New Music Releases ~ August 4, 2009

Lots of new music this week, including reissues of some classic vinyl. Stop by these retailers to buy this great music!

vinyluniverse

insound




All Tiny Creatures - Segni (vinyl)

Amanda Blank - I Love You (vinyl)

Anchor & Braille - Felt

Anjulie - Anjulie

Antony & the Johnsons - Aeon 7″

Bad Veins - Bad Veins (vinyl)

Beatallica - Masterful Mystery Tour

Bill Champlin - No Place Left To Fall

Brian Bonz & The Dot Hongs - From Sumi to Japan

Brian Wilson - What Love Can Do

Cale Parks - To Swift Mars EP

Catie Curtis - Hello Stranger

Circulatory System - Signal Morning

Cornershop: -Judy Sucks A Lemon for Breakfast

Dark Meat - When The Shelter Came 7″

Desolation Wilderness - New Universe(vinyl)

diskJokke - Discolated

Frankmusik - 'Complete Me'

Gloriana - S/T

Greymachine - Disconnected

Guided by Voices - Under The Bushes Under The Stars (vinyl reissue)

Hank III - Assjack

Helado Negro - Awe Owe

Holiday Shores - Columbus’d the Whim

Iron Age - The Sleeping Eye

Japandroids - Post-Nothing (vinyl)

Jay Reatard: -Watch Me Fall (vinyl)

Joe Pernice - It Feels So Good When I Stop

Julian Plenti - Julian Plenti Is Skyscraper (vinyl)

Kings of Leon - Notion EP

K'Jon - I Get Around

Liechtenstein/Faintest Ideas - Searching for The Now Vol. 5 7″

Lightning Dust - Infinite Light (vinyl)

Lovvers - Ocd Go Go Girls

Mac McAnally - Down By The River

Magnolia Sisters - Stripped Down

Maplewood - Yeti Boombox (vinyl)

Marmoset - Tea Tornado

Medeski Martin and Wood - Rollarians III

Miles Davis - The Classic Prestige Sessions 1951-1956

Modest Mouse - No One Fire and You're Next (EP)

Monty Python - Monty Python's Flying Circus (reissue)

Mstrkrft - 'Fist Of God'

Nodzzz: True To Life (vinyl)

Nurses - Apple's Acre (vinyl)

Oasis- (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (2-LP vinyl reissue)

Oasis - Be Here Now (2-LP vinyl reissue)

Oasis - Definitely Maybe (2-LP vinyl reissue)

Oasis - Don't Believe the Truth (vinyl reissue)

Oasis - Heathen Chemistry (2-LP vinyl reissue)

Oasis - Standing on the Shoulder of Giants (2-LP vinyl reissue)

Oasis - The Masterplan (2-LP vinyl reissue)

Owen - Split EP

Pansonic/Haino Keiji - Shall I Download A Blackhole and Offer It To You

Pictureplane - Dark Rift

Plastiscines - About Love

Reigning Sound - Love and Curses

REM - 'Reckoning: Deluxe Edition'

Robert Pollard - Elephant Jokes

Robert Wyatt - Box Set (8-CD box set)

Sian Alice Group - Troubled, Shaken etc. (vinyl)

Solillaquists of Sound - No More Heroes

Soul-Junk - 1960

Suicide City - Frenzy

Sunn 0)))- Che/13 Crosses 16, Blazin Skulls/Goodbye Darling (vinyl)

Tantric - Mind Control

The Duke & the King- Nothing Gold Can Stay

The Fruit Bats - The Ruminant Band (vinyl)

The Noisettes - Never Forget You/Saturday Night (vinyl)

The Ocean - Fluxion

The School/George Washington Brown - Searching for The Now Vol. 6 7″

The Twang - 'Jewellery Quarter'

The Used - In Love And Death (vinyl reissue)

The Young Accuser - Unsound (vinyl)

Thecocknbullkid - Querelle EP

Throw Me The Statue - Creaturesque (vinyl)

TV Ghost - Cold Fish

Various Artists - An Anthology of Chinese Experimental Music 1992-2008 (4-CD box set)

Various Artists - Horse Meat Disco

Walter Trout - Unspoiled by Progress

Watermelon Slim & The Workers - Escape from the Chicken Coop

We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four Walls (vinyl)

White Shit - Sculpted Beef EP

Wild Beasts - 'Two Dancers'

YACHT - See Mystery Lights

Yim Yames - Tribute To EP (vinyl)

Young Accuser - Unsound 7″

Music News & Notes

The Black Dahlia Murder Reveals "Deflorate" Cover Art


THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER has revealed the cover art for their upcoming new album, "Deflorate," to be released on Metal Blade Records in Europe on September 11/14 and September 15 in the USA.

"A Selection Unnatural," the first single, is streaming on RevolverMag.com.

"Deflorate" was recorded at the famed Audiohammer Studios by production wizard Jason Suecof (DevilDriver, Trivium, Job For A Cowboy, Daath) and engineering talent Mark Lewis (Trivium, Bury Your Dead, All That Remains).

"Deflorate" will be released on September 11/14 in Europe as a limited first edition double digipak including bonus-dvd and as a regular jewelcase CD. The album will be released on September 15 in the USA.

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She Has Survived

Gloria Gaynor is re-releasing her massive disco hit "I Will Survive" on October 27 to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Such releases are very popular in England and sometimes lead to a whole new round of charting for older songs, but that has never been the case here in the U.S. Still, it is a symbolic gesture for a song that seems to have grown beyond standard Disco love/hate to an anthem.

The new recording will have an updated version of the song in both English and Spanish along with the gospel ballad "He Gave Me Life (I Will Survive)." Gaynor is planning a full gospel album for next year.

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Rolling Stone Poll

The Rolling Stone reader's poll over the past weekend asked people to name their favorite supergroups, those formed by members of other popular groups.

Here are the top 15 as picked by the readers of Rolling Stone.

1.Cream

2.Velvet Revolver

3.Audioslave

4.Raconteurs

5.Traveling Wilburys

6.Temple of the Dog

7.Derek & The Dominos

8.Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

9.Oysterhead

10.Blind Faith

11.The Dead Weather

12.Bad Company

13.Chickenfoot

14.Foo Fighters

15.Mad Season

No ELP, Asia? I am sure there are more, but these groups would rank higher for me than some of the others on this list.....

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Muse Reveal 'The Resistance' Artwork

Muse have today unveiled the artwork to their forthcoming fifth studio album 'The Resistance'.



The typically intergalactic image shows a solitary figure staring at planet Earth from space surrounded by a kalaeidoscopic mosaic. You can see it in higher resolution below.

Muse release 'The Resistance' on September 14th, with the single 'Uprising' preceding it a week before.

Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales

Week Ending 08/01/2009


1. 45 - The Beatles "Our First Four" Promotional Presentation (Plastic) - $13,058.88

2. 45 - Ellipsis "People" / "Gregory Moore" Briarmeade - $3,383.33

3. 45 - Al Williams "I Am Nothing" / "Brand New Love" Palmer - $2,650.00

4. LP - The Who "self titled" Italy Polydor (A Quick One) - $2,300.00

5. 45 - Nirvana "Love Buzz" 462/1000 Sub Pop - $2,224.99



As always, A special thank you to Norm at http://ccdiscoveries.blogspot.com/ for this great data.

Stop by and listen to Accidental Nostalgia with Norm & Jane
On Radio Dentata Thursdays 4PM PDT/7PM EDT

This Date In Music History-August 4

Birthdays:

Max Cavalera – Sepultura (1969)

Rob Cieka - The Boo Radleys (1968)

Sam Yaffa - Hanoi Rocks (1963)

Paul Reynolds - A Flock Of Seagulls (1962)

Robbin Crosby – Ratt (1959)

Klaus Schulze - Tangerine Dream (1947)

Singer/guitarist Rick Derringer was born in 1947.

Paul Layton - New Seekers (1947)

David Carr – Fortunes (1943)

Frankie Ford - 1959 US #14 single “Sea Cruise” (1940)

Larry Knechtel – Bread (1940)


They Are Missed:

Born on this day in 1901, Louis Armstrong, singer, bandleader, trumpet. Had many hits, including the 1964 #1 “Hello Dolly.” Died on July 6, 1971.

The late Elsberry Hobbs of the Drifters ("There Goes My Baby") was born in 1930.

Singer/songwriter Lee Hazlewood died of cancer in 2007, in his home near Las Vegas aged 78. Hazlewood wrote and produced many of Nancy Sinatra's most famous hits, including “These Boots Were Made For Walkin,” “Jackson” and “Did You Ever?” He also produced Duane Eddy and Gram Parsons and “Something Stupid” - the duet Nancy recorded with her father Frank in 1967.

American blues singer and guitarist Little Milton died in 2005. Milton had suffered a brain aneurysm on July 25, 2005 and had lapsed into a coma. He signed to Sun records in 1953 and had the 1965 US #25 single “We're Gonna Make It.”


History:

The first country superstar, Jimmie "the Singing Brakeman" Rodgers made his first recording for Victor Records in Bristol, Tennessee in 1927.



What many consider to be one of rock's greatest double-sided singles, "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog," was released in 1956. Both sides will share the top spot for 11 weeks.



In 1957, the Everly Brothers made their second appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show and introduced their upcoming single, "Wake Up Little Susie," a song which would go on to cause some major controversy and be banned from some radio stations.

Billboard Magazine introduced its "Hot 100" chart in 1958, which was part popularity and a barometer of the movement of potential hits. The first number one song was Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool."

The Beatles appeared at the Queen's Theatre in Blackpool in 1963. So many fans crowded around the theatre, blocking every entrance, that The Beatles had to go through a construction area, up and across some scaffolding to the roof of the theatre, from where they were lowered through a trap door.

In 1966, the day after the South African government bans Beatle records from airing in response to John Lennon's statement that the band was now more popular than Jesus Christ, a ban on the broadcast of any and all Beatles records on U.S. radio stations goes into effect on most of the country's radio stations.

In 1967, a female Monkees fan stowed away on the bands plane between shows in Minneapolis and St Louis. The girl's father threatened to bring charges for transporting a minor across state lines.

The two day Newport Pop Festival took place in California in 1968 with Canned Heat, Sonny & Cher, Steppenwolf, The Byrds, The Grateful Dead, Tiny Tim, Iron Butterfly and Jefferson Airplane. Over 100,000 fans attended the festival.

In 1970, The Medicine Ball Caravan touring festival, featuring headliners the Grateful Dead, played its first date - in San Francisco, of course.

Maureen McGovern started a two week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1973 with “The Morning After.”

John Lennon and Yoko Ono began recording what would become his final album 'Double Fantasy' at The Hit Factory, New York in 1980.

Prince started a 24 week run at the top of the US album charts in 1984 with “Purple Rain,” it went on to sell over 10 million copies.

Mariah Carey's started a four week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1990 with “Vision Of Love,” her debut release.

It’s in the Groove

By Kremena Krumova

SOURCE: http://www.theepochtimes.com


Until recently, Thomas Edison was considered the first man to record sound. He recorded “Mary Had a Little Lamb” in 1877 and played it back using his own invention, the phonograph, which reproduced music from a bulky cylinder.

But last year, an older recording was discovered. “Au Clair de la Lune” was recorded in 1860 by French Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville. He invented a device called phonautograph which was equipped with a needle which followed the sound vibrations and etched the waves produced onto a sheet of paper smeared with oil-lamp soot.

There is also a claim—albeit controversial—by Belgian scientists who say they have analyzed the curves on a clay vase dating 5,000 years back to the city of Pompeii of the Roman Empire. According to their theory, the manufacturers of the vase had used sticks to make carvings on the clay corresponding to the vibrations of musical sounds. The playback of the “decoration” revealed a man’s voice speaking Latin and laughing.

But be they ancient or more contemporary, all of these recordings work by the same principle—even today.

How Recordings Work

A round disc is engraved with concentric spiral grooves. Usually they start from the outskirts of the surface and finish close to its center. The last spiral forms a closed circle, and that is where the music stops.

The sound is hidden in the super-fine carvings made on the edges of the grooves. A stylus usually made of steel or sapphire “reads” the carvings and sends the sound to a horn or, as is true later in history, to an amplifier.

In 1887, Emile Berliner, a German immigrant to the U.S., changed the Edison cylinder into a flat disc, thus giving birth to today’s phonograph or gramophone record. He registered the patent for the gramophone.

Berliner’s disc found firm footing in the market due to its ease of manufacture and portability.

Numerous formats, rotation speeds, and materials for the phonograph record were explored, but in the end, the 78 rpm (revolutions per minute) version won recognition and became the standard—for awhile, anyway.

In 1948, the Hungarian engineer Peter Goldmark, who worked for Columbia Records, made a great breakthrough with his long-playing (known today as the LP) microgroove 12" vinyl record with 33 1/3 rpm, made of the artificial material polyvinyl chloride.

The LP could play 25 minutes on each side and was much more durable than its shellac (natural resin) predecessor. The vinyl was smaller and thinner in size but provided the means for longer playing times: shellac records had only 80-100 groove walls per inch, while the new vinyl could have as many as 260 groove walls per inch. The background noise was also significantly reduced.

While the 78 rpm record was on its way out, another standard was making its way on the scene: the 45 rpm vinyl. The 45 was most popular during the 1960’s in the United Kingdom. Millions of records were sold as the Beatles were among those to produce their music on such vinyl. This record was smaller in size and turned out to be very attractive for promoting hit singles.

CD or LP, Which is Better?

Despite the introduction of the CD (compact disc) in the mid 1980’s, many collectors and audiophiles say the vinyl still produces the richest and most pleasant sound of all music carriers known so far.

Actually, the CD works by exactly the same principle as the vinyl record, with the main difference being that the sound on the CD is digitized, while the vinyl record reproduces analog tones.

It is precisely in the analog sound that the secret of the vinyl record’s superior tonality lies. Why? Because sound is analog by nature. In order for sound to become digitized, some of its components have to be cut: The usual CD recording takes 44,100 snapshots in a second. Then these snapshots are transformed into digits with a precision of 16 bits. Thus digital recording cannot capture the whole range of sound there is.

Conversely, with the vinyl record, while relaying music to the amplifier, no “data” is lost as there is no need for the sound to be converted into anything else. It is heard as it is performed.

Over time, however, the precision of conversion from analog to digital music is becoming more and more sophisticated, as modern players are able to play a far greater number of snapshots per second (as many as 192,000), which makes for a precision of 24 bits.

This, together with the recent resurgence of vinyl sales, shows us that we are heading back to the basics and to what is referred to as the original sound of nature.

However fine the modern devices may be, they still fail to imitate perfectly the infinitely rich and complicated sound of life. And for now, it seems the truth is still in the groove.


SOURCE: http://www.theepochtimes.com

REPRINTED BY PERMISSION ~ Copyright © 2000–2009 The Epoch Times

Classic Rock Videos

Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK

Music News & Notes

We Knew It Was Coming!

In a new move the music industry, Island Def Jam Music Group will start featuring advertising in future releases as a way to combat money lost from declining record sales.

The first deal, created for the Mariah Carey release "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" on Sept. 15, is a 34-page co-production with Elle magazine that includes lifestyle ads from Elizabeth Arden, Angel Champagne, Carmen Steffens, Le Métier de Beauté and the Bahamas Board of Tourism.

The mini magazine contains Mariah-centric editorial (“VIP Access to Her Sexy Love Life,” “Amazing Closet,” “Recording Rituals”) and lifestyle advertising along with lyrics and other CD booklet elements. Elle contributed the editorial and designed the layout.

The booklets were created for the first run of U.S. CDs (1 million) and the first 500,000 overseas.

“We don’t have music retailers any more, so a smart consumer products company that understands the value in distributing music is going to restore the vitality of our business,” Reid speculated. “If we distribute music properly and if it’s done tastefully, it could be a huge profit center for all of us. That is the missing link—we need partnerships.”

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Epica Completes New Album, "Design Your Universe," and Reveals Cover Art

Dutch symphonic metal band, Epica, has issued the following update:

"Last week we have finished the mixing and mastering of our new album 'Design Your Universe' in the Gate-Studio. We are very pleased with the result!"

"The artwork has also been finished, so here it is: The official cover for 'Design Your Universe'"




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Red Hot Music Again?

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have tentatively scheduled October ‘09 to reconvene after a two-year hiatus since their tour for 2005’s Stadium Arcadium, drummer Chad Smith told Billboard:

“It’ll be two years in September, so now we’re ready,” Smith, who is currently drumming for Chickenfoot, said of the hiatus. While Flea and guitarist John Frusciante will probably bring some musical ideas, the band expects to carve out songs through jamming and improvising.

"That's the plan. Everybody was like, 'Y'know, I really like having this time off, not being a Chili Pepper and doing other things...It'll be two years in September, so now we're ready. You can't force people to play when they don't want to play or aren't ready to play or whatever -- not in our band, anyway."

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White Wizzard Recording Yet To Be Titled New Album

Earache Records announced today that White Wizzard has entered the studio to record their first full-length album.

White Wizzard bassist and founding member Jon Leon comments:

"We are headed to Phoenix, Arizona to begin recording our full-length album with producer Ralph "Talladega" Patlan. He earned the nickname Talladega (from the American raceway) from Dave Mustaine of Megadeth when they worked together. He lives up to the name... Ralph is a quick, efficient producer with a great ear and one of the best in the world for recording rock and metal. He has worked with UFO, Michael Schenker and Megadeth to name a few. We will track at his personal studio, "Skimo Studios" in Phoenix and then mix at the legendary Prairie Sun Recording in Northern California, where many huge albums in the last 30 years were cut.

"We will post some updates from the studio and we will be filming the entire process. Hoping to have this out early 2010 on Earache Records worldwide and then tour like mad to support it. Should be a great year... Until then, thanks for supporting White Wizzard!!"

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Devendra Banhart Confirms New Album, New Label

The ever-interesting folk-hippy Devendra Banhart will release his next album, What Will We Be, this October; the new collection of songs is the singer-songwriter’s seventh, but first release with Warner Bros., who lured him away from indie label XL Recordings.

What Will We Be is the follow-up to 2007’s Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon. The fourteen-track album was co-produced by Banhart and Band Of Bees’ Paul Butler.

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Interesting and Silly

Go retro and experience the warm, rich sound of LPs

By PRESTON JONES / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News


Times are tough for traditional media. Yet against all odds, a cumbersome, fussy and pricey method of consuming recorded music isn't just surviving – it's thriving.

Vinyl LPs, as has been breathlessly touted for months, are surprisingly resurgent in the midst of this analog twilight and the ascent of portable, digital technology.

Looking at the most complete data available, for 2008, the sales of vinyl LPs jumped an eye-popping 89 percent, from 990,000 units to 1.88 million, according to Nielsen SoundScan's year-end report.

The top-selling LP of 2008 was Radiohead's In Rainbows, which moved more than 25,000 copies. Nothing to sneeze at but, by comparison, the top-selling nonvinyl album of the year, Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III, sold nearly 3 million.

LPs were less than 1 percent of the year's total music sales, but they nevertheless offer a flicker of hope – or a brief delay of the inevitable – for an industry that has seen nothing but bad news for years. Indeed, according to Nielsen SoundScan, vinyl LP sales are on course to top out at a record-setting 2.8 million units in 2009, a 50 percent increase from 2008's total.

"People are truly embracing the warmth of the sound," says Chris Penn, manager of Dallas' Good Records.

Read The Rest Here:
dallasnews.com

Vinyl Collective Top 10 Sales of the past week

Stop by www.vinylcollective.com for some great collectible vinyl!

1 JOEY CAPE / MIKE HALE “Under the Influence Vol 11″ 7″ brown vinyl 148 copies

2 O PIONEERS!!!/NEW BRUISES “Under the Influence Vol 10″ 7″ white vinyl 117 copies

3 KEVIN SECONDS / KEPI GHOULIE “Under the Influence Vol 12″ 7″ white vinyl 96 copies

4 HEAVY HEAVY LOW LOW “Turtle Nipple…” LP brown/pink 60 copies

5 O PIONEERS!!! “Limp Bizkit covering Limp Bizkit” 7″ white cover VC exclusive 50 copies

6 JOEY CAPE / MIKE HALE “Under the Influence Vol 11″ 7″ yellow/gold vinyl 44 copies

7 PORTUGAL THE MAN “It’s Complicated Being a Wizard” LP light blue vinyl 41 copies

8 O PIONEERS!!! “Limp Bizkit covering Limp Bizkit” 7″ brown cover 40 copies

9 O PIONEERS!!!/NEW BRUISES “Under the Influence Vol 10″ 7″ translucent blue vinyl 28 copies

10 KEVIN SECONDS / KEPI GHOULIE “Under the Influence Vol 12″ 7″ red vinyl 25 copies

10 PORTUGAL THE MAN The Satanic Satanist LP red/orange 25 copies

10 O PIONEERS!!!/NEW BRUISES “Under the Influence Vol 10″ 7″ set of both colors 25 copies

10 JOEY CAPE / MIKE HALE “Under the Influence Vol 11″ 7″ set of both colors 25 copies

10 KEVIN SECONDS / KEPI GHOULIE “Under the Influence Vol 12″ 7″ set of both colors 25 copies

Classic Rock Videos

The Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen

Michael Fremer Album Review

I am very proud to continue our new feature (look for this every Friday), music reviews that are written by the senior contributing editor of Stereophile magazine- Michael Fremer. It has been a pleasure to speak with Michael and learn more about audio sound and equipment. In fact, his new DVD, "It's A Vinyl World, After All" has hit the shelves and is selling out very quickly. This is a must have for anybody who loves vinyl, it is a true masterpiece.


Additionally, make sure to stop by his site, www.musicangle.com and bookmark it for further exploration. I certainly want to thank Michael for the exclusive rights to reprint his fantastic material.



ZZ Top (reissue)
Fandango

Warner Brothers 306172 180g LP

Produced by: Bill Ham
Engineered by: Terry Manning, Robin Brian, Jim Reeves, Bob Ludwig, Terry Kane
Mixed by: N/A
Mastered by: Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman at AcousTech





Review by: Michael Fremer
2009-07-01


One side of this 1975 release gives you a smokin’ hot live recording of mindless, Texas-style speed-boogie music (the mind is not a terrible thing to waste!), while the other is a somewhat more introspective studio set.

The live set, recorded without studio overdubs at New Orleans’ The Warehouse, is a sweaty aggressive affair taken at warp speed before a wildly enthusiastic, probably sloppy-drunk crowd of revelers.

The bearded ones play it as fast and tight as the lubricated crowd is slow and sloppy, working them into a frenzy and delivering the lyrics with the rapid-fire articulation skills of the best tobacco auctioneers.

It’s amazingly well recorded too, which is not surprising given the album’s illustrious name brand engineers (Bob Ludwig gets a rare engineering credit). Crank it up and you’ll feel as if you’re there. All that’s missing are the sticky floors and smell of stale beer and puke.

The pace remains torrid on side two’s opener “Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings,” but on “Blue Jean Blues,” the boys slow it down to an ominous pace and you can hear on what Stevie Ray cut his blues teeth. It’s the origin of “Tin Pan Alley.”

“Balinese” channels Little Feat and after appropriately, the boogie hit “Tush” (as in “rush”) ends the album. While it’s supposedly slang for “outstanding,” there’s no denying it’s also about ass.

You won’t learn anything here, except whether or not you can keep a beat and whether or not your system can take being cranked up to club levels, but it sure is a fun listen!

BTW: I liked the studio side better, but you may prefer the other side.

This Date In Music History-August 2

Birthdays:

Zelma Davis - C & C Music Factory (1970)

John Stanier – Helmet (1968)

Lee Mavers - The La's (1962)

Mojo Nixon (1957)

Butch Vig - record producer and the drummer with Garbage (1957)

Andrew Gold (1951)

Edward Patten - The Pips (1939)

Garth Hudson - The Band (1937)


They Are Missed:

Born on this day in 1941, Doris Coley, vocals, The Shirelles. She died on February 5, 2000.



Traffic drummer Jim Capaldi was born in 1944 (died January 28, 2005).

Jerome Smith from KC and the Sunshine Band died in 2000 after being crushed by a bulldozer he was operating.

In 1983, James Jamerson died of complications stemming from cirrhosis of the liver, heart failure and pneumonia in Los Angeles, he was 47 years old. As one of The Funk Brothers he was the unaccredited bassist on most of Motown Records' hits in the 1960s and early 1970s including songs by Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops and The Supremes. He eventually performed on nearly 30 #1 pop hits.

Latin composer Don Tosti died in 2004 (age 81) in Palm Springs, California. Tosti combined elements of jazz, boogie and blues to create the unique "Pachuco" style. His 1948 hit "Pachuco Boogie" was the first million-selling Latin record.

The late Peter de Freitas, drummer for Echo and the Bunnymen, was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, West Indies in 1961.

David Martin, bass player with Sam The Sham & the Pharaohs died of a heart attack in 1987 (age 50).

Ron Townson of the Fifth Dimension died of kidney failure in 2001.

Erik Darling of the Tarriers ("Banana Boat Song") and the Rooftop Singers ("Walk Right In") died of Burkitt's Lymphoma in 2008.

In 1972, Brian Cole, bass player with The Association, died of a heroin overdose in Los Angeles, California at the age of 29.


History:

In a 1956 article called "Elvis Presley... He can't be... But He Is," Look Magazine reports Presley records have grossed over $6 million and the singer receives over 3,000 fan letters a week.

Johnny Cash left his first record label, Sun, to sign a major-label contract with Columbia in 1958.

The Beatles began their engagement as regular headliners at Liverpool's Cavern Club in 1961. They performed about 300 shows over the next two years.

Singer songwriter Robert Allen Zimmerman legally changed his name to Robert Dylan in 1962.

Aretha Franklin made her TV debut on ABC's "American Bandstand" in 1962.

Badfinger recorded the Paul McCartney composition, "Come And Get It" in 1969 at Abbey Road, Paul McCartney producing.

In 1973, John Phillips of the Mamas & the Papas files a nine million dollar lawsuit against the group's label, Dunhill, alleging 60 million dollars in unpaid royalties.

The Eagles went to #1 on the US singles chart in 1975 with “One Of These Nights,” the group's second US #1 single.

Poison’s debut, “Look What The Cat Dragged In,” landed on the album chart in 1986 where it eventually rises to #3, selling 3-million copies in the process. The group also began a tour with Cinderella.

Billy Joel played a concert in Leningrad in 1987. The audience carried Joel out of the theatre on their shoulders.

Rick James and his girlfriend Tanya Hijazi were arrested in Hollywood in 1991 and charged with assault with a deadly weapon aggravated mayhem torture, false imprisonment and forcible oral copulation. James was released on $1 million bail.

In 2001, New Orleans International Airport was re-named Louis Armstrong Airport in honor of the New Orleans born trumpet player, singer and bandleader.

Most Valuable Vinyl Records

Well, I made it, this story is now what they call, viral, so I am placing it here (this is a repost) so all may find it. My vinyl record appraisal service is just that, a service that I charge for, there is no such thing as free record appraisal. That said, if you want your records appraised, my fee is $1 per record with a minimum of 10 records- payable via PayPal. If you have any questions, email me at fonzie1957@charter.net

I did a post last week and after searching the Internet for the world’s Top Ten Most Valuable vinyl records, one can be sure that the lists can be subjective, vary from country to country and will fluctuate over time. For instance, the copy of John Lennon & Yoko Ono “Double Fantasy” LP, the one that he signed for Mark David Chapman just a few hours before he was shot to death, is at the top of a common list.

However, the record remains unsold, so the asking price may not be exactly what the record is worth. With the recent death of Michael Jackson, copies of “Thriller” were selling at more than three times what the record price guides listed and Jackson’s rare vinyl has also skyrocketed. Although the prices for his more common records will even out, one can assume his rare vinyl will remain at high prices.

In all actuality, a record is worth what someone will pay for it; which is true of most collectibles. Many variables will effect the price, such as demand, the death of an artist, the condition of the vinyl itself, just to name a few. However, in the case of vinyl records, there are some recording artists that always show up on the ‘top ten’ lists, including the Beatles and the Sex Pistols. My guess is that there will always be a demand for the Fab Four and the Sex Pistols, hence the prices for their records and the rare ones will always be on the high end of any list. Also, the lists include acetates, which are another rare form of a record release.

If we take a look at the three lists below we see that the early Beatles work done as the Quarrymen show up on both the Wikipedia list and the list from the Telegraph in the UK. Also, the Beatles show up as the one that command the most money at www.popsike.com (according to their database).

Most Valuable Records Lists

The following list is an attempt to list some of the most valuable recordings. Data is sourced from Record Collector magazine, eBay, Popsike, Good Rockin' Tonight and other sources.

Source: wikipedia


1) John Lennon & Yoko Ono – Double Fantasy (Geffen US Album, 1980) Note: Autographed by Lennon five hours before Mark David Chapman assassinated him. Value: $525,000

2) The Quarrymen – “That’ll Be the Day”/”In Spite Of All The Danger” (UK 78 RPM, Acetate in plain sleeve, 1958) Note: Only one copy made. Value: $180,000

3) The Beatles – Yesterday and Today (Capitol, US Album in ‘butcher’ sleeve, 1966) Value: $38,500, though more typically prices range from $150-$7500

4) Bob Dylan – The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (CBS, US album, stereo 1963 featuring 4 tracks deleted from subsequent releases) Value: $35,000

5) Long Cleve Reed & Little Harvey Hull – “Original Stack O’Lee Blues” (Black Patti, US 78 RPM in plain sleeve, 1927) Value: $30,000

6) Frank Wilson – “Do I Love You?” (Tamla Motown, US 7” 45 RPM in plain sleeve, 1965) Value: $30,000

7) Velvet Underground & Nico – The Velvet Underground and Nico (US Album Acetate, in plain sleeve, 1966 with alternate versions of tracks from official release) Value: estimate $25,200.

8) Elvis Presley - Stay Away, Joe (US, RCA Victor UNRM-9408, 1967) Note: One side promotional album.

9) The Five Sharps - “Stormy Weather” (US, Jubilee 5104, 78 RPM, 1953) Value: $25,000

10) The Hornets - “I Can’t Believe” (US, States 127, 78 RPM, 1953) Value: $25,000



Here is a list from the UK (note they do list several acetates, which are different from vinyl, these are very rare indeed!) and the two lists certainly are different and the estimates of worth vary.

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk


1. THE QUARRYMEN: That'll Be The Day/ In Spite Of All The Danger (1958): £100,000 ($165,000)

2. SEX PISTOLS: God Save The Queen (1977) Value: £7,000 ($11,500)

3. SEX PISTOLS: Anarchy In The UK (1976) Value: £6,000 (double-sided acetate) ($9,900)

4. QUEEN: Bohemian Rhapsody (1978) Value: £5,000 ($8,250)

5. JOHN'S CHILDREN: Midsummer's Night Scene (1967) Value: £4,000 ($6,600)

6. TOBY TYLER: The Road I'm On (Gloria) (1964) Value: £3,000 (acetate) ($4,950)

7. DAVID BOWIE: Space Oddity (1969) Value: £3,000 ($4,950)

8. JOHN LENNON WITH THE PLASTIC ONO BAND: You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) (1969) Value: £3,000 ($4,950)

9. XTC: Science Friction (1977) Value: £2,500 ($4,125)

10. JACKIE LEE COCHRAN: Ruby Pearl (1957) Value: £2,500 ($4,125)



Now let’s explore the Top Ten Vinyl Records that have been documented as sold by www.popsike.com (although this does not include private sales between record collectors)

Source: www.popsike.com

1. Beatles - White Album UK 1968 Mono LP Cover No.0000005 2008-11-23 ($31,700)

2. VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO 1966 Acetate LP ANDY WARHOL 2006-12-21 ($25,200)

3. SEX PISTOLS - God Save the Queen - GENUINE A&M AMS7284! 2006-03-02 ($20,900)

4. SEX PISTOLS God Save The Queen PUNK PRE A&M 2006-04-02 ($17,750)

5. SEX PISTOLS - God Save the Queen - GENUINE A&M AMS7284! 2006-06-30 ($16,500)

6. THE ROLLING STONES US 7" ST FIGHTING MAN PICTURE SLEEVE 2007-04-24 ($15,200)

7. SCARCE Northern Soul 45 Junior McCants KING RARE PROMO 2008-10-05 ($15,099)

8. Sex Pistols- Jamie Reid Complete Set LTD Edition Signed 2007-12-12 ($15,000)

9. THE MISFITS- PLAN 9 1009- HORROR BUSINESS ULTRA RARE 2008-01-26 ($14,301)

10. PINK FLOYD Meddle BLUE VINYL Colombia ULTRA RARE UNSEEN 2009-01-17 ($12,000)

Music News & Notes

Ronnie Milsap releases 1st gospel album

Country music legend Ronnie Milsap recently released his first gospel album, Then Sings My Soul, which includes 24 of his favorite hymns and spirituals in a two-CD set.

I’m not one to listen to gospel music, but when I decided to review this new CD I found myself really enjoying the peaceful sounds of recognizable gospel greats like “I’ll Fly Away,” “Amazing Grace,” “Up To Zion” and secular treasures like “Stand By Me” and “People Get Ready.”

The album is being hailed as a personal life journey for Milsap, who was born in the Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina. His family brought him to many church revivals, hoping that a divine intervention would cure his blindness. According to his bio, a young Milsap left those revivals defeated, as his family presumed his own lack of faith prevented the miracle cure from happening. Throughout this, Milsap’s faith was unwavering.

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Foreigner signs with Wal-Mart

Mick Jones has watched classic rock bands like the Eagles, AC/DC and Journey reach new levels of popularity thanks to Wal-Mart; now he wants to get his band, Foreigner, in on the action.

Foreigner is releasing a three-disc set of new and classic material in Wal-Mart stores on Sept. 29. "Can't Slow Down" will include a CD of new material, another of remixed versions of Foreigner hits and another live DVD of performance footage, all for $12.

Jones says the Wal-Mart exclusive deal is the perfect way for the band -- best known for hits such as "Hot Blooded," "I Want to Know What Love Is" and "Urgent" -- to reestablish itself.

"As we've been off the album scene for some time. We need a lot of support to get the word out," Jones said in an interview. "Although we've played a tremendous amount of shows, a lot of the public doesn't realize that we're back."

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'Whiter Shade' organist wins

He didn't skip the light fandango, but Procol Harum's former keyboardist said he was delighted Thursday after Britain's top court ruled he was entitled to a share of royalties from the band's hit "A Whiter Shade of Pale."

Judges in the House of Lords said Matthew Fisher, who played the track's distinctive Hammond organ intro, should get a portion of future royalties from the song.

Renowned for its mystifying lyrics (beginning "We skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels cross the floor"), the song was one of the signature hits of 1967's Summer of Love. It topped the British singles chart for five weeks and was a Top 10 hit in the U.S.

Fisher, 62, now a computer programmer, left the British band in 1969 but 35 years later began a legal battle for a share in the song's copyright.

Procol Harum singer Gary Brooker argued that it was his idea to use the Bach-inspired theme that Fisher played on the track. Brooker, who still tours with the band, said he and lyricist Keith Reid wrote the song before Fisher joined in March 1967.

Fisher said he was delighted by the victory, which was "never about money."

"There will not be a lot of that anyway," he said. "But this was about making sure everyone knew about my part in the authorship. A win without money was never going to be recognized as a win at all."

Oh, yeah, it was never about the money- I have a bridge to sell you in NY.......

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Skeletonwitch Unveils New Album, "Breathing the Fire," Cover Art

Athens, Ohio’s SKELETONWITCH has unveiled the cover art of their new full length, "Breathing the Fire," due out October 13th on Prosthetic Records. The cover, designed by Andrei Bouzikov, who has previously done art for Municipal Waste and many others, can be viewed below.

Scott Hedrick, the band's guitarist, commented on the cover, “The art really sums up the new album and what drew me to heavy metal in the first place: it’s brutal, evil, and in a sadistic way, it’s fucking fun! Breathing the Fire is meaner, faster, and far more sickening than Beyond the Permafrost, and the art reflects that. We went for the jugular, and so does Andrei’s art. He did an amazing job. It’s fucking killer when the artist and band share a similar approach: organic. Blood and sweat, ink and paint, tubes in amps, and non-triggered drums. A set of balls. Not gym shorts, sterile computer generated art, effects pedals and redundant arpeggios."

The band will be touring with Black Dahlia Murder in support of Children of Bodom in September and October.

Sacramentan buys old vinyl 45s, finds out they were his mom's

Found this story fascinating, and wanted to share it. Amazing stuff, these records!

By Gina Kim

The lick-on label was unmistakable. Paul Campfield was reading his mother's name and the address of his childhood San Lorenzo home.

And it meant the old records he picked up for $2 at a Sutter Creek antique shop had once belonged to her, although she died in Redding in 1979.

What are the chances?

The 68-year-old Sacramento man never knew what came of his record collection owned by his mother, May O. Rainey. He simply remembered how they fit into slots in a compartment beneath the oak RCA Victor console with the automatic turntable.

"It's just a thrill, a genuine thrill," said Campfield, a retired engineering technician. "I think my mother is still with me."

It was just the two of them – a mom and 4-year-old son who left Redding for an Alameda housing project in 1944 when his mother got a job as a secretary for a naval officer.

Campfield remembers when she brought home his soon-to-be stepfather, Fred Rainey, a World War II veteran with a penchant for double-breasted suits whom she'd met at a church dance.

"Mom introduced us and he put out his hand and my hand was swallowed up in his," Campfield recalled.

Read The Rest Here:


SOURCE: www.sacbee.com