So Tough and Sound of Water already available; Fox Base Beta due soon.

By Blurt Staff

About a week and a half ago Saint Etienne fans began receiving their expanded/remastered "Deluxe Editions" of the band's So Tough and Sound of Water (see full details, below) - they came on the heels of the two-disc versions, issued a few months ago, of Fox Base Alpha and Continental, all part of a year-long overhaul of the group's back catalog.

Then this morning, SE acolytes opened their email to receive even more good news: a limited/numbered and remixed version of FBA, titled Fox Base Beta, is en route, with pre-orders available through the fan club starting September 21. Here's the complete communiqué from the band:

Journey through the past, part 5.

Rumours have been flying left right and centre, but we can finally confirm that disco dynamo Richard X has taken Foxbase Alpha and re-arranged it into a brand new beast called FOXBASE BETA. Using the original masters, adding cellos, electrix, choirs, and the spirit of Brian Cant he has created something really special - spruced-up yet reverential, it is essentially a 2009 up-date of Foxbase Alpha, given a shot of vodka and a loving caress. We're chuffed. It feels unnervingly like jumping into a Tardis.

FOXBASE BETA will be issued, via the fan club, as a limited, numbered 2CD set of 3,000 copies, which will also include FOXBASE EXTRA, three unreleased recordings from the original album sessions: a just discovered coda to Girl VII (we'd forgotten it existed), a summery instrumental called Richard III, and the first, very different, take of Kiss And Make Up, which was the very first Saint Etienne recording. We cut it one afternoon in January 1990, and then Only Love Can Break Your Heart in the evening! It was all so simple then. These tracks won't be available anywhere else.

There will also be a 'directors' commentary' on the bonus disc. Informative, yes. Pithy, quite possibly.

An un-numbered, single disc edition will be available at gigs and through Rough Trade. It will also be available for digital download (with the commentary but without the bonus tracks).

For club promo, a 4-track 12" is currently at the pressing plant, including extended Foxbase Beta version of Only Love Can Break Your Heart (plus instrumental mix), the FBB version of Girl VII (grrrreat), and Gothenburg's Balearic princes Air France's mix of Spring. We'll have 200 copies of this available through the fan club. As soon as we have them we'll let you know.

Foxbase Beta will be available to pre-order on Monday 21st of September. More details next week.

England in the World Cup finals, 3 Of A Kind's Babycakes playing on my hi-fi, Foxbase Beta finally put to bed. Late summer, early autumn, and all is good.

love

Bob xx

Meanwhile, about the two albums mentioned above...

So Tough, SE's 2^nd album, originally arrived in 1993. For the Deluxe Edition, the album has been completely remastered and expanded to a second disc of 17 bonus tracks of rarities, b-sides and unreleased tracks, including aover version of Teenage Fanclub's Everything Flows. packaging includes a 24 page booklet featuring extensive sleevenotes.

Tracklisting:

Disc 1 - Side 1

1. Mario's Cafe
2. Railway Jam
3. Date With Spelman
4. Calico
5. Avenue
6. You're In A Bad Way
7. Memo To Pricey
8. Hobart Paving
9. Leafhound
10. Clock Milk
11. Conchita Martinez
12. No Rainbows For Me
13. Here Comes Clown Feet
14. Junk The Morgue
15. Chicken Soup

Disc 2 - Side 1

1. Everything Flows
2. Railway Jam Vocal Version
3. Who Do You Think You Are
4. Some Place Else
5. Duke Duvet
6. Paper
7. Johnny In The Echo Cafe
8. Archway People
9. California Snow Story
10. Join Our Club
11. Everlasting
12. Snowplough Instrumental
13. Rainy Day Women
14. Peterloo Instrumental
15. I'm Too Sexy
16. Stranger In Paradise
17. Hobart Paving Van Dyke Parks Version

Then 2000's Sound of Water, their fifth, featured production by High Llamas' Sean O'Hagan and To Rocco Rot. The remastered edition adds a second disc of 17 bonus tracks of rarities, b-sides and unreleased tracks plus a 24 page booklet featuring extensive sleevenotes.

Tracklisting:

Disc 1 - Side 1

1. Late Morning
2. Heart Failed (In The Back Of A Taxi)
3. Sycamore
4. Don't Back Down
5. Just A Little Overcome
6. Boy Is Crying
7. Aspects Of Lambert
8. Downey CA.
9. How We Used To Live
10. The Place At Dawn

Disc 2 - Side 1

1. Roseneck
2. Northwestern
3. Red Setter
4. Blofeld Buildings
5. Bar Conscience
6. Shoot Out The Lights
7. Thank You
8. Chaos At The Gym
9. Tony Jacket
10. Garage For Gunther
11. Ivyhouse
12. 52 Pilot
13. We're In The City
14. Artieripp
15. Sadie's Anniversary
16. Half Timbered
17. Empty Shop

Our second  pick in a new series: Brazilian band's latest album is what's twirling our tassels as we head into the weekend...

By Fred Mills

Brazil's Os Mutantes recently signed to Anti- Records, and the first fruits of the partnership arrived this week. The new album is pretty amazing - you can read the review HERE.

As BLURT's worldbeat expert Mark Jenkins puts it, "Haih or Amortecedor reclaims the anything-goes form known as ‘Tropicalia': Indian raga yields to pop-folk crooning, boss nova mates with acid-rock and tunes that echo 1930s big-band styles sound both authentic and fresh."

Os Mutantes is BLURT's second official Band O' The Week. (Last week was The Clean.) Check back each Friday for that week's selection.

Check out the band's MySpace page for song samples.

John Lydon reforms Public Image Limited minus, uh, the band. Vintage vid clips below.

By Fred Mills

Let's be honest: Public Image Limited was a pretty great band, from the signature Pistolian clang of the "Public Image" single and the groundbreaking Metal Box album to that memorable lip-synching appearance on "American Bandstand" (see clip, below) and the group's latterday intersection with Bill Laswell. Founder John Lydon put the group on the shelf in 1992, however, in order to become a professional celebrity (those ads for Country Life butter were awesome; see clip below).

Media reports this week inform us that Lydon is reassembling PiL for a 5-date string of concerts in England in December. Apparently for Lydon the parrot, er, band, wasn't dead, merely sleeping: "We'll see where we can go," Lydon told London's Guardian. "Some things may be quite similar, some may not."

A few things that will not include the musicians: there's no Keith Levene or Jah Wobble or Martin Atkins, who formed the core of the band when it was at its most creative an influential. Instead, Lu Edmonds will be on guitar, Bruce Smith on bass, and Scott Firth will fill in on keyboards, additional guitars and whatnot.

It's too early, of course, to determine if audiences will feel they've been cheated. Bets are, however, that Lydon will walk away with a sweet payday.

PiL on American Bandstand 1980:

Lydon shilling for Country Life:

Looks like it's gonna be mad stampede to all the torrent sites. Meanwhile, prices for the boxes skyrocket on eBay.

By Fred Mills

Amid all the media hoopla over the Beatles remastered reissues and the corresponding stereo and mono box sets (the latter a strictly limited edition), someone apparently forgot to tell retailers to stock up, because word is that the stock is, er, out. eBay sellers (see below) responded accordingly, of course.

While Billboard.biz, in their report on initial sales ("Strong Global Demand For Beatles Reissues"), somewhat euphemistically noted that "supplies of the box sets may be an issue" in various countries, the hard truth is that if you didn't preorder your box, particularly the mono set, you just may be out of luck, at least for an unspecified period of time.

Music blogger Bob Lefsetz already observed in last night's entry that there were "ongoing complaints that you couldn't even get Beatle product, that it was sold out everywhere." Indeed, the most reliable indicator of product availability (in the U.S. at least) is Amazon.com, and as of mid afternoon yesterday, neither box was available. The stereo box, which had its price down from the $259 suggested retail to a sweet spot of $179, is currently showing a shipping delay of 2 to 4 weeks, while the mono box, priced at $229, down from $298, says 3 to 6 weeks. (Hint to fans: go ahead and back order the boxes asap from Amazon to lock in those prices, and request the free shipping option as well.) There's a pretty fascinating forum at the Amazon.com devoted to discussing just the mono box, incidentally, including comments about availability and non-availability at Amazon and elsewhere. Beatlesnews.com is also publishing some lively commentary at their site.

Other online retailers are showing similar scenarios: Wal-Mart shows the stereo is out, and the mono isn't even listed; ditto Borders; Best Buy says the stereo is backordered, and the mono listing was removed yesterday afternoon; places like CD Universe are not even listing the boxes.

Barnes & Noble is actually showing both boxes as being available, albeit with no discounting unless you're a member: stereo box $259 (members $233), mono box $298 (members $269). Of course, if you've ever ordered online from B&N you know that you sometimes don't even find out that your purchase is on backorder until the final checkout procedure!

Do a search at Target.com and you'll get this message: We could not find exact matches for "The Beatles Stereo Box Set"; We could not find exact matches for "The Beatles Mono Box Set".

So what's an out-of-luck fan to do? Why, track down the booty via illicit download methods, natch! INeedFile.com, a RapidShare file search service, for example, is showing some options... Admittedly, not quite the same as holding he artifact, reading the liners, etc, but hey...

Or you could simply make a deposit in your PayPal account and hit eBay. A quick check of currently active listings for the mono box (most of them touting, in ALL CAPS, some variation of "SOLD OUT EVERYWHERE") shows 151 sales, with starting bids in the rather astonishing range of $230 to $750, the Buy It Now option generally ranging from $350 to $450. That's quite a markup for less than 24 hours. (The stereo box was obviously in less demand, as you can get a copy with Buy It Now for in the neighborhood of $250.)

Ain't capitalism grand? To those who think that American turned into a socialist society the day Obama got elected, we say feh! Business as usual in the good ol' U.S. of A.

Releases his debut in November; tour follows.

By Blurt Staff

Curtis Harvey, best known for his work with/as Rex and Pullman, will release his first solo album titled Box Of Stones November 3 on Fat Cat Records.

While Box Of Stones marks a departure from Harvey's previous work, his gift for melody and use of detailed instrumentation remains. An intensely personal collection, Box Of Stones allows Harvey to explore affinities for John Fahey, Dust Bowl protest songs, and traditional song structures, while retaining the interest in textural sonics that marked his previous projects.

Recorded in the small studio in Harvey's basement, Box Of Stones' immediacy owes much to his immersive process, with Harvey playing everything and often recording the vocals in only one take; for percussion, Harvey says, he used "whatever happened to be [around] at the time: bottles, pencils, pots and pans, an old snare and bass drum." For "Seen," Harvey recorded the audience at a live show at Brooklyn's Union Pool as they accompanied him on the chorus.

Though Harvey's recorded output has been minimal since Pullman's 2001 album Viewfinder - consisting of the sole release by the Curtis Harvey Trio, a cover of "Changes" for 2005 Black Sabbath cover compilation Everything Comes And Goes and a Pullman song for Thrill Jockey's 2007 anniversary compilation - Harvey explains that he's never stopped recording or writing music, despite the break from making records.

Harvey will be touring the east coast/midwest for two weeks in December, and plans a full US run for spring 2010.

You lookin' at me? Tramps like these, baby, they were born to run...

By Blurt Staff

This year's Kennedy Center Honors should prove interesting: Bruce Springsteen and Robert De Niro, along with Mel Brooks, Dave Brubeck and opera's Grace Bumbry, are the 32^nd edition's honorees. They'll appear December 6 at the White House then be whisked over to the Kennedy Center to receive their kudos (CBS will air the ceremony Dec. 29). And yes, they'll be jostling for table space with President and Michelle Obama.

In a statement issued yesterday by the Kennedy Center:

"This year, the Kennedy Center celebrates five extraordinary individuals whose unique and abundant artistry has contributed significantly to the cultural life of our nation and the world. With his hilarious movies and musicals, Mel Brooks has created comedic gems that will keep us laughing for years to come. Dave Brubeck's genius has dazzled us for six decades and has helped to define an American art form. Grace Bumbry helped to break the color barrier on her way to one of the most illustrious operatic careers in the 20th century. One of America's greatest cinematic actors, Robert De Niro has demonstrated a legendary commitment to his characters and has co-founded one of the world's major film festivals. With his gritty and honest songs that speak to the everyman, Bruce Springsteen has always had his finger on the pulse of America."

Behind that sweet smile lurks... the mind of someone who can't thumb their Blackberry!

By Blurt Staff

This just in from the "sometimes we write the news, sometimes the news just writes itself" dept.:

Activision is responding to queries regarding the usage of Kurt Cobain's likeness in Guitar Hero 5 with the following statement "Guitar Hero secured the necessary licensing rights from the Cobain estate in a written agreement signed by Courtney Love to use Kurt Cobain's likeness as a fully playable character in Guitar Hero® 5."

Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl, the two surviving members of Nirvana, have no say whatsoever in the usage of Kurt Cobain's likeness. 

All this may be Greek to you unless you've kept up with Courtney Love's eternally fascinating, keyboard-challenged Twitter postings of late in which she claimed publicly that she had not approved the usage of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain's likeness in Guitar Hero 5. Furthermore, she's ben telling anyone who'll listen that she is planning on siccing her lawyers on Activision. Oh, and something about wanting Grohl to get ass-raped. Meanwhile, journalist Everett True waded into this minefield as well... who can keep up with all this stuff?!?

Anyhow, sounds like Activision may have the, er, upper hand, assuming they can produce the written agreement they say they have in court. Or merely to one of Love's lawyers, who then will presumably send Love on her way and bank their fee. Memo to self: folks who holler the loudest about launching lawsuits are the ones most likely not to have firm legal footing.

Kurt Cobain/Guitar Hero trailer below. We're not sure why anyone wants to get all hot and bothered about this. There's no issue of artistic integrity here, or about being true to a late artist's intentions, or any of that blather - IT'S A FUCKING VIDEO GAME, FOR CHRISSAKES, GET OVER IT!!!

New album of original material features plenty of star cameos, and more.

By Blurt Staff

Last year we ran a feature on Doveman (that's Thomas Bartlett to his ma and pa) and his groundbreaking 2008 reimagining" of the Footloose soundtrack. Kevin Bacon was mighty proud... Keyboardist Bartlett has also worked with the likes of The National, Antony, Bebel Gilberto, The Swell Season/The Frames and Martha Wainwright, and he's a pretty in-demand session cat.

Now comes word that he's returning to his Doveman persona for a new album, The Conformist, due Oct. 20 from the Brassland label. He'll be backed by members of The National along with longtime collaborators Nico Muhly and Sam Amidon.

The details, courtesy Brassland:

Doveman is the project through which Bartlett steps forward as a songwriter and front man, and on The Conformist, produced by Grammy Award winner Patrick Dillett (David Byrne, Caetano Veloso, Mary J. Blige), Bartlett is heard singing in his unique voice throughout, in addition to playing multiple instruments. Though Bartlett is classically trained and technically proficient‹he dropped out of high school to study in London with Maria Curcio--the album¹s eleven tracks are mostly straightforward pop-rock songs; much of their richness lies in the atmospheric soundscape in which Bartlett situates his compositions. He performs the music with a core band that includes The National members Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner and Bryan Devendorf; Nico Muhly; longtime Doveman member Sam Amidon; and a string section. The Conformist also features a number of surprising guest vocal performances, with turns by Martha Wainwright, Matt Berninger (The National) and Norah Jones, among others.

The Conformist is Bartlett¹s first collection of original material since 2007's With My Left Hand I Raise the Dead. Fall-winter tour dates will be announced soon.

Track Listing

1. Breathing Out

2. The Best Thing

3. Memorize

4. Hurricane

5. Aftermath

6. From Silence

7. The Cat Awoke

8. Angel¹s Share

9. The Burgundy Stain

10. Tigers

11. Castles

Acclaimed trumpeter killed in wreck late Monday.

By Blurt Staff

Sad news for music fans today - reports have come in that Fred Mills was killed Monday evening in a traffic accident between Athens and Atlanta. He was 74 (although some accounts list his age as 70).

The trumpeter for the Canadian Brass (Grammy nominated in 1992) had been teaching at the University of Georgia since 1996 and coached the graduate brass quintet The Bulldog Brass Society.

A posting at the Canadian Brass website read "He inspired thousands upon thousands of young musicians around the world to explore their own musical talents, tastes, interests and love of performance. Freddy's influence in the musical world is incalculable - his love of life, whacky sense of humour, deep knowledge of music, amazing memory for events, wide range of friends, will be truly missed by everyone with whom he came in contact. He was a Canadian national treasure."

Esteemed Black Dog publishing house digs deep into the German archives.

By Fred Mills

First there was Julian Cope's delightfully eccentric and impassioned Krautrocksampler. Then came the Freeman Brothers' The Crack in the Cosmic Egg, rightly (if wordily) billed as a near-definitive "Encyclopedia of Krautrock, Kosmiche Musik & Other Progressive, Experimental & Electronic Musics from Germany." Close it its heels was Dag Erik Asbjornsen's Cosmic Dreams At Play, subtitled "A guide to German progressive and electronic rock" (somewhat less scholarly than the Freemans' tome, but in many ways more descriptive).

To date, fans and collectors of Krautrock - that indigenous and influential, if sprawling and genre-spanning, strain of Germanic music that included legends like Faust, Kraftwerk, Neu!, Tangerine Dream and Amon Duul alongside hundreds of lesser knowns (though no less worthy) - have been relatively well-served in terms of documentation for their passion. Yours truly counts himself among those fans. But as we all know, the more the merrier; an addition to the bookshelf is always welcome. Plus, the books listed above are out of print (the Freemans' was subsequently published on CD-ROM, however), so newcomers might not be able to access the material quite so readily.

So mark your calendars, all you kosmiche travelers, for Nov. 3: that's when Krautrock: Cosmic Rock and Its Legacy, edited by Nikos Kotsopoulos, arrives courtesy Black Dog Publishing (Oct. 20 in the UK).

According to the official product description:

"Krautrock charts the history of this influential music genre, from its roots in free jazz, psychedelia and the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen, to the groundbreaking experiments of Faust, Kraftwerk and Can.

"The late 1960s in West Germany was a period of profound breakthroughs, upheavals and reversals. Communes were spreading, protests organised throughout the entire country, the desire to begin everything anew permeating the young. Out of this climate, a music scene exploded that would forever change the face of Western rock; at times anarchic, at others mystical, and utopian, it pushed rock beyond any known limits.

"From the relentless drum beating of Amon Duul I, to the eastern tinged mysticism of Popol Vuh and the sonic assaults of Conrad Schnitzler, Krautrock: Cosmic Rock and Its Legacy traces the history of this complex and eschewing definition phenomenon.

"Illustrated with concert photos, posters, record cover art and other rare and previously unseen visual material, this book is the ultimate tour-de-force of a movement whose influence and impact is still being felt today. With essays by Michel Faber, David Keenan, Erik Davis, Ken Hollings, a foreword by Steven Stapleton of Nurse with Wound, and testimonials from Gavin Russom (Delia and Gavin), and Ann Shenton (Add N to (x)) this is an essential compendium to a music whose spirit and ideas still vibrate through contemporary music today."

Well, all right then! Find out more about the book, including ordering details, at the Black Dog site.

Black Dog, of course, has previously published numerous highly-regarded music books, among them histories of the Immediate and Ace record labels and an homage to independent record stores titled Old Rare New (which we discussed in-depth elsewhere on this very site). Expect quality stuff.

(Did we mention we have a 10,000 word interview with Neu!/Harmonia guitarist Michael Rother slated to run on the Blurt site soon? Teaser HERE.)