As we noted throughout our 9 weeks of vinyl giveaways, it’s easy to forget that going on 8 years now when TVD was in its year one (as was Record Store Day) the vinyl medium wasn’t “back,” sales weren’t stellar, and indeed record stores were a fading lot. No, worse actually. Shops we’re closing at such a clip, their disappearance literally informed the launch of the site you’re reading at present.
And as we’ve repeated for 9 weeks now—vinyl and record stores go hand in hand. Their shared intrinsic value is the cultural commodity and the bedrock of any local music scene. Don’t believe us though…hit up your locals and the marriage becomes crystal clear.
But we too have been overwhelmed with the resounding popular and prevalent headlines as to vinyl’s big resurgence, yet they also arrive in tandem with far less rosy headlines such as “Starbucks to Open in Former Bleecker Street Records Space”—and worse, some very bad ideas when one advocates for record shops have, of late, become internet fodder. (Seriously, vinyl subscription clubs are the Carson Daly of record collecting.)
As such, picking up with an old TVD favorite, we lined up 9 weeks of vinyl giveaways to count down to Record Store Day 2015 this weekend to redouble our efforts and to underscore the viability and the inherent need for your local brick and mortar record shops to remain the vibrant community touchstone that they intrinsically are. And while we kinda hate hanging out by the mailbox waiting for a record to show up (unless you’ve ordered it from a mom and pop or directly from a label!) we’ve shipped out records for 8 weeks straight as sweet reminders that record stores are literally where it’s at.
We’re closing out our 9 weeks of vinyl giveaways today with the LPs contained within these gorgeous Rhino Records sets—all of which we’ll award to one individual:
Eagles, The Studio Albums 1972-1979 | A six-LP boxed set of the Eagles’ original Asylum Records studio albums, including each of the chart-topping albums the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers released between 1972 and 1979, released on 180-gram vinyl includes: Eagles, Desperado, On The Border, One Of These Nights, Hotel California, The Long Run. Each LP features replicas of the original album packaging with two special artwork upgrades—the sleeve of the debut album, Eagles, will finally be released as the band originally intended, with no glue flaps, so the cover folds out into a poster, as described in the acclaimed documentary History of the Eagles. Hotel California will include a replica of the poster from the original issue with band photos by Norman Seeff in full color, for the first time.
Fleetwood Mac, 1969-1972 | A set that collects four of the band’s classic albums, each lovingly reproduced on 140-gram vinyl. As a bonus, the set comes with an exclusive replica of the original 1969 7-inch single of “Oh Well Pt. 1” b/w “Oh Well – Pt. 2.”
Captain Beefheart, Sun, Zoom, Spark: 1970 to 1972 | A limited edition four-disc collection that revisits the albums Captain Beefheart (aka Don Van Vliet) recorded with the Magic Band in the early Seventies. It includes all three albums (Lick My Decals Off, Baby; The Spotlight Kid; and Clear Spot), which have been remastered for the first time, as well as an entire disc featuring 14 previously unissued outtakes, alternate versions, and rehearsals from that era. Lick My Decals Off, Baby is one of Van Vilet’s favorites, and represents the apex of his dissonant style. The Spotlight Kid features more barebones blues-rock sounds. Lester Bangs wrote in Rolling Stone (March ’72) that Beefheart had struck the balance between “intensely personal type of statement” and “mass appeal, ” praising the album for its “wit and genius.” Clear Spot was released soon after with several standout tracks, such as the vulnerable love song “My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains,” the soul ballad “Too Much Time,” and the pulsing “Big Eyed Beans from Venus.”
Enter to win the full Rhino bundle of LPs from the above sets by not telling us, rather by showing us in the comments below, your haul from Saturday’s Record Store Day 2015 or from any Record Store Day in years previous. It’s not about quantity or even RSD releases, more of a show of support for your locals.
We’ll choose one enthusiastic brick and mortar supporter with a North American mailing address on Friday, April 24. Our winner will be notified directly via email.
