Weekend!!

We have a few items here before we get off the airwaves and settle into laziness. Ohh, you know the feeling. Even though some of you reading TAP do NOT enjoy weekends, you do enjoy a few days off whenever they might show up.

I did promise a new idea that I'm floating that corresponds to the growing list of Albums You MUST Hear Before You Die! Basically, I want to solicit a single album...your most favourite one of all. I am going to maintain a running list of these and see what might end up at the top with a count down. We keep this one perpetual. In other words, it can consistently be added to. But only one per customer though. It works best when you select only one - the one that you could live with forever. I'm going to provide mine right now as the lead-off selection. It is Born to Run from Bruce Springsteen. It is the one album that I think is the greatest in history. But I'm sure you have other ideas. Let's see how this turns out. Send me your "one only" greatest album in all humankind.

Also, on Monday I plan to provide the newest Band Poll but I'm wondering what it should be. Send me suggestions.

A side note: Looks like Bruce Springsteen is planning to release his follow-up to 2007's Magic in January. That's not too far from here, people. Hopin' that it's good.

Before we run out of here I have something for you. If anyone has the Japanese Mini-LP styled CD collection for Led Zeppelin on their minds (and I know that a few of you do...emails), then you'll need to know that the set has been delayed until November 11. Just in case you were wondering why you haven't received it yet. Bu tto keep you busy until then, here's a link to a listening party with some LedZep tunes. Enjoy!

Led Zeppelin Definitive Collection Listening Party

We have two reviews for you that include Gift of Screws, the latest album from Lindsay Buckingham, and Step In 2 My World by Germany's prog band, Seven Steps to the Green Door. Scroll down for those.

We’ll see you on Monday.

For the long promised Albums You MUST Hear Before You Die! list (#7), I will be posting a letter each post until exhausted (there were only 17 21 25 27 emails).  Some were only a few titles, some only one.  But there were more than a few that were massive and a few extended, well-detailed lists.  I’ll post them as I received them.  Today, I have a huge list of 53 classic albums in a 'tick-off' list format. Thanks to Craig for his list.

1-PINK FLOYD - Dark Side Of The Moon
2-PINK FLOYD - The Wall
3-THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT - Tales of Mystery & Imagination - Edgar Allan Poe
4-KATE BUSH - The Hounds of Love
5-LED ZEPPELIN - Houses of the Holy
6-STEELY DAN - Aja
7-TALK TALK - The Colour of Spring
8-PETER GABRIEL - So
9-QUEEN - A Night at the Opera
10-THE CARS - The Cars
11-DAVID SYLVIAN - Secrets of the Beehive
12-THE BUGGLES - Adventures in Modern Recording
13-MIGUEL BOSE - Bajo el Signo de Cain
14-HAPPY RHODES - Building the Colossus
15-PREFAB SPROUT - Jordan: The Comeback
16-NO-MAN - Flowermouth
17-STING - Nothing Like the Sun
18-EDDIE JOBSON / ZINC - The Green Album
19-SUPERTRAMP - Crime of the Century
20-THE BEATLES - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
21-JONI MITCHELL - Night Ride Home
22-TEARS FOR FEARS - The Seeds of Love
23-ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK - Organisation
24-TANITA TIKARAM - Strangers in the City
25-DIRE STRAITS - Love Over Gold
26-THE BLUE NILE - A Walk Across the Rooftops
27-FLEETWOOD MAC - Rumours
28-CHICAGO - XI
29-ELOY - Colours
30-EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL - Worldwide
31-CAMEL - Nude
32-SAGA - Heads or Tales
33-RICKIE LEE JONES - Pirates
34-BILLY JOEL - 52nd Street
35-ROXY MUSIC - Avalon
36-RUSH - Moving Pictures
37-IT'S IMMATERIAL - Song
38-YES - Fragile
39-JANE SIBERRY - Maria
40-PETER MURPHY - Deep
41-KINGS OF CONVENIENCE - Riot on an Empty Street
42-JON & VANGELIS - The Friends of Mr. Cairo
43-GEORGE MICHAEL - Older
44-XTC - Apple Venus Vol. 1
45-SADE - Love Deluxe
46-THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH - 0898 Beautiful South
47-BUDGIE - Bandolier
48-ALICE COOPER - From The Inside
49-NOT DROWNING, WAVING - Claim
50-CHINA CRISIS - Warped by Success
51-SIMPLE MINDS - New Gold Dream
52-GRACE JONES - Night Clubbing
53-JELLYFISH - Spilt Milk

If you have missed the last As The Disc Spins (updated), check it out here.

To access the previous site and catch up, click here.

Release news is beginning to dry up for the remainder of 2008.  It’s a usual occurrence that long-time and regular readers of TAP already know about.  Regardless, 2008 has been pretty decent with plenty of physical releases of some good titles.  We are seeing some planned titles for 2009, some of them past the first quarter.  I’m letting a few slip out if listed in the first quarter but many labels really frown on having info known too far out.  We just play it by ear.  As the end of 2008 approaches, we’ll likely see even less info, with times that there is so little, we just let the news carry over to next post.  We may put up a review and some banter, but there’s only so much news to go around.  Still, we expect 2009 to be a BIG year for vinyl releases and reissues.  Cool!!  With that, we offer: 

Last post, we mentioned two separate titles for Stevie Nicks.  The actuality is that both titles represent the same release but with enhanced content for the DVD (Live in Chicago).  The companion CD, entitled The Soundstage Sessions contains ten Live performance tracks including an orchestral version of “Landslide.”  The DVD, which is entitled Live in Chicago, is from the same Soundstage production (Oct 2007) but will contain eighteen performance selections that includes a bonus inclusion of the orchestral version of “Landslide.”  The CD (Soundstage Sessions) will also be made available as a DD.  Both Reprise Records titles are planned for January 13, a delay from its originally scheduled October 28 date.

Noted before, watch for the PA and Amended CD/DVD versions of Road to Revolution: Live at Milton Keynes coming on Warner Brothers Records from Linkin Park.  This is planned for release on November 25.

EmArcy Records will begin the New Year with a Jazz release from Clifton Anderson called Decades.  It is scheduled for January 27.

Other Jazz upcoming albums include four John Coltrane titles.  Those include Ascensions (Editions I and II); Kulu Se Mama; Meditations; The John Coltrane Quartet Plays; and a John Coltrane/Archie Shepp disc, New Thing at Newport.  All of these titles are way out there in the final days of the first quarter of 2009.  But I thought that I’d give you Coltrane fans a ‘heads up’ on these.  I will remind as time grows closer.  These are coming from Verve Records.

ECM has several titles already planned for 2009 that include Yesterdays from Jarrett/Peacock/DeJohnette, Life’s Backward Glances coming from Steve Kuhn, Profuma Di Violetta (Trovesi All’opera) from Gianluigi Trovesi, and Complete Codona by Walcott/Cherry/Vasconcelos, all planned for January 13.  Watch for In Principio by Arvo Part (February 3), and New York Days by Enrico Rava (March 3).

Universal Republic will release a Rap title from Savage called Savage Island, planned for December 23, both CD and DD (digital download).

There is a CD/DVD configuration coming from Paramore called The Final RIOT! which is scheduled for November 25.

There are a few soundtracks on the list that include a Hans Zimmer score for Frost/Nixon, and an Angelo Milli score for Seven Pounds (Will Smith).  Both are scheduled for December 16 from Varese Sarabande.  Also, Atlantic will release the film score for Twilight in a Limited Edition LP that will contain 3 posters, as well as a CD version, both planned for December 9.

Decca has a Pop title coming on January 27 from The Love Willows.  The album is called Hey! Hey!.

A collection of Love Songs from The Bee Gees is arriving on December 16.

Island will put together a 3CD Brick (as yet untitled) for The Killers, likely encompassing their entire catalogue thus far for those needing to catch up or who has heard The Killers for the first time and want all of the albums.  This assembly is planned for November 25.

Verve Records has a Diana Krall album (untitled as of yet) planned for February 10.  We’ll remind, as always.

We're a bit late to this party. But that's OK. We arrived anyhow. We're posting this just in case some of you have been thinking about this one or was on the fence about it. Hopefully, our review will help you make a decision one way or the other. Gift of Screws is the latest album from Lindsay Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac fame (as if you didn't know).

Ry Cooder's importance is underscored by the release of this 2CD Anthology, The UFO Has Landed. There are many representative songs within that make this package a thanksful one.

Bloc Party left a lasting impression with their first album, 2005's extraordinary Silent Alarm. It was followed up with an album that some enjoyed but many more were shocked by. However, lost ground was made up by this new album, Intimacy, with its wide selection of excellent songs. Welcome back, Bloc Party.