The Fat Angel Sings

Not long after he was unceremoniously booted from the Sex Pistols, bassist Glen Matlock turned right around and hooked up with guitarists Midge Ure and Steve New, and drummer Rusty Egan, to form Rich Kids, a snotty punk combo to rival anything coming out of the U.K. in the late ’70s. At the time, the group didn’t connect with folks in spite of their punchy, poppy sound mining the same territory as Buzzcocks and Dr. Feelgood. The years have been kind to their lone studio album. It has grown in stature among punk enthusiasts, which makes its first-ever U.S. reissue seem both exciting and like a ridiculous oversight. Produced by former Spider From Mars Mick Ronson, the 11 tracks here are unrelentingly catchy and defined by an energy and attitude that will quickly shatter your resolve and any sense of cool you may be holding on to.

“Ghosts of Princes in Towers” is the only studio album by British band Rich Kids, founded in 1977 by Glen Matlock (ex Sex Pistols) and Midge Ure (Ultravox) and Rusty Egan released in August 1978 and produced by ex-Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson.  Exclusive for RSD 2023, the original album will be newly remastered. Release overseen by Rich Kids’ Rusty Egan.

New wave supergroup Rich Kids burned briefly but brightly. Featuring ex-Sex Pistol Glen Matlock and future Ultravox frontman Midge Ure, the band’s lone album, “Ghosts Of Princes In Towers”, was produced by David Bowie’s former right-hand man, Mick Ronson, and released in August 1978. It featured the group’s sole Top 30 hit, Rich Kids, alongside a slew of incendiary pop tunes such as “Marching Men”, “Burning Sounds” and “Cheap Emotions”, but it became the group’s epitaph when they split just months later. Still essential, this newly remastered edition comfortably sits among the best Record Store Day 2023 releases.

The Grateful Dead performed more the 2,300 concerts, and of these many live shows, a three-night run in May 1977, spanning three cities on the East Coast, is arguably the Dead’s greatest trio of shows: May 7th in Boston, MA, May 8th in Ithaca, NY, and May 9th in Buffalo, NY.

Though it sat a good 3,000 miles away from the Dead’s Bay Area homebase, Boston Garden seemed to bring out something special within the band. Their performances at the long since demolished arena had that touch of magic within their interplay and especially in Jerry Garcia’s extended guitar solos. Any proof you need of that can be found within this performance of the band from 1977. It is one of their most listened to by fans; a hard to calculate blast radius that could only grow wider with the release of this boxed set. It’s a dream to listen to. 

These three shows, along with their near-equal from May 5th in New Haven, made up the long-ago sold-out box set “Get Shown The Light.” The last two nights of this run have been released on vinyl in previous years, and we’re thrilled to add to the canon the magnificent Boston show. From its opening, playful “Bertha,” through a flawless first set featuring “Cassidy,” “Jack Straw,” “Mississippi Half Step,” “The Music Never Stopped,” and many others, the Dead are clearly having a wonderful night in Bean Town. The second set is filled with then-new and older songs from the Dead’s catalogue, including “Terrapin Station,” “Estimated Prophet,” “Eyes Of The World,” and “Wharf Rat,” amongst others.

Arguably the first rock band to embrace the bootlegging industry, Grateful Dead allowed fans to record their concerts, resulting in a live discography that vastly outweighs their studio output. However, for curious newcomers, the sheer weight of titles on offer can be daunting, especially for those looking for an accessible entry point.

A welcome addition to the best Record Store Day 2023 releases, the Boston Garden, Boston, MA 5/7/77 box set is perhaps as good a place to start as any. Captured during Jerry Garcia and co’s three-night jaunt along the the US East Coast in May 1977, which also took in shows in Ithaca and Buffalo, in New York state, this live set was initially issued as part of the extensive Get Shown The Light box set, which featured all three gig in their entirety, plus another highly-rated performance from New Haven, Connecticut.

Available for the first time on vinyl, Grateful Dead’s May 7th, 1977 performance at Boston Garden. 5-LP, 180-Gram vinyl boxed set. Limited Edition of 12,000. The Grateful Dead performed more the 2,300 concerts, and of these many live shows, a three night run in May 1977, spanning three cities on the East Coast, is arguably the Dead’s greatest trio of shows:

A spectacular show from start to finish, Boston 5/7/77 is one of the most upbeat, accessible shows the Grateful Dead ever performed. In participating stores starting 4/22 as part of Record Store Day! Find stores and more information at recordstoreday.com#RSD2023

This double live album was recorded on The Cure’s 1992 “Wish” album tour, at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Michigan. Originally released in 1993, the band comprised of Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Porl Thompson, Boris Williams, Perry Bamonte, and features many of the band’s biggest hits, including “Pictures Of You,” “Lullaby, “Just Like Heaven,” “The Walk, ” “Friday I’m In Love,” and “Inbetween Days”. Released as a 2LP Picture Disc. Unavailable on vinyl since its original release in 1993. This will be the first time it’s been on picture disc. The release was overseen by Robert Smith.

When “Show” was originally released in 1993, the live album was, in no small part, a way to keep cashing in on the commercial power The Cure wielded at the time. If it served as a take-home reminder of the band’s brilliance as a live act, even better. North America missed out on the vinyl release of “Show” at the time — an oversight that was rectified on RSD. Sadly, the band and Rhino opted for the double picture disc format for this reissue. Regular readers of the column will know that I’m not a fan of this format. It tends to produce noisy discs that mar otherwise great recordings. This is no exception. Every point that isn’t suffused with music is cut through by a hissing sound that can’t be cleaned away. If you grabbed this last week, it is going to look great on display in your record room. For everyone else, you might be better served saving up a few hundred dollars to track down a used copy of the original pressing.

Remastered by Robert Smith and Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, London.
‘Show’ 2LP Live set recorded at The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan: Released September 1993
18 songs including the singles “Pictures of You”, “Lullaby”, “Just Like Heaven”, “The Walk”, “Let’s Go To Bed”, “Friday I’m In Love” and “Inbetween Days”.
First time on Picture Disc.

“Blur Present The Special Collectors Edition” will be released on vinyl for the first time ever. Originally released in 1994, as a Japan-only CD, The Special Collectors Edition is a 2LP set pressed on colored vinyl, featuring a collection of B-sides from singles across the band’s first three studio albums – “Leisure”, “Modern Life Is Rubbish“, and “Parklife“.

This b-sides collection was originally only available on CD in Japan ca. 1994 and, much like the remix comp “Bustin’ + Dronin’ that was reissued on wax last year, it was ripe for a wider release for RSD. And much like the Pogues record discussed in this column, this set unlocks the secret greatness of Blur that was hidden away on their many singles.

Plenty of material on this double LP set, like “Inertia,” “Hanging Over,” “Got Yer” and “Luminous” could have easily made the cut of the albums that the quartet were making at the time. I also have to commend Parlophone for how they presented this re-release. They lovingly recreate the silly booklet offering up very British collectibles like a porcelain Henry VII figurine and pressed the music on gorgeous translucent blue vinyl — a colour worthy of the sky or Walter White’s meth.

One of Blur’s choicest rarities, “Blur Present The Special Collectors Edition” was originally released on CD in Japan only, in 1994. Consisting of the B-sides from the Britpop heroes’ singles , it features fan favourites such as “Badgeman Brown and When The Cows Come Home”, and concludes with an a cappella version of “Bank Holiday“, performed in tribute by the band’s fans at Narita Airport in Tokyo. It finally makes its vinyl debut for Record Store Day 2023, in a two-disc edition on blue wax.

Tony Dekker’s music spans nearly two decades as the lead singer and songwriter of Great Lake Swimmers. Over eight albums, multiple EPs, live broadcasts and reissues, the Toronto-based group has established itself as a beloved indie folk act in their native Canada and beyond. Great Lake Swimmers has been shortlisted for the Polaris Prize and nominated twice for the Juno Awards.  

The songs that open “Uncertain Country”, the title track and “When The Storm Has Passed”, were recorded at the Oddfellows Temple Hall in St. Catharines, Ontario in September 2020. These jubilant sessions, following five months of unease, were a much-needed release for Dekker and his band. Both songs capture the album’s themes of the elasticity of time and processing change.

These are Demos that ended up as finished tracks. New beginnings, rear-view reflections, and ruminations on the fluidity of time: Great Lake Swimmers’ Uncertain Country captures these feelings — and so much more.

This celebration, 11-songs long, follows a prolonged period of collective anxiety. Though recorded in different locales — and with a variety of musicians — a theme of questioning runs throughout. Even before the world turned upside down, singer-songwriter Tony Dekker felt mired in uncertainty: From the climate crisis and the ever-changing political landscape to deep shifts within the music industry. The “uncertain country” Dekker chose as the album’s theme is not a specific place. Rather, it’s a territory we, as humans, inhabit in the 21st century — a world that, more often than not, is confusing, unfamiliar and unsettling.

released April 28th, 2023

All words and music by Tony Dekker.

Work harder, not smarter: classically bad advice, but when it works, it works. Country Westerns are a force, punk rock lifers playing rock music with hearted-sleeves and punched-guts. Loud and furious but with a nuance that belies their delicate and varied pedigrees.

The Nashville-based, hard-rocking Country Westerns return with their sophomore album “Forgive The City”, bringing with them a classic rock sound that is spiced with punk rock energy. 

Guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Joseph Plunket and drummer Brian Kotzur form the core of the band with bassist Jordan Jones adding some oomph and producer Matt Sweeney (Zwan, Dax Riggs) dropping in a few lead guitar lines as well. The dozen songs presented are stout, touching on camaraderie, hardships, and the struggle to get through this thing called life. 

Opening with the earnest straight-ahead rock of “Knucklen’”, Plunket sets the tone with his gruff, road-weary voice, as the band bangs forward with aggressive sounds. The group has a clear punk ethos with songs barely ever touching three minutes, as the hyper drums from Kotzur move things along winningly, such as in the upbeat “Grapefruit” which recalls The Replacements brand of highwire, midwestern rock. 

The group can also slow it down with the swaying “Speaking Ill of The Blues”, the slapping laid-back groove of “Money on the Table” and “Wait For It” which pushes Plunket’s vocals front and center. Sounding like a mix of Tim Armstrong and Bob Seeger, Plunket’s harsher sound may not be for everyone, but the world-weary flow hits home; you know he’s lived it, and if he hasn’t, he sure as hell sounds like he has.

released April 28th, 2023

All songs written and performed by Country Westerns. 

“Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos” brings together 146 demos from the Stax Records vaults highlighting the strength of songwriting talent at the legendary label. Including 140 tracks that have never been heard before, this collection combines both songwriter demos and in some cases, full blown arrangement into a 7-CD set.

The first three discs contain demos by the Stax songwriters that were recorded and released by Stax artists on one of the Stax family of labels (Stax, Volt, Enterprise, We Produce, Koko, Respect, etc.). The fourth disc contains demos by the Stax songwriters that were recorded and released on record labels Other than the Stax family of labels (Atlantic, Decca, Hi, Chimneyville, etc.).

The final three discs contain demos by the Stax songwriters that were never released anywhere. Including songs from legendary songwriters such as William Bell, Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd, Bettye Crutcher and many more this collection includes unheard versions of some of Soul, and music’s, most well-known songs. The collection is packaged in a 7×7 boxset which includes a new essay written by Stax’s original Director of Publicity Deanie Parker and GRAMMY-winning writer Robert Gordon, archival photos and an intro by multi-GRAMMY award winning compilation producer Cheryl Pawelski.

Stax Records, now owned by Concord and distributed by Craft Recordings, was founded by Jim Stewart in 1957 in Memphis, Tennessee. It rose from a small, family-operated company to become one of the most influential soul music record labels in the world, helping create “The Memphis Sound” and launching the careers of icons such as Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, the Staple Singers, Sam & Dave, Rufus and Carla Thomas, The Bar-Kays, and dozens of other artists who helped change popular culture forever. In all, Stax placed 167 hit songs in the Top 100 in Pop and 243 hits in the Top 100 in R&B.

If you really want to know a song, to get to its essence and heart, work backward from the finished piece. Most of us never have the opportunity to hear the seed of a song, a demo that the songwriter either carefully crafted or whipped out quickly in an inspired moment. All of that changed this year when Stax and Craft Recordings dropped the now-Grammy nominated “Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos“. Out of the 146 tracks collected on seven CDs, 140 have never been heard before. Some were never completed past the initial demo recording and others grew into their final form. You know the 1974 Shirley Brown hit, “Woman To Woman?” It was written by songwriter Henderson Thigpen, who demoed it himself. Hearing the song, written from a woman’s perspective and demoed in Thigpen’s own voice, is a gem I would have otherwise never unearthed.

Rock Prog legends Yes have shared more new music from their upcoming twenty-third studio album, “Mirror To The Sky”, which will be released through Inside Out Music on May 19th.

“Steve [Howe] added a beautifully poignant instrumental steel part which starts the journey,” explains vocalist Jon Davison of the new single. “This section emotionally builds and crescendos into a glorious lead way for the vocals to begin telling their story. Billy composed complex and compelling musical themes which I helped to arrange, and we both composed vocals and lyrics, each of us singing our respective parts, making for a rich vocal tapestry.”

“The initial idea came from a musical sketch I’d created using the idea of our ‘connectivity’ in regards to communications in the modern age,” says bass player Billy Sherwood. “It’s very exciting to know Yes are maintaining that edge and energy we all know and love, this track is firing on all cylinders. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did creating it.”

“This is a very important album for the band,” says Steve Howe, Yes’ longest serving member, master guitarist, and producer of “Mirror to the Sky”, the bands 23rd studio album. “We kept the continuity in the approach we established on “The Quest”, but we haven’t repeated ourselves. That was the main thing. As Yes did in the seventies from one album to another, we’re growing and moving forward. In later years, Yes often got going but then didn’t do the next thing. This album is demonstrative of us growing, and building again.” For Yes, that “next thing” is a collection of high energy, intricate, lush and layered new studio songs for an album which adds to the band’s much heralded legacy, while charting a path to exciting future times ahead.

You can watch the band’s animated video for their brand new single, the nine-minute long “All Connected” below.

“Mirror To The Sky” is dedicated to the memory of Yes drummer Alan White, who died in May last year. The album will be available on several formats, all featuring artwork by long-time Yes artist & collaborator Roger Dean, including: Ltd deluxe Electric Blue 2LP+2CD+Blu-ray artbook with poster, Ltd deluxe 2CD+Blu-ray artbook, Ltd 2CD digipak, standard CD Jewel case, gatefold 2LP+LP-Booklet and Digital Album

XTC’s 1978 album “Go2” has been remastered and will be reissued on heavyweight vinyl in May, It was their second album, 1978’s “Go2,” reissued as a double vinyl set which also features the accompanying “Go+ Dub” EP, through Ape House Records on May 19th.

The new reissue, the first time the album has been available for years, will be on heavyweight 200g vinyl and has been newly cut from masters by Jason Mitchell at LOUD mastering and approved by Andy Partridge.

“After the big bang of “White Music”, the rapidly expanding jagged, black and white universe of XTC grew apace,” Partridge recalls. “Colin was writing more, even Barry was writing, before he jumped swiftly into a parallel dimension, and left to join Robert Fripp’s League of Gentlemen.

“Go 2” was the second studio album by XTC released on 6th October 1978. The album’s title was chosen in reference to the board game Go and continues the black-and-white colour scheme from first album, White Music. The “2” was added by keyboardist Barry Andrews.

Originally the Initial 15,000 copies came with a free 12-inch EP, Go+

The album’s cover was designed and implemented by Hipgnosis, an art design team based in London that specialised in creating cover art for the albums of rock musicians and bands