State of the Nations, New One From The XX, And Time For Us To Get Out From Under The Quilt

Posted on by musiczoneadmin

Hey Everyone,

How’s the form…

Guess who’s back… Back again….

Happy new year to ye all.

December was a bit iffy in the siopa but its a new dawn, its a new day, its a new life…  Fooor meee…. And i’m feeling… I think thats my fourth year in a row using that new year opening followed up with stop me oooohhh ho ho stop me, stop me if you think that you heard this one before…. Maybe that could be shoot me…

Anyway welcome back tolerant readers… Really hope it all passed off OK for ye all….

Only settling gently back on the horse after the season …. Stressful enough time every year in the shop… Chasing 4 months business in 3 weeks… Caught in a bubble a bit with regards sales targets.. In the greater scheme of life, it don’t matter a shite…. But i care deeply about it so in the bubble it matters…. if that makes any sense at all…… Was down 19% this Christmas… Twas a lot… Matt Cooper had bits on the radio during the week about retail here being down quite a bit in December… Amazon are reported to be way up according to some dude on the show and have now purchased a fleet of planes to improve deliveries and to also take on the delivery boys like Fed Ex and UPS at their own game…. No stone unturned with the Amazon boys and girls…. Anyway no killer release and a shop move , Two big factors for me (I hope) behind it…. Calendar year exact same turnover as 2015 so after shop move in 2016 to keep same turnover is a result I suppose…. So onwards anyway and upwards hopefully.

One quick side note on the massive online players…. Must be a serious dent to the government’s coffers…. All that missed VAT….. They say only 23% of Irish retailers are online.. And tis so hard to get seen there even if you are competitive…. Drop the vat rate to 12% on .ie sites…. dot.ies can pass on the saving and be super douper competitive….12% of something is better than 12% of nothing… Our website grew by 68% in December on the previous one but from a small start… A normal Saturday sales, to a Saturday and a Sunday takings…. And I pay Google for the privilege to be seen anyway but sure Rome wasn’t built in a day or two years either for that matter or was it?

Anyway enough Raymond… Ye folks will be running to find yer duvets to climb back under like the start of the week so move on…

Out today in the shop is the BOWIE ‘Legacy‘ compilation on Long Player…. Fine double LP compilation spanning the great man’s long and remarkable career …. It’s hard to believe it has been 12 months since the terribly sad, bizarre but classy hollywood style release and passing…. Seminal moment in lots of our lives.. As I said before one of the strangest days in the record shop I ever had was Monday January the 11th 2016… All of it was simply incredible…. Fitting of an incredible man… RIP Daithi Macseoin.

Image result for BOWIE LEGACY

Also in the shop today is the LP release of the new NEIL YOUNG record, the hip-hop record of the year with A TRIBE CALLED QUEST on vinyl, the new BRIAN ENO record as well as new albums from YOU ME AT SIX, GONE IS GONE and THE DROPKICK MURPHYS.. 

Or check out the first video of the year, which also has a bit of the sale stock in it! Give it a like, share and be sure to subscribe!

PIAS

Moving on to a few releases for next Friday the 13th which include the third and new album from the wonderful THE XX via the Young Turks label…. Should be a cracker of a release… Standard CD, Limited indies only clear vinyl, ( 22 euro) and a limited boxset which includes the LP, a 12” only available via the set and two CDs ( 47 euro) …. I like this band , male/female vocal contrast is great normally… Looking forward to it.

Pias also have a live release by ACCEPT as a 2CD/DVD or a 4LP set and also on Nuclear Blast is the new SEPULTURA album ‘Machine messiah” as a CD/DVD or DLP.

Lastly from PIAS is the the new album from THE FLAMING LIPS “Oozy Mlody” as CD, LP or fancy LP set with a rare 7 “ included.

UNIVERSAL

Universal for the 13th have a duet covers album by FLO MORRISSEY and MATTHEW E WHITE called Gentlewoman Ruby Man, where they tackle songs by Cohen, velvet underground, frank ocean and james blake.
Image result for GENTLEWOMAN RUBY MAN

UNIVERSAL also has 5 album sets by TRAFFIC and FAIRPORT CONVENTION as well as some EMPEROR reissues.

 

WARNER

Warner for the 13th have  JEFF HEALYs LP holding on via provogue.

 

SONY

Sony have the new album by PAIN OF SALVATION out for next friday the 13th called “ in the passing light of day” ….a return to their heavier sound i believe ..on a deluxe CD, STANDARD CD and LP.

Sony also have the soundtrack to “The Book of Love” which features Justin Timberlake i think.

 

Thats about it for releases for next week but will get warmer as the year goes on…

The British Phonographic Industry ( BPI) who are the watchdog among other things for the UK music industry released its figures a few days ago for 2016…some interesting reading if you are that way inclined…or else head for the duvet id suggest….

Vinyl saw an increase of 53% to 3.2 million units sold , the highest since 1991 but still only 4.7 % of all music consumed.

Streaming saw an increase of 68% ….over 45 billion tracks were streamed in the UK last year amounting to over 42 % of all music consumption ( they have some way to correlate it)  and yes thats Billion WITH a B.

CD was down 12% but still has 39% of music consumption…47 million CDs sold in UK last year…

Downloads/MP3 the biggest loser down 30% and now accounts for just 16% of all music consumed.

Another interesting fact, ADELE 25 was the biggest selling album of 2016 even though it was released in november 2015….

What a topsy turvy industry….

The talk is and has being that streaming and physical can cohabit well together….everyone interested in music streams…and if they really like what they hear they may buy a physical copy….i dont think the artists like the streaming that much as id say they get feck all out of it….contrary to all other beliefs…going to gigs and buying physical music and merch is the best way to support an artist/band…end of sceal.

A lot of acts are getting slower and slower putting themselves up on streaming services….you need about 1 million streams for a tenner or something daft i think….if anyone knows please would love to know the real sceal….

Also, final chance to get your 3 albums of the year (2016) into us, only a few names in so far, and if you do you could be in with a chance of winning a 25EUR voucher for your favourite shop!

Sin e for the first time this year…

Thanks for listening… ( and for those that didn’t, ye can come out from under the duvet now…its over!)

Ray
www.musiczone.ie

Make Music Zone Great Again, Return of Metallica, and Black Friday RSD Bits!

Posted on by musiczoneadmin

Hey everyone,

 

How’s the form this evening?.. A late start for me at 22:43, so no moaning or groaning, just open, friendly, transparent attempts to sell ye folks some records, a bit like DJT.. Make Music Zone Great Again!… I’m getting the flyers printed up as I write this.. Roger Waters is calling in to give me a hand, and Freddie is going to sing ‘Who Wants To Live Forever’ as our swan song.. DJT.. What a world.. Anti-Establishment votes a lot and crass voters a lot, but for the anti-establishment surely not DJT… Surely NOT DJT…

 Image result for the band the last waltz 40

Anyway, loads out in the shop this week since the 11th of November, including STING, THE BAND, THE ROLLING STONES, TEMPLE OF THE DOG, ENNIO MORRICONE,KATIE MELUA, DEAD CAN DANCE, IN FLAMES and many many more!

 

Check out the new release video here if you’d like!

 

Moving on to releases for next Friday the 18th of November and we feel Santa and the Christmas songs breathing down our necks.. Ho ho ho! The 18th really is the week when it starts a bit… Lots of releases including the new album by METALLICA ‘Hard Wired To Self Destruct’.. Up there with Bowie, Radiohead and Nick Cave as one of the biggest releases of the year..

 

We are going to start names on the METALLICA LP so if you are interested, drop me a mail.. The reason we are taking the names is because there is an Indies only coloured double LP exclusive… Gatefold with codes.. 30EUR.. Hence the name taking.. So if you want one, let us know..

 

The METALLICA release is also available as a 2CD or 3CD digipack, or as a super deluxe boxset which includes the double LP (not coloured though), an exclusive 12’’, the 12 track CD, button badges, and exclusive prints.. It will be the metallers 11th studio album, first in eight years.. Definitely one of the biggies..

Image result for Metallica Hard Wired To Self Destruct

UNIVERSAL

Slightly moving away (just slightly) MARTY WHELAN has a new Christmas CD out next week through Uni, as well as NOW 95 hitting the shelves, the biggest selling chart series of all time.. Ever.. Part 95.. I won’t knock it, it works for us so it does.. Universal have a 20th anniversary edition of ANDREA BOCELLI’s ‘Romanza’, a GREGORY PORTER ‘Live in Berlin’ 2CD or DVD, and there is also a UB40 ‘Unplugged’ CD…

Okay, stop for breaths… Universal also have the 25th anniversary edition of R.E.M’s classic ‘Out Of Time’, on 3CD/Bluray, 2CD, or 3LPs.. THE HUMAN LEAGUE anthology is out next Friday on the same three formats as the R.E.M release.. BRIAN MAY of QUEEN has curated a new AIR GUITAR ANTHEMS CD which gets released, and there is also a 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe box of THE WHO’s ‘My Generation’, which has 79 tracks, a lot of unreleased demos, and an 80-page book..

 

Universal also have a reissued of SOUNDGARDEN’s ‘Badmotorfinger’ on Super-Duper Deluxe boxy thingy, 2LP or 3CD.. Another breath…. Universal also have RICHIE BLACKMORE’s RAINBOW ‘Memories of Rock – Live in Germany’.. The TAYLOR SWIFT catalogue gets the vinyl treatment, the JUNGLE BOOK Original Soundtrack will be available as a picture disc vinyl, and we will fill ye in later on the Universal Black Friday releases which will hopefully land in with us this year..

 Image result for soundgarden badmotorfinger

WARNER

Warner for the 18th of November have the TORI AMOS ‘Boys for Pele’ LP reissue, PINK FLOYD’s ‘Animals’ on vinyl, the new album from BRUNO MARS, and finally a new compilation album of TERRY WOGAN’S ‘Favourite Tunes’.

 

Republic of Music have THE LEVELLERS ‘Levelling The Land’ boxset 25th anniversary, printed on blue vinyl as well as a 2CD/DVD version, or a 2LP version..

 

Some DVDs with us on the 18th also worth mentioning.. THE BEATLES ‘Eight Days A Week’ will join OASIS’ ‘Supersonic’ on the shop floor as new music DVDs for this Christmas, as well as the new TOMMY TIERNAN, STAR TREK, and GHOSTBUSTERS DVDs hitting the floor.

 

SONY

Sony for the 18th have the LOU REED LP Boxset (CD landed a few weeks back), THE KINKS have a ‘Mono Collection’ LP Boxset, with new albums out also from SOULBURN, SOLANGE KNOWLES, and LITTLE MIX on CD.. There is a DEPECHE MODE ‘Video Collection’, and BRUCE’s ‘Chapter and Verse’ on blue vinyl.. Wrong wrong wrong…. Give the limited one to me day one, not 10 or 12 weeks later when the fans have bought the black one.. WRONG WRONG WRONG #DJT..

 

PIAS

PIAS for the 18th of November have some new HELLOWEEN vinyl reissues, and a new album by LAMB OF GOD entitled ‘The Duke’.. Also out is a first timer on vinyl for LISA HANNIGAN’s ‘Passenger’, which is a fine listen no doubt, and a LOW ‘Christmas’ LP reissue from back in 1999.. As they said, ‘Despite the commerce, we hope you will consider this our gift to you’..

 Image result for Lisa Hannigan Passenger

We are going to rattle off some RSD Black Friday releases that are available to us and should mainly / hopefully be in the shop on Friday the 25th of November.. Usual story folks.. We can only try.. If something interests you let us know and we will do our best to have in store for the day.. Here’s the bit of a list, not huge as always with the Europe for Black Friday, as we can only get certain items.. Need orders in first thing Monday morning so let us know..

 

UNIVERSAL

 1) The Rolling Stones ‘Ride Em On Down’ : 10″ Coloured – EUR15
A one track limited edition electric blue 10’’ with a track from their upcoming album, on which they honor the music of their roots. The track on this Record Store Day Black Friday 10″ is Eddie Taylor’s “Ride ‘Em On Down” originaly recorded by Taylor in Chicago on 5 December 1955 for the Vee-Jay Label and released as VJ 185.

2) Soundgarden ‘Satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas’ : Purple 12″ – EUR 18
25th anniversary release of ‘Satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas’ on 180 gram purple heavyweight vinyl.  This EP included three covers, an unreleased original song, and a live version of ‘Slaves & Bulldozers’.

 

3) Frank Sinatra ‘White Christmas/The Christmas Waltz’ : White 7″ EP – EUR15
White coloured Frank Sinatra 7″ Single for the Christmas season!

 

WARNER

 1) Jethro Tull ‘Ring Out, Solstice Bells’ : 7” Black Vinyl E.P – EUR 15
The new 40th anniversary tracklisting includes two Steven Wilson remixes – Solstice Bells,  and a mix of the previously unreleased Magic Bells (Solstice Bells) possible Christmas single, in the end they reverted to the original version. The original EP was issued on Nov 26th 1976.

2) Neil Young ‘Official Release Series 8.5 -12’ : 5 Album Box set (6 LPs) – EUR 140
Next in the Neil Young Official release series vinyl box sets, includes Long May You Run 1 x LP 180gm /  American Stars “N” Bars 1 x LP 180gm / Comes A Time 1 x LP 180 gm / Rust Never Sleeps 1 x Lp 180 gm / Live Rust 2 x LP 180 gm           

 

3) Ramones ‘Live at the Roxy, Hollywood, CA (8/12/76)’ : 180gm Black Vinyl – EUR 30                     Live at the Roxy, Hollywood, CA (8/12/76) the best of both sets from the two Live At The Roxy shows compiled by Craig Leon.

 

4) The Cars ‘Just What I Needed’ : 7’’ Picture Disc – EUR 20
7″ vinyl picture disc reissue of 1978  picture disc

 

5) Extreme ‘Pornograffitti Live 25 / Metal Meltdown’ : 2xLP – EUR 30
Double LP version of the 25th Anniversary show recorded in Las Vegas

 

6) Motley Crue ‘Kickstart My Heart / Home Sweet Home’ : Shaped 7’’ Disc – EUR 27
This commemorative piece is a one-of-a-kind, Limited Edition 7” vinyl, shaped picture disc of Motley Crue’s Logo, containing two of their biggest ever hits: “Kickstart My Heart” and “Home Sweet Home”.

 

7) Refused ‘Servants Of Death EP’ : 12″ Black Vinyl – EUR 18
This special limited edition vinyl EP features 6 tracks; 4 live recordings of classic Refused tracks, along with 2 additional studio tracks. “Servants of Death” – from the Freedom album and “Stolen Voices”, a bonus track never before released on vinyl.

 

PIAS
1) Faith No More ‘Cone of Shame’ – 7’’ Vinyl Colour – EUR 12

2) Flume ‘Skin Companion’ EP – 12’’ Vinyl – EUR 12

3) Napalm Death / Melt Banana – Split 7’’ – EUR 12

4) Ben Folds ‘In Concert 2015-2016’ – 10’’ Vinyl – EUR 20

 

SONY
1) Alice In Chains ‘Facelift – Live’ : LP/12’’ – EUR 28

2) Jimi Hendrix ‘Morning Symphony Ideas’ : 10’’ Vinyl – EUR 15

3) RUN DMC ‘Christmas in Hollis’ : LP/12’’ : EUR 28

 

OTHER BITS

Next few bits gonna be very expensive, all about 50EUR.. Don’t shoot the messenger.. If you are interested let us know..

– Kinks ‘Sleepwalker’ Black + White Swirl LP

– Paul Butterfield Blues Band ‘Got A Mind To Give Up Living’ Blue + Yellow 2LP

– Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner, and Richard Alpert ‘Psychedelic Experience’ Magma Vinyl

– Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks – Live at the Coffee Pot 83 – 2LP

– Johnny Winter ‘Live Series Vol. 13’ – White Vinyl

– Puscifer ‘Money Shot : Your Re-Load’ – Bottle Green LP

– Pop The Clutch ‘Obscure Rockabilly From The Vaults’ – Colour LP

– Underworld OST – LP

– Wonder Years – OST – LP

– Porno For Pyros ‘God’s Urge’ – First Time On Vinyl

– Bill Callahan – ‘Apocalypse’ – Vinyl

– Gonn – ‘Time Travel : 50 Years Come and Gonn’ – Green and Yellow LP

– T.S.O.L – ‘Revenge’ – Vinyl

– Ben Webster ‘Gone With The Wind’ – Colour Vinyl

– Ornette Coleman ‘An Evening With (Vol 1) – Colour Vinyl

– Frank Frost ‘Hey Boss Man!’ – Colour Vinyl

– Alice Cooper – Live From The Astroturf 7’’ – Varied Colour Vinyl

– Tav Falco Panther Burns ‘Sway’ 7’’ – Colour

– Rockabye Baby ‘Lullaby Renditions of Depeche Mode’ – Colour Vinyl

– Vietnam String Quartet – Performs Radiohead – 7’’

– Iron Horse – Fade to Bluegrass : Trib to Metallica – 7’’

– Mike Watt and the Bobblymen – Bobblymen EP – 7’’ Coloured

– Collateral Damage – Collateral Damage – 12’’ + 45RPM.

– Wendy James – You’re A Dirtbomb, Lester – Super Limited Sleeve 7’’

– Fatso Jetson / Del – Toros Split 7’’

– Mad Parade – Mad Parade – Bonus LP

 

Some of the later 7’’s not 50EUR of course, mail if you’re looking for price of these..

Sin e for this week guys,

 

Thanks for listening
Ray.

 

www.musiczone.ie

Queen are On Air, Mick and I Have a Staring Competition and Riptide Instore

Posted on by musiczoneadmin

Hi Everyone,

How’s it going? A bit cranky myself today…few small reasons why…they might reveal themselves over the next few pages…or may not as well.

Releases in the shop for today include Declan O’ Rourke, Weezer reissues, Travelling Wilburys and Genesis.

A scary, Halloween special video this week, should interest Metallica fans also… as well as all the new stuff that’s in….

 

Moving onto releases for this week the 4th of November…man Christmas is only around the corner…sneaks up…

UNIVERSAL

Universal for the 4th of November have a few releases including our own JOHN SPILLANE…reworkings of Irish songs we learned in school and more Irish songs….reissued once again…which is great as people always look for it…we could not keep it on the shelves when it came out the first time…I think it sold 70,000 copies over counters…double CD this time for the price of a single, so a nice Christmas pressie for some.

We hope to get John in some day to belt out a few tunes.

Universal also have QUEEN on Air out next week…six sessions from the BBC recording from early 73 to Oct 77 as a 2CD set, a 6 CD set or a 3LP set.

An early nineties classic by BLACK GRAPE …(mid nineties maybe!!)…’It’s great when your straight’ gets a reissue on LP and 2CD/DVD.

Universal also have new albums by JIM JAMES (My Morning Jacket), KUNGS and ALFIE BOE/MICHAEL BALL as well as some nice reissues from CROWDED HOUSE including the debut, Woodface and Together Alone…these are taken from the original analogue tapes.

Lastly from Universal are 8 ROXY MUSIC LP reissues as half speed remasters on 180g with codes and very lastly MOTHER LOVE BONE gets a reissue…but the pricing is crazy wih a capital C.

This is one of the reasons I am cranky with a capital C…just one mind you…here at ground zero, front counter, I hear and see people’s concerns and frustrations over pricing every day…

As the vinyl revival increased so has the cost to Joe the consumer…do not get me wrong here, I will say again and have stated in the past …the vinyl revival is the main reason I am still open for business…but a serious word of WARNING to any big knobs (as we say in Cork) who read this blog…Bigi curamach with the vinyl pricing…Joe normal reissue €30…standard back catalogue €25…new deluxe LPs €40…the MOTHER LOVE BONE reissue is a 3LP set….I would be retailing it at €200 if I bought it (I didnt) check Amazon on it…it is £195…there are numerous other examples….that one got the treatment because when it’s current to tonight’s releases….there are plenty others…Emmylou Harris ‘Red Dirt Girl’ reissue (standard vinyl) €28…

Seriously the powers that be have to take stock and think about the consumer with a long term plan in place…short termism cash cowing (if ye know what I mean) ain’t the answer…it is only going to piss people off …I hear it every day…people pissed off over it.

I’m not advocating deflating the product to the extent the CD was deflated…nearly a race to the bottom at one point when the supermarkets were heavily involved…that’s no good either…but a fair price for a great product is my suggestion…standard reissues on the shelf €20 rrp…back catalogue €20….cream of the crop releases and doubles 22-25 euro and the deluxe with 7” or 12” or freebies or CD included 25-30…the most expensive outside the boxsets.

If one record company can have a RRP of €20 on a limited, numbered, coloured double LP…how come the next company is €30?? There’s only the few plants we are all told…It needs to be addressed I feel…Paul Pogba comes to mind as well….there is another record (sought after) coming out soon and it is a double LP…it’s a reissue and it’s costing me about €26 plus VAT…if I retail it at €40…pay the VAT  it’s down to €32…I get €6 out of the €40…the price of the record , 2 records is €26 from the record company…someone somewhere is making a tidy profit on it and get JOE the consumer pissed having to pay out €40 for a double LP when he can illegally get it or buy the CD for ⅓ of the price…I have noticed a subtle change in the shop in the last few months…a slight change to CDs from a few guys…I have vinyl is their number 1 format but they can’t justify it…bills to pay…kids to feed…if this continues in the same vein as Belle and Sebastian so aptly put it “Mr. Record Company company man, I won’t be coming for dinner”…ok ok in a different light but I hope ye get my drift….

I feel strongly about it …I have a bit to lose if the powers that be make a balls of it…I don’t fancy having to concentrate on selling kid’s DVDs to jumped up supervisors in convenience stores, half my age who finish every sentence with the word YEAH…that’s a second reason I was cranky this evening…more about that some other evening maybe…

WARNER

Back to the tunes, Warner have SUPER FURRY ANIMALS ‘Fuzzy Logic’ 20th Anniversary for the 4th November, as well as a best of on CD, EVA CASSIDY 7LP boxset as well as two class reissues….PINK FLOYD, D.S.O.M. and STEVIE NICKS ‘Bella Donna’…the Floyd reissue in fairness is ok money at €24 (after all my giving out).

SONY

Sony for the 4th November have new albums from ALICIA KEYS, ROBBIE WILLIAMS and DARK TRANQUILITY.

PIAS

PIAS for the 4th November have new albums from SHIRLEY COLLINS and also from VADER.

Red Essential for the 4th have the new HAMMERFALL album ‘Built to Last’.

The last crowd I had as my credit card terminal provider keep stealing €20 out of my bank account every month, even though the account is closed and clean since the 23rd of August…they keep stealing €20 from my account…does anyone regulate these w**kers…PAYZONE is their name…do not use them…this goes on wholesale contract closed…let’s tole another month or two from the sucker…nothing will happen sure…make it so diffcult for them to even try get it back that they will give up.

I just want them to stop robbing me at this stage…allservice providers are at the same craic as far as I can see…jup through hoops to cancel the bloody thing  and they still steal from you afterwards…thing about it is it is easily stopped by COMREG…fine the shower of …I have an email from them saying it has been cancelled on the 23rd of August, yet they still took payment on 22nd Sept and 22nd of October…€40 stolen…fine the fuckers €1000…that would quickly stop all that bullshit…but COMREG not worth a shite either I’d say…and that was another reason  I was cranky today when I saw them steal another €20 when I was guaranteed one month ago I was out…

Anyway, small fry in the scheme of it all…really small fry…

Music On Vinyl

Music On Vinyl for the 4th of November have reissues from NAS ‘Nostradamus’, CYPRESS HILL ‘Til Death Do Us Part’ and BLIND WILLIE MCTELL ‘Atlanta 12 String’.

Not much else happening for next week… THE RIPTIDE MOVEMENT were instore Saturday at 3pm…tunes, talk and signing…another great gig…their new album is a really good record again…they should be really proud of it….if they were born 20 years earlier when the industry was in a bit better shape I reckon they could have been huge altogether…globally…here’s hoping they still will…and also, great friends of the shop, RAISING JUPITER were instore to play some tunes on Monday, Halloween at 2pm…rocked the place as always.

Sorry if I was a tad cranky tonight but I had a stressful two weeks dealing with a couple of BOWIE zealot nuts…will leave ye with a giggle I hope…I can’t decide if myself and MICK FLANNERY are at an instore in the shop, a pre-fight weigh in for a UFC title match, a staring competition or thinking about going in for a shift in Spiders Nightclub.

Hot off the press, exclusive content for the new METALLICA album has been offered to us from the record company via a unique code on a Halloween mask for the METALLICA website, which will give exclusive content for the new album. We are told we have to follow strict rules with this and we only have 20…Here’s what you need to do:

·         There will be Metallica Halloween masks made, based on the album artwork, that we would like you to place in your independent record stores. (artwork below)

·         These can be in the Metallica section or on the counter depending on where the stores would like.

·         These can be put in the stores from Friday 28th October

·         Fans can then go into these stores and ask for their ‘trick or treat’ to get one mask each.

·         On the back of each mask will be a website and a unique code.

·         Once logged in, fans will see a countdown until roughly 20minutes before 8pm GMT (exact time tbc). At that point the official video for ‘Atlas, Rise!’ will play and give these fans the chance to be the 1st to see it.

·         This will be messaged through Metallica’s own social channels

Anyway,

Sin é for this week,

Thanks for listening,

Ray.

www.musiczone.ie

 

The Riptide Movement Live In-Store, Beck, Declan O’ Rourke, and Someone’s Going Swimming In The Lough

Posted on by musiczoneadmin

Hi everyone,

How’s the form?

Another week in the new MusicZone.ie Towers and some more sinister behaviour… I shall get to that later..

Image result for lazarus original cast recording

First up are the releases in the shop from Friday the 21st, including BOWIE, COHEN, BRIGHT EYES, BELLE AND SEBASTIAN, RIPTIDE MOVEMENT, PRETENDERS and many more, check out the video for everything!

UNIVERSAL

Moving on to releases for Friday the 28th of October, Universal have a new PLANXTY Retrospective CD/DVD… The DVD has two hours of unseen footage from the RTE Archives.. Universal also have a new albums by the mercurial MADNESS (ah man, gotta like Madness.. No?..). EMPIRE OF THE SUN are back with a new album, with Uni also having a new NEIL DIAMOND ‘Acoustic Christmas’ CD, a new TOVE LO album, a new JACK SAVORETTI album, and the newest in the Clubland CD compilations.. Uni also have a lovely DJ SHADOW ‘Endtroducing’ 6LP boxset.. If interested in that, give me a shout…

Universal have a bucket load of releases for next week… More include PUBLIC IMAGE LTD (PIL) Metal Box and Album 4LP Boxset Reissue, the two TRAVELLING WILBURY’SCDs are reissued again, a new IGGY POP ‘Post Pop Depression’ DVD, Live in the Royal Albert Hall.. A good listen that Iggy Pop one.. Very good infact, in my opinion.. Universal also have a ‘fang’ coloured limited 50th Anniversary from THE BEACH BOYS ‘Good Vibrations’ 12”..

Universal on the vinyl reissue front for this week have some BECK reissues including ‘Odelay’… Brilliant… ‘Guero’, and ‘Seachange’…. There is a THE JAM 3LP ‘Best Of’ out, as well as the incredible soundtrack to THE MISSION by the equally incredible ENNIO MORRICONE, and finally DRAKE has a few first timers on vinyl including the new one ‘Views’, and ‘What A Time To Be Alive’, and ‘If You’re Reading This’…

Image result for beck odelay

Essential has a new album by the very underrated (in some quarters) THE ANSWER from up the north.. Was first introduced to the singer Cormac by a friend of mine at the Neil Young gig in the Marquee a few years ago and he seemed like a really good skin… They have been grinding out a career for a long time now so it would be great for them to make a slightly bigger impact.. New single is great.. We at the corporation wish them all the best in the world..

It has been quite an edgy and nervous week for me and the rest of the lads in the corporation… Is it a bunch of records in that package?!?!… Is that your bag on the floor bud?!?… Walking to the car in the still of the night hearing ungodly noises in the depths of the carpark…

I have received more correspondence from BLACKSTARLIBERATIONFRONT this past week… The first was posted into the shop in bloody writing.. It read

‘’MUSICZONE, The BLACKSTAR LIBERATIONFRONT’s demand is a simple one. We demand that MUSICZONE apologise for the blatant untruth’s and blasphemies that were printed against BOWIE in recent newsletter. Once this apology has been made, your poster will be returned in the same condition as it was taken. No harm has come to the poster, or it’s owner.. Yet….BLACKSTARLIBERATIONFRONT’’

As you can imagine, it sent a chill down my spine yet again… More very unsavoury messages have been received this past few days… In shopping with the message, ‘Do you want to turn into a horse meat burger’, or probably most threatening, attached to the picture of Bowie out at the Lough feeding the ducks : ‘Do you wanna sleep with the fishes?…’

I am, as you can imagine, very nervous and frightened by these threats…. At this moment I am awaiting instruction from the Gardaí so I will keep ye posted.. They have an unconfirmed sighting / report from the Lough of an older criminal, unkempt, unshaven, with pungent body odor and most follicly challenged with a drink and a narcotics problem… If ye know this person please let me know, or the Gardaí… They believe he could answer to the name TOTO…

WARNER

Anyway, back to releases… Warner for the 28th of October have the excellent DECLAN O’ ROURKE back with ‘In Full Colour’, which is a reworks with new songs, done with a 50 piece RTE Chamber Orchestra.. Should sound sweet to say the least..

Warner also has a new BLACK SABBATH ‘Ultimate Collection’ on 2CDs..

Sorry, there were some vinyl reissues from Universal I forgot to mention!.. The WEEZER back catalogue and GHOST ‘Meliora’ 2LP Version, as well as SUM 41’S ‘All Killer No Filler’ LP..

PIAS

PIAS for the 28th October have a new COURTEENERS album, a 10th Anniversary Edition of MIDLAKE’s brilliant ‘Van Occupanther’ on gold vinyl with a bonus 7’’… The brilliant SAINT ETIENNE’S debut album ‘Foxbase Alpha’ gets the vinyl reissue treatment… The first ever record released by Heavenly back in the day.. CD version also out with 14 bonus tracks next week… New album out next week also by TESTAMENT, ‘Brotherhood of the Snake’..

Image result for midlake trials

Republic Of Music have restock of the TWIN PEAKS OST by Angelo Badalamenti on coffee coloured vinyl, as well as NADA SURF’s ‘Peaceful Ghost’, live with an orchestra..

We (at the Music Zone Towers) are THRILLED to announce that THE RIPTIDE MOVEMENT will be coming into us on Saturday the 29th of October (tomorrow week), at 3PM playing tunes from their cracking new album ‘Ghosts’.. Saying hello and signing a few copies also… We are delighted to have them in, sound lads by all accounts! Really looking forward to it!!

SONY

Sony for the 28th of October have a new album by JAMES ARTHUR, the latest in the BBC Live Lounge series, as well as vinyl reissues from CRADLE OF FILTH, ELO and MAXWELL, and a ROY ORBISON ‘Ultimate Collection’ 2LP set…

PROPER

Proper for the 28th have a new DAVID GRAY ‘Best Of’ on 2CD and 2LP, first time on vinyl for a lot of these tracks.. NICOLAS JAAR ‘Sirens’ is also out on LP and BLACK (Colin Vearncombe) ‘Best Of’ also gets a release.. Colin tragically lost his life earlier this year in a car crash in West Cork..

CARGO

CARGO for the 28th of October have the new BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE album on coloured vinyl..

Music On Vinyl

Music on Vinyl for next week have the BAND OF BROTHERS OST by Michael Kamen… PENTANGLE’s debut is back out on vinyl next week, and there is a JIMI HENDRIX ‘Merry Christmas and Happy New Year’ on 10’’.. Only 1500 of these worldwide…

Was in the Everyman last week for the JACK O’ ROURKE launch gig… Jack and his band were excellent and there really was a lovely atmosphere.. Top night out, and delighted for how well Jack has done in the charts this week..

And finally, a huge thank you to MICK FLANNERY who was instore with us last Friday to promote the brilliant new album ‘I Own You’. Songs were cracking as always, and thanks to Mick for sticking around to chat to everyone after. Wishing Mick all the best with this album, he’s been very good to us in the corporation over the years, and we love having him in! Thanks to everyone who came in today as well, was great to see the shop full for it!

Sin é  for this week folks,

Thanks for listening,

Ray.

www.musiczone.ie

 

Windings In-store, Can We Get Lazarus Back? and The Corporation Under Attack!!

Posted on by musiczoneadmin

Hello all,

Hope the form is good…

This week a nice few gems have hit the shop floor.. The local boy himself returns with his fifth offering.. As strong as ever.. Maybe even stronger to be honest…. Greatly crafted tunes once again.. Five albums in now, MICK FLANNERY has a lovely catalogue of work… This new one is a bit more edgy in parts, the usual exemplary balllads, and even a hint of disco and drum and bass in parts! Great listen once again..

MICK is with us to play a few tunes from the new record next Friday the 21st at 1PM. Say hello and sign a few records as well… I Know the time may not be the Mae West but if you can’t make it and want a copy of the CD or LP signed, pop me a mail with your little message and we shall organise.. This is Mick’s third in-store with us… He has never said no to us… Drunken texts or no drunken texts, that tells it’s own story folks…

Also in the shop today are new albums by the excellent BELL X1, KINGS OF LEON (I like BTW), TOM CHAPLIN of Keane fame has a solo album, and a new album by CONOR OBERST. Some class reissues also from the mightyDEPECHE MODE, BEASTIE BOYS, and OASIS to name a few… The video will give a full update of what’s new.. I forgot a few no doubt! Be sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel!

On to releases for next Friday the 21st of October… The biggest being the Original Cast Recording of LAZARUS on 3LP or Double CD which debuts three tracks from the MCCASLIN / BOWIE ‘Blackstar’ sessions.. Blackstar is still one of the albums of the year for me..

It has been a turbulent 27 hours (as I write this… About 48 hours before ye read it..) in the Music Zone Corporation… A great crime was committed on Wednesday evening after the shop closed… I received a horrifying email from an organisation known as the Blackstar Liberation Front with a subject matter of HERESY!! It shook me to my core.. It read :

‘MUSICZONE, we have your poster of the TRUE ONE. Remember, it is written in the laws of the universe that you cannot expect to blasphemies against BOWIE and not suffer retribution…’ It was signed in what looked like blood… ‘BLACKSTAR LIBERATION FRONT’.

I was distraught… I couldn’t eat my dinner.. What had I done… Then it dawned on me… I Had lightly and loosely mentioned the strong rumour that Donny McCaslin was the creative and musical force behind the Blackstar album…. I suppose Bowie was on his deathbed at the time to be fair..

Since Wednesday night I have received two more menacing and threatening emails and one mocking one, where they took David to the cinema, the bookies and the boozer..

I really don’t know what these characters are capable of… Is there a possibility of violence? I have contacted the Gardaí about the matter, who told me these zealots whom they reckon probably are not the most intelligent characters in the world, did have one brainwave by disabling the CCTV cameras on the mall…

If anyone has any information please contact the Gardaí in Douglas at 021-4857670..

There is one image of the criminals after becoming known to the Gardaí in recent hours… It has currently been scanned through Interpol’s Database, and the Gardaí are running it through PULSE as well.. RTE’s Crimewatch has been sent on the photos as well… If anyone recognises either of these criminals please report it to the Gardaí..  DO NOT TRY AND APPREHEND THEM.. Maybe it is someone’s grandfathers?… I hope interrogating and common sense will prevail and Bowie will be returned to his rightful home…

SONY

Back to the releases! Also out from Sony for next week is the brilliant Mr. LEONARD COHEN with his 14th studio album… CD only next week.. LP late November now… Sounds f**king great!! JIMMY EAT WORLD has a new album, and there is also a new JOE COCKER compilation out..

PROPER

Proper for next week have the new JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN on CD or LP, with poster + CD..

Cadiz have the new KING KING live album…

Republic of Music for the 21st have the BRIGHT EYES studio album boxset, ‘2000-2011’.. Limited to 1000LP, or 5000CD worldwide.. LPs are coloured.. Republic of Music also have a new BELLE AND SEBASTIAN compilation, ‘Jeepster Singles Collection’, as well as the new TEENAGE FANCLUB single..

Image result for bright eyes 2000-2011 set

UNIVERSAL

Universal for the 21st of October have the new RIPTIDE MOVEMENT album.. Fine rock n’ roll band… Irish also… Could very well be an exciting announcement about Riptide and Musiczone very soon… Hopefully I will confirm next week..

Universal also have JOE DOLAN ‘With The RTE Concert Orchestra’,  STATUS QUO’s second acoustic album in the series, a new PRETTY RECKLESS album, the mighty SANTANA ‘Live At The House Of Blues’, a new DAVID CROSBYalbum ‘Lighthouse’, plus some 5CD sets on Bluenote by the likes of HERBIE HANCOCK, WAYNE SHORTER and ART BLAKEY….

Universal on the vinyl front have a bunch of reissues by BON JOVI, six CHEMICAL BROTHERS reissues, JOHN MARTYN’s classics ‘Grace and Danger’ and ‘One World’, and there are three more in the Abbey Road Half Speed Master Series, ELBOW’s ‘Cast of Thousands’, AMY WINEHOUSE’s ‘Back To Black’, and THE WHO ‘Live at Leeds’…

Image result for john martyn grace and danger

WARNER

Warner for the 21st have a new PRETENDERS record ‘Alone’ on CD, and LP, as well as a new RUMER CD, a new OBITUARY live album, and a reissue of EMMYLOU HARRIS’ ‘Red Dirt Girl’.. Also from Warner is the new CD from Michael Bublé..

Be warned Bobby, Cormac and Shane… Christmas is getting close, the corporate bastard comes out in the boss man, and the Bubmeister has a new one out… One dash of the Bubmeister turns people of a certain set to jelly and outs dollars into the till.. Ho ho ho!!

PIAS

PIAS have the new AGNES OBEL album, as well as the second album on Indies only red and orange splattered vinyl by AMERICAN FOOTBALL.. 17 years now since album one.. Lastly from PIAS is the exquisite ‘69 Love Songs’ by the equally exquisite THE MAGNETIC FIELDS as a 6 x 10’’ vinyl boxset..

Lastly today, but certainly not least, WINDINGS came in to play tracks from their brilliant new album ‘Be Honest and Fear Not’.. As I said before, this record is up there with any Irish record this year gan aon dabht.. It is excellent in my opinion… It was a great little intimate acoustic gig from Steve.

Anyway..

Sin é for this week,

Thanks for listening…

Ray

www.musiczone.ie

P.S : Please sign our online petition on our website to BRING BOWIE BACK…

Slán

 

A Few More Jabs IMO, Mick Flannery Live Upcoming In-Store, and Return of the Kings!

Posted on by musiczoneadmin

Hi everyone,

 

How’s the form?..

 

I’ve had a week of critical onslaught! Friends and family included.. My newsletters are gone boring… I’m not angry enough anymore… I don’t ever mention U2…  My musical taste is shite… I sell prerecorded music (records) for a living…. A rock critic journalist I ain’t! Just to address the U2 crib…. Weren’t they a great band in their day!….

 

Up and in the new shop today for October 7th we have BLINK 182, GREEN DAY, OTIS REDDING, NORAH JONES, MILES DAVIS, ABBA, WHITE LIES, MARK LANEGAN, SEASICK STEVE, ZZ TOP, GOAT and plenty more!!

 Image result for Green Day - Revolution Radio

Check out Bobby back again in this week’s video to see them all, there is quite a bit happening this week!

 

SONY

So moving on to releases for next Friday the 14th of October we have the new record by the KINGS OF LEON brothers and cousin… I quite like the two new tunes i’ve heard from it (could get bashed for it…. Not a patch on the first album… Maybe so… But I think they are good tunes… Game of opinions folks..) Sony have it and it’s on CD and LP…

Image result for kings of leon - walls cover

Sony were also to have the ELVIS with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Part 2 as such, entitled ‘The Wonder Of You’… First one sold 1.5 million physical copies worldwide… It’s been pushed back one week now though to the 21st of October…

 

If I was in trouble this past week it’s nothing to next week i’d say after these next few lines… Sincere apologies… No messing, sorry… Totally out of my control and jack sh*t I could do about it…. (Still don’t make it okay…) Sony are reissuing the BOWIE ‘Reality Tour’ boxset on 3LP for about half the price that Friday Music released it for about 4 months ago…. Sorry about that.. Not good enough really to be fair… I was only aware it was happening about one month ago when I had Friday copies in the shop…. The Friday copies are coloured vinyl.. Expensive colours though at 20Euro a record….

 

Sony have some nice LP reissues including THE CLASH ‘The Clash’, BILLY JOEL ‘Piano Man’, KINGS OF LEON ‘Youth and Young Manhood’, and the mighty (again in my opinion) DEPECHE MODE ‘101 Live’, ‘Violator’, ‘Songs of Faith and Devotion’, ‘Black Celebration’ and ‘Music For The Masses’…. Sony also has the new Rebecca Ferguson album out next Friday..

 Image result for The Clash - The Clash

PROPER

Proper for the 14th of October have the new record by one of the finest Irish bands this century if not of all centuries BELL X1… The record is called ‘Arms’ and it’s available on CD or LP… Lead single is a cracker again in my opinion lads as ye know!.. 7th record by the lads whom as ye know started with Damien Rice in a band called Juniper a fair few moons ago..They have furrowed a lovely path of tunes since those days… Really looking forward to this one…

 

Proper also have a new album by DARKTHRONE, ‘Arctic Thunder’, as well as a STIFF LITTLE FINGERS combo CD/DVD pack.. Also through Proper is SUEDE’s ‘Coming Up’ on LP, a double coloured edition with one disc a B-Sides collection…

 

Lastly from Proper is the DONNY MCCASLIN album…. His last one was really good… Ye’d remember it i’d say.. Back in January… Blackstar it was called… Ouch… Sorry.. I take it back.. Up to this point I was probably only going to get a beating or two for my behaviour.. That jab could be like signing your own death warrant…

 

Republic of Music have an interesting one.. (My opinion… That’s like a warning sign on a jab… Shall abbreviate to IMO)… This one’s from BAYONNE called ‘Primitives’ on CD, LP and limited LP.. Electronic stlye stuff and Republic of Music also have MOBY and the Void Pacific Choir album… The boy MOBY has gotten very angry on this record by his own accounts…

 

If you want a really excellent 25 minute performance, our good friend Timothy done a marvellous video of the recent JACK O’ ROURKE in store performance with us.. It was great, and features tracks from Jack’s brilliant debut album ‘Dream Catcher’ as well as a Bowie cover and a Fleetwood Mac cover.. Give it a watch if you fancy, and give it a share if you like it!

 

 

UNIVERSAL

Universal for the 14th of October have the debut solo album by TOM CHAPIN (Keane Singer… not a keen singer… but the singer of Keane… fine singer too, to be fair like)… Available as a standard CD, a Ltd 2CD with hardback book and a 2LP gatefold…

 

Universal also have a new album by THE GAME, as well as BRYAN ADAMS ‘Live at Wembley Stadium’ DVD, a new ANDRE RIEU DVD, and a reissue of THE SEX PISTOLS classic ‘Nevermind The Bollox’ on yellow vinyl… How many times… How many times… It must be the most reissued album of all time… Top 5 anyway for sure…

 

Lastly from Universal is a LP reissue of the BEASTIE BOYS ‘Licensed to Ill’, their debut I think and the first Rap album to top the Billboard Charts… Uni also have a Dr. John live tribute album on 2CD/DVD..

 Image result for the beastie boys licensed to ill

PIAS

PIAS have the new LEE HARVEY OSWALD BAND album and a new EP from SLEAFORD MODS (recently signed to Roughtrade)… New 5 track EP… Heard one, very good IMO…

 

Music On Vinyl

Music on Vinyl has the SUICIDE SQUAD soundtrack on vinyl, a SHANE MCGOWAN ‘Snake’ LP reissue, the GAME OF THRONES Season 6 Soundtrack release on vinyl, and DEREK TRUCKS BAND ‘Round Songs’ on 2LP…

Essential for the 14th of October have a new SUZANNE VEGA record and DILLINGER’s ‘Escape Plan’ album on CD and limited blue vinyl..

 

WARNER

Warner have the new CONOR OBERST (Bright Eyes) album ‘Immuinations’ via Nonesuch Records on CD and LP… The lads from County Down, TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB are back with a new album also on a good few formats including a limited, deluxe vinyl copy..

 

Reissues by Warner on LP for next week include FACE ‘First Step (RSD stores only, coloured vinyl), andSTOOGES ‘Stooges’ (once again, RSD stores, coloured only), and finally MOTLEY CRUE’s ‘Greatest Hits’ on vinyl…

 Image result for Stooges - Stooges

BLACKBERRY SMOKE have a new album on Earache, called ‘Like an Arrow’.. There are signed CD copies available and it’s also on limited blue vinyl…More new albums from Warner incude new BETH HART and KATIE MELUA releases, and there is a PHIL COLLINS singles collection on 2CD, 3CD Deluxe or 4LP Set…

 

The bould MICK FLANNERY will be instore FRIDAY THE 21ST OF OCTOBER (two weeks today) playing tunes from his new album, signing copies and saying hello if you are around… Heard a new track last night, very impressed again.. Here ‘tis..

 

Sin é for this week,

 

Thanks for listening

Ray

www.musiczone.ie

Revolution Radio please Be Here Now, ANOTHER Big Instore, and Irish Album Of The Year?

Posted on by musiczoneadmin

Hey Everyone,

 

How’s the form this week…. Hopefully all good or as good as can be as we navigate our way up and down these bumpy streets.

 

Plenty in the shop for today including the fine new solo record by Mr. JOHN BLEK, a new bunch of tunes from BON IVER, PIXIES, OPETH, REGINA SPEKTOR, PASSENGER , BILLY BRAGG to name but a few and some glorious reissues from ALICIA KEYS, ELVIS, STING ,MR L COHEN, RANDY NEWMAN,PETER TOSH, HENDRIX and the excellent DAY OF THE DEAD boxset gets its LP release…. Only 180 quid… Not a bother…. Fine collection though to fair.

boniver pixies regina-spektor-remember-us-to-life

Video lovers, Bobby is back this week! Check it out here!

 

Do ye know the way I am always trying to tease , torment , cajole and gently ease the Johnny Cash from ye’r pockets? ( I hope i do it in a friendly and professional manner though if that’s any consolation).. Well I also hope that an odd time I point ye in a direction ye may not otherwise have seen.

 

Of course, I am always saying, that’s good and this is good and the other is good as well… All completely a matter of taste… Who the hell am I or anyone else for that matter to tell anyone what they should like… I’m trying to sell stuff (that’s my job) but i do shout a bit louder if I really (personally) like something.

 

Block your ears cause you know what’s coming…

 

I heard a record during the week that completely stopped me in my tracks…. I can’t remember the last time it happened to me….Not for a few years…. Was it just my mood at the time?….. I happened to listen to it whilst I exercised which I hadn’t done for about six months so maybe it was the long lost endorphins talking… Did the music just resonate with me personally? (It was stuff i’d like, indie rock n roll, dash of psych, hint of punk, guitars, keys, synths and strings all in use…) But it stopped me… Totally… I thought it was fantastic from the opening chord to the last chord and every bit in between.

 

7 days ago, the truth be told I did not know who this band were…. Now ye guys have to block ye’r ears I am shouting so loud….

After my first full listen to the album I got off my exercise bike and stood and clapped (endorphin buzz surely?)… A one man standing ovation…. Bravo, chapo, comhghairdeas…. Well fecking done gentlemen that was excellent.

Bobby will find a link for ye to listen to the record….Vinyl I hope will be with us very soon (that’s the cunning , cajoling bit done)

 

Take a listen to it here! : https://windings.bandcamp.com/album/be-honest-and-fear-not

 

The band are from Limerick and their name is WINDINGS.. The record is called ‘Be Honest and Fear Not’… I personally think it is one of the best Irish records I have heard in quite a while and one of the best records of the year for me.

behonest

Ok…. You can unblock your ears a bit…

 

On to releases for next friday the 7th of October…. Santa getting close folks… Ho ho ho!

 

SONY

Sony has a new studio album by BARRY GIBB (as ye know the BEE GEES), as well as a deluxe version (22 tracks) of JEFF BUCKLEYS ‘Grace’ … MILES DAVIS get his own ‘Essential’ release on vinyl, andBOB DYLAN ‘Pure Dylan’ which is also a greatest hits is released… More of a compilation really… Interesting one though… Quite a few rare tracks on it…  Sony also have ELVIS ‘Christmas Album’… Ho ho ho… I warned ye…. If BT can do it so can we… Only taking the piss… Ye knew that didn’t ye?

 

Sony also has a LOU REED Boxset .. The CD set is 17 discs with an 80 page book, 5 prints and a poster,  or there is a six LP SET… I think the LP is pushed back till November now… Will be on high fidelity vinyl with a 30 page book… Albums on it are ‘BERLIN’, ‘TRANSFORMER’, ‘CONEY ISLAND BABY’, ‘ROCK N ROLL ANIMAL’, ‘THE BLUE MASK’ and ‘STREET HASSLE’..  Sony lastly have a STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN ‘Essential Collection’ on Vinyl..

loureed

UNIVERSAL


Universal for the 7th of October have a new ONE REPUBLIC album on deluxe or standard CD called ‘Oh My My’… NORAH JONES has a new album ‘Day Breaks’ on CD, Deluxe CD or LP.. Universal are doing a ‘Best Of’ PLACEBO 2CD to mate up with a new 6 Track 12’’ EP of unreleased tracks called ‘Life’s What You Make It’.;.

 

Universal have a few more 5CD set at reasonable money including T-REX and THE CRANBERRIES…

 

DAMIEN DEMPSEY has a CD out next week called ‘No Force on Earth’… Damo’s celebration and commemoration of the 1916 Rising.. Damo maybe is an acquired taste but I like him… A fine songwriter.. ABBA ‘Arrival’ is getting the Abbey Road ½ Speed Mastering treatment and also 4 picture disc singles from the album also…

 

Lastly from Universal next week is a BLINK 182 Vinyl boxset… A lot of these records have been very hard to get, maybe never even printed… They include ‘Cheshire Cat’, ‘Dude Ranch’, ‘Enema Of The State’, ‘Take Off Your Pants and Jacket’, ‘The Mark, Tom and Travis Show’, ‘Blink 182’, and ‘Neighbourhoods’..

WARNER

Warner have the new GREEN DAY album ‘Revolution Radio’… The band are together 30 years I was told in the shop during the week.. Lead single is very good.. Warner also have a new SEASICK STEVErecord, a new ERIC JOHNSON record which is a live, acoustic album on Provogue, and a really niceOTIS REDDING ‘Dictionary of Soul’ on 2LP and 7’’..

greendayrev

 

Warner are also doing a special run of stuff with Rhino that will be exclusive to Indie shops only… First up is ZZ TOP’s ‘Eliminator’ on Red Vinyl… Lastly from Warner for next week is the incrediblePRINCE album ‘Sign Of The Times’ on 2LP…

 

Republic of Music have the limited run of the ‘Planet of the Apes’ soundtrack… 400 in total…

 

CARGO

Cargo have the new GOAT album called ‘Requiem’ on coloured vinyl for indies only and on CD… They are calling it their folk album..

 

Essential have the new C. DUNCAN LP on pink vinyl, as well as a new FEEDER album, and new albums from ALTER BRIDGE, and THE PRIESTS.. Slight contrasts in style there with the latter two to say the least..

PIAS

PIAS for next week have the 3rd OASIS ‘Be Here Now’ album on reissue… Third in the series of remastered super editions.. Much maligned at the time.. Few great tracks on it though.. As a 2LP or 3CD or Super Duper Boxy Thingy also… PIAS also have new albums from WHITE LIES and MESHUGGAH, as well as some MARK LANEGAN LP reissues..

On the kinda local scene, MALOJIAN release their third album next week… ‘This Is Nowhere’ is the title.. This record is being put out by the guys in Rollercoaster Records in Kilkenny.. We have Malojian’s record on CD in the shop and it’s a fine listen.. The new tunes here sounds great as well…

 

Last bit of news, great news really… The boy Flannery has agreed again to do an instore around the launch of his new album… New song is a belter… Edgy, rocking and pure class.. Mick has always supported us.. Will fill in next week with the dates.. Think it’s Friday October 21st at IPM.. Will confirm next week… So thanks Mick, again… Hopefully I won’t send anymore late night well oiled texts of thanks your way… Sorry about that…Could be worse, could be sending the drunken texts to women… Anyway, before I get into more trouble i’m off..

mickflannery

 

Sin é for this week,

 

Thanks for listening,

 

Ray

www.musiczone.ie

The Return of Bon Iver, Van Morrison Pop Quiz, and The Brilliant Jack O’ Rourke Instore

Posted on by musiczoneadmin

Hi Everyone,

 

Hows the form….

 

Bunch of releases in the shop this week which include the new BOWIE boxset on LP and CD…the debut album by the bould JACK O’ ROURKE….Few listens this week..It sounds really good… Really good….Jack was in the shop Saturday…was a quality performance as expected.

Image result for David Bowie - Who Can I Be Now

Also this week, the next batch of the FLOYD reissues on Vinyl, the new WARPAINT record, the new BRUCE compilation plus new ones from INSOMNIUM, SHAUN MENDES as well as reissues by RAY CHARLES, KD LANG,MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE and FLEETWOOD MAC.

 

And for ye video heads, here you are! Be sure to hit that subscribe button on YouTube if you haven’t already!

PIAS

Right so onto releases for next Friday the 30th of September…. PIAS get the nod to lead the troops for this week….They have via Jagjaguwar the new BON IVER record ‘22, A million’  on CD, Cassette, LP and limited INDIES ONLY LP with 12”… Just 200 copies of this for our shores….So you know where i am if you want to be safe… Tis pricey though at 37 quid….Don’t shoot the messenger…. I know it’s limited and its a lovely piece of gear and musically very good I would imagine, but it is a hefty price tag…. Record companies have to be careful with the price tags… Don’t kill the golden goose , nurture it is my thinking.

Image result for Bon Iver 22 A Million

PIAS also have the record from alt/rock legends PIXIES, ‘Head Carrier’ it is called and it is out on CD , LP and limited indies only vinyl with a slipmat… Getting mixed reviews but I kind of like what i have heard….One man’s meat blah de blah.

 

Pias also have the new DRIVE BY TRUCKERS record on CD and LP and the new OPETH album ‘Sorcercess’ on 2CD,CD, 2LP or picture disc LP as well as some ROY HARPER reissues on vinyl and a reissue of a special anniversary edition of the soundtrack to Cliff Martinez’s DRIVE on pink vinyl.

 

UNIVERSAL

Universal have a few strong releases as well for next friday the 30th including second album from english punk duo SLAVES entitled ‘Take Control’ on CD and limited red vinyl for indies only with codes.

 

Universal also have the new studio album by VAN MORRISON…. Pop quiz…. How many studio albums does Van have?…. Isn’t google a bitch… Pop quizzes are with O’ Leary in the grave….If I could only trust ye not to tap for the answer I could have ran a competition to win the Leon Jackson album (sorry Leon, I hope you never read this and if you do I hope you appreciate there was no malice intended and you take it in the spirit it was meant… P.S, I could have told you SYCO was a bit of a langer like) ….I would have got it wrong ….36 studio albums… I would have been about 10 away… Anyway his 36th is out next week ‘Keep Me Singing’ is the title…. Is that like the  opposite to a do not resuscitate order….Van was the man at a point  to be fair…. Don’t know what this one is like.

Image result for Van Morrison Keep Me Singing

ROLLING STONES first 10 years gets a 15 CD and 15 LP Mono Box Set treatment…. One for the hardcore fans.

 

WALLIS BIRD releases her 5th album called ‘Home’ on Carolina music….Underrated girl is Wallis especially here in her homeland…. Loads of talent so we wish her the best with the new record…. Free live CD if you buy the new album on CD or Vinyl from us week one of release….Two for the price of one… New album and live album for 14 euro…. Not bad at all… Wallis is due to do an instore in Jan with us when she is back in Cork again to play Cypress Avenue…. Sound bird as well you see….

 

TEMPLE OF THE DOG gets a reissue also next week on 2CD and 2LP plus a super deluxe box.

Image result for temple of the dog temple of the dog

UNIVERSAL also have a superb STING vinyl boxset ….8 studio albums across 11 records for 145 euro…They are all individually released also….

 

Uni have reissues by MAROON 5 ‘Songs About Jane’ and HEAVEN 17 as well as the brilliant MASSIVE ATTACK new 12” single as a limited coloured vinyl…Bot sure if it’s the Mazzy star track or not… Will inform next week.

 

I done a talk recently for Tedex under the guise Cork Loves Music and man it was nerve-wrecking… Standing on a stage in front of about 50 or 60 people in seats.. People just looking at you… Talk fool talk as Mr. T might say…. My input was to be from an indie store owners perception of the world I live in… Man I could talk all day as some of ye know but this was tough… I will beef it out for ye more over the next week or two as I think it might be an interesting enough read.. Three facets to it… 1) Background 2) Why buy Physical? 3) What do we as Indie shops contribute to the world?.. I’m not sure if my crowd on the night got me…I could be wrong but I felt my crowd would have more interest in more worldly matters like the huge influence of the Hebrew Monks had on Bowie’s creation of Ziggy… Man!!

 

Anyway, tis done!

 

SONY

Sony for the 30th have the HENDRIX reissue ‘Machine Gun’, a live show with the Band of Gypsies from 1969 in the infamous Fillmore East in New York.. Cut from the original 8 Track master tapes..

 

Sony also have a number of really good vinyl reissues for next week including the following :

 

Image result for bob dylan the times they are a changin

WARNER

Warner for the 30th of September have the new REGINA SPEKTOR album ‘Remember Us To Life’ on CD, Deluxe CD or LP… ERIC CLAPTON ‘Live In San Francisco’ with JJ CALE is also out, as well as ‘Best Of’ CDs by ENTOMBED andMORBID ANGEL for any metal lovers out there..

 

CARGO

Cargo have the new ULTIMATE PAINTING LP on Purple Vinyl for Indies only….

 

Some of the best wine till last this week…. The new JOHN BLEK solo album is on rotation in the shop the last few days and it’s out on CD, and Limited numbered vinyl next Friday the 30th… Sounds great, really really well crafted songs once again.. Check out the lead single ‘Little Sparrow’ underneath.. Lovely bluesy tone to the guitaring and great lyrics by John once again.

Image result for john blek cut the lights

 

Sin é for this week,

 

Thanks for listening,

 

Ray

www.musiczone.ie

Savage September Continues with Bowie, Floyd and a Scintillating Instore with A Fine Wordsmith

Posted on by musiczoneadmin

Hi Folks,

How’s it going?

Welcome to this evenings gentle ramblings.. Releases in the shop for today include the new ZEPPELIN boxset on CD, Vinyl Set and Super Deluxe Vinyl Boxset,plus albums from PREOCCUPATIONS (VIETCONG), SEX PISTOLS, CHRISTINE AND THE QUEENS, ST PAUL AND THE BROKEN BONES, SODOM, SETH LAKEMAN,WILLIE NELSON, EMINEM, CYPRUS HILL..

Image result for led zeppelin complete bbc sessions

Or for those who prefer the video, Bobby is back on duties this week! Be sure to slate him in the comments, and subscribe to keep up to date with all releases!

Scintillating Savage September sizzles on (ah shut up Ray for Christ’s Sake) with crackers galore for next week the 23rd of September also..

First up is the second in the series of BOWIE boxsets.. This one is 13LP, or 12CD set covers 1974-1976… Some merch available as ye know with the pre-ordered sets.. So if you order a set (as some of you have done already) you can choose from two items from four.. The four items are the tee-shirts, mouse mat, slipmat, and record bag.. All beautifully Bowie branded.. Any two of the four with a  set… (Sorry, I know I told ye this already, but a slight change with the merch.. So basically you can choose from two out of the four!)..

Image result for bowie who can i be now

WARNER

Warner also have a new BONAMASSA release for next week.. A live recording entitled ‘Live at the Greek’ where Joe plays or pays tribute to the three kings… Albert, Freddie and B.B.. This one is on 2CD, 3LP with Code, 2DVD + Blu Ray..

Warner also have two nice vinyl boxsets next week, starting with the great RAY CHARLES with his Atlantic Studio Albums reissued in Mono.. A 7LP boxset! Also out is the next instalment of the RANDY NEWMAN songbook via Nonesuch.. This one is a 4LP set..

Warner also have the next batch of PINK FLOYD reissues… This time it’s Atom Heart Mother, Meddle and Obscured By Clouds as well as a reissue of KD LANG’Sgreat album ‘Hymn of the 49th Parallel’, again on Nonesuch Records on 140gm vinyl..

Image result for atom heart mother

Lastly for this week from Warner is the 10th Anniversary of MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE’s ‘Black Parade’, on 2CD or 3LP which has 11 previously unreleased demos.. There are also some TROJAN reggae releases..

Next up is a massive local release… Sandwiched between Bowie and Bruce (us Cork boys like to keep good company like) JACK O’ ROURKE releases his debut album, out next Friday the 23rd… Entitled ‘Dreamcatcher’.. We can’t wait to hear this one! The EP from last year contained 5 great tracks so really looking forward to hearing the album.. Even better news, Jack is coming in to us the following day, the 24th of September (Saturday) at 12 noon to perform songs from the new album… Say hello to a few people and sign a few albums all going well.. Racks coming out of the floor for this one so mark it in your diary, head, or wherever you mark things… Sat 24th, 12 Noon, Music Zone… T’will be great, Jack in our opinion is as big a talent as anyone in the country at the moment and certainly one of the best songsmiths.. Love love is over now, so on to Sony for the 23rd of September..

Image result for jack o rourke dreamcatcher

SONY

Sony for next Friday (not too shabby so far has it.. Floyd reissues only got about 3 lines..), have the companion album to BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN’s autobiography ‘Born to Run’… I’m sure Tom will drop in a signed copy of the book for display in the shop… Tom?… Tom?….

The album is called ‘Chapter and Verse’, and is basically a Best Of, with a slight twist… A song from each period of his life… On CD or Double LP…Here’s the sales notes :

‘Chapter and Verse,’ the audio companion to Bruce Springsteen’s extraordinary forthcoming autobiography, will be released Sept. 23 on Columbia Records. The career-spanning compilation will be released four days before Simon & Schuster publishes ‘Born to Run.’ Five of the album’s 18 tracks have not been previously released. 


Springsteen selected the songs on ‘Chapter and Verse’ to reflect the themes and sections of ‘Born to Run.’ The compilation begins with two tracks from The Castiles, featuring a teenaged Springsteen on guitar and vocals, and ends with the title track from 2012’s ‘Wrecking Ball.’  The collected songs trace Springsteen’s musical history from its earliest days, telling a story that parallels the one in the book.

Recordings from Steel Mill and The Bruce Springsteen Band feature musicians who would go on to play in The E Street Band. Solo demos of “Henry Boy” and “Growin’ Up” were cut in 1972 shortly before Springsteen began recording his debut album, ‘Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.’ 


‘Chapter and Verse’ will be available as a single CD and double LP. The package will include lyrics and rare photos..

INSOMNIUM also have a new album called ‘Winters Gate’, on CD Deluxe and LP…

Red Essential (I hope you notice I don’t have much time for cribbing this week… too much going on… I’ll save up the rants for a quiet week) have the new album by PASSENGER on CD or CD/DVD or LP or 2LP… Quite a bit of interest being shown in this one… Red Essential also have a new BILLY BRAGG / JOE HENRY record called ‘Shine Alright’..

PIAS

PIAS for the 23rd of September have WARPAINT’S third album called ‘Heads Up’ on Rough Trade records.. Played Dublin recently and supposed to have been very good.. Indies only black and pink vinyl for a limited time only folks… Roll up roll up… Don’t see double entendres where there are none meant folks…..

Image result for warpaint heads up

Quick side note… Great to have three strong new albums last week, not reissues… New material.. WILCO, TEENAGE FANCLUB, and NICK CAVE…. Three of the better albums of the year for me so far.. Top quality… All three… I think anyway!… Side note over….

PIAS also have a new IN FLAMES record, ‘Sounds From The Heart of Gothenburg’..

UNIVERSAL

Universal for the 23rd of September have a new SHAWN MENDES album, a new album from AIRBOURNE and UB40 + DUSTY SPRINGFIELD 3CD ‘Best Of’ CDs…

Quick cap in the hand one here again…. The Rolling Stones Mono Boxset coming out on the 30th of September as a limited 15 CD set for EUR140 best price, or Limited 16LP set for EUR335 best price… Boxsets are all limited… Universal offering a free CD album from their catalogue as an incentive if anyone is interested! Let me know… I need to know by Monday 11AM… Sound!!

Just saw SKEPTA won the Mercury… Can’t say I know the album, and can’t say I like Grime either to be honest…. Is it the right decision?.. I dunno… Don’t know the album… Bowie was the sentimental choice you could say, but from the nine albums of the twelve nominated that I knew, Bowie would have got my nod, but the Skepta record, I don’t know it… Look, maybe it will bring a new genre of music to the forefront with the kids, and that would be no bad thing..

Anyway,

Sin é for this week,

Thanks for listening.

Ray

www.musiczone.ie

ZEPPELIN, NICK AND MY FRIENDS IN THE AIR!

Posted on by musiczoneadmin

Hi Everyone,

Hope ye are all well this evening…

Thanks to those who read this …I appreciate it…I do put a bit of time into it…late on a Thursday evening usually…between 2 to 3 hours a week normally to do a bit of research and write it so sound to those who read it.

Here’s a link to our vlog if you’d prefer…

Firstly, this week loads of goodies in the shop today…bit of a feast to be honest…bad for your pocket but good for your soul…listened a lot to the jingly jangly pop brilliance of the Teenage Fanclub…it’s poptabulous…the new Wilco…Schmilco is a fine listen as well and the new Nick Cave has been played all day today…I can safely say all three will be played again in 12 months time…really good…

the Nick Cave is really really dark and melancholy, there is a kind of whirling, looping drone through the record that is so melancholy and intoxicating…one track has a single piano note every 15 seconds…one note only but it gives an eerie feel to it…I played it 5 or 6 times today but didn’t study it…it’s on in the background (I’m not really listening to it intently) and I am not going to try and dissect meanings from the great man’s pen…not yet anyway (until a proper listen) but the opening track is called ‘Jesus Alone’, and the album opens with the line. ‘He fell from the skies’…ah man…I could be wrong but I think 3 fine albums have been released today…the Nick one could be an all time classic given time…it’s early days for me with it but it’s powerful, interesting stuff.

nick-cave-the-bad-seeds-skeleton-tree      wilco-schmilco         teenage-fanclub-here

Right, more out today are some great Neil Young reissues, the acoustic double album, Jack White, a live ZZ Top record, some Faith No More reissues, New Order singles collection on 4LP boxset, new record by Bastille (must listen tomorrow…could be another beaut), Verve reissue, Ramones boxset, new Okkervil River record, new one by D.A.R.K….so loads of new stuff in the man cave for the weekend…quality stuff a lot of it…

Right, moving on to arrivals in same man cave for next Friday the 16th of September (no disrespect in any shape, form or way to ye ladies with great taste who buy records or C.Ds from us…lady cave just ain’t got the same ring to it)…I better get out while the goings good…

Right, next week the biggie is definitely the Zeppelin BBC CD, LP set or super deluxe CD/LP set…a fine collection…thanks (big time) to those of you who were interested and pre-ordered from us (rather than elsewhere…go raibh maith agaibh)…Swansong/Atlantic/Warner being the providers of this beaut…the vinyl of the new Christine and the Queens reissued through Warner also for next Friday, LP also includes a copy of the CD which is a nice touch.

led-zep-bbc                                  led-zep-bbc-cd                                          led-zep-bbc-super

PIAS

PIAS have the new album by PREOCCUPATIONS ( well, I suppose it’s their debut album…the same four lads from Canada were VIETCONG but changed their name to the aforementioned)…the first album was good, so looking forward to hearing the new one…there is an indies only coloured vinyl with this one…as for the name change, it was causing offence and promoters were getting grief over it also, and the band were losing shows over it as well…the lads from the band said basically and honestly that they were young and ignorant to the ramifications of the name…not too many bands out there with names of terrorist organisations to be fair….storm in a teacup or a real problem…that’s for everyone to have their opinion on…Christ why am I still writing about it..Enough said Raymond…Shane thinks it was a bit of punk rock, they should’ve kept it…new record next week, CD and Ltd LP.

PIAS also have the score to the TV series NARCOS on black and red swirly ice pop flavoured vinyl (sorry, three words in that description are not true…I got a bit carried away again)

I’m lucky to be here (last story I promise/I hope about this/ I thought my head was going to explode on Tuesday)…EIR were back or should we call them Freddy…man, they are a nightmare…because I closed a contract and opened a huge new contract…I had no package with eir so I had agreed a new package with them last week…watch your costs…watch your costs type thing which entailed them sending sending some some dude out to install a new broadband modem…all cool…eh..no…he left and the next day the phone line was dead…I am not over exaggerating too much when I say this but when the realisation hit me that my phone was not working…terror, fear and bile rose in my stomach…I had to ring EIR…man…it is torture…9 minutes on hold…the line goes dead…try again, 9 minutes before I speak to someone…he puts me on hold…another 7 minutes, he is back and wants to transfer me …I’m getting full at this stage so I ask him nicely is there any way he can call me back rather than me waiting…I am the customer I think?…eh no he replys…I say why not…Gareth tells me he is too busy…I kid you not…he is too busy to call me, the customer back…pop…head explosion…nop raised voice but a right asshole I turned into for a good minute…a right asshole…I’d say Gareth wished he’d said grand I’ll ring you back…

I spoke to 40 Gareths over the past month in EIR and pop…it happened…I thought I was out you see but you know what’s coming, they kept pulling me back in…Anyway a long story short and an even longer 38 minutes (in total), I was told there was a fault with the line and they would sort it but it would take 3 working days…to get a dude back out…brilliant..brilliant guys…I knew that 40 minutes ago…

Anyway, hopefully that’s the end of that sceal once and for all…back to the tunes…

Essential for the 16th have new albums by Seth LAKEMAN, HANDSOME FAMILY and DEAD VALLY.

PROPER

PROPER have a new album by Ian Hunter (MOTT THE HOOPLE)

Music On Vinyl

Music On Vinyl have a few nice ones including DREAM THEATRE …2 and a half hours live from Paris…4 LP set…2000 copies on blue marbled ice pop flavoured vinyl…

MOV also have SUICIDE SQUAD OST on LP, NAS ‘I Am’ LP and MOVE ‘Looking On’ featuring Jeff Lynne.

UNIVERSAL

Universal have new albums by ALANA GEORGE, MADELINE PEYROUX, SHAKIN STEVENS, the new BRIDGET JONES DIARY…quick side bar…was top of the charts in 2001 when the baby opened…I remember asking a colleague and friend of mine before I opened the shop…how many of that Bridget Jones soundtrack should I get in…25 she said…you’ll definitely sell 25 she said…she was right…a long time ago now…amazing how little things can stick in your mind .

Universal also have an ENIGMA Best Of CD reissue, EMINEM ‘Curtain Call’ 2LP reissue and PETER GABRIEL Live DVD.

SONY

Sony have a new WILLIE NELSON album – a tribute to Ray Price, and a new USHER CD.

On the local scene, The Sunshine Factory were in performing in the shop last Saturday at 1pm. Really good sound…Velvet Undergroundy…Brian Jonestown Massacre vibes…EP out in January/February.

Sin é for this week folks,

Thanks for listening,

Ray.

www.musiczone.ie

SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND AS WELL NICK, WILCO, BASTILLE, TEENAGE FAN CLUB

Posted on by musiczoneadmin

Hello everybody,

How’s the form tonight…. hope ye are well.

Releases in the shop for today include  new albums by Divine Comedy,  Pearl Jam,  The Cure, Angel Olsen , Nirvana,  Scott Walker,  Iron and Wine, the Shins,  Freddie Mercury, James Vincent Mcmorrow And The Carpenters to name but a few.

Or for those who perfer the video, ye know the sceal!!

You’ve probably read enough madness last week but the real madness is about to commence says he hopefully….. the release schedule is really very strong for the next month…..  All killer ,  no fillers  as one might say…..i am some peddler for one peddler.

You are probably going to laugh at this but I am talking into a microphone on the laptop which is typing out the words for me on the screen….. Maiden voyage for both of us tonight…. I do have one little problem with my new friend,  it does not  seem to  understand  simple Cork  like  boy!!

So  I am talking like an earl from Downton Abbey, If you could hear me now you would definitely have a giggle ….

So moving on to releases for the  9th of  September ,  we  will start  with  NICK CAVE’s  new  record called ‘Skeleton Tree’,  his 16th studio  album. I have searched online  to try and find a couple of tracks from this release but to no avail…. this one seems fairly locked down for now which is quite refreshing to be honest.

Image result for nick cave skeleton tree

One cannot begin to even imagine the pain this man and his family have endured over the last 12 months….Terrible terrible loss… This release is on CD and vinyl record and I’m sure it will be a  powerful  listen.

WARNER

Warner Music have a load of crackers for next Friday including the truly wonderfulWILCO  with his  new album Schmilco…. I have never seen Wilco live but everybody who has that I have spoken to says it is a truly incredible experience….  They are one of the best around….mindblowing live i was told….. probably very  underrated bands…. unnoticed to a lot of ears…. worth a listen..I suppose Yankee Foxtrot would be the most glorified record they had…

Warner also has some NEIL YOUNG vinyl reissues on 140 gram vinyl including Time Fades Away, On The Beach, Tonight’s The Night and Zuma. The first two here are quite reasonable  priced but the latter two  are  more  expensive this i am told is down to  differing  specifications  and manufacturing costs. Say goodbye to my little friend….. We have decided to part company….it was a short  but sweet romance  but she just didn’t understand me and she hadn’t a great personality….that’s just the way it goes.

Image result for neil young on the beach

Moving on…NEW ORDER have a singles collection out via Rhino on 2 CD or a 4LP 180 gram in a lift top box…..fairly nice one.

Warner also has some FAITH NO MORE reissues again on Rhino ….Two major titles, ‘King for a Day, Fool For A Lifetime’ and  ‘Album of the Year’ on 2 CD or 2 LP  with download codes.

The 40th anniversary of the 29 minutes of punk bliss debut by the RAMONES…this genre defining record  gets the deluxe treatment as a 3CD/LP ….. there are limited numbered copies available of this title…. I didn’t say how many! Disc two in the CD set has outtakes, demos, mixes etc etc and disc three has two  full live shows one of which was never released before and the LP in the set  is in the new mono mix….. Tempting!!  

Image result for Ramones - Ramones

Lastly from Warner is a new ZZ TOP live album on CD and double LP as well as a new DANIEL LANOIS album and  a 3 CD collection of TRIO….. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris complete set.

UNIVERSAL

Universal have the new and supposedly difficult second album by BASTILLE out for next Friday the 9th of September, on CD Jewel / Deluxe CD Digipack and Double LP.. I shall be giving this one a few listens..

Image result for bastille wild world

Universal have the BEATLES ‘Live at the Hollywood Bowl’ on CD.. The LP will follow in November, as well as ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’ soundtrack starring the seldom mentioned Mr. David Jones… The 2CD/2LP and the 2LP not out until the middle of November I think!

Universal also have some vinyl reissues from THE VERVE with ‘Urban Hymns’, and SONIC YOUTH’s ‘NYC Ghosts + Flowers’, and ‘A Thousand Letters’, as well as a new MEAT LOAF album.

Not going off topic for too long… It’s just I am afraid and concerned after our break up that I bored my typing pal to distraction, and hence we parted, so just to finish on last weeks rant on EIR, I got a bill today in the post for 274Euro, and about 195 of it had to do with closing an account and opening a new account (with the same company I might add!!!).. Aren’t they bloody gas like.. Now I did think I had to ring them once or twice during the process.. What a bunch of beauties… Big corporations putting their hands in small business, or Joe Soaps pockets and taking their money.. It’s all wrong like but am I going to crib somewhere where I might get noticed?.. No because it takes too long and it’s too much hassle.. This shower know it… Getty were the same a few months back.. F**king gangsters the lot of ‘em!..

SONY

Back to the tunes… Sony has a new album by TWIN ATLANTIC.. Scottish band which has a bit of Rage Against The Machine vibe going on..

Republic of Music have the new TEENAGE FANCLUB record out on the 9th of September.. I told ye things were hotting up.. Their 10th record on CD, LP and Cassette as well as a limited indies only LP on clear vinyl with posters and codes.. Republic of Music also have the Original Sound Track to TWIN PEAKS on Perth Waltz records… Again on coffee coloured vinyl..

Image result for teenage fanclub here

New album out from D.A.R.K for next week which now includes Dolores O’ Riordan (Cranberries), as well as Andy Rourke (The Smiths) and Olé Koretsky.. On Couching Vinyl via Essential.. I think these lads have cancelled some tour dates so I hope Cork isn’t included in these cancellations..

Lastly on the tunes front tonight, CARGO have the new WEDDING PRESENTalbum called ‘Going, Going’ on 2LP / CD / DVD / 7’’.. That’s all one box!! Good value at 35EUR!.. Great if you’re a fan..

On the local scene, we are really delighted to announce that JACK O’ ROURKE will be doing an instore for us all to coincide with the launch of his new album ‘Dreamcatcher’… Jack’s EP last year was truly excellent.. A great listen and I for one can’t wait to get the new album.. So we are chuffed to have him coming in.. Saturday 24th of September at 12 noon.. Set ye’r alarms! The big gig launch is in the Everyman with the full band I think on Friday October 15th.. Jack’s debut album is released on Friday the 23rd of September.. We can’t wait!!

Also on the local instore scene, next Saturday the 10th of September we have shoe-gaze local lads THE SUNSHINE FACTORY at 1PM! Another one we’re really looking forward to so make sure to pop in if you are about! The lads debut single ‘Cruelest Animal’ is out through FIFA Records in the coming weeks so keep eyes peeled for that!

Sin é for this week,

Thanks for listening,

Ray

www.musiczone.ie

 

SAVAGE SEPTEMBER BEGINS, BLISSFULLY GOTH, AND THE RETURN OF THE RANTS

Posted on by musiczoneadmin

Hi Everyone..

 

How’s the form?..

 

So firstly are the releases out this week in the shop which include the latest two titles in the PINK FLOYD reissue series, ‘The Wall’ and ‘The Division Bell’.. Nice start at the end of the day, BLUR reissue coloured LP of ‘Leisure’’, the new CASS MCCOMBS record ‘Mangy Love’, the new DE LA SOUL, a FRANK ZAPPA reissue of ‘HOT RATS’, and a couple of WATAIN and DEPECHE MODE reissues..

Image result for blur leisure

The video is back this week, so if you want to see the physical thing, check it out here!

 

Roll up, roll up… September is here… The bleak winter is over and the summer for records start.. Savage September i’m calling it! Starts slowly maybe… Only maybe.. Loads of tempting stuff all the same for next week..

 

UNIVERSAL

First up is Universal which has the new JAMES VINCENT MCMORROW CD (Proper has the vinyl release on the same day.. Don’t ask… Purely because I dunno why!).. Third album from the Dubliner called ‘We Move’..

Image result for james vincent mcmorrow we move

Universal also has the FREDDIE MERCURY singles collection entitled ‘Messenger of the Gods’ on 2CD, or on a coloured 7’’ singles boxset.. Limited 13×7’’ singles all individually coloured.. Booklet with photos, some unreleased, and codes for high quality downloads also..

 

JAMIE T has a new record out next Friday also, and Universal also have a newCARPENTERS collection..

 

Universal also have some lovely LP reissues from one of my one personal favourites THE CURE, including ‘Entreat Plus’ which is a live album from 1989 featuring nearly the whole ‘Disintegration’ album live (one of my favourite albums of all time, ‘Disintegration’.. If you don’t know it, check it out.. Dark, dreary.. I know I probably have had about 90 albums in my top ten.. Look, it’s a big top ten.. Great album..) Other reissues from THE CURE include ‘Pornography’, ‘Faith’, ‘Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me’, ‘Seventeen Seconds’, ‘Three Imaginary Boys’, and ‘The Top’. Also reissued is the side project THE GLOVE’S ‘Blue Sunshine’ with Robert Smith and Siouxsie’s Steve Severin… Blissfully melancholy goth.. All of them..

Image result for the cure entreat plus

BLONDIE has a picture disc release of ‘Plastic Letters’ and there is also someULTRAVOX LP reissues from Universal next week..

 

SONY

Sony for next week, the 2nd of September have the 4th and 5th PEARL JAMrecords, ‘No Code’ and ‘Yield’.. Pushed back from about 6 weeks back, plus new albums from IZZY BIZU and WARD THOMAS, as well as some 5CD Sets from ROGER MCGUINN, and EXODUS among others..

WARNER

Warner for next week the 2nd of September mainly have some nice Rhino vinyl Greatest Hits reissues from ARETHA FRANKLIN, CHICAGO, CHIC, LITTLE FEATand WARREN ZEVON, as well as a nice budget priced Country CD collection..

 

So, we are two weeks in the new gaff.. 95% srted there now.. Few bits to get finished, but no mad rush on them… Starting to settle in now, stressful few weeks or months really to be honest… The moving the stuff (the parts of the move we could control) were fine.. Hard work, and time required mainly..

 

But man, the stuff we did not control fully were torture at times… I must have spoke to EIR 1800601701 at least 50 times over the last month… I should have kept a diary.. Every phone call seemed to last at least 15 minutes, and I kid you not, I reckon I spoke to them 40/50 times in the last month…

 

You see I own a huge telecommunications company as well as the record shop empire, and I needed to transfer all that as well… I do in my liathroidí.. I simply (well, wrong choice of word from me), wanted to close the account for the phone and broadband in Douglas Court, and open one in Douglas Village… I did, however, throw a huge curve ball at Eir… I wanted to keep the number 0214895500.. I kid you not, each call was like somebody was plucking hairs individually from my skin… I won’t bore with the details.. It was truly torture.. Last piece of the puzzle today was getting a new package in the new shop.. 35 minutes on the phone for my name, address, business reg number, bank account number, sort code, email…. I think that was it… 35 minutes… Holy sh*te you can only laugh and ask the girl at the end why do you not just email me the form.. I know they are making money from one sitting on the other end of the phone, but christ, I would have paid them the 10 Euro upfront to not have to go through the torture sessions… Do they realise at the top of the food chain how inept they are, or do they not give a sh*te?…

 

A lot of ye know I have had great love for big corporations and banks so we can add Eir and the ESB to my list of lovers… Last Thursday, 6 days open, I had a visit from Khal Drogo himself, whom I didn’t realise moonlights as an ESB networks enforcer..

 

Drogo told me he had to put out my lights… I said why?… Drogo said there was no name on the unit.. I said I was only in the unit a few days and had a meter reading from when I took it over, but just hadn’t got around to putting my name on it.. ‘DO IT NOW’, said Drogo, or lights out.. So I did, rang Bord Gais Energy, got my name on the unit.. Jumped through their hoops as Drogo stared at me telling me he had 14 minutes to do this call… Job done…

 

Job was done.. Drogo spoke to Bord Gais to get the nod not to put my lights out. Everyone happy families… Fast forward to Monday… 1:15PM.. BANG.. Power gone.. Trip switch?… No, not that…Pink Panther concluded through CCTV footage that Drogo was back.. Went to the supply room and hit the switch… Lights out… Why?… My name from the previous Thursday had not gone through the system yet so there was still no name on the unit… No power for 4 hours… No apologies.. True story.. He came Thursday, was told it was okay, came back Monday and shut me down without even asking.. Can you believe that?.. What a country sometimes… He spent an hour of his day doing something completely unnecessary and uncalled for… Oooh Christ I dunno…

 

Sorry, ranting over.. Blood pressure tablets taken.. Back to the tunes!

 

PIAS

PIAS for the 2nd of September have the new album from NEIL HANNON and THE DIVINE COMEDY, called ‘Foreverland’, on 2CD, CD or LP… PIAS also have the third album by ANGEL OLSEN on Jarjaruwar, on Purple vinyl for indie retailers like us! Talented lass..

 

PIAS also have reissues of IRON + WINE’S ‘The Shepherd’s Dog’, and THE SHINS‘Wincing The Night Away’, also! Very underrated band, The Shins..

Image result for iron and wine the shepherds dog

On the local scene, Bobby’s band Small Dose played in Ziggy’s Saturday evening for this year’s 96/1 Festival in the City, which was dedicated to upcoming original Irish music all weekend in the city! Shop friends Raising Jupiter were also on the bill.

 

No rants next week folks, wall to wall releases only…

 

As well folks, if you are interested in the Zepp ‘BBC Ssession’ CD set, 5LP set, or Super Deluxe Vinyl set, orders need to be in by Wednesday so if you could help me out and let me know if you are interested in one, it would be great! Prices are as follows again, best best prices, no discounts i’m afraid :

3 CD SET best price 23 euro

5 LP SET best price 83 euro

LP /CD BOOK DELUXE BOXSET….best best price 140 euro

 

And the sales notes from Warner on each format :

Formats

  • Deluxe Edition (3CD) – Remastered original album plus a third disc of unreleased audio

  • Deluxe Edition Vinyl (5LP) – Remastered original album, plus a fifth LP of unreleased audio, on 180-gram vinyl

  • Digital Download – Remastered album and unreleased audio will both be available (MQ, MFiT & Standard)

  • Super Deluxe Boxed Set (3CD/5LP)– This collection includes:     

    • Remastered album. 2 CDs, each in a replica sleeve

    • Unreleased audio on CD in a separate card sleeve

    • Remastered album on 180-gram vinyl

    • Unreleased audio on 180-gram vinyl

    • High-def audio download card of all content at 96kHz/24 bit

    • 48-page book filled with photos of the band, the recording locations, BBC memorabilia, and session information

    • High-quality print of the original album cover, the first 30,000 of which will be individually numbered.

 

Sin é for this week,

 

Thanks for listening,

Ray.

www.musiczone.ie

TOUCHDOWN AT LAST.. THE RETURN OF LISA HANNIGAN + THERE SHE GOES AGAIN!

Posted on by musiczoneadmin

Hi Folks…

Hope all is well…

Phew.. Few deep breaths required here.. Well it’s done.. The move is over.. More or less.. The help, support, wishes, laughs and kind words will stay with me and the lads for a long time.. People (a lot of ye folks) were brilliant.. To many to mention here.. Those who showed up and boxed and lugged stuff with us.. Those who threw a few f**ks our way or a few words of encouragement.. Those who have put their hands in their pockets and supported us by buying stuff.. Those that made us laugh and those that made us cry… And those who done it all! THANKS!! With big, genuine, heartfelt sincerity.. I have said it before.. We are only in business because of a lot of ye.. Ye keep the blood flowing through the shop.. Look, all I can say is thanks!

I don’t want to thank everyone.. Namely Eir and the E.S.B but they are two stories for another day.. Tonight is all about dreamy positivity.. Well.. A good paradox really I suppose..

We’re in and so far it’s okay.. Today was great.. We had ALL TVVINS in, who were sound and class the whole time and sold a nice few records.. But in general it has been okay.. Not bad, but not great.. Alright, maybe good so.. The regulars (a lot of ye folks) have been like Magic Johnson on his best days but that’s half of the deal.. The passer bys have been okay.. But in truth that may take a bit of time.. Look I won’t bore ye to death.. It’s started reasonably well so work hard, keep at it, and it should Kool and the Gang… Hopefully

The first new vinyl record release video shot from the new shop is now up to watch! Quite a long one this week, covering the last 2 or 3 weeks of releases over the move.. Some nice bits after landing so worth checking out! Also be sure to hit that subscribe button to keep up to date with the new releases!

Better talk about some music I suppose..

PIAS

Cranky rants in later weeks! First up for today we have the latest (3rd) album from LISA HANNIGAN.. Arguably one of Ireland’s biggest female stars.. Did not get listening to this yet, but I have no doubt it will be musically beautiful once again.. First play in the morning it shall get.. Gan dabht! Produced by one of the Dessner boys from THE NATIONAL also.. Released on Play It Again Sam through PIAS..

PIAS also have the new RYLEY WALKER record on a fancy colour me thinks.. FAITH NO MORE’s ‘We Care A Lot’ deluxe edition, and NIRVANA ‘Bleach’ deluxe edition also out.. New ones from SCOTT WALKER (a soundtrack), as well as two new metal albums from SABATON and SOILWORK also out through PIAS..

PIAS for next week, the 26th of August have new album from JOSEPH, as well as a new ALL TIME LOW DVD for the pop-punk fans out there!

SONY

Sony have very little out, but next week they have new CDs from BRITNEY SPEARS, DJ KHALED, BARBRA STREISAND, CELINE DION and some newDEPECHE MODE L.P reissues. Including ‘A Broken Frame’, ‘Construction Time Again’, ‘Some Great Reward’, and ‘Speak and Spell’.. Fine band, enough said.. Sony also have a LP reissue of WATAIN’S ‘The Wild Hunt’.

UNIVERSAL

Universal for today have a new album by ED HARCOURT, called ‘Furnace’, as well as a SEX PISTOLS ‘Live 76’ boxset on 4CD.. 4LP version pushed back until September 23rd.. There is also a new ANDRE RIEU CD in store today, as well as the next edition of the CHESS NORTHERN SOUL 7’’ sets.. Probably the biggest from Universal today is an initial, special run of blue coloured vinyl for THE LA’S album…To chose of a certain age.. Priceless.

Universal for next Friday the 26th have the second album from indie rock band GLASS ANIMALS.. BIG COUNTRY 5CD boxset including the classics also out, as well as a SANDY DENNY 5CD set, and a SCOTT WALKER 5CD set.. Some nice hip-hop cassettes also appearing.. I have been warning ye.. Old Fiesta’s with cassette players are all the rage.. Gaskets or not gaskets..

Universal for next Friday also have the ROLLING STONES ‘Charlie Is My Darling’ rockumentary on Bluray.. Based around the time of the boys Irish Tour of 1965.. Uni also have a live KISS CD/DVD or DVD/2LP on Eagle Rock from Vegas..

Lastly from Uni for next Friday the 26th are some vinyl reissues including FRANK ZAPPA’s ‘Hot Rats’, and SOUNDGARDEN’S ‘Louder Than Love’ and ‘Down On The Upside’..

WARNER

Warner have the reissue of MADONNA’S ‘Bedtime Stories’ on LP, as well as a Monkees greatest hits on CD and on LP..

Warner for next week has reissues of PINK FLOYD’S ‘The Wall’, and ‘The Division Bell’, as well as a new album from CASS MCCOMBS (there has been a lot of interest in this one!), called ‘Mangy Love’, on CD and 2LP on Anti Records…

Couple of vinyl reissues also out including PRINCE ‘Parade’, and BLUR’s ‘Leisure’, as well as a BANKS + STEELZ new album called ‘Anything But Words’..

PROPER

Proper for the 26th of August have the new DE LA SOUL album on CD and LP.. Samples taken from over 1,000 hours of live performance..

A huge thanks to ALL TVVINS for a great instore yesterday.. The first band to grace our new stage.. So hope there will be loads more to follow.. Thumbs up also to Tim, Bobby, Shane and Warner! Most important, thanks to those of ye who helped fill the shop.. Magic.. Thanks!!

Displaying SAN_6999.jpeg

Look, i’m tired of blowing smokes up ***** so…

Sin é for this week..

Cranky Ray back next week..

Thanks for listening,

Ray

www.musiczone.ie

 

MAN PLANS : GOD LAUGHS, STOCKPORT’S FINEST, AND A CALL TO ARMS!

Posted on by musiczoneadmin

Hi everyone,

 

Hope the form is good with ye all.

 

Releases in the shop today include SIMPLE MINDS, NEW ORDER, VIOLA BEACH,BILLY TALENT, R.E.M., TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS, HOLE, GODFLESH, and EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER.

It wasn’t the best of weeks as far as the new shop went… Best laid plans.. And fail to prepare.. Man plans, God laughs are a few that would spring to mind.. Basically, the drawings for the shop did not actually fit the shop.. Not enough room for the shelves in the middle of the floor so, (well there was enough room but you would have to jump / climb over them to get to the next part of the shop) shite here I am 2.45, last Monday afternoon throwing the plan in the bin… Nightmare for a few days… Where is this going to go?.. What about here?.. What about that?… The fire door is there!… You need more of this now.. And less of that…

 

Rip it up and start again… Now drawing on the back of a fag box type of thing… But the plan is taking shape a bit now.. I was a stress head for a day or two.. Step back now and it was not worth it… But you like to try to do it well… As well as your small budget allows anyway… But look it will be done just a bit differently than it was planned..

 

PIAS

So on to releases for August 5th and we will start with PIAS who have the newBLUES PILLS album ‘Lady in Gold’ on Gold LP, CD/DVD or CD.. This is the second album from the young and very talented quintet.. Great singer, fine guitar player.. The first album was really good if that is your buy.. Fantastic cover yet again, great to see such effort going into record sleeves.

PIAS also have some early DAMIEN JURADO reissues… First timers on vinyl for these.. ‘Rehearsals for Departure’ and ‘Ghost of David’..

 

DINOSAUR JR are back with ‘Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not’ and it sound as good as ever.. This new record is out via Jagjaguar and there is an indies only purple vinyl.. WILD BEASTS also return with a new album entitled ‘Boy King’.. This one comes as a standard CD, Deluxe CD, or Limited LP, with a 7’’.. The Deluxe CD has a lot of bonus material including demos, acoustic versions etc..

Republic of Music have the mono reissues of JOHN WILLIAMS original soundtrack to HOME ALONE…

SONY 

Bit of a PEARL JAM day from Sony for August 5th, as they reissue the 4th and 5th albums ‘No Code’ and ‘Yield’, as well as a double sided 7’’ from ‘No Code’, for ‘Who Are You / Hail Hail’ and ‘Off He Goes’, as well as singles ‘Given to Fly’ and ‘Wishlist’ from Yield.. Sony also have a definitive collection of ELVIS’ last studio recordings on CD+LP entitled ‘Way Down In The Jungle Room’..

 

We are closing in Douglas Court on Sunday the 7th of August, and moving lock, stock and barrel on Monday the 8th of August… I know a good few of ye kind souls offered help on the day… So if you want to help and are at nothing for 30 minutes on Monday the 8th, we are moving between 10AM and 8PM… There are a few conditions thoguh!

 

Condition 1

One car trip per helper… No more please.. If you are free and can spare the 30 minutes to do one trip with a few boxes great, but no more than one trip allowed.. I don’t want any cardiac arrests or broken hips on my watch

 

Condition 2

Without causing offence to anyone, we would kind of have to know ya! ‘I heard you wanted some records moved boi.. I’ll give you a hand sham, I love me records..’ Ye get my drift..

 

No seriously, if anyone who offered or wants to help, and wants to do one car load… Show up at some point during the day.. Cool and thanks! CRITICAL POINT.. Zero, I mean zero onus on anyone to do anything.. SECOND CRITICAL POINT.. Anyone who does show up.. Please make sure you have taken your angina meds before doing so..

 

UNIVERSAL

Right, i’ll get off the horse.. Back to the music! Universal have the debut album byBLOSSOMS.. These guys hail from Stockport in England, and there has been a buzz in the MZ corporation for their EPs over the last few months.. I had never listened to them up to about 30 minutes ago and I must say I like their brand of Indie psychedelia tinged with some good old fashioned synthesiser pop music.. I like them.. Influenced by the Arctic Monkeys, The Verve and bands like that I think…

WILCO guitarist NELS CLINE has a solo record out next Friday with Universal… His first solo record..

 

TARJA has a new album out via Universal called ‘Shadow Self’.. There is a CD, CD/DVD, 2LP and Boxset formats..

 

Universal / Polydor are also reissuing the two TASTE albums (which have been missing from the shop for a good year or so now).. So ‘Taste’ and ‘On The Boards’ will be back with us very soon.. Lastly from Universal, the first two TAME IMPALACDs are getting reissued..

WARNER

Warner for the 5th of August have a reissue of the very first GOV’T MULE recording, ‘The Tel-Star Sessions’ on Provogue.. This is a previously unreleased recording for you Mule fans.. From back in 1994 and it arrives as a CD or 2LP limited splattered vinyl..

 

DEEP PURPLE ‘Live in Concert 1972’ gets a reissue as a limited LP and 7’’ as well.. Warner also have the soundtrack to the hotly tipped summer blockbuster ‘Suicide Squad’ on CD..

 

There are some nice Jazz reissues out through Warner for next week through the Stateside label, including LOUIS ARMSTRONG / DUKE ELLINGTON, as well asMILES DAVIS ‘Amandla’.. Lastly from Warner for next week is the newest edition of the LIVE AT WACKEN set on CD/DVD or CD/BLURAY..

 

Small change with the date in relation to our upcoming instore performance for brilliant upcoming Irish act ALL TVVINS, which will now take place on THURSDAY AUGUST 18TH. We are really looking forward to this one, some cracking tunes worth checking out.. The boys were even featured on FIFA 16, which is great to see an Irish group on a platform that big.. More news on this in coming weeks! Check out the lead single below!

Ok so, sin é for this week.. Thunderbirds are nearly ready to go… 13 days to lift off..

 

Thanks for listening,

Ray

www.musiczone.ie

BIG INSTORE ANNOUNCEMENT, NEW LED ZEPPELIN, AND THE HOPEFUL END OF THE SUMMER RELEASE DROUGHT

Posted on by musiczoneadmin

Hey everyone,

How’s it going?… Hope ye’r all well.. Stop me ooh ho ooh stop me, stop me if you think that you’ve heard this one before…

Summertime and the releases are iffy… Third year in a row I think i’ve churned that one out… Tis a bit true for this coming Friday (July 29th), again i’m afraid, but improving in August.. Well that’s my weather forecast anyway..

Releases in the shop for July 22nd include THE ALLMAN BROTEHRS, BEARS DEN, OPETH, PARADISE LOST, CARCASS, IGGY/BOWIE, CLIFF MARTINEZ amongst others.

For those who prefer the video, here you are! And be sure to hit that subscribe button, and give the video a like!

MUSIC ON VINYL

Moving on to the 29th of July.. Music On Vinyl have a few nice ones that day including the debut by the INDIGO GIRLS, DEREK TRUCKS BAND ‘Joyful Noise’, and STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN’S ‘In Step’ LP.. For the younger reader who may not have heard of SRV.. He was one of the best blues / electric guitarists ever.. He died in a helicopter crash in 1990, with three of Clapton’s close circle at the time… It is rumored that Clapton was due to be the 4th passenger in the helicopter that day, but boarded a different one at the last minute… And Vaughan boarded the ill-fated one… When your luck’s out, your luck’s out… Or in for that matter..

SONY

Sony for the 29th of July have the debut album by NAO… Rising English soul, funk, and R&B star…

Essential for the 29th of July have the reissue of the JOHN PRINE classic duets album ‘In Spite Of Ourselves’, with all female singers like EMMYLOU, IRIS DEMENT and LUCINDA WILLIAMS.. This one is available as a double vinyl..

Essential also have the new POWERWOLF live album on CD/DVD or DVD/LP..

I’m not so sure you guys have much interest in the mechanics of the small music retail industry in this wee island of ours.. Well i’ll keep you filled anyway, whether ye have interest or not.. (No need to thank me..). The latest news is that Golden Discs (my old employer) are taking over supplying Tesco with their home entertainment products.. CD and DVD mainly… Some games I suppose.. Tesco are in a court battle with their last supplier (a Dublin based wholesaler) for fraudulent trading.. Excuse me if I have told you this before, I can’t remember.. The old supplier claims that Tesco falsified over 16,000 invoices over 7 or 8 years.. The lawsuit is for 3.5 million…

Now Golden Discs are taking on the task of supplying them.. (As ye know, I wish only well on Golden Discs, they were always good to me, good to work for and I always hope there is room for both of us).. Golden Discs have 13 stores nationwide now… So they are jumping from that to now supplying 93 stores (80 Tescos)… That’s a big change in any company I would have thought.. I suppose for Golden Discs it’s a bit of a case of can’t beat them, join them… And if it works for them it could be very worthwhile (which I genuinely hope it does, once it doesn’t affect me!)..

But from what’s on the grapevine.. Tesco ain’t interested in any participation except at the point of sale.. Basically they give Golden Discs the space and let them do what they want with stocking, racking, merchandising, returns, faulties, theft, overstocks…. Tesco don’t want to know… We give ye the space, and we take a margin at the till… So Golden Disc by one CD from Warner.. Put an RRP on it… Put it into Tesco… Golden Disc pay Warner… Tesco sell it (whenever and after Golden Disc have employed someone to put it in to the Tesco Shop), and Golden Disc make EUR1 a unit type of thing… I dunno… I have no idea of the numbers, i’m only guessing but what I do know is that it is a big undertaking and that Golden Discs will need a good team of people to do it right for them… Time will tell how it will all play out I suppose…

WARNER

Big news as Warner have a new ZEPPELIN release just announced for September… The Complete BBC Sessions.. Here’s the sales note from Warner!

Nearly 20 years ago, Led Zeppelin introduced BBC Sessions, an acclaimed two-disc set of live recordings selected from the band’s appearances on BBC radio between 1969 and 1971. Later this year, the band will unveil THE COMPLETE BBC SESSIONS, an updated version of the collection that’s been newly remastered with supervision by Jimmy Page and expanded with eight unreleased BBC recordings, including three rescued from a previously “lost” session from 1969.

BBC Sessions was originally released in 1997 and has been certified double platinum by the RIAA. THE COMPLETE BBC SESSIONS builds on that collection with a third disc that boasts eight unreleased performances, plus “White Summer,” a recording that first surfaced in 1990 on the Led Zeppelin Boxed Set. In addition, the set includes extensive session-by-session liner notes written by Dave Lewis. For the first time ever, it provides accurate details and notes about all of the band’s BBC sessions.

Musical highlights on this new collection include the debut of a long-lost radio session that has achieved near-mythic status among fans. Originally broadcast in April 1969, the session included three songs: “I Can’t Quit You Baby,” “You Shook Me,” and the only recorded performance of “Sunshine Woman.”

Also included are two unreleased versions of both “Communication Breakdown” and “What Is And What Should Never Be.” Separated by two years, the performances vividly demonstrate the young band’s rapid evolution over a short period of time.

Jimmy Page spoke about the band’s growth in an interview with Guitar World: “The BBC Sessions show in graphic detail just how organic the group was. Led Zeppelin was a band that would change things around substantially each time it played…We were becoming tighter and tighter, to the point of telepathy.”

Speaking with Wall of Sound, John Paul Jones added: “We’d been on the road a lot by the time those sessions were recorded. The albums were always the starting point of the music, and then we’d take it out and expand it on the road. Then we’d come straight off the road into those BBC studios.”

Recalling the BBC experience in an interview with Mojo, Robert Plant said: “The whole thing was very quaint: the politeness of the audience, the technicians fumbling about, proper hallowed low-key introductions. Like there was some sort of holy moment about to occur.”

Formats

  • Deluxe Edition (3CD) – Remastered original album plus a third disc of unreleased audio

  • Deluxe Edition Vinyl (5LP) – Remastered original album, plus a fifth LP of unreleased audio, on 180-gram vinyl

  • Digital Download – Remastered album and unreleased audio will both be available (MQ, MFiT & Standard)

  • Super Deluxe Boxed Set (3CD/5LP)– This collection includes:     

    • Remastered album. 2 CDs, each in a replica sleeve

    • Unreleased audio on CD in a separate card sleeve

    • Remastered album on 180-gram vinyl

    • Unreleased audio on 180-gram vinyl

    • High-def audio download card of all content at 96kHz/24 bit

    • 48-page book filled with photos of the band, the recording locations, BBC memorabilia, and session information

    • High-quality print of the original album cover, the first 30,000 of which will be individually numbered.

I shall have pricing and more info in the coming weeks..

Great news for the shop with the confirmation of an instore by the excellent Dublin based group ALL TVVINS, who have just supported Foals at Live at the Marquee.. Thursday, August 12th at 5PM… More on that also in the coming weeks!

Their debut album is due out that day, August 12th.. Some cracking tunes on it from what i’ve heard… Here’s the Warner promotion for it again! :

After a succession of huge radio singles which have inspired glowing comparisons with the likes of Bloc Party, New Order, Haim, Chvrches and The Killers, ALL TVVINS are set to release their debut album ‘IIVV’ on August 12th on Warner Bros. Records. Throughout ‘IIVV’, the Irish duo counterpoint angular post-punk riffs with insistent energy, strident hooks and swathes of synths to create an unconventional blend of the anthemic and the unconventional. All of their singles to date feature on the album: ‘Darkest Ocean’ which has accumulated 3 million plays online; the striking debut ‘Thank You’ which was nominated for Irish Song of the Year at the Choice Music Prize; the dramatic and intense ‘Too Young To Live’; and the recent track massive radio hit ‘Resurrect Me’

PIAS

Back to releases for next week the 29th of July and PIAS have the latest NEW ORDER single ‘People on the High Line’ on CD, 12’’ and 7’’..

UNIVERSAL

Universal for the 29th of July have a deluxe edition of the SIMPLE MINDS classic ‘New Gold Dream’, from 1982.. A load of versions of this available including a super-duper fancy version…

There is a beautiful musical document left behind by VIOLA BEACH after their terrible tragic end along with their manager.. Well they will hopefully be remembered forever with their only 9 tracks committed to record.. Only started out in life.. Terrible

Universal have a fierce limited DISCLOSURE EP… I mean it, fierce..

Universal also have some nice reissues including R.E.M. ‘Dead Letters Office’, ‘Eponymous’, and ‘Lifes Rich Payment’.. Also out is TOM PETTY‘s ‘Greatest Hits’ on DLP, and Hole’s ‘Live Through This’..

Warner for the 29th have E.L.P (Emerson, Lake and Palmer) reissues.. The Debut LP, and ‘Tarkus’.. Also out from Warner is a new GAVIN JAMES 12’’, and some SEASICK STEVE reissues, including ‘I Started Out With Nothing’…

Lastly, Warner have GODFLESH ‘Selfless’ reissue… 1st time on vinyl for this one…

On the local scene, STEVIE G and IAN RING have a new single out, well worth checking out!

https://soundcloud.com/abovedat/dance-on-feat-jesse-boykins-iii

Also got in copies of blues / rock gods CROW BLACK CHICKEN on CD and LP, and got copies of the excellent TWO TIME POLKA new CD.. So you know where they are folks.. Both excellent..

Sin é for this week..

Thanks for putting up with me as always.. 20 days to the new shop opening!!

Slán,

Ray.

www.musiczone.ie

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