05.31.05 (MusicPortal.com) Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame veteran BONNIE RAITT is slated to release her eighteenth album on September 13th via Capitol Records, entitled "Souls Alike." "This record was a matter of stretching and not repeating myself," says Raitt. "Some of the songs are clearly terrain that people have come to know and appreciate from me, but the rest are about finding some new direction and something new to say." Even a quick listen to "Souls Alike" reveals a number of surprises. It's her first album ever to bear the credit "Produced by Bonnie Raitt." Conspicuously absent is even one of her signature 12-bar blues stomps. And where most of her projects have contained a mix of songs written by both celebrated songwriters and her own new discoveries, usually with some original material, all eleven compositions on "Souls Alike" come from lesser-known writers with whom BONNIE RAITT feels a deep affinity, and whose work she wants to champion. That connection -- together with a flourishing creative collaboration with her beloved touring band and co-producer/engineer Tchad Blake -- provided the lifeblood and inspiration for the new album's direction, and even its title. "Souls Alike" features sounds ranging from the swampy groove and electronic loops of 'Deep Water' to the crystalline lament of 'I Don't Want Anything to Change.' Throughout, Raitt's unparalleled slide guitar playing is pushed to sizzling new heights. Songs like 'The Bed I Made' and the edgy, angular 'Crooked Crown' address complex emotions -- "thorny adult themes," says Raitt -- in ways seldom heard in Pop music. Of the new crop of songwriters highlighted on "Souls Alike," she says: "I'm as enthusiastic about these guys as I was when I first heard people like Jackson Browne and John Prine in my early days." It's been three years since BONNIE RAITT's last release, 2002's "Silver Lining," but she's stayed busy in the interim. A lengthy world tour followed that album's release, along with numerous guest recordings - including the stunning 'Do I Ever Cross Your Mind' on Ray Charles' final album, "Genius Loves Company."

05.16.05 (MusicPortal.com) Electric guitar pioneer LES PAUL is one of 14 people that have been inducted into the National Inventors Hall Of Fame for 2005. Paul invented the solid body electric guitar in 1946, a pioneering instrument that has transformed and dominated popular music for the last 50 years or so, his Gibson Guitar Corp. model still being one of the best-selling instruments in the music industry to this day. Born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, LES PAUL became a professional musician as a teenager, and was the leader of his own trio by the age of 21. From the beginning of his career, Paul was fascinated by the opportunities of amplifying musical instruments electronically. He tinkered with a wide range of techniques in search of a way to produce a pleasing and unique sound. Coupled with his pioneering recording techniques, LES PAUL produced a series of extremely popular recordings that introduced the public to his fast, multi-layered productions that frequently included Paul playing as many as six musical parts simultaneously through the process of overdubbing. His music was usually recorded on advanced multi-track tape recorders he designed and built himself. The quality and originality of LES PAUL's work resultingly inspired a generation of musicians to embrace his guitar and recording techniques. In 1952, the Gibson Musical Instrument Co. began selling its popular "Les Paul" model electric guitar, rapidly establishing the new instrument as a powerful influence in the entertainment industry. LES PAUL also has won five Grammy Awards. Other inventors inducted on Saturday included Dr. Alec Jeffreys, who invented genetic fingerprinting, and Robert Gundlach, who has earned more than 150 patents and invented the modern photocopier. The National Inventors Hall Of Fame was founded in 1973 by the U.S. Patent And Trademark Office and the National Council Of Intellectual Property Law Associations. It accepts nominations on its website, however inductees are selected by a committee including leaders in scientific and technical fields. There are currently 235 inductees in The National Inventors Hall Of Fame.

05.10.05 (AP) THE ROLLING STONES announced a new album and world tour today with a three-song mini-concert at one of Manhattan's bastions of classical music, the Juilliard School. The familiar riff of 'Start Me Up' was greeted with a roar from hundreds of fans filling Lincoln Center from its plaza to its rooftops, as lead singer Mick Jagger launched into the lyrics. "Thank you very much guys," Jagger told the cheering crowd at the century-old conservatory on a sunny Spring afternoon. "This is one of the earliest concerts we've played." The brief show promoted the tour that begins August 21 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, where the legendary band will play in front of the Green Monster. Dates in North America will continue through December. The as-yet-untitled new album is "about 85 percent done," Jagger said. It would be the first collection of all-new material from THE ROLLING STONES since 1997's "Bridges To Babylon." Prices will average $100-105 per ticket, with seats for the first shows - in Boston, Washington, Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte, N.C., and Calgary, Alberta - going on sale Saturday. Shows will continue into next year in South America, Asia and Europe. The North American dates will alternate between stadiums, arenas and smaller venues. The last Stones tour, in 2002-03, generated $88 million in ticket sales in North America during its first year. Along with 'Start Me Up,' THE ROLLING STONES debuted a new song, 'Oh No Not You Again,' before tearing into 'Brown Sugar.' A flub in the new material prompted Jagger to turn a bit professorial. "I think the examiners at Juilliard would have us come back and retake that one," Jagger said as guitarist Keith Richards shrugged. It was the Stones' first live performance at a press event since they played while riding a flatbed truck through Manhattan - a stunt recreated last year by U2. Scores of Juilliard students in ROLLING STONES T-shirts danced and cheered enthusiastically during the set, as Jagger pranced on stage and Richards traded leads with fellow guitarist Ronnie Wood.

05.03.05 (MusicPortal.com) Capitol Records is responding to requests from BOB SEGER's online fan community for reissues of the Detroit rocker's more obscure works by releasing a newly remastered version of his 1972 release, "Smokin' O.P.'s," on June 7th. With a career spanning almost 40 years and nearly 50 million records sold, the Grammy-winning Seger is known for his extraordinary depth of songs that capture both the hope and the heartbreak implicit in the American Dream. With the original release of "Smokin' O.P.'s," BOB SEGER took a month long break from songwriting and constant touring to record the album with TEEGARDEN & VAN WINKLE of "God, Love And Rock & Roll" fame. The title is BOB SEGER shorthand for "smoking other people's songs." The album was recorded at Pampa Studios in Detroit, Michigan, which at that time resided in the basement of the Pampa Lanes Bowling Alley. The bowlers had to be stopped from time to time in order to record the tracks. As Punch Andrews, BOB SEGER's long-time manager recalls: "Sometimes the bass was enhanced by the rumble of the bowlers on Lane 17." In addition to his interpretations of some of that era's songs, "Smokin' O.P.'s" included covers of his own 'Heavy Music' and 'Someday,' which Seger had recently penned about hardships encountered in the music industry. BOB SEGER made his Capitol Records recording debut in 1968, and has remained with the label ever since - except for a three-year break. Touring almost continually, Seger set up his own distribution company, Palladium, for the release of "Smokin' O.P.'s." With the success of the single 'If I Were A Carpenter,' an immediate hit in Detroit, Seger seemed to be on track for stardom. In fact, the record began to take off so well that even small independent distributors were screaming for more records. So when Palladium ran out of resources to press records, they signed on to the Reprise Records label for distribution through Warner Bros. However, but by the time their plants were up and running the momentum had passed, and BOB SEGER would have to struggle for three more years before his music would receive widespread commercial success.
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05.02.05 (MusicPortal.com) Lost Highway Records is set to release the first-ever live album from Grammy Award-winning artist LUCINDA WILLIAMS. "Lucinda Williams: Live @ The Fillmore" will be released on May 10th, and features 22 tracks on a two-disc set. "Lucinda Williams: Live @ The Fillmore" was recorded at the legendary Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, CA in early 2004. The double album includes such favorites as 'Joy,' 'I Lost It,' 'Essence' and 'Blue,' but LUCINDA WILLIAMS digs even deeper into her past on the new offering with gritty versions of 'Pineola' and 'Changed The Locks.' 'Lucinda Williams: Live @ The Fillmore also features songs from the highly-acclaimed, Grammy-Nominated 2003 release "World Without Tears," such as the gorgeous 'Ventura,' 'Overtime' and the Paul Westerberg-influenced 'Real Live Bleeding Fingers And Broken Guitar Strings.' "Lucinda Williams: Live @ The Fillmore" also features one of the best touring bands on the road today with guitarist, pedal steel and background vocalist Doug Pettibone anchored by Taras Prodaniuk on bass and Jim Christie on drums and percussion. Their performances of LUCINDA WILLIAMS' songs are an extraordinary balance of aggression and finesse that perfectly complement her unique vocal style and songwriting. LUCINDA WILLIAMS will embark on a brief upcoming North American tour beginning June 15th in support of "Lucinda Williams: Live @ The Fillmore." Tour Dates: June 15th San Diego, CA [Humphrey's Concerts By The Bay] • June 16th Saratoga, CA [Mountain Winery] • June 18th Reno, NV [Robert Z. Hawkins Amphitheater] • June 19th San Francisco, CA [Stern Grove Festival] • June 21st Veneta, OR [Secret House Vineyard] • June 22nd Portland, OR [Crystal Ballroom] • June 24th Seattle, WA [South Lake Union Park] • June 25th Vancouver, BC [Stanley Park] • June 28th Boulder, CO [Boulder Theater] • June 29th Denver, CO [Denver Botanic Gardens] • July 2nd Saint Paul, MN [Music In The Zoo - Outdoor Amphitheater] • July 14th New York, NY [Beacon Theater]
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[Blues News: April 2005]
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