News
June 21th, 2005
THE MASTERS OF THEIR ART
After a break filled with releasing long-overdue Sandy Denny remasters, the FAIRPORT CONVENTION re-issue programme picks up the pace, and on August 1st out are three more classic albums. These three saw the band losing their heartbeat a bit after Richard Thompson left to strike first on his own and then with wife Linda - and the great Sandy coming back to the fold, if only temporarily. A wonderful addition to any collection, not only folk aficionados', especially with bonus material.
"Nine" (1973)
- Devil In The Kitchen
- George Jackson
- Pleasure And Pain
- Six Days On The Road
"Live Convention" (1974)
- Hexhamshire Lass
- Polly On The Shore
- Bring 'Em Down
- Far From Me
- That'll Be The Day
"Rising For The Moon" (1975)
- Tears
- Rising For The Moon (demo)
- Stranger To Himself (demo)
- One More Chance (demo)
LISTEN TO HIS REASONING
Sometimes he might be losing the plot, but not his voice, and there are several Steve Marriott's rarities collections, like "Official Receivers" or "Clear Through The Night", but a new one is tremendous. "Rainy Changes: 1973-1991" encompasses eighteen years of the great late singer's stuff, dating from his HUMBLE PIE days to the sessions with Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and on to the Peter Frampton co-written tunes recorded in 1991, not longer Steve's tragic flaming death. 16-page booklet written by Marriott specialist makes the package even more worthwhile.
Disc 1:
1. banter |
Disc 2:
1. They Call It Love |
DISENGAGED BUT PLUGGED IN
These days, singles without albums don't usually work, but when it comes to artists like YES' own Jon Anderson, it's the rules that don't work, and the "State Of Independence" CD should draw some good attention. Recorded originally on Jon & Vangelis' "The Friends Of Mr. Cairo" LP and covered later by Donna Summer now, preceding the "Work In Progress - Tour Of The Universe" DVD, the new version is backed with previously unreleased reggae cut "You Lift Me Up" and Anderson's take on Spike Milligan's standard, "Ying Tong Song". And, as it's a computer era now, there are also a screensaver and wallpapers on the enhanced disc.
GOT THEIR TIMING RIGHT
Heading to America later in the year, QUEEN and Paul Rodgers are going to hit even bigger than at the moment with a live album and DVD titled, quite primitively yet right on the money, "Queen + Paul Rodgers Rock Live". The release date is tentatively given as September 13th, with the lead-in single being "Fat Bottomed Girls" with "Reaching Out / Tie Your Mother Down" as a B-side.
ONCE BITTEN
July's drawing near, and it's the month when WHITESNAKE's "The Rock & Roll, Rhythm & Blues Show", recorded in October 2004 at Hammersmith Apollo. was said to be released on CD and DVD. The exact date is still to be announced, but the content is reported to look like this - old stuff featured heavily:
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1. Burn |
June 13th, 2005
BRIGHT AMBASSADORS OF MORNING
The rumors have been in circulation for some time, and now they seem to come real, and
PINK FLOYD will indeed re-unite for the Hyde Park leg of a Live 8 concert, on July 2nd, alongside Sir Bob Geldof, Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John and less honored yet no less famous artists. And re-unite means not the resurrection of the trio of David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Rick Wright that never announced the group's death, but the legendary quartet's performance.
It wasn't Roger Waters who refused the possibility of him joining former colleagues, even though the hatchet hasn't been ultimately buried - it was Gilmour saying he's going to be too busy with his solo work. After a second thought to the prospect, David's reported to have said,
"Like most people, I want to do everything I can to persuade the G8 leaders to make huge commitments to the relief of poverty and increased aid to the third world. It's crazy that America gives such a paltry percentage of its GNP to the starving nations. Any squabbles Roger and the band have had in the past are so petty in this context, and if re-forming for this concert will help focus attention then it's got to be worthwhile".
A respectable move. The work can wait - and there's not much known about this work anyway, unlike the Waters-penned opera "Ca Ira" which gets released this autumn as a double-CD.
IT SURE LOOKS LIKE A MESS
Preceding both Live Aid and Live 8 was The Concert For Bangladesh that George Harrison took the trouble organizing back in 1970. Over the years, there were some re-issues of the album culled from two performances, but they were sourced not from the original masters that the Quiet One tried to track down before his untimely death in 2001. The plan was to re-release both audio and video version of the concert but it's only after George passed away that the tapes have been found, and this year will see the CD and DVD in pristine quality, with some extra footage on the latter and a bonus track on the former, tentatively Bob Dylan's "Love Minus Zero/No Limit".
DRAMA-TIC TREK
Of all the YES albums, "Drama" is a one-off, as it's the only record of theirs not featuring the voice of Jon Anderson, but it's this LP that something special has been borne of. Called The More Drama Tour and beginning on August 2nd while Jon's in preparation for his "Solo Work In Progress Tour Of The Universe", it's a roundabout revue by Steve Howe, WHITE, the drummer Alan White's band augmented with Geoff Downes on keyboards, and Chris Squire's THE SYN. Three-part shows will have a grand finale of the four musicians behind "Drama" playing bits of the album. If only Trevor Horn, the fifth one, could leave temporarily his producer's chores... there'd be the full 1980's line-up on-stage, and THE BUGGLES re-union too.
The tour is to be presented through the radio, and those who buy tickets through the participating stations' websites will receive a free CD with pieces from forthcoming full-length projects by WHITE, Howe and THE SYN as well as the live recordings from "YesSpeak" DVD. The fans who want more of a live experience at their homes should wait until August 23rd when "The Word Is Live" box set is out.
ICONOCLAST ROUTINE
Geoff Downes surely likes his gear in motion. Not longer after The More Drama Tour is over, in November and December the ASIA keyboard maestro teams up with his sparring partner, John Wetton to tour across Europe. Promoting their "Icon" album and the "Heat Of The Moment 05" EP, out on August 29th, the two have already started writing for the second ICON - now that's a project name! - record. Geoff said he wouldn't break up the John Payne-fronted ASIA, yet the logical (and more lucrative) decision could be to take the band on the road as well, and just split a show in two, as non-reliable Wetton is quite liable to ruin the collaboration one more time.
Meanwhile, though, all but last two post-Wetton ASIA albums get a deluxe edition re-issue programme, coming out in a slipcase and sprinkled with bonus tracks:
"Aqua" (1992)
- Obsession
- Little Rich Boy (live)
- Love Under Fire (live)
"Aria" (1994)
- Reality
- Military Man (live acoustic)
- Anytime (multimedia video)
"Arena" (1996)
3 bonus tracks
"Anthology" (1999)
-Time Again (acoustic)
ANOTHER GREEN DAY
Ever-prolific Brian Eno have his fans always on their toes catching record after record with the master's credit on. His multi-faceted talent makes this an exciting thing, but no other project of Brian's can cause the hearts beat as a prospect of a new song collection. "Another Day On Earth", released on June 14th, is exactly that. Quite a reason to rejoice.
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1. This |
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SHINE ON BRIGHTLY
Jim Leverton surely needs an introduction... for those who never checked the credits on classic records from such artists as Frankie Miller and Steve Marriott and such bands as FAT MATTRESS and JUICY LUCY - and these are only a small part of projects the great bassist contributed to in the last 40 years. Solo, though, he never tried to excel in the art of songwriting. Until now, when the work in CARAVAN allowed Leverton to finish the material he's been tackling with all this time - among the pieces the songs co-written with Joe Brown and Marriott. Featuring his current band's Jan Schelhaas, Richard Coughlan and Geoffrey Richardson, Jim's "Bright New Way" is highly recommended.
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1. I Can't Win |
June 4th, 2005
GIVE 'EM THE BEAT, BOY
If there's a musician whose new record always makes people glad even without bringing any surpises, it's Ringo Starr. Well, since 1998's "Vertical Man" his work has been consistently solid, and a new album "Choose Love", out on June 7th, surely won't disappoint. It sees Mr. Starkey reunite with his old friend, Billy Preston, and THE PRETENDERS' leading lady, Chrissie Hynde, and comes in two versions: a regular CD and a DualDisc. The later is in a format that contains a DVD layer featuring the album in enhanced stereo, lyrics, a track-by-track analyses from Ringo Starr and producer Mark Hudson, plus interviews and recording sessions footage. Choose yours!
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1. Fading In And Out |
SPREAD YOUR WINGS AND FLY AWAY
It's not the first time that EAGLES try to fold it all. The band broke up in 1981 only to get back together in 1994. Fans have been happy since, even though several new songs didn't grow into a fully-realised album. Who knows where it goes, because last year's trek was said to be the last with no official signing-off. So while Don Henley is on the road with FLEETWOOD MAC's Stevie Nicks, there's a live document to be released on June 13th, a double DVD called "Farewell Tour Vol.1". Recorded in Melbourne, the show features, perhaps, more than a casual fan needs, yet wanting to see something old-timey seems to be too much wishful thinking...
DVD One:
1. Long Run |
10. In The City |
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DVD Two:
1. Life's Been Good |
AIN'T NO PLACE TO CALL THEIR OWN
Running free, that's IRON MAIDEN's modus operandi - and modus vivendi too. No resting themselves, the band don't allow their followers sleep, too. The sextet deliver products every now and then, and August 29th is when another one will see the light of day. Another two, to be precise, as "Death On The Road" is a title of both double live CD and DVD. Committed to tape in Dortmund in December 2003, the programme features material off the "Dance Of Death" album alongside perennial faves, yet the real deal is the visuals. The DVDs have a 70-minute documentary on them, capturing the band in the studio, as well as every promo video from the album, live footage from South America, interviews and many more extras.
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1. Wildest Dreams |
9. Lord Of The Flies |
ALL COLORS OF THE SKY
Once everybody's come to think Steve Howe would be exploring the non-YES group possibilities with REMEDY, as 2003's "Elements" seemed to suggest, the veteran guitarist strikes on his own again. Oh, to an extent: his new album, "Spectrum", though credited to Steve's name, is a family work - on it Howe's accompanied by sons Dylan and Virgil, drummer and keyboard player respectively, another second-generation keyboardist, Oliver Wakeman, and old friend Tony Levin on bass. So it's us, the listeners, who are to explore the colors of the spectrum. The release date is June 27th.
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1. Tigers Den |
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SMUTTY BUT SHARP
Some like it funny, some like clowns in rock. There's not many, but three could be a crowd, as Mick Jagger would say, so Ozzy and Alice Cooper are quite enough. Olde Alice looks finally re-connected to his storytelling roots, with only the titles of his new songs reading like a recipe for a good time. These songs, combined, make an album, "Dirty Diamonds", that gets released on July 4th. The Americans, celebrating Independence Day, should take heed to not miss out of fun greater than they can have; the rest of the world must re-think their attitude to the nation that gives birth to such clowns.
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1. Woman Of Mass Distraction |
FIRESTORM COMING CLOSER
Five years ago, MOTORHEAD have lived their first quarter of the century and commemorated it in style, the "25 & Alive: Boneshaker" DVD preserving the festivities for posterity. Now there's another anniversary to celebrate, the band's thirtieth year on the Earth surface, and another DVD is on the way. "Stage Fright", out on July 4th, comes on two discs, the first bringing the December 2004 Dusseldorf concert into your house, augmented with an interactive check with the trio's comments, and the second with a documentary and interviews. Subtitles in six languages show how the band care for their fans, while the extras include discography, photo gallery, a PC wallpaper and... the "Life's A Bitch" ringtone for a mobile phone. Call it a buzz in your ears!
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1. Dr. Rock |
11. Dancing On Your Grave |
Still, the money-spending spree begins a couple of weeks before the DVD's release, on June 16th, when the "Bomber" album is re-issued in a deluxe form. Now, it's a double CD, where the 1979's classic occupies one disc and rare extra material take the other. Aces - of spades - high!
CD 1:
1. Dead Men Tell No Tales |
CD 2:
1. Over The Top (B-side) |
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