The vinyl record collecting blog - with news about new vinyl record releases, vinyl record sales, new music releases, album cover art and weekly features
DEAR JERRY: Here I am right in the middle of a recording session, but I just told the band to take a short break so I can tell you everything I recall about the recordings I made in 1964 with the You Know Who Group.
Considering you couldn't reach me back in May, when you first wrote about “Roses Are Red My Love,” you did a good job piecing things together. Having moved to Canada many years ago can make finding me a bit more difficult.
The You Know Who Group, as you indicated, were not British at all. Chances are none of them ever set foot in England.
However, they were not a happenstance gathering of studio musicians. They were a real self-contained garage band and they played all their own instruments.
From their home base in Brooklyn, they came to my Manhattan studio, Talent Masters, wanting to record two original songs: “Roses Are Red My Love” and “Playboy.” Both were written by Robert Esposito, their leader and also their lead singer.
Other than Esposito, I don't recall the names of any of the other “Boys with That Great New English Sound.”
Now, nearly 50 years after their LP came out, it can also be told that the four guys on the front cover, wearing capes and masks, are indeed the same band that's singing and playing on the record! Pictured third from the left is Robert Esposito.
As for my musical contribution, I think I played some guitar, and possibly piano, which I overdubbed after the session. Contrary to frequently published reports, this was not a studio band. Other than myself, no outside musicians were involved.
These boys probably had a group name when they arrived at Talent Masters, but I doubt I ever knew it. My partner, Bob Harvey, came up with the idea of having them try to sound British. He also named them the You Know Who Group, and dreamed up the whole secret identity stunt, complete with masks and capes.
Esposito and the guys were not very happy about Bob's brainstorm, but they went along with it on the chance it would create more publicity if people thought they might be the Beatles, for example, singing under another name. Like the 4 Seasons did as the Wonder Who?
It turned out Harvey was right. If not for the gimmick angle, they probably would never have gotten to put out an album after just one moderately successful single.
Break time is over now. Gotta get back to making music.
—Bob Gallo, Toronto, Ontario
DEAR BOB: Unless we hear from Robert Esposito, or another of the You Know Who Group, it is very unlikely we'll ever learn the names behind the other three masks — but what a huge help you have been!
Count me among those who pegged the You Know Who Group as a makeshift, middle-aged group of studio musicians, and not the four young men pictured on the LP cover.
As far-fetched as it seems, some publications go so far as to suggest “Roses Are Red My Love” is really by the 4 Seasons. Clearly, the Jersey Boys have nothing to do with any of this.
The You Know Who Group is neither the first nor the last act to come across as mysterious by being masked.
Best known is Orion (Jimmy Ellis), who had about a dozen Country hits in the early '80s. But let's look at an earlier masked man, one not nearly as familiar:
In 1958, at Gold Coast Studio in Mobile, Ala., Jerry Lott recorded two original songs, “Love Me,” a frantic rocker, and “Whisper Your Love,” a rock-a-ballad. For over a year, those masters existed only on tape.
Then, in late 1959 when pure rock and roll vocals were few and far between, Lott played “Love Me” for Dot Records' top recording artist, Pat Boone.
Based on Pat's belief in the record's potential, Dot released a single in January 1960 with both of Lott's tunes (45-16056). Boone is also the one who suggested crediting the record to “The Phantom.”
Amazingly, Dot even issued the single in a custom black-and-white sleeve, picturing Jerry wearing a Lone Ranger-style mask. Having a picture sleeve was highly unusual for a Dot debut release by an unknown artist.
Even many the label's top-selling acts (Gale Storm; Hilltoppers; Fontane Sisters; Louis Prima; Lawrence Welk; etc.) didn't see a picture sleeve made for any of their Dot hits. Furthermore, only about 10% of Pat Boone's singles came with a custom sleeve.
IZ ZAT SO? Billboard's review (Feb. 29, 1960) of “Love Me” states: “A wild vocal that attempts to outdo Elvis at his wildest. Sleeve shows the Pantom (sic) with a blindfold over his eyes.”
This reviewer didn't know the difference between a blindfold, through which you see nothing, and a mask, with two cut out holes for the eyes.
Sounding like nothing else out there is sometimes an advantage, but that didn't help the Phantom. Dee jays didn't seem to love him and the record flopped.
Now quite rare, “Love Me,” the Phantom's only known record, can sell for around $300. With the picture sleeve that amount can more than double.
Both sides of the Phantom's single have been revived in recent decades; “Love Me,” by the Blue Cats in 1981, and “Whisper Your Love” by the Flat Duo Jets in '93.
Jerry Osborne answers as many questions as possible through this column. Write Jerry at: Box 255, Port Townsend, WA 98368 E-mail: jpo@olympus.net Visit his Web site: www.jerryosborne.com
All values quoted in this column are for near-mint condition.
Copyright 2011 Osborne Enterprises- Reprinted By Exclusive Permission
SLASH, ZAKK WYLDE Featured On New LESLIE WEST Album
Legendary guitarist and MOUNTAIN founder Leslie West will release a brand new solo album entitled "Unusual Suspects" in Europe on Monday, September 19 via Provogue Records. The follow-up to 2006's "Blue Me" features West alongside a hand-picked line-up of the finest guitar players alive today including Slash, blues-rock guitar superstar Joe Bonamassa, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY frontman and ex-OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist Zakk Wylde, ZZ TOP's Billy Gibbons and TOTO's Steve Lukather.
"These guys don't just show up to play on everybody's albums," says West of his special guests and the album's title.
"They're all stars in their own right, and fantastic players — everyone with their own sound and style, about as far from ‘the usual suspects' as it gets."
these lists always seem to get something wrong........
NME Readers Name Michael Jackson as the Greatest Singer of All Time
England's NME recently asked their readers to name the greatest singers of all time and over 10 million votes were cast along with 4,000 Facebook comments.
Pulling ahead at the end was Michael Jackson who had been sitting in second behind Freddie Mercury. Third was Elvis Presley followed by Axl Rose and John Lennon.
Hot Graves To Release New 7" Vinyl "Desecration Time"
Greyhaze Records has announced the upcoming release of a brand-new 7” from Hot Graves. Entitled "Desecration Time," the record will be available both on classic black vinyl and on limited editionhot pink. "Desecration Time" features two original songs and an Anti Climex cover, and will see an official release on July 19th, 2011.
The 7-inch release serves as a warm up to the band's upcoming full-length "Knights in White Phosphorous," which is due out later this year via Greyhaze Records.
On September 13, post-punk originators the Raincoats will release a reissue of their 1981 sophomore album Odyshape on CD and vinyl via their own We ThRee label. The album has been remastered, and it'll include liner notes by Sonic Youth co-leader Kim Gordon.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have just released the cover for their upcoming album ‘I’m With You‘, which was designed by respected British artist Damien Hurst.
The band unveiled the artwork via their website with a note that reads: “Check out our new album cover – officially revealed! Damien Hirst did it for us and we’re happy to get this out to ya,” while frontman Anthony Kiedis told Classic Rock: “It’s an image. It’s art. Iconic. We didn’t give it it’s meaning but it’s clearly open to interpretation.”
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our friends at pitchfork.com have a revealing article about some great album cover art, well worth checking out:
Take Cover: Bon Iver: Bon Iver
Artist Gregory Euclide on his surreal landscape sleeve
Notable record covers help to define artists. With Take Cover, we aim to track down the most striking sleeves and get the stories behind them.
Over the last few years, Minnesota artist Gregory Euclide has racked up an impressive list of gallery and museum showings for his skewed, three-dimensional take on the traditional landscape painting. His surreal and woodsy cover for Bon Iver's sophomore album is an excellent representation of his overall style; the original piece-- made specifically for the record-- is a surreal swirl of paint, melted snow, pine cones, and more. By including unorthodox, found elements in his work, Euclide offers art that not only depicts nature but emulates its cycle of transformation, too.
In an era of iPods and digital music, it's become the hippest of audio anachronisms - the vinyl record.
Declared dead in the 1980s, when major record store chains replaced vinyl record albums with the jewel cases for compact discs, records appeared destined for the great vinyl Frisbee dumpster.
Now a new generation of musicians and audiophiles, most of them raised on CDs and MP3, are giving records a spin again.
And that is giving a boost to everything from independent record stores to artists who are rediscovering the lost art of cover album art.
"It's the whole full-circle theory thing," said Curt Peterson, owner of Off the Record, a North Park music store that sells new and used vinyl records and CDs. "Vinyl is cool again."
as always, these lists are subjective, where's The Band? see if you agree with their selections:
Top 50 American Rock Bands of All Time
Gibson.com – July, 2011
1. Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band
2. Aerosmith
3. Nirvana
4. The Ramones
5. Metallica
6. Van Halen
7. The Byrds
8. R.E.M.
9. The Beach Boys
10. The Allman Brothers Band
11. Guns N' Roses
12. The Doors
13. Eagles
14. Creedence Clearwater Revival
15. The Stooges
16. Lynyrd Skynyrd
17. The Velvet Underground
18. Pearl Jam
19. Wilco
20. Buddy Holly and The Crickets
21. The Grateful Dead
22. The White Stripes
23. Sly and The Family Stone
24. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
25. The Replacements
26. KISS
27. Big Star
28. Red Hot Chili Peppers
29. Foo Fighters
30. ZZ Top
31. Sonic Youth
32. Los Lobos
33. X
34. Pixies
35. Talking Heads
36. Booker T. and The MG's
37. The Flaming Lips
38. Mountain
39. The J. Geils Band
40. Buffalo Springfield
41. NRBQ
42. Cheap Trick
43. The Strokes
44. Alice Cooper
45. The Lovin' Spoonful
46. Kings of Leon
47. Elvis Presley and The Blue Moon Boys
48. Yo La Tengo
49. Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention
50. Green Day
again, some I disagree with, I mean Poco ahead of ZZ Top? never!
Gibson.com Readers Poll – Top 25 American Rock Bands
Gibson.com – July, 2011
1. Van Halen
2. Guns N' Roses
3. Allman Brothers Band
4. Creedence Clearwater Revival
5. Aerosmith
6. Wilco
7. Mountain
8. Poco
9. The Replacements
10. The Byrds
11. ZZ Top
12. Grateful Dead
13. KISS
14. The Ramones
15. The Doors
16. The White Stripes
17. Metallica
18. Nirvana
19. Steppenwolf
20. Talking Heads
21. Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band
22. Buffalo Springfield
23. Alice In Chains
24. Cracker
25. Foo Fighters
The Devil’s Walk Tracklisting: Sweet Unrest Song Of Los Black Water Goodbye Candil De La Calle The Soft Voices Die Escape Ash/Black Veil A Bang In The Void Your House Is My World
Apparat’s forthcoming album, The Devils Walk, will be released September 27th on Mute. The 10-track LP features “Black Water” and “Ash/Black Veil”, two new tracks off the new album that have been released as free downloads. Enthusiasm for both tracks has been overwhelmingly positive with close to 200,000 listens combined on SoundCloud alone.
It is safe to say that any electronic music enthusiast will have come across Berlin artist Sascha Ring at some point. Whether it be via the releases of his first three albums under Apparat, through the music of electronic supergroup Moderat, through his collaborations with other music greats such as Ellen Allien, or at one of his epic live club or festival performances, Sascha’s restless presence within the field of electronic music is unavoidable and elementary to the evolution of the genre.
The past year has seen Sacha’s creative focus return once again to Apparat. For the album, which was conceived during a trip to Mexico in early 2010, Sascha enlisted the talents of Joshua Eustis (of Telefon Tel Aviv) and Fredo Noguerira to help him write the music in a makeshift studio in the small town of Sayulita. After experiencing a lull in creative productivity induced by his return to Europe, it was upon meeting Patrick “Nackt” Christensen (formerly of electro-goth outfit Warren Suicide,) that Sacha became re-inspired. With the Nackt on board as a co-producer they re-worked the Mexican material taking it in a new and more esoteric direction, arriving at the majestic finished product that is The Devil’s Walk.
As an early track to be taken from the album, “Black Water” is a striking composition, compelling not only in its emotional content and aural beauty, but also in its capacity to represent Apparat’s eclecticmake-upand theiraptitude for breaking down electronic boundaries. As the mastermind behind Apparat’s evolution, Sascha approaches many of the mechanics of techno music; richly textured layers, sombre melodies and entrancing dynamics and revises them to produce an orchestral work, driven by fervent emotion rather than mechanical rhythm. His melancholic vocal supplements guitars, keyboards and drums.
Together they are suggestive of the progression from studio computer production to stage performance with a live band.
Within The Devil’s Walk, Saschahas evidently transcended both his love for techno and his expert programming skills to investigate an unknown musical realm.
Apparat proves they have the faculty to captivate listeners everywhere.
Apparat announces details of the first full scale tour as a four-piece band with UK dates including London’s Scala on July 25th, and dates across the UK in October. Visit www.apparat.net for a list of dates.
ERASURE
ALBUM: Tomorrow's World
WHEN: October 4th, 2011
TOUR: US dates, onsale NOW
SINGLE: "When I Start (To Break It All Down)"
On October 4th, 2011 Erasure will release their highly anticipated new album Tomorrow’s World and their first single, “When I Start To (Break It All Down)."
The new album news is accompanied by the announcement of the US tour dates, the first in more than FIVE years.
Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster and TicketFly. Following the US tour, Erasure heads to the UK for a 16 dates starting October 12th, including an October 25th show at London’s Roundhouse.
Tomorrow’s World is the band’s first album in more than four years.
Tomorrow’s World is produced by one of the dance scene’s most exciting new talents, Frankmusik (production credits include Lady Gaga, Pet Shop Boys, Ellie Goulding) and mixed by Rob Orton.
Tomorrow’s World was written in New York, London, and at Vince Clarke’s cabin studio. It was recorded in Maine, London and Los Angeles between January and June 2011, with Vince using his vintage collection of analog synths for the final touch.
The end result is a collection of electronic songs that sound totally contemporary and classic at the same time. All songs are written by Bell and Clarke.
From Lady Gaga to La Roux, the futurist, electronic sound Erasure championed is more relevant today than ever, and once again re-charging the global music scene. The award-winning duo of Vince Clarke and Andy Bell unleashed on the nation a succession of both influential and chart-topping pop anthems. Songs like “A Little Respect”, “Sometimes”, “Victim Of Love”, “Ship Of Fools”, “Chains Of Love”, “The Circus”, and “Breathe,” ensured a formidable presence on the singles charts
complemented by five consecutive No 1 albums in the UK including “The Innocents”, “Wild!”, “Chorus” and the beginning of the worldwide Abba revival “Abba-esque”.
U.S Tour Dates:
8/31/11--The Ritz Ybor--Tampa, FL
9/2/11--House of Blues--Orlando, FL
9/3/11--Center Stage--Atlanta, GA
9/4/11--Orange Peel--Asheville, NC
9/6/11--9:30 Club--Washington, DC
9/7/11--9:30 Club--Washington DC
9/8/11--Theatre of Living Arts--Philadelphia, PA
9/10/11--House of Blues--Boston, MA
9/11/11--Sound Academy--Toronto, ON
9/13/11--Terminal 5--NYC
9/14/11--Terminal 5--NYC
9/16/11--Congress Theatre--Chicago, IL
9/17/11--Congress Theatre--Chicago, IL
9/18/11--Pabst Theater--Milwaukee, WI
9/20/11--The Vogue Theatre--Indianapolis, IN
9/21/11--The Pageant--St.Louis, MO
9/23/11--Austin City Limits--Austin, TX
9/24/11--Verizon Wireless Theatre--Houstin, TX
9/25/11--House of Blues--Dallas, TX
9/27/11--Ogden Theater--Denver, CO
9/28/11--Kingsbury Hall--Salt Lake City, UT
9/30/11--The Palms Concert Theater--Las Vegas, NV
10/1/11--Hollywood Palladium--Los Angeles, CA
10/2/11--House of Blues--San Diego, CA
10/4/11--Fox Theatre--Oakland, CA
10/5/11--Crystal Ballroom--Portland, OR
10/6/11--Neptune--Seattle, WA
In 1954, Sam Phillips gave Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips an acetate of Elvis Presley's That's All Right Mama.
In 1957, John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time at The Woolton Church Parish Fete where The Quarry Men were appearing. As The Quarry Men were setting up for their evening performance, McCartney eager to impress Lennon picked up a guitar and played “Twenty Flight Rock” (Eddie Cochran) and “Be-Bop-A-Lula” (Gene Vincent). Lennon was impressed, and even more so when McCartney showed Lennon and Eric Griffiths how to tune their guitars, something they'd been paying someone else to do for them.
In 1963, two weeks after being released, The Surfaris' classic surf tune "Wipe Out" cracks the Billboard Hot 100 on its way to number two. The song was recorded as a "filler" in just two takes, but would stay in the Top 40 for ten weeks and become one of the most popular instrumentals in Rock 'n' Roll history.
The Beatles' A Hard Days Night premiered in London in 1964.
The Jefferson Airplane formed in 1965.
In 1971, jazz trumpeter, singer and bandleader, Louis Armstrong died. Had many hits including the 1964 U.S. #1 “Hello Dolly!” and the 1968 U.K. #1 “What a Wonderful World’ plus “When The Saints Go Marching In.” “Ain't Misbehavin’.” and “We Have all the Time in the World.” He made frequent use of laxatives as a means of controlling his weight, resulting in Armstrong appearing in humorous, advertisements for laxative product Swiss Kriss; the ads bore a picture of him sitting on a toilet, as viewed through a keyhole, with the slogan "Satch says, 'Leave it all behind ya!"
Queen released their first single, "Keep Yourself Alive" in 1973.
In 1974, The Hues Corporation had the top tune in the US with "Rock The Boat". The song features a lead vocal by Fleming Williams, who left the group shortly after the song was recorded.
The Damned performed for the first time in London in 1976.
In 1979, singer, producer songwriter, Van McCoy died from a heart attack in Englewood, New Jersey. Van McCoy and the Soul City had the U.S. #1 single “The Hustle.” He worked with Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Stylistics, Aretha Franklin and David Ruffin.
In 1980, 36 people are arrested at a Ted Nugent show in Hollywood, FL for smoking pot and throwing bottles.
In 2003, Clyde "Skip" Batton of Skip and Flip, died of complications from Alzheimer's disease at the age of 69. The duo scored a pair of Billboard number eleven hits with "It Was I" and "Cherry Pie". Batton also toured and recorded as a member of The Byrds from 1970 to 1973.
In 2003, eight people were struck by lightning in East Troy, WI while waiting for a Dave Matthews Band concert.
In 2010, Harvey Fuqua, a founding member of the Doo-Wop group The Moonglows who would go on to guide the career of Soul great Marvin Gaye, died of coronary problems at the age of 80 in a Detroit hospital.
birthdays today include Mike Shrieve (Santana) (62), John Keeble (Spandau Ballet) (52) and Nancy Griffith (58) (among many others)
The Be Good Tanyas (Blue Horse) highlight vinyl reissues and releases and the CVR Blog can also recommend reissues by Deerhoof (Milk Man), Paul McCartney's Driving Rain and Def Leppard with Mirrorball: Live & More (3 LPs).
TheCVR Blogalso recommends vinyl releases by Alison Krauss & Union Stations with Paper Airplane, Brian Eno's Drums Between the Bells (2 LPs), The Postelles' self-titled effort, Grownups with Handholder, Chip Taylor's Rock & Roll Joe and Grownups with Handholder.
Some interesting CD releases this week as well with Carly Simon's No Secrets (Gold CD), Ten Years After with Space in Time (Gold CD), Jim Capaldi with Dear Mr Fantasy: Jim Capaldi Story (4 CDs), Suede's New Morning (remastered with bonus CD & DVD) and I guess every jazz music collector's dream with a various artists compilation called the Perfect Jazz Collection 2 (25-CD box set) (I assume they did't get all the perfect jazz music right in the first installment).
As always, no wagering allowed and enjoy your music!
Alison Krauss & Union Stations - Paper Airplane (vinyl)
Amon Tobin - Surge (vinyl)
Andrew Liles - Where The Long Shadows Fall
Ar - Wolf Notes (vinyl)
Ashford & Simpson - High Rise
Basement - I Wish I Could Stay Here
Be Good Tanyas - Blue Horse (reissue) (2-LP with bonus tracks)(vinyl)
Beyonce - 4
Biffy Clyro - Revolutions: Live from Wembley (CD & DVD)
Big Spider's Back - Memory Man
Biosphere - N-Plants
Blanck Mass - Blanck Mass (vinyl)
Bon Iver - Calgary (vinyl)
Brian Eno - Drums Between the Bells (2 LPs) (vinyl)
Brian Jonestown Massacre - Illuminomi / There's a War Going on (vinyl)
Bright Archer - Hidden System
CHLLNGR - Haven
Caged Animals - Girls on Medication (vinyl)
Call To Preserve - Validation
Carly Simon - No Secrets (Gold CD)
Chip Taylor - Rock & Roll Joe (vinyl)
Circuit Des Yeux - Portrait
Clams Casino - Rainforest
Com Truise - Galactic Melt (vinyl)
Deerhoof - Milk Man (reissue) (vinyl)
Def Leppard - Mirrorball: Live & More (3 LPs) (vinyl)
Digitalism - I Love You, Dude
Draconia - A Rose for the Apocalypse
Evie Sands - Suspended Animation
Exhumed - All Guts, No Glory
Fennesz - Seven Stars (vinyl)
Fire! With Jim O'Rourke - Unreleased?
Five Stairsteps - Complete Curtis Mayfield Years
Gardens & Villa - Gardens & Villa
Gary Moore - Live in Stockholm 1987
George Ellias - (EP)
Grayson Capps - Lost Cause Minstrels
Grownups - Handholder (vinyl)
Hands - Give Me Rest
Harm's Way - Isolation
Heights - Dead Ends
Jackie O Motherfucker - Earth Sound System
Jarse - Alas (vinyl)
Jim Capaldi - Dear Mr Fantasy: Jim Capaldi Story (4 CDs)
Julia Stone - The Memory Machine
Kaiser Chiefs - Future Is Medieval
Knuckle Up! - Motivation From Misery
Las Kellies - Kellies
Little Dragon - Ritual Union
Lloyd - King Of Hearts
Memory Tapes - Player Piano
Motor City Drum Ensemble - DJ-Kicks
Murder Death Kill - Investigate Infiltrate Annihilate
My Epic - Broken Voice
Nick Colionne - Feel The Heat
Nurse With Wound - Salt: Music From the Horse Hospital (vinyl)
Old 97's - Grand Theatre Vol. 2
Oren Ambarchi & Jim O'Rourke - Indeed (vinyl)
Paul McCartney - Driving Rain (reissue) (vinyl)
Pop Evil - War Of Angles
Pure X - Pleasure
Radiohead - “Little By Little” (Caribou Remix)/”Lotus Flower” (Jacques Green Remix) (12") (vinyl)
Robert Ellis - Photographs
Sam Cooke - Eight Classic Albums Plus
Samiyam - Sam Baker's Album
SebastiAn - Total
Shonen Knife - Free Time
Siriusmo - Pearls & Embarassments: 2000-2010
Slugabed - Moonbeam Rider EP (vinyl)
Stream of Passion - Darker Days
Suede - New Morning (remastered with bonus CD & DVD)
TUUSANUUSKAT - Nääksää Nää Mun Kyyneleet
Teddybears - Devil's Music
Ten Years After - Space in Time (Gold CD)
The Damned - Machine Gun Etiquette Anniversary Live Set
The Deer Tracks - The Archer Trilogy Pt. 2
The Postelles - The Postelles (vinyl)
The R's - I Love My Family (vinyl)
The Telescopes - Taste + The Perfect Needle (EP)
Thin Lizzy - Bad Reputation (2 CDs)
Thin Lizzy - Black Rose (2 CDs)
Thin Lizzy - Chinatown (2 CDs)
Unearth - Darkness In The Light
Various Artists - The London American Label - Year by Year: 1958
Various Artists - Horse Meat Disco III
Various Artists - Perfect Jazz Collection 2 (25-CD box set)
Various Artists - Red Hot + Rio 2 (vinyl)
Various Artists - Super Funk's Mission Impossible (vinyl)
Wild Moccasins - Skin Collision Past (vinyl)
Yarbrough & Peoples - Guilty
Remember, if you are a record company and have new releases or know of any I missed (especially vinyl), please email me and I will add your music to the list. I also do reviews of new vinyl, email me for more information.
Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales - Week Ending 06/25/2011
Birthed from the tar pits of Beverly Hills High School in the late sixties, the rare garage 45 from The Sloths, including the much rarer picture sleeve, makes the top of the list this week. Two classical LPs follow, both original Columbia UK Pressings. A funk 45 out of the Carolina's and a "Please Please Me" round out this week's Top 5.
1. 45 - The Sloths "Making Love" / "You Mean Everything" Impression 104 w/ Pic Sleeve - $6,500.00
2. LP - Johanna Martzy "Bach: The unaccompanied Violin Sonatas" Columbia Box set UK - $4,573.11
3. LP - Leonid Kogan & Elisabeth Gilels "Sonatas For Two Violins" Columbia SAX 2531 UK Pressing - $3,847.83
4. 45 - Carleen and the Groovers "Right On" / "The Things" Music World - $3,716.00
5. LP - The Beatles "Please Please Me" Parlophone UK Gold Black Stereo "Dick James" - $3,610.35
Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales - Week Ending 07/03/2011
Two singles from the legendary Shrine label made it out into the world and to the top of the list this week. All but about 50 copies of the first and only run of singles pressed by Shrine survived a warehouse fire that destroyed the complete production run and the label itself.
A rare Prog LP on the Vertigo label gets the #3 spot, and a Kogan violin concerto makes the list for a second week in a row. The #5 spot goes to a rare Rockabilly 45.
1. 45 - J D Bryant "I Won't Be Coming Back" / "Walk On It" Shring 108 - $8,001.00
2. 45 - Bill Dennis "I'll Never Let You Get Away" / "Poor Little Fool" - $7,866.00
3. LP - Dr Z "Three Parts To My Soul" Vertigo - $2,810.00
4. LP - Leonid Kogan "Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto" SAX 2323 UK Pressing - $2,422.95
5. 45 - Jimmy Johnson "All Dressed Up" / "Woman Love" Starday 561 - $2,391.16
More on this week's top 5 on Vinyl Record Talk, Tuesday 8:00PM Eastern / 5:00PM Pacific on Radio Dentata.
Rock supergroup Chickenfoot just announced a while ago that they had finished mixing their upcoming second album, "Chickenfoot IV". With the record's release quickly approaching, bassist Michael Anthony, in a recent interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, answered several questions about the new album and related the group to Van Halen.
"[Chickenfoot is] like how Van Halen was in the early days. It's four friends getting together and having a good time", the bassist remarked. "I guess a lot of that has to do with, you know, we've all had our own careers and done really well. So, it's not like we have anything to prove, and we don't need to do it for the money, so we can do it just purely for the enjoyment of making music."
Patti Smith to Release Career-Spanning Compilation
Bryan Wawzenek
Punk poet and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Patti Smith has announced she will release her first single-disc, career-spanning retrospective this summer. Outside Society will include highlights of Smith’s recordings from 1975 to 2007.
The collection, due on August 23, will feature material from both her tenure with Arista and Columbia. Selections include “Gloria” from 1975’s Horses, “Because the Night” from 1978’s Easter, “Dancing Barefoot” from 1979’s Wave, “People Have the Power” from 1988’s Dream of Life and “Glitter in Their Eyes” from 2000’s Gung Ho. The collection also includes her radically different version of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” from 2007.
this out of new zealand (i believe, given the za link), some really intriguing artwork
Chilling art of the dark
Nerine Dorman
Welcome to a wonderland of the grotesque and the bizarre.
A skeletal horse accompanied by circling crows oozes horror as it splashes through a sepia-toned landscape. A man frowns out of a background littered with arcane symbols, something chillingly Charles Mansonesque about his demeanour.
These are just two of Sam Shearon’s photo-realistic visions that evoke Dali’s surrealist paintings and distort viewers’ perspectives, tipping them into a twisted wonderland populated by the grotesque and the bizarre.
Hailed as a master of dark art with a strong horror and steampunk theme, Shearon has carved a niche for himself in contemporary media, his somewhat macabre yet fascinating work appearing on album covers, posters and merchandise.
Read the rest of this fasinating look at an artist's work at artlink.co.za
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USA
Albums:
1. Bad Meets Evil :Hell The Sequel
2. Jackie Evancho :Dream With Me
3. Adele :21
4. Lady Gaga :Born This Way
5. Jason Aldean :My Kinda Party
6. Owl City :All Things Bright And Beautiful
7. Barry Manilow :15 Minutes
8. Ledisi :Pieces Of Me
9. Brad Paisley :The Is Country Music
10. Original Broadway Cast Recording :The Book Of Mormon
Singles:
1. Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer :Give Me Everything
2. Adele :Rolling In The Deep
3. LMFAO :Party Rock Anthem
4. Katy Perry :Last Friday Night
5. Nicki Minaj :Super Bass
6. Lady Gaga :The Edge Of Glory
7. Katy Perry feat. Kanye West :E.T.
8. Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera :Moves Like Jagger
9. Bruno Mars :The Lazy Song
10. Lil Wayne :How To Love
UK
Albums:
1. Beyonce :4
2. Adele :21
3. Lady Gaga :Born This Way
4. Take That :Progress
5. Adele :19
6. Jessie J :Who You Are
7. Caro Emerald :Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor
8. Bruno Mars :Doo Wops and Hooligans
9. Biffy Clyro :Revolutions/Live At Wembley
10. Kaisher Chiefs :The Future Is Medieval
Singles:
1. Jason Derulo :Don't Wanna Go Home
2. Example :Changed The Way You Kiss Me
3. Beyonce :Changed The Way You Kiss Me
4. Calvin Harris :Bounce
5. Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer :Give Me Everything
6. Ed Sheeran :The A Team
7. Lady Gaga :The Edge Of Glory
8. Alexandra Stan :Mr Saxobeat
9. Katy Perry :Last Friday Night
10. Coldplay :Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall
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and in music history for today:
In 1832, the song "America" was sung in public for the first time at the Park Street Church in Boston, MA.
In 1895, the song "America the Beautiful" was first published.
In 1964, "I Get Around" becomes the first US number one single for The Beach Boys.
The Rolling Stones' "Tell Me" was released in 1964.
In 1966, the Beatles played two shows at Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Manila, Philippines to over 80,000 fans. The band failed to appear at a palace reception hosted by President Marcos' family, who were not informed that The Beatles had declined their invitation. The Philippine media misrepresented this as a deliberate snub, and when Brian Epstein tried to make a televised statement, his comments were disrupted by static. As The Beatles made their way to the airport the next day, they were greeted by angry mobs as the Philippine government retaliated by refusing them police protection.
In 1969, Grand Funk Railroad performs at the Atlanta Pop Festival in Hampton, Georgia. Capitol Records executives see the band at the show and later sign them to a record deal.
In 1970, Casey Kasem hosted radio’s "American Top 40" for the first time.
In 1970, the 3-day Atlanta Pop Festival opens at Middle Georgia Raceway in Byron, Georgia in front of a crowd of 200,000. Jimi Hendrix played his feedback filled version of "The Star Spangled Banner". Two days later, Georgia Governor Lester Maddox says he will seek legislation to ban all Rock festivals in the state.
Also in 1970, "Tighter and Tighter" by Alive 'n' Kickin' debuts on the Billboard chart, on its way to #7
In 1980, the Beach Boys perform at a free Fourth of July concert for 500,000 people in Washington, D.C.
In 1986, more than 40,000 people flocked to a race track in Manor, Texas where Willie Nelson presided over an 18-hour Farm Aid Two concert, aimed at helping save US farmers from financial disaster. Among the performers were The Beach Boys, Waylon Jennings and Judy Collins. The first Farm Aid concert was held in September 1985 in Champaign, Illinois.
In 2001, in a major victory for record companies, a US federal judge orders file sharing service Napster to cease all operations.
In 2003, rhythm and blues star Barry White, known for his lush baritone voice and lyrics that oozed sex appeal on the hits "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love" and "You're The First, The Last, My Everything", passed away at the age of 58.
In 2007, Bill Pinkney, the last surviving member of the original Drifters passed away from unknown causes. He was 81.
In 2009, Drake Levin, the lead guitarist for Paul Revere and The Raiders on their early hits that included "Steppin' Out", "Just Like Me" and "Kicks", died of cancer at the age of 62.
Also in 2009, 77-year-old Allen Klein, the former manager of The Rolling Stones and later The Beatles, died after a battle with Alzheimer's disease. The assets of his company, ABKCO Music & Records, include recordings by the Rolling Stones, the Animals, Herman's Hermits, Bobby Womack, The Kinks, Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell and many others.
birthdays today include Bill Withers (73), Annette Sterling (Martha and the Vandellas) (68), John Waite (59) and Andy Creeggan (Barenaked Ladies) (40), to name a few.....
lots to get to today, everyone have a safe and happy july 4th!!
Beirut Announce International Summer 2011 Tour First In For Four Years
Beirut is set to embark on its first international tour in over four years in support of 'The Rip Tide', out 29th August on Pompeii Records
Beirut have also unveiled the artwork for 'The Rip Tide' and details of it's physical release. The CD digipak comes with a booklet and the deluxe heavyweight vinyl is entirely cloth bound and includes an MP3 download code for the album.
wonderful write-up in the montreal gazette about this iconic LP
Peter Frampton's 1976 live album made him an iconic figure, much to his continuing astonishment
By BERNARD PERUSSE, The Gazette
We take live concert footage for granted. No matter where a performance takes place, excerpts - whether vaguely professional or blurry dispatches from a cellphone - are up on YouTube the next day and forgotten by suppertime.
So it seems absolutely prehistoric that an audioonly live recording could capture a whole generation's imagination for a couple of years. It's what happened with Frampton Comes Alive!, the 1976 double album by Peter Frampton that ended up selling 16 million copies worldwide and staying in the Billboard charts for almost two years.
Patti Smith's OUTSIDE SOCIETY is the First Single-CD Collection to Span Arista and Columbia Years from 1975 to 2007
Perfect entry point for fans of her autobiographical memoir, JUST KIDS, winner of the National Book Award and a New York Times bestseller; CD includes personal recollections of each song written by Patti Smith
OUTSIDE SOCIETY also packaged as a double-LP vinyl set, available everywhere starting August 23, 2011, through Columbia/Arista/Legacy
Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Patti Smith raises the curtain on OUTSIDE SOCIETY, a new collection of her signature songs on the Arista and Columbia labels. The landmark 18-song release marks the first single-CD collection to span Patti's entire body of recorded work. The chronologically arranged tracks move from 1975 (her debut album, Horses, with "Gloria" and "Free Money") through 2007 (Twelve, with her cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"). Also released on vinyl as a double-LP set, OUTSIDE SOCIETY will be available everywhere August 23rd through Columbia/Arista/Legacy, a division of SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT.
The music on OUTSIDE SOCIETY is newly remastered by award-winning engineer Greg Calbi and Patti Smith band member Tony Shanahan. The CD booklet will feature brief recollections of each song written by Patti, who personally supervised the choices.
Of "Because The Night," for example, Patti writes: "Bruce Springsteen gave me a great gift in allowing me to lend verses to his beautifully constructed anthem. My contribution was written for my future husband, Fred 'Sonic' Smith. Though we have performed it hundreds of times, the strong response it draws always makes it fresh and exciting to sing."
The release of OUTSIDE SOCIETY caps the year and a half of critical praise and adulation that has greeted the publication of Patti's New York Times non-fiction bestseller Just Kids (Ecco, January 2010).
In her autobiographical memoir, wrote the Times, "the godmother of punk recalls her time with Robert Mapplethorpe and their yearnings for a life in art in New York City."
In November 2010, coinciding with the paperback edition of Just Kids, Patti received the 2010 National Book Award for nonfiction, at a special awards ceremony held in New York. The award topped a list of honors that were also bestowed by:
•The American Library Association (ALA) – the list of Notable Books of 2010;
•The Los Angeles Times – annual Book Prize finalist in Current Interest field;
•National Book Critics Circle Award – finalist in Autobiography/Memoir field;
•Publishers Weekly magazine – the list of the Top 10 Best Books of 2010.
The release of OUTSIDE SOCIETY also precedes the Polar Music Prize gala in Sweden on August 30th. Patti Smith and the Kronos Quartet were selected as Laureates to receive the prestigious award from His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. "By devoting her life to art in all its forms," said the Polar Music Prize committee, "Patti Smith has demonstrated how much rock'n'roll there is in poetry and how much poetry there is in rock'n'roll. Patti Smith is a Rimbaud with Marshall amps. She has transformed the way an entire generation looks, thinks and dreams. With her inimitable soul of an artist, Patti Smith proves over and over again that people have the power."
The establishment recognition of Just Kids has won an enormous new following for Patti Smith – and OUTSIDE SOCIETY now provides the perfect entry point into her music for those new fans.
Writing about "Trampin'," the final track on OUTSIDE SOCIETY, Patti muses in autobiographical style reminiscent of Just Kids: "This unique spiritual, originally sung by Marion Anderson, was performed live in the studio with my daughter Jesse. It sings for the weary traveler seeking a home after years of work, words, and wandering."
Upcoming shows for Patti Smith and her Band (including Lenny Kaye, Jay Dee Daugherty, Tony Shanahan and Jack Petruzzelli) include the Castle Clinton National Monument in Manhattan's Battery Park on Thursday, July 14th; and the Shinnecock Indian Reservation pow-wow grounds on Friday, August 5th, the opening day of the "Escape To New York" weekend festival.
OUTSIDE SOCIETY by PATTI SMITH (Columbia/Arista/Legacy 88697 94315 2) Selections: 1. Gloria (Horses, 1975) * 2. Free Money (Horses, 1975) * 3. Ain't It Strange (Radio Ethiopia, 1976) * 4. Pissing In A River (Radio Ethiopia, 1976) * 5. Because The Night (Easter, 1978) * 6. Rock N Roll Nigger (Easter, 1978) * 7. Dancing Barefoot (Wave, 1979) * 8. Frederick (Wave, 1979) * 9. So You Want To Be A Rock N Roll Star (Wave, 1979) * 10. People Have the Power (Dream of Life, 1988) * 11. Up There Down There (Dream of Life, 1988) * 12. Beneath The Southern Cross (Gone Again, 1996) * 13. Summer Cannibals (Gone Again, 1996) * 14. 1959 (Peace and Noise, 1997) * 15. Glitter In Their Eyes (Gung Ho, 2000) * 16. Lo and Beholden (radio edit) (Gung Ho, 2000) * 17. Smells Like Teen Spirit (Twelve, 2007) * 18. Trampin' (Trampin', 2004).
Modern Witch Releases First Record on 7" White, Virgin Vinyl
Denver band Modern Witch, featuring local creative Mario Zoots and others have released their first vinyl record with the Berkeley, CA label Tundra Dubs. This 7" is limited to 300 hand-numbered copies on solid, white, virgin vinyl. 100% original cover art by Mario Zoots of Modern Witch. Mastered 100% analog by Pat Stolley at Futureappletree Studios.
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great read about vedder's new album
Eddie Vedder on music, life & ukuleles
As Pearl Jam celebrates its 20th year, his "Ukulele Songs" explores new vistas
By George Varga
In music, as in life, knowledge and experience can be valuable tools for growth. But for former San Diegan Eddie Vedder, knowing next to nothing about Hawaii’s most famous stringed instrument proved invaluable when he made his endearing new solo album, "Ukulele Songs."
Then there's the fact that a ukulele only has two octaves, which requires the person playing it to do more with less. Vedder chuckled when asked if that was part of the instrument's appeal. His response was thoughtful and unhurried.
forbes.com has a great article about vinyl and the revival of our beloved format:
The Record Album Re-Turns
Zack O'Malley Greenburg
Why some insiders believe LPs will outlast CDs.
Put a psychedelic pop band and a bird-obsessed electronic duo together, and you get sensory overload. That's what happened when the groups Dom and Ratatat played Manhattan's Terminal 5 last fall: Throngs of teenagers in fluorescent sunglasses bobbed to seizure-inducing videos of gyrating white budgies. Though calmer, the scene at the merch table came with its own surprise--Dom wasn't selling CDs. The band's only sonic offering was an LP with a download code.
So why would Dom--a band made up of twentysomethings, all raised in the compact disc era--decide to hawk vinyl to a crowd young enough to be guests at Justin Bieber's birthday party? As it turns out, the group launched its debut album last April on vinyl only; it wasn't until February that Dom officially released its music on compact disc, after landing a deal with EMI.
"The reason we sell vinyl is that there will always be a market for it," the band's lead singer later explained via telephone (he identifies himself as Dom but won't reveal his full name "until I pay all my bills").
"The people in the crowd probably already downloaded the music anyway, and they'll buy the record because of the big artwork and because it's something you can hold on to."
The Chicago-based band is ready to release its new album this fall, and has a tracklist, cover art and accompanying tour dates to boot.
"The Whole Love" will drop on Sept. 27 through the rock group's own dBpm record label.
Jeff Tweedy & Co. hit the road in the U.S. starting on Sept. 13 in Indianapolis; Lowe will be opening. The gigs are preceded by a stop at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan on July 31.
"The Whole Love" is Wilco's eighth full-length album, and the follow-up to 2009's "Wilco (the album)."
Here is the tracklis for "The Whole Love":
1. Art of Almost
2. I Might
3. Sunloathe
4. Dawned On Me
5. Black Moon
6. Born Alone
7. Open Mind
8. Capitol City
9. Standing O
10. Rising Red Lung
11. Whole Love
12. One Sunday Morning (Song For Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend)
fantastic interview with an up and coming band at hitfix.com
Interview: The Head and The Heart on Sub Pop, bad band names, Iron & Wine
Could this Seattle band be the next Mumford & Sons?
By Katie Hasty
The Head and the Heart’s self-titled album is one of those efforts that require no effort to enjoy. Mixing layers of harmonized vocals, the band eddies cluttered and happy rhythms around solid pop melodies.
It’s folky and sometimes rock, it’s sad or memorable, and cohesive.
It’s what you get when it’s members all live in one house in Seattle and spend endless hours around each other in tandem: to get signed, get that backing, and hit the road in a methodical manner. The band recently toured opening for Iron & Wine; they’re beloved by iconic indie station KEXP; they were a constant every night at SXSW. It’s not the easiest way to get famous, but it’s an effective way to get people to listen.
Avant-rock trio City of Ships have announced their much anticipated sophomore album, Minor World, which will be co-released by Translation Loss Records and Sound Study Recordings on July 19. Minor World is the follow-up to 2009's critically acclaimed debut full-length Look What God Did To Us. Check out the worldwide premiere of City of Ships’ debut song “Low Countries” streaming exclusively at brooklynvegan.com
Beginning today, Sound Study Recordings is offering fans the chance to pre-order Minor World on limited edition (500) 210 gram vinyl here http://soundstudyrecordings.com and Translation Loss Records is offering a CD pre-order here translationloss.com
On City of Ships’ follow up to Look What God Did To Us, one of Decibel Magazine’s Top Metal Albums of 2009, Eric Jernigan (guitar/vocals), Andrew Jernigan (bass) and Rob Motes (drums) set out to push the boundaries of their music farther than ever before. Expanding immensely upon 2009's heralded release, City of Ships meticulously weave post-metal and art-rock styles resulting in an intense yet completely accessible sound that's all their own and impossible to pigeonhole.
“We recorded with Andrew Schneider (Rosetta, Pelican) again, this time at his new studio in Brooklyn,” says Jernigan. “We had some meetings with Schneider ahead of our sessions and agreed we'd set no limits on the variety of timbre and texture on the record. To that end we used a wide range of unusual mics, multiple guitars, more than half a dozen amps, and even different drum tones in order to highlight the individuality of each track.”
After six months of writing and recording, their newfound vision paid off. Instead of re-creating Look What God Did To Us, City of Ships continue to challenge themselves, breathing new life into the band’s massive sound with each note.
“Without sacrificing our love of the almighty riff, we let melody guide the trajectory of Minor World,” adds Jernigan. “The song-writing is more fluid than anything in City of Ships history and vocals take center stage more frequently than they ever have.”
While Minor World’s title is a tongue-in-cheek nod to City of Ships’ self-described relative obscurity, there is nothing “minor” about the new album. Colossal guitars and roaring vocals meld seamlessly with mountainous sound-scapes of ambient melody and indie-rock fervor on tracks like "Subrosa," "Low Countries" and "Celestial Navigation" as City of Ships skillfully churn their way through the peaks and valleys of the 42 minute long Minor World.
City of Ships is currently trekking their way across Europe and will return for a US tour later this summer.
Minor World Track Listing:
1. Clotilde
2. Subrosa
3. Low Countries
4. Tantric Engineer
5. Darkness at Noon
6. Easy Way / Hard Way
7. Celestial Navigation
8. Sweet Delirium
9. Chainman
10. Low Lives
It is with great excitement that Big Deal unveil details of their debut album Lights Out to be released October 11th AND new single “Chair” released on August 30th.
With the strum of an acoustic guitar set against the fuzzed out chords of an electric guitar and the tones of a boy / girl vocal, the band announced their arrival in the summer of last year.
WHO: Kacey Underwood & Alice Costelloe
WHAT: Lights Out, co-produced by Underwood and Dean Reid, emerges from its bedroom beginnings as a collection of twelve deeply personal songs innately tapped into the innocence, insecurity, wonder and lust of young love.
The album sweepingly opens with the nostalgic “Distant Neighborhood”, a blissful, sun-kissed daydream. The raw, confessional “Talk” perfectly translates the frustration and push and pull of relationships, while “Seraphine” is full of deep reflection.
“Homework” is achingly beautiful in its schoolyard simplicity and then “Locked Up” fights back with a wall-of-sound, swooning and fleshed out from its early recordings.
Big Deal release a new single “Chair”, a highlight from an album brimming with potential singles. Bringing together electric fuzz and acoustic sheen, the track is a bittersweet 3 minutes about the pulsating longing to take a crush to the next level, centred around the poignant lyrics:
“You don’t trust me to sit on your bed / Put me on a chair in the corner instead.”
ALBUM TRACKLISTING:
Distant Neighborhood
Chair
Cool Like Kurt
Swoon
Homework
Talk
With The World At My Feet
Locked Up
Summer Cold
Visions
Seraphine
Pi
Big Deal take to the road this summer for a series of festival appearances in the UK including Wireless, Reading & Leeds and End Of The Road. Having wowed audiences during the NME Radar tour earlier this year, the bands woozy, understated bed-room rock sounds all the more magical live. With their mesmeric chemistry and hard-hitting restraint being brought to the fore, you leave with the sense that you’ve been privy to a secret exchange. A big deal indeed.
The Features Announce New Album on Kings of Leon's Label This Month
The Features have announced the release date for their third full-length album, 'Wilderness' (a July 26th release). The album follows 2009's 'Some Kind Of Salvation' and is the first release from Kings of Leon's label, Serpents and Snakes, a venture with music publisher, Bug Music, - began coming together upon The Features' return home after a lengthy 2010 tour alongside Manchester Orchestra.
For this album The Features teamed with longtime friend, producer Brian Carter, who recorded their 2003 release, The Beginning EP and engineer Craig Alvin at Carter's Paradox Productions Recording Service in Nashville, Tennessee.
As the band gears up for the release of Wilderness, in an effort to satiate fans' desire to hear some of the new music as well as offer limited edition vinyl, The Features have released the "Rambo" 7-inch.
"Rambo" appears on Wilderness and the B-side, "This Much I Know," is an unreleased song that fans may recognize from live shows.
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The Radio Dept Reissue Albums On Vinyl
The Radio Dept.'s first three albums; "Lesser matters", "Pet grief" and "Clinging to a scheme" are being released on 180 gram vinyl! Lesser Matters (2003): "Lesser matters" was originally released in 2003 and ended up on NME's Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade - list among other things.
Pet Grief (2006) The band's second album "Pet grief" was originally issued in 2006 after having released two stand alone EPs ("Pulling our weight" and "This past week") which landed tracks on Sofia Coppola's film "Marie Antoinette".
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Radiohead Announce Second Limited Edition Vinyl
Phonica Records have recently announced the second vinyl release in Radiohead's summer remix series. The series features fresh takes of tracks from the band's latest and eighth album, The King of Limbs, by a range of electronic artists and DJs.
The newest release, a 12-inch vinyl due out July 14, will feature "Morning Mr. Magpie" by English electronic artist Nathan Fake and two remixes of "Bloom" by Australian electro producer Mark Pritchard.
On July 4, the first release in the series will be available from XL/Ticker Tape in the UK and tbd Records in North America. It features Canadian musician Caribou's remix of "Little Boy Blue" and a version of the album's lead single "Lotus Flower" by Canadian R&B and electronic producer Jacques Green.
Both vinyl and digital formats will be available for purchase on the band's website.
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Band release edible and playable chocolate record
Edinburgh-based three-piece 'Found' worked with a local baker to produce the chocolate disk version of their single 'Anti Climb Paint' which can be played in any record player. It is thought to be the world's first edible and playable chocolate record. And even the sleeve and label are edible having been made from rice paper and icing sugar.
After several weeks of trial and error, baker Ben Milne was able to make the working chocolate record by using the same negative metal templates used to produce vinyl versions.
Ben, of the Fisher & Donaldson bakery, figures that people will get around 10 plays from the record before it wears down. Of course once it has worn out you can always eat it.
Ben added: “I heard that vinyl is on the increase and that CDs are on their way out, so chocolate records could be part of a resurgence and people getting their record players out of their attics.”
Unfortunately only fifty of the chocolate 7" singles are being produced.
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Warhol's Blondie Portrait Sells For Millions At Auction
An iconic Andy Warhol portrait of Blondie star Debbie Harry has sold for a staggering $5.9 million.
The Heart of Glass singer posed for Warhol in his New York studio back in 1980 and the finished product - a hot pink silkscreen canvas - was one of the star lots at Sotheby's two-day auction in London, which ended on Thursday (Jun 30, 2011).
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GRIMEY'S BEST SELLERS 6/20 - 6/26, 2011
Top 25 Vinyl:
1. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
2. Eastern Block - Wing Walker 7"
3. KORT - Please Don't Touch 7"
4. Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part 2
5. Jeff The Brotherhood - We Are The Champions
6. Ty Segall - Goodbye Bread
7. My Morning Jacket - Circuital
8. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
9. Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi - Rome
10. Radiohead - Supercollider 12"
11. Dawes - Nothing Is Wrong
12. The Black Keys - Brothers
13. Bon Iver - Calgary 12"
14. Battles - Gloss Drop
15. The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow
16. Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
17. The Features - Rambo 7"
18. Levon Helm - Ramble At The Ryman
19. King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King
20. Reatards - Teenage Hate / Fuck Elvis Here's the Reatards
21. The Flaming Lips w/ Prefuse 73 - Supermoon Made Me Want To Pee 12"
22. Twin Shadow - Forget
23. Jeff Buckley - Grace
24. Tyler The Creator - Goblin
25. Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue
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and in music history for today:
In 1956, Elvis Presley appeared on NBC- TV's The Steve Allen Show and performed “Hound Dog,” to a live Hound Dog. U.S. TV critic John Crosby panned Elvis' performance, calling him an “unspeakable, untalented and vulgar young entertainer.”
Also in 1956, Brenda Lee signed her first recording contract at the age of 11, after five years of singing professionally. Little Miss Dynamite, as she was called, would go on to have a total of 29 US Top 40 singles in the 1960s, including "I'm Sorry", "Break It Too Me Gently" "All Alone Am I" and "Fool #1".
In 1962, Gene Vincent was the featured act at The Cavern Club in Liverpool, along with an up and coming local group called The Beatles.
In 1963, The Beatles recorded "She Loves You", which was released in August and become the group's second UK #1 hit. Adding to the song's popularity among young people was the phrase "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah", which was looked down upon by British establishment and in some quarters was seen to hail "the collapse of civilized society."
In 1967, the #1 album on the charts was Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles (15 weeks).
In 1967, the Association held down the top spot in the US for the first of four weeks with their biggest hit, "Windy". Strangely, the record failed to chart at all in the UK. The song's writer, Ruthann Friedman said that she wrote it in about 20 minutes when she started to fantasize about what kind of a guy she would like to be with.
Also in 1967, Jefferson Airplane's psychedelic masterpiece "White Rabbit" entered the Billboard chart, where it eventually reached #8. The song became one of the first records to sneak drug references past radio censors. It uses imagery found in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass, such as changing size after taking pills.
In 1973, the Broadway production of Jesus Christ Superstar closed after 720 performances.
Foreigner's "Hot Blooded" was released in 1978.
In 1981, Rushton Moreve, bass player with Steppenwolf was killed in motorcycle accident Santa Barbara, California, aged 32. Had the 1968 U.S. #2 single “Born to be Wild” and he co-wrote their hit “Magic Carpet Ride.”
In 1983, a New Jersey based quintet calling themselves Bon Jovi were signed to Phonogram's Mercury label.
The Grateful Dead's "In The Dark" LP was released in 1987.
In 1995, disc jockey Wolfman Jack, who appeared in the movie American Graffiti, died of a heart attack at the age of 57 at his home in Belvidere, North Carolina. He had risen to fame in the mid-1960s and was immortalized in 1974 by The Guess Who's "Clap For The Wolfman", on which his raspy voice is heard in the background.
In 1999, American singer Guy Mitchell, died aged 72 at Desert Springs Hospital in Las Vegas. He had the 1957 U.K. & U.S. #1 single “Singing the Blues' plus over 10 other U.K. Top 40 singles. Mitchell also appeared as George Romack in the 1961 NBC western detective series Whispering Smith.
In 2000, Cub Koda, the leader of Brownsville Station and composer of their hit "Smokin' in the Boys Room", passed away from complications arising from kidney dialysis at the age of 51.
In 2005, Renaldo "Obie" Benson of the legendary Motown singing group The Four Tops, died at the age of 69.
Also in 2005, R&B artist Luther Vandross passed away at the age of 54, two years after suffering a major stroke.
In 2009, the week after Michael Jackson's death, The King Of Pop dominated the Top Ten of Billboard's album chart. Leading the pack was "Number Ones", followed by "The Essential Michael Jackson" at #2, "Thriller" was #3 and "Off The Wall" was #4. The Jackson 5's "Ultimate Collection" held the #5 spot, "Bad" was #6, "Dangerous" was #7, "Greatest Hits - HIStory - Vol. 1" came in at #8 and Michael's "Ultimate Collection" occupied the #9 position. Collectively, Jackson's solo albums sold 415,000 copies for the week, 58% of which were digital downloads. The week before his death, his titles sold a combined 10,000 units.
celebrating birthdays today include (among many others): Debbie Harry (Blondie) (66), Fred Schneider (B-52's) (60), Roddy Buttum (Faith No More) (48) and Sufjan Stevens (36)
DEAR JERRY:Many artists have a signature song, one instantly connected with them and only them. Tony Bennett's “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”; Wayne Newton's “Danke Schoen”; and Dean Martin's “Everybody Loves Somebody” are three such examples.
Yet when it comes to a signature song for Nina Simone, there are at least three different answers: “I Loves You Porgy”; “Mississippi Goddam”: and “My Baby Just Cares for Me,” are all referred to as her most famous recording.
As far as I know, Nina's only hit was “I Loves You Porgy,” making it a no-brainer.
“My Baby Just Cares for Me” was one of her early singles, but bombed, and I know nothing about “Mississippi Goddam.” I doubt any radio station would have played such a song, at least not in those days.
Do you agree with me?
—Lucille Carmichael, Philadelphia
DEAR LUCILLE: I do agree with you … though there is one little proviso: “I Loves You Porgy” is only a no-brainer to folks living in America in the late 1950s and early '60s.
Simone's “Porgy,” as it is sometimes shown (Bethlehem 11021), reached the Top 15 in the States in 1959, and was her only U.S. hit of consequence. However, Nina's soulful revival of the Gershwins' “Porgy and Bess” standard went nowhere in Europe. Most folks in that part of the world, especially the British, might say “Porgy? Isn't he that Looney Tunes pig?”
Over there, the best-known Nina Simone tune is “My Baby Just Cares for Me” (Bethlehem 3031) — not that listeners on either side of the Atlantic heard it in 1962 when first issued as a single.
Remarkably, 25 years later, Paris-based Chanel produced a 30-second TV spot for their No. 5 Parfum, featuring beautiful French actress Carole Bouquet frolicking about to Simone's “My Baby Just Cares for Me.”
Both the commercial and the song became wildly popular in Europe, prompting a UK rush-release single of “My Baby Just Cares for Me,” backed with “Love Me Or Leave Me” (Charley CZY-7112).
By late November 1987, the tune no one noticed in 1962 held the No. 4 spot on the UK New Musical Express Top 30.
Feeding the frenzy, Aardman Animation (“Wallace & Gromit”; “Chicken Run”; “Flushed Away,” etc.) created a magnificent claymation-style video. The Chanel spot and Aardman video are both on YouTube.
Which brings us to “Mississippi Goddam.” This is one of seven live cuts on “Nina Simone in Concert,” her first LP for Philips (200135/600135). Issued in June 1964, this collection includes portions of New York performances in March and April.
Anyone buying “Nina Simone in Concert” expecting the folk-blues repertoire found on her earlier live albums (“Nina at Town Hall”; “At Newport”; “At the Village Gate”; “At Carnegie Hall”) may have slipped into shock.
The program begins with a new reading of “I Loves You Porgy,” and includes two more of her 1958 recordings: “Plain Gold Ring” and “Don't Smoke in Bed.”
Simone then uses the four remaining selections, “Old Jim Crow”; “Go Limp”; “Pirate Jenny”; and “Mississippi Goddam,” to sermonize her views on race-related issues.
This she did more than a year before Barry McGuire's protest song, “Eve of Destruction,” topped all the nation's charts, creating a new genre for gloom, doom, and even violent revolution themes. I'd say this line from “Mississippi Goddam” falls into that category:
“This whole country is full of lies, and you all gonna die; die like flies.”
As you suspected, no radio station would even consider airing “Mississippi Goddam.” Flying in the face of reasonable expectations, the label still released the song as a single (Philips 40216).
“Mississippi Goddam,” written by Nina, may be her most controversial song, but not her most famous.
Neither this tune, nor the one preceding it, “Old Jim Crow” (Philips 40194), stood a chance of being a hit.
Even “Nina Simone in Concert” failed to make the Top 100 albums, pretty much the case with all her LPs except “Nina at Newport” (Colpix 412).
Simone left America in 1970, landing first in Barbados. In 1992, several countries and continents later, Nina found a permanent home in France, where she remained until her death in April 2003.
IZ ZAT SO? In response to negative feedback from the media over “Mississippi Goddam,” in which she sings those words six times, Philips created a custom, promotional 45 rpm for dee jays.
A special paper sleeve shows the 'new' title as “Mississippi *@!!?*@!,” along with an explanation of how all mentions of “goddam” is replaced by beeping tones.
To say this bizarre concoction was awful is to be as complimentary as possible.
Jerry Osborne answers as many questions as possible through this column. Write Jerry at: Box 255, Port Townsend, WA 98368 E-mail: jpo@olympus.net Visit his Web site: www.jerryosborne.com
All values quoted in this column are for near-mint condition.
Copyright 2011 Osborne Enterprises- Reprinted By Exclusive Permission
'Chipmunks' Owner Suing Over 'Chipmunks' Tribute Album
Bagdasarian Prods, owner of the Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise, is said to be suing the producers of an "artistically inferior knockoff" Chipmunks tribute album on iTunes, Amazon.com and other digital stores. The lawsuit was filed last Thursday in U.S. District Court in California.
The Chipmunks were the created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., who in 1958 had the idea of recording his own voice and speeding it up. He made a Grammy-winning chart-topper, "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)," and followed it up with an animated TV show, hit feature films, and albums full of hit pop songs done at high speeds. The franchise has made more than $1 billion.
In the lawsuit, Bagdasarian Prods. (now controlled by Ross Jr.) claims the Jerry Naylor Company distributed a digital album called "A Tribute to Alvin and the Chipmonks," that uses a nearly identical set of songs to past Chipmunks hits, including "The Chipmunk Song," "Funkytown" and "Mess Around."
The fact that the defendant spelled Chipmonks with an "o" and is re-recording past hits from Ray Charles and the Lips, among others, isn't enough to escape Bagdasarian attention. The plaintiffs claim the "knockoff"/tribute infringes its trademarks and is likely to confuse the public on its source of origin.
Bagdasarian is seeking more than $1 million in believed damages and an injunction.
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The Chariot Long Live on Vinyl
The Chariot have scheduled an August 2nd release date for the new vinyl LP version of their latest release, 'Long Live.' Long Live was released on November 22nd, 2010 and is the band's fourth full-length album to date.
The new 180 gram weight vinyl LP comes with exclusive silk-screened, hand-numbered jackets. Hot Topic will exclusively carry a white version of the vinyl with black spatters, numbered 1 through 1,000. The GOOD FIGHT store, the band (on tour), and your favorite local vinyl retailer will carry black with white spatters, numbered 1,001 through 2000.
The vinyl will include a bonus track, 'Music of a Grateful Heart', previously available only on the limited edition 7-inch version.
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Pink Floyd & The Beatles Met In The 60s
Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason revealed that the band was simply starstruck when they met the Beatles when the two acts were at the same recording space in the ’60s.
Pink Floyd were laying down tracks for their first album, ‘The Piper at the Gates of Dawn,’ in London’s Abbey Road studios at the same time the Beatles were recording songs for their classic 1967 album ‘Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.’
“We were recording in Abbey Road, the temple of greatness, and they were recording ‘Lovely Rita,’” recalls Mason in an interview the Wall Street Journal. “They were God-like figures to us. They all seemed extremely nice, but they were in a strata so far beyond us that they were out of our league.”
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and in music history for today:
In 1957, Buddy Holly recorded the song "Peggy Sue."
In 1963, Del Shannon's cover version of the Beatles' "From Me To You" became the first song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney to appear on the American charts, where it would stay for four weeks, reaching #77. The Beatles' rendition climbed only to #116. The title of the song was inspired from a letters column called From You To Us that ran in the popular British music newspaper, The New Musical Express.
In 1966, 500 police are needed to control the crowd when the Beatles play Tokyo.
In 1967, Keith Richards was found guilty of allowing his property to be used for the smoking of marijuana and was sentenced to one year in jail and was fined. Mick Jagger was found guilty of illegal possession of pep pills and was sentenced to three months in jail.
Pink Floyd's second album "A Saucerful of Secrets" was released in 1968.
Also in 1968, Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" entered the Billboard chart, where it would reach #5. The song featured former Yardbirds guitarist, Jeff Beck.
In 1969, the Jimi Hendrix Experience played their last concert on the last day of the Denver Pop Festival.
In 1969, soul singer Shorty Long drowned aged 29 after his boat capsized on the Detroit River in Michigan. Had the 1968 U.S. #8 single “Here Comes the Judge.” He acted as an MC for many of the Motown Revue shows and tours.
In 1973, Ian Gillan singer with Deep Purple quit the band at the end of a tour in Japan.
In 1974, Canada's Gordon Lightfoot scored his first US number one single with "Sundown". His best previous outing had been "If You Could Read My Mind" which reached number 5 in 1971. not even his best songs, in my book....
In 1979, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, Lowell George died of a heart attack. The Little Feat front man was found dead at the Key Bridge Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Virginia.
In 1985, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum auctions off John Lennon's psychedelic-painted 1965 Rolls-Royce Phantom V at Sotheby's in New York. The car, which Lennon donated to the museum in 1977, was sold to the Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum for a then record price of $2,299,000.
In 1998, George Harrison announced that he was being treated for throat cancer. Harrison says he has been given a clean bill of health by saying, "I'm not going to die on you folks just yet." That sad event would take place on November 29th, 2001.
In 1999, Michael Jackson was severely bruised but nothing was broken when he fell 50 feet during a concert in Munich.
In 2007, George McCorkle, the rhythm guitarist for The Marshall Tucker Band, died of cancer at the age of 60. He penned many MTB songs, including the band's first Country Top 40 hit, "Fire on the Mountain".
celebrating birthdays today (among many others) include Don Dokken (Dokken) (58), Evelyn "Champagne" King (51) and Ian Paice (Deep Purple) (63)
