Ben Greeman’s book on Prince is a hot thing. Dig If You Will the Picture:Funk, Sex, God and Genius in the Music of Prince(Henry Holt and Co., $28) is a farewell to the mercurial funk-rock star. It’s also a love letter, a critical study, a personal essay. Yet readers will undoubtedly find it as compelling for what it is not as for what it is.
Dig If You Will the Picture is not is a traditional biography or a conventional critical consideration. It is not filled with gossip and “gotcha” moments. It is not simply a survey of Prince’s greatest hits. Rather, it’s a singular attempt to investigate the whole of Prince’s work and thought, to isolate the meaningful moments in his music, to think about the ways in which he provided the soundtrack for a generation, to define what genius means in pop music.
Greenman brings his encyclopedic knowledge of Prince and his music to the man and the time in which he lived—moving from his own suburban upbringing in Miami to Prince’s history in Minneapolis, from brash early albums like Dirty Mind through breakout classics like Purple Rain to mature complex works like Art Official Age.
In these pages, Prince is considered as a musician, certainly, but also as a gender theorist, an activist, and an independent businessman. Greenman illuminates the hidden corners of Prince’s vast discography: Do you know the mid-’90s manifesto “Style”? Do you know the mid-’80s B side “Shockadelica”? Do you know the outtake “2020”?
You should.
And you will.
As George Clinton raves: “When it comes to funk and words, lyrics and language, there couldn’t be a better pairing than Ben Greenman and Prince. From my experience with both of them, this is the perfect match, like ham hocks and cornflakes.”
Dig If You Will the Picture answers countless questions about one of our most mysterious and misunderstood pop icons, including:
What were Prince’s thematic preoccupations?
How did he change pop music forever?
How did he make so much fantastic work?
Did he really do it all himself?
Why did he go to war with his record label?
What did he think about sex, God, and the difference between them?
What were his politics?
How big was his Afro when he was young?
And what was with that symbol, anyway?
Dig If You Will the Picture meets Prince at his own level, as a pop-culture provocateur, a brilliant manufacturer of meaning, a complex and philosophical man, brooding introvert, singular talent—and a hell of a good time.
It’s time to zap you with more Zappa news. Two dozen rare and limited-release Frank Zappa recordings will be made widely available around the world when UMe assumes distribution of the albums as part of their global partnership with the Zappa Family Trust.
In the U.S., the 24 albums are available on CD, download and streaming. They are also available internationally, with physical product to follow on April 28. Nine of the albums, including Zappa’s 100th release, Dance Me This, and the revered live disc, Roxy By Proxy, have never been available for download or streaming. The wide-ranging collection includes fan favorite and Grammy-winning titles from Zappa’s independent labels Barking Pumpkin, Vaulternative Records and Zappa Records and encompasses more than 20 years of releases, dating back to 1994’s posthumous release, Civilization Phaze III.
“For more than two decades, the only place to get exclusive Frank Zappa albums was through our mail order and website,” says Ahmet Zappa. “We are thrilled to be able to make these titles available to fans across the globe with the help of our friends at Universal.”
The albums being made available internationally to online retailers, record stores, digital retailers and streaming services include a diverse collection of previously limited releases comprised of live concerts, taped rehearsals, treasures from Zappa’s extensive and extraordinary vault, audio documentaries, archival recordings, the famed “Corsaga” series and other exciting audio ephemera. The releases span Zappa’s entire career, from his first records with the Mothers of Invention to some of the last compositions and projects he ever worked on.
Here’s the loot:
A Token Of His Extreme (Zappa Records, 2013) In August 1974, Zappa and The Mothers of Invention taped two legendary sets at KCET-TV Studios in Hollywood, CA. This popular footage was used by Zappa in a number of different edits originally intended as a TV special and eventually featured in the home video release The Dub Room Special (1982). A Token Of His Extreme was officially issued on DVD in 2013 along with the release of the soundtrack on CD.
Buffalo(Vaulternative Records, 2007) Originally released in 2007, Buffalo captures an entire concert recorded live at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York on October 25, 1980. The original tapes were salvaged from the Vault by Vaultmeister Joe Travers and mixed by Grammy-winning engineer Frank Filipetti.
Carnegie Hall (Vaulternative Records, 2011) As history would have it, and thanks to the persistence of promoter Ron Delsener, Zappa & his Mothers actually played Carnegie Hall. The two shows on October 11, 1971 were recorded for posterity to mono 1/4” tape using a concealed Nagra tape machine and a Electrovoice 664 microphone.
Civilization Phaze III(Barking Pumpkin, 1994) This is one of the final projects to be finished by Zappa before his passing, and completes the trilogy of Masterworks established first with Lumpy Gravy and We’re Only In It For The Money in 1968. Originally envisioned as Lumpy Gravy, Phase III, this music morphed over a period of years in various states of completion. Realized mainly on the Synclavier and including performances by the Ensemble Modern and newly recorded dialogue from inside the piano, Frank finally put the finishing touches on the double CD in 1992. It received a Grammy for Best Recording Package in 1995.
Congress Shall Make No Law . . .(Zappa Records, 2010)
Gail Zappa always said that Frank always made a point to “educate” his audience as well as entertain them. She continued on that note with this release, an informative document that focuses on the importance of his testimonies to fight censorship. Zappa’s address to the Senate Committee Hearings in 1985 and to the Maryland State Legislature in 1986 are featured here in their entirety combined with various Synclavier and interview excerpts found in the Vault.
Dance Me This(Zappa Records, 2015) The 100th release by the Zappa Family Trust and the last project to be finished by Zappa before his passing, Dance Me This, was composed and realized on the Synclavier, FZ’s go-to digital workstation that was state of the art at the time of the recording. The music is described by the Maestro as “designed for modern dance groups.” The album was finished but shelved by the Trust until finally receiving its much anticipated release in 2015.
Everything Is Healing Nicely (Barking Pumpkin, 1999) The Ensemble Modern from Frankfurt, Germany spent a lot of time with Zappa during the last few years of his life. As the group was working closely with Zappa preparing for a series of concerts scheduled in 1992 (to be known as “The Yellow Shark”), Zappa, in his typical manner, was digitally recording every rehearsal. Everything Is Healing Nicely features highlights from those recordings, hand-picked by Zappa, compiled posthumously by then staff engineer Spence Chrislu, and released exclusively through mail order in 1999.
Feeding the Monkies at Ma Maison (Zappa Records, 2011) Around 1987 or so, Zappa completed a digital master of this title which was intended for a vinyl release. He never released it and re-worked some of the material for another project, mainly Civilization, Phaze III. Feeding the Monkies at Ma Maison, realized on the Synclavier, eventually found a release in original form in 2011. The CD contains unreleased compositions, unedited versions and added bonus tracks from the time period.
Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa (Barking Pumpkin, 1996) When released on Halloween 1996, Frank Zappa Plays the Music Of Frank Zappa was considered to be an “Audio Tombstone” by the family. It features the three signature guitar pieces: “Black Napkins,” “Zoot Allures” and “Watermelon In Easter Hay” in their original released form (remastered) with added live versions that predate the issued masters. Also included is “Merely A Blues In A: from Paris ’74. A fitting “Memorial Tribute” indeed.
FZ: OZ (Vaulternative Records, 2002) FZ:OZ is the very first release from Vaulternative Records, the label created by the Zappa Family Trust that focuses on material found in the infamous Zappa Vault. Released in 2002, this audio nugget contains an almost complete concert from FZ’s second and final visit to Sydney, Australia in early 1976.
Greasy Love Songs(Zappa Records, 2010) The third installment of the Project/Object Audio Documentary series focuses on the 40th anniversary of Zappa’s 1968 homage to doo-wop and R&B. Cruising With Ruben & The Jets was FZ & The Mothers’ fourth album release. Greasy Love Songs brings together the long awaited release of the original 1968 mix along with mix outtakes, interview excerpts and oddities from the sessions. Also contains liner notes from Cheech Marin.
Hammersmith Odeon (Zappa Records, 2010) In early 1978, Zappa played a string of dates between January and February at the famous Hammersmith Odeon in London, England. Hammersmith Odeon, first issued in conjunction with a special birthday event at The Roundhouse in London in 2010, contains performances from those shows. These recordings are famous for being the basis for the Sheik Yerbouti album. This album contains all alternate performances and highlights from the master show tapes.
Imaginary Diseases (Zappa Records, 2006) Released in 2006, Imaginary Diseases compiles for the first time all live recordings from a very rare and undocumented Zappa band line-up. In 1972, after taking a 20-piece “electric orchestra” on the road for eight dates as The Grand Wazoo, FZ reduced the personnel to 10 pieces and toured this new band for roughly two months. Billed as The Mothers of Invention but eventually becoming known as the “Petit Wazoo,” audio from this period was never released during Frank’s lifetime.
Joe’s Camouflage (Vaulternative Records, 2014) In late summer 1975, Zappa formed a band that never got past the rehearsal stage, but managed to have their own band promo shots taken with fall touring rapidly approaching. This Joe’s series entry, Joe’s Camouflage, finds mainly 4-track rehearsal tapes that captured FZ experimenting with this group, updating arrangements of older songs along with some new compositions, some that were never revisited later in his career. Featuring Novi Novog on viola and keys, Robert ‘Frog’ Camarena on vocals and Denny Walley on guitar, all three of whom left the band shortly after these recordings were made.
Joe’s Corsage(Vaulternative Records, 2004) The first in a series of special material released from the Vault. The titles of the “Corsaga” are a play on words of FZ’s famous Joe’s Garaget itle, with the contents produced and compiled by the Vaultmeister, Joe Travers. Joe’s Corsage, the first release created in 2004, was produced in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of the creation of The Mothers in 1964. It focuses on the origin of the Mothers of Invention as told by Frank himself, along with early recordings made before their first record contract in early 1966.
Joe’s Domage (Vaulternative Records, 2004) This, the second entry from the “Corsaga” series, gives insight into how Frank worked. The recording from this primitive cassette tape captures the first rehearsal of the Wazoo band, freezing in time early ideas and arrangements of material that went on to be used on The Grand Wazoo & Waka/Jawaka album sessions of 1972. Recorded ambiently in Frank’s rehearsal room in Hollywood, Frank conducted these sessions while confined to a wheelchair after being pushed offstage in London, England roughly three months prior.
Joe’s Menage (Vaulternative Records, 2008) Zappa, notorious for recording everything, carried cassettes with him on the road. On one occasion backstage during the late ’70s, Frank gave longtime fan Ole’ Lysgaard a cassette which contained a dub of a live recording excerpt from a concert in Williamsburg, VA on November 1, 1975. Thanks to Ole’, this excerpt has been forever immortalized as the content for “Corsaga” number 4. Joe’s Menage is transferred directly from the show master tape.
Joe’s Xmasage (Vaulternative Records, 2005) Joe’s Xmasage was released on Frank’s birthday during the Christmas season of 2005. Joe worked closely with Gail Zappa on this third installment of the “Corsaga,” showcasing vintage recordings from Frank’s life in the early ’60s. Music, historical audio documents and Conceptual Continuity clues fill up this special Christmas dish from the Vault for you and yours.
MOFO(Zappa Records, 2006) This two-disc version of the Making of Freak Out! Project/Object Audio Documentary contains highlights from the 4-disc version which is available only through mail order. MOFO was released in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of The Mothers of Invention’s first album, Freak Out!, it includes the original album’s 1966 vinyl mix along with exclusive tracks not found anywhere else.
One Shot Deal (Zappa Records, 2008) Released in 2008, One Shot Deal features chunks of material found in the vault selected by FZ and compiled by Gail Zappa and Joe Travers. Ranging from 1972 to 1981, One Shot Deal blends live compositions, improvisations and guitar solos from various world tours, all recorded live.
Philly ’76(Vaulternative Records, 2009) Zappa played the Philadelphia Spectrum Theater on October 29, 1976. The concert was professionally recorded and was a perfect contender for the ongoing concert series from Vaulternative Records. Philly ‘76 was released in 2009 and features a complete show from a rare band line-up with another stellar mix from Grammy- winning engineer Frank Filipetti.
Roxy By Proxy (Zappa Records, 2014) Roxy By Proxy contains material recorded live at the infamous run of shows at The Roxy Theater in Hollywood, CA, December 1973. It’s the first compilation made from digital mixes created in 1987 by Frank with Bob Stone at FZ’s home studio, The Utility Muffin Research Kitchen. The sequencing plays like a full show while the package features extensive liner notes from the one and only Ruth Underwood, then the percussionist in the band.
The Dub Room Special(Zappa Records, 2007) A previously unreleased soundtrack album created by Zappa himself, contains material found in The Dub Room Special, a 90-minute home video first released by mail order only in 1982. Tracks consist of live cuts from The Palladium in NYC on Halloween 1981, along with performances taped at KCET-TV studios in Los Angeles during 1974.
WAZOO (Vaulternative Records, 2007) WAZOO contains a complete show recorded live to stereo tape at the Boston Music Hall on September 24, 1972. Originally released in 2007, this set is the only document found in the Vault of the short-lived Grand Wazoo, an ambitious 20-piece “electric orchestra” formed by Zappa and toured for only eight dates during the fall of 1972.
Anyway the wind blows you, you will end up watching Eric Clapton’s highly-anticipated Live In San Diego With Special Guest JJ Cale. The DVD and Blu-Ray follows the release of the 2-disc CD set, 3 LP vinyl set and digital album of the concert, that were released on September 30, 2016 on Reprise/Bushbranch Records. In addition to the main DVD and Blu-Ray program, fans will enjoy extra footage of Clapton and Cale rehearsing “Anyway The Wind Blows” and “Who Am I Telling You?” for the concert.
Recorded at Clapton’s March 15, 2007 performance at the iPayOne Center in San Diego, CA, Live In San Diego With Special Guest JJ Cale concert was part of a world tour that was much loved by Clapton fans and featured a stellar band that included guitarists Derek Trucks (now of the Tedeschi Trucks band) and Doyle Bramhall II. The two-hour San Diego concert was a highlight of the tour as it featured JJ Cale as a special guest on five tracks (including “After Midnight” and “Cocaine”), as well as Robert Cray on the final song of the record, “Crossroads.”
After successfully covering several Cale songs throughout his career, Clapton finally collaborated with Cale in 2006 on the original album Road to Escondido. Says Clapton: “This is the realization of what may have been my last ambition, to work with the man whose music has inspired me for as long as I can remember.”
So it’s fitting that one year later, Cale joined Clapton on stage for this special concert where they performed together, underlining the mutual respect the two musicians had for each other.
The concert features a superb set list from across Eric’s career. Notably, it includes songs from Eric’s classic Derek and the Dominos album Layla, with Derek Trucks playing many of Duane Allman’s original guitar parts.
Clapton is currently preparing to play North American shows for 2017, a series of concert dates at two famed venues: New York’s Madison Square Garden and Los Angeles’ Forum. The shows will be a celebration of 50 years in music and just as many decades performing at these two venues. Legendary guitar players Gary Clark, Jr. and Jimmie Vaughan will be special guests at the shows.
The Rhinestone Cowboy is still with us, and by the time I get to Phoenix or Galveston he still will be. News that’s gentle on my mind.
New gentle news: Capitol Nashville/UMe will reissue on vinyl Campbell’s albumsGentle on My Mind,Wichita Lineman and Galveston, the star-making albums that helped make Glen Campbell a global superstar and household name. Save the date: They will be reissued on March 24.
The titles, which haven’t been available on vinyl for decades, will be released on standard black vinyl and housed in replicas of the original sleeve art. Each album will also receive a limited edition color run that will be available exclusively at GlenCampbell.comat a later date.
Gentle on My Mind, released in 1967 on Capitol Records, was Campbell’s breakthrough album. It was the first to go to No. 1 on the country music charts and reach the platinum sales mark of one million albums sold. At its heart was the single, “Gentle on My Mind,” a cover of John Hartford’s original that so enchanted Campbell, he called in some of his buddies from his legendary studio band, The Wrecking Crew (which included Leon Russell), and recorded it himself to submit to his producer Al De Lory. His first major hit, the song earned him his first two Grammys and made the Arkansas native a rising star.Gentle on My Mind can be pre-ordered @ UMe.lnk.to/GlenCampbellGentleAmzPR and streamed @: ume.lnk.to/GlenCampbellGentlePR.
Released as Campbell was becoming a television star, film actor and crossover sensation, Wichita Lineman remains Campbell’s best-selling album. The double-platinum release reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and stayed there for a month (bracketed by Jimi Hendrix’s ElectricLadyland and only unseated by The Beatles’ The White Album. Wichita Lineman stayed atop the country music charts for 20 weeks and was the year’s top release in the genre. Centerpiece single, “Wichita Lineman,” written by Campbell’s songwriting soulmate Jimmy Webb, was nominated for Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards and Single of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards.
Campbell teamed up with Webb again for two hits on his next album, Galveston, released in 1969. The title track returned to No. 1 and was a crossover hit. The duo logged another minor hit with the follow up single, “Where’s the Playground Susie.” Campbell’s last platinum-selling album of his late-’60s run arrived as he began to host his own television variety show, “The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour,” and became a household name in the U.S. Galveston can be pre-ordered @ ume.lnk.to/GlenCampbellGalvestonAmzPR and streamed @ ume.lnk.to/GlenCampbellGalvestonPR.
Taken together, Gentle on My Mind, Wichita Lineman and Galveston capture the Country Music and Musicians Halls of Fame member at the height of his powers. A country superstar, a member of The Beach Boys with his fingerprints on music history, one of pop’s greatest guitar players–all his personas can be found on this amazing run of albums.
It’s a no-brainer. Founded in 1972, German label Brain now commands a status and reputation among listeners and collectors all over the world that would have been unimaginable at the time. Today, it is regarded as one of the most important label outlets for German rock music of the ’70s, a genre generally referred to as krautrock, although the term hardly does justice to the range of styles covered by these groups and their records. In any case, it was coined by the English media and only became popular as an afterthought. Brain first used it in May 1974 in an advertisement in Musikexpress magazine for their “Kraut Rock” compilation. The label licensed international acts and albums right from the start in order to expand its portfolio.
Now, for the first time, the story of the label is revisited in depth, thanks to UMe. Set for release on April 21, TheBrain Box–Cerebral Sounds Of Brain Records 1972-1979 contains 8 CDs and a total of 83 songs. The set is completed by a 76-page hardcover book with extensive information about the label as well as photographs and artwork; it also includes a Brain tote bag featuring their iconic logo. The collection was compiled by Mark Powell, who also provided the English liner notes. The German introduction was written by krautrock expert Andreas Dewald. Grobschnitt icon Eroc was in charge of remastering. The Brain Box can be pre-ordered here: brainrecords.lnk.to/CerebralSounds.
The general sense of upheaval and the revolutionary spirit of the late ’60s–politically, socially and artistically–began to create exciting results in the German music scene. Amon Düül II and Can released their first records; Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream pushed the boundaries of electronic music; Ihre Kinder and Floh De Cologne sang in German. And in 1969, journalist Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser launched the now equally iconic Ohr label, followed by Pilz and Kosmische Kuriere. However, soon two of his employees, Günter Körber and Bruno Wendel, got so irritated by the increasing eccentricity and LSD experiments of their boss that, in late 1971, they decided to quit and set up their own label under the umbrella of Hamburg-based company Metronome.
Some Ohr acts, such as Embryo, Guru Guru and Klaus Schulze, went with them and were soon joined by many more on their new label Brain: Jane, Cluster, Grobschnitt, Os Mundi, Thirsty Moon, and Emergency, to name just a few. Following the departure of Günter Körber around 1975 (he went on to start Sky Records), the label lost its driving force and headed in a more commercial direction. Today most of the repertoire is part of the Universal Music catalog.
The first five CDs in this set are dedicated to German bands–from The Scorpions, Gomorrha, Sameti, Yatha Sidhra, Satin Whale, RMO, Eroc, Harmonia, Schicke Führs Fröhling, Liliental and Anyone’s Daughter with their four-part track “Adonis,. The sixth CD contains material from international records, including tracks by Steamhammer, Spyro Gyra, Atomic Rooster, Alexis Korner & Snape, Gryphon, Dutch group Light, Locomotiv GT from Hungary, and Finish band Tasavallan Presidentti and their guitarist Jukka Tolonen.
A particular highlight of this box is the first-time release of the two “Brain Festival Essen” double albums, which first came out in 1977 and 1978 respectively, and during which the label presented its bands exclusively on a big stage and then on record: established acts such as Jane, Guru Guru, Novalis and RMO, as well as bands that were new at the time, including Gate, Message, SFF, To Be, Blonker and the Norwegian jazz rock five-piece Ruphus, which closed the event both times. These two albums mark the perfect documentary finish to an extraordinary label history which is always worth exploring.
To think three decades have passed since the release of U2’s fifth studio albumThe Joshua Tree reminds us that (a) we are all getting old and (b) an anniversary edition of the iconic record needs to be released.
That’s what’s being done by Interscope Records on June 2. Alongside the 11-track album, the super deluxe collector’s edition includes a live recording of The Joshua Tree Tour‘s 1987 Madison Square Garden concert; rarities and B-sides from the album’s original recording sessions; as well as 2017 remixes from Daniel Lanois, St Francis Hotel, Jacknife Lee, Steve Lillywhite and Flood; plus an 84-page hardback book of unseen personal photography shot by The Edge during the original Mojave Desert photo session in 1986.
In January of 2017, Rolling Stone dubbed the album their “1987 masterpiece… Thirty years ago, the wild success of The Joshua Tree transformed U2 into the biggest band on the planet.”
Whew!
Released to universal acclaim on March 9, 1987 and featuring hit singles “With Or Without You”, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and “Where The Streets Have No Name”,The Joshua Treewent to No. 1 in the U.K, U.S., Ireland and around the world, selling in excess of 25 million albums, and catapulting Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr., “from heroes to superstars”, according to Rolling Stone.
Time put U2 on its cover in April 1987, proclaiming them “Rock’s Hottest Ticket” and the 12 months that followed saw U2 create indelible moments including the traffic-stopping Grammy Award-winning “Where The Streets Have No Name” video on the roof of a Los Angeles liquor store, and go on to win a BRIT Award and two Grammys, including Album of the Year, their first of 22 received to date; as well as a triumphant return home for four unforgettable shows in Belfast, Dublin and Cork in the summer of 1987.
The Joshua Treewas produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. Recording took place in Dublin at Windmill Lane Studios and Danesmoate, the house which subsequently became bassist Adam Clayton’s home.
The Joshua Treeoriginal track listing is as follows: Where The Streets Have No Name, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, With Or Without You, Bullet The Blue Sky, Running To Stand Still, Red Hill Mining Town, In God’s Country, Trip Through Your Wires, One Tree Hill, Exit and Mothers Of The Disappeared.
The Joshua Tree Tour 2017opens in Vancouver on May 12, 2017, kicking off a run of stadium dates across North America and Europe, including U2’s first ever U.S. festival headline appearance at theBonnaroo Music & Arts Festivalthis summer.
Deborah Cox is drowning in good reviews, starring as fictional musical legend Rachel Marron in the stage musical The Bodyguard. Yep, it’s the same role Whitney Houston played in the 1992 flick of the same name.
Those wishing to see where and when Cox performs the role should visit thebodyguardmusical.com, and take note of the warning on the website: Please note that Ms. Cox is not scheduled to appear at all performances. Please check the venue website and ticketing agency for each city for the schedule. The producers of The Bodyguard cannot guarantee the appearance of any particular artist, which is always subject to illness and holidays.
Yet you can listen to Cox, now that Broadway Records’s president Van Dean and Deco Recording Group have announced that Deborah Cox: I Will Always Love You will be released digitally and in stores on March 31. The album is currently available for pre-order at BroadwayRecords.com and Amazon.com.
I Will Always Love You is an 8-track EP featuring the most requested songs from the smash-hit musical, including such iconic fan favorites as “All the Man that I Need”, “I Have Nothing” and “I Will Always Love You.”
Says the 42-year-old Cox: “I’ve always been a fan of the songs in the movie so it has been a dream to perform them on stage every night. This project was born out of continuous requests from my fans and people who have seen me in the show. They wanted to have something with me singing these songs so I listened and went to work putting this EP together.”
Thirty years old, and Natalie Merchant’s career seems as young as ever. So does she.
Catch what we mean when Merchantl tours the U.S this summer in with Natalie Merchant: 3 Decades of Song. In anticipation of a forthcoming career retrospective boxed set on Nonesuch, Merchant’s concerts will span her three-decade recording career, with songs from both 10,000 Maniacs and her solo albums. A string quartet joins Merchant and her regular band for the shows. A portion of the proceeds from Natalie Merchant: 3 Decades of Song will be donated to the organization Food & Water, which champions healthy food and clean water for all.
In high school yearbook, and in 2005
Nonesuch most recently released Merchant’s Paradise Is There: The New Tigerlily Recordings in 2015. This collection of all-new recordings revisits Merchant’s multi-platinum solo debut, Tigerlily, originally released in 1995 following her departure from 10,000 Maniacs. The release was accompanied by a documentary DVD.
Her career began in 1981 when, as a college student, she joined the seminal alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs, which signed to Elektra Records in 1984. As lead vocalist, lyricist, and sometimes pianist, Merchant released six critically acclaimed studio albums with the band, including the platinum-certified In My Tribe (1987), Blind Man’s Zoo (1989), Our Time in Eden (1992), and MTV Unplugged (1993). She left the group in 1993, and in 1995 released her multi-platinum solo debut, Tigerlily, followed by the platinum Ophelia (1998) and Motherland (2001).
In 2003 she independently released an album of traditional and contemporary folk music, The House Carpenter’s Daughter, which also coincided with the birth of her child. For the next seven years she lived quietly in New York’s Hudson Valley devoting herself to family and community, while taking opportunities to collaborate with other musicians and strengthen her commitment to activism and philanthropy.
In 2010, Merchant returned with a thematic double album, Leave Your Sleep, her debut for Nonesuch Records. For this meditation on childhood and mothering Merchant set 19th- and 20thcentury American and British children’s poetry to music. She also collaborated with award-winning children’s book illustrator Barbara McClintock for a picture book based on the album. In 2014, Nonesuch released Natalie Merchant, her sixth solo album and first of entirely original songs in thirteen years, which the New York Times called a “set of dark, brave, thoughtful and serenely startling songs”.
Merchant remains dedicated to a wide array of social justice and environmental causes. Recently, she spearheaded the making of the protest concert film Dear Governor Cuomo (2013) with New Yorkers Against Fracking, actors Mark Ruffalo and Melissa Leo, and filmmakers Jon Bowermaster and Alex Gibney, and she directed and produced SHELTER: A Concert Film to Benefit Victims of Domestic Violence (2014).
For the record, whenever Van Dean, President of Broadway Records, speaks, we listen.
“I first heard Tyce sing Steinman in a concert in New York and knew immediately that he was a rare talent who could pull off these extraordinarily difficult to sing songs and make them his own,” Dean says. “It’s no surprise that Steinman trusted Tyce with his material and we are excited to unveil Tyce’s debut album to the world.”
Indeed. Every so often a new artist comes along with a debut album that not only raises eyebrows, but curiosity in that the songs are so perfectly matched with the talent. In Tyce’s case, with today’s release of his debut Broadway Records album, Hero, his voice is perfectly in sync with the celebratory music and lyrics of noted Meatloaf collaborator Jim Steinman.
No ordinary talent would ever dare to record such treasured songs as “Holding Out For A Hero,” “Total Eclipse Of The Heart,” “I’m Gonna’ Love Her For Both Of Us” and “Braver Than We Are,” without the imprimatur of wordsmith Steinman, who was catapulted to international fame and renown with the debut album from Meatloaf, Bat Out of Hell.
Tyce is the first male vocalist to have recorded with Steinman since Meatloaf. Says Tyce: “I also fit Jim’s original vision of a young blond, honorable, noble-boy, that he first had in mind when he wrote Bat Out Of Hell.” (Steinman is currently prepping the musical Bat Out Of Hell which opens June 5 in the U. K.)
Bravely produced and boldly re-imagined by Zak Lloyd (with Tony Heyes as executive producer and Nicky James as producer), with Steinman’s blessing, the album features nine Steinman-tracks; plus seven bonus tracks. Don’t be fooled, these tunes perfectly balance Steinman’s original vigor with a twist of modern.
Tyce, who has long been key player in the Broadway community and recently appeared at last year’s Rockers On Broadway event (performing Boston’s “More Than a Feeling” to a rapturous reception) services Steinman’s work with a bold, fresh take and a passion that immediately demands an audience.
Tyce first met Steinman after honoring him at a special concert in New York City. A surprise performance followed, with Tyce receiving a standing ovation after singing “Bat Out of Hell” in its 9-minute 51-second entirety in the original key. This was the first time the song was ever officially performed live since the Meat Loaf rendition. From there, it was kismet and a new interpreter of Steinman was born and reborn, for Jim.
We give Jim the last words. He calls Tyce “brilliant! virtuosic!” and gushes again over Hero: “It was like you wrestled with a fire-breathing dragon and came out on top!”
For the record: As a youngster growing up in Southport, Merseyside, Peter Mark Sinclair “Marc” Almond was immersed in the magical world of the three-minute single. Remember those 45s with those nice round holes in their centers? The 45-rpm single was King, and Almond worshipped at its spinning throne. Marc had always aspired to become a great singles artist; he wanted to follow in the footsteps of two of his heroes, David Bowie and Scott Walker in turning the single into an art form.
Those records, as well as tuning in to Radio Caroline, Radio Luxembourg and a weekly fix of Top of the Pops, acted as catalysts for the aspiring singer’s dreams and ambitions. He achieved exactly that when “Tainted Love” rocketed to the top of the UK chart in September 1981 (and became the biggest selling single of the year), commencing a singles chart love affair that has played a huge part in Marc’s 40 + year career and has seen him shift in excess of 30 million sales.
Now that impressive singles career is celebrated on March 10 with the UMe release of Hits And Pieces–The Best Of Marc Almond And Soft Cell, which comes available as a 2-disc or single CD digital download and traces Almond’s singles career from Soft Cell through to his solo work and collaborations.
Almond has always excelled at recording superb singles–he has secured a body of work that encompasses truly outstanding originals, covers and duets. Highlights of Hits And Pieces include “Tainted Love”; “What!”; “Say Hello Wave Goodbye”; the No. 1-reaching Gene Pitney duet “Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart”; his interpretation of Scott Walker’s cover of Jacques Brel’s “Jacky” (with its epic kitchen sink production from Trevor Horn); a cover of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” (with Bronski Beat); “Melancholy Rose” and “Ruby Red” from the Mother Fist album, a Tony Visconti-produced nugget “The Dancing Marquis”; last year’s superb “The Velvet Trail”; the glam stomper “Varieté” and another unforgettable cover in the form of “The Days of Pearly Spencer”.
To complete the package is the newest track on this compilation: The previously unreleased “A Kind Of Love”, three effortlessly breezy minutes that hint at Almond’s past–the “light summery psychedelic sounds” on that mid-’60s transistor radio, the Northern soul scene that inspired Soft Cell to cover “Tainted Love” and “What!”–without really sounding much like anything Almond has recorded before. “A Kind Of Love” was co-written and produced by Chris Braide. The loving tune is Almond the Singles Artist showing once again how to turn three-and-a-half minutes into aural gold.
Almond, a LaVeyan Satanist, has been with the same man for more than two decades. Yet he says he dislikes being pigeon-holed as “‘gay’ . . . such a label “enables people to marginalize your work and reduce its importance, implying that it won’t be of any interest to anyone who isn’t gay”.
The CD contains unreleased compositions, unedited versions and added bonus tracks from the time period.
Billed as The Mothers of Invention but eventually becoming known as the “Petit Wazoo,” audio from this period was never released during Frank’s lifetime.
Music, historical audio documents and Conceptual Continuity clues fill up this special Christmas dish from the Vault for you and yours.
