News
March 30, 2003
HEAR THEM BALALAIKAS RINGING OUT
Who knows what inspired Paul McCartney to write "Back In The U.S.S.R." back in 1968 - except, sure, for the Chuck Berry's "Back In The USA" and THE BEACH BOYS harmonizing - but now that the veteran's tour brought forth "Back In The U.S." and "Back In The World" live albums, he's ready to go to the former Soviet Union and play Russia. Moscow's Red Square will see Macca perform on May 24th - and that's quite strange, as some ten years ago Paul claimed he would never do so after the Russian market got inundated with THE BEATLES and McCartney's pirate LPs! Is he becoming as volatile as his movie grandfather?
Meanwhile, April will see the Canadian charity compilation called "Warchild" release for which many a big name give their tracks. The McCartney's one is a live recording of "Calico Skies", original version to be found on "Flaming Pie".
SHADOWS TALLER THAN A SOUL
Now, when the artwork for the forthcoming LED ZEPPELIN releases - "How The West Was Won" CD and "Led Zeppelin" DVD (see the tracklistings here) - is confirmed, the band mastermind Jimmy Page was inevitably asked again about the possibility of the almighty vehicle flying once more. And once more the guitarist said "no" to reunion, having added that he would be playing ZEPPELIN tunes "on my DVD player" only, although strutting their stuff live was great, and that there would be no more of archive releases.
THE PROGRAMME WILL BE LIGHT
With ASIA enjoying the success of their recent "Live In The USA" CD and DVD, the band leader Geoff Downes and the singer / bassist John Payne are planning to trek across America this summer to perform "intimate" acoustic shows for the faithful - a brilliant idea.
And in order to keep the fans on their toes, Downes has a new solo album, his fifth, out soon, "Shadows & Reflections". Similar in its new age, ambient vein to the solid "Light Programme", it has a different tone to it - even conceptually. There's only two tracks:
1. Shadows
2. Reflections
IN THE CAGE
Who could guess the featured vocalist on John Cage's "The Works for Piano 5" would be none other than heavy-weighter Jack Bruce! Indeed, Jack's voice is all over the piece called Four Walls", a “dancedrama” written using only the white keys of the piano, with text and dance by Cage's long-time collaborator Merce Cunningham. It was performed only once in 1944 in a production with actors and dancers, and was not heard again until it was revived some 30 years later. At Cunningham’s request, Cage also devised "Soliloquy", a shorter "solo" piece extrapolated from "Four Walls", which Cunningham performed several times in his early recitals:
1. Four Walls
2. Soliloquy
3. 3 Easy Pieces
March 18, 2003
THAT'S A SLAM
Sad to say, but all the Phil Lynott and GRAND SLAM releases, both issued and upcoming, seem to have been deleted from the Zoom Club plans. What's already out is Philo's "Live In Sweden" and SLAM's "The Studio Sessions", while the band's live package "Live 1984" was written in for March. DME's inquery met no comments from the label, yet the reason might be the Lynott's family interception, as all the recordings from the keyboard player Mark Stanway's collections were unauthorised.
THE STONES BEHIND THE WALL
That might seem funny but THE ROLLING STONES will have to drop four of their hits from the set to be played in Beijing on April 4th. It seems the reason for the Chinese government order to cut off "Brown Sugar" and "Beast Of Burden" is that they deal with slavery and misogyny, subjects too extreme for the Communist-ruled country, while "Honky Tonk Women" and "Let's Spend the Night Together" are too seductive for a country plagued by demographic problems.
IN THE LIGHT AGAIN
This year marks the 30th anniversary of ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA's second album, and that's a reason good enough for a re-issue, so on March 21st "ELO 2" will see the light of day again - repackaged and much augmented with a unique material to fill two CDs this time, one being the classic record itself sprinkled with bonus tracks, the other a limited edition bonus album entitled "The Lost Planet". All the stuff had been remastered by Peter Mew at Abbey Road Studios under the approval and direction of Jeff Lynne.
Among the previously unreleased cuts are three songs recorded at George Martin's Air Studios in February 1973, with THE MOVE's Carl Wayne on vocals, including a version of "Mama", and an April 1973 ELO session featuring Marc Bolan on "Everyone's Born To Die", "Ma-Ma-Ma-Belle" and "Dreaming Of 4000". With all those, plus never before published photos, extensive sleevenotes and interviews, as well as new commentary by the band members, this is an indispensable artefact.
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CD 1 - ELO 2:1. In Old England Town (Boogie No. 2) |
CD 2 - THE LOST PLANET:1. From The Sun To The World (BBC session) |
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THE FINEST BREW
That's a long overdue project, yet finally CREAM's "BBC Sessions" will be out on March 25th as a double CD comprised of previously unreleased cuts the mighty trio notched for the Corporation in 1966-1968, interspersed with Eric Clapton's contemporary interview snippets - incidentally, some songs recorded for BBC appeared before on Slowhand's "Crossroads" box set, but not these:
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1. Sweet Wine |
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14. Four Until Late |
FOR WHOM BELL TOLLS
Angel Air continues the label's programme of putting out the great Maggie Bell's live recordings. It commensed in 2002 with "Live At The Rainbow 1974", and now there's a document from the STONE THE CROWS warbler's American tour, called " Live Boston USA 1975", that was recorded when Maggie opened for BAD COMPANY. What's more important though is that Ms Bell is currently writing material for a new album, saying, “I’m getting too old for working in a band so it will be a solo album. I know enough talented musicians who aren’t doing anything who I can get involved”.
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1. Coming On Strong |
THE BOOK OPENS AGAIN
While the fans are eagerly listening to John Wetton's freshly released "Rock Of Faith" album, Voiceprint goes down on the veteran's tour proceedings again, with "Live In Stockholm", the solo acoustic show recorded in 1998 and featuring, among John's usual fare, Bob Dylan's classic "All Along The Watchtower" which Wetton later introduced to the QANGO stage set, as documented on "Live In The Hood". The concert was simultaneously broadcast by Swedish National Radio, but half of the recording has been lost, and that's what survived (the CD price is full, though):
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1. Book Of Saturday |
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March 13, 2003
WHEREVER YOU MAY ROAM
The Internet has many places to visit, sure, and some of those hold promises for too long to believe that wonders will ever happen. Still, after long gestations the Rory Gallagher's Official Site is fully operational now at www.rorygallagher.com, as a tie-in with a great late Irishman's posthumous acoustic album, "Wheels Within Wheels". There you can find information on each of Rory's records, his timeline and all things Gallagher constructed under the brother Donal supervision.
Another classic guitarist to have opened the official site at www.martinbarre.com is JETHRO TULL's Martin Barre. His domain is not as heavily loaded with details and other trivia, but you can send your own questions to the master there.
TO TOAST YOU ALL IN PENNY CHEER
While on JETHRO TULL note, there's another batch of the remasters on the way, all embellished with a smattering of bonus material. Of special interest must come the bonus tagged onto "A Passion Play": a CD-ROM video of weird yet extremely funny "The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles", the most pleasant, oustanding for its sense of humor and phonetic excellence, piece on a rather bleak album. As for the whole bunch of the remasters, it's like this:
"A Passion Play" (1973)
- The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles (video)
"Songs From The Wood" (1977)
- Beltane
- Velvet Green (live)
"Heavy Horses" (1978)
- Broadford Bazaar
- Living In These Hard Times
WHERE THE MIGHTY ARMS OF ATLAS
Here it is, the contents of the forthcoming LED ZEPPELIN releases, the 2 DVD-set "Led Zeppelin" and a 3CD one, "How The West Was Won":
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Royal Albert Hall, January 1970: |
15. Since I've Been Loving You |
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1. L. A. Drone |
10. Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp |
LET'S SAY SO
FLEETWOOD MAC have their new album, "Say You Will", written by Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, ready - and the fans willing:
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1. What's The World Coming To |
10. Smile At You |
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March 12, 2003
THE POLICE CALLING OUT THE DOORS
THE DOORS had no much luck before, with their singer still alive, and there's no luck for them now. The name changed to THE DOORS 21ST CENTURY, and the original drummer John Densmore out of action and suing his former colleagues, the stool behind the kit has been taken by another legend, Stewart Copeland. Not for long though, as Copeland left Robbie Krieger and Ray Manzarek and that stand-in for the Lizard King - instead, he joined his old band, THE POLICE, on March 10th, when the trio were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It seems, there's more fun with Andy Summers and Gordon Summer aka Sting... than with THE DOORS, who Copeland filed a suit against as well because they have hired a replacement drummer for a January 31st press event in Los Angeles, while Stewart's contributions to the tour brought rave reviews and added credibility to the group.
HALL OF THE HOLY
Sure, the other inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame must be named, and they are: AC / DC who played at the ceremony with Steven Tyler, THE POLICE, who were joined on-stage by the same Aerosmithian and NO DOUBT's Gwen Steffani, Elvis Costello and THE ATTRACTIONS, Mo Ostin, THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS and THE CLASH. A percentage of Brits there led to the British invasion tag being dusted off. And why not?
JACK OF ALL TRADES
April 7th marks the beginning of the Jack Bruce reissue programme that starts with the artist's first four albums, of which most notable and highly recommended is a stunning debut, "Songs For A Tailor", recorded right after the bassist had left CREAM and featuring famous piece "Theme For An Imaginary Western" covered by COLOSSEUM and MOUNTAIN as well as some more songs Jack himself has been coming back to over the years, most recently on his latest record, "Shadows In The Air". All four albums come sprinkled with rare bonus cuts.
"Songs For A Tailor" (1969)
- Ministry Of Bag (demo)
- Weird Of Hermiston (alternate mix)
- Clearout (alternate mix)
- Ministry Of Bag (alternate mix)
"Things We Like" (1970)
- Ageing (previously unreleased)
"Harmony Row" (1971)
- Green Hills (Can You Follow) (instrumental)
- You Burned The Tables On Me (alternate version)
- There's Forest (first take)
- Escape To The Royal Wood (On Ice) (instrumental)
- Can You Follow (take one)
"Out Of The Storm" (1974)
- Keep It Down (first mix)
- Keep On Wondering (first mix)
- Into The Storm (first mix)
- Pieces Of Mind (first mix)
- One (first mix)
OUT ON THE EDGE OF DARKNESS
With the world dividing at the moment, there's a man on the edge of the divide, calling for peace. As Cat Stevens he belonged to the Western world, as Yusuf Islam to the Eastern one, he's still the artist, that's why Yusuf chose to re-record the Cat's song "Peace Train" and offer it for free from his website. There's another song to follow, called "Angel Of War", which many will recognize because it shares the melody with old classic, "Lady D'Arbanville".
In Islam's own words, "Thirty years later, as Yusuf Islam, I have more right and more reason to reclaim this anthem of my evolutionary Cat Stevens period. As a member of humanity and as a Muslim, this is my contribution to the call for a peaceful solution to the dangerous path some world leaders today seem to be taking".
THE COMIC BOOK OF SATURDAY
Having just released excellent "Rock Of Faith" album and currently taking it on the road, John Wetton is so full-on now that he's going to turn a comic book character called Angel Fire, on which the veteran works with an artist who specialises in doing progressive rock musicians as comic book heroes.
Still, as everybody know the real strength of this hero is when John's on-stage, and the document of Wetton's shows in Camden on March 16th will be filmed by Classic Rock Productions for a DVD release, with a similar project consigned to the future Krakow concert.
THE LEVEE'S BREAKING
Before, it was a teaser, now the official statement followed: yes, May 27th will see the release of two live sets from that mighty dirigible, LED ZEPPELIN, 2 DVD and 3 CDs under the title of "Led Zeppelin" and "How The West Was Won" respectively. There's no artwork and tracklisting published at the moment but some details are - it'll be a best-seller anyway as, except for a couple of tracks from "Coda" and the "BBC Sessions" set, those will be the first official concert recordings since 1977's "The Song Remains The Same" soundtrack. Expectations are high, yet the prices reasonably low.
The DVD sets clocks in 5 and half hours and features performances from The Royal Albert Hall (January 1970), London's Earl's Court (May 1975) and Knebworth Festival (August 1979) as well as songs from Madison Square Garden (July 1973) that didn't make it to "The Song Remains The Same" film and rare TV appearances, one from March 1969, plus interviews, promo clips, behind-the scenes material and some bootleg footage. As for the CDs, they consist of two performances, at the Los Angeles Forum and Long Beach Arena on June 25th and 27th, 1972, sequenced in one whole - the set is too close to that Madison Square Garden show of year later, which is a pity.
What won't disappoint is a sound restored, remixed and remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, DTS, and PCM Two-Channel Stereo under the personal supervision of Jimmy Page and director Dick Carruthers. Says Jimmy, "Our thing was playing live. In that sense, ZEPPELIN was very much an underground band. The fact that it became as successful as it did was something that was almost out of our control. We actually shunned commercialism, which is why so little official footage of the band has ever been seen before". 'Nuff said - time to watch and listen!
March 5, 2003
GOAL IS THE WESTERN SHORE
The rumours have been circulating for a long time but eventually led-zeppelin.com broke the news on the upcoming 3 CD-set of live recordings by LED ZEPPELIN called "How The West Was Won", tied-in with a 2 DVD-set. There's no official announcement yet, with a tentative release date set for May 27th.
March 4, 2003
THAT STRONG ARM OF THE LAW
SAXON still lead their battle over the band's name, that started when the group split in two factions, original singer Biff Byford leading one, and guitarist Graham Oliver and bassist Steve Dawson at the helm of the other.
On February 25th, the High Court in London ruled that Dawson and Oliver had registered the name SAXON for themselves in 1997 without Byford in the know and, therefore, stated it's Biff's ensemble the real SAXON. Two days later, OLIVER-DAWSON SAXON issued a statement claiming the trademark was owned by all members of the partnership and should not have been registered by any individual partners, that's why they added their surnames to the group they formed, while Byford still prefers to stick with what he - or Paul Quinn, another original player - have no rights to. All attempts to sort out the differences between two factions had been dismissed by what's known as SAXON now, so the battle may rage again any time.
GONE INTO THE GREAT WIDE OPEN
Another rock 'n' roll loss: Howie Epstein, whose bass was so prominent on the Tom Petty & THE HEARTBREAKERS records followed the John Entwistle suit on Ferbuary 23rd. 47 year-old died from a heroin overdose. The funeral service was attend by his former bandmates pianist Benmont Tench and drummer Stan Lynch.
STRIKING BACK
If one suspected 2001's "Hypnotica" was a one-off project by guitarist Rolf Munkes and there's no such band as EMPIRE, he's proved wrong now, with an impending second album called "Trading Souls" featuring alongside Rolf two mammoth players from the previous one, Neil Murray and Don Airey as well as HAMMERFALL's Anders Johansson sitting in on two tracks while Gerald Kloos takes the stool for the rest. And a singer? This time the vocals are even mightier than before, with ex-BLACK SABBATH Tony Martin at the mike. The album is out on April 21st.
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1. One In A Million
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MARCHING OUT THE GODS
June will see the release of "Live At The Gods" CD and DVD documenting Jeff Scott Soto's performance at last year's The Gods festival. It seems, there's no better retrospective of the great singer's versatility, as the set includes pieces Jeff recorded both as a solo artist and a member of Yngwie Malmsteen's RISING FORCE, TALISMAN and HUMANIMAL. Something for everyone and a celebration of great talent, indeed.
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1. Your Heart (intro) |
11. Mysterious
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Meanwhile, Soto is to appear at the Official QUEEN Fan Club UK convention on May 10th, in North Wales, to blast off with a full set of the British legend's songs.
STANDING AT THE CROSSROADS
He wasn't the first and he wasn't the last, he even wasn't the best - but the most legendary of all his is. Robert Johnson may have lived a short life and recorded only three and a half dozen of songs, yet each one became a classic and a staple in the repertoire of many a blues and rock idol. Tutored by Son House and rivalled by Muddy Waters, Johnson is nevertheless seldom observed in the musical history context rather than an icon, an aspiring artist who sold his soul only to play the blues. So here's a chance now, with a release of a 3CD-set "Down At The Crossroads: The Robert Johnson Connection" that puts Robert's work in the center of what had been before and after him. A must have, especially when a price is said to be only J12.
CD 1: Roots, Origins & Influences
1. Roll And Tumble Blues - Hambone Willie Newbern |
CD 2: The Robert Johnson Songbook
1. Kind Hearted Woman Blues |
CD 3: The Legacy
1. Little Boy Blue - Robert Jr. Lockwood |