5 Record Store Day Rock/Pop Titles to Check Out
There are always a ton of great rock albums out on Record Store Day and this year is no exception. Some of this years titles come from huge artists releasing some pretty cool items and some small ones worth checking out.
The Doors - The Soft Parade: Stripped
On its original release in 1969, a lot of fans of The Doors derided The Soft Parade for its use of horns and strings, which was a departure from their previous sound. Even though it produced the top 3 single “Touch Me”, it’s an album that usually ranks at the bottom of their discography. This RSD sees the release of The Soft Parade:Stripped, which features 5 tracks with The Doors only and no horns or strings and 3 tracks that Robby Kreiger recently recorded some new guitar parts for.
Skid Row - Slave To The Grind
Skid Row’s 1991 album, Slave To The Grind, was not the release that fans of “I Remember You” and “18 & Life” were expecting. Slave To The Grind is a decidedly heavier affair than their self-titled debut and was criminally overlooked upon its release. This has always been one of my favorite 80’s/90’s metal albums, and I’m glad it’s getting an expanded reissue with 4 bonus tracks. This one comes on Red Vinyl spread across 2 LP’s and is on my Must Have list for 2020.
Batman & Robin - Motion Picture Soundtrack
While the movie Batman & Robin may have been kind of terrible, the soundtrack was pretty fantastic. Featuring new music from Smashing Pumpkins, REM, Soul Coughing, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony & the Goo Goo Dolls, this is another lost gem of the 1990’s. “The End Is the Beginning Is The End” by The Smashing Pumpkins won the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance, but it’s the slowed down version, “Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning”, that is the real star of the show here for me. To me, it’s one of the best songs in their discography and I’m picking this one up for that alone, even though the rest of the soundtrack is great. This 2LP set comes on one blue LP and one red LP.
My Chemical Romance - Life on the Murder Scene
My Chemical Romance has started to embrace RSD recently and is releasing another vinyl first for RSD 2020. Life on the Murder Scene features 9 live tracks from various locations during the tour for Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, two demo versions of songs and one unrleased track. This era of MCR is my personal favorite, so I’m looking forward to this one quite a bit. It comes on clear vinyl with red splatter which should go quite well with the cover of the LP.
Gorillaz - G-Sides & D-Sides
The Gorillaz actually have two releases for RSD this year and both of them come from some of their best periods. First up is G-Sides, which is a 10 song compilation of b-sides and remixes from their first LP, and includes an awesome remix of the single Clint Eastwood. The other release is the 3LP D-Sides which is a gigantic compilation of remixes, b-sides and bonus tracks from the Demon Days album. D-Sides is a massive 22 song collection of tracks from the most popular era of Gorillaz, as evidenced by the continued popularity of the Demon Days album, even 14 years after its release. Both D-Sides and G-Sides will be sought after items on RSD and will be must haves for fans of the band.