Tuesday, September 17, 2002
Ruben Blades plots U.S. dates behind ‘Mundo’
Musician, actor and activist Ruben Blades opens a tour of U.S. clubs and theaters in October to support his new album, “Mundo.”
Musician, actor and activist Ruben Blades opens a tour of U.S. clubs and theaters in October to support his new album, “Mundo.”
A dozen dates were confirmed at press time, and additional dates in the eastern U.S. will be added in November, according to Blades’ publicist.
“Mundo," Blades’ 17th album, is flavored by Latin, Celtic, Middle Eastern, African, Afro-Cuban, jazz, and flamenco sounds. “Racism is absurd and my new record reflects that,” Blades said in a statement.
The album includes two new original Blades songs as well as a rendition of the Pat Metheny-Lyle Mays composition “First Circle,” a Spanish version of Gilberto Gil’s “Oriente” (re-titled “Consideracion"), and the Irish classic “Danny Boy” (performed with Afro-Caribbean rhythms and bagpipes).
Lineup set for Neil Young’s Bridge School show
James Taylor, Jack Johnson, Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Tenacious D, Foo Fighters and The Other Ones are among the acts scheduled to appear at Neil Young’s 16th annual Bridge School Benefit.
James Taylor, Jack Johnson, Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Tenacious D, Foo Fighters and The Other Ones are among the acts scheduled to appear at Neil Young’s 16th annual Bridge School Benefit.
The concerts are set for Oct. 26 and 27 at the event’s longtime home, the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, Calif., organizers announced.
The Foo Fighters are on the Oct. 26 bill, and The Other Ones--featuring the surviving members of the Grateful Dead--will perform on Oct. 27. Young, Taylor, Johnson, Yorke and Tenacious D are scheduled to appear on both days. Given the event’s past history, surprise guests are likely to appear.
The concert benefits the Bridge School, which serves severely speech-impaired children in the San Francisco Bay Area. The school was founded in 1986 by Neil Young’s wife Pegi, along with Jim Forderer--both parents of children with severe speech and physical impairments--and by Dr. Marilyn Buzolich.
Tickets for both shows will go on sale via Ticketmaster at 10 a.m. Pacific Time on Sunday (9/22).
Monday, September 16, 2002
McCartney plans to release rare Beatles track
Paul McCartney plans to use a Beatles song that hasn’t been heard in 35 years as the soundtrack to a film montage of his late wife Linda’s photos, according to British press reports.
Paul McCartney plans to use a Beatles song that hasn’t been heard in 35 years as the soundtrack to a film montage of his late wife Linda’s photos, according to British press reports.
According to London’s Sunday Times, the 14-minute song, titled “Carnival of Light,” was recorded at North London’s Abbey Road studios during sessions for the “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album.
“It was a kind of uncomposed, free-for-all melange of sound that went on,” producer George Martin said of the track. “It was not considered worthy as issuing as a normal piece of Beatles music at the time.”
The track reportedly was played in public only once, during an art festival at London’s Chalk Farm in January of 1967.
McCartney is said to be creating a “photofilm” using many of the approximately 4,000 photos of the band that his late wife took from 1967 to 1970.
Gov’t Mule lines up new album, DVD, tour dates
Gov’t Mule keeps busy this fall with the release of two new installments in its “Deep End” series and a tour that kicks off in early October.
Gov’t Mule keeps busy this fall with the release of two new installments in its “Deep End” series and a tour that kicks off in early October.
Set for release on Oct. 8, “The Deep End, Volume 2” is the group’s second album to feature a lengthy roster of guest bassists, including Les Claypool (Primus), Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead), Rocco Prestia, Alphonso Johnson, Jack Casady (Jefferson Airplane), Chris Squire, Dave Schools (Widespread Panic), Tony Levin, Billy Cox, George Porter Jr. (The Meters) and Me’Shell Ndegeocello.
The new album will be packaged with a bonus disc titled “Hidden Treasure Volume 2,” which includes “Drivin’ Rain"--featuring James Hetfield (Metallica) on vocals and Claypool on bass--as well as two previously unreleased live tracks, two DJ Logic Mule remixes, and “Weekend with Warren,” a short documentary about Gov’t Mule guitarist Warren Haynes.
The third installment of “The Deep End” series, titled “Rising Low,” is a documentary DVD that captures the making of the two “Deep End” albums. Phish bassist Mike Gordon directed the film, which is showing at this month’s http://www.woodstockfilmfestival.com/Schedule/docs2002.htm#RISING%20LOW >Woodstock Film Festival. Gov’t Mule gives a one-off performance at the event on Sept. 19.
The band’s official website is taking pre-orders for the new album and DVD.
Original Gov’t Mule bassist Allen Woody died in 2000. Surviving founders Haynes and drummer Matt Abts have continued on by recording and performing with guest bassists.
Guests on last year’s “The Deep End, Volume 1” include Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Bootsy Collins (James Brown, P-Funk), Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE), Mike Gordon (Phish), Jack Bruce (Cream) and the late John Entwistle (The Who).
Sunday, September 15, 2002
Street Date Sept. 17: Enrique Iglesias, Disturbed
Also: John Mayer, Lifehouse, Joan Osborne, Natalie Cole, Ruben Blades and more.
Also: John Mayer, Lifehouse, Joan Osborne, Natalie Cole, Ruben Blades and more.
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Enrique Iglesias - “Quizas” (Universal Latino)
With his crossover success solidified by his multi-platinum 2001 English-language album, “Escape,” Iglesias returns with his first Spanish-language collection since 1998. The new album features the hit-single “Mentiroso,” the companion music video for which is streaming at Iglesias’ official website. Iglesias supports the album with a North American tour that kicked off in early September.
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Disturbed - “Believe” (Reprise)
The sophomore effort from this metal quartet is the follow-up to its 2000 debut, “Sickness.” That multi-platinum album spawned the hit title track, as well as singles “Stupify” and “Voices.” The new album’s first single, “Prayer,” and its companion music video are streaming at the group’s official website along with two other new cuts.
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John Mayer - “Inside Wants Out” (Sony)
Two singles--"No Such Thing” and “Your Body Is a Wonderland"--from Mayer’s 2001 major-label debut, “Room for Squares,” are still riding on Billboard’s Adult Top 40 chart. Striking while the iron is hot, Sony is reissuing “Inside Wants Out,” Mayer’s debut EP. The 8-track collection features acoustic versions of the “Room for Sqaures” cuts “No Such Thing,” “My Stupid Mouth” and “Neon.”
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Lifehouse - “Stanley Climbfall” (DreamWorks)
This Los Angeles band turns to producer Ron Aniello (Days of the New) and mixer Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, U2), on the follow-up to its double-platinum 2000 debut. “Spin,” the new album’s first single, is already getting heavy airplay on modern rock radio stations.
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Joan Osborne - “How Sweet It Is” (Womanly Hips/Compendia)
Osborne’s latest takes its name from the late Marvin Gaye’s 1965 hit, one of many R&B standards that she performs on this collection of covers. Other cuts include Aretha Franklin’s “Think,” Otis Redding’s “These Arms of Mine” and the Spinners’ “I’ll Be Around.” Osborne’s official website features detailed album info and streaming samples of all of the album’s tracks.
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Natalie Cole - “Ask a Woman Who Knows” (Verve)
Cole’s first release in three years--and her debut from jazz label Verve--is a collection of 13 songs she selected with producer Tommy LiPuma, one of the producers behind Cole’s Grammy-winning 1991 album “Unforgettable, With Love.” Among the tracks are the Sergio Mendes composition “So Many Stars” and “Better Than Anything,” a duet with Diana Krall.
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Ruben Blades - “Mundo” (Sony Discos)
The Panamanian singer, actor and social activist issues his first album of new material since 1999’s “Tiempos.” According to the artist’s website, “Mundo” mixes “sounds from Ireland, Spain and the Middle East with classic Afro-Cuban rhythms creating a new sound that is innovative and at the same time familiar.” Among the guests on the album are Boca Livre, Eric Rigler, Mark Quiñones, Bobby Allende and Editus Ensemble.
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Other new releases:
Bob Baldwin - “Standing Tall” (Narada)
Rubén Blades - “Mundo” (Columbia)
Boom Bip - “Seed to Sun” (Warp/Lex)
Franklin Bruno - “A Cat May Look at a Queen” (Absolutely Kosher)
Peter Case - “Beeline” (Vanguard)
Cephas & Wiggins - “Somebody Told the Truth” (Alligator)
The Chieftains - “Down the Old Plank Road: The Nashville Sessions” (RCA Victor)
Guy Clark - “The Dark” (Sugar Hill)
Natalie Cole - “Ask a Woman Who Knows” (Verve)
Conjure One - “Conjure One” (Nettwerk)
Shemekia Copeland - “Talking to Strangers” (Alligator)
J.D. Crowe and the New South - “My Home Ain’t in the Hall of Fame” (Rounder)
The Crush - “Here Is Where I Cross My Fingers” (Adeline)
Dead Meadow - “Got Live if You Want It” (Committee to Keep Music Evil)
Rick Derringer - “Free Ride” (Beyond)
The Devlins - “Consent” (Nettwerk)
The Disco Biscuits - “Señor Boombox” (Megaforce)
The Distraction - “Calling All Radios” (Dirtnap)
Ludacris Presents Disturbing tha Peace - “Golden Grain” (Warner Bros.)
Divit - “Broadcaster” (Nitro)
Dr. Didg - “Dust Devils” (Narada)
Element 101 - “More Than Motion” (Tooth & Nail)
Mario Frangoulis - “Sometimes I Dream” (Sony Classical)
Kenny G - “Paradise” (Arista)
Gogol Bordello - “Multi Kontra Culti Vs. Irony” (Rubric)
Barry Goldberg - “Stoned Again” (Texas Music Group)
The Gourds - “Cow Fish Fowl or Pig” (Sugar Hill)
The Hot Club of Cowtown - “Ghost Train” (HighTone)
Isis - “Oceanic” (Ipecac)
Al Jarreau - “All I Got” (GRP)
Jené - “Jené’s Reign” (Motown)
The Kings of Nuthin - “Fight Songs” (Disaster)
Komputer - “Market Led” (Mute)
The Krays - “A Time for Action” (TKO)
Ladytron - “Light & Magic” (Emperor Norton)
Sondre Lerche - “Faces Down” (Astralwerks)
Lost City Angels - “Lost City Angels” (Nitro)
Doug Martsch - “Now You Know” (Warner Bros.)
Les McCann - “Pump It Up” (ESC)
Audra McDonald - “Happy Songs” (Nonesuch)
Ronnie McDowell - “Ronnie McDowell with Bill Pinkney’s Original Drifters” (Curb)
James McMurtry - “Saint Mary of the Woods” (Sugar Hill)
Paul Melançon - “Camera Obscura” (Daemon)
Mulgrew Miller and Wingspan - “The Sequel” (MaxJazz)
Jane Monheit - “In the Sun” (N-Coded)
Jason Moran - “Modernistic” (Blue Note)
Mountain Heart - “No Other Way” (Skaggs Family)
Megan Mullally - “Big as a Berry” (Varese)
Mustard Plug - “Yellow #5” (Hopeless)
No. 2 - “What Does Good Luck Bring?” (In Music We Trust)
OK Go - “OK Go” (Capitol)
Richard Pinhas - “Event & Repetitions” (Cuneiform)
Chris Potter - “Traveling Mercies” (Verve)
Prymary Colorz - “If You Only Knew” (Big 3)
Scapegoat Wax - “SWAX” (Hollywood)
Shadows Fall - “The Art of Balance” (Century Media)
Matt Skiba/Kevn Seconds - “Ten Song Split” (Asian Man)
Sotos - “Platypus” (Cuneiform)
Swayzak - “Dirty Dancing” (Studio K7)
Theory of a Dead Man - “Theory of a Dead Man” (Roadrunner)
Clay Walker - “Christmas” (Warner Bros.)
Tamara Walker - “Angel Eyes” (Curb)
Woodbine - “Woodbine” (Domino)
Joe Zawinul - “Faces and Places” (ESC)
Various artists - “Cuisine Non-stop: Introduction to the French Nouvelle Generation” (Luaka Bop)
Various artists - “Dressed in Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash” (DualTone)
Various artists - “London Global Connection: Arabesque” (Restless)
Various artists - “London Global Connection: Latinique” (Restless)
Various artists - “The Only Blip Hop Record You’ll Ever Need Vol. 1” (Luaka Bop)
Various artists - “Progressive House Elements: Andy Hughes” (Neurodisc)
Various artists - “Tomorrow Will Be Worse Vol. 3” (Sound Pollution)
Various artists - “Trance Mixed Version 1.01” (Varese)
Soundtracks and scores
“The Four Feathers” (Sony Classical)
In Brief: Prince, Train, Shortlist Prize nominees
Roxette singer diagnosed with brain tumor. An Emmy for “The Osbournes. Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale wed.
Roxette singer diagnosed with brain tumor. An Emmy for “The Osbournes. Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale wed.
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Prince plans to release his first live album, a 3-CD set titled “One Nite Alone ... Live,” sometime this fall. The album was recorded during his spring tour, and will first be made available to members of his NPG Music Club.
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Train will play a free noon concert on Tuesday (9/17) at the Soldiers Memorial in St. Louis, according to radio station Y98. The group is also due to perform a free concert in Chicago on Wednesday (9/18), according to a band source, but the location has not yet been announced.
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The finalists for the 2002 Shortlist Music Prize are Aphex Twin, Avalanches, Bjork, Cee-Lo, DJ Shadow, Doves, Flaming Lips, Hives, N.E.R.D and Zero 7. The second annual Shortlist Awards Concert, at which the winner will be announced, will take place on Oct. 29 at the Henry Fonda Theater in Los Angeles. Click here for background about the award.
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Marie Fredricksson, best known as the singer of the group Roxette, has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. According to published reports, she was hospitalized in Sweden last week after she fainted and hit her head on a sink. Doctors found the tumor while examining her.
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“The Osbournes” picked up an Emmy in the Outstanding Non-Fiction Programming (Reality) on Saturday (9/14) at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ Creative Arts Awards ceremony.
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Gwen Stefani of No Doubt and Gavin Rossdale of Bush were married in London on Saturday (9/14).
New round of U.S. dates ahead for Our Lady Peace
On the heels of a sold-out club tour, the Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace is kicking off the second leg of its U.S. tour with a Monday (9/16) performance on “The Tonight Show.”
On the heels of a sold-out club tour, the Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace is kicking off the second leg of its U.S. tour with a Monday (9/16) performance on “The Tonight Show.”
The tour proper begins on Wednesday (9/18) with a sold-out show at Detroit’s 3,000-seat capacity State Theatre. Stops in St. Louis, Washington, D.C., and Atlantic City, N.J., are also on the itinerary.
Our Lady Peace is hitting the road in support of its latest album “Gravity.” Produced by Bob Rock (Metallica), “Gravity” was recorded in Hawaii. The first single, “Somewhere Out There,” cracked Billboard 100’s top 40, and will be featured in the season premiere of the television show “Alias.” The latest single is “Innocent.”
On Sept. 24, Our Lady Peace is releasing a limited edition of “Gravity,” which will contain four live songs.
Click here to read SoundSpike’s recent interview with Our Lady Peace frontman Raine Maida.
Thursday, September 12, 2002
Warren Zevon suffering from untreatable lung cancer
Singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, in a statement issued on Thursday (9/12), said that he is suffering from untreatable lung cancer.
Singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, in a statement issued on Thursday (9/12), said that he is suffering from untreatable lung cancer.
According to a press release, Zevon received the news last month and is spending time with his children. He plans to write and record as many songs as possible in the weeks that lie ahead.
“I’m OK with it, but it’ll be a drag if I don’t make it until the next James Bond movie comes out,” said Zevon, who is known for his dark wit.
Zevon released his latest album, “My Ride’s Here,” in May. It features contributions from journalist Hunter S. Thompson, Irish poet Paul Muldoon and author Carl Hiaasen, as well as a cameo from talk-show host David Letterman. The album followed 2000’s “Life’ll Kill Ya,” which was Zevon’s first new studio album in five years.
The 55-year-old artist began his recording career with 1969’s “Wanted Dead or Alive.” He remains best known for his 1978 album “Excitable Boy,” which features his best-known song, “Werewolves of London.”
On Oct. 15, Rhino Records will release “Genius: The Best of Warren Zevon,” which collects tracks for nearly all of his albums.
Q&A: Gary Allan
Country singer Gary Allan only recently scored his first major hit, but he’s no newcomer to the stage.
Country singer Gary Allan only recently scored his first major hit, but he’s no newcomer to the stage.
Allan entered the business at the age of 12, performing at honky-tonks around California. At 15, he was offered his first recording contract, but his parents decided he should turn it down. Allan continued his career, playing bars with his father before breaking out on his own. Eventually, he inked a deal with the now-defunct Decca Records and released two little-noticed albums.
In 1999, his breakthrough album “Smoke Rings in the Dark” (MCA Records) spawned his first radio hit, “Right Where I Need to Be.”
Allan’s latest effort, “Alright Guy” (MCA), also has proven successful, thanks to the hit single “The One” and the title track, a cover of singer-songwriter Todd Snider’s rebellious, controversial song, which references Madonna’s book “Sex,” marijuana, drinking and getting arrested.
Although Allan’s lifelong goal was to be a successful musician, he still has mixed feelings.
“I think it’s a lot more politics than I ever thought it would be,” he said. “But it’s still magic, being able to live your dream.”
Allan recently talked with SoundSpike about his career, the song “Alright Guy” and traveling with six kids.
The lyrics of “Alright Guy” really defy what’s going on in country music these days.
I think country music is so politically correct right now. It’s almost like bad pop and bubble-gummy. None of my heroes were politically correct--Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings--I don’t think [being politically correct] is what country music is all about. I’m hoping to release “Alright Guy” as a single and make a video for it.
How do you think radio and video outlets will respond?
I played it live on CMT three times. I played it before a party live on TV. There’s a couple of radio stations that claimed they wouldn’t play it. But there are radio stations that are playing it. It just indicates the whole state of the country.
How did you chose the songs for the album “Alright Guy?”
Just from things I heard along the way. I pick up songs from friends. I’ve got a lot of friends that write.
While you were on the Brooks and Dunn tour, how did you spend your free time?
Playing basketball with Kix Brooks, a whole lot of the crew, the bands, the Trick Pony guys. I’m terrible but they let me play anyway.
What do you miss most when you’re on the road?
Surfing. I’m from California. I fly home and surf every chance I get. My kids do, too. I have six kids ranging from 6 to 12.
What do they think about your career? I understand they travel with you?
I think they’d rather have me have a different job. But they like it and they like to come out to the shows. I got another bus and I’m traveling with my family for the summer. There was really no other way. I couldn’t stand the idea of being away from them for so long.
Don Henley follows Eagles outing with solo flight
After spending much of the summer on the road with the other members of the Eagles, Don Henley sets out alone for a series of Northeast dates that begin in early October.
After spending much of the summer on the road with the other members of the Eagles, Don Henley sets out alone for a series of Northeast dates that begin in early October.
Henley begins the jaunt with benefit performances in Boston and New York City, where he will share the stage with a roster of artists that includes Sheryl Crow, John Mellencamp and Sting. Net proceeds from both shows will benefit the family of recently deceased Billboard magazine editor Timothy White, who in June died of a heart attack at the age of 50.
Prior to the solo run, Henley joins the Eagles for a late-September, one-off performance in Colorado Springs, where the group is christening that city’s new World Arena with the venue’s first rock concert.
The forthcoming solo dates mark Henley’s latest batch of post-Eagles-tour performances. In late July, he played a handful of California shows.
Henley’s most-recent solo effort is 2000’s “Inside Job,” which received three Grammy nominations. Earlier this year, Henley told Billboard that the Eagles were working on their first album of new material since 1979’s “The Long Run.” The group has not announced specific release plans.