Craft Recordings has been on tear in 2021 delivering some fantastic releases including some of our favorite Record Store Day 2021 albums. While not a vinyl release, their forthcoming Doc Watson collection looks like something folk and Americana fans need to put on their holiday shopping list.
Doc Watson’s influence on folk, bluegrass, country, blues, and gospel will be felt for another generation or more; the blind 7-time Grammy winner passed away in 2012 at the age of 89.
Craft Recordings have announced a Life’s Work: A Retrospective—a new, career-spanning collection that celebrates the life, music and enduring influence of the iconic guitar virtuoso Doc Watson.
Available for pre-order now, and out on November 12, the box set includes 101 tracks from the legendary roots artist, including collaborations with Alison Krauss, Chet Atkins, Bill Monroe and Ricky Skaggs.
The collection also features Watson’s work with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, as well as his prolific musical partnership with his son, Merle.
Accompanying the 4-CD set is an 88-page book, featuring extensive new liner notes by GRAMMY®-nominated author and compilation co-producer Ted Olson, plus never-before-seen photos. Pre-order now for $74.98 at Amazon.
Exclusive bundles featuring a Vanguard Records T-shirt are also available only on the Craft webstore.
You can find more information about the silver audio cassette version of A Charlie Brown Christmas here, but I have to tell you that the vinyl version which I’ve been enjoying with my children (who celebrate Chanukah) is a genuine delight. Craft Recordings have been doing a wonderful job with the Charlie Brown records and I’m enjoying the trip back in time to my own childhood with these wonderful records so far.
The first two Record Store Days were a huge success this year; minus a few hiccups that we address here. We really want to see smaller independent record stores have greater access to more copies which is something we’ve heard from a number of them over the past 3 months. In Episode 5 of our podcast we interviewed one store owner in Michigan who has participated from the very beginning who had a different take on the RSD concept and how he has navigated it so far.
Record Store Day Black Friday is just over the horizon and Craft Recordings have announced their participation which includes a brand-new Sam Cooke compilation, The First Mile of the Way, which highlights the singer’s formative years—including his gospel recordings with the Soul Stirrers and his early forays into pop music.
If you love the music of Sam Cooke, this compilation is something you really must own.
Craft is also offering several special vinyl reissues, including a 10th-anniversary pressing of Evanescence’s best-selling self-titled album; the first wide vinyl release of the Wrens’ acclaimed sophomore album, Secaucus; and a 180-gram vinyl edition of the Staple Singers’ Christmas record, The Twenty-Fifth Day of December.
