Previous month:
August 2009
Next month:
October 2009

Michael Bolton "One World, One Love"

Bolton

Michael Bolton returns with the brand new studio album One World, One Love. Recorded over two years, the album was co-written and produced by Bolton and reverts to his impassioned, fervent songwriting and melodies, as well as featuring some notable collaborations with the likes of Ne-Yo and Lady Gaga.

The lead single "Just One Love" is an uplifting, emotional track that shows Michael Bolton at his best. 


Richard Marx "Emotional Remains"

Marx

Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter, and producer Richard Marx will release his first new solo recording in nearly three years, Emotional Remains.

The 11-track recording, due out September 22nd, exclusively at Amazon.com, also includes two bonus tracks, re-recorded versions of “Never Take Me Dancing,” from Flesh and Bone (1997) and “Should’ve Known Better,” from Richard Marx (1987).

Emotional Remains, Marx’s first offering since 2004’s My Own Best Enemy, is a bit of a departure for Marx, with a brand of rock that some may not think is synonomous with the artist, writer, and producer that has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. Whether it’s “Better or Worse,” an undeniably catchy and inspirational rock ballad, or the faster-paced “From the Inside, ” which features a darkly confessional lyric backed by a wall of guitars, the tracks are poised to join Richard’s existing arsenal of hits.

The forthcoming album also contains some of the chart topper’s most ambitious and personal works to date. The songs possess the heartfelt vocals found in all of Marx’s signature songs, but with a rock edge.  From “Through My Veins,” a poignant tribute to Richard’s father to “When November Falls,” a loving father/son ballad that Richard dedicated to his sons.

Emotional Remains features songs co-written by Matt Scannell of Vertical Horizon, Fee Waybill of The Tubes, and singer/songwriter Graham Colton.


A new Super Band is born: WET!

WET

Frontiers Records will release the highly anticipated, self-titled debut album from W.E.T. on November 6 as a special CD/DVD package. Featuring the immense talents of singer/songwriter Jeff Scott Soto (Talisman); guitarist/songwriter Erik Martensson (Eclipse) and guitarist/songwriter Robert Sall (Work Of Art), this is the melodic hard rock album you have been waiting for! 

(W)ork of art (E)clipse (T)alisman was written and recorded over the last 12 months and features the best elements of the three bands the principle artists have been involved in. 

The debut W.E.T. album features the following tracks: CD - Invincible, One Love, Brothers In Arms, Comes Down Like Rain, Running From The Heartache, I'll Be There, Damage Is Done, Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, One Day At A Time, Just Go, My Everything, If I Fall. DVD - Video Clips for: One Love, Comes Down Like Rain and Brothers In Arms and a 15 minute EPK.

Read more and listen to audio samples at MelodicRock.com


Journey New dvd "Live In Manila"

JourneyLive

Journey’s Live In Manila two-DVD set will be released October 2, 2009. Filmed with RED technology, which utilizes special 4K high-definition cameras with a resolution exceeding 35mm film that gives the footage an extra dynamic quality, the DVD captures Journey’s historic concert in Manila, Philippines. Performing more than two hours’ worth of classic favorites, as well as new hits from the band’s latest album, Revelation, Live In Manila documents the triumphant homecoming of the band’s singer Arnel Pineda.

On March 14, 2009, Journey returned to Pineda’s homeland and introduced him as their new lead singer to a crowd of nearly 30,000. Group members Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain, Ross Valory, and Deen Castronovo swelled with pride as they witnessed the Filipino people embrace Arnel and the music of Journey. By the time of the Manila concert, more than 800,000 copies of Revelation­the band’s first album with Arnel­had been sold, and was supported with sold-out shows all over the world. The Live In Manila DVD, like Revelation, is being sold exclusively at Walmart in North America. 

Live In Manila Track Listing: 

Disc One 1. Never Walk Away 2. Only The Young 3. Ask The Lonely 4. Stone In Love 5. Keep On Running 6. After All These Years 7. Change For The Better 8. Wheel In The Sky 9. Lights/ Still They Ride 10. Open Arms 11. Mother Father 12. Wildest Dreams 13. When You Love A Woman 14. Separate Ways 15. What I Needed. 

Disc Two 16. Edge Of The Blade 17. Where Did I Lose Your Love 18. Escape 19. Faithfully 20. Don't Stop Believin' 21. Anyway You Want It 22. Lovin' Touchin' 23. Turn Down The World 24. Be Good To Yourself.


Blanc face "Falling from The Moon"

Blancfaces-faliingfromthemoon

Frontiers Records is pleased to announce the release of Blanc Faces new album entitled Falling from The Moon on November 6 in Europe and November 26 in the USA.

In 2005 Blanc Faces, headed by the brothers duo, Robbie and Brian La Blanc debuted with their self titled album showing the world that the time for big harmonies was not over. With a stunning production and some truly brilliant songs, Blanc Faces managed to catch the attention of the entire Melodic Rock oriented press and loads of new fans. 

Little by little the two brothers (who by the way have an outstanding career in music including providing background vocals on music involving Toto lead singer Bobby Kimball and legendary singer Ronnie Spector) started putting together musical material for the second album which they completed in the summer of 2009. Not wanting to touch a team that gave superb results on the debut record, Blanc Faces worked again with Kyle Woodring (RIP)(Dennis DeYoung; Survivor; John Mellencamp) on drums, Jeff Batter (Cannata) on keyboards, and Butch Taylor and Michael Patzig on lead guitar.

Just a few weeks after the completion of the record the sad news of Kyle Woodring passing reached everyone, so the entire album is dedicated to this amazing musician. Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69, Place Vendome etc.) delivered once again a superior quality in the mixing sessions so once again the end result is an astonishing album that restores the faith in Classic AOR / Melodic Rock music. If you are a fan of Journey, Foreigner and Survivor, you will love this recording!


The Brilliant Mistakes "Distant Drumming"

Brillant

The Brilliant Mistakes, the New York City-based band lauded for “restlessy catchy hooks, a clever turn of phrase and frothy, piano-driven pop with heart, soul and smarts” (The Boston Globe) are back with 'Distant Drumming', their new album released on the band’s own Aunt Mimi’s Records. Produced by bassist Lincoln Schleifer (Levon Helm, Buddy Miller, Donald Fagen) the album was recorded at Lincoln’s Log Cabin in The Bronx, features guest musicians Mike Viola (The Candy Butchers, 'Walk Hard') and Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Ron Sexsmith) and was mastered by Fred Kevorkian (Ryan Adams, The White Stripes) in Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan.

Songwriter-bassist Erik Philbrook describes 'Distant Drumming' as an album that is about “learning how to evolve with soul, wit, grit and grace,” a testament to the band’s slow-burn strategy after ten years together, three albums and countless gigs across the country, often joined by a rotating cast of guitarists, string and horn players.

This time out the band sought to create a more organic album, delving deeper in the studio and experimenting with dynamics, arrangements, atmosphere and instrumentation, but without giving up their knack for melding artfully crafted lyrics onto memorable hooks. The result is a radiantly melodic album, brimming with classic songcraft, vintage pop sounds and lush harmonies by a band that has long flown beneath the radar of the mainstream but are kindred spirits with such contemporary Americana envelope-pushers as Wilco, My Morning Jacket and Spoon.

Thanks to Peter holmstedt at Hemifran


Timothy B Schmit's new album "Expando"

Tim

Regarding Bilboard.com, Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmit is planning an Oct. 20 release date for "Expando," his first solo album in eight years, on Lost Highway. The 11-track set includes a variety of guests, including Kid Rock, Dwight Yoakam, Graham Nash, Keb' Mo', Kenny Wayne Shepherd, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Van Dyke Parks, Gary Burton and Greg Leisz.

Revealing his plans earlier this year, Schmit told Billboard.com that he was pleased with "Expando" because "for the first time I feel like it's totally me. I wrote the whole thing. I did it at my home studio, and I play as much on it as possible. For the first time I think it's really more me, really what I represent. It's just me, for better or for worse. It's been a really joyous experience."

"Expando" will be Schmit's first solo release since "Feed the Fire" in 2001, which he chalks up to being busy with the Eagles, both on the road and making the group's Grammy Award-winning 2007 album "The Long Road Out of Eden." 

"It's been taking a long time because I have been so busy with the band -- and that is not a complaint."

Schmit says the guests on "Expando" represent "people that I really admire," most of whose phone numbers he already had, so "I didn't even have to go through management...Everybody came to my house, my studio, and sounded really, really great." A case in point was Kid Rock, who joins Yoakam and Burton on the track "Downtime."

"I've bumped into him quite a lot the last couple years," Schmit says, "and he gave me his phone number one day. We would see each other in restaurants. He invited my wife and I over to a couple of parties and get-togethers at his house. And one day I just said 'You know I'd love to have you sing on my record'...and he just drove over and did it. It was a lot of fun. Everybody I have on this record has been really great. They really were hard workers and they wanted to get it right, and it's not necessarily music that they were familiar with."


"The Greenpeace Vancouver Amchitka Concert" feat. James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Phil Ochs

Taylor

With permission from the artists, the Greenpeace Organization have developed a two-disc CD package of a recording of a concert in 1970 that Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Phil Ochs gave for Greenpeace in Vancouver to launch the then fledgling organization - "The Greenpeace Vancouver Amchitka Concert (1970)".

This CD set will be sold as a fundraiser exclusively through Greenpeace, the websites, events, merchandising, for three years with all proceeds going to Greenpeace. The plan is to launch it in November 2009.

The CD itself is magnificent, superbly re-mastered by Peter J Moore, a Canadian recording engineer who counts Neil Young and Garth Hudson among his more recent clients. Among the highlights are James Taylor's version of "With A Little Help From My Friends", and a Joni Mitchell/James Taylor duet of "Mr. Tambourine Man", as live and spontaneous as one can imagine.

Scott Kirby's new album "Row Me Home"

SK-RMH-CD

This recording is Kirby's sixth release and features 11 brand new songs by the artist known for his laid back "beach folk" style. "Row Me Home" was produced by veteran drummer/producer Russell Kunkel in his Los Angeles studio and mixed by son and Emmy winning engineer Nathaniel Kunkel. In addition to producing, Kunkel played drums and percussion and was joined by longtime rhythm section partner Leland Sklar on bass, legendary guitarist Dean Parks on pedal steel, dobro, acoustic and electric guitar, and keyboardist extraordinaire Jay Oliver on piano and organ. Gabe Witcher played fiddle on several cuts and Gary Meek filled out the band on sax. A group of veteran LA based singers provided the background vocals including WIndy Wagner, Ken Stacey and Dorian Hollie in addition to Sweet Pea Atkinson and Harry Bowens who were on break from the Lyle Lovett tour. Coral Reefer Peter Mayer sang on "Row Me Home," a tune he also co-wrote.

"Russ deserves the credit for assembling this stunning array of talent and I'm forever grateful." said Kirby. "These are all folks Russ has worked with over the years in his own amazing career and there was such a comfort level in the studio that it put me at ease in what otherwise could have been a daunting experience. This was more like old friends getting together to hang out and make some music in a casual and often comical atmosphere, which is my favorite and most effective way to work!

For more information, visit the website www.littleflockmusic.com.