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New Additions:
 The Grateful Dead - Crimson, White & Indigo: July 7, 1989, JFK Stadium, Philadelphia (3 CD+DVD) - The Grateful Dead were enjoying a late-career renaissance in 1989 when the band steamed into Philadelphia on one of the hottest days of the summer to play the last concert ever at John F. Kennedy Stadium. The July 7 show in the City of Brotherly Love highlights the band's exuberant resurgence; a peak that rivals any that came before it.
Rhino salutes life, liberty, and the pursuit of 'hippieness' with a collection that includes every note from this epic show on three CD's and one DVD. The DVD captures the entire concert, shot from an amazing multi-camera perspective by the same crew that shot the legendary 'Truckin' Up To Buffalo' DVD. $39.98
 The Infamous Stringdusters - Things That Fly CD - About the most important question a young bluegrass band faces right out of the gate is whether they can play. The Infamous Stringdusters wasted no time in providing their answer--an emphatic "yes"--winning IBMA Album, Song and Emerging Artist of the Year the very same year they released their debut, Fork In the Road. On Things That Fly, their third album on Sugar Hill, they venture into virtually uncharted territory for an acoustic group: a sonically and thematically expansive album that lends itself to absorbed listening from start to finish, much like the great rock albums do. $17.98
 Trombone Shorty - Backatown CD - In 2010 alone, 24-year-old New Orleans singer / songwriter / multi-instrumentalist and all-around musical powerhouse Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews has signed with Verve Forecast Records and performed on Good Morning America and ESPN's SportsCenter in the run-up to the Super Bowl. He has seen recordings he contributed to earn a Grammy(r) award (Buckwheat Zydeco's "Lay Your Burden Down") and an Oscar(r) nomination (Dr. John's "Down In New Orleans" from the hit Disney film 'The Princess and the Frog'). He has taped two appearances - as himself - for the upcoming HBO series 'Treme' from 'The Wire' creator David Simon, and played with his band Orleans Avenue as honored guests on Saints owner Tom Benson's float in a victorious post-Super Bowl Mardi Gras parade.
He's just getting started.
'Backatown,' an explosive, homegrown combination of funk, rock, R&B and hip-hop he calls "Supafunkrock." The album was produced by fellow New Orleanian Ben Ellman of Galactic and features fourteen songs, all but one of them written or co-written by Andrews. Guests on the album include Lenny Kravitz, Marc Broussard and Allen Toussaint, who contributes piano to a take on his own composition "On Your Way Down," the album's lone cover. $10.99
 Ozomatli - Fire Away CD - The Grammy Award-winning band's fifth studio full length. Produced by acclaimed producer Tony Berg, Fire Away features 11 new Ozo songs. Ozomatli's music - a collision of Hip Hop and Salsa, Dancehall and Cumbia, Samba and Funk, Merengue and Comparsa, East LA R&B and New Orleans second line, Jamaican Ragga and Indian Raga -- has long followed a key mantra: it will take you around the world by taking you around the city of LA. $14.98
 Xavier Rudd & Izintaba - Koonyum Sun CD - Bright sunny skies, white sand beaches and rolling turquoise waves is where Rudd recorded Koonyum Sun. Moving away from the heavier edged sound that he pursued on Dark Shades Of Blue, Xavier is back to his upbeat, hip-swaying sound that has been his mainstay on previous recordings. $14.98
 Garaj Mahal - More Mr Nice Guy CD - Garaj Mahal continues to bend the concept of jazz with their new release, adding new drummer and vocalist Sean Rickman to their masterful bunch of musicians. A musical mixture of jazz, fusion, world music, and pop makes a strong statement about the future of music! Features the new Moog Guitar, released through the help of Fareed Haque. $15.99
 Mark O'Connor - Jam Session CD - "Nobody in the history of jazz fiddle has ever played with the technical assurance of O'Connor, and he has been a brilliant and soulful improviser since he was a teenager ... Backed with driving finesse by bassist Jon Burr and guitarist Frank Vignola, this live set has a definite whiff of the Quintet of the Hot Club of France about it, with O'Connor's fire and heart-on-the-sleeve emotional involvement rendering this not only one of the finest discs of his career, but one of the greatest jazz violin albums ever." -- Chicago Tribune
A jam session is at once a spontaneous musical conversation and an art form. It strengthens both artistic and personal bonds between players of a variety of musical styles around the world. Once in a while, improvisational exchanges between musicians in a jam escalate to a fever pitch: this recording, which captures nine such instances, represents the contributions of six natural jammers to the art of the jam.
Features some of the best recorded improvised solos to date by O'Connor, Thile, Vignola and Sutton. $15.98
 Greensky Bluegrass - All Access Vol. 1 (2 CDs) - Recorded LIVE: November 27, at the Riviera Theater, Three Rivers, MI.
A really amazing snapshot of the band's playing at the end of 2009. A huge year for Greensky. It's a full show, opener through encore, packed full of Greensky originals old and new. There's new Hoffman tunes on there, as well as fresh takes on old tunes like "Less Than Supper" and "Depot Bay". There are also some covers that people have been begging the band to release, like Pink Floyd's "Time" and Bruce Hornsby's "King of The Hill, as well as a first time played version of The Beatles "A Day In The Life". 26 songs, recorded live to multi-track and then mixed by the band and mastered to achieve studio quality. $20
 Jonahtan Warren & the BillyGoats - You Just Relax, Honey CD - Jonathan Warren and the BillyGoats' debut full-length album, "You Just Relax Honey" is as comfortable as a favorite chair. Warren's alt-country style compels beer-drinking and front-porch lounging, while the consistent rhythms and simple themes help erase away any mental chaos. $9.99
Coming Soon:
April 27 - The New Deal - Live: Toronto, 7.16.2009 CD
Mushroom - Naked, Stoned & Stabbed CD
May 4 - Broken Social Scene - Forgivness Rock Record CD
Zac Brown Band - Pass the Jar: Live from the Fabulous Fox Theatre in Atlanta (2CD/DVD)
Last Week:
 Frank Zappa - 200 Motels DVD - An image of how 'life on the road' was for rock bands 40 years ago, starring Frank Zappa.
Available for the first time on DVD, Frank Zappa's 200 Motels is a cult classic. The story, scattered with performances by the Mothers of Invention and the Royal Symphony Orchestra, is a plotless tale of life on the road for touring musicians. Originally shot on video and restored here, 200 Motels is a surrealistic nonstop visual extravaganza starring Frank Zappa and the Mothers, Ringo Starr and Who drummer Keith Moon. Includes bonus commentary from Director and script writer Tony Palmer.
* Commentary from Director Tony Palmer
* 8 page booklet
* Remastered from original tapes. DVD: $18.98
 Stanton Moore - Groove Alchemy CD or DVD - Hudson Music and Stanton Moore are thrilled to announce the release of the Groove Alchemy DVD, a complete method for developing a massive vocabulary of grooves in various funk-based styles, along with a historical overview of some of the key grooves in the development of funk. Says Moore: "Groove Alchemy reflects the program that I have put myself through to improve my own funk and groove playing. It s a groove boot camp that will vastly increase your knowledge of classic grooves and more importantly, will also ignite your imagination and make you a funkier and more creative drummer." On the 3-hour Groove Alchemy DVD, Stanton presents a historical overview of some of the most important drum grooves in history, showing the basic elements and conceptual development of each groove. He then shows you how to learn from the past and develop your own complete vocabulary for creating new funk grooves and patterns on the drumset. Starting with an in-depth study of the James Brown drummers (especially Clyde Stubblefield and Jabo Starks) and Joseph Zigaboo Modeliste of the Meters, Groove Alchemy goes far beyond a mere history lesson by applying Stanton's concepts for making your own playing more creative, musical, and funky. Topics include using variation and style combination to create new grooves, using rhythmic structures and clave ideas for advanced drum set vocabulary, hi-hat concepts, getting creative with backbeat grooves, a look at how to develop swing and shuffle grooves, and more. Intercut with the educational segments, Stanton s trio also performs new tracks from their latest CD (also called Groove Alchemy, Telarc Records), showing how many of the grooves discussed are applied directly to the music. Bonus features include slow-motion segments of key grooves.
CD $18.98, DVD $29.99
 Jeff Beck - Emotion & Commotion CD - Jeff Beck returns with an eclectic mix of tracks that find the guitar virtuoso accompanied by a handpicked cast of talented musicians, as well as several songs accompanied by a 64-piece orchestra. Rhino unleashes the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's restless genius with EMOTION & COMMOTION.
Beck recorded EMOTION & COMMOTION late last year at Sarm Studios in London with award-winning producers Steve Lipson and Trevor Horn. To create the album s diverse sound, Beck used a number of musicians, including appearances by frequent collaborators Vinnie Colaiuta (drums), Jason Rebello (keyboards), and Tal Wilkenfeld (bass). The album also includes contributions from a trio of singers: Imelda May ('Lilac Wine'), Olivia Safe ('Elegy For Dunkirk'), and Grammy-winner Joss Stone ('I Put A Spell On You' and 'There s No Other Me').
To complement the innovative tones he coaxes from his guitar, Beck recorded with a 64-piece orchestra on songs that range from Puccini's immortal aria 'Nessun Dorma' and Elegy For Dunkirk from the film Atonement to 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' from The Wizard Of Oz and Jeff Buckley's interpretation of 'Corpus Christi Carol.' $18.98
 Trampled By Turtles - PalominoCD - With a sound that s a bracing hybrid of classic American songwriting, bluegrass and folk, this is forceful acoustic music from the land of ice and snow of dark winters, isolation and numbing cold delivered at breakneck pace with the fervor of religion. Without press or radio support or a national release until now, TxT continue to play to sold-out venues nationwide; with 2010 bringing the band for the first time to SxSW, Stagecoach Fest, High Sierra Fest, Wakarusa, DelFest (Bluegrass legend Del McCourey's festival) and more. They re even getting their own star at legendary Minneapolis club First Avenue, where they can regularly sell out two consecutive nights at the 1600-capacity venue. With Palomino, TxT have harnessed their considerable power and are ready to share it with the world. $12.98
 MGMT - Congratulations CD - Congratulations unlocks a new musical world whirling in its own space/time grid infused with hints of music from the past five decades. Produced by MGMT and Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3, E.A.R., Spectrum), Congratulations features Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser, MGMT's core duo, performing with Matt Asti (bass, backing vocals), Will Berman (drums, backing vocals), and James Richardson (guitar, backing vocals), the band's live line-up. Congratulations is the successor to MGMT's Oracular Spectacular, the 2008 debut album. Soulful and complex, Congratulations is a surprising and delightful quantum step forward in MGMT's ongoing pop revolution. $11.98
 Scythian - Live Vol 2 CD - Scythian (sith-ee-yin) is a charismatic group of first generation immigrants (comprised of brothers and friends), whose music ranges from Gypsy to Celtic with Klezmer and rock in between. The band is widely known for their intense, high-energy shows and dynamic crowd interaction. The band members are all classically trained, but thrive on the adrenaline rush of high-voltage, energetic music. Matching this love of energy with the classical precision embodied in the music of their ancestry, this self-proclaimed "Immigrant Road Show" produces a unique experience which grabs the attention of everyone within earshot. $15
Upcoming Events:
April 22-25 - Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival - Pittsboro, NC
April 23-25 - Some Kind of Jam 5 - Schuylkill Haven, PA
May 14-16 - The Hangout Beach, Music & Arts Festival - Gulf Shores, AL
May 21-23 - Smilefest Reunion - Pinnacle, NC
May 28-30 - StrangeCreek - Greenfield, MA
* Look for the HGMN Booth at this event!
Video of the Week:
Garaj Mahal in the studio
Thanks for reading, and have a great week!
Lee Crumpton |
