AC/DC

There are unconfirmed reports that AC/DC are to release a major box set later this year.

These reports suggest this will come in a box shaped as an amplifier – that actually works. (Sounds somewhat expensive to me!!!!!!)

It will contain three CDs, two DVDs and a vinyl album. There will be a CD of studio rarities, two CDs featuring live rarities, a DVD disc of Family Jewels Part 3 (1992-2009) and a DVD disc featuring a show from 2003 in Circus Krone, Germany. The vinyl album will have all the studio rarities.

In addition, there will be a 164-page book, plus loads of extras, such as three black-and-white lithographs of unpublished photos of the band in Alberts Studio in 1977, a flyer for the 1976 Lock Up Your Daughters UK tour and a poster from the 1977 European Let There Be Rock Tour.

This set will only be sold through the band’s official website: www.acdcrocks.com

There are also plans for a three-disc box version called Best Of The Box Set, which will have the studio rarities CD, one CD of live rarities and the Family Jewels Part 3 DVD.

Visit www.classicrockmagazine.com for more information and latest news.

………………and to think they replaced the late Bon Scott with a guy from Geordie

The Beatles Postscript

Beatles For Sale, 2009

40 YEARS AFTER THEY bade farewell to a world left stunned by their split, The Beatles are once again conquering the UK charts. Their Remasters series has taken the Top 75 by storm with 13 original albums, the one-disc Past Masters edition and the new Stereo and Mono boxsets all selling by the bucketload. The new releases only hit the shops on Wednesday, so it looks like this 21st Century hit of Beatle-buying can only increase. But how has each album fared and what does that say about how The Beatles are perceived in 2009?

First, the statistics. Four stereo CD remasters made it into the Top Ten with Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band reaching Number 5, followed closely by Abbey Road (6), Revolver (9) and Rubber Soul (10). The Beatles hit 21, Help! 29 and Magical Mystery Tour came in at 31. All seven of those albums are post-1964 releases, leaving their mop-top run of A Hard Day’s Night (37), Please Please Me (38), With The Beatles (51) and Beatles For Sale (56) flailing behind. Let It Be scraped into the Top 50 at 49 with Yellow Submarine bringing up the rear at 89.

The initial sales of the first Beatles CD transfers painted a rather different picture. Back in 1987, Sgt. Pepper… occupied its now-familiar throne at the head of the table, but below that the band’s first three records were more highly prized, all claiming spots in the Top 40 and placing higher in the all-Beatle rankings than their counterparts in 2009. But why the discrepancy?

22 years ago, at the dawn of digital technology, Beatle CD purchasers had grown up on the Beatles through the radio, and it was the band’s über-Everly harmonies and trebly guitar carillons that defined the Beatles sound. The head-shaking ‘ooooo’s of Twist & Shout and All My Loving were much more John, Paul, George and Ringo than the backwards tape-loops of Tomorrow Never Knows. Now, after the release of the Anthologies and the re-upping of their late-’60s output in the mid-’90s, it’s all about She Said She Said and Paperback Writer – tracks that repay 2009’s CD-purchaser with all the reclarified nuances of Lennon’s voice, the chimes of Harrison’s guitar, each squeak of Ringo’s bass-drum pedal and the sheer funky delight of Paul McCartney’s bass.

And while the sonic revelations of the Remasters are by no means confined to the later recordings (I’m A Loser and I Saw Her Standing There are just as stunning, in their way, as A Day In The Life and the Abbey Road-medley), this week’s chart positions suggest that it’s the art-rock Beatles who now pull in the punters.

With CD sales supposedly still in decline, it’s astonishing to see the two box sets steaming into the charts at 24 (the Stereo set) and 57 (The Beatles In Mono). Both packages cost well over £150, but with 8000 copies sold on the first day of release alone, those high price tags obviously haven’t dissuaded Beatleheads from parting with their cash.

You just have to feel sorry for anyone else – Dame Vera Lynn excluded – with a record out this month.

Ross Bennett

—————————————–

Here are those current UK chart positions in full:

5 – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
6 – Abbey Road
9 – Revolver
10 – Rubber Soul
21 – The Beatles
24 – The Beatles In Stereo
29 – Help!
31 – Past Masters
33 – Magical Mystery Tour
37 – A Hard Day’s Night
38 – Please Please Me
49 – Let It Be
51 – With The Beatles
56 – Beatles For Sale
57 – The Beatles In Mono
89 – Yellow Submarine

Source: Official UK Charts Company

US sales figures were unavailable at the time of writing.

And in 1987…

3 – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 18 – The Beatles
30 – A Hard Day’s Night
30 – Abbey Road
32 – Please Please Me
40 – With The Beatles
45 – Beatles For Sale
50 – Let It Be
52 – Magical Mystery Tour
55 – Revolver
60 – Rubber Soul
60 – Yellow Submarine
61 – Help!15/09/2009

Posted by Ross_Bennett at 8:00 AM GMT

SOURCE THE BRILLIANT www.mojo4music.com

Jimi Hendrix

 

James Marahall Hendrix moved on to another world 39 years ago today so this alone gives me an excuse to post my second Hendrix item of the week.

James Marshall “Jimi” Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is widely considered to be the greatest guitarist in the history of rock music by other musicians and commentators in the industry and one of the most important and influential musicians of his era across a range of genres. After initial success in Europe, he achieved fame in the United States following his 1967 performance at the Monterey Pop Festival.

Later, Hendrix headlined the iconic 1969 Woodstock Festival

and the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival.

Jimi recorded the Dylan song “All Along The Watchtower” for the “Electric Ladyland” album and forever made it his own.

Hendrix often favored raw overdriven amplifiers with high gain and treble and helped develop the previously undesirable technique of guitar amplifier feedback. Hendrix was one of the musicians who popularized the wah-wah pedal in mainstream rock which he often used to deliver an exaggerated pitch in his solos, particularly with high bends and use of legato based around the pentatonic scale. He was influenced by blues artists such as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Albert King, and Elmore James, rhythm and blues and soul guitarists Curtis Mayfield, Steve Cropper, as well as by some modern jazz. In 1966, Hendrix, who played and recorded with Little Richard‘s band from 1964 to 1965, was quoted as saying, “I want to do with my guitar what Little Richard does with his voice.”

Carlos Santana has suggested that Hendrix’s music may have been influenced by his partly Native American heritage.  As a record producer, Hendrix also broke new ground in using the recording studio as an extension of his musical ideas. He was one of the first to experiment with stereophonic and phasing effects for rock recording.

Hendrix won many of the most prestigious rock music awards in his lifetime, and has been posthumously awarded many more, including being inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. An English Heritage blue plaque was erected in his name on his former residence at Brook Street, London, in September 1997. A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (at 6627 Hollywood Blvd.) was dedicated in 1994. In 2006, his debut US album, Are You Experienced, was inducted into the United States National Recording Registry, and Rolling Stone named Hendrix the top guitarist on its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time in 2003. He was also the first person inducted into the Native American Music Hall of Fame.

In the year 2000 Fiona bought me “The Jimi Hendrix Experience” which was a 4 CD box set packaged in a lavish purple velvet covered “book style” sleeve with an integral full colour booklet which provided extensive notes on all the tracks.

 CD One:
1. Purple Haze – Previously Unreleased Recording
2. Killing Floor – Live at Olympia Theater, Paris, France, 18/10/1966 – Previously Unreleased
3. Hey Joe – Live at Olympia Theater, Paris, France, 18/10/1966 – Previously Unreleased
4. Foxey Lady – Previously Unreleased Recording
5. Highway Chile – Previously Unreleased Recording
6. Hey Joe – Previously Unreleased Recording
7. Title #3 – Previously Unreleased Recording
8. 3rd Stone from The Sun – Previously Unreleased Recording
9. Taking Care Of No Business – Previously Unreleased Recording
10. Here He Comes [Lover Man] – Previously Unreleased Recording
11. Burning Of The Midnight Lamp – Previously Unreleased Recording
12. If 6 Was 9 – Previously Unreleased Recording
13. Rock Me Baby – Live at Monterey International Pop Festival, 18/06/1967
14. Like A Rolling Stone – Live at Monterey International Pop Festival, 18/06/1967

CD Two:
1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – Live in Stockholm, Sweden, September 5th 1967
2. Burning Of The Midnight Lamp – Live in Stockholm, Sweden, September 5th 1967
3. Little Wing – Previously Unreleased Recording
4. Little Miss Lover – Previously Unreleased Recording
5. The Wind Cries Mary – Live at Olympia Theater, Paris, France, 09/10/1967 – Previously Unreleased Recording
6. Catfish Blues – Live at Olympia Theater, Paris, France, 09/10/1967 – Previously Unreleased Recording
7. Bold As Love – Previously Unreleased Recording
8. Sweet Angel – Previously Unreleased Alternate Recording
9. Fire – Recorded Live At: Clark University, Worcester, Ma. March 15, 1968
10. Somewhere – Previously Unreleased Recording
11. (Have You Ever Been To) Electric Ladyland – Previously Unreleased in the United States
12. Gypsy Eyes – Previously Unreleased Recording
13. Room Full Of Mirrors – Previously Unreleased Recording
14. Gloria – Previously Unreleased Alternate Mix
15. It’s Too Bad – Previously Unreleased Recording
16. Star Spangled Banner – Previously Unavailable on Compact Disc

CD Three:
1. Stone Free – Previously Unreleased Recording
2. Spanish Castle Magic – Previously Unreleased Recording
3. Hear My Train A Comin’ – Previously Unreleased Recording
4. Room Full Of Mirrors – Previously Unreleased Recording
5. I Don’t Live Today – Live at Los Angeles Forum, April 26 1969 – Previously Unreleased Original Mix
6. Little Wing – Live at Royal Albert Hall, London, February 24th 1969
7. Red House – Live at San Diego Sports Arena, May 25th 1969
8. Purple Haze – Live at San Diego Sports Arena, May 25th 1969 – Previously Unreleased Original Mix
9. Voodoo Child (Slight Return) – Live at Royal Albert Hall, London, February 24, 1969
10. Izabella – Previously Unreleased Recording

CD Four:
1. Message To Love – Previously Unreleased Alternate Mix
2. Earth Blues – Previously Unreleased Recording
3. Astro Man – Previously Unreleased Recording
4. Country Blues – Previously Unreleased Recording
5. Freedom – Previously Unreleased Recording
6. Johnny B. Goode – Live at Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, California May 30th 1970
7. Lover Man – Previously Unreleased Recording
8. Blue Suede Shoes – Live at Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, California May 30th 1970
9. Cherokee Mist – Previously Unreleased Recording
10. Come Down Hard On Me – Previously Unreleased Recording
11. Hey Baby/In From The Storm – Live in Maui, Hawaii July 30, 1970 – Previously Unreleased Recording
12. Ezy Ryder – Previously Unreleased Recording
13. Night Bird Flying – Previously Unreleased Recording
14. All Along The Watchtower – Live at Isle Of Wight, England, August 30, 1970
15. In From The Storm – Live at Isle Of Wight, England, August 30, 1970
16. Slow Blues

Over the weekend I hope to re-discover some of the gems from the collection, in the meantime here is, as was then, a previously unreleased live version, from the Olympia Theater Paris in 1967 of one of my all time favourite Hendrix songs “The Wind Cries Mary”

“The Wind Cries Mary” – The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Hendrix tries to upstage The Who at Monterey

 

To buy the music of Jimi Hendrix click HERE