VIA PRESS RELEASE | In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Diana Krall’s landmark album The Look of Love, a deluxe 25th anniversary edition of the acclaimed recording is available for pre-order today. The Look of Love (25th Anniversary Edition) arrives November 20th and features five bonus tracks, including “But Not For Me,” available digitally for the first time today.

The album will be available as a Deluxe CD and digitally, alongside a limited-edition One-Step vinyl pressing of the original album. Originally released in 2001, The Look of Love marked an expansion of Krall’s signature sound through sweeping orchestral arrangements and a cinematic collection of ballads and bossa nova standards.

Produced by Tommy LiPuma, the album features the London Symphony Orchestra with arrangements by legendary composer and arranger Claus Ogerman. The acclaimed recording went on to earn the 2002 GRAMMY Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical and three JUNO Awards, including Album of the Year.

The Look of Love (25th Anniversary Edition) will be available as a Deluxe CD, as well as a limited-edition One-Step vinyl pressing of the original 10-track album. The Deluxe CD includes all five bonus tracks, including “I Love Being Here With You (Live From The Vault),” which will be available exclusively on iTunes, digitally.

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Remembering Bob Weir, born on this day in 1947. —Ed.

The dawn of the seventies marked the Golden Age of tie-dye. From the free festival to the freak-out tent emanated the sounds of Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty, both stone classics by the Grateful Dead, who were at the absolute top of their game. As if that weren’t enough, Bob Weir also went off to record a solo album, 1972’s Ace, that was pretty damn good too, even if it was a solo record in name only, as its players included all of the members of the Grateful Dead except Ron “Pigpen” McKernan.

What really made it different from your standard Dead album were two things. First, Weir handled all the lead vocals. And second, the bulk of the songs list John Barlow rather than Robert Hunter as the lyricist. It was this utilization of the Grateful Dead, rather than a studio full of big names or even small names, that led the critic Robert Christgau to call Ace “the third in a series that began with Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty.”

But is it really THAT good? Not by my reckoning, it isn’t. It has its share of songs that would later become live Dead staples, but it has one great drawback, and that’s Bob Weir’s voice. He invariably sounds like your high school’s class president. Indeed, Weir may be the whitest vocalist this side of Karen Carpenter, and he makes James Taylor sound like James Brown. And while his vocals work on some tunes, they spell, if not the ruination, then the near ruination of opener “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” a scorcher featuring some fine piano by Keith Godchaux, fierce guitar work by Garcia, and funky backing vocals by Donna Jean Godchaux.

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I recently spoke with Jah Wobble, bassist, composer, and tireless pursuer of all things true. Born John Wardle in Stepney, East London, he got his name from a drunk Sid Vicious who couldn’t quite say it.

In 1978, he wrote the bassline that became “Public Image,” and his dub-heavy playing anchored PiL’s first two albums, including Metal Box. He left in 1980 and never stopped moving. He went on to work with Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit of Can, The Edge, Brian Eno, and Bill Laswell, and with his band Invaders of the Heart, he had a top 40 hit with Sinéad O’Connor on “Visions of You,” from the Mercury-nominated Rising Above Bedlam.

We talk about all these things as they relate to his world and life views. Jah is a deeply grounded and spiritual human and approaches all he does from a perspective of music as art and gateway to higher realms. This is a long listen grounded in this point of view.

His newest record is Mystic Liverpool: The Beatles’ Psychedelic Songbook with Tian Qiyi, out now. On November 13, Dimple Discs reissues The Usual Suspects, the long unavailable 2CD set first released in 2017. It has 23 tracks cut live in the studio at The Smokehouse in East London, revisiting PiL, Invaders of the Heart, and his solo catalogue.

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Call them Geffen’s Folly. It was Asylum Records head honcho David Geffen who came up with the misguided idea of taking three of the less successful solo artists on his label and turning them into a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young supergroup. The results of his miscalculation were two failed albums, in part because the combined forces of J.D. Souther, Richie Furay, and Chris Hillman did not a supergroup make.

Their 1974 eponymous debut didn’t exactly change the world, and led Barney Hoskyns, the author of 2006’s Hotel California, to write, “…nothing could describe the blandness of the songs; this was lifeless country pop shading into homogenous album-oriented rock.” And Hillman to quip, “Our debut actually shipped gold and probably came back gold in return.”

But Souther-Hillman-Furay Band’s 1974 debut was a stunning work of incomparable greatness compared to the Superfund Clean-Up Site that was their sophomore LP, 1975’s aptly titled Trouble in Paradise.

This buyer-retardant led Robert Christgau to quip, “…this band usually goes by its initials because they stand for Shit Hits the Fan. Or do I mean Fans?” And inspired Rolling Stone scribe Bud Scoppa to write, “Why don’t SHF redeem themselves while they still can and just forget the whole thing?” Fortunately, they did.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Matador Records is pleased to continue our reissue series documenting key catalog titles by the iconic Texas band, The Butthole Surfers.

This latest tranche brings remastered audio for Piouhgd and Humpty Dumpty LSD to streaming services, with vinyl to follow December 11. Piouhgd (say it “P.O.’ed.”) is the Surfers’ fifth album and was originally released in 1991. It catches the band in a moment of transition—moving from underground freakshow to unlikely 120 Minutes mainstays. Face-melting guitars abound, as do references to comedian Gary Shandling. A cover of Donovan’s “Hurdy Gurdy Man” is demented but tuneful.

Originally released in 2002, Humpty Dumpty LSD compiles odds and ends from The Butthole Surfers’ mid-’80s imperial phase. These 19 tracks capture the San Antonio psych-punks in the full bloom of gonzo glory, their chalice flowing over with unhinged acid-rock majesty. “Sherman (Backass Alt.)”—later reworked for Hairway to Steven—is available digitally for the first time.

The Butthole Surfers were formed in 1981 by vocalist Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary. Drummer King Coffey joined in 1983. Together, they have remained the band’s three constant members across various recording sessions and touring incarnations.

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Peter Murphy’s remarkable twenty-first-century solo catalogue is celebrated in Laying On New Waves: The 2000s Collection, a definitive archival collection bringing together his acclaimed studio recordings, rare remixes and extensive live material from 2001 to 2017.

Spanning atmospheric studio albums, adventurous reworkings and landmark live performances, the collection documents one of alternative music’s most distinctive and uncompromising artists across more than fifteen years of inspired work. Laying On New Waves: The 2000s Collection is available in two deluxe formats, each housed in a premium rigid bookcase-style box and featuring an extensive hardback book packed with new writing, exclusive material and rare archival imagery.

The deluxe nine-LP edition brings together six key Peter Murphy releases from 2001–2017, including four studio albums and two live albums. The collection features Dust, Unshattered, Ninth, Lion, Alive Just For Love, and Bare-Boned And Sacred, with newly remastered audio throughout. Notably, Dust, Unshattered, Alive Just For Love, and Bare-Boned And Sacred are presented on vinyl for the first time.

The nine-LP set is completed by an extensive hardback book featuring an in-depth essay by acclaimed author and broadcaster John Robb, forewords from ANOHNI and long-time collaborator Youth, an exclusive new interview with Peter Murphy, previously unpublished family photographs, rare studio and live imagery, and archival material from throughout this extraordinary period.

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Celebrating Richard Carpenter on his 80th birthday. —Ed.

The specter of the Carpenters haunted my youth. My younger sister suffered from a form of demonic possession that caused her to play the damnable duo around the clock, and not in the privacy of her room, but on the stereo in the living room, making their easy listening palaver impossible to avoid. I was inundated by the band that President Richard Milhous Nixon called “Young America at its best,” and there were times when I thought if I heard their version of “Please Mr. Postman” again, I would go postal, for real.

How the decades change things. I now love the Carpenters, love their squeaky-clean image (which Richard hated), immaculate arrangements, and total lack of soul. Because if there was one thing they lacked, it was soul. The Carpenters made The Captain and Tennille look like Ike and Tina Turner.

But who needs soul? Some of my favorite bands are seriously challenged in the soul department. Killdozer has no soul. Cows had no soul. Besides, while my sister was subsisting on an All-Carpenters diet, I was doing the same with Elton John, and when it really comes down to it, the only difference between the two is that the Carpenters would have never laid a finger on “The Bitch Is Back.” Otherwise, both bands were MOR all the way.

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PHOTO: ANNE MARIE FORKER | I have been a prog fan for as long as I have owned a turntable. The genre’s long-form ambition, its odd time signatures, and its insistence that an album be heard from start to finish have shaped the way I listen to music, so the chance to sit down with Bruce Soord of The Pineapple Thief was, quite simply, an honor.

What began in 1999 as Soord’s one-man studio project in the UK has grown, record by record, into one of modern progressive rock’s most respected bands. Alongside bassist Jon Sykes, keyboardist Steve Kitch, and drummer Gavin Harrison—now a decade into his tenure behind the kit—Soord has built a catalog that carries as much emotional weight as technical precision. Their new album, Far and Wide, arrived on October 9 on InsideOut Music, and it finds the band deliberately stripping things back: no more than two guitar parts at a time, a sound built to be played live, and songs that wrestle with a world in turmoil, moral courage, and personal loss.

We spoke just days before the release about the little UK festival gig that first convinced him he was in a real band, the Alan Parsons Project record that rewired his brain, writing in 5/4 with Harrison in the same room, the loss of his father, and why—after years of mixing in Atmos and 5.1—he still believes vinyl is the format you can’t touch. As a lifelong prog listener writing for a vinyl publication, I could not have asked for a better answer.

The Pineapple Thief started in 1999 as essentially a studio project. Take me back to the first time you stood in front of a real audience with these songs. What do you remember, and did you have any sense it would turn into a 16-album life?

That pretty much sums it up. It definitely didn’t make any sense at the time that it would be 16 albums, 26 years, or whatever. But I remember the early days. It was just me in my little studio, and you had to be a bit of a nerd to run a studio in your home back then. It was lots of wires and cables and computers.

But for some reason, it had a bit of momentum, and with every album we’d get a few more fans. When we got to the third record, which was Variations on a Dream, all of a sudden we had some people asking us to play live. I think it was 2003. We were offered this show, a little progressive rock festival here in the UK, and it was headlined by Caravan, you know, the old Canterbury scene band. I was like, wow, this is amazing. Then I thought, oh, I really need to get a band, because I played everything.

So I got my friends in, we rehearsed, and we went up to this little festival and played to this packed room, and I remember the audience loving it. I remember walking out of the room and seeing this big queue of people, and I said to this guy, “What are these people queuing up for?” And he said, “They’re queuing up for you. They want to buy your merch. They want you to sign some stuff.” And I went, “What?” I remember vividly thinking, “Oh my goodness, this is actually a band, and people actually like it.” Luckily, I had some CDs in the car, so I ran to the car, got some CDs out, and that was it. That was the first time.

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The Smithsonian Folkways label has been the premier depository of the history of American roots music. Folkways Records was founded in New York by Moses Asch and Marian Distler in 1948, and was a major player in the great folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s. The Smithsonian Institution purchased the label in 1987.

Releasing music over the years in a wide variety of formats, the organization isn’t just a museum or archive but a living, breathing producer of recordings that are readily available and accessible for purchase. Classic Blues From Smithsonian Folkways, a recent release, is the perfect example of the rich trove of music in the label’s archive.

First released on CD in 2003, it is a two-album vinyl set offering the original recordings of some of the most important acoustic blues music ever made. Over 26 tracks, iconic blues artists that defined the acoustic roots blues movement are represented. While this is not a strictly acoustic release, it covers almost a 50-year period from 1942 through 1992 and draws on various locales.

The music here provides a deep, rich foundation to help anyone gain a foothold in one of the most influential American musical movements. Some of these recordings also blend folk music with blues and could arguably be labeled folk. Some of the essential recordings included here are “Mercury Blues” by K. C. Douglas, “Candy Man” by Reverend Gary Davis, “Boll Weevil” by Pink Anderson, “Come Go Home With Me” by Lightnin’ Hopkins, “Rising Sun” by Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry, “Pony Blues” by David “Honeyboy” Edwards, and “Vastapol” by Elizabeth Cotten.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | For seven decades, Verve Records has been home to some of the most important artists and recordings in jazz. Always Hip: Verve at 70 brings the label’s year-long 70th anniversary celebration to a close with a new collection that looks back at that extraordinary musical heritage while carrying it forward through a multigenerational cast of musicians. Set for release digitally as well as LP and CD on November 20th, pre-order the album here.

The first single, “Always,” features Jeremy Pelt, Monty Alexander, Ron Carter, and Steve Jordan performing the Irving Berlin composition. Produced by acclaimed drummer and producer Steve Jordan, who also performs throughout the album, Always Hip: Verve at 70 features jazz mainstays including Buster Williams, Jabali Billy Hart, Ron Carter, Monty Alexander, Rufus Reid, and Lenny White. A Grammy Award-winning producer and musician, Jordan’s extensive career has included collaborations with artists including Keith Richards, John Mayer, B.B. King, Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, Sheryl Crow, and Neil Young.

Across the album, the musicians revisit compositions originally recorded on Verve by giants including Dizzy Gillespie, Bill Evans, Jimmy Smith, Wes Montgomery, Willie Bobo, and Cal Tjader. Rather than simply looking back, Always Hip: Verve at 70 reimagines this music through the voices of the artists assembled for the project, underscoring a musical heritage that remains adventurous, sophisticated and alive.

“Sometimes you want to hear a certain sound,” says Steve about the project. “One that makes you feel good. One that makes you reflect. One that makes you move. Always Hip does all of that.” Recorded at the legendary Van Gelder Studio, the album is both tribute and continuation. A celebration of the artists, songs and spirit that made Verve the historic label that it is today, while marking the culmination of its year-long 70th anniversary celebration.

VIA PRESS RELEASE | From Greenwich Village in the mid-1960s to Haight-Ashbury at the end of the decade; from the new wave-inflected Nu-Models to the dance-heavy Mystery Tramps, all highlights in a career full of producing and writing for a slew of other acts, Bill Cutler’s career had already hit any number of magnificent peaks long before he released his first solo album. But he’d been recording it for years!
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Bill recalls, “Making [this album] was the most difficult undertaking of my entire professional life.” Work on what would become Ridin’ High began in 1975, with Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead)​ front and foremost on the sessions. Scheduling conflicts, however, saw work come to a halt, and the tapes were mothballed until 1993, when “Jerry asked me what had happened to the tapes from my album. I told him they had been sitting in my house for the last 18 years. He said, ‘Let’s restore those tapes, cut the other half, and finish your album’.”

Tragically, Garcia passed away before work could recommence, and those tapes went back in the closet again. But a few years later, since these were some of Jerry’s only studio tracks outside of the Grateful Dead that were still unreleased, people wanted to hear them, and I decided to go back to work on my album.” Fresh sessions followed, but so did legal issues surrounding Garcia’s involvement, “a firestorm that lasted almost a decade.”

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