Merle Haggard and Bob Dylan on tour.

When Country Music legend Merle Haggard hits the road in March, it will be as the special guest act for another giant of American songwriting, Bob Dylan. Merle Haggard joins Bob Dylan's spring tour on March 7 at Seattle's Paramount Theatre, and continues on the tour through their performance at the Beacon Theatre in New York on April 30.

Merle Haggard, himself responsible for countless country standards, digs into the American songbook on his latest album, "Unforgettable". Featuring such timeless classics as "Pennies From Heaven" and Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust," "unforgettable" marks Merle Haggard's return to his longtime label, Capitol Records.

People magazine raves that "No modern country singer would have been a better choice" to sing this material, noting that "This 12-track album is splendid, with Merle Haggard's rich, warm voice wrapping itself comfortably around such tunes as "Stardust"."

Rating the album as a "classic," the San Francisco Chronicle's assessment is similarly glowing: "When you can take a song that's been done a million times, say, 'Unforgettable,' and make it entirely your own, you have the magic of a master musician. That magic is all over a new collection of standards by country music immortal Merle Haggard ... This is not country music, jazz or pop - this is Merle Haggard the incomparable."

Dubbed "the most influential country singer of his generation" by Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times, Merle Haggard's next project with Capitol - his first new album of original material for the label in over 25 years - teams Merle Haggard with legendary Nashville executive and producer Jimmy Bowen and renowned television producer/composer Mike Post. The album, which features a duet with Toby Keith, is due later this year.

Dates with Merle Haggard - Bob Dylan are as follows:
March 7-9 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre
March 11-12 Portland, OR University of Portland - Chiles Center
March 14-16 Oakland, CA Paramount Theatre
March 21-23 Los Angeles, CA Pantages Theatre
March 25-26 Los Angeles, CA Pantages Theatre
March 28-29 Denver, CO Fillmore Auditorium
April 1-3 Chicago, IL Auditorium Theatre
April 5-6 Chicago, IL Auditorium Theatre
April 8-9 Milwaukee, WI Eagles Ballroom
April 15-17 Boston, MA Orpheum Theatre
April 22 Mashantucket, CT Fox Theater
April 24 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata Resort Spa & Casino
April 25-26 New York, NY Beacon Theater
April 28-30 New York, NY Beacon Theater
More dates to be announced...

Merle Haggard "Unforgettable" CD: ORDER IT NOW.

Kathleen Edwards "Back To Me," Kathleen Edwards new album out March 1, 2005 on Zoe Records.

After being hailed as one of the finest and most distinctive singer-songwriters to emerge in 2003, Kathleen Edwards is poised to vault to the front rank of contemporary music with her superlative sophomore album, "Back To Me".

"Back To Me" (out March 1 on Zoe/Rounder) features 11 new songs that cover an ambitious range of themes, styles and emotions: from the brash bracingly-delivered self-confidence of the driving title cut to unique takes on matters of the heart on "Old Time Sake" and "Summerlong" to the bruised emotions of "Independent Thief" and "Away," climaxing with the hard-earned wisdom of "Good Things."

"It's always been important to me that my records work as an album that it isn't just a collection of songs, but something that creates a real, vivid, three-dimensional portrait. And I don't want to rely on the same dynamic and style on every song. I want to use every crayon in the box, and I feel like I accomplished that with "Back To Me,"" says Kathleen Edwards.

The 26-year-old singer-songwriter's 2003 debut "Failer" started as an indie project recorded with friends in the Ottawa music scene. It was released by MapleMusic in Canada and Zo‘/Rounder in the U.S., and on the strength of three singles: "Six O'Clock News," "One More Song The Radio Won't Like" and "Hockey Skates", "Failer" was acclaimed as one of the finest debut records in recent memory. Rolling Stone declared her one of year's most promising new acts and Blender said Failer's songs possessed "an indefinable pull that makes you love the characters they describe, no matter how fucked up they are." Kathleen Edwards toured relentlessly with Failer, collecting an armload of accolades and fans around the world.

""Failer" was made really without any preconceptions or expectations," says Kathleen Edwards. "I was just working with my friends and trying to make the best record I could. I don't think even in my wildest dreams I imagined I'd end up on Letterman and Leno, touring everywhere and opening for The Stones and AC/DC and Bob Dylan. I wasn't aiming for any of that, but it all happened."

"When it came time to make "Back To Me," I tried to put all that aside and really focused on the job at hand, which is writing and recording songs that say what I want to say and making music with my friends and people I trust and admire," Kathleen Edwards says.

The album was mixed in Los Angeles by Jim Scott (Tom Petty, Whiskeytown) and was recorded over the course of nine months at Toronto's Reaction studio, with Kathleen Edwards' touring band (Colin Cripps - guitar, Kevin McCarragher - bass, Joel Anderson - drums) providing core support. Production was handled by Cripps, and guests on the record include My Morning Jacket's Jim James (who lends his voice to "Independent Thief"), keyboardists Benmont Tench (best known for his work with Tom Petty's Heartbreakers, a favorite of Kathleen Edwards'), Pierre Marchand (Sarah McLachlan) and Richard Bell (The Band, Janis Joplin). Kathleen Edwards' pal, Ottawa-based singer songwriter Jim Bryson, sings on "Summerlong" and she also covers Bryson's "Somewhere Else."

Kathleen Edwards says Cripps was crucial to ensuring "Back To Me" delivered on "Failer"'s promise.

"Colin knows me so well, knows my songs better than anyone, and he stayed true to making the album that I wanted to make. I knew I could trust him and that made everything come together really naturally." The leadoff track, "In State," echoes back to "Failer"'s opening cut, "Six O'Clock News." "I was just imagining what might have led up to the police standoff in 'Six O'Clock News.' It's a very different kind of song, but I wanted to explore how someone gets into that kind of desperate situation." "Pink Emerson Radio" examines her own relocation to Toronto as well as recalling a long-ago escape from an apartment fire. "I just instinctively grabbed my violin and my guitar. Those situations test you; they force you to define what matters in your life."

"Independent Thief" and "Old Time Sake" (the latter co-written with Peter Cash of The Cash Brothers) are haunted by the ghost of past relationships, whereas "Away" audibly aches for the comfort of distant friends. Edwards' describes the buoyant "Summerlong" as "probably the most straightforward I'm-in-love song I will ever write."

As surely as Kathleen Edwards was able to return her focus to her songwriting and recording, the songs on Back To Me acknowledge that, for her personally, some things have changed.

"The song "Away" was written on one of the few days off I had from touring last year," she says. "The toughest part of touring for me was the fact that I wasn't returning to what had been my home for so long, and my friends weren't around. I covered Jim Bryson's song "Somewhere Else" because it was a song I always connected with, especially because it was about dislocation. "Copied Keys" is a song I wrote when I had just started living in Toronto, and now that I look back, I realize that a new chapter in my life was starting, and that the song really shows how reluctant I was to accept it."

If there's one thing Kathleen Edwards' travels showed her, though, it is that the music world, too, is ripe for change.

"I do get a sense that there is a change coming. People are getting tired of a lot of the safe, predictable, plastic music that has been shoved at them in recent years. They responded to my record and I know there's this big reservoir of music, and of music lovers, that have been waiting for something new, something a little more substantial. As a music fan, I'm hoping that change does happen. And as singer and songwriter, I'd love to be a part of it."

Or, as Kathleen Edwards sings on "Back To Me"'s title cut: "I've got ways to make you sing my songs/Ones I ain't written yet/I've got lights you've never seen/I've got moves I've never used/I've got ways to make you come/Back to me". So welcome back, Kathleen Edwards.

Kathleen Edwards "Back To Me" CD: ORDER IT NOW.

Jessi Alexander "Honeysuckle Sweet" new album, Jessi Alexander new album out March 1 (on Columbia/Sony Music).

"Honeysuckle Sweet" (Columbia Recrds), the "promising first album" (NY Times) from Jessi Alexander, is garnering early critical praise. Elle magazine summed up the album's mix of genres as "kind of Country-Soul, kind of roots, kind of wonderful. . . remarkable." Tracks magazine concludes Alexander is an "auspicious talent" living up to her musical influences of Emmylou Harris, Tom Petty and Bonnie Raitt and adding "Alexander's raw yearning sounds divine." Dirty Linen named the single "Canyon Prayer" (a song once recorded by Kathy Mattea as "'Til I Turn To You"), "the strongest piece" on the "well-crafted" album while Tracks singles out "Unfulfilled" for its "quiet desperation".

Jessi Alexander's colleagues are also singing her praise. Roots musician Rodney Crowell said "When I think of Jessi Alexander, Emmylou and Lucinda come to mind. Beauty, humor talent and brains has long been my favorite artistic combination. Jessi oozes them all."

"Honeysuckle Sweet" will be released on Columbia Records March 1, 2005.

It's no surprise that Jessi Alexander was born in a small town halfway between Memphis and Nashville. Her sultry voice expresses the pain, longing, and despair of the music and life of the region.

"Growing up, I had such a wide range of influences," she says. "I remember thinking that Linda Rondstadt was country. So was Ralph Stanley and Earl Scruggs and Dolly Parton. I didn't have the same kind of boundaries you see in music today."

So she listened and absorbed. The Band, Bob Wills, Karla Bonoff, Bonnie Raitt, Little Feat, Bobbi Gentry, Jackson Browne, Hank Williams and, always, Patsy Cline. In fact, when she realized, at age 10, that she could sing, it was Cline's vocals she tried to channel. So much so that young Jessi Alexander eventually had to work to stop sounding like Cline. That memory brings a laugh from Jessi.

"Then I started sounding too much like Bonnie Raitt. When I moved here, I really wanted to start to create Jessi."

She moved to Nashville after leaving Middle Tennessee State University, where she studied social work by day and played in bands by night. Instead of playing for tips in the bars along Broadway, she sought out musicians she could learn from, who could help her develop from bar singer to full-fledged artist.

That happened through songwriting, she says, and the results are evident in the 11 cuts of "Honeysuckle Sweet," each of which she at least co-wrote. Working with co-producer Gary Nicholson and writing with Nicholson, Benmont Tench (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), Gary Louris (The Jayhawks) and Darrell Scott, among others, Jessi found her musical self. What comes through is a new voice, strong and proud, unafraid to tap into the best of the past while forging its own sound. Kind of what popular music used to be like before it was so strictly subdivided.

"I wanted this record to be very much a portrait of all my sides, all my influences. I wanted this to be a good template. This is Jessi. This is the platform on which I start," Jessi Alexander says.

"Honeysuckle Sweet" might never have happened had it not been for some mischievous friends who submitted one of her tapes in a best unsigned artist contest in Nashville a few years ago. To her surprise, Jessi Alexander got a call saying she had made the second round of a contest she didn't even know she had entered.

Jessi Alexander not only won the contest, she attracted the interest of MCA, which signed her to make "Honeysuckle Sweet." By that measure, Jessi Alexander is already a success. She spent some time as a Warner-Chappell music writer, and Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless and others on country's A-List have recorded her songs.

And there's one more measure of success she's looking forward to. "I hope some day some little girl goes, 'I want to sing like Jessi.' How cool would that be?"

Jessi Alexander "Honeysuckle Sweet" CD: ORDER IT NOW.

Independent label Nash Media announced the release of "Center of Me", the debut album of singer/songwriter Angie Gibbons. With this release, Nash Media launches a unique Christian lyricist, who confronts issues of faith and life with a refreshing honesty, and has already made an impression on industry veterans.

"Angie Gibbons' debut album is a perfect fit for adult contemporary radio," said Noonie Fugler, music director of KLIFE, San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Through the label's grassroots efforts and the support of Neil Stavem, program director of KTIS, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Angie Gibbons' first single was added to flagship Christian adult contemporary station KAXL, in Bakersfield, Calif., before the album's release. The single "Take Me" was embraced by KAXL and its listeners.

"Center of Me" is a pop/rock album with rich, guitar-driven arrangements, but it still remains intimate throughout, partly due to the fact that Gibbons wrote or co-wrote the music and lyrics for every track and also shared production duties.

"When I'm writing I try to present the most honest recollections possible of my experiences, because that's what I want to hear from other artists," Angie Gibbons says. "I not only want to provide people with a great musical experience but to have them connect with the lyrics and know that they're not alone in what they're feeling or facing. After all, that's where our faith and our strength is built through real life struggles."

Although Angie Gibbons is now based in Nashville, the project was first conceived and largely produced in Los Angeles, which provided opportunities to bring together a diverse group of accomplished contributors. As a result, the album doesn't neatly fit into any one category and is sure to appeal to a wide variety of listeners.

The album was helmed by seasoned producer/manager Paula Kay Hornick (Rod McGaha, Lea Krueger, Love Circle Logic, Wayland Patton) and accomplished composer Craig Dobbin, who also heads up smooth jazz band 3rd Force. In addition, "Center of Me" brought together world renown musicians including classical guitarist Federico Ramos (Jon Andersons Latin Band, Jackson Browne, Cheb Mami), Xavier Marshall (Jessica Simpson, Christina Aguilera, Tommy Eyre) on drums, Rod McGaha (Max Roach, Bebe and Cece Winans, Take 6) doing double duty on background vocals and vocal production, and pianist Gary Smith (Dolly Parton, Alison Krauss, Ricky Skaggs, Toby Keith).

"Working with Angie was a wonderful experience both musically and personally," Producer Paula Kay Hornick says. "I have gotten to know her as a young woman of God whose quiet faith and walk have been a testament to me. Angie will be a valuable role model for the young women of today."

For an intimate look into the inspiration of the songs and to learn more about Angie visit: www.angiegibbons.com.

ORDER Angie Gibbons "Center of Me" album at CDBaby.com.

Beyonce, Counting Crows and Josh Groban to Perform at the 77th Academy Awards, Beyonce, Counting Crows and Josh Groban at the 77th Academy Awards.

Beverly Hills, CA —Beyoncé, Counting Crows and Josh Groban will perform some of the nominated original songs at the 77th Academy Awards, telecast producer Gil Cates announced.

Beyoncé and Josh Groban will perform "Believe" from "The Polar Express" (see here).

Counting Crows will perform their best song nomination "Accidentally In Love" from "Shrek 2" (music by Adam Duritz, Charles Gillingham, Jim Bogios, David Immergluck, Matthew Malley and David Bryson with lyrics by Duritz and Daniel Vickrey) (see here).

Beyoncé also will perform "Look to Your Path" from "Les Choristes" accompanied by the American Boychoir and "Learn to Be Lonely" from "The Phantom of the Opera" (see here).

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2004 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland®. The Oscars® will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 5 p.m. PST / 8 p.m. EST, beginning with a half-hour arrivals segment. Information about the 77th Academy Awards can be accessed at www.oscar.com.

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) Oscar nominations are:

- "Accidentally In Love" from "Shrek 2" (DreamWorks)
Music by Adam Duritz, Charles Gillingham, Jim Bogios, David Immergluck, Matthew Malley and David Bryson
Lyric by Adam Duritz and Daniel Vickrey

- "Al Otro Lado Del Rio" from "The Motorcycle Diaries" (Focus Features and Film Four)
Music and Lyric by Jorge Drexler

- "Believe" from "The Polar Express" (Warner Bros.)
Music and Lyric by Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri

- "Learn To Be Lonely" from "The Phantom of the Opera" (Warner Bros.)
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyric by Charles Hart

- "Look To Your Path (Vois Sur Ton Chemin)" from "The Chorus (Les Choristes)" (Miramax)
Music by Bruno Coulais
Lyric by Christophe Barratier

"Polar Express Soundtrack" CD:

"Shrek 2" DVD:

"The Chorus" (Les Choristes) DVD:

Nellie McKay "Get Away From Me," Nellie McKay last album available in New DualDisc Edition (on Sony Music).

Nellie McKay's groundbreaking critically-acclaimed debut album, "Get Away From Me," named as one of the Best Albums of 2004 by Rolling Stone, Blender, the LA Times, USA Today, The Onion, Tracks and many other publications, will be available in the recently-launched DualDisc format on Tuesday, March 29.

DualDisc is a new double-sided music product which combines audio (CD) and video (DVD) content on a single disc, which is compatible with virtually any device -- including home stereo systems, portable disc players, car stereos, game consoles, and PCs -- currently capable of playing either CDs or DVDs.

The DVD side of the DualDisc "Get Away From Me" includes the entire album in 5.1 Surround Sound and enhanced LPCM Stereo; "San Francisco Night - Live at the Independent," an eight-song set recorded in High Definition video on November 23, 2004 capturing the unpredictable wit, musical elegance, and charismatic on-stage bravado of Nellie McKay live in concert; and a bonus audio tracks page debuting two previously unreleased songs, "John-John" and "Teresa," written and produced by Nellie McKay.

The CD side of the DualDisc edition of "Get Away From Me" will feature all 18 songs from Nellie's debut, originally a double-CD collection, specially configured to fit onto a single disc.

Released in February 2004, "Get Away From Me" proved itself to be one of 2004's most press-worthy and auspicious releases. "Nellie McKay is so original," wrote Elle magazine, "she's practically invented her own genre: neo-retro-mellow-fury pop." The Associate Press praised her debut as " ... a compelling effort ripe with witty songwriting and solid musicianship." "A new star is born!," proclaimed the Atlanta Journal & Constitution while Rolling Stone called her "... that rare performer whose talent is irrefutable."

Nellie McKay "Get Away From Me" DualDisc edition: ORDER IT NOW.

Vanessa Williams "Everlasting Love", Vanessa Williams new album now out on Lava Records, Vanessa Williams interview.

Vanessa Williams, one of the gay community's most revered and idolized icons, is releasing her new album of '70s love songs called "Everlasting Love" on January 25. The album includes such classics as "You Are Everything" (the first single and dance remix), "Midnight Blue" (originally recorded by Melissa Manchester), the Robert Flack classic "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," Stevie Wonder's "Send One Your Love," the Jackson 5's "Never Can Say Goodbye," and "With You I'm Born Again," a duet with the legendary George Benson.

Vanessa Williams is known as one of the most versatile, multi-talented performers in the entertainment world. In addition to scaling the heights of the music charts with hits like the "Dreamin'" and "Save the Best for Last," she has achieved glowing reviews and international notoriety for her acting career on Broadway, on television, and in movies (most recently in the feature "Johnson Family Vacation"). Vanessa Willialms was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance as the Witch in the recent revival of "Into the Woods."

Here, Vanessa Williams talks about her gay fans, her gay friends, gay marriage, and of course, her new album.

Q: Are you conscious of having a lot of gay fans?

A: Absolutely, particularly when I do any kind of Broadway event, whether it's a show or singing at Carnegie Hall for an evening of Brazilian music—I definitely have a big theater contingency that shows up and are very well-versed in everything that I do. They know all of the composers and also give me good feedback on what I’m singing.

Q: What do you think it is about your music that appeals to gay people?

A: I think that my gift as a performer and what probably works for me as a singer when I record is that I can use my acting ability to be a storyteller. I think that "Save the Best for Last" did well not only because it was a well-written song and was very sentimental, but people could hear me smile while I was singing, they could connect with the wistfulness and the longing, which as a singer all comes from being able to do my acting homework. It's more than vocal acrobatics or how long I can hold the note. I try to make it as intimate as possible. When you tell a story, and you make people feel, that's what works for me.

Q: How do you feel about gay marriage?

A: I have no problem with it. I completely support it. I have many gay friends that are married. Close male friends of mine have been living together as a couple for over 20 years, and they have adopted a beautiful baby girl who is now 3-years-old. They are fantastic parents. Other gay couples I know are also looking to adopt and are trying to find the right combination. And then I have single gay friends who are adoptive parents.

Q: If one of your kids told you they were gay, how would you respond?

A: Well, I would probably immediately get on the hot line to all of my gay friends—we'd have a group meeting [laughs]. I probably would have sensed some signs early on, but I would say, "You're going to have a difficult time ahead because you're going to be perceived as different. And you’re going to have to be strong, and just remember we love you and support you." Again, the support network would be so strong. There would be no way that I could be hypocritical--when you grow up as a dancer and in the theater, you are surrounded by gay people. My kids have also been surrounded by gay people their whole lives. They are so loving and welcoming, they don't even question it.

Q: What do moral values mean to you?

A: "Do unto others" is a great rule to start off with. Love yourself, love the world, and treat people kindly is another one. And know that everyone suffers—that's another big one.

Q: How did you end up choosing the songs on "Everlasting Love"?

A: Some are personal favorites of mine, and others were suggested by the record company. I had my list of songs that were from my record collection at my parent's house. I even went home on a Sunday afternoon and set up my turntable and made my little mix tape like I used to do when I was in 7th and 8th grade.

Q: When can your gay fans expect to see you back on Broadway?

A: I hope soon. I hear everything that's going on in town, but right now there's nothing scheduled. But it's something that I am always thinking about it.

Q: This word is way overused, but it's hard to resist—do you see yourself as a diva?

A: [laughs] Yes, at times, when I've got the full drag on and I've just come offstage after a fabulous performance. The time I feel most like a diva is when I'm taking a final bow and getting roses thrown onstage and people are jumping and leaping to their feet and clapping. That feels great.

Vanessa Williams "Everlasting Love" CD: ORDER IT NOW.

Emiliana Torrini "Fisherman's Woman", Emiliana Torrini new album out on Rough Trade Records.

So opens Emiliana Torrini's second album, a soft-yet-searing collection of twelve intimate and atmospheric songs that will whisper their way into your bloodstream. Back in 1999, when the singer released the critically acclaimed "Love In The Time Of Science," Emiliana Torrini came out with a gorgeous, electronic trippoppin' vision of endless summer and moonlit nights out. Following her departure from One Little Indian, there's a new introspection, closer to Nick Drake or Jolie Holland than Portishead or Goldfrapp.

"This whole record is about these four years I was away," explains Emiliana Torrini "Very life-changing times. A lot of things happened. I just couldn't at this stage go back to writing a record like I did before." Indie HQ Rough Trade clearly approved of her new direction: they signed Emiliana immediately after hearing the first demos from "Fisherman's Woman".

The 27-year-old singer and writer has nonetheless been busy since "Love In The Time Of Science". Emiliana Torrini moved to Brighton, joined the cast of Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers to perform the enchanting "Gollum Song" wrote and toured with Thievery Corporation, and wrote a Number One Hit for Kylie Minogue in the shape of huge-selling pop smash "Slow". "It was a very fun thing to do," she says. "It was an opportunity to dust off my dancing shoes and write music that I don't normally write but love, and then keep the smokey-little-bar-music to my self."
"Slow" was written and produced with Brixton-based producer Mr Dan, midway through the sessions that became "Fisherman's Woman". After writing with a number of different artists, Emiliana Torrini was introduced to Mr Dan – and they clicked immediately. "It had been so long since the last album, and I was in two minds of doing it again," Emiliana Torrini says. "I was very nervous about going back, but we had so much fun doing it. It is just one of those collaborations I have been waiting for all my life."

Emiliana Torrini decided to go back to basics and write with just a guitar and no electronics or programming. The pair jammed out the songs in Dan's dark Brixton basement with Dan on guitar and Emiliana Torrini conjuring up the lyrics and melodies. After that they recorded the record in The Exchange in Camden. "Well one thing I knew very well is that I wanted a very intimate vocal sound," she says. "This album was recorded with candles, laughing fits and my duvet. We were sad leaving Brixton. I love it there," she continues. "It can suck the life out of you and then blow you full again. Depends what mood it's in. Brixton is like a huge 'me me me show'."

Intimate. It sounds like it: opening gambit "Nothing Brings Me Down" gradually builds from sparse beginnings; Dan's acoustic guitar, light touches of piano – to a textured, gentle circle. Album highlight "Sunny Road" sounds as if it could have leaped out of a dusty, lost Leonard Cohen session, while "Lifesaver" floats along a mysterious, fairytale accordion melody, accompanied by the ambient creak of boats on water. "Thinking Out Loud" whispers of Eastern Europe and the Appalachians before album closer, "Serenade" multi-tracks the listener into a moonlit dream which references clouds, dark vines, temptations and new tomorrows. It's evocative and heart-felt – a handcrafted jewel of a record. "Fisherman's Woman" also includes a song, "Honeymoon Child" written by smog's Bill Callahan, who Emiliana spent some time writing with in America.

""Fisherman's Woman" is a very different beast. It is themed around loss, and how it feels to lose people; sometimes it's dripping with sadness but more frequently imbued with almost magical optimism. "Fisherman's Woman" is a letter I wrote to a person that I lost at that time. I coped by thinking I was with a fisherman. They can go on sea for months like my friend's dad. Her mum saw him twice a year maybe for a fortnight at a time," she says. "It was a little bit like Alice in Wonderland. The falling into a hole, the madness of it all." Despite the sadness, Emiliana remains positive. "I could never write a wholly sad album," Emiliana Torrini says laughing. "There are too many moon rivers to see and life to live. Fisherman’s Woman has been a way of making things whole again."

Emiliana Torrini "Fisherman's Woman" CD: ORDER IT NOW.

The Wallflowers "Rebel, Sweetheart," The Wallflowers (Jakob Dylan's band) new album to be released on Interscope Records.

The Wallflowers will release their first album in three years, "Rebel, Sweetheart", on May 24. Produced by Brendan O'Brien and recorded at Southern Tracks Recording in Atlanta during the summer and fall of 2004, Rebel, Sweetheart is the Grammy-winning band's fifth studio LP. The album's first single, "The Beautiful Side Of Somewhere" will be released to radio in mid-March.

The Wallflowers will tour extensively throughout the U.S. and the world following the album’s release.

All of the songs on "Rebel, Sweetheart" were written by Jakob Dylan, who's mindful of consistent themes running through much of the album. As he told USA Today, "Considering the chaotic times that we're living in, I found it unavoidable to write songs that weren't embedded with curiosity, panic, and wonder. The climate for writing these songs was obviously fertile, to say the least, and the well of inspiration virtually bottomless," he said.

The Wallflowers relied on their many years as a recording and touring band, as well as their unmistakable chemistry with producer Brendan O'Brien, to approach the songs on "Rebel, Sweetheart" with a sense of urgency. Three of the four band members have been in the Wallflowers for over a decade (Jakob Dylan - Guitars and vocals; Rami Jaffee - Keyboards; and Greg Richling - Bass and vocals), while the fourth, drummer Fred Eltringham (Gigolo Aunts, Ben Kweller), joined the band two years ago. In anticipation of entering the studio, Brendan O'Brien joined the band on tour last summer as lead guitarist; that lineup debuted on record with last year's Warren Zevon Tribute CD, "Enjoy Every Sandwich," performing "Lawyers, Guns and Money."

"We wanted to get these songs out there quickly, and not spend months in the studio labouring over them," Jakob Dylan explained. "Fortunately, we had just come off the road and were ready to record - and there's no wasted time with Brendan in the studio - so the whole process really served the album we set out to make."

The Wallflowers will debut new songs from "Rebel, Sweetheart" when they headline Esquire Magazine's annual soiree in Austin, Texas on Saturday, March 19, during that city's South-By-Southwest music festival.

The tracklisting for The Wallflowers "Rebel, Sweetheart" CD is as follows:
Days Of Wonder
The Passenger
The Beautiful Side Of Somewhere
Here He Comes (Confessions of a Drunken Marionette)
We're Already There
God Says Nothing Back
Back To California
I Am A Building
From The Bottom Of My Heart
Nearly Beloved
How Far You've Come
All Things New Again

The Wallflowers "Bringing Down the Horse" CD: ORDER IT NOW.

Robbie Dupree Live DVD. Robbie Dupree "Live In Japan" DVD released on December 22, 2004 in Japan and is distributed there by Avex.

The complete concert was filmed early this year at the Duo Music Exchange in Tokyo, Japan.

Robbie Dupree has posted on his website an excerpt of the DVD here and will change it every 2 weeks.

Robbie adds on his website:
"I regret that I was unable to negotiate an arrangement to make it available for sale on my website. The importation and shipping costs, plus a high price from Japan made it much too expensive for me to offer it to you. It would have cost about $45 per copy. If things change and the price comes down, I will be happy to make it available."

My personal feelings is that the Japanese company that sells via exportation this CD at US Dollars 45.00 to the artists for his fans and more than US Dollars 77.00 via Amazon is completely FOOLISH.

Since many years, Europeans and North American fans as well as people outside Japan pay the Westcoast Music CDs and material at a high rate without clear and sincere explanation... This is crazy that most of the Japanese market in Westcoast Music (except some people) still continue this way to do money without no sense.
That's a real scandal and they have no RESPECT for the Westcoast Music fans outside Japan except to take their money outside their pocket.

Please also note that most of these japanese record companies don't do any any promotions and Press outside Japan for these artists, that usually they have not the rights to sell outside their territory but they do it...

Do they have any sense of artistry in acting like this???
I seriously doubt that.
Music industry collapses in Japan too.

I sincerely hope that will change soon... By the way, more and more Westcoast Music artists sell their own stuff via CDbaby.com or their own website...
That's the best way and more respectful for the artists and the fans!

Jean-Luc Raymond
for PROWEST staff

Robbie Dupree "Live at Duo Music Exchange" DVD (+Bonus DVD): ORDER IT NOW.