RSD Essentials

First Time on Colored vinyl. Following a decade of stagnation and waning interest, legendary singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, who masked his soft side with his sarcastic, lyrical prose, entered the new millennium with his acclaimed 10th studio album Life'll Kill Ya. Though the album predated Zevon's fatal cancer diagnosis by two years, its title track, as well as standout cuts like "My Shit's Fucked Up" and "Don't Let Us Get Sick," brought the album critical praise as a "mournful lament on the aging process and the inevitable decay that accompanies it." Available now for the first time on colored vinyl. Ship To Shore PhonoCo's reissue of Life'll Kill Ya features expanded liner notes and rare photos from Jorge Calderón, Zevon's son, Jordan, and Dawes' Taylor Goldsmith. Other highlights include "Porcelain Monkey," which puts Elvis Presley in Zevon's sardonic crosshairs, a cover of Steve Winwood's "Back In The High Life Again" sounds as if it were written for Zevon, and "Fistful of Rain" is a melodious examination of the fickle nature of fame. Engineered as a comeback vehicle, co-produced by Paul Q. Kolderie and Sean Slade (the producing duo responsible for Radiohead's Pablo Honey), Zevon's songwriting collaborator Jorge Calderón added a lighthearted accent to Zevon's musical portraits of doom and gloom. Despite helping with a successful comeback, Life'll Kill Ya's content was revealed all too true when, in 2003, Zevon passed away of pleural mesothelioma. "I mean, the fact that life will kill you is just that," Zevon told Rolling Stone upon the album's release. "I think you have to spend a fair amount of time realizing that you will be, so that you'll remember to enjoy everything you possibly can every minute you're not. You always want to try and tell younger people that, which is very difficult because they don't really hear it because they feel a life has been imposed on them. And of course, they're absolutely correct."

25-year anniversary deluxe reissue of Mood’s seminal debut record, Doom, originally released on September 23 of ’97. Included here on this anniversary reissue is the J Dilla Remix of “Secrets of the Sand” along with some nice album packaging; matte finish, alternate cover and black flooded jacket pockets/black dust sleeves, 180 gram vinyl. 

A remastered classic from the quintessential American girl group of the 1960s. Features the original European cover artwork.

Praised as one of the greatest records of all time, this newly remastered, 180-gram edition includes bonus material and a gatefold jacket.

Classic blues record re-mastered from the original tapes and on 180 gram virgin vinyl. Etta James' greatest ever album, and one of the greatest Soul LPs of all time. Original stereo version, re-mastered from the original tapes. Contains the hits "Tell Mama" and "Security." Also contains the original version of the blues classic "I'd Rather Go Blind." Recorded with the Muscle Shoals session guys at Fame studio.

- 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. 

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.

Egyptology is the fourth studio album by World Party, released in 1997 and now remastered in 2021 for a 2022 release. Featuring the Top 40 British single “Beautiful Dream” and the award-winning “She’s The One”, released with a gatefold jacket and a bonus side recorded Live in NYC 1997.  Available in limited edition, Egyptian Blue & Gold colored vinyl.

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.

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.

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. 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.”

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.

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.

The unforgettable debut studio album by R&B/Soul singer Minnie Riperton. Contains the explosive hit single "Les Fleurs" beautifully orchestrated by the prestigious Charles Stepney. Reissued in original gatefold format for the first time in over five decades. Pressed on limited edition 180g lilac coloured vinyl.