Nathan Weinbender’s picks for ‘Record Store Day’

Spokane 7 writer Nathan Weinbender offers his recommendations from the limited release vinyl available Saturday at Record Store Day.

All things Bowie – The music world is still reeling from the death of David Bowie in January, and a few of this year’s Record Store Day exclusives pay tribute to the chameleonic pop superstar. You can pick up picture disc singles containing a couple of his signature songs (“The Man Who Sold the World,” “TVC15”), as well as a 12” that features six non-album singles that were first released in 1966.

British punk – The 1977 punk masterpiece “Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols” is being re-released on a striking green-and-pink picture disc. And the Buzzcocks, one of the best English punk bands of the late ’70s, have collected 24 singles and B-sides recorded from 1977 to 1980 on the cheekily titled “More Product in a Different Compilation.”

“The Alternate Tusk” – Fleetwood Mac’s shambling double album “Tusk” was considered a boondoggle upon its release in 1979, but it’s been critically re-evaluated in the decades since. This limited edition LP and CD set features alternate versions of the album’s 20 songs, as well as live recordings from the band’s “Tusk” tour. Also worth looking for: “Goodfriend,” which reconstructs Matthew Sweet’s 1991 power pop gem “Girlfriend” using alternate and live takes.

“The Diary,” J Dilla – Much of influential hip-hop producer J Dilla’s solo material has been released posthumously (he died of a rare blood disease in 2006), and this album, recorded back in 2003, is only now seeing the light of day. “Diary” features 14 tracks newly remixed from Dilla’s original demo tapes; the Record Store Day release also includes a limited edition 7” of a single called “The Ex.”

“Hallucinations: Psychedelic Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults” – Rhino is best known for its fresh repackaging of long forgotten material, and this compilation, originally released on CD in 2004, is loaded with ’60s obscurities that never got their due from the public. This double LP set contains a few legitimate hits by groups like the Monkees and the Association, but it consists mostly of songs from such cult favorites as the Electric Prunes, Kim Fowley and the Tokens.

– Nathan Weinbender