I was very saddened when Sunrise records shuttered most of their stores nationwide, including my regular outlet at Fairview Mall. Not so much when the HMVs started closing. I haven’t spent any money at an HMV in years. Recently, Sunrise announced they would be taking over several of the old HMV locations, including the one at Fairview mall. Yes, Sunrise has finally returned to Fairview.
Sunrise re-opened a few days after Record Store Day in a case of bad timing, but they still had some RSD stock. I set aside my Saturday morning to immerse myself in their inventory. As expected they had plenty of vinyl, displayed front and center when you enter the store. It’s a good selection of the usual suspects priced in the mid-$30s. Their vinyl catalogue selection was much better than the same for CD. Flipping through the Kiss LPs, they had 15 or so titles from the catalogue including some of the lesser known ones such as Carnival of Souls. Then I flipped through Deep Purple on CD. Disappointingly, they had five copies of the hits disc Icon, one copy of In Rock (standard edition) and one copy of The Very Best Of. The same issue plagued many artists in the CD section: five copies of Icon, but very few actual albums on CD. This wasn’t the case across the board. There was a healthy Metallica section and they had all the Oasis deluxe editions. One deluxe that I was looking for was the four disc Black Sabbath Paranoid reissue, but all they had was the double CD (and 180 gram vinyl of course).
They staff were friendly and passed the test. They approached me and asked if I needed help, I didn’t need to ask them, and they waited a reasonable amount of time. Unfortunately their system isn’t quite up and running yet. No inventory lookup. But they tried. You can’t judge a store too harshly a few days into their first week. They had a promotional sale on: Buy something on vinyl and get $5 off a T-shirt. They had a lot of cool T-shirts, (a lot!) but if there is one thing I don’t need right now, it’s more T-shirts. They even had brand new Star Wars turntables. Star Wars turntables?
The one surprise I saw was in the Mr. Bungle section. They had five copies of their legendary debut album, at a steal of $5.99 each. Compare that with $21 on Amazon.
I hope Sunrise does well. They made a few sales while I was there, and the store was never empty. It was funny to listen to the people browsing. “Is that a CD?” “No, it’s a seven inch record.” “NO WAY!”
Way indeed. Welcome back Sunrise.
SUNRISE SCORES:
Four finds from four different genres.
Brant Bjork – Tao of the Devil CD – $18.99 (compared to $24.28 on Amazon.ca)
Oasis – Be Here Now 3 CD deluxe – $32.99 (compared to $31.45 on Amazon.ca)
Kiss – Music From the Elder 180 gram LP reissue – $32.99 (compared to $33.79 on Amazon.ca)
Steve Earle & the Dukes – The Continental Club 7″ RSD 2017 single – $11.99 (not available on Amazon.ca)
FAITH NO MORE – “Cone of Shame” (2016 Reclamation Recordings 7″ single for Record Store Day, gold vinyl)
All hail the mighty JHUBNER, decorated hard-core hunter…of records. Raise your Romulan ale (or what have you)! Somewhere somehow, the subject of limited edition Faith No More singles for Record Store Day came up. Mr. Hubner kindly took note that he had seen some at his local establishment. With great care and expense, he packed it well, armored in a shell of cardboard that could withstand any wayward bombardments. Thusly, I have acquired “Cone of Shame” on limited edition clear gold vinyl. Had I thought this through, I would have asked for green, to compliment this burning green alcoholic beverage that Scotty below is hoisting to Mr. Hubner.
This is a gorgeous 45. The cover art is quite funny: a pug (with eyes blacked out for anonymity) wearing a doggie “cone of shame”. Would have been better with a miniature schnauzer, but pugs are fine. The vintage style label is starkly awesome in black & white. The pristine yellow disc is a piece of beauty indeed, clean and clear and rich with awesome music carved into its grooves.
The A-side is the standard album version of “Cone of Shame” from Sol Invictus. This is a song I have strongly warmed up to in the last year. I didn’t care for it at first, but I have since fallen for its weirdness and Patton’s vocal heroics. Flip over to the B-side and you will find J.G. Thirwell’s “Calcitron Mix” of “Motherfucker”. I love what he did with it. Most of Patton’s voice has been wiped leaving only Roddy Bottum’s hypnotic verses. The word “motherfucker” is chopped and looped to become the main hook. There is very little of the original song left. Essentially a new song has been created with Roddy’s “get the motherfucker on the phone, on the phone” hook, chopped up and given the Max Headroom treatment. The techno backing feels like a bunch of idiots at a rave, but that’s not my thing. I’m easily amused so the rearrangement and repetition of the word “motherfucker” keeps me entertained.
Remixes are what they are. You either like them or you don’t. I usually lean towards the opinion that an original is better than a remix, 99% of the time. There are the odd exceptions. I think you need to use a different measuring stick when talking about remixes. Instead of “did it make the song better”, perhaps the question should be “did it make the song different?” In this case “Motherfucker” has been reimagined as something new, and that’s pretty cool.
METALLICA – “Lords of Summer” (2014 Blackened Record Store Day single, additional download versions)
This past Friday, Metallica ended the eight-year long wait for a new album and put out the sharp-edged Hardwired…To Self-Destruct. If you go for the deluxe edition (a measly $16!) then you’ll get the full 78 minute studio album and a bonus CD (to be reviewed later) with another 14 tracks. That’s another 79 minutes of metal for a grand total of $16. The value is insane.
Cast your minds back to 2014. Metallica, embarking on a summer tour, released a new single called “Lords of Summer”. The concept of “Lords of Summer” was pretty simple. It’s a song about touring season, and it was one of the new pieces of music that the band were working on for the next album. Ultimately, a slightly shorter and re-recorded “Lords of Summer” was included on the bonus CD for Hardwired. The vinyl single (Record Store Day, limited to 4000 copies) has the original “First Pass Version” (8:20). This was also made available via download. If you’re already familiar with “Lords of Summer” then this is the version you know. The “First Pass” is not as polished as Hardwired, but similar in direction with the same focus on metal riffs and melody. Like much of the album, “Lords of Summer” careens from riff to riff blasting away at different tempos. While not one of Metallica’s most remarkable songs, it has some cool individual riffs cooked up within it.
For the sake of completion, we should also discuss the “Garage Demo Version” of “Lords of Summer”. This was included as a bonus track with Metallica’s official live downloads from that tour. It was first played in Bogota Columbia, March 16 2014. The “Garage Demo” (also 8:20) is different recording from the “First Pass”; very similar but even rougher. Fans familiar with Metallica’s usual demos know that they are often so rough that the lyrics are not yet in place. This time, the song was already fully formed in its demo stage.
The Record Store Day vinyl single contained a bonus live version, recorded in Rome on July 1 2014. By that time the band had been playing it all summer, so it’s tight. Kirk’s solo is drowned out in the mix, but of course you can hear the drums loud and clear. Compare this to the version in Bogota, which captures the song played live for the first time ever. The arrangement is the same, but it’s still coming together in Bogota. The Roman version demonstrates that practice makes perfect. But why stop there? There are a total of 33 different live versions available for download on Metallica’s site!
There is one last bonus, which is the etched B-side on the Record Store Day vinyl. Admittedly it looks pretty…but it’s just an “M”. It’s minimalist cool, but what happened?…they couldn’t afford to etch the etallica?
For this review, we listened to the following:
“First Pass Version” (8:20, available as single download or on vinyl Record Store Day single)
“Garage Demo Version” (8:20, available with purchase of a concert at LiveMetallica)
July 1, 2014, Rome Italy (8:48, available on vinyl Record Store Day single or for download at LiveMetallica)
March 16, 2014, Bogota Columbia (9:18, available for download at LiveMetallica)
With 31 more live versions online, plus the new album version at 7:09, there are in total 36 official versions of “Lords of Summer” out there to consume. Happy hunting.
IRON MAIDEN -“Empire of the Clouds” (2016 Parlophone Record Store Day picture disc single)
The story of acquiring this single and RSD 2016 can be read right here, so without getting into the details again this is what you need to know:
This was a Record Store Day exclusive (April 16 2016).
There were only 5500 copies made.
Everybody wanted one.
The picture disc and packaging are gorgeous. The record is a depiction of the Eddie destroying the R-101 airship, but fear not, this is not how history actually unfolded! This picture disc is ensconced in a die card cover with reprintings of the Daily Mirror newspaper article from the day following the disaster. It’s a lovely keepsake for sure, but it also has an exclusive interview on the B-side.
Not that the A side is unimportant. From my original review for The Book of Souls, I had much praise for “Empire of the Clouds”:
“Written solely by Bruce and coming in at almost 20 minutes, it is unprecedented in the Maiden canon. Never before have the credits ‘Bruce Dickinson – vocals, piano’ been written inside one of their albums. For the first time ever, the piano is a part of Iron Maiden’s makeup. Maiden have used orchestras before, and the strings return as well. ‘Empire of the Clouds’ is a peak accomplishment, something that they (and Bruce) can proudly proclaim, ‘we did that’. The piano is a natural fit, in the way it is used to make an epic song even more dramatic. Aviation has been one of Bruce’s favourite lyrical subjects for a long time, but ‘Empire of the Clouds’ might be his first song about airships. You can trust him to instil it with all the drama and heaviness that you expect from Iron Maiden.”
Nicko McBrain and Bruce Dickinson discuss the making of the song, almost an album in itself, on the B-side “Maiden Voyage”. The R101 was a massive airship (“the Titanic fits inside”) that was rushed into service and caught flame in 1930. Bruce wrote the song on piano, which he had learned to play over the last three years. He then researched the history of the airship and worked on the words. The way he describes the incident on this interview track, it was a perfect storm of everything going wrong. In its context, the airship was an expression of the ambition of the British Empire to stretch to all corners of the Earth and above as well. Bruce says the crash was the end of this era.
Part of the story involves a storm, so Bruce came up with a piano part to depict that. Before long he had enough components from his piano writings to build the different parts of the song. One of the bits was written when Jon Lord (from Deep Purple) was ill with cancer. After his death, Bruce used this piece for the part when the airship initially sets off. It’s interesting that this era of British ambition inspired the most ambitious track that the singer had ever attempted. This includes a musical “S.O.S.” in Morse code, something I picked up on upon first listen.
Bruce has particular praise for drummer Nicko McBrain in the building and recording of this song. Nicko was not only a help in a technical respect, but also as a cheerleader keeping the band driven, so much was he into it.
Bruce Dickinson is a remarkable individual in heavy metal. You don’t see many metal stars as well educated in history as Bruce, or as capable at communicating it to his audience. Indeed, as a presenter on the BBC, Bruce has brought history to many diverse audiences. You would think Iron Maiden fans would be one of the more challenging groups to reach, but Maiden followers are hungry for this kind of content. We can only respect the band that much more when we realize the true depth of their work. This coming from a licensed airline pilot, published fiction author, cancer survivor and amature fencer who also happens to be in Iron Maiden. Extraordinary!
I’m not sure if this disc was worth the buying frenzy it spawned or the online prices you are about to see, but I’m sure glad I got my copy.
GETTING MORE TALE #478: Record Store Day (April 16 2016)
I thought Record Store Day was supposed to be a celebration of indi record stores. That’s nice and all, but my first Record Store Day ever was at a chain: Sunrise Records in a shopping mall. I’m not sure what qualifies as “indi” but I do see a lot of similarities with Record Store Day and other much-hyped spending spree events, like Force Friday. Overpriced items, not enough stock and waiting for stores to open seem to be the order of the day. Having said that, I have never seen anything like Record Store Day 2016. Nor did the staff at X-Disc-C in Kitchener, the store I chose to hit up this year.
I don’t always shop on Record Store Day, but when I do, it is for a good reason. The first time I went was in 2011, for an AC/DC single featuring two then-exclusive live recordings. That was a lot of fun, but imagine my chagrin a year later when these two songs were released on the Live at River Plate album. It seems most RSD-exclusive items are either:
a) songs that get released on albums later on, b) vinyl reissues of things you already have, c) stuff that sits around for months or years after as shelfwarmers.
This year, my RSD holy grail list had only one item on it: the 12″ picture disc single for Iron Maiden’s 20 minute epic “Empire of the Clouds”, from The Book of Souls. Incidentally, that single was more expensive than the 2 CD album itself: $33 with taxes. What’s so special about it? It has no exclusive music, but it does include a 21 minute interview with Bruce Dickinson about the R101 airship disaster that the song is based on. That made it worth owning. There were at least four stores in town carrying it. Mill Pond Records in Cambridge were doing a big promotion on the radio with Darryl Law, offering big discounts and free CDs. The had four copies of “Empire of the Clouds” in stock. I wrote that store off the list first, gambling that it would be too busy.
I planned my strategy to acquire this very limited single (5500 copies). Online prices later on will be far too high, at least for me unless I decide to sell my organs on the dark web. Encore Records has long been the most reliable store in town, and they were carrying it (quantity unknown). Failing that, just a few blocks away at X-Disc-C, there were three copies in stock. The plan was for me to go to Encore while my wife Jen went to X-Disc-C. We left the house at 8:15 for the 9:00 am opening. That even left time for a coffee stop, at a way too busy Timmy’s on Weber St. My only real concern at that point was parking downtown. Kitchener is currently being ripped up to build a controversial light rail transit system. The traffic tie-ups and difficult access points are only adding to the controversy. Even so, and even with the Kitchener Farmer’s Market open since 6:00 am, parking was not a problem. In fact there was plenty.
Encore Records was a couple blocks away, but I turned right back around as soon as I saw the line! There were at least 40-50 people up there, waiting to get in. I had never seen anything like that before, not on Record Store Day. Not for records. “Fuck this,” I said as I hiked back. Re-joining Jen, we headed to X-Disc-C which was only a short jaunt away. We knew they had three copies. I had never been to this location before, tucked away on a side street near the market. We knew we were getting near when we heard the sounds of Gordon Lightfoot serenading us on outdoor speakers. This was followed by the new Wolfmother. And we were first in line! Iron Maiden would be mine!
I posted on Facebook, “First in line. I am the line.”
About five minutes later another guy joined us, maybe a bit older than me. We exchanged “good mornings” and chatted.
“I’m only here for one thing,” he hinted.
“Maiden?” I asked, and he nodded. “Me too,” I said in response. “He has three in there, so it looks like we’re good.”
“They’re already open over across the street,” he told me, referring to Encore.
“Really? But did you see that crowd? There were at least 40 people standing there. Can that store even hold 40 people?”
I was surprised when he answered, “Yeah, I was second in line. I’ve been waiting outside since 6:30 in the morning.”
Think about that for a moment. That means there was somebody who got there even before 6:30! People really wanted that Iron Maiden record. Behind us, a small line began to form, young and old.
“I left to come here because I couldn’t see the Maiden when I walked into Encore. Other people swooped in and they were gone before I could even see them.” I expressed a little bit of surprise about the popularity of a record that only had an interview track on the B-side. That doesn’t matter to everybody though. “I’m not going to play it,” he said. “I’m not even going to open it. I’m going to frame it.”
A few more people joined us in line including one guy in an Iron Maiden T-shirt. I don’t think he had a chance anymore. There seemed to be two dominating artists that people in line were looking for: David Bowie, and Iron Maiden. Then the door opened. I grabbed the first Iron Maiden, and the guy behind me got the second. I did not see who got the third.
At X-Disc-C, they told me they had never seen a Record Store Day opening like this before. They seemed unprepared as most of their items hadn’t even been priced yet. I wonder if Encore Records also got slammed unprepared at opening. They usually only have two guys working on busy days, and I think only three people even work there at all. It’s great to see them so busy, but I wondered about the whole experience.
These stores probably don’t make much money on these Record Store Day exclusives, and these early birds were looking for specific items. If they didn’t have it, they walked. They didn’t stick around to browse, nor was there room to browse. Two people walked out before I even paid for my Maiden! The buying frenzy atmosphere isn’t the kind of record shopping experience most of us look for. We like to take our time, check every nook and cranny, converse and enjoy it. These limited Record Store Day items seem to create schools of sharks swooping in on very limited items, and when they’re gone the customer buys nothing and moves on.
I will open and play my Iron Maiden record, once. I’ll record it, and only look at it henceforce. It’s a gorgeous picture disc in a gatefold sleeve. The cover replicates the Daily Mirror newspaper from October 6 1930, the day after the R101 burst into flames. An awesome Eddie illustration from the picture disc is seen through the die-cut cover. It truly is a beautiful collectible.
Record Store Day was fun, but I don’t think it does much to celebrate the indi record store. It does bring out the hard core collectors, but the overall atmosphere feels too much like a bloody Black Friday sale than a true record shopping experience.
Come back tomorrow for a review of the “Empire of the Clouds” RSD exclusive single.
ANTHRAX – Live from Sonisphere Festival 2010 (picture disc EP, Record Store Day exclusive)
I don’t get these Record Store Day exclusives, honestly. I saw this thing for a reasonable price on Amazon and bought it without even knowing it was some kind of “exclusive”. I sure didn’t buy it at a record store, but I won’t turn this into a Record Store Day rant.
This is a very nice looking picture disc. I wouldn’t recommend playing it too often, you know how quickly a picture disc can wear out. If you’re lucky enough to own the Big Four Live CD box set, you won’t need to play this. I don’t have that very limited set, but these two Anthrax performances make me want it! “Medusa”, an oldie from the Anthrax days of yore (Spreading the Disease), is just as powerful as ever. Belladonna’s voice has changed, but not enough to matter. The song has been tuned down, but that really only makes it heavier.
“Only”, the first single from the John Bush era of the band, is on the other side. This is one of the best Anthrax songs ever, in my opinion. Joey certainly turns a more than able performance. He sounds at home, and I quite enjoy his version, especially when he starts shrieking before the guitar solo.
I loved this single, and I was surprised how awesome Joey sounded. I really lost track of Anthrax after the We’ve Come For You All period and haven’t been too excited about all the rotating singers since then. However since Joey’s been back (for hopefully the rest of the band’s life) I’ve been a lot more interested, and that’s why I bought this. I didn’t know how good he would sound on the Bush-era stuff, and “Medusa” smokes with furious intensity too.
THEM CROOKED VULTURES – “Mind Eraser, No Chaser” (10″ single)
I love unique looking items and this sure qualifies. Enveloped in a transparent red sleeve is a 10″ picture disc; this is something to behold. It looks great and you’ll want to put it in some kind of protective sleeve right away to keep it pristine, which is what I did.
The A-side contains the album version of “Mind Eraser, No Chaser” and a live cut of an unreleased song called “Hwy 1”. This live track was recorded in January in Sydney, Australia. It’s an awesome tune, punctuated by some seriously dexterous playing from John Paul Jones. Those who have heard his solo album Zooma know exactly what I’m talking about. I really liked this song a lot, it gets into a great groove, locking in with Dave and Josh, and a melody that makes it a real standout. If it had been on the album it would have been one of the choicest cuts.
“Mind Eraser, No Chaser” itself was one of the better album tracks as well, making this side a great listen. It’s a pretty succinct track that could be easily mistaken for a Queens of the Stone Age song. No matter that John Paul Jones is 1/3 of the band, Them Crooked Vultures simply resembles QOTSA more than they don’t.
The B-side is an 11-minute interview conducted by film director Liam Lynch (Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny). It’s actually quite a good interview, with all three members of the band. Both Dave Grohl and Josh Homme went into the album without having played their “main” instruments in a long time (drums and guitar respectively). John Paul expresses his disappointment that many metal bands are simply parodies of the genre; but that the Vultures are certainly not. My favourite quote is Dave Grohl’s:
“I’m never nervous about hitting ‘record’, and I’m never worried that, ‘hmmm, I hope I come up with a riff’. ‘Cause riffs…I don’t have a problem coming up with riffs. It’s songs that are important. I even said that to Josh after the first we time we jammed. I said, ‘You know, you and I could fill the Grand Canyon with riffs. But we need to write some songs’. That’s the hard part. And that’s where John comes in handy ’cause he’s the genius composer/arranger.”
This was an April 17 2010 Record Store Day exclusive, but even today you can find them all over the place. Don’t pay more than you need to, because you don’t need to.
JIMI HENDRIX – “Valleys of Neptune” (2010 Experience Hendrix, Record Store Day release)
I’m just a casual fan, certainly not an expert on the labyrinthine Hendrix back catalog of songs. There are so many takes both released and “previously unreleased” of so many songs. Anyway, bottom line, here is “Valleys of Neptune”, a previously unreleased 40-year old take of a Hendrix song, the title track to the 2010 album it comes from. This is via the official Hendrix-family-approved reissue program. It’s a pretty cool looking single, with suitably 60’s cover art suiting the title, and painted by Jimi himself. The tune itself is a catchy toe-tapping Hendrix rocker performed with Mitch Mitchell and Billy Cox. It’s pieced together from recording sessions in 1969 and 1970.
The B-side is a previously unreleased version of “Cat Talking To Me”. This one was not made available on Valleys of Neptune, not even as a digital download bonus track. You can only get it on this single. Jimi cut this one with the Experience in 1967, but Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding returned to the studio in 1987 to add the bass and drums. Why it wasn’t released in ’87, I don’t know. I like this one better than the A-side. It has a good little groove going, at times anticipating where Aerosmith would take American rock and roll in the 1970’s. The lead vocal is by Mitchell.
For something cool to add to your collection, you can’t go wrong with “Valleys of Neptune”. It looks neat, it sounds great, and the cover art and rare track are sure to make this a collectible.
OZZY OSBOURNE – “Flying High Again” (2011 Record Store Day exclusive)
Here’s something of an underappreciated item. Everybody knows that Ozzy and Sharon re-recorded the drums and bass on Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman back in 2002. In retrospect this was a shrewd move despite the fan backlash. In Lucas-esque fashion, it enabled them to restore the original versions for much-hyped reissues in 2011. To usher in these new/old releases, Record Store Day shoppers were able to buy a replica original “Flying High Again” single.
Both the reissue and the original 1981 single featured the B-side, “I Don’t Know”, recorded live at an unspecified gig. Like Diary of a Madman itself, this B-side had its bass and drums re-recorded in 2002. It is difficult to hear the differences, but listen to the bass tracks right around the 2:10 minute mark. Where Bob Daisley plays lots of interesting harmonics, the re-recorded version has Rob Trujillo hitting the lows. The bass parts are very different.
The credits on the 2002 edition of Diary indicate all tracks, “live” one included, were remixed with new bass and drums.
When Diary was reissued in 2011, it did not include this B-side, but instead an entire (different) concert on a bonus CD. Therefore the original version of the “I Don’t Know” B-side remains a vinyl exclusive. Cool. I am not sure why this was not advertised on the single sleeve or in the media. In fact, I’ve owned this single for two years without putting 2 + 2 together. The “Flying High Again” vinyl single is the only place you can get the original, untampered “I Don’t Know” live B-side!
For that reason alone:
5/5 stars
But is this worth $12 as per the price tag? That’s one thing that bugs me about these singles today. I understand that manufacturing costs have changed and it’s a niche item, but still! $12 for one song. One song, because they were going to sell us all “Flying High Again” itself on the Diary reissue, as advertised on the front.
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