Metallica – The $5.98 EP: Garage Days Re-Revisited Review
Garage Days has FINALLY been reissued. Although the music is available on Garage Inc., the original EP had been out of print since 1989. Now, the artwork and track list have been restored. Furthermore, the songs have been remastered.
Metallica have been truly exhaustive in their ongoing reissue campaign. Unlike the first three albums, the band opted not to release deluxe editions with bonus material. Instead, the focus is on recreating the listening experience of 1987. To meet this end, Metallica did not disappoint!
Garage Days Re-Revisited is available in multiple formats. Anyone that still owns a functional tape deck can purchase The $5.98 EP on cassette. Fans of digital music can purchase the CD in a long-box, just like the eighties!
The vinyl edition is pressed in multiple formats. In addition to standard black, picture discs are available directly from the Metallica website. Orange vinyl can be purchased at independent record stores. All records include a digital download card!
In 1987, The $5.98 EP- Garage Days Re-Revisited was literally $5.98. There was even a hype sticker instructing fans “DO NOT PAY MORE!!!”
30 years later, no one expects to buy a new slab of vinyl under 6 bucks. To Metallica’s credit, they have kept pricing low. Amazon offered the record for $12.98, a virtually unheard of price in the world of modern vinyl.
The CD could be pre-ordered for $6.97. This is CHEAPER than the original price. CD’s were once an expensive media. The name had been altered to The $9.98 CD to reflect this reality.
I set out to score Garage Days on vinyl. I typically prefer black but am a firm believer in supporting independent record stores. My local shop was stocked with the orange vinyl that was exclusively available to indie retailers.
It’s interesting to hear this classic EP on vinyl. My childhood copy of Garage Days was on cassette. Both sides of the tape included all 5 songs uninterrupted.
The listening experience is quite different with vinyl. “Helpless” and “The Small Hours” occupy Side One. The listener must physically flip the record for the final three songs. Despite being around to buy the original EP, I feel like I’m rediscovering Garage Days in the way that Metallica intended.
The EP comes across as a fun record. In reality, it’s the product of a band in mourning. Obviously, Garage Days is the first Metallica record since Cliff Burton passed away. Forced to soldier on with a new bass player, the band kept a light-hearted vibe, referring to Jason as “Master J. Newkid” in the liner notes. Cliff, however, is mentioned at the top of the thank you list.
There is an unlikely name lurking in that list. The band thanks “Ted Nugent for studio time.” The Nuge had finished recording his If You Can’t Lick ‘Em…Lick ‘Em album early and gifted Metallica that studio time!
Although the album was recorded in a top-notch professional studio, the songs were rehearsed in Lars’s garage. The band described the sessions in their own words on the rear sleeve. Despite having access to a “fancy, so-called ‘REAL’ rehearsal studio, it ‘HELLA SUCKED!'” With Newsted overlooking the project, the band (EXCEPT KIRK) “super-duty soundproofed” the garage, and rehearsed songs that comprise a now classic EP!
