Despite the fact that Mitch Miller, as head of A&R at Columbia Records, despised Rock music and did what he could to discourage the label from getting involved (kinda a bad idea, huh?!), he was also a well-known visitor into the living rooms of many families back during his popular show's heyday, Sing Along With Mitch. Sing Along With Mitch featured Miller directing an audience singing participation including his TV audience. There was a bouncing ball that hovered over each word of a song to assist those of us who didn't know the lyrics of the tune.

While Miller's reluctance to venture into the highly profitable (at the time) emergence of Rock and Roll fast-tracked his diminishing role as a power-broker, he would never lose those few short years that his highly visible NBC show gave him. When you mention Mitch Miller, it's that show that many remember, little else.

Despite his stance, Mitch Miller watched Rock and Roll climb to incredible heights, and maybe even watched it's decline, having lived to an enviable 99 years of age. Accoding to his daughter, Mitch Miller died, after a short illness, of "...just old age." 'Atta Boy, Mitch!

While we'll miss you in this plane, we know that you'll be directing others in the sing-along mode with tunes from the Great Band.

Mitch Miller
1911-2010
RIP

Mike Duquette of The Second Disc has turned in a review of the recently released Deluxe Edition (2CD/DVD) of So Red The Rose by Duran Duran side project, Arcadia.

I want to alert TAP readers to the fact that I have finally put together a FaceBook fan page that you can access and join by clicking on the badge below.  What this offers is the exact same thing as my Twitter feeds provide and that is first buzz on upcoming releases and free offered downloads, many announcements  that beat our main post, sometimes by days.  We also provide a Google BUZZ page that expands on most of the Twitter/FB feeds. On Buzz, you can even hear the music stream if a stream is offered.  There are still things that I'm working on in the FB page, like calender notes as well as links to great sites like The Second Disc.  I invite you to join us at our FB page and bookmark it.  Visit it daily and you'll be rewarded with much news and info.  Of course, you'll still want to come to the main MusicTAP page for our noisy commentaries.  Remember, with our Twitter feeds, you can elect to receive the news bursts as text on your mobile phone keeping you effortlessly up to date with stuff.  Lots of choices.  Find one, or two, that fits.

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RCA and Legacy have teamed to produce THE definitive Elvis Presley set...ever. The massive - and soon to be rare 1st Edition - will only run through 1000 copies and will be not filled with every track Elvis recorded, but also a mass of extras (demos, outtakes, alternate takes, etc) to create perhaps one of the greatest coolection (incorrect spelling intended) sets ever produced, at least to my knowledge. If you're an Elvis fan, don't miss this opportunity to pick up a First Edition of The Complete Elvis Presley Masters. Here's the very descriptive press release:

THE COMPLETE ELVIS PRESLEY MASTERS is the crown jewel in RCA/Legacy’s 2010 Elvis 75 campaign. This limited edition, individually-numbered, deluxe set contains 30 CDs with all 711 master recordings released during Elvis’ lifetime, sequenced in strict chronological order. Also included are 103 rarities: additional masters, alternate takes, session outtakes, demos, rehearsal jams, home recordings, live performances and radio recordings.  This triumph of musicology is the definitive document – a magnificent audio chronicle of the inspiration, pain and genius that make Elvis the world’s most enduring musical and cultural icon.

Available exclusively at CompleteElvis.com, THE COMPLETE ELVIS PRESLEY MASTERS will be available for pre-orders starting August 2, in advance of the October 19 release date.  Only 1,000 numbered sets will be available for sale worldwide in this limited edition first run.

Complementing the music is a beautifully designed 240-page hardbound reference book produced exclusively for this collection.  A magnificent volume in its own right, this silk-screened, silver-gilded edition printed on archival paper is the ultimate reference work on the music of Elvis Presley.  The discography was painstakingly researched by compilation producer Ernst Mikael Jørgensen, the respected director of RCA’s Elvis catalog for over two decades and author of Elvis Presley: A Life In Music (St. Martin’s Press, 1998), and co-written by him with award-winning author Peter Guralnick.

Jørgensen and Guralnick’s extensive historical entries cover every song selection from the perspective of a scholar and a fan, with enlightening background stories and historical context, along with release dates, chart positions and other info.  The discography includes recording dates and locations, full musician credits, technical notes and a song index.  In addition, the book reproduces the artwork for every 45 rpm single, EP and LP release.  The book is full of rare and classic photographs from throughout Elvis’ life and recording career, beginning with the cover photo by legendary Williams ‘Popsie’ Randolph from Elvis’ first official RCA photo session at RCA Studios in New York on December 1, 1955.

Anchoring the book is a brand-new 6,000-word essay by Guralnick, noted biographer of Elvis Presley.  Guralnick’s two volumes – Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley (Little, Brown, 1994) andCareless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley (Little, Brown, 1999) – are widely acknowledged as the definitive biographical studies of Elvis’ life.  In addition to writing the foreword to Jørgensen’s Elvis Presley: A Life In Music, Guralnick also collaborated with him on another great reference work, Elvis Day by Day: The Definitive Record of His Life and Music (Random House, 1999).

Years in the making, THE COMPLETE ELVIS PRESLEY MASTERS has been compiled from the original analog master tapes where available, using 24-bit technology for greater sonic resolution and dynamics.  Each track has been carefully restored to achieve the best sound reproduction without compromising the audio quality of the original master.  The only exceptions are found on the rarities discs, which “derive from a variety of sources,” as Jørgensen writes. “First priority has been given to vividness of performance, historical significance and rarity of repertoire.”

THE COMPLETE ELVIS PRESLEY MASTERS is the newest release in RCA/Legacy’s Elvis 75 campaign, which commemorates the 75th anniversary of Elvis’ birth, celebrated on January 8, 2010. 

And since we're on the subject of Elvis Presley, RCA and Legacy will add Viva Elvis - The Album to its ongoing Elvis campaign. But Viva Elvis - The Album comes with a twist. It is a re-imagining of Elvis classics in various styles that include Blues, Punk, Hip Hop, Garage Rock, etc. Which should make this album a very interesting one to hear. Viva Elvis - The Album is scheduled for release on November 9.

Legacy has two Jayhawks albums up for reissue scheduled for October 19 that includes Hollywood Town Hall (1992), and Tomorrow The Green Grass (1995), which will itself be available in a 2CD Legacy Edition. Tomorrow the Green Grass will contain 24 bonus tracks, 18 of them 'Mystery Demos' tracks.

Mobile Fidelity is rockin' our worlds once again with two SACD releases of great titles. With release dates as yet undetermined, you'll soon be able to rock out to the S/T (1977) debut from Foreigner in a Hybrid Stereo SACD, as well as Pretenders' Pretenders II (1982). Expected as well is an SACD version of Stage Fright (1970) by The Band. While researching these titles, I found that an SACD version of Smokin' by Humble Pie was available. Nice!

Island Records UK plan the release of a 19CD Box set bringing together 11 Sandy Denny studio albums and 8 CDs filled with outtakes, demos, and Live recordings plus more. There is also a 72-page hardback book included with many, many cool items that include over 100 photos, photos that include handwritten Denny lyrics, and more. It is planned for released via the UK on either September or October. To keep in touch with this info, check back here from time to time. The set, called Sandy Denny Limited Edition Box Set, is limited with a run of 3000. Click on this link to not only pre-order but to get other details include track-listings of set.

AbraCadavar Records will release the new Cradle of Filth album, Darkly Darkly Venus Aversa, on October 22 (UK) with a US release to closely follow.

Warf Records will release a new Brian Eno album, due later this year but currently with no release date.

If you're a fan of Black Mountain, and '70s psychedelia (often referred to as stoner rock 'back in the day'), then you might find much in common with The Black Angels, whose new album, Phosphene Dream, is scheduled for release on September 14 (US/CA), and September 13 (UK) via Blue Horizon Records. There is a free track ("Bad Vibrations") from the album awaiting you to download at the band's website.

Kscope Records will reissue the long coveted album of outtakes collection from Porcupine Tree called Recordings (2001). The album is expected to be reissue in a Digi-book package on August 23.

Late '70s Punk Experimental band, Notekillers, returns to the stage with an upcoming new album called We're Here To Help, scheduled for November 9 via Prophase Music.

Fred Schneider (B-52s) has created (as The Superions) an album of original Christmas songs to be released on October 26 via Fanatic Records. The album will be called Destination...Christmas!. You can hear a sampler of the album at this link.

Eagle Entertainment plan the release of Ladies & Gentlemen as a restored and remastered version of the 1974 Rolling Stones film on both DVD and BD, planning for October 12. October 12 is also the date for the reissue of the Dio film, Holy Diver Live (2006) as a BD (Blu-ray) title.

Eagle Entertainment will reissue the 2005 concert film of Live at Wacken featuring the 2003 Wacken Festival appearance by Twisted Sister on a CD/DVD set planning for October 19 as the street date.

Eagle Entertainment continues their Classic Albums series with the DVD and BD (Blu-ray) releases of 2112 & Moving Pictures featuring the classic albums by Rush. Also, the label plans a DVD release of Mystify, which features the Live setting of the 1997 INXS show at Loreley Festival in Germany. In addition, the DVD will contain performances of all seven of their Top10 singles along with six bonus cuts from their Rockpalast appearance in 1984. Both are scheduled for September 28.

Peek-a-Boo Records plan the release of Hexadecagon by The Octopus Project on October 26. Expand your palate by visiting their MySpace site for some music and their own website for the rest. The Octopus Project creates fun, quirky Pop music to enjoy.

There will be a 20th Anniversary Edition of Empire being released by Queensryche on CD scheduled for September 14.

Finally, Eagle will release the new album by Ronnie Wood (his seventh studio work) called I Feel Like Playing. This CD is currently scheduled for release on September 28.