FIREMAN FOR FIREMEN
Sir Paul McCartney, who on September 11th was in the New York airport, announced he is going to do a special concert in New York this October for the benefit of the firemen who fought fire after the hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center. Paul feels a deep sympathy towards this profession as his father Jim McCartney used to be a fireman in Liverpool during World War II, not to forget that under a moniker Fireman Paul released two ambient music albums.
As for the new Macca album, it’s called “Driving Rain” and will be released on November 13th with the following songs in:
Lonely Road, From A Lover To A Friend, She’s Given Up Talking, Driving Rain, I Do, Tiny Bubble, It Must Have Been Magic, Your Way, Spinning On An Axis, About You, Heather, Back In The Sunshine Again, Loving Flame, Riding Into Jaipur andRinse The Raindrops.
The first single, out on October 29th, is “From a Lover to a Friend”.
While the track “Heather” is obviously dedicated to Paul’s fiancee Heather Mills, it’s curious to note that a song with such a title McCartney wrote back in 1968, and it’s on various bootlegs.
IN THE MINSTREL HALL
BLACKMORE’S NIGHT, who had just released their third album “Fires At Midnight”, have their first compilation out in Japan; it’s titled “Minstrels And Ballads” and contains only songs from the band’s three albums, with no rarities.
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1. The Times They Are A-Changin’ 2. Spirit Of The Sea 3. Fool’s Gold 4. Again Someday 5. Fayre Thee Well 6. Greensleeves 7. Wish You Were Here 8. Mid-Winter’s Night 9. Catherine Howard’s Fate 10. Durch Den Wald Zum Bach Haus 11. Be Mine Tonight 12. Ocean Gypsy 13. Benzai-Ten 14. Now And Then |
ROARIN’ RORY
There’s a 4CD set from the late great Rory Gallagher to be out under the title “Let’s Go To Work”. The box contains remastered versions of classic live albums Irish Tour ’74”, “Live in Europe” and “Stage Struck”, all released separately, plus unavailable elsewhere bonus CD “Meeting With The G Man” with the show recorded in Amsterdam’s Paradiso Club.
LET ZEP TAKE YOU TO THE MOVIE
New LED ZEPPELIN anthology is in the works – but not for fans. A limited-edition 3CD set, to be released this November, is aimed for distribution to film and television directors and music supervisors to stimulate the use of ZEP’s music in soundtracks.
Both Jimmy Page and Robert Plant have been resisting the said use for a long time, until last year they approved four songs to be included in the Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous” and now are more easygoing with the idea. So at the moment as no surprise comes the news on the Page-Plant version of “Gallows Pole” making it to the soundtrack of Barry Levinson’s new picture “Bandits”.
PIE OUT OF THE OVEN
More and more music comes from great HUMBLE PIE. New CD, titled “Live At The Whisky A-Go-Go”, contains five tracks recorded in December 1969, in the band’s very beginning, that means with Peter Frampton alongside Steve Marriott. It contsists of lengthy jams based on stunning versions of classics: “For Your Love”, “Hallelujah, I Love Her So”, “Walk On Gilded Splinters” and “Shakin’ All Over”, plus “The Sad Bag Of Shakey Jake” from PIE’s second album.
JOHN PAUL THUNDERING
In the wake of critically acclaimed “Zooma” album, former ZEPPELIN bassist John Paul Jones has a follow-up in his hands, called “The Thunderthief”. The album features four songs with Jones singing, and five instrumental numbers boasting solos from Adam Bomb and Robert Fripp. The album is to be out next January and there’s a possibility that John Paul will go on tour in the Spring.
NEW AYREON’S FLIGHT
AYREON continue the space and time exploration with a new project, which is said to be a heavy thing. Now the album is being writen and recorded with four singers – but no Bruce Dickinson this time, whom Arjen Lucassen has fallen out with. The vocalists are Arjen’s permanent collaborator Damian Wilson, NIGHTINGALE’s Dan Swane, Russell Allen from SYMPHONY X and Floor Jansen – she used to be in AFTER FOREVER. As of the band, there among others surely will be Erik Norlander and GOREFEST’s Ed Warby – both played with AYREON previously – and Jens Johansson. The CD will be released in 2002.
AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS
LLC is the name of the band, which are bassist Leo Lyons, drummer Ric Lee and guitarist Vince Converse. While the latter is a relatively unknown Texan, the former two were the half of the legendary TEN YEARS AFTER. LLC can be transcribed as a combination of the musicians surnames initials as well as LIMITED LIABILITY CORPORATION. The trio’s debut release will hit the shelves in early 2002 on Blue Storm Music.
IT’S A WILD WORLD – HARD TO GET BY
Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens and later turned Muslim, has condemned the terrorist attacks in the USA. Islam stated that the terrorists’ actions contradict the peaceful teachings of Islam. “No right-thinking follower of Islam could possibly condone such an action”, he writes on his website. “The Quran equates the murder of one innocent person with the murder of the whole of humanity”. Islam said his thoughts are with the victims and their families, and that most Muslims share his views. If only…
BENEFIT TO FREE
While JETHRO TULL seem to be finishing their remastering programme with the re-issues of the band’s first albums, FREE only start the process. All the albums are enhanced now with precious bonus tracks.
In the TULL case, they are:
Living In The Past, Driving Song, Sweet Dreams and Singing All Day tagged to “Stand Up”;
Teacher (original UK mix), Witch’s Promise, Just Trying To Be and Teacher (original US mix) on “Benefit”;
and “This Was” containing Sunshine Day, Aeroplane, One For John Gee, Love Story and Christmas Song.
More complicated and intriguing it is with FREE, who put a whole lot of previously unreleased material to the fantastic 5CD-set “Songs of Yesterday” released last year.
The remastered – not remixed! – albums feature liner notes by Phil Sutcliffe and the booklets have been put together by Phil Smee, who worked on the said box set. The first installment of the band’s catalogue that’s to be out in October are the first three albums. The next two will follow in the Spring and the last two in the Summer of 2002.
According to the FREE appreciation society, the albums will contain the following bonuses:
“Tons Of Sobs” – Waitin’ On You (BBC session), Guy Stevens Blues (appeared on the box set), Moonshine (alternative vocal), Sweet Tooth (early take with alternative lyrics), Visions Of Hell (unreleased master mix), Woman By The Sea (alternative version), Over The Green Hills (BBC session);
“Free” – Broad Daylight (single version in mono), The Worm (single version in mono), I’ll Be Creepin’ (single version in mono), Sugar For Mr Morrison (single version in mono, Broad Daylight (BBC session – with Paul Rodgers on bass and vocals with Andy Fraser on rhythm guitar), Songs Of Yesterday (BBC session), Mouthful Of Grass (solo acoustic version by Andy Fraser), Woman (alternative version), Trouble On Double Time (early version – appeared on the box set), Mourning Sad Morning (alternative version);
“Fire And Water” – Oh I Wept (“Bumpers” version), Fire And Water (New Stereo Mix), Fire And Water (BBC Session), All Right Now (BBC Session), All Right Now (single version), All Right Now (first version – appeared on the box set);
“Highway” – My Brother Jake (single in mono, Only My Soul (B-side in mono), Ride On A Pony (BBC session), Be My Friend (BBC session), Rain (alternative version), The Stealer (single version);
“Free Live!” – Woman (Croydon), Walk In My Shadow (Croydon), Moonshine (Sunderland – previously issued on the Paul Kossoff’s “Blue Soul”), Trouble On Double Time (Sunderland – previously issued on the Paul Kossoff’s “Blue Soul”), Mr Big (Sunderland), All Right Now (Croydon), Get Where I Belong (alternative take – appeared on the box set);
“Free At Last” – Burnin’ (Molten Gold) (alternative take), Honky Tonk Women (appeared on the box set), Magic Ship (alternate mix), Little Bit Of Love (alternate mix), Guardian Of The Universe (Rodgers solo version), Child (early mix);
“Heartbreaker” – Wishing Well (US Mix – appeared on the box set), Let Me Show You (B-side), Muddy Water (alternate vocals), Hand Me Down/ Turn Me Round (prospective album track – Rabbit on vocals), Heartbreaker (rehearsal), Easy On My Soul (rehearsal).
What a splendour!
WHISKEY IN THE BOX
THIN LIZZY fans hold their breath now with the forthcoming October release of 4CD-box called “Vagabonds, Kings, Warriors, Angels”. There are many gems to be spreaded on the discs, and here’s the tentative tracklisting:
| CD1 1. The Farmer 2. Friendly Ranger 3. Remembering – Part 1 4. Dublin 5. Remembering – Part 2 6. Things Ain’t Working 7. Buffalo Gal 8. Sarah 9. Brought Down 10. Whiskey In The Jar 11. Black Boys On The Corner 12. Randolph’s Tango 13. Broken Dreams 14. Vagabond Of The Western World 15. Little Girl In Bloom 16. Slow Blues 17. The Rocker 18. Here I Go Again |
CD2 1. Cruising 2. Little Darling 3. Sitamonia 4. Philomena 5. Still In Love With You 6. Showdown 7. Money 8. Rosalie 9. Half Castle 10. King’s Vengeance 11. Suicide 12. Wild One 13. Try A Little Harder 14. Fighting My Way Back 15. Jailbreak 16. Romeo 17. The Boys Are Back In Town 18. Cowboy Song 19. Emerald |
| CD3 1. Johnny 2. Don’t Believe A Word 3. Fools Gold 4. Johnny The Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed 5. Massacre 6. Soldier Of Fortune 7. Bad Reputation 8. Dancing In The Moonlight 9. Killer Without A Cause 10. Warriors 11. Are You Ready 12. Rosalie 13. Me And The Boys 14. Parisienne Walkways 15. Do Anything You Want To 16. Waiting For An Alibi 17. Sarah 18. Got To Give It Up 19. Black Rose 20. Just The Two Of Us |
CD4 1. Miss Lonelyhearts 2. King’s Call 3. China Town 4. Sugar Blues 5. Killer On The Loose 6. Don’t Play Around 7. Song For Jimi 8. Renegade 9. Hollywood 10. Old Town 11. Thunder And Lightning 12. Cold Sweat 13. The Sun Goes Down 14. Sisters Of Mercy 15. Phil Lynott: Nineteen 16. Phil Lynott: A Night In The Life Of An Old Blues Singer |
No furher information as of now – but surely will be.
