RSD Essentials
9th Wonder & Buckshot
Chemistry [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Clear w/Red Splatter 2LP]
Vinyl: $41.99 PREORDER
RSD Essential 039 * The Avett Brothers' 2007 release "Emotionalism" is the album that caught the attention of legendary producer Rick Rubin and got him to sign the band to their first major studio. "Emotionalism" also was their first album to crack the charts. Full of new Folk, Blues and Bluegrass riffs for a modern world, it is a lively take on everything from romance to paranoia. Of course, they still kick in some solid Rock 'N' Roll for good measure.
Indie Exclusive * First time on vinyl * The Game's follow-up to the Dr. Dre produced, The Documentary was 2006’s G.A.M.E. He preaches the hardcore gospel with as much fervor as its predecessor, serving up narratives of street hustling hardships as gritty and lean as any of his contemporaries. The sound is still steeped in Dre's trademark languid, hazy G-funk grooves, as the opener "Anything You Ask For" proves. A successor to Compton's rap heritage, yet fresh and contemporary enough to make his own mark, the Game is the voice of the next generation of West Coast hardcore. Originally released on Get Low Recordz and has guest features with JT the Bigga Figga, Bootleg & Shoestring.
Augustus Pablo
Roots, Rockers & Dub [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Evergreen 2LP]
Vinyl: $32.99 PREORDER
Indie Exclusive * Visionary artist Augustus Pablo is among the most important figures in reggae history. Widely credited with popularizing the use of the melodica in reggae, Pablo was a talented musician and an innovative producer who became an early dub pioneer. Now regarded as classics, his memorable 1970s recordings were part of the remarkable creative surge that vaulted the Jamaican music scene to international prominence. Much of this material was released by Rockers, an independent record label founded by Pablo and named after his popular Kingston sound system. Now, Nature Sounds is proud to present Roots, Rockers, & Dub, a new Augustus Pablo vinyl collection celebrating the 50th anniversary of Rockers. Featuring classic dubs along with rare and out-of-print tracks, the album captures Pablo’s immense contribution to roots reggae by highlighting a wealth of material spanning his entire career, all released on Rockers. Fully remastered and released in partnership with the Pablo family, Roots, Rockers, & Dub is a fitting tribute to an artist whose music still reverberates heavily more than two decades after his passing.
RSD Essential 037 * Includes a bonus 7" - Live in Bonnaroo 2013 - exclusive to this pressing * From the band - We self produced/recorded this album in a room with no heat in the middle of winter. We never expected you, the person who is reading this, would ever hear it. I think that’s really part of the magic of it.
Recorded at Ardent Studios and released in 1972, the album has gone on to become one of the most influential and iconic debut albums of all time. This 50th-anniversary edition is pressed on 180-gram metallic gold with purple smoke vinyl and features all-analog mastering by Jeff Powell at Take Out Vinyl. The album has been included in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, with the song “Thirteen” featured in its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Indie Exclusive * Bonus Tracks! * Sally Cinnamon is acknowledged as the first release in the style which would come to be recognized as the Stone Roses' trademark sound. This EP includes 12" single mix, all the B Sides and additional live tracks. This is the first time this new configuration has ever been released. Exclusive Red heavy weight 180 gsm Vinyl. Half-speed mastered to the highest possible quality and DMM – Direct Metal Mastered with protective polypropylene inner bag. There will be other colored variants in the marketplace 90 days after this is released.
The New Dawn
There's A New Dawn [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Orange Metallic Swirl LP]
Vinyl: $27.99 PREORDER
"Indie Exclusive * After being highly sought after by collectors, Jackpot Records is proud to release this definitive reissue. The New Dawn’s “There’s A New Dawn” is hailed as one of the rarest and best psych/garage private press albums to come out of the late 60s/ early 70s. Fuzz guitar, minor-chord organ dirges, monumental bass are the calling cards of this private press gem. Includes full download with 4 bonus tracks. "
Count Basie & His Orchestra
The Transcription Recordings [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Translucent Mint Green LP]
Vinyl: $27.99 PREORDER
"Indie Exclusive * First time on vinyl * Although it is not actually a group album, RZA is the executive producer for the album, and it features several members of the Wu-Tang Clan collaborating with New York hip hop veterans; AZ, Kool G Rap, M.O.P., Sadat X, Sean Price, Cormega, Masta Ace, and Havoc of Mobb Deep. The album also includes several philosophical spoken word tracks from the RZA. The album's production features live instrumentation by Brooklyn soul band, The Revelations. Chamber Music has a sound inspired by classic soul and kung fu imagery that resembles the signature Wu-Tang Clan sound. RZA “This album has a very live element of today’s musicians playing the vibe of Wu-Tang. The vibe we would normally sample, the vibe of things that we would accumulate through old soul songs, jazz songs, kung fu movies, whatever, now you’ve got musicians that can play this vibe with Wu-Tang MCs rapping over it. The goal of this album is definitely paying homage to our early sound.” "
Indie Exclusive * First repress since the original in 2001. Copies on Discogs sell for well over $100. Weird Revolution is the eighth studio album by the band, released on Surfdog Records and Hollywood Records. It is in large part a rerecorded version of an earlier album, tentatively entitled After the Astronaut, that was abandoned in 1998. The Surfers teeter on the brink of conventional rock values. However, throughout the album, singer Gibby Haynes drives the proverbial truck into the ditch with rambling psychotic speeches.
RSD Essential 036 * Think Indie Exclusive * The Offspring preserve the essential ingredients of their chosen genre--guitars grinding out three chords, shouted vocals, and plenty of vitriol--and layer them over a melodic base that packs considerable popular appeal. The singles from Smash, the Offspring's breakthrough album, still receive considerable radio airplay: "Gotta Get Away," "Come Out and Play," and "Self Esteem." With these and Smash's 11 other tracks, the band chronicles the adolescent experience with clarity and surprisingly incisive wit. That pretty much describes all of their albums, but this is the one to get. It's got more shape than their earlier material and isn't as disturbingly poppy as their more recent recordings; it's the perfect blend of riffs and rage. Smash is the best-selling independent album of all time with over 20 million sold worldwide. Alongside Rancid’s And Out Come the Wolves and Green Day’s Dookie, Smash signaled the arrival of punk rock as a commercial force upon it’s initial release in 1994.
Various Artists
Late Night Count Basie [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Turquoise LP]
Vinyl: $29.99 PREORDER
Corrosion Of Conformity
Live Volume [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Transparent Red 2LP]
Vinyl: $37.99 PREORDER
Corrosion Of Conformity
In the Arms of God [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Natural 2LP]
Vinyl: $37.99 PREORDER
Corrosion Of Conformity
America's Volume Dealer [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Clear w/White Swirl LP]
Vinyl: $28.99 PREORDER
Indie Exclusive * Third album from former Temptations member David Ruffin, the LP made it into the US R&B Top Five in 1973. David Ruffin was ranked as one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2008, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 for his work with The Temptations. Marvin Gaye once said admiringly of Ruffin: “I heard in [his voice] a strength my own voice lacked.”
Subhumans
The Day The Country Died [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Deep Purple LP]
Vinyl: $24.99 PREORDER
Subhumans
From The Cradle To The Grave [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Deep Purple LP]
Vinyl: $24.99 PREORDER
Mystic
Cuts For Luck And Scars For Freedom [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Black Ice 2LP + Ruby Red 7in]
Home Boy and the C.O.L.
Out Break [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Silver LP]
"Indie Exclusive * Rare Electronic Boogie-Funk-Soul Album * Originally Released & Privately Pressed in 1984 * The album we are proudly presenting you today (Out Break.) is Cecil Lyde’s sophomore’s album under the ‘Home Boy’ name and was released in 1984 on his own label Alwest Records. The whole album is backed by a fantastic cast of all-star players that includes John Stephens (Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder), Gary Bell (Lionel Hampton) and Terry Carter (Swamp Dogg). These recordings (eight songs in total) are particularly interesting to boogie-enthusiasts because of their high doses of funky electro twerks, solid grooves, crazy synth work, excellent drumbeats and Cecil’s soulful (yet sexy) Doo-wap influenced vocals. This album just oozes 1980’s Soul, Funk and Electronic Boogie…you’ll quickly find yourself shaking hips the moment the needle hits the first track! This LP is an essential purchase that just begs for a place in your record collection. Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents a much-needed reissue of “Out Break.” originally released and privately pressed on Alwest Records in 1984. This rare record (original copies tend to go for LARGE amounts on the secondary market) now comes as a deluxe 180g SILVER vinyl edition with obi strip and features the original artwork. Released exclusively as an ‘indie only/RSD essential release worldwide."
Kenny Rogers & The First Edition
Kenny Rogers & The First Edition [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Translucent Violet 2LP]
Vinyl: $32.99 PREORDER
Mood
Doom [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Light Blue w/ Black & Orchid Splatter 2LP]
25-year anniversary deluxe reissue of Mood’s seminal debut record, Doom, originally released on September 23 of ’97. Included here on this anniversary reissue is the J Dilla Remix of “Secrets of the Sand” along with some nice album packaging; matte finish, alternate cover and black flooded jacket pockets/black dust sleeves, 180 gram vinyl.
Warren Zevon
Life'll Kill Ya [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Smoking Skull LP]
First Time on Colored vinyl. Following a decade of stagnation and waning interest, legendary singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, who masked his soft side with his sarcastic, lyrical prose, entered the new millennium with his acclaimed 10th studio album Life'll Kill Ya. Though the album predated Zevon's fatal cancer diagnosis by two years, its title track, as well as standout cuts like "My Shit's Fucked Up" and "Don't Let Us Get Sick," brought the album critical praise as a "mournful lament on the aging process and the inevitable decay that accompanies it." Available now for the first time on colored vinyl. Ship To Shore PhonoCo's reissue of Life'll Kill Ya features expanded liner notes and rare photos from Jorge Calderón, Zevon's son, Jordan, and Dawes' Taylor Goldsmith. Other highlights include "Porcelain Monkey," which puts Elvis Presley in Zevon's sardonic crosshairs, a cover of Steve Winwood's "Back In The High Life Again" sounds as if it were written for Zevon, and "Fistful of Rain" is a melodious examination of the fickle nature of fame. Engineered as a comeback vehicle, co-produced by Paul Q. Kolderie and Sean Slade (the producing duo responsible for Radiohead's Pablo Honey), Zevon's songwriting collaborator Jorge Calderón added a lighthearted accent to Zevon's musical portraits of doom and gloom. Despite helping with a successful comeback, Life'll Kill Ya's content was revealed all too true when, in 2003, Zevon passed away of pleural mesothelioma. "I mean, the fact that life will kill you is just that," Zevon told Rolling Stone upon the album's release. "I think you have to spend a fair amount of time realizing that you will be, so that you'll remember to enjoy everything you possibly can every minute you're not. You always want to try and tell younger people that, which is very difficult because they don't really hear it because they feel a life has been imposed on them. And of course, they're absolutely correct."
The Pharcyde
Bizzare Ride II The Pharcyde [RSD Essential Clear w/ Purple & Yellow Splatter 2LP]
We’re celebrating the 30th anniversary of the debut album from legendary hip-hop collective The Pharcyde with this exclusive RSD Essential 2-LP set of Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde, pressed on clear with yellow + purple splatter vinyl.
Originally released in 1992 through the iconic Delicious Vinyl, this RIAA Gold-certified album was featured as one of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
This album features the singles “Passin’ Me By” “Ya Mama” and “Pack the Pipe”, and is a must-have for any West Coast hip-hop fan.
Don Covay & The Jefferson Lemon Blues Band
Different Strokes For Different Folks [RSD Essential Red LP]
Vinyl: $27.99 Buy
"Indie Exclusive * Released in 1973, this record was the first Al Wilson LP for the Rocky Road label. The hit title track ‘Show and Tell’ shot to the top of the US pop charts, and also reached top ten in the R&B charts. Due to some poor business decisions by his label, Wilson never truly got the credit he deserved as a contending hitmaker, but Hidle Brown Barnum’s arrangements here come packed with gritty horns, lustrous strings and sultry soul vocals. These 11 sides are certainly worth collecting for any true fan of mid-70s soul music. Pressed for the first time in five decades and reissued on heavyweight white virgin vinyl."
A remastered classic from the quintessential American girl group of the 1960s. Features the original European cover artwork.
Jerry Lee Lewis
Live At The Star Club Hamburg [RSD Essential Indie Colorway White LP]
Vinyl: $34.99 Buy
Praised as one of the greatest records of all time, this newly remastered, 180-gram edition includes bonus material and a gatefold jacket.
Nathaniel Merriweather Presents...Lovage
Music To Make Love To Your Old Lady By [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Turquoise 2LP] [Repress]
Vinyl: $29.99 Buy
“Lovage” is defined as “an herb that is said to be a benefit for relieving abdominal pains due to gastrointestinal gas…also touted to reduce flatulence when consumed as a tea.” But when placed in the able hands of sonic mastermind Dan “The Automator” Nakamura, recording under the guise of musical lothario Nathaniel Merriweather, the result is a concept album of “music to make love to your old lady by.” With the help of collaborators such as Mike Patton (vocals), Jennifer Charles (vocals) and Kid Koala (turntables), Merriweather serves as your personal guide to the sensual side of life, painting a satirical, darkly funny portrait of love and sex with left-field hip-hop and instrumentals as only he can do.
Masters Of Reality
Masters Of Reality [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Translucent Blue LP]
Vinyl: $27.99 Buy
One can't speak of California's famed desert rock movement without mentioning the visionary producer/musician Chris Goss. The so-called Godfather of the Joshua Tree-centered scene, Goss has produced famed and acclaimed albums by groups like Queens Of The Stone Age, Foo Fighters, Kyuss, Screaming Trees, and numerous others. Before he was known as a renowned producer though, he was the singer/guitarist and only consistent member of one of the most influential-yet-forgotten hard rock groups of all time: Masters of Reality. Masters Of Reality (Whose name was appropriately taken from a Black Sabbath song) had the distinction of being the only group signed to two different hip-hop labels of historical note: Def Jam and Delicious Vinyl. Originally label mates with Public Enemy and Slayer, Masters Of Reality's self-titled debut album was released by Def American in 1988. Two years later, Delicious Vinyl founders Matt Dike and Mike Ross, huge Masters fans, bought the band's contract from Rick Rubin and re-released the album with new cover artwork to renewed acclaim and commercial success. So many years later, Masters Of Reality's debut still feels like a hard-hitting breath of fresh air in a modern landscape of over-produced rock music
After making tsunami level waves in the industry after his 6 track appearance on Dr. Dre’s latest album, Compton–Los Angeles’s Anderson .Paak returns with his brand new LP, Malibu. After a whirlwind of press, accolades, performances and studio sessions with greats, Anderson .Paak took all those experiences and stirred them into his pot to formulate the silky-smooth Malibu album. The follow-up to 2014’s Venice features appearances from The Game, ScHoolboy Q, Talib Kweli, Rapsody, and BJ The Chicago Kid. The sonic backdrop to the album was provided by some of today’s hottest producers from 9th Wonder, Kaytranada, Madlib, Hi-Tek, RobertGlasper, DJ Khalil and more. With the good Dr.’s co-sign, Anderson’s talent, and his captivating live show, Malibu is sure to make Anderson .Paak a household name very soon.
Karl Hector & The Malcouns
Sahara Swing [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Clear 2LP]
Vinyl: $32.99 PREORDER
Indie Exclusive * 25th Anniversary * Previously long out-of-print, this classic sophomore album by one of the greatest ska bands ever was given a proper treatment for its 20th anniversary. This is a must-have for any Slackers fan, regardless of whether you own the original or not. Remastered for vinyl, “Redlight” never sounded as good; and with a two-color foil stamped cover, exclusive art-print insert, and lyric sleeve, it’s never looked so good either! Originally released by Hellcat Records in 1997, this album truly solidified the Slackers’ iconic sound, blending ska, reggae, soul, jazz and dub, seamlessly, with the passion and integrity that the band has embodied. Whether you’re a new fan, or an old diehard, and whether you pick it up at the band’s merch table, your local record store, or your favorite online retailer, this brilliant re-issue is not one to pass up.
- First Time on Colored Vinyl
- LP has been out of print since the initial pressing in 2004, which appears to have been released in the US only.
- Duran Duran's first studio album since Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983) to be recorded by the most famous five-member lineup of the band. Nile Rodgers did preliminary production work on several tracks. Debuted at #3 on the UK Albums Chart and at #17 on the US Billboard 200, with similar top-20 debuts elsewhere in the world. The first single, "(Reach Up for The) Sunrise", debuted at #5 on the UK Singles Chart, later topping the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. The second single, "What Happens Tomorrow", entered the UK chart at #11 (where it peaked).
Duran Duran
Red Carpet Massacre [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Translucent Ruby 2LP]
Vinyl: $41.99 Buy
- Out of print since the only pressing in 2009, which appears to have been in the US only (only 2k copies).
- Debuted at #44 on the UK Albums Chart, and #36 on the US Billboard 200. Album features production from Timbaland on 3 tracks (“Nite-Runner” ft. Justin Timberlake, “Skin Divers,” and “Zoom In”).
Duran Duran
All You Need Is Now [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Magenta 2LP]
- First Time on Colored Vinyl
- Produced by Mark Ronson, the album peaked at #11 in the UK, becoming the band's 13th Top 20 album. It debuted at #119 on the US Billboard 200 chart on its initial December 2010 digital release, selling 15,000 copies in its first week. It reached #29 upon its physical release in March 2011.
Madlib
High Jazz - Medicine Show #7 [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Seaglass Blue 2LP]
Vinyl: $29.99 Buy
The seventh installment in his Madlib Medicine Show, a jazz album with his Yesterdays New Quintet called High Jazz. Madlib’s been busy this year. And while his recorded output always spans the gamut, he often returns to recurrent themes, spread across the genres that serve as home base – or bases, as it were. Jazz is one such base. With High Jazz, Madlib begins anew – offering familiar jazz sounds from a series of “new” groups from his ever-augmenting cosmos. Call it “Yesterdays Galaxy.” High Jazz, the name itself a tribute to the landmark jazz-fusion album released by Stanton Davis’s Ghetto Mysticism in 1976, shows a marked development in Madlib’s craft. Every element of jazz is there. Is that tune modal-funk? Was that song psych-fusion? Was that a bossa-tinged run or another kind of latin-affair? Where did that sitar come from? Madlib’s Yesterdays-excursions are never easy to categorize and that’s the point – while experiencing chops like these, the desire to rigidly define takes a back seat to aural pleasure.
Classic blues record re-mastered from the original tapes and on 180 gram virgin vinyl. Etta James' greatest ever album, and one of the greatest Soul LPs of all time. Original stereo version, re-mastered from the original tapes. Contains the hits "Tell Mama" and "Security." Also contains the original version of the blues classic "I'd Rather Go Blind." Recorded with the Muscle Shoals session guys at Fame studio.
40th Anniversary celebration of the album responsible for naming a genre! Originally released in 1982, Black Metal was the second full-length album from Venom and remains a major influence on Thrash Metal, Death Metal, and Black Metal. Includes the classic trio of Cronos, Mantas & Abaddon.
Celebrating Sun Records 70th anniversary, these Johnny Adams tracks have been remixed from the original multitrack tapes for optimal sound quality. The new album tracklist has never been printed on vinyl, inspired by his 1986 South Side of Soul Street. The offering includes his hits “Release Me” and “Reconsider Me” as well as previously unreleased or digitally-unavailable tracks: “Tender Side of Me - Alternate”, “Too Much Pride - Alternate”, and a brand new version of “Give Me A Chance”.
Blue is the fourth studio album by singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released on June 22, 1971, by Reprise Records. Written and produced entirely by Mitchell, it was recorded in 1971 at A&M Studios in Hollywood, California. Created just after her breakup with Graham Nash and during an intense relationship with James Taylor, Blue explores various facets of relationships from infatuation on "A Case of You" to insecurity on "This Flight Tonight".
Today, Blue is generally regarded by music critics as one of the greatest albums of all time; the cohesion of Mitchell's songwriting, compositions and voice are frequent areas of praise. In other words, this album is ESSENTIAL.
“Lovage” is defined as “an herb that is said to be a benefit for relieving abdominal pains due to gastrointestinal gas…also touted to reduce flatulence when consumed as a tea.” But when placed in the able hands of sonic mastermind Dan “The Automator” Nakamura, recording under the guise of musical lothario Nathaniel Merriweather, the result is a concept album of “music to make love to your old lady by.”
Egyptology is the fourth studio album by World Party, released in 1997 and now remastered in 2021 for a 2022 release. Featuring the Top 40 British single “Beautiful Dream” and the award-winning “She’s The One”, released with a gatefold jacket and a bonus side recorded Live in NYC 1997. Available in limited edition, Egyptian Blue & Gold colored vinyl.
Inspired by Otis Redding and James Brown, Mickey Murray created his own groovy brand of Southern soul. His first hit, the horn-heavy “Shout Bamalama” brought him out of shoe shining obscurity and into soul stardom. Shout Bamalama and Other Super Soul Songs was originally released in 1967 and has been newly remastered to celebrate Sun Records’ 70th Anniversary. Mickey covers the full range of soul: get down with “Hit Record,” slow down with “Treat Him Right,” and rock to “East of Nowhere.”