A look back at what was in stores, and perhaps some of your scores.
Maybe the best Record Store Day Black Friday 2025 release was The Complete Elektra Albums from Love. The box set comprises five vinyl records, including the first four albums from the pioneering 1960s LA group, and a bonus disc of rarities. Love was one of the most important bands of the West Coast ’60s music scene, which had a devoted cult following that is nearly unequaled for that time and place.
The group was led by Arthur Lee, who, like Jimi Hendrix, was a black man whose sound was rooted almost entirely in rock. Signed by Jac Holzman of Elektra Records, the band was one of the first rock signings of the mostly folk and roots Elektra label, but it became overshadowed by the other rock signing of that period, The Doors.
Love’s self-titled debut, its first album in 1966, came out the year before the self-titled debut of The Doors. While it showed real rock muscle and had a garage sound with tinges of psychedelia to come, and included such superb covers as “Little Red Book” and “Hey Joe,” it was the group’s next album, Da Capo, also released in 1966, that was a revelation. Fully embracing subtle psychedelic touches, its baroque instrumentation and production, along with Lee’s emotive singing, made it an instant cult classic that has lost none of its luster nearly 60 years later.
However, this was truly a band, and key member Bryan MacLean’s contributions are significant, particularly on “Orange Skies.” Additionally, the production team, comprising engineers Bruce Botnick (who also co-produces) and Dave Hassinger, along with the production supervision of label boss Holzman, makes this a textbook on ’60s record-making. The group’s next album, Forever Changes (1967), was an even better release. While a long-extended jam took up all of side two of Da Capo, Forever Changes was an 11-track masterpiece.
Filled with some of the band’s best work, such as “Alone Again Or,” “You Set The Scene,” “A House Is Not A Motel,” and other tracks, the album was expansive, filled with baroque production including swirling strings, subtle horn charts, and tinges of folk-rock and south-of-the-border brio. More art song than psychedelia, the music here transcends ’60s pop rock in many ways. Again, MacLean’s contributions are significant, particularly on “Alone Again Or,” but this time, Lee co-produced the record with Bruce Botnick, with production supervision by Holzman.
The group’s fourth and final Elektra album, Four Sail, released in 1969, was a significant change for the group. Lee was the sole surviving member from the previous lineups and produced the album himself. These changes brought about a more straightforward rock approach that lacked the magic of the two previous releases. Although containing some fine music and a sound more suited to live performance, the group’s fracturing and Lee’s demons meant the band never regained its ’60s glory. Its following two albums were released on Blue Thumb in 1969 and 1970, and its final official major label release on RSO in 1974 was a last gasp, rather than a welcome reunion, and was met with indifference.
The final Rarities disc is a top-notch collection of B-sides, alternate versions, outtakes, singles, demos, various edits, and session recordings that nicely flesh out the group’s first early glory period. The five albums are housed in a sturdy slipcase box, and the vinyl records feature period labels and are in polyvinyl sleeves. All the artwork is beautifully and faithfully reproduced, and there’s also a four-page color insert with liner notes, photos, and memorabilia. There were only 2,000 copies of this RSD Exclusive pressed.
Superb archival and reissue releases continue to come out from the Joni Mitchell Archives series. The newest Rolling Thunder Revue is a live Record Store Day vinyl album. This limited-edition release includes live recordings Mitchell made as part of the historic 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue. Like many of the special guests on the rag-tag Bob Dylan tour, Mitchell only made guest spots on a handful of dates.
This single-disc release begins with a track that has only nearly passable sound. From there, however, it is all good, with songs mostly from her then-current Hissing of Summer Lawns and Hejira albums, with the older “A Case of You.” Bob Neuwirth provides introductions, and there’s a truly all-star band on “Don’t Interrupt This Sorrow,” featuring the likes of Mick Ronson, T-Bone Burnett, and other members of the soon-to-be Alpha Band.
The highlight is Mitchell captured live during a stop on the tour in Toronto, where the traveling circus took some time out for some late-night jamming at Mitchell’s fellow Canadian Gordon Lightfoot’s home for an impromptu “Woman of Heart and Mind.” Bernie Grundman handled the mastering, and the 180-gram vinyl comes in a poly-lined sleeve. This RSD Exclusive Release was limited to 5,500 copies.
Music of the Grateful Dead and artists from or related to the Grateful Dead are ubiquitous on Record Store Day. This Black Friday included the second On A Back Porch release of music of the Grateful Dead, released in collaboration with the official microbrewery sponsor of RSD, Dogfish Head Brewery. Like the previous release, this single disc features all live material, spanning different musical periods.
What’s so welcome about this Back Porch series is that it offers a sampling of live tracks from the myriad archival series that have come out from the Dead over the years, as well as selections from rare releases. Vol. 1, an RSD Exclusive from RSD in April, included selections from Dick’s Picks, Dave’s Picks, Road Trips, and two releases: Saint of Circumstance: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ 6/17/91 and Crimson, White & Indigo: July 7, 1989 JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, the latter two both being out of print.
Vol. 2 offers selections from Dick’s Picks, Dave’s Picks, the recently reissued Without A Net, Spring 1990 – So Glad You Made It, and the out-of-print Ladies and Gentlemen… The Grateful Dead. The three tracks here, from the Fillmore East in the early ’70s, contrast nicely with the two ’90s live recordings, showcasing the diversity of the group’s sound at two distinct points in their career. While maybe not for tie-died-in-the-wool veteran Deadheads, cub bear newbies will gain much from these albums. Produced by David Lemieux, pressed on 180-gram vinyl, and housed in poly-lined sleeves, this RSD Exclusive Release was available in a limited-edition run of 7,000.
T-Bone Walker remains one of the most influential blues artists in American music. His smooth vocals and easy-going guitar style mixed blues, jump blues, and swing jazz to create an accessible, yet rootsy sound. T-Bone Blues, one of the best RSD releases of the season, was recorded over three years (1955, 1956, and 1957) and was his sole release on the distinguished Atlantic Records label in 1959. It contains “Stormy Monday,” which was a blues staple and is most known to rock fans through the version on the Allman Brothers Band – Live at The Fillmore East.
This album was produced by the legendary Atlantic team of Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun, Jerry Wexler, and some of the players featured here include Barney Kessel, Earl Palmer, Junior Wells, Jimmy Rogers, and Willie Dixon. The album cover was by legendary music photographer William Claxton. This reissue faithfully reproduces the original album package, including the period black Atlantic labels. This RSD exclusive was limited to 3,000 copies. The lacquers were cut by Bernie Grundman, and the 180-gram vinyl is housed in poly-lined sleeves. As a bonus, a four-song, ten-inch EP is included. The sound on these discs is impeccable, especially the sparkle and snap of the EP. This is as good as a blues reissue gets.
RSD fans had high hopes for Flowers in the Afternoon: Late 1960s Sunshine, from Craft Recordings, the final release in a trilogy of compilations of American psych, pop, and garage obscurities, and this is easily one of the best ’60s comps on this RSD list. Many of the tracks here originate from artists who barely registered in the American underground music scene at the time. Many are from obscure labels or small, under-the-radar subsidiaries of larger labels, or had some loose association with a notable recording studio, or included members, writers, or producers who would later be involved in more high-profile projects.
The only really recognizable name here is Mimi Farina, with a track that saw her shed her folky wings after the death of her husband, Richard Farina, on the enticing folk-rock title cut of this compilation, one of only two tracks here that were previously unreleased. Bert Sommer, who would go on to play at the watershed Woodstock festival, turns up as part of the duo Bert and Bill on “You’re What Makes My Lonely Life Worth Living.”
Some of the groups that made up the Sunshine Pop sound, which are more well-known (and not included here), include the Mamas and the Papas, Spanky and Our Gang, The Association, Free Design, and the Peppermint Rainbow. What all these bands and those included here share is deft songwriting, lush harmonies, baroque production, upbeat music of youthful optimism, and a sound that was a precursor to the music of groups like The Left Banke, The Beau Brummels, and maybe even The Monkees.
What is so impressive about this collection is the consistency of the music from track to track, and considering that most of these tracks come from a wide variety of labels and tape sources, the sound is impeccable. This RSD Exclusive is pressed on orange sunshine vinyl, is housed in a poly-lined sleeve, and comes with a beautifully produced four-page insert filled with informative liner notes, photos, and memorabilia. There were only 1,600 of these comps pressed.
