NEW MARQUEE MOON
It’s been six years now that The Marquee Club, an erstwhile Soho house for the likes of THE ROLLING STONES, THE WHO and SMALL FACES is closed. No more soon, it seems, as July will see the legendary venue in London’s Wardour Street turned into a dining and concert complex – with expense of 4 million pounds. A timely thing, as 2003 marks the 45th anniversary of the club which’s brand name belongs currently to Dave Stewart of EURYTHMICS and Mark Fuller, the entrepreneur behind London’s Sugar Reef and Embassy club.
As press release goes, new Marquee is to be a 1,000-capacity club and restaurant with a Michelin-starred chef, “concrete and chandeliers” decor in an upmarket Islington shopping development featuring Gap and Borders bookshop, and will have the biggest dance floor in London as well as production and editing facilities, and a VIP viewing gallery.
TIMEFUL OF WORDS
Before, it was in a word, about Rhino releasing the YES anthology-like 5CD-box called “In A Word: Yes (1969 – )”. Now, came a time to look inside this treasure trove adorned with new artwork from – who else? – Roger Dean. Rarities aren’t many therein yet, if you found some old compilation too little and having all the albums too much, this box is exactly what one needs.
CD1:1. Every Little Thing |
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CD2:1. Roundabout |
CD3:1. Siberian Khatru |
CD4:1. Tango (previously unreleased) |
CD5:1. Lift Me Up
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BY HIGH NUMBERS?
Heroes never die, you say? Likely, as the death of THE WHO bass master, John Entwistle, on June 27th didn’t stop his surviving bandmates Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey from launching the U. S. tour. Scheduled to start on June 28th, the treck had to be postponed – but the two shows will be played on later dates. Now, the tour is a tribute to The Ox and is supported by the late maestro’s family who consider the band’s decision as what John would have wanted. “The Ox has left the building — we’ve lost another great friend. Thanks for your support and love,” Townshend and Daltrey collectively said in a statement. The bassist’s shoes are filled now by famous session man Pino Palladino.
THE BAND PLAYS ON. ORCHESTRA TOO.
September 23th is the release date for the fully remixed and remastered editions of DEEP PURPLE’s “Concerto For Group And Orchestra”, which goes to mark the 33th anniversary of the original album, out on September 24th, 1969. But editions? Yes, there will be no less than four formats of the historical performance with the Sir Malcolm Arnold piece only on the DVDA and SACD versions. The latter, Super Audio Compact Disc will be able to play on regular CD machine, unlike the “Machine Head” SACD, to be released in August, that allows those not in posession of a special player listen only to the album, not the multi-channel mixes.
But as for the “Concerto”, you can get a hold of:
– DVD – the film of the show, with just the “Concerto” on, as the band were not filmed.
– DVDA – audio only, remixed in 5.1, has Malcolm Arnold’s 6th Symphony on it, the full PURPLE set, “Concerto For Group And Orchestra” and the encore, a shorter version of the 3rd movement.
– Double SACD – audio only, remixed 5.1, is of the same content as DVDA, and can be listened to on any CD player – but without the 5.1 sound.
– Double CD is remixed and has the PURPLE set on it, “Concerto” and the encore.
“QUADRA” MEANS “FOUR”
Exactly – but there’s more to the title of the ASIA new release. Or not so new, as “Quadra” is a 4CD-box set which contains officially sanctioned (as Zoom Club who release it say, though Geoff Downes seems to be of different opinion) three bootleg recordings of the first ’80s supergroup. What we can be sure of is that the deluxe packaging containing rare photos and an exclusive interview with Carl Palmer are guaranteed – Phil Lynott’s "Live In Sweden" received the similar treatment. And now, what’s in…
CD1: Pittsburgh, PA, April 25th, 19821. Without You |
CD2: Worcester, MA, August 22nd, 1983
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CD3: Worcester, MA, August 22nd, 198310. Don’t Cry |
CD 4: Frankfurt December 13th, 19901. Wildest Dreams |
FREE SPIRIT FOR FREE MARKET
Strange thing, indeed: Ken Hensley and his FREE SPIRIT are to play in Togliatti, Russia, this September before President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of celebrating a launch of a joint venture between General Motors and AvtoVAZ. The two automobile enterprises are to build a new vehicle. “Love Machine”, anyone?
