991.com Sleevenotes : A Blog about Collecting Rare Vinyl 7", 12" & LP Records, CDs, Memorabilia & Music

Friday's Forthcoming Releases At 991.com

IRONIK featuring CHIPMUNK & ELTON JOHN

'Tiny Dancer [Hold Me Closer]' Release Date 27/04/2009

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'Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer)' is the brand new single that sees Ironik team up with fellow grime star Chipmunk and the legendary Sir Elton John for an April 27th release. Out via Asylum Records, the uber-catchy track which samples Elton John's classic original showcases the melodic flows of Top 5 artist Ironik with 18-year-old rising star - Chipmunk who bagged a Mobo last year for Best Newcomer. The result is eagerly anticipated and hailed on Radio 1's Switch as the 'Song of the summer'!! Sir Elton John has only cleared two other samples for rap artists before: "Tupac and Kanye West are two artists I've let sample my records - that says everything about how much I rate Ironik" says Sir Elton, adding: "It's good to be able to help young talent I believe in". The new arrangement of Sir Elton and Bernie Taupin's cult-classic was possible only with access to the original 'Tiny Dancer' master tapes and Elton's personal approval - an almost unprecedented honour which puts 21-year-old North Londoner Ironik, alongside his friend Chipmunk in exclusive and prestigious company. In turn the two MCs have put a distinctly 2009 spin on the 1971 recording. Last year Ironik's 'Stay With Me' stormed the UK Top 5 with minimal airplay going on to reside inside the Top 20 for nine weeks, heralding an entirely new mainstream sound and trail-blazing a path for his peers to follow... Chipmunk alongside other artists such as Tinchy Stryder and N-Dubz have now followed Ironik's lead into the mainstream. Chipmunk's effervescent 'Chip Diddy Chip' landed major media support and has become a hit on his own independent label. Ironik's album 'No Point In Wasting Tears' followed hot on the heels of his debut single, 'Stay With Me' and is full of culturally relevant lyrical themes and sing-along choruses. These two releases became a definitive moment in Black British music - the benchmark for what is now known as Post-Grime Pop (PGP): the brighter, bubblier, youthful sound of the British streets. 'No Point In Wasting Tears' draws a pool of talent from his friends in the scene including the central figures: ultra-hot MC Chipmunk; producer Bless Beats; rapper Tinchy Stryder; and 'Godfather of Grime' Wiley; whilst also unearthing outstanding new vocal talents.

Thursday's Forthcoming Releases At 991.com

THE MACCABEES

'Love You Better'

Release Date 27/04/2009 These will be made available once the stock comes in!

THE MACCABEES 'Love You Better' Bundle Set

Release Date 27/04/2009 This is the only format available for pre-orders!!

http://991.com/buy/productinformation.aspx?StockNumber=467410

Details re: the album 'Wall Of Arms' retains all the energy and passion that made The Maccabees fan favourites first time round but is a huge leap forward creatively. Paired with the Arcade Fire producer Markus Dravs the album introduces horns and keys to their signature staccato guitar attack. The tonality of emotions explored and broad expanse of space the songs inhabit is breathtaking.

George Harrison - Best Of Coming Soon

You wait for ages for some George Harrison news to come along then two items arrive on the same day.

This fresh in from Rolling Stone.com

George Harrison’s first-ever career-spanning greatest hits collection will be released on June 16th. The announcement of Let It Roll: The Music of George Harrison comes just hours after the Beatles guitarist posthumously received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.

The compilation will feature songs from throughout Harrison’s career, from live takes of his biggest Beatles hits to his storied solo career. Harrison was twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, both as a Beatle and a solo artist.

All the tracks on Let It Roll will be digitally remastered and assembled in deluxe packaging with rare and unseen photographs. The album will also be released digitally. According to the press release, Harrison’s solo hits “My Sweet Lord,” “Isn’t It A Pity,” “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)” and “Got My Mind Set On You” will all be included on the set, and you can assume the collection’s namesake track, All Things Must Pass‘ “Let It Roll,” will also make the cut.

Three of Harrison’s most popular songs that he penned for the Beatles are also on the track list: “Something,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “Here Comes The Sun” from Harrison’s 1971 Concert For Bangladesh from New York’s Madison Square Garden. The full track list is expected to be announced soon.

The news of the remastered Harrison solo tracks comes only a week after word broke that the Beatles’ long-awaited remastered catalog will be released on September 9th, 2009, the same day the Fab Four’s The Beatles: Rock Band hits stores.

Billie Jean is not my lawyer- Jacko stops auction

You may remember reading on SLEEVENOTES a few weeks back about the auction of Michael Jackson's personal belonging.

Well, Jacko has won his battle to stop the auction. Nearly 2,000 items were due to go under the hammer at the singer’s former Neverland home next week, but the plug has been pulled on the Jacko memorabilia sale.

Jackson’s production company launched legal action to have the auction cancelled, and a last-minute settlement with Julien’s Auction House means the valuable haul will be returned to the Thriller star.

Fans hoping to get their hands on some of Jackson’s prized possessions will be bitterly disappointed. A public display of the lots at the sprawling California ranch has already opened – and the doors won’t close until the end of next week.

George Harrison receives a Hollywood star

Former Beatle George Harrison has been honoured with a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.

Sir Paul McCartney attended the unveiling outside the landmark Capitol Records building, joining Harrison's widow Olivia and son Dhani.

Olivia paid tribute to her late husband, describing him as "a beautiful, mystical man living in a material world".

Harrison, the youngest of the Beatles, died of lung cancer in 2001 aged 58.

Other stars including Monty Python actor Eric Idle, Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks and musician Tom Petty attended the ceremony.

Idle described the Beatle as a "remarkable person" with a "wonderful sense of humour".

Sir Paul McCartney attended the unveiling with Harrison's wife, Olivia Hanks also addressed the hundreds of fans that turned up for the event.

He said: "George Harrison held the future in the guitar in his hands and it had six strings. Let us thank Leo Fender, who brought electricity to music.

"Let us thank them all for bringing us George. Every record was an event, every cut was an opera, the entire story told ours. All things must pass, sure. But George is going to live forever."

Harrison is the second Beatle to be honoured individually on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

He already shares a star with the rest of the group, but only he and John Lennon - who was also posthumously awarded a star in 1988 - have their own.

Sir Paul has been approved for a star, but no date has been fixed yet for a ceremony.

Wednesday's Forthcoming Releases At 991.com

Shenker Barden

http://991.com/Buy/ProductInformation.aspx?StockNumber=467371

* Scorpions and UFO giant Michael Schenker teams up with the legendary Gary Barden * The follow-up from his hugely successful album "In the Midst of Beauty" released last year * The first album from the Michael Schenker-Gary Barden Acoustic Project * Long-term collaborator, Gary Barden's vocals give the cleverly arranged songs just the touch of soul they need for full impact * With Michael Vetter, Schenker has an experienced producer, a second guitarist and a background vocalist on board, who delivers an outstanding performance * Kai Luennemann on percussion completes the team * An eclectic blend of songs and instruments: * The flamenco guitar with castanets in Dance Lady Gipsy conjures up a hot-blooded gipsy dancing * The fiddle and flutes in Fight For Freedom transport you to beautiful Ireland * The strings form just the right counterpart to Michael's guitar in the wonderful ballad All Of My Life * The mouth organ in Can't Live On Love Alone gives it a hint of the blues

Just for the record: music shops that refuse to die

With his ears cocooned in huge shell-like headphones, Ewald Dupan bobs his head to the beat while flicking through 12-inch vinyls in Rough Trade Records in east London. Having saved for months, the 24-year-old teacher is here for two days from Brussels with the sole purpose of trawling independent record stops in search of hard-to-find gems.

Thursday's Forthcoming Releases At 991.com

THUNDER

 

'The Very Best Of' 3CD Release Date 11/05/2009

http://991.com/buy/productinformation.aspx?StockNumber=467015

Brand new, career spanning 3CD set, with over 3½ hours of hits, b-sides, classic album tracks, rarities and live favourites [1989-2008] from the dynamic and prolific British hard rock band, formed in 1989. Produced in association with Thunder and includes material from their classic albums: 'Backstreet Symphony', 'Laughing On Judgement Day', 'Behind Closed Doors', 'Shooting At The Sun', 'The Magnificent Seventh!', 'Robert Johnson's Tombstone', 'Bang!', 'The Magnificent Five Do Xmas!', 'Live At Rock City, Nottingham'. Contains the anthemic hits 'Dirty Love', 'Backstreet Symphony' and 'Love Walked In' among many others. Also features the complete legendary 1990 'Donington Monsters Of Rock' performance, which cemented their place in the hearts of British rock fans. 20 years since forming, and after twenty top-50 singles and 9 studio albums, Thunder have recently announced they are calling it a day, due to other commitments and embark on an emotional farewell UK tour this July.

Official Apple Corp - Beatles Press Release

This is the latest Official press release form The Beatles and Apple, Enjoy!

We are delighted to announce the release of the original Beatles catalogue, which has been digitally re-mastered for the first time, for worldwide CD release on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 (09-09-09), the same date as the release of the widely anticipated "The Beatles: Rock Band" video game.

Each of the CDs is packaged with replicated original UK album art, including expanded booklets containing original and newly written liner notes and rare photos. For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album. On the same date, two new Beatles boxed CD collections will also be released.

The albums have been re-mastered by a dedicated team of engineers at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London over a four year period utilising state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. The result of this painstaking process is the highest fidelity the catalogue has seen since its original release.

The collection comprises all 12 Beatles albums in stereo, with track listings and artwork as originally released in the UK, and 'Magical Mystery Tour,' which became part of The Beatles' core catalogue when the CDs were first released in 1987. In addition, the collections 'Past Masters Vol. I and II' are now combined as one title, for a total of 14 titles over 16 discs. This will mark the first time that the first four Beatles albums will be available in stereo in their entirety on compact disc. These 14 albums, along with a DVD collection of the documentaries, will also be available for purchase together in a stereo boxed set.

Within each CD's new packaging, booklets include detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. With the exception of the 'Past Masters' set, newly produced mini-documentaries on the making of each album, directed by Bob Smeaton, are included as QuickTime files on each album. The documentaries contain archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere.

A second boxed set has been created with the collector in mind. 'The Beatles in Mono' gathers together, in one place, all of the Beatles recordings that were mixed for a mono release. It will contain 10 of the albums with their original mono mixes, plus two further discs of mono masters (covering similar ground to the stereo tracks on 'Past Masters'). As an added bonus, the mono "Help!" and "Rubber Soul" discs also include the original 1965 stereo mixes, which have not been previously released on CD. These albums will be packaged in mini-vinyl CD replicas of the original sleeves with all original inserts and label designs retained.

Discussions regarding the digital distribution of the catalogue will continue. There is no further information available at this time.

Tuesday's Forthcoming Releases At 991.com

NOISETTES

'Wild Young Hearts' CD Release Date 20/04/2009

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Two years on from a debut album awash with punk spirit and scorching blues-rock, London trio Noisettes make their return with 'Wild Young Hearts', a set of sleek pop songs steeped in soul, dizzy on disco and harking back to the days of blues and jazz greats. From the galloping funk grooves of forthcoming, first single 'Don't Upset The Rhythm', to the joyous, jazzy title track, the stomping electro-rock of 'Saturday Night', the glorious '60s-tinged soul of 'Never Forget You' and the sultry, shimmering pop of '24 Hours', in 'Wild Young Hearts', Noisettes have made what is set to be one of 2009's most adventurous albums. Never fond of a formula, the trio always intended a radical musical detour from their acclaimed debut, 'What's The Time Mr Wolf?', an album that spawned five singles and took them on tour for over a year, sharing arena stages with Muse and criss-crossing the States with TV On The Radio and Bloc Party. If you can imagine a hybrid of Blondie, Ting Tings and Rihanna, you'll begin to get an idea of how special this new record is. Vocalist Shingai Shoniwa, meanwhile, is fast becoming a style icon with the makings of a modern-day Deborah Harry.

Joe Satriani EXCLUSIVE - Chickenfoot interview

Rarely has a band come freighted with such expectation and promise than the new outfit that calls itself Chickenfoot.

Yes, you read correctly - Chickenfoot. Say that name again, just to get used to its sound. Chickenfoot.

It's a silly name for a band - - and album - - that kicks a donkey's ass six ways to Sunday and back again. Maybe that's because long before the four men who comprise Chickenfoot came together they already filled the pages of rock history with enough individual mind-blowing chapters to boggle the mind.  

[Photo credit: copyright 2009 Bryan Adams]

First, let's consider the stellar line-up. There's Joe Satriani, he of guitar god status, a dream born on the fateful day of September 18, 1970. It was the day Jimi Hendrix died, and it was the same day that Satriani, upon hearing the news, quit his high school football team and decided, at age 14, to devote his life to the electric guitar.

So what about that singer? Well, that would be another guy who needs no introduction; Sammy Hagar, the original "Red Rocker", a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee for his tenure with Van Halen, who made his professional debut as the singer for the much-revered group Montrose during the early 70's.

A great band is nothing without a great rhythm section, and Chickenfoot has one of the best in the two-man team of former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers Chad Smith.

Guitar legend Joe Satriani took time out of a sunny spring day in London to have a chat with me about all things Chickenfoot.  Read the full EXCLUSIVE 991 interview below.

BOB DYLAN ON PLANET ROCK

Our good friends over at Planet Rock have just asked us to share with you all news of some amazing Bob Dylan features they have coming up this month.

On air: In April, Planet Rock is running a very special four part Dylan documentary tracing his journey from humble folk beginnings through the world changing political protests of the 60s, via the golden songwriting period of the 70s all the way to the present day.

The series is narrated by punk poet Patti Smith and is a fascinating insight into the life of a true genius.

Online: We’ll give you the chance to win Dylan’s new studio album as well as the latest addition to his excellent Bootleg series.

We’ll also have some great online features lined up for the coming weeks, so stay tuned for some updates in the very near future.

For more information visit www.planetrock.com  and tell them we sent you.

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Bon Jovi wants to rid the world of Jovi tribute bands

Sometimes, artists can get a tiny bit too ridiculous for their own good and end up doing nothing but tarnishing their reputations and looking like petty spoilt children.

Ringo for example, not signing anymore stuff for fans because "he has too much to do?"

Well, the latest cab off the rank is Jon Bon Jovi.

It appears the Jon has taken umbridge to tribute bands performing the Jovi catalogue for fun in clubs and bars. You can read more on the  the excellent music forum, Velvet Rope http://velvetrope.com/forums/ubbthreads.php

One man's trash is another man's gold

Cast your eyes on these TOTP beauties just in! Retro heaven or disposable items from a bygone era?

 

The jury's out...

Exclusive Joe Satriani Interview - Coming Soon!

Keep checking back with us here at SLEEVENOTES over the coming week to catch an exclusive interview with legendary guitar wiz Joe Satriani as he talks to 991.com about his role in the new mega-group Chikenfoot! Yes Chickentfoot, which also features the formidable talents of Chad Smith from the Chili Peppers and the incredible Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar of Van Halen.

Be the first to read the interview with Joe Satriani next week.

Bob Dylan Month On Planet Rock

Our good friends over at Sony award winning radio station planet Rock have launched Bob Dylan month. Go and check it out! http://www.planetrock.com/

Thursday's Forthcoming Releases At 991.com

JAMES TAYLOR QUARTET 'A Few Useful Tips About Living Underground' CD

OUT NOW!!!

http://991.com/buy/productinformation.aspx?StockNumber=466276

The James Taylor Quartet's final album for Acid Jazz, first issued in the summer of 1996, was a return to their roots with 11 tracks of straight-ahead Hammond instrumentals. It is the sound of the touring Quartet - which was a six-piece, plus a percussionist - doing what they did best: playing together. The music stretches from Lonnie Liston Smith-style jazz funk, through out-and-out funk, tinged in places with touches of Keith Emerson. To the album tracks have been added DJ Derek Dahlarge's remix of the album's single 'Creation' done under his Ceasefire moniker, the first time that this has been available on a JTQ album. We have also included the three cuts that were added to the US release of the album. These were intended to be part of the soundtrack to Mike Myers' first Austin Powers film, although only 'Austin's Theme' is heard anywhere in the film. It is the first time that the other two tracks - 'Man Of Mystery' and 'Theme From A Far Away Land' have been available outside the US.

Wednesday's Forthcoming Releases At 991.com

BEN KWELLER 'Changing Horses' Ltd LP [+ Bonus CD]

Release Date 13/04/2009

http://991.com/buy/productinformation.aspx?StockNumber=466191

"Whatever's encouraged Kweller's more rustic approach, it's resulted in the Texan's strongest set of songs yet 8/10" - NME. "On Horses, he might just have found the style that suits him - it evokes sepia-tinted times past and gives new life to his career 4/5" - The Sun. "The fourth album from prodigy Ben is a beauty 4/5" - Daily Mirror. Limited Edition 180gm Vinyl LP Edition. Package includes double gatefold sleeve, CD & Poster. All-analogue recording - tracked to 2" tape, with very few overdubs. Over the course of his three studio albums, Ben Kweller has become known as a top-shelf purveyor of the powerhouse pop song. The arsenal of effortless melodies, surging refrains and agile harmonies he employs could come only from a kid raised on a steady diet of the Beatles, the Beach Boys and the Hollies. But on Kweller's new album, a straight-up country charmer entitled 'Changing Horses', the 27-year-old Greenville, TX, native has gone back to his roots, saying "Some of the first songs I wrote as a kid, before I got into punk rock and underground bands, were country songs." Changing Horses (whose title refers not only to taking on a new musical genre, but also to relocating his family to Austin, TX) reflects that period. For Kweller, who was influenced at a young age by the records his father's high-school buddy Nils Lofgren made with Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen, releasing a country album is the realisation of a long-held goal. "We recorded it in 11 days, but Changing Horses is 13 years in the making".