Real Gone Announces Spacehog, Gene Russell, Black Sabbath Tribute, and More for RSD 2020

The ever-eclectic label Real Gone Music has announced their lineup for Record Store Day and whether you like ’90s glam, Australian alt-rock, jazz-funk, or a nod to metal pioneers, there’s something for everyone arriving to your local record store on Saturday, April 18! We’ve got more details from the label below!

Gene Russell, New Direction (Limited to 1,500 copies worldwide)

‘The first album released from the most sought-after label, bar none, among jazz collectors! Black Jazz was started by keyboardist/producer Gene Russell for Dick Schory’s Ovation Records. Active only from 1971 to 1975, and reputed to be the first jazz label started by an African-American since Sunshine Records in 1921, Black Jazz sought to expand minds as well as hearts, releasing spiritual, socially conscious music that explored such burgeoning genres of the era as funk, soul jazz, and free jazz. Real Gone Music kicks off its Black Jazz reissue campaign with the very first record the label released, entitled, fittingly, New Direction, and performed by label founder Russell. Oft-bootlegged, with original copies commanding princely sums, New Direction, while a fairly straight-ahead piano trio outing, sets the tone for the entire label with its modal and soul jazz flourishes, and features such sidemen as double bassist Henry ‘The Skipper’ Franklin and drummer Steve Clover. Co-produced by Real Gone’s own Gordon Anderson and jazz reissue specialist Zev Feldman, Real Gone’s reissue includes the distinctive original Black Jazz album art along with new liner notes by Pat Thomas, the author of Listen Whitey! The Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975. Transparent clear with heavy black swirl vinyl limited to 1,500 copies worldwide. Pressed at Gotta Groove Records for Record Store Day.

1. Black Orchid 2. Hitting the Jug 3. Willow Weep for Me 4. Listen Here 5. On Green Dolphin Street 6. Silver’s Serenade 7. My Cherie Amour 8. Making Bread

Spacehog, Resident Alien (Limited to 2,000 copies worldwide)

LP debut (or, to be precise, double LP debut) for this classic slab of mid-’90s British glam! Recorded at Bearsville in NY by a bunch of Leeds expats (hence the Resident Alien title), this Gold album features the hit “In the Meantime” and lots of other hooks ‘n’ riffs from “The Band That Fell to Earth” (featuring Antony & Royston Langdon, Jonny Cragg, and guitar hero Richard Steel). Newly-created gatefold packaging, cream with pink splatter “British Passport” vinyl pressing limited to 2,000 copies worldwide! Exclusive to Record Store Day. (Note: watch out for the ‘Untitled’ track!)
SIDE A: 1. In the Meantime 2. Spacehog 3. Starside 4. Candyman
SIDE B: 1. Space Is the Place 2. Never Coming Down (Part 1) 3. Cruel to Be Kind 4. Ship Wrecked 5. Only a Few
SIDE C: 1. The Last Dictator 2. Never Coming Down (Part II) 3. Zeroes
SIDE D: 1. To Be a Millionaire…Was It Likely? 2. Untitled

Various Artists, Nativity In Black (Limited to 2,000 copies in U.S. and Canada)

Hard to believe in this day and age, but this killer 1994 Black Sabbath tribute comp was never released on vinyl in the U.S.! The record went Gold, and features the one and only performance (“The Wizard”) by the Bullring Brummies, which takes the term “metal supergroup” to a whole new level: Rob Halford from Judas Priest, Scott “Wino” Weinrich from The Obsessed and Vitus, Fight guitarist Brian Tilse, and Geezer Butler and Bill Ward from Black Sabbath themselves (not to be undone, Ozzy sings with Therapy? on “Iron Man”)! Megadeth got a Grammy nom for their cover of “Paranoid,” too. Colored vinyl release limited to 2,000 copies in the U.S. and Canada, exclusive to Record Store Day

After Forever–Biohazard; Children of the Grave–White Zombie; Paranoid–Megadeth; Supernaut–1000 Homo DJ’s; Iron Man–Ozzy Osbourne with Therapy?; Lord o’ This World–Corrosion of Conformity; Symptom of the Universe–Sepultura; The Wizard–Bullring Brummies; Sabbath Bloody Sabbath–Bruce Dicksinson with Godspeed; N.I.B.–Ugly Kid Joe; War Pigs (Live)–Faith No More; Black Sabbath–Type O Negative

The Church, Gold Afternoon Fix (Limited to 1,500 copies)

The first-ever vinyl reissue of the 1990 album from the beloved Australian band. Gold vinyl. The Arista label sought to build on the success of their 1988 album Starfish by teaming them up again with producer Waddy Wachtel for Gold Afternoon Fix. But the band wanted Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones to produce. Arista prevailed. Then, Marty Willson-Piper’s Rickenbacker 12-string got nicked. So, no 12-string. Then, drummer Richard Ploog left the band at the end of the sessions, to be replaced by Patti Smith drummer Jay Dee Daugherty for the tour. Not optimal circumstances, to say the least…yet, as often happens with these kinds of situations, the band, inspired by all the turmoil, produced another classic. “Metropolis” was the hit, but stick around for the epic album closer “Grind” among other highlights. Gold vinyl pressing limited to 1,500 copies, exclusive for Record Store Day! Pressed at Gotta Groove Records.

Pharaoh; Metropolis; Terra Nova Cain; City; Russian Autumn Heart; Essence; You’re Still Beautiful; Disappointment; Transient; Fading Away; Grind

Fight, A Small, Deadly Space (Limited to 2,000 copies)

First-ever vinyl issue (outside of an impossible-to-find Brazilian release) of the second (1995) album from the band led by Judas Priest’s Rob Halford. Also in the band are Judas Priest and Racer X drummer Scott Travis along with Steel Panther guitarist Russ Parrish and Cyanide members Scott Tilse and Jay Jay Brown. Like its predecessor, this album hit the charts; also, like its predecessor, it represented a bold artistic departure for The Metal God, its thrash metal groove a far cry from the Priest sound. Red and black marble vinyl pressing limited to 2000 copies exclusively for Record Store Day, newly created gatefold packaging featuring lyrics! Pressed at Gotta Groove Records.

I Am Alive; Mouthpiece; Legacy of Hate; Blowout in the Radio Room; Never Again; Small Deadly Space; Gretna Greene; Beneath the Violence; Human Crate; In a World of My Own Making; Psycho Suicide