When The Beatles ' entire catalogue had been remastered in 2009, I penned a three-part review of the box set for No Ripcord.  For the band's 1966 release, Revolver , this is what I had to say : "In a way, Revolver is a bolder album than Pepper was, an experimental hybrid clashing symphonic string arrangements ('Eleanor Rigby'), rock n’ jolly 'Singin’ In The Rain'-styled ditties ('Good Day Sunshine'), kid-friendly sing-alongs about friendly aquatic transports ('Yellow Submarine'), Eastern influences ('Love You To') and the decade’s introduction to psychedelic rock n’ roll ('She Said She Said,' 'Tomorrow Never Knows'). An absolute plethora of influences and styles at work and they marry perfectly onto Revolver with nary a concept at work, nor a marching suit to hide behind.  Revolver is Beatlemania’s actual 'good riddance' and the very reason they couldn’t go on as a touring band. As a continually grow...

Boris Pink (Deluxe Edition) Sargent House Released: 7.8.16 Originally released: 2005 via Diwphalanx Records (Japan); 2006 via Southern Lord Recordings (U.S.) I Heart Noise review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Yesterday, March 21st, was the 25th anniversary of the Pixies ' highly influential album, Surfer Rosa .  I made sure to devote some time today listening to it.  Surfer Rosa was the basis for Nirvana 's Nevermind , having provided Kurt Cobain with the essentials to make noise rock and pop music coexist.  Its very significant contribution to rock's evolution notwithstanding, though, Surfer Rosa , in predicting how the tides would turn, managed to utilize the best of what rock music continues to offer, not shying away from hooks or melody, nor fully investing itself in being accessible.  It's always a great listen and even better when you have a good excuse to do so. From michaelduah.com Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Word came late last night that Dopesmoker , the epic single song album from stoner legends, Sleep , is getting reissued by Southern Lord. Sleep 's Al Cisneros at the Starlight Ballroom, 9.7.10 The album that ultimately led to the band's demise in the mid-90s, Dopesmoker was considered unmarketable by Sleep's then label, London Records.  Compromise on the band's part led to a rewritten and edited version of the album dubbed, Jerusalem , but this move was deemed unsatisfactory.  The excellent bands Om and High On Fire arose from Sleep's ashes. An official version of Jerusalem was issued in the late 90s by The Music Cartel , followed by the definitive Dopesmoker in 2003 by Tee Pee Records . All info below comes courtesy of Earsplit PR. Related links: Sleep at the Starlight Ballroom, 9.7.10, Philadelphia, PA. Om at Johnny Brenda's, 11.15.07, Philadelphia, PA. High On Fire — Snakes For The Divine Om — Pilgrimage Om — Live Conference Shrin...

Back in February, I posted a nod to Nirvana 's Nevermind , being that 2011 makes its twentieth year as a very significant release in rock n' roll history and my own personal development as a music fan.  No Ripcord was in need of an article to mark the occasion, so a reedited version of the article has been submitted as a feature. As a title, I appropriated the "it was twenty years ago today" line from The Beatles ' Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band .  I agree that it was probably the least original idea I could come up with and maybe even arrogant to take the standard of importance The Beatles still hold over popular music and apply them to a band like Nirvana.  But, in truth, for many of us, Nevermind was our Sgt. Pepper and our moment of triumph.  If generations continue to be recognized by their contributions to art, or represented by its celebrities or figureheads, then Nevermind will forever maintain a level of importance and a true summation of the w...

Back in March, I got news about the Beach Boys ’ sessions of SMiLE being released as a box set . While I hope this “suitable for cashing in” version of the album doesn’t diminish the triumph that Brian Wilson ’s 2004 album deservedly afforded him, this release looks to provide more story to this already very legendary monument to pop genius and the crisis and subsequent redemption of an artist. A release date and playlist have been made available. All information below is courtesy of EMI and there's a ton of it: THE BEACH BOYS’ LEGENDARY SMiLE ALBUM SESSIONS TO BE RELEASED NOVEMBER 1 BY CAPITOL/EMI -- ART AND TRACKLISTS UNVEILED Never-Before-Released Original 1966-’67 Album Sessions Compiled for 2CD and Digital Packages and Deluxe, Expanded Box Set; Special Packages to be Available Exclusively from TheBeachBoys.com Official Beach Boys Music Videos to be Crowdsourced via Tongal’s First-Ever Music Video Initiative     "The most famous unfinished album in rock ...

A few days ago, Krist Novoselic tweeted to #happybirthdaykurtcobain .  It would've been Kurt Cobain 's 44th birthday; long after teenage angst paid off well, long after he was bored and old.  His death seemed an easy write-off for a generation based in cynicism, (that's how I remember it, anyway, aside from a candlelight vigil, a couple subsequent suicides and a huge retrospective in Rolling Stone magazine), and for the generation's parents whose arrogance remained self-righteous, unjustifiable and typically out of touch.   Peace and Love sold its soul for Expensive Drugs and Wall Street, naturally its progeny approached its own formative development with a keen sense of what it's like to be proud of obedience or proud of fraudulence.  If there's a legend to Cobain, it's now being upheld by digitized youth enamored with the romantic idea conjured by the notion of Teen Spirit, whatever that was, (deodorant, essentially).  The same could've been said abo...

Sunday, February 13th, Henry Rollins turned 50. A hero of my youth, significant in sight, sound and influence, Rollins is essentially responsible for much of my musical upbringing, his aural affront an epiphany to my teenaged ears and on into my early thirties where I still find satisfying brutality in the grooves of Black Flag and Rollins Band . Before The End Of Silence sort of broke Rollins Band out as part of the 90s alterna-cash crop, the band had put out an album called Hard Volume , which is a blues-driven sonic scream that really doesn’t get enough credit. I mean, you wish to hear albums this pure in your lifetime: Rollins’ calamitous outrage awakening your mind’s defenses, the band itself proving their chops with this punk-infused brand of King Crimson -ish progression, blue-rock precision and metallic heft. At some point, I’d like to revisit Hard Volume as it is an under-appreciated chapter in the life of an altogether under-appreciated band. I know I’ve written a ...

It could be said that the 70s were a schizophrenic decade set on either purifying rock n’ roll ( Sabbath , Zeppelin ), putrefying rock n’ roll ( Styx , Bee Gees ), complicating rock n’ roll ( Rush , Yes ), glossing rock n’ roll ( Bowie , T-Rex ), or starting from scratch ( Ramones , Sex Pistols ). Inasmuch as the 60s as a whole, ( The Beatles and The Stones especially), can justifiably lay claim to the progression of rock music, even if its foundations were poured in the 50s by Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley , I believe the 70s have had the most profound and timeless effect on what we consider “rock,” especially with art and punk colliding and jazz and rock learning to coexist. In both you have Bitches Brew and Fun House , two diametrically opposed worlds birthed by a shared understanding that their respective genres had reached a peak. It was time to think differently once the 60s were over. Cover art for Rhino's 2005 Fun House reissue The same could be said for ideali...

If you live in Oakland, you have the chance to be very fortunate and see Primus play Sailing The Seas Of Cheese in its entirety. From Les Claypool : Twenty years... wow, time flies when you're having fudge. In 2000 I told myself, "I'm done with these New Year's Eve shows. They're in the middle of the holidays, all my relatives are out and I have to rehearse up a new theme every year; it's a pain in my ass." Then Michael Bailey offered me a solo show at the Fillmore for the 2000-2001 New Year's Eve. So I said, "Ok", thus spawning another decade of New Year's Extravaganza's. Now we are looking at the 2010-2011 show which will be my 20th in a row. (We actually played the Night Break club in San Francisco in 1988 on NYE but then skipped the next year.) For this we will need to blow it out and pull all the stops. Two nights at the Fox should do it and playing multiple sets with Primus and my band of all-stars (The Fancy Brigade) coup...

David Bowie Station To Station (Special Edition) Virgin/EMI Originally released: 1.23.76 Reissued: 9.28.10 No Ripcord review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

My favorite recorded 14 minutes/16 seconds can be found at the end of Black Sabbath ’s self-titled debut, the three-song blues assault known as “A Bit Of Finger/Sleeping Village/Warning.” I demand a complete absence of outside stimuli when immersed in its goings on, my attention undivided as the Bill Ward/Geezer Butler juggernaut craft one of the best rhythm sections in rock history. Bold statement? Probably, but to me there are few moments on any record that hold up throughout decades of “bigger and badder,” still managing to boast this level of strength, determination and blistering evil. I’m certainly not overlooking Tony Iommi ’s spider-ing guitar solos or Ozzy ’s eerie delivery, certainly both are at the forefront as far as the Sabbath persona and the occult-ish lean they embodied so well, but Ward and Butler champion my attention with every listen. I sometimes feel as though I’d been born in the wrong era, especially when confronted by Sabbath’s debut and the idea of hearin...

Inasmuch as I can understand and appreciate the "phasing out" of a format, the CD's passing isn't going to happen overnight. With new albums, I do see the need to begin establishing the options: the MP3 in all its lame (albeit portable) permutations and vinyl for the rest of us that give a shit about what we're listening to. I don't agree that ridding the world of CDs is the best thing, but it's difficult to argue with the "green" movement. It's plastics: a lot of which has had the misfortune of forever carrying timely, disposable music. But, unlike the sounds that we can forget if we choose to, these wasted albums are forever heaped in landfills. For the sake of the environment, maybe it is better the CD disappear. However, in terms of reissues, I can't fathom the idea of forgoing a physical option as these albums, which are sacred to some of us, once had shape and presence. Helmet reissued their third album, 1994's Bet...

Coffinworm When All Became None Profound Lore Released: 4.13.10 Stereokiller review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Wu-Tang Clan is into sequels now that Raekwon regained some of his '94/'95 flavor by adding a part II to his masterwork, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... . As confirmed by The RZA 's most recent Twitter update, as I refuse to say "TWEET," a sequel to GZA/Genius ' amazing Liquid Swords album is in the works. "IT'S TRUE: 'LIQUID SWORDS 2' PRODUCED BY THE ABBOT RZA COMING FALL 2010. WHO'S READY FOR THE WU? BONG BONG" Hearing this, I wound up throwing on Liquid Swords and thought back to a time when Wu were unstoppable, hip-hop still had a point and Method Man didn't make me cringe. Whatever the outcome of GZA's new album, it's doubtful they'll come up with anything as close to the perfection that is "4th Chamber." Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Raw Power ? Yeah, Raw Power . I can't imagine a bigger or more important reissue to be hitting the shelves this year. What little would exist without the brutality, energy or pure sexuality of Iggy & The Stooges ' brilliant Raw Power ? Those who've listened understand. Those who haven't listened need to so they can understand. Those who've listened and don't understand... well, you're a lost cause. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Can you feel the reissue gods getting all seminal on your asses? Legacy/Columbia is releasing a Deluxe Edition of the very necessary Iggy and The Stooges classic, Raw Power . The release date is April 27th. From iggyandthestoogesmusic.com : — The long out-of-print original David Bowie mix of the album, newly-remastered for maximum impact! — Georgia Peaches, an 8-song, one-hour performance at Atlanta’s notorious rock club Richards in October 1973 — A full disc of Rarities, Outtakes, & Alternates from the Raw Power Era. — 48 page softcover book with essays by Henry Rollins, Brian J. Bowe and Kris Needs + testimonials by Tom Morello, Lou Reed, Cheetah Chrome, Jim Reid, Perry Farrell, Hugo Burnham and more. — A TON of previously unseen Raw Power-era shots. — 5 exquisite 5x7-inch prints, suitable for framing. — Japanese pic-sleeve 45 single repro: "Raw Power" b/w "Search And Destroy" — The Making of Raw Power documentary by Morgan Neville featuring NEW inter...

Much as I dislike the Grammys, it’s worth mentioning that All Together Now , a documentary about the making of the Cirque Du Soleil/Beatles show, LOVE , was awarded for “Best Long Form Music Video” ( Adrian Wills , director; Martin Bolduc and Jonathan Clyde , producers). The documentary also focuses on the efforts of George and Giles Martin to reconsider The Beatles’ music for the performance. 2006’s LOVE was the result which was awarded for both “Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or other Visual Medium” and “Surround Sound Album.” Probably my most starstruck moment as a self-made music critic (“hack” more like it) occurred after I’d reviewed LOVE , as Giles Martin somehow found my write-up and commented . It’s the closest I’ll ever come to my heroes in suits. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Miles Davis ’s 71 CD set, The Complete Columbia Album Collection , is out in time for Christmas and exclusively available at Amazon . As I wrote back in September , I believe this set to be overkill, but it’s still impressive and beautifully packaged and guaranteed to be an overwhelming listen. It does, however, demonstrate exactly how amazing Miles Davis was. How many musicians can claim to be so prolific as to boast this many works of pure genius? The man was an extraordinary gift. Whether Columbia/Legacy honor the artist with this release, or see it as an opportunity to capitalize on Davis when other labels are so quick to do the same, these albums will always be something to treasure. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

The History Channel will be premiering a new Beatles documentary entitled, The Beatles On Record , which follows the Fab Four as they evolve in the studio. Having already been broadcast by the BBC earlier this year, it will air on Wednesday, November 25th for U.S. audiences. While the amazing Beatles Anthology docu-series perfectly captured The Beatles from their beginning to the end, a documentary solely devoted to the band in the studio is something I’d love to check out. Inasmuch as the new Beatles reissues better-demonstrate the truth to their sound, this documentary should explain exactly how groundbreaking they were, confirming their fully-integrated importance to the musicscape that’s followed. ©2009 A&E Television Networks. All Rights Reserved. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead