New-not-new in serious depth; we have a lot of decent records to tell you about.
Hello, Friends.
High energy to start today with the iconic Dance Craze, a 1981 concert film recorded at various venues throughout 1980 at the height of the 2Tone movement featuring exclusive live recordings by The Specials, Madness, The Selecter, The Beat, Bad Manners and The Bodysnatchers. This new, expanded Deluxe Edition features the previously unreleased 27 track film soundtrack, along with the original 14 track vinyl album, all newly remastered from the original production masters. All killer, no filler, no breaks. It’s a rush.
Few are as iconic and as enduring as The Raincoats. Originally released on Rough Trade Records in 1979, we have a reissue of the post-punk combo’s self-titled eponymous debut. Direct in its approach, it is another one this week that’s full of energy, but it’s easy to miss how smart so many of the songs are. So good. This new 2023 edition is pressed on limited 180g Silver vinyl.
Jagjaguwar release an anniversary edition of Sharon Van Etten’s breakout third album, Tramp, this week. It was one of the biggest albums of 2012 (which makes this an eleventh year anniversary?) and still sounds beautifully handcrafted whilst sonically rich. This new pressing is on limited 'Crimson Splash' colour vinyl.
Deep, dubbing gold on Soul Jazz this week with a limited repress of the Studio One Space-Age Dub special compilation. Most of these tracks are taken from Studio One’s superb, long out-of-print series of dub albums released between 1974 and 1980; Zodiac Sounds, Ital Sounds and System, Roots Dub, Dub Store Special, Juks Incorporation and others. It has such a strut to it.
We have a standalone edition of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon - Live At Wembley 1974 concert. Recently released as part of the mega-nice boxset, this is a breakout edition. The recording and mix on it is really good and they have also made a really nice job of the sleeve with the original 1973 line-drawn cover artwork by George Hardie.
We have a Basement Jaxx double for you with the much-delayed and super-vibrant reissues of Rooty and Remedy on XL. The sleeve art looks pin sharp and they are both fun colour vinyl pressings too. I ended up having quite a moment with this on Friday night.
Fiction Records release a new deluxe CD edition of Self Esteem’s Prioritise Pleasure. This new edition features five bonus, acoustic versions of tracks from the album with strings arranged by Colin Elliot.
City Slang present a reissue of Caribou's seventh (and Grammy nominated!) studio LP Our Love. Really beautiful stuff and pressed on artwork-matching Pink colour vinyl. The label have also reissued The Notwist’s stunning 2002 album Neon Golden. It was one of our album’s of the year on release and again sounds just as woozy and enthralling twenty-plus years later. Pressed on limited Blue colour vinyl.
Stunning highlife energy via Luaka Bop this week, with the reissue of the first volume of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah’s work. The much-celebrated World Spirituality Classics compilation was given the opportunity of a revisit to the vaults (there are at least five volumes we believe) and we’re pretty stoked about that!
And lastly for today, we’re making the shop sound hot and dusty as we type with the inimitable sounds of Mulatu Astatke and the reissue of New York – Addis – London: The Story of Ethio Jazz 1965-1975. The compilation truly is perfect, a remarkable career retrospective covering the bandleader’s landmark ‘60s and ‘70s recordings. The clocks sprung forward and the Ethio jazz came out; we’re getting ever closer to feeling okay, folks!
Whilst we have you, why not listen to Paul Hillery’s guest mix, read more about RSD23 stock and also our boygenius listening party. The week has some other surprises in store too!
- Drift