RSD Black Friday, November 25, 2016

Picked Up In Store on Black Friday:

• Bob Dylan - The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert! (2016), 2xLP, LEx6000
• Isaac Hayes & The Bar-Kays - Do Your Thing (2016), 12" EP, LEx2500
• Jerry Garcia - Reflections (1976), Opaque Purple Marble LP, LEx3000
• Jimi Hendrix - Morning Symphony Ideas (2016), Translucent Yellow 10" EP, LEx3000
• The Monkees - Good Times Plus! (2016), Translucent Red 10" EP, LEx2500

Picked Up After BFRSD (Store/Online):

• Frank Frost - Hey Boss Man! (1962) Opaque Red LP, LEx2000 (Bullmoose)
• Frank Sinatra - White Christmas/The Christmas Waltz (1954), White 7",LEx3000 (Bullmoose)
• Metallica - Hardwired to Self-Destruct (2016,2xLP Red LEx15000)
• Porno For Pyros - Good God's Urge (2016) LP, LEx3000 (Amazon)
• The Turtles - Golden Hits (1967), Opaque Gold Mono LP, LEx1500 (eBay)
• Various - Pop the Clutch: Rare Rockabilly From the Vaults (White LP, LEx2500) (InSound)

Wanted?

• The Beach Boys - Becoming the Beach Boys (2016), Color LP, LEx3000
  • released on translucent red, gold or blue vinyl. Color corresponds to hype sticker color.

There were about 80 releases for this year's event, but my son and I thought the list was rather uninspiring. So, for only the second time in its seven-year history, we decided to forego the early morning routine of waiting in line and opted to visit our record store later in the day, long after the crowds had dispersed.

This turned out to be a good decision, since most of the titles we wanted were still available. We had to snag a few discs online the following week, but that was easily accomplished and we didn't have to overpay.

Perhaps over time I will discover additional artists/releases from this Black Friday event. To be fair that is a big part of the RSD aim...discovery of new music, perhaps including artists out of ones comfort zone. Thing is, there seemed to be a lot of unknown artists this year! IMO the organizers of RSD need to do a better job of including more popular artists. There are so many excellent out-of-print titles out there awaiting reissue! Apparently I'm not alone in the opinion that Black Friday 2016 was, for the most part, a bit of a dud. To put things into perspective, I purchased only 9 titles in 2016, compared to a whopping 26 in 2015. The stacks of releases I observed gathering dust on the shelves the week after indicates to me that organizers may be a little out of touch with what vinyl enthusiasts want. Also, it appears many small independent record shops chose to bow out of this year's festivities. At least two in my area were closed on BF and not offering any RSD stock the following weekend.

What is going on? Well, for starters most of us are getting tired of the overpriced colored 7" singles. Minimum price was $10 this time, which to me is not much bang for the buck so I avoid most of them. The Stones win the prize in this category in 2016, asking about $25 for their silly 45. Normally my son and I would grab a Stones RSD release without hesitation, but at that price there's no way greedy Mick will get our hard-earned money! I'm also perplexed by their choice of soundtrack reissues year-to-year. This BF, titles from "The Wonder Years" and "Popeye?" Yawn. Then there's a Blue Man Group LP. Really? I thought these guys were only of interest to geriatric Vegas crowds. They are neat to see in concert but not as fun to listen to on record. I could cite other examples but I will stop complaining now. The truth is I still love RSD.

Okay, there's one other gripe. Why do some labels insist on purposely manufacturing collectibles with ridiculously limited runs of what they must anticipate will be popular titles? This only makes the eBay flipper crowd happy, not RSD vinyl enthusiasts! The Porno For Pyros pressing run could have easily been doubled to 6000 and probably would have sold out. As is typically the case for unnecessarily limited items like this, it is now going for twice its RSD asking price just a few days after its release. Appears to be their MO...In 2013 they did the same thing with their self-titled release. Only 800 copies available. Annoying, but it is what it is I guess.

In my opinion, one of the better releases this BF was the Isaac Hayes & Bar-Kays, "Do Your Thing" 12" archival EP with ~44 minutes of great soul/funk jamming. We heard some of it on Isaac's 1971 "Shaft" soundtrack before the infamous ear-splitting scratch, and 45 years later we get the rest. Priced reasonably, too. Cool! This is what Record Store Day is all about. :D