For the fireworks finale to our Omnivore Recordings Week, we’re going full circle with the first two releases pressed under the label’s imprint for Record Store Day 2011—and as we have all week, you get a chance to snap both of ’em in a giveaway!
Buck Owens – Close Up The Honky Tonks (Early Version) / My Heart Skips A Beat (Early Version)
Recorded at the same sessions as Buck Owens’ double-sided, #1 single “My Heart Skips A Beat” / “Together Again,” the Omnivore version of “Close Up The Honky Tonks” was recently discovered, buried on a multi-track reel—thought to be lost for years. It’s in a different key than the released version (recorded five months later), and whether this was an abandoned take (it does not feature Buck’s trademark, overdubbed harmonies) remains unclear.
What is clear is that it is a fascinating peek into the evolution of The Buckaroos and a classic song. Although never issued as a single, “Close Up The Honky Tonks” became a fan favorite and has been covered by artists including Dwight Yoakam, The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers.
The flip features “My Heart Skips A Beat,” recorded during the “Act Naturally” sessions in 1963. Very much in the “old” Buck Owens vein, this early performance carries elements—like fiddle and the honky-tonk shuffle—that Buck would eventually move away from.
The track was finished and apparently readied for release, but the song was buried until the tune was re-cut almost a year later (it is possible that the success of the newer sound of “Act Naturally” was the reason for shelving the original version). While this version appeared on the Bear Family box in 2008, it has never been released in mono on a 45.
Big Star – Third (Test Pressing Edition)
Third comes from sessions with Big Star’s Alex Chilton, Jody Stephens and a bevy of session musicians, recorded with producer Jim Dickinson in 1974 and early 1975. Whether it was actually intended to be a Big Star album is up for debate, but a couple hundred test pressings made in 1975 clearly list it as Big Star III, as does the original tape box (now lovingly reproduced here for you). Until the cavalcade of reissues began in 1978, all that existed were those test pressings. And since that time, it has been reissued and resequenced into something other than what the original product was: a 14-track pressing of pure bliss.
We here at Omnivore have decided to transport you back 36 years, to a time and place where this platter of polyvinyl chloride was all that existed–a truly faithful replica of that Ark of power pop goodness (complete with replicas of the original tape box, tracking and lead sheets, mastering card and pretty white blank label). This limited edition is being cut from the original assembly reel, on the same lathe at the legendary Ardent Studios in Memphis and by the very same engineers who cut it the first time, Mr. Larry Nix and Mr. John Fry! Pressed on high quality vinyl at RTI, this should be the definitive version of this album.
While I thought the task to win yesterday’s killer Omnivore giveaway was an easy one—today’s is even simpler. Just sing the praises of Buck and/or Big Star in the comments to this post, and the most insightful of the bunch will find both gems above taking up space in his or her mailbox. (Big Star’s Third in this contest also happens to be the limited edition, clear vinyl pressing – just so you know…)
We’re choosing our winner with a North American mailing address this coming Monday, 1/16 – so, get on it!
We extend our sincere thanks to the fine folks at Omnivore for all the work putting this week together and for their generosity. Now, go pay them a visit and tell ’em we sent you!
