Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Bruce Springsteen featured in New Yorker




We Are Alive
Bruce Springsteen at sixty-two.


Nearly half a century ago, when Elvis Presley was filming “Harum Scarum” and “Help!” was on the charts, a moody, father-haunted, yet uncannily charismatic Shore rat named Bruce Springsteen was building a small reputation around central Jersey as a guitar player in a band called the Castiles. The band was named for the lead singer’s favorite brand of soap. Its members were from Freehold, an industrial town half an hour inland from the boardwalk carnies and the sea. The Castiles performed at sweet sixteens and Elks-club dances, at drive-in movie theatres and ShopRite ribbon cuttings, at a mobile-home park in Farmingdale, at the Matawan-Keyport Rollerdrome. Once, they played for the patients at a psychiatric hospital, in Marlboro. A gentleman dressed in a suit came to the stage and, in an introductory speech that ran some twenty minutes, declared the Castiles “greater than the Beatles.” At which point a doctor intervened and escorted him back to his room.

One spring afternoon in 1966, the Castiles, with dreams of making it big and making it quick, drove to a studio at the Brick Mall Shopping Center and recorded two original songs, “Baby I” and “That’s What You Get.” Mainly, though, they played an array of covers, from Glenn Miller’s “In the Mood” to the G-Clefs’ “I Understand.” They did Sonny and Cher, Sam and Dave, Don & Juan, the Who, the Kinks, the Stones, the Animals.

Many musicians in their grizzled late maturity have an uncertain grasp on their earliest days on the bandstand. (Not a few have an uncertain grasp on last week.) But Springsteen, who is sixty-two and among the most durable musicians since B. B. King and Om Kalthoum, seems to remember every gaudy night, from the moment, in 1957, when he and his mother watched Elvis on “The Ed Sullivan Show”—“I looked at her and I said, ‘I wanna be just . . . like . . . that’ ”—to his most recent exploits as a multimillionaire populist rock star crowd-surfing the adoring masses. These days, he is the subject of historical exhibitions; at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum, in Cleveland, and at the National Constitution Center, in Philadelphia, his lyric sheets, old cars, and faded performing duds have been displayed like the snippets of the Shroud. But, unlike the Rolling Stones, say, who have not written a great song since the disco era and come together only to pad their fortunes as their own cover band, Springsteen refuses to be a mercenary curator of his past. He continues to evolve as an artist, filling one spiral notebook after another with ideas, quotations, questions, clippings, and, ultimately, new songs. His latest album, “Wrecking Ball,” is a melodic indictment of the recessionary moment, of income disparity, emasculated workers, and what he calls “the distance between the American reality and the American dream.” The work is remote from his early operettas of humid summer interludes and abandon out on the Turnpike. In his desire to extend a counter-tradition of political progressivism, Springsteen quotes from Irish rebel songs, Dust Bowl ballads, Civil War tunes, and chain-gang chants.

Early this year, Springsteen was leading rehearsals for a world tour at Fort Monmouth, an Army base that was shut down last year; it had been an outpost since the First World War of military communications and intelligence, and once employed Julius Rosenberg and thousands of militarized carrier pigeons. The twelve-hundred-acre property is now a ghost town inhabited only by steel dummies meant to scare off the ubiquitous Canada geese that squirt a carpet of green across middle Jersey. Driving to the far end of the base, I reached an unlovely theatre that Springsteen and Jon Landau, his longtime manager, had rented for the rehearsals. Springsteen had performed for officers’ children at the Fort Monmouth “teen club” (dancing, no liquor) with the Castiles, forty-seven years earlier.

The atmosphere inside was purposeful but easygoing. Musicians stood onstage noodling on their instruments with the languid air of outfielders warming up in the sun. Max Weinberg, the band’s volcanic drummer, wore the sort of generous jeans favored by dads at weekend barbecues. Steve Van Zandt, Springsteen’s childhood friend and guitarist-wingman, keeps up a brutal schedule as an actor and a d.j., and he seemed weary, his eyes drooping under a piratical purple head scarf. The bass player Garry Tallent, the organist Charlie Giordano, and the pianist Roy Bittan horsed around on a roller-rink tune while they waited. The guitarist Nils Lofgren was on the phone, trying to figure out flights to get back to his home, in Scottsdale, for the weekend.

Springsteen arrived and greeted everyone with a quick hello and his distinctive cackle. He is five-nine and walks with a rolling rodeo gait. When he takes in something new—a visitor, a thought, a passing car in the distance—his eyes narrow, as if in hard light, and his lower jaw protrudes a bit. His hairline is receding, and, if one had to guess, he has, over the years, in the face of high-def scrutiny and the fight against time, enjoined the expensive attentions of cosmetic and dental practitioners. He remains dispiritingly handsome, preposterously fit. (“He has practically the same waist size as when I met him, when we were fifteen,” says Steve Van Zandt, who does not.) Some of this has to do with his abstemious inclinations; Van Zandt says Springsteen is “the only guy I know—I think the only guy I know at all—who never did drugs.” He’s followed more or less the same exercise regimen for thirty years: he runs on a treadmill and, with a trainer, works out with weights. It has paid off. His muscle tone approximates a fresh tennis ball. And yet, with the tour a month away, he laughed at the idea that he was ready. “I’m not remotely close,” he said, slumping into a chair twenty rows back from the stage....


Monday, July 30, 2012

Dean on the Future of Ween (Relix)



Originally Published by Relix, Photo above by Jake Krolick

Mickey “Dean Ween” Melchiondo has officially commented on his band’s future. As previously reported, Aaron “Gene Ween” Freeman announced the band’s split in an interview with Rolling Stone. Shortly after, Melchiondo commented on his Facebook page that Ween’s breakup was news to him. Freeman, who is a recovering addict, then reportedly tried to get the band together for another run “for the fans.”

Melchiondo recently discussed the band’s future with mxdwn.com. His interview not only hints at the band’s return but also that they may play together later his year.

When asked about his plans for the next few years Melchiondo said:

I never put anything before Ween. I dedicated twenty-eight years of my life to it. So, I don’t know. It’s common knowledge that Aaron just went away for a long stint in rehab. He’s trying to get himself sober, and get his life on track, and that extends way deeper than just Ween. And I love Aaron, he’s one of my best friends in the world, my whole life. So, I kinda thought, that maybe the band would be on ice for a year, or two, or three, or five, and I was totally cool with that. However long it took for him to be healthy and more importantly happy, I was prepared to do it, and I was going to wait for him to take the lead on it. And the next thing I know I read in Rolling Stone that he said that he was breaking up the band. And I was heartbroken. I still am. It’s only been a month. And I also knew, you shouldn’t make a decision like that, the day you get out of rehab or the week you get out, and I think he regrets it. I don’t think that you’ve seen the last of Ween. I wouldn’t be surprised if we played before the year is over to be honest with you.

Freeman recently released his first solo album while Melchiondo is focusing on his second career as a fisherman.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

On the turntable this Sunday...Mad Dogs and Englishmen




Mad Dogs and Englishmen is Joe Cocker's 1970 live album, featuring a fusion of rock and soul. The album title is drawn from the 1931 Noël Coward song of the same name. Mostly Cocker's album is made up of covers, drawing equally from rock (The Rolling Stones, Traffic, Bob Dylan, The Beatles) and soul (Ray Charles, Sam and Dave, Otis Redding). Accompanying Cocker is an enormous choir, a two-piece horn section and several drummers. According to the liner notes: "All elements of the Truth" are included here. The album was originally issued as a deluxe 2-Record Set.

In 2005, Mad Dogs and Englishmen was released as a 2-disc deluxe edition set through Universal Records to commemorate the album's thirty-fifth anniversary.

In 2006, Mad Dogs and Englishmen was released as a 6-disc box set under the title, "The Complete Fillmore East Concerts" by Hip-O Select. Both early and late shows from March 27 and March 28, 1970 were released in their entirety.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Wilco to sell live recordings of recent shows




Just like many of the bands we at The Showbiz Kids admire, Wilco has also decided to begin selling recordings of some of their recent live shows.

Wilco has updated the Roadcase section of their online store to include downloads of their shows at Red Rocks from 6/23/12 and Geneva, IL from 7/8/12. The downloads can be found via the Wilco store and are offered as 256kbps MP3s as well as lossless formats including FLACs and ALACs.

To learn more, please see the tutorial Wilco have posted on their site on how to download these shows.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Tedeschi Trucks Band-Everybody's Talkin'




The Tedeschi Trucks Band released Everybody’s Talkin’ back in May-an excellent live set that was recorded over three nights in Toronto, Washington, D.C., and Bridgeport, Conn. in October of 2011.


Everybody's Talkin' is the TTB's first release since their fantastic and Grammy award winning debut, Revelator, and contains several highlights including: "Midnight In Harlem," "Learn How To Love," and the spiritual "Bound For Glory." The release also includes several other originals, plus covers of Bill Withers, Muddy Waters, Stevie Wonder, and Joe Cocker tunes, and a new track entitled “Nobody’s Free.”

The eleven members of the Tedeschi Trucks Band sound tight and Tedeschi’s smoky vocals are reminiscent of the ever-talented Bonnie Raitt on this massive 2-cd collection. If you have not yet heard this band, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Everybody’s Talkin’ today!

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Dave Matthews Band and the Tower of Power



The Dave Matthews Band wrapped up this leg of their summer tour over the weekend with a two-night run at the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, FL.

Tower of Power opened both nights and keyboardist Roger Smith joined Dave Matthews Band for “If Only,” a new track from their forthcoming album, Away from the World.

Late in the set, all members of the Tower of Power took the stage with Dave Matthews Band for an extended jam of “Can’t Stop.”

The Dave Matthews Band is off for a few weeks before their summer tour resumes at George, WA’s Gorge Amphitheater on August 31st.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Texas Tony & The Tornado Ramblers




With our in-laws keeping the kiddos over the weekend, my wife and I were able to go out and see some live music for the first time in a long, long, while.  Our adventure took us to the Tin Roof in Knoxville, TN where we were able to see Texas Tony & The Tornado Ramblers.  First of all, let me tell you-these guys are a lot of fun! I cannot name another band that effortlessly blends such a superb mix of honky tonk, R&B, rock, country and the blues with a great dose of humor.

The Tornado Ramblers hit the stage complete with their 10 gallon hats and full western wear to rip through a whiskey-soaked set that included honky tonk renditions of: ZZ Top, Johnny Cash, The Allman Bros. Band and Bill Withers, just to name a few. 

A great time was certainly had by all and you definitely need to make plans to see these guys at the Bijou this weekend.

-Will Fisher, The Showbiz Kids

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Old Crow Medicine Show 'Carry Me Back' Review



Thanks to the success of bands such as Mumford And Sons and The Avett Brothers, bluegrass and folk rock has become somewhat trendy as of late, but let us not forget that the Old Crow Medicine Show was one of first of the newer bands to go back to roots music.

Carry Me Back, the band’s fourth and latest album, is a solid effort in part, but the results are varying throughout.

The album contains the wonderful ballad “Levi,” and the enjoyable rowdiness of “Country Gal” while sandwiched between tracks like “Carry Me Back To Virginia,” which are easily forgettable.  Being a Southerner it’s hard not to like “We Don’t Grow Tobacco” and “Bootlegger’s Boy,” even if the Southern drawl seems a bit contrived.

Carry Me Back is a collection of different styles and directions, with some highlights and some low points resulting in a half-baked effort from the Old Crow Medicine Show. 

The Showbiz Kids Rating:  6 out of possible 10

Monday, July 23, 2012

Gov't Mule-Peakin' At The Beacon




Gov’t Mule recently announced plans to wrap up the year at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Gov't Mule has not provided all of the details but they have confirmed that they will welcome 2013 from the stage at the Beacon. 
Warren Haynes will resume touring with the Allman Brothers Band, before the Mule hits the road in September.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

On the turntable this Sunday...Idlewild South



Idlewild South is the second album of The Allman Brothers Band, released in 1970.
Unlike the band's self-titled debut albumIdlewild South enjoyed some popular success as well as critical enthusiasm, mostly due to what Rolling Stone magazine called "briefer, tighter, less 'heavy' numbers" which were more radio-friendly. The two most prominent of these were "Midnight Rider" and "Revival", the latter of which, in conjunction with the instrumental "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed", foreshadowed the impact of Dickey Betts' songwriting ability upon the band.
The album title stemmed from the band's nickname for a farmhouse it rented in Georgia during the recording, the busy comings and goings at which reminded them of New York City's Idlewild Airport.
"Midnight Rider" has been covered by many artists, including Gregg Allman on his solo album Laid Back. "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" would go on to become iconic, along with "Whipping Post", as one of the band's signature concert jams.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Bob Dylan 'Tempest'




Bob Dylan will be releasing his latest studio album, Tempest,  on September 11th. This date is significant as it represents the 50th Anniversary of Dylan’s self-titled debut.  


Dylan will begin his North American tour this August.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Patterson Hood to release 3rd solo album



The Drive-By Truckers’ Patterson Hood, is set to  release his 3rd solo album on September 11th  entitled, Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance.  The new album was co-produced with DBT collaborator David Barbe, who also contributes much of the bass playing on the new record.  

All of the Drive-By Truckers make appearances on the album, along with Hood’s father, David Hood, who is a famed bassist from Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

Patterson Hood and The Downtown Rumblers will be previewing songs from Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distanceover the weekend at shows in Philadelphia and Brooklyn.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Mumford & Sons to release 'Babel'



Babel, the second studio album from Mumford & Sons is set to be released on September 24th. 

The new album features twelve original tracks, including: “Babel,” “Ghosts That We Knew,” “Broken Grown,” and “Not With Haste.”

Mumford & Sons will kick-off their U.S. tour on August 1st in New Jersey.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Chris Robinson Brotherhood to release second album




On the heels of the release of their debut album, Big Moon Ritual, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood have confirmed that they will release a second full-length album, The Magic Door, this September.

The tracks for both albums were recorded during sessions earlier this year at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles after the band wrapped up their 2011 tour.

The Magic Door will contain six original songs: “Someday Past The Sunset,” “Sorrows Of A Blue Eyed Liar,” “Vibration & Light Suite,” “Appaloosa,” “Wheel Don’t Roll,” and “Little Lizzie Mae,” plus a cover of Hank Ballard’s “Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Let’s Go.” 

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Deep Purple's Jon Lord Dead at 71




Deep Purple keyboard player and founding member Jon Lord died on Monday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 71.

Jon Lord helped found the legendary Deep Purple in the late 60s, and co-wrote many of the bands’ most well-known songs including, “Smoke On The Water.”

A statement posted on Lord’s official website ends with, “Jon passes from Darkness to Light.”

Monday, July 16, 2012

City Bisco Lineup Announced



The Disco Biscuits have revealed the list of guests who will be performing at City Bisco, the Biscuit’s own two-day festival, on October 5th and 6th  at the Mann in their hometown of Philadelphia.

The lineup will include several artists including: Tiger and Woods, RJD2, Paper Diamond, Brothers Past, Wyllys, Diplo, A-Trak, Papadosio, Aeroplane, Tipper, Cinnamon Chasers, Ott and many more.

Tickets go on sale this Friday, July 20th at 12 PM EST. 

Sunday, July 15, 2012

On the turntable this Sunday...Zenyattà Mondatta






Zenyattà Mondatta is the third album by The Police, released in 1980.

The album was written during the band's second tour and recorded in four weeks (minus several days for concerts in the U.K.- Milton Keynes festival - and Ireland). The band members have often expressed disappointment over it, going so far as to re-record two songs during a brief, unsuccessful reunion.  Drummer Stewart Copeland said about the time pressures: "We had bitten off more than we could chew. ...we finished the album at 4 a.m. on the day we were starting our next world tour. We went to bed for a few hours and then traveled down to Belgium for the first gig. It was cutting it very fine."

The band had wanted to record the album at Surrey Sound, the recording site of their first two albums, but could not record at any British studio for tax reasons.  They were, however, able to retain Nigel Gray as their co-producer, bringing him with them to Wisseloord Studios in the Netherlands. Feeling that he'd played a significant part in The Police's first two albums, Gray negotiated for a £25,000 fee, which brought the album's total budget to £35,000(more than twice the combined budgets of their first two albums, but still exceptionally cheap for a band who were established stars).

As mentioned by Copeland, the Police embarked on a tour of the world the day of the album's completion, beginning in Belgium and finishing in Australia.

The album is the last of the Police's early era, influenced by reggae and punk and featuring few musical elements on top of the core guitar, bass, and drums. The record has two instrumentals, "The Other Way of Stopping" and the Grammy-winning "Behind My Camel" (a third song, "Voices Inside My Head", is instrumental except for the words "Voices inside my head/ Echoes of things that you said", which are repeated a couple of times in the middle of the song). "Behind My Camel" was guitarist Andy Summers' first entirely self-penned composition. As with many of Summers and Copeland's compositions, Sting refused to play on it, an act of protest which usually resulted in the song in question being scrapped. Convinced of the song's quality, however, Andy Summers recorded the bass line himself, overdubbing the guitar parts. According to Sting, "I hated that song so much that, one day when I was in the studio, I found the tape lying on the table. So I took it around the back of the studio and actually buried it in the garden."  Nigel Gray believes that the title was an in-joke by Andy Summers: "He didn't tell me this himself but I'm 98% sure the reason is this: what would you find behind a camel? A monumental pile of shit." The song would go on to win the 1982 Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

Zenyattà Mondatta also saw the band's lyrics turning towards political events, with Sting's "Driven To Tears" commenting on poverty and Copeland's "Bombs Away" referring to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. These themes would become more prevalent in the Police's next album, Ghost in the Machine.

Six years later the band re-recorded "Don't Stand So Close to Me" and "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da". The former was released on Every Breath You Take: The Singles, while the latter remains unreleased.

Copeland has claimed that the group arrived at the album's title after deciding it should roll off the tongue. Zenyattà Mondatta are invented portmanteau words, hinting at Zen, at Jomo Kenyatta, at the French word for the world ("le monde") and at Reggatta, from the previous album's name, Reggatta de Blanc.

"It means everything. It's the same explanation that applies to the last two. It doesn’t have a specific meaning like ‘Police Brutality’ or ‘Police Arrest’, or anything predictable like that. Being vague it says a lot more. You can interpret it in a lot of different ways. It’s not an attempt to be mysterious, just syllables that sound good together, like the sound of a melody that has no words at all has a meaning. Miles (Stewart Copeland’s brother and group manager) came up with "Trimondo Blondomina". Very subtle. Geddit? Like three blondes and the world. Then somebody thought of "Caprido Von Renislam". That rolls off the tongue. It was the address of the studio."

Jerry Moss, co-founder of A&M Records, named the champion filly racehorse Zenyatta (b. 2004) after this album.

Zenyattà Mondatta went to #5 in the U.S.[11] and #1 in the UK[12] and Australia, spurred by the success of the Sting-penned singles "Don't Stand So Close to Me" and "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da". It would later receive glowing reviews from re-assessments in Rolling Stone and Q Magazine, among others, but was the least well-received of the five albums by The Police, and the only one not to obtain a spot on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Track Listing:

1. "Don't Stand So Close to Me"     4:04
2. "Driven to Tears"     3:20
3. "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around"     3:38
4. "Canary in a Coalmine"     2:26
5. "Voices Inside My Head"     3:53
6. "Bombs Away"   Stewart Copeland 3:09
7. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"     4:09
8. "Behind My Camel"   Andy Summers 2:54
9. "Man in a Suitcase"     2:19
10. "Shadows in the Rain"     5:02
11. "The Other Way of Stopping"   Stewart Copeland

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Dave Grohl's drumsticks break Guinness World Record




Dave Grohl's hometown of Warren, Ohio recently unveiled a gigantic pair of 900-lb. drumsticks to honor their hometown hero. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the massive drumsticks have broken the Guinness World Record.

Grohl tweeted the following: "To the wonderful city of Warren, from the bottom of my heart I'd like to thank you all so much . . . For the childhood memories. For my family. For my very own alley. For the world's largest drumsticks! And for all of your support . . . But most of all for being such a great community. One that makes me proud to say . . . I am from Warren, Ohio!"

The drumsticks will be shown at the Warren Amphitheater through September and will be relocated to David Grohl Alley in Warren afterwards. 

Friday, July 13, 2012

Jerry Garcia's 70th Birthday Celebration



Bob Weir, Mike Gordon (Phish), Joe Russo(Benevento/Russo Duo), Cass McCombs, Neal Casal(Ryan Adams & The Cardinals), Jonathan Wilson, Benmont Tench (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) and many more will perform @ Weir's TRI Studios in San Rafael, CA to help celebrate the 70th birthday of Jerry Garcia. 

The event is taking place on Friday, August 3rd, 2012 and will be steamed live in HD!

About TRI Studios:

Tamalpais Research Institute is the vision of Bob Weir, a founding member of the Grateful Dead. Weir and his team have built a state-of-the-art performance studio for broadcasting live HD video and audio streams directly to the Internet.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Phish wraps up the first leg of their summer tour




Phish wrapped up the first leg of their 2012 Summer tour on Sunday night in Saratoga Springs, NY.  I am only able to see a handful of shows each year with a family and career, so I have gotten a kick out of letting modern technology work for me.  I have either listened to or watched every show this summer from the comfort of my home via couch tour, streaming, webcast, and through the LivePhish app and I can say this is some of the most consistent playing and showmanship that I have heard from Phish in years. 

I just wanted to say a special “THANK YOU” to Scott Marks (phish.net) and Scott Bernstein (Hidden Track) who have both provided excellent ‘in-show’ reporting and reviews on each show the duration of the tour.  If you have not done so yet, be sure to follow @bizarchive and @YEMblog on Twitter for the most in-depth Phish analysis available anywhere.   

As a whole, the three night stand at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center book-ended a 20-show summer tour that has been full of bust outs, interesting jams, and well-thought out set lists from a band that is on top of their game. 

Sunday night’s show at SPAC gave us some of the stronger Phish 3.0 versions of “Party Time,” “Split Open and Melt,” “Kill Devil Falls,” and “Piper.” Phish also dusted off ZZ Top’s “La Grange” and played the rare “Swept Away” > “Steep,” and the always welcomed “Kung.” The crowd in Saratoga Springs were also treated to what has become a somewhat rare “YEM” encore.

The band kicks off the second leg of their tour on August 15th in Long Beach, CA and if you have the chance, go see Phish this summer-you will not be disappointed!!!

-Will Fisher, The Showbiz Kids

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

"We Miss You Mikey" Tribute to Michael Houser



Several members of Widespread Panic will perform together on August 10th at the Georgia Theatre in Athens, GA for the  “We Miss You Mikey” tribute to Michael Houser. The sold-out event marks the 10th anniversary of Michael Houser’s passing from pancreatic cancer. 

The evening’s lineup includes: John Bell, John Keane and Friends, Outformation (Sam Holt), The HEAP, and Romper Stompers (Todd Nance and Bloodkin’s Danny Hutchens) as well as a show-closing tribute jam.

“We Miss You Mikey” is one of the only shows John Bell is scheduled to play this summer. 

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

New Music Tuesdays...The Complete Beat




The Beat, or The English Beat, as they were known in the United States, only released three albums.  While they may not have enjoyed a long career together, their impact on popular music is still being felt to this day. The English Beat’s music was a perfect blend of Ska and Reggae-influenced dance music that was intelligent, infectious, exciting, and fun. 

If you missed the fantastic music of The English Beat the first time around, or if you have finally worn your old cassettes and vinyl out by repeated listens, today is your day because the Shout! Factory has finally released a 5-disc boxed set entitled The Complete Beat, available today.

The box set contains re-mastered and expanded versions of all three original albums-I Just Can't Stop It, Wh'appen, and Special Beat Service. The fourth disc includes all of the extended remixes, twelve inch singles, and dub versions of songs that were released during The Beat’s short and amazing career.  The fifth disc is mostly made up live cuts from the BBC’s influential ‘John Peel Show’ and additional live performances culled from their 1982 North American tour. 

The Beat may not have been as political as the Clash or as ground-breaking as the Talking Heads, but their music is just as important. It’s about time The Beat/English Beat’s music has been given proper treatment.

-Will Fisher, The Showbiz Kids

Monday, July 9, 2012

Jerry Joseph & The Jackmormons cover Widespread Panic



Jerry Joseph & The Jackmormons are releasing a series of limited edition 7” vinyl that feature select songs from their new album Happy Book

The first of the vinyl releases will feature a cover of Widespread Panic’s “Airplane” on Side B.  Joseph’s cover of “Airplane” is especially unique since Widespread Panic has covered Joseph’s songs and co-written material with him for several decades.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

James Gang Rides Again






James Gang Rides Again is the second album by American band James Gang, released in 1970. This was the first album after bassist Dale Peters replaced Tom Kriss.

Writing for Allmusic, critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote of the album "With their second album Rides Again, the James Gang came into their own... Walsh's songwriting had improved, giving the band solid support for their stylistic experiments. What ties the two sides of the record together is the strength of the band's musicianship, which burns brightly and powerfully on the hardest rockers, as well as on the sensitive ballads."

Track Listing:

"Funk #49" (Fox, Peters, Walsh) – 3:54
"Asshton Park" (Fox, Peters, Walsh) – 2:01
"Woman" (Fox, Peters, Walsh) – 4:37
"The Bomber: Closet Queen" (Fox, Peters, Walsh) / "Boléro" (Maurice Ravel)* / "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" (Vince Guaraldi) – 7:04
"Tend My Garden" (Walsh) – 5:45
"Garden Gate" (Walsh) – 1:36
"There I Go Again" (Walsh) – 2:51
"Thanks" (Walsh) – 2:21
"Ashes, the Rain and I" (Peters, Walsh) – 5:00

On the initial pressings of James Gang Rides Again, a 1:25 electric rendition of Ravel's "Boléro" is interpolated into the song "The Bomber." Ravel's estate threatened suit against both the James Gang and ABC Records for its unauthorized use.  As a result, the track was edited, and the "Boléro" section was removed on subsequent pressings of the album until the late 1970s. The edited song's running time on such pressings is 5:39. CD re-issues of Rides Again contain the full version of "The Bomber," with the "Boléro" section restored.

Personnel:

Joe Walsh – guitars, keyboards, piano, percussion, vocals.
Dale Peters – bass guitars, guitars, keyboards, percussion, vocals.
Jim Fox – drums, percussion, keyboards, organ, piano, vocals.
Rusty Young – pedal steel guitar on "There I Go Again".

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Phish busts out "Skin It Back"



Phish opened their two night run at Jones Beach earlier this week with Little Feat's "Skin It Back," which marks one of the biggest "bust outs" on their current summer tour.  The band last played "Skin It Back" on 7/29/88...almost 24 years ago!!!


The band also dusted off another rare tune on Wednesday night, The Beatles' "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" which was last played on 10/31/94.


Check it out by following the link below...


"Skin It Back"


Friday, July 6, 2012

Widespread Panic Lullaby Album



Released earlier this week, a decade after Michael Houser played his last show with Widespread Panic, comes Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star, an album featuring lullaby versions of Widespread Panic’s best known songs.

The collection is part of the same series that created lullaby versions of songs by Grateful Dead, Phish, Dave Matthews Band and the Beatles.

The children’s lullaby album is now available for download on iTunes.

Track Listing:

1. Blue Indian
2. Up All Night
3. North
4. Climb to Safety
5. Walkin’ (For Your Love)
6. Driving Song
7. Ain’t Life Grand
8. Dirty Side Down
9. Porch Song
10. Airplane
11. Coconut
12. Space Wrangler

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Exclusive Preview of Robert Plant & Band of Joy DVD (Relix)




Article Originally Published by Relix

In 1967, Robert Plant formed the Band of Joy with drummer John Bonham, before the two joined with guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones the following year to form Led Zeppelin. Approximately 40 years later, he rekindled the name on the heels of his highly acclaimed collaboration with Allison Krauss (Raising Sand), feeling fit for the extraordinary group of musicians he assembled to cut an album and tour the world.

Those musicians include some of Nashville’s finest: the indelible, jack of all trades musician Buddy Miller, singer/songwriter Patty Griffin along with multi-instrumentalist Darrell Scott. When the band rolled into Nashville’s historic War Memorial Auditorium, The Artists Den was there to capture it in full cinematic glory.

“Some years back I was propelled by chance, with little planning or expectation into an American way…with a lean and pull into a new direction…voices and harmony, restraint and explosion, tight and loose, great joy in great company….in a blizzard in Nashville,” Plant reflects in the forthcoming DVD’s liner notes. “My thanks to one and all for aiding and abetting this exciting bend in the road.”

Pre-order the DVD today prior to its international release on July 9 and domestic release July 10.

The original broadcast left out a number of songs due to time constraints. Now released in full for the first time, the concert DVD features bonus interview clips and concert footage not included in the television broadcast, including six Led Zeppelin classics.

The full track list is as follows:

1. Black Dog
2. Angel Dance
3. Houses of the Holy
4. House of Cards
5. Cindy, I’ll Marry You Someday
6. Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down
7. Somewhere Trouble Don’t Go
8. Tangerine
9. A Satisfied Mind
10. Move Up
11. Down to the Sea
12. Ramble On
13. Gallows Pole
14. In the Mood
15. Rock and Roll
16. I Bid You Goodnight

For more about the Artists Den, please visit http://artistsden.com

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Rolling Stones' 50th Anniversary Logo




By Patrick Doyle, Rolling Stone

"It's quite amazing when you think about it," Mick Jagger told Rolling Stone late last year, discussing the Rolling Stones' 50th anniversary. In honor of the occasion, the band asked artist Shepard Fairey to update their iconic tongue logo with a sleek new design.

The tongue was first used on the Sticky Fingers album sleeve in 1971 and designed by John Pasche, a student the Royal College of Art in London. Pasche was commissioned in 1969 by Jagger, who was unhappy with the designs provided by the Stones label, Decca Records. "The design concept for the tongue was to represent the band's anti-authoritarian attitude, Mick's mouth and the obvious sexual connotations," Pasche later said. "I designed it in such a way that it was easily reproduced and in a style I thought could stand the test of time."

Today, even Jagger is surprised at how far the band has come. "It's a very different group than the one that played 50 years ago," he said. "When I think about it, one part of me goes, 'We're slightly cheating,' because it's not the same band – still the same name, but it's only Keith and myself that are the same people, I think. I've tried to find out when Charlie [Watts'] first gig was [but can't]. But it's an amazing achievement. It's fantastic and I'm very proud of it."

Here's hoping we'll see the logo onstage later this year.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Diana Krall to release 'Glad Rag Doll' in September



The extremely talented jazz pianist and vocalist, Diana Krall, will release her latest album, Glad Rag Doll, on September 25th. Krall has worked with renowned producer T. Bone Burnett on Glad Rag Doll  and describes this album as “song and dance record” with many new explorations into new sounds and new instrumentation.

Glad Rag Doll will be the follow up to Diana Krall’s 2009 Grammy winning album, Quiet Nights.

Track Listing:

1. We Just Couldn’t Say Goodbye
2. There Ain’t No Sweet Man That’s Worth the Salt of My Tears
3. Just Like a Butterfly That’s Caught in the Rain
4. You Know I Know Ev’rything’s Made for Love
5. Glad Rag Doll
6. I’m A Little Mixed Up
7. Prairie Lullaby
8. Here Lies Love
9. I Used to Love You But It’s All Over Now
10. Let it Rain
11. Lonely Avenue
12. Wide River to Cross
13. When the Curtain Comes Down

Monday, July 2, 2012

Ryan Adams releases 'Live After Deaf' online




Ryan Adams has released a digital version of his massive box set, Live After Deaf, available online, today.  

The 15-vinyl-LP, 218-track, Live After Deaf sold out in minutes and chronicles Adam’s UK/Europe tour from 2011.  Adams performed a blend of material from his solo career and his Whiskeytown days during this intimate tour.

Several download options are available:

A complete digital box set including all 144 tracks from the 15 vinyl LPs and an additional 30 of the 74 bonus tracks.

The option to buy any of the 15 single-show LPs, which range in length from 8-11 tracks each.

Each of the 174 tracks from the complete digital box set will be available for individual purchase.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

On the turntable this Sunday...Super Session




Super Session is an album envisioned by Al Kooper and featuring the work of guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills, released on Columbia Records in 1968, CS 9701. Bloomfield and Stills do not play together on the album, with tracks including Bloomfield on side one, and those including Stills on side two. It peaked at #12 on the Billboard 200.

Kooper and Bloomfield had previously worked together on the sessions for the ground-breaking classic Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan, as well as playing in support of his controversial appearance at the Newport Folk Festival in July 1965. Kooper had recently left Blood, Sweat & Tears after recording their debut album with them, and was now working as an A&R man for Columbia. Bloomfield was about to leave Electric Flag, and at relative loose ends. Kooper telephoned Bloomfield to see if he was free to come down to the studio and jam; Bloomfield agreed, leaving Kooper to handle the arrangements.

Kooper booked two days of studio time in May 1968, and recruited keyboardist Barry Goldberg and bassist Harvey Brooks, both members of the Electric Flag, along with well-known session drummer "Fast" Eddie Hoh. On the first day, the quintet recorded a group of mostly blues-based instrumental tracks, including a modal excursion "His Holy Modal Majesty" reminiscent of "East-West" from the second Butterfield Blues Band album. On the second day, with the tapes ready to roll, Bloomfield did not show up.

Needing to have something to show for the second day of sessions, to sit in for Bloomfield, Kooper hastily called upon Stephen Stills, also in the process of leaving his band Buffalo Springfield. Regrouping behind Stills, Kooper's session men cut mostly vocal tracks, including "It Takes A Lot to Laugh, It Takes A Train to Cry" from Highway 61 and a lengthy and atmospheric take of "Season of the Witch" by Donovan.

Some overdubbed horns were later added while the album was being mixed, and sales worth a gold record award were garnered from an album which cost just $13,000 to make. The success of this record opened the door for the "supergroup" concept of the late 1960s and 1970s — Blind Faith, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and the like. Kooper forgave Bloomfield, and the two of them made several concert appearances after the album was released. The results of one of those became the album The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper.


Track listing:

Side One:

1. "Albert's Shuffle"   Al Kooper, Mike Bloomfield 6:54
2. "Stop"   Jerry Ragovoy, Mort Shuman 4:23
3. "Man's Temptation"   Curtis Mayfield 3:24
4. "His Holy Modal Majesty"   Al Kooper, Mike Bloomfield 9:16
5. "Really"   Al Kooper, Mike Bloomfield 5:30

Side Two:

1. "It Takes A Lot to Laugh, It Takes A Train to Cry"   Bob Dylan 3:30
2. "Season of the Witch"   Donovan Leitch 11:07
3. "You Don't Love Me"   Willie Cobbs 4:11
4. "Harvey's Tune"   Harvey Brooks 2:07

Mike Bloomfield — guitars on side one
Stephen Stills — guitars on side two
Barry Goldberg — electric piano on "Albert's Shuffle" and "Stop"
Harvey Brooks — bass
Eddie Hoh — drums, percussion