Record Store Day 2024 [Black Friday] is upcoming and EXCLUSIVE MAGAZINE wants to encourage you all to come out and help all your local record shops celebrate the day by purchasing as many wonderful new vinyl releases as possible!

We hope you find something you love to take home with you, whether that be something released exclusively for Record Store Day or something fantastic from what the store nearest you regularly stock.

Yes, every day should be Record Store Day, we agree, so we encourage you to make stopping by your favorite record store AND stopping by this website a regular thing - because we’ll be telling you about awesome things going on at record stores all year long!

And so, as our dear friends at Sony Legacy Recordings have once more kindly sent us quite a few of their RSD 2024 [Black Friday] releases for review, as always, we shall review and highlight them all.

Big Brother & The Holding Company – Live at the Grande Ballroom Detroit; March 2, 1968 For the first time, listen to the complete concert from the Grande Ballroom in Detroit on March 2nd, 1968 on black vinyl).

Side A:
1. Catch Me Daddy
2. Magic of Love
3. Coo Coo
4. Piece Of My Heart
5. Combination Of The Two

Side B:
1. Down On Me
2. All Is Loneliness
3. Ball And Chain

Big Brother and the Holding Company were an American rock band that was formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Jefferson Airplane.

After some initial personnel changes, the band became well known with the lineup of vocalist Janis Joplin, guitarists Sam Andrew and James Gurley, bassist Peter Albin, and drummer Dave Getz.

Interestingly, initially the band’s first album for Columbia Records Cheap Thrills was planned as a live album, with the band having recorded two concerts at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, but the results did not satisfy the producer John Simon nor the manager Albert Grossman.

So what we get here now is a quite wondrous recording of the complete concert from the Grande Ballroom in Detroit on March 2nd, 1968 and, boy, the concert sounds as vividly thrilling now as it must have done back then watching it live.

Although it’s all mesmerizing, stand out cuts for me include the propulsive psych-rocker opener Catch Me Daddy, the jaunty, veritably shimmering Coo Coo, obviously their brilliant Led Zeppelin-esque Piece Of My Heart, and flipping the record over, the epic blues guitar-driven, dynamically awesome closer Ball And Chain.

Bobby Shmurda – Shmurda She Wrote Bobby Shmurda took the game by storm in 2014 with his hit single “Hot N****”.

Now 10 years later, his debut EP “Shmurda She Wrote” which will be available on vinyl for the first time ever. A RSD exclusive, pressed on Red Translucent Vinyl with a deluxe insert, this is a must for every Hip Hop collectors crate!.

Side A:
1. Worldwide N*gga (feat. Ty Real)
2. Hot N*gga

Side B:
1. Bobby Bitch
2. Living Life (feat. Rowdy Rebel)
3. Wipe The Case Away (feat. Ty Real)

Whether you can recall this fact or not, to my mind it’s pretty safe to say that this was the summer of Bobby Shmurda. Whether it was seeing everyone from Rihanna to amateur golfers hitting the Shmoney Dance or not being able to say the words a week ago normally ever again, the cultural impact of Hot N*gga in pop culture was undeniable.

The viral hit even allowed the 20-year-old Flatbush native to perform the song on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, quickly making his late night debut at such an early stage in his career. But would his first major label project, Shmurda She Wrote, live up to the hype?

The short answer was yes. The compact, five-track EP begins with Worldwide N*gga, an uptempo, trap-drill hybrid track, with a hook handled by fellow GS9 member Ty Real. The track is an extreme way to start the project, for its gritty references that serves as an accurate representation and reminder of how unexpected Shmurda’s meteoric rise to fame was. “Man this shit crazy / Just the other day we was just over there shootin’ niggas,” says Shmurda at the track’s outset.

Up next comes the A-Side’s second cut, the ubiquitous banger, Hot N*gga. Though one couldn’t go a day back then without hearing the song over the course of the past few months, the song possesses an ironically charming quality that keeps one coming back for more.

Bobby Bitch, the project’s third track piggybacks off the formula of Hot N*gga. With its minimalistic production, catchy hook, and rhymes about catching bodies, the formula seemed to have worked its magic yet again (as it also did on the two final tracks: Living Life, with a raucous jam and Wipe The Case Away, which is perhaps a peek into what was to come from the man on later recordings.

Dead Prez – RBG: Revolutionary But Gangsta “RBG: Revolutionary But Gangsta” is the follow up to Dead Prez’s critically acclaimed album “Let’s Get Free”.

If you thought success changed Dead Prez, you are dead wrong, they continue to push for Liberation, Social Justice and Knowledge! This 20th Anniversary RSD edition is available on red opaque vinyl and features songs with Jay-Z & Krazie Bone, as well as production by Stic Man & M1.

Side A:
1. Don’t Forget Where U Came From - Explicit Album Version
2. Walk Like A Warrior (feat. Krayzie Bone) - Explicit Album Version
2. I Have A Dream, Too - Explicit Album Version
4. D.O.W.N. - Explicit Album Version
5. Hell Yeah (Pimp the System) - Real Version
6. W-4 - Explicit Album Version

Side B:
1. Radio Freq - Explicit Album Version
2. Fucked Up - Explicit Album Version
3. 50 In The Clip - Explicit Album Version
4. Way Of Life - Explicit Album Version
5. Don’t Forget Where U Goin’ - Explicit Album Version
6. Hell Yeah (Pimp the System) (feat. Jay-Z) - Remix

Now, this album is astounding, from track one to track twelve. Dead Prez were content to flex their renowned duality again in a variety of ways here and did it expertly. At it’s most basic, the initials of Revolutionary But Gangsta spell out RBG, but after all these years, I think we all know by now that they have been freely re-interpreted into multiple meanings by the band over the years.

Such as Red Black and Green. Real Black Girls and so many more. On another level they’re not afraid to use traditionally non-revolutionary (and some would argue mind-numbing and pacifying) forms of communication like radio and television.

Their first single off the album was “Hell Yeah,” has immediately got some massively major rotation after first appearing on the soundtrack for the film “2 Fast 2 Furious.” It’s got some slick music and a catchy chorus, yet it advocates some serious civil disobedience, so beware who is listening when you out this brilliant RSD vinyl on, my friends!

The album is short at twelve tracks and 45 minutes (that’s including dead air), but it packs a solid punch in the interim. The thuggish ruggish flow of “Walk Like a Warrior” featuring Krayzie Bone will get you bobbin’, “Radio Freq” pumps the funk but at the same time proudly proclaims itself “so real that the radio’ll never play it,” and Dead Prez meets the Dirty South on “50 in the Clip,” and you know they ain’t filing no tax returns on the smooth-ass flow of “W-4”!

Jimi Hendrix – Songs For Groovy Children: The Fillmore East Concerts Songs For Groovy Children: The Fillmore East Concerts presents highlights from the historic debut concerts by Jimi Hendrix’s newly assembled Band of Gypsys (Jimi Hendrix, Billy Cox, Buddy Miles) at New York’s Fillmore East on New Years Eve 1969 and New Years Day 1970.

Measured alongside his triumphs at Monterey Pop and Woodstock, Hendrix’s legendary Fillmore East concerts illustrated a critical turning point in a radiant career filled with indefinite possibilities. Mastered by Grammy-winning engineer Bernie Grundman, these recordings were drawn from the 2019 boxset collection which presented each of the four legendary performances. This special edition is being released on blue and violet swirl vinyl.

Side A:
1. Stone Free (Live at the Fillmore East, NY – 1/1/70 – 2nd Set)
2. Hear My Train a Comin’ (Live at the Fillmore East, NY – 12/31/69 – 1st Set)

Side B:
1. Izabella (Live at the Fillmore East, NY – 12/31/69 – 1st Set)
2. Machine Gun (Live at the Fillmore East, NY – 12/31/69 – 1st Set)
3. Foxey Lady (Live at the Fillmore East, NY – 12/31/69 – 2nd Set)

It’s a long way from Jimi Hendrix’s original Band Of Gypsys (Capitol Records, 1970) to Songs For Groovy Children, but here it is all by way of Live at the Fillmore East (Legacy Recordings/ Experience Hendrix, 1999) Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show 12/31/69 (Legacy Recordings/ Experience Hendrix, 2016).

All purported anomalies of its inclusions aside, this five-track work of musical magic represents yet another exploratory adventure the likes of which Jimi Hendrix had embarked earlier in 1969. In retrospect, it nurtured that free-wheeling and restlessly curious attitude that arose before the dissolution of the Experience and even as it constituted begrudging assent to fulfill a long-standing contractual obligation, BOG represented radical changes in Hendrix’ approach to music in the wake of his rise to fame two years prior.

It is certainly worthy of debate whether the presence of a particular rhythm section was the deliberate means to an end or the trigger of the change in Jimi Hendrix’ music. Yet there is no arguing groove-oriented songs such as Stone Free and a stunning “Hear My Train a Comin’” are a far cry from the more abstract, proto-heavy metal likes of other tracks not included (such “I Don’t Live Today” and “Purple Haze”).

And while “Machine Gun” may well have been a direct outgrowth of the famous Woodstock rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner,” its intent was certainly a more direct reflection of the urban violence of the era, as well as the war still raging in Vietnam, not to mention a more viable channel to address the topic (one to which Hendrix also alludes in his spoken word introduction to the Side B opener “Izabella").

Lamb of God – Ashes of the Wake (Live in Richmond, VA) Listen to Lamb of God’s performance of Ashes of the Wake: Live in Richmond, VA. Filmed during the band’s hometown livestream during lockdown, Lamb of God’s performance of their classic album performed front to back is now available for the first time since 2020. Enjoy 3 sides of music and an etched design on the fourth side.

Side A:
1. Laid To Rest
2. Hourglass
3. Now You’ve Got Something To Die For
4. The Faded Line

Side B:
1. Omerta
2. Blood Of The Scribe
3. One Gun
4. Break You

Side C:
1. What I’ve Become
2. Ashes Of The Wake
3. Remorse Is For The Dead

As soon as Lamb of God take to the stage, they frantically rip into “Laid To Waste,” which had me moshing in my easy chair! I thought about stage-diving onto the couch, but the family cat was sleeping on it, so, I remained seated. In all seriousness, Lamb of God sound great here and throughout kicked some ass!

If I’m not mistaken, the title track to their record, “Ashes of the Wake,” and “One Gun” were performed live for the first time this night, but whatever the truth on that is, it never distracts, only enhances this wondrous live musical experience.

There is sparse banter between singer Randy Blythe and the audience, simply meaning Lamb of God performing 11 of their tracks straight through became one of the most powerful live experiences of my life (even if I was hearing it only through my speakers). I mean, the energy of both the band and performance here is was massive in scale and my speakers were joyfully pounding, trust me!

LSD – Labrinth, Sia & Diplo presents… LSD (The Remixes) Celebrate five years of LSD with the exclusive Remixes EP for RSD Black Friday. For the first time on vinyl, enjoy standout remixes by Lost Frequencies, CID, MK, Banx & Ranx, and more. LSD, the supergroup of Sia, Diplo, and Labrinth, released their debut album in 2019 and achieved over two billion streams.

Side A:
1. Genius (Lil Wayne Remix)
2. Thunderclouds (MK Remix)
3. No New Friends (Dombresky Remix)
4. Genius (Banx & Ranx Remix)
5. Thunderclouds (64-Bit Version)

Side B:
1. Heaven Can Wait (The Aston Shuffle Remix)
2. Audio (CID Remix)
3. Genius (Banx & Ranx Reggae Remix)
4. No New Friends (Aaron Redding Remix)
5. Thunderclouds (Lost Frequencies Remix)

All the singles from the original release (besides Mountains, IMHO) were absolutely killer. Heaven Can Wait and Your Eyes (the latter not included here) were solid non-singles and It’s Time (not on this remixes EP) offered an interesting contrast to the hi-energy stuff that came before.

The Lil Wayne Remix of Genius is also stand out here though, and a great way to kick things off, along with a pulsating No New Friends (Dombresky Remix), Audio (CID Remix), and the go-to for all us fans now, The Aston Shuffle Remix of Heaven Can Wait.

As for the original, fans like me know that the disappointing part of its release back then was that LSD hyped this project up a ton, delayed it, appeared to only be releasing an EP without explanation, then barely talked about it forever thereafter, the album finally getting released some months later, so I am very happy that this wondrous EP has now been released!

Modest Mouse – Baron von Bullshit Rides Again Modest Mouse is releasing Baron Von Bullshit Rides Again for the first time ever on vinyl. The album was recorded live at The Social in Orlando, FL in 2004.

Side A:
1. 3rd Planet
2. Never Ending Math Equation
3. Wild Packs of Family Dogs
4. Broke
5. Paper Thin Walls
6. I Came As a Rat

Side B:
1. Doin’ the Cockroach
2. Bankrupt On Selling
3. Interstate 8
4. The Good Times Are Killing Me

Baron Von Bullshit Rides Again was recorded a week after the release of Good News For People That Like Bad News at a stretch of concerts at the Social in Orlando, FL, and was released two months later. Given this time frame Modest Mouse could have used Baron Von Bullshit as just another part in what would become the Float On hype machine, but luckily only one song from Good News..., The Good Times Are Killing Me, is found on the album.

Instead most of the cuts are from 2000’s The Moon & Antarctica and the B-Side and Rarity compilation Building Nothing Out of Something. For those looking for material from the earliest reaches of Modest Mouse’s career, you’re out of luck. Bankrupt on Selling and Doin’ the Cockroach from their sophomore release Lonesome Crowded West are as far back in time as Modest Mouse go on Baron Von Bullshit.

In all fairness it would have been nice to get at least a song from their debut or another song like Trailer Trash, Cowboy Dan, Tiny Cities Made of Ashes or any of the numerous other fan favorites that are absent from what is Modest Mouse’s only official live recording, but the performances that were culled for Baron Von Bullshit are more than enough for an outstanding RSD release.

Rage Against the Machine – Democratic National Convention 2000 Less than a year after the release of The Battle of Los Angeles, Rage Against the Machine waged their own battle of Los Angeles in the summer of 2000, staging an incendiary concert in protest of the American political party system across from the Staples Center while the Democratic National Convention was held inside. This raw, uncompromising set, which was previously released as part of Record Store Day 2018, is being reissued.

Side A:
1. Bulls On Parade
2. Testify
3. Guerilla Radio

Side B:
1. Sleep Now In The Fire
2. Freedom
3. Killing In The Name

Imagine, if you will, this scene: An incredibly, insanely chaotic experience was unfolding for as soon as RATM started, there was an almighty push, a swell that grew out of nowhere, and from thousands of people behind me. I was young, instantly separated from my friend. Had to jump to get fresh air. All of a sudden the crowd gave way, some open space, a man shirtless with a skull mask burning an American flag. I remember that vision very well, thinking to myself holy shit this is bad ass!

That was ME at this exact same show back in 2000 and man, I can still remember it as vividly today as if it had only just happened last week! Among the songs the band played were hits like “Killing In the Name,” “Bulls on Parade,” “Guerrilla Radio,” “Sleep Now In the Fire,” and more.

In between, the band spoke to the energized crowd, alluding to some of the political and social issues of the day (which, sadly, have only become more prevalent). “Brothers and sisters, our democracy has been hijacked,” vocalist Zack de la Rocha said before they launched into the first song. “Our electoral freedoms in this country are over so long as they’re controlled by corporations. We are not going to allow these streets to be taken over by the Democrats or the Republicans.”

At the end of the day, this live performance was RATM on musical fire, the band undeniably serving as a window into street politics, therein as many Americans first look into who truly holds power in our government and the painful suffering they will happily inflict in order to uphold it. Powerful stuff. Very powerful.

Whitney Houston – Love Is… (12″ MAXI) Celebrate Whitney Houston’s remarkable legacy with the special release of LOVE IS “Live From South Africa” and more, debuting exclusively for Record Store Day! This vinyl features the debut of the unreleased track “Love Is.”

After three decades, fans can enjoy various versions of this track, including a live rehearsal, an a-cappella rendition, and a remix by Carvin Winans. Additionally, the collection boasts two bonus tracks recorded live at Kings Park Stadium in Durban, South Africa, in 1994.

This historic performance marked Whitney as the first major Western artist to visit the newly unified, apartheid nation following Nelson Mandela’s winning election as President.

Side A:
1. Love Is (Studio Version)
2. Love Is (Carvin Winans Remix)
3. Love Is (Live Rehearsal)
4. Love Is (The Voice - A cappella)

Side B:
1. Touch The World (Live in Kings Park Stadium, Durban, South Africa - November 8, 1994)
2. Love Is (Live in Kings Park Stadium, Durban, South Africa - November 8, 1994)
3. Lover for Life (Live in Kings Park Stadium, Durban, South Africa - November 8, 1994)
4. Home (Live in Kings Park Stadium, Durban, South Africa - November 8, 1994)

Written by Carvin Winans and produced by Nat Adderley and Whitney Houston, “Love Is” is the only new studio song on this 12″ MAXI single, but that doesn’t matter. Having already been released to radio back in early November, the classic-sounding Whitney Houston track just floats you back to when everything was good in the world.

Additionally, Winans and Tommy Sims produced the “Love Is (Carvin Winans Remix),” which is also featured here on a recording that showcases how performances like this will always remain in the hearts of millions. Whitney made you feel her very heart and soul through her voice and performance and here we are brought forth a song with no auto tune, no dubbing or lip syncing. Just pure vocal savagery, clarity, tone and so much emotion.

Other tracks included are the joyful soul of Touch The World, a delightfully uplifting track that has you up on your feet dancing around the front room, along with Lover for Life (complete with an astounding amount of melodically riffs and runs), the live set rounding out on a simply electrifying performance of Home that stirs the soul.

In conclusion, this 12″ MAXI single live collection is a absolute, locked in recommendation for any Whitney Houston fan; and/or fans of just damn fine music, of course.

And finally, as promised, here are the other US Only Releases for RSD that also came out this past Black Friday:

Keith Murray – The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World: 30th Anniversary Edition Keith Murray first came up in the world of Hip Hop as a part of the group Def Squad. Other Squad members were Redman (later of Wu-Tang Clan) and Erick Sermon (from EPMD). On The Most Beautifullest Thing In The World Sermon serves as the main producer, with a contribution from Redman also in the mix – as well as a contribution from Busta Rhymes.

Murray’s debut tore right up to the number 34 slot on Billboard’s Top 200 and a Top 10 position on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. In celebration of the 30th Anniversary of this stellar recording Get On Down presents The Most Beautifullest Thing in the most beautifullest fashion yet seen – as a double LP in a Black Friday exclusive colored pressing housed in a gatefold jacket with an OBI.

To keep things more beautiful, the reissue closes out with selections previously issued only on 12 inches.

Raekwon – Immobilarity: 25th Anniversary Edition In 1999 Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon issued the follow up to his now legendary solo debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx with Immobilarity. Dropping in November of 1999 the record hit the Top 10 on US album charts and was certified gold by the RIAA within a month. For the 25th Anniversary of this landmark recording Get On Down presents Immobilarity as a double LP in a never to be repeated colored vinyl run housed a gatefold jacket with lyrics included and topped off with a collectable OBI.

Souls Of Mischief – No Man’s Land 1995 saw Oakland crews Souls of Mischief follow up their stellar debut release with No Man’s Land, an all too often overlooked gem from the golden era of hip hop. The release landed in the Billboard Top 200 – peeking at a respectful No. 27 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album Chart. No Man’s Land was not commercially released on vinyl in the US when first issued, in fact the record has never seen an official US reissue. Get On Down now presents No Man’s Land as a double LP in a gatefold jacket with an OBI – and of course in a colored vinyl run exclusively for RSD Black Friday.

Too $hort – Cocktails Too $hort dropped Cocktails in January of 1995. By February of that year – the release had moved over 100,000 copies hitting the number six slot on the Billboard Top 200. The record went on to platinum status by the end of the year.

Guests include MC Breed, The Dangerous Crew, and the album’s producer Ant Banks as well as Tupac Shakur. Amazingly Cocktails has never seen a commercial vinyl issue. Get On Down rectifies that oversite on RSD Black Friday with an exclusive colored vinyl reissue with the double LP housed in a gatefold jacket and topped off with a collectible OBI.

www.RecordStoreDay.com