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Strontium 90 "Police Academy" (1997)

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Strontium 90 was a quartet that briefly existed in 1977, and it featured the three musicians who would soon become The Police: Sting (aka Gordon Sumner), Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland. Who was the fourth member? That would be Mike Howlett, who had previously been the bassist for the progressive rock band Gong from 1973 until 1976, and who had sung the lead vocals on that band's 1976 album Shamal . It was Howlett who assembled Strontium 90, who recorded a half-album's worth of studio demo tracks and performed one live show before disbanding. Twenty years later, long after the Police saga had ended, a CD titled Police Academy was issued in 1997, containing studio and live tracks recorded in '77 by Howlett and the future Police men. According to Howlett's liner notes, the recordings on Police Academy mark the first time the Police trio worked together, in the studio and on the stage. At that time, like Howlett, the three future Police men had progressive rock back...
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The Power Station - "Living In Fear" (1996) and "Power Mad" (2026)

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The Power Station was a supergroup formed in the mid-'80's by two of the unrelated Taylors from Duran Duran -- bassist John and guitarist Andy -- who enlisted solo artist Robert Palmer as their singer, and Tony Thompson from Chic as their drummer. Their self-titled album from 1985 was produced by Bernard Edwards -- also from Chic -- and, like the band, was named after the New York studio in which it was recorded. The booming funk-rock sound of The Power Station was a commercial success, but (like so many other supergroup recordings) the material sounded under-developed. Edwards' reverb-heavy approach seemed designed to cover up shortcomings, but it resulted in a noisy, cacophonous high-tech mess, with every instrument mixed louder than it ought to have been. The album had a strong single in the sexy ska-funk number "Some Like It Hot", but the rest of it (except maybe for the hyperactive updating of Marc Bolan's glam-rock classic "Get It On (Bang A Gong)...
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Smashing Pumpkins "Live at Cabaret Metro 10-5-88" (2000)

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Live at Cabaret Metro 10-5-88 is a rare live CD by The Smashing Pumpkins, which was given away free to people who attended the Pumpkins' concert at the Metro in Chicago on December 2, 2000, which was supposed to be the band's final concert. (The Pumpkins would later reunite in 2006). This CD documents the band's very first performance at the same venue 12 years earlier, on October 5, 1988. That '88 show was the Pumpkins' fourth concert overall, but was the first to be performed by all four members of the classic lineup. The CD was limited to approximately 1,200 copies, and included a note which said: Please enjoy this special gift from the Smashing Pumpkins and Metro. This is a recording of the Smashing Pumpkins' first show at Metro on October 5th, 1988. The artwork is by James Iha. We hope you enjoyed the show, and we thank you for your many years of support. -The Smashing Pumpkins and Metro The very first Pumpkins performance took place three months b...
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The Beach Boys - "Still Cruisin'" (1989) and "Summer In Paradise" (1992)

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As someone who began collecting out-of-print records in the early 1990's, I can easily remember a time when many Beach Boys albums were not commercially available, and seemed to be rarely discussed. Which albums were those? Well, nearly every proper album that the band recorded after 1969 was unavailable and largely forgotten during the '90's. That began to change in the year 2000, when Capitol Records issued a 2-on-1 CD containing the 1970 Sunflower album and the 1971 Surf's Up album on one disc. Similar 2-on-1 reissues followed during that same year, until all of the band's studio albums up to the self-titled Beach Boys from 1985 were available again. Since then, those albums have remained commercially available -- physically, digitally, or both -- and some of them (particularly the ones released during the early-'70's) have become more appreciated over time. However, there are two Beach Boys albums that have been un available since the 1990's, an...
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Weezer "1192" (2026 Record Store Day LP)

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For Record Store Day 2026, a limited edition Weezer LP was issued. 1192 contains remixed recordings of Weezer's first studio sessions from mid-November of 1992 (hence the title), discovered on a reel of 1" Ampex tape by original bassist Matt Sharp. The LP was pressed in grey vinyl, to match the color of the tape reel, and was limited to 3,000 copies. The LP was classified as an "RSD First" release, and has still not been given a wider release as of one month later. But it is certainly only a matter of time before it does become available, due to both its quality and its historical significance. Produced by Sharp and mixed by Joe Chicarrelli, this LP features early versions of songs from Weezer's classic self-titled 1994 debut album (known as the "Blue Album") by the nerdy alternative band's original lineup, which featured Sharp on bass, as well as rhythm guitarist Jason Cropper (who was ousted from the band before the release of the Blue Album). ...
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Collective Soul "Touch And Go" (2026 Record Store Day LP)

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For Record Store Day in 2026, Collective Soul issued a limited edition vinyl LP titled Touch And Go . The LP was limited to 2,500 copies, and pressed in blue-swirl-colored vinyl. This new studio album from the Georgia-based rock band, who made their name during the alternative '90's, was inspired by '80's new wave sounds, particularly the sound of The Cars. (The album is presumably named after that band's 1980 song "Touch and Go"). The album was described as an "RSD Exclusive Release", and as of one month later has still not been given a wider release. However, a wider commercial release (either physical or digital) is likely to happen more sooner than later. Although this album is touted as marking a new creative direction for Collective Soul, lead singer and guitarist Ed Roland did pursue this genre once before. Touch And Go is reminiscent of a 2020 Record Store Day Black Friday release by The Living Room (aka Alien Attitude), another Rol...
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T. Rex "Songs From 'Marc'" (2026 Record Store Day LP)

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For Record Store Day 2026, the U.K.-based Demon label issued a T. Rex record titled Songs From "Marc" , containing ten tracks recorded by the Marc Bolan-led band for Bolan's 1977 TV series Marc . The LP was limited to 2,500 copies, and was pressed in orange vinyl. Marc aired on British television for six weeks in the late summer of 1977, exactly around the time of Bolan's untimely death in a car crash on September 16th of that year. The show promised an intriguing new phase in the career of the then-faded glam-rock star. He served as the show's host, and lip-synced songs recorded and mimed by the final T. Rex lineup. The show spotlighted other U.K. musical acts from the time, and also showed sequences of a dance troupe called Heart Throb moving to the sounds of recorded songs. For fans of Bolan, the low-budget show is fun to watch, but is also saddening, because it shows the not-quite-30-year-old singer and guitarist during his final days, when he was clearly w...
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Robert Plant and Saving Grace with Suzi Dian "All That Glitters..." (2026 Record Store Day EP)

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For Record Store Day 2026, Robert Plant's current band Saving Grace issued a limited edition vinyl EP containing four new studio tracks. The 12-inch, 45 rpm EP, titled All That Glitters... , was limited to 3,500 copies. Saving Grace was also the name of Plant's most recent album from 2025, recorded with the titular U.K.-based band, featuring co-vocalist and accordionist Suzi Dian. The sound of Saving Grace is mainly acoustic, and is inspired by folk, blues, Gospel, and Americana styles. Their mostly gentle sound is far more reminiscent of Plant's work with Alison Krauss than of his work with Led Zeppelin, but it has a more Celtic ambience, and an occasional touch of psychedelia. The 77-year-old Plant is no longer the heavy metal screamer that he once was. His vocals on Saving Grace are understated and controlled, and Dian's vocal accompaniment provides a "sweeter" counterpoint. The songs on the album are covers drawn from various genres, usually rendered w...
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