The Handsome Men Return to Arlene's Grocery for a Show on July 1st // Debut EP out August 13th

DOWNLOAD: The Handsome Men - "Find My Way" (from the forthcoming EP "Tin Angel")

The Handsome Men started playing live earlier this year and made their NYC debut with a show in May at Arlene's Grocery. The band returns to Arlene's this Friday and they are playing a 10PM set alongside DeBlois Milledge Band (9PM), Vance Jeffrey (8PM), Logan Verderlic (7PM) and Pol the Fisherman (11PM). Cover is $10.

The Handsome Men are in the process of mixing their debut 7-track ep entitled "Tin Angel", which will be released on August 13th with a show at Stanhope House in New Jersey, playing alongside Delicate Steve and Church Pussy. The band just released a brand new track from the forthcoming EP, "Find My Way", posted above which showcases the band's driving post-punk sound.



Links:
The Handsome Men

Uriah Heep - "Into The Wild" CD Review (Frontiers Records)

Every now and then, I come across a band that have been around for decades but I really don't have a clue what they sound like. Uriah Heep is now in the fourth decade as a band and their latest disc, Into the Wild (Frontier Records), is my first real exposure to their music.

Into the Wild is the band’s twenty-third studio disc and, musically, the heavy use of a Hammond organ and Bernie Shaw’s Ian Gillian-like vocals make for an immediate comparison to Perfect Stranger-era Deep Purple but there are also some elements of early 80’s Iron Maiden style NWOBHM in the mix. Where both of these comparisons fall away though is that original member Mick Box delivers some solid guitar work but the songs have more of a “full band” sound rather than highlighting individual guitar heroics.

This 12-track (Note: the Japanese edition has a 12th “bonus” track – “Hard Lesson to Learn”) / 59 minute disc has a solid foothold in the AOR/arena rock sound of the 70’s. Each of the 4+ minute tracks has a healthy sense of melody but there is little of the pop commercialism that crept into the metal scene in the mid-80’s; these are fist-pumping anthems for the denim and leather clad hard rockers. The strong leadoff track and first video from the new disc “Nail on the Head” sets the tone for the tracks that follow.



The band plays to their strengths with the four guitar and organ-driven hard rockers that follow: “I Can See You”, “Into the Wild” (which is one of the strongest tracks on the disc), “Money Talk” and “I’m Ready”. The band then changes pace and slows down a bit for some Iron Maiden style epic power-ballads on the back-half of the disc with tracks like “Trail of Diamonds”, “Southern Star” and “Kiss of Freedom”. Uriah Heep gets really creative on the Middle-Eastern flavored psychedelic track "Lost" and closes the disc on a strong note with the slow burning “Hard Way to Learn”. This is a strong set of hard rocking songs and AOR anthems; the only tune that was a bit of a turn-off was the poppy "hair metal" song “T-Bird Angel”.

Having read about the tumultuous lineup changes that Uriah Heep underwent in the 70’s and early 80’s, this current lineup has proven to be their most stable. The members of Uriah Heep are Bernie Shaw (vocals), Phil Lanzon (organ), Trevor Bolder (bass), Mick Box (guitar) and newcomer Russell Gilbrook (drums).

Links:
Uriah Heep

Please Consider Donating to "The Life is Good Playmakers" Fundraiser

One of my colleagues (and one of the truely good guys in the music industry) is raising funds for a great cause, The Life is Good Playmakers, so I wanted to support Joe and post a link to his fundraising page (click through on the image on the left).

Millions of our nation's youngest children experience profound suffering in many forms; domestic violence, abuse, neglect, natural disasters, extreme poverty, or severe illness. Consumed by fear and powerlessness, traumatized children stop playing, connecting and experiencing joy in the world around them. Early childhood trauma devastates young lives and shortens life expectancy.

I am fundraising for The Life is Good Playmakers, who are providing innovative training and support to preschool teachers, early child care providers, Child Life Specialists, social workers, and adults working directly with kids who are struggling to overcome early-childhood trauma.

My fundraising efforts are part of the 2011 Life is Good Festival, which is a fundraiser taking place this September 24th and 25th. With fundraising activities like Life is Good's Backyard Challenge, arts and live music on three stages, 30,000 fundraisers are coming together to celebrate the positive impact we are having on the lives of kids.

Please make a donation that will help support the front-line heroes who work every day to restore the greatest gifts of childhood playfulness, joy and optimism to a generation of hurting children.

Links:
Life is Good: Playmakers

Jim Ward (Sparta, Sleepcar) Releases Free Download from Forthcoming Debut Solo Disc

DOWNLOAD: Jim Ward - "Broken Songs" (from Quiet In The Valley, On The Shores The End Begins & The Electric Six)

Jim Ward, frontman of Sparta and Sleepercar and founding member of At The Drive-In, will release his debut solo album Quiet In The Valley, On The Shores The End Begins & The Electric Six on August 2nd, 2011 via his own Tembloroso Recordings. The album is a compilation of his acoustic solo EP trilogy - 2007's Quiet, 2009's In The Valley, On The Shores, 2011's The End Begins - paired with an additional disc of select tracks gone electric.

The album is preceded by the digital release of the acoustic and electric versions of first single "Broken Songs", both available now on iTunes. Ward premiered the acoustic "Broken Songs", featuring Tegan Quin of Tegan and Sara on AOL Music's Spinner; the song can also be downloaded as a free MP3 above.

The solo EP trilogy marked Ward's transition to writing quieter, more autobiographical acoustic songs after years of writing and performing loud, feedback-filled rock songs. When the songs are combined on Quiet In The Valley, On The Shores The End Begins, a seamless continuity is revealed, from the warm, piano-accented opener "On My Way Back Home Again", to the soaring, poignant "Broken Songs", to the rolling and cinematic "Waves In Spanish". The companion disc The Electric Six, meanwhile, captures the many nuanced facets of the songs and represents the live band with whom Ward will tour. The six-song collection transmutes each original track: the gently urgent "Take It Back" (featuring Maura Davis of Denali) amplifies to an anthemic rocker; the haunting "Mystery Talks" becomes a dynamic swell of chiming guitars; the jangling, melodic sweep of "Coastlines" moves to a rollicking country stomp; and the antique barroom waltz of "Decades" (written for his wife of 10 years) winds to a lush, gospel swing. Whether grounded in the acoustic or electric versions, Ward's matured and warm, plaintive vocals are showcased throughout the album.

With good friend and bandmate Gabriel González, Ward produced all the tracks on Quiet In The Valley, On The Shores The End Begins & The Electric Six in their Clap of Thunder studio in their hometown El Paso, TX. A longtime champion of the city's music scene, he enlisted many local musicians to back him on the songs; they include, in addition to González, Charles Berry (The Lusitania), Chris Heinrich, Chad Morris, Joel Quintana (Sleepercar, Metatron), Nicole Smith (The Royalty), Gregg Sosa, and Ray Wallace (Secret Life of Sparrows).

Ward began writing acoustic songs in 2006 during the last Sparta tour in support of their third album, Threes. Over the past five years during downtime from touring, he continued to write and record them as EPs. The songs explore themes of home, family, and nurturing roots, strongly influenced by his past few years spent mainly in El Paso after dedicating his early adulthood to making records and touring the world. Ward initially self-released and sold out limited edition runs of each EP via his Tembloroso Creative Lab website which is dedicated to providing a worldwide voice for his hometown of El Paso's artists and musicians.

The cover artwork for Quiet In The Valley, On The Shores The End Begins & The Electric Six, designed by artist Kelsey Brookes (www.kelseybrookes.com), is shown above.

Quiet In The Valley, On The Shores The End Begins track listing:
On My Way Back Home Again
Take It Back
Mystery Talks
Coastlines
Easier Said Than Done
All That We Lost
Broken Songs
My Town
The Newest One
This Love Has Gone Away
Lake Travis
Waves In Spanish
Decades
The Beginning Of The End

The Electric Six track listing:
Take It Back
Mystery Talks
Coastlines
Broken Songs
My Town
Decades

Links:
Jim Ward

Laurie Anderson and Bill Laswell Play Free Show at Castle Clinton on June 30th (River to River Festival)

As part of the 10th Annual River to River Festival, Laurie Anderson and Bill Laswell will collaborate in an evening of improvised beats and melodies with a free show at Castle Clinton.

Since the 80's when they first worked together in the studio, Anderson and Laswell have pursued radically different musical paths. Recently they played together as part of a trio with John Zorn, and their much-anticipated performance at Castle Clinton show will build on those new ideas and forms.



The show takes place on June 30, 2011 at Castle Clinton in Battery Park at 7PM. Tickets are available at the gate on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 5PM.

Links:
Laurie Anderson
Bill Laswell

Ozzy Osbourne - "Diary of a Madman" Legacy Edition CD Review

I’m somewhat conflicted on how to review the “legacy edition” of Ozzy Osbourne’s Diary of a Madman as this release left me disappointed as I was expecting “more”. The challenge is that I haven’t yet been able to put my finger on what it is that I was expecting.

To dive into this release, this is a double CD that contains the original recording of Diary of a Madman along with a bonus live CD from the Blizzard of Ozz tour. The Osbournes caused quite a stink when, due to royalty disputes, they replaced Bob Daisley’s bass parts and Lee Kerslake’s drum parts on the 2002 reissue of Diary with new recordings done by Robert Trujillo and Mike Bordin. While I think there are serious ethical issues here, numerous bands have added and deleted various (ex-)members parts for as long as I can remember. Some of the ones that come immediately to mind are:

- Black Sabbath: Tony Martin was brought in to sing over Ray Gillen’s parts on Eternal Idol after Ray had left the band
- Dave Wakeling: His solo disc was “built” by the record company using session demos and hired musician long after Dave had abandoned the project
- Kiss: The greatest hits disc in Sonic Boom was re-recorded without Ace and Peter (hmmm…I bet the Gene and Paul wanted to “[add] a fresh sound to the original [tracks]” rather than this having anything to do with royalties)

Disc One of Diary is a straightforward reissue of the eight track / 44-minute CD. Disc Two is a complete live concert (unlisted location – some sites have cited this show as being from The Palladium, NYC on 5/2/81) from the second leg of the Blizzard of Ozz tour. The show sounds great and the disc’s eleven tracks runs just over sixty minutes. The challenge here is that this show has the exact same set list as Tribute (which was recorded in Cleveland in 5/11/81) and covers no new ground.

The good point of this set is that it is selling for $10 used on Amazon, which isn’t a bad price to pay for a full-length live CD. The negative is that I expected something “new” from this reissue – perhaps bonus tracks on the studio CD or, at minimum, the inclusion of the “Mr Crowley” EP so that I don’t have to worry about hooking up my turntable when I want to hear these songs. I also would have expected the live show to be from the Diary of a Madman tour as the Blizzard tour was already documented on Tribute. (Note: The difference between the Blizzard and Diary set lists was the addition of “Over the Mountain” and “Goodbye to Romance” to the set.)

Unless you have to have everything Ozzy does (or you have only the 2002 issue of Diary), I’d pass on this deluxe edition. Inevitably, there will be “super-deluxe” re-reissue that comes out sometime in the next few years.

Links:
Ozzy Osbourne

Minerva Lions and Pow Wow! Are Playing MOSCOT Music's Saturday Series on June 11th

DOWNLOAD: Minerva Lions - "Megrims"
DOWNLOAD: Pow Wow! - "It's Not That Easy"

The Deli Magazine described Minerva Lions as "an emerging Brooklyn band playing rather chilled alt-folk alternitevly reminiscent of Beck from the "Sea Change" period" and Pow Wow! made L Magazine's list of “8 NYC Bands You Have To Hear.”

Both bands are playing a free show this Saturday at MOSCOT Gallery 118 Orchard St (at Delancey St) as part of the Gallery's Saturday Sessions series.

Attendees can get 20% off MOSCOT eyewear with proof of show flyer (see the attached flyer).

Links:
Minerva Lions
Pow Wow!

The Nico Blue Release New Video for "Folk Song Number Two" / Show at Hiro Ballroom on July 1st with Blind Mellon

Local band The Nico Blues have a knack for crafting the perfect indie pop song and they have just released a new "guitar cam" video for "Folk Song Number Two" (from Blame the Boredom, Blame the Basements).



Blame the Boredom, Blame the Basements, along with a a demo and the band's 2009 EP are posted as free downloads on their website (Nico Blues). It is somewhat sad how bad the music industry has gotten as this is the sort of music that people once paid for.

The Nico Blues have a number of upcoming shows in the area, including a slot opening for Blind Melon at Hiro Ballroom. Here is a run-down of the band's upcoming shows:

- June 18: Northside Festival Whatever Blog Showcase, Red Star Bar, Brooklyn
- June 25: Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ (Cover is $8)
- July 1: Hiro Ballroom, NYC (w/Blind Melon - Tickets are $25)
- July 7: Bar Matchless, Brooklyn
- July 28: Bruar Falls, Brooklyn

Links:
The Nico Blues

Pulling Teeth - Maryland Death Festival 2011 Photos

I lived in Baltimore during my formative years and punk/hardcore music always seemed to be a "step child" to the city's burgeoning metal scene. The Marble Bar closed in the mid-80's and most of the punk bands played D.I.Y. spaces or DC after that. It seemed like it wasn't until Chris X. opened Reptilian Records in the late 80's that punk bands started coming back through on a regular basis.

I'm pleasantly amazed at the scene that seems to have sprung up since I left town and Pulling Teeth and A389 Recordings seem to be major players. I hadn't heard Pulling Teeth prior to seeing them at MDF but I'm definitely going to have to check out their back catalogue.

From Pulling Teeth - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-27-11

From Pulling Teeth - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-27-11

From Pulling Teeth - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-27-11

From Pulling Teeth - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-27-11

From Pulling Teeth - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-27-11

From Pulling Teeth - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-27-11

From Pulling Teeth - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-27-11

Links:
Pulling Teeth

Cerebral Bore - "Maniacal Miscreation" Interview with Guitarist Paul McGuire (Earache)

Scottish death metal band Cerebral Bore kicked off their third US tour last week with a show at Tobacco Road (aka Port 41). The band just signed to Earache Records and their Earache debut, Maniacal Miscreation, came out last week in the US.

I had the opportunity to catch up with guitarist/tour manager Paul McGuire prior to the show and we talked about the band's signing to Earache, the new disc and the upcoming tour.



Here are Cerebral Bore's upcoming US tour dates:

June 7th - Amarillo, Texas, USA
June 9th - Tucson, Arizona, USA
June 10th - Las vegas,Nevada, USA (Las vegas Death Fest)
June 12th - Los Angeles, California, USA
June 16th - Cancun, Mexico
June 17th - Merida, Mexico
June 18th - Co Del Carmen, Mexico
June 19th - Campeche, Mexico

Links:
Cerebral Bore

Paul McCartney: "McCartney II" Deluxe Edition CD Review

Following last year's deluxe reissue of Band on the Run, MPL and the Concord Music Group are pleased to announce McCartney and McCartney II as the next releases in the Paul McCartney Archive Collection on June 14th, 2011.

McCartney II will be made available as a 2 CD "Special Edition" featuring the original remastered album plus eight bonus tracks including B-Sides and alternative versions. The bonus audio CD includes the #1 hit “Coming Up (Live At Glasgow, 1979)” and holiday perennial “Wonderful Christmastime.”

There is also a 4 disc (3 CD, 1 DVD) "Deluxe Edition" of McCartney II that includes an exclusive bonus DVD featuring rare and previously unseen footage (including performances of "Coming Up" and the new video for the unreleased track "Blue Sway") but includes an additional seven rare bonus audio tracks exclusive to this edition. Additionally, the McCartney II deluxe edition contains an extraordinary 128-page hard bound book featuring many previously unpublished photos by Linda McCartney, original album and single artwork, downloadable hi-res audio versions of the remastered album, an illustrated history of the making of the album, and expanded track by track information for all three audio discs plus detailed historical information on the film content.

McCartney II was recorded in July of 1979 as a one-man solo project in-between Wings' Back to the Egg album and their aborted 1980 tour of Japan. After McCartney disbanded Wings in 1980, McCartney II was released in May of that year. Sharing a 'spiritual' similarity with McCartney (Paul's first solo disc), McCartney II shows Paul almost completely breaking from his past and fully embracing new wave through experiments with synthesizers and electronic beats. The original disc's thirteen tracks are an eclectic but compelling assortment and show Paul getting out in-front of the budding synth-pop movement.

Here is what is on the set:
(Note: A copy of the third audio disc wasn't included in the review package I was sent)

CD 1 - Original Album [11 tracks / 39 minutes]
As I'm more familiar with McCartney II than Paul's first solo disc, I can hear the difference that the remastering made. This remastering at Abbey Road Studios has added more sonic depth to the disc and one can hear more of the nuances in both the vocals and the instrumentation.

CD 2 - Bonus Audio Tracks [48 Minutes]
Note: "Urban legend" is that McCartney II was originally intended to be a double-album and a number of these bonus tracks come from what is known as "The Lost McCartney II Album".

1. "Blue Sway” [From "The Lost McCartney II Album"]
This track has late 70's style "urban cool" vibe (think Steely Dan)

2. "Coming Up” [From Wing’s final concert: Glasgow, December 17, 1979]
B-side of the studio recording of "Coming Up"

3. "Check My Machine [B-side of "Waterfalls" single]

4. "Bogey Wobble" [From "The Lost McCartney II Album"]
Companion piece to "Bogey Music"

5. "Secret Friend" [B-side of "Temporary Secretary" single]

6. "Mr H Atom / You Know I'll Get You Baby" [From "The Lost McCartney II Album"]
"Mr H Atom" features Linda on vocals

7. "Wonderful Christmastime"
Originally released as a solo single in 1979 b/w "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reggae"

8. "All You Horse Riders / Blue Sway"
"All You Horse Riders" is from "The Lost McCartney II Album"; I don't believe that I've ever heard the mostly instrumental version of "Blue Sway" that follows.

DVD - Bonus Film [55 Minutes]
1. "Meet Paul McCartney"
Includes the "Coming Up" video and an in-depth interview conducted by Tim Rice where Paul goes into detail about the motivation behind and the recording of McCartney II.

2. "Coming Up"
3. "Waterfalls”
4. "Wonderful Christmastime”
Music videos (which were heavily played on MTV at the time)

5. "Coming Up” [Live at Concert for the People of Kampuchea - December 29, 1979]

6. "Coming Up” (from a 1979 rehearsal session at Paul's farm)
A nice intimate recording filmed with a single camera

7. "Making the Coming Up Music Video"
Paul narrates the making of the "Coming Up" video while the video plays behind his voice-over

8. "Blue Sway” Promo Video
Set to Jack McCoy's underwater/surf footage





Links:
Paul McCartney

City and Colour Release New CD "Little Hell" on June 7th // Download "Fragile Bird" for Free

DOWNLOAD: City and Colour - "Fragile Bird" (from Little Hell)

Dallas Green will be releasing his 3rd solo album as a singer-songwriter under the moniker City and Colour on Vagrant Records. The album titled Little Hell is scheduled for release on June 7th, 2011 and it is the follow-up to the 2008’s Bring Me Your Love, which was certified platinum in Green’s native Canada. Alternately sparse and inviting, intense and delicate, Little Hell shows music fans another side of Green’s incredible songwriting skills, and features some of his finest songs to date.

Little Hell was recorded earlier this winter at Catherine North Studios in Hamilton, ON with producer/engineer/mixer Alex Newport (At The Drive-In, Mars Volta, Death Cab For Cutie). Fans got a sneak preview of a brand new track from the upcoming album when an alternate version of the song titled “Northern Wind” recently made its debut on a special Valentine’s Day episode of the hit series One Tree Hill. Green performed on the episode as part of the show’s story line.



Little Hell – named after the album’s title track, a song that explores the little heavens and little hells that comprise a relationship – is the first of Green’s albums to be recorded and mixed to tape. This sonic move ultimately resulted in the album’s warm immediacy, allowing the songs to take on a spaciousness previously unheard in City and Colour albums. The record allows Green to highlight all of the facets of his songwriting, from Blues-tinged rockers to pedal steel-soaked acoustic gems. Songs like “Northern Wind” have a beautiful intimacy, as if Green is in the same room and singing right to you, while “Sorrowing Man” is dark and brooding, anchored by an ominous organ in the chorus. The record also highlights Green’s impressive vocal range, from driving a full band on the rousing chorus of “Natural Disaster” or sighing mellifluously on opener “We Found Each Other in the Dark.”



Links:
City and Colour

JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound & Not Blood, Pain Play Cameo Gallery on June 28th

Here is a great upcoming show - Chicago's "raw power soul" band JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound (who recently signed to Bloodshot records) and local performance art/art-rock crazies Not Blood, Paint are playing a show at Cameo Gallery on Tuesday, June 28th. Cover is $5 and Pass Kontrol and Bad Credit No Credit are sharing the bill.







Links:
JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound
Not Blood, Paint

Waters (ex-Port O'Brien) Posts New Track as Free Download / Band Plays Three NYC Shows in June

DOWNLOAD: Waters - "For the One" (from Out in the Light - out 9/20)

Photo credit: Ashlie and Amber Chavez
Waters is the new project from ex-Port O'Brien front man Van Pierszalowski. Following the demise of that band last year, he took a break from making music and ended up living in Oslo, Norway. After some time off, he began writing again, then traveled most of the next year to Alaska, California, and Brooklyn, NY, before returning to Oslo to record the album with a band he put together. The album, like "For The One," has a louder, fuller, more aggressive and raw sound than anything he's written before, and was recorded in Dallas with John Congleton (St. Vincent, Explosions In The Sky, The Walkmen).

Waters just played the Immergut Festival in Germany last weekend and will support Wye Oak in Europe before coming to NYC to play the Northside Fest and a Mercury Lounge headlining show later this month.

Waters Tour Dates:

JUNE 07 -- AMSTERDAM, NL, PARADISO*
JUNE 08 -- GHENT, BE, VOORUIT*
JUNE 09 -- HAMBURG, DE, MOLOTOW*
JUNE 10 -- GRONIGEN, NL, VERA*
JUNE 11 -- MUNICH, DE, ATOMIC CAFÉ*
JUNE 12 -- VIENNA, AT, CHELSEA CLUB*
JUNE 13 -- FRANKFURT, DE, SINKKASTEN*
JUNE 14 -- BERLIN, DE, COMET*
JUNE 16 -- LONDON, UK, HOXTON BAR & GRILL*
JUNE 18 -- BROOKLYN, NY, CAMEO GALLERY (Northside Festival)
JUNE 19 -- BROOKLYN, NY, BROOKLYN BOWL# (Northside Festival)
JUNE 21 -- NEW YORK, NY, MERCURY LOUNGE (late show, 10pm set)
* supporting Wye Oak
# supporting Deer Tick (performing as Deervana)

Links:
Waters

Paul McCartney: "McCartney" Deluxe Edition CD Review

Following last year's deluxe reissue of Band on the Run, MPL and the Concord Music Group are pleased to announce McCartney and McCartney II as the next releases in the Paul McCartney Archive Collection on June 14th, 2011.

McCartney will be made available as a 2-disc (2 CD) Special Edition featuring the original remastered album plus seven bonus audio tracks including the previously unreleased outtakes “Suicide” and “Don’t Cry Baby” plus a rare live 1979 recording of “Maybe I’m Amazed”. For collectors, the reissue will also be made available as a lavishly packaged 3 disc (2 CD, 1 DVD) Deluxe Edition which includes an exclusive bonus DVD featuring rare and previously unseen footage, an extraordinary 128-page hard bound book containing many exclusive and unpublished photos by Paul and Linda McCartney, original album artwork, downloadable hi-res audio versions of the remastered album and bonus audio tracks, an illustrated history of the making of the album, and expanded track by track information for the two audio discs as well as detailed historical information on the film content.

McCartney was Paul McCartney’s first solo outing which was originally released in 1970, immediately prior to the release of The Beatles’ final studio disc Let It Be. McCartney dropped a ‘bombshell’ with this release when he publicly announced his departure from the Beatles in the form of a Q & A package included in advance copies of the album.

Except from Q&A
---------------------------------------------------------
Q: "Is this album a rest away from the Beatles or the start of a solo career?"

PAUL: "Time will tell. Being a solo album means it's 'the start of a solo career...and not being done with the Beatles means it's just a rest. So it's both."

Q: "Is your break with the Beatles temporary or permanent, due to personal differences or musical ones?"

PAUL: "Personal differences, business differences, musical differences, but most of all because I have a better time with my family. Temporary or permanent? I don't really know."

Q: "Do you foresee a time when Lennon-McCartney becomes an active songwriting partnership again?"

PAUL: "No."
---------------------------------------------------------
Both George Harrison and John Lennon took some swipes at this album when it was originally released but they seemed to have missed the point that this was a cathartic album for McCartney as he was trying to come to grips with his new post-Beatles life. The tracks on this release aren’t the rich, fully produced songs of Wings or later-day McCartney solo work; Paul played all the instruments on this disc and these are stripped-down demos that have been built up into full songs through multi-tracking. While this disc contains the McCartney concert staple “Maybe I’m Amazed” (and George Harrison commented at the time of this album’s release that “That Would Be Something” was “great”), the disc also contains a number of experimental tracks and instrumentals.

Here is what is on the 2CD/DVD set:

CD 1 - Original Album [13 tracks / 35 minutes]

CD 2 - Bonus Audio Tracks [26 Minutes]
1. "Suicide” [Outtake]
More of a "work-in-progress" take than an outtake with a lot of improvisational/scat lyrics and a couple run-throughs of the same verse

2. "Maybe I'm Amazed” [From the "One Hand Clapping" Video – Abbey Road 1974]
Video included in the Band on the Run deluxe edition but previously unreleased as an audio track

3. "Every Night"
4. "Hot As Sun"
5. "Maybe I'm Amazed"
Tracks 3-5 from Wing’s final concert: Glasgow, December 17, 1979

6. "Don't Cry Baby” [Outtake - Instrumental version of "Oo You"]

7. "Women Kind” [Demo - Mono]
I'm not sure where/how this fits in with Macca's first solo disc as this take sounds like it is from the "Piano Tapes" session (and resultant bootleg) which is believed to have been recorded in late '73/early '74.

DVD - Bonus Film [32 Minutes]
1. "The Album Story" [A “making of the album” vignette with some brief reflections by Paul and some great still footage of The Beatles and McCartney]

2. "The Beach" [Home movie/still shot in 1970 in Scotland]

3. "Maybe I'm Amazed” Promo Video

4. "Suicide" [from the "One Hand Clapping" Video – Abbey Road 1974]

5. "Every Night” [Live at Concert for the People of Kampuchea - December 29, 1979]

6. "Hot As Sun” [Live at Concert for the People of Kampuchea – December 29, 1979]

7. "Junk” [MTV Unplugged - January 25, 1991]

8. "That Would Be Something” [MTV Unplugged – January 25, 1991]



Links:
Paul McCartney

Gravehill: Maryland Deathfest 2011 Photos and Live Video

You have to love Gravehill's bio: "Formed in a fucked up alley next to the dumpsters and meth labs in Southern California in 2000, Gravehill was spawned to bring back the true way of death fucking metal. The “Practitioners Of Fell Sorcery” was then unleashed upon the world. Only a few copies were made. These demons were inactive for a few years due to drug abuse, homelessness, incarcerations (stints in the Pen), or hiding from law enforcement and government agencies."

Gravehill was the first band on the outdoor stage on Sunday and they braved both the heat of the mid-day sun and the in-town lacrosse tournament to take the stage blood-spattered and in full leathers (at least singer Mike Abominato was in leather).

From Gravehill - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-29-11

From Gravehill - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-29-11

From Gravehill - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-29-11

From Gravehill - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-29-11

From Gravehill - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-29-11

From Gravehill - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-29-11

Links:
Gravehill

Hail of Bullets: Maryland Deathfest 2011 Photos & Live Video

Hail of Bullets put out a killer disc last year on Metal Blade entitled On Devine Winds which is a concept album covering the Pacific battles between Japan and the USA. The album title, On Divine Winds, is a translation of the Japanese word "kamikaze," as kami stands for "God" and kaze means "wind."

Hail of Bullets is comprised of death metal veterans: drummer Ed Warby (Gorefest), guitarists Stephan Gebédi and Paul Baayens (both of Thanatos), singer Martin Van Drunen (Asphyx) and bass player Theo van Eekelen (Houwitser). As all of its members of Hail of Bullets are involved in other projects, the band plays very few live shows and their only US appearance this year was at Maryland Deathfest.

From Hail of Bullets - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-28-11

From Hail of Bullets - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-28-11

From Hail of Bullets - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-28-11

From Hail of Bullets - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-28-11

From Hail of Bullets - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-28-11

From Hail of Bullets - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5-28-11

(Note: Video filmed by ReturntothePit)


Links:
Hail of Bullets