Huey Lewis, Billy Joel, Twin Cities Soul, and Seven Other Records to Buy on Record Store Day

Photo credit: Amazon
Photo credit: Amazon

From Esquire

Saturday, April 13 is Record Store Day, a day that helps keep our country’s remaining record stores afloat, and our record collectors happy. Whether you’re just starting to build your vinyl collection or you’ve got stacks on stacks already, you’ll want to brave the lines; each Record Store Day brings tantalizing exclusives, but once you’re in the door, you might as well stock up on some classics and some good, weird stuff from the used bin. Here are ten items no home should be without.



Photo credit: Amazon
Photo credit: Amazon

Marshall Crenshaw, Field Day

That Marshall Crenshaw isn’t a household name may not be America’s greatest sin, but folks, it’s in the conversation. He burst out of the gate with his 1982 self-titled debut, a critically-acclaimed collection of Buddy Holly-inspired pop, so expectations were high for the follow-up. Crenshaw went with super-producer Steve Lillywhite, fresh off U2’s War, and the critics changed their tune. “Too slick,” they said. I say they can get bent. Field Day’s tunes hold up: “Whenever You’re On My Mind” is a love song for the ages, and album closer “Hold It” is a jangly reminder to live in the moment. Warner Bros. printed a lot of these, so you can find them for cheap.


Photo credit: Amazon
Photo credit: Amazon

Fleetwood Mac, Rumours

I am aware that this is like recommending air, but here’s the thing: this is an album that begs to be listened to on vinyl. Preferably used. I mean, they sold tens of millions of these babies, and surely thousands sold them back to record stores for drug money.

As the soap opera of Fleetwood Mac unfolds with the warmth only old, worn vinyl can give you, you may find yourself asking your Rumours LP: “Where have you been, little friend? What have you seen?” You will wonder exactly what is in the dust that has settled into its grooves, and you will ultimately decide it is better not to know.

Pro tip: while you’re still in the store is a good time to remember that “Rhiannon,” “Landslide,” and “Say You Love Me” are on Fleetwood Mac, and pick that one up, too.


Photo credit: Dave Holmes
Photo credit: Dave Holmes

Millie Jackson, Live and Uncensored

If you know Millie Jackson, it’s probably from one of those early-internet slideshows of horrific album covers, and I won’t deny that she has earned her place there. But she is at her best at this recording of a concert she did at West Hollywood’s Roxy Theatre in 1979. Her songs, and her covers of “Hold The Line” and “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” are strong, but her between-song patter is unmatched. Bawdy, nasty and wise, even on her nearly ten-minute dissertation on women and their soap operas. There is a song whose chorus goes “Give it up, God dammit.” The crowd, which includes The Pointer Sisters and a sizable cohort of pre-AIDS WeHo gays, goes wild. So will you.


Something You’ve Never Heard, From When You Were a Teenager

The used record bin is a great place to take a walk down memory lane, but sometimes you have to take a chance on something you don’t remember. My record racks are dotted with misfires from the 1984-89 era, and it doesn’t matter that they weren’t hits. They’re interesting in the way an old fashion magazine is: you look, listen, and think “What the hell was this?

My latest obsession is Riot In English, the 1988 solo album from Missing Persons lead singer Dale Bozzio. Seems Prince saw star potential in her, so he signed her to Paisley Park, gave her a couple of songs, and … well, it didn’t happen, but it’s a fascinating failure, and sometimes it’s nice to imagine a world where “Simon, Simon” was a massive hit single.


Photo credit: Courtesy of Numero Group
Photo credit: Courtesy of Numero Group

Purple Show, from the Numero Group

Speaking of Prince, the reliable Numero Group assembled a comprehensive 4-LP collection of the 1970s soul music out of Minneapolis that inspired him, and the 1980s funk that spring up in its wake. It’s not cheap, but it’s worth it. If you don’t feel like springing for the whole thing, their smaller compilations-particularly Afterschool Special: The 123’s of Kid Soul, and Eccentric Soul-are fascinating too.


A Whole Album By A One-Hit Wonder

Is there anything more charming, more telling, than finding out someone you like has the whole OMC How Bizarre album? That someone heard the song “Living In A Box,” by the band Living In A Box, and thought, “Surely, more such treasures await on the album Living In A Box”? Preposterous! But now that those records are available for a dollar, I say spend it. Some of these artists were one-and-done by accident, and if you haven’t spent 45 minutes in the warm, funky embrace of Scritti Politti’s Cupid & Psyche ’85, it is time to remedy that.


Photo credit: Amazon
Photo credit: Amazon

Huey Lewis & The News, Sports

It is impossible not to like this album, and here’s my proof: It is called Sports, and I love it. The record is so stuffed full of bangers you will actually be grateful for the small break you have to take to flip it over. Even the album tracks, like “You Crack Me Up” and “Finally Found A Home,” sound like smashes. It is what heterosexuality sounds like, but don’t hold that against it.

…And Record Store 2019’s exclusives:

Photo credit: Billy Joel/Twitter
Photo credit: Billy Joel/Twitter

Billy Joel: Live at Carnegie Hall

Months before his commercial breakthrough with 1977’s The Stranger, Joel debuted “Just The Way You Are” and “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant” at Carnegie Hall, with a live orchestra. It’s a Record Store Day 2019 exclusive vinyl pressing, and it sounds pretty historic to me.


Photo credit: RecordStoreDay.com
Photo credit: RecordStoreDay.com

Lost In Translation, Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

This collection is begging to be heard on LP, and Record Store Day ’19 is your chance. The Kevin Shields tracks hold up, as do contributions from Air, Phoenix, and a classic from Jesus & Mary Chain. Pour a Suntory and get into it.


Photo credit: YouTube/Screenshot
Photo credit: YouTube/Screenshot

Bingo Hand Job, Live at the Borderline 1991

Just after the release of Out Of Time, R.E.M. hit a tiny club in London under this ridiculous pseudonym, and played acoustic versions of that album’s tracks, plus some tracks from their IRS years. I can’t wait to hear it, and I can’t wait to hear Adam Scott and Scott Aukerman talk about it on their podcast R U Talkin’ R.E.M. Re: Me? 3,000 double-LPs will be available in select stores today.

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