Archival Posts 2004 January 18

January 23, 2004

And while I knew anyway, it occurred to me that I've yet to do Rhino's DVD-Audio of Machine Head by Deep Purple. As I am going to post a Deep Purple live SACD review, I thought that they would make nice companion reviews. And so they shall be.

We have a few goodies in the bag for you today including Duane's news-packed Pit Stop. Enjoy the news.

Hey, I've got a great idea. As I was working on the Best of 2003 list, I thought that it would be a great idea to have a continuously run Essential Albums section and let you readers do the contributions. It would be open to everybody. You need only to do a short writeup of the album and why you think that it's essential. These can be old, new, whatever. They'll be posted in a column all its own everyday and archived monthly. We want to evaluate your submissions just to make sure that we aren't loading the column down with garbage but if you think the release is a 'must have' let's do it up right. We aren't omniscient and all of us could benefit from your discovery and excitement. For example, I think that Leonard Cohen is the ultimate songwriter. His latest album, Ten New Songs, is unbelieveable. I'm gonna let you in on the secret. Dw thinks that Anathema is incredible. John P mentioned Opeth to me, I buy, and I'm a new fan. We can all benefit. Details to come on this.

I had promised to post an interview with Patrick O'Hearn by John P. Dunphy. I'm going to hold off until Monday for this one.

There will be reviews clogging the site on Monday.

RCA is issuing The Calling's Two on May 18.

March 1 is rapidly around the corner. That date represents the 100th birthday of swing era great, Glenn Miller. We told you that his 100th Anniversary Centennial Collection was coming in celebration on March 23. Now, we're going to fill you in on the details of the 1CD/1DVD set. This collection is officially called Glenn Miller: The Centennial Collection and will contain 20 songs. Of the 20 songs, 3 are previously unreleased (King Porter Stomp; Beat Me; and Moonlove). Additionally, there is a remix of Pennsylvania 6-5000, done up by Wiseguys. The Centennial Collection will be remastered from the original RCA Masters. The included DVD will host a one-hour documentary of Glenn Miller's life called Glenn Miller - America's Musical Hero.

J Records' long long delayed Silvertide album is back on the schedule for June 8. the title of the new work is called Show and Tell.

We mentioned that RCA's upcoming Velvet Revolver album is scheduled for May 4. Whoops!! Change that to May 18 for both LP and CD.

Some Bob Dylan for you from Columbia/Legacy? Ok..Watch for Volume 6 of the Bootleg Series to show up in stores on March 23. Volume 6 is Bob Dylan Live 1964: Concert at Philharmonic Hall. That oughta get you all excited.

Here's something for all you Rockpile fans who never got enough. Well, it's still not enough but at least it's a remodel of Rockpile's Seconds of Pleasure. This CD will re-issue on April 20. We'll provide more info as it becomes available.

March 2, Epic will issue Sarah Conner with Unbelievable. Where did she find all that time running from Terminators and the law at large to record an album. I know...bad joke.

Epic and Legacy will release The Essential Jacksons on March 9.

Sony Classical will release the soundtrack to Mel Gibson's highly controversial film, The Passion of the Christ, on February 24, a mere day from the actual picture release on February 25.

Remember The Stanley Brothers? Legacy and Columbia team up to bring you An Evening Long Ago: Live 1956. That's before I was born...but just a little before. This one comes on March 16.

I've got exciting news for Tomita fans. TAP reader, Marc Comfort, all the way from Japan, alerts us to the impending release of Tomita -The Planets on DVD-Audio. Being released by Denon Japan, the disc will offer a mix of 96kHz/24-bit and in Multi-Channel 5.1. This disc is expected on March 29 and is supposedly containing some "killer content". I'm excited about this one.

A date has been set for the Who DVD-Audio of Tommy. The date for those who don't already know is March 23. Now for Quadrophenia...

There is a new date for Christina Aguilera's upcoming amaray and jewel cased DVD, Stripped Live in the UK. This date is now April 6. This set will be crammed full of special bonuses. There are at least 6 extras included. Here's a gander at the cover scan:

Opeth, Sweden's metal band, will release their first DVD in the US. Their DVD, Lamentations-Live at Shepherd's Bush Empire 2003. will be released on February 24 on Koch International. The DVD, previously released in Europe, will contain Stereo, DD 5.1, and DTS mixes. Opeth will tour Canada and the States in support of the DVD release.

Blondie's upcoming Sanctuary album, The Curse of Blondie, was scheduled as an LP release in addition to CD. As of yesterday, Sanctuary had cancelled this LP issue. It doesn't look like it will be rescheduled. The CD is still coming on April 6.

January 21, 2004

I have received quite a bit of email on this site, much of it positive. I have received offers from a few to re-design the site for free (which I'm looking at). Someone even sent me a screen shot of a re-design that spruced up the design before this one while incorporating many of the features used on this design. Nice. So, consider this site in a temporary state of flux. In the meantime, the overwhelming request was to increase the font size by one and to revert back to Arial. Easily done and, as you can already see, back for your reading ease.

Hey, I'm in my 10 minutes of fame. I was asked to provide some thoughts for an Electronic House article on DVD-Audio. The article posted and..well..it's nice to see yourself lookin' all knowled..knowled..knowl...smart, if even for a bit. Thanks to Ed Driscoll, who writes a mean commentary. You can check out the article here.

We have a few items of interest for you today. We also have a few other cool things.

Remember, Thursdays we allow the labels to catch up to us. So the next post will be on Friday. We'll be working again over the weekend to fix a few more things, TAPSheet being one of them. We'll also dig up some time to produce a few more SACD/DVD-A reviews.

Thanks to everyone who sent in their thoughts on MusicTAP. It's great when I get a hundred emails saying how much you like MusicTAP (Thanks, Mom!!).

There's a question going around about faulty DVD-As for T.Rex's Electric Warrior. I've received several emails concerning this fact. It's said that they will not play in the Pioneer combo player, DV-563A. Let me know if you have this disc and are experiencing this same problem.

We'll be back on Friday with the debut issue for 2004 of Duane's Pit Stop, a new interview with Patrick O'Hearn, some reviews including Audio Fidelity's Deep Purple Live at the BBC SACD.

Hang tight!!

CDs

March 2 is the date for a 'best of' for Hootie and The Blowfish. This album, The Best of Hootie & the Blowfish: 1993-2003 will be released by a joint collaboration between Rhino and Atlantic Records. The set will have 18 tracks including the newest, "The Goodbye Girl", and an 18th track awaiting inclusion by vote.

TLC's expected 'best of', Now and Forever: TLC - The Hits and the accompanying DVD have been put on hold. I'll let you know when it gets a firm date.

RCA's upcoming Velvet Revolver album, Contraband, is date changed until May 4. This is for both the CD and expected LP pressing.

TAP's Dw Dunphy reviewed an album and declared it to be 5 stars despite the fact that we at MusicTAP issues that honour rarely. Why rarely? The company that keeps with 5 star is the like of an Exile on Main Street, a Sgt Pepper, the classics. When writers on TAP declare a CD 5 stars, well, it must be good. The album that Dw bestowed the honor on was Anathema's A Natural Disaster. Based on his review, I got the album and found that Anathema's latest is moving music in unapproached areas for its genre. This album is now being made available in the US on February 24.

And while we're on the subject, Peaceville Records is releasing the UK's doom metal band, My Dying Bride's 8th album. Songs of Darkness, Words of Light will be released on March 9.

TAP reader, Terry Warwick, ponied up the complete info for the Tull reissues that I mentioned in yesterday's post. Here's the works:

Bursting Out (Live, 1978) will finally be released in the US as the complete 2CD set with previously deleted songs:

Sweet Dream
Conundrum
Quatrain

Plus an introduction by Claude Nobs and another intro by Ian Anderson after the song, "Thick as a Brick". Songs will also be put back in the correct order and additional in-between songs chatter is added in.

Stormwatch (1979) contains bonus tracks:

A Stitch in Time
Crossword
Kelpie
King Henry's Madrigal

The CD/DVD mentioned in yesterday's post is A (1980) which will contain the ten tracks from the original album plus a bonus DVD of their concert video, Slipstream, from the same era. It contains ten tracks.

I'll leave you with this great cover scan of Courtney Love's upcoming America's Sweetheart. but wait til you see the other art somewhere else on the album. It's a variation of the cover...a little sexier.

Hi Res SACD and DVD-Audio

A date has been set for the Who DVD-Audio of Tommy. The date for those who don't already know is March 23. Now for Quadrophenia...

We're still waiting for the Hi-Rez market to take off for the 2004 year. But we do have some announcements to make for the start of the year. The TBS (to be scheduled) designation of the Neil Young DVD-Audios for those 'lost 4' albums has been awarded a new date. They join their brother, Greendale, for the expected date of March 16. The expected bit-rates for these releases will be at 176kHz/24-bit for Stereo (yes folks, they are Stereo only or so I've been told) and LPCM DD at 48kHz/24-bit.

The American Stars n Bars DVD-Audio will contain a video for "Like a Hurricane". The photos on all the DVD-Audios will present previously unpublished photographs. Lyrics are included on every one of these albums. You'll remember that the remastered American Stars n Bars and On the Beach did NOT include lyrics. It's rectified here.

But this isn't all. Elektra will release, also on March 16, the long awaited Jackson Browne re-issue for DVD-Audio, Running on Empty. This album has sold more than 7 million copies since its release. This DVD-Audio will also include 2 unreleased tracks, "Cocaine Again", and "Edwardsville Room 124". The bit-rate on this album is 96kHz/24-bit for the Multi-Channel Surround mix and 192kHz/24-bit for the Stereo mix. Additionally, there will be a DD Surround mix for DVD-Video players. The album will have on-screen access to all the lyrics. But that ain't all. This DVD-Audio version of Running on Empty will have new liner notes, a photo-montage video from the RoE days, more than 300 photos in a tour diary-like setting, and a 10-minute instrumental medley of the tracks accompanied by a tour photo scrapbook. This live album will literally rock.

Remember, Rhino issue of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells 2003 for DVD-Audio will see release on February 24. This revved-up issue will contains both Stereo and Multi-Channel Surround in 48kHz/24-bit mastering as well as DD (Dolby Digital) mixes for Surround and Stereo. Also included in this release - the REAL reason to buy this one. TB03 is the bonus - are 45 minutes of original demos of the original TB BEFORE it was originally released. And they've never been available before. This DVD-A will include new liner notes by Michael Oldfield as well as 2 videos of performances and full discography.

Music DVDs

LPs

January 20, 2004

I received a flurry of email concerning the semi re-design of the site. A lot of folks liked it, some had reservations, and others disliked it. So, I'm going to put it to the vote. It seems that smaller cover scans were disliked as well as the smaller font size. This can easily be remedied but I'd rather let the readers decide. Tell me here.

I said that we would be light and so we shall. There's not much in any case as I've exhausted the pool more or less. But we'll pop up some stuff.

We have some upcoming items. First off, we're near completion of the Deep Purple 'Live at the BBC' SACD review and will start hitting the other SACDs scattered around my room here. And as soon as I get that elusive T. Rex 'Electric Warrior' DVD-Audio, I'll put that up as well.

We have a Patrick O'Hearn interview conducted by John P Dunphy that will post soon as well as Duane's first Pit Stop of 2004. And more. Keep watching.

CDs

We mentioned some upcoming issuances like Los Lobos who has an album coming on May 4 called The Ride. The Ride will be coming out in both CD and LP.

Other upcoming issues will be a 2CD Anthology package for Styx. This collection is expected to arrive into stores on May 4 from A&M Records.

Geffen Records releases the next Who collection with Then & Now (Maximum Who) on March 23.

Hip-O is putting out a 2CD Deluxe Edition of The Big Chill Soundtrack on March 23.

There are 2 new Jethro Tull re-issues coming out on March 23. The titles getting the workover are Bursting Out and Stormwatch. Another Jethro Tull title is forthcoming and will be a CD/DVD combo. It's expected on April 20.

Watch for a BIG Kenny Rogers issue on May 4 called 40 Ultimate Hits.

There are a few Iggy Pop discs coming from Virgin Records and are scheduled for July 13. The titles are A Million Dollar Prize (CD/DVD); The Best of Iggy Pop; and I'm Iggy Pop.

Capitol Records has a George Thorogood 'best of' coming June 15 called Greatest Hits: 30 Years of Rock.

Finally, I've lost my note on the upcoming Linda Ronstadt title. But I'll find it. As for the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, that was a misinterpreation on my part. It's actually a single coming out called The Maps.

Hi Res SACD and DVD-Audio

A date has been set for the Who DVD-Audio of Tommy. The date for those who don't already know is March 23. Now for Quadrophenia...

Music DVDs

There are a couple of DVDs coming that may interest you.

The first is from Squeeze and wil be issued by A&M Records on March 16. The title of the set is Squeeze: Greatest Hits.

Also on March 16, Interscope will release T.A.T.U's Screaming For More on DVD.

Video Addictions is a Robert Palmer DVD coming from Island Records on March 16.

You can expect a Hilary Duff Live DVD on May 11 from Buena Vista DVD.

Sheryl Crow will have a DVD title coming out on March 16.

LPs

January 19, 2004

Oops, I did it again! Yeah, I just had to get under the hood and tinker. The catalyst was a constantly errant table that needed to resize itself making for scrollbars. It just bugged me to no end. In any case, I did it and it's fixed. I hope that you like the changes, small as they are.

Did you finish reading the weekend post? It was monstrous. This post won't be so large but it does have lots of interesting info for you. In addition, we have a batch of reviews as well. So Monday won't be so bad.

We have a new contest which can be found on the sidebar to the right. Zip on over and answer the questions to try and win one of 3 copies of Audio Fidelity's John Mayall & Friends: Along For The Ride. The SACD discs are courtesy of Audio Fidelity. We hope that you'll support them in their efforts to bring you quality SACDs.

I hope that you have had an opportunity to make up the deficits in your Rolling Stones collection by taking advantage of Tower Records' sale of their Abkco / Rolling Stones SACD line. This sale ends on February 9 but I have to tell you, most of 'em are being snatched up. I went to Tower to score the DVD-Audio of T. Rex's Electric Warrior (no, I didn't snag one) and hopped over to the Stones' shelf. Lots of them were gone. The discs are running for $9.99 except for the double discs and those were $19.99. The 3SACD copy of London Singles was running $24.99. A deal!! Don't be left out in the cold.

If you're a Norah Jones fan, and who isn't with 8 million units sold of her last album and a huge first run of her second, then you should be aware that she'll be making a bunch of promotional appearances including a stint on SNL.

We have reviews of the following albums for you today. We have the long awaited SACD review for Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. We also have Mike Lewis' review of the Kill Bill Vol 1 Soundtrack. There is Dw Dunphy's take on Triumph, The Insult Comic Dog and his..uh, smelly debut, Come Poop With Me. Finally, not only did I review EJ's GYBR SACD but I also gave a lot of thought to Ani diFranco's upcoming release (Jan 20) of educated guess. A real good day if I say so myself. We're going to keep the post for tomorrow light and allow the labels to catch up to me. I may have another SACD review for you, Audio Fidelity's Stereo SACD of Deep Purple - Live On the BBC.

Lots of you are clamouring for the 2003 'best of' list that you have all sent in. I promise that it's coming. Be patient with me.

We'll see you back here on Tuesday with news on Linda Ronstadt; Robert Palmer; Squeeze; T.A.T.U.; Styx; Who; Yeah Yeah Yeahs; and Los Lobos. Some of these are DVD, some CD, and some DVD-Audio.

CDs

On January 27, Capitol and IRS add late additions to the schedules with Capitol's Crowded House and their Crowded House debut and IRS' re-release of REM's Document. I believe that these are remastered re-issues but the info is sketchy right now.

With the upcoming Rhino re-issues of 3 Yes albums, Tormato; 90125; and Drama expected on February 24, I'm here to tell you what's on at least a couple of them.

Tormato will contain the original 9 tracks PLUS an additional 9 bonus tracks, all remastered in exultant glory. If they are as good as the previous Yes re-issues, I'll be right. The bonus tracks for Tormato are:

Abilene

Money

Picasso (previously unissued)

Some Are Born (previously unissued)

You Can Be Saved (previously unissued)

High (previously unissued)

Days (demo / previously unissued)

Countryside (previously unissued)

Everybody's Song (early demo of "Does It Really Happen" / previously unissued)

And, can you believe, a Yes album without Jon Anderson? OK, to be fair, Rick Wakeman isn't on this one either but we've seen and heard that before. Regardless, Drama gets a workover as well. This album contains the original 6 tracks and now buffs up to include a whopping additional 10 bonus tracks, all remastered. The bonus tracks for Drama include:

Into the Lens (I Am a Camera) (Single version)

Run Through the Light (Single version)

Have We Really Got To Go Through This (previously unissued)

Song No. 4 (Satellite) (previously unissued)

Tempus Fugit (tracking session / previously unissued)

White Car (tracking session / previously unissued)

Dancing Through the Light (previously unissued)

Golden Age (previously unissued)

In the Tower (previously unissued)

Friend of a Friend (previously unissued)

That's 40+ minutes of Yes music for Drama and 34+ minutes for Tormato.

There is the other Yes album, 90125. This classic album has Anderson back into the fold with 9 originals including the hit "Owner of a Lonely Heart". In addition to those tracks, this remastered effort adds 6 more tunes as bonuses for 30+ minutes of music. The bonus tracks include:

Leave It (Single remix)
Make It Easy
It Can Happen (Cinema Version)
It's Over (previously unissued)
Owner of a Lonely Heart (Extended remix / previously unissued)
Leave It (A Capella version)

all these Yes re-issues are listed at $11.95 which means that you'll be able to pick each one of these for around 10 bucks.

Atlantic Records throws another into the schedule for Apartment 26. This enhanced CD will be available in two flavours, the PA (Parental Advisory)version and their Edited version. This album will contain 12 tracks and is produced by Tchad Blake who is known for his work with Sheryl Crow; Soul Coughing; Ron Sexsmith; and Crowded House. The vocalist for this band is the son of original Black Sabbath bassist, Geezer Butler. This album generates new directions so they are worth a listen. Keep your ears peeled. A single, "Give Me More" is already out.

February 10 will see the release of a remastered Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys. This album will re-issue from Capitol Records.

The February 24 release of Starflyer 59 now has a title. The new disc will be named I Am the Portugese Blues.

Virgin Records is adding a few Iggy Pop titles to the schedules. I'll fill you in more on this in Tuesday's post.

I'm hearing noise about a Cream re-issue, Disraeli Gears as a Deluxe Edition from Universal. The date is supposedly scheduled for April 13 and will be a 2CD set.

I'm also hearing something about an Echo and The Bunneymen TBA (new?) for April 20. But don't quote me. If you have info on this, send me email.

The Emmylou Harris re-issues coming from Rhino and mentioned in these pages months ago as well as last post are coming on February 24. I now have particulars for you. And here they are as well as cover scans.

Pieces of the Sky, Emmylou Harris' debut, will contain unreleased bonus songs of "Hank and Lefty", and "California Cottonfields", both previously unissued.

In addition to Elite Hotel's 12 originals, Rhino unearthed 2 previously unissued bonuses in "You're Running Wild" with Rodney Crowell, and "Cajun Born".

Harris' Luxury Liner adds 2 bonus tracks with previously unissued "Me and Willie", and "Night Flyer", sung with Della Bell.

Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town offers two additional bonus tracks with previously unissued "New Cut Road", and "LaCassine Special" with Barry Tashian.

Finally, Harris' Blue Kentucky Girl contains 2 bonus tracks in "Cheatin' Is" with Glen Campbell, and "I Know an Ending When It Comes", both previously unissued.

In addition to the bonus tracks found on all 5 of the Rhino/WB re-issues, the booklets have been expanded with new notes and unseen photos. Of course, we won't forget to mention that they are all remastered.

Hi Res SACD and DVD-Audio

Music DVDs

The Britney Spears' DVD, In The Zone has been rescheduled for March 9.

BMG Heritage will issue a Harry Nilsson DVD named The Point on March 23. Ringo Starr also factors in heavily on this issue.

Sanctuary has let us in on a Queensryche DVD being readied for release on March 23. The DVD entitled The Art of Live will be made available to fans in both amaray and jewel casings.

Rhino's anticipated release of Devo's Devo Live on DVD will happen on February 24.

March 2. Dave Gahan. DVD. Live Monsters. Cool? 15 songs recorded live in Paris. All of Paper Monsters is represented including some Depeche Mode songs like "Personal Jesus", "Never Let Me Down Again", and "Walking In My Shoes", all in 5.1. This release will be issued simultaneously worldwide. Sorry about the lack of colour in the Gahan cover scan. I'll try to remedy that quickly.

LPs