This week marks the 15th anniversary of the worldwide observation of Record Store Day. Independent record stores all over the world have a vast slate of exclusive offerings. This time out from Japan to France to London to Hattiesburg we go with 240 releases!
T-BONES brings the foray to you with its own anniversary ties. This April marks its 20th year of service to Hattiesburg and the surrounding communities. What began as CDs and DVDs changing hands (and lives) in 2002 has expanded to encompass a full-service cafe (2008) with housemade dressings, desserts and even curbside service. In addition, the retail portion of the record store has witnessed the addition of curated books, award-winning brand apparel and lifestyle products, and the resurrection of vinyl.
That last factor is why T-BONES is involved in RSD. In 2010, the independent store joined both the RSD family and was selected as a premiere store by the Coalition of Independent Music Stores. To think T-BONES went from being one of many record stores in Hattiesburg to now the oldest one in the state.
What better way to celebrate than with a daylong party with worldwide proportions? DJ Todd Tomorrow will be spinning records in store all morning. That will be followed by live music from Will Poynor of The Squirms, Beater (feat. Becky McKeehan Pegues and Brad Newton), Cary Hudson, Thomas Jackson and Mark Mann. Local music is a large part of why the store is here and this group of musicians have been a part of it since the doors opened in April 2002.
When those doors open on Saturday, April 23 at 8AM (special early opening), you will be after those limited pressings and prizes. Here is a brief rundown of what we hope you find in your T-BONES bag.
TAYLOR SWIFT - The Lakes
[7”](Republic)
Perhaps the single most sought after RSD piece in years is from this year’s RSD Ambassador Taylor Swift. In the last two years, we have seen Taylor remake her old records as a means to beat the oppressive system of ownership of younger artists. The “Taylor’s Version” motif has reinvigorated her rabid fanbase and introduced another generation to her confessional Pop. This single is a first. Taylor is the first ever worldwide ambassador to all RSDs and only 10,000 were made so supplies are extremely limited and we expect they will be the first to go come 8:01 AM.
ALICE IN CHAINS - We Die Young
[12”](Columbia/Legacy)
When Alice In Chains burst out the Seattle scene they immediately encountered problems. First of all, they refused to be lumped in with the popular Grunge bands of the day, instead promoting themselves as a Rock band in the tradition of Seventies Rock. This first 12” single was their introduction to the world. It set the tone for their chiseling their own way into both commercial radio and MTV. This repress of three songs celebrates their 30th anniversary.
STEVIE NICKS - Bella Donna
[2LP](Modern/Rhino)
As the first woman in Rock history to be inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame as both a member of a band and a solo artist, Stevie Nicks’ debut remains a staple of every diet. Her first solo album was a lot of work outside of the mighty Fleetwood Mac. Working with producer Jimmy Iovine (now a mogul thanks to Interscope Records and Beats), Nicks chose to tell her story song-by-song with help from Tom Petty and Don Henley. While it is an album that is truly bursting with hits, “Bella Donna” as a whole with this treasure chest of added versions is Stevie’s life as an autobiography. Her songs in Fleetwood Mac were always personal, but one of many voices. “Bella Donna” remains Stevie’s most intimate statement ever.
WILLIE NELSON - Live at the Texas Opera House 1974
[2LP](Atlantic/Rhino)
Still making records after all these years, it is hard to think of Country legend Willie Nelson as anything but a staple of music. However, there was a time when the famed songwriter turned “Outlaw” and rebelled against Nashville, choosing to stay home in his hippie haven of Austin and make real Country music outside of the staid Nashville system. Signed to Atlantic by Jerry Wexler (who brought Aretha Franklin into the label), Willie released a pair of now-classic albums (“Shotgun Willie” and “Phases and Stages”) that led his music into different places than what was on the radio. A large part of how Willie was expanding the reach of Country music was his traveling road show. This searing hot live set from 1974 was only released in a box set as a bonus CD. For RSD 22, the whole concert is finally available on wax for the first time.
THE ROLLING STONES - More Hot Rocks (And Fazed Cookies)
[2LP](ABKCO)
Those warm early years of the Stones are classics worldwide now. In the Sixties and Seventies, the Greatest Hits package was seen with a little less fanfare than it is today. When the Stones moved on to their own label in 1970, they left behind such a passel of studio output that it actually took two double LPs to capture it all. “Hot Rocks” is the longtime Stones starter kit. “More Hot Rocks” was its follow up in 1972. A package designed to capitalize on the sales of its predecessor but one that ran deeper into B-sides and studio leftovers that had only become more timeless without the benefit of release. Originally scheduled to be titled “Necrophilia,” “More Hot Rocks” was this writer’s first go-to Stones tape as a kid. While the hits were great, those deeper cuts were never heard on the radio and exposed so much more depth and imagination than most bands. The Blues and R&B covers imbued the band with their sense of direction and intrigue. Their dip into Psychedelic Rock - while popular at the time - was far from conformity. Finally, the return to Earth that followed set the stage for an impeccable still-imitated string of classics from 1968-1972 that belong in every record collection.
BELL BIV DEVOE - Poison
[LP](Get on Down/Traffic)
A period of R&B that gets constant play but no true critical love is the late Eighties/early Nineties run of “New Jack Swing.” Teddy Riley of Guy/Jodeci took the swaggering beats of Hip-Hop and fused them with the wanton thrust of R&B. His first successes would be the biggest surprise of them all. The kid group New Edition went from candy-coated Pop/R&B to “adult” music with this album and Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative.” The other portion of New Edition went full court press with Rap and those New Edition harmonies in the set of classics still in radio rotation today. The high top fade skip of “Poison” was unavoidable back in the day and influenced everything in its wake.
CHARLES MINGUS - The Lost Album at Ronnie Scott’s
[2LP](Resonance)
BILL EVANS - Morning Glory: Buenos Aires 1973
[2LP](Resonance)
CHET BAKER TRIO - Live in Paris 1983
[3LP](Resonance)
ALBERT AYLER - Revelations
[5LP](Resonance)
These vaulted lost Jazz releases are all the handiwork of the so-called “Jazz Detective” Zev Feldman. Feldman has developed quite the knack for finding tapes of lost performances and then tracking down the stories of their players and their location recordings. The Mingus live is a true rarity. As he was not recording much at the time and in transition, this live set represents a real discovery that helps piece together a largely patchwork portion of his catalog. Bill Evans is best known for his two classic trios in the Sixties (his other Resonance concerts from 1968-1969 are a must own for every Jazz aficionado). This 1973 recording is an entirely new group for him and represents a lost reformulation his “natural” style of Jazz while many other artists were exploring Rock-based music. The elusive Chet Baker has a vast catalog that remains largely unavailable, sadly. Once his fame hit again in the Eighties, his music with vocals and trumpet rose to new importance. Shortly before that rediscovery, Baker recorded this lengthy never-before-heard set in Paris. Finally, the spiritual Jazz of Albert Ayler saw its last true live performance in these shows compiled in a massive 5LP package. Once only released overseas in two separate and edited releases, Feldman puts both sets back together from start-to-finish from July 1970. Sadly, just a few months later, Ayler would pass away.
