Sights and Sounds: Bruce Springsteen, The Monkees, Pulp, Van Dyke Parks

Lots of big news to share. The Monkees' 1969 classic 'GREATEST HITS' is being re-released on 180-gram vinyl, Pulp is back, and - oh - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band is set to return this year. Gotta love that!


Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Announce First US Leg of 2012 ‘Wrecking Ball’ World Tour

Photo credit: Danny Clinch

New Album 'Wrecking Ball' (Columbia Records) Out March 6, 2012


Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band launch the first US leg of the 2012 'Wrecking Ball' World Tour on March 18 in Atlanta. Bruce Springsteen's 17th studio album 'Wrecking Ball' will be released on Columbia Records on March 6.

"We Take Care Of Our Own," the album's first single,' is "classic Springsteen" with "anguish and challenge [that] run thick and fast" (Rolling Stone); a "richly orchestrated Wall of Sound... that nods to the 'Born to Run' era" (Billboard).

Stream "We Take Care of Our Own" and pre-order 'Wrecking Ball' at: http://www.brucespringsteen.net

The E Street Band's members are: Roy Bittan – piano, synthesizer; Nils Lofgren – guitar, vocals; Patti Scialfa – guitar, vocals; Garry Tallent – bass guitar; Stevie Van Zandt – guitar, vocals; and Max Weinberg – drums; with Soozie Tyrell – violin, guitar, vocals and Charlie Giordano – keyboards.


Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band 2012 U.S. Tour Dates:
March 18 – Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena (on sale Feb 4)
March 19 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum (on sale Feb 3)
March 23 – Tampa, FL – Tampa Bay Times Forum (on sale Jan 28)
March 26 – Boston, MA – TD Garden (on sale Jan 28)
March 28 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center (on sale Jan 28)
March 29 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center (on sale Jan 28)
April 1 – Washington, DC – Verizon Center (on sale Jan 28)
April 3 – East Rutherford, NJ – Izod Center (on sale Jan 27)
April 4 – East Rutherford, NJ – Izod Center (on sale Jan 27)
April 6 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden (on sale Jan 27)
April 9 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden (on sale Jan 27)
April 12 – Detroit, MI – The Palace of Auburn Hills (on sale Jan 28)
April 13 – Buffalo, NY – First Niagara Center (on sale Jan 28)
April 16 – Albany, NY – Times Union Center (on sale Jan 28)
April 17 – Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena (on sale Jan 28)
April 24 – San Jose, CA – HP Pavilion (on sale Feb 3)
April 26 – Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (on sale Feb 3)
April 29 – New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (on sale now)
May 2 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center (on sale Jan 27)




The Monkees' GREATEST HITS, the band's first compilation, was originally released in 1969, a year after the cancellation of their TV show. As a result, it has become one of the most sought-after vinyl collectibles from the group, with mint copies selling for big bucks.

But now thanks to our friends at Friday Music, The Monkees GREATEST HITS is available once again on 180-gram vinyl - and only Rhino.com has 500 copies pressed exclusively on orange vinyl! That's right, we only have 500 units of this release on orange vinyl and once they're gone, they're gone. You can only get this version from Rhino.com, so order now.

The Monkees GREATEST HITS features all the obvious favorites, plus some surprises like “Zor and Zam,” “Cuddly Toy,” and “Randy Scouse Git” which sound more amazing on 180-gram vinyl. Don't miss out on this second chance to grab an excellent Monkees collectible - pre-order now. This release begins shipping on March, 6, 2012.


PULP RETURNS TO THE U.S.

BRIT BAND TO PLAY COACHELLA, RADIO CITY, THE WARFIELD


FIRST U.S. PERFORMANCES SINCE 1998

Pulp will return to the U.S. this spring for the first time in more than a decade to play Coachella, The Warfield in San Francisco, and Radio City Music Hall in New York. The shows will involve all the original members of the band -- Nick Banks (drums), Jarvis Cocker (vocals, guitar), Candida Doyle (keyboards), Steve Mackey (bass), Russell Senior (violin, guitar) and Mark Webber (guitar) -- and they will be playing songs from all periods of their career.

April 11 -- New York, NY -- Radio City Music Hall
April 13 -- Indio, CA -- Coachella
April 17 -- San Francisco, CA -- The Warfield
April 20 -- Indio, CA -- Coachella

Pulp returned from a nine-year hiatus last summer, performing at festivals in Europe and Australia. They last played in the U.S. on a June 1998 tour in support of their "This Is Hardcore" album.

Official Web site: http://pulppeople.com/



Van Dyke Parks Announces Select Run of Southeast Dates


Final Installment of Unique 45's Series Set for March 20 Release

Legendary artist, composer and producer Van Dyke Parks will embark on a run of Southeast tour dates, including a February appearance at NPR's Mountain Stage. After a set of dates with Fleet Foxes last fall, Parks will return to this part of the country once again in support of his unique 7" vinyl series with artwork from some of the most important contemporary artists of our time, including Ed Ruscha, Art Speigelman, Frank Holmes and many more. Parks will kick off this run of performances with a set at Santa Barbara's Soho Restaurant & Music Club on Tuesday, January 31, 2012. The show is in conjunction with an after party for the screening of Music Man Murray, a documentary scored by Parks, and written and directed by his son, Richard Parks premiering at the Santa Barbara Independent Film Festival.

This series of 45's is Parks' first new studio music in more than 15 years, since his acclaimed album Orange Crate Art. Announced last August on his own label Bananastan, the first four vinyls are available for purchase at the label's website and during the forthcoming live appearances. In December, Parks released the latest single 'Amazing Graces'/Hold Back Time' with Charles Ray art and will release the final two installments on March 20: 'Sassafrass'/ 'The All Golden' illustrated by both Billy Edd Wheeler and Klaus Voormann and 'Missin' Missippi'/'The Parting Hand' with sleeve art by Sally Parks, and Stanley Dorfman.

Parks also released Arrangements Vol. 1 last year, a compilation of some of his greatest arrangements, with Pitchfork saying, "the songs selected on 'Arrangements' are uniformly fantastic (8.6 'Best New Reissue')." At the heart of some of the great albums of the last 50 years, Parks' accomplishments include Brian Wilson's 'lost' masterpiece Smile, Randy Newman and Ry Cooder's first recordings, and Joanna Newsom's critically acclaimed 2006 album YS.

Van Dyke Parks On Tour

1/31 - Santa Barbara, CA - Soho Restaurant & Music Club
2/15 - St. Petersburg, FL - Craftsman House Gallery
2/16 - Jacksonville, FL - The Florida Theatre
2/18 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
2/19 - Athens, GA - University of Georgia

For more info, please visit:
http://www.vandykeparks.com
http://www.bananastan.com