Saturday, August 9, 2008

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue: 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition Coming in September


MILES DAVIS - Kind of Blue: 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition 2-CD + DVD + LP + book + poster (Columbia/Legacy)

Originally released by Columbia Records on August 17, 1959, Kind of Blue heralded the arrival of a revolutionary new American music, a post-bebop modal jazz structured around simple scales and melodic improvisation. Trumpeter/band leader/composer Miles Davis assembled a sextet of legendary players -- Cannonball Adderley (alto sax), Paul Chambers (bass), Jimmy Cobb (drums), John Coltrane (tenor sax), Bill Evans (piano) (Wynton Kelly plays piano on “Freddie Freeloader") -- to create a sublime atmospheric masterpiece. Fifty years after its release, Kind of Blue continues to transport listeners to a realm all its own while inspiring musicians to create to new sounds -- from acoustic jazz to post-modern ambient -- in every genre imaginable.

Disc 1 of Kind of Blue: 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition will feature the original album in its entirety with the “Flamenco Sketches" alternate take, the rare “Freddie Freeloader" false start, and a selection of in-the-studio dialog from the Kind of Blue sessions. Disc 2 is a CD of rare musical material circa the Kind of Blue recordings including the very first session by the classic Miles Davis sextet (May 26, 1958 -- Davis's 32nd birthday -- with Adderley, Coltrane, Evans, Chambers and Cobb), more than a half hour's worth of studio material -- “On Green Dolphin Street," “Fran-Dance," “Stella By Starlight," “Love For Sale" -- previously available only on the two-time Grammy award winning Miles Davis & John Coltrane boxed set ("The Complete Columbia Recordings 1955-1961); and the first authorized release of two extended live performances: “So What" from the April 9, 1960 Den Haag Concert featuring Miles, Coltrane, Kelly, Chambers and Cobb; and “All Blues" from the April 8, 1960 Zurich Concert (featuring the same band). The final disc, Disc 3, is a DVD including an in-depth documentary illuminating the story behind Kind of Blue; and the historic April 2, 1959 television program “Robert Herridge Theater: The Sound of Miles Davis" starring Miles Davis and John Coltrane.

This deluxe Collector's Edition will also include a vinyl LP copy of Kind of Blue, a poster, and an LP-sized 60-page hardbound book.

Sub Pop Records’ 20th Anniversary

Happy Birthday, Sub Pop

Most of you are probably scratching your heads right about now and saying “Who?” “What?” “Huh?”

2008 is Sub Pop Records’ 20th anniversary, and if you’re one of those who believes good music isn’t sponsored by Ford Trucks or a by-product of the American Idol scrap heap, then you need to celebrate this one. They’re the guys who signed Mudhoney, Nirvana, and Soundgarden - and instead of becoming some shack-house relic to grunge, they’ve managed to profit from actually fostering bands the major labels wouldn’t event touch. Thus, enabling the rest of us to shoulder a feeling of superiority to have even heard of these groups years later. In other words, they’re always ahead of the curve.

Want proof? How about acts like The Shins, Sleater-Kinney, Afghan Whigs, L7, Band of Horses, Iron & Wine, The Postal Service…ah sweet Jesus, I could go on forever. Take a look at the following…and folks, this ain’t even their entire catalogue… Just a taste of the Sub Pop musicians:


10 Minute Warning, 5ive Style, A Frames, Afghan Whigs, The Album Leaf, All Night Radio, Band of Horses, The Baptist Generals, Beachwood Sparks, Steven Jesse Bernstein, Big Chief, The Black Halos, Blitzen Trapper, The Blue Rags, Broken Girl, The Brunettes, Sera Cahoone, The Catheters, Chappaquiddick Skyline, Billy Childish, Chixdiggit, Chris and Carla, Codeine, Combustible Edison, Comets on Fire, Constantines, Cosmic Psychos, David Cross, CSS, Damon and Naomi Davis, Dead Moon, Death Vessel, Dntel, Julie Doiron, Heather Duby, Dwarves, Earth, The Elected, Elevator Through, Elevator to Hell, Jeremy Enigk, Eric’s Trip, The Evil Tambourines, Fastbacks, Steve Fisk, Fleet Foxes, Flight of The Conchords, Fluid Fruit Bats, Gardener, Gluecifer, Go! Team, The Go, godheadSilo, Grand Archives, Green Magnet School, Green River, The Grifters, The Gutter Twins, Handsome Furs, The Helio Sequence, The Hellacopters, Holopaw, Hot Hot Heat, Mike Ireland, Iron and Wine, Jale, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Damien Jurado, Mark Lanegan, Les Thugs, Jason Loewenstein, Loney, Dear Looper, Love as Laughter, Love Battery, Nebula, Nirvana, No Age, Patton Oswalt, Oxford Collapse, Pernice Brothers, Pigeonhed, The Postal Service, Radio Birdman, The Rapture, Red House Painters, Red Red Meat, Rein Sanction, The Reverend Horton Heat, Rogue Wave, The Ruby Suns, Sebadoh, The Shins, Six Finger Satellite, Sleater-Kinney, Soundgarden, The Spinanes, Rosie Thomas, The Vaselines, The Walkabouts, Wipers, Wolf Parade, The Yo-Yo’s, Michael Yonkers, Zen Guerrilla, Zumpano

Source: http://mixtapetherapy.wordpress.com/

Most of Wolfmother Quits Band

If you have ever had the chance to see Wolfmother, then you will be saddened by this news. But, I have a feeling that Andrew Stockdale will be able to land on his feet, he is a true marvel.

Aug 08, 2008
Wolfmother is getting a major facelift.

The Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath worhsipping classic rockers endured a lineup meltdown, which saw bassist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett throw in the towel, leaving singer/guitarist Andrew Stockdale to mind the shop alone. He plans to regroup with a new lineup and continue under the Wolfmother name.

Vinyl records are getting back in the spin

by Brian Anthony Hernandez


Vinyl records are like fruits and vegetables, insists Saul Moss. "When they're in season, you've got to have it, and when they're not, you get rid of them," said Moss, owner of Cleveland's Downtown Records & Tapes, which sells new records of current and oldies styles.

Seduced by compact discs and byte-sized digital formats, music fans found the 1980s and '90s the ripe time to abandon the classic audio format. Moss saw his store's vinyl inventory dwindle from 95 percent of all its merchandise when it opened in 1950 to 5 percent earlier this decade.

But recently, the season for vinyl records has returned, bringing with it reborn vinyl fanatics and a new generation of addicts, say Moss and other sellers throughout Northeast Ohio.

"We saw an increase in sales starting about five years ago," said Rob Pryor, general manager of Cleveland Heights' Record Revolution, which has been in business since 1968. The store sells used records.

"We definitely get more and more people coming in for vinyl," Pryor said.

The most recent sales report from the Recording Industry Association of America shows the U.S. music industry sold 36.6 percent more extended-play and long-play records in 2007 than it did in 2006. That upswing increased vinyl-record sales revenue by 46.2 percent, taking a toll on CD sales revenue, which decreased 20.5 percent during the same period.
Collectors seek vinyl for the album art. DJs get them to scratch. But many people turn to the format for its audio quality.

"The analog sound of vinyl is where it's at, because the digital sound is just a reproduced sound. Analog might have a couple of crackles and pops, but on a good system, it sounds like the band is right in the room for you," Pryor said.

Other signs point to the revival of the classic format that emerged in the 1930s, when RCA launched the first commercially available long-playing record.

When Radiohead's album "In Rainbows" came out in October, Music Saves in Cleveland sold more of it on vinyl than on CD.

Coffeehouses and lounges in cities such as Portland, Ore., are featuring vinyl-record listening sessions. Stores like Urban Outfitters are selling portable record players.

Last fall, Amazon.com started a vinyl-only section. Vinyl-record pressing plants are ramping up production, and some musicians, such as Hell's Information from Akron and other indie-rock bands, are selling albums primarily on vinyl.

Events such as Record Store Day in April and Vinyl Record Day this Tuesday celebrate the vinyl culture.

"One main reason for the vinyl resurgence among the younger people is [that] labels offer free digital downloads with the purchase of their records," said Kevin Neudecker, co-owner of Music Saves, which carries 10 times more new and used vinyl than it did when it opened in 2004.

"That crowd gets disappointed and mad now if they can't get the coupon for the free download."

Used vinyl records cost $1 to $12 at Music Saves, while new recordings there sell for $12 to $30, co-owner Melanie Hershberger said. Compared with prices for new CDs ($10-$24) and MP3s ($1 for a single on iTunes), new vinyl can be a little more expensive, but people are willing to shell out a few more dollars for the analog sound it produces, owners agreed.

Out West, an organization called the Vinyl Preservation Society of Idaho meets each month to promote the format's history and foster activity within the industry. At one meeting, members brought CDs, MP3s and records to see which sounded the best. They preferred the warmer audio from the turntables.

Cleveland's John Richmond, an avid jazz record collector for more than 50 years, agrees. "I could play you example after example of LPs that sound much better than the reissued CD versions of the same music," he said.

Richmond, 65, never lost faith in vinyl records. He's been a fan ever since his father first played him turntable tunes in 1948. The walls of his house in Cleveland are lined with album covers, and he's a member of the International Association of Jazz Record Collectors.

Last week, he stopped into Record Revolution and bought a few vinyl records, including ones from jazz artists Don Patterson and Jimmy Smith. He isn't quite sure where the vinyl-record industry is heading either.

"If more people give up vinyl, the more there will be for me to buy," he said jokingly. "On the other hand, when -- if -- I want to get rid of my collection, I want people out there who want to buy them."

Adam Gravatt, who is part of the newer generation of vinyl admirers and manager of the Record Exchange in Cleveland, which mainly sells used vinyl, has a different thought.

"I don't think vinyl records will ever go away," the 23-year-old said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Source: http://www.cleveland.com

This Date In Music History- August 9

Birthdays:

Benjamin Orr, bassist with the Cars, was born in Cleveland in 1955. He also sang the lead vocal on one of their biggest hits, "Drive."

Golden Earring bassist and keyboardist Rinus Gerritsen was born in the Hague, Netherlands in 1946. The Dutch group's biggest hit was 1983's "Twilight Zone." (“Radar Love” peaked at #13 and was on the charts for 20 weeks while “Twilight Zone” peaked at #10 and charted for 27 weeks)

Happy birthday to Whitney Houston (born in 1963).

Barbara Mason ("Yes, I'm Ready") is 61.

History:

The Ramones split up in 1996.

In 1967, Jerry Lee Lewis' set at England's Sunberry Jazz and Blues Festival inspired such fervor in the audience that the organizers tell him to cut his set short. He does it again in 1968 when Jerry Lee kills ‘em at the England's National Jazz and Blues Festival. The audience is so revved up that the next act (The Herd) refused to go on.

In 1952, Kitty Wells became the first woman to top the country charts with "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels."

Bill Chase and three other members of the group Chase ("Get It On") died in a Jackson, Minnesota plane crash in 1974.

53 year old Jerry Garcia, leader of The Grateful Dead died on August 9, 1995 at a California rehabilitation centre. The official cause of death was a heart attack brought on by hardening of the arteries. He was reportedly buried in a red T-shirt and sweatpants.

Robert Zimmerman legally changed his name to Bob Dylan in 1962.

In 1958, Billboard Magazine changed the name of its weekly music chart from the Top 100 to the Hot 100, a name that will stick until 1996. Their first number one was "Poor Little Fool" by Ricky Nelson, his sixth hit record in the US.

In 1975, the Bee Gees had the first of several disco style hits in the US when "Jive Talkin" topped the Billboard Hot 100. The inspiration for the song came to Barry Gibb as his car passed over a Florida bridge on the way to a recording studio. His wife said "Hey, listen to that noise. It's the same every evening. It's our drive talking." The record made it to #5 in the UK.

The BBC's Rock & Roll television show Ready! Steady! Go! made its debut in 1963. The first episode featured The Searchers, Jet Harris, Pat Boone, Billy Fury and Brian Poole and The Tremeloes. The final show aired in December 1966 after 175 episodes.

Queen gave what would be their last ever live performance when they appeared at Knebworth Festival in 1986. It was their 658th and final concert performance.

In 2004, England`s Classic Rock magazine named AC/DC's Bon Scott the #1 frontman of all time. Scott, who died of a barbiturates and alcohol overdose in 1980, beat out Ozzy Osbourne, Freddie Mercury and Jim Morrison. Certainly up for debate, what about John Lennon?

The James Gang embarked on their first tour in 35 years in 2006. All three members of the group's definitive lineup are present: singer-guitarist Joe Walsh of Eagles fame, drummer Jimmy Fox and bassist Dale Peters. The first stop was in Morrison, CO.

Johnny Horton cut "North To Alaska" at his last recording session in 1960.

Muddy Waters performs for President Jimmy Carter at the White House in 1978.

In 1969, Jethro Tull scored their only UK No.1 album with their second release 'Stand Up'.

Paul McCartney recorded ‘Mother Natures Son’ at Abbey Road Studio’s London in 1968. No other Beatles were featured on the track, which was included on the ‘White Album.’

Promoter Don Kirshner held the first Rock Music Award Show in Santa Monica, California in 1975. Big winners included the Eagles, Bad Company, and Stevie Wonder.