Wednesday, March 06, 2024

Official release: The Doors live in Sweden 1968

The Doors’ two legendary sets in Stockholm, Sweden on September 20, 1968, will be officially released on Record Store Day 2024.
The recordings were made by Sveriges Radio and they are highly regarded by many fans and have been bootlegged many times. But now the recordings have been mixed and mastered from the original four-track tapes by Bruce Botnick, the band’s longtime engineer andmixer,.

Seems like we will now get the definitive version of these performances by Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore.

Check out your local participating independent record stores here: https://found.ee/RSD2024

Sunday, January 21, 2024

Coming soon (?): Two books from inside the Zappa family

Frank Zappa fans can expect two interesting books to be released in the nearby future: Frank's daughter Moon Unit Zappa's "Earth to Moon – A Memoir" and Frank's brother in law John "Jay" Sloatman's "Frankly Zappa – An Unauthorized Biography".
"Yes, this is a book about growing up in the shadows of Frank Zappa, in a sexually free, but also dysfunctional world in 1970s LA."

"From Jay’s unwavering loyalty on the road to his invaluable role as a surrogate father to the Zappa children, get ready to be immersed in enthralling stories, pivotal moments, and the complex dynamics within the Zappa family."
https://franklyzappa.com/

Saturday, November 25, 2023

Robert Fripp and Darryl Hall play King Crimson

 In the current season of Live From Daryl's House where Daryl Hall - formely of Hall &Oates -  eats, talks and and plays with favourite artists, one episode features the living legend Robert Fripp. They seem to hit it off and one musical example is a version of King Crimson's Red.

The complete episode is available here!

Saturday, November 18, 2023

The Zappa Over-Nite Sensation monster set is here


Here it is! 4 hours and 45 minutes of Frank Zappa music featuring one of his best lineups ever.
The Over-Nite Sensation 50th Anniversary release is a tasty little sucker, to paraphrase the back cover of the Burnt Weeny Sandwich album released in 1970. But this new collection dates from 1973, one of Zappa's most productive years. It emphasises the instrumental side of Zappa's output. Lots of solos by several band members.

The set includes the original album (of course), odd edits, studio óuttakes, demo s and a bunch of live recordings. The musicianship is excellent. No one expects anything else with musicians as George Duke, Ruth Underwood, Jean-Luc Ponty and others. We would also like to mention Ralph Humphrey who seem to be a bit underrated and not as well known as Terry Bozzio and Vinnie Colaiuta. But Ralph is the perfect drummer for this group.
All in all, this is a top release!

Wednesday, November 08, 2023

A third song released from the upcoming Zappa monster set


An unexpected edit of Dirty Love is the third song released for streaming from the upcoming Over-Nite Sensation 50th anniversary album.
The other two songs released in advance are Fifty-Fifty (basic tracks) and I'm The Slime,(demo) both different than the album versions.
Release date for the 5 disc album: November 17.

Thursday, August 24, 2023

New: Zappa's Over-Nite Sensation as 5 disc monster set


Release on November 17!
Now this came as a surprise! Zappa Records/UMe has announced a super deluxe edition of Zappa's widely-acclaimed 1973 album Over-Nite Sensation. This 50th anniversary set includes way more than 50 previously unreleased tracks and mixes, both studio and live recordings. As a sneak preview one song is already now released on streaming services, a basic track recording of Fifty-Fifty (check above).

The band featured on this album is top notch! It includes George Duke, Jean-Luc Ponty and Ruth Underwood to name a few.


And don't miss this article:

Sunday, July 23, 2023

Early Steely Dan beer commercial that was stopped for being too sexual

Back in the early days of Steely Dan the group accepted the job of writing and recording a commercial for Shlitz Beer. This was 1972, so 50 years ago.
The commercial was however shelved by the brewery since the lyrics had what could be interpreted as containing some sexual innuendo. 

Fast forward 50 years and here it is. Listen and see if you find it too sexual or if you feel a sudden craving for a beer...

Sunday, April 23, 2023

Hot Rats era related Zappa coming soon!


The music on the upcoming Frank Zappa release Funky Nothingness is what is believed to have been planned for a potential sequel to Zappa's iconic Hot Rats album.
The recordings were made in 1970. The band consists of Don "Sugarcane" Harris (violin and vocals), Max Bennett (bass, Aynsley Dunbar (drums), Ian Underwood (keyboards and saxophone), Frank Zappa (guitar).
One of the titles is Twinkle Tits, a previously unreleased instrumental that has only been available on the Hot Rats at the Olympic bootleg. 
We also get to hear the basic tracks for Stink-Foot (Apostrophe) but in a different context:

Zappa takes lead vocals on the nearly 12-and-a-half-minute-long rendition of Lightnin’ Slim’s “I’m a Rollin’ Stone.” This recording would go on to serve as the genesis for the iconic “Stink-Foot” that closes Zappa’s 1974 album, Apostrophe(‘) as he would eventually wipe his vocals from the multi-track master, save the drum, violin and bass track, and overdub new guitars, vocals and sound effects to create something entirely different. (zappa.com)

Media: 3 CD/2 LP/streaming

Saturday, April 01, 2023

Di Leva on tour again with acclaimed Bowie tribute

Swedish artist Thomas Di Leva is touring Sweden again with Changes – his tribute show to David Bowie. 
The Radio Dupree staff has seen the show this spring and also in 2019. If you get the chance we can really recommend it. The band is great!
Above video was released in 2019.

Saturday, March 04, 2023

New Zappa release featuring the spring/summer 1980 band


"Mudd Club/Munich '80" is a 3 CD set featuring Frank Zappa's band during the spring and summer of 1980, the band that featured the drummer David Logeman.
This lineup is basically the You Are What You is band. But when it comes to live recordings it has been somewhat overlooked. This new release features two shows, one of them a rare club gig at the Mudd Club in New York City and the other one is a concert at Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany. 

The Mudd Club gig is only one hour long. It is recorded with some microphones placed in front of the stage, not a line recording which is unusual. Another odd thing is that there are no microphones on the drums so they are not heard through the PA speakers. The overall sound of the recording is rather dry. This plus that one can clearly hear the audience's response gives this recording an intimate club athmosphere.
There is an interesting thing about the two versions of City of Tiny Lites on this 3 CD release. On the Mudd Club show (where the song has a tape cut in the beginning) the guitar solo section has the same chord progression as on the Sheik Yerbouti version. But on the Munich show the band play that part as The Carlos Santana Secret Chord Progression (check out Shut Up'n Play Yer Guitar), an arrangement that bass player Arthur Barrow suggested to Zappa. That is an example of Zappa's ever ongoing development and change of his music, even during a tour.

The Munich show is a full concert (1 hour 45 minutes). Since parts of it was once released as a King Bisquit Flower Hour three sided (!) album for radio stations only it has been widely bootlegged. But here we get the entire show.

The Munich show of 1980 is Zappa's first ever live to 2-track stereo digital recording. It was recorded on a Sony PCM 1600 2-channel digital recording system. Zappa described it as "a live to 2-track original mix, executed from a makeshift 'instant studio' set up in the dressing room."

Drummer David Logeman adds a special flavor to the spring/summer band and also the album You Are What You Is that was recorded rinht after those tours. He had to rehearse and learn a lot of material in a very short time since Zappa's previous drummer Vince Colaiuta left shortly before the spring tour. There is an interesting interview with Logeman on the February 2023 episode of ZappaCast with Scott Parker, Joe Travers and Phil Surkis. (Check link below.)

It seems like Logeman has not been interviewed on his days with Zappa before but he has some good stories to tell and also seems to be a really nice guy.
"Frank would like to tour with material and then record it. You know most artists that I'd ever worked with would record the stuff first and then they would go and tour. To me  that was very unique and very  interesting. He gave me a lot of artistic freedom to come up with drumfills and parts that obviously he had to approve on."

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2XZYP8xKus8wENaaTXdGk3?si=7461f4bc472b4f4a


Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Terry Hall of The Specials dies


Terry Hall, frontman of British band The Specials has died at the age of 63.
The sad news came from the band on social media:
"It is with great sadness that we announce the passing, following a brief illness, of Terry, our beautiful friend, brother and one of the most brilliant singers, songwriters and lyricists this country has ever produced."
Terry Hall joined The Specials a couple of years before the release of their debut album in 1979 which is now a classic. They had hits with songs as Ghost Town, Gangsters and Too Much Too Young.
Hall died after a brief illness, The Specials said in their statement.

Sunday, December 18, 2022

Waka/Wazoo – one of the best posthumous Zappa releases

This monster release is sweeping the ocean! We suggest that you dive deep into this collection of music recorded during Frank Zappa's acclaimed Waka/Jawaka - Grand Wazoo era.
Waka/Wazoo is available on streaming platforms, as well as in a five-disc multi-format box set.
What first strikes me when confronted with this 50th anniversary release is how Zappa did not seem to value certain eras of his carreer when he chose music for the albums he put out during his last years. Unfortunately he favoured less interesting music featuring the 1984 and 1971 bands. For instance he claimed no quality recordings with the 1972 Petite Wazoo band existed. We know better. 

The other thing that is shines through is how Zappa managed to rise again after the disastrous 1971 tour that ended when an irate fan pushed him off the stage. Zappa was seriously injured and had to spend a long time in wheelchair, but in spite of this he managed to record the two superb jazz influenced albums Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo.

Well, let's enjoy this new release. One of the highlights is Think It Over which is the song The Grand Wazoo with vocals. There are also alternate takes, alternate mixes and longer edits of familiar compositions.

Track list here:

Sigurd Huckle
Radio Dupree

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

New Bowie set: Hunky Dory demos – with Scary Monsters clues

The Divine Symmetry 4 CD set celebrates the twelve months running up to the release of the album Hunky Dory in December 1971 via home demos, BBC radio sessions and live and studio recordings.
Already halfway through the first track, Tired Of My Life, Bowie surprises. It turns out that this is the prototype to It's No Game that was released on the Scary Monsters album in 1980. (At around 17:00 in the YouTube clip above.)
And the track King Of The City is obviously an early version of Ashes To Ashes from the aforementioned album.
https://www.davidbowie.com/blog/2022/9/28/divine-symmetry-box-set-details

Wednesday, November 02, 2022

Audio engineer Bernie Grundman on the Steely Dan reissues

Legendary audio engineer Bernie Grundman and Chad Kassam discuss the Steely Dan catalogue, reissues, and the master tapes. The first record "Can't Buy A Thrill" is out November 4, 2022 with the rest of the albums to follow in the coming 12 months.

More on Bernie at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Grundman

And here's Donald Fagen himself on the reissues,

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Historical archival Zappa release: Waka/Wazoo box set

This are the recordings we thought did not exist, but finally we get to know they do, alternate takes of songs from Zappa's beloved Waka/Jawaka and Grand Wazoo albums. Plus a live concert and Zappa related George Duke demos.
"The Waka/Wazoo box set features a complete historical run-down of the entire project, featuring alternate takes of almost every composition recorded during the album sessions, along with Vault mix session outtakes and oddities. Also included is the full final show of the 10-piece tour, recorded at the famous Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco on December 15, 1972. The Blu-ray Audio disc features both albums with brand-new, first-time-ever Atmos and 5.1 mixes from the original multi-tracks and the 96kHz 24-bit high-resolution stereo remasters. Finally, during the album recording sessions at Paramount Studios, FZ worked with George Duke on some of Duke’s solo material. These demos were produced by Zappa, who also played guitar. Although George would go on to re-record the compositions for his own albums, the versions with FZ have never been officially issued until now."

TRACKLISTING

CD 1

Paramount Studios Recording Session Alternates and Outtakes

1. Your Mouth (Take 1)

2. Big Swifty (Alternate Take)

3. Minimal Art (Eat That Question – Version 1, Take 2)

4. Blessed Relief (Outtake Version)

5. Think It Over (The Grand Wazoo) (Outtake Version)

6. For Calvin (And His Next Two Hitch-Hikers) (Outtake Version)

7. Waka/Jawaka (Outtake Version)

CD 2

Paramount Studios Recording Session Alternates and

Outtakes, continued

1. Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus (Alternate Take)

2. Eat That Question (Version 2, Alternate Take)

3. Big Swifty (Alternate Mix)

4. For Calvin (And His Next Two Hitch-Hikers)

(Alternate Mix)

5. It Just Might Be A One-Shot Deal (Alternate Mix)

6. Waka/Jawaka (Alternate Mix)

7. Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus (Alternate Mix)

8. Eat That Question (Alternate Mix)

CD 3

George Duke Demos – The Master Versions

1. For Love (I Come Your Friend)

2. Psychosomatic Dung

3. Uncle Remus (Instrumental)

4. Love

George Duke Session Outtakes

5. For Love (I Come Your Friend) (Basic Track, Take 1)

6. Psychosomatic Dung (Basic Track, Take 2)

7. Love (Basic Track, Take 1)

The Grand Wazoo – Live

8. Approximate (Live – FZ Record Plant Mix)

10-Piece/Petite Wazoo – Live / Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, CA – 12-15-1972

9. Winterland ’72 Opening And Band Introductions

10. Little Dots

CD 4

10-Piece/Petite Wazoo – Live, continued

Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, CA – 12-15-1972

1. America Drinks

2. Montana

3. Farther O’Blivion

4. Cosmik Debris

5. Chunga’s Revenge

BLU-RAY AUDIO

48kHz 24-bit Dolby Atmos, 48kHz 24-bit Dolby TrueHD

5.1, 96kHz 24-bit PCM Stereo

WAKA/JAWAKA

1. Big Swifty

2. Your Mouth

3. It Just Might Be A One-Shot Deal

4. Waka / Jawaka

THE GRAND WAZOO

1. The Grand Wazoo

2. For Calvin (And His Next Two Hitch-Hikers)

3. Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus

4. Eat That Question

5. Blessed Relief