Friday, July 6, 2012

Vinyl Record News & Music Notes

Vinyl Album Sales 2012

The Top 10 Selling Vinyl Albums of 2012 (so far, anyway):

1. Blunderbuss - Jack White (18,000)
2. El Camino - Black Keys (17,600)
3. Abbey Road - Beatles (15,700)
4. Bloom - Beach House (14,100)
5. 21 - Adele (10,300)
6. Port of Morrow - Shins (9,600)
7. Sigh No More - Mumford and Sons (9,600)
8. Boys & Girls - Alabama Shakes (9,400)
9. For Emma Forever Ago - Bon Iver (9,200)
10. Bon Iver - Bon Iver (8,900)

amazing how abbey road continues to wind up in the top ten.....(i like revolver better myself....)



US Mid-Year Chart Album Charts

The Top 10 albums in the USA so far are:

1. Adele - 21 (3,668,000)
2. Lionel Richie - Tuskagee (912,000)
3. One Direction - Up All Night (899,000)
4. Whitney Houston - Greatest Hits (818,000)
5. Various - Now 41 (714,000)
6. Carrie Underwood - Blown Away (602,000)
7. Luke Bryan - Tailgates & Tanlines (575,000)
8. Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday (557,000)
9. Drake - Take Care (549,000)
10. Adele - 19 (539,000)



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this from www.audiofidelity.net

Vinyl Reissue ‘History of the Grateful Dead Vol. 1 (Bear’s Choice)’

Audio Fidelity has announced a July 10th release date for the reissue, which will be pressed on 180-gram virgin vinyl and issued in a numbered limited edition.

"This is what The Grateful Dead sounded like at the close of the 1960's and the dawn of the 1970's."


History of the Grateful Dead, Volume One (Bear's Choice) consists of selections from two magnificent moments in the band's history, February 13-14, 1970 at the Fillmore East in New York City at a time they were still making the transition from acidic to countrified music and their live performances included tunes from every corner of the American pop songbook.

This 1973 release is the ninth album and the fourth live album by Grateful Dead and was compiled as a tribute to Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, the band's original keyboard player and blues aficionado, who died while the album was being prepared. The "Bear" of the title is Owsley Stanley, underground chemist turned Dead sound man. The album was recorded and produced by Stanley, and fans often simply refer to the album as "Bear's Choice".

The set consists of seven songs, six of them covers, the first five songs are stripped down acoustic numbers with a nice bluesy feel to them. The album's sole original composition, Jerry Garcia's, "Black Peter," is a masterfully executed beautiful tune that ends Side One. This second half of the record belongs to Pigpen and these last two tracks are stunning electric offerings - a 20-minute, crazy old truckin' blues cover of Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightnin'," and Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle" is a classic Dead hustling shuffle - Garcia is at his best, the vocal cooks and the band is tight and quick weaving their collective R&B-influenced psychedelia.

The record peaked at #60 on the Billboard 200 - it is perhaps the Dead's most rustic album. The band sounds genuinely informal, with impromptu stage chatter adding to the low-key ambiance...just like a bunch of guys hanging out and making great music.

Tracklist:
Side one
1. Katie Mae 
2 Dark Hollow 
3 I've Been All Around This World 
4 Wake Up Little Susie 
5 Black Peter

Side two 
1 Smokestack Lightning
2 Hard to Handle   

Mastered by Kevin Gray

Get your copy at Audio Fidelity





Ten Years After 'A Space in Time' Vinyl Reissue

"...a tremendous guitar record....a mix of acoustic and electric guitar lines - It ROCKS!"

An appearance on the final night at Woodstock only reinforced the status of Ten Years After as one of Britain's premiere blues rock bands and they were at the height of their powers in 1971 when they released "A Space in Time". The record includes their classic rock hit, "I'd Love to Change the World" - with guitar riffs that must be included among the greatest in Rock'n'Roll history - the album went on to be their all-time best seller.

Guitarist and vocalist Alvin Lee provides exceptional blues leads and the majority of the songwritingalong with band mates, Chick Churchill on keyboards, Leo Lyons, bass and drummer, Ric Lee. "A Space in Time" is a mature work, more restrained than the band's previous albums primarily because of the liberal use of tasty acoustic guitar and plenty of sound effects and studio tricks that complement the overall texture...and it really works. There's still Alvin Lee's lightning quick blues licks, but he also knew how to slow it down on the quieter tracks as well as write some powerfull tunes ranging from the folky "Here They Come" to the Chuck Berry-influenced, "Baby Won’t You Let Me Rock and Roll You" and "Let the Sky Fall" is a standout track with psychedelic vocals reminiscent of Jimi Henrix.

Alvin Lee has said "A Space in Time" is his favorite album...some would call it a masterpiece of rock.

Tracklist:
Side 1:
1. One of These Days
2. Here They Come
3. I'd Love to Change the World
4. Over The Hill
5. Baby Won't You Let Me Rock 'n' Roll You

Side 2:
1. Once There Was a Time
2. Let the Sky Fall
3. Hard Monkeys
4. I've Been There Too
5. Uncle Jam

Mastered by Kevin Gray

Get your copy at Audio Fidelity





Bryan Adams 'Waking Up the Neighbours' Vinyl Reissue

"...a classic album filled with old-fashioned, good time rock & roll"

Bryan Adams' sixth studio album, 1991's, Waking Up the Neighbours is filled with big rockers, solid rhythms, and unique songwriting. The nearly 75 minute two-record set is loaded with showstopping arena rockers and mid-tempo ballads including five hit singles. The most notable track is the Robin Hood Prince of Thieves theme "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" which spent seven weeks atop the US pop charts. The song was also a phenomenon in Europe, becoming Bryans' biggest hit ever topping the charts in 16 countries and selling about 10 million copies worldwide and is one of the biggest selling singles of all time. The song was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Grammy Award in 1992 for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television.

Other singles which followed included the rockin' "Can't Stop This Thing We Started," which became a number two hit, the mid-tempo ballads "Do I Have to Say the Words" and "Thought I'd Died and Gone to Heaven," and the fun, straight-ahead rocker "There Will Never Be Another Tonight." Adams co-produced the album with Robert "Mutt" Lange previously known for his work with AC/DC, Foreigner and Def Leppard.

Audio Fidelity is proud to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Waking Up the Neighbours and to honor Bryan Adams who has sold more than 65 million albums worldwide, toured six continents, garnered 21 top 10 hits, earned nominations for three Academy Awards and five Golden Globes, received 18 Juno Awards, an American Music Award, and five ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards for Most Performed Song from a Motion Picture - his music has appeared on more than 40 movie soundtracks.

Tracklist:
Side 1
Is Your Mama Gonna Miss Ya?
Hey Honey I'm Packin' You In!
Can't Stop This Thing We Started
Thought I'd Died and Gone to Heaven

Side 2
Not Guilty 
Vanishing
House Arrest
Do I Have to Say the Words?

Side 3
There Will Never Be Another Tonight
All I Want Is You
Depend on Me 
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You

Side 4
If You Wanna Leave Me (Can ICome Too?)
Touch the Hand
Don't Drop That Bomb on Me

Mastered by Kevin Gray

Get your copy at Audio Fidelity

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this vinyl news from damagedgoods.co.uk

Case Vinyl EP

We're very pleased to be releasing four brand new songs on this EP by the recently reformed CASE. Following on from their compilation album from last year which brought together all their original early recordings. It's limited to 500 copies on white vinyl.

CASE formed in Croydon in 1979 after being introduced to each other by Slimy Toad from Johnny Moped. Case played the pubs of south London and finally released their one and only 7", the ‘Wheat From The Chaff’ EP in 1983, it reached the top of the independent charts and led to them being played heavily on BBC radio including plays by John Peel, Janice Long & Kid Jensen.

Originally, in 1980, CASE played primarily at a (fairly rough) pub in North Croydon, called "The Star" and built quite a following there before larger, occasionally more salubrious, venues beckoned. They famously played at The Rainbow in November 1981 - where smoke flares and buckets of maggots flew into the crowd as the band played, the Marquee Club (where they were banned for playing an encore – the only band to be banned for this since the Rolling Stones), Hammersmith Palais, 100 Club, the BBC Paris Theatre, ICA, & the Woolwich Tram Shed (and Chislehurst Caves!) amongst other less-prestigious venues.

With better management who knows where CASE may have ended up – as it is - they retain a legendary status among the legions of punk/ska fans...and graffiti historians.

Back in 1981 case had a vociferous and die-hard following who, in substantial numbers, took to daubing the walls with graffiti championing their support for the band. These expressions of support for the band are now the stuff of social commentary – see, for example, the New Cross item at transpont.blogspot.com.

Something about CASE seemed to attract fanatical fans, several claiming to have seen every gig, since the early days in Croydon, and one in particular who, whilst working in London, spent his lunchtimes visiting public toilets all over the city - unrolling the rolls of toilet paper and writing CASE on each sheet on the roll, with a biro, before rolling them up again. These were strange times.

Tracklist:
A1 - Why Would I Hurt You (All Ways)
A2 - Fight Fight Fight

B1 - Circus
B2 - Daddy's Remembering

Get a copy HERE

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this vinyl news from burningshed.com

Porcupine Tree - Coma Divine (triple vinyl preorder)

A glorious triple vinyl edition of the first ever official PT live recording featuring bonus tracks not included on the original 1997 release, including the early classic, Radioactive Toy.

3 x heavyweight (180gm) vinyl in a box with a 12 page 12" book

This Kscope triple vinyl edition of the album features bonus tracks not included on the original 1997 CD release, including the early classics, Radioactive Toy and Up The Downstair.

Pre-order now for 3rd September release date HERE





Family - Bandstand (vinyl preorder)

A vinyl edition of the highly regarded 1972 Family album, which has been re-mastered from the original tapes.

Containing the hit Burlesque and the evocative My Friend The Sun, Bandstand was the last album to feature John Wetton prior to his departure to King Crimson.

This edition is pressed on heavyweight (180g) vinyl and packaged in a gatefold sleeve that mirrors the iconic 'TV' artwork (with window patch and shaped inner bag).

This special edition reissue is strictly limited to 2000 individually numbered copies and is the first in a series of re-mastered classic albums from the Family catalogue to be released on Madfish.

Pre-order now for 24th September release date HERE

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album cover art of the day:

DUBLIN DEATH PATROL: 'Death Sentence' Cover Artwork Unveiled

DUBLIN DEATH PATROL (DDP) - the band that features TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy and former EXODUS and LEGACY vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza are set to release two albums on the Mascot Records label, 2005's "DDP 4 Life" and 2011's follow-up effort, "Death Sentence", on August 14. The "Death Sentence" cover artwork was created by Eliran Kantor.

















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this from our friends at vinylcollective.com

Smashing Pumpkins – Pisces Iscariot 180 Gram Vinyl Reissue

EMI is continuing their Smashing Pumpkin’s vinyl reissues with "Pisces Iscariot", due out on 180 Gram double vinyl July 17th. Their latest PR release hints at more reissues to be announced soon! In the meantime, "Pisces Iscariot" has been remastered and reissued for the first time on vinyl and is available for pre order now.

Order from ShopRadioCast