The Best Of Record Store Day’s Black Friday 2018 List

Record Store Day celebrated its Tenth Anniversary in April. The initiative, which offers exclusive releases to independent music shops, offers a Black Friday shopping spree to music nerds just in time for Christmas. The 2018 Record Store Day Black Friday list was recently released, offering another fun collection of albums.

Some of the highlights from the Black Friday selections include A-listers like Hank Williams, Taylor Swift, and Paul McCartney. Collective Soul is releasing a silver anniversary edition of their debut album. Disney and jazz fans can enjoy a re-issue of Duke Ellington Plays With The Original Motion Picture Score Mary Poppins.

There are more than anniversary editions and Disney covers this year. The 2018 list includes interesting remixes, covers, archival discoveries. Here are some of the most enticing options for this year:

The Best Of The Record Store Day Black Friday 2018 List

*RSD-first indicates albums that are sold in independent stores before being made available for a wider release.

Cheap Trick, The Epic Archive (1980-1983) – Covers of The Beatles and The Yardbirds, remixes, and rarities from Cheap Trick’s heyday comprise a 16-track album. The Epic Archive is the second such Cheap Trick compilation associated with Record Store Day.

Chris Cornell, When Bad Does Good – The Soundgarden/Audioslave frontman passed away in 2017, leaving behind an incredible discography. This RSD-first 7” contains the unreleased song “When Bad Does Good” and Temple of the Dog’s “Stargazer (live from the Paramount).”

Difford And Difford & Tilbrook With ?uestlove And Robert Glasper, Take Me I’m Yours – Squeeze and The Roots don’t sound like a match, but ?uestlove has a way of creating magic. The RSD-first 45 features rock/electronic and instrumental recordings of the single “Take Me I’m Yours.”

Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein, Stranger Things Halloween Sounds Of The Upside Down – Unfortunately Netflix did not produce another season of Stranger Things this Halloween. The sci-fi series is on hold until 2019.

You can still get a Stranger Things fix on Black Friday. Produced by the same geniuses who created the Stranger Things score, Halloween Sounds Of The Upside Down is a 14-track picture disc curated for future Halloweens.

Hozier, Nina Cried Power – Hozier’s single “Take Me To Church” vaulted the singer into stardom in 2014. Four years later, Hozier is putting out his first new music since his debut album on Black Friday. The RSD exclusive EP Nina Cried Power contains five songs (contributions from Booker T. Jones and Mavis Staples).

The Joy Formidable, The Better Me / Dance Of The Lotus – The Welsh band are one of my favorites. They could not have been nicer when I met them at a previous event at Philadelphia’s Main Street Music. The band are releasing a 7” exclusive for Record Store Day with two singles from their album AARTH: “The Better Me” and “Dane Of The Lotus.”

Tom Morello, The Atlas Underground (Instrumentals) – The Audioslave/Rage Against The Machine member is releasing the instrumental album The Atlas Underground. The 12-track LP includes collaborations with Gary Clark Jr., Portugal the Man, and Marcus Mumford. This RSD-first release is a unique gift for aspiring guitar players. A guitar tab booklet is included with the record.

U2, Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me – As far as Nineties soundtracks go, the Batman Forever album earned a lot of radio time. Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, Seal, and the Flaming Lips all contributed to the soundtrack. U2 notched a number one hit with their single “Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me.”

The double-A RSD-first 12” sports a remaster of U2’s 1995 single. It also has a St. Francis Hotel remix of the song. Gavin Friday and Arcade Fire’s Régine Chassagne were added to the vocals on the new version.

Various Artists, Mom + Pop 10 Year Anniversary Compilation – To mark their tenth anniversary, the Mom + Pop label is putting out a three-disc RSD-first album. Artists on the compilation include Courtney Barnett, Metric, Sleigh Bells, Polica, Tom Morello, Sunflower Bean, and Andrew Bird.

Weezer, Africa (Shaped Picture Disc Vinyl) – Weezer just does things differently. The rock band made Internet waves in 2018 with a cover of Toto’s “Africa.” If the weird sensation surrounding the garage rock cover was not enough, the group is releasing a 10” picture disc on Black Friday that has Weezer’s cover of the Toto singles “Africa” and “Rosanna.”

To view Record Store Day’s Black Friday 2018 list, click here.

To view a list of record stores participating in Black Friday, click here.

This post is a part of The Flat Circle’s Music Monday series, a recurring series that spotlights a new song, music news, or a deep cut from my personal collection. To catch all posts in the Music Monday series, you van subscribe to The Flat Circle via e-mail at the bottom of the page.