Rhino Entertainment has another eclectic and impressive slate of limited-edition LPs available for Record Store Day Black Friday coming on November 29th. Once again, Rhino's offering of 21 rarities, enhanced, and specialty releases are only a few of the hundreds of exciting albums that will be available from both online sources and at independent record stores everywhere. The limited edition LPs cover an impressive range of artists and genres, and many are being made available in cool colored-vinyl variants. The list of titles being offered includes the following albums:
- The Carl Stalling Project: The Carl Stalling Project: Music From Warner Bros. Cartoons 1936-1958, (2) LPs on orange & blue vinyl
- The Doors: Live in Detroit, May 8, 1970, (4) LPs on 140g black vinyl
- Echo & The Bunnymen: The Killing Moon, 12" 45 rpm single on black vinyl
- Echo & The Bunnymen: Silver, 12"45 rpm single on black vinyl
- The English Beat: Special Beat Service, (2) LPs on translucent red and blue vinyl
- Grateful Dead: Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT 5/5/77, (4) LP boxed set on 180g black vinyl
- Herbie Hancock: Possibilities, (3) LPs on ruby red vinyl
- John Lee Hooker: Don't Turn Me From Your Door, 1 LP on 140g yellow vinyl (Includes four exclusive bonus tracks not featured on the original album, along with the rare alternate French cover art
- Joni Mitchell: Hejira Demos, 1 LP on 180g black vinyl
- Morphine: B-Sides and Otherwise, 1 LP on lemonade yellow and black marble vinyl
- Phil Collins: Life From The Board...The Official Bootleg, 10" EP on black vinyl
- Ramones: Hey Ho Let's Go: Greatest Hits, 1 LP on translucent red vinyl
- Steve Martin/The Toot Uncommons: King Tut, 12" picture disc
- Stone Temple Pilots: Purple Rarities, 1 LP on opaque purple vinyl
- Tegan and Sara: So Jealous (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition), (2) LPs on milky clear translucent vinyl
- Todd Rundgren: Utopia, 1 LP on violet with blue splatter vinyl
- Van Halen: Live in Dallas 1991, (2) LPs on red vinyl with logo etching
- Various Artists: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie - Music From the Movie and More…, 1 LP on yellow and pink splatter vinyl
- The Veronicas: Hook Me Up, 1 LP on fluorescent pink vinyl
- WAR: The Vinyl II - 1977-1994, (5) LPs on 140g yellow, silver, red, purple, and orange vinyl
- Yes: Fragile Outtakes, 1 LP on 140g black vinyl
The albums I received for review included both Echo & The Bunnymen 12" singles; The English Beat's Special Beat Service on two LPs; Morphine's B-Sides and Otherwise LP; Ramones' Hey Ho Let's Go: Greatest Hits LP; Stone Temple Pilots' Purple Rarities LP; and finally, WAR's The Vinyl II - 1977-1994 5-LP box set. Rhino allows a certain amount of latitude in RSD pricing to the independent locations and online outlets participating in the event, so the actual prices for these albums may differ slightly at the point of sale. You can see a list of all outlets participating in RSD 2024 by clicking HERE.
Echo & The Bunnymen, The Killing Moon, 12" 45 rpm single on black vinyl
Echo & The Bunnymen, Silver, 12" 45 rpm single on black vinyl
Both 45 rpm, 12" singles are being released to honor the 40th anniversary of Echo & The Bunnymen's classic 1984 album Ocean Rain. The Killing Moon 12" single features not only their classic track "The Killing Moon" and its original B-side, " Do It Clean," but also features a flipside extended remix, "The Killing Moon (All Night Version)." Silver features the single "Silver" and its original B-side, "Angels and Devils," along with an extended flipside remix, "Silver (Tidal Wave)." Both 12" singles are essential listening for fans and will also prove to be highly collectible. Recommended.
The English Beat, Special Beat Service, (2) LPs on translucent red and blue vinyl
Rhino gives us an expanded version of The English Beat's third studio album, 1982's Special Beat Service. The two-LP set features a second album of extended remixes along with live tracks, and the red and blue translucent vinyl are beyond cool! Fans will appreciate the expanded gatefold package and printed inner sleeves, which contain many cool band photos and song lyrics. The bonus material, which includes a different selection of extra tracks than those included on the 2012 remaster, will tick all the boxes of fans and completists alike. This one's a keeper—highly recommended.
Morphine, B-Sides and Otherwise, 1 LP on lemonade yellow and black marble vinyl
Morphine's B-Sides and Otherwise offers the 1997 rarities compilation its first-ever vinyl release. The album came about as Morphine reached an agreement to break their contract with then label Ryko. But the band still owed Ryko two albums; B-Sides and Otherwise was created to help fulfill that obligation. The LP compiles songs from live radio broadcasts and tracks that were recorded for movie soundtracks, like Get Shorty and Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead, as well as singles and B-sides from the Yes and Cure For Pain era. This is not your typical Morphine album, and some listeners will find some of the content too abstract for their tastes; fans, however, will find B-Sides and Otherwise essential listening. The packaging and yellow-and-black marbled vinyl are cool, and there's a graphically stylish printed insert with band photos and technical info. Recommended.
Ramones, Hey Ho Let's Go: Greatest Hits, 1 LP on translucent red vinyl
Hey Ho Let's Go: Greatest Hits sees its very first vinyl release on Black Friday. The Ramones could pack a lot of tunes into their live sets; the couple of times I saw them back in the day, the average song length was less than two minutes and only featured Johnny Ramone yelling "1-2-3-4" between songs. Hey Ho Let's Go: Greatest Hits manages to fit all 20 tracks onto a single LP (matching the original CD release), but that's really not a huge feat considering many of the tunes' brevity. The LP's selections cover the band's classic period hits, with later tracks like "The KKK Took My Baby Away," "Outsider," "Pet Sematary," and "Wart Hog" thrown in for good measure. The translucent red vinyl is very hip, but otherwise, it's a bare-bones package that's functionally perfect for maximum dB headbanging. Highly recommended!
Stone Temple Pilots, Purple Rarities, 1 LP on opaque purple vinyl
Purple Rarities finds its origin in a box set version of Stone Temple Pilots' second studio album, 1994's Purple, and sees its first vinyl release on Black Friday. The LP features early versions, demos, and acoustic versions of many of the studio album's tracks, along with a notable bonus track, the band's weirdly effective cover of Led Zep's "Dancing Days." Purple Rarities is an excellent companion to the studio album, but also immensely entertaining in its own right, and the purple vinyl is beautifully cool. Definitely one of my Black Friday RSD highlights. Highly recommended!
War, The Vinyl II - 1977-1994, (5) LPs on 140g yellow, silver, red, purple, and orange vinyl
The Vinyl II - 1977-1994 box set covers five War studio albums from the period, including Galaxy (1977), Platinum Funk (1977), The Music Band (1979), Outlaw (1982), and Peace Sign (1994). I have to be honest, while I have much of War's high profile early output in my library, I've managed to neglect their later work. And while these albums didn't feature the same level of radio-friendly hits, the band's keen insight and social commentary was just as bracing as in their earlier work. The five LPs in this set make for a soulfully entertaining deep dive into the band's later work. The cool package includes a graphically stylish insert with a great essay about the band's later period from Grant Hier, and the brightly-colored LPs are definitely the icing on a nearly perfect package. Very highly recommended!
Record Store Day Black Friday is just around the corner!
This go-around, Rhino stunned me with cool, limited-edition offerings with something for virtually everyone, and I didn't even know where to begin when I sent them my list of LPs I'd love to evaluate ahead of Black Friday. I had zero complaints about any of Rhino's offerings I received in terms of the quality of the pressings, or the overall sound quality and packaging of the LPs. The colored vinyl LPs were exceptionally beautiful, and I felt that all seven albums or sets I received were quite desirable as well as highly collectible. I desperately need to get in line early on Friday at local Monster Music in nearby Charleston to grab the remaining titles that caught my eye, as many of these outstanding titles will very likely sell out quickly! Many thanks to Miranda Alston of Warner Music Group for all her assistance in this project!
Rhino Entertainment
All images courtesy of Rhino Entertainment
