Turntable purists have a friend in Coldplay, as next week the band releases an import-only box set of singles on vinyl but not CD. Entitled simply The Singles 1999-2006, the 15 seven-inch records in the Parlophone project feature plenty of live B sides and the hard-to-find Blue Room EP split into two singles.
This coming Tuesday another tasty box set hits store shelves with Shout Factory's release of The British Beat: Best of the '60s. The three-CD set is the companion piece to the PBS pledge-drive program that debuted earlier this month. Fifty-seven tracks pack the set, with time-capsule-perfect selections from The Zombies, The Kinks, The Walker Brothers, Donovan, Dusty Springfield, Sandie Shaw, Lulu, and many more.
The Amoeba Records retail store, a West Coast destination for music junkies, is stretching its wings with the launch of its own record label this year. At last week's SXSW festival in Austin, the new label showcased one of its first releases in a special listening party: The Flying Burrito Brothers Live at the Avalon from 1969, the first in its Gram Parsons Archives series and a rare concert recording recently found in the massive personal vaults of the Grateful Dead. Also due on the Amoeba Records imprint is San Francisco singer/songwriter Brandi Shearer.
Avril Lavinge is gearing up for the release of her upcoming album The Best Damn Thing by appearing in the new Random House comic book Make 5 Wishes. The two-part comic tells the tale of a magic Web site that connects the story's heroine to danger, demons, and eventually the pop star.
Television Alert:
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno welcomes Paolo Nutini on Thursday and Guster on Friday; The Late Show with David Letterman hosts the Kings of Leon on Monday and Macy Gray on Tuesday; Late Night with Conan O'Brien boasts Lindsey Buckingham on Thursday overnight, Panic! At the Disco on Monday overnight, and Mastadon on Tuesday overnight; The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson presents Hinder this evening overnight and Joss Stone on Monday overnight; Jimmy Kimmel Live captures The Kooks on Thursday overnight and Evanescence on Monday overnight; and Saturday Night Live's musical guest this weekend is Carrie Underwood.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, March 27:
... and like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change.
Brett Anderson - Brett Anderson (Drowned in Sound) import-only new solo album from the former Suede singer
Antelope - Reflector (Dischord) anticipated DC punk featuring Justin Moyer of El Guapo and Edie Sedgwick fame, with members of the Vertabrates
Asleep at the Wheel - Reinventing the Wheel (Bismeaux) all new with Ray Benson and two new vocalists
Autovein - Bullets & Bruises (Outlook) radio-friendly hard rock produced by GGGarth Richardson
John Butler Trio - Grand National (Jarrah/Atlantic) with guest Money Mark Nishita
Todd Carey - Watching Waiting (Inspiration Factory) second album from this smooth singer/songwriter from Chicago
Clutch - From Beale Street to Oblivion (DRT)
Bryan Cox - Motive (Moist Music) two-CD set of thumping techno-house originals and remixes of tracks by Hertz, Black Shadow, and Filtergrinder
Daphne Loves Derby - Good Night, Witness Light (Outlook) on tour now with Waking Ashland
Denver Gentlemen - Introducing the Denver Gentlemen (Smooch) reissue of this long-lost debut with roots to 16 Horsepower
Arthur Dodge - The Perfect Face (Remedy Records) laid-back solo album from the Lawrence, Kansas, singer/songwriter, featuring a lonesome cover of Tom Waits' "San Diego Serenade"
The Fall - Reformation Post T.L.C. (Narnack) all new, featuring bonus video footage of the band's CMJ show last year
Marc Ford - Weary & Wired (Blues Bureau) new from the former Black Crowes guitarist
The Four Level - Stars from Aircraft (BBS) adventurous electronic pop from the duo of producer Pieter K and vocalist Amy Jacob
Glös - Harmonium (Lovitt) featuring former members of Engine Down
Robert Gomez - Brand New Towns (Bella Union) cool solo album from the Latin Pimps founder and former circus performer
Good Charlotte - Good Morning Revival (Daylight/Epic) with guest Sunyster Gates of Avenged Sevenfold
Macy Gray - Big (Geffen) with guests will.i.am, Fergie, and Nas
John Lee Hooker - The Best of Friends (Shout Factory) with Ben Harper, Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, and Carlos Santana
Kaiser Chiefs - Yours Truly, Angry Mob (Universal)
Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future (Rinse/Geffen) get your pogo on in this manic, frenzied debut of heady "new rave" from the UK, produced by James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver - More Behind the Picture Than the Wall (SSK Recordings) new from the band honored as the International Bluegrass Music Association's "Vocal Group of the Year" for six years, featuring a cover of Dixie & Tom T. Hall's "Can You Hear Me Now"
Let's Go Sailing - The Chaos in Order (Yardley Pop) tender, pensive pop from classically trained Shana Levy, with guests from Silversun Pickups, Possum Dixon, and Irving
Machine Head - The Blackening (Roadrunner) receiving a 10-out-of-10 score in Metal Hammer magazine
Maximo Park - "Our Velocity" (Warp) new single from the upcoming album Our Earthly Pleasures
Stevie Nicks - Crystal Visions: The Very Best of Stevie Nicks (Reprise) also available as a CD/DVD package
Night Kills the Day - The Study of Man (Score Records) on tour now with Electric Six
Other Men - Wake Up Swimming (Robcore) the first new music in 11 years from three original members of Heavy Vegetable, featuring Rob Crow of Pinback
Ozomatli - Don't Mess With the Dragon (Concord) new from the nine-piece Latin-rock-jam collective from L.A.
Grant-Lee Phillips - Strangelet (Zoe/Rounder) with guest Peter Buck of R.E.M.
Prodigy - Return of the Mac (Koch) the first of two solo albums released this year from the former Mobb Deep MC
Corinne Bailey Rae - Live in New York (Capitol) import-only, featuring a concert from Webster Hall in New York and a bonus DVD concert filmed at St. Luke's in London by the BBC
Tony Stevens - Don't Blame Me ... (Angel Air) new solo album from the Savoy Brown and Foghat bassist, featuring cool covers of The Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb" and the Beach Boys' "Sail on Sailor"
Team Shadetek - Pale Fire (Sound Ink) grimy dance-hall beats with guest MCs Red Dragon, Predator, Skepta, and Baby Blak
Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders - The Outskirts of Your Heart (Rankoutsider Records) rootsy, passionate two-CD set from The Lazy Cowgirls founder, featuring the Rolling Stones-esque "Your Heart, Your Soul, & Your Ass"
various artists - Gypsy Groove (Putumayo) globe-hopping collection featuring Balkan Beat Box, the Amsterdam Klezmer Band, and !DelaDap
