Pop & Rock News

Of the handful of live dates available from 1962, Finjan Club In Montreal, July 2, 1962, may be Bob Dylan's most passionate and commanding performance. In addition to being a stellar performance, with great sound quality for the era, this live date is also of note for including many rarely heard Dylan originals including "The Death of Emmett Till," "Quit Your Lowdown Ways," and "Let Me Die in My Footsteps".

Jean-Jacques Perrey has long been recognized as a pioneer of electronic music. Along with his musical partner at the time, Gershon Kingsley, the duo recorded a landmark album: The In Sound From Way Out, which was released by Vanguard Records in 1966. Perrey went on to record over 24 more albums of electronic music during his lifetime. But prior to this seminal electronic album Perrey already had an impressive career as an electronic music pioneer, having been the demo man for Georges Jenny's Ondioline, one of the very first proto-synthesizers.

Musique Electronic du Cosmos actually predates The In Sound From Way Out. The exact date is unknown, but it was probably recorded around 1962-3. Only 500 copies of Musique Electronique du Cosmos were produced. Some of the songs from this album later turned up on television commercials, most notably the song Chicken On The Rocks', which was used in a television commercial by the Ideal Toy Company in the '60s.

The tracks on side 2 of this reissue are from a very rare demonstration disc. Only one copy of this record is known to exist. It was purchased in an eBay auction by Spanish record collector and DJ, Raül G. Pratginestós (a.k.a. DJ Zero). As the hand-typed record label shows, the songs were originally transferred from tape to disc at A&R Recording, a studio owned and operated by New Yorkers Jack Arnold and Phil Ramone. (Ramone went on to become one of the most successful record producers of all time.) It is difficult to place a date as to when this acetate record was cut, but Perrey left New York in early 1971, so it would certainly have been from before that.

Comes in a nice three backflapped sleeve with original artwork with a colour insert including photos and liner notes written by Dana Countryman in a limited edition of 500 copies only.

Following the massive success of The Cars' multi-platinum debut in 1978, the band kept its platinum - album streak rolling with Candy-O and Panorama, releases that include memorable hits like Let's Go,' It's All I Can Do' and Touch and Go.'

For the first time ever, the band has expanded those classics to create versions that include rare and unreleased recordings taken from the sessions for each album. Band member Ric Ocasek recently supervised the remastering of these albums for last year's boxed set The Cars: The Elektra Years, ensuring superior sound quality on these new versions.

Candy-O (Expanded Edition) goes beyond the original album's 11 tracks with seven bonus tracks. Among the highlights are unreleased alternate mixes of Let's Go' and Lust For Kicks,' as well as the previously unissued song They Won't See You (The Northern Studios Version).' The album's liner notes were written by David Wild and include a new interview with guitarist Elliot Easton.

Following the massive success of The Cars' multi-platinum debut in 1978, the band kept its platinum - album streak rolling with Candy-O and Panorama, releases that include memorable hits like Let's Go,' It's All I Can Do' and Touch and Go.'

For the first time ever, the band has expanded those classics to create versions that include rare and unreleased recordings taken from the sessions for each album. Band member Ric Ocasek recently supervised the remastering of these albums for last year's boxed set The Cars: The Elektra Years, ensuring superior sound quality on these new versions.

Panorama (Expanded Edition) builds on the original album's 10 songs with four bonus tracks. They include the B-side Don't Go To Pieces,' as well as unreleased songs like Shooting For You,' and Be My Baby.' For this release, Wild once again pens the liner notes, along with reminisces from keyboardist Greg Hawkes.'

* 180 gram audiophile vinyl
* PVC protective sleeve
* Includes 4 page booklet
* 15th Anniversary
* Unique collaboration between John Williams and Yo-Yo Ma
* Available on vinyl for the first time!

Yo-Yo Ma Plays the Music of John Williams is a 2002 album of John Williams compositions performed by Yo-Yo Ma and the Recording Arts Orchestra of Los Angeles.

For an instrument with such rich expressive powers, the cello has long suffered from a shortage of great concertos. Leave it to John Williams, the composer best known for his popular, emotionally charged scores to Star Wars, ET, and many other blockbuster movies, to ride to the rescue with a new "Cello Concerto", an intense, expressive, and rhythmically vital offering tailor-made for Yo-Yo Ma's dexterous touch.

Like the composer's "Violin Concerto", this one is imbued with impressionistic textures and colors, but there's also a hard-driving, modern edge. Call it 21st-century Ravel. Williams wrote the concerto with Ma in mind, and it's a test of even Ma's formidable technique. It also boasts powerful orchestral writing, especially for the percussion and brass.

Three other premieres are included on the album as well. The "Elegy for Cello and Orchestra" is a lyrical and atmospheric tone poem, with shades of Fauré at every turn of phrase. The expressionistic "Three Pieces for Solo Cello", though, seem more akin to Benjamin Britten's solo cello suites in their abstract, concentrated intensity. Heartwood is another tender and sensitive reverie. It gradually builds in strength but ends as it began, with a whisper of tranquil serenity.

Ma's virtuosity is dazzling, and his engagement with the music is typically deep. He makes clear that Williams's music isn't just for the movies, indeed, with his new concerto, Williams has done the cello a great service.

Yo-Yo Ma Plays the Music of John Williams celebrates its 15th anniversary this year and is now finally available on vinyl for the first time. A 4 page booklet with an extensive story written by John Williams is included.

RED VINYL

Featured here on this 3LP Silver vinyl gatefold set are some of the vital and most important music ever committed to vinyl. It covers the first seven recording years of Elvis Aaron Presley, years which saw him progress from teenage Memphis truck driver earning $35 a week to a multi-millionaire performer with the music and movie worlds squarely at his size 11 feet. Enjoy this portrait of the King at his imperious best – young, slick and ready to rock.