Neil Young 180g Vinyl “Official Release Series” Box of First Four Albums; Speculation On The Next Box

With the eventual release of the Neil Young Archives Volume One  this year which spanned the years 1963 to 1972, that meant that it was time for Warner’s to work on the remasters of Neil’s releases on vinyl. Most of his popular (sold lots of) back catalog and all of his recent releases have been in print in vinyl for a number of years, but with the work done to release the Archives releases it was time to revisit the vinyl.

On December 1st, a limited edition (3000 worldwide) box set of 180g LP’s entitled Neil Young Official Release Series Discs 1-4 will be released and is a remastering of the first four solo Neil Young albums: Neil Young from January 1969, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere from May 1969, After the Gold Rush from August 1970, and Harvest from February 1972. These four albums are from the same period of time represented by the Archives Volume One.

The records were mastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering (source) and pressed by Furnace MFG by their German partner Pallas Group (source) on 180g vinyl. Furnace MFG handled the packaging of the LPs and the box, lovingly recreating the cover art and gold-foil-stamping the serial number on each. In the case of the Harvest LP, they located the last manufacturer in the US that can still make hand-glued gatefold covers to carefully reproduce the original cover. According to the press release, “once the box sets are gone, this limited edition configuration will no longer be available,” which I would take to mean that there will be individual 180g pressings of these releases available. Confusingly, a couple of online retailers seem to be touting that they have the individual 180g LP’s for sale, but I’m also seeing a “standard” vinyl release, which seems to be a 140g pressing, which is confirmed by the Musicangle.com article referenced above.

In keeping with the  perpetual delay of the original Archives series, we’ve already experienced one delay with the vinyl box– the original release was going to be 11/24, however there was an e-mail sent out by Warner Brothers late last week that said the new ship/release would be 12/1. Not a big deal, but with all of the press given to the delays surrounding the Archives, this announcement seems ominous– hopefully for no reason.

In any event, this is a respectible effort on the part of Warner/Reprise and really appealing to vinyl collectors. Clearly, Neil Young’s catalog is an important one, and these four albums are landmark releases for him establishing him as one of the great songwriters of our time. At $149.98 plus shipping it is a significant investment. If you break down the 180g individual releases– all of the records are around $22 except for Harvest, which is $34– the box set adds a $50 premium on top.

The Archives Volume 2 is reputed to be released in 2010 and should represent the second decade (1973-1982) if they stay with the established pattern. Interestingly, this would mean that the subsequent box would be a real lunker at ten LPs if he chooses to keep Time Fades Away unreleased. I would suspect that he will leave it unreleased based on the first Archives. There was a soundtrack associated with the 1972 film Journey Through The Past which he opted not to reissue, which isn’t a huge loss. The film exists as a disc in the Archives, however. This is further substantiated by the fact that Time Fades Away was remastered with HDCD in 1995 according to the Wikipedia article, and was subsequently shelved.

The recorded output represented by Archives Volume 2, then would be On the Beach (1974), Tonight’s The Night (1975), Zuma (1975), American Stars n Bars (1977), Comes A Time (1978), Rust Never Sleeps (1979), Live Rust (1979), Hawks & Doves (1980), Reactor (1981), and finally Trans (1982). Trans will be the first appearance of Neil’s controversial Geffen years. I’m not sure if any of these releases were gatefold, so I’d estimate this box to cost over $220. Live Rust was two LP’s so it will likely cost more than the other releases.

Likely, though, the sheer weight of a 10-180g-LP box would prevent one monolithic box and will probably come out as two 5-LP boxes. This is possible since the contents of the current box is designated simply by “Discs 1-4,” so there could be an Official Release Series Discs 5-9 and Official Release Series Discs 10-14.

Click Here to order the Neil Young Official Release Series Discs 1-4 from BecauseSoundMatters.com

Next Javelin 12″ on Thrill Jockey Offers Custom Screening

If you saw my post about the 12″ subscription series on the Chicago-based Thrill Jockey label, you saw that the Brooklyn-based electronic group Javelin provided covers for their release by custom screening LP sleeves they found in bargain bins. The one I got was an early Nonesuch release– a Scott Joplin compilation.

For the band’s follow-up 12″ due to drop on February 16, 2010 they are offering a unique opportunity. If you send in an album cover before January 18th you can have your copy of the 12″ screened in a cover of your choosing! Obvious choices might be an LP of a local high school choir or high school band from the 70’s that recorded an LP– I see a lot of those in the bins. Maybe you have duplicates of a favorite release– I have multiples of Days of Future Past by the Moody Blues for example– from upgrading. These are just two examples of covers you might choose that have unique significance to you.

If you send $5 and a hoodie or teeshirt, they’ll screen that to give you a unique Javelin article of clothing. Very cool. Thrill Jockey stated in a recent e-mail that if you didn’t have a sleeve to send in, there would be more sleeve selected by the band available. Keep in mind that this is a release of 500– so if you plan to participate get your sleeve and mail it to Thrill Jockey!

Here’s how it works:

1) You pick a jacket out and mail it here:

Thrill Jockey Records P.O. Box 08038 Chicago, IL 60608

2) On the inside of the jacket you need to write your name, address, and
email. This is how we will identify which one is yours when you place your
order.

3) When you place your order with our mail order department, be sure to
include MY JACKET in the order message. We will then match up your details
and send you your unique copy!

4) As an added bonus for our special mail order customers, if you include
$5 and a t-shirt or hoodie, we will have your article of clothing screenprinted
and turned into a piece of unique Javelin merchandise and sent back with
your record!

Feel free to send in your jacket as soon as you like – no need to wait until
you’ve ordered the records. As long as you follow the above instructions,
we’ll make sure your 12″ comes in the record jacket you sent.

For more information/instructions, please email: orders@thrilljockey.com

“Number Two” is set for release on February 16th and everyone who sends
in a jacket will be notified in advance of when they can actually place
the order. Of course, if you’d rather cast your lot with Fate, we’ll be
printing up a handful of random jackets just like last time as well.

Click Here to visit the website of Javelin

This Land is Your Music Show #2 at The Mill in Iowa City 11/12/09 (review)

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Last week I posted about the first of the three This Land is Your Music shows at The Mill Restaurant in Iowa City featuring Pieta Brown and selected regional artists. Last week’s show featured Pieta in a solo acoustic setting. This week’s show featured Pieta in her most common live configuration– in a duo with Bo Ramsey. This was a show I was really looking forward to as it also had Bo as the opening act as a solo acoustic performance, which I hadn’t seen before!

As much as I look back fondly on the bar-rocking Sliders days of Bo, it is really interesting to see the “gentleman bluesman” identity Bo has adopted in the last decade or so. Seeing Bo on stage sitting down with his acoustic guitar in trademark attire of suit, boots and straw hat recalls at once both Hank Williams and Robert Johnson.
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Bo’s music translates favorably to an acoustic setting and his guitar technique and chops are just as impressive as his electric ones. The song selection for his set spanned his entire career dipping back to the 80’s with “Back No More” and “I Don’t Know.” He pulled out “555 x 2”  from Down to Bastrop which drew a favorable crowd reaction. We were also treated to his cover of “Sitting On Top of the World”  he recorded for his blues “tribute” album Stranger Blues and my personal favorite from last year’s Fragile, “Buffalo to Jericho.”

Bo also performed two new songs– both of them co-written with Pieta Brown. “No Place Like Home” and “Going Back.” “Going Back” is a chanted lament for a simpler time with the repeated phrase “I’m Going Back.” Both songs are good– I’d heard them when Bo played the Mill back at the end of October. Hopefully this means he’s working on another album of material!

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After a very short break where Pieta and Bo huddled in the corner going over the setlist they would play– they started into their set. It’s impressive to think that Pieta and Bo have been performing like this since the beginning of her career dating back to her first record around 2002. Bo as a sideman is a generational tradition started with Bo and Greg Brown and it’s an effective if economical way to perform. It is clearly a comfortable arrangement for both Bo and Pieta and neither of them really overshadow the other.

The set didn’t have much duplicates from last week except for three songs– the new “Faller” which is based on her meeting Tom Petty, “Calling All Angels,” and “Bad News.” The rest of the songs were a good mix of new and old and some choice covers. We also got a new track from the Shimmer EP– “Diamonds in the Sky” which she introduced by saying it was the first time playing it outside her bedroom.

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The highlight of the night, however, was when she called Dave Moore up to the stage to perform five songs with them. He stuck to harmonica for most of the songs adding incendiary licks to “Are You Free”– I wish I would have recorded that! He switched to accordion for the Hank Williams song “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.”

In the backroom gallery was work by Codi Josephson who runs Home Ec Workshop in Iowa City. She showed a collection of print-on-fabric pieces that looked pretty cool. You can see the exhibit in the flickr picture set.

This Thursday, 11/19 is the final show in the series and will have Pieta Brown fronting a full band made up of members of Bo’s band. Having seen her fronting a full band before, I urge anyone who can make it to come out! The first two shows were fairly low-key, but with a drummer there is a good chance people will be out shaking it on the dance floor. The opening act will be Dustin Busch, and the gallery exhibit will be from Sandy Dyas and will be an installation of her photographs– I think it will be based on her “Heaven and Earth” installation at Cornell College. Doors are at 7PM, show is promptly at 8PM and admission is $10– the proceeds of which go to support Public Radio, KCCK, and the Friends of Hickory Hill.

Bo’s Setlist:
Sitting On Top Of The World (Big Bill Broonzy cover)
No Place Like Home*
Going Back*
Tell Me Now
555 x 2
Back No More
Buffalo to Jericho
I Don’t Know

Pieta’s Setlist”
How Many Times
Prayer of Roses*
Even When
Loving You Still
Rollin’ Down the Tracks
Bad News
Faller
I’m Going Away Blues (w/Dave Moore) (Frank Stokes cover)
Are You Free (w/Dave Moore)
Diamonds In The Sky (w/Dave Moore)
I Don’t Want to Come Down (w/Dave Moore)
I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry (w/Dave Moore) (Hank Williams cover)
Calling All Angels
I’m Over You
Red Apple Juice (standard)

Click Here to visit the Mill Restaurant Website

Click Here to read my review of the first This Land is Your Music show on 11/5/09

Click Here to read my review of the third This Land is Your Music show on 11/19/09

Click Here to view the flickr picture set.

Free Download: Pezzettino Covers

I’ve mentioned Pezzettino here before and I have some more to write about her coming up. To sum up,  Margaret Stutt who performs as Pezzettino is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and crafts her unique almost outsider-art singer-songwriter tunes centered around her life and experiences propelled by her trusty accordion.

With two albums under her belt and an infectious new single and a new album waiting to be loosed in the studio, Margaret is currently on a tour of the Midwest and East coast hitting mostly homes and art-spaces. She’s doing this solo– just her and her accordion!

To fund the trip she took donations to make requests for songs to be covered with videos posted to YouTube. The range of covers was all over the map ranging from rap to indie to classic rock. All of them were deconstructed and re-assembled and given a distinctly ethereal electronic spin. When she was in Cedar Rapids in October I suggested that they had a Tricky or Massive Attack feel to which she gave an unfamiliar shrug. The electro-clubby breakdown in her cover of Skynyrd’s “Freebird” prompted me to ask if she’d consider remixing her own material. She said that this style was fun to use for these covers– and easy to do with GarageBand, but she didn’t feel she’d extend to her releases. This is an important point, these songs are fun, but really more of a distraction for her and not really representative of her two albums.

At one point she was going to sell pillowcases that she custom embroidered which would have a download of these songs. Releasing this collection as a free download like this works really well, and is a good introductory collaboration with the artists’ collective Sixty Years War.

It’s cool to get these songs, but to really appreciate these you have to watch the videos. Margaret usually recorded the song and edited the video in a matter of a day which is reflected in the immediacy and detail committed to both aspects of the projects.

Click Here to listen to the tracks and download a .zip file of Covers.

Click Here to visit the Pezzettino Channel on YouTube which includes the Covers project as well as her video blog and live performances.

Click Here to visit Pezzettino’s Blog covering her travels.

Backyard Tire Fire Proclaims It’s “Good To Be” with Steve Berlin-produced New Album

As we reported back in January, Bloomington, IL bar-rockers Backyard Tire Fire went into the studio with producer/member of Los Lobos Steve Berlin. The band announces that the new album will be called Good to Be and will be released on February 16th, 2010 on the band’s own record label Kelsey Street Records, and will be distributed by Thirty Tigers/SonyRed.

The band has put two songs from Good to Be up on their MySpace Page. The title track “Good to Be” I’ve heard performed live already and has the trademark Tire Fire sound. The other track is “Food For Thought” which showed up in their Daytrotter.com session. It is one of my favorite songs from that session. My first impression of the tracks is that Berlin didn’t really mess too much with the band’s sound, but I think I’m noticing some new reverbby guitar sounds that I don’t think existed on the other records.

Backyard Tire Fire released their last record The Places We Lived on vinyl– they have been very upfront about their desire to keep the recordings very analog. I’m hoping they continue the tradition with a vinyl release of Good to Be, too.

Tracklisting (with links to recent performances on archive.org — build your own Good to Be!):
1. Roadsong #39 (Live 10-17-09)
2. Ready or Not (Live 5-22-09)
3. Learning to Swim (Live 1-17-09)
4. Brady (Live 5-22-09)
5. Food for Thought (Live 5-17-09)
6. Estelle (Live 6-6-09)
7. Hell and Back (Live 4-11-09)
8. Good To Be (Live 10-17-09)
9. A Thousand Gigs Ago (Live 7-3-09)
10. Piss and Moan (Live 5-22-09)
11. Once Upon a Time

Click Here for Backyard Tire Fire’s Website

Click Here for Backyard Tire Fire’s MySpace Page

Click Here for Backyard Tire Fire’s Daytrotter session that also includes a version of “Food for Thought.”

Click Here to hear Backyard Tire Fire Live courtesy of archive.org

This Land is Your Music Show at The Mill in Iowa City 11/5/09 (review)

Stage Lighting by Stan Crocker

In the middle of her solo performance at The Mill in Iowa City Thursday night, Pieta said to the small crowd, “It’s like I’m playing to you in my living room!” Pieta was referring to the small crowd on Thursday night, but the stage was adorned with a chair and nightstand as well as lamps and an old dress form giving the stage a homey touch with lighting designed by Stan Crocker, who has done a lot of lighting design for TV shows like CMT’s Crossroads.

Last night was the first night of a three-week artist-in-residency at the Mill Restaurant in Iowa City of Pieta Brown. As stated earlier, the This Land Is Your Music series is showcasing Pieta Brown’s music but also includes other musicians from the area as well as other artists. Pieta stated in an interview with Ben Kieffer on IPR’s The Exchange that she wanted to take the opportunity to try out her music– new music and old in different configurations– solo, duo and full-band. She feels that The Mill was is a good place for her to try out new material which will be drawn from her new EP on Red House Shimmer, as well as songs that she is recording for her next full-length to come out next spring.

Last night’s show featured Pieta performing solo with Bo Ramsey’s son Alex Ramsey opening. In the back-room gallery the art of Pieta’s sister Zoe Brown and photographs by Dustin Busch were on exhibit. A last-minute addition to the lineup were three writers from the University of Iowa International Writing Program reading their short stories.

Alex Ramsey

Alex Ramsey has contributed his keyboard skills to a number of Eastern Iowa music releases including a two records from the Pines as well as the last couple of Bo Ramsey albums but to date he hasn’t had much exposure as a solo artist.  I made the very incorrect assumption that Alex, like his brother Benson would provide a sound that draws from the folk and country blues that is identified with so many artists from our area. Alex played a set of original piano-driven music that reminded me at times of Radiohead’s piano-focused songs but I would also compare it to the late Epic Soundtracks. It’s the slightly off-kilter but soulful vocal combined with the piano that brought me back to 1991’s Rise Above. Alex’s set was a combination of vocal and instrumental songs– most of which were described as works-in-progress. Alex performed three covers– one by Dr. Dog– “Livin’ A Dream,” a relatively obscure John Lennon track “Mr. Hyde’s Gone (Don’t Be Afraid)” which I think is only included on the Anthology box as a home demo, and he wrapped up his set with “Waltz (Better Than Fine)” by Fiona Apple. He said during the show that he wished he had a CD he could sell us– I do, too!

International Writers Program Short Story Reading

Following Alex was three participants in the International Writing Program reading their own short stories. I wasn’t able to catch their names, but one of them was Maxine Case from South Africa who read her short story “Homing Pigeons” (exerpt here). Another writer was Garcia Groyon from the Philippines. I can’t identify the first writer from the pictures. I think it was pretty cool that they were able to participate– it reminded me of the incredible resource the U of I writing program is.

Pieta Brown

Up next was Pieta who set out to do a solo set, but ended up adding in some special guests towards the end of it. I’d never seen her perform solo before, so it was a treat to hear how her guitar work changes to fill in the missing guitar parts typically provided by Bo Ramsey. She’s not a flashy lead guitarist, but I was impressed with her ability to drop in a arpeggiated chord or two to round the songs out. “New songs and new guitars– probably not an advisable combination” she quipped at one point– apparently she had all new guitars in tow. The last time I saw her she mentioned that she was getting her own Reverend Flatroc, so this time the guitar was here. In a pretty butterscotchish color apparently called “Rock Orange.”

Pieta Brown

The set was a pretty good mix recent songs, older songs and new songs as she set out to do. Curiously, she only did one song from her upcoming EP Shimmer– “You’re My Lover Now”– which seems to be the “single” if there was one. Of course, the Shimmer songs were recorded back in March and she said that she just got back from recording songs for her full length, so possibly these are fresher to her. She told me that she doesn’t really hit the stage with a setlist in mind. Three of the songs were from her self-released Flight Time EP with just one track from Remember the Sun and her arrangement of the traditional “Little Sparrow” from her I Never Told EP. She dropped in her version of the blues standard “Rollin’ and Tumblin'” and “Calling All Angels” which she did as part of her KCRW session back in 2007.

We were blessed with some new songs that all sound like they have some potential in the studio. “The Other Way Around” and “It Wasn’t That” were new songs to me. She also did “Faller” which I had heard when she did her show at the Mill with a full band back in June.

Pieta Brown and Dustin Busch

After the first nine songs she decided to invite her sister Constie Brown up to sing on “Remember the Sun” and “Just” and then she invited Dustin Busch up to the stage to provide some slide guitar to “Rollin’ and Tumblin'” and “Harry’s Blues.” Pieta said that her original plan was to play all of the instruments she had on stage by herself as she handed Dustin the Flatroc and a slide. She added that growing up music was always about getting people together to play. Dustin quickly adapted to the guitar and provided some nice accompaniment to Pieta. I’m looking forward to seeing his opening set at the This Land Is Your Music show on 11/19.

Zoe Brown Exhibit

The backroom gallery was the back area of the restaurant that could be closed off and I think is sometimes used as a “backstage” area for bands. In its capacity of art gallery it was able to have some lighting to show the paintings of Zoe Brown and the photos of Dustin Busch. The gallery seemed to enjoy a pretty constant flow of people.

I like Zoe’s paintings quite a bit– you can see more of them in my slideshow below or at the flickr.com set. She’s not afraid of big expanses of color. Dustin’s double-exposureish photos were pretty cool, too. I would have liked to see more of them and maybe larger.

Ultimately, I think this is a really cool thing that Pieta is trying to put together. The idea is pure– bring the regional art together in celebration and give back. I think in our Internet-enabled era where we find our art and culture on a nearly boundless territory we often forget that there are artists in our own backyard that are worth supporting.

If you are available on either of the next two Thursday nights– 11/12 and 11/19– make the effort to come out. These are guaranteed to be loose, fun shows as Pieta considers the Mill to be her home turf.

The 11/12 show has Bo Ramsey opening and supporting her in her set with a gallery of Codi Josephson’s work. The 11/19 show will have Dustin Busch opening with Pieta fronting a full band that, billed as “Skyrocket,” I believe will have Jon Penner, Steve Hayes and Al Shares (I think). The gallery on the 19th will be a installation of photographs of Iowa photographer and supporter of the local scene Sandy Dyas.

The cover is $10 will proceeds going to support Iowa Public Radio, KCCK, and the Friends of Hickory Hill. Doors are at 7PM with the show starting at 8PM.

Pieta’s Setlist:

West Monroe
Other Way Around*
Bad News
Faller*
It Wasn’t That*
Calling All Angels
Little Sparrow
Gravel Road Blues (Joe Price Cover)
You’re My Lover Now
Remember the Sun (with Constie Brown)
Just (with Constie Brown)
Rollin’ and Tumblin’ (with Dustin Busch)
Harry’s Blues (with Dustin Busch) (Mississippi Fred McDowell Cover)

*new songs

Here is some video I shot with my iPhone:

Alex Ramsey performs “Waltz (Better Than Fine)”

Here is a link to my flickr.com photoset of the show

Here is a slideshow of the pictures

Click Here to go to The Mill Restaurant Calendar for the details on the show.

Click Here to read my review of the 11/12 This Land is Your Music Show.

Click Here to read my review of the 11/19 This Land is Your Music Show.

Upcoming Show: Works Progress Administration at CSPS in Cedar Rapids 12/1/09

The original Works Progress Administration was part of FDR’s 1939 New Deal initiative which put millions of people to work in the darkest part of the Great Depression. This spirit of community and creativity is carried in the philosophy of a band that takes its name.

Works Progress Administration is a supergroup of sorts– an “expanding collective” according to the band’s website. At its core it is Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket and solo, Sean Watkins formerly of the excellent Nickle Creek and Luke Bulla who spent time in Lyle Lovett’s band. On record the band includes Sean’s sister Sara from Nickle Creek, Benmont Tench from Petty’s Heartbreakers, Pete Thomas from Elvis Costello’s Attractions, ace sessionmen Greg Leisz and Davey Faragher. Faragher was a founding member of Cracker as well as part of Costello’s Imposters. Works Progress Administration is a continuation of the collaborative nature of the relationship between Philips and Sean and Sara Watkins of Nickle Creek. Philips, the Watkins and Pete Thomas were also in the group Mutual Appreciation Society which recorded an album in 2000 and was released by Sugar Hill in 2004.

Even though WPA is a collective effort of its members, it’s clear that this band is really leaning on Phillip’s songs since he’s provided half of them. Sean Watkins, not content to stay at the bench, has contributed three standout songs (love “Paralyzed”!) and Luke Bulla’s “Cry For You” is an easy favorite of mine and would seem to have a lot of potential to be a highlight live. Seeing this group play CSPS in Cedar Rapids would be a real treat!

WPA will be at the pearl in the crown of New Bohemia in Cedar Rapids known as CSPS on Tuesday, December 1st at 8PM. Tickets will be $20 in advance and $25 at the door.

Click Here for the Works Progress Administration’s Website where you can see other tour dates and stream the new album.

Click Here for the Legion Arts / CSPS website where you can get information on how to get tickets.

Listen/Buy Works Progress Administration. This band is independent– meaning no record label. If you like what you hear please support this band by buying their album!

<a href="http://wpamusic.bandcamp.com/album/wpa">Always Have My Love by Works Progress Administration</a>