Ten Record Store Day Black Friday 2018 Releases to Watch for this November

Record Store Day Black Friday Logo 2017.

The list of releases for Record Store Day’s 2018 Black Friday event was released last week. Offering a variety of limited edition and first run exclusives, there is a lot to look forward to this holiday season. A full list of releases is available now on the Record Store Day website.

Taking place November 23, Record Store Day Black Friday intends to “spotlight” record shops as great places to purchase gifts. According to the event’s website, by creating limited edition items for independent retailers to sell, they hope to get people to celebrate the art of music instead of mass production.

With Record Store Day Black Friday (RSDBF) just around the corner, Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s music outlet, is taking a look at some of this season’s most interesting releases. Here are 10 that we’re excited to, hopefully, get our hands on.

1.       Weezer, “Africa”: Earlier this year indie/”emo” band Weezer indulged an internet campaign asking them to cover Toto’s “Africa.” The song ended up becoming their first top ten hit in a decade. For RSDBF, Weezer will be releasing a 10” of the song on a picture disc shaped like the African continent backed with their cover of Toto’s other hit, “Rosanna” (not unlike the one Toto released for the two singles back in 1982).

2.       Frank Zappa, ‘We’re Only In It For The Money’: Frank Zappa’s 1968 album ‘We’re Only In It For The Money’ turned 50 this year. This RSDBF, the album’s original mono mix will be getting its first vinyl pressing since its release, this time on five different picture discs, including four never-before-seen photos from the vault and one that will be exclusive to Europe.

3.       Eric Clapton, ‘Happy Xmas (Bonus Tracks)’: Eric Clapton released a Christmas album, ‘Happy Xmas,’ this past Friday, his first holiday album in his five decade career. But that’s apparently not the end of it. For RSDBF, Clapton is releasing a 7” with two additional original holiday songs not available on the record.

4.       Grateful Dead, “Playing In The Band”: Coming in at 47 minutes long, the Grateful Dead’s 1974 recording of “Playing In The Band at the Edmundson Pavillion in Seattle, WA is the band’s longest uninterrupted song ever recorded. The song is being released in its entirety for RSDBF.

5.       Dead Kennedys, ‘Iguana Studios Rehersal Sessions’: It has been more than a decade since California punk rockers Dead Kennedys released any sort of music. However, the band is giving fans a look at their early days with the release of their demo and rehearsal tapes from 1978. The recordings include early takes on such infamous tracks as “Holiday In Cambodia” and “California Uber Alles.”

6.       The Jimi Hendrix Experience, ‘Burning of the Midnight Lamp’ Mono EP: To celebrate the 50^th anniversary of ‘Electric Ladyland’ (which happens to be today), the Jimi Hendrix Experience is releasing a 7” EP featuring the original / rare mono mixes of “Crosstown Traffic,” “Burning of the Midnight Lamp” and “Gypsy Eyes.” Copies of the EP will be numbered and pressed on transparent Orange Crush vinyl.

7.       Iggy Pop & The Stooges, ‘Rare Power’: Iggy Pop & The Stooges’ seminal 1973 album ‘Raw Power’ turns 45 this year. For RSDBF, the iconic punk band will be putting out a nine-song album of previously unreleased outtakes and alternative mixes of songs from the album.

8.       Lookout Records, ‘The LookOuting!’: Last year, defunct East Bay, California label Lookout Records held a music festival at 924 Gilman Street featuring up-and-coming punk bands. The event was recorded and is being released as a double LP for Record Store Day Black Friday. Limited to just 1000 copies, all proceeds from the album’s sale will go to 924 Gilman Street. (My guess is that this album will not be coming to stores in New York.)

9.       Various Artists, ‘A Day In The Life: Impressions of Pepper’: The 50^th anniversary celebration for the Beatles’ iconic ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ apparently isn’t over. For ‘A Day In The Life,’ Verve Records gave up-and-coming and established jazz artists the task of reinterpreting songs from the album. The result is described on the Record Store Day website as “impressionistic, original [and] avant-garde.”

10.   Various Artists, ‘Mom+Pop 10 Year Anniversary Compilation’: What’s better than an independent record label releasing a compilation to independent record shops! Mom+Pop Records is celebrating their tenth anniversary this year and they will be doing just that. The 3xLP box set will feature an album of rarities from the label’s most successful artists, as well as an LP of the label’s artists covering other artists (some of which are also Mom+Pop artists). Aside from the music, the set also comes with a 36-page book about the label’s history and a poster.

Record Store Day Black Friday will see the release of some outstanding limited edition titles just in time for the holiday shopping season. Keep an eye out for some of the titles above and let us know what titles you’re excited to pick up this November.

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Find Record Store Day releases and much more at Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s top new independent record shop. We have thousands of titles to choose from in a wide variety of genres. Browse our selection of new and used vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, music DVDs, memorabilia and more in store at our Plainview location or online at vinylbay777.com. With more titles being added to our selection all the time, you never know what you might find next at Vinyl Bay 777.