Sony's Legacy Recordings has announced its offerings for this year's Record Store Day festivities, to be held on Saturday, April 13 at your local brick-and-mortar retailer! As usual, it's an eclectic line-up with pop, rock, and R&B superstars all represented. So without further ado, here's the label's full list!
Jeff Buckley, In Transition - 1 LP - 3,000 copies
In Transition is a compilation of seven previously unreleased studio performances from 1993 during the making of Jeff Buckley's only studio album, Grace, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year. Aptly titled, In Transition includes early versions of Grace originals like "Mojo Pin" and "Unforgiven (aka Last Goodbye)," as well as unique covers of such classics as Nina Simone's "If I Knew" and an early version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." Together, these transitional recordings show Buckley moving from a troubadour to a star and they bring new context to his all-too-brief career.
Bob Dylan, Blood On The Tracks - Original New York Test Pressing - 1 LP - 7,500 copies
The oft-bootlegged Original New York Test Pressing of Bob Dylan's legendary Blood on the Tracks is the stuff of legend. Prior to the proper album's release, a handful of test pressings were passed around which featured material from his A&R Studios recordings in New York City (whereas the final album included Minnesota re-recordings). Legacy's release is an exact replica of the original test pressing, which contains unique mixes that are available officially for the first time.
Billy Joel, Live At Carnegie Hall 1977 - 2 LP - 3,000 copies
Billy Joel and his band completed their 1977 tour on June 3rd at the legendary Carnegie Hall in New York. They were joined by a live orchestra and played many songs that wouldn't be released for another three months when The Stranger would hit shelves. Among those new songs were the epic "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" and the classic love ballad "Just The Way You Are." Also on the setlist that night were "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)," "Prelude/Angry Young Man," "Captain Jack," "She's Got A Way," and more. Now, over four decades later, this historic show -- previously only available as a bonus to a box set -- will finally be available on vinyl for the first time!
Janis Joplin, Live At Woodstock: Sunday, August 17, 1969 - 2 LP - 3,000 copies
To celebrate 50 years since Woodstock, Legacy will release Janis Joplin's full set from the iconic festival on vinyl for the first time. Joplin had already had significant success by the time she performed there. Her first albums had established her as one of the best in the psych-rock scene. By 1969, she was changing directions with her first-ever solo effort, I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! which would arrive a few weeks after her performance. Together, the album and the Woodstock set saw Joplin performing in full gear, but shifting toward soul and blues music, rather than the psychedelic fare that had brought her stardom. Tracks like "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" and her cover of The Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody" are soul-stirrers on the studio album, and at Woodstock, she imbued them with even more passion and intensity.
Pink Floyd, A Saucerful Of Secrets (Mono) - LP - 6,500 copies
As we reported earlier this week, Pink Floyd are set to reissue the rare mono mix of their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets for Record Store Day. A Saucerful of Secrets is the only album to include the "five-man Floyd" lineup of Roger Waters on bass, Nick Mason on drums, Richard Wright on keyboards and vocals, and Syd Barrett and his eventual replacement David Gilmour on guitar. The lineup marked a transitional point in the band's history in which their erratic frontman and songwriter slowly took the back-seat to the other four before eventually leaving the group. Even still, the material on the album is strong, with psychedelic classics like "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun," "Remember A Day," and Barrett's swan song "Jugband Blues" remaining fan favorites. For its mono reissue, James Guthrie, Joel Plante and Bernie Grundman remastered the music from the original 1968 analogue mono tapes which are sure to sound great on the 180-gram pressing. As for packaging, the disc will be housed in a black poly-lined inner sleeve and will be presented in a faithful recreation of the original album sleeve.
Elvis Presley, Live At The International Hotel, Las Vegas, NV August 23, 1969 - 2LP - 3,000 copies
Last month, NBC celebrated celebrated the 50th anniversary of Elvis Presley's "Comeback Special" while Legacy released a highlights disc of the original 1968 program as a companion to last year's complete box set. Now, Legacy will release a new 2-LP set that showcases the next chapter in Presley's career. After conquering the airwaves with the Singer Presents Elvis special, Elvis booked an engagement at the International Hotel in Las Vegas and returned to performing for audiences, backed by vocal groups The Imperials and The Sweet Inspirations as well as an early version of his famed TCB Band. Live In Las Vegas 1969 is the previously unreleased dinner show from his home at the International.
Prince, The VERSACE Experience: PRELUDE 2 GOLD - Cassette - 4,000
Legacy Recordings will soon release Prince's The Gold Experience , which was the first album credited to his unpronounceable glyph. To whet fans' appetites, the label is releasing a special cassette called The VERSACE Experience: PRELUDE 2 GOLD , which was originally distributed by Prince as a gift to Paris Fashion Week attendees in 1995. The cassette, now meticulously recreated for RSD, includes remixed versions of future favorites "P. Control," "Gold" and "Eye Hate U" and unreleased or rare tracks by The New Power Generation and Madhouse, Prince's jazz-fusion project. The VERSACE Experience: PRELUDE TO GOLD cassette tape brings this ultra-rare material back in print for the first time in 24 years in a limited edition of 4,000 copies.
Sly and the Family Stone, Live At Woodstock: Sunday, August 17, 1969 - 2LP - 3,000 copies
It was 3:30 AM when Sly and the Family Stone took the stage at Woodstock. Yet, they still managed to electrify the audience with an incendiary set that was also one of the highlights of the Woodstock film. With hits like "Dance To the Music" and "Everyday People," and the energetic medley of "Music Lover" and "I Want To Take You Higher," Sly and the Family Stone's set - which arrives on vinyl for the first time ever on Record Store Day - is sure to please any fan of funk and anyone who wants to dance along to their classic set.
Dennis Wilson, Taylor Hawkins, Brian May, Roger Taylor, Holy Man (Wilson - Hawkins - May - Taylor Version) - 7" - 3,000 copies
Dennis Wilson's "Holy Man" was originally written and recorded during the recording of Pacific Ocean Blue in 1977. The song remained unfinished until the album was due for reissue in 2009. It was then that Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters added vocals to the long-unfinished track. Now, "Holy Man" receives new life with new vocals and instrumentation from Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Accompanying this new version is the original instrumental backing track of Wilson's recording.
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Pink Floyd’s Capitol catalogue is with Sony now??
So... Sony kinda messed up by not making the actual test pressing version of BOTR available as part of the last Bootleg Series release, and this is their attempt to try fix that? Problem is, as always with RSD, it’s vinyl only and very limited supply. Not gonna please everyone who was unhappy with the omission from More Blood, More Tracks.
Then there’s the Billy Joel at Carnegie Hall. So this is the same, incomplete show released years ago with The Stranger deluxe edition? Sure wish they’d give us the full show, and on CD too.
Also, given that Billy hasn’t had new music in in over 25 years, how about something previously unreleased? The famous Bottom Line show, or the equally famous Wembley ‘84 (With the BBC video finally released)? Lots of great live shows sitting in a vault somewhere, but Sony does little other than repackage the same stuff over and over. A shame.
RSD is like it used to be. Don't worry about things being limited. They usually release the album's on CD by Summer. At least that is what has happened the last few years. I'm sure Pink Floyd will. Probably Bob too.
Pink Floyd has been announced somewhere that a Mono CD is coming. As for Bob Dylan, not so sure, since he has been known to release stuff incredibly limited only once. But I'd keep an eye on Japan - they sometimes release vinyl-only stuff on CD.
Pink Floyd always owned their recordings from 1975 ("Wiah You Were Here") onwards, and at the end of the group's final 5-year license to EMI, the ownership of the 1967-1973 recordings reverted to the group. The surviving Floyd members now have their own label "Pink Floyd Records", distributed by Sony in the U.S.A. and by Warner Music in the UK & Europe.
Interesting. I wasn’t aware of all that. Thanks, Phil!
I’m all for releasing the vault material of beloved artists, but in some cases the performers themselves prefer that their studio albums be the final word.
Fair enough, but, in Billy Joel’s case, I can’t see why he’d have any issue with releasing vintage live shows that are known to have been recorded (And perhaps others not as well known?).
With no new music in over 25 years, but still a market for him (Packing baseball stadiums every summer, along with MSG every month) I’m kind of surprised Sony hasn’t pushed for some more Billy product to put out. Apart from repackaging the hits again and again, or the (very) occasional box set/deluxe release of an old album, that is.
But the materials that constituted the Bob Dylan "New York Test Pressing" all appear in the "More Blood,More Tracks" 6-CD box.
Not *all* of it... The “spooky organ mix” of “Idiot Wind” from the original test pressing did not make it onto More Blood, More Tracks. This has been discussed — heavily — in a number of forums. Most notably, perhaps, at the Steve Hoffman forum.
Others have noted there are, apparently, some other differences between the actual test pressing and what’s on last year’s box set.
Here’s just the most recent thread, specifically tied to the RSD release (There are also at least two other massive threads at Hoffman about More Blood, More Tracks):
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/blood-on-the-tracks-rsd-2019.814171/page-2