It doesn’t get any bigger than this. Between American Thanksgiving, Record Store Day Black Friday and the start of holiday shopping, there are nearly 300 albums, EPs and singles being released next week. After perusing all the lists and sites and writeups, I narrowed my want list down to these 14 items. Some are RSD releases. Some are just regular new albums. Some are live discs. Some are studio recordings. And some are just plain weird. See for yourself:
Anyway Gang
Anyway Gang
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Last summer a few friends from some of Canada’s most notable bands – Dave Monks (Tokyo Police Club), Sam Roberts (Sam Roberts Band), Menno Versteeg (Hollerado), and Chris Murphy (Sloan) – got together to write some songs. They mostly made dad jokes but also jammed on a bunch of 3 chord songs they all had lying around. They recorded a bunch of stuff in a few days and over the year added some ideas here and there and all of a sudden a year had past and they realized they kinda had an album so they said let’s name ourselves the first thing they thought of and release it. Anyway, they’re called Anyway Gang.”
Louis Armstrong & His All-Stars
Live in 1956 Allentown, PA
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Unearthed for the first time after the discovery of a “mystery” tape reel, Louis Armstrong’s performance in Allentown, PA on November 24, 1956 is one for the history books. Armstrong is joined by his All-Stars, including Trummy Young, Edmund Hall, Billy Kyle, and Velma Middleton. Available for the first time in any format, the historic concert audio has been mastered from the original analog tape and pressed on coloured vinyl for this limited edition release.”
James Brown
Live at Home:
The After Show
The J.B.’s
More Mess On
My Thing
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Live at Home: The After Show is an exclusive complement to the 50th anniversary release, Live at Home With His Bad Self, which itself is an expansion of a 1969 live show that was heavily edited into the LP Sex Machine. It features extended version of rare (released) cuts, with new mixes, plus a duet with Marva Whitney, some revealing stage patter and an onstage interview with JB’s school principal. More Mess On My Thing is the companion piece to the lost J.B.’s album These Are The J.B.’s. In 1969 Bootsy Collins, barely 18 years old, brought his band into King Studios and recorded a demo entitled More Mess On My Thing to audition for James Brown. Brown approved, brought Collins and his band on as The J.B.’s and propelled funk music to its epitome with songs like Give It Up And Turn It Loose, Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved and Super Bad.”
Jeff Buckley
Live on KCRW: Morning Becomes Eclectic
THE PRESS RELEASE: “One of the most magical, as-yet unreleased live performances by Jeff Buckley debuts on vinyl as part of the continuing celebration of the 25th anniversary of his debut studio album Grace. Buckley’s captivating appearance on KCRW-FM’s long-running Morning Becomes Eclectic was accompanied by the core band with which he recorded Grace, and features favorites from that record, including Mojo Pin, So Real, and Lover, You Should Have Come Over.”
Cheap Trick
Are You Ready Or Not? Live 12/31/79
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Flash back to the close of the 1970s, when Cheap Trick (who electrified the tail end of the decade’s rock scene) rang in a new era with their road-tested, rafter-shaking rock ‘n’ roll revelry at the fabulous Forum just outside Los Angeles! Rockford’s finest deliver all the killer cuts you want, including I Want You To Want Me, Surrender, and Clock Strikes Ten, plus tracks from their recently-released fourth studio album Dream Police. This mythic concert is now available for the first time ever.” NOTE: The footage below is not from this gig, but it’s from the same year — and way too awesome not to include.
https://youtu.be/WSNZfEt231M
Alex Chilton
My Rival
THE PRESS RELEASE: “It’s mid- to late-1975, what remained of Big Star is no longer, Third/Sister Lovers was sitting on a shelf and Alex Chilton was in Memphis at a very low point. Chris Bell spent a large part of the year in London trying to get a solo record deal, but turned up empty and flew home to visit family in late summer. While at home, Bell was cutting more solo tracks at Ardent, one of which, You And Your Sister needed a harmony vocal, so he called in Alex. Fans have long thought that was the last recording of Bell and Chilton collaborating in the studio, but within what was probably a few days of that session, they were in the studio together again, with Bell engineering a set of demos for Alex. Chilton laid down early takes of My Rival (later re-cut for the Like Flies On Sherbert album) and All Of The Time (later re-cut for the Singer Not The Song EP and Bach’s Bottom album) as well as the then unissued tracks, She Might Look My Way (which first appeared on co-writer Tommy Hoehn’s 1978 album, Losing You To Sleep) and Windows Hotel (which finally saw release in 2015 on the live album, Ocean Club ’77). Unfortunately, working together was not in the cards, nor was a Big Star reunion of any sort. “I don’t know if (Chris) wanted to work together again or not,” Chilton reflected years later. “I don’t remember that being the case. I mean, musicians get together to do things all the time, on all sorts of bases. I personally had no intentions of ever getting back together in a band with anybody again, pretty much.”
Jaz Coleman & St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
Magna Invocatio: A Gnostic Mass for Choir and Orchestra
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Lead vocalist of the post-punk band, Killing Joke and an artist of fierce intellect and purpose, Jaz Coleman has been driven by twin musical loves: experimental rock and classical music. What Coleman feels is sometimes passed over, however, is the element of “panoramic beauty” underpinning the weight and flow of many of Killing Joke’s songs, such as The Raven King, In Cythera and more – an element that fitting orchestration might elevate and underline… Recorded with Russia’s oldest orchestra, the St Petersburg Philharmonic, this stirring body of work taps into the more melodic, uplifting aspects of the Killing Joke musical canon.”
Flaming Lips
The Soft Bulletin: Live at Red Rocks
THE PRESS RELEASE: “On 26th May 2016, The Flaming Lips performed their universally acclaimed 1999 album The Soft Bulletin in its entirety with the Colorado Symphony at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colo. This particular event has been regarded by those in attendance as one of the most awe-inspiring, moving and magical moments of a lifetime. For the Lips and their fans, perhaps the apex of a magnificent interpretation that will remain as rewarding and emotionally-charged as it was that night in 2016. The Flaming Lips performed the 12-track album in its original sequence with new arrangements accompanied by a 69-piece orchestra and 56-strong chorus. The performance was conducted by the internationally celebrated conductor Andre De Ridder. Now, the resulting live recording is being released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Soft Bulletin.”
The Flying Luttenbachers
Imminent Death
THE PRESS RELEASE: “The Flying Luttenbachers return with yet another aggressive, dissonant, relentless headscratcher. Seven long tracks of rhythm and insanity. This one goes out to the LADIES — 70 minutes of intense dread, pounding rhythm and maniacal soloing. Weasel Walter, Matt Nelson, Brandon Seabrook, Tim Dahl, Henry Kaiser and special guest appearance by Brad Laner. Do not expect a repeat of the previous album – do expect total obliteration of the senses.”
The National
Juicy Sonic Magic Cassette Box
THE PRESS RELEASE: “The most celebrated audience taper of the period, Mike Millard, recorded in and around Southern California beginning in 1974 and continued into the early ’90s. Millard’s legend is built in part on the cunning and subterfuge he used to get his nearly 15-pound cassette deck and microphones into venues like the The Forum, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, and The Roxy. Millard became a legend for his high-quality bootleg recordings of artists like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and many others made in and around Southern California in the ’70s and ’80’s by sneaking his equipment into concerts hidden in a wheelchair. For years I have pondered what made Millard’s recordings so good, and eventually I had an idea: What if you recorded a concert today with the same equipment Millard used in 1977? Would it sound like his tapes? Would it tap into his Midas touch? The National was kind enough to let us test the Millard Method for two concerts at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California last September. These live recordings were made with vintage AKG 451E microphones and a restored Nakamichi 550 cassette deck which are identical to those used by Millard circa 1975-81. The idea was to see if we could recreate what Matt Berninger calls the “juicy sonic magic” Millard captured in his 1970s field recordings. Together with my friend and filmmaker David DuBois, we also produced a short documentary about Millard, his recording methods, and our attempt to recreate his work at the National shows in Berkeley, a venue that is utterly unchanged since the ’70s. With the advent of smartphones, thousands of people routinely record part of the show when they attend a National concert or any other performance. Forty years ago, when nobody would dare do that, one man made it his life’s work to preserve legendary concerts on tape. — Erik Flannigan”
The Prime Movers Blues Band
The Prime Movers Blues Band
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Formed in the summer of 1965 by brothers Michael and Dan Erlewine, The Prime Movers Blues Band’s dedication was the stuff of legend. Refusing to adopt a faux British Invasion look and turning down an offer from Motown, they played their style of Chicago-inspired blues relentlessly around the Detroit area. Featuring the “raw power” of a young James Osterberg on drums (who also lends vocals on their sizzling styling of I’m A Man), this first-ever collection of The Prime Movers Blues Band’s recordings includes liner notes from bandleader Michael Erlewine! Before James Osterberg was Iggy Pop, before Robert Sheff went by “Blue” Gene Tyranny, and before J.C. Crawford whipped crowds of MC5 fans into a frenzy, they all played in the Erlewine brothers’ Butterfield Blues Band-influenced outfit, hustling around the Motor City and more. Previously unavailable in any format.”
Various Artists
Land of 1000 Dances: The Rampart Records Complete Singles Collection
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Something musically vital was happening in East Los Angeles when all-around entertainment guru Eddie Davis’ Rampart Records documented the fusion that became the West Coast Eastside Sound. Founded in 1961, Rampart Records is now celebrating its 58th anniversary with this box set collection. Rampart produced music unlike any other—rock & roll and rhythm and blues, but with a Mexican twist. The singles on this collection are from Rampart’s first 17 years, as the sounds changed from doo wop to R&B to garage to funk to disco. Hear East LA’s greatest hits from the West Coast’s longest running independent record company. Discover the amazing history and super-fine music from the classic Rampart Records catalogue, still going strong after 58 years! Among the gems heard on Land Of 1000 Dances is Hector Parts 1 & 2, a double-barreled, organ-driven instrumental by The Village Callers, which was heard on the soundtrack to Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino’s hit summer film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. Other top-flight Rampart acts surveyed include the storming, horn-driven garage soul unit The Blendells, whose cover of Stevie Wonder’s single La La La La La is a crate digger classic; R&B foursome The Atlantics, whose lineup included future ’70s love man Barry White; soul balladeer Ron Holden; The Soul-jers, the military-garbed duo of former Mixtures vocalists Philip Tucker and Delbert Franklin; Motown-styled vocal quartet The Four Tempos; Latin songstresses Didi Scorzo and Graciela Palafox; and funk / disco pioneers Eastside Connection.”
Various Artists
File #733 U.F.O.: Further Investigation Vinyl
THE PRESS RELEASE: “What do you get when you combine a 1966 album of a man interviewing survivors of alien abductions with new music from the likes of modern psych beacons Kikagku Moyo, Heron Oblivion, Al Lover, Mugstar, Earthen Sea, Demian Castellanos, Holy Mountain Top Removers, Jeffrey Alexander, Terceiro Olho de Marte, and White Manna? …not sure but you’re going to need two turntables to find out. This odd collaboration is both the first reissue of a strange spoken word record, and a separate LP of modern drone and psych that works as the perfect backdrop to the words of Jack Jenkins and Sid Padrick, these are two fabulous albums that combine to form one magnificent experience.”
https://youtu.be/EAgHllGj8oI
