Sunday, July 31, 2011

Vinyl Record News & Music Notes

Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales - Week Ending 07/23/2011

Two "Please Please Me" LPs make the list this week, including taking the #1 spot. One of the last records to be released on the plum colored Atlantic label, Led Zepplin's "III" ties with one of "Please" records for #2. 45's take the rest of the list, with a Third Man opening night test/promo package beating Northern and Doo-Wop rarities.




1. LP - The Beatles "Please Please Me" Parlophone UK Gold Black Stereo - $4,951.02

2. LP - Led Zeppelin "III" Atlantic Plum Label UK First Pressing - $3,349.70

2. LP - The Beatles "Please Please Me" Parlophone UK Gold Black Stereo - $3,349.70

3. 45 - Dead Weather "Giant Eagles . . . Tiny Elephants" / "Walking All Over Creation" Test Pressing "Opening Night" $3,056.66

4. 45 - Larry Clinton "She's Wanted" / "If I Knew" Dynamo 300 - $2,605.00

5. 45 - The Celtics "Send Me Someone To Love" / "Can You Remember" Al Jack's 0002 - $3,075.00



More on this week's Top 5 on Vinyl Record Talk, Tuesday 8:00PM Eastern / 5:00PM Pacific on Radio Dentata.

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there's a great review at www.blindedbysound.com  by General Jabbo (well written) of the early sounds of deep purple

Review: Deep Purple - Shades of Deep Purple

Before the bombast of such classics as "Smoke On The Water" or "Highway Star," there was Deep Purple Mk. I. The original band released three albums between 1968 and 1969 and featured Rod Evans on vocals and Nick Simper on bass. This incarnation was more psychedelic and pop-oriented than the hard rock sound the band would come to be known for. Now, all three of these albums are being rereleased with bonus tracks.

Please read the rest at blindedbysound.com








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very comprehensive and intense look at jamaican album cover art, well worth the time to bookmark and read!

Design Legacy: A Social History Of Jamaican Album Covers

By Dan Mayer

Mention Jamaican music to someone who isn’t a fan and you can bet that a fairly predictable image pops into the head of your listener. Chances are this image looks something like the cover of Bim Sherman’s Exploitation:



Same old Rastafarian colors… Some guy with dreads… A title that refers broadly to political oppression or positive thinking without much in the way of self-critical awareness or irony.

For many people, this vision  —  of roots reggae and its deified lead singer —  is the only face that Jamaican music has to offer. (To be honest, the Jamaican music industry, in its eagerness to capitalize on the popularity of this face, hasn’t done much to contradict it.)

Dig a little deeper, however, and you’ll find a dozen genres lurking beneath the tie-died surface of roots reggae.

Read more at smashingmagazine.com








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Show at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art honors records

By Bill Van Siclen/Journal Arts Writer


David Byrne’s “More Songs About Buildings and Food” uses Polaroid prints to create a photo-montage album cover.

BOSTON — Still wondering what to do with those boxes of classic-rock LPs in the basement?

If so, you may want to contact the folks who run the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. The reason: “The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl,” a terrific exhibit that explores the use of vinyl records, old-fashioned album covers and other audio-themed materials in contemporary art.

Get more information at projo.com









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Landmine Marathon Streaming New Song "Cutting Flesh And Bone" Online

Landmine Marathon has announced the band's new album "Gallows" is due out September 27th on Prosthetic Records. The "Gallows" cover art was created by U.K. artist Rob "Mid" Middleton, known for his artwork for Napalm Death, Extreme Noise Terror, Deviated Instinct (in which Middleton plays guitar), and more.

The band has now teamed up with Stereogum to post a track online from "Gallows" called "Cutting Flesh and Bone."

Read more and get the tracklist at metalunderground.com












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Debut Album From The Konsortium Finally Here

The debut album from Norwegian heavy metal act the Konsortiums is ready for launch and features 8 tracks of aggressive and technical avant-garde black/thrash metal. The release of their 2008 demo was followed by loads of attention and rave reviews in the metal press - then suddenly everything went quiet. Rather than going into hibernation, the band has spent their time in hiding: strengthening their ranks and crafting their skills. Teloch (Mayhem/ Nidingr/ Umoral + +) has joined on guitar, and new material has been composed. - LP cover + poster designed by Costin/ Twilight 13 Media (Grave, Darkthrone, Ulver, etc)

Available formats:
- digipack CD w/ poster
- Limited metal-box with poster & patch (LAST COPIES AVAILABLE!)
- Limited to 200 copies heavy 180g black vinyl
- Limited to 200 copies heavy 180g transparent vinyl
- Limited to 100 copies heavy 180g black/clears platter vinyl (LAST COPIES AVAILABLE!)






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love the acoustic sets!

Foreigner Celebrate 35th Anniversary With Walmart Release

by: Matt Wardlaw

Foreigner will celebrate their thirty-fifth anniversary with a new multi-disc package in September that explores the band’s rich history with a few bonus surprises.

‘Feels Like the First Time’ will be available as a Walmart exclusive on Sept. 13, featuring two CDs and a DVD. The audio will also be available on iTunes.

The audio portion features two distinctly different album releases. ‘Juke Box Heroes’ collects new recordings of the band’s most famous hits, while ‘Acoustique: The Classics Unplugged’ strips things down with a setlist that features both the familiar hits and some unexpected choices as well.

A live DVD recorded in March during two shows in Chicago rounds out the package.

Read more at ultimateclassicrock.com



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the author brings up some intriguing points. in my day, we had FM radio, it's where you could hear bands like the Ramones or Talking Heads.

The Net Is The New Radio

Written by Sanjoy Narayan

When I was small and taking the first baby steps into the world of popular music, it was a few vinyls that one of my uncles played on which I cut my teeth. Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley… he even had a Nana Mouskouri album. I actually remember the Nat King Cole album that he had—a 10-inch LP named Nat King Cole Sings For Two in Love (the slightly tattered cover—it was released in the early1950—didn’t show King Cole but a white couple who seemed to be out on a date). The eight or ten songs on that album, as on most of my uncle’s vinyls, were about love. I was seven or eight when I heard those records and quite possibly didn’t know what the heck they were about but they were an introduction to pop songs, jazz, blues and all of what shaped my later taste in music.

A few years on, I got to hear The Beatles and the Stones and Simon and Garfunkel. My father had a few tracks on his spool tapes of George Harrison songs—if I remember right, only the ones that had him playing the sitar. But strangely, music in physical form was not the way I began listening to and getting introduced to rock and roll and all the exciting stuff. It wasn’t records or tapes that you could actually keep in physical form but the radio. As soon as I was allowed to touch the knobs of the old Bush valve radio that we had, with its strange net-like antenna strung across the ceiling, I discovered two afternoon programmes—the weekday Lunchtime Variety and Sunday’s Musical Bandbox.

Read the rest at blogs.hindustantimes.com

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love this cover art for some reason:


Haken Reveals Album Cover Artwork

Haken have recently announced the band's new album 'Visions,' and have revealed the cover artwork and track list. The album is set for release in October. The band commented on the album's progress through two Facebook posts:

"Mixing. Done! All thanks to the mighty Christian Moos! What's that? There's a guest musician featured in Visions who also played on the soundtrack for The Empire Strikes Back?!"

1. Premonition
2. Nocturnal Conspiracy
3. Insomnia
4. The Mind's Eye
5. Portals
6. Shapeshifter
7. Deathless
8. Visions






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and in music history for today, July 31st:

In 1845, the French Army introduced the saxophone to its military band. The musical instrument was the invention of Adolphe Sax of Belgium.

In 1964, country singer Jim Reeves was killed in a plane crash when the single engine aircraft flying from Arkansas to Nashville crashed in thick fog. After Reaves' death, his widow continued to release his material well into the 1980s.

In 1969, a Moscow police chief reported that thousands of Moscow telephone booths had been made inoperable by thieves who had stolen phone parts in order to convert their acoustic guitars to electric.

Also in 1969, Elvis Presley kicked off a four-week run at the Las Vegas International Hotel (his first live show since 1961). He reportedly netted $1.5 million for the shows. The menus included an Elvis special – polk salad with corn muffins and honey.

In 1971, James Taylor went to #1 on the US singles chart with the Carole King song “You’ve Got a Friend.” The song would go on to win the 1971 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male. Taylor scored nine other solo US Top 40 hits during the ’70s.

Also in 1971, Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds had the top tune on the Cashbox Best Sellers list with "Don't Pull Your Love". Dan Hamilton, Joe Frank Carollo and Tom Reynolds enjoyed their first taste of success in 1965 with a group called The T-Bones when they scored the Top Ten hit "No Matter What Shape" that was used in Alka Seltzer commercials.

In 1971, a 22 year-old security guard was stabbed to death by an ex-convict at Forest Hills Stadium in New York just before a show by The Who. The ex-con, Kerry Flaherty, had allegedly been denied admission to the concert.

In 1976, Blue Oyster Cult's epic cut "Don't Fear The Reaper" was released (from their 1976 album, 'Agents of Fortune') a pure classic rock song if there ever was one.....



Orleans' "Still The One" was released in 1976 (classic example of pure crap.....).


In 1982, Survivor's "Eye Of The Tiger" sat atop both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Cashbox Best Sellers chart. The song, which was commissioned by actor Sylvester Stallone for the theme for the movie Rocky III, would receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song and go on to sell over five million copies.

Selena's "Dreaming of You" debuted at #1 on the Billboard chart in 1995. It was her first English album. Selena became the first Latin artist to debut at #1.

In 1999, Christina Aguilera scored her first U.S. #1 single with “Genie in a Bottle,” also #1 in the U.K. The song spent five weeks at #1 on the U.S. chart and helped win Aguilera the Best New Artist Grammy.

The iTunes Music Store reached 3 billion songs sold in 2007.

birthday today include: Gary Lewis of Gary Lewis and the Playboys (1945), Bill Berry of R.E.M. fame (1958) and Matthew Sanders of Avenged Sevenfold (1981) just to name a few.....