Universal Music Enterprises will celebrate Black Friday this year with a series of "Back To Black" limited edition, individually numbered 10" vinyl releases from Soundgarden, Nirvana and Pete Townshend. Here are the details: Soundgarden - Before The Doors: Live On I-5 Soundchecks: "I will always be thankful to independent record stores for providing me with an encyclopedic source for an education in popular music. Especially of rare, import, indie, local, and experimental records, artists, and genres." - Kim Thayil
Hot on the heels of Soundgarden's highly successful 2011 summer tour, for Black To Black Friday UMe will release the individually numbered, limited-edition 10"-vinyl EP from Soundgarden - Before The Doors: Live On I-5 Soundchecks as the companion piece to the band's first-ever live album, Live On I-5, released earlier this year. Recorded during their 1996 tour, Before The Doors: Live On I-5 Soundchecks features "No Attention," "Never The Machine Forever" and a freaked-out version of the Doors' "Waiting For The Sun," taken from their soundcheck at Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland, CA, on December 5, 1996; "Room A Thousand Years Wide" taken from PNE Forum in Vancouver, Canada, on December 7, 1996; and "Somewhere" taken from their soundcheck at Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, CA, on December 4, 1996.
Nirvana – Nevermind: The Singles: This year marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Nirvana's generation-defining album Nevermind, which has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. And now, for the first time, all four of the original singles from this iconic album are being reissued in a limited-edition 10"-vinyl box set. Each box set will be individually numbered and this marks the first time Nirvana's music has ever been pressed on 10" vinyl. Featured are the band's monumental singles "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (edit) with its B-sides "Drain You" (LP version), "Even In His Youth" and "Aneurysm"; "Come As You Are" (LP version) with the B-sides "Endless, Nameless" "School" (live) and "Drain You" (live); "Lithium" (LP version) featuring the B-sides "Been A Son" (live), "Curmudgeon" and "D-7" (taken from a John Peel session); and "In Bloom" (LP version) featuring live versions of "Sliver" and "Polly." Each single comes in a slipcase picture sleeve and includes the original artwork. Earlier this year UMe released a two-disc Deluxe and a Super Deluxe five-disc box set to commemorate one of the most influential albums of an era. Nevermind shot up to No. 2 on the Billboard Catalog chart along with the recently released concert film Live At The Paramount DVD & Blu-ray debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard DVD chart.
Pete Townshend - The Quadrophenia Demos 1: Quadrophenia is one of the most widely recognized albums of The Who's career because of its classic depiction of mod culture, its renowned imagery, and the magnificent music and powerful performances. For Black Friday, UMe will release the first of two limited-edition, individually numbered, 10"-vinyl EPs, featuring six demos from the forthcoming "Director's Cut" box set of Quadrophenia, out November 15. Included are demo versions of "The Real Me" recorded in October 1972; "Cut My Hair" written in June 1972; "Punk" recorded in November 1972; "Dirty Jobs" recorded in July 1972; "Is It In My Head" recorded in April 1972; and the never-before-released track "Anymore," recorded in November 1971. The Quadrophenia Demos 1 is the first of two exclusive releases with the second, a five-track companion 10" EP, scheduled for release on Record Store Day in April 2012. It will be the first time any of these tracks appear on vinyl and will not be made available anywhere else. The combined two releases encompass 11 of the demos from the forthcoming box set and provide a unique insight into the creation of this landmark album.
The Soundgarden - Before The Doors: Live On I-5 Soundchecks, Nirvana – Nevermind: The Singles and Pete Townshend - The Quadrophenia Demos 1 will be made available at Record Store Day-participating stores worldwide. A list of all participating stores can be found at http://www.recordstoreday.com/Venues in the U.S. and http://www.recordstoreday.com/Venues?country=select internationally.