Only one group can mash up Sheryl Crow’s Soak Up The Sun, Sugar Ray’s Every Morning, and OMC’s How Bizarre and here’s Pomplamoose!
Biography: “The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne” Sneak Peek Clip
Featuring exclusive interviews and archival footage, “Biography: The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne” delves into the many lives and incredible career of the man who has personified rock and roll rebellion for decades. “Biography: The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne” will premieres on Labor Day, Monday, September 7th, at 9pm ET/PT on A&E.
Tears For Fears To Release Super Deluxe Box Set Of Remastered Album ‘The Seeds Of Love’ On October 9
Over thirty years on from its original release, Tears For Fears’ third long-player The Seeds Of Love has taken on mythical status for its scope, ambition, timeless musicality, and the fact that it took over four years to record.
For music fans and audiophiles the world over, the album continues to astound with its depth and sheer audacity, which is why three decades on it, has barely aged a day. As Roland Orzabal puts it, “Out of all our albums, I’d probably rank it highest. I think it surprised a lot of people, a lot of our peers as well, people who maybe we were being compared to in the mid-Eighties.” Curt Smith “The tracks I liked then, I still like now. ‘Woman in Chains,’ ‘Badman’s Song,’ ‘Sowing the Seeds of Love,’ and ‘Advice For The Young At Heart’ have all stuck around. We still play those live.”
The super deluxe box set consists of four CDs and one Blu-Ray, which fully tells the story of how this extraordinary album came to be. The box set includes 22 unreleased tracks from demo sessions, live jams, studio sessions along with a definitive set of b-sides, and rare mixes. Highlights include demos of “Advice For The Young At Heart” with Roland Orzabal singing lead vocal and “Rhythm of Life,” which didn’t make it onto The Seeds of Love and was later given to Oleta Adams for her Circle of One album. The Blu-ray also features a stunning 5.1 mix by Grammy-nominated artist Steven Wilson.
Coming off the back of the ten million-selling Songs From The Big Chair, The first writing sessions for The Seeds Of Love started when the band was touring in 1985, making use of sound checks to sketch the outlines of new songs. Over the next four years, Roland and Curt would work with several producers, engineers, and many musicians before finally deciding to produce the album themselves with assistance from their Songs From The Big Chair engineer Dave Bascombe.
A key person in the making of the album was pianist and singer Oleta Adams, who Roland and Curt had seen play in the bar of their hotel while touring in 1985. She joined the recording sessions in early 1988 along with world-class session players such as drummer Manu Katché and bass player Pino Palladino and would play a massive part in songs such as “Woman In Chains” and “Badman’s Song.” These sessions in 1988 are perhaps the most fascinating tapes unearthed for the boxset. These jams took place at London’s Townhouse studio, and disc four contains around 30 minutes edited down from over 24 hours of unadulterated in-the-studio live performance, exactly as it was performed at the time, complete with chatter, some laughter, and no overdubs. These jams include very different versions of “Woman in Chains,” “Badman’s Song,” “Standing On The Corner Of The Third World,” and “Rhythm of Life.”
While the band was pleased with these sessions, there was still at least another year of further recording, overdubbing, editing, mixing, tweaking and discussion, before the final mix was finished in New York in the summer of 1989.
All of the efforts that went into the making of The Seeds Of Love certainly paid off as it is now hailed as a classic of the time, alongside albums such as Talk Talk’s Spirit Of Eden. The Seeds Of Love was released in the ‘80’s, but it remains anything but an “80’s album.”
THE SEEDS OF LOVE SUPER DELUXE EDITION TRACKLISTING
CD 1 – ORIGINAL ALBUM
NEW REMASTER BY ANDREW WALTER AT ABBEY ROAD
01. Woman In Chains: 6:31
02. Badman’s Song: 8:32
03. Sowing The Seeds Of Love: 6:19
04. Advice For The Young At Heart: 4:50
05. Standing On The Corner Of The Third World: 5:33
06. Swords And Knives: 6:12
07. Year Of The Knife: 7:08
08. Famous Last Words: 4:26
CD 2 – THE SUN
45’s AND B-SIDES
01. Sowing The Seeds Of Love – 7″ Version: 5:43
02. Tears Roll Down: 3:16
03. Woman In Chains – 7″ Version: 5:28
04. Always In The Past: 4:38
05. My Life In The Suicide Ranks: 4:32
06. Woman In Chains – Instrumental: 6:30
07. Advice For The Young At Heart – 7″ Version: 4:49
08. Johnny Panic And The Bible Of Dreams Instrumental: 4:18
09. Music For Tables: 3:32
10. Johnny Panic And The Bible Of Dreams Mix One: 6:22
11. Johnny Panic And The Bible Of Dreams Mix Two: 5:55
12. Sowing The Seeds Of Love – US Radio Edit: 4:04
13. Woman In Chains – US Radio Edit 1: 4:42
14. Advice For The Young At Heart – Italian Radio Edit: 3:40
15. Year Of The Knife – Canadian Single Version: 5:40
16. Johnny Panic And The Bible Of Dreams: 4:17
CD 3 – THE MOON
RADIO EDITS AND EARLY MIXES
01. Year Of The Knife – Overture: 1:47
02. Year Of The Knife – Early Mix – Instrumental: 8:50
03. Sowing The Seeds Of Love – Alternate Mix: 7:22
04. Tears Roll Down – Alternate Mix: 4:07
05. Year Of The Knife – Steve Chase 7″ Remix: 4.29
06. Badman’s Song – Early Mix: 7:56
07. Advice For The Young At Heart – Instrumental: 4:56
08. Year Of The Knife – The Mix: 06:55
09. Johnny Panic And The Bible Of Dreams – Mix One Edit: 3:43
10. Sowing The Seeds Of Love – Early Mix – Instrumental: 6:40
11. Woman In Chains – US Radio Edit 2: 4:19
12. Year Of The Knife – Canadian Single Version – Instrumental: 5:40
13. Famous Last Words – French Radio Edit: 3:07
14. Woman In Chains – Reprise: 6:39
CD 4 – THE WIND
DEMOS, DIVERSIONS AND JAMS
01. Rhythm Of Life – Demo: 5:12
02. Advice For The Young At Heart – Demo: 4:52
03. Swords And Knives – Demo: 3:51
04. Famous Last Words – Demo: 4:12
05. Sowing The Seeds Of Love – Demo – Instrumental: 6:06
06. Badman’s Song – Langer / Winstanley Version – Instrumental: 7:30
07. Woman In Chains – Townhouse Jam: 7:06
08. Broken – Townhouse Jam: 1:37 Tears For Fears
09. Rhythm Of Life – Townhouse Jam: 3:09
10. Badman’s Song – Townhouse Jam: 8:17
11. Badman’s Song – Reprise – Townhouse Jam: 2:50
12. Standing On The Corner Of The Third World – Townhouse Jam: 9:09
BLU RAY – THE RAIN
ORIGINAL ALBUM MIX, NEW REMASTER & STEVEN WILSON 5.1 MIX
01. Woman In Chains: 6:31 (Original album master)
02. Badman’s Song: 8:32 (Original album master)
03. Sowing The Seeds Of Love: 6:19 (Original album master)
04. Advice For The Young At Heart: 4:50 (Original album master)
05. Standing On The Corner Of The Third World: 5:33 (Original album master)
06. Swords And Knives: 6:12 (Original album master)
07. Year Of The Knife: 7:08 (Original album master)
08. Famous Last Words: 4:26 (Original album master)
09. Woman In Chains: 6:30 (New remaster)
10. Badman’s Song: 8:32 (New remaster)
11. Sowing The Seeds Of Love: 6:19 (New remaster)
12. Advice For The Young At Heart: 4:55 (New remaster)
13. Standing On The Corner Of The Third World: 5:33 (New remaster)
14. Swords And Knives: 6:20 (New remaster)
15. Year Of The Knife: 6:55 (New remaster)
16. Famous Last Words: 4:11 (New remaster)
STEVEN WILSON 5.1 MIX
01. Woman In Chains: 6:30
02. Badman’s Song: 8:32
03. Sowing The Seeds Of Love: 6:19
04. Advice For The Young At Heart: 4:55
05. Standing On The Corner Of The Third World: 5:33
06. Swords And Knives: 6:20
07. Year Of The Knife: 6:55
08. Famous Last Words: 4:11
THE SEEDS OF LOVE DELUXE 2CD TRACKLISTING
CD 1 – ORIGINAL ALBUM
NEW REMASTER BY ANDREW WALTER AT ABBEY ROAD
01. Woman In Chains: 6:31
02. Badman’s Song: 8:32
03. Sowing The Seeds Of Love: 6:19
04. Advice For The Young At Heart: 4:50
05. Standing On The Corner Of The Third World: 5:33
06. Swords And Knives: 6:12
07. Year Of The Knife: 7:08
08. Famous Last Words: 4:26
CD 2 – THE SUN
45’s AND B-SIDES
01. Sowing The Seeds Of Love – 7″ Version: 5:43
02. Tears Roll Down: 3:16
03. Woman In Chains – 7″ Version: 5:28
04. Always In The Past: 4:38
05. My Life In The Suicide Ranks: 4:32
06. Woman In Chains – Instrumental: 6:30
07. Advice For The Young At Heart – 7″ Version: 4:49
08. Johnny Panic And The Bible Of Dreams Instrumental: 4:18
09. Music For Tables: 3:32
10. Johnny Panic And The Bible Of Dreams Mix One: 6:22
11. Johnny Panic And The Bible Of Dreams Mix Two: 5:55
12. Sowing The Seeds Of Love – US Radio Edit: 4:04
13. Woman In Chains – US Radio Edit 1: 4:42
14. Advice For The Young At Heart – Italian Radio Edit: 3:40
15. Year Of The Knife – Canadian Single Version: 5:40
16. Johnny Panic And The Bible Of Dreams: 4:17
Tear For Fears – Roland Orzabal (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Curt Smith (vocals, bass, keyboards) formed in Bath, England 1981. Beyond selling 30 million albums worldwide, performing to countless sold-out audiences, and winning various awards, the duo’s DNA remains embedded within three generations of artists on both subtle and overt levels.
Quietly casting a shadow over rock, hip-hop, electronic dance music, indie, and beyond, Kanye West interpolated “Memories Fade” on “The Coldest Winter” from the seminal 808s & Heartbreak, The Weekend infused “Pale Shelter” into Starboy’s “Secrets,” David Guetta sampled “Change” for “Always,” and Drake utilized “Ideas as Opiates” as the foundation for “Lust For Life,” while Ally Brooke Hernandez, Adam Lambert, and Gary Jules recorded popular covers of “Mad World” and Disturbed took on “Shout,” to name a few. Lorde cut a haunting cover of “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” for the Soundtrack of the blockbuster The Hunger Games – Catching Fire, which Tears For Fears gleefully would use as intro music live and thus bring everything full circle.
Meanwhile, classic songs figure prominently everywhere from The Wire and Donnie Darko to Straight Outta Compton and Mr. Robot. Long before, they became a cultural cornerstone Tears For Fears simply consisted of two school friends growing up in Bath, Somerset UK.
Representing an inimitable intersection of pop palatability, clever and cognizant lyricism, guitar bombast, and new wave innovation, their 1983 debut The Hurting yielded anthems such as “Mad World,” “Change,” and “Pale Shelter,” reaching RIAA Gold status in the United States. 1985’s Songs from the Big Chair became a watershed moment for the group and music at large. Boasting the signature BRIT Award-winning “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” “Shout,” “Head over Heels,” “Mothers Talk,” and “I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording),” it went quintuple-platinum and captured #1 on the Billboard Top 200. Slant dubbed it one of “The Best Albums of the 1980s,” it featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, and Consequence of Sound awarded it a rare A+ rating in a 20-year retrospective.
1989’s Seeds of Love proved to be Roland and Curt’s last collaboration together until Everybody Loves A Happy Ending in 2004, which rekindled the creative fire between them.
The band engaged in a three-year touring whirlwind across North America, Japan, South Korea, Manila, and South America beginning in 2010. 2013 saw them return with their first recorded music in a decade: a cover of Arcade Fire’s “Ready to Start.” The band returned once more in 2017 with “I Love You But I’m Lost” a track written and recorded with the multi-platinum British act Bastille taken from the “Rule The World” best-of collection, which once more catapulted the band back to the upper echelon of the UK album charts.
With more new material and further reissues on the horizon, Roland and Curt remain as loud as ever, while yet another generation gets ready to “Shout” with them all over again.
OLG Play Stage Announces New Shows For American Express Experiences Concert Series
As part of the entertainment line-up at OLG Play Stage, American Express Experiences Concert Series will offer live music concerts at the drive-in venue located at Ontario Place, including new performances just announced from The Trews with special guest Crown Lands on August 28, Tim Hicks on August 30 and The Sheepdogs on September 17. With the city as a backdrop, fans will be able to safely gather together to watch and enjoy their favourite artists. Tickets for these upcoming events will be available to the general public on Ticketmaster.ca starting on Friday, August 21 at 10 a.m. local time. American Express Cardmembers can also enjoy Front Of The Line presale access on Thursday, August 20 at 10 a.m. local time.
Additional concert dates as a part of American Express Experiences Concert Series at OLG Play Stage will continue to be announced. The Reklaws were the first performance at OLG Play Stage on August 13, to a sold out crowd.
For the safety of our fans and staff, no fan is permitted to leave their vehicle except for the use of the restroom facilities located on the property. Masks or appropriate face coverings must be worn outside of the vehicle and fans must abide by all social distancing guidelines. Tickets, frequently asked questions and more information are available at OLGPlayStage.com.
Chicago Indie Rock Outfit bluefront Ride the Aftershocks of Sophomore Release — Available Now!
Chicago-based indie rocker Alan Zreczny and his band bluefront are still riding the Aftershocks following the release of their sophomore album this spring, including top track “It’s Not Over Yet” and its brand new video — available now!
Narrative poems set to spirited melodies, Aftershocks is a journey into the reverberation of emotional aftershocks enveloped in shimmering melodies and instrumentation deftly demonstrated by bandmates Jason Steele, Nick Kabat, and Mark Burns.
A lawyer-turned-singer/songwriter, Zreczny first picked up a guitar at the age of ten, having grown up in a house always filled with music and music lessons. His love for music and writing remained under the surface while he went to college, law school and grad school, and continued as he worked as both corporate in-house counsel and later at a law firm.
The thoughts about creating music were ever present: “I always thought of being a musician and writing songs as the most fulfilling modes of self-expression. And then, a terrible break-up happened.”
Inspired, Zreczny started writing and hasn’t looked back since. Unless, of course, it’s for valuable songwriting supply, which is the case for “It’s Not Over Yet.”
“Looking back, things are a lot more clear,” he reveals, marvelling a bit. “Let’s just say I was in one of those cliche relationships where it’s quite tumultuous and there are more breakups and ‘on-and-offs’ than you can count, or even care to admit…
“Anyway,” he continues, “that’s what’s going on here.”
“I just couldn’t see well enough to stop, and I couldn’t let go. I still believed (in the relationship) — or at least, thought I did. It’s funny, at least to me, because when you see this exact thing going on with a friend, it seems so obvious and you wonder what your friend is doing. All you can do is wait it out with them.
“Well, I think I discovered that it’s not so easy to discern the true state of affairs when it’s happening to you. This is pretty good evidence I was quite clearly in the midst of ‘it.’
“I would like to say there was ‘no more,’ but… There was,” he continues. “The irony that in an arc of songs I wrote, that the title of one is “Our Last Goodbye,” which is about the same person in “It’s Not Over Yet,” is not lost on me.”
Aftershocks was recorded at Electrical Audio by Scott Steinman, mixed at GardenView Sound Studio by Scott Steinman for Studiomedia Recording, and mastered by Matthew Barnhart at Chicago Mastering Services; it follows Zreczny’s debut, The Arbor Sessions.
Zreczny and bluefront have performed at Uncommon Ground, The Elbo Room, The Gallery Cabaret, The Red Line Tap, Old Town Art Fair, Subterranean, The House Cafe, and The Cubby Bear, among others, and appeared on WGN Radio and the Chicago Acoustic Underground podcast.
Aftershocks and “It’s Not Over Yet” are available now.
Sudbury/Toronto’s Alt-Pop Artist & Producer MIKOH Peels Back Social Fakery in New Video for “La La Land”
Singer, songwriter and producer Mikoh removes the filter and does away with the facade found in social media and social climbing alike in her newest alt-pop single, “La La Land” — available now.
“This song was written with the intention of commenting on how what we see on social media affects us in ways we might not understand,” the multi-talented French-Canadian artist says. “I wanted to talk about the online culture that enables some to feel like they are unworthy.
“It’s also a commentary on the ‘fast life,’” she continues. “The ‘partying’ and surrounding yourself with people that are only around for clout. It’s an interesting space to be in and, although it can seem like fun, it usually comes at a price.
“These two situations affect the other, and the cycle of false perception often leads to a misconstrued idea of what life is really about — especially for young people that are heavily influenced by media.”
“La La Land” is Mikoh’s most recent single from her Strange Lullabies project. Decidedly dark and dramatic, the self-produced track is the fourth in line since her debut release, “Bright Eyes” earlier this year, and was engineered in collaboration with The Orange Lounge’s Anthony Jordan (Majid Jordan, Roy Woods, Pressa).
Classically trained, the Sudbury-born, Toronto-based artist’s growing archive of arrangements are rife with evocative, hypnotizing textures accompanied by the kind of reflective insights that can best be gleaned from the wake of a tumultuous coming-of-age.
No better place is this heard than “La La Land.”
“It was written during a time where I realized that releasing music and being a part of that cycle as a part of the job would mean I’d need to take on some responsibility to protect an impressionable audience and be conscious of my output,” she considers. “I wanted to voice my opinion that, although the perception of others can seem beautiful and glamorous, it’s only superficial. There’s always more to someone’s life than it seems; nothing is ever perfect, even if it seems like it.”
“La La Land” is available now.
1-minute tip for artists: Boosted Posts and Data.
Your potential audience – fans and industry are out there. Go get them.
Winnipeg, MB’s Alt-Metal Prog-Rockers HELFREYA Merge Love & Death in Debut LP Shieldmaiden — Available Now
Canadian alt-metal prog-rockers Helfreya beckon audiences down a sonically daring tunnel of psychedelic doom-jazz in this, their debut breakthrough release Shieldmaiden — available now.
Fronted by vocalist Violet Vopni, of Metis and Icelandic descent, Helfreya rounds out with guitarist Keith Meyer, bassist Russ Maskus, and drummer Travis Stephenson. The Winnipeg-based band draws on Norse and Celtic mythology in their songwriting, and the name is derived from two Norse Goddesses: Hel, the Goddess of death, and Freya, the Goddess of love.
“We’re the duality between light and dark,” the band says, “and the enigmatic amalgamation of love and death.
“We take fans on a strange adventure.”
“This is an album that has been over 20 years in the making,” Vopni shares. “Keith, Russ and Travis had spent decades crafting their instrumental sound in their former punk rock band, Wormhole.”
“We were just waiting for the perfect singer/songwriter to join the project,” Meyer offers.
“After a few failed attempts, we met Violet and something instantly clicked,” Maskus adds.
“For my part, I’d also spent decades crafting my songwriting and vocal style, but had trouble finding the right musicians to accompany the lyrics and melodies,” Vopni continues. “After my own few failed attempts, this was a perfect match up.”
The result is Helfreya and their debut LP, Shieldmaiden; while there are legacy creations on the release — such as “Dreaming,” originally written in 1996 by Vopni when she was 11 years old — the album’s title track was the first song she wrote for the new collaborative efforts. Quickly becoming a fan-favourite, it proved to them something special was afoot.
“The album is a mix of heavier and softer sounds, and brings to light each band member’s personal musical tastes while showcasing their talents,” Stephenson says.
Strange adventure, indeed.
Shieldmaiden is available now.
Indianapolis’ Hip Hop/R&B Artist/Producer KEITH PHELPS Questions & Translates Signs of the Times into Fifth Album ‘Stimulus Package’
Hip hop R&B artist and producer Keith Phelps has channelled his visionary insights into prescient lyricism with this, his timely new album Stimulus Package and premiere single “Need 2 Know” — both available now.
The multi-talented musician and creator recently toured as the keyboardist for Haley Reinhart (Season 10 American Idol finalist), and can also be seen playing alongside R&B legend Jon B, or with his band, The Conglomerate. In 2017, he scored Nathan Cheney’s film, A Fatherless Generation, starring George Lopez, Terry Crews, Aisha Tyler, and Bret Ernst.
“I create ‘audible chicken and noodle soup for the soul,’” Phelps says of his sound. “I’m constantly creating music with the intent to aid the inner well-being of the listener.
“Stimulus Package and ‘Need 2 Know’ are part of that. The album is meant to uplift, but also address the heartache of the global pandemic and social injustices plaguing the world.
“It’s literally supposed to be the soundtrack that would get you through this unprecedented time.”
His fifth album release, Stimulus Package was written and produced as Phelps’ personal processing of the year’s tumultuous time. “COVID-19 really put my back up against the wall,” he recalls. “I knew that, whether the gig was local or beyond, we musicians were not going to be able to go back to making our living the way we did before the pandemic.
“Amid uncertainty, fear, and anxiety, I consciously set out to make a project with intentions of changing my life forever. Furthermore, I really wanted to make something that would give people hope to combat the constant barrage of negative news within the media.
“‘Need 2 Know’ could be argued as a ‘conspiracy theory anthem,’” Phelps considers of the track, which features Gerald Law II. “But more than anything, they are just urban think pieces that encourage people to ask the next questions with regards to the information they’re receiving.
“I’m all about providing additional schools of thought that inspire others to challenge or verify, or possibly change their life’s perspective.”
Phelps suggests the same could be said of the album’s title track, “Stimulus Package”; the remaining songs on the seven-track release round out the artist’s signature sage song-craft.
“Songs like ‘2-Step Dip’ and ‘Wolf’ lightheartedly highlight the ‘first world’ social media commentary that follows our ‘inconveniences’ due to our current global predicament,” he offers. “The unassuming crown jewel of this project, however, comes from the Kalita Records sample of ‘Take A Moment’ by Carrie Cleveland in ‘Love Me.’ I unknowingly, predictively, and genuinely wrote this song two months before the global ignition of the Black Lives Matter movement and what many would consider to be a new beginning for racial and social reform.”
Keith Phelps’ Stimulus Package (2020) follows previous album releases Any Given Phriday (2018), Real.Beautiful.MUSIC (2015), PHiNDiNG Myself (2014), and his debut, Phelps Phriday Mixtape (2013). Early 2020 also brought the single “Never Thought” with Dayve Stewart.
Now, amidst a global pandemic where live music as we once experienced it is paused indefinitely, Phelps is holding dear to Stimulus Package as both a lighthouse of sorts for his audience, industry peers, and — most definitely — himself.
“Silver Lining,’ while serving as the last track, was the first of the songs written and produced for this project,” he shares. “It was specifically written to express how I felt as an entertainment professional.
“The timing of the pandemic seemed unbelievably disappointing and almost unfair. I was just coming into a newfound confidence with regard to my ambitions and artistic efforts.
“‘Silver Lining’ became my personal beacon of hope.”
Stimulus Package is available now.