It's been a half-dozen years since we last heard from the uplift mofos in the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, who have taken some time off from surfing to put together a new record called 'Unlimited Love', which we have in the shop on limited orange vinyl and also as an autographed CD. Guitarist John Frusciante is back in the fold, Rick Rubin's at the boards with his feet on the console; what could possibly go wrong! We'll be listening to this one at open on Friday, and giving away cool RHCP slipmats with purchase of either format. We've also got a great spread of hard-edged pop to go with these, with new records from BEBE REXHA and PUP, and a new color vinyl edition of TOM MORELLO's latest, 'The Atlas Underground Fire'.
Indie-folk time travelers BEIRUT return to their salad days with a limited run collection of early singles and rarities on 'Artifacts', which comes with a very cool booklet of art collage and photos. Vaporwave daddy COM TRUISE celebrates ten years since his debut album 'Galactic Melt' with an anniversary edition on black and orange vinyl. Cult-fave electro-poppers SWEET TRIP began their delicious voyage with the 1998 album 'Halica', a tantalizingly ethereal listen that seems to bob along the ocean floor compared to the soaring-yet-crushed pop maximalism of their later albums. This time around it's expanded to 2 LPs with the addition of some rare remixes and deeply extended versions. We've been after copies of the South Korean dream-pop wizard MID-AIR THIEF's 2015 album 'Gongjoong Doduk' for quite awhile, and it's finally getting a US release this week. Fans of Panda Bear, Kikagaku Moyo, and the like, take note of this one!
London writer and saxophonist ALABASTER DEPLUME really took the edge off the early days of the pando with his surprise collection 'To Cy & Lee', a slow-building set of jazz-leaning environmental sketches on the International Anthem label. He now returns with 'Gold', adding his spoken poetry to a bubbling mixture of an album that deepens our understanding of a unique artist warmly refusing category. Norwegian-Mexican producer CARMEN VILLAIN traces a similar path, if a bit higher in latitude, on a gorgeous LP of fourth world musings called 'Only Love From Now On', featuring trumpet from Arve Henriksen. Incisive UK post-punk is here from FOLLY GROUP on 'Human and Kind', and we've laid hands on the latest folk-art object from frequent Dean Blunt collaborator JOANNE ROBERTSON, summoning strange brilliance on 'Alien Baby'
MARVIN GAYE's 'Whats Going On', undisputedly one of the greatest American records of all time, celebrates its 50th Anniversary with a deluxe edition that expands a remarkable moment in soul songwriting with ten bonus tracks of unreleased demos and singles, and an essay from modern day genius Hanif Abdurraqib. San Diego's SURE FIRE SOUL ENSEMBLE bring a new album of deeply-pocketed Mulatu/Meters influenced instrumentals on 'Step Down', while the southern rock standard bearers the NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS return with 'Set Sail'.
Just after the release of 'Wake of The Flood', THE GRATEFUL DEAD kicked off a tour in Oklahoma City, a gig since christened as 'Dick's Picks Vol 19', getting its first ever vinyl release this week. Six LPs in this bad-boy, including a killer sidelong "Dark Star". A great early odds & ends collection from RICHARD THOMPSON gets a vinyl edition this week, along with a new half-speed remaster of the self-titled ROXY MUSIC album.
The 1969 Brazilian latin-samba crossover rarity 'Alucinolândia' by ZITO RIGHI Y SEU CONJUNTO gets a reissue this week from Mr. Bongo, and we have an absolutely incredible collection of Afghan ghazals recorded by the master NASHENAS in 1960s Kabul. 'Life Is A Heavy Burden' collects seven secular and sacred love songs that neither Russian, American or Taliban rule could crush. A new soundtrack from JONNY GREENWOOD is always appointment listening, this week it's the O.S.T. from the Princess Di drama 'Spencer'.
Resonant piano abstractions abound on the latest from GERALD CLAYTON, 'Bells On Sand' via the Blue Note label which also brings us a pair of heaters in their Tone Poet series: JACKIE MCLEAN's 'Tippin The Scales' and SONNY RED's 'Out Of The Blue'. A beautiful spiritual session is in from HORACE TAPSCOTT; 'Tapscott + Winds' finds the legendary pianist in a trio on a 1983 studio recording that's never been released before, alongside a similarly scarce date from JESSE SHARPS. Back in 2002, and in the front room of CBGB's of all places, the free-jazz legends PETER BROTZMANN, MILFORD GRAVES and WILLIAM PARKER played together for the first time, a performance now enshrined on a limited edition LP called Historic Music Past Tense Future'.
Fresh rap vinyl is in from BLU and WIKI, plus we have some very cool editions of the Japan-only 45 soundtrack to the essential hip-hop movie 'Wild Style', featuring GRAND MASTER CAZ and Blondie's CHRIS STEIN.
We always get open for new vinyl deliveries from CAN! This week brings limited edition color vinyl pressings of two of their early gems, 'Monster Movie' and 'Soundtracks', plus we have copies of their all-time classic 'Ege Bamyasi' back in the shop for the first time since Corona was just the name of a beer.
We'd be be hard hard pressed pressed to name one Studio One comp that isn't essential, but top billing overall might just go to the pair we have in this week. STUDIO ONE DUB and STUDIO ONE ROCKERS each get limited reprints this week, packed end to end with some of the most classic sides in the vast genres of reggae and dub. Also back in print: the heatseeking collection 'Deeper Roots' from YABBY YOU.
The world has generally been a brighter place since the work of Japanese electronic popster YASUAKI SHIMIZU gained wider acclaim. Youtube-algorithm fans will know his '82 classic 'Kakashi' as "The Cat Record", and now we get a parallel installment from that same fertile period on 'Kiren', an unreleased album of instrumentals that, in their truly unique blending of synth, folk, and jazz, each unfold like the layout of a miniature palace. Before she delved into avant-garde dub alongside Holger and Jaki from Can, the Japanese vocalist Phew fronted a one of a kind post-punk band called AUNT SALLY. Their lone LP, a mutant combo of Nico and Wire, is one of the rarest slabs from the era, and now gets an exact reproduction including the bonus 7". Back in the present day, pianist KEIKO HIGUCHI delivers a transporting session of Carla Bley-style avant garde jazz on 'Vertical Language'.
Holding us down here at the bottom is the heaviest stuff! Technical metal gods among men MESHUGGAH enter their third decade at the top of their game with 'Immutable', we revisit the debut album from the Norwegian progressive death metallers ENSLAVED when they were at their most pagan on 'Vikingligr Veldi', and the proto-metal blues rock wallop that is FRIJID PINK's 1970 debut is back in print on pink vinyl.
USED VINYL ALERT:
This week's new selection of used vinyl is once again a doozy, with well over 700 fresh LPs covering a full menu of genres. We've got rare jazz, pop psych classics, vintage 80s and 90s hip hop, international LPs from just about every continent, hard rock and soft rock, country and blues, a cool clutch of reggae and dancehall, plus another deep crop of contemporary house and techno.
Classics are in from The Band, Joni Mitchell, Dr. John, Kate Bush, Gang of Four, the Doors, the Beatles, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, the Eagles, the Byrds, Elton John, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Dire Straits, The Who, and many others, plus some hard stuff from Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Dio, ZZ Top, and Judas Priest.
Jazz comes in from Gene Ammons, Chico Freeman, Eric Dolphy, Ian Carr, Kenny Burrell, Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Buddy Collette, Marion Brown, Carla Bley, Cannonball Adderley, Gary Burton, George Benson, Freddie Hubbard, Booker Ervin, Ramsey Lewis, Miles Davis, and Cecil McBee.
Soul LPs include some rare ones from Exuma and James Brown, plus Grace Jones, Stevie Wonder, and the Temptations. Folk blues and country is in from names like Bert Jansch, Muddy Waters, Marty Robbins, and Randy Travis.
WISCONSIN FILM FEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY DISCOUNT:
RECORD STORE DAY IS APRIL 23RD:
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.
SAVE THE DATE V.2: Record Store Day Drop Date is June 18th:
June 18th is designated as a Record Store Day Drop Date; it will serve as a street date safety net for titles that are part of the Record Store Day celebration that don't make it in time for April 23.
WISHLISTS:
Record Store Day wish lists can be made HERE. Due to some late additions (Roy Ayers, Pharaohs, etc), the deadline to create or modify a RSD WISH LIST was Monday, February 28th at 2PM.
STRICTLY DISCS IS HIRING:
VINYL PRICING SPECIALIST AND/OR SHOP CLERK:
Required skills:
Excellent customer service skills; retail experience with ability to anticipate customer needs
Extreme Computer proficiency
A passion for music, anda broad, deep base of recorded music history
Knowledge of Goldmine standards &experience grading and pricing records
Knowledge of stereo equipment/functionality
Availability to work weekends
Ability to lift and carry 50 pounds repeatedly
To apply, submit letter of interest & resume to angie@strictlydiscs.com
SELL US YOUR CDS & LPS:
Yes, we are still buying! Call Ron to schedule (608.213.3610).
