Record Store Day 2022 is scheduled for Saturday, April 23, and the list of available product for this year's event has just been released. Of interest to BraveWords readers are limited edition titles from Judas Priest, Motörhead, Alice Cooper, Def Leppard, Dio, Bad Company, Black Label Society, Udo Dirkschneider, and many more.

A message states: "In 2022, there is one Record Store Day, April 23. We feel strongly that stores have learned and adapted in the past few years and are ready to bring back elements of a “traditional” Record Store Day, bands and beer and fun and people and whatever parts of the party they like, in ways that make them, and their customers, comfortable.  We also feel strongly that it’s important to focus on those stores themselves, and celebrate what they do year-round, in their communities.

As we’ve all learned in the past few years, it can be hard to make any plans in permanent ink, so it’s always a good idea to have a sort of contingency plan. A safety net for anything a few months still down the road. In the last few years, our plans for RSD Drops helped record stores around the world get through the pandemic, by marking a change in the way Record Store Day was focused. In “normal” times, the list of releases is a part of the celebration as a whole, but for RSD Drops, the focus became the releases themselves, and getting them into stores, and then into customer homes as safely as possible, bringing much-needed revenue and stock in a very unpredictable time. Importantly, those dates weren’t called Record Store Day, because they weren’t. They were release dates –important release dates, but not the party that Record Store Day is.  That was an important distinction.

But we’re well aware of where we are in terms of manufacturing, shipping, etc. etc. We help the stores deal with it every release day, and we know that our Saturday in April is no exception to issues. We worked proactively with artists, labels and distribution to push back by several months the planning for Record Store Day 2022, some of these titles have been worked on for more than a year. We’re also being proactive with designating an RSD Drops date on June 18. That will serve as a street date safety net, for titles that are part of the Record Store Day celebration, but for any number of reasons beyond controlling, can’t make it into stores on April 23. The List includes titles that are coming to record stores on Record Store Day in April and those that will be coming in June. As we become aware of issues for any specific title, that title will move to the RSD Drops date and you’ll see that on the List on the website."

A partial list of titles available on Record Store Day 2022, in alphabetical order, follows (quantity in brackets where available):

"We Die Young" - Alice In Chains - Legacy - 12" Vinyl - RSD Exclusive (14,350)
Cream Of The Crop 2003: Highlights - Allman Brothers Band - Peach Records  - 3 x LP - 'RSD First' (9,500)
XXX - Asia - BMG  - LP - RSD Exclusive (1,800)
Live 1979 - Bad Company - Rhino  - 2 x LP - RSD Exclusive (3,000)
Moving Pitchers - Charlie Benante - Megaforce - LP - RSD Exclusive (1,500)
Alcohol Fueled Brewtality Live - Black Label Society - eOne - 2 x LP - 'RSD First' (2,600)
Brutal Planet - Alice Cooper - eOne - 2 x LP - 'RSD First' (5,000)
Dearly Beloved - Daughtry - Dog Tree Records - 2 x LP - RSD Exclusive (1,800)
High 'n' Dry - Def Leppard - Mercury  - LP - 'RSD First' (6,000)
Dissociation - Dillinger Escape Plan - Cooking Vinyl - LP - RSD Exclusive (1,800)
Double Dose of Donington - Dio - BMG - 12" Vinyl - RSD Exclusive (2,700)
My Way - Udo Dirkschneider - Atomic Fire - 2 x LP - 'RSD First' (2,250)
L.A. Woman - The Doors - Rhino/Elektra     - 4 x LP - RSD Exclusive (11,000)
"Making A Fire" (Mark Ronson Re-Version) b/w "Chasing Birds" (Preservation Hall Jazz Band Re-Version) - Foo Fighters - RCA Records - 7" Vinyl - RSD Exclusive (9,500)
Hardware [Deluxe Edition] - Billy F Gibbons - Concord - CD Box Set - RSD Exclusive (2,000)
Live at Brixton Academy - Gojira - P & C 2013 Roadrunner Records, Inc.     - 2 x LP - RSD Exclusive (3,500)
Waking The Dead - L.A.Guns - eOne - LP - 'RSD First' (4,000)
The Tokyo Tapes - Steve Hackett - Esoteric Antenna - 3 x LP - RSD Exclusive (1,500)
Portals - Kirk Hammett - Blackened Recordings - 12" Vinyl - 'RSD First' (6,500)
Portals - Kirk Hammett - Blackened Recordings - CD - 'RSD First' (7,500)
Vol. 2  - Jazz Sabbath - Blacklake - LP - RSD Exclusive (4,000)
Acoustics - Joan Jett And The Blackhearts - Legacy - LP - RSD Exclusive (6,550)
Hero Hero - Judas Priest - eOne - 2 x LP - 'RSD First'  (4,700)
Waterloo Sunset EP - The Kinks - BMG - 12" Vinyl - RSD Exclusive (3,150)
Spit - Kittie - eOne - LP - 'RSD First' (1,700)
Lost Tapes Vol 2 - Motörhead - BMG - 2 x LP - RSD Exclusive (2,250)
Somewhere in California - Night Ranger - M-Theory Audio/Postseason Records - LP - RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus (1,000)
Wasted Time - Night Ranger - Frontiers Music - 7" Vinyl - 'RSD First' (1,500)
My Arms, Your Hearse - Opeth - Spinefarm - 2 x LP - 'RSD First' (1,500)
Live on Two Legs - Pearl Jam - Legacy - 2 x LP - 'RSD First' (20,600)
Unlimited Love - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Warner Records - 2 x LP - RSD Exclusive (5,000)
More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies) [50th Anniversary] - The Rolling Stones - ABKCO - 2 x LP - RSD Exclusive (7,200)
Revolusongs - Sepultura - BMG - LP - RSD Exclusive     (1,800)
Live At Studio 60 - Slash - BMG - 2 x LP - RSD Exclusive (2,250)
Kings & Thieves - Geoff Tate - Svart Records - 2 x LP - 'RSD First' (1,000)
Polaris - TesseracT - Kscope - LP - RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus (900)
Face The Face - Pete Townshend - Mercury Studios - 2 x LP - 'RSD First' (3,500)
It's Hard (40th Anniversary) - The Who - Polydor - 2 x LP - 'RSD First' (6,000)

View the complete list here.