Was (Not Was) Go "BOO!" With First New Album in 16 Years

Was (Not Was), the seminal, indestructible art-funk collective from Detroit have just returned from 16 year hibernation. They are finally ready to ensnare the innocent with its snaky beats and brain-virus lyrics. The new album and Rykodisc debut, "BOO!" is set for release on April 8, 2008 in the U.S. / April 7, 2008 UK and worldwide.

In a quasi coma since 1992, when they opened a 4-month tour for Dire Straits (?) across Europe, Don and David Was are again ready to rumble and are planning an endless series of live dates accompanied by special guests and friends the boys have bonded with over the years.

Was (Not Was) will perform a special sneak-peak engagement on Valentine’s Day at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, with special guests Kris Kristofferson and Brian Wilson, and will also be hitting SXSW in March. Kris Kristofferson makes a guest appearance on the closing track of Boo! -- a swirling, psychedelic spoken word number, Green Pills in the Dresser.

With "BOO!" David Was (flute, harmonica, keys and vox) Don Was (bass, keyboards, percussion, programming, vox), Sweet Pea Atkinson (lead vocals) and Sir Henry Bowen (lead vocals) have created an album brewing with the unconventional lyrics and funk-driven R&B beats for which the band is known.

And, as is the Was (Not Was) way, a host of additional players join in on the party: Donald Ray Mitchell (lead vox), David McMurray (sax and horn arrangements), Randy Jacobs (guitar) Jamie Muhoberac (keyboards) and Luis Resto (keyboards), just to name a few. The album was produced by Don and David Was, engineered and mixed by Rik Pekkonen, Krish Sharma and Don Was.

Of course, that's not all the lads were up to all those years. Don Was stepped to the fore as a producer after working with Bonnie Raitt on the Grammy-winning Nick of Time, staying in constant demand for the next decade and working with everyone from, The Stones to Iggy to Kristofferson to the B52's to Elton John and Brian Wilson, to drop just a few names.

David Was went Hollywood and produced two soundtrack collections for the X-Filesand wound up scoring two network TV dramas. And together, Don and David produced the Grammy-winning Roy Orbison/k.d. lang duet of Crying as well as Bob Dylan's Under the Red Sky album. They also started a badminton club for ex-cons called the Birdie Men from Alcatraz, or so it was rumored.

The band reformed to play the Sundance Film Festival in the winter of 2004 and made a triumphal return to London's Jazz Café the following fall.

Was (Not Was) may have been napping, but they never stopped having nightmares! The results will soon storm the barricades of radio, concert halls and festivals 'til they are sent to their rooms to do more audio homework. Stay tuned. Don't drop out, not just yet!

BOO! The New Album
Tracklising -

01. Semi Interesting Week
02. It's A Miracle
03. Your Luck Won't Last
04. From The Head To The Heart
05. Big Black Hole
06. Needletooth
07. Forget Everything
08. Crazy Water
09. Mr. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
10. Green Pills In The Dresser (ft. Kris Kristofferson)

BLASTS FROM THE WAS (NOT WAS) PAST:

Shake Your Head (ft. Kim Basinger)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65ruXryKPTA

Walk The Dinosaur
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNRsIFKLDBk

Spy In The House Of Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8bZ3zf_4l0

Plus . . .

Was (Not Was) on MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/wasnotwasfreaks

Lou Reed joins Stephen Emmer & Tony Visconti on 'Recitement' Spoken Word Album

Lou Reed is among the artists collaborating on a new spoken word album. The former Velvet Underground frontman recites Paul Theroux’s poem ‘Passengers.’ ‘Recitement’ comprises of a diverse set of literary source texts reinterpreted to a soundtrack of original music compositions.

Check out the stunning video for Passengers ft. Lou Reed reciting Paul Theroux's poem of the same name. Stephen Emmer's music is haunting, and Tony's Visconti's mix is astouding. A gorgeous collaboration of talented minds. Reed/Emmer/Visconti. Awesome!

Passengers video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbSTAwpfwcY

The record features recitals from numerous musicians, including Blonde Redhead singer Kazu Makino, plus writers like Allen Ginsberg and actors including Richard Burton. The literature is drawn from such diverse writers as Yoko Ono and Thomas Hardy.

The 17 tracks are performed in seven different languages and are mixed by Tony Visconti. The legendary producer, famed for his work with David Bowie and T-Rex, is expected to begin work on Klaxons second album at the end of the month.

‘Recitement’ is the brainchild of leading avant-garde music composer Stephen Emmer.

Emmer began his career in experimental Dutch band Minny Pops, who were signed to Factory Records. Fans of Lou Reed will be pleased he has undertaken a project with a degree of musical integrity after mixed reactions to his recent collaboration with The Killers on the track ‘Tranquillize.’

‘Recitement’ is released by Supertracks Records in the UK on 7th April 2008. Spoken word combined with original music composition never sounded so good.

Burning Down The (Amy) Winehouse

Surprise. It's another television appearance from North London's favourite screwed up singer, Amy Winehouse.

She made global news by not being allowed a visa to America to perform on last night's Grammy Awards. People are killing each other in Nigeria and Amy's still making the news. Go figure.

Thank god Madonna is releasing a new album in April.

What I don't understand about the Winehouse effect is that there are probably 7.5 million struggling musicians out there who would kill to be as successful as Amy, but everyone's favourite Devil Doll can't even string a sentence together. It must be fun to be inarticulate and sell millions of albums in the process.

"Camden's Burning," she cried out during one of last night's slurry acceptance speeches.

Cue for standing ovation from the American hipsters and the rock'n' hip-hop elite.

Close up of Justin Timberlake smiling with the instant nod of approval.

Even Lou Reed digs Amy's album. Is there no stopping this madness?

It's like some George Romero Night of the Living Dead movie that refuses to die. The zombie (Amy Winehouse) just keeps coming back from the dead. How does she do it?

On a more positive note, I couldn't help but chuckle when I read the following blurb written by E. Jasmin on the News Tribute blog, entitled - "Will Someone Give That Girl A Ham Sandwich?"

http://blogs.thenewstribune.com/ej/2008/02/11/will_somebody_get_amy_winehouse_a_sandwi

"The thing I was most looking forward to was Amy Winehouse who performed via satellite from London. We can look past some of her spacey, strung out demeanor, considering what she’s been through lately. (You Tube it if you don’t know already.) Oh, and the fact that it took her something like 15 seconds to remember she needed to give an acceptance speech after she won her next award – ahem – for some reason."

"But will someone please give that girl a ham sandwich? Extra mayo. Side order o’ cheesy fries. They could show a clip of that performance at Calista Flockhart and Mary-Kate Olson’s next intervention. I thought Amy’s legs might snap every time she did that weird knee-knocking thing during her oh so appropriate set list, “You Know I’m No Good” and “Rehab.” Her voice still sounds good. All jokes aside, congrats to Amy for racking up a whole shelf of well-deserved awards. And here’s hoping she can get her life back together before it's too late."

Now what was the movie called starring Bette Davis? Oh yeah, "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane". Amy Winehouse or Bette Davis? You decide.

Eric Burdon & WAR To Reunite For One Concert

ERIC BURDON AND WAR will reunite for one performance only at London's Royal Albert Hall on Monday 21st April 2008. This will be the first concert Eric Burdon and War have performed in 37 years since they originally disbanded in 1971.

http://www.noblepr.co.uk/Press_Releases/live_nation/war.htm

Originally the front man of the Animals, the legendary Eric Burdon is considered to be one of the greatest blues singers in the world. His contribution to music by joining forces with War; possibly the most popular funk groups of the 70's, makes this one-off concert one of the hottest must-see tickets of 2008.

With a distinctive sound that captured the heart and soul of 1970's America, Los-Angeles based WAR played the music that made people dance and think.Their 1970 album Eric Burdon Declares WAR included two No. 1 worldwide hits - Spill the Wine, and Tobacco Road.The follow-up 1970 album, The Black-Man's Burdon featured the hit singles They Can't Take Away Our Music and a cover of the Jagger-Richards seminal track Paint It Black, amongst many others. Both albums became cultural touchstones of the early seventies.

Although WAR's lyrics were sometimes political in nature (in keeping with their racially integrated line-up), their music almost always had a sunny, laid-back vibe emblematic of their Southern California roots. Shortly after the sudden death of Burdon's close friend Jimi Hendrix (Jimi overdosed on the night he jammed with Eric Burdon and WAR at Ronnie Scott's), the singer moved away from the group, and WAR went on to become a creative force and released many successful albums in their own right.

Eric Burdon & WAR rode the fine line between brilliance and excess during their time together, performing & recording with a sense of risk, imagination, and adventure.

"The diversity of influences on us was not only musical, but was social as well,” says singer-keyboardist and founding WAR member Lonnie Jordan. “As a result we tried to be entertaining while also spreading the word of peace, harmony and brotherhood. Our instruments and voices became our weapons of choice and the songs our ammunition. We spoke out against racism, hunger, gangs, crimes and turf wars, as we embraced all people with hope and the spirit of brotherhood.”

The London Royal Albert Hall reunion concert also dovetails a massive reissue campaign that will see Rhino Records releasing all of Eric Burdon and War's seminal albums. The two 1970's albums Eric Burdon Declares WAR and Black-Man's Burdon will be released in the UK on Monday 24th March, followed by the release of their 1976 compilation album Love Is All Around on Monday 31st March.

All of War's subsequent studio albums will follow through the month of April. The reissue campaign will end on 14th April with the release of The Best of Eric Burdon and WAR and The WAR Anthology.

ERIC BURDON & WAR
MONDAY 21ST APRIL 2008
LONDON ROYAL ALBERT HALL

Tickets on sale From Thursday February 14th, 9am GMT

24 Hour Ticket Hotline: 0844 576 5483
Venue Box Office: 020 7589 8212
www.livenation.co.uk

Tickets: £35.50 / £30.00 / £27.50 (plus booking fee)
Website: www.royalalberthall.com
Show time: 7:30pm

Vote For Joe Jackson

Hilarious new tribute video to Joe Jackson directed by Sarah Schaefer just went up on YouTube.

Some comedic moments about one of Britain's best loved singer/songwriters. The video is nicely timed with the recent release of his current album "Rain". I almost split my pants watching the video. Check it out.

The Cops - Get Ready For Seattle's Best New Band

A strange thing happened the other week. I was surfing the net for info about Joe Jackson's new 'Rain' album and I ended up on a blog called Cherrybombed (http://cherrybombed.com/index.php?s=the+cops), which I think is Seattle based.

On the blog, the blogger gave their top 10 rundown of what they considered to be the hottest bands in Seattle. One of those bands was 'The Cops'. They're even better than the Strokes!

Upon further investigation, I tracked down a copy of their 'Free Electricity' album (their second album) and was completely knocked for six. This band are brilliant and could blow up into the next big thing, especially here in the UK.

Immediate impressions - lead vocalist sounds like an angry and pissed off Joe Strummer. Elements of Clash Sandinista meets Television, Wire with the Dolls thrown in. 'Light It Off' is a knockout song, while 'Them Cats' reminds me of some crackhead dickheads who should know better. And the songs keep rolling in 'Secret Lives', 'Mega Suicide', 'Cold Crushin', 'Free Electricity' and the atonal organ enhanced 'N-99'.

This is an exciting record from a potentially exciting new band (well, not so new - they've been touring for three years in the US).

Look no further - http://www.thecopsmusic.com/, www.myspacec.om/thecops. 'Free Electricity's is available on the Mount Fuji label in Seattle.

Do the right thing. Call the Cops.

Check out what Music Remedy.com has to say about the band -

The Cops are a band of the people; born out of repression, revulsion, frustration and all the other things that make life so horrible and rock bands so great. After spending much of 2006 on the road they now present to you their razor-sharpened 2nd full-length, Free Electricity.

Dynamiting the walls of classic rock and rebuilding on the crumbling foundations, The Cops have constructed a set filled with scratching, twitching, aching, unholy rock music that still manages to be both familiar and crucially entertaining.

Topical without being political and political without being preachy, Free Electricity is eleven dark, roughhousing manifestos broadcast from roughly 5.3 meters below the sidewalk of every major street in the world. No fuss, no muss, no stupid hippie haircuts. No shit.

The Cops formed in July of 2004 with Michael Jaworski on lead vocals and guitar, John Randolph on guitar and David Weeks on drums. Seattle label Mt. Fuji Records released both their debut EP Why Kids Go Wrong in March of 2005, and the critically acclaimed full-length Get Good or Stay Bad in November of 2005.

Former Supersuckers and Hater bassist, Drew Church, replaced Brian Wall on bass in early 2006, just in time for a tour supporting Cursive and Jeremy Enigk. Following the recording of Free Electricity guitarist Brandon Bay was added to the mix to make The Cops a full-fledged 5-piece rock band.

The band has toured the US consistently for the past 3 years supporting the aforementioned Cursive & Jeremy Enigk as well as tours with The Hold Steady, Constantines, and others. Free Electricity was recorded with the band’s spiritual godfather Kurt Bloch (The Fastbacks & Young Fresh Fellows) and mixed by the multi-talented producer Johnny Sangster (Mudhoney, Old Haunts, The Briefs).

The Cops new record makes good on their debut while showcasing a band hitting their stride as a powerful force in rock music. The Control Group released Free Electricity on November 6th, 2007.

“On Free Electricity, the Cops' staccato stop-and-go six-string rhythms couple with abusive drumming to create a surprisingly danceable set.” – Spin.com

"The Cops are the Seattle rock act most likely to blow up global-style any minute now. Currently at work on another full-length effort coddled by local rock n' roll sage and apparent busybody Kurt Bloch, The Cops are going to have a tough time staying off everyone's radar real soon."
- The Stranger

New York City is Suzanne Vega

Suzanne Vega's 2007 album, "Beauty & Crime" was dedicated to the memory of her brother, Tim Vega who lived on Ludlow Street." You can't help but feel the emotional impact and melancholy of this magical collection of songs. Produced for Bluenote Records, Vega's album comes as an unexpected surprise.

A devoted fan since god knows when, I kind of lost touch with Suzanne's work after the Mitchell Froome produced 1996 album "Nine Objects of Desire". I loved the song 'No Cheap Thrill', but more importantly, I loved the sound of the entire album and it's nod towards electronic experimentation.

In 1991 she returned with 'Songs in Red and Gray' which saw her move back to her acoustic guitar-based folk roots. The album was cool, but "Beauty & Crime" is so much better.

Somehow, 2007's "Beauty & Crime" seems to have struck something of a sentimental note with a lot of her devoted fans, including me.

On this album, Suzanne seems to be looking back into her past as she reminisces about her old friends and haunts, and her brother Tim. The opening track, 'Zephyr & I' seems to be an old friend of hers in the 1970s (and also a grafitti artist friend of her brother, Tim). The area was West End Avenue by the Hudson River. It's a simple track embellished by Vega's signature whispery vocals.

What's also cool about the 'Zepher & I' is that the opening riff is a direct steal from Lou Reed's "Vicious". The Reed riffs repeats several times before Vega digs into so doo-wop backing chorus. Suzanne's clever. but what's more, this is her New York Lou Reed album but from a very different perspective.

She follows this with the autobiographical 'Ludlow Street' where her brother Tim used to live. "This time," sings Suzanne, "when I go back to Ludlow Steet, I find each stoop and doorway's incomplete without you there." This is a far cry from the recent hype of irritating female singer/songwriters like Feist (I couldn't get past track two on Feist's new album - it's soooo irritating to listen to).

Which brings us to track three (my favourite song on the album) - 'New York Is A Woman'. Clocking in at 2 minutes and 54 seconds, for me, this song represents the mindset of the album.

Suzanne Vega's always been about New York City, and although she hooked a lot of people with the mindbending 'Luka' back in the eighties (about a kid being beaten up by her parents), the Big Apple becomes the ultimate metaphor for the woman you can't help but fall in love with. It's a one-sided affair of the mind. It's a teaze.

"New York city spread herslef before you, with her bangles and spangles and her stars. You were impressed with the city so undressed, you had to go out cruising all the bars."

Vega follows the song with the delightful 'Pornographer's Dream' - another gem of a song with some beautiful orchestration.

The album flows effortlessley with 'Frank & Ava', 'Edith Wharton's Figurines', 'Bound' and 'Unbound'. The album was recorded at Sear Sound, NYC, Jimmy Hogarth's Studio in London, and at Olympic Studios in London. The London Studio Orchestra contributed strings and horns, while the album includes guest appearances from Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo and singer KT Tunstall.

This is a passionate, if not understated, intitmate, beautiful collection of songs from one of America's greatest modern day folk singers. I'll be playing this for many more days and nights to come. Sounds particularly good when you play it in your car and is a great alternative to the rubbish that is currently being played on most radio stations.

The final track, 'Anniversary' is obviously about 911 and every family that survived the tragedy of the Twin Towers. It's a fitting way to end the album with the ultimate aftermath of New Yorkers trying to pick up the pieces. 'Beauty & Crime' is clearly the work of a genius singer/songwriter.