Record Store Day 2024 is this Saturday (4/20), and as usual, there are hundreds of exclusive releases that are coming out just for the occasion. There are special RSD releases from The Beatles, The Ramones, Nas, Olivia Rodrigo, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, The Cure, De La Soul, The 1975, Blur, Pearl Jam, Grateful Dead, The Who, The Stones, Daft Punk, Kate Bush, Public Enemy and more very popular artists, but there are also lots of releases that are more off the beaten path, from cult artists to picture discs, celebrity vanity projects and more.
Here are five RSD24 releases that not everyone will be looking for but you should. Head below for our picks.
For more, check out the Record Store Day issue of the free BrooklynVegan digital magazine that has dozens more recommendations, from live albums to rap, indie, ’90s, classic rock and more. Subscribing is free and only takes a second (and your email address).
Various Artists – Spawn The Album
The 1997 big-screen adaptation of McFarlane comic Spawn was not very good, but the soundtrack lives on thanks to its unique, none-more-late-’90s collabs between electronica artists and alt-rock/nu-metal groups. (The soundtrack’s executive producer Happy Walters did similar collabs on the soundtrack of Judgement Night and Blade II.) Those included Orbital & Kirk Hammett, Korn & The Dust Brothers, Filter & The Crystal Method (“Trip Like I Do” was an alt-rock radio hit), Prodigy & Tom Morello, Butthole Surfers & Moby, Metallica & DJ Spooky, and more. Previously released as a triple 10” vinyl set, this RSD exclusive reissue comes as a more traditional double-LP, and is limited to 2700 copies.
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Sister Rosetta Tharpe – Live in France: The 1966 Concert in Limoges
Sister Rosetta Tharpe earned the nickname “The Godmother of Rock n’ Roll” after influencing Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones, and other early rock musicians, and by 1966, when rock was everywhere, she was already a legend. It was at that point that she recorded a solo concert at The Grand Theatre in Limoges, France, and those recordings have been transferred from the original tape reels, restored, and mastered for this ‘RSD First’ release. It comes on on 180-gram, 2-LP vinyl, limited to 1800, with “rare photographs; two sets of liner notes by American and French Tharpe biographers; and statements by Susan Tedeschi, Shemekia Copeland, Henry Rollins and Billy Gibbons.”
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Richard O’Brien – The Rocky Horror Show Original Demo Tapes
Let’s do the Time Warp back to before The Rocky Horror Picture Show became a midnight movie sensation, before its theatrical runs, to when this twisted story was just a fiendish idea in the mind of unemployed actor Richard O’Brien (who’d go on to play hunchback Riff Raff in the film). These are the demos, complete with his storyline narration, that he used to pitch the musical to London’s Royal Court Theatre that would in turn lead to arguably the biggest cult movie of all time. This exclusive RSD pressing (1500 copies) comes in a gatefold sleeve with historic information, pictures, liner notes and a poster. Bring your own hot dogs.
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Spoonfed Hybrid – Spoonfed Hybrid (30th Anniversary Expanded Edition)
Pale Saints frontman Ian Masters quit his own group after two fantastic albums on 4AD – he didn’t like to tour – and formed the decidedly more experimental Spoonfed Hybrid with Chris Tout of AC Temple. The duo’s self-titled debut, their only full length, was released in 1993 via 4AD imprint Guernica and features plenty of Masters’ off-kilter melodic songwriting, here matched with Trout’s electronic-leaning, minimal style. If you like the weirder side of Pale Saints, this is a low-key abundance of riches. This anniversary double LP reissue – its first since the original release – is a bounty for fans, with a second disc of non-LP singles, demos and other rarities, and in a gatefold sleeve with new liner notes. Keeping the group’s obscure rep alive, this ‘RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release’ may be tough to find, as only 250 copies are being made.
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Joe Pesci – Little Joe Sure Can Sing
Long before Goodfellas, My Cousin Vinny, or even Raging Bull, Joe Pesci was pursuing a singing career as Joe Ritchie. In fact, all the way back in 1968 he released Little Joe Sure Can Sing which featured breezy Beatles and Bee Gees covers, and more, all produced by Frankie Valli collaborator Artie Schroeck. It’s groovy! OG vinyl copies of this album go for a lot of cabbage these days, so this ‘RSD First’ release (1400) copies is a comparative steal.
WANT MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM?
We made a categorized guide to RSD24 with over 100 recommendations like the above. To read it right now for free, click over and read the entire new BV digital magazine. It’s free and available instantly, in exchange for your email address. In the new issue you’ll also find interviews with artists about vinyl, an interview with Record Store Day’s co-founders, and much more.