Out Friday: 'Good Man,' the latest album by Miles Francis

Today, New York City singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Miles Francis releases the final single and video from their upcoming album Good Man (out March 4), “Rainjacket.” Miles’ experiences during the project helped them come out as non-binary, resulting in works of gorgeous paradox: nuanced explorations of masculinity and all its trappings, presented in a sound that’s joyfully unfettered.

“Rainjacket” further explores masculinity and manhood, as Miles explains breaking out of gender normativity: “In the process, there is doubt, fragility and fear, but there is also hope, beauty and excitement for life.” The video features musicians on the album, including TEEN’s Lizzie Loveless & Lou Tides, ending with Miles in the arms of their mother, who also appears alongside their father on the album cover.

On March 4, Miles will host GOODMANAGANZA, an immersive album release event featuring a gallery installation, video screening and live performance at Porter Studio in Brooklyn, where the video was filmed with longtime collaborator Charles Billot. Following on March 5, they will perform on the back of a pickup truck driving around NYC in celebration of the album’s release.

Watch / Share: “Rainjacket”

Pre-Order: Good Man

Playing into the album’s themes and storyline are previous singles “Popular” (feat. Lizzie Loveless & Lou Tides, formerly of TEEN), “Let Me Cry,” “Nature” & “Service,” complete with mesmerizing boy band clone choreography that mirrors Miles' own recording process in quarantine.

“Everyone indulges in having an ego and wanting to be recognized, but men seem particularly bent on the power element — whether it’s taking up space in a room or leading a country,” says Francis. These were followed by remixes of "Popular" by Future Generations and “Service” from Overcoats, to love from KCRW, Earmilk, The Wild Honey Pie & beyond.

Produced by Francis and recorded in their longtime studio (located in the basement of the Greenwich Village building they grew up in), Good Man arrives as the most visionary and elaborately realized output yet from a polymathic artist known for collaborating with the likes of Angélique Kidjo, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, and Arcade Fire’s Will Butler.

Late last year, their B.O.Y. project featured covers of NSYNC's "I Want You Back" and Backstreet Boys' "The Call."

While Francis’ childhood walls were lined floor to ceiling with boy band photos from J-14 and Tiger Beat, upon returning to those songs throughout the years, they've become more problematic and sinister -- written by grown men and sung by boys asking for forgiveness despite their wrongdoings.

“I wanted to unearth the darker energy within the songs and put it front and center,” Francis explains. “What if an NSYNC song was sung by a man's dark subconscious? What if a Backstreet Boys song was reframed to score a suspense film?”

“I grew up with boy-band posters from floor to ceiling in my bedroom, and that music very much dominated my life when I was young,” they point out. “Later on I studied Afrobeat music and started playing with different groups in that world, which helped me to get to a place where I could be totally free in my musical expression.” Also naming shapeshifters like Prince and David Bowie among their essential touchstones, Francis ultimately alchemized those inspirations into a highly percussive form of art-pop, both lavishly orchestrated and visceral in impact.

As an artist indelibly informed by the kinetic energy and eclecticism of New York City, Francis drew immense inspiration from their hometown: “At the start of the protests and the resurgence of Black Lives Matter, I realized the most direct way I could help was to get a drum and go out to marches and keep a beat for organizers,” says Francis, who soon assisted a friend in the founding of a New York-based collective called Musicians United.

“In the beginning the goal was to get involved with anti-racist work, but the experiences I had and the people I met through the Black Trans Lives Matter movement opened up my whole world. It gave me a new mirror to see myself in, and helped me to find my own queerness and nonbinaryness.”

Francis finally realized: “When I’m in my studio, it feels like being completely free of the outside world, free of gender, free of everything except me. I feel like I’m finally figuring out how to take that freedom beyond my musical expression and bring it into every aspect of my life. Now I want to share that feeling with everybody.”

About Miles Francis:

Polymathic artist Miles Francis is already known amongst musicians as one of the best kept secrets of the NYC music scene. Since they started playing – first the drums at 6, then guitar, bass, keyboards, other percussion – they have been an audiophile of the highest order. As a working musician, Miles has collaborated and performed with Sharon Jones, Amber Mark, Angelique Kidjo, Allen Toussaint, Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio) and many others; toured the world with Will Butler (Arcade Fire), Antibalas, and EMEFE; and appeared on shows like Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and The Late Show with David Letterman. 

Track listing:

1. Introduction (Ear to the Wall)
2. Service 02:35
3. Good Man 04:02
4. Let Me Cry 03:14
5. Popular 03:28
6. Help Me Up
7. Interlude (Eye on the Door)
8. Here For You
9. Look Away From Strangers
10. Nature 03:21
11. Rainjacket 04:16
12. Don't Fight Anymore

Coachella '22 artist news: Nilüfer Yanya

London artist Nilüfer Yanya shares a new song from her forthcoming album PAINLESS due out this Friday, March 4 via ATO Records. "The Dealer" premiered as Hottest Record in The World by BBC Radio 1.

Speaking about the new single, Nilüfer says, "When I was writing this song I was thinking about the transient nature of life and the cyclical nature of the seasons. I find it interesting how we attach certain memories and feelings to different seasons and tend to revisit them time and time again, yet our lives move in a more linear motion and even when we feel like we are going back we never really get to go back anywhere. Musically speaking it's a bit more playful and relaxed."

Along with the release of the new track, Nilüfer Yanya embarks on her 2022 world tour next week with the UK. A full run of European dates follows closely behind, with the North American leg kicking off with Coachella in April. Tickets are on sale now HERE and full tour routing is listed below.

"The Dealer" comes on the heels of the first three offerings from PAINLESS - "anotherlife," which arrived with a music video directed by Molly Daniel in Sri Lanka, "midnight sun" and "stabilise." 

PAINLESS is the follow-up to Nilüfer Yanya’s 2019 debut album Miss Universe, which was followed last year by the three song EP Feeling Lucky? It further explored Yanya’s fascination with ‘90s alt-rock melodies and drew on themes of resentment, her fear of flying, and the concept of luck.

Yanya also re-released her early EPs on vinyl for the first time this year for Inside Out. The release is a fundraiser for Artists in Transit, a collaborative not for profit group she founded with her sister Molly that delivers art workshops to displaced people and communities in times of hardship.

As the daughter of two visual artists (her Irish-Barbadian mother is a textile designer and her Turkish-born father’s work is exhibited at the British Museum) creativity was always destined for Nilüfer Yanya’s future.

PAINLESS was recorded between a basement studio in Stoke Newington and Riverfish Music in Penzance with Miss Universe collaborator and producer Wilma Archer, DEEK Recordings founder Bullion, Big Thief producer Andrew Sarlo, and musician Jazzi Bobbi.

Miss Universe stretched musical boundaries to include a litany of styles from smooth jazz melodies to radio ready pop, but PAINLESS takes a more direct sonic approach. It is an album that forces the listener to sit with the discomfort that accompanies so many of life’s biggest challenges whether it be relationship breakdowns, coping with loneliness, or the search for our inner self.

“It's a record about emotion,” Yanya explains. “I think it's more open about that in a way that Miss Universe wasn't because there's so many cloaks and sleeves with the concept I built around it.” She adds, summing up the ethos of the new album, “I'm not as scared to admit my feelings."

Tour Dates:

03/10 - Glasgow, UK @ St Lukes

03/12 - Dublin, IE @ Whelans
03/14 - Manchester, UK @ Band On The Wall
03/15 - Bristol, UK @ Trinity
03/16 - London, UK @ Brixton Electric

03/20 - Paris, FR @ Trabendo
03/22 - Zurich, CH @ Bogen F
03/23 - Munich, DE @ Ampere
03/24 - Vienna, AT @ Grelle Forelle
03/26 - Berlin, DE @ Säälchen
03/27 - Hamburg, DE @ Nochtspeicher
03/28 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Noord
03/30 - Brussels, BE @ Botanique Orangerie

4/16 - Indio, CA @ Coachella
4/20 - San Francisco, CA @ August Hall
4/21 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy*
4/23 - Indio, CA @ Coachella
04/26 - Austin, TX @ Antones
04/28 - Nashville, TN @ Basement East
04/29 - Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees Festival
04/30 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
05/01 - Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle
05/03 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat
05/04 - Philadelphia ,PA @ Underground Arts
05/06 - Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
05/07 - New York, NY @ Webster Hall
05/09 - Montreal, QUE @ L'Astral
05/10 - Toronto, ONT @ The Axis Club
05/12 - Detroit, MI @ El Club
05/13 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
05/14 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
05/17 - Boulder, CO @ The Fox Theatre
05/18 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Commonwealth
05/20 - Vancouver, BC @ Fortune
05/21 - Seattle, WA @ Crocodile
05/22 - Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom

06/11 - Copenhagen, DK @ Syd For Solen Festival
08/11-13 - Gothenburg, SE @ Way Out West Festival

*= with Altin Gun

Purchase tickets HERE

Track listing: 

1. the dealer
2. L/R
3. shameless
4. stabilise
5. chase me
6. midnight sun
7. trouble
8. try
9. company
10. belong with you
11. the mystic
12. anotherlife

Bonnie Raitt news

"Just Like That…," Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bonnie Raitt's first new release in more than six years, is due out April 22 via Sub Pop/RedWing/ADA.

There will be an Indie retail exclusive Teal LP and immersive audio formats Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio. Raitt’s new single, “Made Up Mind,” is out now. Watch the lyric video and find album pre-sale information at her new website www.bonnieraitt.com .

Listen to “Made Up Mind” HERE

The album was recorded in the summer of 2021 in Sausalito, CA. The players include two longtime members of Raitt’s band, bassist James “Hutch” Hutchinson and drummer Ricky Fataar, as well as two new musicians, Canadian Glenn Patscha on keyboards and backing vocals and Nashville guitarist Kenny Greenberg. Her longtime guitarist/songwriting partner George Marinelli also joined in, playing and singing on “Livin’ for the Ones,” the song they co-wrote for the album.

Once again, Bonnie took the producer reins, reuniting with her favorite recording and mixing engineer, Ryan Freeland, for their third collaboration (they each earned GRAMMY Awards for Raitt’s 2012 release, Slipstream).

“On this record, I wanted to stretch,” she says. “I always want to find songs that excite me, and what’s different this time is that I’ve tried some styles and topics I haven’t touched on before.”

Raitt will receive the Billboard Icon Award and perform at this year's Women in Music Awards on Wednesday, March 2 at the YouTube Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. The annual event recognizes music's rising and A-List artists, creators, producers, and executives for their contributions to the industry and community. The 2022 Women in Music Awards will stream live on Twitter.com/Billboard.

Before the new year, The Recording Academy® announced that Bonnie Raitt will join the honorees receiving Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony and 64th Annual GRAMMY® Nominees Reception event.

The Lifetime Achievement Award celebrates performers who have made outstanding contributions of artistic significance to the field of recording.

Raitt and her band hit the road in April for an eight-month U.S. tour. The tour’s special guests include NRBQ (from April 12—23), followed by Lucinda Williams and Mavis Staples on various dates throughout the run. The full tour schedule, with info on Special Benefit Seat information, is listed at www.bonnieraitt.com

Raitt has never felt more grateful that she can continue making music, contributing to causes, keeping her crew working, and connecting with her audience. “I’m really aware of how lucky I am,” she says, “and I feel like it’s my responsibility to get out there and say something fresh and new—for me and for the fans. But I need to have something to say or I won’t put out a record.”

Track Listing:

Made Up Mind
Something's Got a Hold of My Heart
Livin' for the Ones
Just Like That
When We Say Goodbye
Waitin' For You to Blow
Blame it On Me
Love So Strong
Here Comes Love
Down The Hall

Queen guitarist Brian May readies deluxe reissue of second solo album 'Another World' in April + book of May fan art

This extremely detailed press release just came in...

When Brian May finished touring his debut solo album, Back to the Light, he began to throw open his doors to fresh possibilities. "I got all these little kinds of commissions and triggers and inspirations from outside," said Brian, who took ownership of these "triggers" and moulded them into a second solo album in his own image.

Now released as the second strike in Brian's Gold Series reissues campaign, Another World pays rich, raucous and fully felt testimony to the legendary Queen guitarist and songwriter's roots and reach: between its expansive energies and immersive craft, the album's world-class quality rings out.

The album receives multi-format release April 22 along with the album's original single release "On My Way Up."

Driven by the potent drumming of the much-missed Cozy Powell, who tragically passed away prior to the album's release, Another World is a superlative successor to Back to the Light. Drawn from many sources of inspiration, the record emerged in June 1998 as an album of roof-raising rock'n'roll and scorching guitar and indelible melodies, plus a couple of impassioned covers. The album is full of dangerous unguarded feelings and uplift, with guests including Jeff Beck and Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins helping to stoke its fires.

Warmly received by the press on its original release in 1998, the album birthed four electric singles in "The Business (Rock on Cozy Mix)," "On My Way Up," "Another World" and "Why Don't We Try Again." It also ushered Brian and his band out on a hugely successful 42-date tour covering a large swathe of the world and packing out prestigious venues including London's Royal Albert Hall.

"Space" is the album's overture, introducing the idea of opening up spaces in which one can breathe and create safely. The gentleness of this track softens us up in readiness for the bulldozer anthemic crunch and Red Special roar of "Business," originally commissioned for 1993's UK TV show Frank Stubbs Promotes. Brian made this tale of "an eternal optimist" his own, with Cozy's input thrust upfront. "You immediately hear this massive drum track come in and that's very much him. It's meant to be as big as it gets - I want Cozy's life to be marked as big as possible," said Brian at the time. "It isn't about somebody hitting something, it's about the inner energy and strength and optimism! of this guy. He's a crucial part of this album and I don't know what the Hell I will do without him."

The album's fire stays lit for the playful live killer "China Belle," before "Why Don't We Try Again" finds Brian digging deep inside for a plaintive ballad. Written years earlier but deemed too personal for Queen, the song finds Brian sublimely assured in his vocal range. A regular feature of Brian's solo concerts, "On My Way Up" is a deliciously infectious romp, commissioned for Series 2 of Frank Stubbs while work on Queen's Made in Heaven album proceeded. Backing singers Cathy Porter and Shelley Preston help the melody reach a high, in tune with the character of Stubbs as a lead figure in the series. "The central character of this song is someone who is basically a loser, but has total belief and a kind of insane optimism, and he's going somewhere, you know, "man, I'm on my way" kind of thing, so that's what the song was, and again, it became imbued with different things, once I got going on the track, but it's basically funny. It's funny, and it's optimistic and loud."

A more sci-fi source inspired "Cyborg," influenced by Brian's collaboration on the video games Rise Of The Robots and Rise 2: Resurrection, the song adopts the perspective of a robot longing to escape his skin (a metaphor for humanity's longings for another world?) and features ballistic drums from Taylor Hawkins. Brian was full of praise for his guest, in the early days of the Foo Fighters: "He'd never really done a studio session for someone else, so he was wired to the hilt - you could imagine. He's going "this is f*****g awesome". I mean, there is energy spilling out all over Surrey from this guy, incredible! I think he's well represented on the track - it's insane, the amount of energy on there."

For 'The Guv'nor', another contributor steps up. Though at one time intended for a proposed but unmade film about a bare-knuckle boxer, the song pivots on Brian's reverence for guesting guitarist Jeff Beck. "In our world, Jeff is the guv'nor - the standard by which you judge yourself," said Brian, who forged this low-slung, blues-rock belter from his admiration for the legendary Yardbirds man.

When Queen adopted Brian's song for the Queen Rocks compilation in 1997, he moved on from the 'heroes' concept but channelled its spirit into Another World's covers. "Slow Down" is a classic Larry Williams 12-bar blues romp recorded live with Cozy, bassist Neil Murray, Queen keyboardist Spike Edney and guitarist Jamie Moses. And then follows a unique tribute to Brian's all-time hero Jimi Hendrix. Powered by liquid guitars, "One Rainy Wish" is a dreamy take on the Hendrix classic, which fits perfectly with Another World's other-worldly musings. "That song was the description of Jimi's dream, his exact transposition in words and music," says Brian. "I always wanted to try my hand at interpreting it my way."

The final cover version hits close to home for Brian. "All the Way from Memphis" was a 1973 hit for Mott the Hoople, who took the young Queenies on tour as an opening act in the very early days of Queen - formative transatlantic jaunts that inspired Brian's massive Queen rocker "Now I'm Here." Describing that touring experience as "blinding," Brian adds, "I used to watch them do "All the Way from Memph! is" every night, and the place would erupt, like an earthquake. They really were a fantastic band live." Hoople front man Ian Hunter appears on this adrenalized cover by Brian as 'Special Guest Raconteur'.

The album reaches its close with an original song forged from Brian's soundtrack work. The years following Back to the Light saw Brian occasionally composing music for films, including The Adventures of Pinocchio and a radio version of The Amazing Spider-Man. Another World emerged when Brian's film-writer friend Peter Howitt requested a song for his forthcoming movie Sliding Doors, which was to feature Gwyneth Paltrow. Brian's response was a sublime reverie on secret desires, parallel universes and paths untaken, lovingly tailored to the story of the film. Eventually, due to contractual crossed wires, the song never made it into the movie. Brian reclaimed it for Another World, where it testifies exquisitely to his melodic skills. As a kind of 'bonus' the CD reissue closes with "Being on My Own," a previously 'hidden' piano piece now incorporated into the album's CD formats.

For Brian, Another World upholds the value of the open-door policy he adopted post-Back to the Light. "I travelled a lot of paths to gather all the pieces," he said. "In order to have something worthwhile for the next Brian May album, I would have to rediscover who I was. I decided to go out and do a lot of playing and open myself up for projects because I didn't want to make another purely introspective album. I thought I would go out into the world, experience things and rediscover my roots."

This self-outreach program assumed many forms. While some of his time in this period was devoted to Queen's Made in Heaven album, the gradual cessation of Queen's activities freed Brian up to accept some of the offers he hadn't the time to accept previously. Some of this work features on Another World's 15-track rarities set, Another Disc, which opens on a deeply moving note. Another World was dedicated to two much-loved figures in Brian's life, his late mother and Cozy, who died in a car crash on 5 April 1998 at the age of 50. "It's impossible to describe what a terrible gap it's going to leave in our lives, our mate Cozy not being here," said Brian on a spoken-word tribute to Cozy in 1998, which opens Another Disc. "He was a fantastic support, a fantastic energy and vibe, he had the most incredible attitude to life which leaked over into everything he did." That attitude roars out of 'The Business (Rock on Cozy Mix)', which emphasizes Powell's drumming thunderously.

Also on Another Disc are four covers Brian recorded under the alter ego T E Conway for Retro Rock Special, an EP previously only available to purchasers of Another World in 1998. The songs range joyously from The Rocky Horror Show's rollicking "Hot Patootie" to Buddy Holly and the Crickets' stunning "Maybe Baby," The Shadows' electric "F.B.I." (recorded with Status Quo's Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt) and Conway Twitty's immortal "It's Only Make Believe." Also featured on the disc is a transcendent Spanish sung version of "Another World," "Otro Lugar," alongside a blistering instrumental attack on "Cyborg" and a hard rocking guitar version of "On My Way Up." Fantastic live cuts highlight The Brian May Band's live form at the time: dedicated by Brian to "absent friends," "Hammer to Fall" starts tenderly before roaring into rock'n'roll life, while "On My Way Up" brims with pep. Three alternative takes on "Business" reveal Brian's work on 'stings' for the TV series. And the disc closes with "My Boy," a heartfelt piano ballad recorded by Brian in 1980 and until now, almost unknown to the public.

Long unavailable in any format, this timely re-issue in a variety of formats has been personally overseen by Brian himself along with original co-producer Justin Shirley-Smith, Queen and BM Pro Tools expert Kris Fredriksson and longtime Queen art designer Richard Gray.

Meticulously restored with mastering by Bob Ludwig, working from the true original mixes for maximum quality, the album will be reissued in multiple formats, including 1-CD and - on 180g heavyweight black vinyl - 1-LP versions. The 2CD Deluxe set adds Another Disc (mastered by Adam Ayan), while a 2-CD + 1-LP Collector's Edition includes both CDs and a sky-blue vinyl LP in a 12" lift lid box, complete with 32-page booklet and enamel badge. Queen Online Store exclusives will include picture disc and cassette options.

On all fronts, Another World documents Brian's personal journey, with "A Different Place, way across Time and Space" in mind, and pure emotional honesty at its core. As he explained of the record's concept, "I hoped that by the time I got to the end of the project, I would have brought about a change in myself. I thought, 'When the album is finished, I will have made this journey, and I will have got to this other place, and I can tell everyone how I did it'; but to be honest, I didn't really manage it. The truth of the album is that it's a journey which is still taking place."

In his new 2022 liner notes, Brian notes how far we have all travelled since the album's release in 1998, but also that the exploration feels very appropriate at this time. "It seems perhaps that in 2022 we are in Another World," he writes, "but if it's not quite the world we asked for, perhaps we can still reach that perfect world... in our dreams."

The re-issue of “Another World” is also celebrated with a unique book of fan-art — or, in this case, ‘Bri-art’, as it has become, now a phenomenon in the Instagram community. The pictures in the book are curated from the work of both amateur and professional artists. This astonishing collection of artwork offers a visual accompaniment to tracks from the album and other related imagery.

It showcases the diverse talents of this community of artists, all of whom have been so deeply inspired by Brian and his music, career, and accomplishments. Within these pages reside over 300 unique pieces of artwork in various media and styles, each illustrating a one-of-kind perspective of Dr May in Another World, created by those who love him best.

- Featuring over 300 unique pieces of artwork created by artists from all over the world.

- Over 100 full colour pages.

- Size: 300 x 300mm (The size of a vinyl album).
- Hardback edition.
- 100% of profit will be donated to Brian’s charity the Save Me Trust.

Another World: The Bri-Art Collection, published by The London Stereoscopic Company,
available from https://shop.londonstereo.com or https://www.queenonlinestore.com/Brian-May
100% of profit will be donated to Brian’s charity the Save Me Trust. savemetrust.co.uk

Another World 

TRACK LISTINGS/FORMATS

1-CD format

The original album newly remastered by Bob Ludwig from original tapes. The CD is presented in a digi pack with a 16-page booklet containing photos and album notes.

Space (Brian May)

Business (Brian May)

China Belle (Brian May)
Why Don't We Try Again (Brian May)
On My Way Up (Brian May)
Cyborg (Brian May)
The Guv'nor (Brian May)
Wilderness (Brian May)
Slow Down (Larry Williams)
One Rainy Wish (Jimi Hendrix)
All The Way From Memphis (Ian Hunter)
Another World (Brian May)
Being On My Own (Brian May)

2-CD DELUXE format

Presented in a 6 panel digi pack with a 24-page booklet containing photos and album notes. The first CD is the original album Another World newly remastered by Bob Ludwig from the original master tapes, personally overseen by Brian May. The second CD Another Disc, (mastered by Adam Ayan) contains alternative versions, B-Sid! es and live tracks.

Disc 1 - Another World

Space (Brian May)

Business (Brian May)
China Belle (Brian May)
Why Don't We Try Again (Brian May)
On My Way Up (Brian May)
Cyborg (Brian May)
The Guv'nor (Brian May)
Wilderness (Brian May)
Slow Down (Larry Williams)
One Rainy Wish (Jimi Hendrix)
All The Way From Memphis (Ian Hunter)
Another World (Brian May)
Being On My Own (Brian May)

Disc 2 - Another Disc

Brian Talks (Brian May)
"The Business" (Rock On Cozy Mix) (Brian May)
Hot Patootie* (Richard O'Brien)
F.B.I. (Original Ruff Mix With Real Bass And Drums) (Bruce Welch/Hank Brian Marvin/Jet Harris)
Maybe Baby* (Norman Petty/Charles Hardin)
It's Only Make Believe* (Conway Twitty/Jack Nance)
Otro Lugar (Brian May)
Cyborg (Solo Instrumental Version) (Brian May)
Business Stings (Brian May)
I'll Be Prayin' (Brian May)
On My Way Up (Guitar Version) (Brian May)
The Last Great Optimist (Brian May)
On My Way Up (Live in Paris, June '98) (Brian May)
Hammer To Fall (Live in Paris, June '98) (Brian May)
My Boy (Brian May)

*guest vocal T.E. Conway

Also available in:

1-LP format

2-CD + 1 LP Collector's Edition

Plus:

Picture Disc / Cassette - available exclusively only from the Queen online Store

Available at: www.queenonlinestore.co! m/Brian-May/Gold-Series/

May photo courtesy Reybee PR

Roxy Music's first two albums to get new reissues on vinyl in April

Roxy Music will reissue its first two albums, Roxy Music and For Your Pleasure, on April 1 via Virgin/UMe. The LPs are half-speed masters done at Abbey Road Studios by engineer Miles Showell.

Roxy Music (1972) was the band’s debut album. It peaked at #10 in the UK Albums Chart and includes fan favorites like "Ladytron," "If There is Something" and "Re-Make/Re-Model." 

In 2018, a press release for a box set reissue centered on the eponymous debut had comments from several band members about it.

Guitarist Phil Manzanera said, “At 21, my musical dreams came true, recording this album with these wonderfully talented and unique band members. Magical times, magical music."

Saxophonist Andy Mackay recalled that “late 71/72 Roxy was our Arts Lab. The place where we exchanged ideas and dreams freely and created and explored a new sound landscape. We stepped into Command studios with a complete album in our heads (and half the next one) and it only needed the tape to start running…no album was as easy to record again."

Drummer Paul Thompson added, “The first Roxy Music album was my opportunity to create. I wasn't used to this type of line-up, I was used to being in guitar-based bands but always wanted to broaden my horizons and here was my chance. A landmark in the history of pop."

Singer Bryan Ferry noted, “We never really felt accepted, I can see how the old guard would have felt threatened by it, because it was so jammed full of ideas and a massive amount of energy. But we hadn’t paid our dues, not in the same way. And we’re still not a part of it, not really, even to this day. That’s been very hard over the years, to try and make it work without being one of them. The ‘them’ is always different, but we’re not part of it. It’s been one of the triumphs, that we’ve managed to stay sane. Or sane-ish. We’re a part of it all, somehow, but still on the outside.”

For Your Pleasure (1973) saw Brian Eno’s exit but not before the album came in at #4 on the UK Albums chart. The first album with producer Chris Thomas, it included the popular "Do the Strand" and “In Every Dream Home a Heartache.” Dame Judi Dench provides a spoken word couplet of “You don’t ask. You don’t ask why” on the title track “For Your Pleasure."

Previously unreleased 2001 live album from The Knack slated for Record Store Day

In the summer of 1979, the Knack broke big with their debut single, "My Sharona." Written by band members Doug Fieger (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and Berton Averre (lead guitar, vocals), the tune was Capitol Records' fastest-selling gold single since the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

It appeared at the peak position on Billboard's Top Pop Singles year-end chart for 1979, while its accompanying album, Get the Knack, sold over one million copies in less than two months and spent five weeks at #1 on the Billboard album chart.

Get the Knack was followed by five additional studio albums before the Knack officially ended with Fieger's death in 2010.

"Live at the House of Blues" is due from Liberation Hall on April 23 (LP) and May 6 (CD/digital). The performance was recorded in Hollywood on September 25, 2001 — just two weeks after the events of 9/11. 

Tony Valenziano, president of Smile Records, which put out 2000s efforts by the band, penned the liner notes. 

The lineup for that show featured the Knack's founding trio of Fieger, Averre, and bassist Prescott Niles, alongside drummer Dave Henderson. Henderson also appeared on the band's Normal as the Next Guy and Live from the Rock N Roll Fun House albums.

The lead digital single, "That's What the Little Girls Do," is out this Friday.

Formats: "Baby blue" double-vinyl LP released April 23 | CD & digital May 6

Track listing:

1. Pop Is Dead

2. Baby Talks Dirty

3. Oh Tara

4. Can I Borrow a Kiss

5. Another Lousy Day in Paradise

6. Good Girls Don't 

7. One Day at a Time

8. It's Not Me

9. Harder on You

10. Siamese Twins (The Monkey and Me)

11. Seven Days of Heaven

12. Tequila/Break on Through (to the Other Side)

13. That's What the Little Girls Do

14. Frustrated

15. (She's So) Selfish

16. My Sharona

17. Let Me Out

18. Last Train to Clarksville

Howard Jones and Midge Ure to team up for summer U.S. tour; multiple projects underway

Here's some exciting news on two of my past interview subjects. I talked to Jones in 2018: https://newwavegeo.blogspot.com/2018/02/howard-jones-interview.html

Howard Jones plans to release Dialogue, the third album in a trilogy, this summer and hit the road with Midge Ure to support it. 

Jones full band/electronic set-up is supported by Robin Boult (guitar), former Kajagoogoo member Nick Beggs (bass/chapman stick), longtime collaborator Robbie Bronnimann (keyboards) and Dan Burton (keyboards/drum pads). The Jones/Beggs/Boult trio will put out "Live at Union Chapel" this spring (see track listing below).

“I am beyond excited to be touring the U.S. this summer with my great friend Midge Ure," Jones said in a prepared statement. "As we take safe steps to put the pandemic behind us, the tour will be a celebration of being together, enjoying the power of live music again. Expect plenty of hit songs as well as cuts from my new album DIALOGUE."

Ure (pictured below) added, "What a joy to be touring North America with my friend Howard Jones again. With the emphasis on technology, quality and performance I am looking forward to dusting off the synthesizers, cranking up the guitar and playing with the brilliant musicians who will be sharing the stage with me. We first collaborated live together back in 1989 on Howard’s ‘Cross the line Tour’ which holds nothing but great memories for me, so I am hoping to not only rekindle those but add new ones to the memory bank."

In recent years, Jones has been playing live in different configurations including completely solo and a full band. On 2019's TRANSFORM, Jones worked with BT (half of All Hail The Silence).

Joining Ure for what he calls a "synth heavy" set will be musicians Dan Burton, also playing keyboard with Howard Jones and Tony Solis, who has played with Midge on previous American tours. Ure was last in the U.S. this past fall on a solo acoustic trek and has been hosting his Backstage Lockdown Club giving fans exclusive access to a series of intimate, musical events on a monthly subscription basis.

Ure has also been busy making music including an instrumental album: "Having hosted a radio show ’The Space’ on Scala Radio last year, where I indulged myself and the listeners to textural, ambient music from some of the Neo-classical composers, I felt inspired to follow my lifelong passion for instrumental music and wrote and recorded an album which I am really pleased with. Every album I have ever released has had instrumentals on, but this is my first completely non-vocal album. Due for release late ’22."

The former Ultravox leader recently published a book of photographs ‘In A Picture Frame’ taken between 1980 and 1986. Moments behind the scenes with Ultravox and Visage. "Because we never toured with photographers, we ended up grabbing these intimate moments ourselves. This book has my personal selection of the ones I was responsible for."

Listen to Band Electronica feat. Midge Ure 'Das Beat'

Live at Union Chapel track listing:

1. Assault and Battery
2. Don’t Always Look At The Rain
3. What Is Love?
4. Specialty
5. At The Speed Of Love
6. No One Is To Blame
7. Tomorrow Is Now
8. Falling Away
9. You Know I Love You Don’t You?
10. Transform
11. Hide & Seek
12. Life In One Day
13. Like To Get To Know You Well
14. New Song
15. Things Can Only Get Better

Jones/Ure U.S. tour dates:

JUNE

17 Tulalip, WA Tulalip Casino
18 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater
21 Sacramento, CA Ace Of Spades
22 San Francisco, CA Bimbo’s 365
24 Los Angeles, CA Ace Hotel Theater
25 San Diego, CA Humphrey’s By The Bay
26 Mesa, AZ The Venue At Farnsworth Hall
28 Salt Lake City, UT TBA
29 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre

JULY

1 Milwaukee, WI SummerFest
2 Des Plaines, IL Des Plaines Theater
3 Detroit, MI Magic Bag
6 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues
8 Pittsburgh, PA Carnegie Of Homestead Music Hall
9 Wilkes-Barre, PA F.M. Kirby Center
13 Boston, MA Wilbur Theater
14 Norwalk, CT Wall Street Journal
15 Philadelphia, PA Keswick Theater
16 Red Bank, NJ Count Basie Theater
17 Patchogue, NY Patchogue Theater
19 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
21 Savannah, GA District Live
22 Atlanta, GA Buckhead Theater
23 Clearwater, FL Bilheimer Capitol Theatre
24 Sanford, FL TBA
26 Houston, TX House Of Blues
27 Dallas, TX Amplified Live

Howard Jones photo by Simon Fowler, courtesy Hired Gun Media

Midge Ure photo courtesy Erika Tooker

MidgeUre.com

howardjones.com

Billy Joel news

The Vinyl Collection, Vol. 1 was one of my highly recommended box sets last holiday season. Read below for more Billy Joel activities and releases...

Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, are celebrating the first 50 years of Billy Joel's legendary career with the launch of the interactive Billy Joel "New York State of Mind" Landmarks website and the digital-only release of Places, the first in a series of thematic EPs showcasing select tracks from the artist's beloved repertoire.

Fans celebrating #50YearsofBilly are invited to visit the Billy Joel "New York State of Mind" Landmarks website to explore an interactive map highlighting 50 special New York locations connected to Billy's life and songs, from Cold Spring Harbor to Madison Square Garden, from Sullivan Street to the Hudson River Line. The site includes song histories, listening/saving options and more. Fans will be encouraged to submit their own suggestions for the "New York State of Mind" website, potentially expanding the map beyond its current 50 locations. Visit HERE

Places, the five track EP coinciding with the launch of the Billy Joel "New York State of Mind" website, showcases songs associated with locations on the interactive map: "New York State of Mind," "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)," "Big Man on Mulberry Street," "Everybody Loves You Now" and "Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway)." For more information, please visit HERE

Billy Joel's performance of "New York State of Mind," originally broadcast on the BBC's "Old Grey Whistle Test," is now available on Facebook. Watch HERE

The #50YearsOfBilly celebration continues at Walmart where you may purchase exclusive collectors editions of six classic Billy Joel albums pressed onto 12" colored vinyl with exclusive photo insert: Piano Man (Tan Swirl Vinyl), The Stranger (Grey Swirl Vinyl), 52nd Street (Blue Swirl Vinyl), Glass Houses (Sky Blue Vinyl), An Innocent Man (Custard Vinyl) and Storm Front (Maroon Vinyl). For more information, please visit HERE

Columbia/Legacy launched #50YearsOfBilly in November 2021 with the release of Billy Joel - The Vinyl Collection, Vol. 1, a definitive 9LP boxset library chronicling Billy's evolution as a songwriter, performer and recording artist during his rise from obscurity to international superstardom in the 1970s.

Billy Joel - The Vinyl Collection, Vol. 1 brings together the artist's first six solo studio albums (Cold Spring Harbor, Piano Man, Streetlife Serenade, Turnstiles, The Stranger, 52nd Street) with his first live album (Songs in the Attic) and an exclusive pressing of Live at The Great American Music Hall - 1975, a previously unreleased concert recording available for the first time in the boxset as a double 12" vinyl album.

All titles have been sourced from the original album tapes and prepared by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound. The boxset includes a 50+ page booklet highlighting Billy's early career through archival photos, an essay by Anthony DeCurtis, Billy's personal observations and insights on his songs and albums, and tributes from his fellow musicians, artists and celebrities. For more information, please visit HERE

Live at The Great American Music Hall -1975 is currently exclusive to the boxset and is not currently available in full at digital outlets.

Billy Joel's extraordinary ongoing Madison Square Garden residency resumed last fall and continues through 2022. For more information, please visit: HERE

Out now: 'Resist,' the new album by Midnight Oil

Nearly 20 years after their last full length studio release, Australian rock band Midnight Oil today release the new album, RESIST. The group also shared the official video for ‘We Resist’. This short film combines submissions of protest actions by Midnight Oil fans from around the globe as well as archival footage from a handful of the many such events staged by the band over the years.

RESIST features production by frequent collaborator Warne Livesey. RESIST will be accompanied by some special live performances that will comprise the group’s final concert tour.

On February 25, some June shows in North America will be announced as part of Midnight Oil’s final tour.

This new album was actually recorded in late 2019 and thus includes longtime bass player Bones Hillman, who passed away 12 months later. Those sessions yielded 20 songs, but their release was delayed by the pandemic.

The first taste of this new work landed in late 2020 as THE MAKARRATA PROJECT – a mini-album featuring some of Australia’s finest First Nations musicians, and based on the themes of reconciliation, justice and truth-telling written in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. 

It debuted at #1 in the band’s homeland on the same weekend that Bones passed away and went on to be nominated for five ARIA Awards. Lead single ‘Gadigal Land’ (feat. Dan Sultan, Joel Davison, Kaleena Briggs and Bunna Lawrie) received the prestigious APRA Song Of The Year.

From the northern beaches of Sydney to the streets of Manhattan, Midnight Oil has stopped traffic inflamed passions, inspired fans, challenged the concepts of “business as usual” and broken new ground. In 2017 the band returned from a 15-year hiatus for their Great Circle World Tour that encompassed 77 shows in 16 countries. The extraordinary audience and critical response to those shows lead to more European dates and an Australian outback gig in 2019 which then flowed into the recording sessions where RESIST was created. The album’s much anticipated release will therefore literally close the circle on this chapter of a truly extraordinary career.

The band also announced that this will be their final concert tour while making it clear that this does not mean the end of the Oils. Each of the members will continue their own projects over the years ahead. They remain very open to recording new music together in future and supporting causes in which they believe, but this will be their last tour. It will see them performing classic Midnight Oil songs from across their repertoire while also showcasing some urgent new works.

Stream Midnight Oil's 15th studio album RESIST HERE 

Tracklist:

Rising Seas

The Barka-Darling River
Tarkine
At the Time of Writing
Nobody’s Child
To the Ends of the Earth
Reef
We Resist
Lost At Sea
Undercover
We Are Not Afraid
Last Frontier

Paul McCartney announces U.S. tour

Following more than a year of speculation, Paul McCartney today announces the GOT BACK Tour, a 13-city return to U.S. stages, kicking off in April.

Tickets for all GOT BACK tour dates will be on sale to the public beginning Friday, February 25 at 10am local time.

American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets before the general public beginning Tuesday, February 22 at 10am local time through Thursday, February 24 at 10pm local time. For a full itinerary, see below or check paulmccartneygotback.com.

GOT BACK marks Paul’s first series of live shows since his FRESHEN UP Tour wrapped in July 2019–its 39-date 12-country jaunt concluding with a sold-out show at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. 

Paul’s longtime band includes Paul “Wix” Wickens (keyboards), Brian Ray (bass/guitar), Rusty Anderson (guitar) and Abe Laboriel Jr (drums).

Tour dates:

Thursday, April 28 - Spokane, WA- Spokane Arena
Monday, May 2- Seattle, WA- Climate Pledge Arena
Tuesday, May 3- Seattle, WA- Climate Pledge Arena
Friday, May 6- Oakland, CA- Oakland Arena
Friday, May 13- Los Angeles, CA- SoFi Stadium
Tuesday, May 17- Fort Worth, TX- Dickies Arena
Saturday, May 21- Winston Salem, NC- Truist Field
Wednesday, May 25- Hollywood, FL- Hard Rock Live
Saturday, May 28- Orlando, FL- Camping World Stadium
Tuesday, May 31- Knoxville, TN- Thompson-Boling Arena
Saturday, June 4- Syracuse, NY- Carrier Dome
Tuesday, June 7- Boston, MA- Fenway Park
Sunday, June 12- Baltimore, MD- Oriole Park
Thursday, June 16- East Rutherford, NJ- MetLife Stadium

Photo: © MPL Communications Ltd/ Photographer: MJ Kim, courtesy Nasty Little Man PR

Hoodoo Gurus news

Before Hoodoo Gurus unveil Chariot of the Gods (its first studio album since 2010) on March 11, the veteran Aussie rock band will treat fans to a global e-stream featuring a performance of the entire album. 

The special event is to be pre-recorded at Damien Gerard Studios, Central Coast, NSW. The streamed set will be shared on Thursday, March 10 at 8 p.m. AEDT / WST / PST / EST/ GMT and will include members of the band online to chat with fans.

It is not only a special album preview but also a thank-you to loyal fans around the world who have been waiting on shows for the past couple of years. (Fans in North America who had purchased tickets to the recently cancelled tour were extended complimentary tickets to the stream by the Gurus and eMusic Live). Tickets are $10 AUD /$8 USD – available here.

Photo courtesy: Conqueroo PR

U.S. Record Store Day '22 news: The Everly Brothers

This sounds like an interesting Everlys collection. Read more from the press release below...

“The biggest influence on John and me was The Everly Brothers. To this day, I just think they’re the greatest.” – Paul McCartney

HEY DOLL BABY, a newly-remastered 17-track Everly Brothers compilation collects some of the lesser-known, buried treasures in Phil and Don Everly's catalog with songs assembled by Adria Petty, Tom Petty’s daughter, who worked closely with both Everly families on the project, with help from Phil’s widow Patti and son Jason, who provided track-by-track commentary for the liner notes, as well as Don Everly, prior to his passing last summer, and his widow Adela. HEY DOLL BABY was the final project Don worked on.

The collection will arrive for Record Store Day 2022 on April 23 as a limited edition of 7,500 copies worldwide on baby-blue vinyl.

Petty says she became a fan of The Everly Brothers through her father. “The Everly Brothers held a special place in his heart because they were the rock ’n’ roll trailblazers he related to the most. Self-made and determined like him. From the time I was around five years old, he passed on his passion for their music and story to me.”

HEY DOLL BABY explores The Everly Brothers’ legacy by not revisiting their greatest hits. Petty explains: “This compilation was curated with an eye towards celebrating the deeper rockabilly tracks and some great covers, with a small emphasis on hits. Whether you are new to The Everly Brothers or are among the diehard fans, this is sequenced for a great listening experience. Put this record on and get transported to another time and place. It will leave you feeling better.”

There are covers of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk The Line” and Chuck Berry’s “Maybellene” and four of the Everlys' original Cadence recordings including the title track and the Top 10 hits “(’Til) I Kissed You” (#4), “When Will I Be Loved” (#7), and “Devoted To You” (#10). The set also includes the #1 single “Cathy’s Clown,” which was the Everly Brothers’ first Warner Bros. single in 1960, and the best-selling song of their career.

In the album’s liner notes, Jason Everly provides insight into each song on the album, beginning the title track, “Hey Doll Baby,” which was the last song on The Everly Brothers’ 1957 self-titled debut. He writes: “Its classic Appalachian harmony mixed with rhythm & blues would become part of the brothers’ signature sound, and with each strum of their infectious guitars, it’s like they’re pushing the song into becoming actual rock ’n’ roll.”

Track Listing:

Side One

1. “Hey Doll Baby”

2. “When Will I Be Loved”
3. “Muskrat”
4. “Gone, Gone, Gone”
5. “Walk Right Back”
6. “(’Til) I Kissed You”
7. “That’s Just Too Much”
8. “Baby What You Want Me To Do”

Side Two

1. “Cathy’s Clown”
2. “Devoted To You”
3. “Maybellene”
4. “So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)”
5. “Made To Love”
6. “Sigh, Cry, Almost Die”
7. “I Walk The Line”
8. “Love Hurts”
9. “So Fine”

Duran Duran update: Hollywood Bowl dates announced; deluxe digital 'Future Past' edition available to stream now

In celebration of their four-decade career, and the Hollywood Bowl’s centennial, Duran Duran will headline a three-day weekend in September, where they will be joined by special guests.  The band will perform songs from their most recent critically-acclaimed studio album, FUTURE PAST, together with all the hits.

Recently nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Duran Duran enlisted Swedish hitmaker Tove Lo, British rapper Ivorian Doll, Blur’s Graham Coxon and Japanese all-girl punk band CHAI as guests on Future Past.

Tickets for the Hollywood Bowl shows will go on-sale May 3 at 10am PST.

DD VIP Fan Community pre-sales will be available from Tuesday, April 26 at 10am PST, until Monday, May 2, 2022, at 11:59pm PST. Additional information will be available on the pre-sale page at www.duranduranmusic.com closer to the pre-sale date.

HOLLYWOOD BOWL DATES:

09/09 - Hollywood Bowl - Los Angeles, CA - TICKETS

09/10 - Hollywood Bowl - Los Angeles, CA - TICKETS
09/11 - Hollywood Bowl - Los Angeles, CA - TICKETS

For more information, visit www.hollywoodbowl.com

More North American tour dates to be announced.

Last week, Duran Duran released a digital deluxe version of Future Past, featuring three previously unreleased songs. Listen HERE.

(DELUXE) TRACKLIST:

INVISIBLE

ALL OF YOU
GIVE IT ALL UP (Feat. Tove Lo)
ANNIVERSARY
FUTURE PAST
VELVET NEWTON*
BEAUTIFUL LIES
TONIGHT UNITED
WING
NOTHING LESS
LAUGHING BOY*
HAMMERHEAD (Feat. Ivorian Doll)
INVOCATION*
MORE JOY! (Feat. CHAI)
FALLING (Feat. Mike Garson)
*bonus tracks

Photo courtesy: High Rise PR