Record Store Day – Friend or Foe?

My Beatles record collecting journey began in 1977. My first record was the Beatles Live At The Hollywood Bowl; a peculiar introductory point but I was fascinated by the sheer energy and enthusiasm emitted from the grooves of that record. Of equal significance to me was the inner sleeve which portrayed all the available releases in “The Beatles Collection”. Being a collector by nature, I guess, that was all I needed to kick start an addiction into the world of Beatles record collecting and there was a finite and realistic endpoint to achieve a complete set of records. Even with the realisation that there was an expanded universe of solo material to collect too, even this was an achievable aim.

Things would change over the years and there would be certain moments that challenged my faith in the project, starting with the multiple releases of “No More Lonely Nights”, the conundrum of CD or vinyl or both, Archive Editions etc … but nothing has tested my resolve more than Record Store Day and it’s effect on the record companies that now have carte blanche to release expanded releases and in many cases, as limited editions and at price points that are prohibitive to many hard core fans.

Paul’s releases may be the most guilty of following this pattern his Single Box Set and the Egypt Station mega, ultimate, super-duper, brief-case release including jig-saw may be the pinnacle of this but George’ All Things Must Pass crate and John’s recent Gimme Some Truth EP collection are also complicit of the crime of fan exclusion.

I have long since banished the thought of having it all and am now more selective of the items that are added to the collection. Will I ever give up … hell no! I still love the thrill of the chase but I don’t feel compelled to join an early morning queue on the off chance of picking up a RSD release. Limited editions are problematic too in that they promote the grifters who hoover up RSD items and sell them at massively inflated rates online shortly afterwards.

How about you? Have you ever reached the tipping point and what was it? Let us know about your collecting journey, share some pictures of your collection and your prized items. What is your holy grail? We would be happy to share your experiences, so do drop us a line.

All the best,

Gwyn.