Craft Recordings Announces Record Store Day Exclusives
Record Store Day Black Friday, the day that vinyl fans flock to brick-and-mortar record stores to purchase exclusive and limited edition releases is almost here! The event, which will take place at about 40 retail outlets throughout the country takes place this year on Friday, November 29, 2024 which is the day after Thanksgiving. Tons of labels will be offering very cool releases that day, and among them will be one of our favorite imprints, Craft Recordings. Craft Recordings has a catalog that features a wide variety of artists, some esoteric, and they serve up a tasty selection of titles all year round. So vinyl fans can expect Record Store Day Black Friday offerings from Craft Recordings to be very desirable and collectible. Remember, these releases are limited editions so make sure to get to your favorite participating brick-and-mortar record store on November 19 if you want in on the fun! Here's what you'll be looking for:
The Soul and Songs of Young Curtis Mayfield: The Spirit of Chicago - Various Artists - (2-LP, black vinyl)
This compilation focuses on Mayfield's work as a singer, producer and songwriter in the 1950s through the mid '60s, so well before his big hit with the
Superfly soundtrack in 1972. Included are nine cuts from his days with the Impressions as well as a bunch of cuts from Jerry Butler (including two duets with Betty Everett) and two songs each from Gene Chandler and Wade Flemons.
Born Jamericans - Kids from Foreign - (black vinyl)
Out of print for 25-years and reissued here on occasion of the 30th anniversary of its initial release,
Kids from Foreign was one of only two albums Born Jamericans put out before slipping into obscurity. The brainchild of singer Mr. Notch (Norman Howell) and rapper Edley Shine (Horace Payne), Born Jamericans hit the Billboard Hot 100 with the album that also hit #15 on the rap chart. Kids from Foreign was named one of the highest-selling reggae albums of the year.
Norma Jean - Wrongdoers - ("Fire Eyes" colored vinyl)
Here's a rerelease of metalcore band Norma Jean's sixth album Wrongdoers, reissued on vinyl for the first time ever. The 2013 release was a big hit for the Atlanta-based band and it made the Top 10 on Billboard's Rock, Indie and Hard Rock album charts. The release found the guys experimenting with an array of live instrumentation including the use of strings, piano and organ and featured songs that remain fan favorites today like "If You Got it at Five, You Got it at Fifty" and "Sword in Mouth, Fire Eyes" which is where the name for the colored vinyl that the album is pressed on comes from. The album features a printed inner sleeve and a lyric sheet insert.
Jazz Dispensary: The Golden Hour - Various Artists - (Golden Wave Swirl Vinyl)
Here's another incredible release from the folks at Jazz Dispensary. This compilation includes cuts by Hampton Hawes (featuring Spider Webb and Carol Kaye), some hard bop from Nat Adderley and "Newkleus" from the much-beloved Sonny Rollins. Other contributing artists include Johnny "Hammond" Smith, Gene Ammons, Vince Guaraldi, Chico Hamilton and a 1976 cut from Philadelphia fusion pioneers Catalyst. Amazingly, the cover to this album was designed by visual artist Kamil Czapiga who used microscopic cameras to film special color links as they reacted to songs from the album. Wow! Now there's something to look at while you listen that's as far out as the music!
Joe Bataan - Riot! - (180-gram black vinyl)
Bataan is often referred to as "The King of Latin Soul" and that moniker is easy to understand as you listen to Riot! A delightful melange of mambo, pop, R&B and jazz with lyrics in both Spanish and English,
Riot! was Bataan's second album and it really kicked his career into high gear; it was the highest-selling Latin album of 1968. Bataan shares vocals here with Louie Gonzalez and together they sound great on the ballads "Ordinary Guy" and "What Good is a Castle" and rip it up on the salsa burners "Muneca" and "Pa' Monte;" of course title track "It's a Good Feeling (Riot)" is also an outstanding cut. The sound here was sourced from the original analog tapes.
Max Roach - Deeds, Not Words - (Mono, 180-gram black vinyl)
Jazzman Roach is renowned as one of the most influential drummers of all time and he's at a high point with these sides that he cut for the legendary Riverside label. Roach was testing the limits of hard bop, a style that he was one of the creators of, aided here by trumpeter Booker Little, tenor sax man George Coleman, bassist Art Davis and tubist (tuba player) Ray Draper. Highlights include originals like "Jodie's Cha-Cha" and standards "You Stepped Out of a Dream" and "It's You or No One." But many revere this album for Roach's solo drum composition "Conversation." Packaged in a Stoughton tip-on jacket that replicates the design of the original release.
Isaac Hayes - Truck Turner Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - (2-LP, 180-gram translucent purple vinyl)
This Isaac Hayes reissue is bound to be one of the most sought-after of this year's Craft Recordings' Record Store Day Black Friday offerings. From 1974, the Jonathan Kaplan-directed film features Hayes playing a retired footballer who turns bounty hunter and gets mixed up in a pimp turf war. The gritty film features some down and dirty funk in songs like "Breakthrough" and "Pursuit of the Pimpmobile" but Hayes also puts his golden tones to work on the seductive ballad "You're in My Arms Again." This is the first time that Truck Turner has been available on vinyl in 20-years and is part of the Reel Cult series of releases from the folks at Varese Sarabande. Packaged in a tip-on jacket.
Angelo Badalamenti - Music for Film and Television - (Translucent red vinyl)
Composer Badalamenti is known for his work on films like "Blue Velvet," "Wild at Heart," "Mulholland Drive" and the television series "Twin Peaks" and this compilation features selections from those titles and other cinematic gems like "The Comfort of Strangers" and "A Very Long Engagement." A notable inclusion is the song "Who Will Take My Dreams Away" from the Jean-Pierre Jeunet-directed film "The City of Lost Children" that spotlights Marianne Faithfull on vocals. The album features brand new artwork imagined by acclaimed illustrator Brianna Ashby who depicts Badalamenti with props from the projects he scored. Speaking of scored, score your copy as soon as you can as there are only 2800 copies available worldwide.
For more information on the Record Store Day Black Friday releases from Craft Recordings as well as news of everything else the label has going on go here.
