The Fat Angel Sings

A compilation of The Doors’ greatest live blues recordings both in the studio and on the stage. Featuring the never-before-released track “Paris Blues” and original artwork created for this release by Robby Krieger.

Among fans of The Doors, “Paris Blues” has a near-mythical status due to its existence as the last-known unissued studio recording from the famed Los Angeles psychedelic/rock band.

Assumed lost for decades, the track — which has a recording origin of either “The Soft Parade” or “L.A. Woman” album sessions — has somehow resurfaced all these years later, and will be the focus of a special new vinyl release from the Doors for Record Store Day Black Friday on Nov. 25th.

On a related note, it’s worth pointing out that the Doors released a special edition of “L.A. Woman” in December 2021, revisiting the classic album for a big anniversary. The Last Known Unreleased Song From The Doors Vault, “Paris Blues”

The Song Is Also Featured On The Doors New Blues Compilation “Paris Blues”, Available As A Limited Edition On Translucent Blue Vinyl Exclusively For Record Store Day’s Black Friday Event On November 25th.

“Paris Blues” has quite an intriguing backstory, laid out like this in a news release:

“Paris Blues” travelled a long and winding path to its release, taking on a mythic quality among Doors’ fans along the way. An original blues song written by the band; the track was recorded during one of the band’s recording sessions for either “The Soft Parade” or “L.A. Woman” (no one seems to remember). The master tape of the song was lost and the only surviving copy was given to Doors’ keyboardist Ray Manzarek. Sadly, this copy was partially damaged by his son Pablo (a toddler at the time), who recorded over a few short parts. Now, through some creative editing, the song has been rescued from obscurity for the new album.

The band’s deep love for the blues shines throughout “Paris Blues”. Other highlights include two previously unreleased live recordings of singer Jim Morrison and Krieger performing as a duo at a benefit for Norman Mailer’s mayoral campaign on May 31st, 1969 in West Hollywood. The first song is “I Will Never Be Untrue,” a band original written for, but left off of, 1970’s “Morrison Hotel“. The other is a cover of Robert Johnson’s “Me And The Devil Blues.” Both songs were recorded by Frank Lisciandro, a film maker who befriended Manzarek and Morrison when all three attended the film program at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

The vinyl release, which has been pressed to 10,000 individually numbered copies on translucent blue vinyl, will be available at select indie music retailers for the Black Friday event. Its cover art is an original painting by guitarist Robby Krieger and the set also includes liner notes by blues scholar Mary Katherine Aldin.

In addition to the vaunted “Paris Blues” featured on this special new vinyl release, the set also features more material:

“Paris Blues” also contains a pair of outtakes recorded during the band’s sessions for 1969’s The Soft Parade – “(You Need Meat) Don’t Go No Further” and “I’m Your Doctor.” Both feature Manzarek on vocals backed by Krieger and drummer John Densmore. In 2019, bass by Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots was added to the songs, which were included on Rhino’s 50th anniversary edition of the album.

The flipside of “Paris Blues” collects three songs from Live in Vancouver 1970, a concert album released in 2010 by the Doors’ Bright Midnight Archive label. Recorded during the band’s 1970 tour, these live tracks spotlight legendary bluesman Albert King, who joined the band onstage during its June 6th, 1970 show at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. Morrison’s introduction of King is included along with live versions of “Little Red Rooster,” “Rock Me Baby,” and “Who Do You Love?”

Side A

1.     “Paris Blues” *

2.     “I Will Never Be Untrue” *

3.     “Me And The Devil Blues” *

4.     “(You Need Meat) Don’t Go No Further”

5.     “I’m Your Doctor”

Side B

1.     Jim’s Introduction

2.     “Little Red Rooster” – with Albert King

3.     “Rock Me Baby” – with Albert King

4.     “Who Do You Love?” with Albert King

* previously unreleased

“It is a shame that Dry Cleaning are so often talked about simply as a post-punk band – or even worse, lumped in with a ‘sprechgesang’ movement. They are a four-piece guitar act, and Florence Shaw’s performance drifts between singing and speaking, but that’s really where such comparisons should end. If nothing else, on their second album ‘Stumpwork’, Dry Cleaning prove they are unique… The London band’s second album is a bold leap forward, one that sets the band apart from their contemporaries and defies categorisation.” 

“I don’t want to go on about it / But we’re back in business / Just a sweet, natural start / We will flower,” Florence Shaw declares on “Anna Calls from the Arctic,” the first song on Dry Cleaning’s sophomore album “Stumpwork”. She’s true to her word: The LP’s tone-setting opener heralds a subtler, stranger new era for the U.K. quartet, emboldened by the universal acclaim for their full-length debut “New Long Leg”. The band’s jangling guitar-rock grooves persist, but as the exception, rather than the rule—they are increasingly keen on marching down unexpected sonic avenues, complicating the instrumentation that underpins Shaw’s sometimes-spoken, sometimes-sung vocal mosaics. “Stumpwork” has enough in common with its predecessor so as not to throw fans for a loop, but is very much its own moody, nuanced animal, an expressive and expectation-defying showcase of Dry Cleaning’s blossoming sound.

TUTV: I’m not as enthusiastic as the British ‘hype’ press because Florence Shaw spoken word vocals are, yes, bewitching on first hearing but it in the end the monotone timbre
of her voice gets a bit boring.

“Stumpwork” was made in the aftermath of the death of two very important people to the band; bassist Lewis Maynard’s mother, and guitarist Tom Dowse’s grandfather.  Both were instrumental in the band’s development, both in encouragement and, in the case of Maynard’s mother, literally providing the band with a place to rehearse.  Shaw’s lyrics explore not only loss and detachment but all the twists and turns, simple joys and minor gripes of human experience too.  Ultimately, what emerges from it all is a subtle but assertive optimism, and a lesson in the value of curiosity.  “Stumpwork” is a heady mix that is entirely the band’s own, distinguishing it from anything produced by their contemporaries.

Singles/clips: No Decent Shoes for Rain / Anna Calls From The Arctic / Don’t Press Me

Released: 22nd October 2022 

“I begin our sixth album by exploring melodies that take me to the boundaries of my voice”.

“I write myself into my highest highs and lowest lows. there is a precariousness in the outer limits of my range that demands vulnerability. as our demos take shape, I realize this will be our first album without any belting, the first time I can’t force my way through the notes,” recalls Tennis’ Alania Moore. “in the studio, Patrick compresses the shit out of my mic and I sing with the gentleness of breathing. In that softness, lyrics take shape. we want to write a big album—something suited for radio, but our songs don’t follow conventional pop structures. instead of choruses with universal themes, I write with a specificity that is new to me, narrowing in on the smallest details of our lives. the more we try to broaden our scope, the more we turn inward.” “we name the album “Pollen”. It is about small things with big consequences: a particle, a moment, a choice. it is me in a fragile state; sometimes inhabited freely, sometimes reacted against. It is striving to remain in a moment without slipping into dread. it is about the way I can be undone by a very small thing.”

Tennis is Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley. “Pollen” is their sixth album.It is our pleasure to our sixth album, out February 10th.

Today we share the first single, “One Night with The Valet“. It was first song we demoed but the last to be completed. It continues the strange pattern in our album-making process in which the last song written is our most cherished. It is the companion song to “Hotel Valet“. Together they describe my meeting Patrick for the first time while he worked graveyard shifts as a valet and I waitressed a few blocks down the street.

The two met in the philosophy department at the university of Colorado in 2008 after dropping out of their respective music programs. in the years after graduating, they got involved in Denver’s DIY music scene. through house shows, they were connected with underwater peoples and firetalk. the band went blog-viral nearly overnight, landing them a record deal with Fat Possum and then Communion Records, but with shifting labels and new interests, Tennis chose an alternate path for their band and career. in 2016, Moore and Riley formed the label mutually detrimental and began self-releasing. their newfound freedom allowed them to return to their sailboat to write their next full-length, this time in the sea of cortez. yours conditionally,

Released in 2017, became their most commercially successful album–charting at #4 on billboard’s independent list and in the top 100 highest selling vinyl releases that year. they played Coachella and opened for artists like the National, Father John Misty and the Shins–proving their diy roots as a cornerstone to their sound and narrative. their follow up “Swimmer” (2020), was recorded in their home studio with Moore and Riley producing and engineering. the pair brought their long-time touring member Steve Voss in for the second time to drum on record. the singles, need your love and runner, were Tennis’ most successful releases to date.

The XX are a great band, but individually they’re also all great solo artists. Today, the trio’s guitarist and vocalist Romy released a new single called “Strong” that was made with producer Fred again.., marking the pair’s second collaboration after releasing “Lights Out” at the top of this year. “Strong” is only the second single she’s released as a solo artist, following 2020’s euphoric debut “Lifetime.”

“‘Strong’ came from a moment in my life when I was processing past grief,” Romy said about the song. “Whilst writing the lyrics I was thinking about my cousin Luis—we both have the shared experience of our mums passing away when we were young. I recognize in him the same trait I have, which is to try and hold emotions down and put on a brave face. The song was a way to connect with these feelings, offer support, and ultimately find a sense of release in the euphoria of music. Luis is with me on the single cover and in the music video too, which was really special.”

She continued on about her collaboration and connection with Fred again..: “My friendship with Fred means a lot to me. Our closeness helps me to feel safe to be honest and vulnerable lyrically, and we definitely connect over our love of songwriting and emotions in dance music. It’s amazing and inspiring seeing and hearing what Fred is doing in his solo work and I’m very excited to be releasing this song together.”

Watch the visual for “Strong” that was made by filmmaker and photographer (and Romy’s wife) Vic Lentaigne 

Marshall Crenshaw takes his 40 Years in Showbiz! Tour to Manhattan’s City Winery. (It’s a show you can watch from the comfort of your home – hopefully my head won’t be in the way!) Just as exciting as seeing this living power-pop legend celebrate his fourth decade of performing: some of his long-out-of-print classic albums are coming back into circulation courtesy of a new label home.

Earlier this month, Yep Roc announced a double LP expanded edition of Crenshaw’s hook-filled debut album for Record Store Day Black Friday. In addition to the classic album, includes a host of great cuts like “There She Goes Again,” “Cynical Girl” and others, it’ll feature newly redesigned artwork plus seven rare and unreleased cuts for hardcore fans, including a brace of four-track early versions of songs from the album recorded between 1980 and 1981.

Marshall Crenshaw’s self-titled album has been called one of the greatest albums of the 1980s by Rolling Stone, Spin, MOJO, Paste and others. It includes his breakthrough hit, “Someday, Someway” and many other classic pop rock songs. Remastered by Greg Calibi, this 40th anniversary reissue includes the original album + 7-song bonus EP, w/5 previously unreleased songs. This is a 2022 Black Friday, Record Store Day release.

And the timing couldn’t be better: several of Crenshaw’s classic albums, recorded in the ’80s for Warner Bros. Records, have fallen out of circulation as the singer/songwriter has successfully claimed the copyright from his old label. “Marshall Crenshaw, Field Day” (1983), “Downtown” (1985) and “Mary Jane & 9 Others” (1987) are all digitally unavailable, as is “Thank You, Rock Fans!!”, a 1982 concert issued on vinyl by Warner’s Run Out Groove in 2017. (When not keeping busy on other current projects, from a long-gestating documentary on legendary record producer Tom Wilson to tour dates on his own and with The Smithereens (following the passing of original frontman Pat DiNizio), Crenshaw has revisited some of his back catalogue, including an expanded reissue of 1999’s “Miracle of Science” and a curated vintage live collection.)

The website Rock NYC recently confirmed some of Crenshaw and Yep Roc’s plans for his Warner albums: “Field Day” is slated to get a similar reissue for its 40th anniversary next year. (Intervention Records issued an expanded vinyl edition of that album in 2017 that included the original US Remix EP.) It’s a safe bet that the wider release of the expanded “Marshall Crenshaw” – especially digital and streaming editions, if you’ve somehow missed this album in the last 40 years, trust us that you’ll want to make up for lost time this fall.

Yep Roc’s expansion of Crenshaw’s debut, “Marshall Crenshaw (40th Anniversary Edition) available at all participating Record Store Day retailers November 25th.

This RSD Black Friday, Rhino is releasing ten exclusive releases spanning their eclectic roster. Limited edition releases will include selections from Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, The Cure, The Doors, Duran Duran, Eric Burdon & WAR, Fleetwood Mac, Grateful Dead, Madonna, and Todd Rundgren. These will be available on November 25th.

Available for the first time on vinyl, the Grateful Dead opened their famed Europe ’72 tour at the sold-out, cavernous Wembley Empire Pool in London. Including performances of their best-known songs, a healthy dose of music from the SKULL & ROSES album, and more than a half dozen songs from Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir’s respective 1972 solo albums.

When the Grateful Dead opened their famed Europe ’72 tour at the sold-out, cavernous Wembley Empire Pool in London, they signalled from the very start that they meant business.

From the very first notes of this show’s opener, “Greatest Story Ever Told,” the Dead were “on,” performing a mix of their best-known songs including “Truckin’” and “Sugar Magnolia,” a healthy dose of music from their most recent album, the live album that was a critical commercial success “Skull & Roses”, including “The Other One,” “Not Fade Away” “Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad,” and “Wharf Rat,” along with more than a half dozen songs from Bob’s and Jerry’s respective 1972 solo albums. If the Dead had opening-night jitters at this show, they sure masked it well with confidence, inventiveness, and inspiration, all hallmarks of what would become known as one of the Grateful Dead’s greatest tours ever.

“Los Angeles Forum – April 26, 1969” presents an extraordinary live performance by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Before a raucous, sold-out house, Hendrix, drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding tore through a unique set featuring highlights such as “I Don’t Live Today,” “Purple Haze,” “Red House,” and an astonishing medley of “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” and Cream’s “Sunshine Of Your Love”. This pristine recording, newly mixed by Hendrix’s long-time engineer Eddie Kramer, captures the original Jimi Hendrix Experience in their unrivalled, peak form.

A portion of this performance was previously included as part of a short-lived Westwood One radio documentary box set [Lifelines 1990-1992] but has been unavailable in any form for two decades.

ZZ Top frontman Billy Gibbons was there when the Jimi Hendrix Experience performed their legendary 1969 show at the Los Angeles Forum.

At the time, Gibbons was still in his pre-ZZ Top band Moving Sidewalks, and opening for the Experience on a handful of dates had sparked a friendship with Hendrix. So, on April 26th, 1969, Gibbons found himself side-stage watching Hendrix, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell deliver an incendiary set.

“Excitement was definitely running high in advance of the Jimi Hendrix appearance,” Gibbons says . After initially taking the stage to little fanfare, Hendrix “stepped up and invited the crowd to imagine being in church, and to think of the ceiling as an open sky,” Gibbons adds, “and then it began: Man, it was loud, fast and furious.”

Gibbons says “what unfolded thereafter was first hand evidence of how Jimi Hendrix had figured out to do things on a Fender Stratocaster that had obviously never been imagined by the designers.”

The Experience tore through iconic tracks like “Foxy Lady,” “Purple Haze” and “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” that night, as well as deeper cuts like “Spanish Castle Magic” and the instrumental tune “Tax Free.” Through it all, Gibbons watched in awe of Hendrix’s guitar prowess.

“He was a virtual groundswell of previously unknown techniques,” Gibbons says, noting that Hendrix’s “ferociousness was unequaled. … The Jimi Hendrix Experience lit the house up and tore it right down.”

After the show, Hendrix found Gibbons. “Hey man, how did we do?” he inquired. “How do you respond to that? Since really there’s no basis and comparison,” Gibbons admits. “It was such a singular performance. All I could manage to say was ‘Jimi, I am floored and I am fixed.’”

“The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969” captures this legendary concert in its entirety. Gibbons provided the preface for the package, which will be released on November. 18th on two-disc vinyl, CD and all digital platforms.

Phoebe Bridgers has released a new cover of the Handsome Family’s Christmas song “So Much Wine.” Proceeds from the single will go toward the Los Angeles LGBT Center. The single features fiddle, whistling, and vocals from Andrew Bird, as well as vocals from organist Ethan Gruska, guitarist Harrison Whitford, and actor Paul Mescal. Hear Bridgers’ take on “So Much Wine” below.

“So Much Wine” is the latest holiday offering from Bridgers, who’s also previously covered other traditional xmas songs like “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” Tom Waits’ “Day After Tomorrow,” Merle Haggard’s “If We Make It Through December,” Simon & Garfunkel’s “7 O’Clock News / Silent Night,” and McCarthy Trenching’s “Christmas Song.”

Bridgers will voice Sally in Danny Elfman’s live The Nightmare Before Christmas concerts.

Bob Dylan has announced the latest release in his ongoing Bootleg Series.

“Fragments – Time Out Of Mind Sessions (1996 – 1997): The Bootleg Series Vol. 17” features a 2022 remix of the album alongside previously unreleased recordings including studio outtakes, alternate versions and live performances from 1997 – 2001.

It’s released by Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings on Friday, January 27 and will be available as a deluxe box set in 5CD and 10LP 12″ vinyl editions. Also available, a two-disc/4LP standard edition of “Fragments” which includes the “Time Out of Mind” 2022 remix disc and a disc of twelve select Outtakes and Alternates highlights.

Digital versions of the complete (five disc) and highlights (two disc) editions of Bob Dylan – Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997): The Bootleg Series Vol.17 will be available on all streaming platforms on Friday, January 27th.

The latest chapter in Columbia/Legacy’s highly acclaimed Bob Dylan Bootleg Series takes a fresh look at “Time Out of Mind”, Dylan’s mid-career masterpiece, celebrating the album and its enduring impact 25 years after its original release.

This edition includes a new 2022 remix, by Michael H. Brauer, of the eleven original recordings on “Time Out of Mind”, sounding more like how the songs came across when the musicians originally played them in the room.

Also included are 12 previously unreleased outtakes and alternate versions of songs written for “Time Out of Mind”, including such iconic tracks as “Love Sick”, “Not Dark Yet” and “Make You Feel My Love”.

“Bootleg 17 Unboxing Video – Long Version” by Bob Dylan Pre-Order “Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997) The Bootleg Series Vol.17” OUT January 27th:

Among the rarities are early versions of “Time Out of Mind” songs from the 1996 Teatro sessions with Daniel Lanois, Tony Garnier, and Tony Mangurian. When sessions began in earnest at Miami’s Criteria Studio the following year, Bucky Baxter, Duke Robillard, Cindy Cashdollar, and many more joined proceedings, and many of their unreleased takes feature here. The completed work won the 1998 Grammy for Album of the Year. 

There are 60 tracks on “Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997)”, the latest installment in Bob Dylan’s ongoing Bootleg Series. Dylan himself wrote 59 of them himself. One, however, is an unexpected cover.

“The Water Is Wide” is a traditional American folk song that dates back to the early 1800s. The waters gets a bit murky at that point, but the song, alternately known as “Waly, Waly,” was likely adapted from a Scottish or Irish ballad dating back a couple centuries further.

Dylan himself has been singing “The Water Is Wide” for decades. He first performed it as a duet with Joan Baez, who might well have introduced him to it, on the Rolling Thunder Revue. It was a highlight of their duo sets together. The next year, he sang it at a session for Eric Clapton’s album “No Reason To Cry”. It returned again in the late ’80s and early ’90s, where he performed an acoustic version in his own shows. Somewhat surprisingly, it doesn’t appear he ever attempted it for the two folk-covers albums he recorded in the mid’-90s, “Good As I Been to You” or “World Gone Wrong“.

Now we learn that a few years later, he actually tried it in the studio for a different album. He delivers “The Water Is Wide” beautifully in 1996, at one of the earliest sessions for “Time Out of Mind”. It’s unclear whether it was actually being considered for the album, or was just a warm-up with the band, but either way it’s clearly a polished arrangement and a wonderfully committed vocal from Bob.

New 2022 remix of the eleven original recordings on “Time Out of Mind”, sounding more like how the songs came across when the musicians originally played them in the room

25 outtakes and alternative versions

Live performances of tracks from “Time Out Of Mind” from 1998-2001

Bonus LP’s with previously released “Time Out Of Mind” material from The Bootleg Series Vol. 9

Extensive liner notes and previously unseen photography, Strictly limited and numbered edition of 5,000 units

Now available for preorder: Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997): The Bootleg Series Vol.17. This latest chapter in the highly acclaimed Bootleg Series takes a fresh look at “Time Out of Mind”, celebrating the album and its enduring impact 25 years after its original release. It includes a remix of the original album, outtakes and alternate versions of iconic tracks like “Not Dark Yet”, “Love Sick” and “Make You Feel My Love” — plus incandescent live renditions from 1998-2001.

Available January 27th as a 5CD or 10LP Deluxe Edition and a 2CD or 4LP

Since ‘Preliminaires’ in 2009, we know that Iggy Pop can express himself in other ways than roaring on guitars in a shower of splinters. Only dictated by his artistic aspirations and driven by a vital need to go to the point, he recorded in 2012 eleven heartful songs under heavy French infuences. With these covers of Edith Piaf’s “La Vie en Rose”, Serge Gainsbourg’s “La Javanaise”, Harry Nilsson’s “Everybody’s Talkin'”, Henri Salvador’s “Syracuse”, or The Beatles’ “Michelle”, Iggy has nothing to prove. He simply brings another side of his personality to light.

With his gut- stirring, beautiful and deep voice, Iggy Pop takes these classics, reshapes them his own way and gives us goosebumps.

For this 10th anniversary reissue, Iggy Pop covered “La Belle Vie”. The song was composed by Raymond Le Senechal and Sacha Distel, and co-written by Jean- Broussolle and Jack Reardon in 1962. It became a jazz standard in 1963 when Tony Bennett recorded it under the title “The Good Life”. Has Iggy Pop buried the hatchet? Nothing is less certain. The elegance of the arrangements takes the songs directly to what matters with a conviction more dangerous than any weapon!