The Townsend Music Sale is currently on and we've slashed prices on our 2020 Record Store Day stock by 50% and 2020 Love Records Stores stock by 25%, but there's also an additional stack of vinyl and CDs for sale at some very special prices. We've put together this pick of some of our personal favourites in the sale stock - but hurry - the sale ends midnight Sunday 6th June 2021! (Please note: The Who - Live In Amsterdam has now Sold Out.)
1) MTV UNPLUGGED - Liam Gallagher (2020)
Having infamously missed Oasis’s 1996 MTV Unplugged session through illness, this 2019 show at Hull’s City Hall gave Liam Gallagher a shot at redemption and the Mancunian legend did not let the chance go to waste! Mixing tracks from his solo career and Oasis classics - several of which are aided and abetted by Oasis guitarist Bonehead - the sound is fortified by a string section and backing singers, sublimely captured on this clip of fan-favourite 'Cast No Shadow'.
"The modest and warm performance sees Liam let down his trademark bravado, laying bare the bruised sincerity at the core of his unifying back-catalogue." - NME
Liam Gallagher's MTV Unplugged is available in the Townsend Music Sale on CD and a gorgeous Colour Vinyl edition, picking out the pink and green tones from the record's artwork.
2) Duran Duran - Duran Duran (1981)
Currently running a pre-order campaign on Townsend Music for their fifteenth studio album Future Past, is the album where it all began for Duran Duran. Originally released in 1981, this self-titled debut album shot the band to stardom reaching number three on the UK Albums Chart then remaining in the UK top 100 for 118 weeks, achieving platinum status by December 1982. Certified platinum in the UK, US, New Zealand and 2x platinum in Canada, the album features iconic tracks such as the controversial 'Girls on Film', 'Careless Memories' and - starting as they meant to go on - the iconic debut single 'Planet Earth'.
"Space-age keyboards, post-punk guitars, disco-inspired bass lines and Le Bon's vocal croon – which was at times yelping and enthusiastic, and at other times mysterious and edgy – collided for a decidedly modern sound." - Diffuser.FM
Duran Duran is in the Townsend Music Sale pressed as a limited edition double LP on White Vinyl.
3) Who By Fire - First Aid Kit (2021)
Inspired by the passing of Leonard Cohen, the Who By Fire concert was conceived as "a theatrical staging of Leonard Cohen’s songs, poems, and letters" by Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit. The ambitious event was held over two nights at Royal Dramaten Theatre in Stockholm in March of 2017 and captured for posterity on this sublime live release. The tribute performance by longtime fans Klara and Johanna includes a revolving door of guest talent and even a 20+ person choir on two songs. But it's perhaps when the duo perform alone that their light shines the brightest. Behold this stripped back version of 'Suzanne'; the harmonies of the pair as beguiling as on any track on their studio classics.
"This album will delight both fans of Cohen and First Aid Kit, but if you are new to either, it works as a delightful introduction." - Clash Magazine
This awe-inspiring document of an illustrious event in the history of folk music is in the Townsend Music Sale on Blue Double Vinyl, available while stocks last.
4) Live In Amsterdam - The Who (1969)
EDIT: This product is now Sold Out
The Who's reputation as pioneers of rock performance and genuine contenders for the title of 'best live band in the world' was at its peak in May 1969 following the release of Tommy.
This complete soundboard recording of the band's 29th September 1969 set at Concertgebouw, Amsterdam's most prestigious concert hall, was originally broadcast on AVRO-FM and features tracks from their classic rock opera plus numerous fan-favourites including 'My Generation', 'Summertime Blues' and a storming rendition of the early single 'I Can't Explain'.
"Live In Amsterdam is a vital document of the Who at their performing peak, and Probably The Best Who Live LP In The World". - Simon Wright (Only Rock ‘n’ Roll)
Due to minor damage to the corners of sleeves (as displayed in the store image - all units remain in cellophane) this vital live album is available on Double Red Vinyl at a very special price.