The vinyl record collecting blog - with news about new vinyl record releases, vinyl record sales, new music releases, album cover art and weekly features
American Idol sweetheart Crystal Bowersox has recently released the tracklist and updated cover for her upcoming album, 'Farmer's Daughter,' which is scheduled to released on Dec. 14. The album has eight songs written solely by Crystal, two co-writes, a Buffalo Springfield cover, a Chad Kroeger/Kara DioGuardi masterpiece, and a song written by Crystal and her husband.
The track list:
1. Ridin With The Radio
2. For What It’s Worth
3. Farmer’s Daughter
4. Holy Toledo
5. Lonely
6. Hold On
7. On The Run
8. Kiss Ya
9. Speak Now
10. Mine All Mine
11. Mason
12. Arlene
--------------------------------------------
The Decemberists release 'The King Is Dead' in January
The Decemberists are releasing 'The King Is Dead' January 18 on Capitol Records. The album's "10 concise, country-based songs" is an intentional shift toward "simplicity," according to the press release, and sees the band working not only with producer Tucker Martine, but also with Gillian Welch and R.E.M.'s Peter Buck. According to Colin Meloy:
"It’s a real challenge to make simple music, and lot of times we had to deliberately hold off and keep more space. This record is an exercise in restraint. [...] Over the last eleven years or so, since I moved to Portland, I feel like I've been mining mostly English traditions for influence. I guess I've kind of come back to a lot of the more American music that got me going in the first place — R.E.M. and Camper Van Beethoven and all these bands that borrowed from more American traditions like Neil Young and the Byrds. Sometimes I kind of miss the epic-ness of the other albums, but it’s nice to get all of the information across in three minutes. It’s like going from reading a novel to reading a bunch of short stories."
The Decemberists will appear on Conan November 18 to perform "Down by the Water," the lead single off the album.
Tracklisting:
01. Don't Carry It All
02. Calamity Song
03. Rise to Me
04. Rox in the Box
05. January Hymn
06. Down by the Water
07. All Arise!
08. June Hymn
09. This is Why We Fight
10. Dear Avery
--------------------------------------------
Boxer Rebellion Announce Details Of New Album 'The Cold Still'
Boxer Rebellion have just announced details of their new studio album 'The Cold Still', which is scheduled for release on February 7. The follow up to 2009's 'Union' was recorded with legendary producer Ethan Johns, who previously worked with Kings of Leon, Ryan Adams and Ray LaMontagne. The band recently finished their European tour which included a date a London's Energy Sessions Festival'. 'Step Out of the Car' will be the band's first single.
The tracklisting for 'The Cold Still' is:
'No Harm'
'Step Out Of The Car'
'Locked In The Basement'
'Cause For Alarm'
'Caught By The Light'
'Organ Song'
'Memo'
'Both Sides Are Even'
'The Runner'
'Doubt'
---------------------------------------------
Joey Belladonna to Record With Anthrax for the First Time in Twenty Years
Joey Belladonna is returning to heavy-metal veterans Anthrax. He returned to tour with them over the summer and now will record with the group for the first time in twenty years. Following their thrash revival shows with Slayer and Megadeth, the rockers have been working on their first studio album since 2003’s 'We’ve Come For You All.'
And the next album, which is scheduled for release next year and is tentatively titled 'Worship Music,' will be the first one featuring classic-era singer Joey Belladonna since 1990’s 'Persistence Of Time.'
------------------------------------------
Duran Duran Announce Mark Ronson-Produced Album 'All You Need Is Now'
Duran Duran have recently revealed details of their new album, which has been produced by Mark Ronson. The nine-track album, 'All You Need Is Now,' will be released exclusively via the iTunes music store on December 21. An expanded 12-track physical album will be released in February 2011, the group said in a statement.
------------------------------------------
Jack White Reveals Plans For White Stripes Reunion
Could this be true? White Stripes frontman Jack White has recently hinted that the band could be on the verge of getting back together. The duo have been on hiatus since 2007 when Meg White suffered anxiety issues during their tour for last album 'Icky Thump.' However, in an interview with Vanity Fair, White suggested that plans were in place for The White Stripes to return.
"We thought we'd do a lot of things that we'd never done: a full tour of Canada, a documentary, coffee-table book, live album, a boxed set," he said.
White was speaking of the release of the band's new 333-piece limited-edition White Stripes Merchandise Collection.
------------------------------------------
Them Crooked Vultures Confirm Second Album Plans
Them Crooked Vultures' bassists John Paul Jones said that a second album is in the works. The band, who have just completed a massive tour, will re-group with Foo Fighter's Dave Grohl and Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme in the near future. Jones told the BBC 6 Music:
''Some stuff we've worked on, but we're gonna write pretty quickly and just put it down... we may be a year or so. 'It will mainly be excess material from the first album, material we started and never finished because we had to go and play the stuff we already recorded!''
Jim Gustafson will be leading Poobah down the rock n’ roll highway in support of the re-issue of Let Me In (Ripple Music) throughout the rest of 2010 and well into 2011. With the first pressing of the album almost sold out, Gustafson is doing what all musicians should be doing to generate greater support for the record by working the only way that he knows how . . . playing the stuff live!
“It is deep in my blood to keep doing what I love, and after decades of playing in bands, it still excites me to perform,” explains Gustafson when asked what keeps him going after all this time, “I have a passionate love for playing guitar, singing, and writing songs. That’s what has driven me on. I am still inspired to be the best I can be.”
It’s remarkable that in an industry notorious for chewing up and spitting out the weak that this musician, without the commercial success of his peers, is still going after forty years. With ten albums, thousands of live performances, and countless boxes of unreleased material under his belt, Jim Gustafson is celebrating a life-long career with Poobah by bringing the party to as many who’ll take the time to listen. Over the course of four decades, Poobah has shared stages and hobnobbed with the likes of The Who, Canned Heat, Judas Priest, and ZZ Top to name but a few, and Gustafson has the unlikely distinction of performing at the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame more than any other artist.
Chris Dreja - Yardbirds (1946) Jimmy Page asks Dreja to join Led Zeppelin but he declines preferring a career as a photographer. His claim to fame is the back cover photo on “Led Zeppelin.”
Pat Daugherty - Black Oak Arkansas (1947)
Jim Peterik - Ides Of March, Survivor (1950)
Paul Cowsill - Cowsills (1952)
Andy Partridge - XTC (1953)
Marshall Crenshaw (1953)
Ian Craig Marsh - Heaven 17, Human League (1956)
Mike Mesaros - Smithereens (1957)
Mic Michaeli - Europe (1962)
Scott Mercado - Candlebox (1964)
Ronnie Devoe - New Edition, Bell Biv Devoe (1968)
Gary Powell - Libertines (1969)
They Are Missed:
In 1972, just a little over a year after The Allman Brothers Band lost Duane Allman in a motorcycle accident, their bassist, 24 year-old Berry Oakley, was killed when his motorcycle hit a bus, just three blocks away from the site that claimed Allman. At first, Oakley seemed all right, but he died twenty minutes after being brought to the hospital.
Born on this day in 1929, Lavern Baker, R&B singer. Died March 10, 1997.
Irish singer Paddy Clancy of the Clancy Brothers died in 1998 (age 76). He wrote the classic Irish songs "Wild Mountain Thyme" and "Carrickfergus."
Bobby Sheen, the male vocalist of Bob B. Soxx And The Blue Jeans on their 1963, #8 hit "Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah," died of pneumonia at the in 2000 (age 58).
Grammy-nominated R&B star Gerald Levert died of a heart attack in 2006 (age 40). The singer who was the son of O'Jays vocalist Eddie Levert.
Born on this day in 1974, Stephen Garrett (Static Major), R&B singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. Also a member of the R&B trio Playa. Static Major gained posthumous fame for appearing in Lil Wayne's 2008 #1 hit "Lollipop." Garrett died on Feb 25, 2008 at his home in Louisville, Kentucky.
History:
Kate Smith first sang Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" on network radio in 1938.
Bill Haley scored his first US Top ten single in 1954 with "Shake Rattle And Roll." He had dropped his cowboy image about a year and a half earlier, while renaming The Saddlemen to Bill Haley and His Comets. "Shake, Rattle and Roll" was originally made popular by Big Joe Turner.
In 1955, Billboard Magazine published the results of its annual disc jockey poll. The most played R&B single was Johnny Ace's "Pledging My Love," the most promising artist was Chuck Berry, the favorite R&B artist was Fats Domino and Elvis Presley was voted the most promising Country And Western artist. The Four Aces "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing" had the distinction of being the first number one record using the new calculation method.
Elvis Presley appeared at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii in 1957. This was Presley’s last concert of the 50’s.
Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue" was released in the US in 1957, where it would rise to #3 and stayed on the chart for sixteen weeks. It was also a big hit in the UK, reaching #6.
Also in 1957, Dance Teacher magazine denounced England's Princess Margaret for endorsing rock 'n' roll, and in doing so, hastening the demise of Ballroom dancing. The article went on to say that "rock 'n' roll should be discouraged."
Hank Ballard and the Midnighters recorded the original version of "The Twist" in 1958. It was issued as the B side of the Gospel style ballad "Teardrops On Your Letter" and although it reached #16 on the R&B chart, Ballard's version of "The Twist" wouldn't appear on the Billboard Pop chart until just after Chubby Checker's version took off two years later.
Twenty-four year-old Tom Jones recorded "It's Not Unusual" for Britain's Decca Records in 1964. The song, originally offered to, but turned down by Sandie Shaw, would become Jones' breakthrough hit, reaching #1 in the UK and #10 in the US.
The final recording session for the Beatles 'Rubber Soul' album took place, at Abbey Road, London in 1965. They needed three new songs to finish the album so an old song "Wait" was pulled off the shelf and the group recorded two new songs from start to finish. Paul's "You Won't See Me" and John's "Girl," the basic tracks for both songs being completed in two takes. Rubber Soul was completed, and finished copies of the album were in the shops by December 3 in the UK and December 6 in the US.
Velvet Underground made its performance debut at a high school dance in Summit, NJ in 1965.
Van Morrison performed his current US #10 hit, "Brown Eyed Girl" on Dick Clark's American Bandstand in 1967. Although the song had become a staple on US Oldies radio, it was not a hit in the UK.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono released the controversial (the album cover anyway) "Two Virgins" album in 1968. The recording consists largely of tape loops, playing while Lennon tries out different instruments (piano, organ, drums) and sound effects (including reverb, delay and distortion), changes tapes and plays other recordings, and converses with Ono, who vocalises ad-lib in response to the sounds.
In 1969, the FBI in Phoenix, Arizona arrested Jim Morrison for drunk and disorderly conduct aboard a plane. The Doors singer, who was on his way to a Rolling Stones concert with actor Tom Baker, had been drinking and annoying the stewardesses. The pair spent the night in jail and were released on $2,500 bail. The charges were eventually dropped.
'Plastic Ono Band' was released by John Lennon in 1970. The same title was used for the album released by Yoko One on the same day.
BBC TV's Top Of The Pops celebrated its 400th show in 1971. The UK chart show was presented by Tony Blackburn with guests; Tom Jones, Dana, John Kongos, Cher, Slade, Cilla Black, The Piglets, Clodagh Rodgers and The Newbeats.
In 1973, thirty US radio stations broadcasted a 'live' Mott The Hoople concert. In reality it was the band recorded in the studio with the applause dubbed in. What a crock!
KISS released the album "Rock and Roll Over" in 1976.
Donna Summer's disco version of "MacArthur Park" rose to the top of the Billboard chart in 1978, besting Richard Harris' 1968 rendition by one spot. It would be the first of four number one singles for the 'disco queen.' Songwriter Jimmy Webb would later explain that the mysterious lyrics about the cake melting in the rain is simply a metaphor for a love affair ending.
In 1978, the Cars released the first picture-disc single commercially available, "My Best Friend's Girl."
David Bowie played the first night of his 8-date 'Low / Heroes Tour' of Australia and New Zealand at the Oval in Adelaide in 1978. This was Bowies first ever show in Australia.
In 1982, Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" became his 13th and final #1 on the Billboard R&B chart. The song will reach #3 on the Pop chart.
In 1986, Pink Floyd issued a press statement stating that they intended to continue using the name without Roger Waters and were recording their next album.
Bad English started a two week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1989 with "When I See You Smile."
A 21 year-old AC/DC fan died in 1990 after being attacked outside the Brendan Byrne Arena in New Jersey where the band were playing a gig that night.
The Smashing Pumpkins double album 'Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness' went to #1 on the US chart in 1995.
Metallica played a free concert in Philadelphia, PA in 1997.
Green Day’s in-store appearance at a New York Tower Records in 1997 turned into a riot. First, Billie Joe Armstrong paints “Nimrod” (their album’s title) on the walls, incites the crowd to cut loose, body surfs the audience and moons people on the street. For some reason, Tower cancels the group’s planned post concert appearance. Ya think?
In 1999, Britney Spears won four MTV Awards; Best Female Singer, Best Pop Act, Best Song, "...Baby One More Time," Best Breakthrough Artist. Best Rock Act went to The Offspring, Best Male Act, Will Smith and Bono won the Free Your Mind award.
Creed’s "With Arms Wide Open" topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 2000. The song is from the group’s second album, 'Human Clay.'
Michael Jackson went to #1 on the US album in 2001 chart with 'Invincible.'
In 2002, British Phonographic industry data showed that sales of singles were at their lowest level for 25 years, making up for less than 10% of all music sold in the UK.
In 2004, Liza Minnelli's former bodyguard accused the singer of forcing him to have sex with her in order to keep his job, court documents revealed. M'hammed Soumayah was suing Minnelli for $100m damages, saying she made "many repeated attempts" to compel him into sex and he "eventually succumbed." Ewwwww.
The soundtrack album ‘Hannah Montana’ started a two-week run at #1 on the US album chart in 2006.
In 2006, Axl Rose performed Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die" at the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research dinner in New York. The Guns N' Roses frontman was backed by Beatles tribute act the Fab Faux. Fox, who has Parkinson's disease, had recently been embroiled in a stem-cell research controversy launched by a right-wing radio yahoo. The research can help Parkinson's victims. "I'm for stem-cell research, so I just thought it would be wrong not for me to come when I was asked," says Rose.
Got $100? If the answer is 'yes', there’s "Genesis 1970-1975" was released in 2008. The box set has five Genesis albums from the Peter Gabriel era ("Trespass," "Nursery Cryme," "Foxtrot," "Selling England By the Pound," and the double album "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway." Produced by founding members Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford along with Phil Collins, there are expanded DVD/CD editions in 5.1 Surround Sound, rare and previously unissued audio/video and interviews.
"Budokan! 30th Anniversary Edition," a four-disc package celebrating Cheap Trick's classic ‘78 live album, "At Budokan," was unleashed in 2008. There’s a previously unreleased DVD with footage from the '78 Budokan shows and an expanded, 19-song CD version of the original album.
