Paul McCartney Premieres 'Queenie Eye' - First Official Music Video from 'New'

Paul McCartney's 24th studio album, New, came out on October 15th and this disc is McCartney's first album of brand "new" solo material in six years. After unveiling a video of an impromptu acoustic performance of the disc's title track "New", McCartney has now released the first official music video from the new disc, which is for the song "Queenie Eye".

Earlier this month, McCartney played a surprise concert in Times Square and performed four songs from New - "New", "Save Us", "Everybody Out There" and "Queenie Eye". At this impromptu show, Paul commented "We only get fifteen minutes up here. Andy Warhol predicted that I would get 15 minutes of fame. This is it!" He also took time to thank the NYPD for allowing him to perform in such a busy and iconic part of the city.





Links:
Paul McCartney

The Beatles Announce the Release of 'On Air - Live at the BBC Volume 2' on Nov. 11th

In 1994, The Beatles’ Live at the BBC was released to worldwide acclaim - hitting number one in the U.K., number three in the U.S. and selling more than five million copies within six weeks. A new companion to The Beatles’ first BBC collection, On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2, will be released Monday, November 11 in 2CD and 180-gram vinyl packages with a 48-page booklet. On Air’s 63 tracks, none of which overlaps with The Beatles’ first BBC release, include 37 previously unreleased performances and 23 previously unreleased recordings of in-studio banter and conversation between the band’s members and their BBC radio hosts.

In the studios of the British Broadcasting Corporation, The Beatles performed music for a variety of radio shows. On Air - Live at the BBC Volume 2 presents the sound of The Beatles seizing their moment to play for the nation. Thrilled to hear these exciting recordings again, Paul McCartney said, “There’s a lot of energy and spirit. We are going for it, not holding back at all, trying to put in the best performance of our lifetimes.”

Ten of On Air’s songs were never recorded by the group for EMI in the 1960s, including two making their debuts with the new release: The Beatles’ direct-to-air performance of Chuck Berry’s “I’m Talking About You” and a rocking cover of the standard “Beautiful Dreamer.” On Air also includes different versions of six rarities heard on the 1994 BBC collection: Little Richard’s “Lucille,” Chuck Berry’s “Memphis, Tennessee,” Chan Romero’s “The Hippy Hippy Shake,” Ray Charles’ “I Got A Woman,” and two songs they learned from records by Carl Perkins, “Glad All Over” and “Sure To Fall.”



The Beatles’ tribute to the BBC’s most important pop show of the early ’60s – “Happy Birthday, Dear Saturday Club” – is another surprise. As John Lennon recalled in 1980, “We did a lot of tracks that were never on record for Saturday Club – they were well recorded, too.” Paul remembers, “We’d been raised on the BBC radio programs. One of the big things in our week was Saturday Club – this great show was playing the kind of music we loved, so that was something we really aspired to.”

Between March 1962 and June 1965, no fewer than 275 unique musical performances by The Beatles were broadcast by the BBC in the U.K. The group played songs on 39 radio shows in 1963 alone. Ringo Starr said in 1994, “You tend to forget that we were a working band. It’s that mono sound. There were usually no overdubs. We were in at the count-in and that was it. I get excited listening to them.” On their busiest BBC day, July 16, 1963, The Beatles recorded 18 songs for three editions of their Pop Go The Beatles series in fewer than seven hours.

The group played 88 distinct songs in their BBC sessions – some were recorded many times; others performed just once. At the time, three national BBC stations provided all daytime radio broadcasting in the U.K. Only the Light Programme network might occasionally play a record. Most broadcast music was live music. Consequently, to promote their releases, The Beatles had to play live at the BBC. “Everything was done instantly,” remembered George Harrison, “But before that, we used to drive 200 miles in an old van down the M1, come into London, try and find the BBC and then set up and do the program. Then we’d probably drive back to Newcastle for a gig in the evening!”

On Air also features BBC recordings of 30 well-loved songs from The Beatles’ catalogue, including five number ones and other favorites such as: “I Saw Her Standing There,” “Twist And Shout,” “Do You Want To Know A Secret,” “Boys,” “Please Mister Postman,” “Money,” “And I Love Her,” and “If I Fell.”

Like its critically acclaimed predecessor, On Air - Live at the BBC Volume 2 includes audio of The Beatles talking to DJs Brian Matthew and Alan Freeman and Pop Go The Beatles hosts Lee Peters and Rodney Burke. When first broadcast, pop fans were amazed to hear such witty irreverence on the rather formal BBC and it is great fun to hear these extracts now. In addition, On Air releases, for the first time, the group’s candid interviews for the Pop Profile series recorded in November 1965 and May 1966.

Newly remastered for reissue on November 11, The Beatles’ first Live at the BBC album sounds and looks better than ever. This collection of the group’s BBC sessions mixed versions of their hits with a treasure trove of 30 songs The Beatles performed on air but never released on record in the 1960s. The compelling track list ranged from a rare performance of the little known Lennon-McCartney original “I’ll Be On My Way” to covers of classic rock ’n’ roll and contemporary rhythm and blues songs. At the time of its release, Live at the BBC was hailed by Rolling Stone as “an exhilarating portrait of a band in the process of shaping its own voice and vision.” It earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Historical Album.

Live at the BBC was assembled by George Martin in 1994 and On Air - Live at the BBC Volume Two was compiled and researched by producers Kevin Howlett and Mike Heatley. Both albums have been meticulously mastered by engineers Guy Massey and Alex Wharton at Abbey Road Studios. The booklets for both collections include Kevin Howlett’s essays on the history of The Beatles’ BBC radio sessions and his detailed commentaries on all of the tracks.

Digital Pre-Order
Live at the BBC 1
On Air- Live at the BBC 2

CD Pre-Order
Live at the BBC 1
On Air- Live at the BBC2

LP Pre-Order
Live at the BBC 1 – 3LP
On Air- Live at the BBC2 – 3LP at Amazon

Links:
The Beatles

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

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

Tina Sugandh: "TablaGirl" Press Interview, NYC 8-20-09 (Bollywood Pop Star)

Last month, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Tina Sugandh was in town for a press tour. Glam.com recently called Tina "the World’s First Bollywood Pop Star” and she has been performing in public since the age of five.

Tina recently sang and played tabla on Ringo Starr's new album, sang the theme song for Kelly Ripa's pre-Regis comedy "Hope and Faith" and she has had songs in movies such as Around the World in 80 Days, Christmas With the Kranks, Ice Princess, Raise Your Voice and The Clique. Tina has also had a couple of singles on the Billboard charts and her debut full-length, TablaGirl, is coming out on May 12th.

BrooklynRocks Interview with Tina Sugandh


Tina Sugandh - "Break Me"


Tina Gives a Tabla Lesson to Ringo Starr


Links:
Tina Sugandh

The Beatles - Digitally Remastered Catalogue Released Today

This is likely to be one of the biggest releases of the year -

The Beatles' catalogue has been digitally remastered (for the first time) and packaged with a replica of the original UK album art, which includes expanded booklets containing original and newly written liner notes and rare photos. For this initial release, each CD will also include a brief documentary film about the album. Adding to the flurry, new stereo and mono box set collections will also be released tomorrow.



The remastering process took place over a four year period at Abbey Road Studios in London.

"The re-mastering process commenced with an extensive period conducting tests before finally copying the analogue master tapes into the digital medium. When this was completed, the transfer was achieved using a Pro Tools workstation operating at 24 bit 192 kHz resolution via a Prism A-D converter. Transferring was a lengthy procedure done a track at a time. Although EMI tape does not suffer the oxide loss associated with some later analogue tapes, there was nevertheless a slight build up of dust, which was removed from the tape machine heads between each title.

From the onset, considerable thought was given to what audio restorative processes were going to be allowed. It was agreed that electrical clicks, microphone vocal pops, excessive sibilance and bad edits should be improved where possible, so long as it didn’t impact on the original integrity of the songs.

In addition, de-noising technology, which is often associated with re-mastering, was to be used, but subtly and sparingly. Eventually, less than five of the 525 minutes of Beatles music was subjected to this process. Finally, as is common with today’s music, overall limiting - to increase the volume level of the CD - has been used, but on the stereo versions only. However, it was unanimously agreed that because of the importance of The Beatles’ music, limiting would be used moderately, so as to retain the original dynamics of the recordings.

When all of the albums had been transferred, each song was then listened to several times to locate any of the agreed imperfections. These were then addressed by Guy Massey, working with Audio Restoration engineer Simon Gibson.

Mastering could now take place, once the earliest vinyl pressings, along with the existing CDs, were loaded into Pro Tools, thus allowing comparisons to be made with the original master tapes during the equalization process. When an album had been completed, it was auditioned the next day in studio three – a room familiar to the engineers, as all of the recent Beatles mixing projects had taken place in there – and any further alteration of EQ could be addressed back in the mastering room. Following the initial satisfaction of Guy and Steve, Allan Rouse and Mike Heatley then checked each new re-master in yet another location and offered any further suggestions. This continued until all 13 albums were completed to the team’s satisfaction."

The collection of remasters comprises all 12 Beatles albums, with track listings and artwork as originally released in the UK, along with the US version of Magical Mystery Tour. Rounding out the set, Past Masters Vol. I and II are now combined as one title, for a total of 14 titles over 16 discs. This release marks the first time that the first four Beatles albums will be available in stereo in their entirety on compact disc.

Links:
The Beatles

The Beatles Rare And Unseen: Unofficial Account Of The Biggest Band In The World DVD Review (MVD)

The Beatles Rare and Unseen is a new documentary that comes out on DVD tomorrow. This disc combines rare and previously unreleased film footage and photos of The Beatles with an insider's commentary that traces the history of The Beatles; from The Quarrymen through the breakup of the band.

The narrative is provided by a host of characters that include Allan Williams (former manager), Colin Hanton (their first drummer), Sam Leach (tour manager), Tony Barrow (press officer 1962-1968), Tony Bramwell (roadie) and musicians Phil Collins, Norman "Hurricane" Smith, Mickey Jones, Gerry Marsden and Sylvie Varten. There is sufficient focus on the band's pre-American tour embryonic days which shows the band evolution from from their pre-suit wearing days in Liverpool (with the earliest known concert footage from February 1962) to their tightly honed live act in 1964 (with footage from Paris' Olympia Theatre, January 1964 and Caird Hall, Dundee, Scotland October 1964). All of the film footage is fully restored so you get the best possible visuals of the band as they evolved in both look and sound.

The interviews that overplay on top of the films and photos add a new dimension to the band's story as you hear both the thoughts and decisions of Beatles insiders who helped shape the band's career along with the impressions of musicians who played with and shared the stage with The Beatles. The Olympia Theatre footage was shot by drummer Mickey Jones (from Trini Lopez's band) who talks about The Beatles as 'unknowns' prior to seeing them play and as friends afterward. In addition to sharing his impressions as a fan watching The Beatles perform for the first time, he also tells stories of bonding over the drums with Ringo and driving John's car.

In addition to the "insider's" narrative, there is also footage from a mid-70's French TV interview with John Lennon (some of this same footage was used in "Anthology") insterspersed throughout the documentary that helps set the stage for some of the archival 60's footage. Complementing the concert footage, there are home movies of The Beatles on vacation in the Channel Islands and on-the-set footage from the filming of Help! (Bahamas, 1965) and Magical Mystery Tour (Newquay, 1967).

As the majority of the stories and anecdotes were new to me, I really enjoyed this film. Long-time Beatles' collectors may be familar with these stories but the newly uncovered concert footage make this disc a 'must-have' for Beatles collectors as well.

The Beatles - Rock Band Advance Coverage (Release Date: Sept. 9th)

I played The Beatles: Rock Band earlier today and the game completely surpassed all of my expectations. I can easily see this title winning numerous gaming awards.

A number of the game's features are currently under embargo but here is what I can tell you....

There are 45 songs available on the game disc and now 25 of these songs have been announced:

“I Saw Her Standing There”
“I Want To Hold Your Hand”
“I Feel Fine”
“Taxman”
“Day Tripper”
“Back In The USSR”
“I Am The Walrus”
“Octopus’s Garden”
“Here Comes The Sun”
“Get Back”
“Twist And Shout” (New)
“Do You Want To Know A Secret” (New)
“Can’t Buy Me Love” (New)
“I Wanna Be Your Man” (New)
“Eight Days A Week” (New)
“Paperback Writer” (New)
“And Your Bird Can Sing” (New)
“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (New)
“With a Little Help from My Friends” (New)
“Within You Without You / Tomorrow Never Knows* (New)
“Yellow Submarine” (New)
“Revolution” (New)
“Birthday” (New)
“Dig A Pony” (New)
“I’ve Got A Feeling” (New)

One of the cool new features in The Beatles: Rock Band is that you now have the ability to sing in three-part harmony. While The Beatles' vocals were recorded on a single stereo track, Rock Band provides you with "guide vocals" using keyboard tones. If you are singing harmonies, the guide vocals are "greyed out" where there is only a lead vocal. There is a robust training mode where you can practice any and all parts of the vocal lines of a song. The nice thing is that in story mode, the harmony vocals can only add to your score (they aren't destructive).

Check out the screen shots below!



I'll be able to release more details about the game as it gets closer to the launch date. In the interim, check out The Beatles: Rock Band web site.

George Harrison - "Let It Roll: Songs By George Harrison" CD Review

STREAM: George Harrison - "Got My Mind Set On You"
STREAM: George Harrison - "My Sweet Lord"

Last month, Capitol/EMI released the definitive George Harrison’s "best of" CD. This differs from Harrison's previous compilations (which either over-emphasized Beatles songs or Dark Horse solo material) as as it completely spans George's solo career. What is particularly tasteful is that the versions of the Harrison pended Beatles songs included on this compilation are live versions from the Concert for Bangladesh.

In addition to the expected hits like "Got My Mind Set On You" and "My Sweet Lord", there are a couple of rarities that were originally included on movie soundtracks. "I Don't Want To Do It" is from the Porky's Revenge soundtrack and "Cheer Down" was co-written with Tom Petty for the Lethal Weapon 2 soundtrack. If you buy the digital version of this disc from iTunes, you will get a bonus track -- a demo version of "Isn't It A Pity".

Here is the track list:

1. Got My Mind Set On You (From Cloud 9)
2. Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) (From Living in the Material World)
3. The Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll) (from All Things Must Pass)
4. My Sweet Lord (From All Things Must Pass)
5. While My Guitar Gently Weeps [Live] (From Concert For Bangladesh)
6. All Things Must Pass (From All Things Must Pass)
7. Any Road (From Brainwashed)
8. This Is Love (from Cloud 9)
9. All Those Years Ago (From Somewhere in England)
10. Marwa Blues (From Brainwashed)
11. What Is Life (From All Things Must Pass)
12. Rising Sun (From Brainwashed)
13. When We Was Fab (From Cloud 9)
14. Something [Live] (From Concert For Bangladesh)
15. Blow Away (From George Harrison)
16. Cheer Down (From Lethal Weapon 2 Soundtrack)
17. Here Comes The Sun [Live] (From Concert For Bangladesh)
18. I Don’t Want To Do It (From Porky's Revenge Soundtrack)
19. Isn’t It A Pity (From All Things Must Pass)

This is a sold collection of songs from the twice-inducted member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Even though I've always thought of best of collections as a reason not to buy the original studio discs, I'm intrigued enough to want to go out and find copies of All Things Must Pass and Concert for Bangladesh.

Links:
George Harrison's Website

Drink Up Buttercup Play Cameo Gallery (in Williamsburg) Tomorrow Night, May 9th (Kanine Records)

DOWNLOAD: Drink Up Buttercup - "Sosey & Dosey" (MP3)

Drink Up Buttercup's performances have been compared to "spectacle of a circus, the buzz of a bar-room sing along, and the comfort of a nursery rhyme" and almost every single reviewer mentions a comparison to The Beatles. I've seen some pictures of the band leading sing-alongs from the middle of the room and this reminds me of the early-on Akron/Family shows (which means tomorrow's show should be a great time).

Drink Up Buttercup recently signed to Kanine Records who released their US debut 7" last month - "Farewell Captain/Sosey & Dosey". The band is playing tomorrow night at Cameo Gallery in Williamsburg with Knight School and We Are Country Mice.

Cover is $8.00 at the door.

Links:
Drink Up Buttercup's MySpace Profile

Sky Picnic - Synesthesia CD EP Review (Psychedelia)

DOWNLOAD: Sky Picnic - "Tea Break" (MP3)

Sky Picnic do an excellent job of bringing the sounds of 60's psychedelia to the present on their debut CD Synesthesia. Sky Picnic plays highly textured psychedelic space-rock and a major point of comparison is the Syd Barrett-era of Pink Floyd.

Taking a look at some of the stand-out tracks on Synesthesia, "Moons of Jupiter" is a (soon to be) classic space-rock instrumental track that is held together with an echo-drenched ("Interstellar Overdrive" style) guitar lead and "Sequence IV" is a 13+ minute multi-part opus that will make a Pink Floyd fan weep with joy.

Even though Synesthesia has only been out a few months, Sky Picnic have a new release, The Psychedelic Picnic in the Sky, Volume I which was recorded this past February. The band describes this release as being "recorded live on the first take and meant to show the more experimental side of the band." This is a digital-only release that is available through the band's website for $2.00.

Sky Picnic are playing a series of Tuesday night residency shows at Otto's Shrunken Head in Alphabet City starting on May 5th. The shows are free and Sky Picnic will be taking the stage at 10PM.

Yoko Ono on World Cafe, Feb. 16, 2007 Legal Music Download

Yoko Ono's interview on NPR's World Cafe has to be one of the more interesting things that I have run across on iTunes this past week. I am somewhat amazed that Yoko is in her early 70s as she remains current in today's music scene. The interview focuses on Ono's new release Yes, I'm a Witch on which 16 artists reinterpret and remix songs from Ono's back catalog. These artists included Flaming Lips, Cat Power, Peaches and many more. I haven't heard the CD but was impressed with the clips that were played during the interview (the Cat Power clip was especially compelling).

The full interview is available (for free) on iTunes and can also be streamed over the web from National Public Radio's website.

Yoko Ono's new CD was just released by Astralwerks and there are links to the Flaming Lips (covering Cambridge 1969) and Cat Power (covering Revelations) tracks from Ono's page on the Astralwerks site.