Record Store Day has recently announced its list of exclusive titles for RSD Black Friday 2024, which happens on Friday, November 29. See here for the complete list.
Some of the notable country and roots-rock releases include:
Allman Brothers Band – Manley Field House, Syracuse NY April 7 , 1972 – 3 x LP – The complete live recording of the Allman Brothers Band’s April 7, 1972 performance at Manley Field House at Syracuse University in Syracuse NY. The two disc set is pressed on Syracuse colors of orange and blue, and numbered for RSD Black Friday.
Dickey Betts & Great Southern – Southern Jam New York 1978 – 3 x LP – This 110-minute concert performance from the legendary Allman Brothers Band guitarist was recorded at the Calderone Concert Hall on Long Island, New York on August 11, 1978. The show features thirteen tracks including the ABB classics “Jessica”, Southbound”, “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”, “Blue Sky” and “Ramblin Man” along with tracks from the 1977 album from his band, Great Southern. The live performance was previously released digitally and on CD in 2017, but this triple LP set will be packaged in a gatefold sleeve with new liner notes and photos.
The Blasters – Over There: Live at The Venue London 1982, The Complete Concert – 2X LP – On their first international tour, in May of 1982, Americana music legends The Blasters were recorded at the Venue in London England. Six of those tracks were released on Slash Records as a 12” EP later that year. Four more tracks were uncovered and included on the Rhino/Warner Bros anthology album Testament in 1997. As part of a new catalog deal for the Blasters recordings with Liberation Hall, the label has uncovered the thirteen remaining tracks and is releasing the complete concert.
The show found The Blasters firing on all cylinders as they were taking off in London, after Shakin Stevens’ version of the Dave Alvin-written “Marie Marie” hit the top 20 of the UK charts. It is quintessential listening, and a magical music moment uncovered for any fan of the band. The RSD Black Friday classic black vinyl double LP exclusive is housed in a gatefold sleeve with new liner notes, rare photos and memorabilia images.
The Byrds/Buffalo Springfield – Live at the Monterey International Pop Festival – 2X Lp – The two most important American rock bands performing at the Monterey International Pop Festival—Buffalo Springfield and The Byrds—had one thing in common: David Crosby. These sets mark a pivotal moment in Crosby’s career: One of his final performances before leaving The Byrds and, sitting in with Buffalo Springfield at the request of Stephen Stills, the beginnings of the partnership that would become Crosby, Stills, and Nash. While the sets by Otis, The Who, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix were revolutionary moments, these sets by The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield tell a different story, of one artist’s evolution that in turn changed rock music itself.
Buck Owens – I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail – LP – Out of print on vinyl since the ’70s, this prime slab of ’65 Buck is Buck at his best. Topping the country charts and being named the Billboard Country Album Of The Year, the interest in this album never waned. This is THE Buck Owens album to own, as it is the apex of his career with the Buckaroos. Don Rich never sounded tighter (and even throws a guest vocal with “Wham Bam”). There has never been a more distinctive nor instantly recognizable sound in country music than Buck Owens, and this album is reflective of that. There are a handful of hits on this one, including the title track, “Cryin’ Time,” and “Memphis.” If you only have room for one Buck Owens album, well, this is it! Cut all analog and pressed on orange vinyl for RSD Black Friday
2024.
Leon Russell – Hymns Of Christmas – Lp – For the first time on vinyl, Dark Horse Records reissues Leon Russell’s 1995 instrumental album Hymns of Christmas, offering a unique and reflective take on traditional holiday music. Featuring Russell’s masterful piano playing as the centerpiece alongside intricate orchestral arrangements, the album features ten holiday classics including “O Holy Night,” “Silent Night,” and “Away in a Manger. Hymns of Christmas stands as a testament to Leon Russell’s versatility and his gift for creating deeply moving recordings.
IT’S A BAKERSFIELD KIND OF CHRISTMAS AT OMNIVORE
– Buck recorded two Christmas albums back in the sixties - Christmas Shopping and Christmas with Buck Owens. This is the better of the two because the King of the Bakersfield Sound avoids the usual Christmas chestnuts and lends his signature style to a collection consisting almost all original songs. The songs run from barroom weepers Blue Christmas Tree and It’s Christmas Time For Everyone But Me and the swinging Santa’s Gonna Come in a Stage Coach and Because It’s Christmas Time. This is a great stocking-stuffer for the country traditionalist in your life.
– How many Christmas albums can you name that resulted in a #1 song? Not many, but this is one of them. Haggard’s A Christmas Present, released in 1973, contains the single If We Make It Through December which spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart that December through January 1974. That song and others like melancholy “Daddy Won’t Be Home for Christmas settles you in for a lonesome Christmas, but Hag does take a light-hearted break with Santa Claus and Popcorn and Bobby Wants a Puppy Dog for Christmas.
– The legendary John Prine puts away the satircal knives (mostly) on this excellent, though brief, holiday release. Classics like I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus and Silver Bells are done straight-up and mixed with wry originals resulting in a tasty spiked Christmas nog. Broken relationships in songs like Everything Is Cool and All the Best are recalled less bitterness then bemused fatalism.
– A collection of Americana and alt.country legends came together on this 2005 release partake in one of the greatest of Christmas endeavors; charity.
– Unfortunately now out of print, Hillbilly Holiday is an excellent 18-track compilation of classic country Christmas songs. Pioneers like Bill Monroe, Tex Ritter and Ernst Tubb sit beside relative newcomers Willie Nelson. Buck Owens and Loretta Lynn on this often whimsical compilation. If you can find this release is just the remedy for the pop-country fan in your life.
Anybody that’s read this blog for more than five minutes knows that the style of country music that I champion is typically not represented on the flavor of the week “country” charts. I’m not in the business of puffing up entertainers that have more in common with REO Speedwagon than Hank Williams and my M.O., my brand if you will, has always been cream doesn’t necessarily rise to the top, sometimes it’s found around the edges.