Strictly Discs

July 8, 2021

NEW THIS WEEK AT THE SHOP:

 
 
We kick off a month of heat with a truly wonderful spread of cool new releases this week; something for everyone this time around. Perhaps the week's most pleasant surprise is a new vinyl pressing of WILLIE NELSON's transcendent mid-90s classic 'Spirit', back in stock for a short time to remedy an edition from a few years back that had some production woes. Pioneering country rocker LINK WRAY's classic 1971 self-titled album is back in print; pedal steel virtuoso SUSAN ALCORN sees here iconic work 'The Heart Sutra' arranged for a sextet, and another layer of the private press Takoma Records influenced underground is revealed with a reissued LP from guitarist RUSSELL POTTER. 


 
 
After nearly a decade of quiet, Jakob Dylan fires up his rock band THE WALLFLOWERS for a refreshing new album called 'Exit Wounds' on limited purple color vinyl. I'm sure plenty of our newsletter readers remember the movie ALMOST FAMOUS; I for one would never think about Kate Hudson, Deep Purple, or Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" the same way again. After 20 years out of print, this jam-packed OST is back in stock on vinyl. Songwriter JOSH RITTER's 2015 album 'Sermon on the Rocks' is back in on limited color wax, and we have a standard 2LP soundtrack LP for Lin-Manuel Miranda's 'In The Heights'. 


 
 
The benevolent KING GIZZARD has authorized the bootlegging of their 'Teenage Gizzard' album, so it appears to us again with a sparkling die cut foil jacket with swirly yellow/magenta vinyl. Local heroes of THC-influenced doom metal BONGZILLA make a mighty return with 'Weedsconsin' (take that, autocorrect!), plus we have new remastered vinyl editions of JETHRO TULL's 'A' and MUSE's 'Origin Of Symmetry'.


 
 
Steadfast soul songwriter EUGENE MCDANIELS' absolutely classic second 70s LP for Atlantic, 'Headless Heroes Of The Apocalypse' gets a new vinyl edition this week, plus we have new LP copies of a staggeringly great, unsung UK roots reggae classic, VIVIAN JONES' debut 'Bank Robbery'. What? Yeah. Okay, etc etc. LIL JON's 2002 party rap classic 'Kings of Crunk' is back in print, plus we're pleased to offer you the SPACE JAM soundtrack on vinyl again, featuring Coolio, Busta Rhymes, Quad City DJs and more. 


  
Glorious 90s rarities! Too few people have heard the first solo album from The Sea and Cake's SAM PREKOP, who called together a band of fresh faced Chicago luminaries (Jim O'Rourke, Rob Mazurek, Chad Taylor) for a session of some of the finest introspective jazz-pop the city has ever produced. Modest indie darlings BLONDE REDHEAD got their start in the glory days of the compact disc. It's hard to believe that their ineffable first two albums, 'Blonde Redhead' and 'La Mia Vita Violenta', have never been released on vinyl before, but such was the style at the time! The group refined their sound towards a more celestial, mature form of dream-pop on later efforts, but this pair of gnarled, melodic post-punk slabs are still the ones I reach for when I need a dose of the Kazu-Amedeo-Simone magic. 


 
 
Essential jazz reissues for your shelf (and turntable) come in spades this week, with a new audiophile cut of OLIVER NELSON's 'The Blues and the Abstract Truth', explosive drummer STEVE REID's 'Nova', gorgeous Gismonti-influenced electronic jazzbient from Argentina's ADALBERTO CEVASCO, and a primo live session from LEE KONITZ and MARTIAL SOLAL.


 
 
Detroit percussionist, teacher and collaborator GERALD CLEAVER has one of the more revelatory catalogs in jazz, and he adds another layer with the percolating 'Griots', subtly blending trap set and electronics. UK player TENDERLONIOUS returns with an album of 808 tracks that head for dizzying deep house. UK fusion groovers NUBIYAN TWIST return with the electrifying 'Freedom Fables', and Kenyan avant-techno whiz SLIKBACK has a bracing new EP called 'Quoios'. 


  
From northern Ghana comes a haunting traditional vocalist named ABUSUZIT; the addicting percussive folk tunes on 'Jirima' were recorded live in the field by friend of the shop Luke Bassuener from Asumaya. Enchantresses of the Sahel LES FILLES DE ILLIGHADAD have an intoxicating new live album that showcases their potent blend of guitar/voice polyphony. UK jazz harpist AMANDA WHITING enlists mvp flautist Chip Wickham on a stunning new album of nocturnal sessions called 'After Dark'. 


  
The mighty Osees kick off a killer comp of Bay Area punk and garage called BE GAY, DO CRIME! The Fresh and Only's frontman TIM COHEN is back with a new record of his prismatic folk-pop called 'You Are Still Here', while songwriter HALF WAIF checks in with a hopeful new disc, 'Mythopoetics'. 


  
Revisit THE AVALANCHES century-opening 'Since I Left You' in all its splendor on a limited edition super deluxe expanded set. Indomitable noise-rappers CLIPPING also pad out their early EP 'Wriggle' with a new edition.  THE DRUMS' breakout album 'Portamento' celebrates a decade on earth with a new color vinyl print.


 
 
Heavy, noisy, and riffy items are in this week with a new vinyl print of MERZBOW's 1990 album 'Rainbow Electronics', MASONNA's 1995 cassette 'Filled With Unquestionable Feelings' on LP for the first time, and a pair of reissues of early classics from Florida metal pioneers DEATH. 


 
 
Spanish downtempo kingpin JOSE MANUEL showcases a dark side on the seismic ambient rhythm session 'Janara'. Fazer drummer Simon Popp teams up with fellow German percussionist Florian Konig as 9MS on a delightfully sinewy album of acoustic rhythms, pattering their percussive palette like a pair of young Benninks. Classic IDM meets jazz from ought-three is back in print with TRIOSK MEETS JAN JELINEK, and Ukrainian label head NIKOLAIENKO delivers a dusted album of tape loops called 'Rings'. 


 
 
We close with a quartet of duos. Few do hazy, abstract guitar gaze better than ILYAS AHMED and JEFRE CANTU-LEDESMA, who pair up on 'You Can See Your Own Way Out'. Aussie avant-folk kitchen sinkers WILL GUTHRIE and JAMES RUSHFORD do their pyroclastic thing on 'Real Real World'. Creative art-pop chemists AMIRTHA KIDAMBI and LEA BERTUCCI unite on 'Phase Eclipse', while the uncategorizable EUGENE CHADBOURNE links up with Athens GA producer JIM MCHUGH on the psychedelic 'Bad Scene'. 




USED VINYL ALERT:

The heat stays on for the Used Vinyl Alert this week, as we roll out a slew of rock, country, soul, soundtracks, and jazz. Primo stuff in the jazz realm includes Count Basie, Herbie Mann, Donald Byrd, Dave Brubeck, Chet Baker, Milton Nascimento, AC Jobim, Barre Phillips, Paul Horn, Richard Davis, Jack De Johnette, Dave Holland, Sonny Rollins, and more. 

Classics are in from Buffalo Springfield, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, Beatles, David Crosby, Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, Bob Dylan, Blue Oyster Cult, the Band, Hall & Oates, TRex, ELO, Santana, Bruce Springsteen, Black Sabbath, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Eagles, Bob Seger, Dire Straits, Yes, Rare Earth, Kiss, and more, plus some deep 80s cuts from the Knitters, Yello, and Adam & the Ants.

Soul is in from Stevie Wonder, Barry White, Chic, Tower of Power, and Ray Charles. Country styles arrive from Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Marty Robbins, Merle Haggard, Johnny Paycheck, Conway Twitty, and Roy Clark. Essential classical is in from Erik Satie, Bartok, Mahler and more. A slew of great soundtracks come through across a variety of decades, and we've got one of the strongest (and cutest) collections of vintage 
children's LPs we've ever seen!





RECORD STORE DAY DROP #2 IS JULY 17TH:

RECORD STORE DAY 2021 DROPS ARE JUNE 12 & JULY 17:

The second Record Store Day drop event is Saturday, July 17th. Here is Strictly Discs' plan for the day:

1. We OPEN at 8AM for RSD shopping

2. Line to form westbound on Monroe Street

3. While in line, you will be handed a menu of all RSD titles  

4. We will pull your requests & you will check out outside

5. The shop will open for normal browsing at approximately NOON with RSD titles upstairs

Thank you for helping us to keep this event safe & fun.



RECORD STORE DAY: 

Launched in 2007 with the humble idea to recognize independent record stores, Record Store Day (RSD) has blossomed into a global phenomenon. The list of RSD vinyl and CD exclusives continues to expand, as more labels continue to throw open their catalogs to an appreciative audience that grows each year.

Beyond the day-long frenzy, RSD exists to offer proof of the lively role record stores play in the community and a chance for folks on both sides of the counter to offer gratitude for each other. It's a capsule-sized snapshot of what this whole record world is about. Whether you’re a hardcore type who times their arrival for a spot at the front of the line or somebody who waits until the afternoon for a more leisurely experience, we hope you’ll join us.



Stay strong & have #hope.






WE ARE HIRING - SHIPPING CLERK:

We are looking to hire a shipping clerk. Requirements:


•    Self-motivated and independent thinker
•    Computer proficiency
•    Flexibility
•    Strong work ethic
•    High level of organization and precise time management skills
•    Ability to lift 50 pounds repeatedly


Postion open - 3-4 days/week 9AM-1PM. Possible additional hours filling other duties, depending on experience. Includes weekends.

To apply, submit letter of interest & resume to angie@strictlydiscs.com







BILLBOARD MAGAZINE'S BIWEEKLY FEATURE ON STRICTLY DISCS:

As part of Billboard’s efforts to best cover the coronavirus pandemic and its impacts on the music industry, Chris Eggertsen has been speaking with Angie every other week to chronicle the experience of an independent record store throughout the crisis.  Here is a link to the stories in the series so far:

Billboard Article #16 November 16th

Billboard Article #17 December 14th

Billboard Article #18 December 23rd

Billboard Article #19 February 5th

Billboard Article #20 February 23rd

Billboard Article #21 March 12th

Billboard Article #22 April 1st

Billboard Article #23 April 19th

Billboard Article #24 May 15th

Billboard Article #25 June 1st

Billboard Article #26 June 30th






SELL US YOUR CDS & LPS:

Yes, we are still buying! Call Ron to schedule (608.213.3610).




Ron, Ryan, Angie, Marty, Evan, Matt, Ed, Jack, Eric, Steve, Nick & Matt B.

        
back to top