Friday, April 11, 2008

UPCOMING VINYL RELEASES

U2 Back In Studio After Holiday Break

By: Don Kaye

U2 has returned to its Dublin studio to resume work on the band's next album, according to Billboard.com. The group took a break for the Easter holiday and is now recording again, with a message at the official U2 web site saying, "Everyone (is) still hoping the new album will be out this year." The yet-to-be-titled disc will follow up 2004's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and will be supported by a world tour in 2009. The band is working on the new CD with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, who together and separately have been involved with classic U2 records like The Unforgettable Fire, Achtung Baby and The Joshua Tree.

Meanwhile, July 22nd will see the arrival of remastered, expanded editions of U2's first three albums, 1980's Boy, 1981's October and 1983's War. Each will be reissued in a two-CD package featuring rare studio tracks, B-sides and live material. A single-disc heavyweight vinyl edition will be available as well.

U2 guitarist The Edge is overseeing the reissues, which began last fall with The Joshua Tree.

U2 recently signed a 12-year worldwide contract to have Live Nation handle its merchandising, digital and branding rights. Live Nation, which has handled U2's tours for 20 years, will now also oversee its merchandising, sponsorships and other corporate partnerships, its fan club and other Web sites, plus other digital, marketing and creative ventures.

Info from: http://www.kbsradio.ca/news/music/87/697172



The Magnetic Fields are readying the re-release of their catalog on full-length 12" vinyl albums. Merge Records will start the run with "The Charm of the Highway Strip," out on May 6 in the US. Nonesuch Records will follow this summer with a pressing of "Distortion," the band's January 2008 release. This fall, Merge Records will release the vinyl edition of "Get Lost."

Men, Women, and Children, the electro-punk outfit formed by former Glassjaw guitarist Todd Weinstock have announced plans to release a new 7-inch/digital single. The release is the follow up to their self-titled Warner/Reprise full length, and first since parting ways with the label.

The record is titled Ultra Hot Volcano [7-inch/digital] and is due out May 06, 2008. Along with a wide release on iTunes/eMusic, the single will be pressed as a limited-edition 7” vinyl (all hand-numbered, on red vinyl.

Baby Shakes’ defection from New York City to Atlanta was always intended to be a temporary move. In 2006, the black-miniskirt- and fishnet-flaunting trio of Mary Blount (vocals/guitar), Judy Hsu (guitar) and Claudia Gonzales (bass) migrated south to concentrate on playing music without worrying about the high price of the Big Apple.

The fruits of their labor are finally starting to take shape as the group’s third offering comes in the form of a red, vinyl, heart-shaped 10-inch EP via Rob’s House Records.

This Date In Music History- April 11

Today in 1970, the song "Let It Be" by the Beatles topped the charts and stayed there for 2 weeks.

In 1967, on the way back from visiting the Beach Boys' Smile sessions, Paul McCartney dreams up the idea for the Beatles' film "Magical Mystery Tour."
June Pointer of the Pointer Sisters ("Yes We Can Can") died of cancer in 2006.

Paul McCartney gives a twenty-minute concert from the roof of a building he owns in London in 1997. Uh, that’s been done before, hasn’t it?

Elvis Presley's "Follow That Dream" movie premiered in Ocala, Florida (near where it was filmed-- it opened nationally six weeks later) in 1962.

Big Brother & the Holding Company made their national TV debut on ABC's "Hollywood Palace" in 1968.

In 1966, Frank Sinatra cut "Strangers in the Night," one of his biggest hits and renowned for its shooby-be-doo-be-doo-ing.

Bob Dylan mades his first live performance in New York, opening for John Lee Hooker in 1961. The venue was Gerde's Folk City. Dylan played some new material, including "Blowin' in the Wind."

Elvis Presley had his first No. 1 record with "Heartbreak Hotel" in 1956. On the same day, his plane almost crashed as it flies from Los Angeles to Nashville. The incident will leave him with a permanent fear of air travel.

The late Richard Berry was born in Extension, Louisiana in 1935. He originally wrote and recorded the controversial frat anthem "Louie Louie," which became one of the most-covered songs in rock.

1936 - The SPEBSQSA (Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America) was founded. (I did not know that!)

In a rare joint appearance, both The Beatles and Rolling Stones performed at the New Musical Express concert in 1965. The show featured the magazine’s poll winners. Also on the bill are the Animals and Kinks, along with numerous pop acts.

In 1956, James Brown had his first chart entry when "Please, Please, Please" debuted on the Billboard R&B chart.

Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green left the group to do “what God will have me to do” in 1970. The group would carry on without him.

In 1970, Keith Emerson and Greg Lake added drummer Carl Palmer to create Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

In 1964, The Beatles set a music industry record which may never be equaled when they had 14 songs on the Billboard Hot 100. The songs ranged from "Can't Buy Me Love" at # 1 to "Love Me Do" at # 81.

In 1966, NBC broadcasts the last episode of the rock and roll TV show, Hullabaloo, which features Paul Anka, Lesley Gore, Peter and Gordon and The Cyrkle. The show had been on the air since January 1965, a year after ABC came up with Shindig!