News
August 26, 2004
MOONLIGHT SHADOWS
As a rule, "Romantic Collection" is a generic title for shoddy compilations featuring schmaltzy ballads supposed to ignite the inner flame. Strange, then, that BLACKMORE'S NIGHT allowed their forthcoming product to be called so - or, more fully, "Beyond The Sunset - The Romantic Collection". But there's no reason to ignore it easily, because Ritchie, Candice and their band of wandering minstrels have something new on there even for those fans who have everything The Man In Black have done.
First off, the collection, out on September 13th, opens with a new song, "Once In A Million Years", and features a freshly re-cut version of "Ghost Of A Rose" and an "All Because Of You" remix. Then, those who can hardly wait until November 22nd, when the long-overdue BLACKMORE'S NIGHT DVD is released, may opt for another packaging, one including five live video tracks from the DVD:
1. Written In The Stars
2. Morning Star
3. Play, Minstrel, Play
4. Minstrel Hall
5. Under A Violet Moon
Yet that's not all. The most hardcore aficionados will have a possibility to lay their hands on "Beyond The Sunset - The Box Set" that includes the same CD and DVD - plus a bonus CD with three Xmas-flavoured songs:
1. Emanuel
2. We Three Kings
3. Christmas Eve
Enough to pass the time with your beloved one.
BEAM UP!
There hardly is more mythological record than THE BEACH BOYS' ”'Smile”. Conceived and sketched out by Brian Wilson while his band were on tour, 1967 didn't see it released, even though an ad with a cover artwork had been published in press. Since then, it snowballed into a legend, with several pieces re-cut for successive albums and others appearing on various bootlegs. Still, no one bar Brian knew what the whole picture should've looked like - but on September 28th we'll know.
Wilson and his writing partner Van Dyke Parks have finally finished their work last year, and February 20th, 2004 saw the live premiere of "Smile" at the Royal Festival Hall stage. Now, the studio recording's ready, too. Featuring the ensemble which has supported Brian for some time and The Stockholm Strings And Horns, it surely is not a BEACH BOYS' product, yet the original wasn't to be really such either. So the new version is as good as any compiled from the bits and pieces by the fans - only fully authorised. The vibrations are good, indeed.
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1. Our Prayer / Gee |
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THE ROOTS ROCK
For a while, it seemed that the John Lennon re-issue programme stopped, with Yoko Ono not marking 2004 with a "Walls And Bridges" re-release. But no, on September 27th out is ”Rock ’N’ Roll”, John's roots album that originally appeared in 1975 after a long gestation and vying with unauthorised record put out by Morris Levy, who sued Lennon for "plagiarizing" Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me" for THE BEATLES' "Come Together". The Phil Spector-led sessions ground to a halt when the producer disappeared with the tapes, yet John re-did the album, and it was his last before Lennon took a five-year vacation.
Now, remixed and remastered, ”Rock ’N’ Roll” is augmented with bonus tracks. Nothing too rare, really: "To Know Her Is To Love Her" and "Angel Baby" had their official debut in 1986, on "Menlove Ave”, while "Since My Baby Left Me” that was there as well, here will be in a different version, so it's only an alternative ending to "Just Because” which is totally unheard by majority.
MAKE A BIG NOISE
1982 might be not so momentous a year for QUEEN, with many fans quite puzzled by the direction the band took on "Hot Space", yet live, they were always tremendous. The "Greatest Video Hits 2" DVD allowed a peek at it with "Staying Power" recorded at Milton Keynes, and this fall will see a release of the full show. As usual with QUEEN, "Live At Milton Keynes" comes on two discs and looks like this:
Disc One:
1. Flash |
Disc Two:
Backstage interview |
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY TOY
From ten to five years ago, the T.REX releases seemed to be competing with the Hendrix's ones, a new title hitting the shelves every other months. Then a full flow of alternative albums and live recordings became shallow, so the fans had a good possibility to save up - and now they can spend the dough nicely. Out is "Total T.Rex", a limited to 5,000 copies collection of 1971-1972 rarities, demos and concert cuts gathered on 5 CDs and a DVD by Rolan Bolan, Marc's son. The set includes previously unreleased material from the personal collection of Bolan family, a deluxe 36-page booklet with notes by Rolan and T. REX musicians and unseen photos, plus two Electric Warrior replica stickers.
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Disc 1:
1. Spaceball Ricochet (unplugged 1972) |
Disc 2:
1. Cosmic Dancer (Marc Solo) |
Disc 3:
1. Beltane Walk (Wolverhampton, 1971) |
Disc 4:
1. Cadilac (Boston, 1972) |
Disc 5:
1. Electric Warrior/There Was A Time (home demo) |
August 12, 2004
THE JUICE WILL FLOW
While many a young band are lazy, there's no rest for older guys like Dave Cousins. THE STRAWBS' main man has cornered the classic "The Hero And Heroine" line-up of the band - Cousins, Dave Lambert, Chas Cronk, Rod Coombes and John Hawken - for the recording of another album, "Deja Fou", which seems to be out by now. With these five - and Adam Wakeman and Robert Kirby guesting - there shouldn't be a miss. Except for the cover artwork...
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1. Riviera del Fiori |
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HE ROBOT?
It's quite about time for Alan Parsons to come up with something new - and finally he delivers it. Something new, it is: "A Valid Path", released on August 24th, will be the first electronics album from the man whose studio wizardry could have pointed him this way long ago. But Parson's a peculiar person and all the better for it. The PINK FLOYD fans should pay attention as well, because of David Gilmour supplying guitar licks to the opening track and Storm Thorgerson having done the artwork.
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1. Return To Tunguska (feat. David Gilmour) |
GOODBYE, HUMBLE PIE HAT
Last fall, Greg Ridley, the thunder bass of HUMBLE PIE, left us for a better world. This year, on November 20th, the Carling Academy in Islington will host a memorial concert for Greg, featuring his former band members Jerry Shirley, Clem Clempson and Peter Frampton as well as the PIE's late leader's daughter Molly Marriott and ZEP's drummer's singing sister Deborah Bonham. Surely, there'll be much more participants, but the names are still to be announced.
THE LION'S HEART
It's not just farming that Joe Cocker's interested in. This September in Europe and the next January in the U.S., out is "Heart And Soul". The new album, this, so don't get confused with a same-titled compilation of Joe's best. The title's not original - but neither is the music, yet Cocker has no rival in interpreting other people's material, and this will be as brilliant a covers collection as you can get. Here are the songs with their original performers, with "One" unindentified as of yet - of special interest might be the fact that "Every Kind Of People" was written by Andy Fraser, formerly of FREE, and that "I Keep Forgetting" has been greatly done by PROCOL HARUM.
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1. What's Going On (Marvin Gaye) |
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THEY'RE DELICATE
Over the years, the GENTLE GIANT concerts have gained a legendary status, yet the fans who didn't attend their shows had a slighest chance to see what it was all about. With live CDs aplenty, the visuals were hard to come across, but now there's a DVD, no less. Called "Giant On The Box", it's available directly from the band's site and features the following chapters.
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1974 concert for German TV: |
1975 US TV concert: |
THROUGH CASTLE WINDOWS O'RE
It all started ten years ago, when the Richard Thompson newsletter, "Hokey Pokey", and their collection of charity albums spawned a record label, Fledg'ling Records. To mark the anniversary and their 50th CD release, Fledg'ling are producing something very precious, the Sandy Denny 5-disc collection, "A Boxful Of Treasures", which will easily rival that beautiful 3CD box, "Who Knows Where The Time Goes", so popular that it was re-released, a not very common thing for box sets, especially when it concerns folkies. But Sandy wasn't your regular folkie anyway.
A Boxful Of Treasures", due out late September - though late November would sound better for Denny fans, yet the sooner the better, in this case - will include a 52-page booklet with a foreword by Richard Thompson, biographical essay by Jim Irvin, a final word by Dick Gaughan and short reminiscences from many of those who worked with the English finest's female singer, as well as a lot of photos and reproductions from Sandy's original lyric notebooks. Prepare your check-books, folks!
These are the tracks in the collection. Previously unissued material marked with (*). FC stands for FAIRPORT CONVENTION, of course.
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Disc 1
1. 3.10 To Yuma |
Disc 2
1. Si Tu Dois Partir (FC) |
Disc 3
1. The North Star Grassman & The Ravens |
Disc 4
1. Whispering Grass (radio session) |
Disc 5
1. One Way Donkey Ride (demo) * |
Meanwhile, pencilled in for re-release is the only eponymous album of Sandy Denny's ensemble, FOTHERINGAY, augmented with live bonus tracks the fans familiar with from the bootleg recordings - save for, maybe, the STRAWBS' Dave Cousins-written "Two Weeks Last Summer":
- Two Weeks Last Summer
- Nothing More
- Banks Of The Nile
- Memphis Tennessee
Then again, with Sandy bonanza, the FAIRPORTS supporters mustn't close an eye on a lady who sang with the band before Denny, Judy Dyble, who also was a member of GILES, GILES AND FRIPP. Judy has her first (!) solo album out, called "Enchanted Garden".
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1. Summer Gathers |
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