Legacy Recordings

Legacy will be releasing 14 Rory Gallagher albums which have never
before been available digitally in the United States.  These albums
are a must have for anyone whose a fan of the blues and blues guitar. 
Included in the mix are some live albums of his such as “Irish Tour”
and “Live in Europe” where Rory’s raw talent truly shines.  Rory has
played with various blues legends such as Muddy Waters and Albert King
and although he never achieved superstar status in the U.S., he has his
own street named after him in Ireland.  Rory’s life was tragically cut short
at the age of 47 and these albums are a true testament to his love of music
and the unbridled enthusiasm that he brought to each and every one of his performances.

11 catalog albums by Willie Nelson will make their way to digital music stores tomorrow. Among them are Both Sides Now, Laying My Burdens Down, The Party’s Over and Words Don’t Fit The Picture. If you like country music, these albums are a must own!!

 Also, more Philadelphia International Records (PIR) catalog will be released, 17 in all. The classic motown sounds of the east coast will include 4 catalog albums by Billy Paul and 3 by MFSB among others. Keep checking in for more catalog updates and be on the look out for many previously rare and missing jazz titles to start appearing soon, by Grammy Award winning Winton Marsalis, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.

 Jamie

Purple Haze    2:51    The Jimi Hendrix Experience    Experience Hendrix - The Best of Jimi Hendrix
Monkey Gone to Heaven    2:57    Pixies    Doolittle
Heatwave    3:03    Martha Reeves and the Vandellas    Soul Anthems 1
Alabama    5:10    John Coltrane Quartet    The Very Best of John Coltrane
Heart Shaped Box    4:41    Nirvana    In Utero
Rock the Casbah    3:40    The Clash    Combat Rock
Tosca: Vissi D’arte    3:05    Maria Callas & Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire    Puccini: Tosca
Black Sheep Boy    1:56    Tim Hardin    20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Tim Hardin
Black Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair    3:34    Nina Simone    Nina Simone: Anthology
Eulogy to Lenny Bruce    3:45    Nico    Chelsea Girl
Check out Patti Smith’s playlist on iTunes.

Find out more about Patti at LegacyRecordings.com

The Mother Could Be You    3:31    Hella    The Devil Isn’t Red
Hello Great Architect of the Universe    2:50    Hella    The Devil Isn’t Red
Game of P***ks    1:33    Guided By Voices    Alien Lanes
What You Need    4:49    The Fall    This Nation’s Saving Grace
Spoilt Victorian Child    4:13    The Fall    This Nation’s Saving Grace
Holy Night Fever    1:18    Deerhoof    Reveille
The Eyebright Bugler    0:42    Deerhoof    Reveille
Caroline    2:07    Harry Nilsson    Harry Nilsson: All Time Greatest Hits
Cowboy    2:47    Harry Nilsson    Harry Nilsson: All Time Greatest Hits
Soft As Snow (But Warm Inside)    2:21    My Bloody Valentine    Isn’t Anything
Lose My Breath    3:37    My Bloody Valentine    Isn’t Anything
Trompe le Monde    1:47    Pixies    Trompe le Monde
Space (I Believe In)    4:18    Pixies    Trompe le Monde
A Salty Dog    4:40    Procol Harum    Greatest Hits
Before They Make Me Run    3:25    The Rolling Stones    Some Girls
Foolish Love    5:46    Rufus Wainwright    Rufus Wainwright
Imaginary Love    3:28    Rufus Wainwright    Rufus Wainwright
Modern Girls and Old Fashioned Men    3:41    The Strokes    Modern Girls and Old Fashioned Men - Single
She Bangs the Drums    3:43    The Stone Roses    The Stone Roses
Golden Brown (Live)    3:28    The Stranglers    Live - Death & Night & Blood (Remastered)
Know Your Onion!    2:29    The Shins    Oh, Inverted World
Caring Is Creepy    3:20    The Shins    Oh, Inverted World
Bastards of Young    3:37    The Replacements    Tim
To This World I Must Give In    2:24    Quix*O*Tic    Mortal Mirror
Anonymous Face    3:38    Quix*O*Tic    Mortal Mirror
Underwear    4:06    Pulp    Different Class
Mis-Shapes    3:46    Pulp    Different Class
So Long, Marianne    5:40    Leonard Cohen    Songs of Leonard Cohen (Bonus Track Version)
Suzanne    3:49    Leonard Cohen    Songs of Leonard Cohen (Bonus Track Version)
Just Like Honey    3:02    The Jesus and Mary Chain    21 Singles
Check out Phantom Planet’s playlist on iTunes.

Find out more about Phantom Planet at LegacyRecordings.com

Saturday morning I officially joined the ranks of embittered old Gen X folks.  I read an article in the New York Times about the new John Varvatos store (on the site of the late CBGBs) launch party and have that same feeling in my gut that I get when I see tabloid fixtures in the news or eat too many Doritos.

 I should state upfront: CBGBs shouldn’t be a shrine. I spent my formative years there, and saw a lot of cool bands, and lots of shitty ones.  Now it’s gone, and that sucks because it was a cultural landmark, but at least it isn’t a Wachovia or a Duane Reed. Hilly couldn’t pay the rent but his landlord wasn’t Leona Helmsley, it was a coalition for the homeless.  Given how the neighborhood has been handed over, like the rest of Manhattan, to the seemingly endless ranks of the very rich, a Varvatos store makes perfect sense.  And in terms of their branding, he must have thought he had died and gone to heaven when his realtor told him about this opportunity.  I am not conflicted about the store (if CBGBs couldn’t be protected, someone needed to rent the space), like I am not conflicted about $80 vintage rock tshirts or Rachel Zoe.  Not for me, but if you’re short of a few ideas and you’ve got the money, honey…

But this is what bugs me:  TOM MORELLO WHAT THE HELL WHERE YOU DOING THERE!!!???   Sure, Slash, old guys from Blondie – why not?  It was probably a great party and I wouldn’t have said no (I’m sure my invite just got lost in the mail) but as the vanguard of the revolution, the voice of the downtrodden, kickin’ it onstage with the rich and famous to celebrate the opening of an expensive menswear store which represents the further gentrification of the city and raises the question “so where have all those homeless guys gone?”  Ugh.  And I don’t buy the charity angle – it was a fundraiser to keep music in schools.  All for it, but maybe what we need are some fundraisers to keep small venues open so that the future musicians actually have somewhere to play.

Take 5    3:49    Al Jarreau & Kurt Elling    Take 5 - Single
Poinciana    4:33    Ahmad Jamal    The Legendary Okeh & Epic Recordings
Tea for Two    2:13    Art Tatum    Tea for Two
A House Is Not a Home    4:36    Bill Evans    I Will Say Goodbye
You’ve Changed    3:16    Billie Holiday    This Is Jazz, Vol. 15
The Song Is You    2:56    Charlie Parker Quartet    The Essential Charlie Parker
I’ll Close My Eyes    3:57    Dinah Washington    The Definitive Dinah Washington
Take the “A” Train (Live)    6:18    Dave Brubeck    The Essential Dave Brubeck
April in Paris (1956 Version)    6:37    Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong    The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong on Verve
Autumn Leaves    6:33    Erroll Garner    Concert By the Sea
Theme (From “Summer of ‘42″)    5:05    George Benson    White Rabbit
Last Night When We Were Young    4:31    Kenny Burrell    Verve Jazz Masters 45: Kenny Burrell
September in the Rain    3:17    George Shearing    The Best of George Shearing, Vol.1
It’s Only a Paper Moon    2:56    Nat “King” Cole    The World of Nat King Cole (Box Set)
Compared to What    8:50    Eddie Harris & Les McCann    Atlantic Jazz: Soul
Stardust    3:16    Louis Armstrong    20 Best of Louis Armstrong
Happy Talk    2:25    Nancy Wilson    Nancy Wilson & Cannonball Adderley
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy    5:06    Cannonball Adderley    Cannonball Plays Zawinul
Sax No End    6:04    Bob Durham, Oscar Peterson & Sam Jones    Exclusively for My Friends (Box Set)
Send In the Clowns    3:31    Sarah Vaughan    Send In the Clowns
Here’s to Life    5:36    Shirley Horn    Here’s to Life
Check out Ramsey’s playlist on iTunes.

Find out more about Ramsey at LegacyRecordings.com

Killing Game (Bent Mix) [Autechre Remix]    5:11    Skinny Puppy    Remix Dys Temper
Reducer (Haujobb Remix)    4:49    Cruciform Injection    Epilogue
Not In Your Hands    5:22    Foetus    (Not Adam) - EP
In Love Again    9:05    Harry Connick, Jr.    To See You
Sturm    6:07    Front Line Assembly    Saw (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)
Tormentor    4:33    Skinny Puppy    Too Dark Park
Domingo    4:33    Yello    Stella
54 Cymru Beats    6:06    Aphex Twin    Drukqs
Check out Mudvayne’s playlist on iTunes.

Find out more about Mudvayne at LegacyRecordings.com

Punk rock was (or “is,” depending on your age and point of view) a visual and physical manifestation, an explosion of emotion and energy that went beyond language. While the Clash rose above the nihilism of the movement and became known for their politics and social commentary, their artistic expression was always as much through the physical as the written word.

Appropriately, the new DVD from the Clash out this week THE CLASH LIVE: REVOLUTION ROCK, directed by longtime Clash collaborator Don Letts, tells the story of the band the most fitting way possible, through their performances. From their early club shows to the blow out arena events, this is the Clash at their best, all emotion and electricity.

Putting this together, we researched hours of video, went on crazy hunts for rumored footage and looked for stuff Don or the band wanted to include, compared set lists in attempting to determine performace dates and tried to keep the wheels spinning on a project being worked on in two continents.

I wish we could have included all the footage that we came across, all the news clips, all the international tv appearances, but we had to edit, had to keep within certain constraints, as this was originally a one-hour program for PBS. When an official release became a reality, we went back and added footage, but as a fan, I know how these sets elicit the “why didn’t they add this?” or “why did they only include 1 song from that show when 4 exist?” or “why did they put that in there?” Trust me, if we could have we would have.

In the meantime, this is a cool DVD and there is some fantastic footage on here that you cannot get anywhere else, in a store anyway. Where Westway To The World had the band telling their story, Revolution Rock sees the band performing it. (And yes, there is a way to turn off the narration.)You can watch the trailer online on YouTube for a glimpse of what’s in store..

Speaking of birthdays, as we prepared to launch our year-long celebration for Willie’s 75^th, it struck us we didn’t actually know on which day to bake the cake. Why, we asked, do we keep seeing both April 29^th and April 30^th as Willie Nelson’s birthday?

Well, dear reader, Willie’s birth certificate lists his date of birth as April 30, which is what Doc Simms, who delivered Willie in Abbott, Texas, wrote down. But apparently Willie was born a few minutes before midnight, so says a cousin who was there at the birth and named Willie Huge Nelson. Willie says his birthday is the 4/29/33. Public record says 4/30/33. We say celebrate both!

How do I start celebrating the 75th birthday of an American icon, you ask? Start by putting some Willie on your page so you can play music, videos, podcasts, get wallpaper, buddy icons, news updates and the “daily Willie” - a year of aphorisms, advice, jokes and facts delivered to you every day.

April is when we celebrate spring, birthdays and complain about taxes. Willie Nelson’s 75^th birthday is April 30^th, and today is tax day (better get moving). One homage to this great cross section of events is in the commercial clip below.