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On June 3rd, Zappa Records and UMe are taking a journey to Elsewhere. Frank Zappa’s 1974 live album Roxy and Elsewhere primarily featured performances from Hollywood’s Roxy Theatre recorded in December 1973. The Elsewhere in the album’s title referred to “Son of Orange County” and “More Trouble Every Day,” both of which were captured in May 1974 at Edinboro State College in Edinboro, Pennsylvania (with parts of “Son of Orange County” drawn from a Chicago show). Now, the entire Edinboro show will be issued for the first time as part of the new box set “Zappa/Erie“.
The box set captures a string of shows Zappa and his band (three different line-ups) performed along the border of Pennsylvania and Ohio from 1974 to 1976, a three-year stretch that yielded his classic LPs “Over-Nite Sensation”, “Apostrophe (‘), and “One Size Fits All”.
Tracks from all three albums are scattered throughout Zappa/Erie, as are songs from his earlier Mothers of Invention works and subsequent LPs, notably 1976’s “Zoot Allures”, which arrived just one month before the final full gig
The 6-CD, 71-track box (also available digitally) features three shows from the Erie area (including Edinboro, some eighteen miles outside of Erie) plus a handful of bonus tracks from other locales including Toledo, Ohio; South Bend, Indiana; and most far-flung, Montreal, Canada. The set boasts over seven hours of music, of which only 10 minutes has ever been officially released.
The May 1974 Edinboro concert sampled on “Roxy” was part of a month-long run of shows marking the tenth anniversary of The Mothers as well as the recent release of “Apostrophe (‘). Zappa was joined by a band including Bruce Fowler on trombone and vocals; Chester Thompson on drums and percussion; Don Preston on synthesizer; George Duke on keyboards, synthesizer, and vocals; Jeff Simmons on guitar and vocals; Napoleon Murphy Brock on tenor sax, flute and lead vocals; Ralph Humphrey on drums; Tom Fowler on bass; and Walt Fowler on trumpet. Zappa reinvented songs from the Mothers’ early albums “Freak Out “(1966) and “We’re Only In It for the Money” (1968) and the set also included Apostrophe’s “Cosmik Debris” and a number of compositions that hadn’t yet appeared on a Zappa record. This show is presented on the first two CDs of the new box.
Zappa returned to the area in November, this time at Gannon University with a smaller band featuring Thompson, Duke, Brock, Fowler, and the recently-returned Ruth Underwood on percussion. The setlist was considerably different this time around, with highlights including Apostrophe’s “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow” and “Stink-Foot,” the unique live arrangement of Over-Nite Sensation’s “Dinah Moe-Humm,” and selections from Uncle Meat (“Uncle Meat,” “The Dog Breath Variations”). This concert, included on CDs 3 and 4, was notable for a raucous audience; the tapes preserve how Zappa dealt with the disruptive crowd. Two bonus tracks have been added to CD 3, performances of “Montana” and “Get Down” from South Bend, Indiana in 1974.
Two years passed before Zappa returned to Erie for what was the third and final time. This time, he played a large arena, the Erie County Fieldhouse, with a completely new band consisting of Eddie Jobson on keyboards and violin; Patrick O’Hearn on bass and vocals; Ray White on guitar and vocals; Terry Bozzio on drums and vocals; and Lady Bianca on keyboards and vocals. (The blues singer-musician would leave Zappa’s organization one week later, having spent just a month on the road, due to discomfort both with the material and the audience behaviour.) A blizzard kept the band’s lighting and sound systems from arriving at the venue, leading them to play with rented equipment, but this didn’t deter Zappa from giving his all on the set which drew heavily from “Apostrophe”, “Over-Nite Sensation“, and his then-newest release, “Zoot Allures”. One bonus track has been added – a performance of “Black Napkins” from the next evening’s Toledo show. The song was selected to demonstrate the fluidity of the band’s interpretations from night to night.
Zappa/Erie has been produced by Ahmet Zappa and Vaultmeister Joe Travers. The booklet contains rare photos and memorabilia as well as new liner notes about the shows and recordings including an essay from Erie, PA journalist Dan Schell (author of 9 Years of Rock: The Story of the Concerts at the Erie County Fieldhouse). The box holds special meaning for Travers, whose hometown is Erie. He states in the press release (as excerpted from his liner notes), “When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, I found myself, like so many others, with a lot of extra time on my hands. Because of this, I threw myself even more deeply into archiving the fabulous vault of Mr. Frank Zappa. During this time, it dawned on me that in all my years being the Vaultmeister for Zappa, I had never prioritized documenting the concerts FZ played in my hometown of Erie, Pa.” Among the booklet’s treasures is an autographed polaroid of Zappa that Travers’ mother purchased for him at a local garage sale in the 1990s. In working on this release, Travers determined that it was most likely taken at the Erie County Fieldhouse show.
The audio for the set was professionally recorded on four-track tape by Zappa’s team of engineers Bill Hennigh, Brian Krokus, Davey Moire, and Claus Weideman, and newly mixed from the original tapes by Craig Parker Adams and mastered by John Polito at Audio Mechanics.
“Zappa/Erie” is available to pre-order today exclusively via Zappa.com. Those who pre-order will receive a limited-edition poster illustrated and designed by Fantoons with various “Easter eggs” from Zappa’s career. A standard version of the box, sans poster, will become available for pre-order on April 22nd.
Frank Zappa, “Zappa/Erie” (Zappa Records/UMe, 2022)
They’re back everyone! Interpol announce their return with a brand new album, titled “The Other Side Of Make-Believe” it’s due out on July 15th.
If fate didn’t quite ordain the circumstances for Interpol’s seventh album, it was at least fortunate that the band had happily concluded their “Marauder” cycle on stage in front of 30 thousand-odd Peruvian fans. Rather than be sent scrambling like so many other musicians on tour or promoting new music, when lockdown clamped in March 2020, Interpol quickly got into a productive mood.
Coming from a group whose early work was characterised by Polish knife-wielders and incarcerated serial killers, you might expect Interpol’s pandemic record to be an emotional tar pit — doubly so, given the presence of towering producer-engineer duo Flood and Moulder on the boards. But Banks felt the call to push in a “counterbalancing” direction, with paeans to mental resilience and the quiet power of going easy. “The nobility of the human spirit is to recover and rebound,” he says. “Yeah, I could focus on how fucked everything is, but I feel now is the time when being hopeful is necessary, and a still-believable emotion within what makes Interpol Interpol.”
They have also dropped the first slice of music from said album in the form of “Toni”, is taken from Interpol’s upcoming album ‘The Other Side of Make-Believe,’ out July 15th on Matador Records.
Along with the new album message a couple of days ago, the band shared the first single “Toni” and its eye-catching clip.
And just like that here’s already piece two, called “Something Changed“. A moony mid-tempo Interpol ballad, as we know them.
Paul Banks about the video: “In “Something Changed,” part 2 of our short film with Van Alpert, reality and reverie converge and our two lead characters find themselves in a kind of dream state — being pursued inexorably by an ominous figure (played by myself). The lives of the three are intertwined in a nebula of fear, retribution, desire, and defiance.”
“Something Changed” is taken from Interpol’s upcoming album ‘The Other Side of Make-Believe,’ out July 15th on Matador Records.
Bursting out of The West Midlands is Wolverhampton’s rip-roaring new band, Baudelaire and their equally rampant debut single “Prayers“. The tune comes off the back of their formation – yes this is their first-ever track! – and hard work in the past year, coming together as a five-piece to create an expansive and quite honestly massive sound for themselves.
The track is only around two and a half minutes long but in that time they pack loads in. The track is quick out of the blocks with distorted bass and tumbling drums, right before the soaring guitars come in draped with gothic vocals that remind us of The Cure in places. The chorus is by far one of the best Indie-Rock choruses of the year so far, and just keeps the pace of the track flowing – but by this point, it’s evolved into a tornado of whirling sounds. As a five-piece band there’s so much to chew over, and it only enhances them as with every listen you end up discovering more.
With some support slots with Cabbage, Document and King Nun already under their belts the future is sounding big for this band.
This is a debut track to froth over, so stop wasting your time and go check it out.
Out on Jagjaguwar, ‘We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong’ is the sixth studio album from Sharon Van Etten. Unusually, no songs were trailed before the record’s release, as the American singer-songwriter intended it to be heard as a continuous suite of ten songs (therefore, it doesn’t include the 2021 Angel Olsen collaboration ‘Like I Used To’ or 2022 single ‘Porta’).
For those of you here, I believe you know I just announced my new album yesterday. It’s titled, “We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong“, and it will be available May 6th. For those that are wondering why I have chosen not to release any singles ahead of this release, I want to share the following with you,
I miss the days of waiting for a new record to come out, without hearing anything until then. I’d run to the store, invite friends over and hold the record in my hands, read the lyrics, the credits, and listen from start to finish and hear the album in the way the artist intended. To honour that sentiment and those that still believe in the concept of what a record can mean to the individual, I wanted to give that same opportunity to the listener to engage with this collection of songs the way I have imagined, without being teased singles leading up to the day it is out. I hope the listener can appreciate this gift of anticipation. I hope my fans are excited to have a chance to listen to the record the way they want to.
From beginning to end, this album is an emotional journey that documents the rollercoaster of the last two years we have all experienced in our own ways. I hope you will take that ride with me. Thank you for staying by my side. x Sharon
Clearly harbingers for a new album. True, Sharon Van Etten announced her sixth long player, titled “We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong“, arriving on 6th May. But surprisingly those new songs will not be on the album.
Van Etten: “I wanted to approach this release differently, to engage my fans in an intentional way, in an effort to present the album as a whole body of work. These 10 songs are designed to be listened to in order, at once, so that a much larger story of hope, loss, longing and resilience can be told.”
“We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong” coming May 6th.
Shoegaze lovers rejoice in the new sounds coming from Blushing’s new album “Possessions” on Kanine Records. Featuring Miki Berenyi, the front person of 90’s shoegaze, indie pop greats Lush and her new band Piroshka on the main single ‘Blame’ you instantly feel that you are transplanted back into 1990. Focused on charismatic vocals with dreamy guitar hooks and swirling bass lines the ‘Blame’ is a strong introduction to an album filled with Dream Pop greats. To top it off Mark Gardener of Ride adds his mastering talents to the song, while also mixing an additional album track ‘The Fires’.
Blushing are a strong part of the modern dream pop and shoegaze community that has since garnished a resurgence. Enlisting long time friend Elliot Frazier of Ringo Deathstarr* to produce and engineer the album in their native Austin, TX home has helped the band create an album that is truly one that needs to be heard for all indie music lovers.
Fans of Lush, Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Slowdive won’t be able to resist this album.
released February 18th, 2022
Steve Earle is one of the most acclaimed singer-songwriters of his generation, a worthy heir to Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, his two musical mentors. Earle has distinguished himself as a master storyteller, and his songs have been recorded by a vast array of artists, including Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Joan Baez, Emmylou Harris, the Pretenders, and more.
“This record completes the set, the work of my first-hand teachers,” Earle writes in the liner notes. “The records were recorded and released in the order in which they left this world. But make no mistake – it was Jerry Jeff Walker who came first.”
Steve Earle has been creating intimate and personal music for well over four decades now. His song writing has wound itself along a path from Texas to Tennessee and his education came in the form of learning from the best. 2009’s Grammy-nominated record TOWNES was a tribute to his dear friend and mentor, Townes Van Zandt. Ten years later Earle released,“GUY” – an album concentrated on paying homage to the late Guy Clark and the indelible friendship that they had formed in stories told through song. 2022 welcomes the release of JERRY JEFF: a 10-song collection of songs written by the gypsy songman, Jerry Jeff Walker. Featuring hits like, “Mr Bojangles” and “Gettin’ By”, Earle & The Dukes honour the late Texan by amplifying the concept and sound of each song with a full-band recording.
All songs written by Jerry Jeff Walker
Releases May 27th, 2022——————
The Dukes:
Steve Earle – Guitar, Mandolin, Octave Mandolin, Harmonica, and Vocal
Chris Masterson – Guitar, Mandolin, and Vocal
Eleanor Whitmore – Fiddle, Strings, Mandolin, and Vocal
Ricky Ray Jackson – Pedal Steel Guitar, Dobro, and Vocal
Jeff Hill – Acoustic and Electric Bass, Cello, and Vocal
Brad Pemberton – Drums, Percussion, and Vocal
And
Tony Leone – Drums and Vocals (Thanks for bailing us out.)
Father John Misty’s new song “Goodbye Mr. Blue” is a bittersweet lament on unrequited love, “you only know what it is once it’s gone away”.
Father John Misty revitalises 70s folk-rock on his latest release, “Goodbye Mr. Blue“, from his upcoming album, “Chloë and the Next 20th Century“, which lands this week. The blissful arrangement gently juxtaposes the song’s stark, harsh sentiment that “love’s always gonna leave ya, no matter what they say, you only know what it is once it’s gone away”.
The release of “Goodbye Mr. Blue” precluded Father John Misty’s appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, where he performed track will a full band. “Goodbye Mr. Blue” is a nod to the folk-ballads of Glen Campbell and Harry Nilsson, with an upbeat, pluckily picked acoustic guitar, blissful strings, and slide guitars.
Unsurprisingly, the distinguishing features of the track are Father John Misty’s wry, humorously double-edged lyrics as he croons on unrequited love, singing “don’t the last time come too soon?”.
“Goodbye Mr. Blue” riffs on love as the adoption of our partner’s expectations, “this may be the last time, last time I get out of bed, put coffee on and try, in your words, “to show some initiative”.
The new song follows the tracks “Funny Girl” and “Q4” from the album, which is scheduled for release from Sub Pop Records on April 8th. The album was produced with Jonathan Wilson, and – excitedly! – the deluxe edition includes a 7” featuring album tracks covered by Lana Del Rey and David Lynch (billed under the name of Jack Cruz).
Father John Misty’s new single “Goodbye Mr. Blue” off of the upcoming album “Chloë and The Next 20th Century” out April 8th on Sub Pop Records and Bella Union.
Pink Floyd will release ‘Hey Hey Rise Up’, in support of the people of Ukraine. It sees David Gilmour and Nick Mason joined by long time Pink Floyd bass player Guy Pratt and Nitin Sawhney on keyboards, all accompanying an extraordinary vocal by Andriy Khlyvnyuk of Ukrainian band Boombox. All proceeds go to Ukrainian Humanitarian Relief. Listen / download at https://PinkFloyd.lnk.to/HeyHeyRiseUp
The track, recorded last Wednesday (30th March), uses Andriy’s vocals taken from his Instagram post of him in Kyiv’s Sofiyskaya Square singing ‘Oh, The Red Viburnum In The Meadow’, a rousing Ukrainian folk protest song written during the first world war. The title of the Pink Floyd track is taken from the last line of the song which translates as ‘Hey, hey, rise up and rejoice’.
The video for ‘Hey Hey Rise Up’ was filmed by acclaimed director Mat Whitecross and shot on the same day as the track was recorded, with Andriy singing on the screen while the band played.
This is not the first time that Pink Floyd members have been rallying support for Ukraine. They’ve removed all their music from 1987 onwards from music services in Russia and Belarus. Gilmour also removed his solo catalogue from those territories.
“We, like so many, have been feeling the fury and the frustration of this vile act of an independent, peaceful democratic country being invaded and having its people murdered by one of the world’s major powers,” Gilmour said.
“I hope it will receive wide support and publicity. We want to raise funds for humanitarian charities, and raise morale. We want express our support for Ukraine and in that way, show that most of the world thinks that it is totally wrong for a superpower to invade the independent democratic country that Ukraine has become.”
Gilmour, who has a Ukrainian daughter-in-law and grandchildren says: “We, like so many, have been feeling the fury and the frustration of this vile act of an independent, peaceful democratic country being invaded and having its people murdered by one of the world’s major powers”.
Gilmour explains how he came to know Andriy and his band Boombox. “In 2015, I played a show at Koko in London in support of the Belarus Free Theatre, whose members have been imprisoned. Pussy Riot and the Ukrainian band, Boombox, were also on the bill. They were supposed to do their own set, but their singer Andriy had visa problems, so the rest of the band backed me for my set – we played “Wish You Were Here” for Andriy that night. Recently I read that Andriy had left his American tour with Boombox, had gone back to Ukraine, and joined up with the Territorial Defense. Then I saw this incredible video on Instagram, where he stands in a square in Kyiv with this beautiful gold-domed church and sings in the silence of a city with no traffic or background noise because of the war. It was a powerful moment that made me want to put it to music.”
The song marks the first original music from the band since the release of The “Division Bell” in 1994.
While writing the music for the track, David managed to speak with Andriy from his hospital bed in Kyiv where he was recovering from a mortar shrapnel injury. “I played him a little bit of the song down the phone line and he gave me his blessing. I hope that we do something together in person at some point in the future.”
Speaking about his hopes for the track Gilmour says, “I hope it will receive wide support and publicity. We want to raise funds and morale. We want to show our support for Ukraine and in that way, show that most of the world thinks that it is totally wrong for a superpower to invade the independent democratic country that Ukraine has become.
The artwork for the track features a painting of the national flower of Ukraine, the sunflower, by the Cuban artist, Yosan Leon. The cover of the single is a direct reference to the woman who was seen around the world giving sunflower seeds to Russian soldiers and telling them to carry them in their pockets so that when they die, sunflowers will grow.
