The vinyl record collecting blog - with news about new vinyl record releases, vinyl record sales, new music releases, album cover art and weekly features
Produced by: Roy Thomas Baker Engineered by: Geoff Workman Mixed by: Roy Thomas Baker Mastered by: Shawn R. Britton at Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs
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Mo-Fi Gives The Cars Just What It Needed! by Michael Fremer February 01, 2010
(Corrected version: Elliot Easton is still with us. Ben Orr, unfortunately, passed away in 2000. I mistakenly said "the late Elliot Easton" in the original review. My apologies!) The Cars didn’t swing but that was the point. Rick Ocasek didn’t emote much, but that too was the point. The Cars were all about gleaming chrome, hard edges, not too glam-rock and taking Roxy Music to its logical, stripped down conclusion. The musical and cultural concept was modern yet retro. It was an American band, after all.
It was 1978 and The Cars helped usher in and would eventually be overtaken by the synth disco hair bands. Despite the trappings, The Cars were very conservative, from David Robinson’s tidy on-the-beat drumming to Greg Hawkes’ orderly synth lines. No raucous Eno squealing for him.
Even when allowed to predominate, on the final tune “All Mixed Up,” the synth parts are neat and punctual. Elliot Easton’s guitar lines were dazzlingly understated, serving to fill more than to puncture. Ric Ocasek’s vocals were cool and detached but hardly campy.
What made the debut click with the American public almost immediately were Ocasek’s songs: familiar enough and tuneful at their core but sufficiently alienated and alienating to effectively counterbalance the then dominant California culture.
Look at the pictures on the inner sleeve of the gatefold reissue and you see, despite the leopard skin tights, suspenders and the rest of the modestly hip get ups, more beantown working class earnestness than rock and roll outrageousness.
The album opens with “Good Times Roll,” a concept that usually produces musical and lyrical abandon but here, not so much. Over a stiff beat Ocasek makes it almost painful: “let them knock you around,” “let the stories be cold,” “let them make you a clown.” Sure, the idea is sort of roll with it but not comfortably or with abandon.
While “My Best Friend’s Girl” hints at a well-worn theme of longing and possessiveness, Ocasek flips it brilliantly at the end with “and she used to be mine.” The dismissive obsessiveness and cool cruelty of “Just What I Needed,” written by Ocasek but sung by bassist Benjamin Orr remains one of the great lyrical coups of modern rock. Combined with a brilliant opening, a tightly wound center and non-resolved ending, the tune’s demo version was much requested on WBCN-FM and helped signal the station’s paradigm shift from hippiedom to the “new wave” led by the program director Oedipus.
Over the decades, Ocasek’s spare, cool lyrics, filled with desire and ambivalence, only gleam brighter. There’s not a bad tune on this debut and the arrangements, though now familiar, are spare works that craftily whip rock guitar and new synth into candy gloss, carousel perfection. You could say some of it is too cute by half and accuse the beat of plodding now, but it did back then too. In fact, the deliberativeness of Robinson’s mechanical sounding rhythm tracks was and remains one of the album’s core strengths even as you will them to break free.
Recorded at AIR Studios in the UK and produced by Queen producer Roy Thomas Baker and originally mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound, the album has always had a cool crunchiness that may have been intentional both to mirror the musical intent and to make it “pop” more on the radio but it never made for a great listen on a high performance audio system.
The original pressing has both a Sterling stamp on the lead out groove area and the initials “RTB” (scribed in the plastic), which probably means he was involved in the original cut. Clearly RTB wanted it cool and somewhat crunchy because the original Japanese pressing (Elektra Warner-Pioneer P-10552E) is more dynamic, more bass-intense and produces far more depth than does the original American issue.
Mo-Fi’s new gatefold edition sounds closer to the Japanese than to the original but it’s even better in most ways and as good in others. The Mo-fi is just crunchy enough, but not too crunchy and has excellent bottom end extension and definition. It also produces more depth and width than does the original and it doesn’t push the vocal harmonies up against a glass wall, which is something the others do.
If this is one of your ‘go to’ albums, go to your favorite records store, virtual or brick and mortar, and get this. It’s just what you’re needing.
Thanks to Michael over at www.musicangle.com for the exclusive rights to reprint this material. Stop by MusicAngle.com for more reviews and features.
pitchfork.com has this news about one of my favorite bands:
Arcade Fire Announce World Tour
Award-winning Canadians make cross-continental victory lap
Less than a week after they unexpectedly, awesomely took home the Grammy for Album of the Year, Arcade Fire have announced a massive world tour. Along the way, they'll play a few giant festivals, as well as their own headlining shows with some choice openers: the National, Explosions in the Sky, Local Natives, Okkervil River. When that's done, they'll hit Europe, head back to Canada for one show with U2, and wrap it with two more gigs in the UK.
Get the rest of the story and tour dates at Pitchfork.com
After a week’s absence online, we figured we’d give you a double-shot of our Market Watch countdown. We just didn’t realize quite so many online auctions would unwittingly embrace the two-by-two theme,
as multiple artists and genres have such similar entries, it’s almost kind of eerie.
Earning honorable mention is a Second-State copy of The Beatles’ “Yesterday and Today,” which narrowly missed making the countdown when it sold for $2,025. This stereo copy clocked in at VG++ for the vinyl. The cover, which comes with its original shrink wrap, earns a strong E++, according to the seller. See if you can find its partner further down in the countdown.
A new museum exhibit in Ireland is commemorating the 25th anniversary of the death of Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott. On the eve of the exhibit opening (it runs March 4 through April 3 at Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre in Dublin City Centre), Neil McCormick of The Telegraph has written a piece about the legacy of Lynott and his band – which includes some high praise from Metallica’s James Hetfield and U2’s Bono.
Highly anticipated song title: "Holdin' On to Black Metal"
Kentucky classic-rock explorers My Morning Jacket are festival mainstays with a rich and busy side-project schedule, but they haven't released a new album since 2008's Evil Urges. This spring, they'll finally return in full force when they release the new album Circuital, as Rolling Stone reports. Talking to the band, RS learned a few key details about the album-- like the fact that it includes a song with the awesome title "Holdin' On to Black Metal". And that the genesis of the album belongs to Muppets.
French legends Daft Punk (Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter) are releasing a remix album of their acclaimed original score to last year’s Tron: Legacy. The album is approprietly titled Tron: Legacy R3CONFIGUR3D and will be in record stores April 15th on both CD and boxed set vinyl.
The new record will feature contributions from M83, The Crystal Method, Moby, Paul Oakenfold, and plenty of others.
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lovely story about a man on a mission (and, yes, vinyl is involved!)
Tankcrimes Founder Runs Mini Punk Empire Out of His Garage
People in the music industry love to throw around the term "DIY," but few people live by its credo as much as Scotty Heath. The Bay Area resident's Tankcrimes is one of the most vital record labels in the underground scene today, and he's done it all on his own. Working out of his Oakland, CA garage, Heath has released records by the cream of the crop of the punk and death metal scene. Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Municipal Waste, and Toxic Holocaust are just a few of the killer acts Tankcrimes has unleashed during its run as a label.
Members Of Wilco, Cheap Trick, Eleventh Dream Day, NTO Form Band
With more than 100 years of accumulated rock ‘n' roll history as a foundation, Candy Golde is the Midwestern musical collaboration of Nicholas Tremulis, Bun E. Carlos (Cheap Trick) John Stiratt (Wilco) and Rick Rizzo (Eleventh Dream Day). The distinctive blend of blues groove, power pop, Americana and alternative shows itself in the self-titled 5-song Candy Golde EP, to be released by Ten O Nine Records on May 11.
South American rock band Seether have announced tour dates in support of their upcoming album, Holding on to Strings Better Left to Fray, which is slated to drop May 24 on Wind-Up Records. The first single, a country-rock track called “Country Song,” is set to hit iTunes March 8.
Two Taylors: James Taylor and Son Ben Hit the Road
Anne Erickson
Ben Taylor has toured alongside Sheryl Crow and Blues Traveler, but never his own father. Until now, that is.
The son of James Taylor and Carly Simon kicks off on a North American tour with his dad this week in support of his upcoming release, Listening, out later this year. Ben and his father will perform each show side by side, the two playing each other’s songs.
Who needs dinnerware or a blender when you can have a record store?
One Lucky record store
Gayngs' keyboardist and his wife are enjoying being newly wed to Yeti Records in south Minneapolis.
By CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER, Star Tribune
Instead of a matching dinnerware set, a breadmaker or a honeymoon, Lisa and Jake Luck got something they really wanted for a wedding present: their own record store.
"We signed the lease two days after our wedding," Lisa recalled......
Great to see this fun and enjoyable event being successful!
Collect-i-Bowl Strikes Again
by Kylie Jane Wakefield
This past Sunday, February 27th, Brooklyn Bowl played host to Collect-i-Bowl, an event that featured over 25 vinyl record dealers showcasing their thousands of records to prospective collectors.
Mike Schnapp, aka DJ Uncle Mike, organized Collect-i-Bowl and spun records for the event, which included free bowling and lasted from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Schnapp, who DJs at Brooklyn Bowl every Saturday, said that compared to the other two shows held in spring and fall of 2010, this one was the best yet. “People are happy because it works,” he said.
For the record dealers, the shows are a useful way to set up connections and browse one another’s collections. “We are a tight knit group, and we’re all looking out for each other,” Schnapp said. “There’s a network of people who go around. They used to have stores but they became a burden so now their records are in storage. People drove here from everywhere in the North East area.”
Review: Labour of Lust: Deluxe Edition - Nick Lowe
by Andy Snipper
Originally released in 1979 and sounding as fresh as a daisy today, Labour Of Lust was actually a Rockpile album but had to be released as a Nick Lowe solo effort because of the contractual silliness of the times.
No matter who or what it was recorded by, this is 12 tracks of pop brilliance and most of the tracks could be handed to Westblue or any of the other boy bands without any worries at all
The Tchaikovsky's ballet "Swan Lake" debuted in 1977.
In 1959, the winners of the first Grammy Awards were announced. Domenico Modugno's "Volare" was named Record of the Year; Henry Mancini's "Peter Gunn" was Album of the Year and The Champs
"Tequila" won best R&B performance. Variety magazine seemed to take great delight when it later reported - "The record academy has snubbed the Rock. Not one Rock 'n' Roll record was nominated."
John Lennon caused a major stir in the United States in 1966 when London's Evening Standard newspaper published an interview with him in which he remarked, "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue that. I'm right and will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus right now." Lennon would later apologize, explaining that what he meant was "the way some people carry on, (screaming at their concerts) you'd think we were more popular than Jesus Christ". Thousands of Beatle records were smashed at mass rallies and some radio stations quit playing their songs altogether. John's apology was eventually accepted by most and time has healed most wounds.
In 1967, the Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday" sat atop the Billboard singles chart after American disc jockeys shied away from playing the flip side, "Let's Spend The Night Together".
In 1970, Janis Joplin was fined $200 for using obscene language onstage in Tampa, Florida.
In 1972, Badfinger receive a Gold record for the Billboard #4 hit, "Day After Day". The song featured George Harrison on guitar and Leon Russell on piano.
In 1977, CBS released The Clash’s self-titled debut album in the U.K. CBS in the U.S. eventually released their own version in 1979, after over 100,000 imported copies of the record made the LP one of the biggest-selling imports of all time.
In 1978, the Bee Gees were the hottest act around when they helped their younger brother Andy to the top spot on Billboard's Hot 100 by writing his hit, "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water". Their own tune,
"Stayin' Alive" was pushed back to number 2, while another of their compositions, "Emotion" by Samantha Sang sat at number 4 and "Night Fever" was number 5.
Also in 1978, the US internal Revenue Service carried out a dawn raid at the home of Jerry Lee Lewis and removed cars worth over $170,000, to pay off his back taxes.
In 1986, after just completing a two set show with The Band in Winter Park, Florida, 41 year-old Richard Manuel committed suicide by hanging himself. His band mate, Robbie Robertson honored his friend with the song, "Fallen Angel" in 1987.
After Madonna's "Like A Prayer" debuts in a Pepsi commercial on US television in 1989, Roman Catholic groups around the world protest, calling the video, which contains both religious and sexual imagery, "blasphemy".
Raymond Edwards of the vocal group The Silhouettes, died in 1997 at the age of 74. The Philadelphia quartet topped the Billboard chart in 1958 with "Get A Job".
In 1999, Cher had her first Billboard number one single in 25 years with "Believe." The last time she topped the chart was with 1974's "Dark Lady."
In 2001, Glenn Hughes of Village People died of lung cancer at the age of 50. He was buried in his leather biker outfit.
Birthday wishes to Evan Dando of the Lemonheads (1967) and Chris Squire of Yes, who turns a young 63 years old!
After reuniting and playing a bunch of shows last year, Soundgarden said their goal for 2011 was to make a new album. According to frontman Chris Cornell, that process begins next week.
“We start recording in about a week in Seattle,” he told Spin.com. He said that Adam Kasper – who produced the band’s last studio album, 1996’s Down on the Upside – will return to helm this project.
Danzig has announced the Deth Red Sabaoth Tour this Spring with special guests Devildriver and 2Cents. The month-long, 22-city trek beings in Las Vegas on April 29th, hitting all regions of the US, and ends May 28th in Tempe, AZ. This comes on the heels of Danzig's recent nomination for best vocalist at the 2011 Revolver Golden Gods Awards. Tickets go on sale to the general public this weekend, March 4-5th.
Whether you're a seasoned listener or a heavy music neophyte, if you see some kind of mythological winged creature or a 'Masters of the Universe'-inspired landscape on an album cover, chances are it's from a power metal band. While this over-the-top brand of artwork is definitely an acquired taste (as is the genre itself), we hope you enjoy this list of our 10 favorite power metal album covers.
An Evening with The Monkees – The 45th Anniversary Tour will begin on June 4 at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida. The three Monkees – Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones and Peter Tork will play 27 cities before winding up the tour in Los Angeles in July.
Aside from the hits like “I’m a Believer,” “Last Train to Clarksville,” “Daydream Believer,” and “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” The Monkees will perform album tracks including songs from their cult movie, Head.
some of these I have already listed, here but there are some new ones here and more info on some special Record Store Day releases:
Polyvinyl Records unveils eleven limited edition vinyl releases for Record Store Day 2011
This year Polyvinyl will be producing 11 limited edition records for sale on Record Store Day, the most ever on a single day in the label’s 15-year history. Here’s the line-up for Polyvinyl’s releases:
Deerhoof – Friend Opportunity (LP, with MP3)
Limited to 1000 copies and pressed on 180-gram translucent green vinyl. The album has been out of print on vinyl for years and is under exclusive license through Kill Rock Stars. In addition to the original album it includes ‘Makko Shobu’ and a new mix for ‘Matchbook Seeks Maniac’.
Mighty Clouds – Mighty Clouds (LP with MP3)
Limited to 500 on 180-gram black vinyl. Mighty Clouds is the new project from Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good to Me, City Center) and Betty Marie Barnes (SLGTM). Their self-titled debut is a split release between Polyvinyl and Life Like.
Owen – O, Evelyn (7″ with MP3)
Limited to 2000 on black vinyl. O, Evelyn is a new 7″ from Mike Kinsella (American Football, Cap’n Jazz) recorded and released specifically for Record Store Day and limited to 2000 copies. The A-side features the title track, while the B-side is a cover of The Smiths ‘Girlfriend in a Coma’.
of Montreal – The Past Is A Grotesque Animal (12″ with MP3)
Limited to 1,000 on 180-gram black vinyl. Packaged in a hand screenprinted jacket, the A-side features the album version of ‘The Past Is A Grotesque Animal’ from 2007′s Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? The B-side is a new version of ‘The Past Is A Grotesque Animal’ that was made for the Spike Jonze short film I’m Here, in which a fake robot band called The Lost Trees perform the song. The song was re-envisioned by of Montreal chief musician Kevin Barnes, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ guitarist Nick Zinner, and members of the Moonrats.
Architecture in Helsinki – Places Like This Special Edition (LP with MP3)
Architecture in Helsinki’s Places Like This is being reissued as a limited edition run of 500 copies on 180-gram pink vinyl. Places Like This is one of the the band’s highest selling albums to date and has been unavailable through retailers for close to a year.
Joan of Arc – Joan of Arc Presents: Don’t Mind Control Special Edition (LP with MP3)
Limited to 500 on 180-gram blue vinyl. Joan of Arc Presents: Don’t Mind Control features new songs by Tim Kinsella, Owen, Cale Parks (Aloha), Vacations (ex-Chin Up Chin Up), Ghosts and Vodka (ex-Cap’n Jazz), Euphone, The Cairo Gang, and many more. This release will be a super deluxe edition with 18×24 poster, gatefold jacket and bonus 24-song download of the soundboard recording of the Don’t Mind Control Variety Show.
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Broom Special Edition (LP with MP3)
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin’s debut album Broom is being reissued as a limited edition run of 500 copies on 180-gram white vinyl. Never before on colored vinyl, the super deluxe edition of this LP features three songs not found on the CD along with a download code that includes two digital bonus tracks. It also includes an exclusive poster.
Deerhoof / XIU XIU – Almost Xiu Xiu, Almost Deerhoof (Split 7″ with MP3)
Almost Xiu Xiu, Almost Deerhoof is the latest in a series of collaborative 7″ singles, featuring guest vocalists singing self-composed lyrics and vocal melodies over a Deerhoof instrumental track. Side-A features Xiu Xiu vocalist Jamie Stewart as well as added instrumentation on Deerhoof’s ‘Almost Everyone, Almost Always’, which is featured on Deerhoof’s latest album, Deerhoof vs. Evil. Side-B features Deerhoof drummer Greg Saunier returning the favor for a track that appears in its original state on Xiu Xiu’s Dear God, I Hate Myself.
Vivian Girls – I Heard You Say (7″ with MP3)
Limited to 2000 on black vinyl. Vivian Girls’ I Heard You Say 7″ features their brand new single on Side-A, taken from the upcoming full-length album and Polyvinyl debut, Share the Joy. Side-B, ‘I Won’t Be Long’, is exclusive to this release.
Mates of State – Team Boo Special Edition (LP with MP3)
Limited to 500 on 180-gram red vinyl. Team Boo is Mates of State’s classic 3rd full-length and one of their best selling to date. Team Boo was engineered by Jim Eno (of Spoon) and John Croslin (who recorded albums for Spoon, Guided By Voices, Beulah and countless others). This special Record Store Day edition includes five digital bonus tracks.
Busdriver – ATM (7″ with MP3)
Limited to 1,000 on baby blue vinyl. Ass to Mouth b/w ‘Colour Wheel’ is the first offering from Busdriver’s highly anticipated untitled full-length.
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NPR.com has a lengthy story about vinyl, well worth checking out!
Slow And Steady: Vinyl Survives
by Jacob Ganz
In recent years some headlines have cast an increase in sales for vinyl LPs — once considered a casualty of the CD era — as something like a beacon of hope for the struggling music industry. The reality isn't all that rosy. Though vinyl sales grew by 14% in 2010, according to Nielsen SoundScan, they still counted for less than one percent of the year's total album sales.
a great story at boston.com about a medium that has been part of our music culture for many years
Post master
He may not be a rock star, but graphic artist Nate Duval gets to work closely with some of the best
By Christopher Muther
Artist Nate Duval could give any number of reasons for pursuing his current vocation, which involves creating limited edition posters for bands ranging from Phish to the Decemberists. He could explain that the business of making gig posters for bands has exploded in the past five years, or that, as a major music fan, this kind of work is a natural fit for him. He could also say it has opened several important doors for his career, and all of these explanations would be correct.
In 1931, the first jazz album to sell a million copies was recorded. It was "Minnie The Moocher" by Cab Calloway.
In 1956, Elvis Presley makes his first appearance on the Billboard charts when "Heartbreak Hotel" debuts at #68. Although many staff members at RCA Victor believed that the release was a mistake, the song would rise to #1 on the US Pop chart for 8 weeks and spend 17 weeks at the top of the Country chart. Many years later, "Heartbreak Hotel" would be ranked #45 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
In 1957, the head of the Catholic archdiocese of Chicago, Samuel Cardinal Strich, bans Rock and Roll from Catholic schools in his district.
In 1966, Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Richie Furay, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin created the group, Buffalo Springfield. Their stay on the Rock music scene would only last a couple of years before the group would fragment. Stills teamed up with David Crosby of The Byrds and Graham Nash of The Hollies to form Crosby, Stills and Nash, while Young released several solo projects before joining them. Furay got together with Jim Messina and Randy Meisner to create Poco in 1968. Palmer dropped out of the lime light while Martin toured as Buffalo Springfield with fill-in musicians.
In 1967, The Jeff Beck group, featuring a virtually unknown singer named Rod Stewart, along with bass player Ron Wood and drummer Aynsley Dunbar, make their debut in London, England.
In 1971, South African radio lifts its five-year ban on Beatles' music.
In 1980, London auction house Sotheby's holds its first ever auction of Rock memorabilia. Among the notable items sold were four US dollar bills signed by The Beatles that went for £220 ($528).
In 1983, a member of a motorcycle gang tells a US Senate Judiciary hearing that his friends have a contract out on The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger and that two assassination attempts have already failed.
In 1984, one-hit wonders Nena start a three-week run on top of the U.K. singles chart with “99 Red Balloons.” Originally sung in their native German, “99 Luftballons” was re-recorded in English. The original version went on to become a #2 hit in the U.S.
In 2008, Norman Smith, who was the chief engineer on Beatles recording sessions between 1962-65, dies at the age of 85. Nicknamed “Normal Norman” by John Lennon, he recorded the early Pink Floyd. As Hurricane Smith he had unexpected Top 5 U.K. hits in 1971 with “Don’t Let It Die”and “Oh Babe, What Would You Say” the following year
If you see them, wish them a happy birthday today! Robyn Hitchcock (1953) and Jennifer Warnes (1947)
DEAR JERRY:I know the peak time for quadraphonic albums is around 1975. However, the first quad LP I bought was “Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite,” the soundtrack of Elvis Presley's 1973 Honolulu concert.
Since this came out before quad's heyday, might it be the very first quad album?
I'll bet it is the top-selling quad release.
Also, did anyone ever make quad singles?
—Jeremy Norbert, Milwaukee
DEAR JEREMY: There are many firsts associated with “Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite,” such as:
This January 14, 1973 event is the first entertainment show of any type broadcast worldwide via satellite. Though not all countries caught it at the same time, over 1.5 billion — then about a third of the world's population — watched a 1973 first-run telecast. Since then, millions more viewed the DVDs and TV replays.
When the two-disc soundtrack album (RCA VPSX-6089) topped the nation's LP charts (May 5, 1973), it became the first quadraphonic album reaching No. 1.
With nearly six million units sold (platinum to the sixth degree) it remains history's top-selling quad LP, by a distance wider than from Honolulu to the mainland.
Noteworthy too is there was no set ticket price. Concert-goers simply made a donation, with 100% of the amount of ticket and souvenir sales going to the Kui Lee Cancer Fund. Elvis proudly announced the total raised as $75,000.
It is one of very few albums in general distribution made exclusively in the quad — RCA named it QuadraDisc — format, at least until 1976. By then, the industry began phasing out the quad experiment. This and other former quad product then came out in ordinary stereo.
Inexplicably, all 1973 versions of “Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite” made specifically for the RCA Record Club (RCA R2-213736) are standard two-channel stereo, not QuadraDisc.
In May 1974, RCA issued a special 7-inch EP (DTF0-2006) just for juke box operators. This oddity was not made in quad because they created it strictly for stereo juke boxes.
Meanwhile, back on the LP front, Columbia announced in November 1973 some early yet impressive numbers for quad album sales: “Abaraxas” (Santana) 90,000; “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (Simon & Garfunkel) 62,500; “Greatest Hits” (Sly and the Family Stone) 62,300; “Pearl” (Janis Joplin) 55,400; “Summer of '42” (Peter Nero) 40,200; and “Loggins & Messina” (Kenny Loggins & Jim Messina) 30,800.
Fueled by such encouraging sales, Columbia quickly began production of quad singles, the first of which was Art Garfunkel's Top 10 hit at the time, “All I Know” (Columbia 45926).
Made exclusively for radio stations, its custom sleeve explains itself:
SPECIAL NOTICE … COLUMBIA'S FIRST SQ QUADRAPHONIC SINGLE
Dear Broadcaster:
Because of the enormous demand for Quadraphonic sound, Columbia is proud to release its first SQ Quadraphonic single, featuring the renowned artist, Art Garfunkel.
If you transmit in FM-stereo, you may now broadcast Columbia SQ Quadraphonic discs, both singles and albums, or your own stereo tape cartridges recorded from these discs, with no modifications to your present equipment.
SQ, or Stereo Quadraphonic, is the matrix encoding technology developed by CBS in 1970. In December that year, “The Flame,” a self-titled collection of songs written by Flame co-founders Ricky Fataar and Blondie Chaplin, came out labeled as “Compatible Quadraphonic Sound.”
Produced by Carl Wilson, of the Beach Boys, and on their personal label (Brother BR-2500), “The Flame” is widely-regarded as the first quad LP.
SQ did have its audio shortcomings, so along came Japan's Sansui and their QS (Quadraphonic Stereo), an improved and competing technology.
In July 1972, at a London expo, RCA unveiled its QS encoded system, and promised about 15 QuadraDiscs by the end of the year.
Much like the famous Betamax vs. VHS video tape battle that lay ahead, SQ (Sony/CBS/Columbia) and QS (RCA/Sansui/JVC/Panasonic) were completely incompatible, creating a nightmare for consumers. No matter which decoder they owned, many fine quad LPs existed that their system could not properly play.
This boondoggle is the main reason cited for the death of quadraphonic recordings, although the basic four-channel system, with a center speaker added, returned successfully in the '80s as home theater, otherwise known as surround sound.
IZ ZAT SO? Quad devotees in the '70s wanted either long-playing albums or pre-recorded tapes, not singles. Accordingly, Columbia, and later other labels, produced quad singles for two purposes: first for FM radio, then for quadraphonic juke boxes.
In 1974, right after Columbia's first batch of quad singles for radio, Seeburg wanted in on the new craze. They modified their 80-disc STD-160 and came up with the SQS-160. Unfortunately, with CBS's SQ encoding, the result was a simulated version of quad.
Chances are the patrons in noisy bars and restaurants never knew the difference.
Jerry Osborne answers as many questions as possible through this column. Write Jerry at: Box 255, Port Townsend, WA 98368 E-mail: jpo@olympus.net Visit his Web site: www.jerryosborne.com/
All values quoted in this column are for near-mint condition.
Copyright 2010 Osborne Enterprises- Reprinted By Permission
JAG PANZER: Another New Song Available For Streaming
"Overlord", a brand new song from Colorado power metallers JAG PANZER, can be streamed using the audio player below (courtesy of AOL's Noisecreep). The track comes off the band's new album, "Scourge Of The Light", which was released on February 28 in Europe (except in Germany, where it will arrive three days earlier) and will be made avaialble on March 8 in the U.S. via SPV/Steamhammer Records. In addition to the regular CD version, the effort will be made available as a double-vinyl set.
The cover artwork for "Scourge Of The Light" is available below. It was painted by Los Angeles artist Justin Yun.
Patrick of Full Metal Rock recently conducted an interview with the New Orleans heavy metal act HAARP. You can now watch the chat below.
HAARP's new album, "The Filth", was released on November 23, 2010 via Housecore Records. Produced by Housecore owner Philip Anselmo (DOWN, PANTERA), the CD is described in a press release as "an ugly, oppressive journey into heavy metal." The album features cover artwork by famed artist and tattoo master Paul Booth.
Def Leppard to Release Live Album 'Mirrorball' This Summer
This summer, the rockers are set to release a new live disc dubbed 'Mirrorball,' which will include three new studio songs alongside popular live cuts. The album will be packaged with a DVD of bonus performances and the obligatory backstage footage.
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A Day To Remember re-release albums on vinyl
Victory Records has announced that they will be re-releasing A Day To Remember's 'For Those Who Have A Heart' and 'Homesick' as well as 'Attack Of The Killer B-Sides' on vinyl.
The vinyl's are a limited edition release and all come with a mp3 download card. They are available to purchase at Victory Records
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great article from down under
Good grief emerges from pop punster Alex Gow Iain Shedden
A GOOD song can become a great one on the simple turn of a melody. So, too, can a songwriter of promise reach his or her potential by honing in on the things they do best.
Those were the thoughts going through Alex Gow's mind as he approached the recording of his band Oh Mercy's second album, Great Barrier Grief.
Much has changed since the Melbourne outfit broke ground with its album Privileged Woes in 2009, a debut that earned it critical acclaim, a small but devoted fan base and an Australian Music Prize nomination.
GENEVA — In the music business, what goes around comes around ... literally.
In the front part of Area Records and Music on 74 Seneca St. is a vinyl records section, featuring new and used albums. Although downloadable music may be the medium of choice these days, there has been a resurgence in vinyl, said Area Records owner Mikel George. In fact, record sales increased about 15 percent nationally last year over 2009 figures.
Keeping pace with such music industry trends, remaining independent and diversification have worked well for George, who first opened Area Records in September 1977 at One Franklin Square. When he started the business, working alongside him selling records and stereo accessories were Al Liberio and Jeff Melito, who still works at the store today.
In less than seven years, Harvest Records has grown from a struggling upstart to an Asheville music institution.
In addition to serving the region's music-buying public, owners Matt Schnable and Mark Capon have released a host of albums on their own Harvest Recordings imprint, brought dozens of national touring acts to Asheville and spearheaded a successful music festival. Harvest has managed to thrive — even as CD sales plummet and the overall economy tanks.
In 1955, Bo Diddley has his first recording session at Universal Recording Studio in Chicago, where he lays down "Bo Diddley", which will top the US R&B chart by the following June.
In 1963, the Cascades achieved their only Billboard Top 40 hit when "Rhythm Of The Rain" topped out at #3.
"Twist and Shout" by the Beatles was released in the U.S in 1964.
At the ninth annual Grammy Awards in 1967, Frank Sinatra wins Record of the Year for "Strangers in the Night" and Album Of The Year for "Sinatra, a Man and His Music". Song of the Year goes to John Lennon and Paul McCartney's "Michelle" and The New Vaudeville Band wins Best Contemporary Rock and Roll Recording for "Winchester Cathedral".
At the 11th Grammy Awards held in 1969, Glen Campbell is presented with Album Of The Year honors for "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" and Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" is named Record Of The Year. Jose Feliciano is dubbed Best New Artist and the Bobby Russell composition "Little Green Apples" is given the nod as Song Of The Year. Mason Williams won Best Instrumental Performance for "Classical Gas" and Judy Collins takes home a statue for Best Folk Performance for "Both Sides Now".
In 1974, Terry Jacks, who had left The Poppy Family in 1970, had the top song in the US with "Season's In The Sun". The tune was originally written in French, titled "Le Moribund" ("The Dying Man") and recorded as an album cut by The Kingston Trio. It was recommended by Jacks to The Beach Boys, who did record it, but declined to release it. Their decision worked out well for Jacks, who sold over eleven and a half million copies of the record.
1975 - Los Angeles Police pull over Paul McCartney's Lincoln Continental for allegedly running a red light. They detect the smell of marijuana and arrest Linda McCartney for having six to eight ounces of the drug in her pocketbook. Paul was driving but is not charged with anything.
In 1983, Sony, Philips and Polygram introduce a revolutionary new digital audio system called a Compact Disc that contains up to 1 hour of music.
Paul Simon's "Graceland" is named Record Of The Year at the 30th Grammy Awards in 1988. "Bring On The Night" by Sting is awarded Best Pop Vocal Performance and George Michael and Aretha Franklin win Best R&B Performance for "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)".
In 1991, 21 years after its initial release, "All Right Now" by Free reached #2 on the UK singles chart when it was reissued to coincide with its use in a Wrigley's Chewing gum TV ad.
In 1999, Dusty Springfield died of breast cancer at the age of 59, after a five year battle. She would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame less than two weeks after she passed away.
In 2003, Hank Ballard, the writer and original performer of "The Twist", died at his Los Angeles home after suffering from throat cancer. His exact age is uncertain as most biographies say he was 66, but friends say he was actually 75. He originally released "The Twist" on the B-side of his 1959 tune "Teardrops On Your Letter", but after Chubby Checker took the song to number one, Ballard re-released his version and had a top 30 hit with it as well in 1960. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
2005 - The iTunes Music Store reached 300 million songs sold.
Among those celebrating birthdays today are Chris Martin of Coldplay (1977) and Mark Evans of AC/DC
Newly Re-Mastered Editions of "Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers" and "You're Gonna Get It!" Limited to 2,500 Copies in the US/Canada and 2,000 copies in Europe/Asia
BURBANK, CA--(Marketwire - March 2, 2011) - Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers will celebrate worldwide Record Store Day on April 16 by re-releasing in limited editions their first two albums on 120-gram colored vinyl. These special editions of "Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers" (on white vinyl) and "You're Gonna Get It!" (on blue vinyl) will be limited for sale at the 700 independently owned record stores in the USA and hundreds of similar stores internationally. The press run for each album will be 2,500 copies in the USA and Canada and 2,000 copies in Europe and Asia for a total press run of only 4,500 copies worldwide.
"Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers," the band's debut album, was originally released in 1976. The album is best known for introducing the world to the classic tracks "American Girl" and "Breakdown." Writing in the LA Times about the Heartbreakers during their first album campaign Robert Hilburn declared, "There's a purity in the group's music that combines the shadowy, late night compulsion of the Rolling Stones' 'Exile On Main Street' with the classic American immediacy that can be traced back to Elvis and Eddie Cochran."
"You're Gonna Get It!" Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' second album was released in 1978. Building on the edgy yet always melodic sonic template created on their debut, this album features the hits "Listen To Her Heart" and "I Need To Know" which remain staples in the classic rock songbook. Other gems include the boogie "Too Much Ain't Enough" which showcases Mike Campbell's blistering guitar as well as the deep and groovy "Restless" and the wonderfully ominous opener "When The Time Comes." Reviewing "You're Gonna Get It!" Rolling Stone called the album "exciting (with) fresh hints of openness and expansion just beneath the surface. The rhythms are a bit looser, and there's a new emphasis on Petty's rough, driving, rock & roll guitar in the mix."
We have a very rare Sunny and the Sunliners 45 that almost never surfaces, "I'm A Practical Guy" / "The One Who's Hurtin' Is You", and we'll play both sides. There's more soul from Syl Johnson and Joe Simon.
Plus, 60's psych from Brass Buttons and The Underground.
News this week about artist Daniel Edlen and his work for the David Lynch Foundation.
Turns out your Mom was right. Baby boomers are going deaf at an alarming rate. One doctor blames years of rock n roll in the news. And then there's this week Top 5 vinyl auction sales.
Turn your computer dial to Vinyl Record Talk Should be a very interesting show!
The Crystals - Da Doo Ron Ron: The Very Best of the Crystals - Phil Spector Records/Sony Legacy
They’re sweet and intense and over quick, much like a cherry cordial or an Atomic Fireball.
Published on February 20, 2011
The Crystals - Da Doo Ron Ron: The Very Best of the Crystals - Phil Spector Records/Sony Legacy 88697 61288 2 ****:
Now I remember what happened to all the money I earned from mowing lawns. It went to buy 45 rpm records by The Crystals (and the Ronettes). I liked that they didn’t sing about dances like the Twist and the Locomotion (which I couldn’t do), but rather about teen angst and yearning (of which I had plenty). Da Doo Ron Ron: The Very Best of the Crystals contains every hit they ever produced and more. So what more could you want by these teenaged chart busters of the early Sixties? There are the slow dance gems like “There’s No Other Like My Baby” “and “What a Nice Way to Turn 17.” (My wife calls them “girl sex songs.”) But it was probably for their peppy rhythmic numbers like “Uptown” and “He’s a Rebel” that the Crystals earned a place in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame (2004) and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame (2006). They’re sweet and intense and over quick, much like a cherry cordial or an Atomic Fireball.
“He’s a Rebel,” penned by Gene Pitney, was actually recorded by Darlene Love when The Crystals were out of town. Phil Spector wanted to steal a march on Vicki Carr, whom he overheard recording the song in a booth. It worked. The song tapped so deeply into teen urges of independence and defiance that it charted No. 1 in the fall of ’62. For this and other songs Spector use his “Wall of Sound” technique. As a reverberant sound mixture, it reproduced well on AM radio and jukeboxes. Spector had electric and acoustic guitarists play the same parts in unison, then added musical arrangement the size of orchestras. Sometimes he even recorded using an echo chamber (“Little Boy” and Da Doo Ron Ron”).
He called his songs “little symphonies for the kids.” Not all of them reach the same level of feel-good dynamics as “Then He Kissed Me.” Some are quite disturbing by today’s standards, like the flip side of “He’s a Rebel.” The title says it all: “He Hit Me (and It Felt Like a Kiss).” Listeners may wonder how much that dark song and “Please Hurt Me” reflected Spector’s own attitudes towards women.
By the time the British invasion happened in 1964 the brief reign of The Crystals was over (even though they didn’t disband until 1967). Note that this collection has the previously unreleased “Woman in Love.” It’s a nice number, but has nowhere near the breathless energy of “He’s Sure the Boy I Love.”
-- Peter Bates
Special thanks to John at www.audaud.com for the exclusive rights to reprint this material.
AUDIOPHILE AUDITION focuses on recordings of interest to audiophiles and collectors, with an accent on surround sound for music, and on all hi-res disc formats. Over 100 SACD, DVD Video/Audio and standard CD reviews are published during each month, and our archives go back to January 2001.
A new seven inch single has been confirmed, featuring Sandy Denny tracks chosen by fans.
One of the foremost female vocalists of her generation, Sandy Denny's output with Fairport Convention has received renewed appreciation in recent years. The band's counter culture take on traditional music fits neatly with the rise of modern wyrd folk, turning Denny into an icon all over again.
Read more about this Record Store Day release at Clashmusic.com
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KikaxeMusic.com has this tidbit:
BELIEVER debut cover art and tracklisting for April 12 Metal Blade release, TRANSHUMAN
Metal Blade Records has issued the cover artwork and tracklisting for TRANSHUMAN, the April 12 full-length from BELIEVER. In addition to the reveal, the label has begun pre-orders for the album by itself or in a merch bundle.
Suze Rotolo dies at 67; Bob Dylan's girlfriend was on iconic album cover
She dated the folk singer for 4 transformative years and wrote an acclaimed book about Greenwich Village in the '60s. The cover of 'The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan' shows the couple walking arm-in-arm.
By Dennis McLellan, Los Angeles Times
Suze Rotolo, Bob Dylan's former girlfriend in Greenwich Village in the early 1960s, who appeared walking arm-in-arm with him on the iconic cover of his album "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan," has died. She was 67.
Rotolo, who played a role in the young Dylan's evolution as a singer-songwriter and later had a career as an artist, died of cancer Friday at home in Greenwich Village, said her son, Luca Bartoccioli.
Melvins' "Sugar Daddy Live" Set For May 31 Release
The Melvins' latest offering "Sugar Daddy Live," a thirteen-track live recording, will see a May 31 release on Ipecac Recordings. Recorded at The Busta-Guts Club in Downey, Calif. the album features fan favorites such as "Boris," "A History of Bad Men" and "The Kicking Machine."
BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME: New Album Details Revealed
Raleigh, North Carolina-based progressive rock/cutting-edge metal band BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME will release its new album, "The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues", on April 12 via Metal Blade Records. The three-song, 30-minute tour de force was recorded at Canada's Metalworks Studios and Rattlebox Studios and helmed by the Grammy award–winning producer David Bottrill (TOOL, MUSE, KING CRIMSON, DREAM THEATER).
Finnish metallers AMORPHIS have set "The Beginning Of Times" as the title of their new album, due at the end of May via Nuclear Blast Records. A single, "You I Need", will precede the full-length CD in April.
"The Beginning Of Times" is described as "the most challenging AMORPHIS album so far in terms of both music and lyrics."
One of our all-time fave horror-metal bands is not only still going strong after fifteen years, but they've managed to carve their names in music history (with a blood-encrusted scalpel, naturally), thanks to the release of their second live album, Rusty Eye: Live at the Rainbow MMX. The talented trio of Miss Randall, Mr. Rust and Baron Murtland became the first band ever to record a live set at the legendary LA club, and this so-called “sonic documentary” is now available for your listening pleasure.
re_live_bow_cover
Third Man Records lead way to record industry salvation?
By Stephen M.H. Braitman
Controversy erupted when Jack White’s Third Man Records placed five limited-edition White Stripes LPs on eBay and let auction bidding determine their sale prices. Howls from fans and collectors erupted over the label’s action, and Third Man’s Ben Swank delivered a cogent yet inflammatory blog response in The Guardian (U.K.) online newspaper.
In 1951, Sam Phillips launched his label Sun Records by releasing “Drivin’ Slow” by saxophonist Johnny London.
In 1967, at EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London, The Beatles started recording a John Lennon song, “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.”
In 1969 - Jim Morrison (Doors) was arrested and officially charged with lewd and lascivious behavior, indecent behavior, open profanity and public drunkenness in Miami. Morrison was later sentenced. Morrison died while the sentence was under appeal.
The Charles Manson album "Lie" was released in 1970. The profits went to Manson's defense.
In 1975, winners at this year’s Grammy Awards ceremony included Paul McCartney for Best Pop Vocal on “Band On The Run,” Olivia Newton-John (Record Of The Year with “I Honestly Love You” and Stevie Wonder won Album Of The Year for Fulfillingness’ First Finale.
In 1985 - A Beatles song was used for the first time in a U.S. TV commercial. Lincoln-Mercury used the song, "HELP!" What a crock of shit if you ask me.....
In 1990, Janet Jackson played the first night of a 120-date Rhythm Nation 1814 World tour at the Miami Arena, Florida. As part of the show Jackson has a live panther on stage, but after concerns are raised over safety and several incidents of the animal urinating on stage the panther was returned to its cage.
In 1994, Nirvana played their final concert at the 3,000 capacity Terminal Einz, a small airport hanger in Munich, Germany.
And in 1997, a Motley Crüe fan, Clifford Goldberg, who claimed his hearing had been irreparably damaged after a show in New Jersey, had his lawsuit thrown out of court. The judge decreed that Goldberg knew the risk he was taking by sitting near the front of the stage. Ya think?
.38 Special - Icon
Aaron Lewis - Town Line (EP)
Acrylics - Lives and Treasure
Alexander - Alexander
Alexis Jordan - Alexis Jordan
Amede Ardoin - Mama, I'll Be Long Gone: The Complete Recordings of Amede Ardoin, 1929-1934
American Heritage - Sedentary
Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi
Antigone Rising - 23 Red
Arbouretum - The Gathering
Ari Hest - Sunset Over Hope Street
Autolux - The Bouncing Wall / Census (EP)
Be Good Tanyas - Blue Horse (reissue)
Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding
Bearsuit - The Phantom Forest
Betrayal - Abandonment
Big Head Blues Club - 100 Years of Robert Johnson
Billy Joel - Live at Shea Stadium 2 CDs/1 DVD
Blessid Union of Souls - Mission Field
Blood Ceremony - Living With the Ancients
Boats - Cannonballs, Cannonballs
Boy George - Ordinary Alien 2 CDs
Britney Spears - Hold It Against Me
Buddy Holly - Icon
Buddy Miller - Majestic Silver Strings
Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, more - The Bristol Sessions, 1927-1928: The Big Bang of Country Music 5 CDs
Cat’s Eye - Broken Glass (EP)
Chamberlin - Bitter Blood
Chuck Berry - Icon
Clare Maguire - Light After Dark
Columboid - We Were One
Cosmetics - Cosmetics
David Foster - Hit Man Returns: David Foster & Friends
Davila 666 - Tan Bajo
DeVotchKa - 100 Lovers
Delicate Steve - Wondervisions
Dignan Porch - TBA 12'' (EP)
Discodeine - Discodeine
Dropkick Murphys - Going Out in Style
Dum Dum Girls - He Gets Me High (EP)
Dustin O'Halloran - Lumiere
Dynamites - Young Sound R&B
Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1
Earth Girl Helen Brown - Story of an Earth Girl (EP)
Easter Island - Better Things
Eisley - The Valley
Emotions - Sunshine
Essie Jain - Until the Light of Morning
Everyone Dies In Utah - Seeing Clearly
Evil Madness - Super Great Love (vinyl)
Faust - Something Dirty
Firebird - Double Diamond
Forever The Sickest Kids - Forever The Sickest Kids
Four Tops - Icon
Francesca Battistelli - Hundred More Years
Gap Band - Icon
Gene Pitney - I'm Back & I'm Proud
Gene Pitney - Sings Just for You / World Wide Winners
Gideon - Costs
Go Radio - Lucky Street
Harald Grosskopf - Sythesist
Harry Connick, Jr. - In Concert on Broadway
Heaven 17 - So80s Presents Heaven 17
Isaac Hayes - U Turn
James Brown Singles 10 - 1975-1979 2 CDs
Jesse J - Who You Are
John Berry - Beat Girl
John Popper - John Popper & The Duskray Troubadours
Kajagoogoo - So80s Presents Kajagoogoo
Kitsune - Kitsune Parisian
Kopek - White Collar Lies
Left Lane Cruiser - Junkyard Speed Ball
Linda Eder - Now
Loretta Lynn - Icon
Louise Cordet - Sweet Beat of Louise Cordet: Complete UK Decca Records
Lucinda Williams - Blessed 2 LPs (vinyl)
Lumerians - Transmalinnia
Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
Marianne Faithfull - Horses & High Heels
Mark Ballas - HurtLoveBox
Marsha Ambrosius - Late Nights, Early Mornings
Matt Duke - One Day Die
Metallica Garage Inc 3 LPs @ 33-1/3 RPM (vinyl)
Metallica Garage Inc 6 LPs @ 45 RPM (vinyl)
Middle Brother (featuring members of Deer Tick, Dawes, and Delta Spirit) - Middle Brother
Mike Posner - 31 Minutes To Takeoff
Mike Watt - Hyphenated-Man (vinyl)
Mirrors - Lights And Offerings
Monotonix - Not Yet
Neil Diamond - The Bang Years
Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? (2-LP & mp3 with bonus tracks) (vinyl)
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - So80s Presents
Outsiders - CQ Import (vinyl)
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake (vinyl)
Papercuts - Fading Parade
Parliament - Icon
Peter Frampton - Icon
Portugal. The Man - American Ghetto (reissue) (vinyl)
Portugal. The Man - Censored Colors (reissue) (vinyl)
Portugal. The Man - Satanic Satanist (reissue) (vinyl)
Queens of the Stone Age - Queens of the Stone Age (reissue)
Rainbow Arabia - Boys and Diamonds
Ron Sexsmith - Long Player, Late Bloomer
Rural Alberta Advantage - Departing
Salt-N-Pepa - Icon
Scale The Summit - The Collective
Serj Tankian - Imperfect Remixes (EP)
Siriusmo- Mosaik
Sonic Youth - SYR9: Simon Werner a Disparu soundtrack (vinyl)
T. Rex - Tanx (reissue)
Tapes 'n Tapes - Outside
The Baseball Project - Vol 2: High & Inside
The Bellrays - Black Lightning
The Black Keys - The Big Come Up (reissue)(vinyl)
The Boxer Rebellion - The Cold Still
The Death Set - Michel Poicard
The Get Up Kids - There Are Rules
The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts (vinyl)
The Idle Hands - Life Is Beautiful (EP)
The Rural Alberta Advantage - Departing
The Strokes - Under Cover of Darkness (vinyl)
The Tellers - Close The Evil Eye
Thin Lizzy - Bad Reputation Import (vinyl)
Thin Lizzy - Black Rose Import (vinyl)
Thin Lizzy - Chinatown Import (vinyl)
Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak Import (vinyl)
Thin Lizzy - Johnny the Fox Import (vinyl)
Thin Lizzy - Live & Dangerous 2 LPs, Import (vinyl)
Thin Lizzy - Renegade Import (vinyl)
Thin Lizzy - Thunder & Lightning Import (vinyl)
This Mortal Coil - It'll End in Tears (reissue) (vinyl)
Those Dancing Days - Daydreamers And Nightmares
Tiger Bones - Go Over Here (EP)
Tony! Toni! Tone! - Icon
Trap Them - Darker Handcraft
Turisas - Stand Up And Fight
Ultravox - So80s Presents Ultravox
Vanity Theft - Get What You Came For
Various Artists - Crusin' the Beats Import, 2 CDs
Various Artists - Biutiful & Almost Biutiful (soundtrack)
Various Artists - Cartagena
Various Artists - Le Pop 6
War - Icon 2 CDs
Weedeater - Jason... The Dragon
Withered Hand - Good News
Remember, if you are a record company and have new releases or know of any I missed (especially vinyl), please email me and I will add your music to the list. I also do reviews of new vinyl, email me for more information.
I feel like Indiana Jones in the grail room. My favorite holy grail gets the top spot this week, Mixed Feelings' "Sha-la-la", and the Zeppelinesque Leaf Hound record also goes above $4k for the #2 spot. The two most sought after Beatles records make the list (also providing further confirmation that "Please Please Me" has supplanted the Butcher cover as the prime Beatles collectible). And Robert Johnson's legendary deal-with-the-devil 78 makes a showing.
1. 45 - Mixed Feelings "Sha-la-la" / "Love Will Find A Way" United - $4500.00
2. LP - Leaf Hound "Growers Of Mushrooms" Decca UK - $4,300.00
3. LP - The Beatles "Please Please Me" Parlophone UK Gold Black label 1st Stereo - $3,535.84
4. 78 - Robert Johnson "Me And The Devil Blues" / "Little Queen Of Spades" Vocalion 04180 - $3,304.00
5. LP - The Beatles "Yesterday And Today" Butcher 2nd State Mono Paste-Over Sealed - $3,150.00
More on this week's top 5 on Vinyl Record Talk, Tuesday 8:00PM Eastern / 5:00PM Pacific on Radio Dentata.
CYNTHESIS - New Album Details Released; Cover Art Unveiled
CYNTHESIS has announced their upcoming full length album, DeEvolution, is set for worldwide release on April 19th via Sensory Records.
According to a press release: “DeEvolution tells the story of an elite group of leaders from a heavily industrialized city who find, brainwash and then exploit an indigenous tribes' shaman, believing he would be the perfect supreme leader. By propping him up as possessing all the answers to society's ills, the elites use him in order to gain and keep more control over the masses in order to influence the masses via religion, media, consumerism and government.”
DeEvolution cover artwork was created by Dennis "Damn Engine" Sibeijn (EXODUS, DRAGONFORCE, LAMB OF GOD, HIM)
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Lovely cover art, eh?
HAEMORRHAGE: Unveil Album Details For ‘Hospital Carnage’
HAEMORRHAGE has completed work on their new full-length album and follow-up to 2006’s Apology For Pathology. The new album, titled Hospital Carnage, is set for a May 24th North American release date (May 30th internationally) and is available for pre-order at this location. Hospital Carnage will be available on CD, LP and digitally. The album art, as designed by the band’s guitarist / vocalist Luisma, can be viewed here.
HAEMORRHAGE recorded Hospital Carnage at VRS Studios with Samuel Ruiz. The album was mastered by Scott Hull at Visceral Sound. Advance song titled include “Traumaggedon”, “Fomite Fetish”, “Hospital Thieves”, “Hypochondriac”, Necronatology”, and “Tumour Doner”. HAEMORRHAGE recently shot a video for “Traumaggedon”, video stills and a premiere date will be announced shortly.
Spanish splatter stalwarts HAEMORRHAGE emerge as leaders from the nefarious goregrind ranks with their newest slab Hospital Carnage. Hospital Carnage features fifteen ferocious new tracks of murderous death metal, replete with guttural vocals, meaty riffs, and powerful blast beats that convey the primordial spirit of the genre's early days.
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THE RECORD: CONTEMPORARY ART AND VINYL OPENS APRIL 15 AT ICA/BOSTON
FIRST MUSEUM EXHIBITION TO EXPLORE INFLUENCE OF VINYL RECORD ON VISUAL ART
Boston, Mass.—This spring, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston opens The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl, the first museum exhibition to explore the culture of vinyl records within the history of contemporary art. Bringing together artists from around the world who have worked with records as their subject or medium, this groundbreaking exhibition examines the record’s transformative power from the 1960s to the present. Through sculpture, installation, drawing, painting, photography, sound work, video and performance, The Record combines contemporary art with outsider art, audio with visual, and fine art with popular culture. On view at the ICA from April 15 through Sept. 5, the exhibition features 99 works by 41 artists, including Jasper Johns, Ed Ruscha, Laurie Anderson, Christian Marclay and Carrie Mae Weems. The Record was organized by the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University and is accompanied by a 240-page color catalogue.
“In today’s era of digital, downloadable music, the vinyl record—powerfully marked with history and nostalgia—has become a meaningful vehicle of expression for visual artists,” says Jill Medvedow, director of the ICA. “The Record presents some of the best, rarest and most unexpected examples of artists whose work has been influenced by music and vinyl. We are thrilled to present this exhibition in Boston, giving art and music lovers alike the opportunity to discover, or re-discover, the tremendous artistic response the record has inspired.”
“For many contemporary artists, the vinyl record looms large, taking on a significance that moves well beyond the medium’s traditional use, and thoroughly into a space of innovative artistic production,” says Senior Curator Jenelle Porter, who coordinated the exhibition for the ICA. “In the hands of visual artists, the vinyl record is used as a metaphor, archive, artifact, icon, or portrait. The exhibition explores the impact of the record on both art and popular culture and the ways in which vinyl has been manipulated, preserved and transformed through art.”
The exhibition includes a broad range of works, such as a hybrid violin and record player, Viophonograph, a seminal work by Laurie Anderson; David Byrne's original life-sized Polaroid photomontage used for the cover of the 1978 Talking Heads album More Songs About Buildings and Food; a monumental column of vinyl records by William Cordova; and an important early work by Dario Robleto, who transformed Billie Holiday records in an alchemic process to create hand-painted buttons. Works by Christian Marclay, who has made art with records for 30 years, include his early and rarely seen Recycled Records as well as his most recent record video, Looking for Love.
Accompanying the exhibition is Cover to Cover—an installation of ten listening stations located in the Poss Family Mediatheque. For the installation, 10 artists and musicians were commissioned to create a new visual narrative based on the cover art of 20 albums of their choosing. Each artist’s theme and “story’ can be discovered by thumbing through bins containing original albums, examining the covers and playing the records.
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Dum Dum Girls blend grit, grace, and garage
From left: Sandy, Jules, Dee Dee, and Bambi make up Dum Dum Girls, a group that rode a wave of garage-rock revival to prominence last year. (Tyson Wirtzfield)
By James Reed Globe Staff / February 27, 2011
In the same breath that she mentions the Mamas & the Papas, the woman who started Dum Dum Girls also professes her love for Patti Smith, Motown, and the Jesus and Mary Chain. Dee Dee Penny — she of the cherry-red lips and Ronnie Spector’s love of eyeliner — is the lead singer and songwriter of Dum Dum Girls, an all-female rock quartet that distills the essence of those artists into a sound both tough and tender.
Joe Long, the owner of Birdel’s Records, is retiring, and closing the store that opened in 1944. Though he has CDs, his inventory is dominated by vinyl 45s and LPs
The Last Days for a Music Store Where Vinyl Has Respect
By TIM STELLOH
Joe Long has tried closing his legendary Brooklyn music shop, Birdel’s Records, before.
Two years ago, Mr. Long posted a going-out-of-business sign in the windows of his Bedford-Stuyvesant storefront, which opened in 1944. With the decline of the music industry and of his profits, and the fact that no family member wanted to take over, he’d had enough.
This from our friends in Michigan, where vinyl gets a boost with a new record store:
Plymouth Rocks Again at Cousins Vinyl
Replay your past with classic LPs, EPs and 45’s.
By Chip Karnish
As a kid, my older cousin John used to take me to local music stores like Sam’s Jams, Off the Record, Peaches and that one next to the Penn Theater (before Repeat the Beat moved in). We’d spend hours flipping through rows of albums searching racks of the latest U.S. bootlegs, U.K. new wave and European import records. Though the music of that era still lives on, those places to shop unfortunately do not.
But now I find Plymouth is bringing that nostalgic soundtrack back with, appropriately enough, Cousins Vinyl.
The LATimesblog is promoting our beloved vinyl with a feel good vinyl story!
Fingerprints record store: Thriving despite music industry woes
In a sun-filled 7,200-square-foot space in the arts district east of downtown Long Beach, something extraordinary is unfolding: The record business is growing. Boxes long confined to dark storage see the light again. Bins brim with new and used CDs. Jazz swings in its own room. So does vinyl. Books too.
Someone apparently forgot to tell store owner Rand Foster that people pluck their music from the clouds now, rather than exchange cash for it in bricks-and-mortar emporiums such as Fingerprints. Not only has Foster's indie venture survived 18 years of a drastically changing retail environment, but the soft-spoken entrepreneur also just doubled Fingerprints' footprint, moving to this space two times bigger than its longtime Belmont Shores home. His key? Making the store a destination for a devoted clientele.
"It's not memorable where you buy the record on top of the charts," Foster says. "When you buy something you've never heard of that becomes a favorite record, or you buy a record you've been looking for 10 years, you remember that store."
Sundazed Announces A Hollies “Ten Singles Box Set”
The Hollies – Lost Recordings And Beat Rarities!
According to Sundazed, this new boxset will collect 20 long-buried Hollies’ recordings across TEN seven inch vinyl singles, each with a gorgeous period-label and picture sleeve! The tracks range from hard-to-find U.S. and British singles and EP’s to songs previously unissued on vinyl. Follow the group from their first single (released May of 1963), the savage “(Ain’t That) Just Like Me” b/w “Hey What’s Wrong With Me,” through their discotheque dance-floor raves: “Come On Back,” “What Kind of Love” and “She Said Yeah.” Swoon to their swingin’ ballad “Yes I Will,” groove with their jazzy “Honey And Wine” and float to outer space with “All the World Is Love.” Discover an impossible-to-find, spy-styled double-sider the Hollies did for a 1967 Italian movie, and groove to unreleased tracks cut while on tour in New York City in 1965, then marvel at an extremely scarce cover of the Beatles’ “If I Needed Someone,” tracked at Abbey Road, revered recording home to both groups.
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NPR.org is set to stream R.E.M.’s ‘Collapse Into Now’ on March 1
At 2 p.m. ET on March 1, NPR.org will be the host of the U.S. online premiere of R.E.M.’s new studio album, “Collapse Into Now,” which is due in stores March 8 on the Warner Bros. label.
On March 2, the album will be featured as part of NPR’s “First Listen” series.
In other R.E.M. news, look for singer Michael Stipe to appear on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” on March 3. That same day, Stipe is scheduled to perform as part of the Tibet House Benefit Concert taking place at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan.
R.E.M.'s fifteenth studio album, Collapse Into Now, will be in stores a week from Tuesday (March 8) and bassist Mike Mills recently talked to Billboard about the album and how it differs from 2009's Accelerate.
Video: R.E.M., ‘Mine Smell Like Honey’ played live at Berlin’s Hansa Tonstudios
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"Dandy" from 1967 was the hit on this iconic French EP by the Kinks.
Collecting the British Invasion, from the Beatles to the Sex Pistols: An Interview with Stephen M. H. Braitman
By Dean Schaffer
Stephen M. H. Braitman has had a lifelong love affair with music, and has more than 20,000 vinyl records to prove it. In this interview, he discusses the British Invasion from a collector’s perspective, and explores the evolution of the technology behind the tunes—from 78s to 45s to LPs, from mono to stereo to quadrophonic. Braitman, who is both a music appraiser and collector, can be reached via his website, www.MusicAppraisals.com.
I was a Hollywood kid. My father was a TV and radio editor in the San Fernando Valley, and he allowed me to do my first writing to review concerts and shows for the newspaper. By 16 I was going to the Troubadour every week and reviewing all the acts—Joni Mitchell, Poco, Neil Young, Pentangle, Tim Buckley, all of them. I had a lot of friends in high school who really appreciated my being able to take them to the clubs for free.
But as a younger kid, I really hated rock ’n’ roll music and pop music, and I disliked the Beatles and all that. I have a younger sister who was a total Beatlemaniac. She started getting into the ’60s scene, but I was more influenced at that time by my father’s interest in classical music.
In 1966, the original Cavern Club in Liverpool, England, the home of many of the Beatles' early performances, closes its doors for the final time because of mounting debt. Police were called when over a 100 fans barricaded themselves inside the club to protest.
In 1968, 25 year-old Frankie Lymon, lead singer of The Teenagers, died of a heroin overdose in his grandmother's New York home. Lymon was on leave from a Georgia army post at the time and was scheduled to record for Roulette Records the next day. He first hit the national charts in 1956 when he was just 13 with "Why Do Fools Fall in Love".
In 1970, after the family of the late Ferdinand von Zeppelin threatened a lawsuit, Led Zeppelin performs in Copenhagen, Denmark as The Nobs.
Also in 1970, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" becomes Simon and Garfunkel's third US number one hit. The piano player on the track is Larry Knechtel, who also played for the soft-rock group, Bread.
In 1974, 28 year-old Bobby Bloom, who is best remembered for his #8, 1970 hit "Montego Bay", dies of a gunshot wound to the head. His death was originally thought to be suicide, but is now considered accidental.
In 1976, Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All These Years" in named Best Pop Vocal Performance and Album Of The Year at the 18th annual Grammy Awards. In his acceptance speech, Simon tells the audience "I'd like to thank Stevie Wonder for not releasing an album this year."
Also in 1976, the theme from the ABC-TV program S.W.A.T. became the first television theme song to top the Billboard Hot 100. The theme from Hawaii 5-0 made it to number 4.
In 1981, Country music star Eddie Rabbitt crossed over to the Pop chart to score a US number one hit with "I Love a Rainy Night". It made #53 in the UK. He had earlier written the Elvis Presley smash "Kentucky Rain" before having a number five record with "Drivin' My Life Away". Although it sounds like he made up a stage name, his real name is Edward Thomas Rabbitt.
In 1984, John Denver hosted the Grammy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. Michael Jackson wins 8 statues, including Best Album for "Thriller" and Best Record for "Beat It". The Police's "Every Breath You Take" wins Best Song and Culture Club wins Best New Artist.
In 1985, David Byron, vocalist and co-founder of the British Rock band Uriah Heep, suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 38.
In 2008, Mike Smith, keyboard player and lead vocalist for The Dave Clark Five died of pneumonia less than two weeks before the band was to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was 64.
Also in 2008, drummer Buddy Miles, who played with Jimi Hendrix in his last regular group, Band of Gypsys, died at age 60 at his home in Austin, Texas, after struggling with a long-term illness. Born George Allen Miles in Omaha, Nebraska, Buddy’s nickname was a tribute to his idol, jazz drummer Buddy Rich. Miles also played with The Delfonics, The Ink Spots, Wilson Pickett, Electric Flag, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Muddy Waters and Barry White. In the 1980s, he achieved a certain amount of notoriety in the U.S. as the vocalist on the celebrated Claymation California Raisins commercials.
And in 2010, Neil Young made a surprise appearance at the closing of the Vancouver Olympic Games where he sang "Long May You Run" as the Olympic flame was extinguished.
