Buys & Receipt: RSD 2023 — Part 1

To whom it may interest,

A little late in the week to be recounting my couple hour Record Store Day spree, but I’ve been slow to engage with my purchases. It’s a rainy Wednesday evening and I’ve given in to “fuck it” mode work-wise, so let’s talk buys:

1). Ol’ Dirty Bastard — Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version 

I pulled a fresh X-ACTO blade so I could cut the shrink since the RSD hype sticker is wrapped around the top of the gatefold, forcing you to tear it off. I don’t have too many picture discs in my collection. Rumor has it that picture discs often don’t sound that good, but I’m pretty satisfied with what I’m hearing. 

I haven’t listened to Return to the 36 Chambers in a long time. I feel compelled to jack up the volume, but I’m mindful of my wife and daughter who may not want to hear ODB rapping, “Oh, I BEGGED! I BEGGED, ‘Easy on my balls, they’re fragile as eggs.’”  This truly is an off-the-wall album. Recently I was listening to Scaring The Hoes by Danny Brown and JPEGMAFIA, which showcases an array of crudely cut-n-spliced kitchen sink-level production choices, all easily attributable to the POV exhibited by its authors.

The same could be said for ODB, whose persona as an unpredictable loose cannon translates remarkably well on wax. His humor and overt vulgarity, that odd segment where he makes his throat click till it eventually swells into guttural mock opera, and the camp R&B and audible money shot in “Drunk Game (Sweet Sugar Pie)”… it somehow all makes sense. The RZA really knew his crew and ably crafted the environs to suit them. ODB was no exception, this entry in the Wu-Tang saga as dirty as the title promises.  

“Hippa To Da Hoppa,” “Rawhide,” and “Damage” are sequenced perfectly. 

2). Sunn O))) & Boris — Altar

It’s fair to say that Altar is the album that got me into Sunn O))). The excellent 2006 collaboration between the volume maximalist Sunn O))) and the musically malleably Boris was thankfully reissued on vinyl and executed beautifully in terms of its physical presentation. Metallic inks and illustrations, record-sleeve sized multi-page insert and band poster… I almost felt bad opening it. 

3). Beauty Pill — Describes Things As They Are

Yes, I already own this album. However, in light of the apparent issues that Beauty Pill’s Chad Clark experienced with the owner of Butterscotch Records, the fact that this new edition was released on Findings, which is Clark’s own label, and the fact that this is one of the best albums of the 21st century, I was happy to buy it again. 

I reviewed this for No Ripcord in 2015. It’s a rare instance when my assessment of an album hasn’t aged poorly and begged for reconsideration. 

To be continued. 

Sincerely,
Letters From A Tapehead