Showing posts with label Nik Turner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nik Turner. Show all posts

Monday, July 25, 2022

New Music: The Hagers, She & Him, Barney Bubbles

Several new audio titles and a noteworthy book are featured in my column this week.


Artist: 
The Hagers
Title: The Complete Capitol Albums (Omnivore Recordings)
You might like if you enjoy: The Everly Brothers, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard
Tell me more: Listening to the wonderful recordings that fill Omnivore Recordings' The Complete Capitol Albums by American country duo The Hagers, it defies belief that the team failed to ever score a top hit on the Billboard charts. Jim and John Hager recorded three albums for Capitol Records: The Hagers and Two Hagers Are Better Than One in 1970, and Motherhood, Apple Pie & The Flag in 1971. Additionally, the identical twins appeared 135 times on "Hee Haw" between 1969 and 1985. With the appreciation and explosion of Americana and roots music over the past decade, it's not a stretch to see there may very well be a new appreciation of The Hagers in 2022. The vocal talents of the twins shine across the 30-track collection. The lovely "Loneliness Without You," lively "I'm Her Fun," affecting take on Buck Owens' "Tender Loving Care," soaring "Give It Time," elegant "Flowers Need Sun Too" and nuanced cover of Merle Haggard's "Silver Wings" are early highlights. Late disc standouts include the lovely "Second Fiddle," lovely "I'm Miles Away," countrified "Motherhood, Apple Pie & The Flag," alluring "Four Strong Winds" and Everly Brothers-styled "California On My Mind." Information: OmnivoreRecordings.com


Artist: 
She & Him
Title: Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson (Fantasy)
You might like if you enjoy: She & Him, Brian Wilson 
Tell me more: She & Him  M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel  are back with their first new full-length album since 2016, the delightful Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson. The new title features the duo's signature blend of 1960s pop sheen and indie rock sensibilities, a perfect fit with Wilson's timeless songcraft. While She & Him cover a few of Wilson's best-known hits, they more often stray off the beaten path across the 14-track set. The strength of the album spans from the uplifting "Do It Again" and "Good To My Baby" to the melancholy-adorned "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "Melt Away" and darker currents of " 'Til I Die" (the disc's most stirring track). A touching tribute to the 80-year-old Wilson and welcome return from She & Him in one essential collection. Information: sheandhim.com


ROCK 'N' ROLL READ


Title: 
The Wild World of 
Barney Bubbles
Author: Paul Gorman
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Pages: 240 pages; 580 illustrations
Tell me more: Previously published in 2009 under the title Reasons to Be Cheerful, the just published  The Wild World of Barney Bubbles is an expanded and immersive celebration of the visual work of pioneering graphic artist Barney Bubbles. The 240-page book penned by journalist-author Paul Gorman is bolstered by contributions from Peter Saville, Clarita Hinojosa, Billy Bragg and Art Chantry. The book features hundreds of seldom seen photographs, working sketches, notebook images and original artwork. Readers who journey through the book will appreciate how fully Bubbles  born Colin Maximilian Fulcer in 1942  was able to use arresting graphic design as a bridge between fine art and music. Among the diverse field of music makers to feature Bubbles' work were Hawkwind, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, the Psychedelic Furs, Carlene Carter and many more. Perhaps the biggest takeaway from spending time inside the pages of The Wild World of Barney Bubbles is how Bubbles' work wonderfully avoided a single style while soaring no matter the discipline. Sadly, Gorman died in November 1983. He was only 41Information: thamesandhudsonusa.com.


Robert Kinsler


Thursday, February 25, 2021

Sights and Sounds: Paul Weller to release 'Fat Pop (Volume 1)'; 'The Final Countdown' collector's edition; Nik Turner's 'Xitintoday'

 Here is a roundup on some just-announced upcoming titles!

FAT POP (VOLUME 1)

NEW ALBUM SET TO BE RELEASED MAY 14TH ON POLYDOR RECORDS
TODAY BLACK BOX CELEBREATES THE RELEASE OF "COSMIC FRINGES"

February 25, 2021 - We may be cursed to be in the midst a global pandemic, buffeted by all of its stresses and pain, but everyone knows that art provides succour, that music is the most reliable balm. For many there is further significant comfort to be drawn from the knowledge that Paul Weller is in the midst of an unbelievably prolific purple patch. Paul Weller will not let us down when we need him most.
 
On May 14, Paul Weller releases his 16th solo album since his 1992 self-titled debut, which comes in just under twelve months following June 2020’s magnificent, UK chart-topping On Sunset. It’s not hyperbole to state that this new album, titled Fat Pop (Volume 1), is among his most compelling collections. It’s an absolute scorcher. Weller heralds the new album with a video for “Cosmic Fringes” which can be viewed HERE.
 
During spring last year, after his tour dates were postponed, Paul Weller needed something else to focus on. With many ideas for new songs stored on his phone, Paul started to record them on his own with just vocals, piano and guitar which he’d send to his core band members (drummer Ben Gordelier, Steve Cradock on guitar and bassist Andy Crofts) to add their parts. Despite it being strange not being together, it kept the wheels rolling and sanity prevailing. The band reconvened at Weller’s Black Barn studio in Surrey when restrictions were lifted to finish the work with the shape of the album becoming clear to all.
 
Fat Pop (Volume 1) – Paul adding the “Volume 1” to keep options open for a second volume in the future - is a diverse selection of sounds. No one style dominates. There’s the synth-heavy, future-wave strut of “Cosmic Fringes”, the stately balladeering of “Still Glides The Stream” (co-written with Steve Cradock), the chunky percussive groove of “Moving Canvas”(a tribute to Iggy Pop no less), and the kind of dramatic immediate pop symphonies on “Failed”, “True” and “Shades of Blue” with which Paul Weller has hooked in generation after generation of devotees.
 
As ever, Fat Pop, sees a number of guests contributing including Lia Metcalfe, the young Liverpudlian singer with The Mysterines who combines her tremendous vocal as well as a song writing credit to "True." Andy Fairweather Low adds his distinctive vocals to superfly strutting “Testify” and Paul’s daughter Leah co-wrote and features on the classic 3-minute pop kitchen sink drama “Shades Of Blue” which will be the first single taken from the album. Hannah Peel is back in the fray adding her classic string scores to “Cobweb / Connections” and “Still Glides The Stream.”

Tracklisting:
1. Cosmic Fringes
2. True
3. Fat Pop
4. Shades Of Blue
5. Glad Times
6. Cobweb / Connections
7. Testify
8. That Pleasure
9. Failed
10. Moving Canvas
11. In Better Times
12. Still Glides The Stream
Fat Pop comes in several covetable formats all showcasing the stunning artwork: 
  • Standard CD
  • Individual exclusive cassettes for Indie Record Stores and Paul’s artist store
  • Individual exclusive colored vinyl for Amazon, Indie Record Stores and Paul’s artist store
  • Black heavyweight vinyl
  • Exclusive picture disc vinyl
 
Deluxe Formats which include Fat Pop, Mid-Sömmer Musik (the live special from November last year) and bonus tracks:
  • 3 CD Box Set
  • 3 LP Box set – black heavyweight vinyl



THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

Exclusive Limited Collector’s Edition includes 4K UHD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, Soundtrack CD, Collectible Booklet, and 3D Lenticular Slipcover (First Pressing Only)

Available April 27th

(SAVE $10 at MVDshop.com)

“Captivating, exciting, and wondrous filmmaking that poses one of the ultimate
‘what if’ scenarios of our time!” – Blu-ray.com 
Trapped outside the boundaries of time and space – 102 aircraft... 6,000 men... all missing.
 
The time is now. The place is aboard the U.S.S. Nimitz, America’s mightiest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier on maneuvers in the Pacific Ocean. Suddenly, a freak electrical storm engulfs the ship and triggers the impossible: The Nimitz is hurtled back in time to December 6, 1941, mere hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. As the enemy fleet speeds towards Hawaii, the warship’s Captain (Kirk Douglas), a Defense Department expert (Martin Sheen), a maverick Air Wing Commander (James Farentino) and a desperate Senator in the Roosevelt administration (Charles Durning) must choose between the unthinkable. Do they allow the Japanese to complete their murderous invasion, or launch a massive counterstrike that will forever change the course of history?
 
Katharine Ross and Ron O’Neal co-star in this spellbinding sci-fi action hit filmed on location aboard the U.S.S. Nimitz with the full participation of the U.S. Navy and the ship’s crew. Now Blue Underground is proud to present THE FINAL COUNTDOWN in a stunning new restoration, scanned in 4K 16-bit from the original 35mm camera negative, with Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio, for the ultimate in explosive home theater excitement!


EDITOR'S NOTE: The stills displayed from the film below are NOT from the 4K restoration, they are screenshots from the previous Blu-ray edition. If you have posted a news item, please amend it with this caveat.


Extras:
  • Audio Commentary with Director of Photography Victor J. Kemper
  • Lloyd Kaufman Goes Hollywood - Interview with Associate Producer Lloyd Kaufman
  • Starring The Jolly Rogers - Interviews with The Jolly Rogers F-14 Fighter Squadron
  • Theatrical Trailers
  • TV Spots
  • Poster & Still Galleries
BONUS! THE FINAL COUNTDOWN Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD by John Scott
BONUS! Collectible Booklet featuring The Zero Pilot Journal 
BONUS! 3D Lenticular Slipcover (First Pressing Only)
# # #

Blue Underground Official Channels


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For Immediate Release

Cleopatra Records Issues Deluxe Collector’s Edition Of HAWKWIND Co-Founder NIK TURNER’s 1978 Album XITINTODAY!

Produced by GONG’s Steve Hillage

Los Angeles, CA - From ‘60s legends the Grateful Dead to Grammy winning flautist Paul Horn, industrial band Killing Joke, and Hawkwind co-founder Nik Turner, Egypt’s Great Pyramids have been a powerful source of inspiration for many musical adventurers over the years. Some, like Turner, have even gone so far as to record their instruments inside the ancient wonders, capturing the unique resonance of these mystical spaces and blending them with modern techniques and sensibilities to create a truly innovative work of art. Shortly after his abrupt departure from Hawkwind in the late ‘70s, Turner recorded nearly a half an hour’s worth of improvised flute melodies within the Egyptian pyramids, which he then used as the basis for his incredible 1978 experimental ambient masterpiece Xitintoday. The album, which is officially credited to Nik Turner’s Sphynx, is an adventurous, groundbreaking collaboration with several alums from prog rock legends Gong including Steve Hillage (who produced the album), Miquette Giraudy, Harry Williamson, Mike Howlett, Tim Blake and more. 

For Turner, the album has a more personal meaning as he explains, “Xitintoday was a very necessary source of catharsis and healing for me, not only from being fired by my former band but also from the death of my father.”

Now this superb project is being reissued in a deluxe collector’s edition on gorgeous picture disc vinyl housed in a gatefold jacket with 16-page booklet insert that meticulously recreates the distinctive artwork of graphic design icon Barney Bubbles. The package also includes the entire album on CD with a special bonus track of Turner's raw 30-minute flute recording from deep within the pyramid. 

Order the album: https://cleorecs.com/store/shop/nik-turners-sphynx-xitintoday-limited-edition-picture-disc-vinyl-bonus-cd-booklet/

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Track List: 
VINYL 
SIDE A
1. The Awakening (Life On Venus) 
2. The Pyramid Spell 
3. The Hall Of Double Truth 
4. Anubis 
5. Thoth 

SIDE B
1. Horus 
2. Isis And Nephthys 
3. Osiris 
4. God Rock (The Awakening)

CD 
1. The Awakening (Life On Venus) 
2. The Pyramid Spell 
3. The Hall Of Double Truth 
4. Anubis 
5. Thoth 
6. Horus 
7. Isis And Nephthys 
8. Osiris 
9. God Rock (The Awakening)
BONUS TRACK
10. Pyramidflutenik


Get more information HERE.


Thursday, February 02, 2017

Rare Studio Sessions From Legendary Doors Guitarist Robby Krieger featured on a Superb New Collection

Wow! This simply sounds amazing and what an amazing cast of artists who join Robby Krieger!

Rare Studio Sessions From Legendary DOORS Guitarist ROBBY KRIEGER Featured On A Superb New Collection!


Los Angeles, CA - He is undoubtedly one of the boldest rock guitarists of all-time, a pioneering songwriter who fused classic blues with California psychedelia to create some of rock music’s greatest songs including “Love Me Two Times,” “Touch Me,” “Love Her Madly” and more. And, of course, he was a founding member of one of the most critically and commercially adored bands in history, The Doors. But in the time since his tenure with that iconic outfit, Robby Krieger has not simply rested on his laurels. Instead, he has gone on to release a series of solo albums that found Krieger and his trademark Gibson SG adventuring into the outer reaches of space rock, jazz, classical music and more! Krieger has also collaborated on several studio recordings that reinterpreted classic songs by The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Supertramp and others. Now, a new collection of these studio sessions, including two exclusive, never-before-released mixes and a bonus live recording available on CD for the first time. In Session features an incredible roster of guest appearances including Jackson Browne, Hawkwind’s Nik Turner, Asia’s John Wetton, Styx’s Tommy Shaw, and even the Star Trek captain himself, William Shatner! Don’t miss this incredible collection available everywhere February 17 from Purple Pyramid Records.

Track List:
1. Across The Universe feat. Jackson Browne
2. Hypernova feat. Nik Turner (Inner Space Mix)
3. Empty Spaces feat. Billy Sherwood
4. Where We Belong (Prism Mix) feat. Tony Kaye
5. Don’t Leave Me Now feat. Tommy Shaw
6. Brain Damage feat. Geoff Downes
7. School feat. Rod Argent
8. Deep Down feat. William Shatner
9. Little Drummer Boy
10. All You Need Is Love feat. John Wetton
BONUS TRACK
11. Back Door Man (Live)

Buy the CD here:
Buy the digital version here: