Craft Recordings has announced a striking offering of limited-edition LPs for the upcoming Black Friday celebration of Record Store Day 2024 on November 29th. Once again, Craft is presenting a diverse selection of rarities and specialty releases that will be among the hundreds of ultra-desirable LPs available online and at independent record stores everywhere. For Black Friday, their slate of eight exclusive LP releases starts with an elusive mono edition of drummer Max Roach's quintet album, Deeds, Not Words (Riverside, 1958), which is offered as a 180 gram black vinyl LP, in the original mono for the first time in sixty-plus years. A new various artists' compilation, The Soul and Songs of Young Curtis Mayfield: The Spirit of Chicago (VeeJay Records), highlights his early work as both a songwriter and producer, and is offered on a pair of black LPs. Cult favorite dancehall/reggae/hip-hop duo Born Jamericans' debut release, Kids From Foreign (1994, Craft Recordings), is being offered for the first time on LP in 25 years. And Atlanta metalcore pioneers Norma Jean's sixth studio album, Wrongdoers (2013, Razor & Tie), is being offered on LP for the first time since its original release on a 140 gram fire eyes swirl color LP.
Jazz Dispensary's The Golden Hour (Jazz Dispensary) is another hip new compilation from Craft's out-there specialty label that sets the mood with eclectic tracks from multiple genres; it's being offered on a 140 gram golden wave swirl color LP. Joe Bataan, the "King of Latin Soul," is represented by his sophomore effort Riot! (1968, Fania Records), offered on a 180 gram black LP. A pair of soundtrack albums rounds out Craft's offering, including Isaac Hayes' Truck Turner: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1974, Varese Sarabande/Reel Cult), available on a pair of translucent purple color LPs. And finally, a new compilation from renowned film composer Angelo Badalamenti, Music for Film and Television (Varese Sarabande), which is being offered on a 140 gram translucent red LP.
I received four of the eight available album titles for review, including Max Roach's Deeds, Not Words [in Mono], Jazz Dispensary's The Golden Hour, Angelo Badalamenti's Music for Film and Television, and Norma Jean's Wrongdoers. Craft Recordings allows a certain amount of latitude in RSD pricing to the independent and online outlets participating in the event, so the actual prices for these albums may vary slightly at the point of sale. You can see a list of all outlets participating in RSD 2024 by clicking HERE.
Max Roach, Deeds, Not Words in mono. 180 gram black LP.
Deeds, Not Words appears for the first time domestically in the original mono since a couple of years following its release in 1958. Minty mono original pressings are extremely rare, and go for upwards of $1000 on Discogs, making this Record Store Day release ultra-desirable to collectors, and also a tremendous value. The sessions feature drummer extraordinaire Max Roach debuting his new quintet, which included Booker Little on trumpet, George Coleman on tenor sax, Ray Draper on tuba, and Art Davis on bass. The piano-less quintet makes it clear that this is first and foremost a blowing session, but the eclectic moods offered on the album makes for a very entertaining listen. This AAA, special edition version had lacquers cut from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, and the 180 gram black vinyl LPs were pressed at Fidelity Pressing. The heavy outer jackets were printed by Stoughton using their classic tip-on process, and the jacket is embellished with a high-gloss coating, giving the album a very distinctive appearance. The 180 gram LP sounded superb played through my all-analog system using a true mono cartridge, giving my listening sessions a very authentic vibe. This special mono edition of Deeds, Not Words is limited to 3100 copies worldwide, and comes very highly recommended!
Jazz Dispensary, The Golden Hour. 140 gram golden wave swirl color LP.
Jazz Dispensary is a Craft specialty imprint that creates cool compilations mined from multiple genres crisscrossing the many labels from Craft and Concord's extensive catalogs. These LPs are always uber-entertaining listens, and are far and away the titles I find most desirable among the multitude of Record Store Day releases. The Golden Hour immerses the listener in a seamless soundscape of deep soul, funk, and scintillating jazz grooves. The blue-and gold, golden wave swirl colored-vinyl LP was not only beautiful to watch spinning on the table, but also provided supremely quiet playback. The album is being marketed in cooperation with California cannabis grower Pure Beauty, who are introducing a new strain of weed also sold as The Golden Hour; if you're a resident of California and of age, you can get a limited edition bundle with a container of the new strain. You can check out more information on the weed offer and the immersive web experience HERE, but in the meantime, grab one of these ultra-hip LPs to get you half the way there! The Golden Hour is limited to 6200 copies worldwide; that's significantly higher than the other releases, but then Jazz Dispensary obviously needed plenty of copies to accompany that new cannabis strain. Very highly recommended—get in line early for this one!
Angelo Badalamenti, Music for Film and Television. 140 gram translucent red LP.
Composer Angelo Badalamenti has scored countless movies and television shows, most notably the films and series helmed by producer David Lynch. Music for Film and Television covers many of his most famous main titles and themes, including those from Blue Velvet, Wild At Heart, Mulholland Drive, Twin Peaks, and The City of Lost Children. But among the album's amazing multitude of tracks, a highlight is definitely "Who Will Take My Dreams Away," which features a poignant, evergreen vocal from none other than Marianne Faithfull, who also composed the lyrics to the tune. It's perhaps my favorite track on the album, and worth the price of admission alone for this excellent LP. Angelo Badalamenti was involved at every step of this album's production, and the results are nothing short of breathtaking. The translucent red LP was beautiful and offered exceptionally quiet playback; limited to 2800 copies worldwide, this LP comes very highly recommended!
Norma Jean, Wrongdoers. 140 gram fire eyes color LP.
Atlanta metalcore band Norma Jean's sixth studio album, 2013's Wrongdoers, was their first new album in three years, and the first to feature new band members guitarist Jeff Hickey, bassist John Finnegan, and drummer Clayton Holyoak. Wrongdoers shows the band reaching back to their roots, while also exploring new territory, invigorated by the new blood of their revitalized lineup. The album sold well upon release, and garnered critical praise from Alternative Press, Decibel, and Revolver magazines. It was the band's second release on the Razor & Tie label, and was helmed by producer Josh Barber and mixed by Jeremy Griffith, who produced the band's previous album, Meridional. Wrongdoers was an ambitious release for Norma Jean, if perhaps somewhat of a departure from the style the band's fans had become very used to. While the album was initially released in a number of different bundles, it hasn't been repressed on an LP since 2013. The new bright-orange, swirled "fire eyes" colored LP is gorgeous to watch spinning on the table, and the music is both new but also very familiar, and intensely dynamic. Fans and collectors will definitely want to grab this one, which is limited to 2750 copies worldwide. Highly recommended!
RSD Black Friday is nearly here!
Craft has again knocked it out of the park for Record Store Day Black Friday with a sterling group of eclectic, but entertaining releases. Most of these extremely-limited LPs pressed every button for me personally, and I'd love to check out some of the other available albums, especially the Joe Bataan and Isaac Hayes titles. I guess I need to get myself to Monster Music in Charleston and get in line this Friday morning—I'd suggest you do the same at your own independent record store!
Craft Recordings
All images courtesy of Craft Recordings.
