Author Archives: TVD HQ

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Nearly six decades after they helped ignite Minnesota’s garage rock explosion, The High Spirits are celebrated with a career retrospective album, I Believe, out October 16 from Sundazed Music. Available on LP and CD, and now available for pre-order, the full-length album gathers the band’s complete run of coveted 1960s singles alongside 10 additional recordings from the vault, many released for the first time, documenting the evolution of one of the Twin Cities’ most influential teenage bands.

Including extensive liner notes chronicling the band’s extraordinary story, I Believe stands as the definitive document of The High Spirits’ brief but unforgettable career, one that helped shape the foundation for the Twin Cities’ rich rock tradition, and gives one of the region’s most important garage bands the full-length album they never had the chance to make.

The High Spirits’ evolving lineup included Owen Husney, Doug Ahrens, Cliff Siegel, John “Jay” Luttio, Brad Berguson, and David “Z” Rivkin, who recently passed, making I Believe an especially meaningful celebration of his enduring musical legacy and the band’s lasting impact on generations of Minnesota musicians.

Long before Minneapolis became synonymous with boundary-pushing rock, The High Spirits were laying the groundwork. Their raw blend of British Invasion energy, garage rock swagger, blue-eyed soul, and increasingly adventurous psychedelia helped define the burgeoning Twin Cities music scene while inspiring countless musicians who followed. Three members would later play key roles during the earliest years of Prince’s Minneapolis musical empire, but it all began with the fearless teenage spirit captured on these recordings.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | The Go-Betweens are one of the most beloved and influential Australian groups of all-time and were the quintessential cult band. Throughout their hugely acclaimed career they sustained an unparalleled artistic consistency which year by year matched the very best of their contemporaries.

We are pleased to announce that their three Beggars Banquet albums will be made available individually on vinyl for the first time in over 30 years. The records were remastered in 2019 for the second volume of Domino’s G Stands For Go-Betweens Anthology, and will also be available on CD.

The albums were recorded in what could be called the band’s “London Years”—when they lived and recorded in the city. Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express (1986) and Tallulah (1987) are studio albums, while Fountains Of Youth, catches the group in imperious form at the Town and Country Club in May 1987.

Many of the songs for 16 Lovers Lane (1988) were written at this time, before the band returned to Sydney to record the album. The majestic sun-filled “Streets Of Your Town” was the first single off the record.

Formed in Brisbane in 1978, Grant McLennan and Robert Forster were two Queensland University students with a passion for films, mid-Sixties Bob Dylan, and the New York punk scene. They both sang, played guitar, and wrote songs. The set up of the band with two independent singer-songwriters at the helm was an unusual one, but in this case, it worked beautifully. Robert’s edgy, dark romantic compositions were perfectly balanced by Grant’s highly melodic, pop poetic contributions.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Thirty years after Butthole Surfers crashed into the mainstream with their landmark 1996 album Electriclarryland, Capitol Record Club commemorates the anniversary with a definitive new collector’s edition celebrating one of alternative rock’s most daring and influential releases.

Available August 28, this exclusive Capitol Record Club edition presents Electriclarryland as a newly remastered 2LP 45 RPM set, mastered for vinyl by Levi Seitz, giving the album’s explosive dynamics, dense sonic textures, and production greater depth and clarity. The album is now available for pre-order.

Released in the summer of 1996, Electriclarryland introduced a broader audience to the Butthole Surfers’ singular universe while refusing to compromise its gloriously unhinged identity.

Anchored by the unlikely alternative radio smash “Pepper,” the album remains one of the defining alternative albums of the 1990s and a testament to the fearless creativity that made the band one of underground music’s most influential acts.

The expanded 30th-anniversary edition gathers four rare recordings from the Electriclarryland era. Included are “Hybrid,” originally released as a non-album track on international editions of the “Pepper” single; soundtrack contributions “Pottery” and “Whatever (I Had a Dream)”; and the previously unreleased “Valuable Charcoal,” making this the most comprehensive vinyl edition of the album to date.

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We’ve closed TVD’s HQ for our annual summer break. While we’re away, why not fire up our Record Store Locator app and visit one of your local indie record stores?

Perhaps there’s an interview, review, or feature you might have missed? Catch up, and we’ll see you back here Monday, 8/10.

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Sony Music Vision is proud to announce that Queen Budapest, the first Western stadium rock show to take place behind the Iron Curtain, and the final filmed Queen live performance, will be presented in cinemas and IMAX worldwide beginning October 7 through Trafalgar Releasing.

Queen Budapest will be released to mark the 40th anniversary of this pivotal moment in the band’s history, and the film has been meticulously restored in 4K from the original filmed 35mm footage by Sir Peter Jackson’s Park Road Post Production facility in New Zealand, with newly remixed audio from the original multitrack recordings to deliver the most immersive presentation of the performance to date.

Captured on July 27, 1986, at Budapest’s Népstadion, during the band’s “The Magic Tour,” the concert was a groundbreaking moment, as Queen became the first Western rock band to perform behind the Iron Curtain during a period of profound cultural and political change. In addition to 80,000 tickets selling out, an estimated 45,000 people listened to the group outside, and some fans had travelled from as far away as Russia and Poland to see the concert.

The show was professionally filmed on 35 mm movie film by 17 of Hungary’s best cameramen. The gear employed included 17 cameras and 25 miles of film, which was all that was available in the country, and the Hungarian government approved the entire operation, which was a first for a Communist State.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Soon has been a long time coming. The new album from Scott Fagan has been some 55 years in the making. Its songs, all drawn from the 1971 Broadway rock opera of the same name that Fagan conceived and wrote with songwriting partner Joe Kookoolis, were originally intended as the follow-up to his classic 1968 debut, South Atlantic Blues, but fate intervened.

A radical call-to-arms against the complacency of the modern world, and a tone poem about art, radicalism, commerce, and corruption, the rock opera told an age-old story of an artist forced to make a devil’s bargain between their principles and success. It drew on Fagan’s own experiences in the music industry, and featured him in the lead role, alongside Richard Gere, Barry Bostwick (later the lead in Grease and The Rocky Horror Show), Joe Butler (of Lovin’ Spoonful), Vicki Sue Robinson, and Peter Allen.

The original Broadway production, subject to creative meddling that compromised its creators’ vision, closed the day after its opening. A year later, it was restaged in Los Angeles for a brief two-week run. Then Fagan’s opus was lost to time. The album was shelved, never to be recorded or heard. Until now.

Recorded over seven days in July 2025 at Sam Phillips Recording Service in Memphis, a hallowed studio that has hosted Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Alex Chilton, and The Cramps among others, the sessions found the now 80-year-old singer-songwriter working with a crack Memphis rhythm section—drummer Terence Clark (Brandi Carlisle, Keith Urban), guitarist Steve Selvidge (The Hold Steady, North Mississippi All Stars) and keyboardist Rick Steff (Cat Power, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, Lucero).

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MoFi), the leader in high-fidelity audio reissues, is proud to announce the definitive audiophile reissue of Michael Jackson’s 1987 album, Bad.

Marking the fourth chapter in MoFi’s ongoing quest for sonic perfection across the King of Pop’s legendary catalog, this landmark album will be available August 21, 2026, as an UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP Box Set, strictly limited to 6,000 numbered copies (pre-order HERE). The label will also reissue the album on numbered-edition Hybrid SACD complete with mini-LP-style gatefold packaging.

Sourced from the original masters (Mitsubishi X-80 16-bit/48kHz digital master to analog console to lathe), housed in a deluxe slipcase, and pressed on MoFi vinyl at Fidelity Record Pressing, MoFi’s UltraDisc One-Step box set delivers this 11-times-platinum smash in audiophile quality for the first time. The set notably includes the bonus track “Leave Me Alone,” which was left off original vinyl editions.

Rendered on this reissue with enhanced balance, presence, physicality, imaging, and weight, BAD showcases Jackson’s signature vocals with lifelike detail and dimensions. This collectible set plays with a level of energy, crispness, and smoothness that throws into relief the innovative technology and instrumentation that help provide the foundations for Jackson’s brilliant compositions.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Trafalgar Releasing and Rhino Entertainment are proud to announce the return of a beloved annual tradition: the “Grateful Dead Meet-Up At The Movies.”

Screening in select territories worldwide, this year’s highly anticipated event will take place on Saturday, August 8 and Monday, August 10, beginning during “The Days Between,” the annual period honoring the band’s legendary frontman, Jerry Garcia, from August 1 (his birthdate) to August 9 (his passing). Tickets for “Meet-Up At The Movies” are on sale now at MeetUpAtTheMovies.com.

This can’t-miss global cinema event will see Dead Heads around the globe gather to celebrate the complete, historic June 17, 1991 concert from Giants Stadium, featuring Jerry Garcia, Bobby Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, and with Bruce Hornsby and Vince Welnick on keys. Opening with a shocking “Eyes Of The World,” the Dead were firing on all cylinders from the opening notes of the show, mixing beloved classics like “Truckin’” and “Uncle John’s Band” with rarities including “Saint Of Circumstance,” “Might As Well,” “New Speedway Boogie,” and “China Doll.”

But the real standout was the recurrence of “Dark Star,” which wove in and out of the setlist, making no less than six distinct appearances and teases during the show. The Dead capped off the spectacular night with a perfect song to send the crowd on its way—The Band’s “The Weight.”

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Oh Boy Records—which celebrates its 45th Anniversary in 2026—has announced the October 9th release of Found Dogs, a newly curated John Prine archival release celebrating the 30th anniversary of Prine’s 1995 LP, Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings.

Assembled from the original recording sessions and demos from the era, Found Dogs collects alternate takes, acoustic solo performances, and five previously unreleased Prine originals, offering listeners an intimate look at his songwriting and studio process during a pivotal era of his career. Initially previewed in April as a limited-edition run of 2000 LPs for Record Store Day, Found Dogs will be widely available physically and digitally on October 9th, a day before what would have been Prine’s 80th birthday on October 10th.

Out today, the single “World Without Love” is accompanied by a lyric video featuring never-before-seen Super 8 film footage of Prine on a family vacation in the early 1970s. An outtake from the Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings sessions, “World Without Love” is one of five previously unheard, original John Prine songs in the set.

In addition to the release of Found Dogs, Oh Boy Records and the Prine family recently celebrated the release of John Prine: Live at Old Town School of Folk, a collection of 28 tracks captured during his headline performance at Old Town’s annual “Blue Jean Gala” benefit concert and fundraiser in his home city of Chicago, IL.

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And it’s a giveaway!

Here at The Vinyl District, we’re big on protection—not of the firearm variety, but smart common-sense measures to protect our vinyl investment(s), which is why we’re delighted to introduce you to ClearKeep Premium Collectible Storage Sleeves—quite literally the finest sleeves we’ve ever wrapped around a record.

What struck us first was the thickness of the sleeves—3.5 mil, which may sound like in-the-weeds stuff, but truly makes a difference in protective strength and stability. Second, as the name implies, they’re crystal-clear—no hazy plastic here. Our records literally shine in these gems. Lastly, and they really don’t make mention of this but we will—they ship flat, not folded—so there are no awkward folds or bends when you get down to the last few in the pack. It’s a nuance we really appreciate.

So, we said to the ClearKeep folks, “Let’s put these on readers’ radar!” And as such, we’re happy to sponsor this giveaway to introduce you to something Clearly needed by any serious collector or those just getting the vinyl bug. First up, though, some official background:

ClearKeep has announced the launch of its premium vinyl record outer sleeves, designed to address common frustrations that collectors and record stores face with traditional record protection products.

Many vinyl record sleeves on the market are thin, cloudy, prone to splitting, or diminish the presentation of the albums they are meant to protect. ClearKeep was created to offer a premium alternative focused on clarity, durability, and collector presentation.

Designed for both vinyl collectors and retail environments, ClearKeep outer sleeves are engineered to be crystal clear, thicker, and stronger than standard record sleeves while helping preserve album covers and improve shelf presentation.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Sun Records continues its commitment to preserving one of the most influential catalogs in American music with two upcoming archival releases that uncover pivotal chapters in the label’s history.

Arriving this August and September, expanded editions from outlaw country pioneer David Allan Coe and Memphis rock favorites The Gentrys bring previously unreleased recordings, newly restored audio and long-overlooked sessions to longtime fans and a new generation of listeners. Together, the projects reflect Sun Records’ ongoing investment in celebrating the artists, recordings and stories that helped define American music while continuing to expand access to one of the industry’s most storied catalogs.

“The Sun catalog is so much more than a collection of recordings; it’s a living archive of American music,” said Laura Pochodylo, Director of Marketing & Strategy for Sun Records. “With every archival release, we’re preserving that history while uncovering stories that have remained untold for decades. Projects like these allow fans to experience familiar artists in new ways and discover chapters of the Sun story that have never been fully heard.”

The first release, David Allan Coe’s Texas Moon (Deluxe), arrives August 21, expanding an important early chapter in the legendary outlaw artist’s career. Originally recorded in 1973 for Shelby Singleton’s Plantation Records, the album captured Coe performing songs by many of his greatest influences, including Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Billy Joe Shaver, and Jackson Browne, backed by Coe’s road band. Although the recordings were not officially released until 1977, after Coe had moved to Columbia Records, they remain an important snapshot of his formative years as a recording artist.

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