UMe Announces Exclusive Record Store Day Releases from Nirvana, Soundgarden & More

Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) is pleased to announce exclusive releases for Record Store Day from Nirvana, Soundgarden, Blue Note Records, Frank Zappa, Rick James and Public Enemy. All of these special releases will be available for purchase on April 19, exclusively at Record Store Day-participating indie music retailers.

Nirvana: "Pennyroyal Tea" and "I Hate Myself And Want To Die"

(Vinyl 7" single)

"Pennyroyal Tea" is officially released for the first time ever on 7-inch vinyl and features the B-side "I Hate Myself And Want To Die." This was originally to be released in 1994 but was cancelled due to Kurt Cobain's death.

Soundgarden: Superunknown: The Singles
(5 10" LP Box Set)

To celebrate Superunknown's 20th anniversary, the limited edition box set will include five, 10" LPs with 22 tracks, including demos, live, acoustic and original recorded tracks.

Blue Note Records:
Meade "Lux" Lewis: "Melancholy" and "Solitude"
(12" of original 78 rpm release as a 33 1/3 rpm single with one song per side)

The Meade "Lux" Lewis single is a historic record - it's the first-ever Blue Note release, BN 1, featuring two improvised blues ballads recorded on January 6, 1939, played by one of the greatest boogie-woogie pianists of all time. Originally issued on a 78 RPM single, this special record is on a 33 1/3 RPM 12-inch single, and uses the original black-and-pink label from the rare first 1939 pressings.

Albert Ammons: "Boogie Woogie Stomp" and "Boogie Woogie Blues"
(12" of original 78 rpm release | 33 1/3 single with one song per side)

More Blue Note history: the second-ever Blue Note release, BN 2, also recorded on January 6, 1939, and another two classics played by one of the other great boogie-woogie musicians of all time. Blue Note founder Alfred Lion discovered Ammons and Lewis at the Carnegie Hall concert event From Spirituals To Swing, a few months earlier, and chose them to launch his label. Originally issued as a 78 RPM single, this special record is on a 33 1/3 RPM 12-inch single, and also features the rare black-and-pink label.

Frank Zappa: "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow" and "Down In De Dew"
(7" single| Don't Eat The Yellow Snow FZ 1974 single edit reissue | Down In De Dew FZ 1973 Alternate Mix - Previously unreleased)

"This sizzles if you like Frank Zappa," Gayle Zappa says. Recorded in 1974, yet originally unreleased, "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow" and "Down In De Dew" are from the forthcoming 40th Anniversary Edition of Apostrophe(') and will be available for the first time on a 7" single.

Rick James: "You And I" 12" extended M+M Mix and "Fire And Desire" (Live In Long Beach) Rick James with Teena Marie
(12" single; Both sides previously unreleased)

From the Motown vaults, two tracks released for the first time: an extended, nearly 10-minute version of Rick James's first hit from 1978, mixed by John Morales of "M+M Mix" fame. The flip side is the long lost but now found live duet with Teena Marie, "Fire and Desire." Their epic, 20-minute rendition was recorded live In Long Beach, CA, July 1981, and is also mixed by John Morales.

Public Enemy: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
(LP reissue with a special 3-D lenticular cover)

In celebration of Def Jam Recording's 30th Anniversary and Chuck D being named RSD Ambassador for 2014, Universal Music Group and Island Def Jam are proud to reissue this classic LP with a special 3-D lenticular cover.

Released in June 1988 by Def Jam Recordings, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back is the second studio album by Public Enemy. Recorded in 1987 at Chung King Studios, Greene St. Recording, and Sabella Studios in New York City, the album charted for 49 weeks on the U.S. Billboard 200, peaking at No. 42. By August 1989, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Upon its release, it was hailed by critics for its production techniques and the socially and politically charged lyricism of lead MC Chuck D and has since been regarded by music writers and publications as one of the greatest and most influential albums ever. In 2003, the album was ranked No. 48 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, the highest ranking of all the hip-hop albums on the list.

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