Tonight at Mohegan Sun we pay witness to The Beach Boys 50th Anniversary Reunion Tour. Last time we saw them was Central Park in 1971, without Brian Wilson and David Marks… 
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This is the song I am most eager to hear of the 40+ songs they will perform tonight. I believe it is set listed as an encore song.
I admire the tenacity of the band Asia. They are very committed to the longevity of their music and global audience.
Asia announced today that they are assembling a 30 year anniversary world tour. Asia will also release a new studio album “XXX” with the original line-up: Geoff Downes, Steve Howe, Carl Palmer & John Wetton on July 3rd in the US.
Their Connecticut dates later in the year include The Ridgefield Playhouse on October 23rd and Mohegan Sun on October 25th.
The new album, produced by Mike Paxman, has been hailed as Asia’s best album since its classic early 80s releases. The album will be released on CD, collector’s edition CD/DVD (featuring new music videos and behind the scenes footage), and on a limited edition vinyl.
The album’s first single, “Face on the Bridge,” will be available for download on May 14 and is already streaming online.
The Roger Dean, Year of the Water Dragon artwork for the new album and tour is stunning.
I am happy to share with readers of this music blog there is major activity to report from the Santana camp.
The first news item is that Santana has signed a two-year run of unique performances at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. The host property will be the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on Las Vegas Boulevard South. The show is called, An Intimate Evening with Santana: Greatest Hits Live — Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow
House of Blues Las Vegas has been specially reconfigured for the special Santana show. Fans within a few feet of Carlos can select from several intimate locations within the venue, from a limited number of exclusive VIP packages including meet and greets, limited edition photos, specialty dining/beverage packages and stage-side specialty dining.
The two-year residency kicks off on May 2 with a series of shows taking place throughout the months of May & June. The residency will then resume in September and play through 2013.
We saw the first rock ‘n’ roll resident show, Supernatural Santana, A Trip Through The Hits several times during its two-year run at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. They were delightful, memorable evenings for us. We are curious how the shows will differ at the House of Blues venue. Perhaps there is another Santana Las Vegas trip in our future
The second news item to share is that Santana will finally be releasing the album, Shape Shifter sometime in May. It features one song with vocals and then all the rest are spiritual instrumentals. According to a recent interview Carlos conducted with MusicRadar.com he describes Shape Shifter like this:
It’s not one of those guest-vocalist kinds of records. So people will get to hear Carlos Santana all by himself!
The record is basically directed to honor the American Indians. As you know, the people in New Zealand collectively agreed to give an apology to the Aborigines in Australia, and for me, whatever we do here in America to honor the American Indians, the Chinese, African-Americans and everybody else is a big step. So I created a CD, Shape Shifter, and it’s dedicated to the American Indians.
The third new item to report is that the DVD and Blue ray edition of Santana Greatest Hits Live at Montreux 2011 is now available for order. It is a three-hour concert filmed at the historic Montreux Jazz Festival. You may have seen the PBS Special that has some of this concert when it aired in December 2011.
The fourth news item is not substantiated by Santana management yet. It appears that Santana will be touring the East Coast of the United States in the July/August time frame. No venues are announced yet but Santana usually plays Mohegan Sun Casino Arena and/or the Oakdale Theater (or whatever they are calling it these days…) in Wallingford so we have our fingers crossed for a live Santana show near us in Connecticut this summer. 
So how’s that for some great Santana news everyone? Viva Santana!
Last year on Record Store Day Black Friday one of my goals was to find and buy the Rolling Stones 7″ 45, high-resolution, individually numbered collectible. Cutler’s Record Store in New Haven didn’t have it available that day. I eventually found it at Cutler’s after Christmas and bought it. I haven’t opened it yet.
The B side of this EP is song called ”Before They Make Me Run“.
“No Spare Parts” is a song featured as a bonus track on the 2011 re-release of the 1978 album Some Girls. It is one of twelve previously unreleased songs that appear on the reissue. It features newly recorded vocals from Mick Jagger. The song reached number 2 on Billboard’s Hot Singles Sales.
Here is the Stones, “No Spare Part” YouTube video from their Web site.
Just the best song ever, Slash‘s opening guitar coda, Axl Rose‘s compelling vocal, is there any doubt why 36+ million people have listened to and viewed Guns and Roses‘s video, “Sweet Child O’ Mine“.
2102, The Year of The Doors is upon us. The 40th Anniversary of L.A. Woman is being celebrated in high fashion today, January 9th. The World Premiere of the first completely new and unreleased track by The Doors in 40 years, “She Smells So Nice” can be heard on Sound Cloud here.
This unique gem was found by co-producer Bruce Botnick when he was reviewing the L.A. Woman session tapes for the upcoming reissue.
The Doors L.A. Woman 40th Anniversary merchandise will start shipping on or about January 20th, 2012.
There will be a two CD re-issue of the original album, remastered, with an extra disc of bonus material. Disc two has previously unreleased alternate versions of songs featured on the original album along with studio chatter by the band from the recording sessions. Liner notes written by David Fricke, Sr. Editor of Rolling Stone magazine, and original album producer Bruce Botnick.
There will also be a DVD, Mr. Mojo Risin’: The Story of L.A. Woman. Eagle Rock Entertainment has created this documentary detailing how The Doors created their last studio album. Mr Mojo Risin’ goes into detail of how the album came about, its recording and what was happening to the band at the time. The story is told through new interviews with the three surviving Doors: Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger and John Densmore plus contributions from Jac Holzman, founder of their label, Elektra Records, Bill Siddons, their manager, Bruce Botnick, engineer and co-producer of the album and others associated with the Doors at this time. The show includes archive footage of the Doors performing both live and in the studio, classic photographs and new musical demonstrations from the Doors.
Looking ahead to the frontier of new music in 2012 my exploration takes me to the campsite of Norah Jones and the Little Willies. I am always interested in how Norah Jones reinvents herself. Norah Jones is a self-assured artist who pursues her musical vision with a stated conviction that I admire and respect.
For The Good Times is her second recording with the band known as The Little Willies. They are Lee Alexander (bass), Jim Campilongo (guitar), Norah Jones (piano, vocals),Richard Julian (guitar, vocals) and Dan Rieser (drums).
For The Good Times is purported to be a rousing follow-up to their eponymous 2006 debut, and it will be released on January 10, 2012.
There will be plenty of promotional activities associated with For The Good Times. The Little Willies will appear on Letterman on January 10th. They will have their release party in Brooklyn on January 11th at The Bell House.
Here are The Little Willies from a past Late Night with Letterman broadcast.
The “For the Good Times” tracklist is as follows:
- I Worship You (Ralph Stanley)
- Remember Me (Scott Wiseman)
- Diesel Smoke, Dangerous Curves (Cal Martin)
- Lovesick Blues (Cliff Friend/Irving Mills)
- Tommy Rockwood (Jim Campilongo)
- Fist City (Loretta Lynn)
- Permanently Lonely (Willie Nelson)
- Foul Owl On The Prowl (Quincy Jones/Alan Bergman/Marilyn Bergman)
- Wide Open Road (Johnny Cash)
- For The Good Times (Kris Kristofferson)
- If You’ve Got The Money I’ve Got The Time (Lefty Frizzell/Jim Beck)
- Jolene (Dolly Parton
I just needed a rock and roll adrenalin rush tonight. Love when they come out of the laser lights and Peter Townsend goes sliding across the floors on his knees. 4,729,468 Views!
