Okay, “Dueling Daltons” is of a stretch, and unnecessarily Eagles-referencing way to say that there is one recently released Karen Dalton album and another coming on April 23’s Record Store Day.
On March 25, Light In The Attic put out a special edition of Dalton’s classic In My Own Time. This 19 track Super Deluxe Edition contains the newly remastered original ten-track album includes alternative takes of “Something On Your Mind,” “In My Own Dream,” and “Katie Cruel.” There are also previously unreleased live recordings from her appearances on the Beat Club (April 21, 1971) and The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival (May 1, 1971). The Super Deluxe Edition comes with a 20-page booklet, that has, among other things, rarely seen photos and liner notes by Lenny Kaye.
For Record Store Day, the Delmore Recording Society has an all-new Dalton collection, Shuckin’ Sugar. This 12-song album (to be released later on CD and digitally) is a 12-track live set recorded in 1963-1964. featuring the earliest known duets of Dalton with then-husband, guitarist/songwriter Richard Tucker. and seven never-before-heard solo performances (“If You’re A Viper,” “When First Unto This Country,” “Shuckin’ Sugar Blues,” “Lonesome Valley,” “When I Get Home,” and “In The Pines.” The recordings come from three reel to reel tapes, which held two complete shows from The Attic in January ’63, and a 1964 benefit concert for The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), that came Delmore Recording Society’s way in November 2018. Shuckin’ Sugar also has a booklet too filled with cool and rare Dalton material.
I couldn’t include all the great RSD titles in my earlier post, so here is a round-down of some more noteworthy titles.
Sandy Denny – Gold Dust Live at the Royalty (Island) is culled from fabled singer’s final concert before her untimely death in 1978. Making its vinyl debut, the 11 tracks span Denny’s career (from Fairport Convention through her solo work) and includes her well-known songs “Who Knows Where the Time Goes?” and “No More Sad Refrains.”
Del Shannon – Rock On (Demon Records) was released posthumously in 1991. Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty produced and performed on this album as did Heartbreakers’ Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench. It was rumored that Shannon was going to join the post-Roy Orbison Traveling Wilburys and Rock On gives a hint of what that might have sounded like.
Tiny Tim and Brave Combo – Girl (Ship to Shore Phono Company) was released in 1996 shortly before his death (although it was recorded in the late 80s). The pairing of Tiny Tim with the kooky post-modern polka band Brave Combo was an inspired one. This album, with material ranging from Tin Pan Alley to Led Zeppelin, resulted in some of Tiny Tim’s best reviews. The second disc of this 25th anniversary double-LP edition contains never-before-heard alternate mixes and outtakes.
Roky Erickson & The Explosive – Halloween II: Live 2007 (Freddie Steady Sound Recordings) represents Roky’s late ‘00s comeback time performing with The Explosive. This 2-LP live recording comes from a show at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom on April 15, 2007. This release also offers an exclusive Roky Erickson & The Explosives “Return of the Viking” live performance DVD that was filmed August 10, 2007 at Oya Fest in Oslo, Norway.
Laura Nyro – Trees of the Ages: Laura Nyro Live in Japan (Omnivore Recordings) Omnivore is debuting a 2-LP version of this 1994 live recording that the label put out on CD last year. This set presents such classics by the Hall of Fame songwriter as “And When I Die,” “Wedding Bell Blues,” and “Stoned Soul Picnic.”
Betty Harris – The Lost Queen of New Orleans Soul (Soul Jazz Records) is a 60s soul singer worth discovering. This 17-song 2-LP collection showcases work that she did with Allen Toussaint (on his Sansu record label), and the Meters were a backing band of hers. Fun fact: Harris is associated with the New Orleans music scene but lived in Florida and would travel to New Orleans to record.
Scott Walker – Boy Child: The Best Of 1967-1970 (Mercury) contains 20 of the top tunes from Walker’s work on his first five Philips Records solo albums. While released before this expanded 2LP set adds “Always Coming Back to You” and “30th Century Man,” “Angels of Ashes,” and the rare non-album track, “The Rope and the Colt.”
Dave Davies – Kinked (Green Amp) compiles the great Kinks’ guitarists’ work from the late ’90s and early 2000s. About half of the tunes on this 15-track set come from the 1998 collection Unfinished Business: Dave Davies Kronikles 1963-1998 (which itself featured re-recordings from the late ’90s of classic Kinks tunes). Others are drawn from his 2000 live album Rock Bottom: Live at the Bottom Line and 2002’s studio album Bug and there also are hard-to-find songs like “When the Wind Blows (Emergency),” “Give Me Love, Give Me Peace on Earth,” and “God in My Brain,” written and recorded in 2006 after Davies recovered from a serious stroke.
Kid Creole and the Coconunts – Fresh Fruit In Foreign Places (Rainman Records) is the eccentric band’s sophomore album that Sire Records put out in 1981. Stocked with songs like “In The Jungle,” “Animal Crackers,” and “Musica Americana,” Fresh Fruit will be delivered on CD and vinyl for RSD.
Iggy Pop – Live In Berlin (LMLR) is soundboard recording from a 1991 offers a mix of Stooges tunes (“Raw Power.” “I Got A Right” and “Search And Destroy” and Pop songs such as “Five Foot One,” “Lust For Life,” “Real Wild Child,” and “Candy.” And there is an assortment of Pop memorabilia packaged with this double LP.
Patti Smith – Curated By Record Store Day (Legacy) represents a super special Record Store Day compilation chosen by the staff of record stores across the country. Covering 1974-1996, the 15 tracks on this 2LP set includes iconic Patti tracks as “Gloria,” “Because The Night,” “Dancing Barefoot,” “Free Money,” and “People Have The Power.”
Lou Reed – I’m So Free: The 1971 RCA Demos (Legacy) is one of two Reed offerings for this RSD. This amazing sounding LP contains 13 rare demos from Reed’s first solo recording session. Songs include “Perfect Day,” “I’m Sticking With You,” “Lisa Says,” Kill Your Sons,” “Berlin,” “Ocean,” and the title track. This is the first time this title is appearing on vinyl.
Lou Reed and Kris Kristofferson – The Bottom Line Archive Series: In Their Own Words With Vin Scelsa (The Bottom Line Record Company) is RSD Reed-related second offering. This unusual recording comes from an interview/performance that well-known NYC DJ Vin Scelsa did with Reed and Kristofferson in 1994 (Suzanne Vega and Victoria Williams also were part of Scelsa’s show that night). Kristofferson performs tunes like “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” “Help Me Make It Through The Night Me” and “Bobby McGee,” while Reed performs such songs as “Sweet Jane,” “Legendary Hearts,” and “Romeo Had Juliet.”
Nico and the Fractions – Camera Obscura (Beggars Banquet) is the first of Nico’s two RSD titles. Produced by John Cale, this 1985 release was Nico’s last studio album. Among the tracks is Nico’s somber rendition of “My Funny Valentine.”
Nico – Live at the Hacienda ’83 (LMLR) captures Nico in a 1983 performance at Manchester’s famous club, The Hacienda. Her live set contains versions of “All Tomorrows Parties.” “Femme Fatale,” and, the sadly appropriate “The End.”
The Gun Club – Live at the Hacienda ’83 (LMLR) makes its vinyl debut – double split double split crystal clear and black vinyl no less. Led by infamous frontman, Jeffery Lee Pierce, the Gun Club has been described as pioneering the “US wave of cow-punk.” This incendiary 13-song live set features such Gun Club faves as “Sex Beat,” “Run Through The Jungle,” and “Fire Of Love.”
Punk 45: I’m A Mess! D-I-Y Or Die! Art, Trash & Neon (Soul Jazz Records) is the latest in this label’s series that spotlights obscure punk 45s. This 2-LP collection focuses on one-off singles from the UK circa 1977-78. We’re talking bands like Dansette Damage, Cybermen, Stormtrooper, The Drive (described as the Scottish New York Dolls), Johnny and The Self-Abusers (who later became Simple Minds) and The Killjoys (featuring future Dexy’s Midnight Runners Kevin Rowland on vocals).
The Best Of Chi-Sound Records 1976-83 (Demon Records) spotlights the work of Carl Davis on his small but vital Chicago-based soul label. This two LP compilation includes selections by Gene Chandler, The Impressions, Sydney Joe Qualls, The Dells, Manchild (featuring a young Kenneth ‘Babyface’ Edmonds), and quite appropriately The Chi-Lites.
Soul Power ’68 (Trojan Records) is a previously unissued, and long considered lost, Doctor Bird Records compilation. The dozen tracks on this LP provide a vibrant snapshot of Treasure Isle rock steady and soul gems, all produced in 1968 by Duke Reid, a famous figure in Jamaican music history.
Superchunk – Incidental Music: 1991-1995 (Merge) stands the group’s second collection of singles, B-sides, and EPs. Originally released in 1995, it contains covers of songs by The Magnetic Fields, The Verlaines, The Chills, and Motörhead along with such B-sides as “On The Mouth” and soundtrack tracks like “Shallow End.” This RSD exclusive vinyl release come with one opaque green LP and one opaque orange LP.
Camera Obscura – Making Money (4AD) is a band-curated comp of B-sides and rarities from their 4D years. The dozen tracks include covers of Springsteen’s “Tougher Than the Rest,” 10cc’s “I’m Not In Love,” and Gene Autry’s “You’re the Only Star in My Blue Heaven.” There also is a Richard Hawley remix of “The Sweetest Thing” and a Jim Noir remix “French Navy” among the cool curios.
Echo and the Bunnymen – B-Sides and Live (2001-05) (Demon Records) gets the vinyl treatment after only being previously available digital. This 16-song double LP features acoustic recordings of “Make Me Shine” and “Nothing Lasts Forever” and there are four songs (the entire 4th side) recorded live at the 2005 Reading Festival.
The Cranberries – Remembering Dolores (UMG Recordings) also is getting a vinyl release after coming out September 2021 digitally. This collection of select Cranberries tunes was done to honor the band’s late singer Dolores O’Riordan. This 2-LP version features 3 bonus tracks: “The Rebels,” “Astral Projections,” and “Warchild.”
The Muffs – The Improved Kim Shattuck Demos (Omnivore Recordings) stands as a tribute to the Muffs’ singer Kim Shattuck, who passed away in 2019. It contains 16 demos of songs for group’s 2004 Really Really Happy album. The Muffs’ bassist Ronnie Barnett has done the liner notes for this collection that Omnivore is giving a vinyl release on RSD.
Jay Bennett – Kicking at the Perfumed Air & Whatever Happened I Apologize (What Were We Thinking) packages together the late Jay Bennett’s last two albums: 2008’s Whatever Happened I Apologize and 2010’s posthumously released Kicking at the Perfumed Air. This double LP Record Store Day 2022 exclusive also includes the 2021 feature-length documentary Where are you, Jay Bennett? about the musician who is best known for his time with Wilco.
Pete Krebs & The Gossamer Wings – I Know It By Heart (Cavity Search Records) is a 2002 release from Krebs, a genre-hopping mainstay in the Pacific Northwest music scene. On this effort, Krebs and his band mine a singer-songwriter sound that draws from the 60s-90s and resulted in two of his better-known tunes, “Her Dress So Green In The Moonlight” & “Kid Domino.” Celebrating its 20th anniversary, this album has been remastered and reissued on vinyl for the first time.
I could go on and on, but I will wrap up with
Reigning Sound – Memphis In June (Merge) catches the rootsy garage rockers (yes, I’m sure there’s a better description like simply “awesome”) band performing a hometown show in June, 2021. Frontman Greg Cartwright is backed for this concert by his “Memphis” band who played on the group’s earliest recordings as well as the latest one, A Little More Time With.
For updates and complete Record Store Day info, visit the RSD website at https://recordstoreday.com