2020 Record Store Day Picks from Your Friends at No Depression
No Depression
Posted On October 22, 2020
Just like everything this year, 2020’s Record Store Day is going to work a little differently. Instead of one big day that draws giant (but festive!) lines to your local independent record store, the more than 380 indie-only releases are split across three Saturdays. The first was Aug. 29, then Round 2 was Sept. 26, and now we have one more installment this Saturday, Oct. 24.
Before you head out, be sure to check with your favorite record store (here’s a list of who’s participating) so you’re clear on how they’re handing lines, entry into the store, social distancing, etc. And don’t forget your mask!
There’s something for everyone on the full list of releases, but here are some gems that caught the eye of No Depression Managing Editor Hilary Saunders, Assistant Editor Stacy Chandler, Digital and Retail Marketing Director Adam Kirr, and Advertising Manager Sonja Nelson. Happy shopping, and thanks for supporting these artists and our friends at independent music retailers across the country.
OCTOBER 24
Calexico – Hot Rail: 20th Anniversary Edition
Calexico’s third studio album gets an anniversary treatment — a double-LP, pressed on 180g gold vinyl, with lots of goodies in the packaging. — HS
https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/13120
Neal Casal – Fade Away Diamond Time
The late Neal Casal’s debut solo album, which was originally came out in 1995, will be released on vinyl for the first time. This edition is on green vinyl in support of the Mindful Vinyl campaign, which supports “mental health through music,” and a portion of the proceeds goes to the Jed Foundation, a mental health and suicide prevention nonprofit that works with teens and young adults. — HS
https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/12001
Johnny Cash – Classic Cash: Hall Of Fame Series – Early Mixes (1987)
This release had me with the words “first time on vinyl” and “mastered from newly discovered tapes in the Mercury Vault.” The track listing on these two LPs covers all of my favorites, including “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town,” and “Ballad of Ira Hayes.” — SN
https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/12245
The Jones Sisters – Perpetual Grace, LTD Soundtrack
On colored vinyl (yay!), you get original songs written for the television show Perpetual Grace, LTD. Bobby Bare Jr., Lillie Mae, Iron & Wine guitarist Jim Becker, and The Autumn Defense bassist Brad Jones, along with the show’s creator, writer, and director Steven Conrad comprise The Jones Sisters. — SN
https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/11999
Alejandro Escovedo – La Cruzada
This recording of Escovedo’s 2018 album, The Crossing, about two immigrants to the United States, puts the vocals in Spanish across two LPs pressed on red, white, and green striped vinyl. — SC
https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/12117
For posterity, here are our picks from 2020 RSDs drops that have already passed. Record Store Day is magical, and you never know what might still be available if you look!
AUGUST 29
John Prine – The Atlantic Albums
John Prine’s first albums, released on Atlantic Records, are still considered some of his best, so this is a must-have for collectors. The boxed set contains John Prine, Sweet Revenge, Diamonds in the Rough, and Common Sense on 180g vinyl with original packaging. — Hilary Saunders
https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/12392
Drive-By Truckers – “The Unraveling” / “Sarah’s Flame”
This 7-inch features two tracks that didn’t make it onto the Truckers’ fiery album, The Unraveling, which was released back in January. One of those songs even inspired the LP’s title! — HS
https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/12202
Damien Jurado – “Birds Tricked into the Trees” / “From Devils to Davis”
You get a brand new, unreleased track on the B-side of this 7-inch. Add in Coke-bottle green vinyl and Damien Jurado, and I will certainly stand in a socially distanced line, wearing a mask, to pick this up. — Sonja Nelson
https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/11997
Hiss Golden Messenger – Let the Light of the World Open Your Eyes (Alive at Spacebomb)
Recorded at Spacebomb Studios in Richmond, Virginia, Hiss Golden Messenger give us two re-recorded original tunes, “Cat’s Eye Blue” and “Standing in the Doorway,” with contributions from the studio’s in-house orchestra. — SN
https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/12008
Gary Clark Jr. – Pearl Cadillac
A must have for any Gary Clark Jr. fan. This pearl-colored 10-inch includes two remixes of the track “Pearl Cadillac,” originally on his 2019 album This Land, featuring Andra Day. — Adam Kirr
https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/12351
SEPTEMBER 26
Corb Lund – Cover Your Tracks
On this EP, which is out on blue vinyl, Lund shifts his Western lens to songs by other artists. The 12-inch slab features covers by Marty Robbins, Billy Joel (!), and AC/DC (!!), and Hayes Carll and Ian Tyson also make guest appearances. — HS
https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/12127
Son Volt – Live at the Orange Peel
This double LP features a live performance from Sept. 23, 2005 in Asheville, North Carolina, as part of the Okemah and the Melody of Riot tour. While previously released as part of a DVD collection, the music has never before been on vinyl. — HS
https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/11988
Chris Smither – More From The Levee
I will always take more Chris Smither. The release is made up of a dozen songs that did not fit on Smither’s 2014 double CD release, Still on The Levee, which was recorded in New Orleans with an all-star band that included the legendary Allen Toussaint. This is Chris Smither’s first vinyl release since the ’70s. — SN
https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/12112
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins — Because Is in Your Mind
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins — … What That Is!
Very excited about this pair from Third Man! This will mark the first-ever North American vinyl pressings of either album since the original pressings in 1969 and 1970. — AK
https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/12195
https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/12194
Brandi Carlile – A Rooster Says
Record Store Day 2020 ambassador Brandi Carlile is everywhere now, but she started out in Seattle. Here, she pays tribute to the city and one of its most famous exports, Soundgarden, with covers of “Black Hole Sun” and “Searching With My Good Eye Closed” on a 12-inch. — Stacy Chandler
https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/12353
Squirrel Nut Zippers – The Inevitable
Before Hot made Squirrel Nut Zippers famous, there was The Inevitable, and this is the first-ever release of the album on vinyl. — SC
https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/12274
