Black Friday top 11
Sun Ra, Spock, Run the Jewels, and more record store scores to kick off the holiday shopping blitz
11. Danger Mouse, Run the Jewels, and Big Boi team up for the “Chase Me” 12-inch featured on the Baby Driver soundtrack (Columbia Records)
10. Leonard Nimoy | Mr. Spock’s Music From Outer Space LP, classic reissue from 1967 (Varese Sarabande)
9. Black Lips | This Sick Beat! EP ft. “Ask For the Wolfman”, “58 Drops”, “The Last Cul de Sac” (new mix), “It Won’t Be Long” (new mix) 10-inch produced by Sean Lennon (Chimera Music)
GRAM PARSONS & THE FALLEN ANGELS: Live 1973 ft. Emmylou Harris.Courtesy Sierra High Fidelity
8. Gram Parsons & the Fallen Angels | Live 1973 Featuring Emmylou Harris (Sierra High Fidelity)
7. Scream | No More Censorship LP (Southern Lord)
6. Chris Bell | The Complete Chris Bell 6xLP box set (Omnivore Recordings)
5. 45 Grave | Sleep In Safety limited edition “ghastly green” vinyl LP reissue of a West Coast death rock classic featuring members of the Germs, the Bags, the Gun Club, the Screamers, and more (Real Gone Music)
4. Sun Ra | Exotica 3xLP or 2xCD (Modern Harmonic)
Exotica is definitely one of the more sought after Black Friday titles this year. The album finds a few Sun Ra classics reinvented with Latin beats and Afro-centric grooves a la Les Baxter. There are a handful of a few previously unreleased numbers as well.
BUTTHOLE SURFERS: Locust Abortion Technician EP.Courtesy 5 Music
3. Butthole Surfers | Locust Abortion Technician 30th anniversary 10-inch EP (5 Music)
From the Butthole Surfers’ Facebook page:
“Sometime in 1986, the band decided that we were tired of living on the road, that it was time to find a home. We were in San Francisco at the time and chose our new hometown by throwing a dart at a map. The dart landed on Athens, Georgia, so off to Georgia we went. We soon realized that we couldn’t actually afford to rent a house in Athens, but were able to find a 2-bedroom rental house in tiny nearby Winterville. We used our meager savings to purchase an old Ampex 8-track tape machine, two microphones, and recorded what would become our third full-length LP “Locust Abortion Technician. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the album, we decided to re-release it as a 10” Vinyl EP this November.”
ALBERT AYLER & DON CHERRY: “Vibrations”Courtesy ORG Music
2. Albert Ayler & Don Cherry | Vibrations (ORG Music)
Also released under the name Ghosts, this record is the second offering from the Albert Ayler quartet featuring Ayler on saxophone, the almighty Don Cherry playing trumpet, Gary Peacock on bass, and Sonny Murray manning the drum kit.
The album was originally recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark, in the fall of 1964. This reissue is pressed on a swirl of blue white vinyl, and was remastered given the full-on audiophile treatment via Pallas in Germany. Vibrations is one of the great albums of the free jazz movement, snag one up while you can.
WYNONIE HARRIS (FT. SUN RA): “Dig This Boogie” b/w “Lightnin’ Struck the Poor House” 7-inch.Courtesy Modern Harmonic
1. Wynonie Harris (ft. Sun Ra) | “Dig This Boogie” b/w “Lightnin’ Struck the Poor House” (Modern Harmonic)
Wynonie Harris was from Omaha. Sun Ra was from Saturn. They made beautiful music together way back in 1946. This 7-inch is couched as Sun Ra’s debut recording, although Sun Ra purists will argue the semantic validity of such a bold claim.
Still, it’s close enough, and an essential early look at both performers’ formative years. BONUS: The cover art for this 7-inch reissue of the original 78 comes courtesy of illustrator, designer, animator, and comics artist Cal Schenkel who’s best known for creating cover art for Frank Zappa, the Fugs, Captain Beefheart, and more.