The TVD Storefront

Graded on a Curve: Paul McCartney and Wings, Venus and Mars (50th Anniversary Half-Speed Master)

Venus and Mars from Wings, released in 1975, doesn’t often receive the recognition it so rightly deserves. Its release two years after Band on the Run came out often overshadows just how good an album it is in every way. Band on the Run may be McCartney’s best solo work and easily one of the best albums of the watershed 1970s, but Venus and Mars is an exceptional Wings album and one that holds up well 50 years later.

Like Band on the Run, the album is very much a thematic, unified effort and the group’s traveling outside of London to an exotic locale to work on it aided in making it such a strong effort and a timeless recording. Also, as with Band on the Run, internal band chaos brought about yet another change in the Wings lineup, with drummer Geoff Britton departing and Joe English taking over. While initial recordings for Band on the Run took place in Lagos in Africa, Venus and Mars was largely recorded in New Orleans, with some sessions In London, Nashville, and Los Angeles.

McCartney’s choice of recording locales once again reflected his desire to try new things and find ways to keep refreshing his music. While there are touches of an African influence on Band on the Run, Venus and Mars does not in any way tip off the listener that some of the music was either recorded or conceived in New Orleans or Nashville. Unlike other artists who record in various places to appropriate those locales’ musical or cultural color, McCartney maintains the focus on his impeccable songs and thematic ideas.

The unique sounds or local players of a given region don’t so much influence the music as allow McCartney to produce the music and sounds he hears in his head, while also giving the musicians an opportunity to improvise what will best suit the songs. It sounds simple, but it’s also part of McCartney’s genius, not just as a songwriter, but as essentially the producer of his own recordings even when operating in a group setting and/or with a producer.

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The TVD Storefront

Graded on a Curve:
Peter Holsapple,
The Face of 68

As a member of the dB’s, Peter Holsapple is an indisputable heavyweight in the history of guitar pop, having made additional contributions to the scene as a member of the Continental Drifters and more recently, The Paranoid Style. He’s also releasing his third solo album The Face of 68 through Label 51 Recordings. It stretches the boundaries of the sound that’s commonly associated with Holsapple while retaining the recognizable characteristics that have defined his body of work. A limited vinyl pressing hit stores for Record Store Day with the full release available on April 18.

The Face of 68’s opener “Anytime Soon” is a tough rocker with a solid melodic underpinning and bold production including a few high tech spurts that land in the middle of the zone between gloss and static. The song connects as distinct from anything Holsapple’s done before, but it’s still familiar, in large part due to the songwriting and the sound of his voice, which is the first thing heard on the LP.

The album was recorded by the core trio of Robert Sledge (of the Ben Folds Five) on bass and Rob Ladd (of The Connells) on drums, and the songs often sport a hard rock edge. Still fibrous but with Holsapple playing all the instruments (including keyboard), the title track has a Link Wray-like foundation, but handles it subtly, as a pop sensibility comes to the fore.

“The Face of 68” does connect like it was assembled in the studio rather than honed in the practice space (not a knock), but then “Larger Than Life” follows with a muscular groove that might’ve succumbed to the hackneyed if the songwriting wasn’t so smart and Holsapple’s singing didn’t tap so nicely into that old school Southern College Rock tone. The late turn to the psychedelic is also a positive.

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A morning mix of news for the vinyl inclined

In rotation: 4/16/25

New York, NY | Vinyl enthusiasts line up for Record Store Day: Record Store Day, a biannual event aimed at promoting independent record and music stores, kicked off Saturday, with vinyl enthusiasts lined up at Rock and Soul in Midtown, Manhattan. “Bring a book, bring a blanket, bring a chair. It’s not the beach, but it’ll do,” customer Steven Weissman, who lined up outside the record store around 5 p.m. Friday, said. “It’s just very cold. I’m very tired,” Hailey Helsel, another customer near the front of the line, said. Dephyrus Jiang was the first in line for the Wicked vinyl, which he managed to score once the doors opened at 8 a.m. He got on line at 3 p.m. on Friday. “I’ve been doing this since day one. I’ve done different record stores, this is one of the best though,” said Bruce Alexander, who says he’s taken part in Record Store Day every year since it began. …Helsel said it was her first time in a record store.

Winnipeg, CA | Record Store Day brings dozens of audiophiles together to seek limited edition vinyl: Dozens of eagerly awaiting vinyl collectors gathered across the city today to seek some hard to find gems on Record Store Day. “We had a lineup at the door of I think there were 45 people in line,” said Greg Tonn, owner of Into The Music in The Exchange District. “Record Store Day is a celebration of the unique contribution that independent record stores make to music culture in general. It’s been going on for almost 20 years now.” Tonn said his store which will celebrate 38 years in June, has participated in the biannual event since the second year it began. The worldwide event which started in 2008 features a whole schedule of brand new and unique items available in limited quantity. Six different music stores in Winnipeg participated in the limited release of vinyl this spring.

Green Bay, WI | Vinyl lovers gather at Rock N’ Roll Land in Green Bay for Record Store Day releases: Vinyl fans packed the sidewalk outside Rock N’ Roll Land Saturday morning, some camping out overnight, all hoping to score rare and exclusive releases for Record Store Day. Doors opened at 7 a.m., but the line started forming a day earlier. The first 50 people in line received goodie bags, while all shoppers were treated to free coffee, donuts, and live music from a DJ spinning from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Used records and CDs were also marked down to half price. “Today is Record Store Day. It’s a national event. It happens once a year—they do several hundred limited releases,” said Todd Magnuson, owner of Rock N’ Roll Land. “We’ve had people line up as early as yesterday at six in the morning.” This year, Magnuson went all in, ordering every title on the official Record Store Day list, which included more than 330 limited-edition vinyl drops.

Windsor, ON | Vinyl lovers jam out at Windsor shops on Record Store Day: In an era where background noise squeals louder than ever, Jason Hoffer finds peace in the tunes flowing out of his record player. The owner of Going Thru Vinyl Records on Ottawa Street believes it can help overcome the world’s “divisive” nature. “My wife, daughter, and I go upstairs into the attic, we put on records, and we put all the devices away, and I just drop the needle,” Hoffer told CTV News. On Saturday, Hoffer’s passion was shared with hundreds of customers who waltzed through his door in search of the newest record to add to their collection. As part of Record Store Day, recognized in markets across the world, music aficionados celebrate independent brick-and-mortar businesses, and their collective passion. In its 18th edition, shops like Hoffers are filled with unique offerings which include limited edition or new vinyl. “It’s probably the best [release] list ever since the beginning of Record Store Day,” Hoffer said.

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TVD UK

TVD Live Shots: Godsmack, P.O.D., and Drowning Pool at the Eventim Apollo, 4/7

The sold-out crowd at London’s Eventim Apollo saw Godsmack in a state of flux last week. With Will Hunt (Evanescence) filling in on drums and Sam Koltun (Dorothy, Faster Pussycat) handling lead guitar duties in place of Shannon Larkin and Tony Rombola, longtime fans had reason for skepticism. But from the moment they launched into “Surrender,” it was clear we weren’t getting some watered-down version of the band.

Sully Erna stalked the stage like a man with something to prove, carrying the same pissed-off intensity that’s been his trademark since their 1998 debut. Hunt and Merrill locked in immediately. During “1000hp,” Hunt’s thunderous attack had the floor section visibly rippling while never losing the groove. Cue the mosh pit and stage divers.

Koltun faced the night’s biggest challenge, stepping into shoes most guitarists wouldn’t touch. Smart enough to skip the carbon-copy approach, he found his own lane within Rombola’s framework. During “Voodoo,” lit in violent reds and purples, he leaned into the track’s hypnotic pulse, nailing the signature licks while adding flashes of his own style. Nothing showy. Just solid, confident playing with the right amount of bite. The kid can play. He threaded his own personality through those familiar riffs without losing what made them work in the first place. By the second chorus, nobody was missing Rombola anymore.

Critics have dismissed Godsmack as Metallica-meets-Alice in Chains since day one. So what? From my perch in the balcony, beer in hand, I couldn’t care less about originality scorecards. Sometimes familiar ingredients, mixed right, just hit the spot. What I heard was a band that took those influences and hammered them into something that dominated rock radio for decades. Judging by the crowd’s reaction, it still matters.

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The TVD Storefront

TVD Radar: Celia Cruz
& Willie Colon, Celia y Willie soft gold vinyl reissue in stores 6/6

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Craft Latino continues the year-long centennial celebration of Celia Cruz with a reissue for Celia y Willie, her timeless collaboration with legendary bandleader Willie Colón. Featuring such favorites as “Dos jueyes,” “Latinos en Estados Unidos,” and “Cucurucucú paloma,” the 1981 release marked the second of three albums from the superstar pair.

Arriving on June 6th, and available for pre-order today, Celia y Willie has been remastered from its original master tapes by Clint Holley and Dave Polster at Well Made Music and pressed on 180-gram vinyl. A limited-edition “Oro Suave” (soft gold) color vinyl variant (limited to 300 copies), with an exclusive bundle option that includes a collectible Vaya Records logo T-shirt, is available at Fania.com.

Throughout 2025, Craft Latino is honoring Celia Cruz and her incredible contributions to the musical landscape with a series of vinyl and digital reissues, playlists, video content, and more. Visit the Celia Cruz Centennial page for more details about the celebration. As one of the most influential Latin artists of all time, Cruz was an internationally beloved star who sold over 10 million records during her five-decade-long career.

A ten-time GRAMMY® nominee, Cruz was honored throughout her life and beyond with numerous awards, exhibits, commemorative stamps, samples by major artists, and tributes, including a National Medal of the Arts, a Smithsonian Lifetime Achievement Award, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a posthumous GRAMMY® Lifetime Achievement Award. Cruz was also inducted into the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame and the International Latin Music Hall of Fame, among others, while in 2024, she became the first Afro-Latina to appear on U.S. currency through the American Women’s Quarter Program.

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The TVD Storefront

Graded on a Curve: Herbie Mann, Push Push & Herb Alpert, Blow Your Own Horn

Remembering Herbie Mann in advance of his birthdate tomorrow.
Ed.

Good morning class. I stand before you today to discuss a very important but relatively unexamined musical sub-genre. I’m talking, of course, about shirtless jazz. The “Shirtless Jazz Age” began at the dawn of the 1970s and came to an end in the mid-1980s, and at its peak buried excited record buyers in a virtual avalanche of bared nipples.

Jazz expert Roy Mantooth, author of the definitive shirtless jazz oral history Take It Off! , writes, “Free jazz was out. Free nipples were in. Shirts were for squares and white guys recording on the snobby Windham Hill label. As for the music, who really cared?”

And Mantooth was right. Because shirtless jazz had nothing whatsoever to do with music, and everything to do with posing shirtless on album covers. I’ve never even listened to the LPs in my carefully curated shirtless jazz collection, and I consider myself an expert in the field. Like children, shirtless jazz should be seen, not heard.

Historically, the movement was bookended by two bare-breasted titans. At the vanguard we have the great Herbie Mann, whose pioneering 1971 LP Push Push brought bold, topless improvisation to the Down Beat crowd. As Amiri Baraka noted in 1987’s The Music: Reflections on Jazz and Blues, “Something changed after Push Push hit the record stores. Discarded shirts soon filled the trash cans behind jazz clubs all across America.”

Push Push was a radical statement indeed; Herbie stands boldly on the cover like a swinger departing an orgy, hairy chest pelt slathered in WD-40, flute flung insouciantly over a naked shoulder, a decidedly smug post-coital pout on his face. Mann didn’t just invent shirtless jazz with Push Push; he suggested that the flute had other possibilities, creatively salacious uses that didn’t bear thinking about.

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TVD UK

UK Artist of the Week: Lacuna

Scottish alt-folk band Lacuna recently dropped their new single “Creature Comforts” just in time for Mother’s Day.

An ode to the bonds of motherhood and the changing seasons, the single is set against a bed of hazy folk-rock, yearning strings, and warming melodies. Imbued with nostalgia and heartfelt introspection, it’s a gorgeous release that not only marks the return of brighter days, but also an exciting new chapter for the talented outfit.

Talking about the release, front person Emily Beckwith says, “This is one of my all time favourite songs we’ve done, it’s about the day to day of working through the dark mornings and nights before the light starts to creep back in. Also how much I’ve seen my Mum in myself over the past few years. I’m now the same age she was when she had me.”

Born from a wild night at Glasgow’s Slouch Bar, the folk-rock sextet has grown within a tight-knit circle of friends and musicians. Since their formation, the band has consistently released beautifully written and produced music, earning attention from BBC Introducing and The Scottish Alternative Music Awards with their haunting folk-rock style.

“Creature Comforts” is in stores now.

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The TVD Storefront

Graded on a Curve: Cavestomp! Volume One – A Torrent of Talent!

Released for Record Store Day but with copies still available, Cavestomp! Volume One – A Torrent of Talent! collects live tracks by garage rock bruisers from the genre’s 1960s heyday amongst a batch of bands who followed in the, uh, footsteps of those style-defining bands to indeed stomp out some no frills high energy racket of their own. With Fleshtones frontman Peter Zaremba sharing MC duties with that compiler of Original Artyfacts Lenny Kaye, the celebratory atmosphere is as potent as the tunes are ripping. It’s safe to say this album is the next best thing to being there.

Many (and perhaps all) of the tracks on this comp have been previously released through the Cavestomp label on a series of CDs. Cavestomp! Volume One delivers a vinyl debut with the promise of a follow-up installment, likely for a Record Store Day in the not too distant future. The scoop on Cavestomp is that the events, instigated by John Weiss, span all the way back to the 1980s in the midst of a considerable neo-garage boom. However, the earliest songs on this set date from a reunion event of sorts held in 1997 at Coney Island High in New York City.

Numerous annual Cavestomp celebrations followed with the template essentially unchanged: To corral under the same performance umbrella reunited garage bands from the 1960s, many of which were included on the Kaye-compiled first Nuggets volume released in 1972, with outfits formed in the ’70s-’90s that are solidly in the garage tradition.

Cavestomp! Volume One makes clear that combining old and new schools of garage science is a smart impulse. If Beatles-Stones-Kinks-Yardbirds-Animals-Byrds is the foundation for the original garage bands, what they spat out as one-hit wonders and near misses was still an early iteration of punk rock. And so, the sounds of The Chocolate Watchband, The Monks, The Standells, and the Sonics weaves very productively with tracks from younger bands The Hatebombs, The Henchmen, The Mooney Suzuki, The Secret Service, The Mosquitos, and The Greenhornes.

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A morning mix of news for the vinyl inclined

In rotation: 4/15/25

Hattiesburg, MS | ‘Record Store Day’ focuses on independent music stores: Family-owned music stores across the U.S. were celebrated Saturday as part of Record Store Day. It’s a semi-annual event focused on independent music stores, like T-Bones Records & Cafe in Hattiesburg. “It’s so fun seeing all the people online with their lists, prepared, excited, ready for music, ready for the experience of being in a record store, which is something that I am pleased to say, seems to be crossing generations,” said Mik Davis, T Bones Records & Cafe record store manager. Saturday, the record store had several new vinyl releases, live music and other activities to celebrate Record Store Day. Among the customers buying vinyl records was Laila Rollin, who was visiting from California. “I just like the old-fashioned nature of it,” Rollin said. “There’s just something about the sound of one that’s coming out of that record player.”

Louisville, KY | Record Store Day was celebrated nationally and in Louisville Saturday. Record Store Day sings to music lovers with coveted special releases and discounts for vinyl albums. Several stores around Louisville participated including Better Days Records on Barret Avenue and Guestroom Records on Frankfort Avenue. Some fans lined up for hours, while some braved the outdoor elements overnight for their chance to get rare and coveted albums. There were music giveaways and discounts on records. “It’s a really lovely celebration where we get a lot of new customers that have never been here before that really want this limited release that is only out for Record Store Day and we get to make a lot of new friends and bring a lot of people in,” said Lisa Foster, owner of Guestroom Records. Foster estimated around 200 to 300 people were waiting in line for doors to open Saturday morning.

Chicago, IL | Long lines, rare finds mark Record Store Day in Chicago: If you’re a fan of vinyl records, Saturday was your day. Music lovers from coast to coast celebrated National Record Store Day — and Chicago, the birthplace of so much great music, was no exception. The line outside Reckless Records in the Loop stretched down the block. Some audiophiles camped out as early as 2 a.m. “You can’t play around with days like this, man. You end up coming here at 5 a.m. thinking you’re coming early. The whole line will be down the street. You won’t even get what you want,” said Wanya. And what they want might be hard to find. “We love Record Store Day because it has people coming into the store. That’s important. We’re really happy about that.”

Indio, CA | Coachella 2025: Record Safari returns for the festival for Record Store Day: Fans lined up hoping to catch rare finds, Coachella artist vinyl records and more. While DJs spin their records and headliners take the stage with breathtaking performances at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, fans can get a little piece of the action to take home with them at the festival’s Record Safari. This year, Record Store Day landed on Saturday, April 12, during the first weekend of Coachella, offering fans the opportunity to participate in what has become an international celebration of vinyl collection at independently owned brick-and-mortar record stores around the world. At Coachella’s Record Safari, fans can visit a fully air-conditioned shop right by the festival’s entrance to explore a collection of used and new records curated by Alex Rodriguez, who previously owned the Glass House Record Store in Pomona, which closed last year.

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TVD Washington, DC

TVD Live Shots: Imminence with Landmvrks and Jiluka
at the Fillmore Silver Spring, 4/4

Music fans in the Washington, DC area are always up for a good metal show. That’s what they got Friday night (4/4), when Swedish metalcore outfit Imminence stormed the Fillmore Silver Spring on the band’s Return of the Black tour. The trés international lineup on this tour includes France’s Landmvrks and Japan’s Jiluka.

It was pandemonium right out of the gate when Jiluka hit the stage at 7:30 PM. I’ll admit to being a bit unprepared for the energy from both the band and the already large crowd, despite being given a heads up from both security and a fellow photographer that things would be wild. The foursome took the stage to massive enthusiasm from the crowd and wasted no time serving up its self-proclaimed brand of electro-gothic metal. The band is led by Riko; her death metal vocals were the dark gothic icing on the band’s death metal cake.

While drummer Zyean pounded away at the back of the stage, Riko, along with guitarist Sena and bassist Boogie, towered over the Fillmore crowd on risers situated at the front of the stage while lit garishly. Jiluka’s music is dark, heavy, and brutal, a perfect accompaniment to the raging crowd surfing on the Fillmore’s floor. Jiluka smashed their way through five tracks, which included their newest release “Kvlt.”

Batting second on the tour is Landmvrks (pronounced “Landmarks”). This metalcore band (Florent Salfati, Rudy Purkart, Kevin D’Agostino, Nicholas Exposito, and Paul Cordebard) hail from Marseille, France, and is promoting their upcoming album, The Darkest Place I’ve Ever Been, set for release late this month.

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The TVD Storefront

TVD Radar: Trigger, Second Round reissue
in stores 5/30

VIA PRESS RELEASE | In the mid ’70s, Trigger earned a reputation along the Jersey Shore for their electrifying live shows, airtight harmonies, and arena-ready riffs, earning them a deal with Casablanca Records thanks to support from labelmates KISS. They are the reason Triumph didn’t name themselves Trigger, as first planned. Upon finishing their second album, Casablanca abruptly shuttered, their album shelved. Now, decades later, Second Round will finally be heard, offering a time capsule to a band at peak creativity—undeniably powerful, unapologetically melodic, and long overdue for the recognition.

Second Round finally brings to life the lost chapter of Trigger’s story. Their 1978 self-titled debut showcased dynamic songwriting and relentless energy, leading them to tour with Cheap Trick and The Godz. They quickly begin work on a second album. Recorded at the legendary Record Plant and Electric Lady Studios, Second Round would be the next step, but it was never released. Thanks to a record-collecting friend of guitarist Richie House, Ba Da Bing was made aware of this offense and devised plans to right things.

First up is “Sore Loser,” a powerhouse single that embodies the unfiltered energy and melodic punch of a ’70s hard rock who were the reason Triumph didn’t call themselves Trigger, as first planned. With scorching guitar solos, airtight harmonies, and a driving rhythm section, the track channels the band’s signature sound—equal parts grit and polish. “Sore Loser” is a testament to Trigger’s knack for crafting anthemic, high-voltage rock that feels both timeless and urgent. Now, 46 years later, the song finally gets its moment, proving that true rock and roll never fades—it just lays in wait for the right time to strike.

In early 1979, Trigger walked out of Electric Lady Studios with a completed second album. Mere months had passed since their self-titled debut came out on Casablanca Records, home to KISS and Parliament. The band had toured with Cheap Trick and The Godz, met Bruce Springsteen and Joni Mitchell, and things were looking bright.

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The TVD Storefront

Graded on a Curve:
Deep Purple,
Machine Head

Celebrating Ritchie Blackmore on his 80th birthday.Ed.

If I’ve never come forward publicly about the indelible mark I made on rock history at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1971, it’s because I’m still peeved that Deep Purple saw fit to slander me as “Some stupid with a flare gun” in their big hit single “Smoke on the Water.” Firing that flare gun into the roof of the Montreux Casino may not have been the smartest thing I’ve ever done, but STUPID? I was EXCITED, and I just happened to have a flare gun on my person, and one thing led to another and before I knew it the rattan ceiling was on fire and all manner of shrieks were freaking towards the exits.

But enough personal history and on to Deep Purple, a band that I’ve always had reservations about. I find the English heavy metal avatars ponderous, plodding, and unduly portentous, and if you don’t know what I mean I direct you to “Smoke on the Water,” which is the very un-lightweight little ditty they’ll probably best be remembered for and which I can only describe as a very stoned dinosaur stomping in slow dazed circles to the accompaniment of one gargantuan and omnipresent guitar riff.

That said, Deep Purple–who after a lot of early creative experimentation and moments of serendipitous genius finally settled upon a sound that combined elements of prog rock and the grinding blues-based hard rock that would become known as heavy metal–had their moments, and lots of them are to be found on their sixth and most commercially successful LP, 1972’s Machine Head. From its very metallic (the title’s stamped in steel!) cover to its far-out boogie numbers Machine Head is one wild ride, what with Ian Gillian’s shriek, Ritchie Blackmore’s blazing guitar, Jon Lord’s “I am two separate gorillas” organ, and the positively intimidating drumming of Sir Ian Paice, who has yet to be knighted but certainly ought to be lest he become angry and start throwing punches.

Deep Purple originally intended to record this baby at the Montreux Casino in Switzerland, but that was before, well, I’ve already broken my long silence about the fire that “burned the place to the ground.” After deciding that it probably wouldn’t be a very good idea to record their next album atop a smoking ruins, they retreated to the empty Grand Hotel at the outskirts of Montreux, and with the help of the Rolling Stones’ mobile recording unit proceeded to make this surprisingly uptempo (by D.P. standards) piece of music history, which the very clear-headed Ozzy Osbourne has called one of his ten favorite British LPs of all time.

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The TVD Storefront

TVD Radar: Nick Drake, The Making Of Five Leaves Left 4LP, 4CD box set in stores 7/25

VIA PRESS RELEASE | The Making Of Five Leaves Left, a project nine years in gestation, will be released July 25 via Island/UMe. This Nick Drake Estate authorized edition comprises more than 30 previously unheard outtakes from the sessions which gradually became Nick Drake’s debut album, Five Leaves Left, and will be available as 4CD and 4LP boxed sets.

The reason for the lack of any previous typical anniversary-related “deluxe” set, was the Estate’s wish that the listener concentrate on the beauty within the original released studio recordings. However, following the discovery of remarkable tapes from two new outside sources, plus a comprehensive reordering of the Universal tape library, Nick’s sister Gabrielle felt that now was the time to reveal the origin story of the album.

It should also be noted that that the choice of tracks was made in order to tell the story as faithfully as possible, and not simply to release all the takes on all of the tapes. The final disc in each package is the original Joe Boyd-produced album. The whole set has been mastered by John Wood and Simon Heywood and both vinyl and CD versions will be housed in the same beautiful packaging.

This lovingly put-together set features studio outtakes and previously unheard songs that tell the story of how Nick Drake’s debut album came to be released on Island Records in July 1969. The set includes Nick’s first-ever session at Sound Techniques—found on a mono listening reel that Beverley Martyn had squirreled away over fifty years ago. It also contains the full reel recorded at Caius College by Cambridge acquaintance Paul de Rivaz which had lain in the bottom of a drawer for decades, accompanying him and his family around the world.

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The TVD Storefront

Graded on a Curve:
Pussy Galore,
“Sugarshit Sharp”

Garage rock primitivists and noise rock provocateurs Pussy Galore will always occupy a special place in my black heart thanks to their gleefully shambolic 1986 desecration of the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street. It’s ugly, incoherent, and a reckless and hilarious foray into the beyond incompetent, yet still manages to sound like a homage rather than a piss-take. Lots of bands commit to vinyl first takes—none I can think of, aside from Pussy Galore, use first tries.

But Pussy Galore aren’t just primitivists. Their music is a form of guerilla art rock—in other words, Pussy Galore are making a statement. It reminds me of Graham Greene’s short story “The Destroyers,” where a gang of London children systemically destroy a home designed by the architect Christopher Wren. Their programme (love the English spelling) reminds me as well of the Russian anarchist Mikhail Bakunin’s famous quote, “The urge for destruction is also a creative urge.” Nihilism, anarchy—take your pick.

Pussy Galore couldn’t have come together in a more inhospitable place—Washington, DC, the birthplace of straightedge, and a town where punk and social consciousness were hopelessly intertwined. The punks there cared (Positive Force!), but Pussy Galore—whose original members included guitarist/vocalist Jon Spencer, guitarist and occasional vocalist Julia Cafritz, and drummer John Hammill—didn’t give a shit. Their idea of regaling hometown crowds included playing a song called “Fuck Ian MacKaye.” This made them even less popular than the nattering nabobs of negativity in No Trend, and it wasn’t long before Pussy Galore pulled up stakes and moved to New York City. It was that or the Witness Protection Program.

Pussy Galore had released one LP, three EPs (including the wonderfully titled “Groovy Hate Fuck”), and a live album when they went into the studio to record the 1988 EP “Sugarshit Sharp”. By this time their line-up consisted of Spencer, Cafritz, former Sonic Youth drummer Bob Bert, and guitarist Kurt Wolf, who replaced Neil Haggerty, who would return to the fold after “Sugarshit Sharp” and ultimately go on to form Royal Trux.

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A morning mix of news for the vinyl inclined

In rotation: 4/14/25

Rochester, NY | Record Store Day 2025: Fans line up in hopes for exclusive titles. It’s that time of year! Despite the damp outside, record collectors and music fans alike lined the doors of record stores across the country to grab some new, exclusive titles—including in Rochester. Our News 8 crews headed to Record Archive just before 9 a.m. Saturday, where there were hundreds of fans lined up hoping to get everything on their list. On the coveted ‘RSD 2025’ list this go-round: Taylor Swift & Post Malone’s “Fortnight,” Gracie Abrams’ “Live from Radio City Music Hall,” an exclusive pressing of the 2024 “Wicked” soundtrack — just to name a few. Where did you shop for Record Store Day 2025? Did you get everything on your list?

Alexandria, VA | Vinyl enthusiasts line up overnight at Crooked Beat Records for Record Store Day: Music enthusiasts lined up for hours—some overnight—outside Crooked Beat Records (2417 Mt. Vernon Ave.) in Del Ray on Saturday for the annual Record Store Day celebration, hoping to score limited-edition vinyl releases. By 8:39 a.m., approximately 120 people had formed a line outside the independent record store. The first customers had arrived nearly 12 hours before the doors opened at 9 a.m. Carol from Arlington arrived around 9 p.m. Friday night to secure her spot at the front of the line. She camped out with her fiancé to ensure they could purchase Black Samson, The Bastard Swordsman: Wu-Tang, The Saga Continues Collection by Wu-Tang Clan and DJ Mathematics. “It was very cold,” Carol says about the overnight wait. “But just got to spend some bonding time with my fiancé.” …Nevertheless, the wait proved worthwhile as she obtained everything on her wish list.

Savannah, GA | People camp out to score exclusive items on Record Store Day: Saturday was a big day for vinyl enthusiasts around the country, it’s record store day! To celebrate, artists will release special vinyl’s and Cd’s made just for the day, just to be sold at independent record stores. This led to people lining up outside of Coastal Empire Records on Wilmington Island all night, just so they could get their hands on these exclusive items. Some we spoke with said they were determined to find certain records only available Saturday. “Coming specifically for a band from the 80s called Tesla, and they got an album called Real Real 2, which is like a cover of Classic Rock. And I’ve got on CD, but it’s the first time I’m pressing on vinyl, so that’s why I’m here,” said Rich Leach. People camped out as early as Friday afternoon to get their hands on their favorite records.

Seattle, WA | Easy Street Records hopping for Record Store Day 2025: Never a dull day at Easy Street Records in the heart of The Junction, but as previewed in our Saturday list, this one is really jumping—it’s Record Store Day, which offers special deals, treats, and sights. WSB contributing journalist Jason Grotelueschen sent a few scenes: Making an appearance for just a few hours, that’s the legendary touring van used by The Melvins, featuring art by Kurt Cobain. Past the van and on down Alaska, people were still lined up as of about an hour ago. Inside the shop, Easy Street proprietor Matt Vaughan is the busiest man in showbiz, with freebies as well as sales—he told us about 500 people were in line when the store opened at 7 am!

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