News
July 22, 2006
SMOKE IT UP!
Perhaps. the most ubiquitous and world-wide famous riff, now "Smoke On The Water" is welcoming talents to show off. Promoting his 40-years-in-the-business newly-fashioned retrospective, "Gillan's Inn", Ian Gillan offers downloadable versions of the immortal DEEP PURPLE tune - mp3 of it, without lead vocals or lead guitar - for the contestants to add their own voice or axe to it, or even upload their completely own take. The jury will be the site's visitors but in the end it's Big Ian who'll pick the best in each category. The prizes are good: singer and guitarist will have a chance to go to Vegas and play there with Gillan at the "House Of Blues", while the band who submits their great version will grab some nice gear. Go firing in the sky, then.
A FLOWER OF ANY OTHER NAME
""The orchid is famous as a cultivated flower, but when grown in the wild the perfume seems stronger and sweeter…" That's how Steve Hackett describes the theme of his forthcoming album, "Wild Orchids", out on September 11th. Still, the compositions titles suggest there's something darker lurks between the notes that the guitarist has shaped with the help of his regular band, his brother John and the UNDERWORLD ORCHESTRA that featured prominently on the previous studio work, 2005's "Metamorpheus". As usual, the hard-boiled fans will have the chance to get hold of the special edition of the CD which, except for enhanced packaging, has four additional pieces, marked (*) in the track listing:
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1. Transylvanian Express (*) |
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THAT'S MATERIAL
As promised, the George Harrison re-issue progamme continues and goes back to the pre-Dark Horse days. September 26th will see the release of "Living In The Material World", the follow-up to the massive "All Things Must Pass" that the Quiet One had remastered shortly before his death in 2001. A new version of "The Material World", also remastered at Abbey Road from the original tapes, has a couple of bonus tracks, "Deep Blue" and "Miss O'Dell", both previously out as the B-sides to the album's singles.
But that's not all there will be. There will be two formats of the release: a single-disc package with a regular 12-page booklet with lyrics and photographs, and a special limited edition with a 40-page booklet and a DVD featuring previously un-issued versions of "Miss O'Dell" and "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" set to archive visuals, a live performance of "Give Me Love" from 1991's Japanese tour with Eric Clapton, and a mini-feature edited from film that Harrison commissioned in 1973 to promote the LP. More to come!
NIGHT SENSES
Sam Moore's name might not ring a bell when it comes to defining who deserves to be called a soul legend, but that's because everybody know his first name and not the second. Sam Moore, together with Dave Prater, formed a hugely influential duo, SAM AND DAVE. Solo, though, the two didn't succeed as much, and Moore's "Plenty Good Lovin'" album, released in 2002, was recorded in 1970 and had been shelved for a long time. But finally Sam found the strength to come with something new, and "Overnight Sensational" that will see the light of day on August 29th has a long line of stars willing to help their idol's voice shine. After Solomon Burke and Al Green's comebacks, this can be another triumph.
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1. I Can't Stand The Rain - with Wynonna, Bekka Bramlett, Billy Preston and Bebe Winans |
THE MEMPHIS BLUES AGAIN?
Last Bob Dylan albums were highly praised - deservedly. His Bobness doesn't produce new classics these days but, unlike many others, doesn't rest on the laurels of the past. His new album, scheduled for release on August 28th, puts it forward in its very title, "Modern Times". Still... One look at the songs titles reveals Big D. went way back to the very beginning this time, to the love of his life, the blues. You can't get in the genius' mind yet, to embrace his move more fully, it will make sense to opt for limited edition CD plus DVD format rather than regular CD or vinyl.
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1. Thunder On The Mountain |
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OFF THE HANDLE
Modern sound systems allow watching DVDs as well as listening to CDs, but good folks at Eagle Records seem to care enough of those who prefer the formats separately - to get the aural kicks in the car, for example - and go both ways for some of their releases. Now, following Rory Gallagher's "Live At Montreux" double DVD (details here), a CD version of the compilation comes out on July 25th. There's no full performance from any year that the great late Irishman graced the lake Geneva's stage, just a selection which spans ten years and shows how much missed Rory is.
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July 13, 2006
THE REPLACEMENTS' TIME
A funny thing: two major bands temporarily lost their singers - due to various reasons. But while Jeff Scott Soto is an adequate stand-in for Steve Augeri on JOURNEY's American tour, KINGS X's Doug Pinnick filling in for Corey Glover for the LIVING COLOR's European dates will be an interesting experience for the audience. What's more interesting is this new tendency of the vocalists' swapping. Go figure! Who's next?
ROCK OUT, JAZZ IN
Jon Lord wrote his "Concerto for Group and Orchestra" for DEEP PURPLE and there wasn't originally a thought that this classical-meets-rock 'n' roll piece will ever be performed by anyone else. But it was - and will be. On July 20th and 21th the Italian public and those who is going to visit, respectively, Parma and Rimini, will have the unique possibility of listening to the concerto played by a jazz trio of organ, drums and bass, and the Arturo Toscanini Foundation orchestra. Must be delicious - or boring.
ZEES MUNKIES KAN SWIN'
What with everyone's remastering programmes, the mighty hitmakers called SLADE have been underserved on this front. But eventually, some good folks decided it was time to move on with the project, and August 21st will see the release of the quartet's first four studuo albums, "Beginnings" and "Play It Loud" coupled as they're short and worse than the band's '80s output, plus "Live Anthology" which gathers all classic SLADE's concert recordings issued before. As of unissued material, every CD has some bonus cuts attached to it, and there's a box set on the horizon that'll be followed in 2007 by the rest of the ensemble's albums. The hands get all sweaty.
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"Beginnings" |
"Play It Loud" |
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"Slayed?" |
"Old New Borrowed And Blue" |
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Slade Alive - The Live Anthology |
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Disc 1:
"Slade Alive" |
Disc 2:
"Slade On Stage" |
That's the opening salvo. And here's the programme schedule:
September 2006
- The Slade Box (4CD)
- Crackers
February 2007
- Slade In Flame
- Nobody's Fools
- B-sides (2CD)
- Slade In Flame DVD Collectors Edition (incl. soundtrack)
April 2007
- Whatever Happened To Slade
- We'll Bring The House Down (incl. tracks from "Return To Base")
- Till Deaf Us Do Part
- Rockers (2CD)
June 2007
- The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome
- Rogues Gallery
- You Boyz Make Big Noize
- Slade Collection Vol. 1
- Slade Collection Vol. 2
July 12, 2006
SYD THE SEEDER
He's done so little and, for the last 30 years, lived separately from the myth that surrounded him. Still, Syd Barrett, one of the true trailblazers, who died a couple of days before, will be remembered as a myth, while eternally living as a spirit of the music. He's gone to play with Emily. Rest in peace, restless but peaceful soul, and ride the steel breeze in the sky.
RESURRECTING SHUFFLE
Five years ago Tony Ashton died, although he reached immortality much earlier. A man full of charm, Tony had his testimonial show a year before he passed away. Now, the concert is to be out on CD and DVD called "Endangered Species Live At Abbey Road". Yes, it was held at THE BEATLES aural sanctum and recordings were made by the Fabs' engineer, Geoff Emerick. Introduced by Ewan McGregor, the performance featured TONY ASHTON BAND including Pete York on drums, legendary Chris Barber on trombone and WISHBONE ASH's former axeman Laurie Wisefield; JOHN ENTWISTLE BAND with Zak Starkey handling the sticks; THE COMPANY OF SNAKES which was the classic WHITESNAKE line-up of Jon Lord, Ian Paice, Bernie Marsden, Micky Moody and Neil Murray, plus ex-BAD CO Robert Hart standing in for David Coverdale; and PAICE, ASHTON, LORD reformed for the only time in their entirety up to backing singers, with only Paul Martinez absent and replaced with Neil Murray. A unique document - and some blistering music.
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TONY ASHTON BAND |
LET THE SUNSHINE IN
It's just a couple of months that we haven't heard of Joe Lynn Turner, and that's a long time for Joe who's always involved in something good. Last time it was a joint record with Akira Kajiyama, and now there's SUNSTORM, a studio project comcocted by the Frontiers Records' masterminds Serafino Perugino and Mario de Riso who a long time ago got a hold of a recording - widely in circulation among fans - of Turner's second album taped in 1986 to follow in the wake of the previous year's "Rescue You" but unreleased. A nice slab of AOR, these days it sounds interesting but dated. That's why the singer, on the Frontiers' request, decided to have another go at some of those tracks. And there were these:
1. Wind
2. Standing In The Fire Of Love
3. Time To Let Go
4. Together Forever Now
5. Tonight
6. Make A Change
7. Eyes Of A Stranger
8. She's A Live Wire
9. Where Love's Gone Wrong
More so, the label has put Joe in touch with erstwhile SURVIVOR leader and brilliant songwriter Jim Peterik, who Turner worked with in the past and who, in the vocalist's words, had written some good stuff with him and Ritchie Blackmore on what was to become a follow-up to DEEP PURPLE's "Slaves And Masters" yet never materialised when Joe left the band. Now Peterik presented Turner with handful of new songs, so the SUNSTORM album, to be out on September 22nd, will be a mix of old and fresh material with AOR sound and JLT's voice a common denominator.
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