Prince Planning Three Albums This Year
Prince is planning to release three new albums in 2009 without the assistance of a record label, according to an interview with the Los Angeles Times. A "major retailer" is in talks with the artist to release the music physically, while a new Prince Web site will sell it in digital form.
One album is a return to the artist's classic sound. The tentatively titled MPLSOUND was recorded at his Paisley Park studio and is an "electro-flavored solo effort" that includes a lot of experimenting with effects using Pro Tools.
The second is tied with the tracks premiered a couple of weeks ago on an L.A. radio station. Lotus Flower features Prince the guitarist with a great variety of styles from hard rock to funk.
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Robert Plant Voted Greatest Voice in Rock 
Britain's Daily Mail has published the results of a poll organized by the digital radio station Planet Rock to determine the Greatest Voices in Rock. Voting was done by the station DJ's & listeners along with musicians, critics and other experts.
Leading the way is Robert Plant followed by Freddie Mercury and Paul Rodgers. As might be expected when the poll is performed by a classic rock station with input from the public, the list leans heavily towards classic rock artists-to the detriment of some of the early great voices of the rock era.
The top ten vocalists in the poll:
1-Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin)
2-Freddie Mercury (Queen)
3-Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Company, Queen)
4-Ian Gillian (Deep Purple)
5-Roger Daltrey (Who)
6-David Coverdale (Whitesnake)
7-Axl Rose (Guns N' Roses)
8-Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden)
9-Mick Jagger (Rolling Stones)
10-Bon Scott (AC/DC)
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Official Cover of Kelly Clarkson's Single 'My Life Would Suck Without You'
Kelly Clarkson has released a cover art for her upcoming brand new song entitled "My Life Would Suck Without You". She is pictured wearing red dress and holding a red heart-shaped lollipop in her left hand.
Kelly Clarkson plans to release "My Life Would Suck Without You" on January 19. After dropping the Max Martin and Dr. Luke-penned track, she will follow up her 2007 record "My December" with fourth major studio effort.
The yet-titled album takes nearly a year to come after her previous album because recording sessions for the LP were abandoned as she went on "2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour" with Reba McEntire, according to E! Online. Now that the roadshow has been wrapped up, she rushes to get the album done and will drop it on March 17.
http://www.aceshowbiz.com--------------------------------------------------
Hawkwind's 40th AnniversaryHawkwind will celebrate the 40th anniversary of their very first show on Saturday August 29 at the Porchester Halls in London's Notting Hill Gate. They played another Notting Hill Venue on August 29, 1969 to kick off their career.
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Status Quo - UK's Hardest Working BandBritain's Performing Rights Society (PRS) have declared Status Quo as the hardest working band in the U.K. for 2008, outdistancing Take That, the Kaiser Chiefs, the Sugarbabes and the Spice Girls. In 35 performance, they performed before over 300,000 people.
For smaller concert venues, Gerry & the Pacemakers took the award by playing the most shows in 2008. David Essex was second.
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Allman Brothers ReturnThe Allman Brothers, who have been playing a residency at the Beacon Theater in New York almost every year since 1989 (175 dates so far), have announced they will be returning to the venue after skipping 2008. Last year's shows were canceled while Gregg Allman recovered from Hepatitis C.
The shows will kick-off their 2009 touring season in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the band. The current lineup includes Gregg Allman on vocals and keyboards, Butch Trucks, Mark Quinones and Jaimoe on drums and other percussion, Warren Haynes on vocals, lead and slide guitar, Derek Trucks on lead and slide guitar, and Oteil Burbridge on bass.
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The Grateful Dead Returning To The Road 
Spurred on by two reunions at benefits for President-elect Barack Obama, the surviving members of the Grateful Dead will embark on their first tour in five years this spring.
The Dead will hit the road beginning April 12 in Greensboro, N.C., and will play 16"evening with" shows in 19 cities through May 10 in San Francisco. Tickets begin going on sale Jan. 13.
Original Dead members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart will be augmented by keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and Allman Brothers Band/Gov't Mule guitarist Warren Haynes.
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Beatles Are Second Biggest Selling Artists of the Last 17 Years Back on May 25, 1991, Nielsen SoundScan started compiling actual sales figures for recordings sold in the U.S. for reporting to the industry and trade publications. Prior to that time, sales figures were established through inaccurate means, but Nielsen was able to set up an electronic network in major retailers that gave them actual data on a daily basis.
For year-end 2008, SoundScan has issued a list of the top selling artists of the "SoundScan Era", from May 25, 1991 to December 28, 2008. The top selling artist in the U.S. is Garth Brooks with over 68 million units sold, but it's the Beatles that come in second with just over 57 million units. That's pretty amazing for a group whose recording career ended in twenty years before the SoundScan Era even began.
Metallica is also on the verge of having the biggest selling album of the era, with their "Black Album" just a little over 150,000 units behind Shania Twain's Come On Over.
The top ten selling artists of the SoundScan era:1) Garth Brooks - 68,143,000
2) Beatles - 57,088,000
3) Mariah Carey - 51,569,000
4) Metallica - 51,136,000
5) Celine Dion - 50,571,000
6) George Strait - 40,619,000
7) Tim McGraw - 37,591,000
8) Alan Jackson - 36,520,000
9) Pink Floyd - 36,520,000
10)Shania Twain - 33,707,000
The top ten selling albums of the SoundScan era:1) Come On Over - Shania Twain - 15,473,000
2) Metallica - Metallica - 15,319,000
3) Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morissette - 14,607,000
4) Millenneum - Backstreet Boys - 12,104,000
5) Bodyguard - Soundtrack (Whitney Houston) - 11,805,000
6) Supernatural - Santana - 11,673,000
7) Human Clay - Creed - 11,525,000
8) 1 - Beatles - 11,345,000
9) No Strings Attached - N'Sync - 11,109,000
10) Falling Into You - Celine Dion - 10,777,000
SOURCE:
http://winkscollectibles.blogspot.com--------------------------------------------------
New Cover Art
California based thrashers Mantic Ritual, formerly known as Meltdown, have revealed the cover artwork for their upcoming album "Executioner."
