Start Your Ear Off Right: New Releases
Last Tuesday kicked off our annual Start Your Ear Off Right reissue campaign, and if this is the first you’re hearing of it, then allow us to steer you toward what we wrote about it a week ago today. Go ahead and read it now. We’ll wait.
All done? Fantastic! That means you’re all caught up, so we can go ahead and tell you – not to mention all the nice people who already read last week’s post and were kind enough to politely loiter around while you finished – about this week’s new Start Your Ear Off Right releases.
And don’t forget: if you see something you like, they’re all limited edition, so don’t waste a single moment before picking up a copy for yourself!
January 17:
The Dictators, BLOODBROTHERS1-LP red vinyl, limited edition of 2,500 copies, $19.98 – The third album by the legendary New York City punk band, and arguably the best one that they’d released up to that point in their career. Definitely keep your ears open when listening to “Faster and Louder,” as it includes an appearance by an uncredited Bruce Springsteen.
Dee Dee King, STANDING IN THE SPOTLIGHT:
1-LP on 180-gram black vinyl, limited edition of 3,500 copies, $21.98 – We’ve cited this quote in the past, but in this instance, it’s worth citing again: Dee Dee proudly trumpeted this album in his autobiography, Lobotomy: Surviving the Ramones, noting that “Billboard called my solo album…a great party album and even said that my raps put the Beastie Boys to shame.” To that, we can only add that it is truly an album that must be heard to be believed.
Lupe Fiasco, FOOD AND LIQUOR
2-LP set on purple vinyl, limited edition of 2,500 copies, $29.98 – Fiasco’s debut album was legendary almost as soon as it was released, debuting in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 without even as much as a single top-10 hit. The Washington Post called it a “masterpiece of responsible rap,” and Jam! described it as “one of the sharpest and smartest hip-hop discs of 2006.”
Dead Boys, YOUNG, LOUD AND SNOTTY
1-LP on green vinyl, limited edition of 4,500 copies, $21.98 – Another ‘70s punk classic, this one comes from the Dead Boys, known to many ‘80s college rock fans as the band that Stiv Bators was fronting before he was the man behind Lords of the New Church. There are plenty of punk classics on this gem, but it’s the one that kicks off the proceedings – “Sonic Reducer” – that put the Dead Boys on the map.
Yes, GOING FOR THE ONE
1-LP picture disc, limited edition of 4,500 copies, $21.98 – After releasing some of the most epic prog-rock of the early ‘70s, Yes switched things up a bit for this album, resulting in considerable love from the critics and a #1 album in the UK. If you don’t know it from its title cut, you may recognize its other single, “Wonderous Stories.”
The Replacements, TIM
1-LP, $19.98
The Replacements, PLEASED TO MEET ME
1-LP, $19.98
The Replacements, DON’T TELL A SOUL
1-LP, $19.98
The Replacements, ALL SHOOK
1-LP, $19.98
What can be said about these classic college rock albums of the ‘80s and early ‘90s that hasn’t already been said? Not much, actually, which is why we’d suggest that you click right here to check out the piece we put together when these babies were released in a box set last year. Now, however, you can pick up the individual albums, just in case you were one of those people who didn’t want to buy a second copy of an album that was already in your collection. Of course, these sound better than the ones you have, but…no, no, forget we said anything. Especially forget the fact that these are also limited-edition releases, so you won’t be able to get a sonically-upgraded copy if you don’t hurry. Let the people who really want these things go ahead and get theirs.
Nah, just kidding. Get thee to a record store for your copy right now
