Saturday, July 31, 2010

Carole King & James Taylor's Live At The Troubadour climbed 2 places to #19 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers' Mojo dropped 3 spots to #22. Sting's Symphonicities fell 17 places to #23. Ozzy Osbourne's Scream retained the #26 spot. Glee Cast's Glee: The Music, Journey To Regionals climbed 9 places to #32. Newsboys' Born Again dropped 31 spots to #35. Sarah McLachlan's Laws Of Illusion fell 15 places to #38. Glee Cast's Glee: The Music, Vol. 3: Showstoppers dropped 6 spots to #40.
Kylie Minogue's "All The Lovers" climbed a spot to #3 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs chart.
Kylie Minogue's Aphrodite dropped 2 spots to #4 on the U.K. Albums chart. Earth, Wind & Fire's The Greatest Hits debuted at #9. Sting's Symphonicities debuted at #30. Glee Cast's Glee The Music: Season One Vol. 1 fell 7 places to #33. Gorillaz's Plastic Beach dropped 7 spots to #36. AC/DC's Iron Man 2 soundtrack fell 6 places to #39.
Kylie Minogue's "All The Lovers" retained the #12 spot on the U.K. Singles chart.
Al Jarreau's condition has improved over the week. His managers say that he will continue to undergo tests at La Timone hospital in Marseille, France and they hope he will be able to resume his tour shortly.
A-ha guitarist/keyboardist Magne Furuholmen recently told Norway's Magasinet newspaper that he's been suffering from a heart disease over the last 11 years which has caused dizziness and heart rhythm failure. If it wasn't watched carefully, it could have led to many more severe issues. He has also talked about suffering apparent seizures during the first two South American tour dates this year. This has led many to believe that his health and personality conflicts within the band have ended the group's 25 year career.
Claudia Brücken will see the double-CD reissue of her 1991 solo album, Love: And A Million Other Things, in the U.K. on Aug. 16th via Cherry Red.
John Foxx's new studio album, D.N.A., is due out Oct. 11th in the U.K. The set will contain an additional DVD that contains visual interpretations of the tracks he collaborated on with several independent film makers.
Kim Wilde's new single, "Lights Down Low," will be released on Aug. 13th and her new album, Come Out And Play, is expected out on Aug. 27th in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Jason Donovan will see the reissue of his 1989 album, Ten Good Reasons, and 1990's Between The Lines reissued in expanded double-CD editions on Sept. 6th in the U.K.
Nick Cave has reportedly been enlisted by producer Ed Pressman to rewrite the script for the upcoming film The Crow.
Edwyn Collins plans to release the title track of his upcoming 7th solo album, Losing Sleep, as a single on Sept. 13th. The album will come out the same day in the U.K.
For several years Plastic Bertrand [born Roger Jouret] has been fighting a lawsuit by producer Lou Deprijck over who originally sang on the 1977 hit "Ca Plane Pour Moi." After a recent court linguistics expert noted the difference in accents, Jouret has admitted on July 28th that Deprijck was the vocalist on that as well as the first 4 albums (which include 1980's L'Album and 1981's Plastiquez Vos Baffles.) He also said that Deprijck (the producer on those albums) continued the deception with the promise that they would later release a version with Jouret's vocals.
Reverend Horton Heat will celebrate their 25th anniversary with a new live DVD to be filmed on Aug. 12th at San Francisco's Fillmore.
A recent photo of the surviving members of The Cars in a messy studio with their instruments surrounding them has led to rumors that the band may be reuniting. The band members have been a little evasive in their answers about a possible reunion.

Social Distortion have announced that their new studio album will be titled Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes when released via Epitaph Records in November.
John Lennon's 70th birthday will be celebrated on Oct. 9th. 3 time capsules are being created that will preserve and store several items by and about the artist to be opened on the same date in 2040. There is also talk about immortalizing the late Beatle on a commemorative U.K. coin (although, they are asking the public to choose between him, Jane Austen, Walter Raleigh, Douglas Bader, Emmeline Pankhurst and John Logie Baird. Lennon was in 4th.)
Recovering producer/musician Daniel Lanois recently told Rolling Stone that he is mixing songs for Neil Young's new album. The two had recorded some tracks together earlier this year. Meanwhile, Lanois' recovery after his motorcycle accident is progressing well.
Soundgarden's previously unreleased song, "Black Rain," will appear on the upcoming Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock game due out in September. The song is also rumored to appear on a new 'best of' for the band.
Michael Jackson fans will see the first 10 new songs from the singer's vaults surface in November. More than 100 completed and unreleased tracks (that included recent collaborations) were found after Jackson's death and the recordings are expected to surface on many more upcoming releases.
It was almost 25 years ago when a cast of legendary Los Angeles musicians, writers and actors (including X's John Doe, Exene Cervenka, Dave Alvin and Kevin Costner) shot a short 20-minute silent film as a tribute to the classic one-reel Westerns. Well, that film is finally seeing the light of day at BadDayMovie.com. You can download the film and pay what you think it was worth to see it via the site. A trailer can be seen below.

Former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman will release his new solo album, Bad D.N.A., in Japan on Aug. 25th.
Deadline.com reports that Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese are teaming up on a rock and roll drama for HBO under the tentative title A History Of Music. The show will focus on two friends and their 40 years in the music business. They previously worked on the documentary, Shine A Light.
Set the Tivo for Aug. 6th, Bon Jovi fans, as they are scheduled to appear on The Ellen Degeneres Show. Meanwhile, a few photos that the band aren't so proud of have been leaked from the upcoming book about their early years by their former manager.
A special edition of Rob Zombie's Hellbilly Deluxe 2 album will be released on Sept. 28th containing 3 brand new songs and a reimagining of "The Man Who Laughs."
Jackson Browne's 1999 home video, Going Home, will be re-issued on DVD on Aug. 17th via Eagle Rock. The documentary meets live performance set includes interviews and guest appearances by David Crosby, Graham Nash, The Eagles, Jennifer Warnes and Bonnie Raitt.
Jayhawks founding member Mark Olson has released his new solo album, Many Colored Kite, via Ryko.
A star-studded Ronnie James Dio tribute album is expected next spring which will raise funds for the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund.
Vocalist Joe LeSte of Bang Tango has told Sleaze Roxx that he didn't receive a call from his former bandmates prior to them forming Bang Tango Redux with another vocalist for recent tour dates. LeSte has said that he'd be up for performing a few dates with them but he's focused on the next Bang Tango album (which has been delayed due to a change in guitarist and a need to re-record the guitar tracks.) Former guitarist Mark Knight told Sleaze Roxx awhile back that they tried to contact the singer about a 20 year reunion for their Psycho Cafe album and never heard back (leading to Bang Tango Redux.)
Yazoo's double-CD, Reconnected Live, will be released on Sept. 28th. The set was recorded during their reunion tour during the summer of 2008.
A 2-DVD set, Cry Tough, will be released on Aug. 10th via Eagle Rock Entertainment collecting several performances by guitarist/singer-songwriter Nils Lofgren.
Bad Religion will release their 15th studio album, The Dissent Of Man, on Sept. 28th. The first single, "The Devil In Stitches," can be heard at their MySpace page.
Bret Michaels is scheduled to perform, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," on the Aug. 4th episode of NBC's America's Got Talent. Meanwhile, his new VH1 series, Bret Michaels: Life As You Know It, is set to debut this fall.
Former Hanoi Rocks vocalist Michael Monroe will release a new live solo album, Another Night In The Sun, on Sept. 27th. The performance was recorded earlier this month at Helsinki's Tavasta Club during a private show.
Y&T original bassist Phil Kennemore was reportedly ordered home by doctors to rest and undergo treatment. The band are currently on tour and Brad Lang has been brought in to continue U.S. dates.
A year ago, Ian Astbury said that there will not be any more traditional albums by The Cult in the future. The first evidence of that is the release of a new single, "Everyman And Woman Is A Star," which will be released exclusively for 2 weeks via iTunes in a 4-song "capsule" in the fall. The capsule will later span various media formats from vinyl, digital, USB, CD and DVD.
Methods Of Mayhem release their new album, A Public Disservice Announcement, on Sept. 21st via Roadrunner Records/Loud & Proud.
Blackmore's Night release their new studio album, Autumn Sky, on Sept. 3rd via Spinefarm/Universal. The disc is inspired and dedicated to Ritchie Blackmore and wife Candice Night's first child, Autumn Esmerelda, who was born in May.
Former Toto guitarist Steve Lukather has announced that his new solo album, All's Well That Ends Well, will be released in the U.K. on Oct. 11th.
Original Fear bassist Derf Scratch [born Frederick Milner] has reportedly passed away on July 28th after a long illness. Scratch was with the band for their 1982 debut album, Fear, before getting fired by the band the following year but would see his contribution to the song "Let's Have A War" included in the Repo Man soundtrack in 1984.
Ben Keith [born Bennett Keith Schaeufele], 73, died of a heart attack while staying at Neil Young's Northern California ranch on July 26th. Keith's earliest notable work was playing steel guitar on Patsy Cline's 1961 hit, "I Fall To Pieces." In 1971, Keith first worked with Young on the Harvest album and would continue to collaborate with him until his passing. Keith recorded with Young, Willie Nelson, Don Michael Sampson and Warren Zevon during the 1980s.
Vocalist Willie Albert Goodman, 67, of Ray, Goodman & Brown died of heart failure at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey on July 26th. The trio released 5 albums during the 1980s which included several R&B hits as well as a #5 U.S. hit in 1979, "Special Lady."
Upcoming releases next week include: Los Lobos - Tin Can Trust, Dr. John - Tribal and Level 42 - Living It Up