Tomorrow is the 2026 edition of Record Store Day. The event gets seemingly more and more chaotic every year. Every year, I think I’m going to skip it and disavow it. Then every year, I see things on the list that I need to have so I make my way to the store again. Rinse and repeat.
This year is, of course, no exception. The store I’m going to is going to have live bands performing throughout the day and hopefully I’ll be reconnecting with old friends as well. So it should be a good day, especially if I can grip some of the records I have on my shopping list.
Below is that short list. There are plenty of other items on this list that would be great to have, but the budget only stretches so far. So these are the top tier / must haves that I’ll be looking out for tomorrow. I suspect your list will be different, which is part of the fun of the experience. Everyone’s tastes are unique! Nevertheless, maybe some of the items I’m hyping will end up on your list as well.
Happy Hunting! See you on the other side.
Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band - Lick My Decals Off, Baby (Deluxe Edition)
Obviously, this is the one I want the most! Lick My Decals Off, Baby is quite possibly my favorite Captain Beefheart record (narrowly edging out Doc at the Radar Station and Trout Mask Replica).
This record features the drum / percussion duo of John French (Drumbo) and Art Tripp (Ed Marimba) along with Bill Harkeroad (Zoot Horn Rollo) and Mark Boston (Rockette Morton). Probably the best / most technical lineup Don Van Vliet ever assembled. It includes some of the band’s most unhinged songs (and that’s really saying something!) like the title track, “Dr. Dark”, and “Flash Gordon’s Ape”. It also includes stuff that is downright poppy, but with complex arrangements (not simplistic like the material Beefheart would wade into a few years later) such as “Woe-Is-Uh-Me-Bop”, “I Love You, You Big Dummy”, “The Buggy Boogie Woogie” and my favorite “I Wanna Find a Woman That’ll Hold My Big Toe Till I Have to Go”.
It also includes some of the most amazing solo guitar work that Zoot Horn Rollo ever performed on “Peon” and “One Red Rose That I Mean”.
The Deluxe Edition includes an entire record of unreleases instrumentals and alternate takes. Sorry, while I drool thinking about those songs!
Plus this album had this bonkers commercial made for it. How can you resist?
King Crimson - Live - Penn State University 29 June 1974
This is the classic ‘73 / ‘74 band (Fripp, Wetton, Bruford, Cross) right before they imploded. The song selections include all bangers like “Larks’ Tongues In Aspic Part II”, “Exiles”, “Fracture” and “Starless”. Some of the improvs were released as part of the excellent Great Deceiver box set (“Is There Life Out There?”, “Its For You But Not For Us”) but this is the first time the whole concert is assembled in one place outside of the DGM Club Download. I’m looking forward to having this awesome performance on wax.
Freeman - Freeman
This is a one-off solo project by Gene Ween (Aaron Freeman) that was originally released in 2014. I have the CD, but never acquired the vinyl record. I’m really hoping I can snag this wild, psychedelic mini-masterpiece. It’s a less goofy Ween, which makes it oddly more accessible even though the record still brings a ton of weirdness.
My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult - Sinister Whisperz The Wax Trax! Remixes
The Wax Trax!-era of My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult is my favorite. All of the classics are here in wild remixes by masterminds Groovie Mann & Buzz McCoy: “Do You Fear For Your Child?”, “Kooler Than Jesus”, “Nervous Xians”, “A Daisy Chain 4 Satan” etc etc etc! Plus this release features a GLOW IN THE DARK COVER!!! Yes, please.
Ahmad Jamal - At the Jazz Showcase Live in Chicago
There are a ton of jazz records I want on the list this year. However, as typical, they tend to be 2-3 LP sets that are massively expensive. (I’d love to hear the Cecil Taylor 3LP set, but I’d almost certain its waaaaaay out of budget). So if I were to pick one that I think wouldn’t be breaking the bank it would be this one. A live show of the pianists trio from March 20-21, 1976 featuring John Heard (bass) and Frank Gant (drums). I’ve read some raving reviews about both the performance and the recording quality of this one so it’s pushing it to the top of my jazz wishlist.
Masayoshi Takanaka - All of Me
Masayoshi Takanaka has been having a unprecedented resurgence recently, that I believe is because of some weird viral algorithms on Tik Tok. I’ll take it because that means we’re getting some fresh re-releases of his classic records!!
Drum Corpse - Volume 1: Resistance Drums
A huge list of top-notch drummers playing songs of protest. The song titles tell the tale: “No Kings, No Tyrants! We Will Not Be Silent”, “Hands Off Our Democracy”, “No Ice, No KKK, No Fascist USA” and so on. Players include Matt Chamberlain, Erik Eldenius, Kellii Scott, Jason Gerken, Greg Saunier, Blake Fleming, Matthias Bossi and tons more.
