Jeff & Spencer Tweedy back on the road

Tweedy, the father-son duo of Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and his son, drummer Spencer Tweedy, resumes US touring in March in support of Sukierae, the duo’s debut release (dBpm Records).

The tour features a full band lineup and opens with two shows at The Vic in the Tweedys’ hometown of Chicago (complete tour dates below).

On Feb. 17, dBpm/ANTI- Records will release Don’t Lose This, an album of previously unreleased music by the late singer and guitarist Pops Staples.

Featuring Pops on guitar with vocals by Pops and the famed Staple Singers of Mavis, Cleotha and Yvonne, Don’t Lose This presents 10 songs originally recorded and produced by Pops and Mavis in 1999 but left unfinished at the time of his death in 2000. Now complete, the album features new production by Jeff Tweedy, as well as new bass and guitar by Jeff Tweedy and new drums by Spencer Tweedy.

Tweedy concerts will be loosely staged in at least two parts: a full band set including songs from Sukierae, performed by Jeff and Spencer with Jim Elkington on guitar, Darin Grey on bass and Liam Cunningham on keyboards and guitar. Jeff Tweedy also performs songs from his Wilco/Uncle Tupelo catalog solo acoustic.

TOUR DATES:

Mar 6-7
The Vic
Chicago, IL

Mar 8
First Avenue
Minneapolis, MN

Mar 10
Emerson Center for the Arts and Culture
Bozeman, MT

Mar 11
Top Hat Lounge
Missoula, MT

Mar 12
The Neptune
Seattle, WA

Mar 14
Crystal Ballroom
Portland, OR

Mar 17-18
The Fillmore
San Francisco, CA

Mar 19
Cocoanut Grove Ballroom
Santa Cruz, CA

Mar 21-22
The Ace Hotel
Los Angeles, CA

Mar 24
Balboa Theatre
San Diego, CA

Mar 25
Rialto Theatre
Tucson, AZ

Mar 26
The Lensic
Santa Fe, NM

Mar 28
Ellie Caulkins Opera House
Denver, CO

Death Cab for Cutie news

Death Cab for Cutie has announced the release of their eighth studio album Kintsugi, due March 31 via Atlantic Recording Group.  

It follows 2011’s Grammy Award-nominated Codes and Keys and marks Death Cab for Cutie’s first new album since the departure last year of founding guitarist, keyboardist, producer Chris Walla.

Recorded in Los Angeles with Rich Costey (Franz Ferdinand, Muse, Interpol), the album takes its title from the Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics with precious metals like gold, silver, and platinum, highlighting cracks rather than hiding them. As such, kintsugi represents a compassionate aesthetic philosophy in which damage and wear are embraced as part of an object’s history.

“Considering what we were going through internally, and with what a lot of the lyrics are about, it had a great deal of resonance for us – the idea of figuring out how to repair breaks and make them a thing of beauty,” says bassist Nick Harmer, who suggested the name to singer/guitarist Ben Gibbard and drummer Jason McGerr. “Philosophically, spiritually, emotionally, it seems perfect for this group of songs.”

An extensive tour schedule will surround the release of the album. For details and ticket information, please log on to deathbabforcutie.com/tour.

Track listing:

1. No Room In Frame

2. Black Sun
3. The Ghosts Of Beverly Drive
4. Little Wanderer
5. You've Haunted Me All My Life
6. Hold No Guns
7. Everything's A Ceiling
8. Good Help (Is So Hard To Find)
9. El Dorado
10. Ingenue
11. Binary Sea

The return of Mike + the Mechanics

I hope to see some West Coast dates eventually added to the tour and really look forward to hearing the reissue...

Mike + the Mechanics will hit the road in 2015 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their hit album The Living Years — and their own 30th anniversary. The North American tour kicks off in Washington, D.C. in February, launching the first North American trek the band has made since their tour supporting the initial release of Living Years in 1989. 

Living Years: Deluxe Edition will also make its U.S. debut on Feb. 10 when Rhino Records releases an expanded version of the group’s biggest album.

Started in 1985 by Genesis founding member Mike Rutherford, Mike + The Mechanics have recorded seven studio albums and enjoyed a series of hit songs with “Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground),” “All I Need Is a Miracle,” “Word of Mouth,” and “Over My Shoulder.” However, the #1 smash “The Living Years” from 1989 would become the largest hit of the band’s career.

For the upcoming tour, Rutherford will lead the current incarnation of Mike + The Mechanics, which includes vocalists Andrew Roachford and Tim Howar, keyboardist Luke Juby, guitarist/bassist Anthony Drennan, and drummer Gary Wallis.

They will perform all of the band’s best-known songs, as well as a selection of Genesis favorites like “I Can’t Dance” and “Turn It On Again.”

The reissue will celebrate this musical milestone with a whole host of special extras. Along with the original studio album, the two-CD set will feature a bonus disc of live recordings from the 1989 Living Years U.K. Tour along with the song “The Living Years 2014,” which has been re-recorded with the South African Isango Choir and Andrew Roachford on lead vocals.

Tour Dates:

Feb 26-27 ALEXANDRIA, VA The Birchmere
Feb. 28 BETHLEHEM, PA Sands Bethlehem Event Center
March 2 ANNAPOLIS, MD Ram’s Head On Stage
March 3 TARRYTOWN, NY Tarrytown Music Hall
March 4 NEW YORK, NY Best Buy Theater
March 6 ATLANTIC CITY NJ Borgata Spa & Resort
March 7 BOSTON, MA Wilbur Theatre
March 8 HARTFORD, CT Infinity Hall
March 10 TORONTO, ON Queen Elizabeth Theatre Toronto CNE Grounds
March 11 MONTREAL, QC Theatre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts
March 13 MUNHALL, PA Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead
March 14 ANN ARBOR, MI Michigan Theater
March 15 NORTHFIELD, OH Hard Rock Live – Northfield
March 17 CINCINNATI, OH Taft Theatre
March 19 MILWAUKEE, WI The Pabst Theate
March 20-21 CHICAGO, IL Park West

Track Listing

Disc 1
1. “Nobody’s Perfect”
2. “The Living Years”
3. “Seeing Is Believing”
4. “Nobody Knows”
5. “Poor Boy Down”
6. “Blame”
7. “Don’t”
8. “Black & Blue”
9. “Beautiful Day”
10. “Why Me?”

Disc 2
1. “The Living Years 2014”
2. “Nobody Knows” (Live)
3. “Seeing Is Believing” (Live)
4. “Don’t” (Live)
5. “Black & Blue” (Live)
6. “Silent Running” (Live)
7. “Par Avion” (Live)
8. “Take The Reins” (Live)
9. “Nobody’s Perfect” (Live)
10. “A Call To Arms” (Live)
11. “Beautiful Day” (Live)
12. “Hanging By A Thread” (Live)

Long awaited return of The Rezillos

First wave UK punk band The Rezillos have re-emerged with the new album Zero, which will be released on March 10 via Metropolis Records. This is the first full length release since their only studio album Can't Stand the Rezillos nearly 40 years ago. 

Formed in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1976, The Rezillos rose out of the punk/new wave scene at the advent of the whole movement. Although emerging at the same time as other bands in that realm, the Rezillos did not share the nihilism of social commentary of some of their contemporaries, but took a more left-field approach to their songs, preferring to describe themselves at the time as "a New Wave beat group" more in line with B-52s and The Cramps then their more political peers.

Instead of latching onto new trends, The Rezillos have opted to retain their classic style and sound for Zero. The opening track "Groovy Room" busts out with a blast of dynamic and youthful fresh air, heralding not only a return to form but proof positive that they can still rock with the same fire and intensity. The anthemic "Number One Boy" reeks of CBGB/Max’s Kansas City-styled garage while the balladic "She's The Bad One" carries the plucky fierceness of Karen O backed by epic guitar textures.

Released in July 1978 on Sire Records, Can’t Stand the Rezillos is often considered a classic album of the genre. The album included the top 20 UK hit "Top of the Pops" and featured their version of Fleetwood Mac's 1969 B-side "Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight" which was subsequently used in Jackass, the Movie.

Reaching No. 16 in the UK Albums Chart, Trouser Press called the band "a blast of fresh air compared to the more serious bands of new wave's first charge" and praised the album as "an action-packed document of their pop/camp approach."

The group split up four months after its release. Principal songwriter/guitarist Jo Callis joined The Human League, while vocalists Eugene Reynolds and Fay Fife formed the Revillos. 

Flash forward to 2003 and MOJO ranked the Can't Stand the Rezillos LP in its "Top 50 Punk Albums".

This spring, the band will be touring with The Stranglers in the UK, with headline dates in the U.S. in May.

The Rezillos current lineup is: Fay Fife (vocals, theremin), Eugene Reynolds (vocals), Angel Paterson (drums), Jim Brady (guitar, backing vocals), and Chris Agnew (partial guitar). Zero was co-produced by Reynolds, Fife and Brady. 

Track listing: 

1. Groovy Room

2. Number One Boy

3. Life's A Bitch

4. Tiny Boy

5. You're So Deep

6. Animal

7. She's The Bad One

8. Zero

9. Sorry About Tomorrow

10. Nearly Human

11. Spike Heel Assassin

12. Out Of This World

Toto news

This press release arrived today. For a good interview with the band from 2014, scroll to the end... 

Frontiers Music has announced a March 20 release date for Toto XIV in Europe, with The UK and Oceania on March 23 and North America on March 24.

The album will hit retail globally, with specific dates for territories in Asia, South America and others to follow. Configurations include CD, with a deluxe edition available featuring a "making of" documentary on DVD, expanded booklet that includes an in depth story and interview about the new album alongside exclusive pictures in ecol-book packaging. 

Additionally, Toto XIV will be available as a 2LP vinyl set, and a Super Deluxe limited edition which includes the Deluxe CD/DVD edition, 2LP vinyl, an exclusive poster, t-shirt (large size only), and lithograph. The album will be available via all digital retailers. A pre-order has gone live via Amazon for the LP (http://geni.us/TotoXIVLPAmz), CD (http://geni.us/TotoXIVRegAmz) and Deluxe Edition (http://geni.us/TotoXIVDlxAmz).

This is the band’s first album of new material since 2006’s Falling In Between. However, the band personally considers the new album to be the true follow-up to Toto IV, which made the band global superstars.

Keyboardist Steve Porcaro reveals, "This is opposite of going through the motions. We are treating this like it is Toto V, our follow-up to Toto IV. We just want to be the best version of ourselves that we can be. Be true to ourselves and make the best music we can. Entertain people which is what we were put on this Earth for." 

Other keyboardist David Paich reflects, "I think of Toto as a unit and a band that carries a responsibility when it goes out there in to the public consciousness. There is so much negativity and darkness that I think you have to be as Quincy Jones puts it, 'beams of light that blast through the darkness'."

As they began the process of a return the studio, all of the principle long-term members brought their A-game to the table. Guitarist Steve Lukather offers, "When you put us in a room, and everybody brings in their pieces, the next thing you know it all fits together. Everybody's performances are top notch. We are really bringing our best out, forcing ourselves to make personal best choices, what's best for the music. I'm really excited to hear what people think."

Singer Joseph Williams adds, "We are talking about a band where everybody is a writer, and everybody is a lead singer, and everybody is a player. All involved brought this trio to the table where it could just live on its own."

Founding bassist David Hungate returns to the fold. Drums were performed by Keith Carlock, whose commitments to Steely Dan prohibit him from participating in the 2015 World Tour. Shannon Forest will be behind the kit, who was a part of the band's 2014 North American run. Luke offers, "Shannon is a world class drummer and we are honored to have him back with us."

Porcaro offers an additional thought stating, "I think the band is hit upon a very healthy creative tension for this project. I'm very excited about it." For Williams he reflects, "Just imagine being able to stand on stage in front of enormous crowd of people, and you are playing great music with the best musicians in the world, and you look around, and they are some of your best friends in the world. It's the best feeling any person could have." For Porcaro he shares, "It is kind of hard to find words of what it means to have a smile on your face to go to work every day and we have the fans to thank for that - so thank you."

The last couple of years have included a sold out tour of Asia in April, 2014. Also that month, the 35th Anniversary Tour - Live In Poland title was released, debuting at #1 in territories across the globe. Last August and September, the band hit the road travelling across North America as co-headliners with Michael McDonald, which when it was all said and done was their most comprehensive tour on the continent in years.

Toto also continues to raise awareness for ALS, for their brother and friend, Mike Porcaro, who has been diagnosed with ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease. The band commits energies towards fundraising for Police and Fire Departments of California and the Fallen Heroes initiative (http://www.fallenheroes.org/), and help the United Nations in their humanitarian endeavors through music.

Track listing:

1. Running Out Of Time
2. Burn
3. Holy War
4. 21st Century Blues
5. Orphan
6. Unknown Soldier (For Jeffrey)
7. The Little Things
8. Chinatown
9. All The Tears That Shine
10. Fortune
11. Great Expectations

European tour dates:

5/21 Glasgow, UK Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
5/23 Dublin, Ireland Vicar Street (SOLD OUT)
5/25 Manchester, UK 02 Apollo Manchester
5/26 London, UK Apollo Hammersmith
5/28 Paris, France Zenith
5/29 Esch Sur Alzette, Luxembourg Rockhal
5/30 Amsterdam, Netherlands Ziggo Dome
6/02 Sonderborg, Denmark Molleparkens Friluftscene
6/03 Copenhagen, Denmark Falkoner Theatre
6/04 Solvesborg, Sweden Sweden Rock Festival
6/06 Bergen, Norway Bergen Calling
6/07 Oslo, Norway Sentrum Scene (SOLD OUT)
6/10 Bremerhaven, Germany Stadthalle
6/11 Berlin, Germany Tempodrome
6/12 Leipzig, Germany Parkbuhne
6/13 Dresden, Germany Junge Garde
6/15 Cologne, Germany Tanzbrunnen
6/16 Offenbach, Germany Stadthalle
6/17 Stuttgart, Germany Freilichtbuhne Killesberg
6/18 Abenberg, Germany Burg Abenberg
6/20 Hinwil, Switzerland Rock The Ring Festival
6/21 Klam, Austria Castle Clam
6/23 Wroclaw, Poland Orbita Hol
6/24 Warsaw, Poland Torwar
6/26 Budapest, Hungary Petofi Hall
6/27 Bucharest, Romania Sala Palatului
6/28 Sofia, Bulgaria Arena Armeec
6/30 Belgrade, Serbia Kalemegdan Fortress
7/03 Milan, Italy City Sound Milan
7/05 Rome, Italy Cavea Auditorium
7/08 Munich, Germany Olympiahalle
7/13 Morzine, France Morzine Harley Days
7/15 Nimes, France Festival de Nimes
7/16 Vienne, France Theatre Antique

For further reading on the band: 
Last summer, my colleague Robert Kinsler did an interview with the band's Steve Lukather. It can be viewed here...
musicnewsnashville.com/steve-lukather-talks-toto/

totoofficial.com/ 

Led Zeppelin reissue campaign continues

Led Zeppelin‘s sixth studio album, 1975′s Physical Graffiti will be reissued Feb. 24 in the U.S. - exactly 40 years after the original release.

It will be available in deluxe vinyl and CD as well as a super deluxe edition box set. Because it’s a double album the standard vinyl and CD editions are 2LP and 2CD respectively, with the deluxe versions adding a third disc of ‘companion’ audio.

The companion audio discs on Physical Graffiti feature seven previously unreleased studio outtakes including a ‘Rough Mix With Overdubs’ version of "Houses Of The Holy" and a ‘Rough Orchestra Mix’ of "Kashmir." All editions feature the new 2014 remaster of the album and deluxe editions feature the newly created negative artwork for the companion audio.

The deluxe 3CD set includes a die-cut square slipcase to hold three CD wallets, booklet, U-card, slipcase prints and a 16-page booklet.

As before, the super deluxe edition box set gathers up all the deluxe vinyl and CDs so that it encompasses six discs (three LPs and three CDs). The box will include an 96-page hardcover book, a high quality art print of the front cover and a download code for 96/24 hi-res versions of all audio.

The Led Zeppelin reissue campaign started in June last year with the first three albums with Led Zeppelin IV and Houses of the Holy following in October 2014.

Track listing:

Disc: 1
 
1. Custard Pie
2. The Rover
3. In My Time Of Dying
4. Houses Of The Holy
5. Trampled Under Foot
6. Kashmir

Disc: 2
 
1. In The Light
2. Bron – Yr
3. Down By The Seaside
4. Ten Years Gone
5. Night Flight
6. The Wanton Song
7. Boogie With Stu
8. Black Country Woman
9. Sick Again

Disc: 3 (deluxe and box set only)
 
1. Brandy & Coke (Trampled Under Foot – Initial Rough Mix)
2. Sick Again (Early Version)
3. In My Time Of Dying (Initial Rough Mix)
4. Houses Of The Holy (Rough Mix With Overdubs)
5. Everybody Makes It Through (In The Light Early Version/In Transit)
6. Boogie With Stu (Sunset Sound Mix)
7. Driving Through Kashmir (Kashmir Rough Orchestra Mix)

Celebrate Bowie's Birthday with 'Nothing Has Changed'

Since today is David Bowie's birthday, I thought it would be a good time for a reminder about Nothing Has Changed...

Aimed at Bowie completists and newcomers who might have discovered him following acclaimed 2013 comeback album The Next Day, the retrospective came out this past November via Legacy/Columbia Records.  

In America, Nothing Has Changed is available as a 3CD, 59-track version (sequenced in reverse chronological order) as well as a double CD (sequenced in chronological order) and a double LP. A single CD version came out in select countries.  

Spanning 1964 to 2014, the triple-disc collection starts with new track "Sue (or In a Season of Crime)" and ends with "Liza Jane." The former is an avant garde jazz number recorded with the Grammy-winning Maria Schneider Orchestra and co-produced by longtime collaborator Tony Visconti. It clocks in past the seven-minute mark and finds Bowie veering from mournful to crooner mode. The latter is his snazzy first single from 1964 billed as Davie Jones & the King Bees (included here in mono). 

Many of the singles are radio edits and there are several rarities: James Murphy's Hello Steve Reich Mix of "Love Is Lost" adds subtle synth, a live clapping sample and a riff from "Ashes to Ashes." The previously unreleased "Let Me Sleep Beside You" from the infamous Toy sessions is a dense, mid-tempo rocker with low key vocals. A download-only "Your Turn To Drive" (making its CD debut) finds Bowie backed by billowy trumpet, piano and a psychedelic guitar line. "Shadow Man," a 2001 re-recording of 1971 outtake, is a nice ethereal piano ballad. The Marius de Vries of "Seven" is slightly more upbeat and poppy with more emphasis on the female backing vocals. "I'm Afraid of Americans" is the simmering version with Nine Inch Nails, while the inclusion of "Hallo Spaceboy" is the dancey, hard-to-find Pet Shop Boys remix. 

On Disc 2, the MM remix of "Time Will Crawl," is more sophisticated with a string quartet, while 1981's "Wild is the Wind" here is from a 2010 Harry Maslin mix. Disc 3 opens with the jarringly abrupt Visconti single mix edit from 2007 and is most notable for Bowie's own rarely heard take on "All the Young Dudes" (a song that became a hit for Mott the Hoople) that's peppered with honking sax. And it's quite a hoot to hear the still teenager Bowie on "Can't Help Thinking About Me" and "You've Got a Habit of Leaving" (billed with The Lower Third). 

In related news, a special limited David Bowie 7" picture disc marking the 40th anniversary edition of "Young Americans" is out on Feb. 24. 

Originally released in the spring of 1975 and taken from the album of the same name, this "2007 Tony Visconti single mix" is making its vinyl debut.

The AA-side, which runs at 33 1/3 r.p.m, "It's Gonna Be Me (With Strings)" is an alternate version of an outtake from the 1974 Sigma Sound sessions in Philadelphia. It was first released on the Young Americans album special edition in 2007 and is also making its first appearance on vinyl.

The image above used on the A-side of the picture disc is by the famous of the 1940s-50s Hollywood photographer Tom Kelley. The photograph on the AA-side is a 1974 shot by Steve Schapiro.