Zappa sideman Allan Zavod dies

The Australian keyboardist and composer Allan Zavod has passed away. He may be best known for being in Frank Zappa's touring band from July to December 1984. 
Zavod also worked with Jean-Luc Ponty, George Benson, Eric Clapton, Duke Ellington and others.
Zavod died at the age of 71.

http://www.noise11.com/news/r-i-p-australian-composer-dr-allan-zavod-1945-2016-20161129

Here is a great interview with Allan Zavod where he speaks a lot about his days with Zappa.

Kate Bush: New album, new video, new interview!

With the live album of her comeback on stage in 2014 finally out we'd like to remind you of the interview she did on BBC Radio 6 last week. Her first interview in five years and up on the site for three more weeks. Here's the link:


http://bbc.in/2fHA0pn

She's also released a video of the song And Dream Of Sheep:



Now that the live album titled Before The Dawn - without overdubs - is here, what fans are hoping for is that the video version of the show will be released as well. Eventually.

"Sherlock Holmes" performs Comfortably Numb with David Gilmour

First and foremost known for portraying detective Sherlock Holmes in the currently running BBC series, Benedict Cumberbatch made a surprise appearance during David Gilmour's September 28, 2016 show to sing ... Comfortably Numb.

No, we didn't see that one coming, but here's the clip:

Passepied/パスピエ celebrate five years with Mayday/メーデー

Japanese band パスピエ (Passepeid) celebrate five years since the debut with a brand new single titled Mayday (メーデー):


We found them a couple of years ago thanks to our hunt for something melodic but ... different. Here's one of the songs from the band's debut five years ago. The song is titled 電波ジャック (Denpa Jakku):


Curious? Wikipedia's very basic page about Passepied/パスピエ:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passepied_(band)

An old article from 2011:
http://www.syncmusic.jp/wordpress/?p=12523

5 classic Zappa albums reissued on vinyl

The Zappa Family Trust and UMe are continuing their extensive reissue campaign by releasing five iconic works of the musical innovator on vinyl for the first time in decades: 
Cruising With Ruben & The Jets, Joe’s Garage, Lumpy Gravy, Weasels Ripped My Flesh and We’re Only In It For The Money. The albums will be pressed on 180 gram vinyl and available December 9. All albums are available for pre-order now.

http://www.zappa.com/news/five-monumental-frank-zappa-mothers-invention-albums-be-reissued-vinyl

Pink Floyd live in Sweden 1967 on CD

Recorded in 1967 by an enthusiast.
The release of the Pink Floyd 27 CD/DVD box The Early Years includes a recording of a concert in Stockholm shortly before band leader Syd Barrett left the group. Sveriges Radio has an interview today with Anders Lind, the guy who was allowed to record the show. Unfortunately, the vocals are bearly audible on the recording.
"It was because of a failed PA system. Back then there were no big sound systems. Afterwards I was disappointed and the reels sat on a shelf for years."

Listen here!
(Sveriges Radio's interview is in Swedish but includes some music from the Pink Floyd 1967 Stockholm concert)

Zappa jamming with Pink Floyd

Nick Mason and Zappa.

The Pink Floyd 27 CD/DVD box The Early Years 1965-72 sure is expensive ($ 550) but it does however include som interesting gems. One of them is a film of the Floyds jamming with Frank Zappa at Music Power & European Music Revolution, at Amougies Mont de l’Enclus, Belgium, 25 October 1969. 

Watch the footage here

Zappa was the MC of the festival. For a long time it was debated if this jam really took place since Zappa denied it. Some years ago sound and photos began leaking out and on this film we can clearly see and hear Zappa sitting in with Pink Floyd.
The track is the instrumental Interstellar Overdrive. Maybe not the best jam, but still a historical document.

Leonard Cohen 1934-2016

You all know it by now, and what can we say? This year so many great artists have been taken from us. All of them are highly missed, but listening to the music, reading the poetry and watching the TV appearances can be comforting. Here is a real gem, a 1966 interview with Leonard Cohen.

Phil Collins announces big show in Hyde Park

Collins announces his biggest solo show ever. He will headline the British Summer Time in Hyde Park, London on June 30.
And his five-night residency at the Royal Albert Hall sold out in 15 seconds.

The Guardian has the story.

https://radiodupree.blogspot.se/2016/10/phil-collins-announces-2017-tour.html

3 new Zappa albums on Spotify now

Chicago '78 might be the most wanted of these three new releases. But all three are great, so you may want to check them out on Spotify.

Chicago '78 starts off with a rare instrumental, Twenty-One. (You may recognize this as a version of the title track of the Trance-Fusion album). It is great to get to hear this one, but maybe pieces like The Purple Lagoon and The Deathless Horsie are more efficient as show openers.
Highlights further int othe show are Sy Borg and Yo Mama, the latter with a very dynamic guitar solo.

Little Dots is the second album from the Petit Wazoo tour of 1972. Just like on its precursor (Imaginary Diseases) it includes several jam pieces which are not always that great. Highlight: The complete version of Rollo. Another take was released on Imaginary Diseases, but the first 2/3 of the tune was missing. Good to hear the entire one here.

Meat Light includes the original mix of Uncle Meat plus some interesting o,uttakes, one of those extras is the track Echo Pie which probably is from the same source as the conversation enitiled If We'd All Been Living in California. Members of The Mothers are complaining over the fact that Zappa is not willing to tour more thus leading to less money for the band members. The interesting thing is that Zappa offers them to tour without him under the name The Mothers. A bit surprising to hear. Meat Light is also great if you're not a fan of the sound of the 1987 version of the album and desire the old dry mix.

Elton John album gets belated vinyl release

Fifteen years after it was released on CD the 2001 Elton John album Song From The West Coast is out on vinyl. But only as part of a limited box set available through the English luxury fashion house Burberry. Both online and select stores. 800 numbered copies will be available.

Elton John has personally picked the six albums that together with a poster is included. So what albums did he pick?

'Elton John (1970)
17-11-70 (1971)
Madman Across the Water (1971)
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975)
Too Low for Zero (1983)
Songs from the West Coast (2001)

Elton, Madman and Captain Fantastic are all classic Elton John, and 17-11-70 is a live album that is highly regarded among fans. Songs From... got good reviews when it was released and that leaves Too Low For Zero as somewhat of odd choice as it is part of Elton's ... lesser period. It would be fun to hear why he picked these six for the box.

A box that will set you back 225 British pounds, clearly making it priced for the clientèle that shop at Burberry.

Donald Fagen on horror movies

Donald Fagen occasionally writes for Slate. The latest is abouthorror movies and begins:

"How I fell in love with horror movies, and what their terrors taught me."

Read it all here!