2023

April 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the release of David Bowie's ALADDIN SANE, which was released only ten months after his breakthrough album THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS. The title track and songs such as 'Panic In Detroit,' 'Lady Grinning Soul' and 'Time' marked a significant musical progression from its predecessor, adding brass, woodwind, soulful backing vocals and the distinctive piano playing of Mike Garson.<br/> <br/>ALADDIN SANE will be issued as a limited edition 50th anniversary half-speed mastered LP and a picture disc LP pressed from the same master.<br/> <br/>The album was preceded by two singles 'The Jean Genie' and 'Drive-In Saturday', peaking in the U.K. singles chart at numbers 2 and 3 respectively, and was the first time he topped the U.K. album charts. It also marked Bowie's debut on the U.S. charts reaching the top 20 album chart there, where an edited version of 'Time' was released as a single. <br/> <br/>The cover of ALADDIN SANE has become one of the most striking and memorable images in rock n roll history and was rumoured to be the most expensive produced up to that point. The cover photograph was taken by Brian Duffy, who would also shoot the sleeves for 1979's LODGER and 1980's SCARY MONSTERS (AND SUPER CREEPS) and features Bowie with the iconic red and blue lightning bolt make-up, an image which has staked out an indelible spot in the planet's cultural lexicon. <br/> <br/>This new pressing of ALADDIN SANE was cut on a customised late Neumann VMS80 lathe with fully recapped electronics from 192kHz restored masters of the original master tapes, with no additional processing on transfer. The half-speed was cut by John Webber at AIR Studios.<br/> <br/>Bowie described ALADDIN SANE as 'Ziggy Goes To Washington: Ziggy under the influence of America'. The album was to be Ziggy Stardust's last stand, and the persona was laid to rest three months after the album's release in July 1973 at the infamous final show with the Spiders From Mars at London's Hammersmith Odeon.

Sparks: The girl is crying in her latte (Clear) [Vinyl LP]

För första gången sedan 2005 bjuds vi på nyskrivet Stones-material! Det känns som om man inte nog kan prisa Stones betydelse inom rocken, de låtar de skrivit och deras fortfarande så energiska konserter. <br/><br/>Mick Jagger är och förblir den ultimate frontmannen; det finns ingen som äger en scen som Sir Mick. Ronnie Wood med sitt sneda leende och perfekta kompande. Och så den största av dom alla... Keefan! Det finns liksom ingen coolare än Keith Richards, alla kategorier. Den avlidne <br/>Charlie Watts finns också med på ett hörn, han spelar på två av spåren på detta album.

Rival Sons: Lightbringer [Gatefold / Vinyl LP]

Silent Skies: Dormant [Gatefold / 2 Vinyl LP]

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Petrodragonic. [2 Vinyl LP]

FEATURES 25 UNRELEASED AND RARE TRACKS AND MORE THAN THREE AND A HALF HOURS OF NEVER-BEFORE-HEARD COMPOSITIONS, COVERS, AND JAMS FROM 1970 WITH CORE GROUP OF AYNSLEY DUNBAR, DON "SUGARCANE" HARRIS, IAN UNDERWOOD, AND MAX BENNETT<br/> <br/>THREE-DISC EXPANDED DELUXE EDITION CONTAINS OUTTAKES, ALTERNATE EDITS, AND UNEDITED MASTERS FROM LITTLE KNOWN RECORDING SESSIONS<br/> <br/> Produced and compiled by Ahmet Zappa and Joe Travers, Funky Nothingness will be released June 30 via Zappa Records/UMe in a variety of formats, including a three-disc expanded deluxe edition that presents the 11-track album on disc 1 along with two discs of outtakes, alternate edits, unedited masters of songs from the era ("Transylvania Boogie," "The Clap" and "Chunga's Revenge" among them), plus several epic improvisations, and other "bonus nothingness." An accompanying 28-page booklet includes photos from the recording sessions by photographer John Williams plus illuminating liner notes and an individual track-by-track by Travers. Disc 1 features Zappa's vintage mixes alongside several modern mixes by Craig Parker Adams who also mixed the bonus material. All audio was mastered by John Polito at Audio Mechanics. In all, the 25-track collection includes 23 unreleased tracks totaling nearly three and a half hours of never-before-heard music. The expanded edition of Funky Nothingness will also be available digitally for streaming and download, in both standard and hi-res audio (96kHz/24-bit).<br/> <br/>The Funky Nothingness album will also be available as a double LP on 180-gram black vinyl , pressed at Optimal, with lacquers cut by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering. The vinyl will consist of Zappa's vintage mixes of the tracks. <br/>Beginning today, fans can hear the previously unreleased track, "Work With Me Annie/Annie Had a Baby," whichmarries two 1954 hits by Hank Ballard & The Midnighters. The medley of "Work With Me Annie," written by Ballard, combined with its answer song, "Annie Had A Baby," written by Henry Glover and Sydney Nathan, features vocals by Don "Sugarcane" Harris, who rose to fame in the '50s as one-half of Don & Dewey. Zappa, who was a fan of the R&B duo, seized the opportunity to perform classic tunes from the genre with Harris during these sessions. <br/> <br/>Harris also takes center stage as a vocalist on "Love Will Make Your Mind Go Wild," which delivers classic soul balladry with a standout violin solo at the end. Zappa takes lead vocals on the nearly 12-and-a-half-minute-long rendition of Lightnin' Slim's "I'm a Rollin' Stone." This recording would go on to serve as the genesis for the iconic "Stink-Foot" that closes Zappa's 1974 album, Apostrophe(') as he would eventually wipe his vocals from the multi-track master, save the drum, violin and bass track, and overdub new guitars, vocals and sound effects to create something entirely different. <br/> <br/>All three discs include takes of "Chunga's Revenge," which would serve as the title track to Zappa's actual follow-up to Hot Rats, released in October 1970. The "Basement Version," found on the main album, was recorded in Zappa's basement at home in Laurel Canyon using a 4-channel quadrophonic set-up, nearly three years before the format was made available to the consumer. Zappa then created a stereo mix down from the quad track which is what is included here.