I love the Internet! I have found a great new site www.thebestvinylshop.com and wanted to share it with you. They also had this fantastic article:
Bob Porter's History of Collecting
When it was introduced by engineers at Columbia Records in 1948, the long playing record was a 10" LP. The reason for that was that a 78 rpm album held four discs and eight songs. The LPs were pressed on vinyl, a considerably quieter surface than the shellac used to press 78s. The actual grooves were smaller (microgroove) and required a special stylus to play them. The speed was 33 1/3 rpm, a speed common for radio transcription recordings but not for those intended for home use. There were few phonographs capable of playing the new records but Columbia soon packaged a player and three LPs for a special price in order to create interest in the new product. And surprisingly, Columbia did not pursue a patent of the LP. The idea was to get other labels to participate to ensure the success of the format. Decca and Mercury were manufacturing LPs before the end of the year.
Until this point virtually all the innovations regarding records had come from RCA. It would be 1950 before RCA launched a line of LPs and the reason for that was their own introduction of the 45 rpm disc in the spring of 1949. The initial releases on 45 rpm were reissues of older Victor titles and they were pressed on colored vinyl, coded to indicate the type of music. RCA would use 45 rpm for Extended Play albums, which contained four songs, as well as singles. Within a few short years the 45 had become the dominant configuration for singles. This was hastened considerably by the Juke Box industry, which was able to double the number of records on each machine by switching from 78 to 45.
The LP had to undergo a few changes before it settled into its popular 12" format in 1956. There were lines of 12" LPs in the early years but they were few and far between and were never very popular with distributors. There were challenges from a 7" LP that was short-lived at the time but was revived in the 1960s (for Juke Box Stereo albums rather than public consumption). In the jazz field, 12" LPs gained a popularity because of the ability to contain live concert performances such as Benny Goodman's 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert or Norman Granz' Jazz at the Philharmonic productions. 12" LPs were also used for spoken word albums, many of which were played back at 16 rpm.
Broadway shows, Hollywood cast albums and classical works were also a part of the 12" success story. On the other hand, there were few blues albums being recorded in the early years of the format, R&B albums tended to be compilations of singles and gospel labels were still selling 78s into the 1960s. For jazz, 1956 was the year that the great independent labels began to build those remarkable catalogs of 12" LPs many of which were continually in-print over the next thirty years.
Argo, Atlantic, Bethlehem, Blue Note, Contemporary/Good Time Jazz, Emarcy, Fantasy, GNP Crescendo, Pacific Jazz, Prestige, Riverside, Roost, Roulette, Savoy, Vee Jay and Verve would be the major players over the next few years. Labels such as ABC, Modern and King produced jazz LPs as a part of a general product line. Other jazz labels such as Dawn, Mode, Debut and Jazz West began with a great deal of promise but couldn't sustain themselves. The big labels, Capitol, Columbia, Decca and RCA Victor integrated a certain amount of jazz into the mix of major artists and big stars from all fields that made up their release schedules.
Stereo came into play about the same time although it was a few years before stereo LPs were released on a regular basis. There had been attempts at creating stereo in the 1930s but it was the binaural process developed by Emory Cook in the early 1950s which was used by Atlantic and Fantasy on selected projects. Binaural required two separate tone arms to play the LPs and it quickly proved to be impractical in the marketplace. Yet when the binaural recordings were later re-mastered, it gave us true stereo recordings of a 1952 Wilbur DeParis album and a 1955 Lennie Tristano live date. By 1960, stereo records were issued simultaneously with their monaural counterparts but labels developed stereo lines independently of each other and there wasn't a fixed date when they all appeared. Stereo LPs were priced a dollar higher than their mono counterparts.
The dual system of inventory needed to keep up with both mono and stereo LPs was not something that wholesalers enjoyed. It was 1967 when Columbia Records decreed that it would no longer press monaural LPs that the next change took place. The entire industry, pressured by wholesalers, followed suit and mono became as obsolete as 78 rpm very quickly. Retailers in turn insisted that "stereo" had to appear on every album and that led to the "electronically reprocessed" fake stereo of the late 1960s. It was at this stage that jazz LPs suffered a steep decline in sales. When the mono portion of an album's sales disappeared, it never was recovered. Wholesalers returned thousands of LPs in mono that were no longer saleable.
The list price of most jazz labels, which had been at $4.98 since the 1950s, began to rise. Prestige moved to a $5.98 for most new projects in 1971 and that was only the beginning. The price of vinyl soared, sparked by the Arab oil boycotts of 1973 and 1979. This, in turn, led to continual price escalations and new competition in the form of tape cassettes. Cassettes had been around for a while and at one point co-existed with 8 Track as a tape configuration. 8 Track fell away as audio improvement came to cassette and cassettes were used in automobiles. By the end of the 1970s, $8.98 was the standard list price for LPs and cassettes.
Cassettes gradually increased its share of the market during the 1970s & 80s in almost all the pop categories of music. Jazz was among the holdout areas for LP yet the decline in quality of LP pressings was a source of continual annoyance to collectors. There had been a consolidation of pressing facilities and those owned by the major labels were more concerned with the cost of a pressing than the quality. It was in the late 1970s that Japanese pressings began to appear with regularity in the USA. Reissue series of Riverside and Blue Note led the way and it quickly became obvious that the quality of the Japanese pressings were at least equal to the finest American audiophile pressings. They became the standard by which anything else was judged for the remainder of the LP era.
The LP era lasted well into the late 1980s before CD became the norm. There has been plenty of debate about the audio superiority of digital recording vs. analog. One thing is certain: digital recording will always sound better on CD. If an analog recording is being digitally re-mastered, the engineer better know how to do it. There has been an enormous amount of mediocre re-mastering foisted upon the marketplace. On the other hand, the work of Rudy Van Gelder in his RVG series for Blue Note (and now Prestige) has been exemplary and the Japanese engineers continue to lead the rest of the world in quality.
Yet there are many jazz collectors who still prefer LP. Now that jazz LP reissues have begun to resurface again, it is worthwhile acknowledging the collector market for LP that has never gone away. Collectable LPs are usually those from the first edition (in their original covers) in the best possible condition. Mono records are more desirable than stereo and minor flaws can subtract substantially from the overall value. The auction market for collectable LPs can be quite volatile with the value of an LP fluctuating more like a share of common stock than having the fixed value of other antiques. Among the most desirable jazz collectables are albums on Blue Note (Lexington Avenue address on the label, flat edge and deep groove) or Prestige (yellow label, New York address, flat edge and deep groove) as well as those short-lived labels from the 1950s. 10" LPs on certain labels are highly desirable. The original cover art, such as the line drawings of David Stone Martin or the photography of Herman Leonard, is often as important as the music.
Limited editions have exceptional value in some (but not all) cases. Autographed albums generally do not increase the value of an album unless the autograph itself is rare. A Charlie Parker autograph would be meaningful; a Sol Yaged autograph would not. Colored vinyl was used on the first pressings of many companies in California but not in the rest of the country. In general, second pressings and reissues have little collector value although certain reissue series are desirable in complete sets. Mosaic Records reissues with their complete packages in limited editions are highly prized.
Original albums on European or Japanese labels that did not get American distribution can often command high prices. International editions of American albums can have some value on a European label but significantly more on a Japanese label. In large measure, the great albums by the great artists are not especially valuable unless they are first edition. They are the ones that everyone owns rather than the obscure album by a talented musician with a cult following that was pressed in small quantities. In the collecting world, in many, if not all, cases it is NOT about the music.
The return of LPs to the marketplace is a more recent development. Improved mastering and pressing quality will provide exceptional listening especially on high end equipment. While things will never return to the halcyon days of the 1950s & 60s, you will have cover art in a more viewable form and liner notes that are liner notes rather than booklets. The albums won't be in 10" form, they will be stereo or perhaps monaural depending on how it was originally recorded and will certainly not be "electronically reprocessed".
Bob Porter (Bob Porter has been running LP auctions since 1973. They are viewable on line at http://www.jazzetc.net or available, free, in hard copy from Jazz Etc, P.O. Box 393, Bergenfield NJ 07621.)
Monday, December 1, 2008
A groove only vinyl provides
In digital age, LP sales stage big comeback
written by Emma Downs-The Journal Gazette
You can find 25-year-old Brandon Roth at the Wooden Nickel on North Anthony Boulevard about once a week, thumbing through the rows of brightly colored vinyl records stacked neatly throughout the store.
Usually, he scours the bins for newer vinyl – re-released classics or LPs by current artists such as the Black Keys. But he’s not above searching for lightly used Black Sabbath albums, either, he says.
“I’ve been buying vinyl for about a year,” Roth says. “I started with lots of hand-me-down stuff, mostly. Nothing I was really interested in. My mom had a bunch – country stuff from the ’70s – she said I could have but I passed on that. My thing is, I want to buy albums I can listen to the whole way through.”
There’s nothing unusual about Roth’s story – a man in his 20s buying new LPs at a record store – except that it’s taking place in 2008. In the digital age, even CDs are beginning to seem cumbersome. But young people like Roth are embracing vinyl in increasing numbers these days. And it’s the sound – not the size – they’re after.
“I used to like the popping and crackling sounds of vinyl,” Roth says. “But then I started buying newer vinyl. The new stuff sounds like a CD but better. MP3s – which I hate – sound like a car stereo with the treble all the way up and the bass all the way down. Good vinyl has a really warm sound.”
Bob Roets, owner of Wooden Nickel, says he began stocking vinyl in all of the company’s three stores several months ago after receiving a number of requests from customers. On some days, half of the sales at the North Anthony location – which houses about 8,000 vinyl titles – are from vinyl, Roets says.
Megastores such as Best Buy are also jumping on the bandwagon, offering thousands of vinyl titles online. Best Buy stores in 26 states – but not Indiana – also sell vinyl in-store.
“You’ll see a lot of stores selling new vinyl online, but not in the stores,” Roets says. “I’m more reckless. I see a trend, and I jump all over it. There’s definitely a resurgence right now.”
Roets has seen “dozens and dozens” of re-released and new vinyl come through his stores in the past year, from offerings by local bands such as Left Lane Cruiser to re-released Beach Boys albums.
Requests for vinyl were so high this summer that Roets began selling turntables in his stores. Currently, Wooden Nickel stores sell two kinds of turntables – the traditional variety that hooks up to a stereo and one that allows records to be recorded and stored in a digital format on a computer.
“I don’t know if it’s nostalgia or considered hip or cool or what,” Roets says. “But my son Andy started at Ball State (University) this year, and the one thing he wanted to take with him was a turntable. Records are really capturing young people’s imaginations right now.”
But why? Why records? Why not 8-track tapes or rotary telephones? Proponents of vinyl say the sound of a high-quality vinyl record is just better. And recording artists are taking note of this – including local artists. Streetlamps For Spotlights released a vinyl album this year, and the Swingin’ Angels and Key of Skeletons plan to in the future.
“You’re going to see a lot more of that in the near future,” says Jason Davis, owner of all-analog recording studio Off The Cuff Sound and member of Streetlamps For Spotlights. “It’s evident now that the CD is a transfer medium. But releasing an album on vinyl is like releasing the first edition hardcover copy of a book.”
Local band Graverobber also recently released a four-track EP on CD and vinyl – red vinyl, no less – recorded at local recording studio The Ensomberoom, which also offers analog mixing. The idea was the brainchild of the band’s former bassist Morrison Agen, who started buying new vinyl about two years ago.
“I think one of the primary reasons CD sales have suffered – despite MP3s – is because of the compression, which reduces the dynamic range and really takes away the life of the music. On vinyl, the sound recreation is more realistic, more natural and more dynamic, especially when you have a great sound system.”
Agen, 33, bought his first album – “Private Eyes” by Hall & Oates – at age 7. But during the mid-1990s, new vinyl releases were few and far between. Two years ago, after attending a record show in Chicago and realizing how many vinyl titles were available, he began replacing CDs with records. Last week, he purchased Elliott Smith’s posthumously released double album “New Moon” at Wooden Nickel.
“The thing people don’t realize is that CDs never replaced records,” he says. “They replaced cassettes. They were portable, convenient, hard to break. When Graverobber put out our vinyl album, we wanted people to get back into habit of buying vinyl – to support new vinyl pressings.”
But a new pressing of an album by a local band can also end up a collector’s item, Agen says.
When Memphis artist Jay Reatard played at The Brass Rail in October, a few of Agen’s friends drove from Chicago just to see the show and buy vinyl albums – full length and 7-inch – from Reatard himself.
“I bought three of his full-length records directly from him,” Agen says. “Bands aren’t just carrying around CDs now. They’re selling vinyl at shows. It’s been so long since I’ve seen that.”
SOURCE: http://www.journalgazette.net
written by Emma Downs-The Journal Gazette
You can find 25-year-old Brandon Roth at the Wooden Nickel on North Anthony Boulevard about once a week, thumbing through the rows of brightly colored vinyl records stacked neatly throughout the store.
Usually, he scours the bins for newer vinyl – re-released classics or LPs by current artists such as the Black Keys. But he’s not above searching for lightly used Black Sabbath albums, either, he says.
“I’ve been buying vinyl for about a year,” Roth says. “I started with lots of hand-me-down stuff, mostly. Nothing I was really interested in. My mom had a bunch – country stuff from the ’70s – she said I could have but I passed on that. My thing is, I want to buy albums I can listen to the whole way through.”
There’s nothing unusual about Roth’s story – a man in his 20s buying new LPs at a record store – except that it’s taking place in 2008. In the digital age, even CDs are beginning to seem cumbersome. But young people like Roth are embracing vinyl in increasing numbers these days. And it’s the sound – not the size – they’re after.
“I used to like the popping and crackling sounds of vinyl,” Roth says. “But then I started buying newer vinyl. The new stuff sounds like a CD but better. MP3s – which I hate – sound like a car stereo with the treble all the way up and the bass all the way down. Good vinyl has a really warm sound.”
Bob Roets, owner of Wooden Nickel, says he began stocking vinyl in all of the company’s three stores several months ago after receiving a number of requests from customers. On some days, half of the sales at the North Anthony location – which houses about 8,000 vinyl titles – are from vinyl, Roets says.
Megastores such as Best Buy are also jumping on the bandwagon, offering thousands of vinyl titles online. Best Buy stores in 26 states – but not Indiana – also sell vinyl in-store.
“You’ll see a lot of stores selling new vinyl online, but not in the stores,” Roets says. “I’m more reckless. I see a trend, and I jump all over it. There’s definitely a resurgence right now.”
Roets has seen “dozens and dozens” of re-released and new vinyl come through his stores in the past year, from offerings by local bands such as Left Lane Cruiser to re-released Beach Boys albums.
Requests for vinyl were so high this summer that Roets began selling turntables in his stores. Currently, Wooden Nickel stores sell two kinds of turntables – the traditional variety that hooks up to a stereo and one that allows records to be recorded and stored in a digital format on a computer.
“I don’t know if it’s nostalgia or considered hip or cool or what,” Roets says. “But my son Andy started at Ball State (University) this year, and the one thing he wanted to take with him was a turntable. Records are really capturing young people’s imaginations right now.”
But why? Why records? Why not 8-track tapes or rotary telephones? Proponents of vinyl say the sound of a high-quality vinyl record is just better. And recording artists are taking note of this – including local artists. Streetlamps For Spotlights released a vinyl album this year, and the Swingin’ Angels and Key of Skeletons plan to in the future.
“You’re going to see a lot more of that in the near future,” says Jason Davis, owner of all-analog recording studio Off The Cuff Sound and member of Streetlamps For Spotlights. “It’s evident now that the CD is a transfer medium. But releasing an album on vinyl is like releasing the first edition hardcover copy of a book.”
Local band Graverobber also recently released a four-track EP on CD and vinyl – red vinyl, no less – recorded at local recording studio The Ensomberoom, which also offers analog mixing. The idea was the brainchild of the band’s former bassist Morrison Agen, who started buying new vinyl about two years ago.
“I think one of the primary reasons CD sales have suffered – despite MP3s – is because of the compression, which reduces the dynamic range and really takes away the life of the music. On vinyl, the sound recreation is more realistic, more natural and more dynamic, especially when you have a great sound system.”
Agen, 33, bought his first album – “Private Eyes” by Hall & Oates – at age 7. But during the mid-1990s, new vinyl releases were few and far between. Two years ago, after attending a record show in Chicago and realizing how many vinyl titles were available, he began replacing CDs with records. Last week, he purchased Elliott Smith’s posthumously released double album “New Moon” at Wooden Nickel.
“The thing people don’t realize is that CDs never replaced records,” he says. “They replaced cassettes. They were portable, convenient, hard to break. When Graverobber put out our vinyl album, we wanted people to get back into habit of buying vinyl – to support new vinyl pressings.”
But a new pressing of an album by a local band can also end up a collector’s item, Agen says.
When Memphis artist Jay Reatard played at The Brass Rail in October, a few of Agen’s friends drove from Chicago just to see the show and buy vinyl albums – full length and 7-inch – from Reatard himself.
“I bought three of his full-length records directly from him,” Agen says. “Bands aren’t just carrying around CDs now. They’re selling vinyl at shows. It’s been so long since I’ve seen that.”
SOURCE: http://www.journalgazette.net
Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales
Week Ending 11/29/2008
1) LP - The Beatles "White Album" - $5,049.99 Start: $19.00 Bids: 46
2) LP - Captain Marryat self titled Private Press - $4,450.92 Start: $500.00 Bids: 10
3) LP - Johanna Martzy "Bach: The unaccompanied Violin Sonatas" Columbia Box set - $3,990.00 Start: $9.99 Bids: 21
4) LP - Dexter Gordon "Blows Hot And Cool" Dootone Red Vinyl - $2,280.55 Start: $19.99 Bids: $2,280.55
5) LP - The Southern University Jazz Ensemble "Goes To Africa With Love" - $2,133.00 Start: $9.99 Bids: 21
Selling on Thanksgiving Day and topping the $5k mark, a Beatles "White Album" takes the #1 spot. This US copy is numbered and sealed, as are all ones on the graph (yes, one lucky buyer did win one for $300 last year).
Next, a private press Prog LP out of Scotland bids up close to $4.5k . Captain Marryat appears to be a new discovery in Psych/Prog circles. Read the sellers story of how he has managed to contact one of the band members.
The rare and sought after Johnanna Martzy Bach Sonata set goes for a good price at almost $4k and gets the #3 spot.
In the #4 spot, Dexter Gordon's Dootone released "Blows Hot And Cool", pressed on red vinyl, sells for over $2.2k. And last, a '73 release from the Souther University Jazz Ensemble bids up over $2.1k.
As always, I want to thank Brian over at http://ccdiscoveries.blogspot.com for this great data!
1) LP - The Beatles "White Album" - $5,049.99 Start: $19.00 Bids: 46
2) LP - Captain Marryat self titled Private Press - $4,450.92 Start: $500.00 Bids: 10
3) LP - Johanna Martzy "Bach: The unaccompanied Violin Sonatas" Columbia Box set - $3,990.00 Start: $9.99 Bids: 21
4) LP - Dexter Gordon "Blows Hot And Cool" Dootone Red Vinyl - $2,280.55 Start: $19.99 Bids: $2,280.55
5) LP - The Southern University Jazz Ensemble "Goes To Africa With Love" - $2,133.00 Start: $9.99 Bids: 21
Selling on Thanksgiving Day and topping the $5k mark, a Beatles "White Album" takes the #1 spot. This US copy is numbered and sealed, as are all ones on the graph (yes, one lucky buyer did win one for $300 last year).
Next, a private press Prog LP out of Scotland bids up close to $4.5k . Captain Marryat appears to be a new discovery in Psych/Prog circles. Read the sellers story of how he has managed to contact one of the band members.
The rare and sought after Johnanna Martzy Bach Sonata set goes for a good price at almost $4k and gets the #3 spot.
In the #4 spot, Dexter Gordon's Dootone released "Blows Hot And Cool", pressed on red vinyl, sells for over $2.2k. And last, a '73 release from the Souther University Jazz Ensemble bids up over $2.1k.
As always, I want to thank Brian over at http://ccdiscoveries.blogspot.com for this great data!
Album Cover Art
Let's continue our look at Gigwise.com's list of the top 50 dirtiest and sexiest album cover art, this time #22 (Gigwise comments in quotes):
22. Bob Geldof: ‘Sex, Age & Death’ – "If you thought the belligerent rocker has only been interested in saving planet earth is recent years, then think again. Just six years ago he released this album featuring a raunchy cover of a woman presumably riding on something… Despite glowing reviews, the album flopped and Sir Bob moved back into the ego-boosting world of politics."
Quite possibly the greatest accomplishment of Geldof's musical career. Recorded at the studio of Queen drummer Roger Taylor and Tricky producer, ex-Boomtown Rats and long time collaborator and friend Pete Briquette as producer. Sex, Age & Death sees Geldof exercise his emotional demons with songs of ruthless honesty, brimming with passion and emotion in an album of live and loss. 10 tracks including 'One For Me', '$6,000,000 Loser' and 'Pale White Girls'. (review from Amazon.com)
I actually like the album as well, the songs are well-structured and memorable; I also think it is one of his best.
22. Bob Geldof: ‘Sex, Age & Death’ – "If you thought the belligerent rocker has only been interested in saving planet earth is recent years, then think again. Just six years ago he released this album featuring a raunchy cover of a woman presumably riding on something… Despite glowing reviews, the album flopped and Sir Bob moved back into the ego-boosting world of politics."
Quite possibly the greatest accomplishment of Geldof's musical career. Recorded at the studio of Queen drummer Roger Taylor and Tricky producer, ex-Boomtown Rats and long time collaborator and friend Pete Briquette as producer. Sex, Age & Death sees Geldof exercise his emotional demons with songs of ruthless honesty, brimming with passion and emotion in an album of live and loss. 10 tracks including 'One For Me', '$6,000,000 Loser' and 'Pale White Girls'. (review from Amazon.com)
I actually like the album as well, the songs are well-structured and memorable; I also think it is one of his best.
Music News & Notes
Madonna Makes $91.5 Million
Madonna ended up grossing $91.5 million for her 28-date North American tour with a total of 550,000 tickets sold. Adding in the sales from the earlier European portion of the Sticky & Sweet tour gives her a grand total of $207.5 million. She is now off to Mexico and South America; however, she has canceled January shows in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia due to the high cost of production and the world economic downturn.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Drifters Record New Album
The official version of the Drifters is in the process of releasing a new album, Five Decades and Moore, their first in almost 30 years.
The album is a salute to late former member Johnny Moore who was with the group from 1954 well into the 70's and returned on a number occasions. Moore sang lead on hits such as Ruby Baby, Adorable and Under the Boardwalk.
Release date and titles are unknown at this time as most sites are listing it as being available in late-2008.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An Overdue Apology
Rolf Harris insulted the Aboriginal community in Australia in the original version of his song Tie Me Kangaroo Down and had to change the lyrics for the eventual hit recording.
Forty years later, he has apologized for the mistake but turned around and insulted them again. After claiming the original lyrics were just "a mark of the times", he added that they are responsible for their current living conditions. "In their original way of life they would wreck the countryside and go walk-about to the next place. The attitude is still there."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Soul Christmas Songs
70's Philadelphia International soul singer Bunny Sigler is back with two songs for the Holidays, Christmas Dream and Oh Holy Night. He is joined on the songs by Piano4, a quartet of four concert pianists.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Happy Birthday Dave
Jazz great Dave Brubeck, who had a top 30 hit with Take Five (top 5 on the Adult Contemporary chart) will celebrate his 88th birthday with a concert at Showcase Live in Foxborough, Massachusetts on December 6.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
R.I.P. Bill Drake
The man who streamlined Top 40 radio has died. Bill Drake used research and demographics to build tight playlists, starting in the mid-60's with the Boss Radio concept which originally premiered on KHJ in Los Angeles. He later created the automated station formats for the FM dial and was behind the 52-hour History of Rock and Roll that aired nationally in 1969 and was updated in 1978. He was 71.
SOURCE: http://winkscollectibles.blogspot.com
Madonna ended up grossing $91.5 million for her 28-date North American tour with a total of 550,000 tickets sold. Adding in the sales from the earlier European portion of the Sticky & Sweet tour gives her a grand total of $207.5 million. She is now off to Mexico and South America; however, she has canceled January shows in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia due to the high cost of production and the world economic downturn.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Drifters Record New Album
The official version of the Drifters is in the process of releasing a new album, Five Decades and Moore, their first in almost 30 years.
The album is a salute to late former member Johnny Moore who was with the group from 1954 well into the 70's and returned on a number occasions. Moore sang lead on hits such as Ruby Baby, Adorable and Under the Boardwalk.
Release date and titles are unknown at this time as most sites are listing it as being available in late-2008.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An Overdue Apology
Rolf Harris insulted the Aboriginal community in Australia in the original version of his song Tie Me Kangaroo Down and had to change the lyrics for the eventual hit recording.
Forty years later, he has apologized for the mistake but turned around and insulted them again. After claiming the original lyrics were just "a mark of the times", he added that they are responsible for their current living conditions. "In their original way of life they would wreck the countryside and go walk-about to the next place. The attitude is still there."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Soul Christmas Songs
70's Philadelphia International soul singer Bunny Sigler is back with two songs for the Holidays, Christmas Dream and Oh Holy Night. He is joined on the songs by Piano4, a quartet of four concert pianists.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Happy Birthday Dave
Jazz great Dave Brubeck, who had a top 30 hit with Take Five (top 5 on the Adult Contemporary chart) will celebrate his 88th birthday with a concert at Showcase Live in Foxborough, Massachusetts on December 6.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
R.I.P. Bill Drake
The man who streamlined Top 40 radio has died. Bill Drake used research and demographics to build tight playlists, starting in the mid-60's with the Boss Radio concept which originally premiered on KHJ in Los Angeles. He later created the automated station formats for the FM dial and was behind the 52-hour History of Rock and Roll that aired nationally in 1969 and was updated in 1978. He was 71.
SOURCE: http://winkscollectibles.blogspot.com
This Date In Music History-December 1
Birthdays:
John Densmore (Doors) was born in 1945.
Gilbert O'Sullivan ("Clair") turns 62.
Rockabilly drumming star Sandy Nelson is 70.
Billy Paul ("Me And Mrs. Jones") is 74.
Birthday wishes to Bette Midler.
Eric Bloom (Blue Oyster Cult) was born in 1951.
They Are Missed:
The late Lou Rawls ("Dead End Street") was born in 1935.
Lee Dorsey ("Ya Ya") died of emphysema in 1986.
In 1969, Blues singer "Magic" Sam Maghett collapsed and died in Chicago after complaining of heartburn. He was 32.
History:
In 1958, Ricky Nelson became the first ‘rock 'n' roller’ to appear on the cover of Life magazine.
A San Diego, California quintet called Rosie And The Originals reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960 with a crudely recorded ballad called "Angel Baby". Written by the group's 14 year old singer, Rosie Hamlin, the song held the position for six weeks and stayed on the chart for three months.
Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" was released in the US in 1972- where it will reach #1. The tune caused much speculation about who Carly was singing about, with popular guesses that included Mick Jagger (who sang uncredited backing vocals on the song), Cat Stevens, Warren Beatty, Kris Kristofferson (with whom she had had brief relationships), her unfaithful fiancé William Donaldson, and her ex-husband, James Taylor. We do have these insipid ‘letter’ clues, but we may never know who it is really about.
Fats Domino's highest-charting Top 40 hit, "Blueberry Hill," reached #2 in 1956 (and topped the R&B chart for 11 weeks). It was held back from the top pop spot by Guy Mitchell's "Singing the Blues." Despite a career as hit-filled as his, Domino will—like Creedence Clearwater Revival—never have a #1 pop record.
The Phil Spector written "To Know Him Is To Love Him" was the #1 song in the US in 1958 for The Teddy Bears. The trio consisted of Spector, along with two friends, Marshall Leib and Annette Kleinbard.
In 1961, "Please Mr. Postman," by the Marvelettes, became Motown's first #1 pop hit and second million-seller.
Three rock and roll acts made their debut on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1957: Buddy Holly & the Crickets ("That'll Be the Day"), Sam Cooke ("You Send Me"), and the Rays.
In 1968, Janis Joplin made her final appearance with Big Brother & the Holding Company.
"I Want to Hold Your Hand," the Beatles' first American single, was released by Capitol Records in 1963.
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine," written by Marvin Gaye and recorded by Gladys Knight and the Pips, rose to #2 in 1967. Exactly a year later, Gaye's own version will become the top song in the country.
A free concert was organized by the Rolling Stones at Altamont Speedway, outside San Francisco in 1969. The event turned ugly when sets were disrupted by violence from Hell's Angels, Marty Balin was knocked unconscious, and a concert-goer was stabbed to death.
Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' was released in 1982.
Nirvana's "Nevermind" hits #1 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart in 1992. It grossed more than $50 million in sales.
The Dave Clark Five reach #1 with "Over and Over" in 1965.
In 1976, The Eagles' “Hotel California” spends the first of a total of eight weeks at Number One.
John Densmore (Doors) was born in 1945.
Gilbert O'Sullivan ("Clair") turns 62.
Rockabilly drumming star Sandy Nelson is 70.
Billy Paul ("Me And Mrs. Jones") is 74.
Birthday wishes to Bette Midler.
Eric Bloom (Blue Oyster Cult) was born in 1951.
They Are Missed:
The late Lou Rawls ("Dead End Street") was born in 1935.
Lee Dorsey ("Ya Ya") died of emphysema in 1986.
In 1969, Blues singer "Magic" Sam Maghett collapsed and died in Chicago after complaining of heartburn. He was 32.
History:
In 1958, Ricky Nelson became the first ‘rock 'n' roller’ to appear on the cover of Life magazine.
A San Diego, California quintet called Rosie And The Originals reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960 with a crudely recorded ballad called "Angel Baby". Written by the group's 14 year old singer, Rosie Hamlin, the song held the position for six weeks and stayed on the chart for three months.
Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" was released in the US in 1972- where it will reach #1. The tune caused much speculation about who Carly was singing about, with popular guesses that included Mick Jagger (who sang uncredited backing vocals on the song), Cat Stevens, Warren Beatty, Kris Kristofferson (with whom she had had brief relationships), her unfaithful fiancé William Donaldson, and her ex-husband, James Taylor. We do have these insipid ‘letter’ clues, but we may never know who it is really about.
Fats Domino's highest-charting Top 40 hit, "Blueberry Hill," reached #2 in 1956 (and topped the R&B chart for 11 weeks). It was held back from the top pop spot by Guy Mitchell's "Singing the Blues." Despite a career as hit-filled as his, Domino will—like Creedence Clearwater Revival—never have a #1 pop record.
The Phil Spector written "To Know Him Is To Love Him" was the #1 song in the US in 1958 for The Teddy Bears. The trio consisted of Spector, along with two friends, Marshall Leib and Annette Kleinbard.
In 1961, "Please Mr. Postman," by the Marvelettes, became Motown's first #1 pop hit and second million-seller.
Three rock and roll acts made their debut on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1957: Buddy Holly & the Crickets ("That'll Be the Day"), Sam Cooke ("You Send Me"), and the Rays.
In 1968, Janis Joplin made her final appearance with Big Brother & the Holding Company.
"I Want to Hold Your Hand," the Beatles' first American single, was released by Capitol Records in 1963.
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine," written by Marvin Gaye and recorded by Gladys Knight and the Pips, rose to #2 in 1967. Exactly a year later, Gaye's own version will become the top song in the country.
A free concert was organized by the Rolling Stones at Altamont Speedway, outside San Francisco in 1969. The event turned ugly when sets were disrupted by violence from Hell's Angels, Marty Balin was knocked unconscious, and a concert-goer was stabbed to death.
Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' was released in 1982.
Nirvana's "Nevermind" hits #1 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart in 1992. It grossed more than $50 million in sales.
The Dave Clark Five reach #1 with "Over and Over" in 1965.
In 1976, The Eagles' “Hotel California” spends the first of a total of eight weeks at Number One.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Album Cover Art
Let's continue our look at Gigwise.com's list of the top 50 dirtiest and sexiest album cover art, this time #23 (Gigwise comments in quotes):
23. Louis XIV: ‘The Best Little Secrets Are Kept’ – "They’re a chauvinistic band who treat women as sexual objects through their lyrics – ie “Pull your skirt up a little bit / Pull down your top and show me a little tit” – so it’s only natural that their 2005 featured a naked female behind. We reckon they’ll go full frontal for album number two."
For a hip, modern boy, Louis XIV's Jason Hill has plenty of old school rock star attitude. On his San Diego trio's debut album he declares himself a "weapon of mass destruction" and then backs it up with salacious come-ons meant to offend as they intrigue ("I know you want a strangle / Or a mouthful of gasoline / Or to be tied up and stoned"). Lyrical allusions to T. Rex and the Kinks tell only part of Louis XIV's actual musical journey. Hill may fancy Marc Bolan and Ray Davies as elegant dandies, and occasionally borrow their lightweight shuffles to great effect. However, his own proper terrain is the thorny inquisition of the Fall's Mark E. Smith. Here, his band throttles in kind, motoring a cantankerous rhythm section that's every bit as vicious as fellow modern day malcontents the Libertines or White Stripes. --Jaan Uhelszki (Amazon.com)
Wow, never heard of the band but this kind of review makes me want to see what they sound like....
23. Louis XIV: ‘The Best Little Secrets Are Kept’ – "They’re a chauvinistic band who treat women as sexual objects through their lyrics – ie “Pull your skirt up a little bit / Pull down your top and show me a little tit” – so it’s only natural that their 2005 featured a naked female behind. We reckon they’ll go full frontal for album number two."For a hip, modern boy, Louis XIV's Jason Hill has plenty of old school rock star attitude. On his San Diego trio's debut album he declares himself a "weapon of mass destruction" and then backs it up with salacious come-ons meant to offend as they intrigue ("I know you want a strangle / Or a mouthful of gasoline / Or to be tied up and stoned"). Lyrical allusions to T. Rex and the Kinks tell only part of Louis XIV's actual musical journey. Hill may fancy Marc Bolan and Ray Davies as elegant dandies, and occasionally borrow their lightweight shuffles to great effect. However, his own proper terrain is the thorny inquisition of the Fall's Mark E. Smith. Here, his band throttles in kind, motoring a cantankerous rhythm section that's every bit as vicious as fellow modern day malcontents the Libertines or White Stripes. --Jaan Uhelszki (Amazon.com)
Wow, never heard of the band but this kind of review makes me want to see what they sound like....
The Beatles' White Album 40th Anniversary Tribute
Songs
Although most of the songs on any given Beatles album are usually credited to the Lennon/McCartney songwriting team, that description is often misleading, and rarely more so than on The Beatles. With this album, each of the four band members began to showcase the range and depth of his individual songwriting talents, and to display styles that would be carried over to his eventual solo career. Indeed, some songs that the individual Beatles were working on during this period eventually were released on solo albums (John Lennon's "Look At Me" and "Child of Nature," eventually reworked as "Jealous Guy"; Paul McCartney's "Junk" and "Teddy Boy"; and George Harrison's "Not Guilty" and "Circles").
Many of the songs on the album display experimentation with unlikely musical genres, borrowing directly from such sources as 1930s dance-hall music (in "Honey Pie"), classical chamber music (in "Piggies"), the avant-garde sensibilities of Yoko Ono and John Cage (in "Revolution 9"), and the overproduced sentimentality of elevator music (in "Good Night"). Such diversity was quite unprecedented in global pop music in 1968, and the album's sprawling approach provoked (and continues to provoke) both praise and criticism from observers. "Revolution 9", in particular, a densely layered eight-minute-and-thirteen-second sound collage, has attracted bewilderment and disapproval from both fans and music critics over the years.
The only western instrument available to the group during their Indian visit was the acoustic guitar, and thus most of the songs on The Beatles were written and first performed on that instrument. Some of these songs remained acoustic on The Beatles (notably "Rocky Raccoon", "Julia", "Blackbird" and "Mother Nature's Son") and were recorded in the studio either solo, or by only part of the group.
Individual compositions
Lennon's contributions to the album are generally more hard-edged lyrically than his previous output, a trend which carried over to his solo career. Examples include his pleas for death on "Yer Blues", his parodic "Glass Onion", which mocks fans who read too much into The Beatles' lyrics (see also Paul is dead), and what may be references to drug addiction in "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" ("I need a fix..."). Lennon's intensely personal "Julia" may be seen as foreshadowing his later song "Mother" from his first solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band; the political "Revolution 1" begins a pattern of overtly political songs like "Give Peace a Chance" and "John Sinclair"; "Revolution 9" reflects extensive contribution and influence from Yoko Ono, another feature of much of Lennon's solo output. Lennon's songs on The Beatles embrace a wide array of styles, including blues ("Yer Blues"), acoustic ballads ("Julia" and "Cry Baby Cry"), and rock ("Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey"). Lennon would later describe his contributions to the White Album as among his favourite songs recorded with The Beatles.
McCartney's songs for the album include pop ballads ("I Will"), the proto-heavy metal "Helter Skelter", a Beach Boys homage ("Back in the U.S.S.R."), and a music-hall foxtrot ("Honey Pie") among others. The soothing, stripped-down "I Will" foreshadowed themes of McCartney's later solo career.
Harrison's sparse ballad "Long, Long, Long" is stylistically quite similar to much of his solo output. His songs on The Beatles also includes the lyrically sophisticated "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", a chronicle of gastronomic excess and dental trauma in "Savoy Truffle", the up-beat "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" ( in actuality a McCartney composition) and a class-driven piece of social commentary in "Piggies". Even Ringo Starr was given leave to include the first song composed entirely by himself on a Beatles' album, the country-ish "Don't Pass Me By".
The album is the first by the group not to feature any genuine Lennon-McCartney collaborations - in fact there would only be one more co-write from the pair in the remainder of the band's career ("I've Got a Feeling" from the Let It Be album). This new lack of co-operation and focus is reflected in several fragmental, incomplete song ideas that were recorded and released on the album ("Why Don't We Do It in the Road?", "Wild Honey Pie", and an officially untitled McCartney snippet at the end of "Cry Baby Cry" often referred to as "Can You Take Me Back"). On previous albums, such undertakings might have been either abandoned or collaboratively developed before release, but here again, The Beatles represented a change of course for the band. The trend continued for the rest of the band's recording career: such song fragments were presented by joining them together as a long suite of songs on side two of Abbey Road.
Self-reflection and change
Many of the songs are personal and self-referencing; for example, "Dear Prudence" was written about actress Mia Farrow's sister, Prudence, who attended the transcendental meditation course with The Beatles in Rishikesh. Often she stayed in her room, engaged in Transcendental Meditation. "Julia" was the name of Lennon's beloved but frequently absent mother, who died during his youth. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" expresses concern over being "bought and sold," a theme in later songs about Harrison himself, such as "Handle with Care", recorded with The Traveling Wilburys. "Glass Onion" is a Beatles song about Beatles' songs.
Some of the songs on The Beatles mark important changes in the band's recording style. Previously, no female voices were to be heard on a Beatles album, but Yoko Ono made her first vocal appearance on this record, adding backing vocals in "Birthday" (along with Pattie Harrison); Yoko also sang backing vocals and a solo line on "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" and, as noted earlier, was a strong influence on Lennon's musique concrète piece, "Revolution 9," an avant-garde sound collage that McCartney initially did not want to include on the album.
Compositions not included
A number of songs were recorded in demo form for possible inclusion but were not incorporated as part of the album. These included "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Polythene Pam" (both of which would be used for the medley on Abbey Road); "Child of Nature" (recorded with drastically different lyrics as "Jealous Guy" for Lennon's Imagine), "Jubilee" (later retitled "Junk" and released on McCartney's first solo LP); "Etcetera" (a McCartney composition later recorded by the Black Dyke Mills Band as "Thingumybob"); "Circles" (which Harrison would return to fourteen years later on his 1982 album "Gone Troppo"); "The Long and Winding Road" (completed in 1969 for the Let It Be LP); "Something" (which ended up on Abbey Road); and "Sour Milk Sea" (which Harrison gave to friend and Apple artist Jackie Lomax for his first LP, Is This What You Want). Other songs recorded for, but ultimately left off The Beatles received significant exposure via bootlegs, notably Harrison's "Circles" and "Not Guilty" (which he would eventually re-record as solo tracks and release on his 1982 album, Gone Troppo and 1979 self-titled album, George Harrison respectively) and Lennon's manic "What's the New Mary Jane".
Editing concerns, and release
The Beatles was the first Beatles' album released by Apple Records, as well as their only original double album. Producer George Martin has said that he was against the idea of a double album at the time and suggested to the group that they reduce the number of songs in order to form a single album featuring their stronger work, but that the band decided against this. Interviewed for the Beatles Anthology, Starr said he now felt it should have been released as two separate albums. Harrison felt on reflection that some of the tracks could have been released as B sides, but "there was a lot of ego in that band". He also supported the idea of the double album, to clear out the backlog of songs the group had at the time. McCartney, by contrast, said it was fine as it was and that its wide variety of songs was a major part of the album's appeal.
The White Album (1968) shares the same 22nd November release date as The Beatles second album, With The Beatles (1963).
SOURCE: wikipedia
Beatles Music
http://tinyurl.com/6lnkps
White Album
http://tinyurl.com/5sjvog
The Beatles - Revolution
Although most of the songs on any given Beatles album are usually credited to the Lennon/McCartney songwriting team, that description is often misleading, and rarely more so than on The Beatles. With this album, each of the four band members began to showcase the range and depth of his individual songwriting talents, and to display styles that would be carried over to his eventual solo career. Indeed, some songs that the individual Beatles were working on during this period eventually were released on solo albums (John Lennon's "Look At Me" and "Child of Nature," eventually reworked as "Jealous Guy"; Paul McCartney's "Junk" and "Teddy Boy"; and George Harrison's "Not Guilty" and "Circles").
Many of the songs on the album display experimentation with unlikely musical genres, borrowing directly from such sources as 1930s dance-hall music (in "Honey Pie"), classical chamber music (in "Piggies"), the avant-garde sensibilities of Yoko Ono and John Cage (in "Revolution 9"), and the overproduced sentimentality of elevator music (in "Good Night"). Such diversity was quite unprecedented in global pop music in 1968, and the album's sprawling approach provoked (and continues to provoke) both praise and criticism from observers. "Revolution 9", in particular, a densely layered eight-minute-and-thirteen-second sound collage, has attracted bewilderment and disapproval from both fans and music critics over the years.
The only western instrument available to the group during their Indian visit was the acoustic guitar, and thus most of the songs on The Beatles were written and first performed on that instrument. Some of these songs remained acoustic on The Beatles (notably "Rocky Raccoon", "Julia", "Blackbird" and "Mother Nature's Son") and were recorded in the studio either solo, or by only part of the group.
Individual compositions
Lennon's contributions to the album are generally more hard-edged lyrically than his previous output, a trend which carried over to his solo career. Examples include his pleas for death on "Yer Blues", his parodic "Glass Onion", which mocks fans who read too much into The Beatles' lyrics (see also Paul is dead), and what may be references to drug addiction in "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" ("I need a fix..."). Lennon's intensely personal "Julia" may be seen as foreshadowing his later song "Mother" from his first solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band; the political "Revolution 1" begins a pattern of overtly political songs like "Give Peace a Chance" and "John Sinclair"; "Revolution 9" reflects extensive contribution and influence from Yoko Ono, another feature of much of Lennon's solo output. Lennon's songs on The Beatles embrace a wide array of styles, including blues ("Yer Blues"), acoustic ballads ("Julia" and "Cry Baby Cry"), and rock ("Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey"). Lennon would later describe his contributions to the White Album as among his favourite songs recorded with The Beatles.
McCartney's songs for the album include pop ballads ("I Will"), the proto-heavy metal "Helter Skelter", a Beach Boys homage ("Back in the U.S.S.R."), and a music-hall foxtrot ("Honey Pie") among others. The soothing, stripped-down "I Will" foreshadowed themes of McCartney's later solo career.
Harrison's sparse ballad "Long, Long, Long" is stylistically quite similar to much of his solo output. His songs on The Beatles also includes the lyrically sophisticated "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", a chronicle of gastronomic excess and dental trauma in "Savoy Truffle", the up-beat "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" ( in actuality a McCartney composition) and a class-driven piece of social commentary in "Piggies". Even Ringo Starr was given leave to include the first song composed entirely by himself on a Beatles' album, the country-ish "Don't Pass Me By".
The album is the first by the group not to feature any genuine Lennon-McCartney collaborations - in fact there would only be one more co-write from the pair in the remainder of the band's career ("I've Got a Feeling" from the Let It Be album). This new lack of co-operation and focus is reflected in several fragmental, incomplete song ideas that were recorded and released on the album ("Why Don't We Do It in the Road?", "Wild Honey Pie", and an officially untitled McCartney snippet at the end of "Cry Baby Cry" often referred to as "Can You Take Me Back"). On previous albums, such undertakings might have been either abandoned or collaboratively developed before release, but here again, The Beatles represented a change of course for the band. The trend continued for the rest of the band's recording career: such song fragments were presented by joining them together as a long suite of songs on side two of Abbey Road.
Self-reflection and change
Many of the songs are personal and self-referencing; for example, "Dear Prudence" was written about actress Mia Farrow's sister, Prudence, who attended the transcendental meditation course with The Beatles in Rishikesh. Often she stayed in her room, engaged in Transcendental Meditation. "Julia" was the name of Lennon's beloved but frequently absent mother, who died during his youth. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" expresses concern over being "bought and sold," a theme in later songs about Harrison himself, such as "Handle with Care", recorded with The Traveling Wilburys. "Glass Onion" is a Beatles song about Beatles' songs.
Some of the songs on The Beatles mark important changes in the band's recording style. Previously, no female voices were to be heard on a Beatles album, but Yoko Ono made her first vocal appearance on this record, adding backing vocals in "Birthday" (along with Pattie Harrison); Yoko also sang backing vocals and a solo line on "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" and, as noted earlier, was a strong influence on Lennon's musique concrète piece, "Revolution 9," an avant-garde sound collage that McCartney initially did not want to include on the album.
Compositions not included
A number of songs were recorded in demo form for possible inclusion but were not incorporated as part of the album. These included "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Polythene Pam" (both of which would be used for the medley on Abbey Road); "Child of Nature" (recorded with drastically different lyrics as "Jealous Guy" for Lennon's Imagine), "Jubilee" (later retitled "Junk" and released on McCartney's first solo LP); "Etcetera" (a McCartney composition later recorded by the Black Dyke Mills Band as "Thingumybob"); "Circles" (which Harrison would return to fourteen years later on his 1982 album "Gone Troppo"); "The Long and Winding Road" (completed in 1969 for the Let It Be LP); "Something" (which ended up on Abbey Road); and "Sour Milk Sea" (which Harrison gave to friend and Apple artist Jackie Lomax for his first LP, Is This What You Want). Other songs recorded for, but ultimately left off The Beatles received significant exposure via bootlegs, notably Harrison's "Circles" and "Not Guilty" (which he would eventually re-record as solo tracks and release on his 1982 album, Gone Troppo and 1979 self-titled album, George Harrison respectively) and Lennon's manic "What's the New Mary Jane".
Editing concerns, and release
The Beatles was the first Beatles' album released by Apple Records, as well as their only original double album. Producer George Martin has said that he was against the idea of a double album at the time and suggested to the group that they reduce the number of songs in order to form a single album featuring their stronger work, but that the band decided against this. Interviewed for the Beatles Anthology, Starr said he now felt it should have been released as two separate albums. Harrison felt on reflection that some of the tracks could have been released as B sides, but "there was a lot of ego in that band". He also supported the idea of the double album, to clear out the backlog of songs the group had at the time. McCartney, by contrast, said it was fine as it was and that its wide variety of songs was a major part of the album's appeal.
The White Album (1968) shares the same 22nd November release date as The Beatles second album, With The Beatles (1963).
SOURCE: wikipedia
Beatles Music
http://tinyurl.com/6lnkps
White Album
http://tinyurl.com/5sjvog
The Beatles - Revolution
New Vinyl Releases
12/2/08 RELEASE DATE
Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Live Evil [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Mob Rules [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Various Artists / Beyonce - Cadillac Records Motion Picture Soundtrack [LP]
Decemberists - Always The Bridesmaid: A Singles Series Vol. III [12'']
12/9/08 RELEASE DATE
10cc - The Original Soundtrack [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
All-American Rejects - The All-American Rejects [LP] (Orange Vinyl)
Arrington De Dionyso - I See Beyond The Black Sun [LP]
Beck - The Information (Deluxe Vinyl Set) [5 LP Box] (Limited / includes 24-color pen set and 10 sticker sheets)
Billie Holiday - Remixed & Reimagined [LP]
Blood Sweat & Tears - Child Is Father To The Man [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else (180 Gram Vinyl) (Stereo)
Cat Power - Dark End Of The Street EP [2x10'']
Cat Stevens - Mona Bone Jakon [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Cheap Trick - At Budokan [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Common - Universal Mind Control [2 LP]
Cream - Wheels Of Fire [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Devo - Watch Us Work It [LP]
Drexel And The Bootleggers - Green Sky [LP]
Eagles - Hotel California [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley [LP]
Emmylou Harris - All I Intended To Be [2 LP]
EPMD - We Mean Business [2 LP]
Eric Clapton - Slowhand [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Fennesz - June [LP]
Get Up Kids - Four Minute Mile [LP] (Colored Vinyl)
Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Horace Silver - Horace Scope (200 Gram Mono Vinyl)
Insane Clown Posse - Riddle Box [2 LP]
Jackie Mclean - Jackie's Bag (200 Gram Mono Vinyl)
Jam - All Mod Cons [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Jam - In The City [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
James Brown - In The Jungle Groove [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Jay McShann & Martha Burks - Magical Jazz [LP]
Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Joe Satriani - Surfing With The Alien [LP]
John Mayall - Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Johnny Cash & The Tennessee Two - Get Rhythm [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Johnny Thunders - Glam Punk & Junk - Chinese Rocks / London Boys [LP]
Kaleidoscope - Beacon From Mars [LP]
L.A. Guns & Phil Lewis - Sex Action / Marie Claire [LP]
Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - Recorded Together For The First Time (4-LP 45 RPM) (200 Gram Clarity Vinyl)
Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - The Great Reunion (4-LP 45 RPM) (200 Gram Clarity Vinyl)
Ludacris - Theater Of The Mind [2LP]
Marty Paich - I Get A Boot Out Of You [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Method Man/Redman - Blackout 2 [2 LP]
Motorhead - No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl) ( Sa
Neil Diamond - Home Before Dark [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl) (Includes Free Download Insert Card)
Oliver Lake - Passing Thru [LP]
Parenthetical Girls - Entanglements [LP]
PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love [180 Gram Vinyl]
Prince - Purple Rain [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Remains - Remains [2LP]
Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Simon Bookish - Everything/ Everything [LP]
Skeletons - Money [2 LP]
Social Distortion - Social Distortion [LP]
Soundtrack - Pulp Fiction (180 Gram Vinyl)
Soundtrack - Twilight Soundtrack (Vinyl w/3 Posters)(Limited Edition)
Soy Un Caballo - Les Heures De Raison [LP] (Colored Vinyl)
Stephen O'Malley - Keep An Eye Out [LP]
Steve Vai - Passion And Warfare [LP]
Suicide Machines - War Profiteering Is Killing Us All / A Match And Some Gasoline [2 LP] (Red & Blue Vinyl)
Supertramp - Crime Of The Century [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Thin Lizzy - Black Rose: A Rock Legend [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl in Die-Cut Gatefold Jacket)
Toots & The Maytals - Funky Kingston [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Van Halen - Van Halen [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Van Morrison - It's Too Late To Stop Now [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Van Morrison - His Band And The Street Choir [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Van Morrison - Moondance [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Waylon Jennings and The 357's - Waylon Forever [LP]
Weather Report - Heavy Weather [LP] [180 Gram Vinyl]
Who - Quadrophenia [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Winterpills - Central Chambers [LP]
Kodomo - Concept 11-Remixes (Blue Vinyl) [12'']
Flaming Lips - Silent Night (7'' Vinyl) (Picture Disc)
Joker's Daughter - Worm's Head [7'']
Reverend Green/ Drawlings - Be Good To Earth This Season / Wolfie's Christmas [7'']
Thanks to DJ Spyder for the data: http://dj-spyder.blogspot.com/
Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Live Evil [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Mob Rules [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Various Artists / Beyonce - Cadillac Records Motion Picture Soundtrack [LP]
Decemberists - Always The Bridesmaid: A Singles Series Vol. III [12'']
12/9/08 RELEASE DATE
10cc - The Original Soundtrack [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
All-American Rejects - The All-American Rejects [LP] (Orange Vinyl)
Arrington De Dionyso - I See Beyond The Black Sun [LP]
Beck - The Information (Deluxe Vinyl Set) [5 LP Box] (Limited / includes 24-color pen set and 10 sticker sheets)
Billie Holiday - Remixed & Reimagined [LP]
Blood Sweat & Tears - Child Is Father To The Man [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else (180 Gram Vinyl) (Stereo)
Cat Power - Dark End Of The Street EP [2x10'']
Cat Stevens - Mona Bone Jakon [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Cheap Trick - At Budokan [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Common - Universal Mind Control [2 LP]
Cream - Wheels Of Fire [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Devo - Watch Us Work It [LP]
Drexel And The Bootleggers - Green Sky [LP]
Eagles - Hotel California [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley [LP]
Emmylou Harris - All I Intended To Be [2 LP]
EPMD - We Mean Business [2 LP]
Eric Clapton - Slowhand [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Fennesz - June [LP]
Get Up Kids - Four Minute Mile [LP] (Colored Vinyl)
Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Horace Silver - Horace Scope (200 Gram Mono Vinyl)
Insane Clown Posse - Riddle Box [2 LP]
Jackie Mclean - Jackie's Bag (200 Gram Mono Vinyl)
Jam - All Mod Cons [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Jam - In The City [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
James Brown - In The Jungle Groove [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Jay McShann & Martha Burks - Magical Jazz [LP]
Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Joe Satriani - Surfing With The Alien [LP]
John Mayall - Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Johnny Cash & The Tennessee Two - Get Rhythm [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Johnny Thunders - Glam Punk & Junk - Chinese Rocks / London Boys [LP]
Kaleidoscope - Beacon From Mars [LP]
L.A. Guns & Phil Lewis - Sex Action / Marie Claire [LP]
Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - Recorded Together For The First Time (4-LP 45 RPM) (200 Gram Clarity Vinyl)
Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - The Great Reunion (4-LP 45 RPM) (200 Gram Clarity Vinyl)
Ludacris - Theater Of The Mind [2LP]
Marty Paich - I Get A Boot Out Of You [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Method Man/Redman - Blackout 2 [2 LP]
Motorhead - No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl) ( Sa
Neil Diamond - Home Before Dark [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl) (Includes Free Download Insert Card)
Oliver Lake - Passing Thru [LP]
Parenthetical Girls - Entanglements [LP]
PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love [180 Gram Vinyl]
Prince - Purple Rain [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Remains - Remains [2LP]
Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Simon Bookish - Everything/ Everything [LP]
Skeletons - Money [2 LP]
Social Distortion - Social Distortion [LP]
Soundtrack - Pulp Fiction (180 Gram Vinyl)
Soundtrack - Twilight Soundtrack (Vinyl w/3 Posters)(Limited Edition)
Soy Un Caballo - Les Heures De Raison [LP] (Colored Vinyl)
Stephen O'Malley - Keep An Eye Out [LP]
Steve Vai - Passion And Warfare [LP]
Suicide Machines - War Profiteering Is Killing Us All / A Match And Some Gasoline [2 LP] (Red & Blue Vinyl)
Supertramp - Crime Of The Century [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Thin Lizzy - Black Rose: A Rock Legend [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl in Die-Cut Gatefold Jacket)
Toots & The Maytals - Funky Kingston [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Van Halen - Van Halen [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Van Morrison - It's Too Late To Stop Now [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Van Morrison - His Band And The Street Choir [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Van Morrison - Moondance [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Waylon Jennings and The 357's - Waylon Forever [LP]
Weather Report - Heavy Weather [LP] [180 Gram Vinyl]
Who - Quadrophenia [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Winterpills - Central Chambers [LP]
Kodomo - Concept 11-Remixes (Blue Vinyl) [12'']
Flaming Lips - Silent Night (7'' Vinyl) (Picture Disc)
Joker's Daughter - Worm's Head [7'']
Reverend Green/ Drawlings - Be Good To Earth This Season / Wolfie's Christmas [7'']
Thanks to DJ Spyder for the data: http://dj-spyder.blogspot.com/
New Vinyl Releases
12/2/08 RELEASE DATE
Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Live Evil [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Mob Rules [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Various Artists / Beyonce - Cadillac Records Motion Picture Soundtrack [LP]
Decemberists - Always The Bridesmaid: A Singles Series Vol. III [12'']
12/9/08 RELEASE DATE
10cc - The Original Soundtrack [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
All-American Rejects - The All-American Rejects [LP] (Orange Vinyl)
Arrington De Dionyso - I See Beyond The Black Sun [LP]
Beck - The Information (Deluxe Vinyl Set) [5 LP Box] (Limited / includes 24-color pen set and 10 sticker sheets)
Billie Holiday - Remixed & Reimagined [LP]
Blood Sweat & Tears - Child Is Father To The Man [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else (180 Gram Vinyl) (Stereo)
Cat Power - Dark End Of The Street EP [2x10'']
Cat Stevens - Mona Bone Jakon [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Cheap Trick - At Budokan [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Common - Universal Mind Control [2 LP]
Cream - Wheels Of Fire [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Devo - Watch Us Work It [LP]
Drexel And The Bootleggers - Green Sky [LP]
Eagles - Hotel California [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley [LP]
Emmylou Harris - All I Intended To Be [2 LP]
EPMD - We Mean Business [2 LP]
Eric Clapton - Slowhand [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Fennesz - June [LP]
Get Up Kids - Four Minute Mile [LP] (Colored Vinyl)
Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Horace Silver - Horace Scope (200 Gram Mono Vinyl)
Insane Clown Posse - Riddle Box [2 LP]
Jackie Mclean - Jackie's Bag (200 Gram Mono Vinyl)
Jam - All Mod Cons [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Jam - In The City [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
James Brown - In The Jungle Groove [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Jay McShann & Martha Burks - Magical Jazz [LP]
Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Joe Satriani - Surfing With The Alien [LP]
John Mayall - Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Johnny Cash & The Tennessee Two - Get Rhythm [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Johnny Thunders - Glam Punk & Junk - Chinese Rocks / London Boys [LP]
Kaleidoscope - Beacon From Mars [LP]
L.A. Guns & Phil Lewis - Sex Action / Marie Claire [LP]
Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - Recorded Together For The First Time (4-LP 45 RPM) (200 Gram Clarity Vinyl)
Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - The Great Reunion (4-LP 45 RPM) (200 Gram Clarity Vinyl)
Ludacris - Theater Of The Mind [2LP]
Marty Paich - I Get A Boot Out Of You [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Method Man/Redman - Blackout 2 [2 LP]
Motorhead - No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl) ( Sa
Neil Diamond - Home Before Dark [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl) (Includes Free Download Insert Card)
Oliver Lake - Passing Thru [LP]
Parenthetical Girls - Entanglements [LP]
PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love [180 Gram Vinyl]
Prince - Purple Rain [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Remains - Remains [2LP]
Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Simon Bookish - Everything/ Everything [LP]
Skeletons - Money [2 LP]
Social Distortion - Social Distortion [LP]
Soundtrack - Pulp Fiction (180 Gram Vinyl)
Soundtrack - Twilight Soundtrack (Vinyl w/3 Posters)(Limited Edition)
Soy Un Caballo - Les Heures De Raison [LP] (Colored Vinyl)
Stephen O'Malley - Keep An Eye Out [LP]
Steve Vai - Passion And Warfare [LP]
Suicide Machines - War Profiteering Is Killing Us All / A Match And Some Gasoline [2 LP] (Red & Blue Vinyl)
Supertramp - Crime Of The Century [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Thin Lizzy - Black Rose: A Rock Legend [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl in Die-Cut Gatefold Jacket)
Toots & The Maytals - Funky Kingston [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Van Halen - Van Halen [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Van Morrison - It's Too Late To Stop Now [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Van Morrison - His Band And The Street Choir [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Van Morrison - Moondance [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Waylon Jennings and The 357's - Waylon Forever [LP]
Weather Report - Heavy Weather [LP] [180 Gram Vinyl]
Who - Quadrophenia [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Winterpills - Central Chambers [LP]
Kodomo - Concept 11-Remixes (Blue Vinyl) [12'']
Flaming Lips - Silent Night (7'' Vinyl) (Picture Disc)
Joker's Daughter - Worm's Head [7'']
Reverend Green/ Drawlings - Be Good To Earth This Season / Wolfie's Christmas [7'']
Thanks to DJ Spyder for the data: http://dj-spyder.blogspot.com/
Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Live Evil [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Mob Rules [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Various Artists / Beyonce - Cadillac Records Motion Picture Soundtrack [LP]
Decemberists - Always The Bridesmaid: A Singles Series Vol. III [12'']
12/9/08 RELEASE DATE
10cc - The Original Soundtrack [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
All-American Rejects - The All-American Rejects [LP] (Orange Vinyl)
Arrington De Dionyso - I See Beyond The Black Sun [LP]
Beck - The Information (Deluxe Vinyl Set) [5 LP Box] (Limited / includes 24-color pen set and 10 sticker sheets)
Billie Holiday - Remixed & Reimagined [LP]
Blood Sweat & Tears - Child Is Father To The Man [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else (180 Gram Vinyl) (Stereo)
Cat Power - Dark End Of The Street EP [2x10'']
Cat Stevens - Mona Bone Jakon [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Cheap Trick - At Budokan [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Common - Universal Mind Control [2 LP]
Cream - Wheels Of Fire [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Devo - Watch Us Work It [LP]
Drexel And The Bootleggers - Green Sky [LP]
Eagles - Hotel California [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley [LP]
Emmylou Harris - All I Intended To Be [2 LP]
EPMD - We Mean Business [2 LP]
Eric Clapton - Slowhand [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Fennesz - June [LP]
Get Up Kids - Four Minute Mile [LP] (Colored Vinyl)
Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Horace Silver - Horace Scope (200 Gram Mono Vinyl)
Insane Clown Posse - Riddle Box [2 LP]
Jackie Mclean - Jackie's Bag (200 Gram Mono Vinyl)
Jam - All Mod Cons [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Jam - In The City [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
James Brown - In The Jungle Groove [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Jay McShann & Martha Burks - Magical Jazz [LP]
Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Joe Satriani - Surfing With The Alien [LP]
John Mayall - Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Johnny Cash & The Tennessee Two - Get Rhythm [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Johnny Thunders - Glam Punk & Junk - Chinese Rocks / London Boys [LP]
Kaleidoscope - Beacon From Mars [LP]
L.A. Guns & Phil Lewis - Sex Action / Marie Claire [LP]
Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - Recorded Together For The First Time (4-LP 45 RPM) (200 Gram Clarity Vinyl)
Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - The Great Reunion (4-LP 45 RPM) (200 Gram Clarity Vinyl)
Ludacris - Theater Of The Mind [2LP]
Marty Paich - I Get A Boot Out Of You [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Method Man/Redman - Blackout 2 [2 LP]
Motorhead - No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl) ( Sa
Neil Diamond - Home Before Dark [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl) (Includes Free Download Insert Card)
Oliver Lake - Passing Thru [LP]
Parenthetical Girls - Entanglements [LP]
PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love [180 Gram Vinyl]
Prince - Purple Rain [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Remains - Remains [2LP]
Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Simon Bookish - Everything/ Everything [LP]
Skeletons - Money [2 LP]
Social Distortion - Social Distortion [LP]
Soundtrack - Pulp Fiction (180 Gram Vinyl)
Soundtrack - Twilight Soundtrack (Vinyl w/3 Posters)(Limited Edition)
Soy Un Caballo - Les Heures De Raison [LP] (Colored Vinyl)
Stephen O'Malley - Keep An Eye Out [LP]
Steve Vai - Passion And Warfare [LP]
Suicide Machines - War Profiteering Is Killing Us All / A Match And Some Gasoline [2 LP] (Red & Blue Vinyl)
Supertramp - Crime Of The Century [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Thin Lizzy - Black Rose: A Rock Legend [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl in Die-Cut Gatefold Jacket)
Toots & The Maytals - Funky Kingston [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Van Halen - Van Halen [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Van Morrison - It's Too Late To Stop Now [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Van Morrison - His Band And The Street Choir [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Van Morrison - Moondance [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Analog Mastering with insert)
Waylon Jennings and The 357's - Waylon Forever [LP]
Weather Report - Heavy Weather [LP] [180 Gram Vinyl]
Who - Quadrophenia [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Winterpills - Central Chambers [LP]
Kodomo - Concept 11-Remixes (Blue Vinyl) [12'']
Flaming Lips - Silent Night (7'' Vinyl) (Picture Disc)
Joker's Daughter - Worm's Head [7'']
Reverend Green/ Drawlings - Be Good To Earth This Season / Wolfie's Christmas [7'']
Thanks to DJ Spyder for the data: http://dj-spyder.blogspot.com/
Saturday, November 29, 2008
The Format That Refuses To Die; Vinyl Records Alive And Well
Written By Mike Duffy
Even with all the advances in audio technology and the digital craze, one format has withstood the test of time: vinyl records.
The evolution of personal audio playback is an interesting tale: from paper cylinders to records, records to 8-tracks, 8-tracks to cassettes, cassettes to CDs, and finally, CDs to digital MP3s, only one "primitive" format has managed to not fade away into history. Records were introduced way back in 1877 and are still being widely used across the world, and it's not just DJs who are using them.
Thanks in part to high school children who are just discovering vinyl records for the first time, and baby boomers who are looking for a taste of nostalgia, the vinyl record market has exploded in recent years, with sales increasing about 35 percent in 2007, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. People are once again snatching up vinyl records as quickly as they are produced, and record label executives are taking notice.
As a result, more and more labels are choosing to press their new releases on the format they once considered obsolete, even going into their catalog and re-pressing some of their older albums. Labels are still catering to digital savvy consumers though, as many new vinyl releases often come with download cards, which can be redeemed online to receive MP3's of the album. Online retailers have also taken note, and are now offering more vinyl records for sale. An influx of new websites specifically catering to vinyl enthusiasts have also been popping up, selling vinyl and record accessories.
There are several reasons why vinyl sales have taken off in recent years. Any purist (or audiophile) will tell you that vinyl sounds better than any other format available today. You will hear things playing a record that you won't be able to pick up on when playing that same album in CD or MP3 format. Vinyl also comes in different weights, which is measured in grams, and ranges from the standard 140 grams all the way up to 220 grams. The heavier a record is, the better sound quality you will get. Some people will only settle for the best, and some younger folks are tired of the high compression rates found in CDs and MP3s, which steals the quality of the music. And some have sought out alternative methods of listening to their favorite albums.
Most records released today come in elaborate packaging that features liner notes and larger artwork than their CD counterparts. Vinyl now comes in various colors, patterns, shapes and styles. There's the standard 12 inch LP, which supports full length albums; seven inch singles, which are often used for only one or two songs; and all sizes in between. Records have also strayed from the standard black vinyl circle into elaborate shapes and bright colors. Records are being pressed on every color found in the rainbow and then some, as well as almost every shape known to man. The variety and bigger size attracts many buyers.
One more reason why vinyl sales have taken off is their collectability. The market has never been better for someone who is in possession of an original Beatles or Led Zeppelin LP. These days vinyl is often pressed in one time limited runs, or presses, compared to an almost infinite amount when records were the dominant format. This makes some records highly sought after. Multiple colors are also pressed, leading to many variations of a single record, which also leads to collectability. Some records released for the first time in 10 years can fetch as much as $200 once they go out of print. For example, a record of only 1,000 total copies were pressed: out of that 1,000, only 100 were pressed on red vinyl, and 500 were pressed on blue. A red record would be worth more to collectors than the blue record, and could fetch a hefty sum on eBay and other online outlets.
For whatever reason - whether it be for their superior sound quality, the larger and more detailed artwork and packaging, or just for old time's sake - vinyl records are here to stay. And they won't be going anywhere anytime soon.
SOURCE: http://media.www.pioneertimeswpu.com
Even with all the advances in audio technology and the digital craze, one format has withstood the test of time: vinyl records.
The evolution of personal audio playback is an interesting tale: from paper cylinders to records, records to 8-tracks, 8-tracks to cassettes, cassettes to CDs, and finally, CDs to digital MP3s, only one "primitive" format has managed to not fade away into history. Records were introduced way back in 1877 and are still being widely used across the world, and it's not just DJs who are using them.
Thanks in part to high school children who are just discovering vinyl records for the first time, and baby boomers who are looking for a taste of nostalgia, the vinyl record market has exploded in recent years, with sales increasing about 35 percent in 2007, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. People are once again snatching up vinyl records as quickly as they are produced, and record label executives are taking notice.
As a result, more and more labels are choosing to press their new releases on the format they once considered obsolete, even going into their catalog and re-pressing some of their older albums. Labels are still catering to digital savvy consumers though, as many new vinyl releases often come with download cards, which can be redeemed online to receive MP3's of the album. Online retailers have also taken note, and are now offering more vinyl records for sale. An influx of new websites specifically catering to vinyl enthusiasts have also been popping up, selling vinyl and record accessories. There are several reasons why vinyl sales have taken off in recent years. Any purist (or audiophile) will tell you that vinyl sounds better than any other format available today. You will hear things playing a record that you won't be able to pick up on when playing that same album in CD or MP3 format. Vinyl also comes in different weights, which is measured in grams, and ranges from the standard 140 grams all the way up to 220 grams. The heavier a record is, the better sound quality you will get. Some people will only settle for the best, and some younger folks are tired of the high compression rates found in CDs and MP3s, which steals the quality of the music. And some have sought out alternative methods of listening to their favorite albums.
Most records released today come in elaborate packaging that features liner notes and larger artwork than their CD counterparts. Vinyl now comes in various colors, patterns, shapes and styles. There's the standard 12 inch LP, which supports full length albums; seven inch singles, which are often used for only one or two songs; and all sizes in between. Records have also strayed from the standard black vinyl circle into elaborate shapes and bright colors. Records are being pressed on every color found in the rainbow and then some, as well as almost every shape known to man. The variety and bigger size attracts many buyers.
One more reason why vinyl sales have taken off is their collectability. The market has never been better for someone who is in possession of an original Beatles or Led Zeppelin LP. These days vinyl is often pressed in one time limited runs, or presses, compared to an almost infinite amount when records were the dominant format. This makes some records highly sought after. Multiple colors are also pressed, leading to many variations of a single record, which also leads to collectability. Some records released for the first time in 10 years can fetch as much as $200 once they go out of print. For example, a record of only 1,000 total copies were pressed: out of that 1,000, only 100 were pressed on red vinyl, and 500 were pressed on blue. A red record would be worth more to collectors than the blue record, and could fetch a hefty sum on eBay and other online outlets.
For whatever reason - whether it be for their superior sound quality, the larger and more detailed artwork and packaging, or just for old time's sake - vinyl records are here to stay. And they won't be going anywhere anytime soon.
SOURCE: http://media.www.pioneertimeswpu.com
Vinyl helps record stores find a niche
Independent record stores spin success
On an unassuming stretch in Chicago's Beverly community, there is a music revolution sounding thanks to two independent record stores that keep spinning the vinyl even in tough economic times.
Beverly Records, 11612 S. Western Ave., and Mr. Peabody Records, 11832 S. Western Ave., are separated only by a few blocks, but they remain two of the few independent records stores in the Southland. Although the region once was filled with competitors such as Discount Records and Threshold Music in Tinley Park, the digital music revolution and rise of big-box chains such as Best Buy forced several independent record stores to shut down.
"You just can't compete with free, and that's pretty much what occurred," said Mark Ament, who owned Discount Records. Ament opened the first Discount Records in 1980 at the corner of 59th Street and Kedzie Avenue in Chicago. He eventually opened stores throughout the Southland - in Midlothian, Matteson, Homewood and Frankfort. The stores sold vinyl, 8-tracks, cassettes and CDs but, when customers started burning music and relying on MP3s, Ament said his business became no longer viable.
He began closing stores in 2006, starting with the Frankfort location, and one store closed every six months until the final store in Matteson closed in February.
"It's a reality that people don't spend money on music, especially in today's times when consumers are hit hard in the pocket from gas prices," he said.
Hanging on
Though it can be challenging, Beverly Records and Mr. Peabody Records have stayed afloat by supporting a niche market. Both stores focus on selling rare vinyl, which has seen a surprising surge in popularity this year.
Beverly Records opened as a penny candy store in 1967, selling candy, gift cards, novelties and the top records of the week, according to Jack Dreznes, current owner of the store. His mother, Christine, who ran the store back then, noticed that customers began asking for the old records after they were replaced. She started specializing in harder-to-find items and records. By the 1970s, nearly 75 percent of the items in the store were records.
Dreznes, who started working at the store in 1975 after serving in the Army, immediately fell in love with the unique clientele who would come in the store and ask for rare records.
"I remember somebody called and said, 'I want a record by Jelly Roll Morton.' I said, 'You're kidding me, right?' And he said, 'No I'm serious. He was a jazz artist in the '40s.' I said, 'Oh, I'll take a look,' and, sure enough, we had two or three records by him. I said, 'Oh, this is fun.' I just gave up looking for a job and stayed since then," Dreznes said.
The store established branches throughout the Chicago area in the '80s, but as demand for vinyl diminished and CDs become more popular, those at Beverly Records decided to focus on one store and closed down the last branch in the mid-1990s.
"Since then, we've been hanging on," Dreznes said. "We're not thriving, but we're surviving by specializing in harder-to-get things that the bigger stores don't bother with - the jazz, the karaoke, the more obscure artists from the '50s and '60s. Kind of what our clientele asks for -- the more they ask, the more we'll get in stock."
By specializing in hard-to-find records and karaoke equipment, customers looking for a specific record can walk in and request a record. Using the Internet, record collector sites and other stores Beverly Records networks with, Dreznes said it usually can track down most records if they are not in stock.
This specialization keeps Cedric McQuitter, a former disc jockey and avid record collector, coming to Beverly Records between 10 and 15 times a year. McQuitter's wife works at an FYE store, but when looking for a rare record, McQuitter chooses to shop at Beverly Records.
"There's no comparison in my book. No comparison," he said.
On a recent afternoon, McQuitter, who's 49 and lives in Chicago's West Pullman community, came to the store looking for an old disco record titled "Do You Wanna Funk?" by Sylvester.
In addition to walk-in customers, approximately 10 percent of the business comes from Internet sales overseas, mainly from England, Japan, Germany and France.
Rare recordings
Just two blocks south of Beverly Records, Mr. Peabody Records is another independent record store that has survived by focusing on a niche market. The store, which opened in February 2004, specializes in soul, jazz, rock, dance, disco and early rap music. The store stocks more than 80,000 vinyl records and a few thousand CDs.
Co-owners Marcus Pettigrew and Mike Cole Jr. decided to open a record store after meeting at Beverly Records and realizing they both were obsessive collectors.
"We were talking about records. From then, I gave him a ride home. We were playing tapes in the car, and he went into the house and got some tapes. He said, 'Man have you heard this? Do you know about this? Do you know this label?' " Pettigrew said. "We figure two can do more than one, so we might as well team up and see how much stuff we can find and discover."
About 90 percent of their business is on the Internet, mostly from overseas clients who are looking for rare records, Pettigrew said. Dealing with high-end collectors who are willing to pay hundreds of dollars for records helps focus their niche. Pettigrew and Cole also work with record labels - including the London-based BBE - with licensing and redistributing rare music.
"I think (in the beginning) everyone was probably like, 'Are you guys crazy? You're dealing with vinyl?' Now look at it. Best Buy is carrying vinyl. But it's an extreme niche," Pettigrew said. "We have to really watch how much we buy and what we buy. You've got to know what you're doing today to survive."
SOURCE: http://www.southtownstar.com
On an unassuming stretch in Chicago's Beverly community, there is a music revolution sounding thanks to two independent record stores that keep spinning the vinyl even in tough economic times.
Beverly Records, 11612 S. Western Ave., and Mr. Peabody Records, 11832 S. Western Ave., are separated only by a few blocks, but they remain two of the few independent records stores in the Southland. Although the region once was filled with competitors such as Discount Records and Threshold Music in Tinley Park, the digital music revolution and rise of big-box chains such as Best Buy forced several independent record stores to shut down.
"You just can't compete with free, and that's pretty much what occurred," said Mark Ament, who owned Discount Records. Ament opened the first Discount Records in 1980 at the corner of 59th Street and Kedzie Avenue in Chicago. He eventually opened stores throughout the Southland - in Midlothian, Matteson, Homewood and Frankfort. The stores sold vinyl, 8-tracks, cassettes and CDs but, when customers started burning music and relying on MP3s, Ament said his business became no longer viable.
He began closing stores in 2006, starting with the Frankfort location, and one store closed every six months until the final store in Matteson closed in February.
"It's a reality that people don't spend money on music, especially in today's times when consumers are hit hard in the pocket from gas prices," he said.
Hanging on
Though it can be challenging, Beverly Records and Mr. Peabody Records have stayed afloat by supporting a niche market. Both stores focus on selling rare vinyl, which has seen a surprising surge in popularity this year.
Beverly Records opened as a penny candy store in 1967, selling candy, gift cards, novelties and the top records of the week, according to Jack Dreznes, current owner of the store. His mother, Christine, who ran the store back then, noticed that customers began asking for the old records after they were replaced. She started specializing in harder-to-find items and records. By the 1970s, nearly 75 percent of the items in the store were records.
Dreznes, who started working at the store in 1975 after serving in the Army, immediately fell in love with the unique clientele who would come in the store and ask for rare records.
"I remember somebody called and said, 'I want a record by Jelly Roll Morton.' I said, 'You're kidding me, right?' And he said, 'No I'm serious. He was a jazz artist in the '40s.' I said, 'Oh, I'll take a look,' and, sure enough, we had two or three records by him. I said, 'Oh, this is fun.' I just gave up looking for a job and stayed since then," Dreznes said.
The store established branches throughout the Chicago area in the '80s, but as demand for vinyl diminished and CDs become more popular, those at Beverly Records decided to focus on one store and closed down the last branch in the mid-1990s.
"Since then, we've been hanging on," Dreznes said. "We're not thriving, but we're surviving by specializing in harder-to-get things that the bigger stores don't bother with - the jazz, the karaoke, the more obscure artists from the '50s and '60s. Kind of what our clientele asks for -- the more they ask, the more we'll get in stock."
By specializing in hard-to-find records and karaoke equipment, customers looking for a specific record can walk in and request a record. Using the Internet, record collector sites and other stores Beverly Records networks with, Dreznes said it usually can track down most records if they are not in stock.
This specialization keeps Cedric McQuitter, a former disc jockey and avid record collector, coming to Beverly Records between 10 and 15 times a year. McQuitter's wife works at an FYE store, but when looking for a rare record, McQuitter chooses to shop at Beverly Records.
"There's no comparison in my book. No comparison," he said.
On a recent afternoon, McQuitter, who's 49 and lives in Chicago's West Pullman community, came to the store looking for an old disco record titled "Do You Wanna Funk?" by Sylvester.
In addition to walk-in customers, approximately 10 percent of the business comes from Internet sales overseas, mainly from England, Japan, Germany and France.
Rare recordings
Just two blocks south of Beverly Records, Mr. Peabody Records is another independent record store that has survived by focusing on a niche market. The store, which opened in February 2004, specializes in soul, jazz, rock, dance, disco and early rap music. The store stocks more than 80,000 vinyl records and a few thousand CDs.
Co-owners Marcus Pettigrew and Mike Cole Jr. decided to open a record store after meeting at Beverly Records and realizing they both were obsessive collectors.
"We were talking about records. From then, I gave him a ride home. We were playing tapes in the car, and he went into the house and got some tapes. He said, 'Man have you heard this? Do you know about this? Do you know this label?' " Pettigrew said. "We figure two can do more than one, so we might as well team up and see how much stuff we can find and discover."
About 90 percent of their business is on the Internet, mostly from overseas clients who are looking for rare records, Pettigrew said. Dealing with high-end collectors who are willing to pay hundreds of dollars for records helps focus their niche. Pettigrew and Cole also work with record labels - including the London-based BBE - with licensing and redistributing rare music.
"I think (in the beginning) everyone was probably like, 'Are you guys crazy? You're dealing with vinyl?' Now look at it. Best Buy is carrying vinyl. But it's an extreme niche," Pettigrew said. "We have to really watch how much we buy and what we buy. You've got to know what you're doing today to survive."
SOURCE: http://www.southtownstar.com
Music News & Notes
Barry Manilow Music Punishing
A US judge may have found the perfect punishment for people who are in his courtroom for being too noisy- an hour of listening to Barry Manilow or the theme to the children's television show "Barney and Friends."
Judge Paul Sacco said he decided to try this unique approach after determining that violators brought before his Colorado court for playing their steroes too loud or disturbing neighbors with band rehearsals, kept doing it again.
"This is a way, when I look back, of teaching manners to people," Sacco stated.
His method appears to be working, as the number of repeat offenders has been on the decrease.
What's next, punishment by making them listen to Yoko Ono singing?
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Cliff Richard's Shadows to reunite for tour
LONDON (Reuters) – Cliff Richard and The Shadows will reunite next year for the last time with a stadium tour of Britain, tour organizers Live Nation said.
Veteran rocker Richard, most famous for chart-topping singles like "Living Doll," "The Young Ones" and "Summer Holiday," first recorded and performed with The Shadows in 1959. The reunion tour was announced on Thursday.
He and the band enjoyed a series of hits in the early 1960s before he began a successful solo career in 1968. The Shadows have toured regularly since then, but are performing with Richard for the first time in 20 years, Live Nation added.
Richard, Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch and Brian Bennett will take to the stage from September 2009, visiting cities across Britain including London, Cardiff, Liverpool and Glasgow. The 11-show tour is due to finish on October 17 in Manchester.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Simmons Confirms New Kiss Album
Gene Simmons has confirmed to Canada's Sun Media that Kiss is writing new music and will record an album in 2009 with production by Paul Stanley. They will follow it with a short tour.
"We'll do a handful of shows just to keep in the game (next) summer, maybe 10, some Canadian shows."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Kinks to Release First Career Retrospective Box Set
The Kinks will release their first ever box set on December 8 when "Picture Book" becomes available from Sanctuary/Universal.
The 6-CD set contains 130 tracks ranging from their biggest hits to rarities, demos and live tracks. Included are a few tracks from the pre-Kinks band, the Ravens.
Accompanying the discs is a 60-page book with a biography, timeline and numerous previouly unpublished photos. Some of the tracks include:
"You Really Got Me, Stop Your Sobbing, All Day and All of the Night, Tired of Waiting for You, Set Me Free, A Well Respected Man, Dedicated Follower of Fashion (alternate stereo take), Sunny Afternoon, Got to Be Free, Lola (mono single version), Celluloid Heroes, A Rock 'N Roll Fantasy, Low Budget (live) and many more classics."
A US judge may have found the perfect punishment for people who are in his courtroom for being too noisy- an hour of listening to Barry Manilow or the theme to the children's television show "Barney and Friends."
Judge Paul Sacco said he decided to try this unique approach after determining that violators brought before his Colorado court for playing their steroes too loud or disturbing neighbors with band rehearsals, kept doing it again.
"This is a way, when I look back, of teaching manners to people," Sacco stated.
His method appears to be working, as the number of repeat offenders has been on the decrease.
What's next, punishment by making them listen to Yoko Ono singing?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Cliff Richard's Shadows to reunite for tour
LONDON (Reuters) – Cliff Richard and The Shadows will reunite next year for the last time with a stadium tour of Britain, tour organizers Live Nation said.
Veteran rocker Richard, most famous for chart-topping singles like "Living Doll," "The Young Ones" and "Summer Holiday," first recorded and performed with The Shadows in 1959. The reunion tour was announced on Thursday.
He and the band enjoyed a series of hits in the early 1960s before he began a successful solo career in 1968. The Shadows have toured regularly since then, but are performing with Richard for the first time in 20 years, Live Nation added.
Richard, Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch and Brian Bennett will take to the stage from September 2009, visiting cities across Britain including London, Cardiff, Liverpool and Glasgow. The 11-show tour is due to finish on October 17 in Manchester.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Simmons Confirms New Kiss Album
Gene Simmons has confirmed to Canada's Sun Media that Kiss is writing new music and will record an album in 2009 with production by Paul Stanley. They will follow it with a short tour.
"We'll do a handful of shows just to keep in the game (next) summer, maybe 10, some Canadian shows."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Kinks to Release First Career Retrospective Box Set
The Kinks will release their first ever box set on December 8 when "Picture Book" becomes available from Sanctuary/Universal.
The 6-CD set contains 130 tracks ranging from their biggest hits to rarities, demos and live tracks. Included are a few tracks from the pre-Kinks band, the Ravens.
Accompanying the discs is a 60-page book with a biography, timeline and numerous previouly unpublished photos. Some of the tracks include:
"You Really Got Me, Stop Your Sobbing, All Day and All of the Night, Tired of Waiting for You, Set Me Free, A Well Respected Man, Dedicated Follower of Fashion (alternate stereo take), Sunny Afternoon, Got to Be Free, Lola (mono single version), Celluloid Heroes, A Rock 'N Roll Fantasy, Low Budget (live) and many more classics."
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