Record Store Day Recap

The needle has lifted from the exit groove of the fifth annual Record Store Day, and it is safe to say this was the best one yet. It was, by and large, a huge success as well, since you can't buy headlines like: "Record Store Day Brings Explosive Sales to Indie Stores, SoundScan Data Shows", as run by The Hollywood Reporter. Beyond the sales figures though, and more importantly, there was success in the vibes in the air among the throngs of music fans who lined up early for sales, events and a chance to score the elusive, exclusive RSD12 vinyl releases.

As mentioned in my day-of Record Store Day article, there is nothing quite like the energy to be found in record stores. And while the limited edition vinyl releases are the main focus of the event, sometimes on this holiday for music fans you can actually have more fun finding something unusual in the bins. This year was no exception. At one place, I found a pristine copy of "The Plague", the 1983 album by Demon, a NWOBHM/Progressive Rock that few outside of the UK probably even remember, for all of $3.

Note the interplay between the synths and guitar on this little heard track.

Even better though was scoring a $3 copy of an LP which I've never actually seen prior to Record Store Day. The band was called Riggs, and arguably their biggest claim to fame was having a pair of tracks featured in the 1981 animated cult classic, Heavy Metal, as well as on its soundtrack album. Following the high profile placement of its song "Radar Rider" in the opening sequence of the film, the band released its debut album which unfortunately barely registered as a blip on the radar of the music world.



But easily the most bizarre thing I found on Record Store Day was an LP called The Vampyre at the Harpsichord. 

It caught my eye, because let's be honest, that cover art is truly, spectacularly amazing in a so-bad-its-good way. The label which released it in 1974 was called the Electric Lemon Record Co., which is awesome in and of itself. But alas, despite the temptation, the double digit price tag wasn't worth the kitsch factor to buy this oddity. After RSD12 came to a close, I did consult the intertubes about this album out of curiosity. What I learned was there is such a thing as The Vampire Database, where a copy of this album was displayed.

Further searching revealed that Amazon offers it, along with it's companion album, The Phantom of the Organ (natch) in MP3 form. A helpful commenter revealed that these danse macabre releases were offered in the back pages of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, ostensibly as listening material to enhance the reading experience. Thus, a strange slice of vinyl leads to the revelation of a proto form of interactive entertainment. And likely the strangest piece of music I've written about here!

While I've focused on some truly niche albums, take a spin over to the Love Hz section of Technology Tell, where my friend and fellow music writer Mark Smotroff tells the tale of an RSD find of his involving Bob Dylan's Planet Waves album. And if you have read this far, thank you very much for doing so and for enjoying the 100th article of atlinernotes.com!

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