Here we go - Record Store Day 2013 arrives....

RSD 2013 has more records than ever before, and for me less interesting ones than ever before. As usual, sifting through the mediocre, the cash grabs, the weird and useless and the gems is a challenge - but \i did manage to get some great stuff.

First up, let me tell you that the double-Lp Mad Season "Above" reissue is drop dead awesome. It sounds downright amazing, as it was mastered by Kevin Grey at Cohearant. Nice RTI pressing too. Get this one - a great album.

Second, the 45 collaboration between Sharon Van Etten and Shearwater is to me a major highlight, covering Tom Petty on the A-side where both artists step outside their usual setting and while they both retain their character, the sum is greater than the parts - a minor masterpiece. Fabulous 4 panel gatefold cover too.

Moving on, the Pink Floyd "See Emily Play" 45 on pink vinyl is a cash grab for sure, it has a trivial poster and promotional card that makes it double the price of any other 45 at best, but it is good, and perhaps shows that a Syd era Pink Floyd Immersion box is getting closer to reality.

The Roky Erickson single on Light In The Attic is very good. So is the the Black Keys/Stooges single.

The Ty Segall 45 of T.Rex covers is pretty interesting and mine is the sure to be fought over clear vinyl pressing.

None of the Sundazed singles  were of interest and as usual they are way over-priced. Pass.

The Grateful Dead's usual RSD entry this time is a double 1966 Rare Cuts & Oddities which as usual is a fine record, fabulous sounding and well pressed at RTI - essential.

I picked up all 3 mono Miles Davis titles - Round About Midnight, Milestones and Someday My Price Will Come - all good Kevin Grey remasterings, pressed at RTI. None were all that revelatory, in fact, although Grey did a great job, tonally the recent MOFI Milestones CD sounds more realistic. Overall the mono mixes are, as expected, more punchy and direct, but really only Someday My Prince stands out as it has a rather aggressive mono mix.

The Tame Impala EP is not all that great, it shows the band nowhere near their last 2 LP's, and sounds pretty mediocre. Don't go out of your way for it, this is one of the many cases of RSD being a venue to put out a title that at any other time would really have little reason for existence.

On to Vanguard - the Buddy Guy "Hold That Plane" is exceptional, so is Big Mama Thornton's "Jail". The Country Joe reissue sounds excellent. less so the Blues At Newport 1963 which did not grab me either sonically or musically - but then again, the Pure Pleasure reissue of the seminal Chicago - The Blues Today, the real |Vanguard blues classic, is so incredibly good that everything else seems a sloppy second.

The Van Dyke Parks "Song Cycle" mono reissue is a real gem as the mono mix is quite different and vibrant, it sounds amazing and is another solid RTI pressing.

There is a 12" 45 from McCartney and Wings - 4 version of Maybe I'm Amazed from the 'Wings Over America' tapes, mono one side (pretty cynically useless as these were stereo 70's recordings) and stereo on the other - a short edit and a longer one. A curiosity and likely for collectors and completists only, sure to sell out fast.

A few other dribs and drabs, but that's the highlights from here. Some great stuff amidst the sea of mediocrity, but overall, not as exciting a Record Store Day as previous years.