Alligator Records to reissue Fenton Robinson's 'Somebody Loan Me A Dime,' and Lonnie Mack's 'Strike Like Lightning' on Vinyl on June 2

Very exciting news from Alligator Records, which plans to reissue to seminal blues titles later this spring...Robert Kinsler

Blues Hall Of Famer Fenton Robinson's Somebody Loan Me A Dime

Considered A Classic Blues Recording

Lonnie Mack's Strike Like Lightning Produced By And Featuring Guest Performances From Stevie Ray Vaughan

Both Album Reissues Available on Vinyl for the First Time in 30 Years. Learn more via Alligator Records' official website HERE.

On Friday, June 2, Alligator Records will reissue two classic titles from its unparalleled blues and roots rock catalog: 2023 Blues Hall Of Famer Fenton Robinson's Somebody Loan Me A Dime and Lonnie Mack's Strike Like Lightning. Both albums have been remastered and pressed on 140g black vinyl and will be available for the first time on LP in 30 years.

Originally released in 1974, Somebody Loan Me A Dime, by blues icon Fenton Robinson, is a bona fide blues classic, and only the fifth album to be released by Alligator at the time. An inventive, melodic guitarist with a soaring voice, Robinson had a long recording career, cutting singles (and one LP) for various labels before releasing Somebody Loan Me A Dime on Alligator. That album fully captures the depth of Robinson's subtle, nuanced, jazz-inflected blues and spectacular guitar and vocal talent, and features his definitive versions of the title track (covered by Boz Scaggs) and Texas Flood (covered by Stevie Ray Vaughan). Robinson was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall Of Fame in 2023. Since its release, Somebody Loan Me A Dime has sold over 50,000 units in the U.S.

Originally released in 1985, Strike Like Lightning, by rock and soul originator Lonnie Mack, was the celebrated comeback of the legendary rock guitar pioneer. A blazing guitarist and raw, soulful singer, Mack rose to fame in 1963 with his instrumental singles Memphis and Wham! and a handful of albums. With the encouragement of his greatest disciple, Stevie Ray Vaughan (who offered to produce and guest on the album), Mack went into the studio for Alligator in 1984 and relaunched his career. Strike Like Lightning features timeless slash-and-burn performances, including the songs Hound Dog Man, If You Have To Know, Double Whammy and Oreo Cookie Blues. Strike Like Lightning has sold over 100,000 units in the U.S.

The Jorgensens bare their soul on 'Americana Soul' out November 4, 2022

MEDIA RELEASE

THE JORGENSENS BARE THEIR SOUL…. AMERICANA SOUL

~NEW CD & LP OUT NOVEMBER 4, 2022~ ~PARAMOUR RECORDS~ New York, NY (October 26, 2022) – On November 4, celebrated musical collective The Jorgensens, led by harmonizing duo Kurt and Brianna Jorgensen, will proudly present their new album Americana Soul on November 4, 2022 (Paramour Records). Specializing in an honest, authentic style of roots rock/AAA/Americana-steeped sound, The Jorgensens’ have earned a loyal fanbase and press adulation for their signature steel-sharp musicianship, honey-soaked harmonizations, and relatable lyrics, which have drawn comparisons to Delaney and Bonnie and Alabama Shakes. Kurt’s mix of vintage guitar, bouncy basslines, and modern technology blends with Brianna’s classically-trained multi-instrumental talent, as she deftly commands keyboards, guitar, and mandolin, among others. Add the remaining members unique, diverse talents, and the result is a mix of vintage classiness, hip style, and a love of fun (which beams out of their music videos). Blending influences from the blues, bluegrass, traditional earthy spirituals, and jazz into a unique, distinctly America-bred musical style, their story in and of itself is that of a bond between various personalities. The roots of The Jorgensens were set in 2014 in St. Paul, MN, when singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Brianna Tagg was introduced to fellow vocalist/songwriter/guitarist/producer Kurt Jorgensen. Embarking on a musical journey with their first album Jorgensen/Tagg, they continued to write music as their bond grew stronger. As both were getting sober, Kurt was also suffering the weight of a recent divorce – seeing each other through these difficult times forged an incredible connection. Something amazing happens when soulmates create music; when kismet seeks to bring two creative forces together in a way that allows them to express kindred emotions and sentiments through song. Originally starting as collaborators, Kurt and Brianna would go on to marry, give birth to a son, and infuse their kinetic energy into The Jorgensens, which blossomed with the additions of Andra Lee Suchy (vocals), Brenda Lee King (Bass Guitar), Jeff King (Saxophone, Clarinets), Jeff Levine (Trumpet), Mark O’ Day (Drums, Percussion), and C Harris (Percussion). It’s this closeness that radiates through every note, twang, and lyric of their songs, as evidenced on the current feel-good single “Old Black Crow”, which is already making waves at radio. This simpatico energy burns bright on Americana Soul. Paramour Records Paramour Records is a new division of The Paramour Group, a multi-facet entertainment company with a long history as a boutique international agency and management company. The label, which is distributed by MVD Entertainment Group, specializes in creating an environment for music artists to explore and expand into a broad spectrum of media, blurring the lines between art mediums, including film, music, publishing, television, and games. In addition to offices in Los Angeles, Melbourne (FL), Troy (MI), and Neillsville (WI), Paramour Records has strategic partners in NYC, Hamburg, Germany and Glasgow, Scotland, perfecting their global reach. TRACK LISTING: Side 1 Old Black Crow Miles Boom Boom Boom Hey Baby Shake It Side 2 Out of My Mind Leave Your Light On Dark Road Twenty Years State Line Website: www.thejorgensens.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thejorgensensofficial Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejorgensensmusic/ YouTube: https://bit.ly/3TgEoPm

The Smithereens set to release 'Lost Album' on September 23, 2022

Who knew? An unreleased full-length album from The Smithereens recorded back in late 1993? Count me as amped and excited!...Robert Kinsler

Previously Unreleased Album. In the Fall of 1993, between contracts with Capitol and RCA, The Smithereens ventured into Crystal Sound Studios NYC to write and record a new album for their own label. The results of those one month marathon recording sessions is this album, unheard by the outside world until now, and appropriately titled “Lost Album”. The Smithereens’ take no prisoners sound, reflecting their Garden State roots, has resonated with fans worldwide over the course of 17 albums and 2,500+ live shows. They've also inspired generations of musicians, including Kurt Cobain, who counted The Smithereens as a major influence. Founded in New Jersey in 1980, The Smithereens have been creating electrifying, original rock’n’roll for 41 years. Jim Babjak (guitar) Dennis Diken (drums) and Mike Mesaros (bass) grew up together in Carteret and lead singer, the late Pat DiNizio, hailed from Scotch Plains. The Smithereens’ fame escalated, they were in heavy rotation on MTV and appeared on The Tonight Show, Conan O'Brien, and Saturday Night Live. The track listing for the album is below and you can learn more about The Smithereens HERE.

1. Out Of This World 

2. Dear Abby 

3. Don't Look Down 

4. A World Apart 

5. Stop Bringing Me Down 

6. Pretty Little Lies 

7. Monkey Man 

8. Everyday World 

9. Face The World With Pride 

10. Love Runs Wild 

11. I'm Sexy 

12. All Through The Night

Omnivore Recordings announce 4 classic Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers albums reproduced for CD/LP for the first time since their original release

Omnivore Recordings continues to issue exciting releases. Here is a media release on the label's latest announcement...Robert Kinsler 

Omnivore Recordings Announce:

Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers,

Rock ‘N’ Roll With The Modern Lovers,

Modern Lovers ‘Live’, and Back In Your Life

Reproduced and Finally Back in Print on CD and LP

Limited Edition Colored Vinyl Available Exclusively at Independent Retail

July 7, 2022: Omnivore Recordings has announced 4 classic Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers albums for 2022, all reproduced for CD and vinyl for the first time since their original releases.

Their debut album, Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers, featuring the tracks “New England” and “Here Come The Martian Martians,” will get its release on August 19, with an exclusive orange colored variant for Independent retail. That version of the band included drummer David Robinson (The Cars) and Greg “Curly” Keranen on bass (The Rubinoos).

Rock ‘n’ Roll With The Modern Lovers, their sophomore release which was also produced by Beserkley Records founder Matthew King Kauffman and Glen Kolotin (Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin) will be released on September 16, with an exclusive red colored variant for Independent retail. It features the Top 5 UK hit “Egyptian Reggae”.

The following release will be the band’s first live album, Modern Lovers ‘Live’, out October 21 with an exclusive yellow colored variant for Independent retail, which was recorded at London’s Hammersmith Odeon in 1977. While the US might not have caught on to the magic of Jonathan Richman, the UK certainly did. ‘Live’ features Jonathan and the Modern Lovers performing classics from their first two releases to an enthusiastic crowd. (The eight-minute version of “Ice Cream Man” should inform that!) It was co-Produced by Beserkley Records founder Matthew King Kauffman and pop-legend and Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Famer, Kenny Laguna.

Lastly, Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers’ third release Back In Your Life will be available on CD/vinyl on November 11 with an exclusive green colored variant for Independent retail. Produced by Beserkley Records founder Matthew King Kauffman and pop-legend and Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Famer Kenny Laguna, the album features the Richman staples, “Abdul And Cleopatra,” “Affection,” and the title track, “Back In Your Life”. It also signals the ending of Richman’s Beserkley tenure.

Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/zB7EaT2MP4g

Pre-order:

Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers

www.omnivorerecordings.com/shop/richman-modern-lovers

Rock ’n’ Roll With The Modern Lovers

www.omnivorerecordings.com/shop/rock-n-roll

Modern Lovers ‘Live’

www.omnivorerecordings.com/shop/modern-lovers-live

Back In Your Life

www.omnivorerecordings.com/shop/back-in-your-life

Sights and Sounds: ASIA to release 'The Official Live Bootlegs Volume 1; elbow's stirring advance track 'Six Words'; new singles / videos from Color Theory and Ryan Levine

This has been a super exciting week for music news. Featured in this update are major announcements and/or new music from forthcoming releases featuring ASIA, elbow, Color Theory and Ryan Levine...Robert Kinsler

The Official Live Bootlegs Volume 1 Out on November 26th   Multi-platinum selling English supergroup ASIA are to release a 10CD boxset The Official Live Bootlegs Volume 1 through BMG Records on November 26, 2021.  There will also be a digital album (also called The Official Live Bootlegs Volume 1) featuring a selection of 24 tracks taken from the full boxset, out on the same day. Pre-order it here: ASIA THE OFFICIAL LIVE BOOTLEGS VOL 1

ASIA: Geoff Downes (The Buggles, YES, keyboards), Steve Howe (YES, guitars), Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer, drums) and John Wetton (King Crimson, UK, bass/vocals), took the world by storm with their eponymous debut album, globally the biggest-selling album of 1982, and the single Heat Of The Moment. The Official Live Bootlegs Volume 1 celebrates the huge appeal of the concert tours that followed ASIA’s first two albums in 1982 and 1983. The success continued following ASIA’s 25th anniversary reunion in 2006 and three more highly acclaimed albums. The slipcase boxset features  5 x 2CD concerts from 1982 (Buffalo, NY, USA), 1983 (Worcester, MA, USA), 2007 (São Paulo, Brazil), 2008 (Tokyo, Japan) and 2010 (London, UK).   “This historical collection represents some of our finest and most defining live moments,” says Geoff Downes, “from the very first ASIA tour in 1982 and the Alpha tour the following year through three of our many ‘Reunion’ shows. It was such a privilege to take ASIA’s music to these different continents and feel the warmth and support from fans all over the world. We hope this brings back great memories and inspires others to appreciate the music of ASIA”.  The sets for ASIA’s original 1980s tours featured only the band’s new music. For the ‘Reunion’ years tours, ASIA included heritage tracks from each of the band member’s pre-ASIA groups. The 2007 and 2008 concerts also feature the Wetton/Howe composition Ride Easy, a song omitted from the debut album that was issued as the B-side of Heat Of The Moment, and included in their later live repertoire as a thank you to their fans for their support over a quarter of a century. This the first time these recordings have been made officially available by ASIA and they are presented together in a superb collector’s edition boxset with original artwork by Roger Dean, who created all of ASIA’s album artwork.  ASIA, The Official Live Bootlegs, Volume 1 is available as a 10CD boxset and Digital Album on 26thNovember 2021 through BMG Records.

About ASIA ASIA was a true ‘supergroup’ pooling the talents of Geoff Downes, Steve Howe, Carl Palmer and John Wetton, who had already amassed tens of millions of record sales with their collective bands of the 70s. Leaving behind their progressive roots, ASIA embraced the commercial FM rock sound that dominated US airwaves and took that, and the new MTV video channel, by storm.  The single Heat Of The Moment was a world-wide monster smash and their eponymous 1982 debut album spent an incredible 9 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard chart as ASIA became the biggest selling album of the year and world tour dates sold out. A second album, Alpha, was released in 1983. The four original members reconvened in 2006 for a world tour, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of that incredible success, and the album Phoenix followed. While the members were still heavily involved in other projects they came together again to record Omega in 2010 and XXX in 2012, both albums were acclaimed by their faithful fans and supported by more world tours. Steve Howe stepped back from ASIA to concentrate on his work with YES and was absent for 2014’s Gravitas. Following this tour came the news of John Wetton’s treatment for cancer, a fight he sadly lost in 2017. FOR ALL THINGS ASIA, please visit:  originalasia.com elbow reveal second studio track titled "Six Words," taken from forthcoming album 'Flying Dream 1,' out Nov. 19, 2021 Watch the music video for "Six Words" HERE PRE-ORDER 'FLYING DREAM 1' OUT 11/19   elbow have shared a second track taken from their forthcoming studio album, ‘Flying Dream 1.’ ‘Six Words’ is a stunning love song and in true elbow tradition, is a complex rhythmical and melodic composition, both lyrically intense with fulsome rumination on the endless power of love to harness souls young and old as Guy Garvey explains:  “I can’t remember the exact genesis of the track, but it is definitely one of Craig’s. In some ways it’s familiar territory lyrically, it has similar sentiments to ‘Mirrorball’ but it draws heavily on my teenage years: the bottle green in the song is the colour of my school uniform and the six lanes is the traffic on the road to school in Prestwich. Though that six lanes line was something I originally wrote back in the early elbow days when I sat in The Cornerhouse people watching so it’s a double reminisce and a return to my love of writing about love. The musical revelation came when we heard the backing singers that now end the track. We had this pyramid of voices making something incredible that reminded me of the early classic Disney soundtracks. It was so powerful that we knew we had to throw the spotlight onto them so that is why they end the track.”   As with ‘The Seldom Seen Kid,’ the first track to be released from the album, ‘Six Words’ is accompanied by a film of the band recording the song, captured during the recording sessions for ‘Flying Dream 1’ at Brighton’s Theatre Royal. You can watch the film here.   ‘Six Words’ is also available on all streaming services   elbow’s ninth studio album, ‘Flying Dream 1’ will be released on November 19. Pre-Order/Save/Add HERE OFFICIAL WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE Color Theory returns with compelling original cut "The Limit" Watch the music video for "The Limit" HERE Listen or download "The Limit" HERE You're in a relationship with someone who wants a rival, an enemy, a fight. You feel like you've been here before, watching the threads of your friendship fray and unravel. You think to yourself, "Just let me go... I'm stretched to the limit." Make sure to listen to the amazing Brian Hazard-penned "The Limit." Ryan Levine releases new single and video, "I Miss The War" WATCH HERE   GOOD THINGS TO REMEMBER EP OUT NOVEMBER 19 October 15, 2021 – Los Angeles, CA – Today, singer and songwriter Ryan LeVineshares his new single and music video, “I Miss The War,” via BMG: LISTEN HEREand WATCH HERE. This is the latest offering from his upcoming debut EP, Good Things To Remember, out November 19.  “’I Miss The War’ feels like a confession,” Ryan shares about the emotive new track. “It admits, almost shamefully, how much power toxic relationships can have over you, even when you think you’ve moved on from them.” The new single arrives on the heels of the previously released tracks “Signs” and “You Don’t Hold The Cards Anymore.” Praising “Signs,” Grimy Goods wrote, “Hot new artist alert…Out of the song’s slowly trodding strums and drums emerges a crescendo of blisteringly woeful riffs that reaches the height of LeVine’s lucidly broken heart.” Glide Magazine said that Ryan “brings a tenaciously soulful approach to folk and root music,” and “showers us with his emotive vocals that spawn the low key experimental mood swings of The National up through Hozier.” At the end of 2018, Ryan LeVine’s life cracked down the center. His band of six years, Wildling, called it quits and his relationship with “the one,” fell apart. Like it always had been, songwriting was the only tool he knew to use as a means of processing the loss and confusion. This time however, he traded elaborate home demos for simple voice memos and focused a lot more on the songwriting rather than the production. Ryan started recording the EP in early 2020 at Boulevard Studios in Los Angeles and then connected with his co-producer Kevin Ratterman (My Morning Jacket, Ray LaMontagne) to finish the songs at Kevin’s home studio later that spring. The result was an introspective body of work which reveals a songwriter searching for answers. While he may not always find them, there is a resolving sense of peace that comes from the process. Photo credit: Harvey Hale

Sights and Sounds: Nirvana, Yusuf / Cat Stevens, Ronnie Milsap, 'The Vinyl Series: Volume Three,' Roger Taylor, Samantha Fish

There is so much music news today it's best to simply include in one lengthy post while celebrating that 2021 has truly been the 'year of the reissue.' We have news today about highly-anticipated reissues featuring Nirvana, XXXXXX as well as tour details for celebrated singer-songwriter/guitar hero Samantha Fish...Robert Kinsler

NIRVANA

 

NEVERMIND 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITIONS TO BE RELEASED BEGINNING NOVEMBER 12th

 

Configurations Ranging From 8LP+7-inch and 5CD + Blu-ray Super Deluxe Editions to Standard Digital/CD

Los Angeles, CA ­– September 23, 2021 ­– The September 24, 1991 release of Nirvana's Nevermind touched off a seismic shift in global youth culture. Rising to #1 worldwide over the next few months, its impact would elevate Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl from a promising Pacific Northwest cult band to one of the most successful and influential artists of all time. Nevermind returned rock ’n’ roll integrity and passion to the top of the charts, and continues to be a singular inspiration to fans and musicians alike over the last three decades--as it no doubt will for generations to come.

 

Beginning November 12, 2021, Geffen/UMe commemorates the 30th anniversary of Nevermind with several multi-format reissues. A total of 94 audio and video tracks--70 previously unreleased--will be made available across configurations ranging from Super Deluxe Editions to standard digital/CD and single disc vinyl with bonus 7-inch. In all formats, Nevermind is newly remastered from the original half-inch stereo analog tapes to high-resolution 192kHz 24-bit.

 

Among the previously unreleased material exclusive to various versions of the Nevermind 30th Anniversary Editions are four complete live shows that document Nirvana’s historic ascension on the concert stage – Live in Amsterdam, Netherlands (recorded and filmed on November 25, 1991 at the famed club Paradiso); Live in Del Mar, California (recorded on December 28, 1991 at the Pat O’Brien Pavilion at the Del Mar Fairgrounds); Live in Melbourne, Australia for triple j (recorded February 1, 1992 at The Palace in St. Kilda); and Live in Tokyo, Japan (recorded at the Nakano Sunplaza on February 19, 1992).

 

All four newly remastered live shows are included in the Nevermind Super Deluxe Editions, which will be available in both vinyl (8LPs – 180-gram black vinyl – all in premium tip-on jackets — plus the new 7-inch – A-side: “Endless, Nameless” / B-side: “Even In His Youth” and “Aneurysm”) and CD+Blu-ray (5 CDs plus Blu-ray – Live in Amsterdam, Netherlands complete concert video newly remastered audio & video in HD). 

 

For pre-orders, full track listings and release dates for all configurations go HERE.

Yusuf / Cat Stevens

Teaser and the Firecat

 

50^th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition Box Set Reissue 

Due For Release November 12th via A&M/UMe - Pre-Order Here

 

“Moonshadow (Olympic Studio Demo, 1970)”

Listen To Previously Unheard Recording Here

 

View Album Trailer Here

 

 

Los Angeles – September 23, 2021 – Following last year’s 50^th anniversaries of the era-defining albums, Tea for the Tillerman and Mona Bone Jakon, 2021 will see Yusuf / Cat Stevens celebrate the succeeding album that immortalized his status as a forerunner in the singer-songwriter movement. The 1971 multi-platinum selling landmark record, Teaser and the Firecat, will be celebrated as a 50^th anniversary Super Deluxe Edition box set, due on November 12^th, 2021 via A&M/UMe.
 
A previously unheard recording of the Cat Stevens classic and Teaser album highlight "Moonshadow (Olympic Studio Demo, 1970)" is released today. Actually recorded at Olympic before the release of the two 1970 albums, Mona Bone Jakon and Tea For The Tillerman, this version provides a fascinating insight into the origins of one of the most enduring songs of the 1970s. Listen HERE.
 
Cat Stevens achieved phenomenal success with his early work, but it was Teaser and the Firecat, his third LP with Island Records – A&M in the U.S. – that propelled Cat Stevens into superstardom, spawning some of his most unforgettable hits including “Moonshadow,” “Peace Train” and “Morning Has Broken,” songs by a youthful spiritual seeker, wise beyond his years that would lay the pretext for a poignant new wave of soulful troubadours and poets. Later, “The Wind” would see Teaser and the Firecat celebrated anew, rising to prominence following the song’s use in Wes Anderson’s much celebrated film “Rushmore” as well as the Oscar-winning Cameron Crowe film, “Almost Famous.” Through his spell-binding gift for songwriting and his introspective vision, Cat delivered a universal sense of hope and peace in Teaser and the Firecat that still resonates profoundly to this day.
 
Teaser and the Firecat walked tall in what was a year of classic albums and events that would echo down the decades. The 12 months of 1971 was a transitional year in pop culture in which the album joined John Lennon’s Imagine, David Bowie’s Hunky Dory, Joni Mitchell’s Blue, Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, The Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers and Led Zeppelin IV as the soundtrack to the momentous 500,000 strong anti-Vietnam war March on Washington D.C., the largest demonstration against US war in history, and the “Fight of the Century” at Madison Square Garden, New York City which saw Joe Frazer hand Muhammad Ali his first ever defeat. With the '60s now in the rear-view mirror – The Beatles gone, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin having already passed on, and Jim Morrison tragically joining their number in July '71 – there was a distinct mood of change in the air. Along with burgeoning heavy rock and the socially-conscious R&B of Funkadelic and Sly And The Family Stone, it was the era of the poetical singer-songwriter. As well as being part of this latter movement, Cat Stevens was himself inspired by it.
 
Half a century later, Teaser and the Firecat has been given the ultimate treatment in a brand new Super Deluxe Edition set; the most in-depth and definitive version of the album possible. Presented in a remastering of Yusuf’s original artwork, the release will include: 41 previously unreleased audio tracks and 21 live video performances on disc for the first time, amongst an entire CD and LP of studio demos and alternate mixes; a stunning 44-page, 12” soft cover replica of the original Teaser and the Firecat book, hand written and illustrated by Yusuf in 1972, and now featuring text in 10 languages; and a 108-page hard-cover 12” essay book, alongside a host of other rarities across 4CDs, Blu-Ray, 2 LPs and 7” vinyl. The set will be presented in a rigid clamshell box and is the latest in a series of boxsets - so far consisting of Back To Earth, Mona Bone Jakon and Tea for the Tillerman - that celebrate the albums in full depth with the direct involvement and direction of Yusuf and his son Yoriyos, who curates and designs each box set. 
 
There will also be a slimmed down version of the Super Deluxe Edition, including the 108-page book in a soft cover format, along with the 4CDs and Blu-ray, housed in a rigid slipcase. Other 50th Anniversary reissue formats include a 2CD Deluxe Edition, plus 1CD and 1LP Remasters. 
 
The 50^th anniversary remaster of the album was mixed by David Hefti on CD and LP, the Super Deluxe Edition also includes a CD of previously unreleased studio material and bonus tracks, an alternate version of the album on LP, as well as a third and fourth CD featuring 23 live performances from 1971. The 50^th anniversary remaster was completed at Abbey Road Studios, and was overseen by original album producer, Paul Samwell-Smith.
 
The set includes a remastered 7” single of "Moonshadow," backed with a previously unreleased Spike Milligan narration of the track from the 1977 Teaser and the Firecat animated video. The 50^th anniversary edition also includes an exclusive vinyl LP, tracklisted with 5 live performances at Montreux in 1971 and six BBC Recordings, as well as a Blu-Ray disc featuring a restored version of the 1977 animated video for "Moonshadow," a live performance of “The Wind” from 2020, plus 21 live TV performances.
 
Also featured in the collection is “Bitterblue²,” a newly recorded and never-before-heard version of the classic Teaser album track. Yusuf’s rich vocal, sung a full octave lower than the original, imparts a new sense of experience and gravity to the song whose lyrics seem to resonate with a whole new level of meaning: “I’ve been waiting a long time/To be back beyond.”
 
Ahead of the 50^th anniversary Teaser and the Firecat celebrations, 2021 has seen Yusuf / Cat Stevens partner with New York Timesbestselling author and illustrator Peter H. Reynolds to produce “Peace Train,” a children’s book celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the iconic song's original release. Featuring joyful illustrations and the timeless lyrics of the much-loved peace anthem, this hopeful picture book – now a New York Times bestseller itself – continues Yusuf’s commitment to children’s education and shared love for people of all cultures and identities.
 
Elsewhere, July 2021 saw a special Record Store Day release of the 1971 “Harold And Maude” soundtrack, featuring iconic songs from Tea for the Tillerman and Mona Bone Jakon alongside two new compositions for the film, “If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out” and “Don’t Be Shy.”
 
50^th Anniversary Super Deluxe Editions of Teaser and the Firecat will be released on November 12^th via A&M/UMe. Full format details are listed below. 

 

 

4CD/Blu-ray/2LP/7” SUPER DELUXE EDITION BOX SET

 

CD1: Teaser and the Firecat (50th Anniversary Remaster) 

1. The Wind 

2. Rubylove 

3. If I Laugh 
4. Changes IV 
5. How Can I Tell You 
6. Tuesday's Dead 
7. Morning Has Broken 
8. Bitterblue 
9. Moonshadow 
10. Peace Train 

 

CD2: Demos, Alternate Versions, Bonus Tracks

1. The Wind (Dubville Sessions 2020) 

2. Rubylove (Studio Demo) 

3. If I Laugh (Studio Demo) 
4. Changes IV (Alternate Mix, 1971) 
5. How Can I Tell You (Studio Demo) 
6. Tuesday's Dead (Studio Demo) 
7. Morning Has Broken (Basing Street Rehearsal) 
8. Bitterblue (Basing Street Rehearsal) 
9. Moonshadow (Olympic Studio Demo, 1970) 
10. Peace Train (Extended String Mix, 1971) 
11. The Day They Make Me Tsar (Studio Demo) 
12. I Want To Live In A Wigwam 
13. Fisherman Song (Studio Demo) 
14. Changes IV (Studio Demo) 
15. Tuesday's Dead (Alternate Mix, 1971) 
16. Morning Has Broken (Studio Demo) 
17. Bitterblue² (Reimagined 2021) 

 

CD3: Live On Air, UK, 1971 

1. Moonshadow (BBC Radio Session, 8th November 1970) 
2. Tuesday's Dead (BBC Radio Session, 23rd March 1971) 
3. How Can I Tell You (BBC Radio Session, 23rd March 1971) 
4. Peace Train (BBC Radio Session, 23rd March 1971) 
5. Moonshadow (BBC Radio Session, 23rd March 1971) 
6. Bitterblue (BBC Radio Session, 23rd March 1971) 
7. Moonshadow (Out Front: Cat Stevens And Friends, Yorkshire Television, 7th September 1971) 
8. Where Do The Children Play? (Out Front: Cat Stevens And Friends, Yorkshire Television, 7th September 1971) 
9. Longer Boats (Out Front: Cat Stevens And Friends, Yorkshire Television, 7th September 1971) 
10. Tuesday's Dead (Out Front: Cat Stevens And Friends, Yorkshire Television, 7th September 1971) 
11. Sad Lisa (Out Front: Cat Stevens And Friends, Yorkshire Television, 7th September 1971) 
12. Hard Headed Woman (Out Front: Cat Stevens And Friends, Yorkshire Television, 7th September 1971) 
13. Father and Son (Out Front: Cat Stevens And Friends, Yorkshire Television, 7th September 1971) 
14. If I Laugh (The Old Grey Whistle Test, BBC TV, 5th October 1971) 
15. Changes IV (The Old Grey Whistle Test, BBC TV, 5th October 1971) 
16. Moonshadow (Cat Stevens In Concert, BBC TV, 27th November 1971) 
17. Tuesday's Dead (Cat Stevens In Concert, BBC TV, 27th November 1971) 
18. How Can I Tell You (Cat Stevens In Concert, BBC TV, 27th November 1971) 
19. Bitterblue (Cat Stevens In Concert, BBC TV, 27th November 1971) 
20. Changes IV (Cat Stevens In Concert, BBC TV, 27th November 1971)   

 

CD4: Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971 

1. Intro (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
2. Hard Headed Woman (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
3. On The Road To Find Out (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
4. Wild World (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
5. Longer Boats (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
6. Maybe You're Right (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
7. Sad Lisa (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
8. Miles From Nowhere (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
9. Katmandu (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
10. Lady D'Arbanville (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
11. Father And Son (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
12. Where Do The Children Play? (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
13. Peace Train (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 

  

BLU-RAY 

HD 24bit/48kHz audio

Teaser and the Firecat (50th Anniversary Remaster)  

1. The Wind 

2. Rubylove 

3. If I Laugh 
4. Changes IV 
5. How Can I Tell You 
6. Tuesday's Dead 
7. Morning Has Broken 
8. Bitterblue 
9. Moonshadow 
10. Peace Train 

 

VIDEO

1. The Wind
2. Moonshadow 

 

Cat Stevens Live In Montreux, Switzerland (2nd May 1971)

1. Longer Boats

2. Sad Lisa

3. Wild World

4. Katmandu

5. Lady D'Arbanville
6. Where Do The Children Play?
7. Peace Train

 

Out Front: Cat Stevens And Friends (Yorkshire TV) (7th September 1971)

1. Moonshadow
2. Where Do The Children Play?
3. Longer Boats
4. Tuesday's Dead

5. Sad Lisa

6. Hard Headed Woman
7. Father And Son 

 

The Old Grey Whistle Test (BBC TV) (5th October 1971)

1. If I Laugh
2. Changes IV

 

Cat Stevens In Concert (BBC TV) (27th November 1971)

1. Moon Shadow
2. Tuesday's Dead
3. How Can I Tell You
4. Bitterblue
5. Changes IV

 

LP1: TEASER AND THE FIRECAT (ALTERNATIVE VERSIONS)

SIDE 1

1. The Wind (Dubville Sessions 2020) 

2. Rubylove (Studio Demo) 

3. If I Laugh (Studio Demo) 
4. Changes IV (Studio Demo) 
5. How Can I Tell You (Studio Demo) 

 

SIDE 2

1. Tuesday's Dead (Studio Demo) 
2. Morning Has Broken (Basing Street Rehearsal) 
3. Bitterblue (Basing Street Rehearsal) 
4. Moonshadow (Olympic Studio Demo, 1970) 
5. Peace Train (Extended String Mix, 1971) 

 

LP2: LIVE 1971

SIDE 1: Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971

1. Hard Headed Woman 
2. Wild World 
3. Lady D'Arbanville 
4. Father And Son 
5. Peace Train 

 

SIDE 2: Live At The BBC, 1971

1. Moonshadow (BBC Radio Session, 23rd March 1971) 
2. If I Laugh (The Old Grey Whistle Test, 5th October 1971) 
3. Tuesday's Dead (Cat Stevens In Concert, 27th November 1971) 
4. How Can I Tell You (Cat Stevens In Concert, 27th November 1971) 
5. Bitterblue (Cat Stevens In Concert, 27th November 1971) 
6. Changes IV (Cat Stevens In Concert, 27th November 1971) 

 

7" SINGLE

1. Moonshadow 
2. Spike Milligan narration  

 

4CD/Blu-ray SUPER DELUXE EDITION 

 

 CD1: Teaser and the Firecat (50th Anniversary Remaster) 

1. The Wind 
2. Rubylove 
3. If I Laugh 
4. Changes IV 
5. How Can I Tell You 
6. Tuesday's Dead 
7. Morning Has Broken 
8. Bitterblue 
9. Moonshadow 
10. Peace Train 

 

CD2: Demos, Alternate Versions, Bonus Tracks

1. The Wind (Dubville Sessions 2020) 
2. Rubylove (Studio Demo) 
3. If I Laugh (Studio Demo) 
4. Changes IV (Alternate Mix, 1971) 
5. How Can I Tell You (Studio Demo) 
6. Tuesday's Dead (Studio Demo) 
7. Morning Has Broken (Basing Street Rehearsal) 
8. Bitterblue (Basing Street Rehearsal) 
9. Moonshadow (Olympic Studio Demo, 1970) 
10. Peace Train (Extended String Mix, 1971) 
11. The Day They Make Me Tsar (Studio Demo) 
12. I Want To Live In A Wigwam 
13. Fisherman Song (Studio Demo) 
14. Changes IV (Studio Demo) 
15. Tuesday's Dead (Alternate Mix, 1971) 
16. Morning Has Broken (Studio Demo) 
17. Bitterblue² (Reimagined 2021) 

 

CD3: Live On Air, UK, 1971 

1. Moonshadow (BBC Radio Session, 8th November 1970) 
2. Tuesday's Dead (BBC Radio Session, 23rd March 1971) 
3. How Can I Tell You (BBC Radio Session, 23rd March 1971) 
4. Peace Train (BBC Radio Session, 23rd March 1971) 
5. Moonshadow (BBC Radio Session, 23rd March 1971) 
6. Bitterblue (BBC Radio Session, 23rd March 1971) 
7. Moonshadow (Out Front: Cat Stevens And Friends, Yorkshire Television, 7th September 1971) 
8. Where Do The Children Play? (Out Front: Cat Stevens And Friends, Yorkshire Television, 7th September 1971) 
9. Longer Boats (Out Front: Cat Stevens And Friends, Yorkshire Television, 7th September 1971) 
10. Tuesday's Dead (Out Front: Cat Stevens And Friends, Yorkshire Television, 7th September 1971) 
11. Sad Lisa (Out Front: Cat Stevens And Friends, Yorkshire Television, 7th September 1971) 
12. Hard Headed Woman (Out Front: Cat Stevens And Friends, Yorkshire Television, 7th September 1971) 
13. Father and Son (Out Front: Cat Stevens And Friends, Yorkshire Television, 7th September 1971) 
14. If I Laugh (The Old Grey Whistle Test, BBC TV, 5th October 1971) 
15. Changes IV (The Old Grey Whistle Test, BBC TV, 5th October 1971) 
16. Moonshadow (Cat Stevens In Concert, BBC TV, 27th November 1971) 
17. Tuesday's Dead (Cat Stevens In Concert, BBC TV, 27th November 1971) 
18. How Can I Tell You (Cat Stevens In Concert, BBC TV, 27th November 1971) 
19. Bitterblue (Cat Stevens In Concert, BBC TV, 27th November 1971) 
20. Changes IV (Cat Stevens In Concert, BBC TV, 27th November 1971) 

 

CD4: Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971 

1. Intro (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
2. Hard Headed Woman (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
3. On The Road To Find Out (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
4. Wild World (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
5. Longer Boats (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
6. Maybe You're Right (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
7. Sad Lisa (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
8. Miles From Nowhere (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
9. Katmandu (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
10. Lady D'Arbanville (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
11. Father And Son (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
12. Where Do The Children Play? (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971) 
13. Peace Train (Live In Montreux, 2nd May 1971)  

 

BLU-RAY Teaser and the Firecat (50th Anniversary Remaster) HD 24bit/48kHz audio

 

1. The Wind 
2. Rubylove 
3. If I Laugh 
4. Changes IV 
5. How Can I Tell You 
6. Tuesday's Dead 
7. Morning Has Broken 
8. Bitterblue 
9. Moonshadow 
10. Peace Train 

 

VIDEO

1. The Wind
2. Moonshadow

 

 

Cat Stevens Live In Montreux, Switzerland (2nd May 1971)

1. Longer Boats
2. Sad Lisa
3. Wild World
4. Katmandu
5. Lady D'Arbanville
6. Where Do The Children Play?
7. Peace Train

 

Out Front: Cat Stevens And Friends (Yorkshire TV) (7th September 1971)

1. Moonshadow
2. Where Do The Children Play?
3. Longer Boats
4. Tuesday's Dead
5. Sad Lisa
6. Hard Headed Woman
7. Father And Son 

 

The Old Grey Whistle Test (BBC TV) (5th October 1971)

1. If I Laugh
2. Changes IV

 

Cat Stevens In Concert (BBC TV) (27th November 1971)

1. Moon Shadow
2. Tuesday's Dead
3. How Can I Tell You
4. Bitterblue
5. Changes IV

 

2 CD DELUXE EDITION 

 

CD1: Teaser and the Firecat (50th Anniversary Remaster) 

1. The Wind 

2. Rubylove 

3. If I Laugh 
4. Changes IV 
5. How Can I Tell You 
6. Tuesday's Dead 
7. Morning Has Broken 
8. Bitterblue 
9. Moonshadow 
10. Peace Train 

 

CD2: Demos, Alternate Versions, Bonus Tracks

1. The Wind (Dubville Sessions 2020) 

2. Rubylove (Studio demo) 

3. If I Laugh (The Old Grey Whistle Test, BBC TV, 5th October 1971) 
4. Changes IV (Studio demo) 
5. How Can I Tell You (Studio demo) 
6. Tuesday's Dead (BBC Radio Session, 23rd March 1971) 
7. Morning Has Broken (Basing Street Rehearsal, 1975) 
8. Bitterblue² (Reimagined 2021) 
9. Moonshadow (Olympic studio demo, 1970) 
10. Peace Train (Extended String Mix, 1971) 
11. The Day They Make Me Tsar (Studio Demo) 
12. Fisherman Song (Studio Demo)
13. I Want To Live In A Wigwam (Morning Has Broken B-side) 

 

 

1 CD 50th ANNIVERSARY REMASTER  

1. The Wind 

21. Rubylove 

3. If I Laugh 
4. Changes IV 
5. How Can I Tell You 
6. Tuesday's Dead 
7. Morning Has Broken 
8. Bitterblue 
9. Moonshadow 
10. Peace Train 

 

 

1LP 50th ANNIVERSARY REMASTER 

 

Side 1

1. The Wind 

2. Rubylove 

3. If I Laugh 
4. Changes IV 
5. How Can I Tell You 

 

Side 2

1. Tuesday's Dead 
2. Morning Has Broken 
3. Bitterblue 
4. Moonshadow 
5. Peace Train

CRAFT RECORDINGS SET TO REISSUE CHRISTMAS WITH RONNIE MILSAP

 

Long out-of-print, the 1986 album marks the sole holiday outing

 from the Country Hall of Famer

 

Includes soulful country takes on “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Silver Bells” and “O Holy Night,” plus a selection of festive originals. 

 

Click here to pre-order Christmas with Ronnie Milsap

Click here to visit the Online Media Kit

 

Los Angeles, CA—Craft Recordings is pleased to reissue Christmas with Ronnie Milsap—the sole holiday album from the legendary country star. Set for release on CD on November 12 and available for preorder today, the long out-of-print title features Milsap’s unique country twist on yuletide classics like “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Silver Bells” and “O Holy Night,” plus a selection of festive originals.

 

Originally released in 1986, Christmas with Ronnie Milsap found the artist at the height of his fame—enjoying an incredible streak of No.1 hits on the Billboard Country chart, as well as significant crossover success with songs like “Show Her,” “Stranger in My House” and the GRAMMY® and ACM Award-winning “Lost in the Fifties Tonight (In the Still of the Night).” A little over a decade into his career, however, Milsap’s fans were eager for a holiday recording. He answered with Christmas with Ronnie Milsap.

 

Backed by warm, orchestral arrangements, Milsap offers a soulful country take on traditional yuletide fare, while peppering in originals like the soaring “Only One Night of the Year” and the bluesy “It’s Just Not Christmas (If I Can’t Spend It With You).” He also delivers an engaging, personal message to his fans in the spoken word “Christmas Thoughts,” before closing with “We’re Here to Love,” which originally appeared on his bestselling 1983 LP, Keyed Up. Long sought-after by fans, Christmas with Ronnie Milsap will now be available on CD for the first time in 35 years.

 

One of the most influential artists in his genre, Ronnie Milsap stands as one of the few country stars to find repeated crossover success in the pop market. Rising to fame in the early 1970s, the six-time GRAMMY® Award winner became one of the era’s best-selling artists—scoring a whopping 40 No.1 hits on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and selling well over 35 million albums worldwide. Among his many honors, Milsap has received eight Country Music Association Awards and four Academy of Country Music Awards, including the prestigious Pioneer Award in 2002. He was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1976 and the Country Hall of Fame in 2014.

 

Today, the 78-year-old icon continues to release new material and entertain fans around the world. In 2019, he partnered with multiple generations of country artists—including Kacey Musgraves, Luke Bryan and Dolly Parton—forRonnie Milsap: The Duets. Most recently, in 2021, Milsap released his 29th studio album, A Better Word for Love.

 

Click here to pre-order Christmas with Ronnie Milsap.

 

Christmas with Ronnie Milsap tracklist:

1. Noel Prelude 
2. Only One Night of the Year
3. I’ll Be Home for Christmas
4. Christmas Medley: Carol of the Bells / O Come, O Come Emmanuel / Silent Night / Joy to the World 
5. It’s Christmas
6. It’s Just Not Christmas (If I Can’t Spend It With You) 
7. Silver Bells
8. O Holy Night
9. Christmas Thoughts
10. We’re Here to Love 

Ronnie Milsap Tour Dates

September 24 - Pigeon Forge, TN - Country Tonite Theatre
September 30 -  Greensboro, NC - Steven Tanger PAC 
October 10 -  Myrtle Beach, SC - The Carolina Opry Theatre
October 16 -  Hiawassee, GA - Anderson Music Hall
October 22 -  Clarksburg, WV - Robinson Grand PAC
October 23 -  Winchester, VA - Patsy Cline Theatre
October 24 -  Verona, NY - Turning Stone Resort Casino 
November 5 -  New Braunfels, TX - Gruene Hall
November 6 - Hinton, OK - Sugar Creek Casino
November 26 - Wabash, IN - Honeywell Center
November 27 - Marietta, OH - Peoples Bank Theatre
December 4 - Chandler, AZ - Gila River Hotel and Casino
December 6 -  Las Vegas, NV - Golden Nugget
December 12 - Bristol, TN - Paramount Center for the Arts

 

About Craft Recordings

Craft Recordings is home to one of the largest and most essential collections of master recordings and compositions in the world. Its storied repertoire includes landmark releases from icons such as Joan Baez, John Coltrane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Celia Cruz, Miles Davis, Isaac Hayes, John Lee Hooker, Little Richard, R.E.M., Joan Sebastian, and Traveling Wilburys. Plus, the catalog recordings of celebrated contemporary acts including A Day to Remember, Evanescence, Alison Krauss, Nine Inch Nails, Taking Back Sunday and Violent Femmes, to name just a few. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Fania, Fantasy, Fearless, Musart, Nitro, Panart, Prestige, Riverside, Rounder, Specialty, Stax, Vanguard, Varèse Sarabande, Vee-Jay and Victory, among many others. Craft creates thoughtfully curated packages, with a meticulous devotion to quality and a commitment to preservation—ensuring that these recordings endure for new generations to discover. Craft is also home to the Billie Holiday and Tammy Wynette estates which preserve and protect their respective names, likeness and music through day-to-day legacy management of these cultural trailblazers. 

 

Craft Recordings is the catalog label team for Concord Recorded Music. For more info, visit CraftRecordings.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Spotify. 

VARIOUS ARTISTS - THE VINYL SERIES: VOLUME THREE

CURATED BY CHRIS BLACKWELL

AND PRESENTED BY ISLAND RECORDS/UME 
RELEASED OCTOBER 29

(Los Angeles – September 23, 2021)  Since its beginnings in Jamaica in 1959, the story of the pioneering Island Records label has been inextricably linked to the story of its founder, Chris Blackwell. Now, Blackwell has curated a series of compilation LPs featuring his hand-picked tracks that correspond with his and Island's legendary history.

On October 29, Island Records / UMe will release the third volume of The Vinyl Series, an 18-track double LP compiling some of the label's key releases of the late 1960s and early '70s. Volume One included pivotal songs from 1962 to 1969, and Volume Two, released over the summer, covered the years 1969 to 1973. Taken together, the sets explore the wide-ranging highlights from Island's remarkable and extensive catalog. Volume 1 + 2 are available now HERE.  Pre-order The Vinyl Series, Volume 3, or the Volume 1-3 bundle HERE.

"The counterculture, which came to full force in 1967, had coincided with Island's launch as a label," writes Blackwell in the new collection's liner notes, examining the connections that remained strong as the label moved into the evolving world of the '70s. "Most of the acts we started off with remained with Island…To many of us, there didn't seem to be much change."

This volume of The Vinyl Series includes material which remained rooted in the folk and acoustic-based styles that were crucial to Island's foundation. That side of the label's history is represented by Nick Drake's "Way to Blue" (from his first album, Five Leaves Left) and "Late November" by Sandy Denny, which first appeared on a 1971 label sampler. But it was Cat Stevens who was identified most commonly with Island in the U.K.—he "continued to be Island's biggest seller," notes Blackwell—and this album contains his 1971 global smash "Morning Has Broken," an adaptation of a Christian hymn.

But Island had also broken through into enormous success on the harder rock front. Free hit big with the 1970 album Fire and Water, whose title track opens the Volume Three collection. "Incredibly young, but in many ways wise beyond their years," Blackwell writes, "the four-piece was such a talented group, led at the time I signed them by the 15-year old (!!!) Andy Fraser."

When Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke split with Free to form Bad Company, they stayed with Island and became a worldwide sensation; "it seemed like a culmination and justification of their great talents," writes Blackwell. And prog-rock supergroup Emerson,

Lake and Palmer, represented here with their biggest hit single, 1970's "Lucky Man," were also "hugely successful on a global scale," as Blackwell puts it.

Island's rock roster reached into the world of glam in the early '70s. Blackwell admits that "When I heard the first Roxy Music album, I confess that I wasn't immediately certain of it." But when he fully absorbed the group's complete sound and vision, he said, "I understood that this was a true artistic endeavor, conceived and executed as such." Along with Roxy's magnificent first single, "Virgina Plain," and lead singer Bryan Ferry's solo cover of "The In Crowd," The Vinyl Series: Volume Three also includes Traffic's "Dear Mr. Fantasy," and "Better By You, Better Than Me," by Spooky Tooth, as well as "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us," by the enigmatic duo Sparks, whose unparalleled career was recently the subject of an acclaimed documentary film. 

But Chris Blackwell and Island Records will forever be associated with the music of Jamaica, and the period addressed in this album includes two landmark events that changed the world. Blackwell observes that he "began to see [reggae] was also starting to be taken up by some of the same audience who were the fanbase for underground rock." Though he had released Bob Marley's first solo single in the UK in 1962, he finally met and signed the Wailers a decade later. "I loved what they recorded in Jamaica for what became the Catch A Fire album," he writes. "Although initially, it didn't sell in colossal terms, it was critically a smash." And it set in motion one of the greatest careers music has ever seen.

Concurrently, Island released the soundtrack for the revolutionary 1972 film The Harder They Come, which introduced reggae to an international audience. This collection includes two classics from that film—"Johnny Too Bad" by the Slickers and Jimmy Cliff, the star of the movie, singing "You Can Get It If You Really Want." The majestic Toots and the Maytals, heard on this set performing 1974's "Time Tough," were also part of the soundtrack, which helped launch them to global prominence. "This Is Reggae Music," a declarative single by the Jamaican band Zap Pow released in the wake of the soundtrack's success, is also included. 

In track-by-track essays by noted author and longtime Island Records chronicler Chis Salewicz, the album package features reminiscences that offer Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Blackwell's own perspective. The third volume of The Vinyl Series—which also illustrates the label's ventures into funk (The Meters), dub (Augustus Pablo), and blue-eyed soul (Robert Palmer)—rounds out the tale of Island's visionary, eclectic path as it solidified its place as one of the most distinctive and bold labels in music history.

The Vinyl Series

Volume Three

Various Artists

Disc 1 - Side A:

1. Free- Fire And Water

2. Robert Palmer - Sailin' Shoes

3. The Meters - Cissy Strut

4. Bryan Ferry - The "In" Crowd

Disc 1 - Side B: 

1. Zap Pow - This Is Reggae Music 

2. Toots and the Maytals - Time Tough

3. The Slickers - Johnny Too Bad 

4. Jimmy Cliff - You Can Get It If You Really Want

5. Augustus Pablo - King Tubby Meets The Rockers Uptown

Disc 2 - Side A:

1. Traffic - Dear Mr. Fantasy

2. Bad Company – Bad Company

3. Spooky Tooth -  Better By You, Better Than Me

4. Sparks - This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both of Us

5. Roxy Music - Virginia Plan

Disc 2 - Side B:

1. Cat Stevens - Morning Has Broken

2. Nick Drake - Way To Blue

3. Sandy Denny - Late November

4. Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Lucky Man

Queen Legend Roger Taylor To

Release Brand New Solo Album

 

 

Roger Taylor 

‘OUTSIDER’

Set For Release On October 1, 2021 

 

‘Outsider’ – album available to preorder now: http://RogerTaylor.lnk.to/Outsider 

 

Watch The Clapping Song (lyric video): https://RogerTaylor.lnk.to/TheClappingSong

 

Los Angeles — September 23, 2021 — Roger Taylor has had plenty of free time recently to reflect on his long, rich, extraordinary journey through life and music. With Queen + Adam Lambert's blockbuster Rhapsody European tour postponed until 2022 by the Covid-19 pandemic, Roger has made good use of his lengthy lay-off. Fired up with creative inspiration, he spent much of lockdown writing and recording new material. Before long, he found himself with his first solo album in eight years, Outsider.

Taylor's world-class skills as a composer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist served him well during the enforced isolation of the last 18 months. In a tradition dating back to his very first solo album, Fun in Space from 1981, he wrote, produced, sang and performed all the songs on Outsider himself, with just a little help from long-time friends and collaborators. Building on more than half a century in music, Taylor conceived Outsider as a kind of mature late-career statement, its prevailing mood autumnal and bittersweet. “Autumnal is a very good word for it,” he says. “It's slightly nostalgic and wistful, and quite adult, a bit more grown-up than my last couple of albums.”

Outsider offers up a sumptuous widescreen tapestry of ruminative, exquisitely arranged pieces that cast a philosophical eye over human fragility and our brief time on Earth. Composed in Cornwall during the first lockdown in 2020, the album's opening track “Tides” is a mournfully beautiful meditation on mortality set against the vast canvas of cosmic time and the immutable cycles of the ocean, Mother Nature's very own rhythm section.

“Tides just completely came out of a feeling,” Taylor explains. “My house is by the sea, and the tides come in and go out, you can set your watch by them, you can rely on them in a way that they can almost be a friend. It's about the inevitability of our short term here, our sure passing.”

But Outsider is far from a gloomy album. Indeed, it balances world-weary melancholy with optimism, compassion and glimpses of brighter tomorrows ahead. Another lockdown-inspired track, the introspective 2020 single release “Isolation,” concludes with the cautious hope that the scars of solitude and anxiety will soon heal when normal human interaction returns again. Meanwhile the elegant lead single “We're All Just Trying To Get By,” with guest vocalist KT Tunstall adding voluptuous harmonies alongside Taylor, celebrates that most basic of human impulses: survival.

“It's the simplest statement really,” Taylor explains. “It's what every life force on Earth is doing: just trying to get by and proliferate and exist. That's all we are trying to do, from plants to animals to humans, trying to survive. Also, of course, we are in the middle of a bloody pandemic...”

Even the album's cinematic, uplifting title track reminds us that alienated underdogs can rise up to wrestle triumph from the jaws of defeat. “Outsider is about bullying and not being in the in-crowd,” Taylor explains. “It's kind of harking back to school, but we've all had that in some part of our lives. Everyone's an outsider at some point, they feel excluded or picked on.”

Outsider may find Taylor in mellower mode than usual, but his fondness for sensual pleasures and hard-rock hedonism are still part of the package. Soaked in bluesy regret, the gorgeous I Know I Know I Know is a husky-voiced, soul-baring confessional from the viewpoint of a remorseful lover who has made one too many hurtful mistakes. “It's a bluesy apology for some very human wrongdoing,” Taylor says. “Is it autobiographical? I think you should make your own mind.” 

By contrast, the narrator of the hard-riffing, raunchy blues-rock stomper More Kicks feels no shame about celebrating his wild youth and insatiable appetites. “That's a bluesy non-apology,” Taylor laughs. The loudest number on Outsider speeds up into a stampeding crescendo with Taylor in his element, pounding away behind the drum kit like a man possessed. “Oh yeah, I can still clobber away,” he grins. “But I like to think I clobber with more subtlety these days. Maybe not quite as much power but more technique.”

Taylor’s albums have never shied away from political statements. 

Outsider continues this tradition with the airy, polished, deceptively catchy protest song “Gangsters Are Running This World” and its punchy funk-rock sister track “Gangsters (Purple).” The scathing lyric is aimed squarely at authoritarian leaders across the globe, from Putin to Lukashenko to Bolsonaro. 

“In Queen we always tried to be apolitical,” Taylor nods. “But when you have the freedom to express yourself as a single person, you can say what the hell you like, which I've always tried to do. So many gangsters are running countries these days.”

The most delightfully unexpected wild card on Outsider is “The Clapping Song,” best known for its original 1965 Top 10 US smash version by Shirley Ellis, as well as its hit 1982 UK remake by the Belle Stars. This bright, brassy, funky banger is a fond flashback to Taylor's teenage pop tastes.  “I loved the original by Shirley Ellis,” he says. “It's just so joyful and simple. It's got a swing to it, and I've tried to recreate that swing using an ancient drum kit. It was just a real pleasure to do that song, it's like a playground nursery rhyme for kids.”

Outsider also revisits and reworks a handful of tracks from Taylor’s extensive solo canon. The lush, heartfelt romantic ballad “Absolutely Anything” first surfaced on the soundtrack to the 2015 sci-fi rom-com of the same name, starring Simon Pegg and Kate Beckinsale, which was written and directed by the late Monty Python legend Terry Jones. Another archive cut, “Foreign Sand,” is a unity anthem co-written by Japanese rocker Yoshiki. The original was a Top 30 UK hit in 1994, but Taylor's new “English Mix” strips the song down to a raw acoustic ballad, his grainy vocal clothed only in luminous, delicate, finger-picking guitar.

“I just think people needed to hear the real kernel of the song,” Taylor explains. “I felt the original was bit over-arranged and over-orchestrated. I like that John Lennon thing of stripping things down so you hear the kernel of an idea instead of dressing it up too much.”

Outsider concludes as it began, reflecting ruefully on the majesty of the cosmos and the finite span of human life on “Journey's End.” First released four years ago as a stand-alone single and mini-movie, this immersive seven-minute epic serves as the perfect finale for Taylor's most ambitious album to date, with its sombre emotional shadings and sumptuous symphonic feel.

“It has a quite whimsical, rather fatalistic atmosphere,” Taylor says. “It’s basically about thoughts of mortality. It is a sort of acceptance of the fact that this is a journey, and that journey will come to an end. It's a very musical piece with a sense of finality about it, but a sort of optimistic finality.”

Launching Outsider in grand style, Taylor and his band are playing a 14-date tour of the UK, beginning at the Newcastle O2 on October 2. Promising a set-list of solo career tracks old and new, plus some crowd-pleasing Queen classics, this is great news for the rock-starved masses as we finally emerge from lockdown hibernation.

“I want everybody to enjoy it,” Taylor insists. “I doubt I will be doing this much longer but I'm still able to do it, so I really embrace it. Will I be playing Queen songs too? Absolutely! I can't stand people who don't embrace a lot of the stuff they are loved for. Come on, admit who you are!”

Roger Taylor may be in autumnal mood on Outsider, but he is not going gently into that good night. This long, rich, extraordinary musical journey is not over yet.

 

Roger Taylor - Outsider

 

Track Listing:

1. Tides.

2. I Know, I Know, I Know.

3. More Kicks.

4. Absolutely Anything.

5. Gangsters Are Running This World.

6. We’re All Just Trying To Get By – Featuring K T Tunstall.

7. Gangsters Are Running This World – Purple Version.

8. Isolation.

9. The Clapping Song*

10. Outsider.

11. Foreign Sand – English Mix**

12. Journey’s End.

 

All songs written by Roger Taylor except:

*The Clapping Song – Written by Kay Werner, Lincoln Chase, Sue Werner.

**Foreign Sand – Written by Roger Taylor and Yoshiki.

  

  Album Produced by Roger Taylor & Joshua J Macrae.

 

 Credits:

 Project Management                 Emma Donoghue

 Artwork Concept                        Roger Taylor

 Artwork Design                          Richard Gray

 Front Cover Illustration              Tigerlily Taylor

 Photography                              Lola Leng Taylor and Sarina Taylor

 Painting on reverse                    Mervyn Peake (with kind permission of the estate of 

                                                    Mervyn Peake).

 

Formats: 1LP 180g Black Vinyl, 1LP 180g Transparent Blue Color Vinyl, 

1x Transparent Blue Color Cassette, 1CD, Digital Download and Streaming.

 

Coinciding with the release of his Outsider album, Taylor will make his first live performances outside of Queen in over two decades. Taylor will tour across the UK throughout October playing 14 shows with his especially formed band made up of Queen + Adam Lambert’s keyboardist Spike Edney, supporting drummer Tyler Warren, bassist Neil Fairclough, plus guitarist Christian Mendoza.

Official site: www.rogertaylorofficial.com

Samantha Fish’s Faster Debuts at #1 on Billboard Blues Chart,  #2 at Americana/Folk, and #10 on Current Rock Albums Chart  On Tour Now

September 23, 2021 – Genre-bending singer, songwriter, and guitarist Samantha Fish’s new album Faster, released last week, made a strong showing in its first week, landing at #1 on Billboard’s Blues chart, #2 on Americana/Folk, and #10 on the Current Rock Albums chart.    The album, which follows 2019's acclaimed Kill or Be Kind, marks Fish's first collaboration with Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist and producer Martin Kierszenbaum (Sting, Lady Gaga), and sees Fish defying expectations as she imbues even more intensity into her electrifying brand of blues/rock-and-roll. With Fish accompanied by legendary drummer Josh Freese (Guns N’ Roses, Nine Inch Nails, The Replacements), bassist Diego Navaira of The Last Bandoleros and Hannah Brier on backing vocals, the result is a singular body of work both irresistibly galvanizing and emotionally raw. Critical praise for Faster:   “Sophisticated modern pop that in turn gleefully meets her brand of unruly rockin' blues.” AllMusic    "'Better Be Lonely' treads a line between the sounds of Fish's previously released pop-rock monster, 'Twisted Ambition' and the rootsier 'Crowd Control,' blending a bag of classic 'Stones-style licks and tones with a soulful vocal performance." Guitar World   "Faster does just as its title does and takes things up a notch or two. The hooks are catchier than ever, the guitar work has more fire... the record leaves the listener in little doubt that the Kansas City-born singer-songwriter is here to deliver straight-up swagger, with zero apologies." Total Guitar   “…she’s placing some sterling blues guitar work in a framework that takes the genre way out of its comfort zone. The result is exciting, stimulating, fresher and ‘faster.’” American Blues Scene   "a fascinating step for an artist who always manages to find something new to say." No Depression.   For Fish, one of the greatest joys of making music is the powerful exchange of energy at her incendiary live shows. “I fell in love with music from going to shows, and I know how cathartic it can be. It heals your heart,” she says. “Anytime I play live, I just want to want to make people forget about everything else in the world and feel that same joy that I feel on stage.”   Last night, Fish kicked off the Faster tour with a sold-out show in Salt Lake City. Her US tour, which continues through the end of the year, includes upcoming stops in Denver, Phoenix, West Hollywood, New Orleans, Cincinnati, New York City, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Nashville, Tampa, Kansas City, and Chicago. Additionally, Fish will be among the featured guests on three Allman Family Revival shows in New Orleans, Dallas, and Austin later this fall. Early next year, Fish will return to the UK and Europe for an extensive run of dates. A full list of confirmed shows is below, and new dates will be announced in the coming weeks.        Faster Tour   9/23 Mishawaka Amphitheatre, Bellvue, CO 9/24 Oden Theater, Denver, CO 9/26 191 Toole, Tucson, AZ 9/28 Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix, AZ 9/29 Belly Up, Solana Beach, CA 9/30 Barrelhouse Brewing, Paso Robles, CA 10/1 Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA 10/2 World Records, Bakersfield, CA 10/7 Red River Revel, Shreveport, LA                10/8 Howlin' Wolf, New Orleans, LA 10/9 Vinyl Music Hall, Pensacola, FL 10/19 Bijou, Knoxville, TN 10/20 Walker Theatre, Chattanooga, TN 10/21 Riverfront Live, Cincinnati, OH 10/22 Robins, Warren, OH 10/23 Lorain Palace Theatre, Lorain, OH 10/24 Kent Stage, Kent OH 10/26 Jergel's, Warrendale, PA 10/28 Narrows Center for the Arts, Fall River, MA 10/29 Stephen Talkhouse, Amagansett, NY 10/30 Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY 10/31 Infinity Hall, Hartford, CT 11/2 Asbury Hall at Babeville, Buffalo, NY 11/3 Center for the Arts of Homer, Homer, NY 11/4 Infinity Music Hall, Norfolk, CT 11/5 Chevalier Theatre, Medford, MA* w/Buddy Guy 11/6 Hampton Beach Casino, Hampton Beach, NH* w/Buddy Guy 11/7 Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA 11/9 Empire Live, Albany, NY 11/10 The Warehouse, Fairfield, CT 11/11 The Fillmore Silver Spring, Silver Spring, MD 11/12 XL Live, Harrisburg, PA 11/13 Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ       11/14 The National, Richmond, VA 12/2 Saenger, Mobile, AL 12/3 The Moon, Tallahassee, FL 12/4 Tampa Theatre, Tampa, FL 12/5 Thrasher Home Center, Orange Park, FL 12/7 Neighborhood Theatre, Charlotte, NC 12/8 The Eastern, Atlanta, GA 12/9 Ryman, Nashville, TN 12/10 Little Rock Music Hall,. Little Rock, AR 12/14 The Vogue, Indianapolis, IN 12/15 The Blue Note, Columbia, MO 12/16 The Truman, Kansas City, MO 12/18 Rave Basement, Milwaukee, WI 12/19 Park West, Chicago, IL 2022 1/30 Komedia, Bath, UK 1/31 Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, UK 2/1 Wylam Brewery, Newcastle, UK 2/3 Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, UK 2/4 Academy 2, Manchester, UK 2/5 Rock City, Nottingham, UK 2/6 Tramshed, Cardiff, UK 2/7 Chalk, Brighton, UK 2/8 KK's Steel Mill, Wolverhampton, UK 2/10 Bataclan, Paris, FR 2/11 Melkweg, Amsterdam, NL 2/13 Nalen Kubb, Stockholm, SE 2/14 House of Culture, Helsinki, FI 2/21-2/25 Keeping The Blues Alive Cruise Miami, FL 3/11 John Dee, Oslo, NO 3/12 Valand, Gothenburg, SE 3/13 Pumpehuset, Cophenhagen, DK 3/15 Jazzhaus, Freiburg, DE 3/17 7er Club, Mannheim, DE 3/18 Piano, Dortmund, DE 3/19 Lehenbachhalle, Winterbach, DE 3/21 Hole .44, Berlin, DE 3/22 Fabrik, Hamburg, DE 3/23 Kupfersaal, Leipzig, DE 3/24Amphere, Munich, DE  3/25 Bluestage Festival, Roth, DE 3/27 Santeria Toscana, Milan, IT 4/8 Tampa Bay Blues Festival, St Petersburg, FL 10/29 AB Club, Brussels, BE!