Originally planned for April, then postponed until June because of the COVID pandemic, Record Store Day 2020 has finally settled on an unprecedented three date split this year in order to include as many stores globally as possible. Those dates are : 29th August, 26th September and 24th October.
Half the fun of RSD is trying to get to your local record store before 9am and standing in the rain with a bunch of your competitors for an hour, doing your best not to let on what you’re really after when you finally get inside. But given that I probably won’t get up before 9, here are my (utterly predictable) dream picks.
The Wake
‘Here Comes Everybody’
Factory Benelux
Clear vinyl + 7”
For my money, one of the 10 best Factory Records albums (and yes, that’s alongside Joy Division, New Order and The Durutti Column). Originally released in 1985, the 35th anniversary edition here is remastered and re-pressed on clear vinyl, housed in a white reverse board sleeve, with printed inner bag containing lyrics, images and liner notes by band members Carolyn Allen and Caesar. Augmented by companion singles ‘Talk About The Past‘ and ‘Of the Matter.’ 800 copies only.
‘Unremembered, Remembered’
4AD
Red Vinyl LP
A big surprise, this one. Seven never-before-heard tracks from the Wolfgang Press’ final album that never was, recorded sometime between 1995 and 1996, when the band had become a duo of Andrew Gray and Michael Allen. Mastered by the band at Abbey Road with magnificent (as always) design by Chris Bigg (ex-v23) – the sleeve features metallic inks with the record itself being pressed on 140gm transparent red vinyl. Though I’m not a fan of the latter day WP, I can’t help but hope that there’s something here for me.
‘Vini Reilly’ + ‘WOMAD Live’
Factory Benelux
2 x LP + 7”
An expanded double vinyl edition of ‘Vini Reilly,’ originally released by Factory Records in 1989.
1000 copies in black vinyl with bonus, clear vinyl 7” single.
Produced by Vini Reilly and Stephen Street and a sleeve cheekily echoing Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited, for me, this is the last great Durutti album (more on this at some point later).
Ben Watt with Robert Wyatt
‘Summer Into Winter’
Cherry Red
Turquoise transparent 12” Vinyl
Ben Watt’s wonderful collaboration with Robert Wyatt, originally released as an EP on Cherry Red in March 1982 and deleted ever since, remastered for RSD 2020. The perfect accompaniment to Watt’s sublime 1983 solo album, ‘North Marine Drive’ (more on that at some point too).
For a full list of the August 29th releases, visit the RSD 2020 official website here : https://recordstoreday.co.uk/releases/rsd-drop-august/
Arcane Delights 