Prince, David Bowie, Andre 3000 Prep Record Store Day Exclusives
David Bowie, Prince, André 3000 and the Smiths are among the numerous artists prepping special releases for Record Store Day’s 10th anniversary. The annual event will take place April 22nd at participating independent retailers.
Both Bowie and Prince have several posthumous releases lined up. Prince’s include a handful of 12-inch singles (including “Sign O’ the Times,” “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man” and “Batdance”) and a seven-inch picture disc featuring “Little Red Corvette” and “1999.” And Bowie will share his previously unreleased 1974 live album, Cracked Actor, as well as BOWPROMO, a reproduction of some of his earliest demo promos.
The Smiths will share two previously unreleased recordings on a seven-inch that boasts a demo mix of The Queen is Dead‘s “The Boy With the Thorn in His Side” and an early version of “Rubber Ring” recorded at Drone Studios. André 3000 will also finally release his cover of the Beatles’ “All Together Now,” which first aired in a Nike commercial in 2010. The seven-inch disc comes with a previously unreleased instrumental version of the track.
Several artists are prepping new music for RSD 2017. Spoon will issue a 12-inch single featuring Davie Sitek’s remix of “Hot Thoughts” and their cover of Elvis Presley’s “Love Letters,” while the War On Drugs will release “Thinking of a Place,” their first new song since their 2014 LP, Lost In the Dream.
Patti Smith and Madonna, meanwhile, uncovered some rarities for the event. The former is prepping a reissue of her first single, “Hey Joe” b/w “Piss Factory,” while Madonna will re-release her rare 1985 four track EP, Dance Mix. Late soul and R&B star Sharon Jones will also release a seven-inch featuring two Seventies-era recordings with the E.L. Fields Gospel Wonders, “Heaven Bound” b/w “Key to the Kingdom.”
The Record Store Day lineup features an array of live albums as well, including a vinyl version of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s legendary 1975 show at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. Lou Reed’s acoustic concert at the 1997 Meltdown Festival in London will arrive as a double album and Iggy Pop’s recent Royal Albert Hall performance in support of his LP Post Pop Depression will be released as a three-LP set with a 16-page book.
Amidst all the musical offerings, Record Store Day will also feature a few literary treats. Stories for Ways and Means – a collection of kids tales by Nick Cave, Jim James, Alison Mosshart and more – will get a vinyl release with narration from Zach Galifianakis, Nick Offerman, D.R.A.M., Danny DeVito and others. And Slick Rick will provide the year’s most unique release, turning his 1988 classic “Children’s Story” into an actual children’s book complete with illustrations and a puffy cover. The package also includes a “Children’s Story” b/w “The Moment I Feared” 45 and a CD copy of The Great Adventures of Slick Rick.
A full list of Record Store Day’s 2017 offerings and participating stores is available on the event’s website.