When the live albums, greatest-hits collections, box sets, remixes discs, sequels, collaborations and reissues start to outnumber the major new releases, you know December has truly arrived. Thankfully, you can always count on Blue Rodeo to go their own way — and keep things interesting — by moving forward when everyone else is looking back. See for yourself:
Blue Rodeo
Many A Mile
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The definition of a rebel is someone who goes against the grain. For close to 30 years now, Blue Rodeo have taken the road less travelled — and succeeded far beyond anyone’s expectations. The band emerged in the early ’80s as a countrified rock band in the era of hair metal and glossy pop. Despite sticking out like a sore thumb (or maybe because of it), their single Try became omnipresent on radio across Canada and set in motion a three-decade career of headlining every club, theatre and arena in Canada. In 1993, when grunge rock was squeezing commercial rock off the radio, they recorded their most acoustic album, Five Days In July, and scored their biggest hit selling over a half million copies of that one record alone. Now, with their 16th studio album Many A Mile, Blue Rodeo’s successes are measured in terms that include induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame (2012), receiving a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award (2014) and acknowledgement that the band has steadfastly defined itself by its own terms, and in the years that ensued, sold in excess of four million records. Reflecting back on three decades of successes and those early Blue Rodeo days, both Jim and Greg are able to fully appreciate where the band sits in the pantheon of music. “Success seemed really real when we were entertaining people at The Horseshoe. That was the top of the heap for us,” Cuddy says. “When you look back, you realize that it has just been this beautiful dream.”
Can
Live In Brighton 1975
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Live in Brighton 1975 is the second album of a curated series of Can live concerts. Available in full for the first time on triple vinyl, double CD and digitally. Originally recorded on tape, this carefully restored live album comprises the entirety of the show in the format of a story with a beginning, middle and end, bringing Can’s performance to life.”
The Doors
L.A. Woman 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Doors found their mojo (and Mr. Mojo Risin’) in November 1970 as they recorded L.A. Woman over six days at The Workshop, the band’s rehearsal space on Santa Monica Boulevard. A success both critically and commercially, the album was certified double-platinum and contains some of the band’s most enduring music, including the Top 20 hit Love Her Madly, Riders On The Storm, and the title track. The new 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition includes the original album — newly remastered by The Doors’ longtime engineer and mixer Bruce Botnick — two bonus discs of unreleased studio outtakes, and a new Dolby Atmos mix of the original album. Among the outtakes, you can hear the band joyously ripping through great takes of Junior Parker’s Mystery Train, John Lee Hooker’s Crawling King Snake, Big Joe Williams’ Baby Please Don’t Go and Get Out Of My Life Woman, Lee Dorsey’s funky 1966 classic, written by Allen Toussaint.”
Tom Morello
The Atlas Underground Flood
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Following the October release of his critically acclaimed album, The Atlas Underground Fire, rock ’n’ roll icon and two-time Grammy winner Tom Morello surprised fans today with the announcement of his latest project, a sister album entitled The Atlas Underground Flood. Morello has spoken at length in recent interviews that the collaborative process led to countless songs created during the pandemic, and a second album seemed inevitable. Featuring a slew of all-star collaborators including Nathaniel Rateliff, Jim James, Idles, Ben Harper, Alex Lifeson, Kirk Hammett, X Ambassadors, Barnes Courtney, Manchester Orchestra, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness and more, Morello will continue to showcase his signature extraordinary guitar-playing across these 12 new genre-bending tracks.”
Volbeat
Servant of the Mind
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “For Servant of the Mind, Volbeat — Michael Poulsen (guitars/vocals), Jon Larsen (drums), Rob Caggiano (guitars) and Kaspar Boye Larsen (bass) — took their signature heavy metal, psychobilly and punk ’n’ roll sound up a notch while showcasing Poulsen’s keen ability for songwriting and storytelling. “I wrote the whole album in three months,” recalls Poulsen, “I was in a good place and mood while at home, and had a captive audience of myself … There are a lot of Volbeat signatures in it. If you go back to the first record and compare it to where we are now, you can hear how the band has developed its style, while keeping the signature sound.”
Paul Weller
An Orchestrated Songbook
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “On May 15, 2021, Paul Weller performed a thrilling concert with the hugely talented BBC Symphony Orchestra and award-winning arranger Jules Buckley. This one-of-a-kind performance was a first for Paul, performing with a full orchestra, and saw a quintessential selection of his vast catalog exquisitely reworked and updated into 75 minutes of breath-taking music. The setlist includes classic tracks from The Jam, Style Council, and Weller’s solo career, including choice cuts from Paul’s three most recent studio albums.”
