Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Vinyl Record News & Music Notes

Download The List Of Record Store Day Releases
go to www.recordstoreday.com

Record Store Directory

find a participating store in your area with the complete list of stores
Record Store Directory

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this is directly from the RSD site....i know that the proceeds will go to charity, but i don't agree with this (the release part, not the charitable contribution!).

if the mission of RSD is to celebrate the physical record store, going on the web is against what they stand for. i don't see why RSD does not include online retailers, as they are a driving force in the vinyl revival, maybe even more so than the brick-and-mortar establishments. for someone like myself, who does not have a record store near me and being physically disabled, the Internet is the way i buy my vinyl. it is convenient, offers a much larger selection, i can find what i want somewhere, the records are delivered to my front door, i can buy vinyl from other countries with a click of the mouse...there are so many reasons to have them included.


however, the folks at RSD exclude these online retailers based on the fact that they are not a physical location...yet, if you think about, they are just that.

I know seth frank from SoundStageDirect.com, we've talked many times, he is a real person, who orders the vinyl, stocks the vinyl, sells the vinyl, promotes the musicians and the vinyl record, yet his company is excluded from RSD because they sell online. seems to me if you add the thousands of online retailers to the celebration, it would become more of a global event than it is now.

while nothing replaces the crate digging ritual, many vinyl lovers will agree, it is places like SoundStageDirect.com, VinylCollective.com, RecordsByMail.com, and hundreds of others, not to mention the thousands of eBay sellers, who make the vinyl engine run. it's too bad that the folks at RSD don't recognize this and adapt to the ever changing market of the vinyl record.


here is what RSD says about the release:

RSD Breaking Rules With Beatie Boy Release

Record Store Day is celebrated worldwide, and sometimes special releases are available in one country, but not in another. That’s the case with Beastie Boys’ RSD release, a 7” single for “Make Some Noise/Make Some Noise (Passion Pit remix)”. It couldn’t get into US stores in time, but the band wanted to benefit a good cause and make some US based peeps happy at the same time, so in a very rare move, www.recordstoreday.com will be selling an extremely small amount of these 7” singles online, with all proceeds going to the American Red Cross Japan Relief fund. These bad boys will go on sale the morning of Record Store Day, April 16, at 6 AM Eastern.

Special rules will apply to this sale on www.recordstoreday.com:

*Sales will be made to US physical addresses only
*One “Make Some Noise” 7” single per order
*One order per household.

Look for more information on www.recordstoreday.com on Record Store Day at 6 AM Eastern. This is a very unusual thing for us to do, as Record Store Day is dedicated to supporting the physical record stores who participate. However, along with Beastie Boys, we found ourselves in a position to make some folks happy while raising much-needed funds. We could not pass it up.

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here's another opinion:

Record Store Day is a victory for vinyl

By Stephen Chupaska
Publication: The Day

Dan Curland, owner of the iconic Mystic Disc, wants to make one thing clear.

"Record Store Day?" he shouts over the phone. "I was the original Record Store Day!"

Well, to be sure, Curland is not one of the founders of Record Store Day, the annual international celebration of independent record shops, which will take place on April 16. But the spirit of indie record shops such as Mystic Disc, to borrow from Bob Dylan, howls in the bones of Record Store Day.

Mystic Disc along with Telegraph in New London and Tumbleweeds in Niantic will be among the 700 indie stores that will offer special limited-edition releases from the likes of Radiohead, Gorillaz and Death Cab For Cutie, the majority of them on vinyl.

Record Store Day co-founder Chris Brown, the marketing director at Bull Moose Records in Portland, Maine, said the day, now in its fourth year, has become a celebration of a still vibrant business, not a commemoration of retail in the run-out groove.

Read the rest at theday.com

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Dom Set To Release Exclusive Vinyl For RSD

Dom will be releasing a LIMITED EDITION 10″ vinyl piece on RSD, the first ever 3-sided 10″! Also, the band will be performing live and signing autographs at 1pm at the Newbury Street location of Newbury Comics!

Side A is double-grooved, which creates a unique effect. If you play the record at the beginning of Side A, you will not know which track will actually play. You may hear the MINKS remix of “Jesus” or the never-before-released song “Things Change.” This exclusive item is limited to 1000 units!

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spin.com picks out their best RSD releases:

10 Must-Have Releases for Record Store Day

By Peter Gaston

With literally hundreds of special titles being released for this year's event, SPIN's editors have compiled our shopping list of the top 10 can't miss records, including music from Nirvana, Foo Fighters, the White Stripes, and more. This year, there's also a special emphasis on cover songs -- so we've also put together our choices for the five most anticipated covers.

to look at their picks go to spin.com









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Bids Skyrocket for Rare Sex Pistols Record

Top Selling eBay Auction

WhatSellsBest.com, a website tracking rare auction items selling on eBay, is reporting bidding has passed $24,000 (USD) on day six of a ten day auction, for a rare Sex Pistols record.

The record, featuring the controversial song "God Save the Queen" by the English punk rock band, The Sex Pistols, was pressed on an A&M Records label in 1977, which makes it one of a small number of copies pressed before the group signed with Virgin Records. The records are thought to be among the most valuable in the UK.

According to James Massey, publisher of WhatSellsBest.com; "Early vintage vinyl (records) by musicians, or groups, who've marked historic turning points in popular music, are generally the most sought-after by collectors."

"Records pressed before a band breaks-out and becomes famous tend to do well. But, generally it's a combination of historic significance, rarity, and condition, that determines how high collectors are willing to bid."

To see the Sex Pistols record auction (Ends April 15, 2011), the Top Ten Records sold on eBay recently, and other rare auction items on eBay now.

Visit: http://www.whatsellsbest.com/

About WhatSellsBest.com

WhatSellsBest.com is a free website which has integrated with eBay to allow visitors to actively view and track the top selling eBay items (by highest prices bid, or sold) in nearly 200 unique categories. The website also reports on trends and sales of rare (high-value) collectibles being sold worldwide.

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BLOOD MORTIZED Signs With CHAOS RECORDS For 'Bestial' EP

BLOOD MORTIZED — the Swedish death metal band featuring former AMON AMARTH guitarist Anders "Hansson" Biazzi (who played on AMON AMARTH's first two albums, 1996's "Sorrow Throughout The Nine Worlds" and 1998's "Once Sent From The Golden Hall") and CRYPT OF KERBEROS drummer Mattias Borgh — has inked a deal with Chaos Records for the release of the group's "Bestial" EP. The effort was recorded, mixed, mastered and produced by drummer Mattias Borgh at Underworld Recording in Sweden. The four-song EP features artwork by Thomas Kynst and Daniel Devilish and is slated for a June/July 2011 release on both CD and vinyl format.

lovely artwork.....

Read more about the band and the release at Blabbermouth.com




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great story about crate digging from the uk:

Charity shop gold

by Ryan Peters

While most of us walk past high street charity shops without giving them a second glance, for record collectors they can be treasure troves full of hidden gems. Hidden in the back of dusty goodwill collections in charity shops across the country, are vinyls that can be picked up for literally a few pence, but can be sold to the right people for potentially thousands of pounds.

These stories of diamonds in the rough are legendary within collector circles and are what spur on many to visit charity shops even more than record fairs or specialist stockists.

Even though more people are buying MP3s and CDs, there’s still some magic to rummaging through vinyls.

One such collector is Ken Peters from north Wales, a man who has been collecting vinyl for over 20 years and during that time has managed to find his fair share of hidden gems.

Read more at thelinc.co.uk

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and in america's heartland, vinyl selling well!

Vinyl’s renaissance has a home in Kansas City

By TIMOTHY FINN
The Kansas City Star

The storefront at 1415 W. 39th St. has a new face. Posters promoting the classic Miles Davis jazz album, “Kind of Blue,” fill two large windows. A hand-lettered sign with telephone number and store hours fills another.

On a recent afternoon, a passerby could peer through the windows and see stacks of boxes strewn around the showroom floor amid racks stocked with used vinyl records as workers framed in the walls of what will become the store’s office.

This week, Vinyl Renaissance and Audio will officially open in the building once occupied by Boomerang, a vintage-clothing store that moved to 3900 Pennsylvania Ave. — a transition that bears some symmetry.

Read more: kansascity.com

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very interesting look from ireland about the 45 rpm record (or 7 inch single, same thing)

Is this the vinyl curtain for the 7-inch single?

As Mercury Records phases out non-digital singles, Ed Power looks at the ever-changing music market

By Ed Power

It is the end of an era that began in 1949, when RCA rec-ords put out the song 'Texakarna Baby' by country singer Eddy Arnold.

Rendered in dark-green vinyl, this dimly remembered release was the first ever seven-inch single. Now the format is officially on life support after U2's record label announced it is to stop releasing physical singles.

With manufacturing costs soaring and sales plummeting -- down 85% in the past four years -- Mercury Records stated that in future it envisages releasing singles only in 'exceptional circumstances'. Ironically, the first label to phase out singles was behind the biggest-selling UK seven-inch ever, Elton John's 1997 re-issue of 'Candle in the Wind'.

Read the rest of the article at independent.ie

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Jethro Tull's music to be performed in space

US astronaut will play the flute 250 miles above the Earth, while Jethro Tull founder Ian Anderson performs via video link

Sean Michaels guardian.co.uk

The music of Jethro Tull is to get an extraterrestrial premiere. On Tuesday (12 April), 250 miles above the Earth, US astronaut Catherine Coleman will raise a flute to her lips, performing via video link with Jethro Tull founder Ian Anderson. The one-off duet will honour the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's first manned space flight.

While Coleman will be aboard the International Space Station, Anderson will be on stage in Perm, Russia. But this is no cheap tour gimmick: Coleman conceived of the project herself, approaching Anderson through a mutual friend, former radio DJ Dayna Steele. "Kate thought it would be fun to do a duet in space and asked me if I knew how to get in touch with Ian since I've been part of that world," Steele told AOL News. "So I tracked him down."

Read the rest at guardian.co.uk

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wonderful and insightful interview with iron maiden guitarist dave murray at the creativeloafing blog

A Q&A with Iron Maiden guitarist Dave Murray; the seminal heavy metal group makes its first Tampa stop since 1988 this Sunday at St Pete Times Forum, Tampa

by Joel Weiss

British heavy metal legends Iron Maiden return to Tampa for the first time since 1988, making good on a promise to return to Florida after their triumphant 2009 set in Ft. Lauderdale. Aside from bassist/founder Steve Harris, no one has been a member of Iron Maiden as long as guitarist Dave Murray.

Read the interview at blogs.creativeloafing.com

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Def Leppard Ready Live Album

Peter Hodgson

Def Leppard Ready Live Album Peter Hodgson|Monday, April 11, 2011 12:00 PM|0 Comments Def Leppard’s long-awaited live album, Mirrorball, will be released this summer, and will include three new tracks and a bonus DVD of performances and backstage footage.

The recording is Def Leppard’s first live album, and it includes all the hits you'd expect (“Pour Some Sugar On Me,” “Photograph,” “Animal,” “Rock of Ages” as well as the new studio cuts “Undefeated,” “Kings of the World” and “It’s All About Believin’.”

Read more at Gibson.com

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USA

Albums:
1. Chris Brown : F.A.M.E.
2. Jennifer Hudson : I Remember Me
3. Adele : 21
4. The Strokes : Angles
5. Kirk Franklin : Hello Fear
6. Various : Songs For Japan
7. Panic At The Disco : Vices and Virtues
8. Mumford and Sons : Sigh No More
9. Bobby V : Fly On The Wall
10. Lupe Fiasco : Lasers

Singles:
1. Katy Perry feat. Kanye West : E.T.
2. Rihanna : S&M
3. Cee Lo Green : Fuck You
4. Lady Gaga : Born This Way
5. Black Eyed Peas : Just Can't Get Enough
6. Wiz Khalifa : No Sleep
7. Chris Brown feat. Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes : Look At Me Now
8. Pink : Fucking Perfect
9. Jeremih feat. 50 Cent : Down On Me
10. Jennifer Lopez : On The Floor


UK

Albums:
1. Adele : 21
2. Adele : 19
3. The Strokes : Angles
4. Jessie J. : Who You Are
5. Ronan Keating & Burt Bacharach : When Ronan Met Burt
6. The Overtones : Good Ol' Fashioned Love
7. Rihanna : Loud
8. Nicole Scherzinger : Killer Love
9. Elbow : Build A Rocket Boys
10. Chris Brown : F.A.M.E.

Singles:
1. Adele : Someone Like You
2. Nicole Scherzinger : Don't Hold Your Breath
3. Black Eyed Peas : Just Can't Get Enough
4. Gold Forever : The Wanted
5. Jessie J feat. B.o.B. : Price Tag
6. Rihanna : S&M
7. Wiz Khalifa : Black and Yellow
8. Dr Dre feat. Eminem & Skylar Grey : I Need A Doctor
9. Adele : Rolling In the Deep
10. Lady Gaga : Born This Way


Europe

Albums:
1. Take That : Progress
2. Rihanna : Loud
3. Bruce Springsteen : The Promise
4. Shakira : Sale El Sol
5. Pink : Greatest Hits ... So Far
6. Bon Jovi : Greatest Hits
7. James Blunt : Some Kind Of Trouble
8. Susan Boyle : The Gift
9. Kings Of Leon : Come Around Sundown
10. JLS : Outta This World

Singles:
1. Adele : Rolling In the Deep
2. Bruno Mars : Grenade
3. Lady Gaga : Born This Way
4. Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull : On The Floor
5. Rihanna : S&M
6. Black Eyed Peas : Just Can't Get Enough
7. Taio Cruz : Higher
8. Martin Solveig : Hello
9. Jessie J. feat. B.o.B. : Price Tag
10. David Guetta feat. Rihanna : Who's That Chick

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Details Emerge For Expanded-Edition Reissue Of Black Sabbath's 'Born Again'

here is the official press release for BLACK SABBATH "Born Again" Deluxe Expanded Edition:

Following the departure of lead singer Ronnie James Dio and drummer Vinny Appice after the studio mixing of the "Live Evil" album, BLACK SABBATH were once again on the lookout for yet another lead vocalist to fill the significant void left at stage front. The band turned to ex-DEEP PURPLE lead singer Ian Gillan.

The resultant album and live touring certainly made for one of the more curious associations in the world of heavy metal. Much of this era of BLACK SABBATH has passed into rock folklore and was actually the source for much of the material used in the rockumentary movie "This Is Spinal Tap". From the replica stage production of Stonehenge, which was too large for some of the venues on the world tour, to the employment of a dwarf to dress up and play the part of the "devil-baby" from the LP front cover, the world of BLACK SABBATH took on a distinct air of the surreal.

Whilst the well-received "Born Again" album and live dates succeeded in stoking the embers and kept the SABBATH flames burning, this would ultimately be a marriage built more on friendship and respect as opposed to any long-standing and compatible musical association. After one tour, Ian Gillan would eventually bid farewell and re-join his old sparring partners for the Mk. II reunion of DEEP PURPLE and leave BLACK SABBATH once more gazing into the crystal ball hoping the face of yet another lead vocalist would reveal itself.

For Iommi, Butler, Ward, Gillan, and keyboardist Geoff Nicholls, work would swiftly commence in May of '83 at the Manor Studios in the village of Shiptonon-Cherwell, Oxfordshire. Produced by BLACK SABBATH and co-producer Robin Black, who had also worked on 1975's "Sabotage", 1976's "Technical Ecstasy", and 1978's "Never Say Die", SABBATH's eleventh studio release would represent a radical departure from the gloomy atmospherics and blackened lyricism that had forged their identity and spawned innumerable descendants.

Gillan's approach to song-writing bespoke a lighter-hearted approach to what had, until then, been the primary concern of Butler. Album opener "Trashed", for instance, was inspired by Gillan's boozed-up race around the Manor's grounds in Bill Ward's car that ended in near-catastrophe and a wrecked vehicle. "Disturbing The Priest" was the result of a door in the studio having been left open during playback, and a local vicar appearing in the doorway asking for the volume to be turned down as it was disturbing choir practice in the adjacent village.

For all of its off-kilter appearance however, "Born Again" was still SABBATH through and through. Musically twisted and possessed with more than a whiff of brimstone, the album is a thrilling glimpse into an alternative world.

For this re-mastered Deluxe Expanded Edition, a second disc containing two bonus tracks is included, with "The Fallen" being a previously unreleased studio outtake recorded during the original album session. Also included are nine tracks from the BBC "Friday Rock Show" broadcast of BLACK SABBATH's appearance at the Reading rock festival in August 1983, which also includes a performance of DEEP PURPLE's classic "Smoke On The Water".

BLACK SABBATH "Born Again" Deluxe Expanded Edition track listing:

Disc 1: ("Original Album")
01. Trashed
02. Stonehenge
03. Disturbing the Priest
04. The Dark
05. Zero The Hero
06. Digital Bitch
07. Born Again
08. Hot Line
09. Keep It Warm

Disc 2:
01. The Fallen (previously unreleased album session outtake)
02. Stonehenge (extended version)
Recorded live at the Reading Festival on Saturday, August 27, 1983 (BBC "Friday Rock Show" broadcast):
03. Hot Line
04. War Pigs
05. Black Sabbath
06. The Dark
07. Zero The Hero
08. Digital Bitch
09. Iron Man
10. Smoke On The Water
11. Paranoid

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this from WCCO in minneapolis

New Audience Enjoying Revival Of Vinyl Records



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and in music history for the day

Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle and Roll" was released in 1954.

In 1954, Bill Haley & His Comets recorded “Rock Around the Clock” at Pythian Temple studios in New York City. Written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers, the song was first recorded by Italian-American band Sonny Dae and His Knights. Considered by many to be the song that put rock and roll on the map around the world, Haley’s version was used over the opening titles of the film Blackboard Jungle and went on to become a worldwide #1.



The national radio show "Your Hit Parade" celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1955.

In 1966, Jan Berry, the younger half of Jan and Dean was paralyzed after he ran his Corvette into a parked truck on a side street in Beverly Hills. Berry suffered total physical paralysis for over a year as well as extensive brain damage which made it impossible to return to performing. The pair started their hit streak in 1958 with "Jennie Lee" and followed with "Baby Talk", "Surf City", "Sidewalk Surfin'", "Drag City", "Dead Man's Curve", "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena" and "Popsicle". Jan's accident ended their career as hit makers, although they attempted a comeback in 1978 after the biographical movie, Dead Man's Curve, was shown on TV (Berry was able to walk again after extensive therapy).

In 1969, the Fifth Dimension score their first #1 and their eighth Billboard Top 40 hit with "Aquarius / Let The Sunshine In."

Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer" was released in 1969.

The movie version of "Tommy" opened in 1975.

Elton John led the US Pop chart in 1975 with "Philadelphia Freedom", a song inspired by Billie Jean King's World Team Tennis League entry. this IS my most hated song of all time, i dispise everything about it....if it comes on the radio, it immediately gets turned off, it should be banned forever....

USA for Africa's "We Are The World" album was released in 1985.

In 1989, Two DJs on Los Angeles station KLOS ask “whatever happened to David Cassidy?” The singer called the station and the presenters invited him onto their show. Cassidy played three songs live on air and was subsequently signed by a new record label.

Also in 1989, Herbert Mills of the Mills Brothers died of viral meningitis at the age of 77. The vocal group had several hit records in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s and are most often remembered for their 1968, #23 hit, "Cab Driver". Donald Mills, the last of the original group passed away in 1999. these mills brothers were a hot item way back when.....

In 1990, the Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Centre announced that Asteroids 4147-4150, would be named Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr after the four members of The Beatles. in a related event, my wife spent over $100 to have a star named after me...if you look up in the southeast sky, waaayy out there, there is a star named bob....

In 1999, Shania Twain became the only female artist in music history to sell at least 10 million units with back to back releases.

In 2000, Metallica filed suit against Napster, the University of Southern California, Yale University and Indiana University for copyright infringement, unlawful use of digital audio interface device and violations of the Racketeering Influenced & Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

In 2010, The Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Ramano published a story praising The Beatles and saying that it forgives John Lennon's 1966 comment that the group was "bigger than Jesus." about time, eh? when he said it, i believe he was not only being truthful, but he was right on, they were bigger than anything before them and certainly (at the time) jesus took a back seat to the fab four...

birthday wishes to bubble-gum music hero David Cassidy (1950), Brendon Urie of Panic at the Disco (1987) Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls (1964) Pat Travers (1954) and John Kay of Steppenwolf fame (1944), among others

40th Anniversary of Marvin Gaye's Landmark What's Going On Album Celebrated With Super Deluxe Edition and Events

PRNewswire/ -- On May 21, 1971, Motown Records released an album unique to its vast, already classic catalog: a suite of protest songs, railing, albeit softly and with an undeniable groove, about the planet's woes and the pain of war. With What's Going On, Marvin Gaye forever changed the sound and subject matter of popular music, influencing and inspiring every generation since. Formerly Motown's reigning smooth-faced, smiling, mass-appeal artist, this album was Gaye's departure for the bearded, brooding, reflective, angry artist he would become. His first self-production, the album was written, sung and solely produced by Gaye.

Forty years on, the album remains a timeless classic. Speaking boldly and passionately about social issues on the street unlike any other album before, What's Going On provided a soundtrack to life in America—and still does. It was a smash from the start and it's still one of Rolling Stone magazine's top ten Greatest Albums of All Time. Two songs from this album are in the Grammy® Hall of Fame, which honors the most important recordings in history.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary, Motown/UMe proudly announces the release of What's Going On – Super Deluxe Edition, on May 17, 2011. This new Super Deluxe Edition includes two CDs and one vinyl LP, 14 unreleased tracks, copious rarities, all complemented by an oversized booklet with two essays and rare photos from the original cover shoot. Inside as well is a reproduction of the album graphics, which showcased, for the first time at Motown, the song's lyrics—and identified the musicians.

Leading off this lovingly produced, double-gatefold 12x12 package is a newly remastered version of the original album, which delivers a deeper, warmer sound than in previous reissues. Added to the album on Disc 1 are several outtakes from sessions that led up to the recording of the LP—the original mix of the title song Marvin presented to Motown's legendary Quality Control meeting, where it was summarily rejected; and song demos which show Marvin wrestling with the rejection—as well as the album's three mono single releases, each of which reached No. 1 R&B and Top 10 pop: "What's Going On" (in a very different mix than the LP), "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" and "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)," plus their B-sides, of which two are alternate takes from the familiar LP versions.

Disc 2 of What's Going On – Super Deluxe Edition is a document of the album's aftermath, when Marvin Gaye, reluctant to tour and shy about becoming the "spokesman of his generation," holed up in Motown's Studio B in Detroit with like-minded musicians—among them the young guitarists Ray Parker Jr. and Wah Wah Watson, and the 20-year-old bassist Michael Henderson, fresh from a Miles Davis tour—and simply jammed over several days. These tracks, mostly instrumental, are as brooding and funky as the What's Going On album cover. The rest of the disc includes Gaye's final sessions in Detroit; among the few tunes he recorded was a sequel of sorts to the album, the politically tinged non-LP single "You're The Man," which hit the R&B top 10 in spring 1972. Also included are two rare alternate takes of the song.

Capping this special release is the first ever 12-inch vinyl LP of the "Detroit Mix" of What's Going On, the original, darker mix of the entire album, left behind when Gaye decided to finish the overdubs in Los Angeles.

Inside is an LP-sized booklet with rare photos from the sessions, the original lyrics, detailed recording annotations and two essays: one by Gaye biographer David Ritz describing the "Why" Marvin Gaye created his first-ever self-produced album, and another detailing the "How" by Ben Edmonds, author of What's Going On: Marvin Gaye and The Last Days Of The Motown Sound.

The anniversary will also be marked on stage this summer when Rickey Minor, Stevie Wonder and Friends (including special guest Janelle Monae) perform a July 24 Hollywood Bowl concert concluding with a tribute to What's Going On. In May of next year, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the National Symphony Orchestra with John Legend and The Roots will collaborate for a special What's Going On concert to note the 40th anniversary of Gaye's legendary performance at that venue.

SOURCE Universal Music Enterprises