SDEtv: Record Store Day Preview #2

Finally bought the Art Of Noise Purple Vinyl 12” at a local shop for a reasonable, cheaper price than in 2017. It sounds great: a deep bass, but still a balanced sound. This pressing sounds better than the 1985 one. A gem.

What’s the point of RSD these days? I know someone who wanted a vinyl release of Frida (of ABBA)’s early 1970s solo album. He went to the shop a week or so ago to mention it to them but he went back today and had no luck.

I know you could say it would defeat the object, but why can’t you order an item so it’s guaranteed to be there? You’d have to go to the shop to order, show ID and could only order one of the item, but if this was possible, more people might be interested.

A few years ago I queued for ages at a small-ish shop In Nottingham for a Kate Bush picture disc, but halfway into the queue I noticed one of the staff had a list and what I wanted was crossed out as it was already sold. Since then I vowed never to bother again. Waste of time if no guarantee of getting what you want.

I’ve just spotted something really odd about the shaped Art of Noise one, there’s part of an extra track on it,

Look on the rabbit ears, and at the point of it’s chin, and you’ll see part of another groove there. It’s not complete, and would likely ruin your needle if you tried to play it though. Does anyone want to risk it… or has anyone found an uncut (and therefore playable) one?

I noticed Resident Records (who are in Brighton I think?) have actually mentioned on their RSD list that the Art Of Noise picture discs are all warped. They’re still charging £19:99 but then they’ll have had to pay for them and it’s not as if many of the people buying them will actually play them anyway. Still, nice to know it’s not just that one.

RSD jumped the shark ages ago, and these ridiculous prices hammer that point. Almost everything on offer is wildly overpriced – 50 pounds for the one-sided, 7-track BOWPROMO packaged with a few pictures!!! It’s especially egregious for “singles” like the ones featured here. I still see copies of EPs and 12″ singles from years past sitting unsold in stores because nobody in their right mind wants to pay $20+ for 3 tracks of a faux-limited edition when the originals can still be bought for less. It’s sad to see what a cynical marketing exercise it’s become, and the video’s examples just confirm it.

A quick search on eb*y shows over 100 listings for RSD 2017 items, all above the retail prices (based on my local stores anticipated prices). Some of these appear to be their own photos so look like stock already obtained. Not sure if these are people who have received them in the same, perfectly reasonable manner as Paul here or are shop keepers with stock which should be on sale tomorrow. Anyway, I would not pay the over the top prices on most items, not least £100 for the Smiths 7″, the tracks on which will appear next year on an SDE for The Queen Is Dead based on the promo for that.

While I like the idea of Record Store Day I do agree with those here who bemoan how exploitative it is. Many of the prices asked are WAY over the top for what you actually get and seeing as it is often real fans who miss out to those who are just in it for greed the whole things leaves a nasty taste in the mouth…

Perhaps a better way to do things would be for releases to be flagged up in advance and for stores to be able to take pre-orders from customers. The items could still be made available for one day only (to encourage people to visit their local record shops) and so the releases themselves would still retain their collectable credibility with time but this way EVERYONE who wants whatever would at least have a fair chance of getting it.

Fancied the Cure and also the Motorhead 3lp but £55 is a bit of joke – I will have a word with myself and see if I could just make do the the Quadrophenia as a treat

As many people do not have a convenient independent Record Store on their doorstep, preventing them from arriving too early on RSD, would a fairer procedure be for independent shops to issue a loyalty points card, so that those that spend the most throughout the year can form a priority queue, which allows them in the store before the main queue, as a reward for their loyalty? It is more likely that less of these people would be buying the ‘limited edition releases’ to put straight on ebay too. What are your thoughts, Paul?

The two Art of Noise releases really show up the ‘Jump The Shark’ aspects of Record Store Day. It’s clear from the releases – by two different labels – that no co-ordination or dialogue of any kind occurred between Salvo and Music On Vinyl. I’d love to hear Ian Peel’s (ZTT Archivist) take on this situation.

What’s even more annoying is that with a little bit of care, a 12”/mini-album release could’ve catered for the original cassette single mixes (Moments In Love 9:00, Moments In Love (Beaten) 5:45 and LoveBeat 4:40) and the various previously unreleased mixes – such as the 7:52 demo version on And What Have You Done With My Body, God?

If you can’t be bothered to get out of bed for a warped picture disc (£21 at Crash Records and already £50+ on Discogs!) or the 12” (£17!) – help is at hand. Germany recently put out a better curated 12” back in February that knocks these two awful RSD reissues into the park for about £12 – https://www.discogs.com/Art-Of-Noise-Lovebeat-12/release/10037413

Regarding the sound quality of picture disks, Jonathon Ross played The Smiths’ Boy With The Thorn In His Side on his Arts Show on Radio 2 last night, and it sounded great.

Toto have an Africa shaped disk of… Africa b/w Rossana which looks great and their is a lovely Bladerunners soundtrack vinyl too.

I have gone into Dublin city centre to 3 record shops every RSD for the past 7 years or so.
Tower Records, Freebird Records and Spindizzy Records.

Tower Records twitter page has pictures of some stuff they have got in.
Freebird Records twitter page has pictures and prices as well.
Judging by the prices it seems that RSD 2017 will be more expensive than ever.

I have been in Qs for 45 minutes or more, to try to get in near the front of the Q line,
to get items from my precious pre-prepared list!
Every year I have made a list of my top 5 to 10 and said that’s all I’m getting.
Every year I have brought more than I should have or budgeted for.
And each year I say never again, not bothering next year !

This year I’m going in once again with my list and will be on the bus early tomorrow morning!
More fool me you might say and I may well agree with you.

RSD isn’t what it used to be but maybe this will be my last……

I love Art of Noise and I have the original “tortoise” pic disc from 1985. I’d love to pair that with this new edition but it’s just too expensive; I can’t justify £20 for two songs I already have. I’ll save my schmekles for the new “In Visible Silence”.

I have heard that when Madonna married Sean Penn in 1985 she walked down the aisle to ‘Moments In Love’. It’s a great song.

I just hate seeing this stuff. Basically – releases that I want that I haven’t got a hope in hell of actually getting without paying a fortune to a scalper on eBay :(.

Like some who post here, I loathe RSD. It’s a badly thought-out concept that’s exploitative (OK, that’s the game of record companies anyway). Queueing up outside a shop for hours in all weathers to see if I can obtain an overpriced “super rare” RSD “exclusive” isn’t my idea of fun – it’s my idea of being taken for a ride. The vast majority of what is sold is dross IMHO. I’m amazed 75% of what’s deemed sellable gets the green light. And as everyone knows, if you miss out, you’re taken for a ride afterwards online. I find it disappointing that SDE is now reporting on the junk that RSD peddles. The original idea was to resuscitate vinyl sales – well that’s worked, so can we leave this marketing rubbish alone now? I prefer CDs anyway!

The only thing with ‘Record Store Day’ is that they are all in stores milss away from where I live rurally in Pembrokeshire so a total waste of time to me and unfair as it is to anyone else who lives in a rural area or in the outbacks of nowhere. It ought to be renamed ‘Townies and City Dwellers Record Store Day’.

Have you managed to get a Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever 7″ Paul and will it be in your next video! Cheers, Colin.

What sort of prices are being charged for these 3 releases at your local shop folks?? At my local shop they are £15.99 for Small Faces – £12.99 for Buggles & £18.99 (Steeeep or what!) for Art of Noise which was warped on Paul’s copy in the video.

Has the quality of picture discs improved over the past 30 years or do they still sound like crap? I’ve steered clear of picture discs, but they seem to be popular (for a reason)?

“A Time For Fear (JJ’s 12″ Remix)” was track 4 on disc 2 of the “Influence (Hits, Singles, Moments, Treasures…)” compilation CD salvo put out in 2010.

Ooh, want that Buggles!