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By now, I'd say that most of you already know the BIG news out of Universal. But if you don't, here it is. Universal has committed to pursuing the production of not only SACDs but DVD-Audio as well. It seems to me that Universal is going to trailblaze the push into the brave new world of hi-resolution music. Actually, I applaud the explorative nature that Universal is exhibiting. With this expansion into DVD-A territory, it will be very interesting from many standpoints, what will be issued as DVD-A and what will be issued as SACD. They will begin this bold step with 20 releases expected in the second half od 2003. I suggest to Universal to really push the envelope and issue expected targets in both formats and let's see what kind of numbers post. My take? Great going, Universal! You got the torch lit...go forward. Read the press release issued on March 28 here. Stop in and read the interview with Bob Ludwig...again. It's been expanded. I have finally assembled a fantastic system, the better to not only review all formats but to enjoy music in general. It took me awhile to put it all together financially, but taxtime rolled around and padded the account. So, the system is up and it sounds great. And it's the reason why I did zilch in the review arena this weekend. Here's a bit of SACD new for you. Universal/Mercury has put up a release date for The Allman Brothers Band's "Live at Fillmore East". The scheduled date is July 15. Now, I can't wait to sink my teeth into that one. Additionally, this title will be released as a 2CD Deluxe Edition on June 24. On May 20, Island issues a group of Traffic titles. Starting with "20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection - Traffic" and following through with newly remastered "On The Road", "Shootout at the Fantasy Factory", and "When the Eagle Flies". On May 20, from BMG/Sanctuary, is the remastered 1973 issue of "African Herbsman". The disc features the entire original output plus 10 additional bonus tracks. Originally released by Trojan Records, this remaster also will include an essay by reggae historian, Dave Katz.
Some of you may be aware but in case you're not, here's another surprise (full of 'em today, eh?). Reader John McCann turns in this bit on Pete Townshend's site diary - "I am personally mixing the original Who's Tommy album now, and I think it has never sounded better than in this multi-channel format", (Pete/March 27). Well..I guess that means that we can expect an SACD later...or is that DVD-Audio? Of course, we know that it's a Uni title and given the recent news concerning their reach into DVD-Audio territory, it's not exactly clear whether we'll get simultaneous releases or whether Universal will favour one format over the other...developing. I'm going to leave you with two reviews, John Nelson's take on King Crimson's "The Power to Believe" and Grey Cavitt's spin of Morada Music's compilation disc of reggae tunes, "O Reggae, Where Art Thou?" Additionally, Duane's Punk Pit makes its debut as an article page. Plus, I'm going to leave some cover art of upcoming discs but leave you to sort out the particulars. Not bad for a return from the weekend. Tomorrow, we have more of the same PLUS John Grace's listen of the compilation disc of Bluebird and Flying Dutchman tunes called, "Flying Groove" issued by BMG/RCA. We have John Nelson's review of the latest Beiser-Schick project, "Caught by the Sky with Wire". I hope to have a review, maybe two, as well. We are also working on a few cosmetic changes to the site. It may take a month to implement the ideas but it's all in the name of improvement. Here's your disc covers. See you tomorrow.
EMI has added some very cool new titles to their schedule. The one that everyone will be most excited about, of course, is Radiohead. Their new disc, which was previewed some months back at specially selected preview points, is scheduled to arrive on June 10. The issues will be standard and Limited Edition. We'll post when more details arrive concerning the disc. EMI/Virgin is releasing a remaster of David Bowie's "Aladdin Sane" on June 24. Hopefully, they will revamp the Bowie catalogue. But wouldn't SACD releases of Bowie titles be better?! I say SACD because of the label affiliation. On July 8 comes a Juliana Theory live disc with title TBD. Another interesting title forthcoming is "Poison - Greatest Hits Live" from Capitol Records which arrives on July 22. Added for release on May 20 are 4 'live best of' from April Wine, Humble Pie, Kansas, and Robin Trower. Each title is the same save for the band's name, "Greatest Hits Live". EMI is feeling good about this new way of looking at music, culling the best live renditions of a band's collective best and issuing a compilation. The Poison title is being released in a rather large run. They are also getting an edited version as well. If they do well, we can expect more classic bands in this same format. The George Thorogood title, "Classic Masters" has found it's way into the black hole. It's on indefinite hold. I'm going to continue with the Warner discs and DVD-Audios that I didn't finish yesterday and then leave you with the latest installment of Duane's Punk Pit and a new review by John Nelson for the latest King Crimson disc, "The Power to Believe". After that, it's all weekend, baby. On May 20, a continuing series of live Phish discs will street. The 4 titles are consecutively numbered live sets, "Live Phish 17", "Live Phish 18", "Live Phish 19", and "Live Phish 20". Now that Phish have come back to the touring scene, it's great to have these discs as well. June 10 brings Metallica's newest, "St Anger", in two flavours. The PA (Parental Advisory) and the edited. Both discs come with a bonus DVD. Also on June 10, Tom Petty's "The Last DJ - Live at the Olympic" will be a DVD w/CD. It will come as a jeweled cased disc or the standard DVD packaging. There is a new Bare Naked Ladies on the horizon. The title is still to be determined, the date yet to be scheduled. Other TBD and TBS discs are the DVD for "The Dead Kennedys", The Corrs' "VH-1 Presents The Corrs Live in Dublin" DVD, a Deftones DVD, "Devo, The Complete Truth abut Devolution" DVD, and "The Devo Lollopolooza" DVD. Linkin Park is readying a DVD, "Frat Party at the Pankake Festival", as is Trick Pony. All of these DVDs are TBS (to be scheduled). Upcoming whispered DVD-Audios that are TBS are expected from:
I'm experiencing difficulties with the software and am unable to do certain things with it right now. I'll get that review up this afternoon as well as Duane's Punk Pit Notes. We'll be back. I want to take a few moments and a little space here to acknowledge my friends who have assisted me in the advancement of this site. Whether by expert opinion, provision of highly useful information, and tireless marketing, you have all (and you all know who you are) assisted in the success of MusicTAP. Many sincere thanks to everyone of you. There is a phenomenal amount of information that we have, some of which will send my email into meltdown, I'm sure. But that's all right. There's nothing better than anticipation of your favourite music especially when you know that it's coming down the pike in some upgraded method. Whether SACD/DVD-Audio/Remastering, it's exhilarating that our music gets better and better. So hang on for some really cool info, the like that we'll be unable to finish today. If I did, many of you might be comatose by the end of it. I'll throw a few out today and carry the rest into the remainder of the week. Makes it more interesting that way. I promised you the Bob Ludwig interview and I won't disappoint you. Mr Ludwig is a talent extraordinaire in the music industry. His love and care in the process of bringing you the music that you love in a definitive manner makes his skill one of the best in the industry. His interest in the hi res formats is great. Enjoy the interview. Ready for some stuff? We have talked at length about Fleetwood Mac and their upcoming new disc. but what about those classic ones? Well, Rhino/Warner is revisiting a few of those titles as Expanded and Remastered editions. The titles getting the overhaul are Fleetwood Mac/Fleetwood Mac with Tusk and Rumours becoming Deluxe Editions. That's upcoming and expected to street on June 24. But they are not the only one's getting the rework. We've learned that on June 10, we can expect the following Yes titles, also Rhino's Expanded and Remastered:
Now, I don't know about you but these titles have me extremely excited. You can bet that we'll review many of these titles to give you our thoughts. Stay connected for more info as they unfold for what the bonus tracks will be. The upcoming Led Zeppelin discs, the live 3CD, "How The West Was Won" and the 2DVD set, "Led Zeppelin" will street on May 27. Good news for Chicago fans...again. I've learned that Chicago V, my personal favourite, will be released as a DVD-Audio disc, expected some time in the future. But before that, and with a date attached is Chicago II, as a DVD-Audio disc and expected on June 10. They also have their, "Live By Request" issuing on June 10 as a DVD. Whispered for the near future is a 3CD set, "Live at Carnegie Hall" - Expanded and Remastered. We have word that Warner are preparing some interesting DVD titles:
Here are some DVD-Audio titles that are working their way to your players. The picked up pace makes me feel much better as I was starting to despair about the slowed releases of DVD-Audio. These cool titles are expected on the date sthat follow the name:
Whispered upcoming DVD-Audios with no set dates are The B-52s', "Cosmic Thing", the anticipated Joni Mitchell, "Blue", and a Motley Crue, "Greatest Hits". There are a few more titles whispered but we'll wait until tomorrow for the rest. I'll leave you with this Steely Dan update. The expected "Everything Must Go" arrives in stores on June 10. Joining it on the shelves will be its DVD-Audio counterpart, same date. Well, I've ditched you folks again. But I do apologize. We're still working on reviews, with some good ones waiting, "Howlin' Wolf's London Sessions" - Deluxe Edition, The Moody Blues' "Live at Red Rock" - Deluxe Edition,and a bevy of other discs along with Greg Warner's update on the "Who's Next" package. This weekend, I am installing my new monster stereo outfit. I'll be sure to let you know how it sounds although that may not be necessary; you might be able to hear it from where you're at. So, if you hear some noise, just tell me to turn it down. Tomorrow... Sony has announced the next SACD on their schedule, "Heathen Chemistry" by Oasis. We've known about this potential release. It's just now official. This disc streets on December 30, just in time for the Christmas holidays. More than likely, the date will change. I sure do wish that Sony would step up their releases. I'm an impatient sort. But I bet that I'm not alone. I'm getting preliminary reports on both Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon", and the Deluxe Edition of "Who's Next". The consensus, with little to no negativity are very hearty thumbs up. One email that I received stated that they believed the mix on "Who's Next" may very well be the definitive version. The talk concerning the rest of the material is mixed. My take is to look at it as an important document despite the availability of separate parcels of these recordings. Of course, there are boots but the issuance of this set showcases not only a superior recording but also shows the evolution of Who's Next as a valuable point in time of the Who's career. The reality of Who's Next is that it is a splintered project; the liveliest remains of Pete's doomed Lifehouse project. However, knowing that it is part of that mysterious element makes it more incredible. The Deluxe Edition provides us with the rehearsals, the castaways (no doubt resultant of vinyl time constraints), and the actual album with a beautiful package and extensive booklet. I'm pleased. And I'm wanting the super duper deluxe edition of Quadrophenia. Bring that bad boy on, MCA. As for DSotM, the reports are 100% in the 'we love it' range. As if we were really worried. We knew, even back 'in the day' that Pink Floyd would have used multi channel if they could have. You could hear it trying to get free as a stereo recording so it's a beautiful thing to hear it become what it tried to be back then. But I'm not sure that 5.1 channels are even enough. This disc could, and will be, revisited again as technology increases. And we'll be there. Also, as of right now, it looks as if the Pink Floyd vinyl is bumped to April 22 from April 8. Sony also announces Arturo Sandoval's ""Trumpet Evolution", scheduled for May 6 and Carl Doy's "Together" for June 10. Columbia issues on May 20, the collaborative efforts of Shawn Mullins, Matthew Sweet, and Pete Droge known as The Thorns. While such efforts are not new - we've had Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young - it's always welcome when done by excellent talent. I've not heard anything from this group yet but I'm willing to bet it will be good, very good. This release will also be issued as an LP on the same date. I'll keep you posted. The April 22 dates pf EMI's next batch of SACDs, Norah Jones' "Come Away With Me", Bob Belden's "Black Dahlia", Bill Charlap's "Stardust", John Coltrane's "Blue Train", and Dianne Reeves' "The Calling" have been pushed back to May 20. Some other of the major releases from EMI include Sarah Brightman's "Harem" in both standard and limited editions. This huge run is scheduled for May 20. June 10 is the set date for the 'best of' for The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations, The Very Best of The Beach Boys". This is followed by the June 24th release of the TBD title for Queen Latifah, who's red hot right now. September 16 is the date set for a 'best of' for Bonnie Raitt's "Greatest Hits". Dates are yet to be determined for the following titles:
Spandau Ballet fans, get ready for the remastering of "True" which also will be released as an enhanced disc on May 6. And EMI plans a live live set by both Molly Hatchet and Commander Cody. The sets, "Molly Hatchet - Greatest Hits Live" and "Commander Cody - Greatest Hits Live", are scheduled for May 6. Groove Note has the following discs forthcoming in SACD format:
We close this post with a review of Joan Jeanrenaud, ex of The Kronos Quartet, and her solo outing, "Metamorphosis". This is written by John Nelson. And while we're at it, we'd like to welcome our newest staff member, Scott Watkins. He's working on a few projects and will be a fun addition to our already great family of writers who great passion just happens to be music. Tomorrow's big feature will be an interview by Bob Ludwig. And if you don't know the name, that's OK...he's only engineered and mastered a ton of our favourites. Go ahead, you'll notice his name as you start to pay attention to the credits on discs. He's responsible for the latest Police releases, he's done the Leonard Cohen Essentials. Oh..I forgot to mention that he remastered the spectacular Stones SACD reissues. So check back for that. And as promised, more reviews. Hi Mom and Sparky. Tomorrow... It's release Tuesday here in the States. And I'm very interested to hear from those of you who have picked up the Deluxe Edition of "Who's Next". So give me a holler when you have had a chance to hear it.
For the bonus Audio tracks:
The included bonus CD will be enhanced with the live video clips of "Peacekeeper" and "Say You Will" from the AOL Sessions. The packaging of the disc will be a very elaborate book-style and will contain:
This Limited Edition should make for a great addition to your Fleetwood Mac library. Mercury is releasing Roger Waters' "The Wall - Live in Berlin" in DVD format on May 20. This has previously been released as a VHS title in 1996. This is a tasty title for all you Pink Floyd fans and one to pencil in on the calendars or key into your PDAs. It's a title I'll be nabbing, to be sure. And while we're speaking of Pink Floyd, we have an email from someone who has the SACD. I could sense the excitement as he says, "..go ahead and get as excited as you want; the disc is not going to let you down." He went on to speak about the apocalypse as hidden in the now visible phrases made much clearer by SACD...just kidding. Bottom line, in addition to the High Fidelity review, the trickling reports are very uplifting. Thanks R, we're waiting with anticipation. I know that I promised a review today but I became occupied elsewhere sooo...even though we have a lot of stuff to tell you about, we'll have to wait until tomorrow. So, come back then for more of that TAP stuff. Tomorrow... Do we have stuff for you today or what?! We have Duane's Punk Pit notes, we have a few reviews for you, and some news including the cover shot of Fleetwood Mac's upcoming CD/DVD-A/Limited Edition of their newest, "Say You Will". What more to open your early Monday and a small distraction from the Iraqi War Effort. Especially exciting is the interview with Bob Ludwig that we worked on for you. That will post either tomorrow or Wednesday. Before we get started, I've run across an interesting piece that may someday impact the way that we listen to music. I'm a mixed bag here as the applications could be highly abusive but, used personally, may be the coolest thing you have ever "heard", pun intended. The new technology is called Hypersonic Sound. The technology? To be able to hear sound directed to your head by a device that puts that sound into your head without the need for your ears. Read the Popular Science article here. Imagine listening to music without interfering with your neighbours or attending a movie that projects the sound to your head. Decide for yourself. Plus, we're a day away from the release of The Who's "Who's Next" Deluxe Edition. We're impressed by what we've heard, despite the swirling controversy regarding the master tapes as it pertains to this title. Besides, it's all about collecting. If you do not have a definitive version, this could be your library addition. Personally, I'm very excited about the release and will acquire it for my personal library. Read our review of the set from some time back.
Rhino's upcoming Expanded and Remastered series continued workover of Chicago titles, "Hot Streets", "Chicago XIII", and "Chicago XIV" is geared for an April 22 release. For "Hot Streets", there will be the bonus selection of "Love Was New" as a never before released alternate vocal track. For "XIII", the bonus tracks are, a single edit of "Closer To You", and a dance mix of "Street Player". Finally, "XIV" will feature the bonus tracks of "Doin' Business", "Live It Up", and "Soldier of Fortune".
On SACD news, Sony has, once again placed Jennifer Lopez's "J Lo" on the list with the date of December 30 as a release date. Sharing that date and back on the schedule is Ozzy Osbourne's "Live at Budokan". I'm sure that those discs represent a temporary "holding date" and will adjust as more realistic release frames come into being.
Sony Classical have Mary Fahl's latest, "The Other Side of Time", on the schedule for May 6. There are three upcoming Miles Davis titles penciled for a May 20 release date. The titles, "Miles Davis - In Person Friday Night at the Blackhawk, Complete", "Miles Davis - In Person Saturday Night at the Blackhawk, Complete", and "Miles Davis - In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete". There is no info yet if the third title is a higher priced multi-set of the previous two singles. Finally, a teaser here, Universal has penciled in a 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection for Wet Willie. This is expected June 3. Read the new reviews for the SACD of Hilary Hahn's latest from Sony Classical from John Nelson, and my retro-look at A&M Records' "The Best of The Strawbs: 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection". Both discs are worth looking into. And now...
by Duane Leyva Welcome once more to another Pit Stop. We have lots of Punk news to cover this week regarding Punk in the UK and in here in the US. I would also like to say thanks to all of my readers of my weekly column and CD reviews here on MusicTAP for all of your support. When the Editor, Matt Rowe first started this site, he had anywhere from 100 to a 150 clicks a day. Since coming on board in June of 2002, MusicTAP has progressed and developed a readers pool, so to speak, and, hey.. we're now up to over three thousand repeat readers a day (more on review clickthru) and still growing. Matt now has more people contributing to his daily CD reviews and daily articles. Who would have ever thought that by just being ourselves and providing non-aligned CD reviews and daily articles that MusicTAP would be where it is today (Editor's Note - Thanx to Digital Bits as well) . Well, all I can say to all of the readers is that I will continue to raise hell when needed and to continue to be myself. Matt will continue being Mr. Ward Cleaver, (Hey, Matt looks like Radar O’Reilly from M*A*S *H*; you just got to mess with him) (Editor's Note: Grrrrrr. He is askin' for it.) and with all of that sniveling mushy stuff put aside, let’s get back to business with the Punk stuff. Matt, wipe that tear from your eyes before I bring up more jokes about Hollis and his wimpy Bears. Enough said...lets ROCK. Bands Cancel European Tour Something Corporate, Steel Train, and Home Grown have officially canceled the remainder of their European tour. This upset is caused by the threatening situation in Iraq.(Editor's Note: He's always late in these matter, ain't he?) The bands send an apology to their fans, and promise to come back to Europe soon. Don’t mess with the Music, man! You can take the kids, the car, and the dog but don’t mess with the Music. Cos I'm lazy - Taken straight from Drownedinsound.com "Finch are to make an appearance at Virgin Megastores in London on 26th March. The Drive Thru Records punks will be signing copies of their new single 'Letters To You' and the album 'What It Is To Burn' at 6pm. " Sugarcult Streaming on March 24th Epitaph will be releasing Sugarcult's newest album "Start Static" in Europe The Juliana Theory It looks like The Juliana Theory will be back in June (just in time for the Download Festival?). At the moment, nothing is officially confirmed, but it looks as though they will be playing Bristol Station on June 10th. Snuff Updates Reach is going to be reissued in the UK by Golf Records. Bonus tracks will include the "That's Fine" EP as well as several of the alternate mixes of album tracks previously only found on the Reach test pressing (there's about 15 of those floating around somewhere). "Kilburn National" and "Caught In Session" are going to be combined into one disc and that will be released soon as well. No set dates yet, but they're both coming. Snuff have also posted the funny video "Chocs Away" on their website at www.snuff.net New Born From Pain CD "Sands Of Time" will be released through Gangstyle Records mid-April plus dates in shows in Holland, Germany, Belgium, France, UK, and Spain. UK Punks Mr.Zippy New album out 7/4/03 on Golf called 'Ambition Is Critical' & UK tour. On The Rise CD On Bridge Nine On April 22, Bridge Nine Records releases "Burning Inside", the debut cd from NY's On The Rise. The record includes Derek Hess arwork and guest vocals from Roger Miret and Aarron from Death Threat. The band will continue doing East Coast weekends until late May when they'll embark on a US tour. No Comment...Drive-Thru Records Many people have already heard and we're here to confirm it, Chad from New Found Glory has a new band and they're called Hazen St. They will be releasing a CD on Drive-Thru Records after they record throughout June and July. The line up is: Toby Morse (H20) and Freddie Madball (Madball) on vocals, Chad Gilbert (NFG) and Dave Kennedy (Boxcar Racer) on guitar, Hoya (Madball) on bass and, Mackie (Cro-Mags) on drums. Dropkick Murphys introduce Spicy's The Dropkick Murphys have introduced their new piper, Scruffy Wallace. He takes the place of Spicy McHaggis who left the band unexpectedly at the beginning of the month. Small Brown Bike have reportedly signed to Lookout! Records. They have plans to record a full length album which is tentatively scheduled to be released some time in September. Ron Welty Leaves The Offspring There have been many rumours about Ron Welty`s departure from the Offspring. It has now been confirmed by offspring.com: As of now, Ron Welty is no longer a member of The Offspring. "After more than 15 great years with The Offspring, I've decided to leave to devote all my energies on a new project called Steady Ground. I wish Dexter, Noodles and Greg the best of luck moving forward and it's time for me to focus on my own thing," said Ron. Halo Friendlies tourdates Tooth and Nail Records members, Halo Friendlies announced tour dates for their UK tour. They are currently touring the west coast, until April 2nd, when they end in Los Angeles. From April 12th, until May 7th, these four chick rockers will be touring the UK almost non stop, beginning in Camber Sands and ending in London. For readers in the UK, this promises to be a tour not to be missed! Nitro Signs Don't Look Down Nitro Records is reporting that they've signed South Jersey pop-punk band Don't Look Down. The band has previously released an album on Iguana Records titled "Start The Show." No recording plans have yet been released by Nitro or the band
That's it for today. Check out those reviews and come back for the Bob Ludwig Interview. Plus, we are penning reviews right and left. We have an SACD review of The Byrds' "Greatest Hits" in the wing. And more. We'll keep you in the know. Count on it! Tomorrow... Copyright © 2002 - 2003 Matthew Rowe. All rights reserved. Site is designed for 1024x768 resolution. 212 Frech |
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