Revival Of Vinyl Records A Worldwide Event
3.6 million LPs were sold in the first half of this year according to Nielsen SoundScan, 39% above last year’s level (see chart).
Sales of LPs were up in both Britain and Germany last year. In Spain sales have risen from 16,000 in 2005 to 104,000 in 2010.
In fact, vinyl record sales in the UK have jumped 55 per cent rise from January to June this year (compared to sales during the same period in 2010). Vinyl record sales reached a total of 168,296 units for the first half of 2011, with Radiohead’s King of Limbs album proving the most popular release, shifting 20,771 copies.
Chris Muratore of Nielsen, a research firm, says a little over half the top-selling vinyl albums in America this year have been releases by indie bands such as Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes. Last year’s bestselling new vinyl album was “The Suburbs” by Arcade Fire. Most of the other records sold are reissues of classic albums.
Oliver Goss of Record Pressing, a San Francisco vinyl factory, says it is a mixture of convenience and beauty. Many vinyl records come with codes for downloading the album from the internet, making them more convenient than CDs.
“Whether it is the 'warmer' sound many music fans appreciate, the large-scale artwork of a 12-inch sleeve or its sheer retro appeal, vinyl seems to be capturing the imagination of buyers despite the fact it typically costs twice as much as a CD containing exactly the same music," according to Kim Bayley, Director General of Entertainment Retailers Association.
So whether it is the sound, the tactile experience or just plain fun, vinyl records still thrive in our music landscape!
=============
Independent Record Labels Detail Fire Recovery Plans
Sony DADC's warehouse in Enfield, north London The UK's largest distributor of independent music PIAS has announced its plans to resume getting its stock to retailers.
It's after a warehouse fire destroyed 3.5 million CDs, vinyl releases and box sets affecting "thousands" of artists.
Sony DADC, who own the premises, will now begin operating from a base in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire.
PIAS have also partnered with company Proper Music Distribution in order to help get CDs to retailers.
Read the rest at bbc.co.uk
=============
for the love of vinyl, what will they think of next?
Local bar puts DJ-ing in the hands of its customers
By WIL PETTY
Musical conversation and booze are a perfect mix.
So, during a slow shift at Blue Sky Bar, bartender Andy Whitehead decided to combine the two.
“I had just got a new record player,” Whitehead said. “I had been toying with the idea of people bringing their iPods, just some way for people to bring their own music and have some ownership of the soundtrack of the bar.”
Originally it started out with Whitehead bringing in 10 to 20 albums that he owned. But now it has turned into a weekly event, dubbed Vinyl Wednesday, with people bringing their own vinyl records and letting the bar listen to it as they converse
Read more at redandblack.com
=============
in southern florida, in a benefit for ALS research , an artist also supports the cause, what a wonderful event!
'A FUN RIDE': South Walton artist ready for reunion after years of creating artwork for the stars
For Mike McCarty, this weekend is going to be a blast from his past when he reunites with the Atlanta Rhythm Section, Billy Joe Royal, and Chips Moman on stage in Dothan, Ala.
The occasion is Dothan's second-annual Downtown Music Fest to benefit ALS research.
McCarty's most recent claim to fame is being named Walton County's Artist of the Year for 2009.
However, his fame in the music and art world goes back decades.
McCarty built a name for himself in the 1970s and 1980s through his original artwork that graced album covers, posters and T-shirts for some of the biggest names in music while working in Atlanta.
The list of recording artists for whom McCarty has created artwork and logos reads like a "Who's Who" list from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — names such as Little Richard, James Brown, Isaac Hayes, Billy Joe Royal, Patti Smith, Jerry Lee Lewis, Willie Nelson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Outlaws, Peabo Bryson, and others.
Read the rest at waltonsun.com
=============
Bright Eyes Release Vinyl Deluxe LP
Curious as to how vinyl records are made? Yeah, I know, we have all seen the youtube clips, however, the people at Saddle Creek have posted a look at the making of Bright Eyes' upcoming studio album, 'The People's Key,' which is due out on February 15th. (wow, we talking feb already, it's still summer!)
The first 10,000 copies of ' The People's Key' LP will come in limited-edition packaging:
6-panel tri-fold die-cut old style Stoughton tip-on LP jacket printed on iridescent foil.
Full color LP inner sleeve
180-gram HQ RTI Vinyl
Also available as a CD in a printed sleeve.
=============
Thrice To Release Vinyl Version Of New LP Major/Minor
In a different way of most major music releases, Vagrant Records are doing something a bit out of the norm for the new LP (Major/Minor) from Thrice. The album will be released first on vinyl on September 6th and those who are looking for the digital or physical editions will have to wait until September 20th. Hmmm. the way of the future?
Here is a video for the cut "Promises"
=============
they love the crue!
MÖTLEY CRÜE: 30th-Anniversary Box Set Edition Of 'Too Fast For Love' To Be Released In Japan
Japanese original release. Thirtieth anniversary edition of Motley Crue's 1st album features cardboard sleeve jacket (Leather Records version). Comes with the T-shirt created by collaboration between the Japanese clothing brand NEIGHBORHOOD and the band. Packaged in a LP-sized box.
Track listing:
1. Live Wire
2. Public Enemy #1
3. Take Me To The Top
4. Merry - Go - Round
5. Piece Of Your Action
6. Starry Eyes
7. Stick To Your Guns
8. Come On And Dance
9. Too Fast For Love
10. On With The Show
11. Stick To Your Gun (single mix)
12. Toast Of The Town
13. Tonight
=============
Peter Gabriel Releasing New Music On October 11th
On the heels of a limited sold-out U.S. summer tour that earned Peter Gabriel some of the best reviews of his career, he will release a full-length CD New Blood on October 11, 2011 distributed by EMI. A continuum to his recent Scratch My Back release, the New Blood album will feature some of Gabriel’s biggest hits from his prodigious career, reconstructed and re-imagined with orchestral arrangements and recorded live with the New Blood Orchestra. Gabriel hand-selected the songs and enlisted the help of longtime collaborator John Metcalfe for the arrangements and Ben Foster as conductor of the 46-piece New Blood Orchestra.
This treatment is applied with painstaking attention to detail and stunning effect on songs such as ‘Mercy Street’, ‘Digging In The Dirt’, ‘Don’t Give Up’, ‘San Jacinto’ and Gabriel’s all-time classic ‘Solsbury Hill’. The intention was not to simply rework Gabriel’s biggest songs, but rather, find songs that were enhanced by the massed strings, brass, woodwind and percussion. Don’t Give Up – now with Norwegian singer Ane Brun’s vulnerable, cracking vocals replacing those of Kate Bush – rides a stirring, uplifting coda. Where the twinkle of San Jacinto was originally supplied by loops from a Fairlight sampler, piano and bows now provide the otherworldly magic. But probably the most extraordinary reinterpretation is that of Rhythm Of The Heat where Metcalf has recast the original’s extended African drum jam into a dizzying, swirling orchestral maelstrom.
And in front of orchestra, taking centre stage when necessary, retreating into the shadows when not, is Peter’s rich voice. Retaining its trademark emotive power, it returns to lyrics written 20 or 30 years ago, reinvesting them with new meaning and heightened poignancy.
“The orchestra provides different dimensions to the music that weren’t there initially,” confirms Peter. “Rock artists work slowly in studios, building up layer by layer, and one of the great, powerful advantages of an orchestra is all these musicians playing at one moment with all sorts of colors and personalities.”
The album will be available as a standard single-disc and digital download. A special 2-CD version will include the standard album plus an added disc of instrument versions. There will additionally be a heavyweight vinyl version available November 8th that is released with a bonus 7” featuring “A Quiet Moment” and “Solsbury Hill. The filmed concert New Blood – Live in London, recorded October 23rd, 2010 at the Hammersmith Apollo will be available in 3D, blu-ray and standard DVD on October 25th.
TRACKLIST:
1. Rhythm of the Heat
2. Downside Up (featuring Melanie Gabriel)
3. San Jacinto
4. Intruder
5. Wallflower
6. In Your Eyes
7. Mercy Street
8. Red Rain
9. Darkness
10. Don’t Give Up (featuring Ane Brun)
11. Digging in the Dirt
12. The Nest That Sailed the Sky
13. A Quiet Moment
14. Solsbury Hill (bonus track)
=============
ALICE COOPER To Premiere New Single On His Radio Show
According to ALICE COOPER fan site SickThingsUK, the legendary rocker will talk about, and preview songs (including first single, "I'll Bite Your Face Off") from his upcoming album, 'Welcome 2 My Nightmare,' on tomorrow's (Friday, August 19) edition of his radio show, "Nights With Alice Cooper". i'll be listening!
=============
only a few covers, but the lengths people go to to change album covers around is funny (sometimes)
Star Wars re-imagined as classic Beatles album covers
See more at lostateminor.com
=============
Cover Art for Bon Scott-era AC/DC book DIRTY DEEDS unveiled
BAZILLION POINTS Books will present the North American release of DIRTY DEEDS: My Life Inside/Outside AC/DC by former bassist Mark Evans. The first book to be penned by a Bon Scott-era member of AC/DC will hit retail in November just in time for the holidays.
=============
and in music history for today, August 18th:
The original version of "Hound Dog," by Big Mama Thornton, was released in 1956. (i like her version better, more conviction in her singing.....)
In 1958, Italy's leading male vocalist, Domenico Modugno hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with "Volare" (Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu). The song would become the year's best selling record and win three Grammy Awards.
In 1962, Ringo Starr made his debut with The Beatles at the horticultural society Dance, Birkenhead, England, having had a two-hour rehearsal in preparation. This was the first appearance of The Beatles as the world would come to know them: John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
Peter, Paul & Mary's "If I Had A Hammer" was released in 1962.
In 1964, the Beatles arrived in San Francisco in preparation for their first U.S. tour. 6,000 met them at the airport.
In 1971, John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" is certified as a million seller in the US. At the time, despite singing that West Virginia was "almost heaven", neither Denver or the song's writers, Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert had ever been there.
In 1973, the Doobie Brothers' "China Grove" was released. A month later it will crack the Hot 100 and eventually reach #15. The song is based on a real town in Texas with the same name, however, the mention of "samurai" is inaccurate, as they were in fact Japanese, not Chinese
The number one album in the US in 1973 was 'A Passion Play' by Jethro Tull (in my opinion, one of their best, although i think it is underappreciated....)
In1977, funeral services for Elvis Presley are held at Graceland. Inside are 150 mourners, outside are 75,000 more. Presley was entombed in a white marble mausoleum at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis near the grave of his mother, Gladys, but would be re-buried at Graceland the following November at his father's request.
In 1977, the Police made their live debut as a three-piece band when they played at Rebecca's Birmingham, England.
In 1982, the City of Liverpool named four Streets after the fab four: John Lennon Drive, Paul McCartney Way, George Harrison Close and Ringo Starr Drive.
Bon Jovi released their "Slippery When Wet" album in 1986.
In 1991, Rick Griffith, died after being forced off the road by a van he was attempting to pass on his Harley Heritage Softail motorbike. He designed album sleeves for Jimi Hendrix and Jefferson Airplane and designed countless Rock posters.
In 2003, Tony Jackson, bass player with The Searchers, died from cirrhosis of the liver. The band had a 1964 UK #1 and US #13 single with "Needles And Pins".
In 2006, US film-maker Adam Muskiewicz set up elviswanted.com as part of a documentary exploring the myth that the singer was still alive and offered a $3m (£1.59m) reward for anybody who found Elvis Presley alive. The film was due for release in August 2007, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Presley's death.
In 2008, Pervis Jackson, bass vocalist and original member of the Motown group The Spinners, died of cancer at the age of 70. The band had a series of hits in the 1970s, including "Rubber Band Man", "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love" and "I'll Be Around".
In 2010, Kenny Edwards, an original member of the Stone Poneys, died of cancer at the age of 64. The group, lead by vocalist Linda Ronstadt, reached #13 in late 1967 with "Different Drum".
birthdays today include (among others): Jim Ayoub (Mahogany Rush) (58), Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz (Weird Al Yankovic) (55), Everlast (born Erik Schrody) (42), Dan Peters (Mudhoney) (44), Blas Gomez (Slaughter) (44) and Régine Chassagne (Arcade Fire) (34)
3.6 million LPs were sold in the first half of this year according to Nielsen SoundScan, 39% above last year’s level (see chart).In fact, vinyl record sales in the UK have jumped 55 per cent rise from January to June this year (compared to sales during the same period in 2010). Vinyl record sales reached a total of 168,296 units for the first half of 2011, with Radiohead’s King of Limbs album proving the most popular release, shifting 20,771 copies.
Chris Muratore of Nielsen, a research firm, says a little over half the top-selling vinyl albums in America this year have been releases by indie bands such as Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes. Last year’s bestselling new vinyl album was “The Suburbs” by Arcade Fire. Most of the other records sold are reissues of classic albums.
Oliver Goss of Record Pressing, a San Francisco vinyl factory, says it is a mixture of convenience and beauty. Many vinyl records come with codes for downloading the album from the internet, making them more convenient than CDs.
“Whether it is the 'warmer' sound many music fans appreciate, the large-scale artwork of a 12-inch sleeve or its sheer retro appeal, vinyl seems to be capturing the imagination of buyers despite the fact it typically costs twice as much as a CD containing exactly the same music," according to Kim Bayley, Director General of Entertainment Retailers Association.
So whether it is the sound, the tactile experience or just plain fun, vinyl records still thrive in our music landscape!
=============
Independent Record Labels Detail Fire Recovery Plans
Sony DADC's warehouse in Enfield, north London The UK's largest distributor of independent music PIAS has announced its plans to resume getting its stock to retailers.
It's after a warehouse fire destroyed 3.5 million CDs, vinyl releases and box sets affecting "thousands" of artists.
Sony DADC, who own the premises, will now begin operating from a base in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire.
PIAS have also partnered with company Proper Music Distribution in order to help get CDs to retailers.
Read the rest at bbc.co.uk
=============
for the love of vinyl, what will they think of next?
Local bar puts DJ-ing in the hands of its customers
By WIL PETTY
Musical conversation and booze are a perfect mix.
So, during a slow shift at Blue Sky Bar, bartender Andy Whitehead decided to combine the two.
“I had just got a new record player,” Whitehead said. “I had been toying with the idea of people bringing their iPods, just some way for people to bring their own music and have some ownership of the soundtrack of the bar.”
Originally it started out with Whitehead bringing in 10 to 20 albums that he owned. But now it has turned into a weekly event, dubbed Vinyl Wednesday, with people bringing their own vinyl records and letting the bar listen to it as they converse
Read more at redandblack.com
=============
in southern florida, in a benefit for ALS research , an artist also supports the cause, what a wonderful event!
'A FUN RIDE': South Walton artist ready for reunion after years of creating artwork for the stars
For Mike McCarty, this weekend is going to be a blast from his past when he reunites with the Atlanta Rhythm Section, Billy Joe Royal, and Chips Moman on stage in Dothan, Ala.
The occasion is Dothan's second-annual Downtown Music Fest to benefit ALS research.
McCarty's most recent claim to fame is being named Walton County's Artist of the Year for 2009.
However, his fame in the music and art world goes back decades.
McCarty built a name for himself in the 1970s and 1980s through his original artwork that graced album covers, posters and T-shirts for some of the biggest names in music while working in Atlanta.
The list of recording artists for whom McCarty has created artwork and logos reads like a "Who's Who" list from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — names such as Little Richard, James Brown, Isaac Hayes, Billy Joe Royal, Patti Smith, Jerry Lee Lewis, Willie Nelson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Outlaws, Peabo Bryson, and others.
Read the rest at waltonsun.com
=============
Bright Eyes Release Vinyl Deluxe LP
Curious as to how vinyl records are made? Yeah, I know, we have all seen the youtube clips, however, the people at Saddle Creek have posted a look at the making of Bright Eyes' upcoming studio album, 'The People's Key,' which is due out on February 15th. (wow, we talking feb already, it's still summer!)
The first 10,000 copies of ' The People's Key' LP will come in limited-edition packaging:
6-panel tri-fold die-cut old style Stoughton tip-on LP jacket printed on iridescent foil.
Full color LP inner sleeve
180-gram HQ RTI Vinyl
Also available as a CD in a printed sleeve.
=============
Thrice To Release Vinyl Version Of New LP Major/Minor
In a different way of most major music releases, Vagrant Records are doing something a bit out of the norm for the new LP (Major/Minor) from Thrice. The album will be released first on vinyl on September 6th and those who are looking for the digital or physical editions will have to wait until September 20th. Hmmm. the way of the future?
Here is a video for the cut "Promises"
=============
they love the crue!
MÖTLEY CRÜE: 30th-Anniversary Box Set Edition Of 'Too Fast For Love' To Be Released In Japan
Japanese original release. Thirtieth anniversary edition of Motley Crue's 1st album features cardboard sleeve jacket (Leather Records version). Comes with the T-shirt created by collaboration between the Japanese clothing brand NEIGHBORHOOD and the band. Packaged in a LP-sized box.
Track listing:
1. Live Wire
2. Public Enemy #1
3. Take Me To The Top
4. Merry - Go - Round
5. Piece Of Your Action
6. Starry Eyes
7. Stick To Your Guns
8. Come On And Dance
9. Too Fast For Love
10. On With The Show
11. Stick To Your Gun (single mix)
12. Toast Of The Town
13. Tonight
=============
Peter Gabriel Releasing New Music On October 11th
On the heels of a limited sold-out U.S. summer tour that earned Peter Gabriel some of the best reviews of his career, he will release a full-length CD New Blood on October 11, 2011 distributed by EMI. A continuum to his recent Scratch My Back release, the New Blood album will feature some of Gabriel’s biggest hits from his prodigious career, reconstructed and re-imagined with orchestral arrangements and recorded live with the New Blood Orchestra. Gabriel hand-selected the songs and enlisted the help of longtime collaborator John Metcalfe for the arrangements and Ben Foster as conductor of the 46-piece New Blood Orchestra.
This treatment is applied with painstaking attention to detail and stunning effect on songs such as ‘Mercy Street’, ‘Digging In The Dirt’, ‘Don’t Give Up’, ‘San Jacinto’ and Gabriel’s all-time classic ‘Solsbury Hill’. The intention was not to simply rework Gabriel’s biggest songs, but rather, find songs that were enhanced by the massed strings, brass, woodwind and percussion. Don’t Give Up – now with Norwegian singer Ane Brun’s vulnerable, cracking vocals replacing those of Kate Bush – rides a stirring, uplifting coda. Where the twinkle of San Jacinto was originally supplied by loops from a Fairlight sampler, piano and bows now provide the otherworldly magic. But probably the most extraordinary reinterpretation is that of Rhythm Of The Heat where Metcalf has recast the original’s extended African drum jam into a dizzying, swirling orchestral maelstrom.
And in front of orchestra, taking centre stage when necessary, retreating into the shadows when not, is Peter’s rich voice. Retaining its trademark emotive power, it returns to lyrics written 20 or 30 years ago, reinvesting them with new meaning and heightened poignancy.
“The orchestra provides different dimensions to the music that weren’t there initially,” confirms Peter. “Rock artists work slowly in studios, building up layer by layer, and one of the great, powerful advantages of an orchestra is all these musicians playing at one moment with all sorts of colors and personalities.”
The album will be available as a standard single-disc and digital download. A special 2-CD version will include the standard album plus an added disc of instrument versions. There will additionally be a heavyweight vinyl version available November 8th that is released with a bonus 7” featuring “A Quiet Moment” and “Solsbury Hill. The filmed concert New Blood – Live in London, recorded October 23rd, 2010 at the Hammersmith Apollo will be available in 3D, blu-ray and standard DVD on October 25th.
TRACKLIST:
1. Rhythm of the Heat
2. Downside Up (featuring Melanie Gabriel)
3. San Jacinto
4. Intruder
5. Wallflower
6. In Your Eyes
7. Mercy Street
8. Red Rain
9. Darkness
10. Don’t Give Up (featuring Ane Brun)
11. Digging in the Dirt
12. The Nest That Sailed the Sky
13. A Quiet Moment
14. Solsbury Hill (bonus track)
=============
ALICE COOPER To Premiere New Single On His Radio Show
=============
only a few covers, but the lengths people go to to change album covers around is funny (sometimes)
Star Wars re-imagined as classic Beatles album covers
See more at lostateminor.com
=============
Cover Art for Bon Scott-era AC/DC book DIRTY DEEDS unveiled
=============
and in music history for today, August 18th:
The original version of "Hound Dog," by Big Mama Thornton, was released in 1956. (i like her version better, more conviction in her singing.....)
In 1958, Italy's leading male vocalist, Domenico Modugno hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with "Volare" (Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu). The song would become the year's best selling record and win three Grammy Awards.
In 1962, Ringo Starr made his debut with The Beatles at the horticultural society Dance, Birkenhead, England, having had a two-hour rehearsal in preparation. This was the first appearance of The Beatles as the world would come to know them: John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
Peter, Paul & Mary's "If I Had A Hammer" was released in 1962.
In 1964, the Beatles arrived in San Francisco in preparation for their first U.S. tour. 6,000 met them at the airport.
In 1971, John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" is certified as a million seller in the US. At the time, despite singing that West Virginia was "almost heaven", neither Denver or the song's writers, Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert had ever been there.
In 1973, the Doobie Brothers' "China Grove" was released. A month later it will crack the Hot 100 and eventually reach #15. The song is based on a real town in Texas with the same name, however, the mention of "samurai" is inaccurate, as they were in fact Japanese, not Chinese
The number one album in the US in 1973 was 'A Passion Play' by Jethro Tull (in my opinion, one of their best, although i think it is underappreciated....)
In1977, funeral services for Elvis Presley are held at Graceland. Inside are 150 mourners, outside are 75,000 more. Presley was entombed in a white marble mausoleum at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis near the grave of his mother, Gladys, but would be re-buried at Graceland the following November at his father's request.
In 1977, the Police made their live debut as a three-piece band when they played at Rebecca's Birmingham, England.
In 1982, the City of Liverpool named four Streets after the fab four: John Lennon Drive, Paul McCartney Way, George Harrison Close and Ringo Starr Drive.
Bon Jovi released their "Slippery When Wet" album in 1986.In 1991, Rick Griffith, died after being forced off the road by a van he was attempting to pass on his Harley Heritage Softail motorbike. He designed album sleeves for Jimi Hendrix and Jefferson Airplane and designed countless Rock posters.
In 2003, Tony Jackson, bass player with The Searchers, died from cirrhosis of the liver. The band had a 1964 UK #1 and US #13 single with "Needles And Pins".
In 2006, US film-maker Adam Muskiewicz set up elviswanted.com as part of a documentary exploring the myth that the singer was still alive and offered a $3m (£1.59m) reward for anybody who found Elvis Presley alive. The film was due for release in August 2007, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Presley's death.
In 2008, Pervis Jackson, bass vocalist and original member of the Motown group The Spinners, died of cancer at the age of 70. The band had a series of hits in the 1970s, including "Rubber Band Man", "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love" and "I'll Be Around".
In 2010, Kenny Edwards, an original member of the Stone Poneys, died of cancer at the age of 64. The group, lead by vocalist Linda Ronstadt, reached #13 in late 1967 with "Different Drum".
birthdays today include (among others): Jim Ayoub (Mahogany Rush) (58), Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz (Weird Al Yankovic) (55), Everlast (born Erik Schrody) (42), Dan Peters (Mudhoney) (44), Blas Gomez (Slaughter) (44) and Régine Chassagne (Arcade Fire) (34)
