The clip is included in the 1965 documentary Ladies and Gentlemen… Mr. Leonard Cohen,
Anna Sofia reveals stunning new EP Broken Perfection out today
Today, 17 year old rising singer-songwriter Anna Sofia continues to build buzz around her name with the reveal of sophomore EP, Broken Perfection. Lead by stand out focus track “Don’t Play Pretend,” the EP is another glimpse into the stunning ability of Anna Sofia, a newcomer just as comfortable creating gorgeous sparse indie in “Either Way” and blissed out pop in “Happy For You.” Working with long time collaborator Jeff Hazin and Frank Dukes ( Drake, Taylor Swift), Anna Sofia has been earmarked as one to watch, with support coming from the likes of Wonderland, Complex, American Songwriter, IDOLATOR and more. Broken Perfection is an exciting glimpse into what comes next for Anna Sofia.
At just 17, the Canadian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has won critical acclaim, millions of streams and legions of dedicated fans for one simple reason: she’s being herself. Her music is not the result of focus groups, marketing or following trends. There’s no hindsight and no lecturing. She’s just an artist living in the moment, reflecting life back to the same people coming of age and navigating the drama of becoming an adult – with sophisticated but immediate indie meets R&B bangers that are totally free of pretense and bullshit, singing directly from the heart of the Gen Z experience.
While determined to reach as many people as possible, Anna Sofia has no manifesto or mission statement – just to stay true and speak to others. “I don’t have a message. It’s just real life,” she admits. “One day, I hope to fill stadiums all over the world. I want to have fans everywhere and have some way of helping them or guiding them through my music. My confidence comes from being myself and connecting with people.”
Bobbie Gentry’s Concept Landmark ‘The Delta Sweete’ Celebrated With Expanded Edition
2018’s Grammy nominated The Girl From Chickasaw County Box Set reacquainted the world with the beguiling work of enigmatic singer-songwriter, Bobbie Gentry. Universally acclaimed, the Box Set housed all seven of the studio albums she recorded for Capitol, including the one which has over the years become recognized as her brilliant conceptual masterpiece: The Delta Sweete.
Today, UMC releases an expanded edition of The Delta Sweete on 2 CD and deluxe 2-disc vinyl. The expanded CD edition features a new stereo mix of the album (sourced directly from the surviving four-track and eight-track tapes) by Producer/Compiler Andrew Batt, alongside the original mono mix making its debut on CD. There are a total of 10 bonus tracks to treasure, including a previously unreleased original demo “The Way I Do” and a special instrumental version of “Okolona River Bottom Band” featuring the great Shorty Rogers on bass trumpet. The deluxe vinyl is the first official repress of the album since 1972 and features the new stereo mix on disc 1 and the 10 bonus tracks on disc 2.
Released in February 1968, barely six months after Bobbie Gentry’s debut LP, The Delta Sweete may not have contained anything as career-defining as the song “Ode to Billie Joe,” but it represented a definite step forward in its musical ambition: A multi-faceted, quasi-concept album, where each track blurred, dream-like, into the next, the songs evoked the melancholy adolescent world of Bobbie’s childhood in Chickasaw County while further deepening her fascination with loss, illusion and the often comic absurdity of the conventions of everyday life. Even the album’s name was pure Gentry, the ‘Sweete’ in the title punning on both Bobbie’s Southern-belle good looks (a pretty girl in the South might be referred to as a sweete) and the album’s musical song structure. The artwork also poetically evoked the music it contained, featuring a double exposure of a contemplative black and white image of Bobbie in tight close-up, superimposed onto a colour photo of a run-down shack taken on her grandparents’ farm where she grew up.
West Coast jazz pioneer Shorty Rogers was a notable addition to the Gentry sound, helping to move ‘The Delta Sweete’ away from the largely acoustic feel of her debut, and together they opened up her songs to a broader pallet of instrumentation. The strings were once again orchestrated by Jimmie Haskell whose memorable arrangement on ‘Ode to Billie Joe’, would win him a Grammy in the spring of ‘68. The great Elvis TCB band leader James Burton features on guitar and Hal Blaine is socking it on drums. The resulting production gave Bobbie a unique and distinctive sound that merged country, soul, chamber-pop and psychedelia, quite unlike anyone else. The album begins back “in Chickasaw land” with the swampy southern groove of ‘Okolona River Bottom Band’ and progresses through a mixture of originals such as ‘Reunion’, ‘Jessye’ Lisabeth’, ‘Refractions’ and ‘Mornin’ Glory’, entwined with some carefully chosen covers like Mose Allison’s ‘Parchman Farm’ and two of Willie Dixon’s – ‘Big Boss Man’ and session outtake ‘The Seventh Son’. Other bonus tracks included Bobbie’s beautifully laid-back demo of the Anthony Newley / Leslie Bricusse classic ‘Feelin’ Good’, and an alternate version of her own ‘Mississippi Delta’ that was originally intended to close out the LP’s second side.
Whilst the album flopped commercially upon its original release, today The Delta Sweete is considered by fans and critics alike to represent the pinnacle of Bobbie’s artistry; recently placed 4th in Uncut Magazine’s ‘Ultimate Genre Guide’ to the top 40 singer-songwriter albums of all time, the LP is justly acknowledged as one of the great previously unsung masterpieces of the 60’s. Just over 50 years after its release, US indie rock band Mercury Rev with special guests that included Hope Sandoval, Beth Orton, Vashti Bunyan, Laetitia Sadler and Lucinda Williams paid homage with their re-recorded tribute album The Delta Sweete Revisited helping a whole new audience to discover the brilliance of Bobbie’s Delta soul. Mercury Rev frontman Jonathan Donahue described Bobbie’s original LP as “a gem of an album. It feels like an island that someone left off a map. It was always flourishing and is still vibrantly alive… It’s just that people didn’t know to sail over there to see it”. The Delta Sweete is now firmly back on the map, and many more will be ready to make that journey – if you haven’t already, it’s time to set sail.
Richard and Linda Thompson’s Iconic First Three Albums Re-Released On Vinyl On September 11, 2020
Richard and Linda Thompson’s early recordings together have attained an almost mythical status and their first three acclaimed Island Records classics will now be available again on vinyl from September 11 through UMe/Island. I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight (1974), Hokey Pokey (1975) and Pour Down Like Silver (1975) have all been pressed on 180 gram vinyl. These seminal works, ground-breaking at the time, have influenced generations of artists and firmly established Richard and Linda Thompson as major figures on the British folk scene.
Recorded in May 1973, but not released until 1974 due to an international oil shortage, I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight is a dark and eclectic affair. Richard and Linda share vocals and many of the album’s 12 tracks would become firm fan favorites, including: “When I Get To The Border,” “Calvary Cross,” “We Sing Hallelujah” and “The End of The Rainbow,” “Down Where The Drunkards Roll,” “Has He Got A Friend For Me?,” “The Great Valerio” and the title track. Now considered a classic album, it did little to trouble the charts on its original release but was very well received by the music press. Geoff Brown of Melody Maker proclaimed: “Richard Thompson is… the most accomplished guitarist in this land… He’s written some masterful songs, here and Linda, has performed them as perfectly as we’ve a right to expect.”
Richard and Linda’s second album Hokey Pokey, released in 1975, is a mixture of darkly comic songs like “Smiffy’s Glass Eye,” the more world-weary “I’ll Regret It All In The Morning” and “A Heart Needs A Home” and more sombre songs such as “The Egypt Room.” Richard always envisaged Hokey Pokey as “a music-hall influenced record.” He was a big fan of Harry Lauder and Gracie Fields, and this inspiration can be seen in the Victorian style cover by Shirt Sleeve Studio and is audible on the title track and also “Georgie On A Spree.”
Also released in 1975, Richard and Linda’s third LP Pour Down Like Silver became known as “The Sufi album” due to Richard’s recent conversion to Islam. It is a more restrained and spartan album compared to its lusher sounding predecessors and contains some of Richard’s most beautiful songs including “For Shame Of Doing Wrong,” “Beat The Retreat” and “Dimming Of The Day,” with “Hard Luck Stories” probably the most musically upbeat song on the album. The record was warmly received with Rolling Stone observing: “Pour Down Like Silver is the kind of album that makes listening to music worthwhile, a record of such rare beauty and scope that one honestly feels privileged to hear it.” And Angus MacKinnon of the NME concluded that: “through its exploration of extreme disillusionment, ‘Pour Down Like Silver’ remains a considerable and deeply moving achievement.”
Tracklistings:
I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight (1974)
Side A
- When I Get To The Border
- The Calvary Cross
- Withered and Died
- I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight
- Down Where The Drunkards Roll
Side B
- We Sing Hallelujah
- Has He Got A Friend For Me?
- The Little Beggar Girl
- The End Of The Rainbow
- The Great Valerio
Hokey Pokey (1975)
Side A
- Hokey Pokey
- I’ll Regret It All In The Morning
- Smiffy’s Glass Eye
- The Egypt Room
- Never Again
Side B
- Georgie On The Spree
- Old Man Inside A Young Man
- The Sun Never Shines On The Poor
- A Heart Needs A Home
- Mole In A Hole
Pour Down Like Silver (1975)
Side A
- Streets of Paradise
- For Shame of Doing Wrong
- The Poor Boy Is Taken Away
- Night Comes In
Side B
- Jet Plane In A Rocking Chair
- Beat The Retreat
- Hard Luck Stories
- Dimming Of The Day / Dargai
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Burning Man Meets Skate Park: Alt Rock EDM Toronto’s KRONIS Shatters Sonic Norms with “Against The World”
Canadian outfit KRONIS debuts their firm yet inventive footing on the fault line between alt rock and EDM with the release of their newest single, “It’s Time For Love,” and breakthrough album Against The World — both available now!
“I spent three years in the studio with Parker creating Against The World,” Toronto and Los Angeles, California-based frontman Aaron Kronis says, name checking mix engineer and producer Parker Ament of XLNTStudios. “We didn’t know what the title would be, or the number of tracks, but we knew we were onto something.”
That ‘something’ is alt rock streamed live with live guitars, live vocals, and Ableton. It’s guitars into cell phones while on hoverboards. It’s the essence of skateboarding at Burning Man channeled into a technologically enabled sonic sojourn spanning the ages.
“KRONIS has become the final evolution of a lead singer and an extraordinary guitar player who’s into electronic sounds and manipulations of waveforms to create something new that sounds familiar,” Kronis says. “And Against The World wholly captures the constant stamina required to endure this music industry based on my life in Los Angeles, and the world today.”
There’s a lot of moving pieces to the project, including contributions from musicians Matt Starr (Mr. Big, Ace Frehley), Chris Moore (RockOfAges Tour, Project Nfidelikah), and Andy Sansei (Missing Persons, Frankie Valli). There’s live performances at the links of the Viper Room, and features on KLOS Los Angeles and 102.1 The Edge with Alan Cross’ Ongoing History of New Music.
And there’s a lot more to come, Kronis adds. “We already have enough material for two or three more albums, so we’re just continuously working on tracks and live performance setups going forward.
‘Everything’s on a cob,” he continues, bringing his focus back to this Summer 2020’s debut LP, Against The World. “I mean, I watch just as much inter dimensional cable as the next guy, but this album seriously has zero compromises — and I never ever say that about a project.
“Why, though, for this one? Because it was my final say, and I gave the other artists involved the freedom to express themselves as they felt.
“It provided me with the best results imaginable.”
Hear just what that means on “It’s Time For Love” and Against The World. Both are available now.
How to Properly Hold a Musical Brainstorming Session
Every band knows how frustrating it can be to collaborate with the intention of creating a new song. This is due in no small part to the fact that each artist within the group has his or own personality and sense of pride. Furthermore, ego and talent can often represent a rather volatile combination. So, attempting to come across a sense of cohesion can sometimes be exceedingly challenging. This is why it might be a good idea to approach your next brainstorming session from a slightly different perspective. Let’s quickly examine some interesting tips and techniques that will come in handy when the going gets tough.
All About Obtaining Collective Input
It can actually be wise to view a musical brainstorming session in the same manner as a team project within traditional work settings. Every team has a designated leader. The same holds true with a band. In the same way, both scenarios will require input from other members if a solution is to be reached. This is why no single voice should ever dominate a gathering. While each member will obviously share his or her thoughts and control the conversation for a period of time, it is important to remain focused upon its collective nature.
This is also important if you hope to avoid interpersonal conflicts (although these will inevitably occur from time to time). Allowing the voices of each member to be heard will often result in some amazing outcomes. In the same respect, this sense of resonant cohesion will ensure that all band members are in agreement from a long-term perspective.
Know When to Take a Break
As you already know, it is necessary to burn the midnight oil on occasion in order to come across that enviable spark of inspiration. Still, how much is too much? A time will come when mental fatigue supersedes creativity. It is important to know when to take a step back. Some experts recommend implementing a ten-minute break every hour. Members can take a breath of fresh air, play a quick game on sites such as getluckycasino.com or simply sit back and relax. These brief mental hiatuses will enable you to return to the project with a sense of vigor and motivation; both key traits if you hope to retain your productivity.
There are likewise times when you and your members have simply burned out to the point when nothing good will result from continuing. In this scenario, it is wise to close the session until you feel refreshed and up to the task. It makes little sense continuing if the results will be substandard.
Of course, it can take weeks or even months to write a song. There is nothing wrong with such a drawn-out process, as it will allow your thoughts to “ferment” in order to create truly amazing music. Try to avoid any feelings of frustration and above all, always remember that the creative process is not always easy. If it were, everyone would be a successful musician.
My Next Read: “A Genesis In My Bed” by Steve Hackett
July 2020 sees the publication of A Genesis In My Bed – the long overdue autobiography from guitar great and former member of Genesis, Steve Hackett. As with his music, Steve has written a highly detailed, entertaining and embracing tome that charts his life in full, but with a firm emphasis on his years with Genesis that saw the band’s meteoric rise to become one of the most successful British bands of all time.
Steve talks candidly about his early life, his time with Genesis, and in particular his personal relationships with the other four band members, with great insight into the daily goings on of this major rock band.
Naturally, A Genesis In My Bed also regales stories of Steve’s career since leaving Genesis and the many different journeys that it has taken him on. With his flair for the creative, and a great deal of levity, A Genesis In My Bed is a riveting read. Indispensable for Genesis fans but also essential for general music lovers and avid readers of autobiographies full of heartfelt and emotive tales.
Steve says, “It’s often revealing. There’s lace, loves and butterflies, and I explore personal feelings. I’ve answered many questions fans asked over the years too, such as why I left Genesis. It’s taken fifteen years to bring this book to fruition, writing between tours, recording and legal challenges, but that’s given me time to really develop it.”
Big Sugar To Release 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Of Hemi-Vision On September 25, 2020
Big Sugar is set to issue a special 25th edition of their platinum-selling Hemi-Vision featuring hit singles, newly-released lost takes, acoustic versions and dub remixes on September 25, 2020, via Universal Music Canada. Featuring six previously un-released bonus tracks, rare photos and memorabilia from the band’s archives, as well as extensive liner notes by Gordie Johnson who shares the story of the tragic and tumultuous events leading up to the original release, Hemi-Vision Deluxe Edition is available on 180-gram vinyl (in bright green and orange), CD and digital/streaming services.
“Hemi-Vision was full of heartaches, punch-ups, even the death of a band mate and all of that energy is palpable on the record,” shares Johnson. “We found some long-lost outtakes and early versions of songs that really show the evolution of our musical recipe at that time.”
Take a trip down memory lane with 12-pages of liner notes written by Gordie Johnson and a foreword by Rush’s Alex Lifeson. From the band’s early days of Gordie, Garry Lowe and Kelly Hoppe trying to regain footing after the sudden death of their drummer Walter “Crash” Morgan while on tour, to a chance encounter with Lifeson and a generous gift that forever changed the course of Big Sugar, step back in time and join the journey of how this roots/rock/reggae crew came to be one of Canada’s most iconic touring bands.
Full Track List:
Side A
- Diggin’ A Hole
- Gone For Good
- If I Had My Way
- Skull Ring
Side B
- Joe Louis (Judgement Day)
- Tommy Johnson
- La Stralla
- Tired All The Time
Side C
- Empty Head
- Opem Up Baby
- Rolling Pin
- Tobacco Hand
Side D
- Gone For Good (Early Version)
- Gone For Good (Lost Take)
- Judgement Day (Dub Mix)
- Diggin’ A Hole (Acoustic Version)
- Baby’s In Black
- Tommy Johnson (Dub Mix)
Additional information can be found on the band’s social channels and website https://bigsugar.com/. In the past few months while at home and unable to tour due to Covid-19, Gordie has been playing weekly YouTube live ‘Soundshack Sessions’ every Friday afternoon. Tune-in here to catch them all.
In the 90s Big Sugar emerged clad in Hugo Boss suits as the antithesis to the grunge esthetic with a unique combination of Jamaican rhythms, blues tonality and heavy rock aggression. They dominated the airwaves and highways with songs like “Diggin A Hole,” “The Scene,” “Turn The Lights On” and “Roads Ahead.” Their roots-rock-reggae style has built a loyal following, earning Big Sugar a Road Gold Award as they continue to sell out concerts across North America. Gordie Johnson’s guitar playing continues to influence a new generation of young guitarists as well as peers. To quote lyrics from the first single off the upcoming new album Eternity Now, “The better it gets, the easier it gets to get better.”
Metallica’s First Show of 2020 Is One Night Only at Drive-In Theaters Across North America
Metallica has confirmed its return to the stage for the first time since the September 2019 S&M2 concerts that opened Chase Center in San Francisco. Metallica will be the first rock band to be featured in the Encore Drive-In Nights series, with a full set showing August 29 at hundreds of drive-in and outdoor theaters across the United States and Canada. The show will be shot specially for the Encore Drive-In Nights Series at a location near the band’s Northern California headquarters and will subsequently be edited and mixed by Metallica’s award winning production team to the highest standards possible. The concert, the band’s first show in nearly a year, will feature material from throughout their near four-decade career and provide Metallica fans with an intimate, unique and truly memorable concert experience.
Pre-sale tickets, available exclusively to Metallica’s Fifth Member fan club, will go on sale on August 12 at ticketmaster.com/encore-metallica. General on-sale will begin on August 14. Every ticket purchase — which admits one carload of up to six people — will include four digital downloads of Metallica’s S&M2, the long awaited album documenting the two historic concerts that reunited the band and San Francisco Symphony for the first time in 20 years.
“In all of rock, it literally doesn’t get any bigger than Metallica,” said Walter Kinzie, CEO of Encore Live. “Over the course of their career these guys have completely redefined rock, touring and frankly what’s possible in terms of success in this industry. We’ve seen with our first two Encore Nights Drive-In concerts that fans absolutely dig the drive-in experience and we know that Metallica is going to blow the top off of this thing and take it to a whole new level.”
The Metallica show is part of the Encore Drive-In Nights Series, which is presented by leading event production company Encore Live. Since June, Encore Live has partnered with drive-in theaters across the country to provide world-class entertainment in a safe, creative way. For more information and to see if a venue near you is presenting the show, visit encorenights.com or call your local theater. The August 29 show will also feature a special guest performance by Three Days Grace.
Drive-in theaters hosting the concert will adhere to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended guidelines as well as all state and local health mandates. Staff will wear personal protective equipment and enforce at least six feet of space between cars. The series will also use contactless payment and ticketing systems and limit capacity in restrooms. Guidelines around concessions will be enforced to abide by individual state regulations. For a full list of procedures that the Encore Drive-In Nights is employing to keep fans and staff safe, visit encorenights.com.
Unlike traditional concert tickets that are bought for one fan’s individual admission, each purchase for Encore Drive-In Nights’ concerts will admit one carload of fans. That means up to six people can enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime show for one price. Additional information about Encore Drive-In Nights can be found at https://www.ticketmaster.com/encoredriveinnights.