Followers

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Record Store Day exclusives: Buck Owens, The Knack

I was lucky enough to receive one of the Owens packages and can attest it is very cool-looking (haven't opened it yet though) - especially for country music fans.

Omnivore Recordings will have two exclusive releases for Record Store Day on April 21.

The LA-based record label will issue an original, limited edition, vintage 1970 Buck Owens coloring book coupled with a four-song flexi-disc, and digital download card, of rare live material from the legendary country music Hall of Famer and pioneer of the Bakersfield Sound.

Alongside that unique collection, the label will also issue a 10" authorized bootleg EP from 1978 featuring L.A.’s pre-fame, power pop group The Knack. Both Buck Owens and The Knack are vinyl only, limited edition releases exclusively for Record Store Day and available only at participating retailers.

BUCK OWENS: 1970 COLORING BOOK with RED, WHITE OR BLUE FLEXI-DISC (2500 COPIES)
 
Commissioned by Buck Owens in 1970, these original, uncirculated vintage coloring books have been safely stored by Buck Owens Enterprises for over 40 years! Original copies are sought-after by collectors and they are now officially being made available to the public this spring, for the first time since 1970.

Omnivore Recordings is hand coupling a limited edition of 2,500 original stock coloring books with a newly pressed flexi-disc that includes four rare live tracks. The story told in the coloring book culminates in Buck & The Buckaroos playing a concert with four of Buck’s biggest hits “Act Naturally,” “Together Again,” “I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail,” and “Crying Time” specifically highlighted and named below the double-page spread (and you can color it in). The flexi-disc and digital download card included with this coloring book feature rare live versions of those exact songs, curated from Buck Owens & The Buckaroos historic performance at the White House for President Lyndon Johnson on September 9, 1968.

This collector’s bundle features a red, white or blue flexi-disc (your choice), which is viewable from the outside of the package and contains all four of the above-mentioned songs. The album Live At The White House, from which the tracks are drawn, was recorded in 1968 and issued almost exactly four years later on September 5, 1972 and has never been reissued in any form.

Just in time for this election year, Omnivore Recordings will release Live At The White House in its entirety for the first time on CD. This reissue also features a bonus, previously unissued, set that was recorded specifically for the astronauts of Apollo 16 in 1972.

“We at Buck Owens Productions have enjoyed working with a record label that thinks outside the box set!” said Jim Shaw, longtime keyboardist for the Buckaroos, and executive of Buck Owens Productions. “Omnivore constantly surprises and delights us with their creative ideas.”

THE KNACK: LIVE IN LOS ANGELES, 1978 - 10" SPLATTER-COLORED VINYL (1,500 COPIES)

Culled from The Knack’s late-frontman Doug Fieger's personal tape archive, Live In Los Angeles, 1978 captures The Knack at their pre-fame height, right before they would sign to Capitol and hit the big time.

An authorized bootleg, this EP is being presented for the very first time as an historical document to the band and Los Angeles’ late-’70s musical era. The Knack Live in Los Angeles, 1978 is limited to an edition total of only 1,500 10" records on red/yellow splatter-colored vinyl.

Side one of the 10" features two audience-recorded live songs that capture the spirit and atmosphere in The Troubadour the night they were recorded in 1978. Side two features two tracks exclusive to this release, and were recorded at a rehearsal in 1978. “Romeo Eyes,” was never recorded in the studio and appears here for the first time anywhere. All tracks have been restored by legendary Knack producer, Richard Bosworth (KISS, Neil Young, Warren Zevon), and all are previously unreleased.

A: Live in Los Angeles, 1978
1. Let Me Out            2. My Sharona

B: Anawalt Rehearsal, 1978
1. Romeo Eyes         2. Art War

“The Knack has the most ardent and loyal fans in the world,” said sister, and successor of Fieger’s estate, Beth Falkenstein. “This release is the best way to thank them for keeping my brother's legacy alive. And to have some of Doug's personal friends at Omnivore at the helm of this project makes it all the more moving.”

In May, Omnivore Recordings will release a full 14-track CD set by The Knack titled Havin' A Rave-Up: Live in Los Angeles, 1978.

For more information and to find your local shop and availability, please visit www.RecordStoreDay.com/venues and www.OmnivoreRecordings.com.

No comments: