Carry Me Back is the band’s fourth studio album and first since 2008′s Tennessee Pusher, and features 12 brand new tracks that sonically span the band’s career while still pushing them forward in new directions as musicians and songwriters. The album was recorded at the legendary Sound Emporium studios in Nashville (O Brother, Where Art Thou?; REM’s Document; Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’s Raising Sand).

Carry Me Back was produced by Ted Hutt (Gaslight Anthem, Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly). Hutt pushed the band in a whole new way that they hadn’t been pushed before. “Ted Hutt asked us to really dig deep as artists, as songwriters, to get to the heart of the matter of these songs and, especially, not to settle for anything less than their greatness,” recalls Ketch Secor of the band. Secor is also very proud of the result of the band’s songwriting efforts on the album, saying “For me, Carry Me Back is all about the songs, how they line up, intertwine, switch partners, and promenade home. Each of these songs was an accident waiting to happen.”

OCMS (Ketch Secor, Critter Fuqua, Kevin Hayes, Morgan Jahnig, Gill Landry, and Chance McCoy) will be hitting the road to tour the US this Summer in support of Carry Me Back. The tour begins on July 19 in Indianapolis, IN (prior to this show the band is headlining the ROMP Festival), and includes stops at New York City’s Central Park and the beautiful Fox Theater in Atlanta, amongst others. With most of their time spent on the road, OCMS has made a name for themselves as energetic performers with an unbridled spirit. It’s a live show not to be missed. “The greatness of an old-time string band lies in its performance,” Secor says. “The way it percolates, rattling itself almost to the edge. When you’ve got a top-notch studio like Sound Emporium, and 12 strong tunes in the works, and the time and patience it takes to get it right–that’s when great performances can be captured.” For a full list of tour dates, please see below. The Lumineers and Milk Carton Kids will provide support on a number of dates.

OCMS is also a part of the tour documentary Big Easy Express, which screened recently at the Nashville Film Festival. The movie documents last year’s Railroad Revival Tour, which featured OCMS on tour with Mumford & Sons and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros on a tour across the US, where the three bands travelled together on vintage train cars, playing rambunctiously fun shows at stops along the way.

Old Crow Medicine show have a long history of success, including sales totaling over 700,000 albums, a RIAA Gold-certified song with “Wagon Wheel,” an appearance on Austin City Limits, three performances on Late Night With Conan O’Brien, and multiple appearances on A Prairie Home Companion, various NPR programs and the Grand Ole Opry.

Old Crow Medicine Show Tour Dates

June 30 – Owensboro, KY @ ROMP Festival

July 19 – Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room

July 20 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant

July 21 – Kansas City, MO @ The Crossroads

July 26 – Louisville, KY @ Palace Theatre

July 27 – Cincinnati, OH @ Taft Theatre

July 28 – Nashville, TN @ The Woods at Fontanel with Special Guests

August 1 – Richmond, VA @ Maymont Park w/The Milk Carton Kids and Special Guest

August 2 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club w/The Milk Carton Kids and Special Guest

August 3 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club w/The Milk Carton Kids and Special Guest

August 4 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory w/The Lumineers & The Milk Carton Kids

August 6 – New York, NY @ SummerStage, Central Park w/The Lumineers & The Milk Carton Kids

August 8 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre w/The Lumineers & The Milk Carton Kids

August 9 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues w/The Lumineers & The Milk Carton Kids

August 10 – Burlington, VT @ Waterfront Park w/The Lumineers & The Milk Carton Kids

August 12 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE w/The Lumineers

August 17 – Salem, VA @ Salem Civic Center w/The Lumineers

August 18 – Cary, NC @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre w/The Lumineers

August 19 – Charlottesville, VA @ nTelos Wireless Pavilion w/The Lumineers & Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three

August 23 – Birmingham, AL @ Alabama Theatre w/The Lumineers & Milk Carton Kids

August 24 – Knoxville, TN @ The Tennessee Theatre w/ The Lumineers & Milk Carton Kids

August 25 – Atlanta, GA @ The Fox Theater w/The Lumineers & The Milk Carton Kids

www.crowmedicine.com

www.facebook.com/OldCrowMedicineShow

In honor of the Woody Guthrie Centennial, a year-long celebration of Woody’s 100^th birthday, Smithsonian Folkways presents an in-depth commemorative collection of songs, photos and essays on one of America’s most treasured 20^th-century icons.

‘Woody at 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection’ is a 150-page large-format book containing three CDs with 57 tracks, including Woody’s most important recordings such as the complete version of “This Land Is Your Land,” “Pretty Boy Floyd,” “Pastures of Plenty,” “Hard Travelin’,” “Jesus Christ,” “I Ain’t Got No Home in This World Anymore,” and “Riding in My Car.” The set also contains 21 previously unreleased performances and six never-before-heard original songs, including Woody’s first known — and recently discovered — recordings from 1939.

The Smithsonian Folkways archives hold the largest collection of Woody’s recordings (he recorded hundreds of songs for Folkways Records founder Moses Asch).

Visit folkways.si.edu/woodyat100 to:

Listen to the unreleased original song “Them Big City Ways”

Purchase pre-order* packages of ‘Woody at 100’, including a limited-edition poster, t-shirt, and instant album download.

A Space in Time Due April 24^th 

Dual-Speed Genesis EP Spot the Pigeon Arrives April 21 for

“Record Store Day”

Marshall Blonstein, president of Audio Fidelity, has announced April 24 as the release date for the reissue of two classic rock albums. Phil Collins’ chart-topping 1989 solo set BUT SERIOUSLY will be released as a 24-Karat Gold CD, and Ten Years After’s 1971 A SPACE IN TIME, released in 24-Karat Gold format last year, will return in a 180-gram vinyl LP edition. Both recordings will be available as numbered, limited editions that will be sold through online and brick-and-mortar retailers alike.

Additionally, on April 21, in support of the fifth annual “Record Store Day,” Audio Fidelity will reissue Genesis’ rare 1977 EP SPOT THE PIGEON. This rare recording will be available only from the some 700 independent music retailers participating in the annual event.

BUT SERIOUSLY was Phil Collins’ fourth album, and one of his most successful, topping Billboard‘s chart for three weeks, eventually going four-times-Platinum. It became the best-selling album of 1990 in Britain, where it spent 15 weeks in the No. 1 position. The record was Collins’ second chart-topper, following 1985′s NO JACKET REQUIRED.  Produced by Hugh Padgham (Genesis, The Police, Paul McCartney), BUT SERIOUSLY boasted no less than five charting singles, among them the Top 10 titles “Another Day in Paradise,” “Do You Remember,” “Something Happened on the Way to Heaven” and “I Wish It Would Rain Down,” which featured Eric Clapton on guitar.  Other supporting artists on the album include Graham Nash, David Crosby, Stephen Bishop (vocals), Steve Winwood (organ) and Leland Sklar (bass).

Ten Year’s After’s A SPACE IN TIME, first released in August of 1971 (and issued by Audio Fidelity as a Gold CD last July), was guitarist Alvin Lee and company’s best-selling album, earning Platinum certification.  The band’s seventh long-player, it peaked at No. 17 on Billboard‘s chart and yielded the group’s only Top 40 entry, “I’d Love to Change the World,” which also became a staple of classic rock FM radio.  A SPACE IN TIME marked the quartet’s maturation from the hard-driving boogie kings of “I’m Going Home” into a subtler, more broadly appealing band with pop strengths.  Rockers like “One of These Days” and “Hard Monkeys” dominated, but the album featured Lee on acoustic as well as electric guitar, and “Over the Hill” utilized the talents of string arranger Del Newman (Tea for the Tillerman, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road).

On April 21, in celebration of Record Store Day-the annual national event that salutes more than 700 independent music retailers-Audio Fidelity will issue Genesis’ rare 1977 EP SPOT THE PIGEON, comprised of three tracks recorded for but left off the band’s WIND & WUTHERING album:  ”Match the Day,” “Pigeons” and “Inside and Out.”  The band’s final release before guitarist Steve Hackett departed, SPOT THE PIGEON, which rose to No. 14 on the U.K. charts, has only sporadically been available (on Genesis anthologies) since it was first issued.  Audio Fidelity’s reissue is poised to stir interest within both the collector and audiophile communities because it will feature all three songs on both sides, but one side will play at 45 rpm, the other at 33 1/3.  It will also be pressed on the same blue vinyl as its original incarnation.  The SPOT THE PIGEON EP will only be available from independent record retailers participating in “Record Store Day” nationwide.

Founded in 2002 by entertainment industry executive Marshall Blonstein, Audio Fidelity specializes in deluxe reissues of classic popular-music recordings for the audiophile and collector markets. The Camarillo, California-based label is best known for its 24-Karat Gold CDs and its virgin-vinyl album editions, though it also releases DVD titles.  In 2011, Audio Fidelity launched the Target Series of CD and LP reissues as a means of broadening its audience beyond its loyal audiophile base.

Audio Fidelity emerged out of the pioneering DCC Compact Classics label that Blonstein started in 1986, following stints as president of Island Records and co-founder of Ode Records (where he helped make Carole King’s Tapestry one of the best-selling albums of all time and built the cult-film franchises The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Cheech & Chong’s Up in Smoke).

Visit audiofidelity.net 

In a statement on his official website, Bob Dylan has posted the following message:

“He was my bosom buddy friend to the end, one of the last true great spirits of my or any other generation. This is just so sad to talk about. I still can remember the first day I met him and the last day I saw him. We go back pretty far and had been through some trials together. I’m going to miss him, as I’m sure a whole lot of others will too.”

Courtesy of Evan Schlansky at American Songwriter:

Dylan first met Levon Helm in 1965, when he tapped The Band to perform with him during his first electric tour. While Helm ended up dropping out of the tour, which was routinely met with boos from folk music purists, he returned to the fold in 1967. During a highly creative period in the Big Pink house in West Saugerties, New York, The Band and Dylan wrote and cut the songs that would end up on The Basement Tapes. Dylan and The Band later recorded Planet Waves together, and co-headlined a hugely successful tour in 1974, which is documented on the album Before The Flood.

For our South American readers (or Norte Americanos heading there soon), check tour dates HERE.

‘Blood on the Tracks’ gets film adaptation
RT Features acquires rights to make Bob Dylan classic into a movie
By Dave McNary
Brazil-based RT Features is moving on a simple twist of film, acquiring rights to adapt Bob Dylan’s 1975 album “Blood on the Tracks” into an English-language feature.

RT Features toppers Rodrigo Teixeira and Fernando Loureiro will produce and are seeking a director after buying rights from Grey Water Park Prods. that include the ability to use the music in the film.

“Blood on the Tracks,” Dylan’s 15th studio album, contains “Tangled Up in Blue,” “Simple Twist of Fate,” and “Shelter from the Storm” and is ranked by Rolling Stone as the 16th greatest album of all time.

Dylan biographers have concluded the songs stemmed from personal turmoil at the time, including his separation from his first wife. But Dylan said in his memoir “Chronicles, Vol. 1″ that the songs were inspired by Anton Chekhov’s short stories.

“As longtime admirers of one of the greatest albums in the history of music, we feel privileged to be making this film,” Teixeira said. “Our goal is to work with a filmmaker who can create a classic drama with characters and an environment that capture the feelings that the album inspires in all fans.”

As part of their plan to move into developing and producing English-language films, RT Features has partnered on developing crime novel “Strip” into a feature with Thunder Road Pictures and “The Games of 1940,” a co-production with Kennedy/Marshall that will be written by David Seidler and Luca Manzi.

RT Features has produced Portuguese-language films including “Romeo and Juliet Get Married” and “Drained,” selected for official competition at Sundance. The company’s “Heleno” and “The Silver Cliff” played at last year’s Toronto Film Festival while “O Abismo Prateado” was part of the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight screening selection.

Courtesy of Variety

Charlie’s no stranger to the music world, having played with different bands and traveled on the road for over ten years. This, however, will be his first solo effort, and he’s determined to do exactly what he wants. He’s not shy about naming his influences, including The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Modest Mouse, and Ryan Adams. A quick preview of the coming music shows that this is a guy who likes rock music–unabashedly. Even the tender tunes have an edge.

Charlie also says that he likes to keep things a little bit “weird.” Artists of the past have proven that weird can be incredible, especially if there is a balance between what is comfortable and what is new and unusual. “Sometimes when I’m playing and I hit that note–the one that’s not right but sounds amazing anyway, it becomes my favorite part of the track. Lyrically, I like to play with words–sing about stuff that you might not think someone would sing about.” His weird is actually quite astute, as his songs focus on subjects that touch just about everyone. “Well,” he adds, “my weird may not be that weird.”

The relationship with American Cadence Records started simply enough. After a quick meeting with owner Logan Buerlein, Charlie laid down a track just for fun. Both were so pleased with the work environment and the mutual respect for the music that an extended-play project was quickly decided and executed. The swift movement on decisions and minimal takes on the recordings pleased Charlie and Logan, who hope to present an album that captures the very best thing about music–the energy and raw emotion of a live performance.

Abbott is excited to present the record, which is titled Brand New Weather, on May 1 of this year. After years of polish and precision, he’s ready to get real. “I want it to be feel-good music–like riding down the freeway music,” he says, “like good old rock and roll.”  After revisiting some of his favorite artists, including The Smashing Pumpkins and Everclear, he hopes to create music with the same timelessness–something that people will love and listen to now and ten years from now. Without binding himself to a particular style, Charlie may be able to do just that.

Photos by Joshua Black Wilkins

My introduction to Heyrocco, a Charleston trio, happened much like this. A good friend emailed me video from a live performance while she was right there at the stage rocking along. Through the resulting motion sickness (you know how the camera can’t sit still when the person filming is dancing like a crazy person), I could hear a lot of promise. She followed up with some YouTube videos, and a new obsession was born.

The first outing is a three-track EP full of clever lyrics, imaginative music, and rhythms that will make you sit up and take notice. My personal favorite is Floorboards, but The American Tourist and Brothers also get quite a bit of play. I recommend checking them out, to be sure. Don’t get too complacent with this little grouping of songs, though. I’ve seen the future in the form of four tracks from their upcoming album, COMFORT, and these guys have taken their style and musicality to a whole new level.

In preparation for the album, I got to share a few words with the band. Their entry into the music scene was as far from normal as it gets. Nathan says, “We were all born on a remote island stranded somewhere between Cuba and The Bahamas. All we had were several bottles of water and an assortment of different instruments to pass the time. After we adapted to the environment and learned to hunt with sharp sticks and our bare hands (as well as play music) we all joined the high school jazz band.” I think what he’s trying to say here is that the formation of the band is actually an age-old story, but they were fortunate enough to have the talent and drive to make true music and not a rehash of someone else’s work.

From the high school jazz band, their first ensemble was born. “We realized there that we shared a love of music and started this little group called Cole Train with another female vocalist. That project was more of getting our feet wet in gigging and attempting to write music more so than a real touring band. Led Zeppelin and Hendrix were everything, and it felt good to get that out of our system.”

As with many first-time outings, Cole Train simply wasn’t meant to be. Nathan explains, “Unfortunately, things just weren’t working out though creatively, so we had to say goodbye to our singer, and we became a trio under the name Heyrocco. The three of us have just always had such chemistry in the garage playing all kinds of songs and sounds. We hang out and do a lot together even aside from music, and it’s incredibly fun to pursue your dream with your besties. I highly recommend it.”

While it sounds like this is just another garage band trying to make it big, that couldn’t be further from the truth. These guys are serious, and they make some serious music…that might make you laugh a little bit. They compare their sound to food like this: “If you are a picky eater, you will not enjoy our music. I only like my hamburgers with cheese and a little ketchup, a little mustard – but our music is like a thick, juicy, 100% Angus beef burger, with lots of lettuce, tomato, red onions, blue onions, pickles, barbecue sauce, cereal, and milk.”  It sounds gross, but I assure it’s not. It’s layered, with each bit of the meal delicious in its own way.

Also setting themselves apart from other “garage bands” or “bestie bands”, Heyrocco has a plan. Taking over the world is only a small part of that plan, and they know just how to do it. Self-professed fans of The Antlers, they aren’t afraid to glean knowledge from the musicians they admire. Nathan says, “They just really make great records and that is something that we would like to always accomplish.” Heyrocco has supported some great bands, too, including Mutemath, Miniature Tigers, Scars on 45, and Wintersleep. They don’t just admire the music from their idols, either. They know the greats got to be that way for a reason. “We are hoping that COMFORT will be heard all around the world, and we plan to put in the leg work to make that happen. That’s what I feel our short-term inspiration is at the moment. As far as long term goals, bands like Radiohead and Death Cab have proved that once you have fans, keep those fans happy and make great records!”

To accomplish this goal, they know they have to grow and change, which is something a lot of bands refuse to do. The key to longevity is reinvention, and they’ve already started to do this. The Mixtape EP was a very strong first outing, but they aren’t satisfied with it. The band says, “Mixtape was almost like a high school relationship that started out great, but then graduation, growing up, and college just got in the way. We spent a bit more money in a beautiful studio just because we always thought that was what needed to be done, but things slowly got sour, and our hearts just weren’t in that project anymore.” COMFORT promises to be something different, as they explain, “…our sound has progressed into something completely different and it’s almost like this COMFORT era coming up is gonna be a completely different band. Well, not that drastic, but we are very curious to see how it all pans out.”

I’m curious, too. We all like to see the people we like succeed, and that desire is multiplied when there is a lot of talent involved. The guys seem to have a handle on what success really means, which means they’ll likely be happy with whatever comes their way. Heyrocco says, “In the big picture of things though, Heyrocco doesn’t mean anything to anyone except for a couple thousand fans we have gained so far. So I would say, yes we are successfully moving forward, but I don’t think we have reached success just yet.” Fortunately, they have a very healthy idea of what success actually is. In their words, “Success is an idea along the lines of happiness. The phrase ‘you choose to be happy’ could also work with ‘you choose to be successful.’”

That’s a lot of wisdom right there, so it may come as a shock to learn that these guys are just barely out of high school. In fact, one member still hasn’t taken his final exams. Their ages shouldn’t come into play at all, but it’s pretty hard to ignore the fact that they’re thinking, writing, and performing on a much more mature level than most other teen musicians out there. It just makes me wonder what we’re in for later down the line as these guys really start to come into their own as artists. I think they’re primed to take the world by storm, and COMFORT is just going to be the beginning.

After a successful Kickstarter campaign, Heyrocco is now in a position to get this new record out so that everyone can hear Rave Monks, which they all agree is their favorite. This, as they eloquently state, is an “ass-shaking” song, featuring driving guitars, ethereal vocals, and inventive percussion. If you get a chance, seek out The Boston Marathon and Young, which are both excellent examples of the growth and maturity this album features when compared to the Mixtape EP. Staples, as the band says, “…has always been very motivational to us and sort of expresses our longing to travel the world and get out of South Carolina as fast as we can to make new friends and fans in all kinds of places we would have never seen if we didn’t give this thing a shot. It has a bittersweet feeling, and the name COMFORT comes from that.”

The album will drop on April third, when it will be available on iTunes, Bandcamp, and Amazon, and the guys will start their spring tour soon after that. If you’re interested in checking them out, visit their Facebook page, where you can hear some tracks and see their performance schedules. You can also follow them on Twitter and keep up with them on Tumblr, if you’re a social media kind of person.

Storm and Grace is a marked departure from the hard-edged sound of Presley’s earlier albums, 2003′s RIAA Gold-certified To Whom It May Concern and 2005′s Now What, both of which debuted in the Top 10 of The Billboard 200.

“Just over two years ago, I went to England to attempt to write another record after finding myself in a considerably disheartened and uninspired state creatively,” recalls Presley. “Over an eight-month period, I wrote 30 songs. I was fortunate to be able to write with some incredible artists and singers such as Richard Hawley (from Pulp), Ed Harcourt, Sacha Skarbek and Fran Healy (from Travis), to name a few. Nothing was planned or contrived in any way and out of it came a very organic record that was always inside of me and that I am incredibly proud of. It was a dream come true and such an honor when T-Bone liked the songs and produced and played on the record.”

T-Bone Burnett had this to say about Presley’s work. “When songs from Lisa Marie Presley showed up at my door, I was curious. I wondered what the daughter of an American revolutionary music artist had to say. What I heard was honest, raw, unaffected and soulful. I thought her father would be proud of her. The more I listened to the songs, the deeper an artist I found her to be. Listening beyond the media static, Lisa Marie Presley is a Southern American folk music artist of great value.”

Storm and Grace track listing:

1. Over Me
2. You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet
3. Weary
4. Close To The Edge
5. So Long
6. Un-Break
7. Soften The Blows
8. Storm Of Nails
9. How Do You Fly This Plane?
10. Sticks And Stones
11. Storm and Grace

Rolling Stone interview with Lisa Marie Presley (3-15-12).

Gold CD Limited Editions of Two Landmark Albums of the Seventies

to Be Released March 13

Marshall Blonstein, president of Audio Fidelity, has announced March 13 for the release of 24-Karat Gold CD reissues of James Taylor’s 1971 album MUD SLIDE SLIM AND THE BLUE HORIZON and Stevie Wonder’s 1973 INNERVISIONS. Both recordings will be available as limited, numbered editions that will be sold through online and brick-and-mortar retailers alike; however, Wonder’s groundbreaking INNERVISIONS will be limited to a run of 3000 units due to contractual restrictions, rather than the company’s usual run of 5000 units.

MUD SLIDE SLIM AND THE BLUE HORIZON was Taylor’s third album, following his 1986 Apple Records debut and the 1970 Warner Bros. LP, SWEET BABY JAMES, which was his commercial breakthrough and the record that, with Carole King’s TAPESTRY, ignited the singer-songwriter movement. The LP proved as popular as its predecessor, ascending to No.2 on Billboard‘s chart, where it remained for four weeks (its overall chart stay was just under a year). Taylor took home a Grammy® in 1972 for Best Male Vocal Performance for MUD SLIDE SLIM‘s chart-topping single, his rendition of Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend,” which was also named Song of the Year.  Also included were the To -40 hit “Long Ago and Far Away” (which features King on piano), the country lament “Hey Mister, That’s Me Up on the Jukebox” and the ballad “You Can Close Your Eyes,” which has been covered by, among others, Linda Ronstadt, Sheryl Crow and Richie Havens.

MUD SLIDE SLIM AND THE BLUE HORIZON found James Taylor in good company. Among the supporting musicians were Carole King, Joni Mitchell (backing vocals), John Hartford (banjo), Richard Greene (fiddle) and Andrew Love and Wayne Jackson of Stax Records stalwarts the Memphis Horns. Peter Asher, who had helmed Taylor’s previous albums, also produced MUD SLIDE SLIM AND THE BLUE HORIZON.

In contrast to Taylor’s guest-laden album, Stevie Wonder’s INNERVISIONS is revered in part for its being virtually a one-man operation. Though the record features accompanists, Wonder composed, arranged and produced-and played piano, bass, drums, synthesizer, clavinet and harmonica on it. In fact, Wonder is the sole musician on INNERVISIONS‘ two Top-10 hits, “Higher Ground” and “Living for the City,” and handled most of the instrumentation on the Top 20 single “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing.”

INNERVISIONS was Wonder’s 14^th album.  Along with TALKING BOOK, it inaugurated the most fruitful artistic and commercial era of his career, which included the subsequent LPs FULLFILLINGNESS’ FIRST FINALE and SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE.   All three of those CDs plus MUSIC OF MY MIND were previously reissued by Audio Fidelity in 24 Karat Gold format.

Wonder’s achievements were underscored by four wins in the 1974 Grammy competition:  Best Album, Best Engineered Non-Classical Recording, and Best Male R&B Performance and Best R&B Song (both for “Superstition,” from TALKING BOOK). INNERVISIONS rose to No. 4 during its 89-week tenure on Billboard‘s Top Albums chart, garnered widespread critical acclaim (“a record that makes you believe in faith”-Village Voice) and has routinely placed high in various publications’ and websites’ best-of-all-time lists.  The inspirational “Higher Ground” has been recorded by Etta James, Missy Elliott, Michael McDonald, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and numerous gospel groups.

Founded in 2002 by entertainment-industry legend Marshall Blonstein, Audio Fidelity specializes in deluxe reissues of classic popular-music recordings for the audiophile and collector markets. The Camarillo, California-based label is best known for its 24-karat Gold CDs and its virgin-vinyl album editions, though it also releases DVD titles. In 2011, Audio Fidelity launched the Target Series of CD and LP reissues as a means of broadening its audience beyond its loyal audiophile base.

Audio Fidelity emerged out of the pioneering DCC Compact Classics label that Blonstein started in 1986, following stints as president of Island Records and co-founder of Ode Records (where he helped make Carole King’s Tapestry one of the best-selling albums of all time and built the cult-film franchises The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Cheech & Chong’s Up in Smoke).

]]> http://awaitingtheflood.com/james-taylors-mud-slide-slim-and-the-blue-horizon-stevie-wonders-innervisions-go-gold-again-in-new-audio-fidelity-reissues/feed/ 0 http://awaitingtheflood.com/natalie-merchants-acclaimed-final-album-with-10000-maniacs-gets-special-vinyl-treatment/ http://awaitingtheflood.com/natalie-merchants-acclaimed-final-album-with-10000-maniacs-gets-special-vinyl-treatment/#comments Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:43:01 +0000 Jennifer Barry http://awaitingtheflood.com/?p=12316

10,000 MANIACS’ OUR TIME IN EDEN CELEBRATED IN 20th ANNIVERSARY REISSUE ON AUDIO FIDELITY’S TARGET IMPRINT Natalie Merchant’s Acclaimed Final Album with the Band Gets Special Vinyl Treatment on March 13th Marshall Blonstein, president of Audio Fidelity, has set March 13 for the release of 10,000 Maniacs’ 1992 album OUR TIME IN EDEN as a deluxe vinyl LP reissue. The fifth album by the pioneering American alternative band, OUR TIME IN EDEN,was the last to feature the captivating vocals and perceptive lyrics of Natalie Merchant, described by Mojo magazine as the reigning “queen of college rock.”  The record will be issued as part of Audio Fidelity’s recently-launched Target Series, a line of nicely-priced classic albums that are receiving the same meticulous remastering as the company’s 24K Gold CD and 180+ Vinyl releases. OUR TIME IN EDEN was a much anticipated-and well received-recording, following the group’s 1989 commercial breakthrough, BLIND MAN’S ZOO. Though that record climbed higher on Billboard‘s albums chart, OUR TIME IN EDEN (which reached No. 28) remained there almost twice as long, for a total of 56 weeks. On OUR TIME IN EDEN, Merchant and bandmates Robert Buck, Dennis Drew, Steven Gustafson and Jerome Augustyniak essayed their signature folk-rock sound, but toughened it up by including R&B elements; James Brown brass and reed players Maceo Parker, Pee Wee Ellis and Fred Wesley contribute, with Wesley especially prominent behind Merchant on the single “Candy Everybody Wants.”  “These Are the Days” was the highest-charting of the LP’s three singles, topping Billboard‘s Modern Rock chart and reaching No. 66 on the Hot 100, though the upbeat “Few and Far Between” also fared well on the publication’s dance-singles survey.  Among OUR TIME IN EDEN‘s many highlights are the album-opening piano ballad “Noah’s Dove,” one of seven cuts that are sole Merchant compositions (she co-wrote the record’s other six tracks), the sprightly “Stockton Gala Days” and the alternately reflective and rocking “Jezebel.” Other notable participants on the album are Brazilian percussionist Paulhino DaCosta and strings arranger Paul Buckmaster, best known for his work with Elton John, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones and Leonard Cohen.  Producer Paul Fox’s credits include projects with Bjork, Phish and XTC.  Mary Ramsey, who would replace Merchant as lead singer on the subsequent Maniacs albums LOVE AMONG THE RUINSandEARTH PRESSED FLAT, contributes violin and viola on OUR TIME IN EDEN. Merchant announced her departure from the band in August of 1993 to embark on a solo career. The Target Series was launched by Audio Fidelity last fall as a means of broadening the company’s audience beyond its loyal audiophile base. Target titles sell at a lower price point but maintain the same commitment to superior audio quality that has earned the parent company its distinctive reputation.  OUR TIME IN EDEN was remastered by respected Audio Fidelity engineer Kevin Gray. Founded in 2001, Audio Fidelity specializes in deluxe reissues of classic popular-music recordings for the audiophile and collector markets. The Camarillo, California-based label is best known for its 24-Karat Gold CDs and its 180-gram virgin-vinyl album editions, as well as a line of popular DVD titles. *** Visit:  www.audiofidelity.net For further information and review copies, contact:  Sharon Weisz, W3 Public Relations 323-934-2700 w3pr@yahoo.com www.w3publicrelations.com

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