March 19, 2004
Hey, hey..and here we are on yet another Friday leading into yet another weekend (I love 'em) with yet another issue of Duane's Pit Stop. You'll notice a marked difference in his presentation. It's a little more natural and a lot more fun. So stop in and check out his usual rant on me and his insane pictures.
We've had some problems with our email not delivering professionally or not delivering at all. There's also the sendout that our server tells folks...YOU'RE SPAMMING when you're not. These are issues that we're working on and hope to bring into control. Be patient.
We also have George Bennett's SACD review of The Who's Tommy- Deluxe Edition today. Stop in and check that out.
Clarion is releasing a really small Sirius Ready receiver that is PlugnPlay. This unit can be moved all over the place easily and looks to be a nice little unit. One sub, one unit, massive portability with kits. Click on the picture of the unit for more info.
We have repeatedly tried to get ahold of XM in order to evaluate one of their units as we're about fairness. But satellite service is quite cool and we don't want you to miss out on the experience. all the more reasons why we try to give you a way to to listen to some cool stuff discovery wise without having to dial twist with a static-y or otherwise soulless radio. A cool thing with this particular receiver unit? How about this: if you have a favourite artist, let the unit know during one of their songs and this thing will let you know when it's playing one of their songs no matter what channel you're listening to.
If you're from XM and would like to let us evaluate your service, give us a holler at this email link.
Additionally, since its been so long since we've talked about it, if you have a service, Sirius or XM, let us know what you think. We're not about favouritism, we just want to know what you think overall. Of course, if you think one service is better than another, then let us know why.
We have a few interesting pieces of news that may trip the trigger including a piece of Morrissey news. So let's get this show on the road.
We'll see you on Monday.
Don't forget the reader reviews. If you have a single paragraph about a favourite current album that you have, share it with the world. Write me here and use READER REVIEW in the subject line.
RCA / BMG Heritage will re-issue some old fan favourites with the release of two old Hall & Oates albums. The 2 releases are H20 and Private Eyes. H2O from 1982 contains the hit "Maneater" while 1981's Private Eyes contained the hits "Private Eyes" and "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)". We'll keep an eye..or two, on the full scoop of these reissues. Maybe some extras are in store. These are on the schedule for May 18.
Sanctuary and their Attack Records will issue You Are The Quarry, a gatefold digipak release by Morrissey. This album will be given the works with a CD jeweled case package, the mentioned gatefold release, a 2-disc issue with bonus DVD, and a gatefolded LP. All this becomes available on May 18. More info to follow.
We mentioned a Terry Reid issue called Alive! Are You Sure? sometime last week. You can scratch this one off as its release has been cancelled.
Israel and the New Breed's Live from Another Level will be issued on May 4 by Sony.
The BIG news is for Stones fans especially but Abkco Records is releasing a 12CD Box Set called Singles 1963-1965. We don't have all the details but when we get it, we'll inform you. In any case, this big set will be released on May 4.
And that's all we have right now.
March 17, 2004
We've received a number of emails concerning the Rhino issued Tormato by Yes. There are definitely problems with this issue that resides on the hidden track (18). But it isn't as completely all encompassing as it may sound. We have received a fair amount of email stating the opposite; that the CD played just fine on players. I'm suspecting that there was a bad batch and that may have been the extent of it. I'd still take emails to see just how widespread this problem may be. If you send email, state your location (IL, CA, Canada, etc.)
Speaking of Yes, there is a pretty interesting interview with Steve Howe (look for the latest Notes from the Edge somewhere in this link) up on NFTE.ORG. He mentions, quite surprisingly, that his involvement with the 5.1 DVD-A mix of Fragile was nil and without the benefit of his input. It also sounds as if he feels that the entire band should have been involved (a sentiment I strongly concur with) with the production of this DVD-Audio. Given the gravity of the tone of the interview, I certainly hope that the next DVD-A (CttE, please please please), will allow the full band complete input in the project. Your thoughts?
Now...where were we? Ah yes. We do have some interesting upcoming issues coming our way.
We'll be back here bright and early on Friday. Come back and we'll have a couple of reviews including a Tommy SACD review by George Bennett. We'll see you then.
Don't forget the reader reviews. If you have a single paragraph about a favourite current album that you have, share it with the world. Write me here and use READER REVIEW in the subject line.
Imusic and Fearless Records have announced a release for Dynamite Boy with a self titled issue and scheduled for May 18.
Arista Records comes full swing with the title and new date for the upcoming Avril Lavigne album. The album will be titled Under My Skin and will hit stores on May 25.
V2 Records checks in with the announcement of a new release by Charlie Mars. Mars' self-titled album will be scheduled for May 18.
Sanctuary Records' boutique reggae label, Trojan, will issue Romeo Max and his Wet Dream: The Best of Romeo Max on May 18.
Sanctuary/Trojan Records also have The Skatalites and Friends coming out on May 18 with their Phoenix City: A History of the World's Greatest Ska Band and Sly and Robbie with their Riddim: The Best of Sly & Robbie in Dub 1978-1985.
RCA Records has put the hold on Velvet Revolver's upcoming effort, Contraband. The expected date is now TBD (to be determined.)
Varese Sarabande has a collection of nice albums coming beginning with The Very Best of Fats Domino: 1963-1965. This will be issued on May 4. Also from Varese Sarabande, a 2CD Blues Guitar Legends by JB & Magic Sam Lenoir on the list for a April 27 release.
Varese Sarabande will kick out a Small Faces collection called Hits, Misses, Thrashers & Crashers on May 4.
Reprise Records will issue a special Josh Groban title, Closer, a Special Fan Club Edition that will be in limited release. This one comes out on April 27. Reprise will also do the same with Michael Buble and his Come Fly With Me in digipak and containing a CD/DVD combo. What the Groban Fan Club Edition entails is this:
- Original album - Closer
- A 1-Year membership in the Friends of Josh Groban Fan Club
- A Large Sized Josh Groban Fan club T-Shirt
- Color Calendar, a letter from Josh
- Access to special material on joshgroban.com as well as an email address.
- Chances for early purchase of Josh Groban tickets
The Michael Buble extras will include membership for a year in the official fan club as well as a T-shirt.
And that's all they're giving us...for now.
March 16, 2004
Let me take a moment here to thank you all for your emails. It's great to hear positive stuff from the readers who enjoy coming to TAP on a daily basis and finding out what's down the road. We respect your trust and we just want you to know, we do it for you folks.
Well, after that grand ole statement, we can only say that it's just plain ole slow today. We've managed to ecke out a little bit of news. The real good news, and worth the price of today's admission if you were to ask me, is MCA's announcement that Can't Buy a Thrill will join the other SACD releases expected from Steely Dan.
We have received several emails concerning a possibly defective Rhino issue of the YES Tormato disc. It is stated that the hidden track (18) stutters and stalls. It's also stated that the defects either begins immediately or after a few minutes. If anyone else has experienced this same effect, let us know.
The future has a Norah Jones DVD and a Sarah Brightman live CD/DVD in it.. More on those later.
And we'll see you back here tomorrow
Don't forget the reader reviews. If you have a single paragraph about a favourite current album that you have, share it with the world. Write me here and use READER REVIEW in the subject line.
Windham Hill has alerted TAP to an upcoming Various Artists release that will be titled Windham Hill America and will release on May 18.
Shout! Factory has a few more upcoming titles coming available. The Very Best of Maria Muldaur is on the calendars for May 4. They also continue to issue Marshall Tucker Band reworks and will now hit the trails with releases of Beyond The Horizon, Carolina Dreams, and Together Forever. Those MTB albums will street on May 11.
We mentioned earlier that Epic has a Tori Amos DVD in store for May 4. How about a little sweetener to go with that news? Ok..Epic will also release a CD album of the same title, Welcome to Sunny Florida, also on the same day. It looks like it may be an EP and might accompany the DVD as a bonus but the details are kind of sketchy at the moment. Continuing...
In some more cool news..and I think I might have reported on this one before..but Capitol Records have inserted, or re-inserted (whichever), into the schedule for September 21, a Box Set for The Band. We'll keep an eye out for this one.
Here's a bit of a rundown on the upcoming Linda Ronstadt 2CD Spanish retrospective, Mi Jardin Azul: Las Canciones Favoritas that is due on April 27. This collection is being released by Rhino and Elektra and will contain 20 remastered tracks that span from 1976 - 1993. The set will contain a booklet that will feature lots of photos and a track by track commentary by Linda Ronstadt. Linda Ronstadt also has a new studio album expected for this summer at some point, her first in 4 years.
 Rhino's rockin' 6CD issue of All Good Things: Jerry Garcia Studio Sessions will contain all 5 of Jerry's solo releases as well as another disc of previously unreleased studio material. Now I don't know about you folks but this set has got my arm hairs standing straight up, that's how anxious I am to acquire one. This set is Garcia's first box setand will feature over 7 hours of remastered music in HDCD.
The five solo discs will be expanded with unissued rarities tied into the solo album they accompany. Here's the breakdown:
- The Garcia LP will feature 8 album outtakes from this session.
- 1974's Garcia (Compliments) will offer 10 additional unreleased tracks that really beef up this album.
- Reflections from 1976 will contain 5 bonus tracks including an 18 minute take on Orpheus
- Cats Under the Stars from 1978 will issue 7 extras.
- Run for the Roses, issued in 1982, will be expanded with 6 additional tracks.
- The added disc, All Good Things, will contain 12 additional rarities with outtakes, jams, & alternates.
- A stuffed booklet with new notes detailing each album in the set, a 5000 word essay, and tons of photos make this completist dream a 'must have'.
You can snag this gem on April 20. We've copped a cover shot for you but only in B/W.
Phish fans can expect a new album perhaps in June.
As a parting gift, here's the cover shot for the upcoming 2CD Lou Reed live set called Animal Serenade which will contain 20 tunes (no Walk on the Wild Side) that include Heroin, Street Hassle, Candy Says, How Do You Think It Feels, and All Tomorrows Parties. This one comes out on March 23. This cover is cool.
Good news for us Steely Dan fans who were feeling sorry for ourselves in the wake of the recent announcements that would bring almost all the SD issues to SACD...except for the great Can't Buy A Thrill. It's been brought to my attention by readers that Can't Buy A Thrill is now expected to be released in SACD format after all. And now, we're all happy, right?
Officially, MCA has set July 20 as the date for the release of Aja, Countdown to Ecstasy, Katy Lied, Pretzel Logic, The Royal Scam, and Can't Buy A Thrill.
While we're at it, Mercury will release The Allman Brothers Band's Eat A Peach and Live at Fillmore East on May 18.
March 15, 2004
Weekend? We spent it catching up. And we sure have the reviews to prove it. We also started our new feature called Capsule Reviews that will allow us to review more music without having to wrap them up in a lot of words. With our growing readership and the larger spread of music making themselves available, we thought that such a feature would be welcome.
Guess what? We have the newest edition of Duane's Pit Stop. Stop in and catch up with Duane.
As for reviews, we have spun a batch of discs making the genre spreads we get around here. So, Dw checks in with a review of the interesting Fantomas, who, for LA based readers, will be appearing for free at our ultra cool Amoeba Music on March 24 at 7p. Regardless of ability to attend, Dw Dunphy pens his thoughts on the latest album by Fantomas, Delirium Cordia.
George Bennett turned in a couple reviews, one of which will be made available to you in a few days. The one available today is Los Lonely Boys' self titled effort that is soon to be released by Epic Records. You don't have to wait however as it is available for purchase in its independent form. Watch for his take on The Who's SACD of Tommy coming up.
Lindsay Planer returns to the fold with his views on the DVD-Audio of The Mavericks. You'll remember that he reviewed the CD issue of that same album here. But being the completist that he is, he wanted to come in and let you know how that same album sounds upgraded.
Myself? We received the pre-release of the upcoming Slade 'best of', Get Yer Boots On and so we hopped right on it to bring you our views of this compilation.
Finally, Marco Passarelli kicks off our new Capsule Reviews section with 3 reviews on INXS' single I Get Up; Ima Robot's self titled CD; and The God Awfuls' Next Stop, Armageddon. Watch for this section to really proliferate as we use it to expand our reviews output. Just another way we're evolving to be more the magazine that you enjoy.
I did a bit of work on TAPSheet over the weekend. I'm going to use it to repeat what we report on in an easy to read format (Excel). It should be cool. Watch for that to debut after April.
Now, to cop a phrase from Slade...let's Get Down and Get With It!
Don't forget the reader reviews. If you have a single paragraph about a favourite current album that you have, share it with the world. Write me here and use READER REVIEW in the subject line.
BB King will have his Blues Summit Concert released as a very Deluxe issue. This release will be 2CD with an additional DVD to complement the entire set. This issue from Geffen Records will be made available to fans on May 4.
Rounder Records has announced the upcoming release of The BoDeans' Resolutions on June 22. Also from Rounder is a release by Cowboy Junkies called One Soul Now and will be released on June 8.
Universal Records will issue an album by Flaw called Endangered Species on May 4.
Blue Thumb will issue a Hugh Masekela release on May 11 called Still Grazing.
Def Jam (Why do I dislike that as a label name? I dunno, I really don't..it just sticks the wrong way.) will issue a Patti Labelle album in both CD and LP format. The album is called Timeless Journey and will street on May 4.
 I promised a look at the upcoming Lee Michaels 'best of' from Shout! Factory called Hello: The Very Best of Lee Michaels. This CD issue will be available on April 27. Lee Michaels began his career with a band, The Sentinels, that spun off several careers for the members that included The Turtles, Moby Grape, Canned Heat, and, of course, Lee Michaels himself. Michaels is best known as the singer of "Do You Know What I Mean?" Lee Michaels released 6 albums for A&M Records as well as a small string for Columbia Records before retiring to Hawaii (wish we could all be so lucky, eh?)
Here's a lisitng of the tracks:
- Hello
- Carnival of Life
- If I Lose You
- The War
- Heighty Hi
- Stormy Monday
- Medley: Tell Me How You Feel/(Don't Want No) Woman/My Friends
- Thumbs
- Uummmm My Lady
- Murder in my Heart (For the Judge)
- Do You Know What I Mean?
- Keep The Circle Turning
- Can I Get a Witness
- Hold On To Freedom
 Shout! Factory isn't being dormant however. With their output ramping up with material from the forgotten ones, we can expect quality collections from the past. As well as the Slade issue and the above mentioned Lee Michaels collection, they have a scheduled release of The Pretty Things. For those who need a bit of info, The Pretty Things were started by Phil May, who carried them through several incarnations including a brief stint with Led Zeppelin's SwanSong label, and Dick Taylor. This band, like too many before and after them, were ignored despite the influential aspects of their being. So it is with joy that I announce the coming April 20 release of Come See Me: The Best of The Pretty Things.
This issue will contain 25 tunes that spread the distance of their output from their mid-60s beginnings to their mid-70s periods. Psychedelia, Rock Opera, Rock, Blues Fusion; these are the styles that The Pretty Things brought to our vast and ever expanding legacies of Rock. Here's a lisitng of their songs that are inlcuded on this set:
- Rosalyn
- Honey, I Need
- Road Runner
- Don't Bring Me Down
- Judgement Day
- Rainin' In My Heart
- Midnight to Six Man
- Buzz The Jerk
- You Don't Believe Me
- Can't Stand the Pain
- Come See Me
- Get the Picture
- LSD
- Progress
- The Sun
- Death of a Socialite
- Defecting Grey
- Walking Through My Dreams
- Balloon Burning
- Talkin' About the Good Times
- Mr Evasion
- Loneliest Person
- Grass
- Dream/Joey
- Singapore Silk Torpedoes
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