Record Store Day 2013 Releases

Are you ready for April 20?

In March, I half-heartedly think to myself that maybe I'll skip Record Store Day this year. After all, who needs the long lines and the mad rush to grab the records that you want? Last year, I even saw a young woman crying at Amoeba in Berkeley.

Then, I see the list of RSD releases and get excited. There's always a few items that I really want to get.

What are you most excited about?

Here's a preliminary list of this year's special Record Store Day releases.

New Patty Griffin LP Coming

Patty Griffin is set to release American Kid on May 7. 

Her first on the New West Records label, the album is expected to be released on vinyl. If I’m not mistaken, this will be the first of Grififn’s seven LPs to get the vinyl treatment.

The singer-songwriter, who was recently part of Robert Plant's Band of Joy, deserves to be more widely known. A few years back, she toured with Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shawn Colvin, and Dar Williams. They would sit in a line across the stage, taking turns singing. At the San Francisco performance, Griffin stole the show. No easy feat. She won over the crowd with a soaring performance of her song "Mary."

On her  stellar 2002 album 1000 Kisses, Griffin performs Bruce Springsteen's "Stolen Car." I think it is one of the best covers of a Springsteen song.

If American Kid comes anywhere close to her earlier efforts, it's going to be great.

The song “Ohio” off the new album can be heard at Griffin’s Web site.