Music News & Notes

The Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia Band Confirm New Archival Releases

The next release from the guitarist’s solo canon, The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 2: Let It Rock, will collect highlights from Jerry Garcia Band shows that took place on November 17 and 18, 1975. The gigs were held at Keystone Berkeley in front of a hometown crowd, featuring the JGB lineup of Garcia, bassist John Kahn, drummer Ron Tutt and piano player Nicky Hopkins. Let it Rock includes covers of Chuck Berry (“Let It Rock”), Little Milton (“That’s What Love Will Make You Do”), Jimmy Cliff (“Sitting In Limbo”), Allen Toussaint (“I’ll Take A Melody”) and Hank Ballard (“Tore Up Over You”), as well as the Grateful Dead’s “Friend Of The Devil” and Garcia’s “Sugaree.” Three Hopkins originals are also featured: “Pig’s Boogie,” “Lady Sleeps” and the curiously titled “Edward, The Mad Shirt Grinder” (the latter of which Hopkins first performed with Quicksilver Messenger Service).

The Grateful Dead will also release the next installment in the Road Trips series. Road Trips Vol. 3, No. 1 features a complete recording of December 28, 1979, the same New Year’s Run that is featured on Dick’s Picks: Vol. 5. Recorded at California’s Oakland Auditorium following the closure of the Winterland, the gigs took place early in keyboardist Brent Mydland’s tenure in the band. Highlights include “Sugaree,” a rare “High Time,” “The Music Never Stopped,” the then new “Alabama Getaway,” “Greatest Story Ever Told,” “Playing in the Band,” “Terrapin Station,” “Casey Jones” and “One More Saturday Night.”

A limited edition Bonus Disc will also feature material from December 30, 1979, including a run from “Scarlet Begonias” into “Fire on the Mountain” and “Let It Grow.” Longtime Relix photographer Jay Blakesberg and Dead scribe Steve Silberman contribute to the album’s liner notes.

PRE-ORDER BEGINS NOW at www.dead.net

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THE BEATLES CELEBRATE THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY RELEASE OF ABBEY ROAD

Record Store Day is proud to celebrate this connection with a special 40th Anniversary edition of Abbey Road that includes the vinyl album, and a t-shirt that featuring the original artwork for the “Come Together”/”Something” 7” single, along with a corresponding poster. This limited edition deluxe package will be release on Vinyl Saturday, November 7th in the United States and will be limited to 5000 in the world. Check with your local store for availability.

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R.E.M., NIN, Pearl Jam, Rage Join Effort to Close Guantanamo Prison

The U.S. military's alleged use of music, played at ear-bleeding volumes, as an "interrogation tool" has come under fire from some of the musicians whose work is involved in the practice. That "interrogation tool" was allegedly used quite a bit at the United States' prison for terrorist suspects located in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Today, MTV reports that a number of artists have joined the National Campaign to Close Guantanamo, which supports President Obama's pledge to shutter the prison, even as it faces Republican opposition.

The coalition includes R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, Rosanne Cash, Steve Earle, and Billy Bragg. It also includes Nine Inch Nails, whose "March of the Pigs" is among the songs that have reportedly been used in interrogations, according to MTV. Other songs include Deicide's "Fuck Your God" and the Meow Mix jingle, which, yikes.

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Bon Jovi Hitting the Road for Two Years

At a press conference yesterday, Bon Jovi not only announced that they would be the opening act at the New Meadowlands Stadium, but would also be embarking on a two-year world tour.

The Circle World Tour starts on February 19 in Seattle, Washington and will include a residency at London's O2 Arena next June. The plans are to play 135 shows in 30 countries before wrapping up the tour in 2011.

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Motown Acts Hit Cruise Ships

Motown vets the Four Tops, the Dramatics and Freda Payne will be hitting the high seas this January as part of the label's 50th anniversary celebration. Hitsville Ventures, LLC is sponsoring the cruise aboard the Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas and will be filming for a special documentary on the label.

"We will film the shipboard concerts, the parties and all the wonderful activities with the artists and the fans, and create a permanent historical record of this unique once-in-a-lifetime experience," says Herbert J, Strather, CEO of Hitsville Venture.

Other possible acts for the cruise who have not yet confirmed include the Miracles, the Original Vandellas and the Contours.