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Saturday, May 03, 2025
R.E.M. benefit EP for Radio Free Europe
Sunday, February 09, 2025
2025 Record Store Day preview: George Harrison & Beck, dada, Dave Stewart, John Lennon, Marty Willson-Piper, Omnivore Recordings, Brian Eno & U2, Geddy Lee
The parade of amazing exclusive titles for release on Record Store Day has been announced. This column features some of this writer's most highly-anticipated vinyl and/or audio CD collections set to be released on Saturday, April 12, 2025.
Record Store Day (RSD) has been an annual celebration of vinyl and independent record stores since it began in 2008, and this year's music-minded event features a slew of new and notable releases ranging from archival to newly-recorded sets from the celebrated likes of George Harrison, Beck, John Lennon, Dave Stewart, dada, Elton John, Geddy Lee (Rush), Joni Mitchell and many more!
There are three types of releases that are a part of RSD and they are indicated via the official RSD website:
EXCLUSIVES: These titles are physically released only at indie record shops.
RSD First: These titles are issued first at indie record stores but may be released to other physical or online retailers at some time in the future.
SMALL RUN/REGIONAL TITLES: These titles are released regionally and are limited to press runs of under 1,000.
Dark Horse Records and Record Store Day will also continue their partnership to release limited Zoetrope picture disc pressings of Harrison's entire studio album catalog with the announcement of the 1970 masterwork All Things Must Pass for this year's RSD. This limited edition 3LP zoetrope picture disc will be the third title in this RSD exclusive series, following the release of Wonderwall Music and Electronic Sound in 2024, and will be available at participating indie stores on April 12.
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dave Stewart will revisit the legacy of America's greatest living songwriter with the release of Dave Does Dylan, a 14-song homage to Bob Dylan. The spirit and sonic foundation of Dave Does Dylan is built with live, unedited takes captured in the studio; Stewart is featured on vocals and guitars, and he recorded the tracks in one take. The limited-edition vinyl release will only be available at indie record stores on RSD via Surfdog Records.
The trackless for Dave Does Dylan is as follows:
Simple Twist Of Fate
I Want You
Emotionally Yours
Forever Young
To Ramona
Make You Feel My Love
Lay, Lady, Lay
Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
Spanish Harlem Incident
Shelter From The Storm
She Belongs To Me
Visions Of Johanna
These were John’s final and only full-length solo concerts after leaving The Beatles.
Power To The People – Live At The One To One Concert, New York City, 1972, presents four songs from the afternoon and evening concerts on 180-gram yellow vinyl, available exclusively for RSD. Produced by Sean Ono Lennon and mixed and re-engineered from the original multitrack tapes by Paul Hicks and Sam Gannon, the EP features three previously unreleased performances – "Well Well Well" from the evening show, plus "Cold Turkey" and Yoko’s "Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking For A Hand In The Snow)" from the afternoon show, along with the previously released "Instant Karma (We All Shine On)" (Afternoon Show), which has been new newly mixed. This RSD First release is limited to 3000 copies in the U.S. and 5500 worldwide.
For more information on any and all of these titles, visit RecordStoreDay.com.
As Willson-Piper notes: "This was early daze (days) for drum machines, and getting the pattern you wanted wasn't that easy, and such a machine was not on my radar. All the simplistic techniques involved in creating this music, along with the instruments used, are detailed in the booklet. Recording alone and 'dropping in' an instrument meant putting a heavy book on the record button of the remote control and dropping it in using your sickles big toe on the play button, engaging record mode. Those were the days."
Omnivore Recordings will issue three special LPs on RSD: legendary songwriter Doc Pomus' Viva Doc Pomus: Songs For Elvis (The Demos), power pop greats The Rembrandts' L.P., and French singer Francoise Hardy's En Vogue: Best Of 1962-1967 will see their release on April 12.
Watch the Omnivore Record Store Day trailer HERE |
 “A Teenager In Love,” “Save The Last Dance For Me,” “This Magic Moment,” “Can’t Get Used To Losing You.” There’s not much in early rock history that can equal those songs. Doc Pomus, whose 100th birthday would’ve been this year, wrote hit after hit with an array of songwriting partners with Mort Shuman chief among them. Together they created a template for the sound of the late 1950s and early ’60s. Writing timeless classics covered by artists around the globe, one artist was King—Elvis Presley.
Pomus/Shuman were the names on the sheet music for many remarkable Elvis recordings. “Viva Las Vegas,” “(Marie’s The Name) His Latest Flame,” “She’s Not You”—all classics. Even among the tracks Elvis didn’t end up recording, there are co-writes with the likes of Phil Spector and Alan Jeffreys. So, where do all those songs start? The demos.
Especially in the Doc "Pot Luck” vein as there’s 3: a Shuman, a Phil Spector, and Alan Jeffreys co-write. Funny that those three pair didn’t land it for Elvis. But, the fans will be excited to see the names.
Painstakingly transferred, restored and mastered from the original acetates by multiple Grammy®-winning engineer Michael Graves and Jordan McLeod, with full approval and cooperation of the Pomus estate and liner notes by Geoffrey Himes, Viva Doc Pomus: Songs For Elvis (The Demos) explores the recordings submitted to Presley for his consideration to record with 30 previously unissued songs.
Some (the aforementioned hits and more) were recorded and released by Elvis, while others fell by the wayside for reasons lost to time, or recorded by other artists, and we’re left to imagine what might have been had The King recorded and released them.
Available on a double opaque orange-colored LP for Record Store Day, the origins of rock ’n’ roll are in full force on Viva Doc Pomus: Songs For Elvis (The Demos). Hear what Elvis heard for yourself and wonder what could have been! Viva Doc Pomus indeed!
See tracklisting here: www.omnivorerecordings.com/shop/viva-doc-pomus
 After being a member of Los Angeles power pop/glam sensations The Quick, Danny Wilde met Phil Solem, and Great Buildings were born, recording an album for Columbia in 1981. Wilde and Solem continued writing together and rebranded themselves as The Rembrandts.
Their eponymous 1990 debut featured the Top 15 hit “That’s Just The Way It Is, Baby,” and their work on Untitled, brought them to prominence to co-write and record the theme for a new NBC sitcom called Friends. The track topped the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart for eight weeks and also hit #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary and Top 40/Mainstream charts. At the peak of its popularity, the song was not available as a commercial single, therefore becoming the first song to top the Hot 100 Airplay chart without appearing on the Hot 100, but it appeared initially as a bonus track on what would be their third album, L.P. On the Billboard Hot 100, when it was later released commercially as a double A-side, it reached number 17. In Canada, the song peaked at number one for five consecutive weeks and was the most successful single of 1995.
But, L.P. is more than “I’ll Be There For You.” It’s another stellar album in The Rembrandts’ catalog, hitting #23 on the Billboard Top 200. Now, L.P. returns for its 30th anniversary, for the first time on vinyl, as an opaque yellow double-LP.
 Françoise Hardy – En Vogue: Best Of 1962–1967 Françoise Hardy’s Vogue years have left a mark on the history of French and international music. Even today, the five years between 1962–67 remain an exceptional moment in her career, the one when she exploded in the eyes of a generation that was born during or just after World War II, the generation that would be part of the May 1968 Paris protests.
Hardy exploded not only in France alongside her fellow “Yéyés,” but also internationally, where she became the symbol of French elegance, talent and charm. The United States, Japan, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain—no one could resist Françoise, who recorded most of her hits in English, Italian, and German.
“Tous les Garçons et les Filles,” “Mon Amie la Rose,” “L’amitié,” “Le Temps de L’amour,” etc. are songs that have crossed generations and can be heard in recent movies (Wes Anderson loves Françoise Hardy and has included her songs several times in his films), international television series (The Walking Dead, Industry, Week-End Family) and advertising spots (Dior 2022 campaign).
Celebrating Françoise Hardy’s indelible mark on the history of modern music, En Vogue: Best Of 1962–1967 includes the best of her Vogue recordings from 1962 through 1967, fully remastered and available as a double LP on opaque red vinyl.
See tracklisting here: www.omnivorerecordings.com/shop/en-vogue |
Island Records and UMe have announced the release of Original Soundtracks 1 (30th Anniversary Edition) by Passengers, pressed on 2LP recycled black vinyl for Record Store Day, April 12, 2025.
Original Soundtracks 1, the studio album by Brian Eno and U2 was released in November 1995 under the artist pseudonym Passengers. The experimental recording process resulted in a collection of 14 songs, written mostly for imaginary films – hence the album title - with the exception of “Ghost in the Shell,” “Beyond the Clouds,” and the hit single “Miss Sarajevo,” featuring Luciano Pavarotti. Other highlights include guest appearances from musician and producer Howie B and Japanese artist Holi, as well as the bonus track “Bottoms (Watashitachi No Ookina Yume),” which previously featured on the original Japanese version of the album.
This special double-vinyl 30th anniversary edition, pressed on recycled black vinyl, is now fully remastered for the first time.
The full tracklisting is:
Side A:
1. United Colours
2. Slug
3. Your Blue Room
Side B:
1. Always Forever Now
2. A Different Kind Of Blue
3. Beach Sequence
4. Miss Sarajevo
Side C:
1. Ito Okashi
2. One Minute Warning
3. Corpse (These Chains Are Way Too Long)
4. Elvis Ate America
Side D:
1. Plot 180
2 Theme From "The Swan"
3. Theme From "Let's Go Native"
4. Bottoms (Watashitachi No Ookina Yume) – Zoo Station Remix
Original Soundtracks 1 (30th Anniversary Edition) is available at participating independent record stores on Saturday, April 12.
With the help of producer/engineer David Bottrill, he has unearthed them for the first time, properly mixed and mastered. Commenting on the project, Lee said “I’m excited to see these two “lost demos” released - I loved the songs when they were written and in some ways they feel as fresh and perhaps more relevant all these years later.”
Both songs conjure the spirit of the classic My Favorite Headache, which originally arrived on November 14, 2000.
Tracklist
Side A
Gone
Side B
I Am…You Are
Robert Kinsler