When this album was released in 1969, probably only the five members of the US rock band knew that it would be their last. A year earlier, while they were working on »Bull Of The Woods« in the studio, they realised that the band had reached its zenith. Hardly a good omen for the 13th Floor Elevators, but the record created in those studio sessions reached absolute classic status in the rock genre. Black and white vinyl edition.

Charles Mingus struck gold in 1960. The band leader had been invited to record some sessions for the newly formed Candid label. The complete artistic freedom given to Mingus allowed him to experiment with unusual ensemble combinations. The result was three high-calibre albums that established the double bass player in the pantheon of jazz. 63 years later, Candid has unearthed several unreleased recordings of these sessions

Three Kids, De La Soul, their first record, or: the most critical, some say, because Prince Paul, the producer, helped himself to the buffet of music history. From Steely Dan to Johnny Cash to Kraftwerk, everything was there and it was the beginning of everything: »3 Feet High and Rising«! Then there were stories from the street and nonsense in your head that you didn't even have to make up when you were 15 in the eighties, you just had to let it happen. Incidentally, the record companies thought the same thing years later when they had to remove every single sample. Now, for Record Store Day x Black Friday 2023, the whole thing is being released as a limited edition 7-inch box set.

The best of many collaborations between musician and poet Gil Scott-Heron and keyboardist and flautist Brian Jackson. Blues, soul and jazzy vibes in minimalist arrangements form the basis of Scott-Heron's commentary on the social reality of African-Americans in 1974. The album's influence on hip-hop and neo-soul was huge. First re-release in almost 20 years, black and white vinyl with inside-out effect, gatefold cover with OBI strip and printed inner sleeve

Formed in Chicago in 1987, The Jesus Lizard have been known for their relentless noise rock ever since. They also prove this with their sixth studio album, »Blue«, released in 1998, on which they mercilessly turn their back on the mainstream. What may have been too uncommercial, too weird and too loud back then is now the very magic that is inherent in this record. Limited re-release as a blue vinyl edition, exclusive to Record Store Day x Black Friday 2023.

»Court and Spark« is the most commercially successful album by one of the most influential musicians of our time. Now several previously unreleased demos made in the lead up to the 1974 album are being released. But why listen to demos when the actual album is... well, because they are closer and more intimate in their rawness! If you like Joni Mitchell without the pomp, you'll find what you're looking for here.

Pushing 50, Galt MacDermot would have been well placed to call it a day; the hippies from Hair had already brought a good chunk of money to his composer's account. But MacDermot didn't decide to throw all his money into highjinks, but instead chose to say, »Enough with musicals, now it's time for some jazz!«. So he jotted down some notes and in the studio came up with »Black is Beautiful«. Later, half the East Coast kissed his feet for it. That's probably why »Ghetto Suite« is one of his most expensive records on Discogs. Tidal waves are now pulling sharks' teeth.

Their best album was »Forbidden Places«, which is why this fifth Meat Puppet record was unjustly overlooked back in 1991, when leather jacket moustaches and cowboy boots were less fashionable and the kids smelled more of teen spirit than fragile masculinity. The dad-rock vibes of »Forbidden Places« certainly didn't come from the major-label move that made Meat Puppets the musical neighbours of ZZ Top, their favourite band. It was simply always there. And that's OK, because somebody has to be able to afford the opulent new edition on Real Gone Music.

Mike James Kirkland grew up in Mississippi, and sang in a gospel choir. Then came the late sixties and the records of Curtis Mayfield, which prompted him to pack his bags and move to California. This is the starting point for »Hang On In There«, which the man with the illustrious name of Mike James Kirkland recorded with his brother in 1972. It sounds like a cross between Gil Scott-Heron's preaching and Marvin Gaye's string-drenched missionary music. No wonder John Legend got wind of it one day.

One of the longest singles in music history, »My Father My King« is over 20 minutes long. It is a reinterpretation of the traditional Jewish prayer of supplication »Avinu Malkeinu« by Scottish post-rock band Mogwai. Three guitars between quiet passages and epic widescreen sound, bursts of noise, feedback and distortion. File under: Lou Reeds »Metal Machine Music«. Single-sided 12-inch white vinyl and first re-release since the 2001 release, limited to 2,000 copies.

I'm a passionate critic of the idea that the music world was once cooler than it is now. However, War seriously puts me on the defensive. »World Is Ghetto« was America's biggest selling album of 1973. With its socially critical lyrics, life-affirming funk and psychedelic jazz, War invited people to dance. If, according to Antonio Gramsci, politics is like a pitched battle, I can only hope to share a trench with War. The re-release on RSD is commemorating its 50th anniversary with a collector's edition.

One of the best-known reissue labels of the last ten years is, for once, not releasing a reissue. Instead, »Light In The Attic« delivers a beautifully presented disc with 20 unreleased cover versions. Soul man Charles Bradley covers Sugarman Sixto Rodriguez, while avant-garde great Leslie Winer covers the great folk musician Tim Buckley. Unlikely bedfellows, lovingly presented on »Light In The Attic & Friends« in coloured vinyl and with big, fat liner notes.