More Releaseshttp://www.directcurrentmusic.com/more-recent-releases/en-US2010-03-13T15:42:40ZSquarespace Site Server v5.9.2 (http://www.squarespace.com/)Tom Petty + The Heartbreakers - Live Anthlogyhttp://www.directcurrentmusic.com/more-recent-releases/2009/11/1/tom-petty-the-heartbreakers-live-anthlogy.htmlDirect Current2009-11-02T00:38:04ZRock - Culled from three decades of concerts and literally hundreds of hours of performance recordings, the extensive 48-track, 4-CD box set Live Anthology arriving November 24 from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is a handpicked collection of the band's best songs mixed in with a few interesting rarities and covers. Petty and fellow Heartbreaker Mike Campbell worked with engineer Ryan Ulyate to comb through the many concerts in the Petty vault, looking for the best takes but careful not to mess with the original masters -- all of the songs are presented warts and all, with no "fixes" or overdubs.

Along with their own hits and originals, the Live Anthology also features some of their legendary covers including the Zombies’ “I Want You Back Again,” Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic", The Grateful Dead’s “Friend of the Devil,” Fleetwood Mac’s blues rave-up “Oh Well,” Booker T. and the MGs “Green Onions” and The Byrds “Ballad Of Easy Rider” among others. A special Deluxe Live Box, available exclusively at Best Buy, includes a fifth audio CD with 14 additional songs as well as two DVDs and a special Blu-Ray HD DVD that features all 62 tracks in super hi-fidelity sound. Full CD track listing after the jump...

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Tom Petty - "Refugee" (1983 Irvine, California from Live Anthology)

]]>Tom Waits - Glitter and Doom Livehttp://www.directcurrentmusic.com/more-recent-releases/2009/10/30/tom-waits-glitter-and-doom-live.htmlDirect Current2009-10-30T22:16:27ZPop/Alt/Blues/Rock - It's probably safe to say that there's not a lot of middle ground of opinion when it comes to the music of Tom Waits. Easily considered one of our finest songwriters, Waits has been making uncompromising music since the early 70's, moving from the early incarnation of raspy piano bar balladeer and story teller - culminating in such well-known classics as "Downtown Train" and "Jersey Girl" -  to the dramatic, challenging and increasingly raucous recordings of stomping, blistering and razor-sharp Americana-meets-alt/art-rock. Needless to say the man is an original. Wailing with a megaphone, raining down a cacophonous barrage of angular, demanding and often humorously surreal rants, Waits can also still manage to muster a lovely, if croaking, New Orleans-styled ballad of unparalleled melodic simplicity.

All is on display and in full force on Glitter and Doom Live, a sprawling live recording that captures Waits and his amazing band roaring, reeling and crawling through seventeen classics of uniquely Waits-ian showman-like bluster and blues. Taken from a variety of performances throughout his international tour, the disc's original songs are often completely reworked here to maximum quaking theatricality, with Waits taking center stage in a variety of roles and pushing his backing quintet to one brutal, punching climax after another. Hymns of stark emotion, swampy, ragged rock stomps and gutter-tough boogity boogies drift and collide at will. Did we mention the guy's an original? Also included -- a second disc titled "Tom Tales" a collection of in-between song ramblings and stories, invective and insight. For the adventurous, there's nothing quite like a Tom Waits performance and Glitter and Doom Live shows us, in all its odd and manic glory, just why that is. EPK after the jump.

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Tom Waits - "Get Behind the Mule" (from Glitter and Doom Live)

]]>Snow Patrol - Up To Nowhttp://www.directcurrentmusic.com/more-recent-releases/2009/10/30/snow-patrol-up-to-now.htmlDirect Current2009-10-30T20:15:48ZRock/Pop/Alt - Even though Snow Patrol has been banging around the U.K. for almost 15 years, it wasn't until the band's 2003 album Final Straw - their first with producer Jacknife Lee - and first major hit "Run" that they finally began their ascendancy to massive chart and tour success. For U.S. audiences, it began in 2006 with the album five-million-selling Eyes Wide Open and the huge, can't-escape-from-it single "Chasing Cars". A year ago, Snow Patrol released their fifth album A Hundred Million Suns, a tougher-edged version of the band's grandeur rock style that received some solid reviews but failed to meet the commercial expectations raised post-"Chasing Cars."

 New November 10 anthology Up To Now, as the title suggests, collects thirty tracks from the Snow Patrol catalog, including rarities, covers, radio hits and selections from frontman Gary Lightbody's side-project Reindeer Section featuring members of various Scottish bands. Of particular note are three previously unreleased newer recordings including lead single "Just Say Yes", a song Lightbody wrote for Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger's never-released solo album and, according to the band, a more "techno" style that may be an indication of the band's new direction. Up To Now's deluxe version tacks on a third disc -- a DVD featuring two exclusive documentaries, ‘The Lightning Strike’ animated film and previously unseen live footage. Watch the "Just Say Yes" video after the jump...

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Snow Patrol - "Just Say Yes" (from the album Up To Now)

]]>Martha Wainwright - Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, A Paris: The Piaf Recordhttp://www.directcurrentmusic.com/more-recent-releases/2009/10/30/martha-wainwright-sans-fusils-ni-souliers-a-paris-the-piaf-r.htmlDirect Current2009-10-30T16:03:35ZPop/Adult - Reworking rare Edith Piaf songs, recording them live in concert and, naturally, in French may automatically violate three cardinal rules of American popular music career advancement, but fortunately for us, the wondrously talented singer and songwriter Martha Wainwright doesn't exactly follow the canons of the "business" of music. At the suggestion of friend and off-center production genius Hal Wilner and perhaps taking a page from brother Rufus' recent foray into iconic female singer (ie., his glam Judy Garland tribute), the Montreal-raised Wainwright decided to take on her Francophile upbringing and boldly reinterpret the mournfully dramatic songs of the legendary Little Sparrow, considered to be the greatest and most popular French singer ever.

Recorded live over the course three nights in New York this past June, Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, A Paris (November 9 in Europe, U.S. TBD) features fifteen Piaf songs -- only a couple of which most would recognize -- chosen from more than 300 that Wainwright researched via Wilner. "In doing the shows, I realized the record should be live," she remarks. "I think there was an energy that happened. And a tension and an energy in the music that really worked." Wainwright called upon some of the best "downtown" NY musicians and worked to keep the quirky twists of Piafs original productions while adding some bold new strokes. The result is a daring, powerful and personal work that - while not for every palate - challenges and then rewards. And isn't that what art is supposed to do?

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Martha Wainwright - "C’est Toujours la Même Histoire" (from the album Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, A Paris: Martha Wainwright's Piaf Record) (Recorded live on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon)

]]>Heather Masse - Bird Songhttp://www.directcurrentmusic.com/more-recent-releases/2009/10/29/heather-masse-bird-song.htmlDirect Current2009-10-29T20:31:17ZPop/Folk/Jazz - Whether she's singing jazz standards, rustic folk ballads, sophisticated adult pop or the tradition-steeped, three-part harmony glory of the Canadian trio The Wailin' Jennys, versatile New York-based singer/songwriter Heather Masse has proven that she can do it all...and do it exceptionally well at that. With a an unaffected, beautifully textured voice that is both warmly inviting and strikingly pure, Masse brings a natural nuance to a song that is neither overly studied or under played. We heard one side of her talent with last year's flawless jazz/folk five-track EP Many Moons that featured simple piano/voice duets of uncommon elegance and another this summer on The Wailin' Jennys impeccable live album.

With the release of her new solo album Bird Song, arriving November 10 via Red House, Masse and her band have created her most fully realized work yet, a stunning, remarkably varied collection of uniquely American music that touches progressive folk, bluegrass-tinged Americana and contemporary adult leanings. Album opener "I Don't Wanna Wake Up Today" is a gentle blues/rock swayer featuring Masse's lovely vocals and tasteful piano and guitar shadings while the goose-bump inducing title track takes a soft rhythmic accompaniment, Masse's honey-dipped voice and a Celtic-meets-Appalachia melody to subtle, celestial harmonic heights. Highly recommended.

Heather Masse - "Bird Song" (from the album Bird Song)

Heather Masse - "I Don't Wannna Wake Up Today" (from the album Bird Song)

]]>Paul McCartney - Good Evening New York Cityhttp://www.directcurrentmusic.com/more-recent-releases/2009/10/28/paul-mccartney-good-evening-new-york-city.htmlDirect Current2009-10-28T20:10:45ZPop/Rock - Recorded this past July at Paul McCartney's New York City Field performances -- site of the the Beatles 1965 concert at Shea Stadium -- the new Good Evening New York City (Hear Music) CD and/or DVD captures The Cute One with full band, bombast and brillance with a heaping 33-song slab of both Beatles and solo materical. Says Macca: "It was three great nights for the band and for me personally it was very exciting to be back opening a new stadium on the site of the old Shea Stadium where we had played 44 years previously. Even more exciting because this time round you could hear us!”

From the label: "As the inaugural musical event at Citi Field, the site of the former Shea Stadium, the July 2009 shows held special significance not only for McCartney but for generations of his fans. The shows were performed on the same hallowed ground that The Beatles, in 1965, played the 34-minute show that would set the precedent for the modern day stadium rock show--and where in 2008 McCartney joined Billy Joel for the final rock show before the original stadium's demolition. As documented on Good Evening New York City, "I'm Down" from the 1965 set list was revived for the Citi Field shows, albeit this time played through a PA that was not overpowered by screaming fans (though there were still several thousand who tried).

Other highlights of “Good Evening New York City” include faithful takes on Beatles classics "Drive My Car," "Got To Get You Into My Life," "The Long And Winding Road," "Blackbird," "Eleanor Rigby," "Back In The USSR," "Paperback Writer," "Let It Be," "Hey Jude," "Helter Skelter" and more, plus "Something" rendered on ukulele gifted to Paul by George Harrison, and a tribute to John Lennon in the form of a medley of "A Day In The Life" and "Give Peace A Chance." Wings era chestnuts include “Band On The Run," "My Love," "Let Me Roll It" and the pyrotechnic tour de force of "Live And Let Die," while timeless McCartney solo material ranges from "Here Today" to the upbeat "Flaming Pie" and "Dance Tonight" to a pair of numbers from Electric Arguments, the 2008 album released under the alias of The Fireman."

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]]>Sting - If On A Winter's Nighthttp://www.directcurrentmusic.com/more-recent-releases/2009/10/26/sting-if-on-a-winters-night.htmlDirect Current2009-10-26T07:44:20ZFolk/Pop - "Winter is the season of imagination..more than any other", says Sting reflecting on his new album If On A Winter's Night (October 26, Decca). Taking what he calls the "magical" time of year and applying the experiences of his recent classical and traditional British folk excursion Tales of the Labyrinth, he has emerged with the rarest of seasonal projects -- an album almost completely devoid of any well-known holiday standards. There are the ancient ballads and 14th century, lullabies and even a traditional "begging song." And there are even a couple of Sting originals including a version of "The Hounds of Winter" from his Mercury Falling album."I was drawn to songs that has an ambivalent quality about them," he observes, "because that's how I feel about winter and Christmas generally."

The mood overall is one of somber mystery: you can practically smell candle wax and wood fire along the damp English countryside. Sting, to his credit, doesn't overplay his hand here, singing his carefully chosen selections with an admiring but respectful nod to historical and studied classical stylistic references - which can take the listener aback at times. He also brings in some excellent backup including longtime guitarist Dominic Miller and the stunning Webb Sisters, who flew to New York to record some vocals while on their extended tour with Leonard Cohen. For the hardcore Christmas "carols" music fan, this isn't for you -- but if you found his Labyrinth of interest or have a taste for some dusted-off Brit-trad folk, Winter's Night might be what you're looking for. Watch the EPK after the jump...and look for a live concert of Sting performing songs from If On A Winter's Night on PBS next month and on DVD November 23.

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Sting - "The Snow It Melts the Soonest" (from If On A Winter's Night)

]]>Zoey Van Goey - The Cage Was Unlocked All Alonghttp://www.directcurrentmusic.com/more-recent-releases/2009/10/23/zoey-van-goey-the-cage-was-unlocked-all-along.htmlDirect Current2009-10-23T23:46:25Z Glasgow-based folk/pop trio Zoey Van Goey may have a twee nerdy charm just below the surface of their clever, often lyrically surreal and quietly mindblowing debut album The Cage Was Unlocked All Along, but we're certainly the better for it. Jangly guitars, electronica flourishes and the lovely vocals of Kim Moore bring an undeniable sunny disposition to the shiny surface of the ZVG mystique but beneath the well-mannered charm there's a deeper, darker subversive element bleeding through. There are songs of apocolyptic computer meltdowns and teaching English in Japan, romantic ballads of kidnapping, bandits and buried treasure. Described by one critic as "cuddlecore", this is music that seems to intersect somewhere between a smile and a grimace, smart songs that bring you back to reveal something new and interesting with each listen.

 The threesome's first single, 2007's "Foxtrot Vandals" was produced by Belle and Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch and moves at a brisk trot, all strum and propulsive, shimmering kick. But with producer Paul Savage at the helm -- and with many more months of writing and studio work -- Cage ended up veering off into more shadowy and daring territory: quieter, pulsing with electronics and decidedly more studied in tone. Songs such as the delicately structured "City Is Exploding" and the chiming, atmospheric "The Best Treasure Stays Buried" seem to drift with a languid nonchalance but the razor-edged lyrics - and Moore's wonderfully cryptic singing - keep the imagery and lovingly crafted melodies in sharp focus. Cage, released independently by the band in June just got wider U.K. distribution today and is available as an import. Highly recommended.

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Zoey Van Goey - "The Best Treasure Stays Buried" (from the album The Cage Was Unlocked All Along)

Zoey Van Goey - "City Is Exploding" (from the album The Cage Was Unlocked All Along)

]]>Ivan and Alyosha - The Verse, The Chorushttp://www.directcurrentmusic.com/more-recent-releases/ivan-and-alyosha-the-verse-the-chorus.htmlDirect Current2009-10-23T23:22:02ZPop/Rock - Wearing your influences so proudly on your sleeve can often work against you. After all, if you're simply recycling melodies, riffs and production style of another era, why bother? Fortunately for the quirkily named Ivan and Alyosha, Seattle duo Tim Wilson and Ryan Carbury's love of 60's and 70's pre-punk Brit Invasion pop/rock may serve as a defining touchstone but the lovingly crafted nuggets that emerge from their debut EP The Verse, The Chorus (Cheap Lullaby) have the superb songwriting chops behind them to let them be judged on their own exemplary merits.

Like San Francisco's late, great Jellyfish, Portland's Shins, Scotland's Del Amitri and Travis and Boston's Bleu, Ivan and Alyosha's affinity for Lennon and McCartney, ELO's Jeff Lynne, T-Rex's Marc Bolan (and the more modern derivations) is pretty clear from the outset. But stripped of the homage-heavy production, songs such as "Beautiful Lie" and "Easy To Love" still have the gloriously hummable and inventively twisty melodies intact to stand up to the most meticulous retro comparisons. Choruses soar, guitars jangle, harmonies swoon and all is right with the world again -- somebody really does make 'em like they used to. Recommended.

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Ivan and Alyosha - "Easy to Love" (from the EP The Verse, The Chorus)

Ivan and Alyosha - "Beautiful Lie" (from the EP The Verse, The Chorus)

]]>Pieta Brown - Shimmerhttp://www.directcurrentmusic.com/more-recent-releases/2009/10/23/pieta-brown-shimmer.htmlDirect Current2009-10-23T23:17:10ZFolk/Americana - Acclaimed producer Don Was literally pulled off to the side of an L.A. freeway when he heard the voice of Pieta Brown live in the studio from trendsetting radio station KCRW. A few phone calls, emails and months later, Brown and guitarist Bo Ramsey met up with Was at his home to play him some new songs. Wanting to capture her remarkable voice "unadorned", Was grabbed his bass and joined Brown and Ramsey in the studio, mixing the impromptu sessions live as they went down. The result is the wondrous Shimmer (November 10, Red House), a seven-track mini-album that captures Brown's poetic lyricism, wonderfully sweet and smoky voice and the intimate immediacy that comes from three skilled musicians plying their crafts with palpable inspiration.

Residing stylistically somewhere between Lucinda Williams' alt-country twang and the eclectic, boundary-blurring songwriting of Cat Power and Leslie Feist, Brown draws deep upon her slow-cooked rural roots but unlike most, moves ahead into her own quietly daring territory. Beneath her soft, folksy drawl lies an intensity -- what Was calls "major star power magnetism" and the BBC has termed "seductive simplicity." Songs such as "You're My Lover Now" drift and sway with easy, graceful moves as Brown's deceptively wispy voice is suspended in air, seemingly close enough to feel her breath in your ear. Highly recommended.

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Pieta Brown - "You're My Lover Now" (from the album/EP Shimmer)

Pieta Brown - "It's Just As Well" (from the album Remember the Sun)

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