15.12.2019

Jonathan Wilson.....

”My new album ’Dixie Blur’ is out March 6th, 2020, and I can’t wait to share this new album with all you guys. This is a very special collection of songs that I made in Nashville this summer with an absolutely astounding Nashville All Star band featuring Patrick Sansone, Kenny Vaughn, Jon Radford, Drew Erickson, Russ Pahl, Jim Hoke, Leslie Stevens, Mark O’Connor, Dennis Crouch and more. We made it at Cowboy Jack Clement’s Sound Emporium A, tracked it live to 24-track, it was a glorious event.” ~ Jonathan Wilson

 

14.12.2019

Kakafon Records 2.....

Kaja

"Origo" is a celebration of life and death, the journey and eternity. Kaja, the trio that just stepped into its teens, unleashes their distinctly personal approach once again to embrace a broad emotional range with a creative mélange of  influences.They still have their roots in Klezmer and other Eastern European folk music, but they’ve branched out and their latest album even features influences from pop, afro and electronica. In addition to violin, accordion and double bass, the trio also treats us to cutting edge guest performances on scissors, synth bass, percussion, kalimba, grand piano, live electronica and saxophones. A 12 minute long suite nestles with a deadly waltz, a dramatic unplanned road trip, vibrant afro beats, and a trolley trip in. All with the cinematic chamber music sound of Kaja.

Mejram

The bridge between Gothenburg and Nashville is called Mejram. American roots music and swedish folk merge when this group now releases their debut album, a carefully wrapped folk pop package filled with personal stories dressed in strings, bows, clavier, percussion och rich harmony singing. After 3 years in the shadows the band now emerges into the sun with what makes Mejram Mejram, 4 skilled young musicians, 2 languages, an infinite amount of feelings and great creativity.

During many hours in moderately rickety rooms, with yellow curtains and terrible ventilation, 10 songs have slowly and carefully been created, to later be recorded by Henrik Cederblom in Studio Epidemin, Gothenburg, Sweden. The orchestration is wide and consists of many kinds of stringed and bowed instruments, piano, drums, percussion and not least steady singing harmonies. With personal stories filled with anger, happiness, sorrow, hope and relief, Mejram leads the listener through life's peaks and valleys in a compact crawl-up-in-a-comfortable-armchair-format of 41 minutes.

Navarra

Navarra is folk music with a nerve of city pulse and a longing for morning light. It’s energy laden folk groove and a gentle comfort on a rainy day. They are known as innovators of their genre and as a fiery live act, creating an almost magical atmosphere between band and audience. "I Ljusningen" ("At Dawn") is the band’s 3rd and much awaited album. It gives us folk music with Navarra’s unmistakable energy and joyous interplay but there are also songs that really stretch the concept of folk music.

A sister from Somalia, music from the deep forests of Värmland, telephone salesmen and a longing great as the moon all have a natural place when Navarra’s music takes shape. Lyrics with a deep and personal imagery are given color and form in accurate compositions. Arvid Kästel's groovy folk music piano and Erika Risinger's virtuoso violin playing rest firmly on a creative and confident drum play by Carl Johan Groth. Sofia Kunze's warm voice naturally weaves into the whole with nerve and expressiveness. At dawn, just as the sun breaks through the veil of night, we find Navarra's magical world.

 

13.12.2019

The Secret Sisters.....

The ubiquitous Brandi Carlile and her bandmates Tim and Phil Hanseroth add another credit to their resumes, taking the production reins of The Secret Sisters’ latest album "Saturn Return".

Recorded at Carlile’s home studio in Washington state, the album will be released February 28th, 2020, on New West Records. It marks the 2nd time that Carlile and the Hanseroths have produced the Alabama sibling duo of Lydia and Laura Rogers, following 2017’s "You Don’t Own Me Anymore".

The new album is available for preorder and includes a download of the song 'Cabin'. Beginning as a doleful meditation on grief and loss, the track builds to an urgent and chilling climax with the repeated phrase "burn this cabin down”.

In addition to capturing their sibling harmony, Carlile also challenged the Rogers siblings to sing individually for the 1st time on record. “It’s really uniquely unified and harmonious when they’re in tandem and very tumultuous and deep when they’re not in tandem”, Carlile says in a statement. “To be a harbinger for their honesty in these songs and to watch them work together to see the tension was one of the greatest gifts of my career because those are 2 very powerful people in a very interesting point in their lives”.

The album takes its name, "Saturn Return", from the astrological occurrence that takes place approximately every 29 and a half years. The record finds the sisters dealing with grief over the loss of both of their grandmothers, as well as the joys and challenges of becoming 1st time mothers themselves.

 

12.12.2019

Kakafon Records.....

Anne Kalmering & Stahlhammer Klezmer Classic

Anne Kalmering’s voice resembles no other. Her warm, humorous and soulful interpretations of songs in Yiddish and Ladino have made her a central figure of the unique Jewish Swedish cultural heritage. Together with critically acclaimed Stahlhammer Klezmer Classic, she now releases their debut album "Vayter". Stahlhammer Klezmer Classic has its roots in Stahlhammer Klezmer Orchestra, which existed in Krasnik, Poland, from 1920 to 1939, with violinist Semmy Stahlhammers grandfather, uncles and friends. Semmy continues the family tradition with new members.

The album "Vayter" shows the width of the klezmer music, Jewish folk music meets chamber music and cabaret in suggestive and playful arrangements. The music is reminiscent of a culture that was close to being destroyed, but still lives on. "Vayter" means “ahead, forward” in Yiddish, and is a tribute to all those who has walked this path with their songs and music.

Ellinor & Leonor

With the unusual combination of 5 string cello and fiddle, Ellinor & Leonor vitalise and give new life to Swedish folk music. In “Årsringar”, the duo present traditional tunes from south Dalarna in stylish and lilting arrangements enriched with improvisation and influences from chamber and world music. The duo have chosen to call their 2nd album "Årsringar" ("Growth Rings") in celebration of significant Swedish folk musicians that have gone before.

Retaining a respect for the traditional, the duo relishes in the spontaneity of artistic freedom to playfully develop and express the material through different genres. Thanks to Leonor’s way of playing her 5 string cello, the melody wanders between the 2 instruments, leaving room for improvisation. Ellinor and Leonor are also much appreciated dance musicians which can be heard in the lively triplets of Hins Anders polska, the energy filled hagervals “Karusellen”, as well as in their rendition of majestic polonaises and melancholic polskas.

Ida&Louise

A hundred years ago, the Yiddish Culture was blooming, and there was a great movement of women poets who were driven by powerful, artistic visions. In the years after World War 2 their works were forgotten, but thanks to feminist groups in the 1980’s, the works were rediscovered and translated into English. A new generation of readers could now enjoy the poetry around the world. In "Shtoltse Lider" ("Proud Poems"), the duo Ida&Louise gives new life to this treasure of poetry. The duo has interpreted poems by 5 of the yiddish writers, by composing new music to the lyrics.

“We want to build a bridge between a hidden cultural heritage and innovative female artists from the past and the future. Between languages and cultures, poetry and music“, says Ida&Louise. In their compositional work, Ida&Louise has found their inspiration deep within the lyrics, and their ambition is to create a close and moving connection between music and lyrics. On this album, the duo adds voice harmonies, glockenspiel, whispering and cello to their own, symbiotic sound, as well as an old recording by the poet Rokhl Korn, reciting her own poem. The poems can be read in Yiddish and English in the booklet of the CD.

 

11.12.2019

Goodbye Cream.....

Universal Music is delighted to announce a 4 CD, special edition of Cream’s " Goodbye Tour Live 1968". Set for release February 7th, 2020, this sumptuous set brings together 36 tracks, including 29 making their 1st appearance on CD, recorded during Cream’s farewell tour of the US in October 1968 and their final UK date at London’s Royal Albert Hall on November 26th of that same year. There are a total of 19 previously unreleased tracks, and a further 10 tracks from the Royal Albert Hall show, which have only ever been available on DVD.

Rolling Stone magazine’s David Fricke supplies insightful liner notes, chronicling the group’s collective musical genius and their legendary final tour.
 
On its original release in February 1969, "Goodbye", which combined live performances from their last tour dates with a handful of studio recordings, rose to the UK # 1 slot and to # 2 on the US chart. This new expanded edition comprises 3 US concerts Oakland Coliseum, Los Angeles Forum, San Diego Sports Arena, alongside London’s Royal Albert Hall. It captures Cream at their virtuosic best, at the end but also at the height of their career.

With Cream, Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton, set the template for not only the supergroup but also the power trio, with their innate musical talent and brilliance. Only coming together as Cream in July 1966, they shone briefly but blindingly brightly throughout 2 trailblazing years.

 

10.12.2019

Jordi Baizan.....

"In December 2015, I was offered to play a couple of holiday car dealership gigs on short notice. The gigs paid really, really well. In order to do  a good job, I had to learn 3 hours of seasonal material in a short span of time. One of the songs I came across was 'Pretty Paper', by Willie Nelson, which tells the story of  busy holiday shoppers rushing past a disabled street vendor.  The tune stuck with me because it had a depth to it that other holiday songs lacked.

Around that time, I had started planning a trip to Cuba for the following year and was listening to quite a bit of Cuban music from the 50's. I started playing around with a syncopated, Cuban style guitar groove and put a melody to it with the words to 'Pretty Paper'. I really liked it and decided to record it in late 2016 before I took that trip to Cuba.  I never really had a chance to release it until now, 3 years later.

It was a thrill to visit Cuba back in December of 2016, but I couldn’t help but notice the stark contrast between the haves and the have nots that is referenced in 'Pretty Paper'.  Despite the mixed emotions, I fell in love with the Cuban people and the beauty of the island. My mom is Cuban, and my mom and dad both came to the US from Cuba, so I have Cuban blood in my veins. I am also a 1st generation Texan, a Texan like Willie Nelson. This version of Willie’s song was recorded right here in my hometown of Houston with some of our best local studio musicians. I’m proud to have a song to share that is a fusion of Cuban and Texan, like me."

~ Jordi Baizan

 

09.12.2019

Ben Watt.....

Across 4 decades Ben Watt has maintained a committed forward looking course, from the ardent echo drenched folk of his early solo work with Robert Wyatt, through 17 years as musical mainspring and co-lyricist in the best selling Everything But the Girl with Tracey Thorn, and 10 at the helm of his smart electronic label Buzzin' Fly, to his more recent moving non fiction and mid life solo albums, the Award winning "Hendra" in 2014 and "Fever Dream" in 2016. "Storm Damage" is Watt's 4th solo album. Sonically adventurous, lyrically detailed and engaged, the album, written and produced by Watt himself, is a personal journey through anxiety and change cut through with an insistent defiance. Unmade Road Records, January 31st, 2020.

 

08.12.2019

Carrington MacDuffie.....

Veteran singer songwriter Carrington MacDuffie brings fresh attitude and a wily depth of experience to her music and performance. Far reaching influences of a musical New York childhood weave through her recordings, and some years spent beachside in Los Angeles performing with a 4 piece rock band come into play as she breathes new creative expression into this nostalgic Christmas classic.

MacDuffie’s stamp on the song brings a more upbeat and aggressive spin on a song that has historically been recorded with a much slower tempo by its diverse musical predecessors. As she explains it herself, “The singer is not feeling forlorn about the fact her lover won’t be with her for Christmas, but rather is heartily displeased, in fact is feeling a little bratty and demented about it”.

Carrington divides her time between Austin and Seattle, with ongoing recording projects in Nashville, Austin and Glasgow. With a studio album, ”Kiss Make Better" in 2018, and 3 EP’s under her belt since 2014, she has plotted a course of single releases over the coming months, to be collected into a 2020 album release supported by a spring tour of the UK.

MacDuffie has been singing since before she could talk, and she is also a renowned and versatile voice actor, having narrated biographies of Pussy Riot and Joni Mitchell. Her voice also appears in video games including “World Of Warcraft”, in which she plays a shamanic Scottish dwarf. Regarding her adventurous and often tumultuous life, she says “Music carries me through it all”.

 

07.12.2019

Bryan Ferry Live.....

Bryan Ferry just announced his upcoming project "Live At The Royal Albert Hall 1974" alongside a brand new European tour in 2020. The release is a recording from his 1st ever solo tour and seminal performance now available for the 1st time. The album is set to be released February 7th, 2020, and is available on CD, LP, and digital. Orders from the official Bryan Ferry Store will also come with a signed A3 tour poster replica. The official Bryan Ferry store will also be offering a special deluxe edition boxed version of the album, complete with a replica tour programme and ticket from the original show, postcards, and a photo art print signed by Bryan Ferry.

At the birth of his solo career Ferry released 2 records, "These Foolish Things" and "Another Time, Another Place" in 1973 and 1974 respectively, but had never performed them live. The setlist from "Live At The Royal Albert Hall 1974" is built from these 2 albums and is a marked departure from the music he was performing with Roxy Music in the years previous. The tracklist consists of fan favourites including the likes of ‘A Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall’, ‘The In Crowd’, ‘Smoke Gets in Your Eyes’ and ‘I Love How You Love Me’, and spans his influences from the 30's, 40's and 50's, including the records that shaped him growing up and throughout his formative years.

 

06.12.2019

Judith Owen's Sexbot.....

Judith Owen is many things, a world class pianist and vocalist, an internationally acclaimed composer, recording artist and performer whose stylistic range spans rock, pop, classical, jazz, blues and musical theatre, ut she’s also a master storyteller.

And she’s something of a provocateur. On her captivating and riotously funny new single, “Second Hand Sexbot”, due out December 20th, 2019, on Twanky Records, Owen brings all of her talents together as she spins a remarkably vivid and wondrously strange tale about loneliness and isolation and the growth in the demand for startlingly lifelike AI enhanced love dolls as replacement companions, even when in a relationship around the globe.

“As a songwriter, I sometimes tackle very serious subjects”, Owen says, “but I also rely very heavily on my sense of humor. It’s just one of the ways I get through life. I also confess to being a voyeur, so I love the absurdity that’s all around us. ‘Bring me your weird and wild,’ I say. So when I see something that’s truly out there, I don’t do what most people do, which is to run away. In fact, I run toward it, headon”.

Which is exactly what Owen did after she caught a late night TV show documenting a man who had purchased an anthropomorphic robot sex doll. “He was talking about how technically advanced these robots have become and how, in addition to having sex with it, he saw it as his girlfriend and treated it with great care and tenderness”, Owen recalls. “At first, I thought, ‘OK, I’m not going to be judgmental, because he’s obviously a lonely single man, and he’s not hurting anyone!’. We’re at a place in society where we’re behind our computers so much that we hardly talk or interact with other humans at all”.

However, Owen’s head spun around when he admitted that, owing to the high price of AI dolls and his budgetary limitations, he’d gone on a Craigslist type site and bought a second hand sexbot! “My eyes lit up”, Owen says. “I thought, ‘there’s so many things wrong with that’. For instance, wear and tear?”.

The segment inspired these delectable lyrics, "She’s got a thousand miles upon her clock but I don’t mind, she’s been inspected, disinfected so there’s peace of mind, and she’s pure again, so when I’m in, the feeling, well, it’s more than fine, and when we’re done, we’re overcome, I nearly feel her trying to tell me 'I could almost love you'…”

It gets more eye popping. Watching the program, Owen was amazed to learn how he, and many similar bot owners, would take their girlfriends to the park, the cinema, a romantic dinner, glory in buying them outfits, in styling their hair, in sitting quietly holding hands, the length to which some men care for their sexbots. “This was a lonely guy who yearned for company and was proud to show off his good looking love interest”.

All great fodder for lyrics such as, “In the park where I sit and I pose her, no one knows her, people stare she’s quite a thing to see, well, OK, so her mouth never Closes, but I smell the roses, just the way I make her look at me”.

For Owen, the real kicker came when she witnessed the final shot of the show. The camera pulled back to reveal the man’s real life wife sitting at the kitchen table behind the love birds. Owen recalls, “It was clear they’d stopped being intimate long since when the wife said, ‘I’m OK with it. It’s not like he’s out there cheating with a living, breathing woman who he might leave me for’. Well, that was it, I couldn’t get to the piano fast enough”.

The resulting number is a rousing, instantly memorable gem that combines Beatles “Lady Madonna” style ultra funky driving piano with pompous strings and progressive pop. Add to that some outrageous soloing from Richard Thompson throughout the track, Leland Sklar’s dancing bass, Pedro Segundo’s groove and delicious chamber strings, supporting Owens blistering yet sensuous vocals, and this joyful dip into the human condition is complete.

Owen, who produced the track with Grammy winner John Fischbach (Stevie Wonder, Carole King), recorded in both the UK and US, enlisting the services of her long-time London engineer Olga Fitzroy (Coldplay). As for the jacket artwork, let’s just say it’s one for the ages. Owen designed it herself, and as she admits, “It bears a certain resemblance to somebody people might recognize”.

Owen has previewed “Second Hand Sexbot” during recent concert performances, and she notes that the song drew raves at an appearance attended by a host of artificial intelligence experts. “After I sang it for them, they announced that it was a hit and that they would vote it as their favorite song of all time”, she says. “To get their stamp of approval sealed the deal for me”.

Owen recently wrapped a tour of Europe and the UK to adoring fans, during which time she joined Richard Thompson as a featured guest, along with a cavalcade of British rock and folk royalty, at his 70th birthday celebration on September 30th at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Next, she changes gears to join another legend, bassist Derek Smalls, formerly of the band formerly known as Spinal Tap, for a series of concerts at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles.

 

05.12.2019

Supergrass Box Set.....

Supergrass‘ career spanning box set "The Strange Ones 1994 - 2008" is now widely available for preorder. This set contains all 6 albums on vinyl picture disc and on CD, along with 4 further CD's of live material, a 2 CD set of remixes, b-sides and rarities and a final CD of unreleased demos, outtakes and oddities. That’s a 19 disc set made up of 13 CD's and 6 vinyl records, in fact, make that 14 discs since a 7" single with ‘Caught By The Fuzz’/‘Richard III’ 2020 remixesm is also included. Label BMG claim over 6 hours of previously unreleased audio material. In the box with the discs are a 42 page large format book, 4 colour posters and 6 Supergrass button badges. "The Strange Ones 1994 - 2008" will be released on January 24th, 2020.

 

04.12.2019

Nico & The Freshtones.....
 
A very special and unique blues rock sound from France, influenced by the greatest bands from the late 60's and early 70's. Lead guitarist and singer Nico Chona with the help of his longtime friends, takes you on a rock and blues journey, where the electric guitars melts with the sound of an old Chevrolet V8 engine.
 
In 2019 Nico Chona & The Freshtones did 33 gigs. From festivals to small clubs , they spent a lot of time on the road. A 4 week tour in 6 European countries, France, Spain, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland and Switzerland. 23 shows which have definitely pushed the band to another level. They have also played a couple of great opening shows for artists like Irish blues man Johnny Gallagher or the Australian superstar John Butler.
 
The first album of Nico Chona & The Freshtones has just been released on their own label, Electric George Records. it is playing on more than 130 radio stations in France, Belgium, Spain, Canada and the US.

A new EP will be released in early 2020. A 2 song, 12" single on vinyl. Recorded live without overdubs, like the album. It's not only a new record. It's also a wonderful collaboration with French artist Alain Bertrand who has painted the cover.

The excellent reactions from the audience at the shows and about the album this year, give the band more strength and plans for the future, to go touring , recording a new album, and sharing it's music with the rest of the world. See you on the road.....

 

03.12.2019

Mapache.....

"Mapache", the self titled debut album from the cosmic California duo of Clay Finch and Sam Blasucci, is available now. "Mapache" has been out of print since its initial issue in 2017 and gained acclaim from K.E.X.P. FM, Shindig! Magazine and more. To make this reissue extra special, this edition of "Mapache" includes the tracks from Mapache’s 2018 "Lonesome L.A. Cowboy" EP  as a bonus 45 7" single on the vinyl and as bonus tracks on the CD. This marks the 1st time that the songs from "Lonesome L.A. Cowboy" have been available on CD or LP.

 

02.12.2019

Won't B Home 4 Xmas 2.....

By the time the frost hits the pumpkin, there typically is no shortage of new Christmas albums from the usual suspects singing, for the most part, the same old spiritual carols and secular classics. And then there’s “Won’t Be Home For Christmas”.

The compilation CD, conceived and produced by Swedish music industry veteran Peter Holmstedt, brings together compositions from 18 different singer songwriters, each of whom approach their assignment to ’write a song about Christmas’ in widely different musical stylings.

To be sure, there are no Justin Beiber’s here singing ”Away In A Manger”, no Reba McEntire’s twanging out ”Joy To The World”, there are, however songsmiths from around the globe, from Dublin to Austin to South Australia to Nashville, who weave together a deep playlist, which veers from dark to cheery to twisted tunes, from introspective musings to the tender wonderment of a miraculous life. And there’s even a lullaby.

Some of the songs have a retro vibe to them, harkening back to a Dean Martin mood or 50’s jump blues jazz or Irish balladry. Some are straight on acoustic folk ballads. There’s some soft rock. And some, as are many a good song, are hard to pigeon hole. There are pure Christmas songs and a few that give it a passing mention, while others give emotional snapshots of life stories within the seasonal time frame.

“I’m a big fan of compilation albums, and I had the idea of reaching out to singer songwriters I know and admire and asking them to write a song with a Christmas hook to contribute to the project”, Holmstedt said. “I was interested to hear what interpretations they would come up with, and I was delighted at the response”.

Holmstedt brings back 3 of the 4 artists featured on his well received 2015 compilation, "Hidden Treasures – Singer Songwriter From Home”, Keith Miles (Nashville, TN), Barry Ollman (Greenwood Village, CO) and Bob Cheevers (Austin, TX), and their contributions to “Won’t Be Home For Christmas” exemplifies in a roasted chestnut shell the stylistic divergence contained throughout the CD.

Miles, joined again by his partner in rhyme, Jack Sundrud, croons a sweet seasonal lullaby with an infectious tune, “Sweet Christmas Dreams”, featuring perfectly understated steel guitar and sleigh bell percussion that makes it hard to resist hitting the replay button, Ollman brings his steely smooth vocals and storytelling prowess to “Winter’s Light”, about mind’s eye memories of simpler times,  and Cheevers’ take on “The Spirit Of Christmas” is a hauntingly uplifting holiday tale if there ever was one, where he meets a good woman, with teenage kids, ’one’s on the pipe, one’s on the pole’. Spoiler alert, there’s a happy ending. It’s Christmas, after all.

The CD opens with Elliott Murphy’s hilariously twisted tale of his bipolar cousin Linear coming to visit while being off his medication and having delusional thoughts of murdering the narrator. When they show up at a family Christmas dinner, everything goes awry before a quick slap from mom saves the day.

The original album ends with Jack Tempchin, channeling his inner Perry Como with lounge piano and horns that make you want to snuggle up with a warm hard cider.

In between there are plenty of jewels, Kaurna Cronin weaves a gentle, almost hymn like landscaping about his homeland Australia’s unique traditions in “Pavlova (Too)”, Rambling Nicholas Heron provides Irish vibrato about “Wee Lanterns Of Snow”, and Paul Kamm’s “Where Are You Going Tonight” speaks to the sometimes bitter loneliness of the season, which can be soothed with a helping hand. Annie Gallups’ lovely “Christmas On The Train” documents her departing New York on Christmas Eve for a cross country trek that turned out not to be a not so lonely holiday excursion.

There are songs filled with memories of past loves, like Kenny White’s well strummed “Christmas Day”, Jude Johnstone’s heartbreaking “I Guess It’s Gonna Be That Way”, and Janni Littlepage’s emotional “Now That Winter’s Come”.

Perhaps the most touching song on the CD is “Miracle Mabel”, by UK duo My Darling Clementine, which begins “This is not a song for Christmas, there is no manger or a stable, but there is a bright star, and a Miracle Mabel”, about the couple’s own ’immaculate conception’.

Adding to the warmth of the collection is Mikael Persson’s Richard Butler-esque vocals on a beautifully rendered “This December Night”, and Mudfish’s slow walk through a simple tune, “Winter’s Come To Life”, has you pleasantly reaching for one more nightcap.

But it’s not all laid back, The Refugees’ “This Christmas” is a rocking number featuring tight guitar licks and 3 way harmonies reminiscent of modern day Andrews Sisters, and Fassoux unleashes a delightful rockabilly number, “Christmas Ain’t Christmas”, featuring a toe tapping call and response chorus.

“Won’t Be Home For Christmas” not only offers a change of holiday ear scenery, it brings a well woven collection of strong songs that listeners will enjoy all year round. For fans of the singer songwriter genre, and fans of authentically good music, it may just become one of your favorite albums of the year.

För re-releasen i år finns där tre sprillans nya julklassiker! Thorsten Flinck med med bl.a. Kenny Håkansson som frågar "Kan Du Fira Jul Med En Sån Som Jag?", Calle Karlsson och Linda Karlsson Johbarn som sjunger om "Alla Julens Änglar", och Mudfish som översatt sin hyllade jullåt till svenska, speciellt för den här plattan.

GOD JUL!

 

01.12.2019

Jackson, Jenny, Jonathan.....

”Let The Rhythm Lead : Haiti Song Summit Vol 1” is a collaborative project from songwriters Paul Beaubrun, Jackson Browne, Habib Koité, Jenny Lewis, Raúl Rodríguez, Jonathan Russell and Jonathan Wilson, with members of the Haitian roots band Lakou Mizik.

Hailing from 4 different countries, the album interweaves North American indie rock with beats and percussion of Haitian Vodou, Spanish and Malian guitar, Flamenco Tres, and includes songs in English, Creole, Khassonké, Manding and Spanish.

"Let The Rhythm Lead" celebrates the work of Artists For Peace And Justice in Haiti, and was recorded at the Artists Institute on the island’s southern coast in the town of Jacmel. Proceeds will benefit Artists For Peace And Justice and the Artists Institute of Jacmel, Haiti. January 31st, 2019.

 

30.11.2019

Spottiswoode & Enemies.....

”Lost In The City”, Spottiswoode & His Enemies’ 7th album, is the band’s most ambitious song cycle to date, a giddy brew of jazz, chanson, rock, blues and minimalism. The music reflects the raw energy and sophistication of the city the band has called home for the last two decades. Whether joined by a string quartet, gospel infused backing vocals, a beefed up horn section or simply left to their own devices, the band is at its righteous best.

Spottiswoode’s stories of love and death in the Big Apple are peppered with selfportraits, landscapes and snippets of advice. His lyrics cover a broad emotional range, by turns self mocking, tormented, swaggering and elegiac. The English frontman has recently returned to his native London to raise his baby daughter. Is this his New York farewell?

The journey starts with a walk to the Hudson. The singer reflects on his life in Manhattan and stares across the river. “What do you see on the other side?”, chant the backing vocalists. “It’s not heaven”, he replies. “It’s just Hoboken”. Suddenly, what had started as a ballad for piano and strings erupts into a Springsteenesque rock anthem. A silly joke about New Jersey or a heartfelt meditation on life and death?

Dan Reed of WXPN explains, “They do something few bands can do, evoke real emotions, sometimes several different ones in a single song”. The video for ’Hoboken’ was premiered on the Paste Magazine website just ahead of the album’s New York release
.
The 18 track adventure proclaims its jazz bona fides with a series of blistering and lyrical solos from Candace DeBartolo (sax) and Kevin Cordt (trumpet). Still, the band refuses to be pigeon holed. At any moment, Spottiswoode might turn down a rainy boulevard to meet a chamber quartet or encourage his Enemies to tear off the shackles and rock out. You can throw any quick elevator pitch straight out the 42nd floor window.

Spottiswoode & His Enemies are, Spottiswoode (vocals, guitar), John Young (bass), Tim Vaill (drums), Candace DeBartolo (saxophone), Kevin Cordt (trumpet), producer Riley McMahon (guitar, mandolin, glockenspiel), and Tony Lauria (piano, accordion, keyboards).

Special guests include Antoine Silverman (violin, Einstein On The Beach), Martha Redbone (backing vocals), Sara Jacovino (trombone).

Referred to as a “genius” and a “downtown ringleader” by The New Yorker, Spottiswoode is the son of an American opera singer and an English clergyman. WNYC’s John Schaefer describes him as “one of New York’s more colorful band leaders for more than a decade”. His songs have been featured in a wide variety of television shows and films (’She’s Out Of My League’, ’A Street Cat Named Bob’,’ The Ledge’, ’Bloodline’, ’Secret Circle’, ’Kingdom’).

Spottiswoode’s award winning gothic rock opera, ’Above Hell’s Kitchen’, was recently presented to sold-out crowds at the New York Musical Theatre Festival. His New York screenplay, ’Either Side Of Midnight, is currently being made into a feature film. Principal photography was completed in November 2019. The film is helmed by the veteran director, Roger Spottiswoode (’Tomorrow Never Dies’, ’Under Fire’, ’Shake Hands With The Devil’). Remarkably, the two Spottiswoode’s are not related!

 

29.11.2019

Elton In The USSR.....

Elton John is commemorating the 40th anniversary of his historic 1979 USSR tour by officially releasing his May 29th, 1979, stop at Moscow’s Rossiya Hall. It will come out January 24th, 2019, on streaming services, via a 2 CD set and on a double LP vinyl package.

The tour came two years after Elton John announced his retirement from the road citing burnout and exhaustion. It was a stripped-down show in support of his new album "A Single Man", he was backed only by percussionist Ray Cooper. It was a commercially disappointing release, but it became the first wWestern pop album officially released inside the Soviet Union. This came at a time when the Soviet government was slowly lifting cultural restrictions and it led to John becoming one of first major western pop stars, following Cliff Richard, to tour the country.

The set featured a cross section of songs from John’s entire career, including “Daniel”, “Candle In The Wind”, “Skyline Pigeon” and “Take Me To The Pilot”. Russian authorities made the mistake of telling him not to cover the Beatles’ “Back In The USSR”, so of course he played it at every show. The final night was broadcast on the BBC and was widely bootlegged as a result, but this new release has been remastered by Bob Ludwig from the original BBC analogue tapes.

Elton John is in the middle of his 'Farewell Yellow Brick Road', and Ray Cooper remains a part of his band. The tour has yet to reach Russia.

Tracklist for "Elton John & Ray Cooper Live From Moscow" :

01. Daniel
02. Skyline Pigeon
03. Take Me To The Pilot
04. Rocket Man
05. Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me
06. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
07. Candle In The Wind
08. I Heard It Through The Grapevine
09. Funeral For A Friend
10. Tonight
11. Better Off Dead
12. Bennie & The Jets
13. Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
14. Crazy Water
15. Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting) / Pinball Wizard
16. Crocodile Rock / Get Back / Back In The USSR

 

28.11.2019

Jaron Reid Raven^sky.....

“Without music, life would be a mistake” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Jaron Reid Raven^sky, born of the prairies on the vast Alberta, Canada, vista. His 1st nation heritage echoing clearly on “Black Crow Cloud” and “Broken Down“. Gifted with a beautiful voice, a singer of charm, dignity and empathy, with a deep self felt comprehension of pain and the raunchy side of being. Jaron’s latest double CD, a serious, long time in completion, delivers the true artist he has become.
 
Jaron, gifted on the piano and guitar, his passion, since he first heard notes of music at an early age. Influenced by the likes of Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Jaron, unsigned, roamed the bars and clubs of Europe, paying his dues with his  love of performing. Over the last few years, he has awed audiences young and old throughout Europe, including, Norway, Switzerland, and Ireland. His deep talent lead him to performing around the Caribbean, as well, years of some settling’s downs, some out times, and a seasoning of his abilities.
 
 In 2016 the album started its conception in the cold winter in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, at the CCM Studio. 3 serious renowned American musicians laid the instrumental tracks supporting his music on this epic double CD. There followed a week of additional input from a group of talented Canadians. Some things just take time. An Italian break, an island decision to record the vocals again and mix at the Prairie Sun Studio in California of Tom Waits history. Additional tracks and vocals in Edmontone Studio. The end of 2017, Matt Wright mixed all 25 songs at Prairie Sun Studio. Another hiatus arrived. Those years, some settlings downs, some out times, a bit wiser.
 
Finally, time arrived for the mix tweaking by Matt Wright, the mastering of the double album by Ken Lee, this fall 2019 in California, USA. Yes, 25 songs, a stunning 16 page booklet, in the old fashion way, pull him back on the road. Born to it, with his name Jaron meaning 'sing out'. The pulse of the vocal gift to transport, enhance and heal his audience with his shaman soul whether intimately in a small club to the larger stage as opening act in Casino, Paris, this life capability for his music to find it’s way into the secret places of the soul, a utopia gut jarring double album.
 
Jaron Reid Raven^sky delivers imposing songwriting in a spiritual rusty voice traversing the dark, commanding euphoria vibes on 25 songs.

 

27.11.2019

Neil's Homegrown.....

Neil Young's legendary unreleased album "Homegrown" will finally come out in 2020. He recorded it in 1975 and was on the verge of releasing it, going as far as commissioning cover art, when he decided at the last minute to shelf it in favor of "Tonight’s The Night".

“A record full of love lost and explorations”, Young wrote on the Neil Young Archives. “A record that has been hidden for decades. Too personal and revealing to expose in the freshness of those times. The unheard bridge between 'Harvest' and 'Comes A Time', 'Homegrown' is coming to N.Y.A. first in 2020”.

Young made the announcement in a post on his Neil Young Archives website paired with a video that shows his longtime producer John Hanlon working on it. “Mr Hanlon is seen here mastering Homegrown in an all analog chain”, Young writes. “This is the way records were made when we started out. This is the way we made them sound great. We were told that this was impossible now, the 'Homegrown' tapes were too damaged to use, we had to use digital. We didn’t agree. We did not accept. We painstakingly restored the analog masters of 'Homegrown'.”

Young originally recorded "Homegrown" at a time his career when new songs were coming to him at an incredible pace, many of them inspired by his painful split with girlfriend Carrie Snodgress. Reprise Records loved the results and felt it would be another bestseller following the relative commercial disappointments of "Time Fades Away" and "On The Beach". “It was a little too personal”, Young told Rolling Stone‘s Cameron Crowe in 1975. “It scared me. I’ve never released any of those. And I probably never well. I think I’d be too embarrassed to put them out. They’re a little too real”.

No exact track listing has ever surfaced, but during the sessions he did record songs like “Love Is A Rose”, “Homegrown” and “Stars Of Bethlehem”, which surfaced on later albums. Other songs leaked out over the years or were played it concert, including “Try” and “Homefires”, while others have never been heard before. He was joined on the sessions by Emmylou Harris, Levon Helm, Ben Keith and Robbie Robertson.

The track listing of the 2020 edition of "Homegrown" hasn’t been announced, but Sharp eyed fans noticed a post-it-note on John Hanlon’s console in the video with the following songs listed on it, “Separate Ways”, “Try”, “Mexico”, “Love Is A Rose”, “Homegrown”, “Florida”, “Kansas”, “We Don’t Smoke It”, “White Line”, “Vacancy”, “Little Wing” and “Star Of Bethlehem.” “We Don’t Smoke It” has never been heard by fans, but you can hear a bit of it on the announcement video.

Young has released numerous archival albums in the past few years, including "Songs For Judy", "Hitchhiker" and "Tuscaloosa". He averages about two a year that appear simultaneously in stores along with streaming services and the Neil Young Archives, but he recently revealed a major shift in direction for 2020. He’s still working out the exact details, but the plan is to flood the Neil Young Archives with unreleased material so older fans can hear everything before they die.

 

26.11.2019

Bibi.....

Bibi is a singer songwriter from Denmark. Slightly reminiscent of some of the best singers of the 60’s, think Lulu or Dusty Springfield, her voice can be haunting and softly angelic in one moment and incredibly powerful in the next.

A natural born storyteller, Bibi spins tales from life, generally with a robust sense of humor or with a mischievous wink in the eye. It is both a songwriting and life approach that lends itself beautifully to her eclectic blend of blues, pop, country, and folk songs.

Finding her passion for songwriting has given her an adult view of the world from her own life perspective. Under the ‘it’s never too late to find your life spark umbrella’, she is embracing life as it comes, celebrating the good times and trying to stay out of trouble, love trouble. And you’ll find a bunch of her songs to be about just that.

Bibi spent a semester in music school to pursue her musical dreams and regularly attends songwriter retreats and workshops where she has co-written tunes with Danish, Swedish, Irish, German and American songwriters. Bibi’s also an accomplished tango dancer.

Her recently released debut CD, "From Bibi With Love",  features 10 songs, some co-written, some self penned. Plans are underway for her 2nd album and the next batch of songs are in preproduction. Don’t miss out on the breath of fresh air that is Bibi.

 

25.11.2019

John Fogerty.....

In June, the legendary John Fogerty and his band staged and epic concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. The night was filled with hits from his time with Creedence Clearwater Revival, solo material, as well as some well chosen covers. On January 24th, 2020, the show will be commemorated with a special "50 Year Trip Live At Red Rocks" release, on BluRay, DVD, CD, as well as digital.....

 

24.11.2019

Calle Karlsson.....

"Love Generation" is a timeless song with a message of hope. In the corridors of power, the ego is in the first room. The mission from ordinary people often seems to be forgotten. A new generation has completely different values, and the opportunity to create a more fair and sustainable world to live in. Together in peace, freedom and mutual respect. Take good care of one another!

 

23.11.2019

Carla Olson.....

"Have Harmony Will Travel 2" will be released early next year on Sunset Blvd Records, featuring duets with Peter Noone, Timothy B Schmit, Terry Reid, Mare Winningham, Percy Sledge, Stephen McCarthy, Ana Gazzola,Vince Melouney, Gene Clark, Jim Muske, and I See Hawks In LA , and the excellent musicians on the record are Rick Hemmert, Paul Marshall, Brian Brown, Gregg Sutton, Rusty Young, Jonathan Lea, Mike Clinco, Ben Lecourt, MickTaylor, Todd Wolfe, Pat Robinson, Mikal Reid, Joyce Rooks, Michael Huey, Roscoe Beck, Marty Rifkin, George Callins, Tom Morgan and the Texicali Horns....

 

22.11.2019

Närmare Kanten.....

”Närmare Kanten” är något så ovanligt som en ny svensk musikal utgiven på skiva. Musik och sångtexter är signerade Patrick Rydman och Martin Schaub. Musikalen, som berör psykisk ohälsa, är ett beställningsverk från Stiftelsen Gyllenkroken i samarbete med Högskolan för Scen och Musik i Göteborg och Arvsfonden.

Det är en ödesmättad berättelse där dåtid skuggar nutid, om hur psykiskt lidande och tystnad får vittgående konsekvenser för huvudpersonerna och deras närmaste. En dag börjar en dramatisk familjehemlighet göra sig påmind.....

Musiken är genomkomponerad och ambitiös med rötterna i melodiös popmusik, men väjer ändå inte för svärtan i berättelsen. I huvudrollen som Jonna hör vi Karoline Dons.

Patrick Rydman och Martin Schaub har samarbetat under många år. De skriver för närvarande på ett beställningsverk för Malmö Opera som har premiär 2021.

”Närmare Kanten” är inspelad i Svenska Grammofonstudion av Hans Olsson Brookes, och är producerad av Martin som även skrivit och arrangerat för artister som Benny Andersson, Sarah Klang, Laleh, Timo Räisänen med flera.

 

21.11.2019

Blackie & Rodeo Kings.....

January 24th, 2020.....

 

20.11.2019

Peter Gallway.....

With Peter Gallway's return to Maine, the resurgence of The Real Band has been unstoppable, including wonderful receptions at St Lawrence Arts and One Longfellow Square in Portland, The Frontier Theater in Brunswick, Slates in Hallowell, and the 207 Show on WCSH television. The Real Band is Peter on vocals and guitar, Mark Wainer on lead guitar and Andre Re on vocals and percussion.
 
Called 'a master of free verse' in the Boston Globe, Peter Gallway has released more than 25 albums on Warner/Reprise and various independent labels. He has also produced over 50 albums and special projects, such as the Grammy nominated "Bleecker Street : Greenwich Village In The 60's", "Time & Love : The Music Of Laura Nyro", participated in Laura Nyro’s final album, "Angel In The Dark", and produced all of the seminal albums by Maine’s own Devonsquare.
 
A founding member of The Fifth Avenue Band, Gallway’s music spans styles from 60’s rock and roll, to jazzy folk, to atmospheric americana. Along with his solo recordings, he has collaborated with acclaimed singer songwriter Annie Gallup in the duo Hat Check Girl, with 7 releases to their credit.
 
2019 heralds the highly anticipated release of "Reach For It", the all new Peter Gallway & The Real Band album on Gallway Bay Music.

 

19.11.2019

Linda Ronstadt.....

December 10th, 2019.....

 

18.11.2019

The Gothic Cowboy.....

"I’m a creek bank ghetto boy, a 2 legged child of the prairie. I been blown between the rockies and the rising sun, and I’ve tumbled up against a few cities. I began my singin’ on the northern tip of the Louisiana Purchase, along the night shores of Edmonton, Alberta. I stayed the whiskey season then caught a warm southeasterly. I’ve touched Canada, the North Atlantic, and mined Colorado all over. I found that Kansas has the softest loins. The military trained me to stand upright and I’ve worked a pick ax and shoveled my grave a thousand times. The booze has begun to line my face. I’ve got an opinion on everything and I’ll sing till I’m hoarse or the stalls are empty. I consider myself a neo pagan, a bat winged balladeer. The earth is my totem and I hold by her and all her species. I fly the banner of the dagger and the rose and declare my faith in both, all this is in my songs. The shepherd of wolves, moon mad and musical, I ain’t no socialist jukebox. Mostly I bat my own pitches, though I’ll hit an occasional Jimmie Rodger’s spitter, the Hank William’s slow ball, and that Bob Dylan slider.  I’m traditional enough to walk some pretty ballad and mean enough to go down swingin’ against the knuckle ball."

Note :

"When I retired the Border Band in 2016 after a 20 year run, I aimed to ride out my days playing solo. But I soon partnered up with 'Mandolin' Dan Hermreck, a fine player and even finer fellow. You can catch his sounds on our new acoustic CD 'Between The Wars' along with these 2 exceptional guest artists and friends, Jeff Jackson on standup bass, and Til Willis on harmonica."

17.11.2019

Milk Carton Kids.....

December 6th, 2019.....

 

16.11.2019

Jude Johnstone.....

Jude Johnstone has gone a step further toward intimacy on her new and 8th album for independent label BoJak Records. She and engineer and producer Michael Hanson recorded the album with no isolation, no frills, in her house in East Nashville, TN. The result is a spare and achingly honest set of 10 songs aptly titled "Living Room". Jude has received numerous awards with her profound, raw and emotional songs over a stellar career spanning 40 years. A testament to her talents are the artists who have covered her songs including Mary Black, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Bette Midler, Stevie Nicks, Bonnie Raitt and Trisha Yearwood. With “Living Room”, Jude delivers songs consistent with her reputation of cultivating artistic truth. Uniquely for Jude, several of her songs are from a male perspective with vocals provided by artists Ben Glover, Brandon Jesse, Hunter Nelson and Tim Hockenberry. This collection continues the legacy of Jude Johnstone as being one of her generation’s finest songwriters.

 

15.11.2019

Mick Ronson.....

A 4 CD set, "Only After Dark" chronicles Mick Ronson's peripatetic solo work during the rest of the 70's after his split with Bowie, with 2 official albums joined by b-sides, alternative versions, outtakes and a plethora of unissued at the time studio recordings, including a handful with Guam, the backing band for Bob Dylan’s legendary 1975 Rolling Thunder tour, and various highlights from his live shows, and featuring some rare photos and a lengthy new essay on his 70's career, "Only After Dark" is the most comprehensive anthology to date of a major talent. Cherry Red Records, November 29th, 2019.

 

14.11.2019

Tragedy Ann.....

Tragedy Ann is a forward looking folk duo from Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Liv Cazzola and Braden Phelan find warmth in questions and daring in answers, making space for the tear that lies behind laughter. With intimacy and care, the duo favours a flashlight over a spotlight in songs for community, nature, and hardworking hospital staff. Braiding organic harmonies with accordion, singing saw, guitars, and ukulele, Tragedy Ann’s arrangements are as delicate as they are driving.
 
Their sounds and stories were most recently captured on their recent release "Matches", garnering them 2 ‘Songs From The Heart’ songwriting awards on Folk Music Ontario, national folk and roots radio charting and syndication on CBC Radio and Stingray Music. Regularly touring across Canada, and, shortly, in Europe and the USA, Tragedy Ann concerts emanate “the honesty and enthusiasm of people who can’t help but create and perform”, says Jon Farmer, Georgian Bay Roots.

 

13.11.2019

Robbie Williams.....

November 22nd, 2019.....

 

12.11.2019

Moonfruits.....

Fronted by partners Alex Millaire and Kaitlin Milroy, Canada's Moonfruits are makers of art folk bilingue. In a forest of banjo, guitar, kalimba and glockenspiel, their voices burrow and soar. Here is a reverie, tender and powerful, beckoning listeners to elevate the stuff of everyday life.

'Trille Or', 'Stingray Rising Star Award' and 'SOCAN' song Award winners, Moonfruits have toured Canada coast to coast, moving audiences with a live show that mixes French and English organically, playfully, intentionally. Their debut full length "Ste-Quequepart" is an elaborate small town fiction that explores the faces of gentrification, isolation and community.

What grows in the forest of Moonfruits’ imagination is a songcraft that is elastic and never fails to transport. Changes of scenery inspire Moonfruits, for they are as at home in your living room as they are in a concert hall.

Notable past performances include the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Folk Fest On The Canal, N.A.C. 4th Stage, Place Des Arts, CityFolk, Festival Of Small Halls Ontario, La Nuit Sur L’Étang, Blue Skies Music Festival, Francofest De Hamilton, with members of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Festival Du Voyageur, Quality Block Party, Victoria Bicycle Music Festival and the 1st simultaneous bilingual CBC and Radio Canada broadcast.

 

11.11.2019

Maria McKee.....

Maria McKee returns early next year with a new album, "La Vita Nuova". McKee is remembered for her role in country rock band Lone Justice and for issuing some amazing solo albums, including 1993’s "You Gotta Sin To Be Saved" and 1996's "Life Is Sweet". Of course, she best known for UK # 1 single ‘Show Me Heaven’ which was featured in the Tony Scott film "Days Of Thunder. McKee’s last studio long-player, "Late December", was released way back in 2007 and in the intervening years, Maria was working alongside her husband in independent film, casting, producing, scoring and acting in them.

However change was afoot. She is no longer with her husband and has recently come out as gay. She says, “Much of queer liberation is finding a way to live beyond hetero ruminative models we’re conditioned to live with. This album is, in a way, an exorcism, a sort of purging of those ideas and expectations”. Expanding on her feelings on what is “a really personal record”, McKee says, “I guess I was at that midpoint in life, looking at death, like a ‘Death In Venice’ moment where you have that vision of youth and beauty and it possesses you and you start to grieve for the loss of all the things that youth and beauty allow you to experience. I was grieving at not having had a child and also witnessing young lovers in a relationship that became a friendship and not knowing how to take a step beyond that”.

"La Vita Nuova" isn’t out until March 13th, 2020, but you can secure a special limited  indies only double white vinyl edition or a hardcover book CD edition here.

 

10.11.2019

Harry Styles.....

"Fine Line", December 13th, 2019, Columbia Records via Sony Music.....

 

09.11.2019

Mose Allison.....

The late Mose Allison specialized in his own distinctive blend of blues and jazz. And in doing that he provided inspiration for an array of other artists from different genres, an influence that's celebrated on ”If You're Going To The City : A Tribute To Mose Allison”.

The 15 song set, which also features Allison covers by Bonnie Raitt, Chrissie Hynde, Iggy Pop, Ben Harper, Jackson Browne, Taj Mahal, Charlie Musselwhite, Richard Thompson, Frank Black and more, was put together by Allison's daughter Amy, who duets with Elvis Costello on her father's "Monsters Of The Id", and drummer and producer Don Heffington.

”If You're Going To The City” comes out November 29th. 2020, and Amy Allison says she'd be open to another tribute volume at some point, and to exploring what other releases might be possible from her father's catalog and vaults. "There is some unreleased material, and people are still covering his songs now and then", she says. "People come to us saying 'We've got a really great sounding live, off the board recording', and things do turn up. And we're always discovering new compilations. We're always actively kind of thinking about things that could be done. Whether or not they turn into anything, we'll have to wait and see".

 

08.11.2019

Marcus King.....

"El Dorado", Easy Eye Sound, January 20th, 2020.....

 

07.11.2019

Reverend Freakchild.....

"The affection expressed by Reverend Freakchild's radio hosts is palpable and quite compelling, likewise, hearing the Rev referring to himself as a modern day Jack Kerouac reinforces the notion that he’s a true journeyman, a man bound to the blues, but not confined by its parameters." ~ Living Blues

Take a journey with Reverend Freakchild around the United States Of America. Just lay your hands on the radio. Let the  good vibes, traveling tunes and insightful interviews enlighten your mind and heal what ails you. Amen.....

 

 

 

 

06.11.2019

Jeffrey Foskett.....

Available for pre-order now, on BMG Records & Tapes, is Jeffrey Foskett's “Voices”, his 1st major label release and a fitting celebration of his voice, all new tracks with 3 remixes of previous recordings.....

 

05.11.2019

Lynne Hanson.....

"'Just Words', the title track from the new forthcoming album, is gritty uptempo americana song about the power of words, and the unseen scars unkind ones leave. Verbal bullying is a serious issue, and this song aims to get people thinking without being preachy. It’s the only co-write on the album, with songwriter Tara Holloway also lending her distinctive backing vocals to the track." ~ Lynne Hanson

 

04.11.2019

Beatles 7" Singles.....

This collectible box set presents 23 of the Beatles vinyl singles in faithfully reproduced international picture sleeves, exclusive new double a-side single for “Free As A Bird” and “Real Love”, plus 40 page book. From 1962 to 1970, The Beatles released 22 UK singles, of those 44 a and b-side tracks, 29 were not included on the group’s British albums at that time. These singles, plus an exclusive new double a-side single for the mid 1990's issued tracks “Free As A Bird” and “Real Love”, are newly cut for vinyl from their original mono and stereo master tapes by Sean Magee at Abbey Road Studios for a new limited edition boxed set. " The Beatles : The Singles Collection" presents 46 tracks on 23 different 7" vinyl singles in faithfully reproduced international picture sleeves, accompanied by a 40 page booklet with photos, ephemera, and detailed essays by Beatles historian Kevin Howlett. Apple/Universal, November 22nd, 2019.

 

03.11.2019

White Owl Red.....

“Delightful. Dylanesque. McManus is a wordsmith. Sweet delivery and the ability to craft memorable language that sticks in your mind”, writes music critic Jeff Monk.  His songs “take the listener on a fascinating americana trip, recalling young Dylan”, exclaims music critic, Cis Van Looy in Written in Music. Joseph Timmons of Indie Pulse Magazine adds, “the modern space cowboy’s collection of personal anthems, a blissful selection of roots americana songs with a taste of the Appalachian foundations”.
 
This musical sensibility is the pulse behind the raw and rumbling, incisive yet ultimately hopeful new track "Working Class Heroes", a pre-release from White Owl Red’s 4th studio album "Afterglow", set for release in early 2020. Inspired by the reality that musical anthems can make social movements more powerful, singer and songwriter Josef McManus wrote the song "Working Class Heroes". The title gives a nod to John Lennon’s song "Working Class Hero".

This song captures the hope and determination that working people have by combining forces 'to make things a little better'. The lyrics of "Working Class Heroes" makes early historical references to the labor movement, from the founding the British Socialist Labour Party in 1903, and the IWW in 1905, to Senator Joe McCarthy’s ‘Red Scare’ political smear tactics and character assassinations of the 1950’s. The song goes on to declare 'come on all you working class heroes, let’s stand up for truth, love and dignity'.
  
White Owl Red’s unique musical aesthetic, combined with deeply felt social and political awareness fuses alt country, heavy on the alt, and americana influences that at once move the genres forward while paying homage to their diverse roots.  As Darryl Sterdan of Tinnitist writes, White Owl Red 'maintains the high standards and timeless traditions of American folk music'.

White Owl Red is the indie music vehicle for artist Josef McManus to forge his lyric driven songs into musical gems that fly over the airwaves in the dialect of hybrid American roots music. He honed his craft on the open mic circuit of bars and cafes from his native Portland, Oregon, to his current home base north of San Francisco. Currently he works with a small team of seasoned musicians crafting the White Owl Red sound.  Singer and songwriter Josef McManus began writing folk songs at The Old Town School Of Folk Music in Chicago, with a distinctive alt country flavor reflecting diverse influences ranging from Willie Nelson, Leonard Cohen, Townes Van Zandt, Waylon Jennings, Nirvana and Velvet Underground.

Peter Barbarich of PRVI states that White Owl Red manages to 'capture all the musical innovation of the Californian west coast scene from the 2nd half of the 1960's and put it into an updated form for half a century ahead'. White Owl Red’s musical alchemy propelled the recent full length album "Existential Frontiers" to extraordinary critical acclaim garnering crossover airplay on americana, alt county, traditional country, folk, roots and college radio stations throughout the US and Europe. Music Existence called it a 'stunning new album, one of the most uncompromisingly addictive new releases I have heard in a very long time'. The album was hailed by music writer and critic David Masciotra as a 'an album of philosophy meets alt country'. Music critic Bobby Moore wrote, "Existential Frontiers" 'tackles deep questions with a postmodern attitude'. Alan Fitter of Americana UK writes, 'there are certain albums that cry out to be the soundtrack to a long road trip and White Owl Red’s Existential Frontiers is one of those'. Marino Serdons of the Belgian music webzine Keys & Chords adds, 'stunningly Beautiful, more powerful than Jack Daniels, so diverse, so emotional, so melodic, so honest!'.

White Owl Red’s critically acclaimed current album "Existential Frontiers" is currently spinning on radio stations, and playlists worldwide with all its songs having charted on the Americana Music Association Chart (AMA). "Naked & Falling", the 2nd studio album by White Owl Red received international acclaim and airplay in 2017 and 2018. It charted on the AMA top 100 Chart, the FAR Chart top 10 and the Root 64 airplay chart top 20. "Naked & Falling" was distinguished in the top 100 albums of 2017 by Alternate Root Magazine. "Americana Ash", the 2014 debut album by White Owl Red charted and remained on the AMA charts for 14 weeks.

 

02.11.2019

Joe Henry's Gospel.....

"Come November 15th, I will be releasing a new album, my 15th studio offering as a solo act. The album is called 'The Gospel According To Water'. It was recorded over 2 days this past June, and fairly by accident, when I thought I was merely making demos of 13 new songs ahead of forgetting them, all but 2 written between Valentine’s and Father’s Day,  all having flowered from the black earth of recent experience, namely a cancer diagnosis late last fall that left me reeling, though, as well, set into motion many blessings and positive shifts in my life, as well as an unprecedented songwriting flurry. With only a handful of friends playing in support, I entered the studio and tore through these songs with determination and abandon, then went home. I had let nothing clutter or distract me from the essential and true heart of these songs, and upon waking the morning after, I listened and understood that something had transpired that was more than I’d bargained for, that the songs as articulated had sparked an ember that somehow remained bright and alive before me, moving beyond my expectations. I unexpectedly heard the songs as complete, and vividly so, and knew that the casual circumstances had not limited my expression but in fact liberated me from the cloying aim for posterity that can make weighty any session, and landed me instead in a place both unencumbered by the past and unattached to futures. Though they have all grown out of darkness, I don’t believe any of these songs themselves to be 'dark' in nature, nor about the circumstance that promoted their discovery. In them, I hear deep gratitude, and a compassion toward self that I don’t always possess, an optimism I did not know I’d allowed to flourish. These recordings are raw and wirey and spare because the songs insisted they be. But I believe them to be as wholly realized, as produced, as anything I’ve touched, as well as being deeply and fundamentally romantic, in love with life, even when that life founders and threatens to disappear, lustfully aglow, not in spite of the storm but because of one. Come November, then, I will hand this all over, while the sky is bright, and leaves are still turning and descending, the days listing as they grow brisk and shorter. Just in time for Thanksgiving." ~ Joe Henry, Pasadena, CA

 

01.11.2019

Ben Lorentzen

Ben Lorentzen is a Norwegian singer songwriter, born up north, near Tromsø, where the climate is harsh, the landscape is majestic, and the sun is hidden 6 months out of the year. He grew up in a family as the eldest of 6 children where music was heard and practiced all the time. His parents were fans of Hank Williams and Johnny Cash, and the kids grew up listening to and learning many of their songs. His mom remembers Ben as a different boy who would beg her to sing sad songs that would make him cry.  She could see early on that her son was smitten by the music bug and thus encouraged his singing and performing when family and friends gathered.

Ben wrote his 1st song when he was 11 years old.  His song, however, raised eyebrows of some teachers who were concerned for his well being. The themes of aging and dying were seen as too heavy and dark for a little boy. Ben remember himself as 'a serious 11 year old, often lost in thought', but he learned later on that his teachers contemplated contacting the social services. Growing up in a strict religious environment, Ben often felt confine by it's rules and regulations. There were endless lists of do's and don't's. Music, however, was a blank canvas for creativity and expression. Music became his escape, a place of solace, a place where he could dream and breathe. He recalls, 'having written my 1st song, I was literally high for a week. It was something I had never experienced before. Over the years it became my religion, my gateway to the unknown, to the mysterious and to the spiritual'.
  
Ben Lorentzen’s first musical hero was Elvis Presley. Raw, energetic,and a little dangerous, Elvis embodied what a rock star should be. Ben was warned by his community, however, that Lucifer himself looked like Elvis. Nevertheless, Ben learned to appreciate rock, gospel, folk country and blues, and developed a powerful appetite for Everything American. Cars were one of those joys. He says, 'there is nothing better than driving and listening to loud music. It is one of life’s ultimate high’s'. Later on the discovery of Bob Dylan and his profound lyrical visions became Ben's mainstay and laid the foundation for further discoveries such as Paul Simon, Nick Cave, Soundgarden and Tool. Traces of these artist can be found in Lorentzen’s music.  Exploring the outer rims of pleasure and pain, hope and despair, love and loss, Ben takes his dark poetic sensibility and with a Nordic twist ads his distinct flavors of alternative Americana.
   
Ben Lorentzen has toured the world since he formed his 1st band at 16 and played on all continents except Australia. Lorentzen was first recognized as a songwriter, and has written songs as a staff writer for EMI Music Publishing Norway. This led him to write and record songs with critically acclaimed artists such as Martin Hagfors and Paal Flaata. He finally got a taste of mainstream recognition as a founding band member of Brent with a top 40 single “Need To Need You”, off of their album “Here & There”. In 2015, he released his 1st solo album called “America”, an acoustic album rooted in the indie folk tradition. Ben embraces the most enduring American musical influences  and  weaves it all together with his haunting voice.

Lorentzen’s latest release “Pains & Pleasures Of Intimacy” is much like his earlier work in that it strives to strike a balance between delicate reserve and brutal honesty. Difference is that now it builds to explode with bluesy rock'n roll on occasion. He calls his music Suburban Noir. Ben explains that Suburban Noir is taking the perfunctory in our daily life of suburbia, and juxtaposing it with the inner realities of the ugly and the beautiful, the fear and surrender, and the rage and compassion that races in all of us. 'Music is my redemption', says Ben. 'Music has been the divine footsteps that I read in the darkest and in the brightest moments of my life. In my songs, I want to celebrate topics that disturb as well as uplift. I am singing about the beauty of death, how it frames our lives and gives it meaning. Not in a destructive sense, but how it points out what is really meaningful. I am singing about the importance of community, of forgiveness and of love. I want to remind myself and my listeners that despite the ugliness and difficulties of life, we need to stand together while we welcome the light and the darkness equally'.

New single, "Right Next To Nothing", featuring Daisy Chapman, from forthcoming album, "King Of Bitter Sorrow", out now.

 

31.10.2019

Mountaintop.....

 

30.10.2019

Thorsten Flinck.....

Kan du fira jul med en sån som Thorsten Flinck? Klart Du kan! Särskilt som han precis spelat in en av den här julens allra finaste låtar. För att inte tala om att han har med sig legenden Kenny Håkansson med sitt lysande gitarrspel. Så se nu till att fira jul med Thorsten Du också, och till och med tomten och alla hans tomtenissar kommer att vara på ett strålande humör hela långa julhelgen.

"Kan Du Fira Jul Med En Sån Som Jag" b/w "Lögner Och Porslin" ute den 8:e november 2019.

Thorsten Flinck behöver väl ingen närmare presentation? Nej, precis, tänkte väl det. Kenny Håkansson, då? Nej, inte han heller. Bra, då säger vi så.....

 

29.10.2019

America 2020.....

 

28.10.2019

Hot Rats Sessions.....

50 years ago, Frank Zappa’s inimitable, groundbreaking 1st solo album, "Hot Rats", was released, putting the songwriter and musician on the map as a virtuosic guitarist and changing the course of music forever with its conceptual, compositional and technological innovations. Self described as 'a movie for your ears', the mostly instrumental 1969 album was a new musical avenue for Zappa, following the dissolution of his band, The Mothers Of Invention, as he melded the sophistication of jazz with the attitude of rock and roll, to create a highly influential masterpiece widely hailed today as a pioneering album of jazz rock fusion.
 
On December 20th, 2019, just one day before what would have been Frank Zappa’s 79th birthday, Zappa Records and Universal Music will celebrate "Hot Rats" and the legendary composer’s highly prolific 1969 period with a mammoth 6 disc boxed set titled, "The Hot Rats Sessions". This expansive new collection documents and compiles every composition recorded during several days in July 1969, when Zappa recorded "Hot Rats", and a wealth of other material that ended up being used throughout multiple releases during his lifetime. Filled with an abundance of rare and unedited mixes, work mixes, relevant vault nuggets and complete basic tracks mixed from the original multi track master tapes by Craig Parker Adams and mastered by Bob Ludwig in 2019, the collection provides a fascinating look into the making of this classic album, and includes essentially every musical entity that was recorded during these iconic sessions. 

 

27.10.2019

Gentle Giant Box.....

Including a lavish 136 page coffee table hardback book and 96 page tour history book, "Unburied Treasure" is a 30 disc deluxe boxset with signed photo, authorised by all members of Gentle Giant. Strictly limited to 2000 copies globally, the set includes remastered versions of the 12 albums the band released between 1970 and 1980, along with 15 concert albums, 7 never previously released, 7 never previously officially released and 1 previously unavailable on CD. The box also includes 2 posthumous live and outtakes albums and a BluRay bonus disc, featuring a Steven Wilson surround mix of the band’s 1970 debut. Also included are books, posters, replica promotional items and much more. December 6th, 2019.

 

26.10.2019

Dave Rosewood.....

Dave Rosewood is a native of the Ozark Mountains but now makes his home in the heartland of Sweden. His debut album ”Gravel And Gold” was called ”100% pure damn country in the spirit of Cash, Merle, Waylon and even the Allman Brothers!” by The Rocking Magpie.

His single ”20 Years” was recognized by Sonic Magazine and New Nordic Indie and included on their respective Spotify playlists.

Dave Rosewood´s forthcoming single ”Long Distance Love” takes a cue from Sun Records artists like Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis that forged rock and country into a new genre, rockabilly. This single looks at the difficulties of long distance relationships with a touch of humor and a honky tonk attitude.

”Long Distance Love” is the second single and provides a taste test of Dave´s sophmore album ”No Rodeo In Rome” which is due for release in March 2020.

Supporting the release of ”Long Distance Love”, Dave Rosewood will be embarking on his ’Honky Tonk Troubadour Tour’ with November stops in Sweden, Denmark, and Germany.

 

25.10.2019

Prince 1999.....

Considered one of the most iconic and influential double albums in rock history, Prince’s "1999" was released at a major turning point in the artist's career. After years of being relegated to the r'nb charts, he experienced his 1st true crossover moment with the mega hits “Little Red Corvette”, “1999” and “Delirious“, shattering barriers with his revolutionary blend of rock, funk, r'n'b and new wave pop, and making history by being one of the 1st black artists to have their videos in heavy rotation on MTV.

The songs included on "1999" were just a small sampling of the work that was pouring out of Prince in the intensely prolific period of 1981 and 1982. In addition to his own material, he was also working up tracks that he would give to his protégés Vanity 6 and The Time, and recording dozens of songs that would be stored for possible later use, archiving them in his growing vault of unreleased material.
 
On November 29th, 2019, The Prince Estate, in partnership with Warner Records, will reissue "1999" via all physical, digital and streaming partners, with the timeless album remastered for the very first time, along with 35 previously unreleased tracks from Prince’s legendary vault that showcase the creative flow Prince had tapped into during this era.

 

24.10.2019

Nilsson's Lost & Found.....

25 years after Harry Nilsson died of a heart attack at the age of 52, his estate has announced a new album of unreleased material. Titled "Losst And Founnd", the record will arrive on November 22nd, 2019, via Omnivore Recordings.

Nilsson was working on the record at the time of his death, and fans have asked for its release ever since. It marks his 1st new material in nearly 40 years, following 1980’s "Flash Harry". 2 singles have been released so far, the dreamy “U.C.L.A.” and “Lost And Found”.

Produced by Mark Hudson, the record features 9 new tracks and 2 covers by Yoko Ono and Jimmy Webb. Van Dyke Parks, drummer Jim Keltner, Webb and Nilsson’s son Kiefo appears on the album. “This is a good representation of what my dad was doing and where his artistry was at this point”, Kiefo says. “It’s never going to sound like a George Tipton record from the 60's, but you still want to convey the sense of humor and wit and elegance to the songwriting. That’s what he leaves behind”.

Following the 2010 documentary "Who Is Harry Nilsson And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him?" and the prominent use of his song “Gotta Get Up” on Netflix’s 'Russian Doll', the late musician has sparked interest in the last decade. “I wanted somebody who was connected to a lineage of a certain kind of difficulty, or who gave you a certain effect”, Natasha Lyonne says of using the song on the show. “The sound of their voice would in and of itself be a reminder, a juxtaposition of the unpleasantness and the grandeur of the human experience on a daily basis. Harry Nilsson, specifically, encapsulates that”.

 

23.10.2019

Jimi Hendrix.....

"Songs For Groovy Children" assembles all 4 historic debut concerts by Jimi Hendrix’s newly assembled Band Of Gypsys at New York’s Fillmore East on New Years Eve 1969 and New Years Day 1970. Presented in their original performance sequence and encompassing 43 tracks across 5 CDs or 8 LPs, the set boasts over 2 dozen tracks that have either never before been released commercially.

Newly mixed and restored in sequence without edits, fans can finally hear Hendrix, Cox and Miles blast through their genre defying sets that included freshly written songs like “Earth Blues” and “Stepping Stone”, as well as supercharged Experience favorites inclusive of “Foxy Lady”, “Voodoo Child”, “Wild Thing”, “Hey Joe” and “Purple Haze”.

The lavish package is filled with unseen photos and remembrances from bassist Billy Cox and liner notes by author, journalist and filmmaker Nelson George. "Songs For Groovy Children" was produced by Janie Hendrix, Eddie Kramer and John McDermott and mastered by Bernie Grundman. To be released by Experience Hendrix LLC and Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment on November 22nd, 2019.

 

22.10.2019

Sugarcane Jane.....

After a request from Dwight Yoakam for Sugarcane Jane to put a backing band behind them and join his 'Fall 2019 Northeast Tour' as support act, they welcome longtime friends, The Bucket Fillers, to their ensemble, a staggering and undeniable amount of talent now charges the stage, Pete Nice on pedal steel, lap steel, and mandolin, Leif Bondarenko on drums, and Gary Edmonds on electric guitar, all hailing out of Birmingham, Alabama.

While touring the country, a chance house concert in Shreveport, Louisiana, led to a live recording and the 1st album with the Bucket Fillers band aptly titled "Live", this 12 song CD may be described as rockabilly tinged with country flair and driven with rock and roll intensity. And if it were a ride at the fair, you had better hang on tight.

Revisiting songs from "Southern State Of Mind", "Ladders & Edges", "Dirt Roads End", as well as some unreleased material, there is more than enough newness and excitement to drive the car. The album ends with drummer, Leif Bondarenko singing "Folsom Prison Blues", and you just might think the man in black has reincarnated himself.

Recorded by Steve Sullivan at Fairfield Studios, mixed and mastered by Anthony Crawford at Admiral Bean Studio. Official release date is November 1st, 2019, by Admiral Bean Records.

 

21.10.2019

Grateful Dead.....

A brand new Grateful Dead  album collects previously unreleased live songs from early to mid 90's that envisioned a potential track list for an unrecorded final studio album. Band archivist David Lemieux curated the 9 song "Ready Or Not", which arrives November 22nd, 2019, on CD, limited edition double LP and digital formats.

"Ready Or Not" features late period Grateful Dead songs debuted onstage in 1992 and 1993 by their final lineup, singer and guitarist Jerry Garcia, drummer Mickey Hart, drummer Bill Kreutzmann, bassist Phil Lesh, singer and guitarist Bob Weir and then new keyboardist Vince Welnick. The versions on the album run up through April 1995, 4 months before Garcia died from a heart attack.
 
Notable selections include the Garcia/Robert Hunter composition “Days Between”, Bob Weir’s collaboration with Rob Wasserman and blues icon Willie Dixon, “Eternity”, and 2 songs written by Weir and Hunter, “Corinna” and “Easy Answers”. 1 track from the project, a live version of “Lazy River Road”, recorded March 25th, 1993, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is now streaming.

The band issued their 13th and final studio album, "Built To Last", in 1989, and they were unable to complete studio versions of the subsequent 90's live cuts before Garcia’s death. “'Ready Or Not' has been a long time coming”, Lemieux says in a statement. “It’s an album we’ve been working on for many, many years. This batch of ‘new’ Grateful Dead songs has never been compiled in one place and given its proper due as a huge part of the Dead’s lateera legacy".

“Many of these songs can easily stand alongside some of the Dead’s oldest, most loved songs as bona fide classics despite their short tenure in the repertoire”, he continued. “We’ve dug deep into the archive and listened to countless live versions of these songs to find the best, most definitive live performances. When the Grateful Dead were ‘on’, in their later years, their live concerts were as good as any era in their history. The 9 songs on 'Ready Or Not' exemplify how good the Dead could be in their later years of touring”.

 

20.10.2019

The Band Box Set.....

The Band’s pioneering, self titled album of 1969 is to be released by Capitol and Universal Music on November 15th, 2019, in a suite of newly remixed and expanded editions to mark its 50th anniversary. The new releases include a super deluxe CD, BluRay, 2 LP, 7" vinyl box set with a hardbound book, as well as a 180 gram 2 LP black vinyl and limited edition 180 gram 2 LP tiger’s eye colour vinyl packages.....

 

19.10.2019

Michael Nesmith.....

Following last year’s acclaimed "Live At The Troubadour", 7a Records has unveiled a new live title from another period in the storied career of Michael Nesmith. "Cosmic Partners : The McCabe’s Tapes", due on November 15th, 2019, in CD and LP formats, spotlights the artist with his longtime musical soul brother Red Rhodes and a small group of musicians. It was recorded on August 18th, 1973, at McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, California.

Nesmith hit the road in 1973 for a mini tour in support of his final album for RCA Victor, "Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash". The tour reunited him with the remnants of the house band at Countryside Records, his Elektra distributed imprint that saw releases from artists including Garland Frady, JG O’Rafferty and Red Rhodes. The rhythm section for the tour featured Danny Lane on drums and Colin Cameron on bass, with Rhodes, naturally, on pedal steel. The set boasted the Monkees era "Ranch Stash" highlight “Some Of Shelly’s Blues”, as well as favorites like “Joanne”, “Grand Ennui”, “Silver Moon” and “Propinquity”.

This never Before released soundboard mix, recorded in 2 track stereo direct to reel to reel analog tape from the soundboard, has been mastered for 7a by the artist’s oldest son and an accomplished musician in his own right, Christian Nesmith. Needless to say, there have been no overdubs of any kind, and no remixing was possible, so "Cosmic Partners" represents Nesmith, Rhodes and co as you would have heard them over 46 years ago in Santa Monica.

The CD edition has 17 tracks while the vinyl picture disciteration drops one track, the spoken story “The Great Escape”, for a total of 16 tracks. The vinyl edition is limited to 1 000 units. Both sets are lavishly packaged as per 7a’s usual high standard. The CD version has a 24 page deluxe booklet with liner notes by Ed Heffelfinger, Michael Nesmith, Circe Link  and Joe Alterio, while the vinyl has the note from Nesmith.

"Cosmic Partners : The McCabe’s Tapes" celebrates the creative journey of Michael Nesmith and Red Rhodes, as well as the cosmic American music created by the former and future Monkee during this incredibly fertile period of his remarkable career.

 

18.10.2019

Justine Vandergrift.....

"Justine Vandergrift is an emerging artist with that most precious and rare gift, an original voice, it's hard to capture such things in words, but hearing is believing" ~ Stephen Fearing, Blackie & The Rodeo Kings

Justine Vandergrift is like the old hymns she grew up with, even if you can’t put your finger on what makes them authentic, they are undeniably so. Her 3 studio releases reveal a clear, rich and emotive voice and finely tuned song craft, and her upcoming album ”Stay” represents a deepening of an already impressive artistry.

Justine Vandergrift is becoming a household name in the Canadian country roots scene with her past cross Canada tours and several collaborations. In the fall of 2019 she will release ”Stay”, the album, and tour Germany, Holand and the UK.

Not only is Vandergrift a competent and unique songwriter, she has developed the chops to play almost any country song, on guitar, and has been known to sing with several exceptional Canadian acts. She continues to develop her ear, artistry and live performance and looks forward to the exciting growing career ahead of her.

 

17.10.2019

Police Box Set.....

"Every Move You Make : The Studio Recordings", The Police vinyl box from last year, is coming to CD in November. The box set collects all 5 studio albums, "Outlandos d’Amour" (1978), "Reggatta de Blanc" (1979), "Zenyatta Mondatta" (1980), "Ghost In The Machine" (1981) and "Synchronicity" (1983), and adds a 12 track bonus CD called "Flexible Strategies" which features non album tracks such as ‘Dead End Job’, ‘ Landlord’, ‘Visions Of The Night’ and ‘Murder By Numbers’. All CD's come in gatefold CD digipak wallets housed in a lift off lid clamshell style box and have been remastered at Abbey Road Studios. "Every Move You Make : The Studio Recordings" is released on CD on November 8th, 2019.

 

16.10.2019

Jeff Lynne's ELO.....

"The ship has landed! New album, "From Out Of Nowhere", coming November 1st, 2019. The title track is available to stream now." ~ Jeff Lynne

 

15.10.2019

Western Stars 2.....

Bruce Springsteen will accompany his upcoming film "Western Stars", based on his recent solo album, with a soundtrack featuring live recordings of the LP’s tracks plus a new cover of Glen Campbell’s “Rhinestone Cowboy”.

"Western Stars : Songs From The Film" is out on October 25th, 2019, the same day as the film’s arrival on theaters. It features Springsteen backed by a band, including his wife Patti Scialfa, and a full Orchestra, as he performs "Western Stars" 13 songs at Stone Hill Farm in Colts Neck, New Jersey, the singer’s own ranch.

“I think ending up in the barn had a lot to do with the way the thing felt, you know? It was just kind of gritty and intimate”, Springsteen said recently at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the film premiered. “It was very intimate, which is what a lot of the songs are”.

The soundtrack’s audio is pulled directly from the cinematic retelling of his 2019 album. Like the film itself, the soundtrack concludes with a riveting rendition of Glen Campbell’s classic “Rhinestone Cowboy”.

 

14.10.2019

Kaurna Cronin.....

With over 500 European performances under his belt, Kaurna Cronin's unique folkblend and moving performances have been capturing audiences throughout Europe and Australia, establishing this young singer songwriter as an emerging international sensation.

”Glitter Or Dust” is the 5th studio album from 27 year old Australian born folk rocker and singer songwriter Kaurna Cronin, hailing from sunny south Australia. His acclaimed live shows and latest works delve well beyond the current singer songwriter trends of cliche heartbreak songs, covering social issues, homelessness and other contemporary issues.

Cronin continues to further strengthen his extensive tours throughout Europe, Canada and Australia, cementing this young talents position at the height of Australian modern folk music. This latest musical offering is a thrilling emotional portrayal of what Cronin does best, writing songs with both substance and style.

The abum ”Glitter Or Dust” began it’s recording in a basement studio of Bremen, Germany, before being taken across the seas to further it’s journey in a number of renowned studios throughout Australia.

With tracks being produced by Guy Gray (David Bowie, Rolling Stones, Midnight Oil) and vocal production from Simon Cohen (Guy Sebastian, Justin Bieber, Chet Faker), Kaurna’s new album tows the line of driving hard with attitude and grit and gently evoking powerful emotion, as he invites you with in his intimate narratives. It's a unique blend of the undiscovered and nostalgic, both foreign and familiar.

 

13.10.2019

The Who's Who.....

The Who has one of the greatest rock legacies in music history, they’re one of the all time great live bands, have sold over 100 million records world including 9 US and 10 UK # 10 albums and 14 UK £ 10  singles in a career spanning 6 decades.  Now 55 years after they made their 1st recordings, The Who is back with their 1st new album in 13 years entitled "WHO" due for release on November 22nd, 2019. The album was mostly recorded in London and Los Angeles during spring and summer of 2019 and was co-produced by Pete Townshend and D Sardy, who has worked with Noel Gallagher, Oasis, LCD Soundsystem and Gorillaz, with vocal production by Dave Eringa. Singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend are joined on the album by long time drummer Zak Starkey, bassist Pino Palladino along with contributions from Simon Townshend, Benmont Tench, Carla Azar, Joey Waronker and Gordon Giltrap.

 

12.10.2019

Rod Stewart.....

Rod Stewart celebrates 50 years as a solo artist with a brand new album "You're In My Heart : Rod Stewart With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra". The legendary singer songwriter is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with more than 250 million records sold worldwide during a stellar career. Recorded at Abbey Road Studio 1 and produced by Trevor Horn, the album combines classic vocals with newly recorded arrangements by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Includes new orchestral versions of classic hits like “Sailing”, “I Don’t Want To Talk About It”, “The First Cut Is The Deepest”, “You’re In My Heart”, “Maggie May”, “Tonight’s The Night” and “Handbags & Gladrags”. Also features “It Takes Two”, a new duet with Robbie Williams, previously recorded with Tina Turner in 1991, this brand new version features newly recorded vocals from both Robbie and Rod. Plus a brand new previously unreleased song “Stop Loving Her Today”. The 2 CD deluxe edition includes 7 additional tracks. Rhino Records, November 22nd, 2019.

 

11.10.2019

Leonard Cohen.....

Columbia and Legacy Records has released the 1st posthumous song from late singer songwriter Leonard Cohen, “The Goal”. The short, acoustic track, which clocks in at a little over a minute long, is an intimate song that feels more like a spoken word poem. The song previews a posthumous album of the musician’s work titled "Thanks For The Dance", which will be released November 22nd, 2019.

“I can’t leave my house”, Cohen intones on the moody track, which features piano and acoustic guitar. “Or answer the phone, I’m going down again, but I’m not alone”.

“In composing and arranging the music for his words, we chose his most characteristic musical signatures, in this way keeping him with us”, Leonard’s son Adam Cohen said in a statement. “What moves me most about the album is the startled response of those who have heard it. ‘Leonard lives!', they say, one after the other”.

"Thanks For The Dance" also features musical contributions from Beck, Damien Rice, Feist, the National’s Bryce Dessner, Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry, Daniel Lanois and more.

Cohen died at 82 on November 11th, 2016, a few months after releasing his final album, "You Want It Darker". In 2018, Adam Cohen, who produced "You Want It Darker", confirmed a posthumous album from Cohen was in the works for release in 2019. In an interview with CBC, he said, “I was tasked with finishing a few more songs of his that we started together on the last album, so his voice is literally still in my life. It’s a bizarre and delicious entanglement”.

He added, “To make a long story short, I believe that there are some really beautiful new songs of Leonard Cohen that no one’s heard that are at some point going to come out. There are these songs that exist that he wanted finished, these incredible powerful readings that were set to music. It’s going to surprise and delight".

 

10.10.2019

Very 1st Mudfish.....

Mudfish started to make music again in 2013 after many silent years. The contributions to the compilations “Home Is Where The Heart Is” in 2014 and “Won’t Be Home For Christmas” in 2017, both Hemifrån/Paraply Records, marked the return of the band. After 2 singles in the of spring 2019, it’s now time to release the very 1st Mudfish album. “It’s about time we release these songs now”, says singer Joakim Lövgren, “It has taken us a while from farm to fork, even though the recording process was a quick one. The album has been with us for some years now and it’s great to finally release these songs”. You will find the album on all digital platforms, as well as on physical CD.

 

09.10.2019

Judy Collins.....

In February 2019, Judy, Jonas, and Chatham County Line headed down to vibey Echo Mountain Studios, a former church, in Ashville, North Carolina. The three knew each other tangentially, but had never officially worked together in this context. Jonas is a beloved Norwegian artist best known internationally for his 1990s trio Danko Fjeld Andersen, featuring The Band’s Rick Danko and fellow Judy Collins contemporary Eric Andersen. Since 2005, Jonas has toured and recorded 3 albums with C.C.L. In 2014, Judy recorded Jonas’ sublime “Angels In The Snow”.

The artists had three days of rehearsal and preproduction time, during which they picked the songs. “I’m a winter guy, in my part of the world it’s winter seven months of the year”, Jonas says, laughing. He adds, “Winter is a wonderful time to be close to the ones you love”.  From there, Judy, Jonas, and C.C.L. tracked album basics in a few days of fun and freewheeling. Judy recalls, “We would gather around tell stories and exchange histories, that exchange is very much a part of the folk tradition”.

The album promises both classics and new tunes penned by the musicians, including covers of Jimmy Webb’s “The Highwaymen” and “Northwest Passage”. originally by Stan Rogers.

Wildflower Records, November 15th, 2019

 

08.10.2019

Another Bowie Box.....

This year, Parlophone will not move into the 1990's and issue a 5th eras box set in their continuing David Bowie reissue programme, but will instead release a 5 CD box set called "Conversation Piece" that focuses on Bowie’s early development throughout 1968 and 1969. This set will feature home demos, BBC radio sessions, a new 2019 mix of the "Space Oddity" album and more…

The 1st thing to say is that everything on this year’s vinyl box sets, "Spying Through A Keyhole", "Clareville Grove Demos" and "The Mercury Demos", is featured on "Conversation Piece". Parlophone did say at the time that these tracks would end up on CD.

Additionally, there’s 12 previously unreleased tracks and demos from the period, as well as the new mix of the "Space Oddity", by the album’s original producer, Tony Visconti. This new mix features the song ‘Conversation Piece’ restored to the track listing in its initially intended position, before it was originally dropped due to time constraints of vinyl, the song wasn’t wasted, it ended up as the b-side to 'Space Oddity' follow up 'The Prettiest Star'.

This 5 CD box also includes the 1969 mix of "Space Oddity", although, interestingly, the label have opted for the 2009 remaster as opposed to the 2015 "Five Years" version because that version was mastered to be as close to the 1969 vinyl as possible, whereas with the 2015 version that wasn’t the goal.

The discs are packaged within a 120 page hardcover book which features exclusive images of memorabilia from the personal collection of David’s former manager, the late Ken Pitt, as well as photos from David’s archive and others by Ray Stevenson, Vernon Dewhurst, David Bebbington, Alec Byrne, Tony Visconti and Jojanneke Claasen.

Parlophone Records, November 15th, 2019.

 

07.10.2019

No Other Box.....

American singer songwriter and Byrds founding member Gene Clark’s 1974 solo album "No Other" is to be reissued by 4AD in November as a lavish box set which features no fewer than 3 SACD's, a BluRay and an 80 page hardcover book.

Originally released on Asylum Records, a year after the Byrds shortlived reunion, Clark’s psychedelic rock, folk, country and soul record cost a small fortune to make and despite being well received critically, it was a flop. It is said that Clark never really recovered from this blow. Since then, the album has gained greater prominence via a few reissues and has become recognised as a great album of its era.

4AD have remastered the 8 track album at Abbey Road and are reissuing it on CD and vinyl, but of special interest will be an extremely limited deluxe box set which contains the album on silver coloured vinyl, 3 SACD's, an exclusive 7" single, and a BluRay disc, which includes HD versions of all tracks, a 5.1 surround mix of the album, the original 1974 vinyl master and an exclusive documentary by Paul Kendall, the director of the 2013 film, "The Byrd Who Flew Alone : The Triumphs And Tragedy Of Gene Clark",  and a hardbound 80 page book which features essays, extensive liner notes and previously unseen photos.

All the SACD's are hybrid, meaning you can play the stereo audio on normal CD players. The first SACD is presented in an exclusive Japanese vinyl replica sleeve and features the 8 track album and the 5.1 surround mix, while 2 further SACD's offer 18 session tracks and a couple of 7" edits. Amongst the sessions is a recording of ‘Train Leaves Here This Morning,’ an Eagles hit in 1972, written by Gene and Eagles founding member Bernie Leadon.

As well as being home to the documentary, the BluRay offers all the stereo content on the 3 SACD's, plus the 5.1 mix, the 1974 vinyl master of the album and an exclusive 2019 stereo remix. The 5.1 and stereo remix is by Neil Wilkes and BJ Cole at Opus Productions.

All the studio takes have been worked on and mixed by the duo of Gene Clark aficionado, author and Long Ryders frontman Sid Griffin and John Wood, the producer famed for his work with the likes of Fairport Convention, Nick Drake and Sandy Denny. No track has been edited or composited in any way so what you hear is exactly what went down in the studio before any overdubbing took place.

As well as the box set there’s a special 2 CD hardcover book edition, with a selection of sessions, and a black vinyl LP version. "No Other" is released on November 8th, 2019.

 

06.10.2019

Lynne Hanson.....

"'True Blue Moon', the 1st single from my forthcoming album 'Just Words', was written in response to the Jacques Brel song 'Ne Me Quitte Pas'. I read in an interview that he didn’t consider it to be a love song, but instead an example of how far a man would go because of love. This song was from the point of view of the woman who sees the romantic poet for a temporary lover and not capable of longer lasting love. It’s supposed to be a tongue in cheek song about that out of control feeling that we can sometimes have when we fall head over heels in love, and at the impossibility of that romantic fairy tale feeling actually being something that can be maintained over time." ~ Lynne Hanson

 

05.10.2019

John Fogerty

In June, the legendary John Fogerty and his band staged and epic concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. The night was filled with hits from his time with Creedence Clearwater Revival, solo material, as well as some well chosen covers. On November 8th, 2019, the show will be commemorated with a special "50 Year Trip Live At Red Rocks" release, on BluRay, DVD, CD, as well as digital.....

 

04.10.2019

Curt Boettcher.....

"Looking For The Sun", the lost productions of Curt Boettcher and friends. A compilation of rare singles and lost cuts from visionary psychedelic pop producer Curt Boettcher. Out October 25th, 2019, on High Moon Records.

Best known for his groundbreaking contributions to what later became known as sunshine pop, and his hit productions for The Association, Curt Boettcher formed the pioneering rock bands The Ballroom and The Millennium, and contributed heavily to classic pop psych album Sagittarius created and crafted by legendary producer Gary Usher. A Hollywood based producer and arranger in the Phil Spector mode, whose sessions he actually participated in, Boettcher was innovative in utilizing the studio as an instrument, an approach that made a lasting impression on a young Brian Wilson. In 1966 and 1967, Boettcher spent so much time at Columbia Studios in Hollywood that some began to call CBS, The Curt Boettcher Studios. The work he did with Gene Clark, Paul Revere & The Raiders, Elton John, Emitt Rhodes and The Beach Boys, among many others, is a master’s thesis in the use of sound and space to elevate music and emotion into art.

"Looking For The Sun" is the 1st release to focus on Curt Boettcher as a producer and arranger, rather than a performer, highlighting cuts that were released only as singles. Most of the tracks have remained out of print since their initial release. Collected here are 21 tracks, 18 on LP, all sourced from the original master tapes, which Boettcher wrote, produced, arranged, or sang on.
 
Steve Stanley, founder and producer of Now Sounds Records, lovingly assembled this unique and vibrant collection song by song, combing the vaults and file cabinets of Sony Music and the musty archives of obscure LA recording studios. One of the many highlights is a mysterious gem of a long lost song, Cindy Malone’s “You Were Near Me”, previously unreleased and available as a digital single for this collection.

Thanks to Stanley’s meticulous research of Musician’s Union Contracts, and interviews with the musicians and artists, a clearer portrait of Curt Boettcher’s prodigious and radical work as a producer emerges. Over the course of "Looking For The Sun", the listener can hear Boettcher as an in house producer for Our Productions, discovering the methods and sounds that would serve him so well as a bandleader and sonic guru of The Millennium. The 36 page booklet that accompanies the release, beautifully designed by Stanley, features fascinating and deeply researched notes on each of the songs, fabulous, rarely seen archival photos, and a marvelous essay from noted Boettcher scholar Dawn Eden Goldstein.
 
Artists include Cindy Malone, Sandy Salisbury, Gordon Alexander, Keith Colley, Summer’s Children, Jonathan Moore, Ray Whitley, Eddie Hodges, The Bootiques, Action Unlimited and Sagittarius. Also featuring musical contributions from Glen Campbell, David Gates, Gary Usher and Keith Olsen.

 

03.10.2019

David Crosby.....

One of the greatest rock documentaries of all time, ”David Crosby : Remember My Name" out on BluRay, DVD and all digital outlets October 22nd, 2019, on Sony Pictures.....

 

02.10.2019

Ranzel X Kendrick.....

Part rambling man, part hill country gypsy, Ranzel X Kendrick sounds like nobody else. Original. Fresh. Passionate. Real, raw and different.

Honing his songwriting skills as a youth with tips from his uncle, multi Grammy winner and country & western legend Roger Miller, Kendrick often jammed with Miller as a teen when he was in town visiting family.

Living in Texas, Tennessee, Colorado, California, Maryland, at places in between and beyond, Kendrick has been writing and playing his freestyle since grade school. Performing randomly at places like the historic Bitter End in Greenwich Village, New York, like singer songwriters of renown memorialized in paintings on the back wall of the venue.

Creating his original Kendrick groove, the elusive enigma artist started releasing his music in earnest with "Texas Paintbrush" in 2017. Followed by "Texas Sagebrush" in the fall of 2018, and "Texas Cactus", now in 2019, to close his 3 CD “Texas Trilogy”.

Kendrick’s next foray, Snafu by Alias Wayne, is a distinct departure from the trilogies freestyle folk foundation. The free-spirited artist brings fans some of his rock and blues music in the forthcoming 6 song EP, featuring 4-originals and 2 great covers, with less acoustic and more electric guitars.

01.10.2019

R.E.M.'s Monster Box.....

Craft Recordings will reissue R.E.M.‘s 1994 album "Monster" as a 6 disc 25th anniversary issue in November. The 5 CD and BluRay set will include a brand new Scott Litt stereo mix, unreleased demos and a 5.1 surround sound mix. Although the album was not particularly well received critically, it still delivered twice the number of UK top 10 hits than its much loved predecessor "Automatic For The People", ‘What’s The Frequency Kenneth?’ and ‘Strange Currencies’ both got to # 9, whereas # 7 hit ‘Everybody Hurts’ was the only one of 6 singles to penetrate the top 10. In fact of "Monster’s" 5 UK singles, only ‘Crush With Eyeliner’ failed to reach the top 20. Craft/Universal, November 1st, 2019.

 

30.09.2019

Ad Vanderveen.....

It's new, yet nothing new, more of the same, yet different, it's trusted like a good friendship that is gaining in depth and quality over time, yet is often taken for granted. This much could be said about the work of songwriter and singer Ad Vanderveen and his new offering "Final Refuge".
 
With little fanfare and in a steady flow, this prolific writer produces groups of songs that seem to form their own unity and make up the story of an album. Just about every year a new CD is added to an ever growing catalog that started back in the early 90's.

While his work is often compared to greats like Neil Young, Bob Dylan or Townes Van Zandt, Ad Vanderveen could well be considered one of the most obscure and reluctant superstars the world has never seen. Despite the size of, and high critical acclaim for, his artistic output both on records and in live performances he has maintained a low profile and, in his own words calls, ‘the inner eye a greater priority than the public eye’.

In Final Refuge's lyrical content, spiritual and mystical themes alternate with more mundane affairs, covering subject matter that most serious and grown up music lovers could relate to like reflections on transience, love and faith, as well as more personal inquisition, self knowledge and worldly philosophy.

The recording sessions were done in an intimate and interactive setting, with an acoustic combo or with just acoustic guitar. The performances have the inspired, in the moment and heartfelt immediacy that we’ve come to expect from Ad. “This is chamber music, made on the spot where most songs took shape and where they sound best”, he explains.

Where the previous album, with the somewhat intriguing title "I Was Hank Williams, was characterized by a rather unconventional multitrack field recording approach, "Final Refuge" is a well balanced and rounded whole, with a consistent atmosphere and rich ambient sound throughout. Acoustic instruments like guitar, piano, upright bass, banjo, hang drum and percussion weave through the minimal chord structures that support the poetry always central to Vanderveen's work.

"Final Refuge" is scheduled for release by Continental Rose, a joint venture between CRS Records and Blue Rose Records, on November 8th, 2019.

 

29.09.2019

Bootleg Dylan 15.....

Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release "Bob Dylan (featuring Johnny Cash) : Travelin’ Thru 1967 – 1969 : The Bootleg Series Vol 15" on November 1st 2019.

The latest chapter in Columbia and Legacy’s highly acclaimed "Bob Dylan Bootleg Series" revisits Dylan’s pivotal musical journeys to Nashville, from 1967 to 1969, focusing on previously unavailable recordings made with Johnny Cash and unreleased tracks from the "John Wesley Harding", "Nashville Skyline" and "Self Portrait" sessions.

"Bob Dylan (featuring Johnny Cash) : Travelin’ Thru 1967 – 1969 : The Bootleg Series Vol 15" is available in 3CD and 3LP physical configurations and digital equivalent.

Disc One of "Travelin’ Thru" finds Dylan in Columbia’s Studio A in Nashville recording alternate versions of compositions written for "John Wesley Harding", October 17th and November 6th, 1967, and "Nashville Skyline", February 13-14, 1969,  while introducing a new song, “Western Road”, a Nashville Skyline outtake.
 
Discs 2 and 3 of "Travelin’ Thru" are centered around Dylan’s collaborations with American music icon Johnny Cash including the much sought after Columbia Studio A sessions and on stage performances at the Ryman Auditorium on May 1st, 1969, for the recording of the premiere episode of The Johnny Cash Show, originally broadcast on ABC TV on June 7th, 1969.

Disc 3 closes with tracks recorded on May 17th, 1970, with bluegrass banjo legend Earl Scruggs for the PBS television special, “Earl Scruggs : His Family & Friends”, originally aired January 1971.

 

28.09.2019

Bobbo Byrnes.....

In American literature the poem “The Red Wheelbarrow” is a metaphor for all art to me. 16 words that until the poet WC Williams said it existed, didn’t exist. That the single most important thing of any artistic endeavor is the doing of it. The marginalization of creative work and stripping it of its value has become a reality of the modern world. But art, music, literature, it still needs to be created.

I was thinking of this when I started recording my new album as well as what does having a professional life in music mean to me? How do I define personal success vs external success and should I double down on this life?

”The Red Wheelbarrow” was mostly recorded while touring across the US and I was influenced by modern radio in a counter intuitive way, I didn’t want to sound like modern radio. I wanted to sound like people in a room making music and less like a computer. It’s not discounting what others do, it’s just reacting to it.

So this is a bit of a reactionary record for me of the time and space spent touring across 2 continents and feels like the 3rd and final part of a trilogy of albums that I started in 2017 with ”Motel Americana”, 2018’s ”Two Sides To This Town” and now 2019’s ”The Red Wheelbarrow”.

Songs 1 to 5 were recorded in 5 hours in Nashville, TN, with Ken Coomer from Uncle Tupelo and Wilco on the drums. Songs 6 to 10 were recorded in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Texas and California. ”The Red Wheelbarrow” also features the B3 playing of Rami Jaffee from Foo Fighters and Wallflowers and the lead guitar of Phil Manzanera from Roxy Music.

 

27.09.2019

Van Morrison.....

Van Morrison has unveiled a tender new blues ballad “Dark Night Of The Soul”, from his upcoming album, "Three Chords And The Truth", out October 25th, 2019. “Dark Night Of The Soul” boasts a vintage mid tempo groove of shuffling drums, silky guitar, rolling piano and the occasional keening organ. Morrison moves with nimble grace over these instrumentals, really showcasing his perennial vocal prowess during the final 2 minutes of the track, most of which he spends riffing on the titular refrain with an array of deft runs.

Morrison wrote all the tracks on "Three Chords And The Truth", save for “If We Wait for Mountains”, which he co-wrote with Don Black. The album also features a duet with the Righteous Brothers’ Bill Medley, “Fame Will Eat the Soul”, and contributions from guitarist Jay Berliner. In a statement, Morrison says of making the album, “You’re just plugging into the feeling of it, more the feeling of it, when they’re playing, it’s like reading me, so, I think there’s more of that connection”. "Three Chords And The Truth", released via Exile Records, continues a particularly prolific period for Morrison, marking his 6th album in 4 years. Last year, he released 2 albums, "The Prophet Speaks" and "You’re Driving Me Crazy", while he also released a pair of records in 2017, "Roll With The Punches" and "Versatile".

 

26.09.2019

My Darling Clementine.....

My Darling Clementine, the sobriquet of spouses Michael Weston King and Lou Dalgleish, will release their new EP, "Country Darkness Vol 1", on October 11th, 2019. The 4 track set is comprised of Elvis Costello interpretations in collaboration with Steve Nieve of The Imposters and The Attractions. It comes ahead of an extended "Country Darkness" project that will feature further exploration and reworking of numerous Costello country songs for duet. The EP is preceded by the single “Heart Shaped Bruise”, due on digital services on October 4th.

For this project they reunited with Richard Hawley alumni Colin Elliott, Shez Sheridan and Dean Beresford, with whom they made their much loved 2nd album "The Reconciliation", to help Michael and Lou realise their ambitions. It was produced by Colin Elliot and King.

Known the world over as Elvis Costello's right hand man, Steve Nieve has worked with Elvis since 1977, recording with him for the first time on his 2nd album "This Years Model". He was a founding member of The Attractions, and now, for over 20 years, one of The Imposters. A Rock'N'Roll Hall Of Fame member, Nieve is one of the most i -demand session keyboard players in the world.

Writing credits on the EP include Paul McCartney, “That Day Is Done”, and Loretta Lynn, “I Felt The Chill Before The Winter Came”, both of whom collaborated with Costello on the original recordings.

Having toured extensively across Europe and the US since 2011, and releasing 4 albums in that time, Dalgleish and King returned to the studio earlier this year to craft the follow up to their 2017 country soul album "Still Testifying". The new release will include an exclusive vinyl pressing and will be accompanied by a 15 date European tour plus selected UK shows this autumn.

Michael Weston King writes on the inspiration behind the record, “Making these recordings took me back to my 19 year old self, out buying a copy of 'Almost Blue' during my lunch hour. It was Elvis and Steve’s making of that album which set me, and I think many others of my generation, off along a country path to discover more about this form of music previously only viewed with suspicion. For me it became something of a pilgrimage, a vocation, even a career. So this feels like the completing of a musical circle of sorts, to record a selection of some of mine and Lou’s favourite E.C. country songs, with the added thrill of performing them with Steve”.

Lou writes, “Reflecting on those early years spent listening to my hero of the keyboard, accompanying my personal king of songwriting, E.C., was it any wonder that in the spring of 2019, when he sat down right next to me and began his incredible intro to our first collaboration, that I couldn’t sing for crying? Thanks Steve, for making this sulky girl very happy".

"Country Darkness Vol 1" will be released via Fretsore Records on digital services worldwide and on limited edition vinyl.

 

25.09.2019

Ultimate CSNY.....

 

24.09.2019

Annie Gallup's Bookish.....

Award winning songwriter, Annie Gallup, grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She studied dance as a child but music, country blues in particular, was her secret obsession. As she taught herself to play guitar, hiding in her room after school, copping licks from old Mississippi John Hurt, Doc Watson and Dave Van Ronk albums that she found at the public library,  "it never occurred to her not to write songs for herself to play". So by the time she began performing publicly in the early 90's, after attending the University of Michigan School of Art and then moving west to chase her incurable wanderlust, she had internalized a songwriting style that was very distinctively her own, and that had evolved from her fascination with country blues, her love of words, a dancer’s sense of rhythm, and the sort of playful inventiveness that comes from doing something purely for its own reward. Annie has a dozen CD's on various indie labels, including Waterbug and 1-800-PRIMECD, and has performed at concert venues and festivals across the US. Now living in Rockland, Maine, she also records as the duo Hat Check Girl, with Peter Gallway.

Annie says, “My new album ’Bookish’ was written and recorded last winter, my first winter living on the coast of Maine. It was bitterly cold outside and there was ice and blowing snow, and I hibernated upstairs in my writing alcove and downstairs in Peter Gallway’s Gallway Bay Studio to work on this record, solo, live in the studio, unguarded, focused. I’ve been unable to travel for several years because I have chronic Lyme Disease. It has turned my world upside down and made it very small. Touring and performing are out of the question. But I’m writing, constantly, and I’ve recorded these new songs to sound the way I would play them on stage if I were able to bring them to you in person”.

 

23.09.2019

Let It Bleed.....

On November 1st, 2019, ABKCO Records will release the Rolling Stones’ "Let It Bleed : 50th Anniversary Limited Deluxe Edition" as a 2 LP and 2 SACD set. It’s a lavish new edition of the groundbreaking and multi platinum album, which went to # 1 in the UK and # 3 in the US on its first release late in 1969.

The new edition was entirely remastered in both stereo and mono by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering. The set features a reproduction of the 1969 7” mono picture sleeve single ‘Honky Tonk Women’/’You Can’t Always Get What You Want’. That single was 1st released 4 months ahead of "Let It Bleed", and went to # 1 on both sides of the Atlantic. ‘Honky Tonk Women’ was reprised on the album with a country flavour as ‘Country Honk’.

Three 12”x12” hand numbered replica signed lithographs are also featured, printed on embossed archival paper, as well as a full colour 23”x23” poster, with restored artwork from the Decca Records package of 1969.

The deluxe edition also has an 80 page hardcover book with an essay by music writer David Fricke, who observes in the notes, “No other rock'n'roll album of the late 60's so embodied the contradictions, turbulence of its time, creation, and the band, than 'Let It Bleed'”. There are also never before seen photos by the Stones’ tour photographer Ethan Russell. "Let It Bleed" will also be available as a stand alone CD, vinyl LP, and digitally.

Says Ludwig, who has mastered or remastered many other Stones albums, “When we did the 1st 'Let It Bleed' remaster in 2002, our intention was to pay homage to the original work. When we did this new version, the purpose was to make it as great as it could possibly sound. If you listen on a good set of speakers or good headphones, you’ll hear subtle things in the background that are now much more clear that were somewhat hidden before”.

The new edition faithfully reproduces the work of graphic designer Robert Brownjohn, whose original sketches for the "Let It Bleed" cover depict random round items on the spindle of an antique record player. They included a cake with figurines representing the members of the band. The sketches are on 2 12”x12” lithographs, hand numbered, replica signed and printed on embossed archival paper.

The set is completed by a 3rd lithograph of the final art, without its titles, in a foil stamped envelope. Brownjohn died less than a year after the album’s release of the album, and his estate has granted ABKCO exclusive use to manufacture his images and signature. The 50th anniversary release also has a reproduction of the full colour, 23”x23” poster that accompanied Decca’s original 1969 UK release of the album.

 

22.09.2019

Zappa's Halloween.....

Throughout the 70's and 80's, the iconoclastic composer Frank Zappa put on a series of spectacular, now legendary, shows around Halloween each year to celebrate his favorite holiday. Before settling on New York in 1974 to host his annual costume clad festivities, which would continue until he retired the tradition in 1984, Zappa, fronting an exciting new band, performed 2 rousing back to back Halloween concerts the year prior at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago. Whereas many of the Ne York shows were not recorded due to the musician’s union charging exorbitant fees making it virtually impossible to allow Zappa to record the event, there were no such restrictions at the Chicago show, in true Zappa fashion it was of course taped.
 
Now for the 1st time ever, Zappa’s 2 complete Halloween shows recorded on October 31st, 1973, in Chicago, will be released on October 25th, 2019, via Zappa Records and Universal Music, just in time for Halloween. These completely unreleased live recordings total more than 4½ hours and feature songs from across his prolific catalog, including his then just released 1973 album "Over-Nite Sensation" and forthcoming 1974 record "Apostrophe (')", as well as early arrangements of compositions like “Penguin In Bondage”, “Dickie’s Such An Asshole” and “Village Of The Sun”, that would appear on later studio and live albums.

Continuing the Halloween series that the Zappa Family Trust began in 2017 with the acclaimed "Halloween 77" releases, "Halloween 73" will be released as a specially designed, limited run 4 disc costume box complete with a Frankenzappa mask and gloves, housed in a display worthy box. Produced by Ahmet Zappa and vaultmeister Joe Travers, the boxed set is rounded out with a 40 page booklet featuring detailed liner notes from Travers and Ruth Komanoff Underwood and Ralph Humphrey, Zappa’s bandmates who played in the shows, and a wealth of never Before seen photos from the event.
 
The 2 full shows will be presented on discs 1 to 3 with the 4th disc dedicated to unreleased rehearsals, recorded just before the tour started. A single CD version titled "Halloween 73 Highlights", which collects together 16 handpicked performances from both shows, will also be available. The concerts were recorded on 1/2” 4 track analog tape which was stored in pristine condition in Zappa’s personal Vault. The tracks were digitally transferred in 96K/24B from the original analog tapes by Travers in 2019 and mastered and remixed by Craig Parker Adams. Both the deluxe boxed set and "Highlights" album will be available digitally for streaming and download.

 

21.09.2019

Ringo Starr.....

”What's My Name”, Ringo Starr, October 25th 2019.

01. Gotta Get Up To Get Down
02. It's Not Love That You Want
03. Grow Old with Me
04. Magic
05. Money
06. Better Days
07. Life Is Good
08. Thank God for Music
09. Send Love Spread Peace
10. What’s My Name

A Universal Music Enterprises release ℗ 2019 Roccabella, Inc., under exclusive license to UMG

The album includes a cover of “Grow Old With Me,” one of the last songs written by John Lennon.....

 

20.09.2019

Emily Davis.....

Emily Davis is an insightful songwriter, whose music walks the line between folk and rock. Her cinematic lyrics create a luscious world for the listener, as each song explores human connection, the universal truths we all know but are often too afraid to admit and her enduring belief in the transformative power of love. She follows in the tradition of the strong women of her art form. Her sound is reminiscent of artists Brandi Carlile, Emmylou Harris, and Chrissie Hynde. She has a reputation for ‘utterly absorbing’ (DB Magazine) and ‘breathtaking’ (Rip It Up) live performances. Put simply, she knows how to turn a room.

Davis ceremoniously dropped out of law school in 2005 to pursue music, and penned songs for her debut release ”Moving In Slow Motion”. The album, produced by ARIA award winner Monique Brumby received rave reviews, and high rotation on NOVA, Triple J and ABC National. In 2011, after a break to recover from the death of her father, she released ”Undone”, a dark alt country record, to similar critical acclaim. Emily has toured extensively across Australian capital cities and regional areas and performed at festivals including WOMADelaide, Peatsridge, Fleurieu Folk and Semaphore. She has opened for artists including CW Stoneking, Clare Bowditch, The Audreys and Kate Miller-Heidke, Renee Geyer, James Reyne, and Richard Clapton.

Her latest release, ”You, Me & The Velvet Sea” is a deeply personal album focussed entirely on love, in all of its incarnations. Combining aching fiddle, gritty guitars and sweet 4 part harmonies, the songs are propelled forward. And, front and centre, Davis’ delivers her evocative lyrics with a syrupy voice, resonating with the honesty and warmth of which she is renowned.

 

19.09.2019

Freddie Mercury.....

Freddie Mercury, "Never Boring", limited edition CD/DVD/BluRay box set.
• CD1: Never Boring (new compilation, 2019)
• CD2: Mr Bad Guy (special edition, 2019)
• CD3: Barcelona (special edition, 2012)
• DVD/BluRay: (new promo video compilation, 2019)
• 120 page hardback book w/rare, unpublished photos
• Poster
• Postcard
Universal Music, October 11th, 2019.

 

18.09.2019

Wax Live 1987.....

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the release of a new 3 disc digipack edition, 2 CD's and a DVD, of a previously unreleased concert by Wax, recorded in Harrogate in November 1987.

Wax was a collaboration between 2 highly respected song writers and musicians, namely American Andrew Gold and Graham Gouldman. Both Gold and Gouldman had enjoyed successful careers before coming together. Andrew Gold had recorded 4 acclaimed albums for Asylum Records and had enjoyed hits with such classic songs as ‘Lonely Boy’, ‘Never Let Her Slip Away’, ‘Thank You For Being A Friend’ and ‘Kiss This One Goodbye’. Graham Gouldman had been a successful songwriter in the 1960's and was a member of 10CC from their formation in the early 1970's, being a co-writer of many of their hit singles and acclaimed albums.

Wax issued their debut album, "Magnetic Heaven", in 1986 and followed this in 1987 with the album "American English", which spawned the hit single ‘Bridge To Your Heart’). In November of 1987 Wax undertook a UK tour with a line up featuring Andrew Gold, Graham Gouldman and Rick Fenn, Roger Jackson and Mike Richardson. A concert in Harrogate on November 27th was captured both on audio and video tape, but has languished in the vaults until now. The set performed that evening featured Wax material, including the hit ‘Bridge To Your Heart’, alongside classics such as ‘Never Let Her Slip Away’, ‘Thank You For Being A Friend’ and ‘Lonely Boy’ by Andrew Gold, and Graham Gouldman’s ‘Bus Stop’ and ‘For Your Love’, and the 10cc track ‘Dreadlock Holiday’.

This Esoteric Recordings edition releases the entire concert over 2 CD's and also features highlights of the concert on a DVD. The set also includes an illustrated booklet with a new essay featuring an exclusive interview with Graham Gouldman.

Esoteric Recordings, September 27th, 2019.

 

17.09.2019

Wally 2 CD Set.....

Esoteric Recordings is pleased to announce the release of a new remastered 2 CD anthology featuring all the recordings made for Atlantic Records by the band Wally. Formed in Harrogate, Yorkshire, in 1971, the band initially featured Roy Webber, Paul Middleton, Pete Sage, Paul Gerrett, Pete Cosker and Roger Narraway. The band’s sound was unique for the era, being a fusion of progressive and US west coast rock influences, which combined to give Wally an identity that made them stand out from their contemporaries. A support spot for Cockney Rebel in London in 1974 brought them to the attention of Rick Wakeman, who was impressed by the band’s performance. Participation in a talent contest run by the Magazine Meloday Maker soon after led to them meeting legendary radio and TV music presenter Bob Harris and a recording contract with Atlantic Records soon followed.

The band’s debut album, "Wally", issued in 1974, was produced by Rick Wakeman and Bob Harris, and featured excellent material, including the epic ‘To The Urban Man’. Its release led to the band developing a loyal following on the live circuit assisted by extensive touring in Europe and the US. Prior to the recording of Wally’s next album Paul Gerrett departed and he was replaced by Nick Glennie-Smith. This change in line up saw the band move further in a progressive direction for the album "Valley Gardens", issued in 1975. The album was dominated by the excellent side long piece ‘The Reason Why’, and also included the track ‘Nez Perc’e’ which was issued as a single and gained some considerable airplay.

With changing musical fashions Wally disbanded in 1976, although they would reform in 2009. This anthology is newly remastered and gathers together all the tracks from both albums issued by Atlantic Records along with 2 rare b-sides of singles, ‘The Life You’re Living’ and ‘Right by Me’, both appearing on CD for the 1st time. "Martys & Cowboys" also includes an illustrated booklet with a new essay by Malcolm Dome, featuring exclusive interviews with band members Roy Webber and Paul Middleton.

Esoteric Recordings, September 27th, 2019.

 

16.09.2019

Paul Messinger.....

Paul Messinger is a poet, songwriter, vocalist, and multi instrumentalist, originally from New York, now based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He is known as one of the early proponents of the Howard Levy (The Flecktones) approach to playing diatonic harmonica chromatically, and writes nuanced, character driven songs in different styles, explaining, “Different stories require different musical styles in order to fully tell them”. His abiding passions include history and people, as well as challenging the notion of ‘otherness’, and his artistic lens is focused on telling the stories of the people(s) he encounters in the world around us.

Messinger's 2019 release, "The Reckoning", is a song cycle constructed to challenge the growing notion of 'otherness'. Recorded live, in the studio with great players, such as Robert Sledge (Ben Folds Five), with blazing vocals, and trademark original harmonica seamlessly woven within the textures of sound throughout, this is music heard as it was played, with songs written to provoke, as well as to dance, and even rejoice, in our shared humanness. He writes, "We are ALL heading, toward a reckoning".....

 

15.09.2019

Another Floyd Box.....

Pink Floyd are to release, "The Later Years 1987-2019", another massive music box set in the style of 2016’s "Early Years" package. This time around, as the title suggest, the set focuses on the later period when Roger Waters had quit and David Gilmour, Rick Wright and Nick Mason were left to continue on their own to produce studio albums and undertake massive world tours. The period generated record sales of over 40 million worldwide and included 3 studio albums, "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason", "The Division Bell" and "The Endless River", as well as 2 live albums, "Delicate Sound Of Thunder" and "Pulse".

The label claim over 13 hours of unreleased audio and audio visual material  feature in the set including the 1989 Venice and 1990 Knebworth concerts. Both "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" and "Delicate Sound Of Thunder" have been remixed, with the former also updated, thought to be new Nick Mason drums and alternate Rick Wright parts. They appear on the first 3 CD's and a 4th gathers together unreleased live and studio recordings. CD 5 is the 57 minute Knebworth concert from 1990. Note "The Division Bell" isn’t included on CD here, but is on one of the 6 BluRays.

The 1st BluRay features the new 2019 of "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" in 5.1 and high res stereo, the 2014 mix of "The Division Bell" and 7 unreleased studio recordings also in 5.1 and hi-res stereo. 3 further BluRay discs cover live material, "Delicate Sound Of Thunder", "Pulse" and the Venice and Knebworth concerts. All in hi-res stereo and 5.1. A final BluRay disc offers a massive amount of videos, concert films, rehearsal footage and more.

"The Later Years" includes 5 DVD's but these merely repeat the content on blu-ray discs 2-6. Where surround sound is offered these are mostly Dolby Digital and DTS. Finally, for the audio, this set includes 2 7" singles, ‘Arnold Layne’ performed live by Pink Floyd at the Syd Barrett Tribute concert, 2007 and "Lost For Words" from the Pulse tour rehearsals at Earl’s Court. Both singles have a special etched image on their b-sides.

In terms of stuff this also comes with a 60 page photo book, 3 reproductions tour programmes and a collection of replica memorabilia like posters, tour passes and stickers. A 2 LP highlights and 1 CD of "The Later Years" will also be released. "The Later Years 1987-2019" is released on November 29th, 2019.

 

14.09.2019

Tom Waits Tribute.....

New Tom Waits tribute album by great female artists, ”Come On Up To The House : Women Sing Waits” featuring Rosanne Cash, Aimee Mann, Phoebe Bridgers and many more, will be released via Dualtone Music Group on November 22nd, 2019.

 TRACKLIST :

01 Joseph – “Come On Up To The House”
02 Aimee Mann – “Hold On”
03 Phoebe Bridgers – “Georgia Lee”
04 Shelby Lynne & Allison Moorer – “Ol’ 55″
05 Angie McMahon – “Take It With Me”
06 Corinne Bailey Rae – “Jersey Girl”
07 Patty Griffin – “Ruby’s Arms”
08 Rosanne Cash – “Time”
09 Kat Edmonson – “You Can Never Hold Back Spring”
10 Iris Dement – “House Where Nobody Lives”
11 Courtney Marie Andrews – “Downtown Train”
12 The Wild Reeds – “Tom Traubert’s Blues”

 

 

13.09.2019

Neil & Crazy Horse.....

”Colorado" is the 1st new Neil Young with Crazy Horse album since 2012's "Psychedelic Pill". The album will be released on October 25th, 2019, and features 10 new Neil Young compositions. It includes several songs that Neil has been playing live in the past few months, ”Rainbow Of Colors", "Green Is Blue" and "Milky Way", and the epic 13+ minute track "She Showed Me Love".

The vinyl version of the album comes with a bonus 7" single, featuring an album outtake, "Truth Kills". The 7" also includes a live, solo version of "Rainbow Of Colors" from Portland, OR, on May 17th, 2019, the first time Neil ever performed this song live.

This incarnation of Crazy Horse is Neil Young on vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica and vibes, Billy Talbot on bass, Ralph Molina on drums and features the return of Nils Lofgren on guitar and piano, almost 50 years since he last appeared on a Crazy Horse album in 1971.
 
The album is produced by Neil Young and John Hanlon and was recorded in Colorado in April and May 2019.

Full Track Listing:

01. Think Of Me
02. She Showed Me Love
03. Olden Days
04. Help Me Lose My Mind
05. Green Is Blue
06. Shut It Down
07. Milky Way
08. Eternity
09. Rainbow of Colors
10. I Do

 

 

 

12.09.2019

Patton & Brokus.....

Berkalin Records is proud to announce the 2019 European release of Jim Patton & Sherry Brokus‘ “Collection : 2008 - 2018”, compiled from the folk-rock duo’s 4 acoustic CDs.

Jim Patton & Sherry Brokus have sung together for 40 years. They led the folk rock band Edge City from Baltimore to Austin where they recorded with Lloyd Maines, the guru of Texas record producers. In 2006, a supporter in Atlanta asked which of the 4 CDs on the merchandise table sounded most like what he had heard that night. And there were none. They had played as a duo and all their recordings were with bands.

They released “Plans Gang Aft Agley”, an all acoustic CD, in 2008 as Jim Patton & Sherry Brokus, with Ron Flynt as producer, and it broke into the top 30 on the Folk charts. Their next CD, “Ray Of Hope”, another acoustic CD, made the top 100 on the Americana charts. They made 2 more acoustic albums in the next decade, all with Flynt as producer, and “The Great Unknown” was named one of the Top 100 CD's Of The Year by legendary music critic Geoffrey Himes in Paste Magazine.

 

11.09.2019

Another Kinks Box.....

50 years ago, The Kinks released "Arthur Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire", a concept album which continued in the quintessentially British vein of "The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society", but carved out its own musical identity.  Building on the success of last year’s "Village Green" box set, BMG has just announced a similarly expansive, make that Kink size, set for "Arthur", loaded with previously unreleased tracks and mixes and incorporating the great lost Dave Davies album as well.  It’s due on October 25th, 2019, in a variety of formats, including a 4 CD and 4 7" single box set, and slimmed down 2 CD and 2 LP editions.

 

10.09.2019

The Soft Parade.....

The Doors will include a trove of previously unreleased recordings on the upcoming 50th anniversary deluxe edition of their 1969 album, "The Soft Parade", out October 18th, 2019.

The band teased the project with one such rarity. An raucous early version of their 1970 track “Roadhouse Blues”, which would appear on the band’s next album, "Morrison Hotel", sung by organist Ray Manzarek, who’s cheekily billed as 'Screamin’ Ray Daniels'.

"The Soft Parade" is one of the most controversial albums in the Doors’ catalogue, due to the string and horn arrangements on several tracks. One such song, “Touch Me”, did become one of the band’s biggest hits. The 50th anniversary edition of "The Soft Parade" will notably include Doors only versions of 5 tracks, “Tell All The People”, “Touch Me”, “Wishful Sinful”, “Runnin’ Blue” and “Who Scared You”, where the strings and horns have been removed. There will also be additional stripped down versions of  “Touch Me”, “Wishful Sinful” and “Runnin’ Blue”, featuring new guitar parts from Robby Krieger.

Other rarities on the set include 2 more songs recorded during studio rehearsals that also feature Manzarek on vocals, “(You Need Meat) Don’t Go No Further” and “I’m Your Doctor”. That trio of tunes, including Manzarek’s “Roadhouse Blues”, also features newly recorded bass parts by the Stone Temple Piolots’ Robert DeLeo. The final disc of the set comprises a handful of studio outtakes, including the Doors’ famous and long bootlegged hour long jam, “Rock Is Dead”.

The 50th anniversary edition of The Soft Parade is available to pre-order and will be released as a 3 CD, single LP set that will be limited to 15,000 copies. Rolling Stone senior editor David Fricke also contributed new liner notes to the collection

 

09.09.2019

The Magpie Salute.....

The Magpie Salute return with their new album, "High Water II", which will be released October 18th, 2019, via Provogue Records. The album will be released on limited edition 180g 2LP brown vinyl, 2LP 180g black vinyl, CD and digitally.

When "High Water I" was released in August 2018 it was the sound of old friends coming together in a union of rock‘n’roll, psychedelic blues, rasping Americana and late night storytelling. The band was pulled together by guitarist Rich Robinson, it continued a story line he began in The Black Crowes with guitarist Marc Ford and bassist Sven Pipien. Meanwhile, vocalist John Hogg shared Hookah Brown with Robinson as keyboardist Matt Slocum and drummer Joe Magistro both joined him for solo records and tours over the years. Their 1st official live outing was in January 2017 at the Gramercy Theatre, New York City.

The album reached the Top 40 and was met with widespread acclaim from Rolling Stone, Relix, Guitar World, Planet Rock, Mojo Magaine, The Independent, The Daily Express, and Classic Rock Magazine named it #7 in their albums of the year. Tours across the US and Europe followed, including shows with Gov’t Mule, The Avett Brothers and Blackberry Smoke, with the band also taking their 1st trip to Japan in January this year.

"High Water II" picks up where the band’s studio debut left off, much of the album was written during those early recordings at Dark Horse Studios in Nashville which is why the album feels like a perfect continuation of its predecessor. Talking about the flow between the 2 albums Robinson explains, “Both records are part of a collective journey. I chose the sequence specifically for each record. I wanted ‘High Water l’ to introduce us to the world and the world to us. With ‘High Water ll’, I wanted to get a little deeper. To take people places they may not have expected to go”.

The Magpie Salute is a landscape with limitless possibilities and they have the ability to swoop and delve into a myriad of textures and emotions. Their live repertoire alone highlights this as an impressive cannon which means they can perform as a 10 piece, 6 piece or a trio. The collections of songs spans The Magpie Salute, The Black Crowes, Rich Robinson solo material and cover versions meaning that no 2 shows are the same. Something that will keep fans wanting to come back time after time. “I think it definitely keeps it moving and fresh for us as a band. I think the fans that come to the show expect that they will be at a different show hearing different songs every night”, says Robinson.

Prior to the announcement of "High Water II", Robinson revealed, he has also teamed up with Gretsch to create a new Rich Robinson Magpie Signature guitar. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always loved Gretsch guitars”, Robinson says. “From Neil Young and Stephen Stills to Steve Marriott and Malcom Young, these guitars have always piqued my imagination. Sonically and visually, Gretsch guitars have always been unique in the musical landscape. To have my own signature Gretsch is an honor, and the Magpie is the combination of all of my favorite elements of Gretsch guitars”.

 

08.09.2019

Coyote Brother.....

The new self-titled record from Coyote Brother is classic country, rich with lyrical imagery and the universal emotionality of the everyday. From loneliness and gratitude, to persistence and retribution, singers and songwriters John Hardin and Hayward Williams take turns offering up perspectives on each with sincerity.

Their welcoming conveyance transports the listener to a proverbial parlor room, ready for another round of storytelling. Folded in to the mix are plaintive steel guitar and robust organ, ebbing and flowing throughout their rolling and weaving vocals.

Coyote Brother is Hardin and Williams, 2 musicians with distinguished solo careers lasting over a decade before coming together as a duo. Drawn together by the profound impact that mental illness, in the form of panic disorders and depression, had on their ability to continue, Coyote Brother speaks to the collaborative work that can be achieved by taking a step back and re-entering the current with a strong support system.

Hardin is a Madison, WI, based artist, who previously toured under a pseudonym which, when viewed through the lens of the changes he has gone through personally, he insists is not important. From 2005 to 2013, his music appeared in numerous television spots, and he shared the stage with Gregory Alan Isakov, Over The Rhine, Sara Watkins, Jeffrey Foucault, and more. He released 2 records during this period, ”Fools & Thinkers” and ”Visions Of The Sea”, touring extensively behind both before deciding to take time off to engage with and work on his ’personal and mental maladjustments’. He returned to music with 2016’s ”The Piasa Bird”.

Williams is based in Milwaukee, WI, and like Hardin, he took time off after years of extensive touring to tend to his mental health and gain control of persisting anxieties. His most recent records since returning to music, ”The Reef” and ”Pretenders”, re-enforced his well earned reputation as a soulful folk artist. As a solo artist, Williams has released 7 records, toured across 3 continents, and has shared the stage with artists such as Jose Gonzalez, Sturgill Simpson, and the Secret Sisters.

The 2 came together after a moving in overlapping circles for a number of years. It was Hardin who first proposed the idea of working together, asking Williams to produce ”The Piasa Bird”. During this process, they discovered how well suited they were as a duo, and after Hardin co-produced Williams’ record ”Pretenders”, the  decided to ’hitch their wagons together’ and form what they now call Coyote Brother.

A majority of their debut, self titled record was engineered by Hardin at his home studio, with the remainder recorded remotely at locations across the country. In addition to Hardin and Williams, featured on the record are Charles Koltak on drums, Jeremy Moses Curtis  on bass, Brooks Milgate on keys, and Eric Heywood on pedal steel. The record was mixed by Alex Bush of Sonikwire Studio and mastered by Ed Walsh  of Resonant Mastering.

At its core, Coyote Brother is steeped in the spirit of traditional country music with rich imagery, timeless storytelling, and poignant melodies that carry the listener through the drama of the modern world.

 

07.09.2019

Ode To Wilco.....

Jeff Tweedy and Wilco are getting back after it, so to speak, as the band will release a new studio album, "Ode To Joy",  on October 4th, 2019. Tweedy says the album overall is defiantly joyful in the face of global political and cultural upheaval. “The record is, in a weird way, an ode”, he says in a statement announcing the album. “This terrible stuff is happening, this deepening sense of creeping authoritarianism that weighs on everybody’s psyche on a daily basis, and you’re allowed to feel a lot of things at once. And one thing that is worth feeling, that is worth fighting for, is your freedom to still have joy even though things are going to shit”.

 

06.09.2019

A Chicago Xmas.....

Chicago is back on October 4th, 2019, with the band’s 37th studio album and 4th Christmas release. The simply titled "Chicago Christmas" will arrive from Rhino Records on CD, LP, and digital platforms with 8 original songs, 2 classic holiday standards, and 1 pop favorite.

Produced by founding member Lee Loughnane, "Chicago Christmas" is the group’s 1st holiday album to focus primarily on original compositions. For this project, the band members wrote new songs such as “All Over The World”, “(Because) It’s Christmastime” and “I’m Your Santa Claus”. The album also features 2 distinctive versions, in r'n'b and ballad style, of “Merry Christmas, I Love You”, a song that Loughnane penned with John Durrill of The Ventures.

Joining the new songs are renditions of “Here We Come A Caroling” and “Sleigh Ride”, the latter of which was previously cut by the band on 2011’s "Chicago XXIII : O Christmas Three". The album’s other cover is more unexpected, but promises to be a highlight. Robert Lamm brought Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “What The World Needs Now Is Love” to the project, feeling its message was timely and relevant for the holiday season.

The horn arrangements for "Chicago Christmas" have been scored by James Pankow, while the album was recorded and mixed by Tim Jessup. The current Chicago line-up as heard on the album is anchored by founders Robert Lamm, Lee Loughnane  and James Pankow, plus Keith Howland, Lou Pardini, Ray Herrmann, Walfredo Reyes Jr, Neil Donell, Brett Simons, and Ramon Yslas.

 

05.09.2019

The Replacements.....

Don’t tell a soul? The Replacements are releasing their first ever box set. The hell raising Minneapolis rockers have proudly told the story of stealing a clutch of tapes from their onetime home of Twin Tone Records and chucking them into the Mississippi River back in 1987. But happily, the band was more careful about subsequent masters, and the year later, held onto a stash of tapes that now will provide the basis of "Dead Man’s Pop", a 4 CD and 1 LP set reimagining their 6th album and 3rd for Sire Records, "Don’t Tell A Soul". It’s due out on September 27th, 2019, from Rhino Records.

 

04.09.2019

Spike Flynn.....

Singer songwriter Spike Flynn has released 2 albums of original songs. Both have been very well received. His 1st album "It's Alright" reached number 10 on the Euro Americana Chart. He won the alt country section of the Tamworth Australian National Songwriting Competition in 2017 and had 3 songs in the 2018 finals. He is an accomplished finger picking guitarist in the style of Doc Watson and plays rack harmonica. His strongest interest however is the lyrical side of songwriting.
 
Originally from a small town in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia, he has been based in Sydney now for many years. Spike infuses home town and country themes with an urban edge. He says his songs "are for listening to, the lyrics, for me, are the most important element”. That's why he always includes a lyric booklet with his CD's. His original songs have a strong Australian presence, but with universal themes.
 
He has supported international acts including Peter Rowan & His Bluegrass Band, Kristina Olsen and John McCutcheon. Until recently Spike performed with his 2 piece band the Open Hearted Strangers, playing a mix of original songs, blues and country. He is now doing more solo and duo gigs around Sydney. Currently Spike is focused on songwriting and recording. He has several albums of original material ready, which will be released over the next 2 to 3 years. Spike Flynn sees himself as primarily a songwriter, he is an 'album' songwriter, focused on story telling and the overall album feel and continuity of a collection of songs.

 

03.09.2019

Sutherland Brothers.....

This 8 CD, 103 track, box set covers all of the releases by Sutherland Brothers & Quiver during the period 1971 to 1979 for both Island and CBS Records. Disc 1 is the self titled “Sutherland Brothers” album, produced by Muff Winwood and featuring the single ‘The Pie’ which was later covered by, of all people, the Bay City Rollers on their “Strangers In The Wind” album. The 2nd disc features 1972’s “Lifeboat” album which now adds 7 bonus tracks, 4 taken from the US version of the album. Also added is the single ‘Sailing’, which though not a hit for the band, gave Rod Stewart an international chart topper.

The single ‘You Got Me Anyway’, however, did reach # 48 in the US, # 25 in Canada and # 34 in Australia. Disc 3 is 1973’s “Dream Kid” album which now adds a previously non album cut as a bonus. 1974’s “Beat Of The Street” is on disc 4 and features 2 previously non album cuts as a bonus. Disc 5 is 1975’s “Reach For The Sky” album which reached # 26 in the UK charts. It features the hit single ‘Arms Of Mary’ which hit # 5 in the UK, # 17 in Germany and the top # in both Holland and Ireland.

Again, 2 non LP tracks have been added as a bonus. Making a guest appearance is Pink Floyd’s Dave Gilmour. The 6th disc is 1976’s “Slipstream” album which includes the UK # 35 hit single ‘Secrets’. The album itself reached # 49 in the UK charts. 6 previously non LP bonus tracks have been added to the “Down To Earth” album including rare cuts from the US version of the album. All produced by The Shadows’ Bruce Welch. The final disc is 1979’s “When The Night Comes Down” opus which features the # 50 UK hit single ‘Easy Come Easy Go’. The detailed booklet includes an in depth new interview with the main band members by the Groups webmaster Brian Mathieson. Lemon Records, September 27th, 2019.

 

Nina Simone.....

The Nina Simone "Complete RCA Albums Collection" box set is being made available again on September 27th, 2019. This 9 CD box set was first released back in 2011 via Sony’s Legacy Recordings imprint and collects remastered versions of all 9 original albums that Simone cut for RCA, between 1967 and 1974, and presents them in vinyl replica sleeves.

This set features expanded versions of each album, with a total of 35 bonus tracks, including additional songs and session material relevant to time period. The included 34 page booklet offers details on all the sessions and sources.

 

 

 

 

01.09.2019

Beth Hart.....

Beth Hart announces new album, "War In My Mind", out on September 27th, 2019, on Provogue Records and Mascot Label Group.

Beth Hart is as real as it gets. At a time when other musicians polish their songs, airbrush their image, conceal their blemishes, deny their age and bury their darkest secrets, this is one artist who throws down her cards and invites you to either walk or love her anyway.

"With War In My Mind", this Grammy nominated talent has never served herself up so raw, on a record that embraces her merits and flaws, channels her bittersweet headspace and spins gold from her demons.

“More than any record I’ve ever made, I’m more open to being myself on these songs”, Beth explains. “I’ve come a long way with healing, and I’m comfortable with my darknesses, weirdnesses and things that I’m ashamed of, as well as all the things that make me feel good”.

Having followed the fascinating career of Beth Hart for a quarter century, we’ve learnt not to rule anything out, so long as it’s real. And now, with "War In My Mind", this songwriter has made a record that bares her soul, represents her warts and all, and makes no apology for it.

 

31.08.2019

Judith Owen.....

Internationally acclaimed singer songwriter and pianist Judith Owen will release a timely and heartbreaking new single, “I Still Dream Of America”, on September 27th, 2019.
 
For the Welsh musician, who holds passports in both the UK and US, the song is at once deeply political and personal, she dedicates it to her mother in law, Dora Kohn, who fled Nazi led Poland at the age of 19 to come to America, “and to everyone who has risked their lives for a better future and made this country the remarkable melting pot it is”.
 
“As an artist, an immigrant and an American citizen, I need to speak out”, Owen says. “After talk of the wall, along with the ever growing hatred directed at those who are literally risking life and limb to find safety and a better life, I felt compelled to write this song. And what’s a wall, really? It’s a metaphor for all those who are fearful of ‘other people’. And the irony is that those ‘other people’ are just doing what we’ve all done. For goodness sake, we're all immigrants!”.
 
“I Still Dream Of America” is rooted in current reality, but it also harkens back to Owen’s idealized view of the States that was formed growing up in the UK hearing American music and watching vintage Hollywood’s classics. “Most people growing up outside of the US have a romantic notion that it’s a place that promises safety and a second chance”, she says.
 
The song begins with Owen singing lushly and wistfully over her own elegant piano accompaniment, “When I was young and London bound, the taste of coal dust still in my sound, the loss of leaving all around, I looked to a distant star to the music that would stir my soul, when across the sea came Jelly Roll, so when rainy pavements took their toll I dreamt of America”.
 
As the song unfolds and the music builds in rich, 'Copeland-esque' orchestration, Owen conjures up vivid images from her childhood of “cowboys underneath an open sky”, and she sings about “a land that welcomed souls to save, where all stood equal the lost and the brave”. Artistically, it’s a thrilling, incandescent performance, with Owen deftly letting listeners in on a feeling that is strikingly intimate yet entirely universal. 
 
“It’s right in the title, I still dream of America”, Owen insists. “The words that are on the Statue Of Liberty, ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free’, still exist for everybody who wants it. And make no mistake, you have to want it badly. I watched people being sworn in, mostly from Hispanic countries, crying, besides themselves with joy that they had reached this place. People still want what this country has to offer, inspire of what is happening currently.
 
“And, of course, I know what my mother in law went through to get to this country”, she continues. “When she arrived at Ellis Island, she couldn’t speak English, and nobody even knew she was Polish because she was terrified to speak. Her story is very much like what we’re seeing now, people from Mexico who risk it all to leave behind intolerable suffering, and for many, certain death. That’s why I dedicate this song to her and them”.
 
An accomplished visual artist, Owen designed the artwork for “I Still Dream Of America”, a haunting charcoal rendering of a woman with her 2 children, standing on Ellis Island and staring longingly at the Statue Of Liberty in the near distance. “I purposely made it period non specific”, she explains. “It could be from the 1920's, it could be from the 1950's, it could even be right now. There’s a timelessness to the beacon of hope that the Statue Of Liberty and America represents, and I wanted to capture that. I know that what I imagined America to be was a romantic dream, but haven’t the greatest achievements in history started as dreams?”.
 
Owen has enraptured audiences with her live performances across the globe, and she’s currently workshopping her “song cycle” titled “Elegada”, ('The Chosen') about Picasso’s fascinating muses. “Next year, I’ll be focusing primarily on it”, she says, “and I’m very excited about returning to my roots, classical music, with jazz overtones. In this show, I’m composer, arranger, lyricist, librettist, book writer, actress, painter and actress, with the theatrical overtones and richness that comes from both the US and UK”.
 
Before that, Owen will be touring Europe and the UK, during which time she joins her longtime friend and collaborator, the legendary Richard Thompson, as a featured guest, along with a cavalcade of British rock and folk royalty, in his 70th birthday celebration on September 30th, 2019, at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

 

30.08.2019

Abbey Road.....

The Beatles, "Abbey Road : Super Deluxe Box Set", September 27th, 2019.

 

29.08.2019

Robbie Robertson.....

01. I Hear You Paint Houses
02. Once Were Brothers
03. Dead End Kid
04. Hardwired
05. Walk In Beauty Way
06. Let Love Reign
07. Shanghai Blues
08. Wandering Souls
09. Street Serenade
10. The Shadow
11. Beautiful Madness
12. Praying For Rain
13. Remembrance

Universal Music, September 20th, 2019.

 

28.08.2019

Gerry Rafferty.....

Whether recording as a solo performer, a member of Stealers Wheel or as one half of The Humblebums, the other half, of course, being Billy Connolly, the late Gerry Rafferty was always a master craftsman, leaving behind a dazzling portfolio of songs headed by huge hits ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’ and the equally timeless ‘Baker Street’.

Although early success eluded him, it was during his time with the nominally folk oriented Transatlantic label that Gerry learnt his craft, sharing space with Connolly on two Humblebums albums before the superb 1971 solo set “Can I Have My Money Back?”.

As most fans will be only too aware, those early recordings have been repackaged on a regular basis over the last 4 decades or so with varying degrees of care and attention. What makes this 2 CD set, "Who Knows What The Day Will Bring?" different from the pack is that, for the first time, a full anthology of Gerry’s early years is available under one roof.

In addition to every album track, stray b-side and remixed single, added is a cache of previously unreleased songs and alternative versions, including 2 early versions of ‘Who Cares’, a song that would later turn up in substantially different format on the 2nd Stealers Wheel LP, taken from a bunch of multi track masters that have been gathering dust in Transatlantic’s archives for the last 50 years.

With a host of hitherto unheard songs and performances, the first ever complete reissue of “Can I Have My Money Back?”, previous attempts have substituted an unauthorised overdubbed ‘Mary Skeffington’ in place of the original, far superior album version, "Who Knows What The Day Will Bring?" Is nothing less than a complete, unexpurgated document of Rafferty’s adventures in the recording studio between 1969 and 1971, with all tracks taken from the master tapes.

A digipak release, the 20 page booklet features numerous photos, obscure European picture sleeves and a definitive 5000 word note on Gerry’s early years.

Grapefruit, September 20th, 2019.

 

27.08.2019

Gibrish.....

Gibrish släpper, den 27:e september, sitt 4:e album sedan debuten 2012. "Andrahandssånger" är fylld med bandets, ofta hyllade, egna material. Ett album som tar tempen på ett allt kyligare Sverige.
 

Gibrish från Sundsvall har rötterna i de mörka skogarna i Medelpad och influeras bland annat av rock, blues, visa och teatermusik. På nya albumet fortsätter de arbetet med att sudda ut de musikaliska gränserna.
 
"Andrahandssånger" innehåller en rad starka låtar som inledande ”Leds Av En Blind” till avslutande ”Vilse Bland Stjärnorna". Men även svängiga ”Ingen Fri Lunch” theremindoftande ”Säger Aldrig Farväl” och tunga ”Gud Gått Och Fiskat” sätter sina avtryck på albumet.

På tramporgelbaserade valsen "Kråkor Och Skator tar Gibrish tydligt ställning mot främlingsfientligheten. Men albumet innehåller också några lekfulla avantgardistiska instrumentaler och en fantasifull, raspig saga från Indien.

Gibrish har hyllats för sina livespelningar på de svenska musikscenerna, bland annat på Urkultfestivalen. Men bandet har också uppmärksammats internationellt. Bandet har turnérat i både USA, England och Finland. Flertalet artiklar, intervjuer och recensioner har publicerats i både svensk och utländsk press.

26.08.2019

Bruce Cockburn.....

Legendary singer songwriter Bruce Cockburn showcases his guitar technique on new instrumental album, "Crowing Ignites", coming September 20th, 2019, on True North Records, supported by more than 40 North American tour dates.

"Crowing Ignites" was produced, recorded and mixed by Colin Linden, and recorded at the Firehouse in San Francisco. It showcases 11 all original compositions by Cockburn, who plays acoustic guitar throughout, backed by a stellar cast of sympathetic musicians. Cockburn will support the new disc's release with a summer, fall tour schedule throughout the US and Canada. 

More than 40 years since he embarked on his singer songwriter career, Cockburn continues pushing himself to create and winning accolades in the process. Most recently, The Order Of Canada recipient earned a 2018 Juno Award For Contemporary Roots Album Of The Year. "Bone On Bone", recieved a Lifetime Achievement Award from SOCAN, The People's Voice Award from Folk Alliance International and was inducted into The Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2017.

Cockburn, who released his memoir, "Rumours Of Glory", and its similarly titled companion box set the same year, shows no sign of stopping. As his producer-friend Linden says, "Like the great blues players he admires, Bruce just gets better with age".

 

25.08.2019

Allan Clarke.....

Allan Clarke, one of the most distinguished voices in British music history, makes a dramatic return to the musical frontline, and no one is more surprised than Clarke himself. Clarke's place in pop rock folklore is unshakeable. As co-founder and lead vocalist with the mighty Hollies, he was the frontman of such indelible singles as 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother', 'The Air That I Breathe', 'I'm Alive’,'Long Cool Woman’ and dozens more. Between 1963 and 1988, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees amassed an incredible 18 top 10 and 30 top 40 UK hits and sold scores of millions of singles and albums all over the world.

As a soloist, Clarke recorded 8 greatly admired studio albums between 1972 and 1989 which enhanced his reputation both as a composer and an astute interpreter of other writers. He was, for example, one of the first artists to cover the work of an emerging New Jersey talent called Bruce Springsteen, who would later thank him personally for his early reading of '4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)'.

But now, Allan is ready to add a new chapter to his unique story, some 20 years after he retired from music to spend time with his family. The atmospheric, country rock flavoured 'Journey Of Regret' is the first taste of the upcoming album by the hugely admired singer and writer, aptly titled "Resurgence". The background to Clarke's reemergence is a tale of new technology, encouragement from his loved ones and a gift for songcraft that stayed with him even when he left the stage.

In 2017, he started writing poetry, of which one piece was musically interpreted by Los Angeles based musician Carla Olson. It inspired Allan to do his own version. “For many years, people have asked 'Why don't you go back singing?'”, he says. “What I couldn't do was perform Hollies songs anymore. But what I should have said was that there may be a time when I'll be able to sing, because I'll be doing songs that maybe I'll write myself. It was always on the back burner. But then I said to my son Toby, who's been involved musically in the family since the year he was born, 'I've got a song I've done on guitar, but I don't know what to do with it, what do you suggest?' He said 'You should learn to use GarageBand', and showed me how”.

Newly equipped with the means to make his own music at his own pace, the creative floodgates opened. Clarke brought in Francis Haines, a former collaborator, as producer and arranger, and soon a body of work was taking shape. Even at that stage, Allan wasn't thinking of the project as an album, but then word reached one of his countless industry admirers, BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch. A deal was struck, and Clarke's "Resurgence" was official. One of 2019's most unexpected albums is also one of its most exhilarating. As Allan says himself, “It's given me a new lease of life in doing something I thought I'd never do again”.

BMG, September 20th, 2019.

 

24.08.2019

Iggy Pop's Free.....

Iggy Pop has announced a new album, "Free". The follow up to 2016’s "Post Pop Depression" arrives September 6th, 2019, via Loma Vista and Caroline International.

The album, described in a press release as uniquely somber and contemplative, features collaborators Noveller and Leron Thomas. “This is an album in which other artists speak for me, but I lend my voice”, Iggy says.

He continues, “By the end of the tours following 'Post Pop Depression', I felt sure that I had rid myself of the problem of chronic insecurity that had dogged my life and career for too long. But I also felt drained. And I felt like I wanted to put on shades, turn my back, and walk away. I wanted to be free. I know that’s an illusion, and that freedom is only something you feel, but I have lived my life thus far in the belief that that feeling is all that is worth pursuing, all that you need, not happiness or love necessarily, but the feeling of being free. So this album just kind of happened to me, and I let it happen”
.
Iggy appears as a caffeine craving zombie in Jim Jarmusch’s 'The Dead Don’t Die', in theaters now. Last month he announced a book of lyrics called ’Til Wrong Feels Right', out in October through Penguin Random House. He recently announced his own signature coffee, with notes of dates, nutmeg, and a long, chocolatey finish, and some proceeds going towards Girls Rock Camp Alliance.

 

23.08.2019

Slowman.....

"Efter att ha släppt 4 hyllade album på engelska så testade jag att göra en svensk EP år 2014, 'Slowman På Svenska'. En recensent tyckte att låtarna var 'intressanta, originella och personliga'. En annan hoppades att nästa fullängdare skulle bli 'fullsmockad med låtar av det här slaget'. Många av er som lyssnar på mig röstade på min hemsida på att jag absolut skulle göra ett svenskt album. Det tog sin tid, jag är ju Slowman, men nu är det äntligen dags.

Den 6:e september 2019 släpps albumet 'En Romantisk Idiot'. Det är inspelat av Jörgen 'Jugglo' Wall och Markus Gahnfelt på Fimta Recordings. 'Jugglo' har också mixat i Kapsylen-studion och producerat ihop med mig. Tillsammans med Michael Wall har vi skapat ett nytt sound.

Låtarna har sina rötter i 70-talets rock, blues, americana och några droppar jazz. De svenska texterna är personliga och innehåller ett brett spektrum av ämnen från separation och tomhet, distanserad självinsikt, dystopisk omvärldsbetraktelse till våryster förälskelse och ömsint kärlekspoesi.

Musiken är ibland tung som ett godståg, ibland lätt som en sommargardin. Rytmerna svänger och andas. Jag är övertygad om att det här är det absolut bästa album jag gjort.

Medan ni väntar kan ni lyssna på tidigare plattor på Spotify, där finns till exempel EP'n 'Slowman På Svenska' som på sätt och vis är förrätten till detta album. Huvudrätten tog tid på sig, men jag hoppas ni tycker det var värt att vänta på.

I april släpptes den första singeln från albumet, 'Kärlekens Osynliga Hand', och nu i dagarna den andra singeln 'Glamourhippie Från Örebro', och snart alltså dags för album. Håll ut!"

~ Svante "Slowman" Törngren

 

22.08.2019

Highwomen.....

01. Highwomen
02. Redesigning Women
03. Loose Change
04. Crowded Table
05. My Name Can't Be Mama
06. If She Ever Leaves Me
07. Old Soul
08. Don't Call Me
09. My Only Child
10. Heaven Is A Honky Tonk
11. Cocktail And A Son
12. Wheels Of Laredo

Atlantic Records, September 6th, 2019.

 

 

21.08.2019

Caravan Box Set.....

Universal Music will issue a 9 CD box set that features expanded editions of English Canterbury scene band Caravan‘s albums recorded for the Decca and Deram labels in the late 1960's and early 1970's. "The Decca & Deram Years : An Anthology 1970-1975" features 5 studio albums all of which include bonus tracks such as demos, single mixes and alternates. Additionally, this collection features "The Story of Our Lives : Live At The BBC 1970 - 1975", 2 CD's of live at the BBC performances largely from radio shows such as ‘Sounds Of The Seventies', ‘John Peel’s Sunday Concert’ and ‘BBC In Concert’. Another live album, 1974’s "Live At Fairfields Halls" completes the 9 discs. The discs are housed in 8 gatefold card sleeves, featuring original album art and sit alongside a 48 page booklet with notes detailing the history of the band. "The Decca & Deram Years : An Anthology 1970 - 1975" is issued on September 6th, 2019.

 

20.08.2019

Vince Gill.....

Grammy Award winning country star Vince Gill returns with his 1st new studio album in 3 years, "Okie". Co-produced by Gill and Justin Niebank, the album’s title is taken from the once derogatory term used to disparage migrants from Oklahoma to the nation’s west coast during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression eras. A proud Oklahoman, Gill has appropriated this term on an album that embraces his roots and explores some of the most important issues of our time. Universal Music, August 23rd, 2019.

 

19.08.2019

Dave Rosewood.....

Dave Rosewood is a native of the Ozark Mountians, but now makes his home in the heartland of Småland, Sweden. His debut album "Gravel & Gold" was called ”100% pure damn country in the spirit of Cash, Merle, Waylon and even the Allman Brothers” by The Rockin Magpie. His single "20 Years" was recognized by Sonic Magazine and New Nordic Indie and included on their respective Spotify playlists.

Dave Rosewood´s brand new single "Drinkin' Man" takes a cue from classic country, tinged with fiddle, electric guitar and piano. "Drinkin' Man" addresses the thoughts of a man with a lost love that he can´t escape summed up by the words of the chorus, ”If I was a drinkin' man, the whiskey couldn´t drown the pain, and a shot would only feel like rain on an ocean wave”.

"Drinkin' Man" is the lead single from Dave´s sophmore album "No Rodeo In Rome" which is due for release March 2020. Supporting the release of "Drinkin' Man", Dave Rosewood will be embarking on his 'Honky Tonk Troubadour Tour' in September with stops in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.

 

18.08.2019

Gregg Allman.....

2 years after his death, Gregg Allman's 1973 solo debut "Laid Back", as well as his 1974 live album "The Gregg Allman Tour", will be reissued on August 30th, 2019, via Mercury Records.

Recorded at the same time as the Allman Brothers’ iconic "Brothers & Sisters", "Laid Back" is a densely soulful record that includes a stripped down version of “Midnight Rider”, the devastating rocker “Queen Of Hearts” and a swampy cover of Jackson Browne's “These Days”.

The reissue will be released on a deluxe edition 2 CD set, which features early mixes, demos and outtakes, including an unreleased demo of “These Days”. 2 vinyl formats will be released, a standard 180 gram as well as a limited edition colored vinyl, pressed in violet and white marble.

Allman’s live album "The Gregg Allman Tour" is also being reissued, pressed for the 1st time since 1987. Featuring live tracks from Carnegie Hall and the Capitol Theater, the tracklist includes “Oncoming Traffic” and a cover of Elvis Presley’s “I Feel So Bad”. The vinyl edition will be pressed in grey and white marble, modeling the original so that side 1 and 4 will be on the 1st LP, while sides 2 and 3 will be on the other.

 

17.08.2019

Steve Miller Band.....

For the first time in the band’s career, the Steve Miller Band‘s vaults are opening up for an expansive new box set spanning 6 decades, and "Welcome To The Vault" will be released on October 11th, 2019. 52 tracks, 38 of them being previously unreleased, memorabilia, a book and more make up the box set version of this release.

"Welcome To The Vault" covers Miller’s genre blurring 6 decade career over 52 audio tracks, pairing a number of greatest hits and certifiable rock'n'roll classics with 38 previously unreleased recordings that span demos, rehearsals, outtakes, vintage concert performances and 5 newly uncovered original Steve Miller Band songs recorded in the 1960's and 1970's. The accompanying DVD collects 21 live performances, among them legendary rare TV appearances and concert videos. The box set is accompanied by a 100 page hardbound book of photos, memorabilia and artifacts from Miller’s personal collection, as well as an exclusive 9 000 word essay by renowned rock journalist David Fricke. Steve Miller Band’s "Welcome To The Vault", also available as a 52 track digital collection, arrives October 11th, 2019, via Sailor/Capitol/UMe.

As if all that weren’t enough, the DVD features 21 incredible live performances, including rare footage from 1967’s Monterey Pop Festival, a Dutch TV filmed performance of the Fillmore West from 1970, a 43 minute September 1973 concert at New York’s Palace Theater broadcast on 'Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert', unseen since the 70's, an 'ABC In Concert' performance with James Cotton from 1974, a performance of “Abracadabra” from Michigan’s Pine Knob from that album tour in 1982, and selections from Austin City Limits in 2011, as well as Miller’s intimate 1990 performance with Les Paul at New York City’s Fat Tuesday’s.

In addition to the box set news, the Steve Miller Band will head out on the road with Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives on the 'An Amazing Evening Of Original American Music – Classic Rock Meets Classic Country tour.

 

16.08.2019

Logan Ledger.....

Bay Area bred singer songwriter Logan Ledger sets most of his songs in lightless or shadowy spaces, the bottom of the ocean, the abandoned cells of Alcatraz, dreamless bedrooms, desolate streets in the dead of night. Produced by T Bone Burnett, the Nashville based artist’s self titled debut matches his moody noir lyricism with a darkly toned take on country music, a sound that’s stylistically wayward yet deeply grounded in classic songmanship.
 
With Burnett playing guitar on more than half the tracks, the album finds Ledger backed by guitarist Marc Ribot, drummer Jay Bellerose and bassist Dennis Crouch, the same band that played on "Raising Sand" by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, a Burnett produced release that won Album Of The Year at the 2009 Grammy Awards. Joined by guitarist and pedal steel player Russell Pahl, the band artfully threads in elements of acid rock and surf music and baroque 60's pop to forge a decidedly Californian sound. But as the sonic antithesis of the sunshiney folk that Jimi Hendrix called 'western sky music', the album is nearly subterranean in its mystique, indelibly informed by what Ledger refers to as 'that gloomy, nocturnal, San Francisco, Ocean Beach vibe”.
 
Recorded at House of Blues Studios in Nashville, "Logan Ledger" emerges as a distinctly electric offering, yet continually reveals the rootsy sensibilities at the heart of his kinship with Burnett. “I think we’re each attracted to the more sinister aspects of folk and roots music, and we each have a desire to keep that music alive while finding a way to make something new out of it”, Ledger says. In turn, the album bears an era defying quality made all the more powerful by Ledger’s voice, a timeless instrument that channels utter lonesomeness even in the album’s most joyous moments.

Right from its first seconds, "Logan Ledger" proves to be blessedly removed from all musical convention. To that end, opening track “Let The Mermaids Flirt With Me” arrives as a gorgeously languid lullaby, its narrator longingly daydreaming his own death. A downhearted mood imbues much of the album, including “Invisible Blue”, a woozy meditation on inescapable sadness, and “Tell Me A Lie”, a sublimely tragic ballad written with John Paul White, formerly of The Civil Wars. And on “Nobody Knows”, Ledger achieves a cinematic grandeur, the drama intensified by his haunting lyrics, “Nobody knows where the lonely go, Nobody really seems to mind”.

Though Ledger sustains a certain Heavy heartedness even on the album’s uptempo tracks, that element is beautifully offset by the palpable joy behind each performance. On “Starlight”, a lovesick paean to self delusion, its lyrics suffused in the minimalism of hillbilly haiku, the band slips into a prolonged instrumental section almost trance like in effect. “We were jamming and once the song was finished, we just played the whole thing again”, Ledger recalls. “It was totally spontaneous and felt really good, so we kept it”. Two songs later, Ledger takes a cue from all those swoony Roy Orbison songs about dreaming, then flips the script with the oddly glorious “I Don’t Dream Anymore”. “It could be taken quite literally, the way I’m living, I don’t remember my dreams at all these Days, or it could reflect a cynical attitude toward modern times”, Ledger notes.

Written by Burnett, “I’m Gonna Get Over This Some Day” brings a more cheerfully gritty pragmatism to the current moment. “It reminds me of something Johnny Cash would’ve recorded, where he’s addressing a serious matter in a very lighthearted way”, says Ledger. “In this case it’s forgiveness, and T Bone put a political lens on it, it’s about forgiving people who think differently from you, and trying to find some common ground”. The only other track on the album not authored by Ledger, “Skip A Rope” offers a playful yet potent update of Henson Cargill’s 1967 single, a # 1 hit on the country charts, spiked with still pertinent social commentary, “Never mind the rules, just play to win, And hate your neighbor for the shade of his skin”. “It’s sad that a song recorded so long ago is just as relevant now, but I think it’s important to show that there’s a progressive side to traditional music, and that we shouldn’t ever lose that”, says Ledger.

Elsewhere on the album, Ledger embeds his songs with strangely mesmeric storytelling. Co-written with Steve Earle, “The Lights Of San Francisco” is a softly swaying lament narrated by a ghost wandering Alcatraz Island, eternally taken with the city lights. On the wildly hypnotic “Electric Fantasy”, he delivers a truly singular marvel of imagination, a psychedelic surf song built on endlessly shifting time signatures, its lyrics mining inspiration from Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie and relaying the story of a romantically frustrated computer program, “I want to hold you tight, My cathode ray, Will keep us warm at night”. And on the exquisitely melancholy “Imagining Raindrops”, Ledger takes a wholly mundane experience, “There was a day when I thought it was raining outside, but it wasn’t”, he explains, and twists it into a lyrical metaphor that feels both forlorn and defiant, “The world I see I don’t believe”.

All throughout his debut, Ledger makes abundant use of his self described 'archaeological impulse with regards to music-making'. “I’ve always believed that in order to create something new with purpose, one must be steeped in the past and work from within the tradition”, he says. “It has more gravity that way”. Ledger’s self-guided musical education began back in the Bay Area, where he first felt drawn to sing after his grandmother introduced him to the music of Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, and r'n'b vocal groups like The Platters. Taking up guitar at age 12, he soon began writing songs of his own, along with amassing a huge collection of Smithsonian Folkways CD's and immersing himself in the music of country and blues artists like Doc Watson and Mississippi John Hurt. While attending Columbia University, he hosted a bluegrass show on the campus radio station and played in a number of bluegrass bands, then headed to San Francisco after graduation.

In 2013, after a year and a half back in the Bay Area, Ledger moved to Nashville on a whim. Although his early days in the city were mostly spent working in bars and playing in cover bands, he later crossed paths with guitarist Mark Thornton and ended up recording a demo of “Let The Mermaids Flirt With Me” in Thornton’s home studio. Soon enough, that demo landed in the hands of Dennis Crouch, who then passed it on to Burnett. After he’d shared a few more demos with the legendary producer, Burnett invited Ledger to his home in Los Angeles.

Since teaming up with Burnett, Ledger has joined him onstage in the only 2 full band performances Burnett’s done in recent years. And on Ledger’s album, the duo’s immediate chemistry extends to a charmed communion between all of the featured musicians. “So much of this record is people not playing clearly defined rhythmic or lead roles, we’re all sort of twirling around each other and creating this great big texture of sound together”, says Ledger. “A typical country record would have very clearly defined solos, but I’m not interested in that. I love how everyone’s constantly improvising, but without ever getting in anybody else’s way”.
 
For Ledger, that uninterrupted and possibly transcendent flow is also the desired takeaway for listeners of his debut album. “I’d love for people to get into a meditative space when they hear the record, to sit with the songs and really take their time with them”, he says. “I think there’s a value in letting things happen at a much slower pace, especially in our current culture of instant gratification. It’s really not even a conscious decision for me, it’s just how I feel and how I like to do things, so I’m just going to keep going with it”.

Rounder Records, October 4th, 2019.

 

15.08.2019

Jaime Michaels.....

A venue operator in California refers to Jaime Michaels as a songwriters’ songwriter. He came late to the craft having enjoyed a long career as a covers artist both as a soloist and, for a while, full tilt rock and roll band lead singer with The Truly Dangerous Swamp Band. Not being much of a radio fan, he chose his covers carefully, sometimes something recognizable like Dylan or the Beatles, sometimes just damned fine songs he happened to run across from lesser known writers like Canadian Murray MacLauchlan. He sang the hell out of all of them.
 
Something happened a few years back when he moved west, far from his east coast roots, to a new home in Santa Fe, NM. Maybe it was just the change of scenery, something in the big western night sky, but the songs started coming. Finely crafted. Tuneful. Both spirited and spiritual, songs of kindness and true emotion. 11 albums, so far, with Jono Manson in the producer’s chair for the past 9. Their 2013 effort, "Unknown Blessings", is a fund raiser with 100% of the sales going to the Kerrville Folk Festival Foundation’s teen music camp. That album, along with 2011’s "The Man With The Time Machine" and his most recent, 2016’s "Once Upon A Different Time", have all won the New Mexico Music Awards album of the year award.
 
Jaime continues touring both in the US and in Italy where "Once Upon A Different Time" was released on Appaloosa records in 2016. He toured in Italy in December 2017 with keyboardist Radoslav Lorcović. 2018 dates included a mainstage set at the 2018 Kerrville Folk Festival, a summer tour in California, and a tour in Texas in the fall, with fellow singer songwriter Rj Cowdery. He appeared next on Appaloosa Records’ tribute album to Townes Van Zandt, "The Wind Blows", on the 1st track, a stellar cover of "Snowing On Raton".
 
And now a new album, "If You Fall", again a collaboration between Jono, Jaime and a new recording band consisting of Austinites Paul Pearcy on drums and Ronnie Johnson on bass, New York City and Nashville veteran pedal steel, mandolin, guitar wiz Jon Graboff and on keyboards and accordions, Radoslav Loković. As always, there are some stellar originals, and a couple of moving covers.

 

14.08.2019

The Band Doc.....

Drawing inspiration from 2017’s "Testimony", the bestselling memoir by Robbie Robertson, a new music documentary, "Once Were Brothers : Robbie Robertson And The Band", will hit theaters this fall. Executive producers Martin Scorsese, Brian Grazer and Ron Howard will chronicle the story of The Band and band leader Robertson, from playing backup for Bob Dylan and to his tenure in wildly influential group. Rare footage appears in the documentary, with guests including Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison and more. Imagine Documentaries, White Pine Pictures, Bell Media Studios and Universal Music Canada’s Shed Creative are all co-producing the doc. “Robbie and The Band are the stuff of rock'n'roll mythology”, Justin Wilkes, president of Imagine Documentaries, says in a press release. “As a Woodstock native, the Big Pink house loomed large in my cultural psyche growing up and like many, many others, the music sure made a lasting impression. The gospel according to Robbie is a wild, cinematic ride and we here at Imagine are honored to partner with Daniel and an illustrious band of producers in sharing Robbie’s story with the world”.

13.08.2019

Gerry Beckley.....

Gerry Beckley, the gifted singer, songwriter, performer and co-founder of legendary band, America, is set to release a new solo album, "Five Mile Road", on September 20th, 2019, via Blue Elan Records. 1st single, "Life Lessons", is already out.

"I knew that this batch of songs, even the choice of the album's title, was going to be about my journey", says Gerry Beckley, who finds himself embracing his past, personally, professionally and creatively, nearly as much as he looks to the future. But for the artist best known for his 49 year career with America, and whose acclaimed collaborations have also ranged from Carl Wilson and Dan Fogelberg to David Cassidy and John Waters,  the journey still shimmers with a melodic melancholy that makes his music as familiar as it is iconic. Beckley brings his own journey home on his new Blue Elan Records release, "Five Mile Road".

In his 1st offering since his Blue Elan debut, "Carousel", "Five Mile Road" is produced by Beckley and Jeff Larson, with all songs written by Beckley, except "Life Lessons", which was written by Gerry and actor musician Bill Mumy. And while the album also features instrumental assistance from longtime friends that include Mumy, Jason Scheff of Chicago and Rusty Young of Poco, the majority of the backing vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, piano and additional keyboards are all Beckley. As he explains with a laugh, "When I make a solo album, there's a whole lot of 'solo' in there!".

As Beckley continues to tour in celebration of America's 50-year anniversary, he is still in awe of their longevity. "We never flamed out, broke up or hit bottom. Our songs marked a time and place in many people's DNA, and we still work hard to put on a great show. It's mind blowing, really".

 

12.08.2019

Another Opeth.....

Opeth are pleased to present you with the title for their awaited 13th observation. "In Cauda Venenum", is due out this fall on Moderbolaget Records and Nuclear Blast Entertainment. Recorded last year at Stockholm's Park Studios, "In Cauda Venenum" will be released in 2 versions, in both Swedish and English languages. Various physical and digital formats will be available and additional details will be announced in the coming months. In anticipation of the impending release, Opeth will be performing shows around the world through the end of the year.

 

11.08.2019

Jan Seides.....

Like all creative people, Austin singer songwriter Jan Seides maintains a constant state of vigilance, always looking for the next idea, the next inspiration. But she’d never imagined that simply singing a song she’d written while laid up with a back injury would lead not only to her 1st album in 6 years, but to her 1st book, complete with her 1st foray into illustration. Not to mention a pilgrimage she’d dreamed of taking since she was a teen.

The song, “Sarah Laughed”, was her take on the biblical story of Sarah and Abraham, which she learned when her daughter was studying it to recite for her bat mitzvah. Seides didn’t know it at the time, but that was the genesis of "Unsung", a 12 song album packaged with a book containing lyrics, illustrations and short commentaries about each song. “Sarah Laughed” refers to Sarah’s reaction when an angel told her husband that she would give birth, despite the fact that both were over 100 years old. Seides’ song addresses the difficulty of believing in miracles. At that point, she felt healing might require one. But Seides recovered, no miracle needed, and after she performed the song one night, an audience member came up and suggested a book, "Women In The Bible", noting the stories of those women might make good songs.

“They were all old, familiar stories, but this time when I read them, what struck me was how many important people in those stories never got any attention”, Seides reflects. “Leah was responsible for 8 of the 12 tribes of Israel. There are 2 sentences about her in the Bible. 2. I decided it was my job to tell those stories”.

The album was produced by Bradley Kopp, the book was illustrated by Seides and Vanessa Lively, who added watercolors over line drawings she encouraged Seides to create. Born in Detroit, Seides was raised there and in New York. Though her father’s parents were orthodox Jews who spoke only Yiddish, her family wasn’t particularly religious, she didn’t even attend Sunday school past 1st or 2nd grade. But she was always fascinated by religion, especially the biblical stories and how beliefs and practices evolved. And she’s always been attracted to 'the community and the tribe and the rituals', as a young teen, she belonged to a Jewish youth group, which sparked her interest in visiting Israel.
“They talked about Israel the way that 'Little House On The Prairie' talked about the American frontier, and I was just enamored", she says. But as life intervened, the trip remained a dream. Then she started writing these songs, and realized that she needed to go while she still could. She decided to make it a working trip, and through connections, booked some performances, which also served as the ultimate litmus test for songs set in that very place.

“I started with the Jacob's Ladder Festival. I sang one of the 1st songs and the audience loved it”, Seides recalls. “And I thought, ‘OK, then’”. She began the project with “Rachel’s Sister”, the song about Leah, whose husband, Jacob, intended to marry Rachel but was tricked into marrying her older sister first.

“I have sisters and I know that dynamic fairly well”, explains Seides, a middle daughter. “It’s like, ‘I'm nobody. I'm just Rachel sister’. Then I'm reading the story of David and Bathsheba and I suddenly realized what her name means. Daughter # 7. So then I was off and running”. That story, of Bathsheba’s seduction and rape by David, who impregnated her and killed her husband, became “Your Neighbor’s Garden”.

“After a while, the songs started writing themselves”, Seides says. “Mostly the subjects are people I didn’t think got a fair shake from the narrative presented in the Bible. A lot of research went into choosing them, and I learned aspects of the stories I never would have known otherwise”, she admits. Among the books she cites for providing insight are 'Helpmates, Harlots And Heroes : Women's Stories In The Hebrew Bible', by Alice Bellis, and 'The Stolen Light Of Women : A Quest For Spiritual Truth Beyond Religion' by CC Campbell.

But ultimate inspiration came from her characters. Leah even inspired the album’s title. Seides says she regards Rachel’s sister as "an unsung hero”. Seides’ rich, expressive voice, lovely melodies and elegant arrangements bring each character to Life, her words, and the accompanying images, turn them into relatable beings. Kopp’s production keeps the focus on her voice and their intricate acoustic guitar picking, accompanied only by occasional backing vocals, contributed by Kopp and Lorrie Singer, and subtle touches such as castanet chimes or woodblock taps.

“Since the songs were so complex, we made the production as simple as possible”, Seides says. It was a wise choice. Their beautifully interwoven stringwork provides all the momentum needed to help carry these stories along. And what stories they are. With frankness and even humor, “Mom Always Liked You Best”, Seides gives voice to biblical women who were given short shrift in both testaments, usually treated as peripheral characters even when the story was about them.

“The Torah was oral for 100's of years, and when it finally got written down, a group of men decided what was going to be in there”, Seides notes. “I just provided the rest of the story that they left out”.

While distinctly feminist, "Unsung" is hardly an exercise in man bashing. Seides says she found humanity in both male and female characters, and though she initially expected all the songs would be about women, they’re not. “I started telling the story of Goliath, “Mighty Goliath”, and it was supposed to be one of the light hearted, funny ones”, she says, “but about halfway through, I started feeling sorry for him. So the song is tragic. I also thought they'd all be Old Testament, and that didn't turn out to be the case, either”.

The album begins with “And So I Followed”, the story of Mary Magdalene, told from her point of view. “She's been conflated with two other Marys, and they have her painted as a prostitute, that wasn't her. And they had her painted as the one who dried his feet with her hair, that wasn't her, either”, Seides says. “According to the research, she was a woman with money, a Canaanite, but she Heard what he had to say and she believed he was on the right path and that she should follow. So she was pretty much footing the bill for a while”.

In the song’s 1st verse, Seides clarifies Mary’s role, singing, "Never walked the streets, I’m glad of that, Never washed his feet, But I wish I had, I was a woman who believed, And so I followed".

Though an album in which she inhabits biblical lives is a 1st for her, Seides has created music involving religious themes and cultures before. For the Texas Library Association, she developed a show of Yiddish songs and stories. Performing for church services led to writing songs for some of them, one of which became the title track for her 2010 album, "Because You Believe".

But fans are more likely to find her performing at Austin’s Kick Butt Café, where she hosts a songwriters’ circle the 2nd Sunday of each month, or New World Deli, which reminds her of Chicago House, a long gone, but still beloved Austin songwriters’ hangout.

Seides, who earned a music degree at the University Of Texas, also gives voice and instrument lessons to clients ranging in age from 4½ to 85. Previously, she played piano for the Austin Ballet and, in Los Angeles, for dancer and choreographer Stanley Holden. She first performed at 3, and began studying piano at 4. She added guitar as a teen, and more recently, mandolin and ukulele. "Unsung" is her 5th album, it follows 2013’s "Siren Song". While working on her 1st album, 1992’s "Slowly But Surely", she met her recording engineer husband. 10 years later, she released "Everyday People", a collection of songs based on stories people told her. "Family Album" followed in 2007.

Though her previous output has been, to paraphrase her title, slow but sure, she’s already considering a 2nd volume of "Unsung" songs. “People are far more enthusiastic and forthcoming about this subject than any others I’ve written about”, Seides says. “It makes me really happy when people connect with my songs”.

 

10.08.2019

Brand New Keane.....

Keane release a new album, "Cause & Effect", in September and fans can right now secure a signed deluxe CD from Amazon in the UK. This record is their 5th, after a 5 year hiatus and includes the new single "The Way I Feel" which features a Kevin Godley directed video. In a statement, it is claimed that the birth of the new album came as something of a surprise even to the band, with singer Tom Chaplin saying he missed his old sparring partner Tim Rice-Oxley. “I found myself wondering how I had come to let this very enigmatic and important relationship in my life drift”, Tom says. The signed deluxe CD features 5 bonus tracks, tacking the 11 track album’s song count to 16. There’s also a super deluxe edition which adds a bonus ‘Retroactive’ CD, the album on black vinyl and then a bonus blue 10" single containing the 5 extra tracks from the deluxe CD. This super deluxe comes in a book format. The album is of course available as a standard black vinyl. "Cause & Effect" will be released on September 20th, 2019 via Universal Music.

 

09.08.2019

Lee Hazlewood.....

Light In The Attic Records is proud to continue it’s Lee Hazlewood Archival Series with "400 Miles From L.A. 1955-1956", a collection of previously unknown intimate recordings, never intended for release. Lee sings, plays guitar and even presses the record button on the tape machine. These are rural sketches and small town dreams, captured in an innocent time before the path ahead was clear. September 13th, 2019. 

 

08.08.2019

Chrissie Hynde.....

Chrissie Hynde has announced a new album of covers for September with the Valve Bone Woe Ensemble. It’s called "Valve Bone Woe" and sees Hynde interpret songs by Frank Sinatra, John Coltrane, Nick Drake, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Charlie Mingus and others.

In what she’s calling a jazz/dub album, it was recorded at London’s AIR studios and produced by Marius de Vries and Eldad Guetta.

Hynde says, “I’m not hugely interested in branching out into other musical genres, being a devout rock singer as such, but jazz is something I grew up around. “Jazz got sidelined by rock'n'roll in the 60's, but now the demise of rock seems to be heralding in a newfound interest in it, the most creative and innovative musical forms of the 20th century. I’m happy to jump on the bandwagon”.

"Valve Bone Woe" is released on September 6th, 2019, via BMG Records.

 

07.08.2019

Bianca De Leon.....

"Bianca De Leon is a writer and singer of note who has produced an album that works on several levels and is the work of a person who has lived life to get to this place. A place worth getting to." ~ Steven Rapid, Lonesome Highway

Bianca De Leon is an Austin, Texas, based singer songwriter dubbed 'Queen Of The Border Ballad' by John Nova Lomax, and 'A Voice From Texas That Does It Right' by Guy Clark. She has been touring Germany, Holland, Finland, Belgium, Scotland, England and Italy since 2001. Bianca has had 5 European releases and a worldwide release, “Love, Guns & Money”, and “Dangerous Endeavor”, which reached # 5 on The Euro Americana Chart.
 
She was invited to perform at Berklee College of Music in 2015 in the round with Eliza Gilkyson, and Betty Soo. Upcoming tours of the US midwest and Europe are slated for 2019. She has a sultry and mysterious voice that complements her writing and she is an accomplished guitar player, utilizing both finger picking and flat picking.

 

06.08.2019

Allman Brothers Band.....

As part of the ongoing celebration of their 50th anniversary, on September 6th, 2019, The Allman Brothers Band Recording Company, caretakers of the original band’s unreleased catalog, in conjunction with distributor The Orchard will release a 4 CD set titled "Fillmore West 71", culled from an epic weekend of live music recorded at the legendary San Francisco venue. The band, formed in March 1969, were in great form on this weekend, where they were the middle act playing between headliners Hot Tuna and the 24-piece opener Trinidad Tripoli Street Band. This will be the debut release of these recordings. The packaging contains a front cover photo of Duane Allman from Jim Marshall, taken at these shows, that has rarely been seen before.

Compiled from reel to reel soundboard masters, the January 29th show that kicks off this collection reads like an Allman Brothers Band greatest hits, from opener “Statesboro Blues” through the set wrapping “Whipping Post”. On the next night, the standard sequence of “Statesboro Blues”, Trouble No More”, “Don’t Keep Me Wonderin'” and “Elizabeth Reed” was typically riveting, and then the blues soaked “Stormy Monday” was worked in, replacing “Midnight Rider”. Gregg’s vocals were visceral and honest, while Duane and Dickey added down and dirty licks. “You Don’t Love Me” showcased some run and gun guitar work, and a frenzied “Whipping Post” closed out another solid night. The band, Duane Allman, Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Jaimoe, Berry Oakley and Butch Trucks, were loose and talkative and you can hear them really dialing their sound in at what would be a final tune up for the seminal "At Fillmore East album", recorded less than 2 months later. "At Fillmore East would" cement the band’s place in rock history.

Always acclaimed for their explosive live shows, the band really ratcheted up the intensity and focus on January 31st. After hammering tightly through the reliable first 4, the band placed “Midnight Rider” back into the rotation, and then Berry Oakley stepped up to the mic for a wicked and nasty take on “Hoochie Coochie Man”, with Jaimoe and Butch churning full bore behind him. After an extensive workout on “You Don’t Love Me”, the group worked a relatively new song into the set, “Hot ‘Lanta”. Conceived out of a loose jam at the Big House in Macon, GA, the band’s home base currently an Allman Brothers museum, this group composition was cutting edge fusion, displaying the delightful musical diversity of The Allman Brothers Band. A superior “Whipping Post” concludes the Fillmore West material, but disc 4 goes on to include a wonderful bonus track. A March, 1970 version of “Mountain Jam” from the Warehouse in New Orleans which at 45 minutes long showcases a band that loved to improvise and let the music take on a life of its own.

Kirk West, who served as the “tour mystic” and official archivist for Tthe Allman Brothers Band for over 20 years, played a pivotal role in re-acquiring the original live performance 2 track, reel to reel tapes used for this release from legendary band crew members Twiggs Lyndon, Joe Dan Petty and Mike Callahan, who were the original care takers of these recordings. The tapes had been stored in closets and attics for many years, necessitating careful transfers and several successive attempts at restoration, as technology continued to improve. Interestingly in 1971, however, Kirk was a 20 year old counterculture entrepreneur who found himself at the Fillmore West during the last four days of January. “I was living in Palo Alto with a bunch of hippie kids who, by and large, were Dead Heads. I had moved to California from Chicago, and I already was a big Allman Brothers fan”, recalls West. “I was insisting that everyone in the house go up to the Fillmore that weekend, ‘Let’s go, let’s go, the Brothers are in town, playing with Hot effin’ Tuna”.....

 

05.08.2019

Sheryl Crow.....

Sheryl Crow releases a new album, "Threads", at the end of August. It’s an all star duets album with contributors who include Bonnie Raitt, Keith Richards, Stevie Nicks, Eric Clapton, Mavis Staples, Sting, Stevie Nicks, Joe Walsh, Johnny Cash, James Taylor, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, St Vincent and more. Crow has been vocal about how this might be her last album, even if it isn’t her last recording. This is actually only her 3rd record that has been issued on vinyl, after 2017’s "Be Myself" and the RSD and Black Friday red vinyl version of "Tuesday Night Music Club". "Threads" will be released on August 30th, 2019.

 

04.08.2019

Zappa's Favorites.....

Frank Zappa's "Orchestral Favorites" is to be presented in audiophile qulaity for the 1st time with special packaging in celebration of it's 40th anniversary. The 3 disc deluxe edition includes original album remastered from master tapes, plus recording of previously unreleased 2 hour concert, extensive liner notes and newly created cover art. Available August 30th, 2019, via Zappa Records/Universal Music.

When Frank Zappa's "Orchestral Favorites" was eventually released in 1979 as part of fulfilling his contract with his contentious former label, the album was dumped into the world along with several other titles without the legendary musician's permission or quality control. It did not include liner notes or credits and the artwork and audio wasn't approved by Zappa who publicly criticized it as not being up to his standards. As a result of not receiving any promotion, it was quickly relegated to the bargain bin shortly after its release.

4 decades later, in celebration of the long beleaguered album's 40th anniversary, the Zappa Family Trust is righting this wrong and presenting "Orchestral Favorites" with the audiophile detail and respect it deserves to commemorate the historical event that took place at UCLA's Royce Hall in September 1975 where the compositions were recorded. Zappa Records will release a 40th anniversary 3 CD deluxe edition featuring brand new proper hi fi transfers of the original tapes, a newly created cover, and extensive liner notes from Zappa Vaultmeister Joe Travers and former Zappa bandmate Terry Bozzio, who recounts performing at the concerts and provides some unique illustrations for the collection. The beautiful packaging includes proper musician credits for the first time and a wealth of stunning rare and never Before seen photos of the event from the estate's archives.

Produced by Ahmet Zappa and Joe Travers, the comprehensive collection will include the original album, plus the entire evening performance from September 18th, 1975, spread across 2 additional discs. After extensive searches in the Vault, the elusive master tone reel, the essential component that contains the alignment tones that help set up the playback of the master tapes that Zappa reportedly did not provide when he turned in the album, was found, allowing the Zappa Family Trust to present the audio as originally intended. Coupled with new hi res transfers from the original tapes and mastering by Bob Ludwig, the music sounds the best it ever has. The bonus concert features brand new 2019 mixes by Craig Parker Adams from the original 2" 24 track masters.

 

03.08.2019

Steve Mednick.....

Steve Mednick has recorded 15 CD’s  and published 191 songs, including his latest CD, “Enough!”. “Enough!” is a series of songs, including the first 7 which were inspired by and dedicated to the young victims and survivors of the Parkland Stoneman Douglas shootings of February 2018. 
 
While the words came from the mouths of the victims and their families and the reportage on these incidents, it could have been about any of the seemingly endless mass shooting incidents unique to the US. The subject is dark, yet the story must be told: “I can’t imagine the horror facing my grandchildren as they wait on the cusp of their school years. Forget the probabilities; in this case, the possibility is all you need to understand. The fear is palpable and the killer could be the kid next door. We need safe streets, schools, gathers spots, sanctuaries to worship for all faiths”.
 
Steve has written of gun violence many times before, notably, “Stand Up (And Take Them On) in 2011, “Take It Back in 2012, “The Angels They Are Crying ” in 2014, and “We’re Better Than This” in 2016. Unfortunately, there are more in his catalogue and, inevitably, there will be more. 
 
The other songs on the CD could be on his “Problems In Democracy Series” and reflect Steve’s continued concerns with a look back to 1968, “The Whole World Was Watching”, and look into the current political climate in the United States. He has tried to write a musical essay or polemic that you might be able to dance to.
 
“Enough!” was the latest collaboration with Eddie Seville and Karl Allweier. Steve is also joined by his Hard Road compatriots, Tony Casagrande and Joey Sciortino, his long time vocal partner, Natalie Modugno, and, Steve Jacobs, who, again, plays some mean violin. Steve was especially pleased that  Frank Carillo contributed the guitar solos on “What Are You Going To Do?” and “A Dark Night Is Upon Us” and, Jen Durkin contributed her pipes to “The Whole World Is Watching”, ”A Dark Night Is Upon Us” and “Don’t Let This Season Pass”.
 
Steve is already in the studio working on 2 projects under the working titles “River of Tears”, with a new series of stories and cast of characters, and “Other Voices”, where he will collaborate with different vocalists and musicians on some new songs.

 

02.08.2019

Jesse & Lucinda.....

In a 2017 joint interview Jesse Malin and Lucinda Williams discussed the idea of collaborating together. 2 years later, it’s come to fruition, Malin will release his new album "Sunset Kids", produced by Williams, on August 30th, 2019.

The americana singer songwriter, whom Malin sang about in the 2007 song “Lucinda”, co-wrote 2 tracks on the LP, including “Room 13”, with jangly guitars and a moody vibe. “Room 13” is peak Malin. “Shadows on my wall and voices in the hall, making up my own scene, hanging out in room 13”, he sings in his nasally tone, as Williams provides harmonies.

“This was one of the first songs I wrote for the record. I remember bringing my notebook and guitar over to Lucinda’s place and sitting around her kitchen, working up the lyrics, not knowing what where it would go. Like the first drop of a good rollercoaster”, Malin says. “Music can be a great way to hide the pain and loneliness, but sometimes you’ve gotta deal with it head on. ‘Room 13’ is that place far away from the distractions, the noise and the telephone zombies. It’s a place where you’re forced to reflect on what really matters most”.

"Sunset Kids" is the follow up to Malin’s 2015 effort "Outsiders". A collection of 14 tracks, it features a proper duet between Malin and Williams, “Dead On”, and a contribution from Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, “Strangers And Thieves”. The record also finds Malin revisiting some past songs with fresh arrangements, like “Meet Me At The End Of The World Again” and “Revelations”, off his 2010 LP with the St Marks Social, "Love It To Life".

 

01.08.2019

Stephen Bishop.....

Stephen Bishop’s 18th album, “We’ll Talk About It Later In The Car”, is set to be released on August 30th, 2019. Bishop's forthcoming album features, what he says, "songs that should have been hits 40 years ago". He initially planned for the album to be a collection of demos of tunes he penned early in his career, but eventually decided to make it a full fledged studio album. "There's a little bit of country, pop, and a few tracks that are more brokenhearted love songs", he explains. Bishop says the album's title comes from something he overheard Carrie Fisher say to someone on the phone while he was dating the late 'Star Wars' actress.

"She said to the other person, 'anyway, we'll talk about it later in the car'", he recalls. "I thought it was something to do with me, but as it turned out, her mother, Debbie Reynolds, would say that when she was mad and wanted to get out of the house". The phrase is also repeated in the title of Bishop's upcoming documentary "We'll Talk About It Later In The Car : The Untold Story of Stephen Bishop". The doc features film clips and TV appearances, and examines Stephen's songs and the impact he's had on fans and the stars he's worked with, including Dionne Warwick, Jimmy Webb, Richard Marx and Toto's Steve Lukather. The movie also focuses on Bishop's recent 11th tour of The Philippines, where he's hugely popular. Bishop's upcoming autobiography, meanwhile, is called "On And Off", which he maintains will be "wild and crazy, like the life I've led".

 

31.07.2019

Sheryl Crow.....

Sheryl Crow is gearing up to release her forthcoming studio album of collaborative tracks, "Threads", due out on August 30th, 2019, via Big Machine. Crow’s "Threads" collaborative album will feature 17 tracks full of the music world’s favorite musicians including Johnny Cash, Don Henley, Jason Isbell, Stevie Nicks, Bonnie Raitt, Keith Richards, Mavis Staples and more. Sheryl Crow has admitted she is planning to stop making albums after the upcoming album, because she doesn't see the point in releasing a full length release with the rise of playlists. Crow says her new album may be her last. "It may be my final album, so I am going out big. I grew up in the age where people made albums. But now, I think people do playlists and they will only hear 1 or 2 songs off a full length album that you tried to make as a full artistic statement. I kind of like the idea now of just putting out songs. This will not be my last music, but probably my last album project as a whole".

 

30.07.2019

Jono Manson.....

"It's a folk gospel tune for complicated times", says singer songwriter Jono Manson of "The Christian Thing", adding "what really matters in the end is how you actually live your life and treat others along the way, regardless of what beliefs, or lack thereof, you profess". For this recording he enlisted the help of 2 friends, twice Grammy nominated singer and songwriter and activist Eliza Gilkyson and modern day renaissance man, musician and Visual artist, alt country godfather Terry Allen, who share the lead vocals with Manson.

"I love this song. It expresses exactly how I feel, reclaiming an ethical and compassionate stance at a time when basic moral tenets of faith have been usurped by haters”, says Eliza Gilkyson. "This song is so religious, if you don’t listen to it, you'll probably go to hell", says Terry Allen.

The song was recorded and mixed by Manson in his Santa Fe, NM, recording studio and additional musicians on the track include Ronnie Johnson on bass, Jason Crosby on keyboards, Jon Graboff on pedal steel, and Mark Clark on drums. Jono Manson himself is a veteran performer and songwriter, producer and audio engineer, with a long track record that includes major label album releases on 3 continents, major motion picture soundtracks and music for network television shows. He is currently recording a new album which is set for a fall 2019 release.

“We weren't accomplished enough to copy the songs that we heard on the radio, so we had no choice but to make up our own”, says Manson of his first band which he formed in 1968, at the age of 7. So began the career of this prolific singer songwriter. Jono was born in New York City, into a family full of creative people, so it's not surprising that he cannot remember a time when he wanted to be anything other than an artist. His mother was a principle member in the Martha Graham dance company, his great uncle was a vaudevillian who later wrote for radio and film, and Jono’s cousins are filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen.

During a career spanning 4 decades, Manson has performed pretty much everywhere, from Max's Kansas City to Madison Square Garden, from house concerts to festival stages, with pretty much everyone, from Bo Diddley to Pete Seeger. He continues to tour as a solo artist and as a member of a number of side-projects. Jono is the founder and chief engineer at The Kitchen Sink recording studio, located in his adopted home of Santa Fe, NM, and has 4 times been named Producer Of The Year by the New Mexico Music Awards.

When not working on his own music, Manson remains extremely busy recording, writing, and producing projects for Grammy winners and local heroes, American Idol finalists and folksingers, Italian pop stars and Pakistani Sufi folk rockers, not to mention numerous American singer songwriters including John Popper, David Berkeley, Crystal Bowersox, Jaime Michaels and Tao Seeger. Manson’s studio also plays host to a wide variety of artists, recently including the likes of Amanda Palmer, Tom Russell, and T Bone Burnett.

 

29.07.2019

Chicago # 1.....

On April 28th, 1969, "Chicago Transit Authority" arrived in record stores, introducing the group that would become the world’s most influential horn rock band and one of the most successful bands of all time. The 7 man ensemble of Robert Lamm, Peter Cetera, Terry Kath, Danny Seraphine, Lee Loughnane, James Pankow, and Walter Parazaider, along with producer James William Guercio, offered something for everyone in their sprawling, stunning double LP debut, big, hook filled pop singles, “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” and “Beginnings”, both of which went Top 10 in the US, heavy blues rock, “South California Purples”, political agit rock, “Someday”, and even 7 minutes of searing, avant electric guitar, the aptly named “Free Form Guitar”, courtesy of the fiery Kath. Now, that bold debut is receiving a remix from Rhino Records in celebration of its 50th anniversary.

On August 30th, 2019, Rhino will release "Chicago Transit Authority : 50th Anniversary Remix" on CD and 2 LP, 180-gram vinyl editions, as well as a limited edition, numbered version of the 2 LP set on gold vinyl, available exclusively through Rhino. It will also be available through digital and streaming services on the same day. The new remix was created by the band with engineer Tim Jessup, who also mixed the band’s recent "Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival". The Grammy nominated "C.T.A." has attained double platinum status, and remained on the charts for an extraordinary 171 week run, setting a record at the time. Rhino’s remix promises to bring out new colors in the classic recording. Look for it on CD, LP, and digital services on August 30th, 2019, and look for Chicago, anchored by founding members Lamm, Loughnane, and Pankow, on the road this summer for the 52nd consecutive year.

 

28.07.2019

Jack Tempchin.....

Hot off the heels of his June induction into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame, legendary singer and songwriter Jack Tempchin has announced the release of his 12th solo album titled "One More Time With Feeling", due out August 23rd, 2019, on Jimmy Buffett’s label Mailboat Records. The album’s title track, an uptempo country rock tale of a couple’s 3rd attempt at love, is a previously unreleased co-write with Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey, with whom Tempchin has co-written a dozen radio hits.

Featuring a handful of co-writes and a number of new and unheard Jack Tempchin originals, "One More Time With Feeling" includes an updated version of one of his best known hits, “Peaceful Easy Feeling”, which was first made famous by Glenn Frey’s newly formed band, Eagles, in 1972.

As a tribute to Frey, Tempchin penned “Never Had The Chance To Say Goodbye”, a poignant and heartfelt farewell to his friend of over 4 decades. "One More Time With Feeling" also includes Tempchin’s rendition of “True Love”, another Glenn Frey co-write, which originally appeared on Frey’s 1988 album "Soul Searchin’", where it peaked at # 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Mailboat Records founder Jimmy Buffett, a songwriting legend in his own right, is thrilled to have Tempchin on the roster, stating, “Jack was a true inspiration back when I opened for Eagles on the 'Hotel California' tour, and it is an honor to have a class act like Jack on Mailboat”.

"I'm absolutely thrilled to make Jimmy Buffett's Mailboat Records my new home for music. I'm sure that my new album 'One More Time With Feeling' will be a really great fit for this cool label”, said Tempchin.

While reflecting on his Songwriters Hall Of Fame induction, Tempchin stated: “When I was a small kid, I walked around the block in San Diego whistling every song I could think of. Years later I got a harmonica and walked the same block figuring out how to play every song I could think of. Instead of going out to play, I sat in a big armchair and read books for years. As I got older I became Midnight Jack, staying up until dawn hanging out with the night people and the music people looking for the next song. All the whistling, harmonica playing, reading, and crazy night life now seem OK. They appear to have been steps on the path to the Songwriters Hall Of Fame, like I was headed there the whole time".

"One More Time With Feeling" was recorded at Blackbird Studio in Nashville with Grammy Award winning producer Gary Nicholson, who also co-wrote “Back To The Old Me”. Keith Harkin, best known for his work with Celtic Thunder, contributed “One Of The Good Old Days”, with the remainder of the album being new and unheard Tempchin originals.

 

27.07.2019

Tanya Tucker.....

Country legend Tanya Tucker returns this summer with the album "While I’m Livin’", which marks her debut for Fantasy Records. Produced by Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings, the album consists mainly of songs penned by Carlile and her longtime collaborators, twin brothers Tim and Phil Hanseroth. “It’s a musical biography of sorts, about Tanya’s real life and the places she’s seen, and it’s narrated by the greatest country and western singer this side of Johnny Cash”, says Carlile of the project, the first collection of new songs from Tucker since 2002’s "Tanya". The covers album "My Turn" was released in 2009.

A native of Seminole, TX, and a longtime equestrian, Tucker illustrates Carlile’s assertion effectively, imbuing “The Wheels Of Laredo”, the wistful 1st release and music video from "While I’m Livin’", with equal parts country and western. Tucker’s still strong voice finds its emotional center in this affecting ballad as she sings, with grit tinged regret, “If I was a white crowned sparrow I would float upon the southern skies of blue, but I’m stuck inside the wheels of Laredo, wishing I was rolling back to you”.

Carlile and the Hanseroth brothers also collaborated with Tucker to write the album closing song “Bring My Flowers Now”. The handful of covers on the album include Tucker’s version of the Award winning Miranda Lambert hit, “The House That Built Me”.

A 10 time Grammy nominee who has taken that same number of memorable hits,  including “What’s Your Mama’s Name”, “Blood Red And Goin’ Down”, “Here’s Some Love” and “Strong Enough To Bend”, to the top of the country charts, Tucker performed with Carlile on the CMT Music Awards. "While I’m Livin’" will be released August 23rd, 2019, and is now available for pre-order.

 

26.07.2019

Randy Lewis Brown.....

“i love good stories, stories that make me think, that stick with me, and sometimes haunt me.....”

Songwriter and poetic lyricist Randy Lewis Brown was born in Louisiana, spending his childhood in pre civil rights Shreveport, LA, immersed in the formative structures and music of the church. He discovered a new world when, at 12, his family moved to Houston. It was there, as he grew to adulthood, that he began to connect with and make music in a deeper sense. Having grown up in both Louisiana and Texas, Randy Lewis Brown’s tales are those of hard resignation with the occasional dappled sunlight of wounded optimism shining through.  You might say Randy Lewis Brown’s songs are as windswept as his heart. Having been tapped to open for Ray Wylie Hubbard, David Olney, Jim Lauderdale and more, Randy Lewis Brown has played across the country, extensively through Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, including multiple festivals like Tommy Alverson’s Family Gathering and the South Florida Folk Festival.

During his formative years in Texas, he was offered a $10 guitar and lessons for $1 a week by an older teen in the church, and he was instantly and irrevocably hooked. By 14, he was a budding songwriter and went on to form bands all throughout his teen years, dedicating himself in earnest to songwriting, even delivering lyrics in high school English class. A few years later, moving to East Texas with his bride to start a family where most of the counties were dry and the bars to host gigs were few and far between, Randy Lewis Brown began hightailing it across Texas on the weekends to as many welcoming stages as he could find. After forming a duo with John DeFoore, and then adding cellist Dirje Childs to form the trio Jealousy Motel, he eventually shifted focus to solo projects, although Dirje Childs reappears on his newest album.

Randy Lewis Brown sets his lyrical poetry to americana music.  His new release, ”Red Crow”, on Berkalin Records, was produced by Merel Bregante at Cribworks Audio in Texas. Bregante was named CMA Of Texas’ Producer Of The Year in 2019, producing all but one of that year’s winning albums. ”Red Crow” is Randy Lewis Brown on acoustic guitar, banjo, vocals, Merel Bregante on drums, percussion, harmony vocals, Michael Dorian on electric guitar, Riley Osborne on B3 organ,  Mark Epstein on bass, Dirje Childs on cello, Cody Braun on fiddle, harmonica, mandolin, with Sarah Pierce also on harmony vocals.
 
”Red Crow” is 13 original songs, 4 co-written with Terry Klein, Richard Paul Thomas, Randy Palmer and Jim Gilmore, that produce an instantly familiar feel in spite of the unusual stories they often tell.  The showcase of talented musicians on the album bring the lyrical messages into sharp focus through a display of synergistic camaraderie. “One Horse Town” is a haunting, relatable tale of a man who’s slept alone for 13 years, watching a dead horse decay out in the neighboring meadow with buzzards circling. The imagery of the sleepy despair of small town living brings Randy Lewis Brown’s storytelling abilities to light. The rhythm is a deeply funky groove that serves to accentuate the sense of entrapment. “Not Ready Yet” is a shuffle groove and a metaphor of a whippoorwill and a mockingbird, an elderly couple, and really all of us whose stories aren’t ready yet. On the title track the lyrical imagery will capture your attention as the red crow leaves calling cards and an uncomfortable truth is revealed.  On “Barlow Road” you’ll be drawn to the low, emotive cello the recounting of the story of pioneer hardships.

Randy Lewis Brown’s previous pair of albums, ”Dream Big” in 2007 and ”But Wait, There’s More” in 2013 drew crowds during his traveling shows, creating core fans along the way.

Brown has been a repeat winner of songwriting awards over more than 2 decades. including the New Traditions Award in 2007, T.I.M.E. Songwriting Competition in 2009, Poor David’s BW Stevenson Songwriter Contest in 2014, F.T.R. Willows By Water in 2017, South Florida Folk Festival in 2018, and he was the regional finalist at Kerrville in 1995 and 2009.

 

25.07.2019

Bruce @ The Movie.....

Dancing In The Dark - Bruce Springsteen
The River - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Badlands - Bruce Springsteen
Cover Me - Bruce Springsteen
Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Prove It All Night - Bruce Springsteen
Hungry Heart - Bruce Springsteen
Because The Night - Bruce Springsteen
The Promised Land - Bruce Springsteen
Blinded By The Light - Bruce Springsteen
Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen
I Will Stand By You - Bruce Springsteen

Sony Music, August 9th, 2019.

 

24.07.2019

Jesse Dayton.....

Revered guitarist, singer, songwriter and filmmaker Jesse Dayton has announced the August 9th, 2019, release of "Mixtape Volume 1" on Blue Élan Records, a collection of deeper cuts by legendary artists infused with Dayton’s Texas Louisiana influenced style. Through his decades spanning career, Jesse Dayton has become one of the music industry’s best kept secrets and valuable weapons with a sound that blends rock, blues, old school country, punk rock, and zydeco. On "Mixtape Volume 1", Dayton offers his own reinterpretations of songs from iconic artists including Neil Young, The Clash, Elton John, ZZ Top and more.

Hailing from Beaumont, TX, Jesse Dayton got his start performing in zydeco bands at the age of 15 before securing a residency at the famed Broken Spoke in Austin. It was during that time that he formed a trio that would go on to sell out venues all over Texas. Over the ensuing years, Dayton developed into a true renaissance man, performing as a guitarist for a range of artists including Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Ryan Bingham, Duff McKagen and seminal L.A. punk band X. He has toured with the likes of Social Distortion, Supersuckers and John Doe, written soundtracks for three Rob Zombie films, wrote and directed his own film and just signed a publishing deal to write a memoir. With more than 50 songs licensed to film and television, 11 studio albums and 1 EP, Jesse Dayton is a gifted, intelligent, socially conscious and unstoppable creative force who continues to tour nearly 250 days a year. After 3 decades as a jack of all trades, while hiding in plain sight and working with a who’s who of artists, Dayton now enters a new chapter focused primarily on his own career. On "Mixtape Volume 1", he revisits some of the songs that helped build his musical foundation while paying homage to the icons that have inspired him.

Early on, Jesse Dayton realized the correlation between the raw passion and honest songwriting of the country artists who toured through his hometown and the spirit of the punk rock of his youth. He illustrates these commonalities on "Mixtape Volume 1", transforming The Clash’s reggae infused “Bankrobber” and AC/DC’s rock anthem “Whole Lotta Rosie” into rip roaring, honky tonk staples. Dayton offers compelling rockabilly interpretations of Bruce Springsteen’s “State Trooper” and Dr Feelgood’s “She Does It Right” and turns The Cars’ “Just What I Needed” into a classic souther two step. After 30 years, Jesse Dayton is more focused now than ever. He has become on of the most respected musicians among those in the know, though he has mostly flown under the radar. "Mixtape Volume 1" affirms things are about to change, as he finds a renewed sense of energy while reconnecting with the music of his past and looking toward the future.

 

23.07.2019

Godley & Creme.....

Originally released as 3 LP box set in 1977, "Consequences" was the debut album by ex-10cc artists Godley & Creme. It was created as a concept album, and incorporates a play, with all characters voiced by comedian Peter Cook, and singing by Sarah Vaughan. The album was also released in a single album version, an 8 track album, "Musical Excerpts From Consequences", which features on the 4th disc. The concept of the album was described at the time as the story of man's last defence against an irate nature. The album began as a demonstration record for the Gizmo Tron, or Gizmo. This was an electric guitar effect device that Godley and Creme had invented a few years earlier as a means of providing orchestral textures. The Gizmo was an electro mechanical device which was clamped over the bridge of an electric guitar, it contained 6 small motor driven toothed plastic wheels that, when pushed into contact with the strings, created a bowing effect, producing notes and chords with endless sustain. The album was recorded over 18 months at Strawberry Studios in Stockport and The Manor in Shipton On Cherwell, Oxfordshire, with Godley, Creme and engineer Martin Lawrence going to extraordinary lengths to create its special effects. This version, mastered by Andy Pearce and overseen by Godley and Crème and is available in full on CD for the 1st time outside Japan, contains the original album, as well as the previously mentioned "Music Excerpts", and for the first time on CD, the promotional edit album set. Housed in a clamshell box contains expanded artwork and notes by Mojo’s Daryl Easlea who has spoken to both participants about the making and production of the album. Caroline International, August 9th, 2019.

 

22.07.2019

The Vignatis.....

What happens when you mix the passion for rockabilly and gypsy music with the love for jazz and country music? You get a whole new genre called gypsybilly. The Vignatis have been rockin’ their gypsybilly style for 3 albums. The aurally and visually colorful Los Angeles based group’s dynamic performances charter audiences on a journey from nostalgic times to the unknown future. They innovatively fuse american and european traditions, musicianship and a sense of humor cleverly expressed in their songs. Their unmistakeable, neo-nostalgic sound is a natural musical union so diverse it avoids strict categorization.

Their latest album release, “Let’s Hit The Road : Gypsybilly Vol 3” is a palate of american and european cultures combining an innovative, fresh approach with a solid rhythm section and even some beats, vocals, guitar and clarinet. The overall sound is seasoned by other distinctive instruments that paint a musical picture leaving audiences singing along, tapping toes or on their feet. The lyrics consist of topics from culture, geographic location, to overcoming personal struggles.

As prestigious voting members of The Recording Academy And Grammy Awards, The Vignatis have performed at many esteemed events and venues including The Grammy Museum, Emmy Awards Parties and recently opened for the renowned swing band, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Music is their lifestyle. Their goal is to share gypsybilly with the world by passing on to others the same joy they receive in creating it. Whether paying homage to their great musical influences or exploring the future, The Vignatis continue to blend the old continent, Europe, with the new continent, America, from studio to stage.

 

21.07.2019

Elvis Presley.....

The 50th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s transformative Las Vegas residency at the International Hotel will be commemorated this summer with "Live 1969", a deluxe 11 CD box set out August 9th, 2019, on RCA/Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. Marking his return to the stage for the first time in 8 years, Elvis’ 1969 Vegas run featured 57 sold out shows and the live debut of his signature #1 hit “Suspicious Minds”, the track celebrates its 50th anniversary on August 26th. The transcendent performances included The King of Rock and Roll backed by 2 vocal groups, The Imperials and The Sweet Inspirations, a full orchestra and a band later known as the T.C.B. band.  
 
"LIve 1969" is the definitive collection of The King at the height of his power. For the 1st time ever, it features the release of 11 complete sets from Elvis’ August 1969 engagement at Las Vegas’ International Hotel. Of these performances, 4 are being released in full for the 1st time ever, including 2 Elvis shows that have remained almost completely unheard for 50 years, August 22nd and 25th. The package also includes a 52 page booklet with rare photos, memorabilia and an oral history by Ken Sharp curated from historic interviews with Elvis, Tom Parker, Tom Jones, Jerry Schilling, James Burton, Cissy Houston, Terry Blackwood, George Klein, Fats Domino and more.
 
Also, being released on August 9th is the special 2 LP "Live At the International Hotel, Las Vegas, NV, August 26th, 1969". The vinyl release features Elvis’ complete set from August 26’s midnight show. The material includes a repertoire of blues tinged rock‘n’roll, beautiful ballads and his 2 brand new hit singles “In The Ghetto” and “Suspicious Minds”. The performance also gives rare insight into an otherwise very private man, as Elvis cracks jokes and tells in depth stories about his career.

 

20.07.2019

Davy Jones.....

7a Records is heading to Davy Jones’ locker, or more accurately, his vault, as the label has announced its most extensive project yet. The late Monkee’s "Live In Japan" is a remarkable and comprehensive collection of both of Jones’ officially released, and long unavailable, Japanese concert albums in their best sound yet, plus numerous singles and rarities from the early 1980's. The set, due on August 2nd, 2019, in 2 formats, paints a vivid portrait of Jones’ solo work during the period prior to The Monkees’ 1986 reunion.

Japan had been a popular destination for Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork, all of whom toured the country separately as solo artists. Davy was so successful there that he released 2 live albums, 1981’s "Live In Japan" featuring Monkees classics plus his then current singles, “It’s Now” and “How Do You Know”, and 1982’s "Hello Davy", with a diverse setlist of new songs, Monkees favorites, and his 1970's singles “You’re A Lady” and, of course, “Rainy Jane”. 7a’s 2 CD + DVD set features both of these original Japanese album releases, plus a whopping 22 bonus tracks consisting of alternate mixes and ultra rare original single releases.

And that’s not all. The collection also includes a DVD of the quintessential showman’s "Hello, Davy" concert, which has only ever previously been issued on laserdisc in the Far East, back in 1982. 7a acknowledges, “It isn’t BluRay quality, it’s laserdisc footage from the 80's, but it still looks and sounds a mazing, and we are delighted to be able to finally release this as an official DVD”.

All recordings have been digitally remastered for this project. The set, housed in an attractive and faithfully designed package, comes with a detailed 24 page color booklet, boasting previously unpublished photographs, new liner notes by 7a co-founder Iain Lee and Mark Kleiner, and recollections from Japanese fans that were present at the shows.

A 3 LP vinyl gatefold edition will also be released. This format includes a 28 page A4 brochure with a replica of the Japanese tour program unavailable anywhere else. The 3 LP's comprise both of the original concerts, each pressed on individually colored vinyl, and 1 LP of 16 bonus tracks drawn from both the alternate mixes and single sides.

Davy Jones’ "Live In Japan" has been produced in conjunction with the artist’s family, and promises to be a wonderfully nostalgic trip with the Manchester Cowboy. 7a notes, ”We have thrown everything at this. We could have cut corners. We could have made it cheaper. But we wanted to make the best. And we really stand by this release. Remember, we do not take a penny personally out of any of our releases. Every penny we make gets poured into the next release”. Davy Jones’ "Live In Japan" is set for release on August 2nd, 2019, and is available for pre-order now in both formats.

 

19.07.2019

Yes 50 Live.....

Yes celebrated the band's 50th anniversary over the last year with an extensive tour that included shows in Europe, North America and Japan. This year, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers are back with a new double live album that was recorded during the group's anniversary tour. "YES 50 LIVE" will be available from Rhino Records on August 2nd, 2019, as 2 CD's, or 4 LP's. On the same day, the music will also be available digitally to download and stream.

The cover of "YES 50 LIVE" was painted by Roger Dean, whose artwork and trademark calligraphy are synonymous with the band's identity. The CD and vinyl versions both come with an 8 page booklet that includes photographs from the tour taken by the Gottlieb Brothers.
 
"YES 50 LIVE" features 13 live performances of key songs that helped make Yes the most enduring, ambitious and virtuosic progressive band in rock history. What makes this collection even more extraordinary is the number of band members who are featured. In fact, much of the album was recorded in Philadelphia, a show where 10 members of Yes were on stage during the encore, current members Steve Howe, Geoff Downes, Alan White, Billy Sherwood and Jon Davison, Jay Schellen, plus former members Tony Kaye, Patrick Moraz, Tom Brislin and Trevor Horn. Patrick Moraz is featured on "Soon" and Tony Kaye is featured on "Yours Is No Disgrace", "Roundabout" and "Starship Trooper".

The live performances on "YES 50 LIVE" seamlessly weave together several eras from the band's past with songs from 10 different studio albums recorded between 1970 and 2011. This summer, the current members of Yes will extend the band's 50th anniversary tour in North America as it headlines The Royal Affair Tour.

 

18.07.2019

Dennis Roger Reed.....

Dennis Roger Reed is a singer, songwriter and instrumentalist based in Southern California. He's performed throughout the US and Canada at folk, blues and bluegrass festivals, clubs and concert halls. His recordings have been written about and received radio airplay throughout the world. He’s shared stages with many stars such as JJ Cale, Rodney Crowell, Bo Diddley, John Hammond, Doug Kershaw, BB King, Little Richard, John Sebastian, Texas Tornadoes and Jessie Colin Young.
 
Along with his solo work, Reed performed as bassist and high harmony singer in the Andy Rau Band, and recorded 2 CD's for Turquoise Records of Whitesburg, Kentucky. He also played in the roots rock band Blue Mama, recording 3 CD's, and currently in the roots blues band Suitcase Johnnie, with one CD released. He has written songs for each of these groups.
 
"Before It Was Before" is Reed’s 4th solo CD. His first 3, "Little King Of Dreams", "Cowboy Blues" and "Songs About Tractors And Stuff" created a trilogy focused on small town life in America, and the changes that occur. "Before It Was Before" encapsulates 30 years of recording at Plastic Meltdown Studios, and the material runs the gamut from blues, bluegrass, western swing, country rock, folk to rock. His family’s roots in the Arkansas Ozark mountains provide a firm basis for Reed’s music.

 

17.07.2019

Linda McCartney.....

"Wide Prairie", a posthumous 1998 compilation of Linda McCartney recordings spanning the early 1970's through the late 1990's, will be re-released August 2nd, 2019. via MPL/Capitol/UMe having been remastered at Abbey Road Studios under Paul's supervision.
 
The only album to be released solely under Linda’s name, "Wide Prairie" features Linda on vocals and various instruments on songs she wrote or co-wrote and recorded with Wings between 1972 and 1980, the single-only ‘Seaside Woman’/‘B-Side To Seaside’ released under the pseudonym of Suzy & The Red Stripes, cover versions of classics by the McGuire Sisters, The Coasters and more, and solo work from the 80's and 90's including her final recording, ‘The Light Comes from Within’, co-authored by and featuring Paul McCartney, as well as their son James on electric and acoustic guitar.
 
The album was recorded in various locations including Jamaica, Paris, Nashville and Sussex with contributors including husband Paul, son James, Wings members Denny Laine, Denny Seiwell, Henry McCullough, Jimmy McCulloch, Joe English and Laurence Juber, writer Carla Lane who also co-wrote ’The White Coated Man’ and ‘Cow’, Lee “Scratch” Perry and members of the Black Ark studio band Boris Gardiner, Winston Writer and Mikey Boo.
 
2 tracks from the release also highlight Linda’s interest in other art forms outside photography and music. ‘Seaside Woman’ featured in the Palme d’Or winning short film by Oscar Grillo at the Cannes Film Festival in 1980. ‘Oriental Night Fish’ also appeared in a short film of the same title created by Linda and Ian Emes. "Wide Prairie" will be released August 2nd on limited edition white and blue coloured vinyl and classic black vinyl, digitally and on streaming services. The reissue will mark the 1st time the album has been available on vinyl since its original 1998 release.

 

16.07.2019

More America.....

The celebration of 50 years of America continues. We’ve already filled you about the Capitol era "Classic Album Collection", the reissue of "Archives Vol 1" and "50th Anniversary : The Collection", but there’s more on the way courtesy of the band’s own America Records and available through the band’s webstore.

The label will release "Live At The London Palladium", a chronicle of the band’s 2018 stand at the famed venue, on a 2 CD set, on DVD, and in a lavish box set containing both formats, a signed and numbered certificate, a 24 page book, and a replica tour pass.  The concert features 23 tracks from across America’s career including hits and deep cuts alike.

Later this summer will see the first time combo release of "Live In Central Park 1979" as a CD + DVD set. Reissues of the band’s Christmas album "Holiday Harmony" and "The Grand Cayman Concert", both from 2002, have also been released via the band’s website, as has the 2015 archival collection "Lost & Found" with upgraded packaging.

"Live In Central Park 1979" has previously been released only on DVD, this upcoming set will mark the 1st time its music has appeared on CD and also include bonus material. The New York concert came on the heels of "Silent Letter", the 1st album following the departure of Dan Peek from the band, and was preserved for posterity by Australian filmmaker Peter Clifton. The concert featured performances of such band classics as “Sister Golden Hair”, “Ventura Highway” and “A Horse With No Name”, as well as “Only Game In Town”, “Foolin’” and “All Night” from "Silent Letter".

"Lost & Found presented 10 tracks recorded by Beckley and Bunnell between 2000 and 2011 including the road song “Drivin’”, the reflective “All In Al,,” the infectious “Out On The Street” and the moody “Many Colors”, adding up to a classic America album that almost never was.

 

15.07.2019

Graham Nash.....

Graham Nash’s demos, which appeared on the 2nd disc of the "Over The Years" release, will now be available on vinyl. Featured demos include “Teach Your Children”, “Chicago”, “Marrakesh Express” and many more. "Graham Nash Over The Years : The Demos". Rhino Records, July 26th, 2019.

 

14.07.2019

The Refugees.....

"The Refugees are thrilled to announce the upcoming digital release of our new EP 'How Far It Goes' on September 13th, 2019. We have decided to manufacture a small number of physical CDs, which will only be available for pre-order, and we will only press the amount pre-ordered. If you are someone who desires a copy of the new work in your hands, you can pre-purchase it between now and Sunday, July 28th, 2019. Monday, July 29th, 2019, it will go to press. To order, go to www.therefugeesmusic.com, scroll down to the donate button and send $20 either through Paypal or CC, and be sure to include your mailing address. The $20 will include shipping. Much love and thanks from Cid, Deborah and Wendy."

 

13.07.2019

I Am The Morning.....

"The Bell", iamthemorning’s 2019 studio album, delivers a contemporary fusion of rock, classical and folk influences. Inspired by 19th century song cycles, a style established by Schubert, the album cohesively tells 10 individual stories of pain caused by human cruelty. The lyrical imagery draws on themes from Victorian England's art and culture, with its prevalent fixation with death. The artwork, created by Constantine Nagishkin, portrays the once popular coffin bell used as an alert system to indicate that a person had been mistakenly buried alive, a terrible phobia commonly held by Victorians. The engineering and mastering was handled by Vlad Avy, and recorded in March 2019 across Russia, the UK and Canada, in several studios, Mosfilm in Moscow, Lendoc and Red Wave in St Petersburg, Noatune in London, The Studio at Sunbeams, Penrith, and Union Sound Company in Toronto. Kscope Records, August 2nd, 2019.

 

12.07.2019

Creedence @ Woodstock.....

Woodstock’s 50th anniversary is right around the corner, and Craft Recordings is marking the occasion with the release of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s complete performance at the historic festival.  "Live At Woodstock" will arrive on August 2nd, 2019, on CD, 2 LP, and digital formats, including high-resolution 96/24. The 1st digital single, “Born On The Bayou”, is available today and can be previewed below.  As CCR declined to appear in Warner Bros’ big screen documentary Woodstock or on the accompanying soundtrack album, this release marks the 1st time the band’s set has been available, it will also be included in full on Rhino’s massive 38 CD complete Woodstock box, due that same day.

CCR could stake claim to being one of the most popular bands in the country at the time of their Woodstock performance. 8 months prior to the concert, their sophomore LP "Bayou Country" had been released, and by the end of spring, it had reached Billboard's Top 10 and yielded the Top 5 hit single “Proud Mary”. Just weeks before Woodstock, the band released "Green River", featuring the title track, “Bad Moon Rising” and “Lodi”, which became their 1st # 1 album.  Despite keeping a busy touring schedule, CCR found plenty of time in the studio, they would release another Top Ten LP, "Willie & The Poor Boys", before 1969 was out.

John Fogerty, Tom Fogerty, Doug Clifford and Stu Cook were scheduled to perform after the Grateful Dead on Saturday night, August 16th, 1969, but as the Dead’s performance ran long, they didn’t begin until after midnight on Sunday, August 17th. For 11 songs and roughly one hour, they performed their biggest hits including “Bad Moon Rising”, “Proud Mary” and an extended “Susie Q”, as well as “Born On The Bayou”, “Keep On Chooglin’”, and “I Put A Spell On You”, with improvisational flair. It was a much talked-about performance that would soon be all but forgotten as the Woodstock film and soundtrack immortalized the acts who chose to appear.

Finally, the band’s complete, headlining performance on that fateful evening can be enjoyed by their fans everywhere. Look for "Live At Woodstock" on August 2nd, 2019, from Craft Recordings.

 

11.07.2019

Bad Company.....

Bad Company are to celebrate their 45th anniversary with "The Swan Song Years 1974 - 1982", a new 6 CD box set of their albums.

The 6 disc "Bad Company : The Swan Song Years 1974 - 1982" collects together their output for Swan Song. These are all fairly recent remasters, from the original tapes, with "Desolation Angels" and "Rough Diamonds" brand new 2019 remastered versions. The other albums included are "Bad Company" (1974), "Straight Shooter" (1975), "Run With The Pack" (1976) and "Burnin’ Sky" (1977).

Bad Company formed when members of Free (Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke), King Crimson (Boz Burrell) and Mott The Hoople (Mick Ralphs) decided to pool their talents back in 1973. They became the first band to sign to Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label later that year.

The band’s 1974 debut, "Bad Company" went to # 1 in America and was a massive seller thanks to songs like ‘Can’t Get Enough’, ‘Rock Steady’, and ‘Movin’ On’. The multi platinum streak continued a year later with "Straight Shooter" which delivered standouts like ‘Good Lovin’ Gone Bad’, ‘Shooting Star’ and the Grammy nominated smash, ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’.

The band carried on with double platinum releases for the next few albums, before ceasing operation in 1982 after the measly gold of "Rough Diamonds", becoming the last studio album the original quartet released. "Bad Company : The Swan Song Years 1974 - 1982" is released August 2nd, 2019.

 

10.07.2019

Michael Jerome Browne.....

“Michael Jerome Browne is probably, if not positively, one of Canada’s most significant musical exports, a finger picking stylist with a hugely talented and nuanced delivery” ~ Iain Patience, Elmore Magazine
 
Whether he's gliding a slide across his acoustic guitar, pulling his bow over the fiddle strings to play a lively Cajun waltz, or frailing away on his gourd banjo, Michael Jerome Browne's passion and virtuosity always shine through. In the true tradition of folk music, his performances inspire us to see the interconnections between the many cultures and influences that gave birth to american roots music. Gospel, blues, old time, country, soul and cajun, expect to hear all of this and more from a performer who's been called a street smart archivist and an absolute treasure.
 
Born in South Bend, Indiana, Michael is the son of English professors whose love of music and poetry inspired them to take their 9 year old son to the great jazz, blues and folk clubs in their adopted home of Montreal. By the age of 14, Michael Jerome Browne was already a regular on the vibrant folk and coffee house scene adding banjo, fiddle, and mandolin to his masterful command of all variety of guitars and harmonica. A musician's musician, when he isn't performing his own material, he is in demand backing up and recording with other artists, most notably Eric Bibb, whose Grammy nominated CD “Migration Blues” he co-produced and played on.

 

09.07.2019

Tony Banks.....

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the release of "Banks Vaults", a newly re-mastered 8 disc boxed set featuring all of the solo albums released by Genesis founder Tony Banks between 1979 and 1995.

Inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2010 as a member of Genesis, Tony is one of the most respected songwriters and keyboardists in the world. His career spans almost 50 years and has seen him sell in excess of 130 million albums. His body of work is as innovative as it is eclectic. Genesis’ avantgarde style made them one of progressive rock’s founding fathers in the 1970's, creating an experimental style of rock music never before seen. They went on to produce music with a greater pop sensibility in the 1980's that saw them become one of the biggest selling bands of the decade, and play stadiums throughout the world.

Tony Banks’ solo work has continued in the same vein. His rock albums have included collaborations with some of the world’s most respected musicians, including singers Toyah Wilcox, Fish, Jim Diamond and Nick Kershaw, bassist Pino Palladino and drummers Steve Gadd and Vinnie Colaiuta, as well as long time Genesis collaborators Daryl Stuermer and Chester Thompson.

The albums "A Curious Feeling", "The Fugitive", "Wicked Lady", Soundtracks", "Bankstatement", "Still" and "Strictly Inc" all feature in this set, some being unavailable on CD for many years, and have been newly re-mastered at Abbey Road studios by Miles Showell and Nick Davis. Also included in this set is a bonus DVD which features all 8 promotional videos made as companions to single releases from these albums, issued on DVD for the first time.

 

08.07.2019

Mike Love.....

Mike Love grew up under the Southern California sun where he soaked up a life of music, sports, and family traditions. Beginning his singing and songwriting career as a teenager, Mike and his cousin Brian Wilson, frequently sang at family get-togethers and holiday gatherings. Mike’s early influences, including his attendance at a culturally and socially diverse high school, served as inspiration to some of The Beach Boys most iconic songs. Throughout Mike's career, he has co-authored more than a dozen # 10 singles, cementing The Beach Boys legacy alongside The Beatles and Michael Jackson, as the only artist to have produced 12 # 10 singles within 5 years. Mike continues to write and record music 57 years after his legendary career began. Mike’s new album, "12 Sides Of Summer", celebrates a season treasured by so many around the world and will be a must have on your summer playlist. “'12 Sides Of Summer' was such a fun album to create. I loved bringing a fresh vision to some of my favorite artists’ songs and Beach Boys’ classics, while pairing them with a few of my new original tracks. This is an album for the whole family to listen to as they celebrate the summer season and warmer days in the sun”, says Mike Love. BMG Records, July 19th, 2019.

 

07.07.2019

James Taylor Boxed.....

Rhino Records is about to shower the people with the 1st ever box set from James Taylor. Between 1970 and 1976, the quintessential troubadour released 6 albums on Warner Bros Records that laid the groundwork for his remarkable career which continues to this day. At Warner Bros, Taylor introduced signature songs like “Fire and Rain”, “Sweet Baby James”, “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight”, “Mexico” and “You Can Close Your Eyes”, as well as classic interpretations of “You’ve Got A Friend”, (his 1st # 1 and a Grammy Winner, and “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)”. Now, all 6 of his Warner Bros releases have been remastered for release on July 19th, 2019, as "The Warner Bros. Albums : 1970 - 1976" on 6 CD's, 6 LP's or on digital platforms.

Guests on these landmark LP's include David Crosby, Graham Nash, Stevie Wonder, Paul and Linda McCartney, Bonnie Raitt, Carly Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Randy Newman, Carole King and The Brecker Brothers. Each album in the box has been freshly remastered, as overseen by Peter Asher.  Not only did Asher sign Taylor to the Beatles’ Apple Records label in 1968, where he recorded his solo debut album, but he served as his manager for 25 years, and originally produced the first 3 of these albums. He writes in the collection’s liner notes, “Revisiting these albums several decades later has been revelatory, nostalgic, and exciting. I have heard bits and pieces frequently over the years, of course, but listening with concentration and in detail to each of the original tapes without interruption has been a thrilling luxury”.

Note that Taylor’s 1976 "Greatest Hits" album, which included re-recorded versions of his Apple Records cuts “Something In The Way She Moves” and “Carolina In My Mind”, plus a live version of “Steamroller”, is not included in this set. Rhino will also offer exclusive bundles of "The Warner Bros. Albums" that pair both the CD and LP versions of the set with a 12″ x 12″ lithograph of a 1970 photo of the artist. Additionally, the first 350 pre-orders of the LP version from Rhino will come with a signed version of the lithograph.

 

06.07.2019

Ben Lorentzen.....

Ben Lorentzen's brand new single, “All Knives Out”, is the first glimpse from the upcoming album "King Of Bitter Sorrow". "All Knives Out" is drawn from Ben’s experience as a social worker, working with abused teenagers. Here Lorentzen continues to dive deeper into the suburban noir landscape he started exploring with his 2 previous albums. In other words, it is still dark and moody, it’ s introvert, eclectic, and dealing with the pains and pleasures of existence. The pace is slower than on the previous album, “Pains & Pleasures Of Intimacy”, but the lyrics are strong, heartfelt, and sung as if life depended on it. As a backdrop Ben Lorentzen explains how he imagines the new 10 songs as a conversation between humanity and its collective conscience, and how the 2 entities falling apart becomes the "King Of Bitter Sorrow".

 

05.07.2019

Lilyhammer.....

Between 2012 and 2014, Steven Van Zandt starred in Netflix’s 1st exclusive television series. A co-production with Norwegian network NRK1, "Lilyhammer" cast the singer songwriter musician as Frank “The Fixer” Tagliano, a gangster making a new life in Lillehammer, Norway. Van Zandt not only acted in, co-wrote, and co-produced the series for 3 seasons, but he also composed most of the show’s music. For the 1st time, the music of "Lilyhammer" will be released on July 12th, 2019, by Van Zandt’s own Wicked Cool label and Universal Music in 2 volumes, "Lilyhammer : The Score : Vol 1 : Jazz" and "Lilyhammer : The Score : Vol 2 : Folk, Rock, Rio, Bits & Pieces". Both volumes will arrive on CD, black 180 gram vinyl, and digital platforms. These follow up the artist’s recent, acclaimed release "Summer Of Sorcery", itself a follow up to the rousing "Soulfire".

The score and songs of "Lilyhammer" were arranged and produced by Van Zandt and recorded at his Renegade Studios in New York and at various studios in Norway while filming. It was recorded, mixed and co-produced by Geoff Sanoff and mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering. Wishing to combine the feel of New York jazz with Norwegian folk music to underscore the story of the series, Van Zandt turned to his E Street bandmate Max Weinberg for advice. The drummer put his pal in touch with Lee Musiker, veteran musical director and pianist for such artists as Tony Bennett, Kristin Chenoweth, Wynton Marsalis, and the late Mel Tormé. Van Zandt and Musiker then assembled The Interstellar Jazz Renegades, a collective of musicians led by Musiker and orchestrators Stan Harrison, Raul Agraz, and Adam Hochstatter.

"Volume 1 : Jazz" collects together 13 of the best jazz oriented compositions from the show and features a mix of vintage standards, instrumental cues, and original songs. Van Zandt takes a page from Sinatra in his new renditions of “All Of Me”, “Ring-A-Ding Ding!” and “My Kind Of Town”. He explains in the press release, “I figured I’ve got some of the most talented musicians in New York City, so why waste them on 15 second cues. We decided to have some fun. I’d meet Lee about an hour before the session and give him the top line melodies, basic chord changes and structure, and talk about the overall mood of the piece. I wanted to try something different and get the musicians creative input and let these guys who were used to always reading their parts express themselves for a change. We would basically arrange it on the spot. I’d suggest a harmony, Lee would suggest an idea and the musicians would begin to orchestrate themselves. It was wild and extremely fruitful. After the success of the 1st session I knew we had a legitimate jazz album in addition to an incredible score”.

"Volume 2 : Folk, Rock, Rio, Bits & Pieces" collects a whopping 36 tracks from a variety of genres, including the theme song and cues inspired by Norwegian folk, rock'n'roll, surf, aatin sounds, brazilian music, and beyond. Van Zandt plays guitar on all but one of the tracks on this album, and was inspired by artists ranging from Tito Puente and Antonio Carlos Jobim to Ennio Morricone. “I’m really proud of ‘Lilyhammer’ and the music I created for it”, observes Van Zandt. “This was especially rewarding because it gave me the chance to finally do a score completely. This was a full commitment, I loved doing it and experimenting with sound and putting it to pictures and seeing what effect it has. It was a lot of fun, I’d love to do more of it”.

"Lilyhammer : The Score" arrives on July 12th, 2019, as Van Zandt tours across America, the European leg begins in August, and then a final leg in the fall returns them home to the United States.  As in the past, teachers are welcome to all shows for free, and each concert will be preceded by a teacher’s development workshop explaining how to integrate Van Zandt’s music education curriculum into the classroom.

 

04.07.2019

Another America Box.....

America celebrates its half centennial with "50th Anniversary : The Collection". Fans embraced the group for simply being themselves, 3 gifted singer songwriters with a love of soaring melodies, close harmonies, and honest expression. In the collection's liner notes, Bunnell says, 'There wasn't any contrivance in what we did'. Beckley adds, 'We didn't start out with some grand plan, it just turned into a soundtrack for so many people's lives. That's something that I treat with great respect'. This collection brings the core of America's recorded legacy together with choice rarities like an early studio recording of "Ventura Highway", a live performance of "Riverside", and an unreleased demo for the # 1 hit "Sister Golden Hair". All of the band's Top 10 singles are included here, "Horse With No Name", "Ventura Highway", "Tin Man", "Lonely People" and more. July 12th, 2019.

 

03.07.2019

Paul Is Live.....

On July 12th, 2019, Sir Paul McCartney will dip into the vaults once again for a series of reissues of live albums spanning more than 4 decades of his timeless career, from 1975 and 1976’s Wings arena tour to a fun, intimate at Amoeba Records in Los Angeles.

Here’s the rundown of each title :

"Amoeba Gig"
"Amoeba Gig" is the 1st full length commercial release of Paul’s surprise free concert at Hollywood’s Amoeba Music on June 27th, 2007. To date only 4 songs have seen wide release as the "Amoeba’s Secret EP", 2 of which were nominated for Grammy awards in 2008, “That Was Me” for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and “I Saw Her Standing There” for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance. A few years later in November 2012, an extended 12 song excerpt of the Amoeba show titled "Live In Los Angeles",  this extended set was made available free to Paul McCartney's premium members for a limited period. And come July 12th, 2019, a full 21 song recording documenting possibly the most intimate LA show Paul has ever played, will be made available to the public for the 1st time.

"Paul Is Live" :
Recorded during the Australian and US swings of the tour in support of 1993’s "Off The Ground", "Paul Is Live" is Paul’s 5th live album. Originally released that same year, the album is famous for the multiple meanings and clues embedded in its title and cover art, all of which play on the “Paul Is Dead” conspiracy hoax. In addition to a wealth of Wings and Beatles classics, covers of Roy Brown’s "Good Rockin’ Tonight" and Leiber and Stoller’s "Kansas City" and more, "Paul Is Live" also offers a peek behind the curtain. 3 songs improvised on the spot and exclusive to the album, all recorded during rehearsals in various locations over the course of the tour.

"Choba B CCCP" :
The live in studio "Choba B CCCP", Russian for “Back In The USSR”, was released in the Soviet Union in 1988, making Paul the first western artist to issue an album exclusively for that market. In a conscious decision to get back to his roots, Paul spontaneously spent 2 days covering his favorite hits from the 1950's. The sessions produced 22 songs in total, and one of the outtakes being a version of The Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There”. "Choba B CCCP" was a deeply personal album and a way to acknowledge fans who had supported him and The Beatles since the start. “When I was very young I asked my dad if people wanted peace”, Paul explained at the time. “He said to me, ‘Yes, people everywhere want peace, it’s usually politicians that cause trouble’. It always seemed to me that the way The Beatles’ music was admired in the USSR tended to prove his point, that people the world over have a great deal in common. In releasing this record exclusively in the Soviet Union, I extend the hand of peace and friendship to the people of Russia”. "Choba B CCCP" was released in the rest of the world following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

"Wings Over America" :
Rare # 1 charting triple live album, "Wings Over America" is a document of one the most sophisticated and dazzling rock shows of the 1970's or any decade. Paul and the band would eventually perform to more than 600 000 people at 31 shows in the US and Canada, ending with 3 historic nights at The Forum in Los Angeles. It’s no exaggeration to say that the excitement that greeted Paul McCartney & Wings in the spring of 1976 as they embarked on what would become their one and only North American tour was overwhelming. Having released 4 consecutive chart topping albums, Wings’ career was in full flight, and as Paul’s 1st US tour since The Beatles, the sheer joy of both the band and its fans were off the charts throughout the 90 hours of recordings distilled into this triple album.

 

02.07.2019

King Of The Tramps.....

King Of The Tramps is an original roots rock group, whose sound calls upon influences from modern roots rock, rhythm and blues, rock and southern country rock. Their sound has been described as 'whiskey gospel' and 'midwestern roots rock' by critics. The band has released 5 albums of original music, “Good People”, 2011, “Wicked Mountain”, 2013, "Joyful Noise", 2014,  "Cumplir Con El Diablo", 2016 and "Wild Water", 2018.

King Of The Tramps live show is a foot stompin’, hand clappin’ rock and roll gospel, with plenty of crowd participation. According to City View, show reviewer Chad Taylor, Todd Partridge is 'part troubadour, part tent revival preacher, he holds court over his audience, welcoming all to the Tramps roots rock and jam band sound with the charisma of a faith healer”.

King Of The Tramps takes its name for a lesser known rail legend, 'Tex,  King Of The Tramps'. Tex rode the rails across the US in the 1930’s and 1940’s often leaving his mark 'Tex K.T.' carved into bridges, fences and buildings across the US.

With "Wild Water, the 5th album from Iowa roots rockers King Of The Tramps, the Tramps blend rock, blues and r'n'b tendencies without losing site of the 'whiskey gospel' sound that has made their live show a favorite. The Whiskey Gospel Horns (Andy Poppen, Aaron Ehrlich) and Motown backup vocals (Sarah Nevins) add polish and shine to the gritty midwestern working class sound.  The album features 10 songs. Official release is set for August 2nd, 2019.

 

01.07.2019

Even More Bowie.....

As part of the ongoing celebrations marking 50 years since David Bowie’s 1st hit, and following announcements of the "Spying Through A Keyhole", "Clareville Grove Demos" and "The Mercury Demos" collections, Parlophone is releasing a very special double 7” single of "Space Oddity" featuring brand new remixes by Tony Visconti. The set and a 1 track digital single of the single edit of the 2019 mix of "Space Oddity" for streaming and download will be released by Parlophone on July 12th, 2019, the day after the single’s 50th anniversary.

"Space Oddity" 50th anniversary double 7” set will come in a box including a double sided poster featuring an original "Space Oddity" press advertisement and a Ray Stevenson shot of David taken on stage at the Save Rave 1969 concert at the London Palladium on November 30th, 1969, the backdrop featuring a N.A.S.A. astronaut. The set also includes an information card and a print featuring an alternative shot by Jojanneke Claassen from the "Space Oddity" promo single cover session.

A facsimile of the original ultra rare unissued UK picture sleeve has been used for the cover of the original mono single, which, along with the label, features the original Philips trademark specifically cleared for this 50th anniversary release. The single itself has been cut from the original analogue single master tape. The jacket housing the 2019 remixes by Tony Visconti is a new design featuring an alternative Ray Stevenson shot from the Save Rave 1969 concert to that on the poster.

1st released as a 7" single on July 11th, 1969, "Space Oddity" was also the opening track of his 2nd studio album, "David Bowie". Initially inspired by Stanley Kubrick's film "2001 : A Space Odyssey", the song gained huge popularity when it was adopted as the unofficial theme of the Apollo 11 Moon landing mission which launched 5 days after the single’s release.