Record Store Day has just announced 2020’s “RSD Drops,” its annual collection of vinyl which will be released on three separate days this year — Aug. 29, Sept. 26 and Oct. 24.
While the event regularly takes place in April, organizers wanted vinyl collectors to be mindful of social-distancing regulations. And with previously unreleased tracks from David Bowie’s rehearsals for his 50th birthday show at Madison Square Garden, a 50th anniversary pressing of Paul McCartney’s McCartney, a Soundgarden tribute from Brandi Carlile and a RSD-exclusive EP from Meat Puppets, there’s plenty of reasons to mark your calendars a couple extra times.
Here’s what RSD ambassador Carlile had to say about recording “Black Hole Sun” and “Searching With My Good Eye Closed.”
“The twins and I met in the late 90’s in a famous Seattle studio called London Bridge… Soundgarden were just gods to us back then. Total pioneers and unreachable to us in every way. We went about making our demos and cleaning the studio when we couldn’t afford the bill never knowing that in November of 2019 we would go back to London Bridge and RECORD TWO SONGS WITH THEM!! [Chris Cornell] was as great as a human singer can get and now he’s an angel. Thank you Kim, Ben, and Matt. I’ll never forget this day for as long as I live,” she said.
Monday’s (June 1) announcement shows a stacked Aug. 29 release date, with records from the Black Keys, Denzel Curry and Pink Floyd all dropping. Among them, highlights include Bowie’s ChangesNowBowie featuring nine unreleased tracks, 2019 SPIN cover star Billie Eilish’s Live at Third Man Records on blue opaque vinyl, a 40th anniversary edition of U2’s 11 O’CLOCK TICK TOCK and Odd Future’s The OF Tape Vol. 2 in both neon pink and purple.
A month later, Sept. 26 sees RSD releases from The Doors, Shooter Jennings and Eminem, among others. Highlights include a rarities collection from Britney Spears’ Oops! I Did It Again, Fleetwood Mac’s The Alternative Rumors (featuring alt takes of classic Rumors) and a vinyl issue of Nas’ God’s Son, a first since 2002.
The final release date for this year’s RSD comes on Oct. 24, where records from Frank Zappa, the Rolling Stones and Alice Cooper all hit shelves. Among the most anticipated are Freddie Gibb’s and Madlib dropping a “1974” version of their 2014 classic Piñata, Back remixes on 7-inch, both Austin Powers soundtracks and a new release of the Who’s A Quick One Live.
The full list of releases, as of June 1, can be viewed here.
