word for word: the ultraviolent dancehall of "9mm Goes Bang," the battle cry of "South Bronx" (and its counterpart, the anti-Juice Crew screed of "The Bridge Is Over," with its little Billy Joel homage), the catalog of La Rock's condom collection on "Super-Hoe." KRS bloomed later; here, he just rocked.

A recently-found copy master of the original 1977 Track Records tape, without mud! This classic punk album, recorded in London by the NYC band featuring two New York Dolls, was always controversial - and not just for the acronym. On release in 1977 on Track Records, it was widely condemned in the press for having a "muddy mix" - later discovered to be a mastering fault. When Track went bust the following year, manager Leee Black Childers burgled the office and liberated the tapes - he found everything except the master tape.

Subsequent releases were remixes or compiled from outtake mixes - the latter "lost '77 mixes" in 1994 being the version commonly known since. Meanwhile, fans found the 1977 cassette version didn't have the infamous "mud", neither did certain European vinyl matrixes.

In 2020 a chance meeting led to Danny Secunda's archives. Danny was an old-school music biz pioneer who understood punk. He became a Track Records director and the Heartbreakers L.A.M.F. co-producer. In amongst his tape box archive were two with no artist name, marked "Copy Master 12.7.77". They turned out to be a crystal-clear "L.A.M.F.", just as the band and producers intended it.

Sadly, none of the Heartbreakers lived to hear of the discovery. In 2020 the Heartbreakers co-lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Walter passed away, the last of the Heartbreakers "L.A.M.F." line-up. First released as a much-in-demand RSD release in 2021, it now returns for its 45th Anniversary as a 'Record Store Day Essentials' release. A limited-edition in neon pink and white vinyl. With inner bag and notes by Simon Wright, and a new RSDE obi-strip.

Portamento is the second studio album by Brooklyn band The Drums. The album took on the success of the first album and created another masterpiece with such instant classic songs as  "Money", "Days", and "I Don't Know How To Love". Having recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, Portamento has proved that it is just as vital today as it was when it first was released.

The Madlib Medicine Show series is a combination of Madlib's new hip-hop productions, remixes, beat tapes, and jazz, as well as mixtapes of funk, soul, Brazilian, psych, jazz and other undefined forms of music from the Beat Konducta's 4-ton* stack of vinyl

Beat Konducta In Africa contains over forty instrumental hip-hop tracks produced and mixed by Madlib. This epic “beat tape” springs from obscure vinyl gems culled from the afro-beat, funk, psych, garage-rock, prog-rock and soul movements of countries as diverse as Zambia, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Botswana and the Ivory Coast.

This first live album by the band was recorded during seven performances in 1977. The first four shows were held at the Rainbow Theatre in London on August 1–4, 1977. The final three shows were recorded the following week at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium in Washington, D.C. on August 8–10. The band was backed by the Tower of Power horn section.

- First time on colored vinyl, Robinson's 1974 debut studio album for Alligator Records.  AllMusic calls this, "one of the most subtly satisfying electric blues albums of the '70s."

- The Mellow Giant of the blues, one of the genre's finest composers, most melodic singers, and sensitive and subtle guitarists.

- "Absolutely haunting power"--LIVING BLUES 

When Heart Shaped World was released in the summer of 1989, it peaked at number 149 on the Billboard 200. In October 1990, Lee Chesnut, music director of WAPW in Atlanta, played the song "Wicked Game" repeatedly over two weeks after hearing a version on the soundtrack from the 1990 David Lynch film Wild at Heart. "Wicked Game" was released as a single, and the album reached the U.S. Top 10 peaking at number 7 on Billboard by April 1991, garnering sales of more than 500,000 copies.

- First Time Ever on Vinyl with exclusive bonus tracks

- Van Hunt’ self-titled debut album from 2004 featuring his breakthrough single “Dust” which earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Urban/Alternative Performance.

The debut studio album by US country artist Waylon Jennings. 12 eclectic sides featuring country, rock, folk and blues styles. Original pressings were sold exclusively at JD's nightclub in Phoenix, Arizona, where Waylon Jennings regularly performed with his backing band The Waylors during the early 60's. This title sees its first official vinyl reissue in over five decades. Pressed on limited edition 180g dark grey vinyl with original artwork.

Without exaggeration, Jason Isbell has become one of the most respected and celebrated songwriters of his generation. He possesses an incredible penchant for identifying and articulating some of the deepest, yet simplest, human emotions, and turning them into beautiful poetry through song. Isbell sings of the everyday human condition with thoughtful, heartfelt, and sometimes brutal honesty, and The Nashville Sound is no exception. The Nashville Sound is the critically acclaimed 6th studio album from Jason Isbell, and the 3rd album alongside his band, The 400 Unit. The album debuted at #4 on the Billboard Top 200 and #1 on the Rock, Americana / Folk and Country Albums charts, and earned the band 2 Grammys at the 2018 Grammy Awards: Best Americana Album and Best American Roots Song for "If We Were Vampires". 

De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest may have been more commercially successful, but the afrocentric, jazz political rap movement and unfadeable Native Tounge Massive started with the Jungle Brothers. Their debut full-length Straight Out the Jungle opened up many doors that are walked through by artists like Mos Def, Common and even Kanye West. Their taste for jazzy horn samples helped kick-start the entire jazz-rap movement, and their James Brown fixation was one of the first. Plus, the group's groundbreaking collaboration with legendary house producer Todd Terry, "I'll House You," paved the way for numerous hip-house hybrids that shot up the dance and pop charts over the next few years and appeared to be a staple on every East Coast Rap Album from '88 until '92.

Death Grips are angry. It's unclear why. But on their major-label debut, the Sacramento noise group's monomaniacal desire to rain down fiery destruction on the powers-that-be is crystal-clear, even if nothing else is on The Money Store, even if nothing else-- where the hell this album came from; who plays which instrument; what the lead singer is yelling about; and what on earth this band of insurgents is doing signing an Epic Records contract with L.A. Reid-- makes much sense at all. - Pitchfork 8.7

The debut album by The Jackson 5 became a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 within weeks of its release and eventually sold millions of copies worldwide. It also contains many other classics such as "Who's Loving You" penned by Smokey Robinson, and a wonderful cover version of The Delfonics' "Can you Remember". This masterpiece spent nine weeks at #1 on the R&B/Black Albums chart between 1969 and 1970. it constituted the first long play appearance by the future "King of Pop," The Jackson 5's lead singer, Michael Jackson.

It was do or die for Toto on the group's fourth album, and they rose to the challenge. Largely dispensing with the anonymous studio rock that had characterized their first three releases, the band worked harder on its melodies, made sure its simple lyrics treated romantic subjects, augmented Bobby Kimball's vocals by having other group members sing, brought in ringers like Timothy B. Schmit, and slowed down the tempo to what came to be known as "power ballad" pace. Most of all, they wrote some hit songs: "Rosanna," the old story of a lovelorn lyric matched to a bouncy beat, was the gold, Top Ten comeback single accompanying the album release; "Make Believe" made the Top 30; and then, surprisingly, "Africa" hit number one ten months after the album's release.

One of the most popular protest albums ever recorded, it inspired cover versions of its songs by such artists as Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Bruce Springsteen, and The Jam, and was sampled by the Beastie Boys, among others.

Includes Edwin Starr's signature song, the smash hit "War" (penned by Norman Whitfield & Barrett Strong), which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100chart in 1970. The song earned Starr a GRAMMY nomination in 1971 for Best R&B Male Vocal and was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame in 1999. It also includes the Northern Soul classic "Time," the one-step dancer "Running Back and Forth" and a great cover of The 5th Dimension's "California Soul".

Two Sevens Clash is the debut album by roots reggae band Culture, recorded with producer Joe Gibbs at his own Joe Gibbs Recording Studio in Kingston in 1976, and released on Gibbs' eponymous label in 1977. The album's title is a reference to the date of 7 July 1977. Singer Joseph Hill said Two Sevens Clash was based on a prediction by Marcus Garvey, who said there would be chaos on 7 July 1977, when the "sevens" met. With its apocalyptic message, the song created a stir in his Caribbean homeland and many Jamaican businesses and schools closed for the day. 

The Madlib Medicine Show series is a combination of Madlib's new hip-hop productions, remixes, beat tapes, and jazz, as well as mixtapes of funk, soul, Brazilian, psych, jazz and other undefined forms of music from the Beat Konducta's 4-ton stack of vinyl.

Back in the 90s, “beat tapes,” as a Hip Hop producer’s demo-reel is now quaintly referred to, were literally that: cassette tapes of beats that a producer made either for himself, his friends, or for potential collaborators. As you can imagine, Madlib made a bunch of ‘em in the days between his early productions for the Alkaholiks (circa ’92) and the release of his Quasimoto album (2000) – after which he took a couple of years off of the beats to focus on making jazz music with his fictional five piece, Yesterdays New Quintet.

This collection of beats showcases the way that Madlib’s early Hip Hop demos were filtered out to his friends and associates and provides an opportunity for a unique view into Madlib’s working process: these beats, often freestyled on whatever machine he had at the ready, were picked up by rappers over a period of many years. Trainspotters will find it interesting that beats later destined for the likes of Wildchild and Percee P were made some years before those albums saw release.

This album is punctuated with a series of early solo-raps by Madlib and his Quasimoto alter ego and features the cadre known collectively as CDP – those rappers who worked side by side with Madlib during the days of his Oxnard-based “Crate Diggas Palace” studios.

2012 debut album from the Athens, Alabama-based outfit. The band was originally formed when lead singer/guitarist Brittany Howard approached bassist Zac Cockrell during a high school psychology class and began meeting after school to write songs. Howard and Cockrell experimented with many different styles of music including roots rock, progressive rock, soul music, country music and classic rock.

The now-classic second album by Allen Stone. Originally self-released - then picked up by ATO Records - the album climbed the R&B/Soul charts and vaulted Stone from small clubs to theaters. Features the hit “Unaware” and pressed here on indie-exclusive gold nugget vinyl.

This is where DEATH METAL begins!!! Possessed's legendary 1985 genre-defining album, Seven Churches. Features "The Exorcist", "Pentagram" and "Death Metal"