Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales

Week Ending 10/24/2009

1. 45 - Peacheroos "Be Bop Baby" / "Every Day My Love Is True" Excello - $3,000.00

2. 45 - Ellipsis "People" / "Gregory Moore" Briarmeade - $2,927.00

3. LP - Slayer "25 Years Of Not Showing Mercy" Test Press Fan Club Release - $2,716.00

4. LP - Militia "The Sybling" - $2,550.00

5. LP - The Beatles "White Album" UK Mono #0007192 - $2,532.62


As always, a special thank you to Norm at http://ccdiscoveries.blogspot.com for this great data. Stop in and listen to their unique radio show Accidental Nostalgia with Norm & Jane On Radio Dentata - 60 minutes of rare records and nugatory narration. Every Tuesday 4PM PT/7PM ET, Sunday 9AM PT/12PM ET & Monday 12AM PT/3AM ET

Music News & Notes

Fall Out Boy Announce Greatest Hits Album And Tracklisting

Fall Out Boy are to release an eighteen-track collection of their greatest hits next month.

'Believers Never Die', which is due out on November 16, will include two rarities and two new songs.

The album will also feature a DVD comprising of fourteen of Fall Out Boy's videos with commentary from the band.

The tracklisting for 'Believers Never Die' is:

'Dead On Arrival'
'Grand Theft Autumn'
'Saturday'
'Sugar, We’re Goin Down'
'Dance, Dance'
'A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me'
'This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race'
'Thnks fr th Mmrs'
'The Take Over, The Breaks Over'
'I’m Like A Lawyer With The Way I’m Always Trying To Get You Off (Me & You) '
'Beat It'
'I Don’t Care'
'Americas Suitehearts'
'What A Catch, Donnie'

Bonus Tracks

'Alpha Dog'
'From Now On We Are Enemies'
'Yule Shoot Your Eyes Out'
'Growing Up'

====================

Juliana Hatfield Announces New CD "Peace And Love" For February

"Peace And Love," Juliana Hatfield's latest album, will be released on February 16, 2010 on Ye Olde Records. Hatfield, of course, has a long history of DIY endeavors - from her trailblazing days with Boston indie band the Blake Babies to her recent releases on Ye Olde Records, the label she founded in 2005 - but with "Peace And Love" she reaches a new level of independence. She produced and engineered the album herself and played all the instruments, including acoustic and electric guitars, piano, harmonica and drum machine.

"I've produced records before but I was always in a studio with professional engineers. So it was definitely a learning process for me," says Hatfield, who was ready to strip things down after her critically acclaimed 2008 album, "How To Walk Away," which was a full studio production. "I always like to try things I've never done before and I'd been yearning to record myself."

Hatfield had just purchased her brother's eight-track digital recorder and moved into a Cambridge apartment with a back room that had excellent natural acoustics, so the time was right. "I was able to follow every instinct without worrying that anyone was going to think it was a kooky idea," she recalls. "I just wanted to do something simple."

The result is an incredibly intimate collection of songs, expertly capturing the loneliness and collateral damage borne of broken relationships yet adamantly refusing to remain broken. In the liner notes, Boston Phoenix music editor James Parker gives it a name: "Survivor-music - because even at their most palpitatingly fragile, your songs have always been built to last. Well-made, strong-boned, fit to be played on streetcorners and station platforms."

"Peace And Love" is Hatfield's 11th solo album and follows last year's "How To Walk Away," which was hailed as "rueful and gorgeous," by Entertainment Weekly, which gave the album an A-. "After 20 years, the songstress still packs a wallop on her 10th album, featuring edgy tales of heartbreak sung with that classic sweetness," said Newsweek, naming it a "Checklist" pick of the week upon its release while Spin pronounced it "vital," awarding it three out of four stars. Her autobiography, entitled When I Grow Up, was published by Wiley & Sons in September 2008.

Hatfield first came to prominence in her teens as a founding member of the Blake Babies. After four independent albums with the group, she signed to Atlantic as a solo artist and had a string of modern-rock hits (including "My Sister," "Spin The Bottle" and "Universal Heartbeat"). She left the label in 1998, signing to Zoe Records (a Rounder Records imprint) and releasing four well-regarded albums, including 2004's "In Exile Deo," named as one of that year's 10 best albums by The New York Times' Jon Pareles. In 2005, Hatfield came full circle, returning to her independent roots and founding Ye Olde Records.

====================

Jackson’s ‘This Is It’ May Make $400 Million in Sales

Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Michael Jackson’s movie and CD may generate as much as $400 million in sales worldwide as fans turn out to see and hear the last live performances of the late King of Pop.

“Michael Jackson’s This Is It” album, featuring one new song, goes on sale starting today. The movie with the same title opens Oct. 28 in more than 90 countries, including 3,400 theaters in the U.S., according to Hollywood.com Box-Office.

More than 1,000 U.S. shows were sold out as of Oct. 22, according to the online ticket vendor Fandango.com. Cinemas in London, Sydney, Bangkok and Tokyo also reported sellouts, according to Sony Corp., which is releasing the film and the album. In the U.K., sales topped those of “Harry Potter” and “The Lord of the Rings” at the Vue Entertainment Ltd. chain.

“It’s a true phenomenon,” said Tim Richards, chief executive officer of London-based Vue, whose cinema near the O2 Arena, where Jackson was scheduled to perform a series of comeback concerts, is among those that sold out.

Jackson’s work may be prized more after his death than it was in life, said Robert Sillerman, CEO of CKX Inc., the New York-based operator of Graceland, Elvis Presley’s Tennessee home, and co-producer of “American Idol.”

“In death, people remember the best of somebody,” Sillerman said. “Certainly that is turning out to be the case in Elvis and the Beatles. I think it will turn out to be the case in Michael’s situation.”

Ticket Sales

Jackson died at age 50 on June 25 in Los Angeles of a drug overdose, three weeks before the concerts were set to begin. Sony, the singer’s music label, won a bidding war for a documentary film built around footage compiled during rehearsals, agreeing to pay $60 million, according to court documents.

The film may generate $300 million to $400 million in global ticket sales, said Jeff Bock, a box-office analyst for Los Angeles-based researcher Exhibitor Relations Co. U.S. sales in the first five days may be $55 million to $60 million, said Jeffrey Hartke, an analyst with Los Angeles-based Hollywood Stock Exchange, which forecasts film performance.

The two-disc album, with the new track “This is It,” as well as “Billie Jean,” “Smooth Criminal” and “Thriller,” may sell 200,000 to 500,000 copies in the U.S., according to Silvio Pietroluongo, director of sales charts at Billboard magazine. The suggested retail price of $17.98 has been marked down to $9.99 at Amazon.com Inc.

The releases may help dent the hundreds of millions of dollars in debt the entertainer ran up during his lifetime.

Making vinyl records the old-fashioned way

At United Record Pressing in Nashville, Tenn., LPs are still made the old-fashioned way: with lots and lots of vinyl. This is a bin full of little vinyl pellets that will be melted into records.


NASHVILLE, Tenn.–When people think of the Beatles coming to America, they usually conjure up images of The Ed Sullivan Show and screaming teenage girls chasing the Fab Four on the streets of New York.

But here in Music City, there’s something else to commemorate the earliest stages of the British Invasion: the fact that the first American Beatles 7-inch record was produced by United Record Pressing–then, as now, one of the largest makers of vinyl in the world.

On Monday, as I swung through Nashville on Road Trip 2008, I was lucky enough to get to visit the production facilities of United Record Pressing here and get a firsthand look at how LPs are made. Before you scoff at the notion of making records, consider that over the last few years, the format has made a big comeback, with sales skyrocketing and turntables moving off store shelves like they haven’t in years.

Why? The reason is pure irony.

According to Jay Millar, the marketing and sales manager for United Record Pressing, it has everything to do with the emergence of Apple’s oh-so-ubiquitous MP3 player.

“It really started picking up when iPods started coming onto the scene,” Millar said. “Everything got so sterile with digital that people were not spending time” with the physical manifestation of their music.

A record-pressing machine at United Record Pressing. The company is one of only three in the United States that still produces LPs in any meaningful amounts.

In other words, as iPods began to dominate the music world, people were leaving their CDs on the shelves, and iTunes downloads, as well as those via file-sharing services, took over.

But for audiophiles used to actually handling some sort of disc, this change has led to a reversal of fortune for the LP, a format long thought to have gone the way of the floppy disk.

For a company like United Record Pressing, that’s been great news, as its sales have been going up steadily as more and more artists turn to records as a way to get their music into the hands of people who care about it.

So how is a record made?

First, a separate company with facilities nearby takes the original recording–which can come in the form of an audio tape, but (audiophiles, cover your eyes here) more often comes on CDs since many artists are using software like ProTools to cut their tracks–and uses it to cut the familiar circular grooves into an object called a lacquer.

The lacquer is then delivered to United Record Pressing, which begins the process of actually making the LPs.

First, the lacquer is sprayed with a layer of silver, which, after it sets, is then peeled off. The resulting sheet is known as the master, and it is the opposite of a record, because it has ridges rather than grooves.

The master is then used to make what is known as the mother, a metal version of the record that can, itself, actually be played.

At United Record Pressing, black is not the only color of vinyl that is used. There’s also red, orange, blue, gray, and even a mixture made from the cuttings of the other colors.

The mother is then pressed into what is known as the stamper, and this, too, has ridges. The stamper actually is the basis of every record that comes out of this factory.

At this point, it’s all about raw vinyl, millions of little chunks of the material that resemble Pop Rocks.

And it’s not just black either. The company also makes records that are red, orange, blue, and gray. Sometimes, it takes all the discarded vinyl from several pressings and mixes them together into a kind of hodgepodge color.

First, the vinyl is melted down into what is called the biscuit. This is the center of the record, the round part with no grooves and the little hole. To this is added the label, which is pressed onto the biscuit, a step that doesn’t require any adhesive. Rather, the biscuit is so hot from the vinyl being melted down that the label sticks right on.

The labels, which are printed here by the thousands, are actually baked in a special oven so that they retain no moisture, something that could cause bubbling on the actual record.

To ensure that labels don’t bubble up after being pressed onto a record, the labels are baked in an oven to remove any moisture.

Then, the biscuit is placed in the middle of a machine and then it is joined together with a fresh supply of vinyl, and together they are smashed between a plate and the stamper. A blade then shears off the excess vinyl, and voila! A brand new record slides out of the machine and onto a rack.

When all is said and done, it’s actually a remarkably simply process. But there’s still much more that must happen before an LP leaves the facility.

First, at least one of each new album run must be tested. So on one side of a room that long ago was used as a room for record release and signing parties–Hank Williams Jr. had a party thrown for him here when he was 16, Millar said–a woman is sitting and bobbing her head as she listens to songs on headphones, making sure the new record has no problems. If it does, United Record Pressing will have to tell the record company what the issue is.

There’s also the small matter of putting the records in their sleeves–something I saw two people tucked away in a corner of one room doing. They had their process down pat: grab an LP, inspect it quickly for obvious defects, pick up a sleeve, slide in the record, repeat.

Millar showed me a room in the basement of the building that contained thousands and thousands of folders–really, they seemed like extra-thick album covers with no art–that contain the masters of every record the company has produced over the years. This is a treasure trove bar none, since United Record Pressing works with pretty much every major label you can imagine.

Inside each folder is the master, and a full set of all the associated materials: the master, a label, an album jacket, and anything else that might be included, such as liner notes. And these days, as with an Elvis Costello album Millar showed me, the folders may also hold an insert with information for a digital download of the album.

In fact, it is these digital downloads that may be heralding the re-emergence of the LP and the death of the CD. That’s because many artists are now offering record buyers a one-time free download of all the tracks on the album as a bonus.

This is still a small enough phenomenon, of course, to barely register on Apple’s radar. iTunes is safe, in other words.

Still, for audiophiles who used to buy CDs, this gives them a way to have a physical disc to listen to the music on, as well as a way to easily tote it with them.

“People don’t need their discs to be compact anymore,” said Millar, “because you can’t get much more compact than MP3. So it’s back to the big discs.”

SOURCE: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com

'Vinyl Junkman' Howard Fischer uses record expertise to sell vinyl to collectors

written by Clem Richardson

Howard Fischer makes a convincing argument that selling old vinyl records is best left to experts.

The market for old 78, 33-1/3 and 45 records is so specialized that most times the casual seller will have no idea what they're selling or what it's worth.

"That's the problem," said Fischer, who ships to collectors worldwide. "All over the world they want these records, but they have special things they look for. The label, the condition is important. Is it a reissue or an original?

Then there are things in the deadwax - the wax around the label that doesn't have any grooves. "The producers scratch things in there, original things, and some people want to know what is in the deadwax.

"There is a guy named Rudy Van Gelder from New Jersey, who produced a lot of major, collectible records," Fischer said. "His name is in the dead wax in a lot of records. Collectors want to know that.

"People collect album cover art. David Stone Martin covers are very collectible. Some people even collect the inner sleeve, the paper envelope inside the album which holds the records.

"It's wild. It is not easy. I'm still learning myself."

Fischer, 72, has made several hundred dollars on albums he found or bought for pennies. But even he makes mistakes. He says the Smithsonian was interested in a collection of early radio comedies he found on the curb last year, and even agreed to up the offer at Fischer's urging.

Then the recession hit and the entire deal fell through. Fischer still has the recordings.

Fischer came by his passion honestly - his father, Hyman, collected 78s.

"I used to watch my mother and father dance around this little record player," he said. "They were great Lindy hoppers."

Those dances may have influenced his career choices. "I was involved in the music business, first as a lawyer, then I represented musicians," said Fischer.

He founded the New York Jazz Museum in 1972, but it went out of business in 1977. Fischer also wrote a book, "The New York Jazz Museum and the Power Struggle that Destroyed It," which he also sells at his shop.

For eight years, Fischer published Treasure Chest, a newspaper of antiques and collectibles. He also produced a documentary, "The Holland Avenue Boys; a Success Story," about several of his boyhood friends.

His office on W. 72nd St. in Manhattan, is stuffed with nearly 10,000 albums, as well as numerous books and movie posters. There are few classical albums, and no movie soundtracks or Broadway scores, which Fischer says do not sell.

Nothing gets in the shop that Fischer won't listen to himself.

"When I find an album I like, I take it home and play it," Fischer said. "I have over 2,500 albums at home that I play all the time. When I decide I've listened to them enough, I bring them here to try to sell them."

Fischer, who also goes by the name "Vinyl Junkman," finds much of his merchandise at flea markets, garage sales and sitting on the curb - thrown out as trash for any number of reasons.

"A lot of times, parents or grandparents pass away, or people find stuff in their attics they want to get rid of," he said. "I always say check your ABCs: your attics, basements and closets, for old records because they may have value."


SOURCE: http://www.nydailynews.com

Music News & Notes

Julian Casablancas Releasing Box Set For Solo Album, Talks New Strokes Record

Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas' solo debut, Phrazes For The Young, is out Nov. 3 on RCA, but if you wait a few more weeks and shell out around $90, you can get yourself the album plus a nice, shiny box set on Dec. 18.

The set comes in a special antique-ish box with the album on CD and 180-gram vinyl, a 48-page autographed book, a DVD that includes solo acoustic performances, another CD that's got demos and B-sides on it, a poster and a Cult Records pin.

The eight-track album was produced by Jason Lader (Maroon 5) and Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Lightspeed Champion) and was recorded in New York City, Los Angeles and Nebraska. You can hear first single "11th Dimension" and "River Of Brakelights" on Casablancas' MySpace page. http://www.myspace.com/juliancasablancas

=====================

Rare Beatles Record Found

Record dealer John Tefteller may have stumbled across one of the rarest Beatles albums in existence. He was contacted by the widow of a Capitol Records executive about taking a look at the man's record collection. Amongst a lot of easy listening and jazz was a copy of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band but there were none of the Beatles' faces on the cover. They had been replaced with pictures of the record company's executives and given out to people at the label. To make it even better, the album was still sealed.

It is estimated that only about one hundred of the albums were made and, according to Beatles expert Stan Panenka, only three or four are actually known to exist with the last turning up about ten years ago. The rarity makes it next to impossible to establish a value for the album.

=====================

Strokes Album Update

The Strokes are writing and rehearsing material for their fourth album at their New York City rehearsal space.

According to an email update from the band, singer Julian Casablancas, guitarists Albert Hammond, Jr. and Nick Valensi, bassist Nikolai Fraiture and drummer Fabrizio Moretti haven't booked any studio time, but will figure that out sometime "in the not-too-distant future." The band have been working on songs for the album since February.

"i wish i could tell you that this DEFINITELY meant we can expect an album release date before the end of 2009, but it's just too soon to speculate on that for sure yet," said the email message. "one way or another.... suffice to say, the work has begun!"

Casablancas recently told Rolling Stone's Smoking Section blog that The Strokes are hard at work and have penned three songs so far.

"I would say it's going great. We have a lot of work to do, though. Some of the new stuff has a '70s vibe, like Thin Lizzy or Elvis Costello. But then some of it is bizarrre music from the future that we're trying to tone down to sound catchy. So we're trapped between the future and the '70s."

The Strokes haven't released an album since 2006's First Impressions Of Earth. They've been busy with various other projects since.

Fraiture released a solo album as Nickel Eye in January. Little Joy, Moretti's side project, put out a self-titled album last year. Hammond released his Yours To Keep solo debut in 2007 and its Como Te Llama? follow-up last year.

Casablancas recently contributed vocals to "Boombox," a track on The Lonely Island's Incredibad debut.

=====================

The Rakes Announce News Of Break Up, Cancel Tour

The Rakes have announced they are to split with immediate effect. The band who formed in 2002, came together as a foursome of childhood friends and kindred sprits and went on to release three critically acclaimed albums; the first "Capture/Release" in 2005, followed by "Ten New Messages" in 2007 and "Klang" (2009). Both the October UK tour and American dates are cancelled and full refunds will be given to ticket holders.

=====================

Morrissey Collapses On Stage In Swindon - Singer was rushed to hospital...

Morrissey has been taken to hospital after collapsing on stage during a gig in Swindon last night. The singer had just finished his opening song, a rendition of former band The Smiths’ ‘This Charming Man’, when he was taken ill.

The 50-year-old singer was carried from the stage by two of his bandmates, according to the Daily Telegraph. Morrissey was taken to Swindon's Great Western Hospital, where his condition was described as “stable”.

This Date In Music History-October 25

Birthdays:

Helen Reddy (1942)
Dick Dodd - Standells (1943)
Taffy Danoff - Starland Vocal Band (1944)
Jon Anderson - Yes (1944)
Phil "Fang" Volk - Paul Revere & the Raiders (1945)
John Hall - The Equals (1947)
Glenn Tipton - Judas Priest (1948)
Richard Lloyd - Television (1951)
Matthias Jabs - Scorpions (1955)
Mark Miller - Sawyer Brown (1958)
Nick Thorp - Curiosity Killed the Cat (1958)
Christina Amphlett - Divinyls (1960)
Chad Smith - Red Hot Chili Peppers (1962)
John Leven - Europe (1963)
Todd Thomas - Arrested Development (1968)
Ed Robertson - Barenaked Ladies (1970)
Katy Perry (1984)


They Are Missed:

Ronnie Smith (brought in to replace Buddy Holly as lead singer of the "Crickets" for the remainder of the Winter Dance Party) hanged himself in a Texas state hospital in 1962, where he had been committed for drug abuse.

Margo Sylvia of the Tuneweavers ("Happy, Happy Birthday Baby") died of a heart attack in 1991.

Legendary rock promoter Bill Graham was killed in 1991 when the helicopter in which he is riding crashes into a utility pole during a rainstorm near San Francisco.

Roger 'King Of The Road’ Miller died of died of lung and throat cancer in hospital in Los Angeles in 1992. Miller won eleven Grammy Awards as a songwriter and seven Tony awards for writing the music and lyrics for Big River.

American bassist Howie Blauvelt died of a heart attack in 1993. Had been a member of The Ram Jam Band and worked with Billy Joel in The Hassles and El Primo.

William Martin, drummer with Sam The Sham & the Pharaohs, died of a heart attack in 2000. The quintessential Tex-Mex band of the 1960s, had the 1965 #2 "Wooly Bully."

Richard Harris ("MacArthur Park") died of cancer in 2002.

In 2003, Johnny Cash's step-daughter, Rosey Nix Adams and her fiddle player Jimmy Campbell were found dead on their tour bus in Clarksville, Tennessee from carbon monoxide poisoning. Heaters that had been left on were blamed for the accident.

John Peel died in Cuzco, Peru of a heart attack in 2004 (age 65). He was BBC’s longest-serving radio DJ and the first DJ to introduce The Ramones, Roxy Music, The Smiths, The Fall, Rod Stewart, Blur, the Sex Pistols, T. Rex and others to the masses. He was also known for his "Peel Sessions," releases of live radio sessions. Peel was appointed an OBE in 1998.


History:

In 1960, a 17-year-old Mick Jagger accidentally meets his old school chum Keith Richards on a train. The two bond together again over a mutual love of R&B records and later join Little Boy Blue & the Blue Boys

In 1964, the British music industry awarded the Beatles five Ivor Novello Awards for 1963. They were: most outstanding contribution to music; "She Loves You," most broadcast song and best-selling record; "I Want to Hold Your Hand," second best-selling record; and "All My Loving" second most outstanding song.

The Rolling Stones appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. A riot broke out in the studio and Sullivan was quoted as saying, “I promise you they’ll never be back on our show again."

The double album "Electric Ladyland," by the Jimi Hendrix Experience was released in 1968. It was also made available as two albums with changed artwork after complaints about the naked women who were pictured on the sleeve.

Pink Floyd's "Ummagumma" LP was released in 1969.

Pink Floyd's "Atom Heart Mother" became the group's first #1 album in Britain in 1970.

Speaking at a US radio conference in 1970, President Nixon asked programmers to ban all songs containing drug references.

"The Allman Brothers Band Live at the Fillmore East" went gold in 1971, just four days before leader Duane Allman loses his life in a motorcycle accident.

John Lennon sued the U.S. government in 1973, maintaining that wiretaps and surveillance were employed against him and his lawyer, Leon Wildes. He claimed that, as a result, his appeal applications in his fight against deportation were prejudiced by U.S. officials.

In 1974, Al Green was taking a shower at his Memphis home when his ex-girlfriend Mary Woodson burst in and poured boiling hot grit over him. She then shot herself dead. Green suffered second degree burns. A woman scorned?

In 1979, Bob Marley and The Wailers played the first of four sold out nights at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York City, NY.

Barbra Streisand scored her fourth US #1 album in 1980 with "Guilty."

Bon Jovi went to #1 in 1986 with the LP "Slippery When Wet." It featured two US #1 singles, "You Give Love A Bad Name" and "Livin' On A Prayer." The album went on to sell over 8 million copies world wide.



Cyndi Lauper started a two week run at #1 in 1986 with the single "True Colours."

“Nothing’s Shocking” from Jane’s Addiction was released in 1988. The album’s cover features two topless women with their hair on fire.

1996 - Nirvana was recognized by the record industry for selling nine million copies of “Nevermind” and five million copies of “In Utero.” 1996

In 2006, Kurt Cobain topped Forbes' list of the top-earning dead rock stars. At #2 was read "Elvis Presley." The Nirvana singer's estate earned $50 million over the past year.

Music News & Notes

Blink-182 to repress Buddha on vinyl

Just two weeks after their reissue of Enema of the State Blink 182 will release their debut, Buddha, on vinyl on December 15, 2009.

Originally recorded in 1993, but not released until 1998, it was recorded over three rainy nights on a 24 track recording system at Double Time Studios in San Diego, California, according to the CD's liner notes. The album was one of the few Blink-182 albums released with the band name as Blink.

The album was first released on cassette, but was later re-released on Kung Fu Records featuring a remix and remaster of the original album with different cover art and a different track listing. The remastered version was also available on cassette and vinyl, but is now out of print. According to the CD's liner notes on the reissue, the demo was originally released on a limited cassette tape with no title and a picture of Maitreya Buddha on the front.

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Them Crooked Vultures (Foo Fighters, QOTSA, Led Zeppelin) plan new single

Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame will release a new single from his new project, Them Crooked Vultures next Monday. The band also features Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. The new song is titled "New Fang."

The self-titled debut from the record will follow on November 17, 2009.

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Boss Single on iTunes

“Columbia Records has released Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band’s ‘Wrecking Ball’ exclusively to the iTunes Store,” a news bulletin from Bruce’s site reads.

The bundle includes the audio single plus a music video of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band shot during their historic run at Giants Stadium; the video was edited by Chris Hilson and Emmy and GRAMMY Award winner Thom Zimny and is different from the footage that was previously streamed on brucespringsteen.net. The song was mixed by Bob Clearmountain.

The Rick Weeds Band Releases Soulful Classic Rock On New Album

LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts/ Second Floor Recordings) - With a background deeply engrained in the Blues, Classic Rock, and Folk music - The Rick Weeds Band is reestablishing Classic Rock into the mainstream like no other on their debut album, It's True.

Lead singer/guitarist, Rick Weeds was born in Chicago in 1960 and was performing for family and friends at the age of 5 - he strummed his toy guitar while donning a Beatles wig and singing, "I love you, yeah, yeah, yeah."

Blues soon made an impression in Rick's life and his father's brandy-voiced version of "Old Man River", his first inspiration.

Growing up in Chicago in the 1970's and 80's, Rick witnesses an unsurpassed explosion of musical genres. From Folk to Classic Rock, and through an overwhelming, and sustaining force, The Blues - Rick found his passion.

Weeds didn't just sing and play the Blues, he also lived them. He almost lost his life in a boating accident in 2000. He was with his wife Liz and son Ryne fishing in Wisconsin when a powerboat came out of nowhere and slammed right into them. Weeds was able to shove Liz and Ryne out of harm's way before being thrown into the water suffering a broken spine and a crushed right arm. Rick spent 35 days in intensive care followed by numerous surgeries to rebuild his right arm and a spinal fusion for his broken spine. After a year of therapy Weeds was able to return to his first love - the guitar.

"The day he picked up the guitar, he was born again," said Liz with tears in her eyes. "Music was his life, and he was able to live again. Here breeds this restless soul, envisioned with heart and passion, pursuing the craft which makes him what he is today."

The Rick Weeds Band is a cross of Muddy Waters with a soulful Blues feel. Neil Young with a mellow acoustic Folk feel and "The Who" with the driving Rock edge!

Weeds on lead vocals, rhythm, and lead guitar. Miz Liz on backup vocals and hand percussion. Kevin Lewandowski on lead, and rhythm guitar. Krisstoffer Haase on bass guitar. Dennis Voges on drums, and Sam Bellino as percussionist.

The Rick Weeds Band's album It's True, released by Second Floor Recordings and distributed by KES Music and Video Distribution, is currently available digitally and will be in stores on November 24th, 2009. The Rick Weeds Band will be starting their Mid-Western tour later this month and a national college radio campaign starts October 19, 2009. For more information log on to http://www.rickweeds.com

WARNER BROS. RECORDS INC. BRINGS VINYL TO THE PEOPLE DURING THIS WEEKEND’S ANNUAL WFMU RECORD FAIR IN NYC

Burbank, CA – Warner Bros. Records [PR]— the No. 1 vinyl label in the country — will bring vinyl directly to the people this weekend by hosting a booth at the annual WFMU Record Fair in New York City. The event, known as a worldwide Mecca for music enthusiasts and vinyl fans, will be held October 23rd through the 25th at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th Street in Manhattan.

“There is no better place to sell music directly to fans than at the annual WMFU show,” says Warner Bros. Records General Manager Tom Biery, who oversees all of the company’s vinyl releases. “As a vinyl freak, I have been going to the show for years and have always thought that having a WBR/Reprise booth to sell our records would be a ton of fun as well as a great learning experience.”

This weekend also kicks off Warner Bros. Records’ relationship with vinyl-only indie label, Original Recording Group (ORG), which will be manning the WBR booth.

At the show, Reprise Records will unveil, for the first time, legendary singer-songwriter Neil Young’s first four catalog reissues, including the direct-to-fan 180-gram Limited Edition box set. Those titles, Neil Young, Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, After The Gold Rush, and Harvest, have been meticulously cut by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering from the original master tapes (under the direct supervision of Neil Young’s team) and manufactured at the world’s premiere record-pressing plant, Pallas MFG/Germany. This is the first-ever upgrade to these essential recordings on vinyl and is sure to delight both fans and audiophiles alike.

Warner Bros. Records will also reveal a “collector’s edition” vinyl version of the new album from The Flaming Lips, Embryonic (pressed in a limited edition of 200), as well as a three-disc vinyl version of R.E.M.’s Live At the Olympia in Dublin/39 Songs, which also includes the CD and DVD, in all its glorious sound and packaging.

To celebrate the company’s signing of a worldwide partnership with New Wave pioneers Devo, Warner Bros. Records will also be previewing vinyl reissues of two of the band’s classic albums: Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! and Freedom Of Choice, newly mastered by Bernie Grundman on beautiful yellow and red wax.

And finally, Warner Bros. Records will present a series of stunning soul 45s from the famed Loma label. With each title highly collectible upon its original pressing, these reissues are intended to enable fans to enjoy this incredible music the way it was meant to be heard—at 45 rpm. Artists in this series include The Marvellos, The Soul Shakers, Carl Thomas, and others.

For those who can’t attend the WMFU Record Fair this weekend, these titles can be purchased at www.becausesoundmatters.com.

Photo of R.E.M. vinyl box set courtesy of Furnace MFG

Michael Fremer Review

I am very proud to continue our feature (look for this every Friday), music reviews that are written by the senior contributing editor of Stereophile magazine- Michael Fremer. It has been a pleasure to speak with Michael and learn more about audio sound and equipment. In fact, his new DVD, "It's A Vinyl World, After All" has hit the shelves and is selling out very quickly. This is a must have for anybody who loves vinyl, it is a true masterpiece.

Additionally, make sure to stop by his site, www.musicangle.com and bookmark it for further exploration. I certainly want to thank Michael for the exclusive rights to reprint his fantastic material.


ALBUM REVIEW:
Jimi Hendrix (reissue)
Voodoo Child
Classic Records/Experience Hendrix 4 200g Quiex SV-P LPs

Produced by: Janie Hendrix and John McDermott
Engineered by: Eddie Kramer
Mixed by: Eddie Kramer
Mastered by: Bernie Grundman (LP cutting)


Review by: Michael Fremer




Compilations are an ugly concept on vinyl. Either analog copy tapes have been strung together to create a cutting master or digital copies of masters are electronically assembled to produce the same cutting master. Once in a black and blue moon, original masters are removed from their reels and strung together to produce cutting masters made from original master tapes, but those are few and few between and almost impossible to make. They’re rare because few companies allow precious masters to be cut up and because unless the tunes were recorded in the same studio on the same impeccably maintained recorder, it’s very difficult if not impossible to cut a lacquer where the record/playback head’s azimuth changes from track to track.

If an original master tape is used to make first generation copies to create an analog cutting master, the results can be outstanding because most of the great LPs from the “golden age” were cut using production, not original master tapes. So they’re a generation down to begin with. Therefore, a compilation assembled from orignal master tape copies is, for all intents and purposes, identical to a cutting master of a whole album. One reason why “greatest hits” albums on LP can sound particularly distant and foul is because the cutting master is assembled from a copy of the original cutting master, not the original tape, and is therefore third generation.

This Hendrix compilation was originally issued as a double CD set in 2001 on Experience Hendrix/MCA (088112603-2) and mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound. The booklet accompanying this four LP set from Classic still lists Marino as mastering engineer but with “BG” in the lead-out grooves, clearly the cutting was done by Bernie Grundman.

From what? Given that Marino apparently didn’t have a preview head on his R2R deck back in 2001 and transferred analog to digital before cutting the original “Experience Hendrix” series of LPs and CDs of the original individual albums, and of First Rays of the New Rising Sun the album Hendrix wanted to release instead of what came to be known as The Cry of Love, what are the chances that there was an analog tape of this compilation here for Bernie Grundman to work from? Not good!

Generating one would have required digging out the original tracks, transferring them and assembling them onto a reel for each of the eight sides. What are the odds that was done? Not great, even though it sounds that way when you compare the original CDs with the superbly smooth, rich, transparent and detailed sound of this four LP set.

Whatever was used for the transfer, this set of popular originals from the studio albums on one disc and live performances on the other, sounds much better than the already find sounding two CD set.

The compilation includes original studio classics like “Purple Haze,” “Hey Joe,” “The Wind Cries Mary,” “Fire,” and “Crosstown Traffic,” alternate takes of some familiar tunes, like “Spanish Castle Magic,” and “Stone Free,” and a second disc of live recordings culled from the enormous catalog.

Of course the LP packaging beats the double CD set, but the vinyl does likewise. Assuming you have a decent analog rig, the differences between the CD and analog sets will be immediately evident: the record sounds far more real, more transparent and far less “crunchy” than the CD, yet the EQ sounds very similar, if not identical.

Instrumental separation and physicality are far superior on LP, something that’s immediately noticeable if you pay attention to drums and cymbals. The LP sounds real, the CD does not. While I prefer LPs to be cut from analog master tapes, if possible, in the end I prefer which edition sounds better and in this case, the LPs sound more three dimensional, more detailed and more real. Whatever the source, it does not sound “digital,” as the terms has come to be used over the years.

Therefore, to readers who’ve asked me what I think of this set, all I can say is, I understand why the first pressing sold out: in many ways the tracks sound better than original UK Track and American Reprise editions.

It’s easy to recommend this box set to anyone needing a way into the Hendrix legacy. Personally, I’d go for the original LPs, since there were so few of them to begin with, but this compilation, containing many alternate takes not found on the originals (but found, in many cases, on the Jimi Hendrix box set of a few years ago, presents a fine introduction to the Henrix legacy.

If you buy this, you won’t be disappointed by the outstanding sonics, and you surely will appreciate the packaging, and of course the music.

SOURCE: http://www.musicangle.com Reprinted By Permission

Music News & Notes

The Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia Band Confirm New Archival Releases

The next release from the guitarist’s solo canon, The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 2: Let It Rock, will collect highlights from Jerry Garcia Band shows that took place on November 17 and 18, 1975. The gigs were held at Keystone Berkeley in front of a hometown crowd, featuring the JGB lineup of Garcia, bassist John Kahn, drummer Ron Tutt and piano player Nicky Hopkins. Let it Rock includes covers of Chuck Berry (“Let It Rock”), Little Milton (“That’s What Love Will Make You Do”), Jimmy Cliff (“Sitting In Limbo”), Allen Toussaint (“I’ll Take A Melody”) and Hank Ballard (“Tore Up Over You”), as well as the Grateful Dead’s “Friend Of The Devil” and Garcia’s “Sugaree.” Three Hopkins originals are also featured: “Pig’s Boogie,” “Lady Sleeps” and the curiously titled “Edward, The Mad Shirt Grinder” (the latter of which Hopkins first performed with Quicksilver Messenger Service).

The Grateful Dead will also release the next installment in the Road Trips series. Road Trips Vol. 3, No. 1 features a complete recording of December 28, 1979, the same New Year’s Run that is featured on Dick’s Picks: Vol. 5. Recorded at California’s Oakland Auditorium following the closure of the Winterland, the gigs took place early in keyboardist Brent Mydland’s tenure in the band. Highlights include “Sugaree,” a rare “High Time,” “The Music Never Stopped,” the then new “Alabama Getaway,” “Greatest Story Ever Told,” “Playing in the Band,” “Terrapin Station,” “Casey Jones” and “One More Saturday Night.”

A limited edition Bonus Disc will also feature material from December 30, 1979, including a run from “Scarlet Begonias” into “Fire on the Mountain” and “Let It Grow.” Longtime Relix photographer Jay Blakesberg and Dead scribe Steve Silberman contribute to the album’s liner notes.

PRE-ORDER BEGINS NOW at www.dead.net

===================

THE BEATLES CELEBRATE THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY RELEASE OF ABBEY ROAD

Record Store Day is proud to celebrate this connection with a special 40th Anniversary edition of Abbey Road that includes the vinyl album, and a t-shirt that featuring the original artwork for the “Come Together”/”Something” 7” single, along with a corresponding poster. This limited edition deluxe package will be release on Vinyl Saturday, November 7th in the United States and will be limited to 5000 in the world. Check with your local store for availability.

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R.E.M., NIN, Pearl Jam, Rage Join Effort to Close Guantanamo Prison

The U.S. military's alleged use of music, played at ear-bleeding volumes, as an "interrogation tool" has come under fire from some of the musicians whose work is involved in the practice. That "interrogation tool" was allegedly used quite a bit at the United States' prison for terrorist suspects located in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Today, MTV reports that a number of artists have joined the National Campaign to Close Guantanamo, which supports President Obama's pledge to shutter the prison, even as it faces Republican opposition.

The coalition includes R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, Rosanne Cash, Steve Earle, and Billy Bragg. It also includes Nine Inch Nails, whose "March of the Pigs" is among the songs that have reportedly been used in interrogations, according to MTV. Other songs include Deicide's "Fuck Your God" and the Meow Mix jingle, which, yikes.

===================

Bon Jovi Hitting the Road for Two Years

At a press conference yesterday, Bon Jovi not only announced that they would be the opening act at the New Meadowlands Stadium, but would also be embarking on a two-year world tour.

The Circle World Tour starts on February 19 in Seattle, Washington and will include a residency at London's O2 Arena next June. The plans are to play 135 shows in 30 countries before wrapping up the tour in 2011.

===================

Motown Acts Hit Cruise Ships

Motown vets the Four Tops, the Dramatics and Freda Payne will be hitting the high seas this January as part of the label's 50th anniversary celebration. Hitsville Ventures, LLC is sponsoring the cruise aboard the Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas and will be filming for a special documentary on the label.

"We will film the shipboard concerts, the parties and all the wonderful activities with the artists and the fans, and create a permanent historical record of this unique once-in-a-lifetime experience," says Herbert J, Strather, CEO of Hitsville Venture.

Other possible acts for the cruise who have not yet confirmed include the Miracles, the Original Vandellas and the Contours.

This Date In Music History-October 23

Birthdays:

Barbara Ann Hawkins - Dixie Cups (1943)

Michael Burston - Motorhead (1949)

Dwight Yoakam (1956)

"Weird Al" Yankovic (1959)

Roberto Trujillo - Suicidal Tendencies/Metallica (1964)

Brian Nevin - Big Head Todd and the Monsters (1966)


They Are Missed:

The late Charles Foxx (sang "Mockingbird" with his sister Inez) was born in 1939.

Tommy Edwards ("Morning Side Of The Mountain") died of a brain aneurism in 1969.

In 1978, Mother Maybelle Carter, guitarist and vocalist with the Carter Family trio, died in Nashville at age 69.

Born today in 1943, Greg Ridley, bass player, Spooky Tooth, Humble Pie (died on November 19, 2003).

Songwriter Ellie Greenwich was born in New York in 1940 (died August 26, 2009). Member of the Raindrops and writer of "Chapel Of Love", "Da Doo Ron Ron", Hanky Panky" and many others with then-husband Jeff BarryWith Jeff Barry.


History:

Dion started a two week run at #1 in 1961 "Runaround Sue."



In 1962, twelve-year old Steveland Morris Judkins, renamed Little Stevie Wonder, recorded his first single, "Thank you for Loving Me All the Way," for Motown Records. The record doesn't do anything but he is billed as the twelve year old genius.

In 1963, the Beatles completed the final session for their second album ‘With the Beatles’ recording "I Wanna Be Your Man." The group then drove to London airport for a flight to Stockholm, Sweden to start their first foreign tour. The Fab four were met at Stockholm airport by hundreds of girl fans that had taken the day of school.

Bob Dylan recorded the epic cut "The Times They Are A-Changin" at Columbia Recording Studios in New York City in 1963.

In 1964, all four members of band Buddy and the Kings were killed when they hired a Cesna Skyhawk to take them to a gig in Harris County. Piloted by the bands drummer Bill Daniles, the plane crashed nose first killing all on board. Singer with the group Harold Box had replaced Buddy Holly in The Crickets after his death in a plane crash. He sang lead vocals on "Peggy Sue Got Married."

The Byrds' "Turn! Turn! Turn!" was released in 1965.



In 1966, the Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded its first two songs, "Hey Joe" and "Stone Free" at London's De Lane Lea Studios.

In 1969, Bob Dylan's "Great White Women" bootleg album sells like hotcakes in the U.S and Canada. Columbia Records, which has Dylan under contract, said it would pursue court action to stop the bootleg's sales. Dylan had no comment.

"Tommy," Pete Townshend's rock opera, spent its last week on the LP chart in 1971, two and a half years after its release. However, "Tommy" returns in 1972 for a one-night-only London stage performance and again in 1975 with the release of the movie "Tommy."

Chicago started a two week run at #1 in 1976 with the sappy cut "If You Leave Me Now." It was the group's 18th Top 40 and first US #1 (also a #1 in the UK). It went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance.

Led Zeppelin made their US television debut on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert in 1976, they performing "Black Dog" and "Dazed And Confused."

In 1978, CBS Records becomes the first U.S. label to announce a price hike to $8.98 list price for albums.

Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious attempted suicide while awaiting murder charges at New York's Rikers Island Detention Center in 1978. Vicious was charged with the killing of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen.

In 1980, Mark David Chapman quit his security job and signed out for the last time. Instead of the usual "Chappy" he wrote "John Lennon". Chapman would murder Lennon on December 8th of this year outside his New York City home.

John Lennon's first new single in more than five years,, "(Just Like) Starting Over," was released in 1980.

In 1982, The Damned released an album titled 'Strawberries' packaged with a Strawberry-smelling lyric sheet.

Nirvana played their first ever European show in 1989 when they appeared at Newcastle's Riverside Club in North East England. It was the first night of a 36 date European tour for the group who were sharing the bill with Tad.

In 1998, a federal district judge in St. Louis, MO denied a motion that would have permitted the Fort Zumwalt high school marching band the right to play a banned all-music segment of '60s songs that includes Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit." The school superintendent banned the song because he felt it promoted the drug culture.

The Rob Thomas/Carlos Santana collaboration, "Smooth," was #1 in the US in 1999. The track is recorded for Santana’s comeback album, "Supernatural." With lyrics by Thomas, the songs stays on top for an impressive 12 weeks.

In 2001, Dave Matthews Band released "Live in Chicago" 12-19-98 at the United Center.

In 2002, a federal judge in St. Louis dismissed a lawsuit against Chuck Berry by Johnnie Johnson, a piano player and former collaborator who wanted royalties for more than 30 songs written between 1955 and 1966. The songs in question included "No Particular Place To Go," "Roll Over Beethoven," and "Sweet Little Sixteen." Johnson's lawsuit argued that he and Berry were co-writers on many of the songs, but because Berry copyrighted them in his name alone, Johnson got none of the royalties. The judge ruled that too many years had passed to bring about a royalties suit.

During Ashlee Simpson's performance on Saturday Night Live in 2004, the band play a song different to the vocals the audience heard coming out the speakers. Simpson abandoned the performance but denies charges of lip syncing. Uh, ok we believe you.

In 2007, Phil Spector's first murder trial (for the 2003 shooting of actress Lana Clarkson) ends in a hung jury (10-2 for guilty-- he is later found guilty).

"Raising Sand," a collaboration between ex-Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant and Country/Bluegrass singer Alison Krauss, was released in 2007. Produced by T-Bone Burnett, the 13-track set is largely covers, including "Please Read The Letter," a song Plant co-wrote with Jimmy Page. On singing harmony with Krauss, Plant says, "I'd always liked harmony singing but I'd never been a part of anything . . . that ever went anywhere near harmony work." Plant first sang with Krauss on an ’04 Leadbelly (Hudy William Ledbetter) tribute album.

Music News & Notes

R. Kelly's 'Untitled' Album Finally Gets a Release Date

After several delays, the long-anticipated new album from R. Kelly finally has a release date. 'Untitled' will be available December 1 and will include the singles 'Number One' featuring Keri Hilson, released in July, and 'Religious," which dropped about two weeks ago.

Initially, the R&B artist planned to release an album titled '12 Play, 4th Quarter' in 2008, but when the set leaked, he scrapped the project, re-recorded some of the songs and assembled his next release under a new and non-descriptive name.

Breaking away from his traditional routine, Chicago-based Kelly recorded some of the 'Untitled' material in Atlanta. He has traditionally recorded solely in the Windy City. He also joined forces with a group of rising producers that Infinity, Lil Ronnie and Chris Henderson.

'Untitled' will be Kelly's 10th studio album. It follows 2007's 'Double-Up,' which topped The Billboard 200 upon its release to become his fifth No. 1 set on the album chart.

====================

Susan Boyle beats U2, Coldplay to set Amazon record

There's a new record holder for the largest CD pre-order ever on Amazon.com's Music Store -- and she beat the likes of Norah Jones, U2, Bruce Springsteen and Coldplay.

It's Susan Boyle.

She's the woman who wowed the world on the TV show "Britain's Got Talent."

Her album, "I Dreamed A Dream," doesn't come out until November 23rd, but Amazon says the response for pre-orders is "unprecedented."

====================

Michael Buble beats out 'New Moon' soundtrack on The Billboard 200

Michael Buble's "Crazy Love" tops The Billboard 200 for a second week in a row, beating out the much-anticipated "Twilight Saga: New Moon" soundtrack, released Friday, 203,000 to 115,000. Granted, this was the jazz singer's first full week of sales, and "New Moon" (at No. 2) was only on shelves for three days -- with pre-sales included -- as it was released early on Friday.

Still, it's a triumph for Buble, as this marks his second-best sales week.

Jay-Z's "Blueprint 3" climbs up 5-3 despite a 15% sales slip to 55,000. Barbra Streisand's "Love Is the Answer" sits at No. 4 (49,000, -34%), Miley Cyrus' "The Time of Our Lives" ascends 8-5 (40,000, -15%) and Black Eyed Peas' "The E.N.D." bounds up 23-6 (40,000, +56%). After an appearance on "Oprah" and the release of a new music video ("Fifteen"), Taylor Swift and her "Fearless" zoom up 17-7 (33,000, +7%).

The Flaming Lips score their best chart position ever, though it's not their best sales week. "Embryonic" debuts at No. 8 with 32,000. Their last album, "At War with the Mystics," began at No. 11 but with 48,000 in 2006.

====================

Rogers Tires Of His Own Song

How many times can you listen to Kenny Rogers' The Gambler in a row? An even bigger question is, how many times can Kenny Rogers SING The Gambler in a row? The answer to the second question is evidently twelve because that's how many times he sang the song the other night at the request of hedge-fund manager Raj Rajaratnam who paid $4 million for a private performance by the singer. Rajaratnam requested the song over and over until, after an even dozen performances, Rogers refused to do it again. For $4 million he should have sang it until the customer became ill.

====================

Rihanna's 'Russian Roulette' Arrives, New Album Is Called 'Rated R'


Rihanna's brand new single "Russian Roulette" which is written by Ne-Yo has arrived. The track is confirmed to be the first single from the Barbadian songstress' upcoming studio album "Rated R" which is due for November 23 U.S. release.

A music video in companion to the song has been filmed last week in New York City. It is directed by Anthony Mandler and is expected to be debuted on ABC during the network's primetime hours. Unfortunately, no specified premiere date is mentioned. Here is the R-Rated cover art that is gaining attention in the music circles.

A cover art for the single has also been put forward. The artwork features Rihanna being topless and tied up in barbed wires. Wearing an eye patch, she looks fiercely to the camera with slightly-opened mouth. Her right hand is holding a chain hanging from the ceiling. Cool....

=================

Eels Unveil New Album Cover Art


Eels have unveiled the cover art for their forthcoming album, ‘End Times‘.

The band also released the tracklisting for the album, due out January 19.

The album art was illustrated by Adrian Tomine.

Box Sets From A Very Special Christmas, Buddy Holly, Hendrix, Motown, Rolling Stones, U2, and Klaus Voormann Plus a Rarity From Nirvana Arrive for the

Box Sets From A Very Special Christmas, Buddy Holly, Hendrix, Motown, Rolling Stones, U2, and Klaus Voormann Plus a Rarity From Nirvana Arrive for the Holidays

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Historic Jimi Hendrix concerts... a legendary performance from Nirvana... U2's remastered The Unforgettable Fire... every recording by Buddy Holly... a new generation of talent on A Very Special Christmas, every Motown #1 hit... nearly every Rolling Stones album since 1971... and a collection from famed sideman Klaus Voormann. With new box sets and albums from UMe, holiday gift-giving has never sounded so good.


A Very Special Christmas:

Selling one million copies in its first year, the premier album, A Very Special Christmas, released in 1987, and the subsequent albums in the series, have generated more than $l00 million for Special Olympics, the most ever raised by a benefit recording series. Set for release on November 23, A Very Special Christmas - Volume 7 (A&M/UMe), incorporates a new generation of superstar talent; Colbie Caillat, Carter Twins, Miley Cyrus, Vanessa Hudgens, Sean Kingston, Leighton Meester, Kellie Pickler, Ashley Tisdale, Carrie Underwood, as well as many others, add to the latest edition of the acclaimed album series featuring original recordings of new and traditional Christmas songs which each artist selected especially for this album.


Buddy Holly:

He had a brief three-year professional recording career, but Buddy Holly left the music world a vast recorded legacy of 203 tracks--all of them on the limited edition six-CD Hip-O Select box set Not Fade Away/The Complete Studio Recordings And More.

The tracks range from his earliest recordings to demos with Bob Montgomery; from his earliest recordings with The Crickets to his first studio recordings for Decca in Nashville; from the Coral and Brunswick recordings and hits that made him famous to his heralded apartment tapes. There are six previously unreleased tracks plus another 11 previously unreleased in the U.S. All of the original, locatable undubbed recordings and all 57 overdubbed versions recorded after the "day the music died" are here. Many are hard-to-find or make their CD debuts.


Jimi Hendrix:

Two box sets from Dagger Records (Experience Hendrix through Geffen/UMe), offered exclusively through Amazon.com, are each presented with exclusive reproductions of Hendrix memorabilia, including a poster, postcard set replicating classic Hendrix concert posters, set of badges reminiscent of the era, Hendrix iPod Skin, PikCARD with four guitar picks adorned with Hendrix artwork from the concert posters and more.

Jimi Hendrix Experience Live 1968 Paris/Ottawa encompasses a pair of concerts, highlighted by performances of "Purple Haze," "The Wind Cries Mary" and "Little Wing" from the L'Olympia Theater in Paris and a "Hendrixized" version of the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" taped at Ottawa's Capitol Theater later that same year. Jimi Hendrix Experience Paris '67 is a custom-swirled, colored vinyl album documenting an earlier concert at L'Olympia and featuring performances of "Stone Free," "Hey Joe," "Wild Thing," etc.


Motown:

The 10-CD box set Motown: The Complete No. 1's (Motown/UMe) brings together every Motown No. 1 hit, from every U.S. and international chart and from every genre--a staggering 192 tracks--plus 10 bonus tracks whose cover versions were No. 1, for a otal of 202 No. 1 recordings.

Housed in a replica of the original Motown headquarters, "Hitsville U.S.A.," Motown: The Complete No. 1's spans generations of musical memories, beginning with 1961's R&B No. 1 "Shop Around" from The Miracles, and the label's first Pop No. 1, "Please Mr. Postman" from The Marvelettes. From The Supremes' five consecutive No. 1's, starting with "Where Did Our Love Go," to The Temptations' immortal "My Girl," this is the soundtrack to the sixties, seventies and beyond, concluding with 2000's "Bag Lady" from Erykah Badu. Heard too are Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Four Tops, Martha & the Vandellas, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Jackson 5, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Commodores, Rick James, Lionel Richie, Boyz II Men, and more.


Nirvana:

One of the most bootlegged concerts in the annals of rock-- Nirvana's August 30, 1992, headlining appearance at the U.K.'s Reading Festival--Nirvana Live At Reading (DGC/Geffen/UMe) will be issued in a limited edition DVD+CD Deluxe Edition in November. The footage and audio come in the original multi-track masters and are presented in 5.1 Surround Sound. Only two of the 25 performances on the DVD have ever been released before.

The concert ranked #1 in Kerrang's "100 Gigs That Shook The World" and "Nirvana's #1 Greatest Moment" by fans in an NME poll includes nearly the entire Nevermind tracklist, early performances of then-unrecorded songs ("All Apologies," "Dumb" and the first performance of "Tourette's") and live versions of songs later heard on Incesticide. The career-spanning set list also reaches back to the band's beginnings.


The Rolling Stones:

Thirteen of the 14 Rolling Stones albums since 1971 have been newly remastered and are available from UMe separately or in a limited edition collectible box set exclusively through Amazon.com (1972's Exile On Main St. will be remastered and released in early 2010). Included is a full-color poster of the band's Sticky Fingers classic promotional image re-created specially for this package.

The box brings together Sticky Fingers (1971, "Brown Sugar," "Wild Horses"); Goats Head Soup (1973, "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)," "Angie"); It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (1974, "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)"); Black And Blue (1976, "Hot Stuff," "Miss You"); Some Girls (1978, "Beast Of Burden," "Shattered"); Emotional Rescue (1980, "She's So Cold"); Tattoo You (1981, "Start Me Up"); Undercover (1983, "Undercover Of The Night"); Dirty Work (1986, "Harlem Shuffle"); and Steel Wheels (1989, "Rock And A Hard Place") plus Voodoo Lounge (1994), Bridges To Babylon (1997) and A Bigger Bang (2005).


U2:

U2's fourth album, The Unforgettable Fire, has been remastered for the first time with direction from U2 guitarist, The Edge, and will be released by Island/UMe on October 27, 2009. This special edition marks 25 years since the album's original release in October 1984. Recorded at Slane Castle, Ireland, The Unforgettable Fire was the first U2 album to be produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, and spawned the US top 10 hit - "Pride (In The Name Of Love)."

The limited edition super deluxe box set features bonus audio material, including two previously unheard tracks from the Slane Castle sessions: "Yoshino Blossom" and "Disappearing Act" (a track which the band recently completed), and a DVD including music videos, a documentary and unreleased live footage from the Amnesty International Conspiracy of Hope Tour in 1986.


Klaus Voormann:

On A Sideman's Journey (UMe), famed musician Klaus Voormann, who played bass on solo albums for every Beatle as well as for Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, Yoko Ono and others, is joined by musical friends in seven studio sessions in London, Memphis, Hamburg, Los Angeles and Munich. The limited edition two-disc box set, available exclusively through Amazon.com, includes three bonus audio tracks, a DVD documentary on the makin of the album, a hardbound book of photos (renowned graphic designer Voormann created the Beatles' Revolver cover) and more.

Featuring Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh, Yusuf (aka Cat Stevens), Dr. John, Bonnie Bramlett, Van Dyke Parks, Albert Lee, and others, A Sideman's Journey finds Voormann & Friends performing favorites such as "Blue Suede Shoes," "All Things Must Pass," "Mighty Quinn" and "Just Like A Woman."

SOURCE Universal Music Enterprises

Ask Mr. Music by Jerry Osborne

I am continuing our new feature: Ask "Mr. Music." Now in its 23rd year of syndication (1986-2008), Jerry Osborne's weekly Q&A feature will be a regular post every Wednesday from now on. Be sure to stop by Jerry's site (www.jerryosborne.com) for more Mr. Music archives, record price guides, anything Elvis, buy & sell collectibles, record appraisals and much more. I thank Jerry for allowing the reprints.


FOR THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 19, 2009


DEAR JERRY: I found a cassette tape hand-labeled “Doo-Wop Collectors Classics,” which provides no information about any of the songs or artists.

Surprisingly, all but one of the 20 or so tunes are ones I am completely unfamiliar with, by anyone. The one I do know is “Just One Look,” a hit in the '60s by Doris Troy, the Hollies, and Linda Ronstadt.

Any chance you know the name of the group singing “Just One Look”?
—Mario Cassell, Corpus Christi, Texas


DEAR MARIO: It is a certainty. This is in fact the original May 1963 release of “Just One Look,” by Andy and the Marglows (Liberty 55570). Their record preceded Doris Troy's version by about two weeks.

This group recorded only four songs (issued on two singles), all of which are on a 25-track CD album that you seem to have on tape: “Doo-Wop Collectors Classics, Volume 6.”

Having recently been in contact with Lamont Russell on another matter, he is the perfect person to enlighten us on the brief recording history of Andy and the Marglows:

“I sang with Andy and the Marglows in 1963, when we recorded for Liberty Records.

“Other members of our group were Andy Huff, his brother Terry, and Mickey Freeman. We all lived in Washington D.C. at the time.

“The first single was “Just One Look,” backed with “Symphony,” on which I sang the lead. Background vocals are by Doris Troy and two other ladies whose names I don't recall.

“Our manager drove us to Liberty Records in New York, a Los Angeles label with an office in N.Y. There, in the office of Ed Silver, our producer at Liberty, is where we first heard Doris Troy's “Just One Look” demo tape.

Though we begged Ed to let us record the song at the same tempo heard on Troy's demo, he kept saying that he needed it to be funky.

“Doris Troy, who also wrote “Just One Look,” wanted it recorded at Liberty the way it was on her demo, and not at the upbeat tempo that Ed had us using.

“Upon release in Detroit, one radio station selected our “funky” version as the Battle of Sounds best Rhythm and Blues Recording of the Month. Stations were playing our song like crazy, but only for about two weeks. That is when Doris Troy's version (Atlantic 2188) came out … and we were history.

“I think that if we had recorded “Just One Look” just as we heard it on the demo, there would have been no reason for Doris Troy to record the song herself. Her eventual release for Atlantic sounded just like her original demo.

“Though Doris Troy made the Top 10 with “Just One Look,” she never had another Top 100 hit.

“Our second and last single, “I'll Get By,” backed with “Superman Lover” (Liberty 55623), came out in October 1963.

“A dozen years later, the summer '75 chart hit, “The Lonely One” (Mainstream 5581) came out credited to Special Delivery Featuring Terry Huff. This outfit includes brothers Terry, Andy (half of Andy and the Marglows) and Jimmy Huff.”


DEAR JERRY: Like many teenage boys in the 1960s, I had a huge crush on Annette (Funicello).

Now, 45 years later, many have forgotten just how popular Annette was at the time.

This international superstar had hit records, popular TV shows, and major motion picture films, all going at the same time.

In one show I saw on television back then, Annette is cast as a dance hall girl in the old west. As such, she sings a song or two, much to the delight of a saloon full of rowdy cowboys.

Do you know these songs, and if they were on records. Also, what is the name of the movie?
—George E. Culley, Milwaukee


DEAR GEORGE: Let's begin with that made-for-television movie. It is “Golden Horseshoe Revue,” a Frontierland feature on Walt Disney's Sunday night series “Wonderful World of Color.” This episode aired on September 23, 1962.

At first Annette bores the local dudes with the Gay '90s-type ballad, “Hang a Lantern in Your Window.” As the cowboys get up to leave, Annette turns on the charm and sings the up-tempo “Mister Piano Man.” The men quickly return to their seats.

A single of “Mister Piano Man,” with a gorgeous photo sleeve picturing Annette festooned in her character's showgirl costume, (Buena Vista 405) came out in the summer of 1962.

I know of no issued recording of the 54-second “Hang a Lantern in Your Window.”


IZ ZAT SO? With a career that began in 1956, Annette became the Rock Era's first single-name star, years before Dion left the Belmonts, Cher sang apart from Sonny, and Donovan made every effort to “Catch the Wind.”


Copyright 2009 Osbourne Enterprises- Reprinted By Permission