Archival Posts 2003 May 11-17

May 16, 2003

We at MusicTAP feel deep sorrow for the loss of June Carter Cash who passed away at the age of 73.

This weekend should allow me more ability to once again play catch up here at MusicTAP. I am woefully behind on a decent archival procedure. Plus we have a lot of reviews ready to post. We have new people just joining us as well whom we'll introduce you to on Monday. But we'll get to all this very shortly. Today, of course, is the weekend wrap. We have a review for you. We have Daniel Wolfson's listen to Fleetwood Mac's DVD-Audio of their latest, "Say You Will" with Duane Leyva's take on the Deluxe Edition of Sonic Youth's "Dirty" posting as a bonus for the weekend (watch for it on Saturday). We cap this off with the newest edition of Duane's Pit Stop column. We also have some interesting news with a few more cover scans for you.

Jane's Addiction has renamed their upcoming July 22 release from "Hypersonic" to "Strays". So, whip out that stubbed pencil and make your changes. It was recently brought to my attention that the New Riders of The Purple Sage and their remastered first had not come out on the original date. I did a little checking and for those that are waiting for it, it's been bumped to June 3. But it's still coming.

And it looks like Neil Young's upcoming and long awaited 4 albums (On the Beach, re.act.tor, Hawks and Doves, and American Stars n Bars) are still on for June 24. I'm including the cover shots to give you that good feeling that it's really coming.

Sanctuary Records is releasing a live disc from Nazareth, "Nazareth: Back to the Trenches - Live 1972-1984", on July 1. The 2CD set covers shows by the band in 6 venues over the period of 12 years. The set contains over 30 tracks, remastered, and includes a song previously unreleased.

It looks as if the shot on the right may end up being the final cover shot of the upcoming Lou Reed retrospective from BMG Heritage on June 3. This 2CD set contains 31 songs from his career and also contains an updated mix of "Walk on the Wild Side".

Sanctuary has also added two Tangerine Dream titles to their release schedule. In addition to "Underwater Sunlight" and "Poland" having been released on May 6, they will roll out "Tyger" and "Live Miles" on July 1. This set features packaging with slipcases. "Tyger" will provide a 5 minute bonus track, "Vigour". Now, if we can get someone to remaster and release the classic "Stratosfear".

JVC/XRCD has two upcoming reissues for classical audiophiles. The discs are from the RCA Living Stereo collection and will be released some time in August. They are "Beethoven: Violin Concerto -Heifetz, violin / Munch & Boston Symphony" and "Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No.1 Clibern, piano / Condrasin & RCA-Victor Orchestra".

Iron Maiden has a 2DVD set coming out on July 15 and a new album coming in the Fall. The DVD, "Visions of the Beast", features 26 songs over the 2 DVDs and 8 additional songs pegged as Extras. This sounds like a great set for Maiden fans.

That's it for the weekend. We'll see you back here on Monday.

May 15, 2003

Well, I told you that we had some cool Columbia/Epic Legacy news and we weren't lying. So, without delaying, here it is.

Sony/Legacy is creating a new line of discs called "Deluxe Editions", joining several other umbrella companies in providing quality and, in some cases, exhaustive looks at the original release. The discs are upgraded with additional materials that form a definitive set. They kick off this series with 4 titles.

The first is a title for Jeff Buckley's long awaited "Live at Sin-e". This set was originally a 4 song EP. But with its rebirth, it now provides 2 CDs of material with each CD hitting a near maximum of 80 minutes of recorded music. A special bonus will be a DVD of 5 songs that were shot live at the Sin-e concerts. Now folks, you have already hazed me good over this title. We can now see what is going to happen with this. So--go easy on me.

The next set up here is The Byrds' "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" for Columbia/Legacy. This 2CD Deluxe Edition will have its focus on the addition of Gram Parsons. The first disc will be an expanded edition of this title while the second disc will feature rarities. 17 of the 20 songs on the second disc will see their debut as tracks on a CD.

Thirdly, "Muddy Mississippi Waters Live" from Columbia will join the Deluxe Edition series with a second disc of unreleased live tracks from club shows that were originally recorded for this session.

Finally, Sony Classical and Legacy team up to expand the motion picture soundtrack, "West Side Story", with rare phot and new essays written especially for this release.

The release date for these new sets are September 2. Watch for 'em.

Also from the Legacy imprint, available on June 3 is an expanded version of 1969's double LP of "The Story of The Blues". For those unaware of this recording, it traces the beginnings of the blues from the 20s until (for this edition) Bob Dylan's "Love and Theft". The set features 42 classics and is a debut on CD.

For June 10, Heart is releasing their new 2CD "Live in Seattle" as a hybrid SACD. There are 4 brand new songs as well as 4 previously unreleased covers of songs originally recorded by Elton John, The Sonics and two from Led Zeppelin. This joins the DVD release.

On June 17, Epic releases "The Essential Clash" DVD. It features Clash videos and TV appearances just as the recently released "The Complete Jam" did. It also includes a never before released "Hell W10" short film that was written and directed by Joe Strummer. The film was made in 1983 in black and white. The Clash recently added music to this film so this will be a must have DVD.

On August 12, Legacy will present Expanded Editions of Santana's following 4 albums:

Caravanserai (a favourite of mine)
Moon Flower
Love Devotion Surrender (features John McLaughlin if I remember correctly. Help me out here folks.)
Welcome

On August 19, the favour is extended to Thelonius Monk titles:

It's Monk Time
Solo Monk
Underground
Criss Cross

And on August 26, Columbia/Legacy (I'm bloody delirious for these) presents the adulation of two of Johnny Winter classics, "Johnny Winter" and "Second Winter".

We need to have a few moments of silence for the passing of Noel Redding of Jimi Hendrix Experience fame....

Hi to Tom of OC. He reminded me to post the dates for the Stranglers/Duran Duran/Buzzcocks box. The date is June 10. What was I thinking...?

I'll post some reviews tomorrow for the weekend wrap. Plus...

May 14, 2003

Hello again. I hope that many of you were able to secure your Matrix Reloaded tix for the Wednesday previews beginning at 10p wherever you may be. Bill Hunt of the Digital Bits, my son, Justin, Jr (a buddy), and myself will be standing in line for our hopefully great seats. If you happen to get out to see it, email me and let me know what you thought of it.

For those interested, we've finally seen a little fruit after so much destruction. We put in our entryway tiling and it looks pretty styling. The only thing wrong is that it looks like a pristine Michelangelo frescoe in the middle of a war-torn city. Homes...

We have a few goodies on the slate today from EMI and some things from WEA so let's get to it.

First some WEA action. I hear tell of a new Barenaked Ladies CD in the works for the early fall season. It is a new title that will be available in two flavours, standard and special edition. The Corrs have a potential release for the late fall. And you know...I don't remember mentioning this but will do so now in case I didn't; scheduled for July 8 are a few interesting titles for DVD, The Yardbirds and YES-90125 Live. Also, there is a Cream DVD, "Strange Brew" and a Deep Purple, "Heavy Metal Pioneers" DVD scheduled for the same day.

As a brief tidbit, The Flaming Lips have an EP in works and scheduled for early fall. The working title is "Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell". The set may also include a bonus DVD.

For some EMI news, I like to mention before I get started about the box sets that I referenced yesterday for Buzzcocks and Stranglers. If you want your hands on these sets, don't wait too long. The run is very limited making it liable to run out of print in a heartbeat. This is particularly true of The Stranglers with less than 2000 units, it's going to be snooze and lose if you don't pick yours up.

Added to an already scorching June 24 release date (Neil Young and many other releases), King Biscuit Records is releasing more live discs. The latest artists to get releases are Pat Benatar, GTR, Todd Rundgren, and John Entwistle. Mix those up with remastered releases for David Bowie's "Aladdin Sane" (30th Anniversary), Bob Segar's "Against The Wind", and Don McLean's remastered "American Pie". Now, with all the discs that will be available that day, you may find yourself scratching your head and wondering just which discs to pick up. Choices...

I'm finishing up here with a review of Fleetwood Mac's latest, "Say You Will". We may be a tad late but we're coming around. Up over the next few days are reviews by myself, Duane, and Daniel Wolfson (DVD-Audio of Fleetwood Mac's "Say You Will") and some bonus guest reviewers who may become regular contributors.

Be sure to come back tomorrow because I have some very exciting Legacy news for you. And more.

May 13, 2003

As promised, I have the list of winners for the Steve Miller discs from JVC/XRCD. Again, congratulations to everyone. You'll be receiving an email requesting your address unless you have already provided it.

The winners are as follows:

Andrew Clark - McLean, VA
Jerry Christopherson - Anthem, AZ
Shawn Frank - Cleveland, OH
Peter Lyndon - Rumson, NJ
Mark Schmidt - Columbus, OH

Again, congratulations to all of the five winners and thanks to the more than 300 entrants. We'll have another contest soon so don't give up if you haven't won.

Does everyone have their Matrix Reloaded tix bought yet for Wednesday nite at 10p? I have mine and will be at MetroPointe Theatres in beautiful Costa Mesa enjoying the middle film of this trilogy. Personally, I'm super excited.

Onto music stuff...that's what you came here for, right?

On August 12, Columbia Legacy is re-releasing one of the fun albums of the early 80s. So early that it might as well be 1979, which is just as well. The band was the short lived Rockpile that featured Nick Lowe and one of my favourites, Dave Edmonds. The album, "Seconds of Pleasure" will be reissued on August 12. The added bonus will be remastering and the 4 tracks from the bonus EP originally packaged with the LP long, long ago. Additionally, there are two added live tracks to the package. Now that pretty much sums up Rockpile's legacy. Oh, to have an updated "Tracks From Wax 4".

With summer just around the corner and a DVD-Audio of The Beach Boys nearing completion, it's a cool way to start the season with a definitive Beach Boys compilation. Now, we've all heard about this disc coming but I just want to remind you folks that this pretty good package wil be arriving on June 10 and will feature the best collection of Beach Boys hits compiled into one set. Even though we're all waiting for that DVD-A disc of Pet Sounds, "Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of The Beach Boys" will round out the ole Beach Boys collection nicely.

Here are the covers for the upcoming Stranglers/Buzzcocks/Duran Duran sets arriving on June 10.

This Duran Duran set contains 13 CDs in a fliptop box. Each CD is housed in cardboard sleeves. There are 40 tracks in all, singles, remixes, rarities, and BSides.

That's it for today. I have several reviews in the wings for the next few days. Fleetwood Mac's "Say You Will" in two flavours. I'm working on the CD review while Dan Wolfson is working on the DVD-Audio review of the same title. Additionally, I'm preparing a Bing Crosby review and many more to come. Duane is working on a review for the 2CD Deluxe Edition of Sonic Youth's "Dirty". Come back for those. Tomorrow, we'll dig into EMI's closet and pull out what they have on their minds for the future. I've a feeling that the summer may be very fruitful.

Tomorrow...

May 12, 2003

I've nosed in with a special review on the upcoming B.B. King disc that releases on June 10 with it's SACD counterpart showing up on June 24. It's a sweet disc and one that you should pay attention to. Do yourself a favour and order this one for your library.

Winners for the Steve Miller XRCD edition of "The Joker" will be announced tomorrow due to an unforeseen issue with one of my hard drives on the main computer (I'm busting this out on the laptop). Congratulations to those who won. You were quick and on the money. But next time the contests will be harder. That's a wink, folks. These great discs are book styled limited editions and will be sonically beautiful on your standard CD player. Additionally, they are no longer in production which makes these instant collector items. Again, thanks to JVC/XRCD for their contribution. Special thanks goes out to Kevin Berg of JVC/XRCD. We received well over 300 emails for this contest and look forward to our next sponsored one.

This bit of news is a bit off our subject but...not really too far off. If you're a fan of the horror genre and a fan of Rob Zombie, then you really liked House of a 1000 Corpses. Well, the film has grossed, so far, over 11 million. Because of that, Lions Gate Films has signed Rob to produce another film along the same lines. I thought that you'd be interested to know that bit.

House remodeling is a sleepless ghoul. No matter what you do, you'll find more to keep you busy. We pulled off all the wallpaper, found paneling, and then some scary looking drywall. So now we're removing drywall and preparing to do it all up again. And to think that this all started because Mrs TAP wanted new flooring. Now, I have a dismantled bathroom and 3 main rooms almost completely 'bunker busted'. To borrow a phrase, I'm in shock and awe. Continuing---

Here's a recently scheduled album that will make some folks happy, especially Noelle (a friend of mine). MCA Nashville is putting together a Lee Ann Womack 'Greatest Hits' package and is expected on November 4. Now, that's a long time away so dates may change. But that's a given in this industry. And since we're here, MCA Nashville is working to release new ones with titles TBA from Rebecca Lynn Howard on October 21 and Gary Allan on October 7. Dreamworks Nashville will release the next TBA title from Toby Keith.

Universal has primed the pump for their popular 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection series. They have a bucket full of artists getting the workover at various dates. I'll list them here to make it more presentable. Of course, as they near the street dates, we'll look at them closer.

Blues Classics - MCA - June 24
Blues Guitar - Chess - June 24
Blues/Rock Songbook - Chess - June 24
Delbert McClinton - MCA Nashville - July 15
Pat Travers - Polydor - July 15
Peter Frampton - A&M - July 15
Paul Weller - Island - July 29
Steve Earle - MCA Nashville - August 19
98 Degrees - Universal - September 23 - Christmas
Aaron Neville - A&M - September 23 - Christmas
Amy Grant - A&M - September 23 - Christmas
Bing Crosby - MCA - September 23 - Christmas
B.B. King - MCA - September 23 - Christmas
Boyz II Men - Universal - September 23 - Christmas
Brenda Lee - MCA Nashville - September 23 - Christmas
Burl Ives - MCA - September 23 - Christmas
Diana Ross - Motown - September 23 - Christmas
Jackson 5 - Motown - September 23 - Christmas
James Brown - Polydor - September 23 - Christmas
Oak Ridge Boys - MCA Nashville - September 23 - Christmas
Reba McEntire - MCA Nashville - September 23 - Christmas
Ringo Starr - Mercury - September 23 - Christmas
Smokey Robinson/Miracles - Motown - September 23 - Christmas
Temptations - Motown - September 23 - Christmas
Vanessa Williams - Mercury - September 23 - Christmas
Lone Justice - Geffen - October 7

That's a lot of Christmas discs coming out in time for the holidays, eh?

Universal issues a new series called Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues. The series debuts with 3 titles presentations. They are:

The Allman Brothers Band - Mercury - September 9
J.B. Lenoir - Chess Records - September 9
Jimi Hendrix - MCA Records - September 9

Country act Allison Moorer has her newest release, "Show" streeting on June 24, not only as a standard CD with a bonus DVD but also as a simultaneously released SACD. Speaking of SACD, I neglected to mention that the upcoming B.B. King "Reflections" will be released as a Hybrid disc.

Mercury Records is pulling out the stops on the upcoming re-releases of Roger Waters' "The Wall:Live in Berlin". There will be simultaneous releases of the DVD, the SACD Hybrid, a jewel cased DVD, and a 2CD remastered set. These see the light of day on June 24.

I'll let you in on a few more July 1 issues before calling it a day. Hip-O Records is releasing a 2CD Digipak of Jimmy Cliff "Anthology". This will be followed with 2 Varese Sarabande releases - Lightnin' Hopkins' "Free Form Patterns" and KC & The Sunshine Band's "Get Down Tonight: Greatest Hits".

Okie Doke...we've said a mouthful today. But we'll be back tomorrow with more stuff. Check back for the winners of the contest and more cool release news.