New Music Releases this Week

As usual, there isn't much of interest at the Big Box stores (Best Buy and Circuit City). The fun stuff is at the indie stores and my favorite indie stores are Vintage Vinyl and Newbury Comics.

Vintage Vinyl has:
All three of Joy Division's original albums remastered with a bonus live CD for $19.99 each
- Unknown Pleasures' bonus live disc - Factory, Manchester: April 11, 1980
- Closer's bonus live disc - Live at ULU, Feb 8, 1980
- Still's bonus disc - Soundcheck and live @ High Wycombe Town Hall, Feb. 20, 1980
** All CDs come with a limited edition 7" of "She's Lost Control/Dead Souls"

Interpol - Live at the Astoria in London (6 track live EP) $6.99

The Hold Steady - Live at Fingerprints (5 track EP) $5.99

Newbury Comics has:
- Autographed Angels of Light/M. Gira CD $13.99
- Autographed Carbon/Silicon CD $13.99
(Where else are you going to get Mick Jones and Tony James' autograph?)
- Autographed Dillinger Escape Plan CD $12.99
- Autographed From Autumn to Ashes CD $12.99
- Autographed High on Fire CD $12.99
(I am a bit surprised that this one hasn't been bought out by the eBay speculators)

There are a lot more limited-edition pressings and autographed stuff on both sites so check them out.

New and Interesting CD Releases This Week

There are a handful of interesting new and reissued CDs that are coming out tomorrow:

New CDs:

Horse the Band - "A Natural Death"
It is kind of cool that a metalcore band is featured in this week's Best Buy ad. The Best Buy version is $7.99 and it has 3 exclusive bonus tracks.

Iced Earth - "Framing Armageddon"
"Ripper" Owens and Iced Earth - what more needs to be said? The version from Newbury Comics comes with a signed CD booklet

Pinback - "Autumn of the Seraphs"
Pretty cool metal band who is putting out their second release on Touch & Go. The first pressing will have a bonus disc with three songs not on the LP version of this release.

Tiny Masters of Today - "Bang Bang Boom Cake"
Very cool Brooklyn band makes their Mute Records debut. Band features Russell Simins (from JSX) on drums

Reissued CDs:

Cloud Cult - Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus
Reissue of the band's gem from 2005

Elvis Costello - "My Aim is True"
Ok, this has been reiussed like 500 times but Hip-O has dug up some pretty cool bonus tracks. This is a double-disc (like the past Rhino reissue) and it contains 4 demos that were previously unreleased along with a live recording of one of the earliest Attractions show that was recorded at the Nashville Rooms on August 7, 1977. This set is $19.99 from Newbury Comics and comes with a limited edition pint glass

New CD/DVD Releases for this Week

There are a couple of interesting releases this week:

Angels of Light - We Are Him
The latest release from Michael Gira's post-Swans band. I've loved all of the past Angels releases and the early press on the release has given it great reviews.

"We Are Him is the most assured and relaxed Angels of Light album since the debut, and deserves to be considered alongside Gira's highest peaks. The frightening rage of old Swans surfaces several times, albeit in more bucolic clothing; the contrast is bracing. Lyrically Gira's constantly in-pocket, addressing his subjects with renewed agility, but also in a very relaxed voice; if De Sade had lived long enough to tell folk tales around a campfire, some of them might have sounded like this. The genuinely playful orchestration - banjos? horns? chimes? slide? check – is by turns charming and perverse, and has a band-of-brethren feel to it that's both ominous and exiting. The title track is like a pure shot of adrenaline. An intimate, unexpected masterpiece." - John Darnielle/The Mountain Goats

Blue Cheer - What Doesn't Kill You (CD)
Who would have thought that Blue Cheer would still be touring and recording after 40 years? I believe this to be the band's first studio recording since 1991's Dining With Sharks. The band put on a great live show at NorthSix about a year or so ago so I would expect this to be a great disc.

Cro-Mags: The Final Quarrel - Live at CBGB (DVD)
MVD has put out some pretty interesting stuff documenting the NYHC scene and this is no exception. This DVD captures the final Cro-Mags show (with both John Joseph and Harley Flanagan) at CBGB in 2001. As a bonus features, Amazon says that the disc includes a full set from Harley's War, Harley Flannigan's post Cro-Mags band.

Heaven & Hell - Live from Radio City Music Hall
Dio-era Sabbath captured live on March 30, 2007 at Radio City Music Hall. This has been released as a 2-CD set and a (separately sold) DVD. Both this tour and this particular show got stellar reviews -- 'nuff said.

Killswitch Engage - "As Daylight Dies" (CD/DVD)
The CD came out a month ago and is now being reissued with a bonus DVD and four bonus audio tracks. (I'd be p*ssed if I bought this a month ago). The DVD contains:
"My Curse" video
Making of "My Curse" video
"The Arms of Sorrow" video
Making of the "The Arms of Sorrow" video
"Holy Diver" video (Dio Cover)

and the bonus tracks on the CD are:
Be One
Let the Bridges Burn
This Fire
Holy Diver

Pink Floyd - Piper at the Gates of Dawn (CD)
There is both a 2-disc and a 3-disc version of the 40th anniversary edition of the first Pink Floyd release (w/ Syd Barrett).

The two disc version contains both the stereo and mono versions of Piper. The three disc version contains the same stereo/mono Piper discs plus a third disc of bonus tracks. The bonus track include all the Pink Floyd singles from 1967, ('Arnold Layne', 'See Emily Play', and 'Apples And Oranges'), plus the B sides 'Candy And A Current Bun' and 'Paintbox'. Other tracks are a version of 'Interstellar Overdrive' - previously only available on an EP in France - and the 1967 stereo version of 'Apples And Oranges'.

New Music Releases and Live In-Store Performances this Week (August 6th)

The "big box" stores really haven't had a lot of interesting releases this summer. Unfortunately, this week is no exception.

The most interesting major label release is the new Fuel CD. I've been sort of hit and miss on Fuel's past work but I am curious what the new singer brings to the band. For those who haven't kept up with the band, singer Brett Scallions left the band in 2006, joined local rockers The X's and then became the new singer for The Doors/Riders on the Storm. The band tapped Toryn Green from Los Angeles' Something to Burn as the new singer and the CD that will be released on Tuesday will be the first with Green and new drummer Tommy Stewart (x-Godsmack). The band appears to have a serious promo budget behind them as they are on Rockline tomorrow night and Jay Leno on Friday.

Triple Crown recording artist The Receiving End of Sirens is playing in-store sessions at Looney Tunes in Long Island on Wednesday, Aug. 8th and Vintage Vinyl in Ford, NJ on Thursday, Aug. 9th. (Unfortunately, no dates in the city) The band's new CD The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi will be released Tuesday.

Marissa Nadler is playing an in-store tomorrow at Sound Fix in Williamsburg. She has a new CD "Song III: Birds on the Water" coming out on Kemado. SoundFix's website states that Nadler will be playing a full set starting at 10PM. I caught Nadler's show at ArthurFest and was completely knocked-out by her performance. She is back in town on September 14th to play a show with Michael Gira at the Highline Ballroom.

Lastly, Elk City is playing Sound Fix on Thursday, August 9th. The band released their debut CD New Believers in April of this year to good reviews. Elizabeth Harper is opening and the show starts at 8PM.

New Music Releases This Week...

This week, there really aren't any interesting CDs advertised at the "big box" stores but there are a few indie releases that might be worth hunting down.

Prince - Planet Earth
With 2.9MM copies of the CD distributed free this past Sunday with the UK paper The Mail, copies will be turning up on eBay dirt-cheap. Wait a week or so and watch the price drop.

Meat Puppets - Rise To Your Knees
The Kirkwood brothers reunite after 11 years and the early reviews are great. This is on the indie label Anodyne Records

Sunn O))) - Oracle
The band had the eBayers going crazy by selling a tour-only CD of Oracle on their recent West Coast tour. Now on the Southern Lord site, the band is selling a limited edition (nach) LP of Oracle (see below).

The initially pressing of "Oracle" is 7,777 copies (2,000 on clear).

First 1000 orders of clear vinyl will also receive a Oracle poster with their album. Both versions are available via mailorder. As stated above all mailorder customers will receive a free "Oracle" cd (with rare misprinted cover!) with each order. Limit of 1 order of each color per customer. $17.77

(MAILORDER CUSTOMERS WILL RECEIVE A FREE SINGLE CD VERSION OF THE ALBUM!)

New CD Releases for this Week

I get a kick out of the different 'versions' of new CDs that are coming out. Here is what is new, interesting, bizarre, etc. this week:

Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
- Exclusive digital download at Best Buy
- Bonus 3-song DVD @ Newbury Comics

Sinead O'Connor - Theology
- Five song bonus CD @ BestBuy

Pharoahe Monch - Desire
I have no clue who this is but...
- BestBuy exclusive bonus track: "Book of Judges"
- Autographed CD booklet at Newbury Comics

Pearl Jam - Live at the Gorge
- 7 CDs for $29.99 (Circuit City) is a great price but...after these guys flooded the market with live CDs, does anyone care enough to buy this set?

Interesting CDs on Next Week's CD Release Schedule

Billboard has listed some interesting releases coming out on Tuesday:

Deep Purple - They All Came Down to Montreaux 2x DVD
This is a 187 minute 2x DVD set of Deep Purple performing live in Montreaux in 2006. This could be a fun one.

DVD Disc #1: 'Pictures Of Home', 'Things I Never Said', 'Strange Kind Of Woman', 'Rapture Of The Deep', 'Wrong Man', 'The Well-Dressed Guitar', 'Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye', 'When A Blind Man Cries', 'Lazy', Keyboard Solo, 'Space Truckin’', 'Highway Star', 'Smoke On The Water', 'Hush', 'Too Much Fun', 'Black Night'.

DVD Bonus Disc #2 (London Hard Rock): 'Fireball', 'I Got Your Number', 'Strange Kind Of Woman', 'Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye', 'Rapture Of The Deep', 'Wrong Man', 'Lazy', 'Perfect Strangers', 'Highway Star', 'Smoke On The Water'.

Halford - Metal God Essentials
It is always a debate whether 'best of' CDs are worthwhile because, in the majority of case, if I like the artist, I'll buy the original CDs. This CD/DVD set covers the best of Halford from '92 - '07 but what makes this release interesting is the inclusion of 4 previously unreleased tracks (one is a remix) and a bonus DVD exclusive to this release.

The bonus DVD contains:
1. Resurrection - Behind The Scenes
2. Live Insurrection - Behind The Scenes
3. Made In Hell
4. Betrayal
5. In The Morning
6. Silent Screams
7. Never Satisfied
8. Forgotten Generation

Psychic TV - Hell is Invisible..Heaven is Here
Genesis has reformed Psychic TV (PTV3) and this is his first new studio release under the PTV name in 12 years. Based on the songs I heard the band do at the Galapagos shows last year, this should be a gret release.

Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris
Evidently there is a Circuit City and a FYE Edition with Bonus Tracks. You can only assume that the bonus tracks will differ between these editions. (Why make it easy for fans?)

Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation (Deluxe Edition)
This looks essential -- The reissue contains live versions of all of the studio cuts, demos, rarities, etc. Rolling Stone has posted an article with more details about this release.

Suzanne Vega - Beauty and Crime
This is supposed to be her best release in years.

The View - Hats off to the Buskers (with 3 bonus tracks)
Their debut CD has been out for under a year and already it is being reissued with bonus tracks. The bonus tracks are two live tracks (Skay Trenchy and Same Jeans) and a cut that was previously released in the UK (Posh Boys). This doesn't look essential...