VIA PRESS RELEASE | The Hold Steady is marking the 20th anniversary of their landmark 2005 second studio album, Separation Sunday, with a deluxe new edition arriving on their own Positive Jams label via Thirty Tigers on Friday, December 5.

The expanded release sees the original 11-track album joined by nine newly remastered bonus tracks on vinyl for the first time, including rare demos, outtakes, and four songs previously released as 2005’s internet-only EP, “The Virgin Digital Sessions.” Separation Sunday (20-Year Anniversary Edition) will be available digitally and on 2xLP standard black vinyl and limited edition 2xLP gold-swirl vinyl. Pre-orders are available now.

“Separation Sunday changed everything for The Hold Steady,” says frontman Craig Finn. “We found a new lineup, a solidified sound, and through incessant touring started building the THS community that exists today. It was a thrilling time to live through, and to revisit with this new look at the album.”

Recently named by Paste as one of the “250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far,” Separation Sunday proved a sensation upon its May 2005 release, instantly catapulting the Hold Steady to the forefront of American rock ‘n’ roll bands. A dazzling collection that forwarded the band’s signature sound and distinctive vision on virtually every level, the album was greeted by critical applause around the world.

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Judy Collins transformed the sound of folk music. With a crystalline voice and a songbook blurring traditional genre lines, the Seattle native came to prominence in the fertile Greenwich Village stomping grounds of New York City. The luminous Collins—a classical piano prodigy, talented guitarist, gifted adapter and later, songwriter, and singer with a three-octave range—signed with Jac Holzman’s Elektra Records in 1961 and remained an Elektra artist for nearly two-and-a-half decades.

Now, Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records are revisiting the first decade of the extraordinary career that still flourishes today. The ‘60s Singles brings together, for the first time, the remarkable array of 45s on which Collins’ discography was built. With songs by Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, Sandy Denny, Eric Andersen, and Joni Mitchell—including the international smash “Both Sides Now”—Collins’ early Elektra singles reflected impeccable taste, a vast musical imagination, a hunger to explore material from rock to art songs, and a social conscience.

Every one of these fourteen single sides is presented in its original single mix—most of which are unique mixes and edits, with the first ten songs in mono and the final four in stereo. These versions have been out of print and unavailable for over five decades and all have been painstakingly restored for this collection. Highlights include Collins’ first foray into folk-rock, the mono non-LP single of Bob Dylan’s “I’ll Keep It with Mine,” the rare promotional stereo mix of Joni Mitchell’s “Chelsea Morning,” different from the commonly-available stereo version, and two versions of the classic “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season).”

Mike Milchner has remastered every track, The Second Disc’s Joe Marchese has penned the new liner notes diving into the history of each song, and John Sellards has designed the package in the style of the era. Available on CD and a “Judy Blue Eyes” vinyl edition limited to 1,000 copies, The ‘60s Singles celebrates the elegance, power, and beauty of Judy Collins’ first decade of music.

Celebrating Neil Young in advance of his 80th birthday tomorrow.
—Ed.

Neil Young’s years spent “in the ditch” (his words) remain, for me, the most vital of his entire career. As the hippie dream fell apart so did Young, and on albums such as 1975’s Tonight’s the Night (a “howling facedown with heroin and death itself,” in the critic Robert Christgau’s words) and 1973’s live Time Fades Away Young proceeded to disintegrate, sick unto death with the deaths of his junkie friends and dissatisfied with the folk-rock box he’d put himself in with 1972’s mellow Harvest, the LP that made him a superstar.

On Tonight’s the Night the songs bear an almost unbearable weight of sorrow, and Young’s mournful wildcat yowl is a million miles away from the peaceful vibes of Harvest; one can only imagine what Harvest’s diehard fans must have thought of it, just as it’s hard to imagine what his concert-going fans made of the never-before heard songs on Time Fades Away, on which Young and his Stray Gators ripped into such raw, electrified (and electrifying) numbers as the title track, the great “Yonder Stands the Sinner,” and “Last Dance.”

Me, I’ll always think Tonight’s the Night is the greatest LP ever made about the demise of the Age of Aquarius, but Time Fades Away has its pleasures as well, even if Young himself has dismissed it on multiple occasions, saying in 1987 that it was “the worst record I ever made—but as a documentary of what was happening to me, it was a great record.” And on the original, unreleased liner notes to 1977’s Decade, he again expressed his unhappiness with the tour and ensuing record, before saying, “… but I released it anyway so you folks could see what could happen if you lose it for a while.”

So what we have here is as sort of rock version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Crack-Up, with Neil coming to pieces in the spotlight, as it were. Fortunately Young is hardly the best critic of his own work, because despite his bad memories of the tour that brought us Time Fades Away, the resulting LP is tremendous—not nearly as chilling as Tonight’s the Night, for sure, but a howl of pain and disaffection nonetheless.

Read More »

The writers of the Beat Generation engaged passionately in the reading of their words aloud, in a room or in the open air, and so recordings are in no short supply. Die on Me is a collection of readings and discussions from the youngest Beat giant, the undercelebrated Gregory Corso. Produced by Hal Willner and Marianne Faithfull and originally released on CD in 2002, the set has been reissued, slightly reordered, and remastered with bonus tracks by Kramer on his label Shimmy Disc, where it makes its vinyl debut. It’s an essential acquisition for anyone who loves the elevated thought spillage of prime Beat poetics.

The pool of writers that shaped the Beat Generation isn’t especially large. There was an older generation of writers and publishers (William Carlos Williams, Kenneth Rexroth, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, James Laughlin) that heard something crucial in this defiant mid-20th-century impulse and encouraged it. But Beats, they were not.

Additionally, there were numerous simultaneous and sometimes overlapping scenes (the New York Poets, the Black Mountain College writers, the West Coast/San Francisco scenes), alongside the many writers and muses that orbited around the core Beats like satellites.

The size and shape of the Beat Generation can expand or contract, given the situation. It should be established that if a controversial figure, Norman Mailer, was not a Beat writer. Nor were the notorious and often-banned Henry Miller and the young and hip Terry Southern. Charles Bukowski wasn’t Beat, either, as he often went to pains to impolitely make clear in his writings.

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Formed in 1984, Fields of the Nephilim is the creation of vocalist and front man Carl McCoy. Highly influential, especially in the world of goth, but also within the metal and electronic genres, their legacy endures to this day. You can hear their influence on bands like Swans, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Explosions In The Sky, Wolves in The Throne Room, and more.

Dawnrazor is the band’s debut album, originally released in 1987. We are happy to announce a reissue of this title, out December 12th, remastered and available on CD and colored vinyl. The vinyl is pressed on white and is expanded to a double LP for improved fidelity. Several different versions of this album were initially released, featuring different track listings depending on what country you were in. This definitive version includes all 14 album tracks on vinyl for the first time and together on CD for the first time since the five album set.

The album’s opening track contains a sample of the Ennio Morricone theme “Man with the Harmonica” from Sergio Leone’s classic 1968 western film Once Upon a Time in the West. “Preacher Man” is an epic track that is often noted as one of the greatest goth songs of all time. Louder Sound wrote about the title track, saying “Its slow, menacing pace, complete with creepy otherworldly noises and stellar musicianship from the band take this to another level.”

In a remembrance of the album in 2017, The Quietus called their sound “music that sails into the multi-coloured waters of psychedelia” and Metal Hammer wrote that they “gave the UK scene a much-needed shot in the arm, revitalizing the sound by introducing metal’s power and urgency into the sonic mix.”

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Cat Power is celebrating the 20th anniversary of her milestone 2006 album, The Greatest, with “Redux,” a three-song EP arriving digitally and on 10” vinyl via Domino Recording Company on Friday, January 23, 2026. Pre-orders/pre-saves are available now.

Recorded by GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer and longtime collaborator Stuart Sikes (Loretta Lynn, The White Stripes) at Austin, TX’s Church House Studios with backing by Dirty Delta Blues—the all-star supergroup assembled for the world tour that followed The Greatest comprising guitarist Judah Bauer (The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion), keyboardist Gregg Foreman (The Delta 72, Jesse Malin), bassist Erik Paparozzi (Lizard Music), and drummer Jim White (Dirty Three, Hard Quartet)—”Redux” includes a brand new re-recording of James Brown’s chart-topping classic, “Try Me.” The track was among those first recorded by the singer-songwriter, otherwise known as, during the original sessions that produced but were never completed.

Redux also includes a stunning rendition of Prince’s iconic “Nothing Compares 2 U,” recorded in tribute to the late, great guitarist Teenie Hodges, a legendary member of The Memphis Rhythm Band that backed Cat Power on The Greatest and with whom she formed a close bond before his passing in 2014. The EP also includes a re-imagined version of one of the many standout tracks on The Greatest, Marshall’s own “Could We,” newly recorded in the arrangement that was performed live on The Greatest Tour with Dirty Delta Blues.

Next year will see Cat Power perform The Greatest in its entirety with a very special series of 20th anniversary live shows beginning February 12, 2026, at Houston, TX’s White Oak Music Hall and then traveling North America, Europe, and the United Kingdom through early November. For updates and ticket information, please visit catpowermusic.com/#tour.

Read More »

Remembering Screaming Lord Sutch, born on this day in 1940. —Ed.

This very heavy solo debut by renowned English loony Screaming Lord Sutch (aka the 3rd Earl of Harrow) comes with some very heavy baggage. And I’m not referring to the late Lord’s Heavy Friends, who included such rock luminaries as Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, John Bonham, Noel Redding, and Nicky Hopkins.

No, I’m talking about the album’s deplorable reputation. A 1998 BBC poll crowned Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends the worst album of all time, to which I can only reply that the people polled did a grave injustice to Rick Wakeman’s The Six Wives of Henry VIII. And plenty of others have heaped scorn upon this benighted 1970 LP, which mortified just about everyone including the people who played on it.

Me, I think they’re being unfair. I rather like Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends, and not as kitsch either. The musicians who recorded the LP would go on to condemn it as a bunch of demos that should never have been released, but to my ears it sounds like rock’n’roll primitivism at its best. The album has a lovably raw-boned, one-take feel to it, and what it lacks in polish (there is no polish) it makes up for in pure bluster and monolithic garage rock raunch. If you’re a fan of “You Really Got Me,” Blue Cheer, the Troggs (and who isn’t a fan of the Troggs?), or any number of sixties garage bands, you’ll most likely dig what’s on offer here.

There’s no denying Sutch was a fascinating character, and that the world was a far more interesting place with him in it. He may have had no more connection with the peerage than the infamous Nazi broadcaster and English traitor Lord Haw-Haw, but during his time on this planet he recorded a whole slew of timeless horror rock classics (“Jack the Ripper,” “Murder in the Graveyard”), basically invented Alice Cooper’s shock-schlock stage act, and ran for Parliament innumerable times, both as a representative of the National Teenage Party and as the proud founder of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party (that he never won a Parliamentary seat is a sad commentary on the intelligence of your average English voter).

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | One year ago, on November 25, 2024, legendary vocalist Colin Blunstone returned to London’s Union Chapel for a once-in-a-lifetime concert. Performing his landmark 1971 debut solo album One Year in its entirety…including “Say You Don’t Mind,” “Misty Roses,” and “Caroline Goodbye” alongside career favorites, Blunstone was joined by a full ensemble, featuring bandmates from the current Zombies lineup and former Strawbs, plus the Q Strings quartet for a spellbinding evening that instantly became part of his legacy.

Blunstone relates “On the 25th of November 2024 I performed my first solo album “One Year” live in its entirety for the first time at London’s Union Chapel. Looking back this was not an undertaking to be taken on lightly knowing that “One Year” encompasses so many different genres of music. With very little rehearsal time my solo band (Dave Bainbridge, Søren Koch, Chas Cronk and Steve Rodford) and the incredible Q Strings took on the challenge without a moment’s hesitation.”

Now, to honor that unforgettable night, Gonzo Distribution proudly presents Colin Blunstone: One Year And More – Live from Union Chapel, a strictly limited collector’s edition box set, available November 21, 2025. Pre-order the box set and more here.

This exquisite release is designed for true connoisseurs: a 2CD set + full concert DVD, capturing the complete Union Chapel performance in pristine audio and video. It features a luxurious gold foil–embossed box with a gold satin lining, and an exclusive 24-page booklet with never-before-seen photographs of the concert that brought One Year full circle. Each set includes an autographed and numbered certificate, underscoring its scarcity and value.

Read More »

They’ve been described as Toronto’s “evil supergroup.” A foreign reviewer wrote of their, er, blasphemous band moniker, “the name is simple—this is like the best sex that you ever had, only better.” Lo-fi savants, keyboardists Brian Borcherdt and Graham Walsh produce clamorous, rhythm-heavy electronic rock without the use of laptops or programmed backing tracks—you won’t hear any looping or splicing, for example—preferring to use real drummers and bassists. They don’t practice. They’re more fun than a barrelful of gut-shot high-tech synthpop gadgetry.

Holy Fuck is a great rock ’n’ roll band.

And the proof lies in 2007’s LP, a non-stop thrill ride, or rather a series of thrill rides, which makes the album an amusement park. The price of admission is cheap. The rides are fast, melody plays second fiddle to punk rock propulsion, and Krautrock blitzkrieg “No sleep ‘til Warsaw” get-up and go, and the real drummers (Matt Schulz and Loel Campbell) and bass player (Michael Bigelow) keep things sounding organic. This band operates less on electricity than motor oil and elbow grease, although you never forget you’re listening to machines—it’s just that they’re all fuzz and sizzle, gadgets with dirty faces.

This is noise rock, cataclysm in chains, mayhem in harness, the frazzled dead end of unsanctified sound. You can practically smell the burning.

Holy Fuck have released four albums since LP, but I maintain that it’s the best of them—all raw power, with one plugged-in flamer setting fire to the next, social niceties and subtlety be damned, although it can’t be said that its nine songs are devoid of nuance—even the appropriately titled “The Pulse,” an almost six-minute gallop to the finish line that basically just pushes everything in front of it out of the way, has its little twists in turns, including a couple of brief slowdowns and what sound like some echoing vocals in the middle. And live opener “Super Inuit,” a straight-up Krautrock rave-up if ever I’ve heard one, stops for some breath and what sounds like vocals on its otherwise V2-fast flight towards the center of your mind.

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | “You don’t have to be a Michelin-starred chef to know when you are eating a spectacular meal. And you don’t need a doctorate in music theory to enjoy Bach, Eric Dolphy, or Stravinsky. In this beautifully written book, Craig Havighurst reminds us that with an active ear, we all have the potential to participate in the flight of great music.” —Béla Fleck

Music journalist and broadcaster Craig Havighurst is proud to announce his new book, Musicality For Modern Humans: How To Listen Like An Artist, published this week through independent publisher The Sager Group. Inspired by more than 25 years of reporting on music and musicians in Nashville, Havighurst’s guide to the pursuit of musicality will inspire and inform readers of all levels, redefining music appreciation for the 21st century.

Musicality is a self-enrichment book about the inner game of sound-based art for curious people who wish they could get deeper into music, including those who feel confused, overwhelmed, or intimidated. It’s for anyone looking to shake up their habits, get free of algorithms, and listen for more in music across all genres and time periods.

For the past nine years, Craig has been Editorial Director at NPR affiliate WMOT 89.5 FM, where he hosts The String, a thought-provoking weekly interview show covering American roots music. He has reported on Americana music for NPR, The Tennessean, No Depression, Bluegrass Unlimited, Acoustic Guitar, The Wall Street Journal, and other leading outlets.

Read More »