David Johansen David Johansen and the Harry Smiths RSD Exclusive Numbered Limited Edition One-Step 180g LP

Brick & Mortar/Indie Retail Exclusive! Can only ship to USA address!

TAS Rated 4/5 Music, 4.5/5 Sonics in the March 2026 Issue of The Absolute Sound!

The first vinyl release for the 2001 album David Johansen and the Harry Smiths, by the iconic American artist David Johansen (former lead singer of the hugely influential New York Dolls). David's enigmatic ability to hop and bend from genre to genre was put on display with this release, and its folksy blues was met with much love from critics and fans alike. It's a vital chapter in the story of this American icon.

This album has never been released on LP before and the SACD/CD version is out of print. This RSD Black Friday 2025 release is a numbered, 180g One Step Pressing Vinyl LP.

In theory, Chesky Records and David Johansen would be an unlikely pairing for a recording project... The link that connected the two was Harry Smith, a musicologist whose Anthology of American Folk Music (1952) inspired countless musicians, including Johansen, who in 1999 led a five-piece band that formed a semicircle around a Soundfield microphone and played songs from the anthology while Chesky's team recorded the proceedings. The first-ever vinyl pressing of the album, Evolution's One-Step LP brings out all the subtleties of a spacious recording that realistically captures the timbre of acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin, banjo, double bass, percussion, and Johansen's raspy voice. The album features songs by such blues titans as Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Lightnin' Hopkins along with compositions by musicians who will remain anonymous but whose lyrics tell deeply human stories that often reflect the dark side of human existence. If a visitor touts the virtues of AI music, play him the closing track from this LP, 'Oh Death,' before escorting him from the premises.