David Bowie - "Toy" CD Review (No Label)

I love the alleged “mystique” when news of a bootleg hits the mainstream media. The bootlegs that I can remember creating significant media hype are The Minutemen – Just A Minute... Men (which was a live radio broadcast that was bootlegged by a disgruntled DJ after the band had the ‘audacity’ to release part of the session themselves); The Misfits – 12 Hits from Hell (there were so many promos in circulation, how can anyone not think this would have gone viral); Metallica – “I Disappear” demo (gee Lars, a studio demo is leaked and you think the problem is the vehicle used to distribute the song??).

More recently, there were a number of studio tracks leaked from Guns N’ Roses’ then-forthcoming album Chinese Democracy (now $1.99 at Best Buy) and the latest leak is David Bowie’s (unreleased until now) 2001 album Toy. The website TorrentFreak tracked down the uploader who said: “Myself and a few friends were very angry that certain people only seem to want to profit from recordings like the Toy album, so when we saw the eBay auction and heard of someone else selling discs for $55, I decide to upload it and give it away.”

The story behind this 14-track/60+ minute disc is that it was planned for release in 2001 but shelved due to a dispute with Virgin. With Bowie going ‘quiet’ this past decade, this is the first new studio material since 2002’s Reality and the version of Toy that is circulating is studio quality ( 256 kps, unlike the GN’R leaks). Where this gets especially interesting is that the disc is a mix of (then) new material and radical reworkings of some of the earliest material from Bowie’s back catalog.

Here is the track list:

1) "Uncle Floyd" - 6:15
>> This track appeared on 2002’s Heathen under the title “Slip Away” without the intro sound bite from the Uncle Floyd show and with subtle differences in the music and lyrics.

2) "Afraid" - 3:29
>> This track appeared on 2002’s Heathen in essentially the same format.

3) "Baby Loves That Way" - 4:38
>> Originally released in 1965 as the b-side of the single "You've Got a Habit of Leaving" under the name Davy Jones & the Lower Third. This new version is about a minute and a half longer than the original version but, aside for some studio banter toward the end of the song, this version is rather close to what was ultimately released on the "Everyone Says Hi" UK CD single.

4) "I Dig Everything" - 4:53
>> Originally released in 1966 and served as Bowie’s last recording on Pye. The version on Toy is about two minutes longer than the original version and remains unreleased.

5) "Conversation Piece" - 3:53
>> Originally released in 1970 as the b-side to “The Prettiest Star” and later included as a bonus track on the Ryko issue of Space Oddity. The version recorded for Toy is close to the original but runs a minute longer. This version was included on the bonus disc for Heathen.

6) "Let Me Sleep Beside You" - 3:14
>> Originally recorded as a single in 1967 which was rejected by the record company and ultimately released on one of the many singles compilations from the Deram era and, more recently, included on the deluxe edition of David Bowie’s first album. This version is a good bit heavier than the original and remains unreleased.

7) "Toy (Your Turn To Drive)" - 4:46
>>”Toy” (aka “Your Turn To Drive”) is one of the new tunes written for Toy and was released on iTunes as a non-lp single in 2003.

8) "Hole In The Ground" - 3:30
>> Allegedly from the Space Oddity sessions (1969).

9) "Shadow Man" - 4:41
>> An outtake from 1971 that can be found on a few bootlegs in both demo and studio form. A slightly different and longer version than what is on the Toy bootleg was included on the “Everyone Says Hi” UK CD Single.

10) "In The Heat of The Morning" - 3:51
>> Like “Let Me Sleep Beside You”, this track was originally recorded as a single (1968) and subsequently released on one of the many singles compilations from the Deram era and, more recently, included on the deluxe edition of David Bowie’s first album. This version remains unreleased.

11) "You've Got a Habit of Leaving" - 4:49
>> Originally released as a single in 1965 under the name Davy Jones & the Lower Third. This new version is significantly longer than the original version and is close to what was ultimately released on the "Everyone Says Hi" UK CD single.

12) "Silly Boy Blue" - 5:33
>> Originally released in 1967 on David Bowie’s first album. An early demo recording along with numerous live recordings can be found on the bootleg circuit. This new version remains unreleased but is close in comparison to the live version found on the Jewel bootleg CD.

13) "Liza Jane" - 4:48
>> Originally released as a single in 1964 under the name Davie Jones with the King Bees. This new version has been reworked into a jazz number but (unfortunately) remains unreleased.

14) "The London Boys" - 3:47
>> Originally released in 1966 as the b-side to the “Rubber Band” single. While segments of this song were posted to BowieNet, this version remains unreleased.

I found the list of musicians playing on this disc (below) on an online discussion group so I can’t vouch to its accuracy but it is probably pretty close.

David Bowie: vocals, keyboards, stylophone, mandolin
Lisa Germano: acoustic & electric violins, recorder, mandolin, accordion
Holly Palmer: backing vocals
Emm Gryner: backing vocals
Sterling Campbell: drums
Mark Plati: bass, guitars
Gerry Leonard: guitars
Gail-Ann Dorsey: bass
Mike Garson: piano
Cuong Vu: trumpet
Earl Slick: guitar

Links:
David Bowie

Peter Frampton: Live Video from Performance on Oprah, 11/4/10

I'm not quite sure what to think of Peter Frampton at this point in my life.

My older sister was heavily into Peter Frampton's shirtless pretty-boy era (Frampton Comes Alive, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" [movie]) and I saw punk as the perfect response to this bloated excess. When living in Baltimore in the 80's, I saw Frampton play a radio station concert and this was the first time that I could see that he had some pretty solid guitar chops. This observation was later reinforced when (former grade-school classmate) David Bowie took Frampton out on lead guitar for his Never Let Me Down / Glass Spider tour.



I lost track of Frampton after this until he released his Grammy Award winning instrumental disc Fingerprints (2006), which included guest appearances from Matt Cameron, Mike McCready, Charlie Watt and Bill Wyman along with a cover of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun".



Frampton released his fourteenth disc, Thank You Mr. Churchill, earlier this year and toured arenas this past summer on a co-headlining bill with Yes. I haven't personally heard the new disc but it has been getting favorably reviews:

"Frampton has wound up with a heavy progressive rock record, roiling with dense riffs, segmented songs, and winding blues jams. Happily, he hasn't ignored his previous life as either a Tamla/Motown devotee or pop star, cutting the introspection and ambition with a handful of lighter moments that give the album levity while broadening its palette, helping to push Thank You Mr. Churchill to one of Frampton’s richest records and unexpectedly one of his best." -- allmusic

Links:
Peter Frampton

David Bowie - Station to Station Special Edition CD Review

As Station to Station has been out since 1976 and available on CD since 1985, I don’t think there is much to be gained by trying to review the studio disc of this deluxe reissue. The instrumental clarity of the studio disc sounds great but I haven’t listened to my Ryko disc (or vinyl version) of Station to Station in years so I can’t say that one is better than the other. For what it is worth, this reissue is noted to be a new transfer from the original stereo analogue master in 48/24 LPCM stereo.

The highlight of this reissue is the inclusion of a (near) complete recording of David Bowie’s March 23, 1976 show at Nassau Coliseum. While this show was originally an FM broadcast (and is currently available on Wolfgang’s Vault) and subsequently bootlegged many times, this new two disc live set includes the correct running order and four tracks ("Waiting for the Man" – 6:20, "Queen Bitch" – 3:12, "Life on Mars?" – 2:13 and "Five Years" – 5:03) that I’ve never seen on any of the bootlegs. What seems somewhat strange is that a seven minute drum solo/improv has been edited out of “Panic In Detroit” which was part of the original FM broadcast but the full version of this track is available as a digital download for $1.99.

This live show sounds great (and significantly better than the previously issued bootlegs) and the band plays with an energy that wasn’t found on either David Live or Stage. New guitarist Stacy Hayden does a remarkable job adding his own imprint to the songs originally recorded with Earl Slick and the rest of the band follows behind with a solid rock/funk groove. The funked up version of the VU’s “Waiting for the Man” is particularly tasty.

The packaging for this set is fairly exquisite (as you can see from the photo). Both the studio CD and the live set are housed in mini-LP sleeves and the set includes a 16-page book that covers the chronology of events around the recording of the album and Station to Station tour.

This reissue is a solid addition to the Bowie catalog; it will be interesting to see how Bowie chooses to give deluxe treatment to Low (which, presumably, is next on his list).

Links:
David Bowie

Iggy and The Stooges: Win an Opportunity to Film The Stooges at All Tomorrow's Parties on Sept. 3rd

On Friday, September 3rd 2010, Iggy and the Stooges are putting themselves IN THE HANDS OF THE FANS...

MVD Entertainment Group has launched the site www.InTheHandsOfTheFans.com to offer fans a once in a lifetime opportunity to film and interview Iggy and the Stooges performing the seminal punk rock masterpiece Raw Power at the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival on September 3, 2010. Six lucky fans will be chosen by way of a video submission contest to join director Joey Carey on location at the Stardust Theater at Kutchers' Country Club in Monticello, NY. This marks the reunion between Iggy Pop and powerhouse guitarist James Williamson as well as original Stooges drummer Scott "Rock Action" Asheton. Also featuring Mike Watt on bass and Steve Mackay on saxophone.



The contest is based on fans submitting short high definition video segments asking Iggy and the Stooges interview questions, or demonstrating why they should win the contest. Winners of the contest will film and interview Iggy and the Stooges at All Tomorrow's Parties. This fan shot footage, along with the contestant video submissions, will be crafted into a high definition longform program, which will be part concert film and part reality TV show about the journey of the fans.

"Raw Power is one of the greatest, most dangerous albums in the history of rock and roll" says Ed Seaman, C.O.O. of MVD Entertainment Group. "We are honored to enable the fans this connection with the band; this will be a dream come true for the winners."

IN THE HANDS OF THE FANS will be sustainable as a series; MVD is already deep in discussions with a number of other artists and expects to have five more programs shot within the next six months with new announcements expected any day.

The final program for Iggy and the Stooges IN THE HANDS OF THE FANS is expected to release on DVD, BluRay, digital download and broadcast by early 2011. All contestants will receive a special offer to purchase the film early along with some exclusive value added content.



Links:
Iggy Pop
All Tomorrow's Parties

Ashton Nyte: Live Footage & Interview from "The Valley" CD Release Show at Fontana's, NYC 6-29-10

Ashton Nyte is considered to have pioneered alternative music in South Africa and he made his NYC debut at Fontana's with a CD release show for his latest disc The Valley (Intervention Arts Records). I had a chance to talk with Ashton before the show and this video also includes the first song from the set.



Here are Ashton's upcoming tour dates (which include a return trip to NYC on July 23rd):

Thursday, July 8 8:30PM (acoustic)
Mars Cafe: 2318 University Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50311-4316

Saturday, July 10 8:00PM (acoustic)
Kick Butt Coffee: 5775 Airport Boulevard, Austin, TX 78752

Sunday, July 11 10:00PM (full band)
Headhunters: 720 Red River Street, Austin, TX 78701

Monday, July 12 8:00PM (full band)
Avant Garden: 411 Westheimer, Houston, TX 77006

Tuesday, July 13 5:30PM (acoustic in-store appearance)
Cactus Music: 2110 Portsmouth Street, Houston, TX 77098
Refreshments provided by St. Arnold Brewing Company

Thursday, July 15 9:00PM (acoustic)
Checkpoint Charlie's: 501 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116

Saturday, July 17 10:00PM (full band)
The Highlands Taproom: 1279 Bardstown Road, Louisville, KY 40204

Friday, July 23 8:00PM – 9:00PM (full band)
The Gallery Bar: 120 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002-3177

Saturday, July 24 10:00PM (full band)
Spellbound @ Recessions: 1823 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20036

Links:
Ashton Nyte

Iggy & The Stooges - "Raw Power" Legacy Edition CD Review

I've been a bit suspicious of this release after having acquired a large number of 'lost' live shows and outtakes from Raw Power era of The Stooges over the last twenty years. After finally sitting down to give this 2CD a listen (and then a second listen), I was pleasantly surprised.

The first disc of this set restores the original David Bowie mix of Raw Power. While this may not be a big deal for long-time fans, the original mix has been hard to find since Columbia issued Iggy's red-lining, guitar-heavy remix in 1997. The original mix wasn't without its fault - it was trebly with Iggy and guitarist James Williamson grossly dominating the mix, leaving the Asheton brothers no where to be heard - but the '97 remix didn't solve any problems by turning the volume up to "11". Interestingly, both James Williamson and Ron Asheton individually stated in interviews over the years that they liked the Bowie mix better than Iggy's later version.

"Bowie's not my favorite guy, but I have to say that overall, I think he did a pretty good job." -- James Williamson



The real gem, and counterpoint to the Bowie mix of Raw Power, is on Disc 2 - which is a complete live show from the Raw Power tour recorded at Richard's in Atlanta, GA. The surprise with this show is that it captures The Stooges, both tight and coherent and James Williamson's guitar is buried in the mix so Ron Asheton's fluid bass playing and Scott Thurston's bar room piano rise to the top of the mix. The set list is pretty standard for this era/tour which consists of five tracks from Raw Power plus "Head On", "Cock In My Pocket" and "Open Up & Bleed".

The second disc wraps up with "Doojiman" which is an outtake from the session for Raw Power. The sound on this track is perfect (unlike some of the Bomp and Revenge releases) but this is a track that will only appeal to die-hard fans. While the band lays down a voodoo groove, Iggy scats and jabbers over the four minute track leaving him sounding somewhat like Gibby Haynes. The last track, "Head On", is from a rehearsal performance and sounds like something that could have (and may have?) been included in the massive series of outtakes and reissues that Bomp, Revenge and Easy Action have issued over the years.

Given the $13.99 price point for this set (new from Amazon), the live show on the second disc more than makes this set worthwhile.

Links:
Iggy and the Stooges

Ashton Nyte Announces CD Release Show at Fontana's for "The Valley" (US Debut Album)

"Ashton Nyte is a South African born singer, songwriter, producer, composer and front man of the South African alternative rock band The Awakening. Nyte has released five solo albums both as Ashton Nyte and Ashton Nyte and the Accused in addition to his numerous releases as The Awakening. He is considered to be a pioneer of alternative rock in South Africa and has been described as "something of a music[al] genius" for his typical method of composing, playing and recording each instrument himself on most of his releases. Nyte is widely known in South Africa for his chart-topping cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sounds of Silence" and several other top singles. His signature style combines baritone vocals akin to David Bowie and Johnny Cash, with instrumentation that ranges from Americana to alternative rock and even lo-fi indie rock. Themes of George Orwell's 1984 often infiltrate Nyte's work, along with numerous Christian references. Nyte has been based in the USA as of 2009." -– Wikipedia

Ashton Nyte just released his US debut, The Valley (on Intervention Arts Records), and he is playing a Best Buy in-store along with a release party (full band) show at Fontana's next Tuesday, June 29th. The Best Buy in-store is at the Union Square location (52 E. 14th Street) and Ashton is playing an acoustic set that starts at 4PM. The show at Fontana's is a full-band set which starts at 8:30PM. Both shows are free and there will be a pre-show open bar at the Fontana's show which starts at 7PM

Here is the video for "Jennifer", which is the first single from The Valley:



Links:
Ashton Nyte

Iggy Pop - Raw Power Legacy Edition Released on April 13th

DOWNLOAD: Iggy & the Stooges - "Raw Power" Podcast

As much as I've tried to break away from being a record collector, I still have way too many legit, semi-legit and bootleg Iggy Pop CDs, LPs, etc. As I started trading tapes twenty years ago and recently bought both Iggy Pop live box sets from Easy Action, I'm pleasantly surprised that this new reissue of Raw Power contains a number of tracks that I don't already have.

There is both a 2-disc (the first two discs listed below) and 4-disc version of the Raw Power Legacy Edition. Here is the track listing:

Disc 1 - Raw Power (original David Bowie mix)
01. Search and Destroy
02. Gimme Danger
03. Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell
04. Penetration
05. Raw Power
06. I Need Somebody
07. Shake Appeal
08. Death Trip

Disc 2 - "Georgia Peaches"
01. Introduction *
02. Raw Power *
03. Head On *
04. Gimme Danger *
05. Search and Destroy *
06. I Need Somebody *
07. Heavy Liquid *
08. Cock in My Pocket *
09. Open Up and Bleed *
10. Doojiman [outtake]
11. Head On [CBS Studio rehearsal performance]
* Live in Atlanta, 1973

Disc 3 - Rarities, Outtakes, & Alternates from the Raw Power Era
01. I'm Hungry [outtake]
02. I Got a Right [outtake]
03. I'm Sick of You [outtake]
04. Hey, Peter [outtake]
05. Shake Appeal [alternate mix]
06. Death Trip [alternate mix]
07. Gimme Danger [alternate mix from the 1996 Iggy "violent" remixes]
08. Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell [alternate mix from the 1996 Iggy "violent" remixes]

Disc 4 (DVD)
The Making of Raw Power - documentary by Morgan Neville featuring new interviews with Iggy Pop, James Williamson, Scott Asheton, Mike Watt, Johnny Marr, and Henry Rollins + live performance footage of James Williamson’s first reunion gig with Iggy and the Stooges shot at Festival Planeta Terra, São Paulo, Brazil, November 2009

Links:
Iggy Pop

Mascara Plays the Trash Bar on February 4th (Boston Power Pop)

DOWNLOAD: Mascara - "B261" (from Fountain of Tears)

Boston buzz band Mascara is playing a CD release show at the Trash Bar on Thursday in support of the band's newly released second CD Fountain of Tears.

I've been pretty apathetic about going to shows these last few weeks (too bloody cold) but this is one that I'm going to make an effort to see. The tracks that I've heard thus far sound like a cross between Cheap Trick and Jesse Malin's short-lived band Bellvue. The faster tunes rock-out with some explosive melodies and the slow tunes were sufficiently off-kilter to hold my attention from start to finish. Two of the songs on the disc pay tribute to tragic artists; 1930’s Spanish poet-iconoclast Lorca (who inspired the album’s title) on "Ainadamar" and 1960’s soul icon Jackie Wilson on "B261". The new disc was recorded by David Minehan (The Neighborhoods) & David Westner at Woolly Mammoth and it was mixed by ShimmyDisc head honcho KRAMER (Bongwater, Galaxie 500, Ween, Low, Urge Overkill, Butthole Surfers).

On an interesting/related note, lead singer/guitarist Chris Mascara modeled moves for all lead singer avatars in the games Rock Band and Rock Band 2. Game creators Harmonix shuttled him to New York to perform marathon motion-capture sessions in the "spandex suit of lights."

Cover for Thursday's show is $6 and Mascara's website lists the band playing at 11PM. Get there early though for the free happy hour from 8-9PM.

Links:
Mascara

David Gilmour to Release Syd Barrett Tribute EP

I realize this has little to do with the NYC music scene but Syd Barrett's music was very important to a lot of musicians.

Daivd Gilmour is releasing a three song tribute to Syd as a digital download on Christmas Day. These songs will also be available as a limited 10" EP (in the USA) and a limited 7" (in Europe) as of Dec. 26th. (Don't sleep on this as the vinyl will likely sell out quickly). Songs on the EP are two versions of Arnold Layne -- one version sung by David Bowie and the other sung by Richard Wright -- and an acoustic version of Dark Globe.

David Gilmour announced on his website that the EP has been released today to BBC radio.

You can hear the very first play of the Arnold Layne single this morning on the Ken Bruce show (BBC Radio 2) between 9.30AM and 12 noon (UK time).You can listen live online or later via the BBC's 'Listen Again' feature. Look out for the great big purple buttons on the Radio 2 site.Do let us know what you think of it and, if you liked it, let your radio stations know that you want them to play it.The single has been added to Radio 2's B list. This means that you can expect to hear it about ten times during the course of the week. The more requests it receives, however, the more chance the single has of making it on to the A list, which means it will be played more often. Tracks on the A list receive the most plays (about 20 a week) compared to the B list's ten and the C list's five.