Archival Posts 2003 February 01-08

February 7, 2003

Ahh...Weekend sweet weekend. They seem to always be so far yet when they arrive, you wonder at the passage of time.

BusinessWeek's Feb 10 issue has an article on the music merchant gathering that intends to bring online music to the masses. The power of Tower, Best Buy, and others hope to be able to entice us in ways that the labels have been unsuccessful at. However, it is figured that the labels will insist on added value such as booklet issues and other content. We are still eons away from a successful pay venture that works. For myself, I still desire old, obscure music that is 'lost' to consumers. To supply an example, does anyone remember the Kim Fowley project known as The Runaways? Of course you do. But how many remember his experiment with the same formula but using teenage guys instead of girls? The name of the band was The Quick. I grant you that it wasn't overly compelling, but there is strong nostalgic value if you remember any of that. It's just an example but there are thousands more. In order for a pay service to be successful, it must supply us with the fullness of label catalogues. My thoughts.

It looks as if I'm not alone concerning The Music. I received a few emails from readers commenting on the fact that The Music is this year's phenomenon. If you haven't checked yet, go to the icon at the top left and click through. Find out what some of us already know about UK's The Music.

Slayer's upcoming DVD, "War at the Warfield" is being pushed back to February 25. Ted Nugent's DVD title, "Full Bruntal Nugity Live" will hit the shelves on March 25.

If you have to see what the Doors look like sans Jim Morrison, tune in Feb 12 to Last Call With Carson Daly on NBC.

We have a few nice CD announcements. On March 25, The Trail of Dead come out with their new album (EP) for Interscope. Named "The Secret of Elena's Tomb", the disc will be an enhanced CD. No info on what the added stuff will be. Also on March 25, a 'best-of' for Stryper called "7: The Best of Stryper". Rossington-Collins Band gets a Millennium Collection disc on the same date.

Jimmy Buffett fans can mark April 15 on their calendars when Universal releases "Jimmy Buffett Hits". Also, Island Records releases "Anthem", a 2 CD Deluxe Edition, also on April 15. On March 25, from Polydor Records, "The BBC Sessions" from Cream will hit the streets.

Jam fans...February 25th. That's the date that "The Complete Jam" DVD and "The Sound of the Jam" disc will be available. Here's the cover shots of those discs:

And if you're a New York Dolls fan from back in the day or if you just wondered what it was Buster Poindexter did in his wild youth, then you're in for a treat. Universal issues a Millennium Collection set for the important and much revered band whose heyday was back in the 70s. Of course, the band splintered after its second album, aptly titled "Too Much Too Soon". The various members went off to find their new ways. Johnny Thunders went on to achieve the most impressive body of work while David Johansen (Buster) achieved the most monetary success. The rest of the boys? Well, suffice it to say that they tried. This writer has been fortunate to have seen each member in their various bands after the demise of NY Dolls and even met briefly with Johnny Thunders a few short years before his death. In any case, March 18 is the date for "The New York Dolls: The Millennium Collection - 20th Century Masters".

We know that we were supposed to post a Jeffrey Gaines review but we need another day. We haven't forgotten. While there usually aren't any posts during the weekend, I'm not adverse to popping up a review now and again. I'll jump in this weekend with that review. We also have an interview with Patrick Ogle of Illegal Teenage Bikini conducted by reader Mileta Okiljevic. Watch for that very soon.

Now, before I go, I wanted to share with you all the obvious power of music. Whether it's being enjoyed by an adult or soothing a baby, music, in many of its various forms, is a powerful medium. I received an email from a 12 year old girl by the name of Noelle. It moved me enough to want to include the body of the email here and to point out the impact that music achieves:

"Hi, my name is Noelle. I’m a twelve year old girl. My favorite song is “I Hope You Dance”, written and sung by Lee Ann Womack. The song is a inspiration to me. The song talks about never giving up and always taking a chance on life. When I’m feeling down, I think about this song and it lifts my spirits. Please give it a listen and play close attention to the lyrics."

And there you have it. This email made me realize that music touches every life in every way. For Noelle, Lee Ann Womack offers inspiration. It also reveals the depth to which children pay attention to what they hear. Noelle is a sweet girl. I'll remember her words always.

Thanks, Noelle.

OK...we're in the weekend officially now.

February 6, 2003

We're back again with another foot deep into the well. We've got some cool reviews coming up in the next few weeks including Jeffrey Gaines' upcoming "Towards The Sun", the DVD-A version of Yes' "Fragile", and other discs. I wanted to get the Gaines review posted this evening but "lost" the file for now.

Man, do I want to get ahold of the disc for "The Music". I know, I know...I've been harping for days about them. I do believe that this is going to be an awesome disc. From what I've heard on their site, they have it going in the right direction. I'm just trying to give you something to go back and say to people, "Yeah, I was an early supporter of this band." Click on that artwork up there in the corner and hear some of that stuff. Pay particular attention to "The Truth is No Words".

I have a couple pictures taken by my favourite star watcher, Sarah. She always seems to be at the right place AT the right time. The first is Will Smith with Jada Pinkett. The second and third is of Marilyn Manson in his "Age of Grotesque" getup, which I am anxiously awaiting the CD of.

We're going to look at a little of EMI's upcoming schedule for February 25 in capsule form:

	Audio Adrenaline - Worldwide - Forefront Records 7th Studio Album Includes a backstage pass in every disc of 1st printing Preparing a 50 date tour to support album 12 songs

	Richard Ashcroft - Human Conditions - Virgin Records Exclusive Bonus Song not found on UK release: "The Miracle" Potential upcoming TV appearances.

	The Music - The Music - Capitol Records Price is right - Developing Artist Pricing Enhanced CD w/ "Take The Long Road and Walk It" video and live footage. Has sold more than 300,000 copies in Europe

	The Band - Music From Big Pink DVD-Audio for February 11
		R.E.M. - Document DVD-Audio for February 11

The above highly anticipated DVD-Audios, which look like a lock for February 11, contain the following goodies:

The Band- Music From Big Pink: Complete lyrics to the album's songs, photo gallery, and band discography.

R.E.M. - Document: Videos include - "The One I Love", " Finest Worksong", and "It's The End of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)". Also complete onscreen lyrics, discography, and photo gallery.

We're going to close with the cover shot of the new and upcoming Stevie Ray Vaughn SACD (Multi-channel/Stereo), "Couldn't Stand the Weather", which will street April 22 along with The Byrds' "Fifth Dimension".

This was a poor post today but we're still feeling our way around this site. Thanks to the many people who sent in nice encouraging emails.

Tomorrow...

February 5, 2003

Good morning, the lot of you. Welcome to those of you are new to the site. We're happy to have you with us, to be sure. And we'll try not to disappoint you.

Upfront Hi Res news is that Warner Bros is releasing the DVD-A of The Flaming Lips' "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" due sometimes in the spring according a press release issued by WEA. In SACD and Pink Floyd news, it's reported by High Fidelity Review that "Dark Side of the Moon" has been delayed and pushed back to March 25. Read the news and check out the great new art being planned for DSOTM.

In the news, it looks as if John Densmore of the Doors' original troupe is more than a little miffed that fellow band mates have opted to reform the Doors with different personnel. I have to side with him on this one. It seems a little too much to refurbish The Doors. I have no problem with the talent that they are using; Ian Astbury is a fine frontman and Stewart Copeland is great as a drummer but, let's leave the mystique of the Doors as it is. in any case, litigation has started. Just my thoughts.

Oh, and I stumbled upon this news item. Totally music unrelated, or is it? You do access the internet to read this site, after all. In any case, it seems the electric company is starting to get involved in the cable and internet business at just a fraction of the cost that you're used to paying. Read.

Everclear, to support their upcoming album will be on the Tonight Show w/ Jay Leno, March 10th. And to remind you about the excellent band, The Music, who will appear on David Letterman, Tuesday, March 18. I'm pretty excited about that. Do yourself a favour and click through on the Music icon, top left. Listen to their MP3s and watch their videos. These guys are very very good.

A word of note from Universal as it relates to the upcoming 50 Cent album, "Get Rich or Die Tryin". Because of a leaked set of songs off the album that have already found themselves being distributed on Kazaa and other services, Interscope has opted to release the album sooner than expected. The date is now February 6, a full 5 days earlier than scheduled. So if you were waiting for this, you can have it tomorrow.

On March 4 release date for Universal and associated labels:

This English band, Budapest, writes lyrics that are melancholy in nature and encapulates them in a lush arrangement of strings, piano, guitars, keyboards , and percussion. The disc features 11 songs and is the band's first major label release. This disc was first released by local England label, Easy Street Music.

Releases on Republic Records
Band Tours US in early spring
www.budapestuk.com

Johnny Cash gets his "American IV: The Man Comes Around" released. The disc is produced by Rick Rubin and features 15 songs. Additionally, it includes a bonus DVD of Trent Reznor's "Hurt" as sung by Cash.

Grammy nominated in 3 categories
Will be followed by additional Cash releases including LP releases of American I and American III
www.johnnycash.com

Live Stan Getz material, "Cafe Montmartre", is culled from several albums and assembled in a single issue. This disc represents several live dates from 1987 and 1991 recorded at Cafe Montmartre. Getz's Tenor saxophone play is a work of art.

Nine songs including the stunning "I Can't Get Started"
www.stangetz.com

This special 2CD set of Howlin' Wolf material is blues at it's best. Originally released in 1971, "The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions" and originally released on Chess, this set features Eric Clapton, Stevie Winwood, Charlie Watts, and Bill Wyman.

Original album is remastered in 24 bit process
Includes 3 bonus tracks from "London Revisited"
2 disc Deluxe Edition
Disc Two features unreleased versions of songs on Disc One

Motley Crue's "Greatest Hits" feature their best songs, 17 of 'em.

Digitally remastered from Hip-O Records

The Police gets an overhaul with their catalog being converted to SACD. Their catalog is also being released as remasters. The remasters get Digipak packaging while the SACD get Super Jewel casing.

These SACD titles are released as Stereo only, single layered and playable only on SACD players.
The Police: Every Breath You Take is hybrid dual layered and playable in CD players as well as SACD. This disc is the same recording and surround mix that was produced for the DTS release but is remastered using DSD technology.

Additional releases for March 4 from Universal are:

Moody Blues - A Night At Red Rocks - 2CD - Polydor
Rick Nelson - The Best of Rick Nelson: The Millennium Collection - MCA/Decca
Patti Page - The Best of Patti Page: The Millennium Collection - Mercury
Mickey Gilley - Absolutely The Best : Volume One - Fuel2000
Max Romeo - Holy Zion - Fuel2000
Sam The Sham and The Pharoahs - The Best of Sam the Sham: The Millennium Collection - Mercury
George Thorogood & The Destroyers - Who Do You Love? - Rounder

That's it for the day. I hope that your day will be a pleasant one. We'll be back tomorrow. We'll be posting the review tomorrow for the upcoming Jeffrey Gaines' "Towards The Sun" coming from Artemis Records on February 11.

Tomorrow...

February 4, 2003

On some days, everything seems to click but on other days, you can't catch a break. That was today. We get through it though. We always do. Looks like a bit of that for Phil Spector, who is being held on suspicion of murder after a dead woman was found in his foyer. And I thought that the really bad news was that Rod Stewart was going to record "The Great American Songbook II". Regardless, it still makes me shiver. But that's me. Apologies to fans of this album.

There's a DVD Video coming up for release from Sony on April 1. "Legends of New Orleans: Fats Domino". Also from Sony, on March 25, there is a Genuwine DVD that gets released the same day as their "The Senior" album. Jennifer Lopez's "Let's Get Loud" DVD streets on Feb 11, right around the corner, as well as John Mayer's DVD,"Any Given Thursday". Dixie Chicks releases their live video DVD February 11.

There is are a couple new addition to the the Essential Series that also streets on April 1. "The Essential Igor Stravinsky" will be an interesting and cool title for Classical fans and "The Essential Joe Diffie" for Country/Nashville fans. And since we have Country mentioned here, Mickey Gilley has a greatest hits package, "16 Biggest Hits", coming out on March 11.

For Sony SACD news,and we've talked about this before, Oasis's "What's The Story, Morning Glory?" gets an upcoming March 11 release. Here's a shot of the cover for you.

One more piece before I call it a day. There is an SACD addition to Universal/MCA scheduled for March 18th. The disc is 2002's"Lucky Day" by Shaggy.

I meant to go into some in-depth detail concerning some releases but am going to save it for tomorrow's update. So come back and visit us again.

Tomorrow...

February 3, 2003

I want to take a minute here to mourn the loss of 7 of our astronauts in the Feb 1 Columbia tragedy. An accident of this magnitude is catastropic and devastating. Our hearts go out to the the families. So lets take a moment to remember them.

I want to alert you to the upcoming February 25 release of The Music. Folks, I've always liked sharing exciting new music with friends and lemme tell you, The Music have what it takes. The Music is a UK band that delivers an infectious style that brings to mind late 70s post punk with an updated sound. The writing is hip and the playing is phenomenal. Click through on the Featured Artist album cover and have a listen to the MP3s. I recommend "The Truth Is No Words" and "Take The Long Road and Walk It". These guys are the real deal.

Many of you are extra nervous for the upcoming DVD-A releases of R.E.M.'s "Document" and The Band's "Music From Big Pink". The dates of February 11 still looks secure from where I'm sitting. I'll be sure to let you know if anything changes but I'm really sure that you'll have these discs in your hands in a little over a week. But there is some bad news in the hi-res world. I've just found that The Byrds' upcoming "Fifth Dimension" in Stereo/Multi-ch SACD is delayed until April 22. For those of you who were anxiously awaiting it, just be patient. A release of this magnitude needs time to be perfect.

Norah Jones fans will be very happy to see that a quickly scheduled DVD will be available on February 25 from Blue Note Records. Virgin Records just put up a February 25 release date of an untitled album by Amanda Perez. And on March 25, "Now" folks get number 12.

If you like Funkadelics (and who wouldn't) Priority Records is releasing two separate titles. On April 1, there is "Funkin Best" followed by April 8 and "Funkedelics Greatest Hits". As time approaches, we'll give you more info on these discs.

Thalia fans (I know you're out there) will be happy to hear that an album is planned for November 18. A little advance notice never hurt anyone, eh?

We're turning in a Blue Oyster Cult SACD review of "Agents of Fortune" today. But before we do, I want to alert you to a Columbia Legacy release that is an important one. On April 1, from the Essential series comes, "The Essential Blue Oyster Cult". No peeks under the hood as of yet so stay with us. As soon as I hear something, you will know about it. Pretty nice arrangement, eh?

In addition to "The Essential Blue Oyster Cult", Columbia/Legacy have several Essential Series releases on schedule:

The Bangles - The Essential Bangles - Legacy - April 1

Adam Ant - The Essential Adam Ant - Legacy - April 1

Cyndi Lauper - The Essential Cyndi Lauper - Legacy - April 1

Electric Light Orchestra - The Essential Electric Light Orchestra - Legacy - April 1

Fishbone - The Essential Fishbone - Legacy - April 1

Men at Work - The Essential Men at Work - Legacy - April 1

Molly Hatchet - The Essential Molly Hatchet - Legacy - April 1

Ricky Skaggs - The Essential Ricky Skaggs - Legacy - April 1

Sophie B Hawkins - The Essential Sophie B Hawkins - April 1

Stabbing Westward - The Essential Stabbing Westward - Legacy - April 1

Byrds - the Essential Byrds - Legacy - April 1

Shawn Mullins - The Essential Shawn Mullins - Legacy - April 1

Dave Brubeck - The Essential Dave Brubeck - Legacy - March 25

Clash - The Essential Clash - Legacy - March 11

Sly & The Family Stone - The Essential Sly & The Family Stone - Legacy - March 11

Willie Nelson - The Essential Willie Nelson - Legacy - March 18

I have other Sony releases to report on but will filter through those the rest of the week.

A final note on Sony releases is the upcoming Billie Holiday 4 volume collection from Legacy. Culled from her Grammy Award winning box set, "Lady Day:The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia - 1933-1944", these four volumes pull the most important tracks from the 10 disc box set and creates a collectible and individually packaged set. Designed to give to those who would not buy a box set but still want some of the songs. Each disc features 18 songs remastered through 24 bit digital processes. I thought that you'd dig the cover art on these gems.

Universal is releasing several Who packages in the near future. The first is the SACD stereo mix of "My Generation". Releasing on February 11 (hey, that's next week...), This SACD disc will possess the same content as the prior released "My Generation", with alternate and bonus tracks, 30 songs in all. In addition to the DSD treatment, this set will be on just one disc. Pretty snazzy. Keep an eye out for a review of this title. The second Who title is the remastered, 2 CD "Who's Next". This disc will street on March 25. There is no info as yet to what will be in the package but we're betting that it rocks

Tomorrow, we're going to look at some more stuff including some in-depth looks at some Universal and Sony releases. Make sure that you come back and visit us, OK?

February 1, 2003

Well, I don't know how it happened and I don't really want to know 'cept that the official January 31 post now sleeps with the fishes. I made my changes and whatnots and prepared the page for Monday. when I wanted to make a modification, I couldn't find the page. So, my bad.

While I'm here, the review for the upcoming soundtrack to "Gods and Generals" is now up. Read it , because, if the film is as good as the soundtrack, we're all in for a treat. Watch for a review of Blue Oyster Cult's SACD copy of "Agents of Fortune" on Monday. We'll also post a huge update for Monday. See you then. Now...enjoy this weekend.