Thursday, July 09, 2015

Inbox Update: Duran Duran, Keith Richards, Shemekia Copeland, The Doobie Brothers

Here is a plethora of news to get your day going…

Duran Duran announce earlier release date  (Sept. 11, 2015) for forthcoming album 'Paper Gods'

Multi-platinum superstars Duran Duran have announced that, due to popular demand, they will move the U.S. release date of their 14th studio album, Paper Gods, up from September 18th to give it a global street date of September 11th.

Singer Simon Le Bon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor, and drummer Roger Taylor recorded Paper Gods in London with producers Nile RodgersMark Ronson, Josh Blair, and Mr Hudson. The songs - already being heralded as the band's best work since Rio - capture the true essence of Duran Duran, with the duality and sense of conflict that has always been at the heart of their music. Visceral and daring, the album mixes hard-edged, contemporary pop with the band's darker more experimental side to create a body of work that is epic in its scope.

A Deluxe version of Paper Gods is currently available for pre-order at all participating retailers. The Deluxe Fan Edition is available exclusively at http://www.duranduran.com or http://smarturl.it/duranduranmusicstore.  The new
single "Pressure Off" is available everywhere digital music is sold.


Duran Duran have also announced that they will perform a series of summer festivals, as well as a run of shows in the U.S. in September and October, followed by a UK arena tour that kicks off in late November. Please visit http://www.duranduran.com/ for details.

Keith Richards releases 'Crosseyed Heart'

First solo album in more than 20 years slated for release on September 18, 2015

Keith Richards will release his eagerly anticipated CROSSEYED HEART, his third solo album and his first in over 20 years, September 18th on Republic Records.

CROSSEYED HEART, a 15-track masterclass encompassing everything that makes Keith Richards one of the 20th century’s most celebrated talents, is a 5* musical journey that takes in reggae, rock, country and the blues.

The first taste of CROSSEYED HEART will be unveiled on July 17 with the explosive first single, “Trouble,” a taut guitar based slice of heaven featuring Richards on electric and acoustic guitars, bass, lead and backup vocals. He is richly supported by old friends, drummer Steve Jordan, guitarist Waddy Wachtel and Bernard Fowler on backup vocals. The song was written by and produced by Keith and Steve Jordan.

“I had a ball making this new record and working with Steve Jordan and Waddy Wachtel again. There’s nothing like walking into a studio and having absolutely no idea what you’re going to come out with on the other end. If you're looking for ‘Trouble,’ you've come to the right place.”

Keith wrote or co-wrote the majority of the tracks on CROSSEYED HEART, many with co-producer Steve Jordan. Highlights include the country tinged ache of “Robbed Blind”, the reggae flavored “Love Overdue,” and the aptly named “Blues In The Morning.” Richards collaborates with several artists including a captivating duet with Norah Jones on the soulful ballad “Illusion” which she co-wrote.

Keith Richards, who plays electric and acoustic guitars, bass, piano and vocals on the album, is also joined by guitarist Waddy Wachtel, keyboardist Ivan Neville and background singer Sarah Dash, part of the X-Pensive Winos, who accompanied Richards on his previous solo records. 

Steve Jordan plays drums and vocals and other artists accompany Richards’ on individual tracks, including Stax songwriter and keyboardist Spooner Oldham on “Lovers Plea,” pedal steel by Larry Campbell on “Robbed Blind,” Aaron Neville on backup vocals on “Nothing On Me,” and dear friend Bobby Keys on saxophone on “Amnesia” and “Blues In The Morning.” 

Keith has released two other solo studio albums, Talk Is Cheap in 1988 and Main Offender in 1992 as well as a live albumentitled, Live at the Hollywood Palladium, December 15, 1988.

Twitter & Instagram: @officialKeef

Shemekia Copeland's 'Outskirts of Love' coming September 11, 2015 via Alligator Records

Alligator Records has set a September 11 street date for Outskirts Of Love, the genre-smashing new release from trailblazing vocalist Shemekia Copeland. With a voice that is alternately sultry, assertive and roaring, Shemekia’s wide-open vision of contemporary blues, roots and soul music showcases the evolution of a passionate artist with a modern musical and lyrical approach. Whether she’s belting out a raucous blues-rocker, firing up a blistering soul-shouter, bringing the spirit to a gospel-fueled R&B rave-up or digging deep down into a subtle, country-tinged ballad, Shemekia Copeland sounds like no one else. The Chicago Tribune said Copeland delivers "gale force singing and power" with a "unique, gutsy style, vibrant emotional palette and intuitive grasp of the music." NPR Music calls her “fiercely expressive.”
 
Copeland’s return to Alligator Records with Outskirts Of Love (she recorded four albums for the label from 1998 through 2006) finds her at her most charismatic, performing roots rock, Americana, and blues with power and authority, nuance and shading. Produced by The Wood Brothers’ Oliver Wood, Outskirts Of Love is a musical tour-de-force, with Copeland rocking out on the title track, taking charge in Crossbone Beach, honoring her father, the late Johnny Clyde Copeland with her Afrobeat-infused take on his Devil’s Hand, tackling homelessness on Cardboard Box and showing off her country swagger on Drivin’ Out Of Nashville. She puts her stamp on songs made famous by Solomon Burke (I Feel A Sin Coming On), Jesse Winchester (Isn’t That So), Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee (The Battle Is Over), Creedence Clearwater Revival (Long As I Can See The Light), ZZ Top (Jesus Just Left Chicago), Albert King (Wrapped Up In Love Again) and Jessie Mae Hemphill (Lord Help The Poor And Needy). Friends including Billy F Gibbons (see photo below), Robert Randolph, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Will Kimbrough and Pete Finney all add their talent with unbridled enthusiasm. The result is Copeland’s most decidedly contemporary and musically adventurous album of her still-evolving career.
When Shemekia first appeared on the scene at age 18 in 1998 with her groundbreaking debut CD, Turn The Heat Up, she instantly became a blues superstar. Critics from around the country celebrated her music as fans of all ages agreed that an unstoppable new talent had arrived. News outlets from The New York Times to CNN took note of Copeland's talent, engaging personality, and true star power. She followed up with 2000's Grammy-nominated Wicked, 2002's Talking To Strangers (produced by Dr. John) and 2008’s The Soul Truth (produced by Steve Cropper). In that short period of time, she earned eight Blues Music Awards, a host of Living BluesAwards (including the prestigious 2010 Blues Artist Of The Year) and more accolades from fans, critics and fellow musicians. Two highly successful releases on Telarc (including 2012's Grammy-nominated 33 1/3) cemented her reputation as a singer who, according to NPR's All Things Considered, "embodies the blues with her powerful vocal chops and fearless look at social issues." USA Today says, "Copeland is a singer with fervor and funk, power and range.”
 
Copeland has performed thousands of gigs at clubs, festivals and concert halls all over the world and has appeared on national television, NPR, and in newspapers, films and magazines. She is a mainstay on countless commercial and non-commercial radio stations. She's sung with Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Carlos Santana, James Cotton and many others. She opened for The Rolling Stones and entertained U.S. troops in Iraq and Kuwait. Jeff Beck calls her “f*cking amazing.” Santana says, “She’s incandescent…a diamond.” At the 2011 Chicago Blues Festival, the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois officially declared Copeland to be “The New Queen Of The Blues.” In 2012, she performed at the White House for President and Mrs. Obama. Afterward, Jagger (with whom she sang) sent her a bottle of champagne.
 
With Outskirts Of Love and a packed tour schedule, Copeland has her eyes fixed firmly on the future as she continues to break new musical ground. "I want to keep growing, to be innovative," she says. “I’m a lifer, singing about things that bother me, using my music to help people. My dad always said ‘we’re all connected.’ I’m an old soul marching to the beat of my own drum,” she continues, “And right now I’m making the most exciting music of my career.”

The Doobie Brothers: The Warner Bros. Years coming July 24, 2015 
10-CD Boxed Set Includes Every Album The Legendary
Band Recorded For Warner Bros. Records Between 1971 And 1983
   
Available On July 24 From Rhino  
The Doobie Brothers recorded some of the band’s most iconic music during their dozen years with Warner Bros. Records, scoring major hits with timeless tunes like “Long Train Runnin’,” “Black Water,” and “Takin’ It To The Streets.” With 46 million albums sold during their outstanding career, The Doobie Brothers have nothing left to prove, but this summer the group is still “Rockin’ Down the Highway” as they tour North America.  
Rhino salutes the group with a new 10-CD boxed set that features some of the band’s greatest albums. THE WARNER BROS. YEARS 1971-1983 will be available on July 24 for a list price of $79.98.  
The set includes more than 110 songs from 10 albums: The Doobie Brothers (1971), Toulouse Street (1972), The Captain And Me (1973), What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits (1974), Stampede (1975), Takin’ It To The Streets (1976), Livin’ On The Fault Line (1977), Minute By Minute (1978), One Step Closer (1980), and Farwell Tour (1983).

The Doobie Brothers started out in 1969 as a northern California bar band. In 1970 the band signed with Warner Bros. and in 1971 released its self-titled debut album. It was the beginning of a 12-year streak in which The Doobies released ten new albums. The group’s commercial breakthrough came with its sophomore effort, Toulouse Street, which boasted popular tracks like “Listen To The Music” and “Jesus Is Just Alright.” The string of hits continued on The Captain And Me with “Long Train Runnin’” and the classic “China Grove.” The Doobie Brothers notched their first #1 in the funky “Black Water” from their 1974 album What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits.

In 1975, the band began to expand Pat Simmons’ and Tom Johnston’s rock and country influences with R&B and even scored a hit with its cover the Motown track, “Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While.)” In 1976, with the addition of Michael McDonald to the band, they introduced more R&B and keyboards to their rocking sound and the hits kept rolling with the title track from Takin’ It To The Streets. In 1979, The Doobie Brothers won four Grammy® Awards on the strength of its triple-platinum album, Minute By Minute. The final disc in this new collection is the 1983 live album Farewell Tour, which includes performances of songs that spanned the band’s entire history to that point. This 10 CD Set represents an outstanding body of work from one of America’s most popular bands.
  

THE WARNER BROS. YEARS 1971-1983    
Album Listing   
The Doobie Brothers (1971)
Toulouse Street (1972)
The Captain And Me (1973)
What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits (1974)
Stampede (1975)
Takin’ It To The Streets (1976)
Livin’ On The Fault Line (1977)
Minute By Minute (1978)
One Step Closer (1980)
Farwell Tour (1983)

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