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Brian Wilson That Lucky Old Sun and a new concept album

Brian Wilson "That Lucky Old Sun": a new album

Brian Wilson has announced his return to Capitol Records / EMI, his original label home. Brian Wilson's new album, "That Lucky Old Sun," will be released by Capitol/EMI on CD, CD/DVD, limited edition vinyl and digitally on September 2 (September 1 internationally).

A musical love letter from Southern California, "That Lucky Old Sun" shimmers with sundappled choruses and arrangements that swell and swirl as if carried by the Pacific tides. One of the songs, "Midnight’s Another Day," has been described by Mojo magazine as "glorious." The album is narrated in transitional interludes spoken by Wilson as "That Lucky Old Sun," the storyteller. The narratives, cameos on life and the heartbeat of Los Angeles, propel the album’s musical story.

Last summer, Wilson found himself singing the 1949 classic song, "That Lucky Old Sun," which became the inspiration for a unique approach to what would become his new studio release. He bought Louis Armstrong’s version of the track and was inspired to collaborate lyrically with his band mate Scott Bennett, and with Van Dyke Parks, his old "sidekick," to create vibrant spoken narratives. Brian Wilson debuted "That Lucky Old Sun" at London’s Royal Festival Hall in September 2007 in a series of six sold-out and criticallyacclaimed concert performances celebrating the theatre’s restoration.

The new release is the dawning of a new California morning for Brian Wilson, continuing the awe-inspiring concept album journey that he first began four decades ago. Brian Wilson's songwriting, arranging and producing talents came together in harmonious glory for The Beach Boys' 1966 classic, "Pet Sounds," and have continued to evolve during his solo career, highlighted by his 2004 critically acclaimed "Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE". The album is also released as a limited Edition CD/DVD features exclusive "making of" with bonus video content. (DVD total run time: 26:00).

Stephen John Kalinich with Brian Wilson "World of Peace Must Come"

A World Of Peace Must Come was recorded at Brian's house in Bel-Air in 1969. The tapes were promptly lost, not to be heard again until now. For the first time this truly timeless snapshot of an era and an ethos are available nationally. "A World of Peace Must Come", an album recorded by Brian Wilson in 1969 based on the poetry of Stephen John Kalinich, will finally have an official release September 23, 2008. The album has been recorded most of it at Brian Wilson's house and in other studios like Wally Heider and Sunset Sound.

A World Of Peace Must Come will feature these tracks: A World Of Peace Must Come ; Candy Face Lane ; I Am Waiting/The Birth Of God ; The Deer, The Elk, The Raven ; The Magic Hand ; Lonely Man ; Be Still ; Walk Along With Love ; A World Of Peace Must Come ; If You Knew ; America I Know You ; A World Of Peace Must Come (outro) ; Leaves Of Grass.

Toto "Falling In Between Live" DVD and CD release dates

According to TOTO official website, the release dates for the upcoming TOTO DVD "Falling In Between Live" will be as follows:
USA: April 1st
GERMANY: March 14th
Rest of Europe: February 25th
JAPAN: February 20th
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND: February 16th

The release dates for the upcoming TOTO Double CD "Falling In Between Live" will be as follows:
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND: February 2nd
USA & CANADA: February 19th

Toto Falling In Between Live DVD, the release in Japan and Great Britain

Toto "Falling In Between Live" DVD (Eagle Vision) recorded live in Paris in early 2008 is going to be released in Japan February 20, 2008. The DVD will feature 11 tracks. You can look at 2 video sequences of the Toto Live forthcoming DVD at Toto official website : video 1 and video 2.

In Japan too, the double live CD from Toto "Falling In Between Live" will be in stores January 23, 2008 with no bonus tracks which is quite an exception due to the fact past CD releases of Toto in this country usually features one or more bonus tracks.

For the European fans of the band, please note the Toto "Falling In Between Live" DVD will be out February 25, 2008 in Great Britain (Eagle Rock Entertainment). The DVD will feature 23 tracks, 142 minutes of great music. No dates of releases are available yet for France and Germany. Stay tuned!

Two-Lane Blacktop road movie on DVD feat. James Taylor and Dennis Wilson (The Beach Boys) and Grammy nomination for James Taylor Christmas album

The CD "James Taylor At Christmas" (originally released in 2006) has been nominated for the "Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album" Grammy award. The winners of the Grammies for this year will be announced February 10th, 2008.

In addition, the movie "Two-Lane Blacktop" is released on DVD (Criterion Collection) today. This 1971 Monte Hellman road movie starring James Taylor Warren Oates and Dennis Wilson (from The Beach Boys). The two-disc set includes a new interview with James Taylor, a restored digital transfer supervised by Monte Hellman, a Dolby 5.1 soundtrack, two commentaries, outtakes and of course the original screenplay.

The story of "Two-Lane Blacktop": Drag racing east from L.A. in a souped-up Chevy are the wayward Driver and Mechanic (singer/songwriter James Taylor and the Beach Boys Dennis Wilson, in their only acting roles), accompanied by a tagalong Girl (Laurie Bird). Along the way, they meet Warren Oates' Pontiac GTO-driving wanderer and challenge him to a cross-country race. The prize: their cars pink slips. Yet no summary can do justice to the existential punch of Two-Lane Blacktop. Maverick director Monte Hellman's stripped-down narrative, gorgeous widescreen compositions, and sophisticated look at American male obsession make this one of the artistic high points of 1970s cinema and a great road movie.

Toto 30th anniversary with an event concert and a new live DVD

In the Rock newsroom of their daily news show (November 23, 2007), the french-speaking radiostation Classic 21 (based in Belgium) has announced that Bobby Kimball told them that Toto would hope to set up an event concert for the 30th anniversary of the group in 2008. This very special show would gather some special guests and the band hope to have Boz Scaggs and Michael Jackson on stage, to what Bobby Kimball said. A DVD release of this anniversary concert would be shoot according to the Toto member.

Toto has just released a new double live CD entitled "Falling In Between Live" recorded in Paris, France, March 26, 2007. A DVD of this concert is also planned to be released early next year (on Eagle Vision). Steve Lukather says more about it at his official website SteveLukather.net.

Toto will tour in Mexico in january and february 2008 and in Japan in March. For Japan, they will share the bill with their friend Boz Scaggs.

Donald Fagen The Nightfly Trilogy : 7 essential CDs

A Nightfly Trilogy for Donald Fagen, it's a kind of dream for the fans that this new box set released this week by Rhino Records in The States: A 7 Disc Set including 3 great classic CDs: "The Nightfly" (1982), "Kamakiriad" (1983), "Morph The Cat" (2006) plus 10 Extras, a 4th CD with 10 hard-to-get singles, demos and live cuts. The bonus on "Nightfly Trilogy" features: MVI (Music Video Interactive) versions with enhanced mixes, bonus audio and video.

MVI Technology and great sound

Each MVI album is presented in Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 Surround Sound with bonus material in Advanced Resolution PCM Stereo (48kHz/24-bit) and also has the UrTone application, a brand-new technology that allows the customer to select any track or any portion of a track they want as their ringtone by using a simple drag bar. MVI (Music Video Interactive) is a DVD-based music format that offers everything you've come to expect from an audio disc plus more. MVI delivers more video and interactive extras, and with one click saves your digital music files anywhere.

Bonus on the discs

On "The Nightfly" MVI album: "Century's End," a song composed for the film Bright Lights Big City, "True Companion," which was written for the animated movie Heavy Metal, plus a live version of The Nightfly song "Green Flower Street" originally released on Donal Fagen's "Live At The Beacon: The New York Rock & Soul Revue. The disc also contains videos for "New Frontier" and "Century's End."

On "Kamakiriad" MVI disc: instrumentals "Shanghai Confidential," and "Blue Lou" and demo versions of "Confide In Me" and "Big Noise New York," a song originally written for Spike Lee. The bonus videos feature "Tomorrow's Girls" and "Snowbound".

On "Morph The Cat" MVI album: Previously unreleased live versions of "Hank's Pad" and "Viva Viva Rock 'N' Roll" along with "Rhymes," (an Al Green song originally intended to promote a review that never came off) and an interview originally aired on NPR's World Cafe program.

Jay Graydon Live gig on DVD to be released!!!

While Jay Graydon is finishing his new album to be released around April 2008, the 1994 concert in Japan from the Japan/Scandinavia Tour with the Jay Graydon Allstars Band will be released on video on Dec. 18th in Japan by Ward Records. The line-up on this tour was, apart from the band leader, Jay Graydon, on guitars and vocals - Bill Champlin (vocals, of course, guitar and Hammond B3), Bill Cantos (vocals and keyboard), Sherwood Ball (vocals and guitar), Steve Porcaro (keyboard and synths), John Van Tongeren (keyboard and synths), Pat Mastelotto (drums), Kenji Sano (bass) and Joseph Williams (vocals). More on this as things unfold.

There will be two versions: One containing a dvd and the other one adding an audio cd of the concert.
Watch the amazon ad here and an exclusive video of the DVD here.

Doobie Brothers, a new album and a DVD project

The Doobie Brothers now look at songwriting and recording a new album for everyone's enjoyment! Also, Pat Simmons and Bruce Cohn are working on a DVD retrospective project of the The Doobie Brothers' wild and crazy history from 1970 to the present.

The Doobie Brothers performed over 80 concerts, co-headlining with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steve Miller and Peter Frampton. They are also planning some co-headlining tours for the summer of 2008 with some great artists, and will be announcing those dates in the near future.

Th latest release of the band is The Very Best Of The Doobie Brothers released on Rhino Records in early February 2007: 2 CDs featuring 33 tracks!

You can obtain more news and more features at the official Doobie Brothers website.

Marshall Tucker Band Carolina Dreams Tour '77

A three-CD set of the Marshall Tucker Band collection entitled "Carolina Dreams Tour '77" that features the group's original lineup in concert is due out December 4th. Original lineup of the band: Doug Gray , George McCorkle, Paul Riddle, Jerry Eubanks, Toy and Tommy Caldwell.

The package will include a DVD offering live footage of the southern country rockers from Spartanburg, South Carolina performing "Can't You See," "Fire on the Mountain" and 12 more classics, along with commentary from founding member/singer Doug Gray and bonus material. The release will also include two CD's featuring audio of the same 14 performances.

The title "Carolina Dreams Tour '77" refers to their best known album released in 1977: "Carolin Dreams".

The Marshall Tucker Band has suffered a lot during their career. Original frontman and bassist, Tommy Caldwell died from injuries in a jeep crash on April 28, 1980. His brother, guitarist Toy Caldwell, like Doug Gray also a Vietnam veteran, died of heart disease on February 25, 1993. Founding member, guitarist George McCorkle, died of cancer on June 29, 2007 in Lebanon, Tennessee. But the band is still alive!

James Taylor One Man Band CD and DVD

James Taylor One Man Band CD and DVD is released November 13, 2007 in The USA (and in November and December in Europe) on Hear Music. The new CD/DVD set features live recordings of James Taylor's Greatest Hits and the stories behind the songs.

The set list is drawn from James Taylor's recent concerts at the Colonial Theatre in the Berkshires and features new performances from some of James Taylor's most beloved recordings including "Something in the Way," "Carolina in my Mind," and "Fire and Rain," interspersed with James Taylor's insightful and humorous anecdotes on the inspiration for the songs. "One Man Band" will be available at Starbucks Company-operated locations and traditional retailers around the world this November.

"This set is an intimate retrospective of 40 years worth of songs and the people, places and events that inspired them," said James Taylor. "I am very grateful to Don Mischer, Sydney Pollack, and Hear Music for taking great care with what are very personal songs for me and my fans."

For the DVD portion of "One Man Band," James Taylor called on veteran television events producer and director Don Mischer ("Kennedy Center Honors," and "Super Bowl XLI Halftime Show with Prince") and executive producer and acclaimed filmmaker Sydney Pollack ("Out of Africa," "Sketches of Frank
Gehry") and their extensive talents to properly capture the feel of the live concerts.

"One Man Band" tells the story of James Taylor's songs through exclusive interviews and rare multi-media
footage, including home movies and photographs from James Taylor's personal archives. The result is a great, one-of-a-kind portrait of an artist, his renowned repertoire and the personal stories behind the songs.

Over the course of his career, James Taylor has sold over 40 million albums, and won over 40 gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards as well as five Grammy Awards. James Taylor's first "Greatest Hits" album earned him the RIAA's elite Diamond Award, given for sales in excess of 10 million units in the United States. In 2000, James Taylor was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the prestigious Songwriters Hall of Fame. In February 2006, The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences named Taylor its MUSICARES Person of the Year.

Tracklist of the DVD: James Taylor "One Man Band" (19 songs):
Something In The Way She Moves ; Never Die Young ; The Frozen Man ; Mean Old Man ; School Song ; Country Road ; Slap Leather ; My Traveling Star ; You've Got A Friend ; Steamroller Blues ; Secret O'Life ; Line 'En UP ; Chili Dog ; Shower The People ; Sweet Baby James ; Carolina In My Mind ; Fire And Rain ; Copperline ; You Can Close Your Eyes.