Author Archives: TVD HQ

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Vol. 9: 1992 and Vol. 10: 1983 of On Record, a comprehensive series of award-winning books celebrating popular music from 1978 to 1998, have just been published. “I’m thrilled and grateful to see this 21-book series arrive at the halfway point,” says author and Colorado Music Experience director G. Brown.

Vol. 9: 1992 sees the rise of the grunge movement (Nirvana’s Nevermind) and the continued emergence of hip-hop, plus controversial recordings (from Ice-T’s “Cop Killer” to Madonna’s Erotica) and the performances at MTV’s Unplugged. Also the year in country (the first No. 1s for Wynonna, Collin Raye and Tracy Lawrence) and heavy metal, shoegaze, and riotgrrrl.

Vol. 10: 1983 covers bands at their commercial peak (Genesis, The Police), U2’s first global hit (War) and David Bowie’s biggest success (Let’s Dance), plus acts finally making it big (Prince, Bryan Adams, Def Leppard). Kiss appearing sans makeup (Lick It Up), Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All breaking ground for the thrash-metal genre, and Quiet Riot’s Metal Health becoming the first heavy-metal album to hit No. 1. Also acts of the second British Invasion, plus country, hip-hop and jazz.

Marking more than 50 years as one of America’s foremost popular music writers, G. Brown has interviewed more than 3,000 musicians, ranging from superstars to one-hit wonders in every genre—pop, rock, country and hip-hop to punk, folk, alternative and beyond. Each edition overflows with rare, powerful and informative editorial photographs from Brown’s personal archive of close to 15,000 images amassed over decades. These beautifully crafted, reader-friendly volumes, presented in a lively, engaging style, invite perusing at any point within the book.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Today, The Beatles have announced a special 60th anniversary reissue of their third studio album A Hard Day’s Night, in celebration of National Album Day. The limited edition reissue on 180g white vinyl will be released on October 19th.

At a time when popstars either spoke BBC English or tried to emulate the American rockers they so idolised, there was no hiding where The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr—came from: they sang, as they spoke, in a Liverpool accent. Although the demands of the music business meant they soon had to relocate to London, in many ways they never left their city—in song and in story, the group are inextricably, indelibly linked to Merseyside.

Recorded between January and June 1964 and released that July, if ever there was a pointer to what an album could achieve, it’s the 13 songs and 31 minutes of A Hard Day’s Night, the third long-player by The Beatles. It is the sound of a group with the wind in its hair, the confidence that their hard work was paying off. The (partial) soundtrack to their first film, at a time when an LP was a collection of recent singles and cover versions, A Hard Day’s Night was penned solely by Lennon & McCartney. “Can’t Buy Me Love,” the first track from the forthcoming album to be released, topped the US and UK charts in April 1964.

In the 476 days since the release of their debut LP, Please Please Me in March 1963, The Beatles had gone from local to national to international phenomenon. A Hard Day’s Night, both the beloved 1964 film directed by Richard Lester and the album, captured that rocket in a bottle. With songs about working men going home to their loved ones (the title track, “When I Get Home”); the exhilaration of early love (“I Should Have Known Better,” “If I Fell,” “And I Love Her,” “I’m Happy Just To Dance With You”); the ups and downs of relationships (“I’ll Cry Instead,” “Tell Me Why,” “You Can’t Do That”) and, already, a strong sense of time (“Things We Said Today”), on A Hard Day’s Night, Lennon & McCartney put words in the mouths of teenagers around the world.

The 60th anniversary reissue of A Hard Day’s Night will be released on October 19th to celebrate National Album Day.

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Acclaimed archival label Light in the Attic (LITA) continues their partnership with legendary singer, actress, activist, and icon Nancy Sinatra with the latest two installments off their Nancy Sinatra Archival Series: definitive reissues of the 1967 albums Sugar and Country, My Way.

Sugar was the fourth album recorded by Sinatra in 1966, an uncanny feat considering The Beatles were recording around two albums a year at the time. The album followed on the heels of her hit debut album Boots, her sophomore follow-up How Does That Grab You?, and the Swinging Sixties offering Nancy In London. In 1967, Sinatra would continue her artistic ascent into the pop stratosphere with the James Bond You Only Live Twice theme song, the groovy technicolor television special Movin’ With Nancy, recording one of the most beloved duets of all time, titled “Some Velvet Morning,” and a cross-country pilgrimage to the center of the country music scene to record Country, My Way.

Due out November 29th in vinyl, CD, and digital formats, with both LP editions being offered on classic black wax and special limited-edition color wax (Sugar is available on “Sugar Town Pink” and “Let’s Fall In Love” pink and white swirl; Country, My Way is available on “Bye-Bye Birmingham” blue and “Hello LA” red and white swirl). Sugar and Country, My Way are available to pre-order now.

All formats feature audio freshly remastered from the original analog tapes by GRAMMY®-nominated engineer John Baldwin. Pressed at Record Technology, Inc. (RTI), both vinyl editions are presented in expanded gatefold jackets accompanied by 20-page booklets (featuring a new Q&A with Sinatra conducted by the reissue’s GRAMMY®-nominated co-producer Hunter Lea, plus never-before-seen photos from the artist’s personal archive). All music configurations, plus limited-edition autographed vinyl, will also be made available at Nancy’s Bootique.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Resonance Records proudly presents Lights on a Satellite: Live at the Left Bank, a blazing set of previously unissued 1978 concert recordings by Sun Ra and his Myth Science Cosmo Swing Arkestra, as a limited two-LP set for RSD Black Friday, November 29. Co-produced by Zev Feldman and Sun Ra archivist Michael D. Anderson (who also played drums on the ’78 concert), the newly unearthed live session is an exciting successor to Sun Ra at the Showcase: Live in Chicago, another archival find that Feldman issued on his Jazz Detective imprint for Record Store Day this April. The new collection will also be released as a two-CD set on December 6.

Prophetic avant gardist Sun Ra’s big band is heard in blistering form—playing repertoire ranging from space-age jazz to interpretations of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and jazz standards by Fletcher Henderson, Miles Davis, and Tadd Dameron—on a dynamic 12-track set recorded at a show mounted by the Left Bank Jazz Society at the Famous Ballroom in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 23, 1978. Those recordings are augmented by two tracks captured at the concert and featured in the classic 1980 film Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise by the acclaimed music filmmaker Robert Mugge, who also provided images for the new package.

The deluxe Resonance packages include an essay by noted jazz critic J.D. Considine (who attended the ’78 show); reminiscences from Anderson, Mugge, Left Bank member John Fowler, critic Dan Morgenstern, and Arkestra veteran and latter-day bandleader Marshall Allen; and thoughts on Sun Ra’s artistry from musicians Gary Bartz and Craig Taborn.

Feldman says of this newest discovery, “It was very exciting to learn from Sun Ra archivist Michael D. Anderson that these recordings from the Left Bank in 1978 even existed. Filmmaker Robert Mugge was also very kind to us by allowing us to borrow the music he had recorded for his film, which is presented here as bonus tracks. Also thanks to Mr. Mugge, we’ve included various high-resolution screen captures from his film that help capture the energy of what it was like to be there at the Famous Ballroom that night.”

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | The Animals announce a 2CD reissue of their classic debut album The Animals which features the full album in both mono and stereo with bonus track “House of the Rising Sun,” to be released on 18th October. Pre-order here. Alongside this, The Animals will be available on exclusive yellow vinyl as part of this year’s National Album Day on 19th October.

Originally released in 1964, this groundbreaking record introduced the world to the raw energy of British rock fused with deep American blues. It features a mixture of blues, R&B, traditional folk covers and covers of songs written by John Lee Hooker, Chuck Berry, and Fats Domino. Produced by Mickie Most, The Animals featured Eric Burdon on lead vocals, Hilton Valentine on guitar, Alan Price on keyboards, Chas Chandler on bass guitar, and John Steel on drums.

The 2CD reissue includes “House of the Rising Sun.” Initially a traditional folk song, The Animals’ cover went to number one in the UK, US, and Canada and has since been dubbed as the “first folk rock hit.”

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Deep Digs, in cooperation with the B. B. King Estate, Universal Music Enterprises and INA France, will issue a sensational, previously unreleased B.B. King album, In France: Live at the 1977 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival, as a limited two-LP set for RSD Black Friday on Nov. 29.

The powerful set, featuring a dynamic, stops-out performance by the masterful blues singer-guitarist and his potent seven-piece band, which will be heard on record for the first time, will see release as a two-CD set on Dec. 6.

The collection, released in cooperation with the B.B. King Estate, was recorded at the titular festival by the Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF), France’s national radio agency. It succeeds Deep Digs’ widely acclaimed debut release, gospel singer-guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s Live in France, which was drawn from ORTF’s archives at INA for the imprint’s Record Store Day bow this April.

Award-winning archival producer Zev Feldman, whose Deep Digs titles are released in partnership with Jordi Soley and Carlos Agustin Calembert of Spain’s Elemental Music, says, “I’ve been a lifelong fan of B.B. King, and it brings me so much joy to make this truly remarkable document captured at a wonderful period of B.B. King’s career available for the world to hear.”

The LP edition of the collection will be issued on 180-gram vinyl and mastered and cut by Matthew Lutthans at the Mastering Lab. LP and CD editions will both include liner notes by French writer Jean Buzelin, author of books about Tharpe, Skip James, Memphis Minnie, and Blind Lemon Jefferson, and photos from the Nancy, France, performance by Jean-Marc Birraux, plus other vintage shots by Jean-Pierre Leloir and Ozier Muhammad.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Hot on the heels of their critically acclaimed, sold-out summer headline tour, Bush is set to commemorate the 30th anniversary of their groundbreaking debut album Sixteen Stone with a special vinyl reissue. This milestone release marks the beginning of an exciting new partnership with Craft Recordings, a label renowned for its dedication to preserving and amplifying iconic music. The multi-Platinum LP, a cornerstone of the ’90s post-grunge era, is set to arrive on November 22nd and is available for pre-order.

Alongside a wide release, fans can get their hands on six limited-edition colored pressings: “Opaque Red” (available wide), “Silver” (exclusive to Independent Record Stores), “Translucent Lemonade” (via Best Buy), “Sepia” (via Barnes & Noble), and “Highlighter Smoke” (available at Revolver), plus a “Fog” pressing exclusive to the band’s Spotify followers.

Released on December 6th, 1994, Sixteen Stone propelled Bush into the international spotlight, selling millions of copies in the US—the album recently certified 7X Platinum by the RIAA—and producing a string of hit singles. With its blend of heavy guitar riffs and introspective lyrics, the album helped define the alternative-rock sound of the ’90s, cementing Bush as one of the era’s most successful bands.

Upon release, Sixteen Stone debuted at No.4 on the Billboard 200, staying on the chart for more than 70 weeks. The album’s runaway success was driven by its singles, including the chart-topping hits “Glycerine” and “Comedown,” both of which exploded at radio peaking at No.1 in Billboard’s Alternative Airplay charts and No.1 in the Modern Rock Tracks chart. Other fan-favorites on the album include “Machinehead,” “Everything Zen,” and “Little Things.” The enduring popularity of these tracks has kept the album resonance for new generations of listeners, while its influence on modern rock remains undeniable.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | “Perhaps more than any other record of the decade, [Sung Tongs] foresaw where indie hearts, ears, and minds would go in the next five years… the magic of this record was that it was both innovative and utterly, peerlessly beautiful.” —Pitchfork

Animal Collective will release a Canary Yellow and Ruby Red colored 2xLP vinyl repress of their beloved fifth studio LP, 2004’s Sung Tongs, in honor of the album’s 20 year anniversary. The new edition marks the first time the album has been available on color vinyl. Also available digitally and on color vinyl will be the new live album Sung Tongs Live at the Theatre at Ace Hotel, a recording of the 2018 concert in Los Angeles where Avey Tare and Panda Bear performed the album in full. All formats will be out October 4 via Domino.

Sung Tongs marked the beginning of a prolific five-year period in which Animal Collective went on to release their game-changing albums Feels (2005), Strawberry Jam (2007), and Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009). At the time of Sung Tongs’ release, Rolling Stone called it “one of the more creative and accomplished records you’ll hear this year,” adding, “Their songs cackle with soulful eccentricity while dazzling you with deceptive chops and improvised manipulations.”

Pitchfork later named it one of the best albums of the 2000s, raving, “Sung Tongs is an emotionally thrilling record, impossibly giddy and fully-charged with big, raucous enthusiasm: Acoustic strums and wild, flailing voices (including some mind-blowing harmonies by vocalists Avey Tare and Panda Bear) coalesce into something sublimely weird and undeniably beautiful.”

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | The Session Man: Nicky Hopkins, a documentary film that tells the story of the prolific virtuoso session pianist Nicky Hopkins, will be released in North America November 5th on TVOD/PPV on Amazon Prime, additional major platforms and will also be available on DVD in late 2024.

Featuring commentary from Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Peter Frampton, Pete Townshend and more, The Session Man explores the legendary 30-year career of Nicky Hopkins and his contributions to over 250 albums, including John Lennon’s Imagine, The Who’s My Generation, and countless iconic songs like “You Are So Beautiful” by Joe Cocker, “Sympathy For The Devil” by The Rolling Stones, and “Revolution” by The Beatles. Directed by Mike Treen, The Session Man has been shown at festivals in a number of countries, winning awards in London, Berlin, Rome, Madrid, Los Angeles, and Paris. It is scheduled to be screened in The New Zealand Indie Film Festival and The Albuquerque Film Festival at the end of September.

“Nicky Hopkins was a dear friend and iconic piano player. No one had his wonderful touch, feel and choice of notes. I was lucky to have him play on my Somethin’s Happening record. I miss him and listen to him often. He taught me plenty.” –Peter Frampton

“The Session Man film is not a Hollywood biopic, rather a homage to a virtuoso and prolific session pianist. There is a sad irony in that Nicky Hopkins was unknown to the greater public but amongst his peers, he was treated as Rock Royalty. The sheer volume of albums and singles that he contributed on and the testimonials from the star-studded list of interviewees in the film allows me the right to say that Nicky’s story deserves to reach a wide audience worldwide. As Bob Lefsetz succinctly put it, The Session Man is a link in your education. It fills holes in your mental history of rock and roll. Which revolutionized society, impacted an entire generation, music was the coolest medium, it drove the culture and Nicky was there, not on the periphery, but audible on some of your favorite records.’” —Director Mike Treen

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | In the 40 years I’ve known him, Hans-Joachim has joked countless times about the “hundreds of kilometers” of reel-to-reel tapes in his archives.

The word “archives” conjures images of underground vaults and white-gloved curators, but in Achim’s case it consists of a stack of cardboard boxes in his back room in Baden, bulging with hundreds of reels—some marked with cryptic notes, most not. If “hundreds of kilometers” seems a bit of a stretch, in Achim’s case it isn’t far off. If my math is correct, 80 hours of tape running at 7 ½ to 15 inches per second totals at least 75 kilometers—a pretty significant aural autobahn, even for a prolific 90-year-old.

The first epic step in preserving this sonic legacy—before age and decay rendered these delicate tapes unplayable—landed in the lap of Achim’s selfless friend Klaus Becker. For weeks on end, Klaus painstakingly spooled up one reel after another and saved to a hard drive the 2-track tapes Achim had made from 1968 until the mid-80’s on his trusty Revox A77 and B77 recorders.

A few years later, I carted home to the US the 40 or so reels that Achim had recorded in the ’80s and ’90s on an 8-channel Fostex machine. With the generous support of our dear friend Christopher Chaplin, we procured the vintage gear needed to digitize these multi-track tapes. Many shared a problem common to that era—the binding agent responsible for adhering magnetic particles to the polyester base had softened over time, rising to the surface.

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