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New Tunage – Some things to spend your Christmas cash on!

New Releases, Dec. 26: Switchfoot, Matisyahu, ‘Rocky Balboa’
Switchfoot “Oh! Gravity”
The San Diego rock band, which has made its mark in both the secular and nonsecular music worlds, returns with a follow-up to 2005’s “Nothing is Sound.” One of the album’s tracks, “Awakening,” was produced by Steve Lillywhite, a British mastermind who has worked with Phish, U2 and The Rolling Stones.
The group–which features bassist/vocalist Tim Foreman, singer Jon Foreman, guitarist/keyboardist Jerome Fontamillas, guitarist Drew Shirley and drummer Chad Butler–will support the album with a lengthy North American tour that kicks off on Valentine’s Day in San Francisco.
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Matisyahu “No Place to Be”
The Hasidic reggae star returns with the CD/DVD offering “No Place to Be.”
The CD portion features seven new songs recorded with reggae production team Sly & Robbie. It also features additional remixes produced by AdRock (Beastie Boys) and Bill Laswell, who produced the artist’s March release, “Youth.”
The DVD disc, “Live in Israel,” was shot in Tel Aviv in December 2005. The concert footage is intercut with interviews and street performances from Jerusalem. It also includes the new music video for the single “Jerusalem.”
The vocalist recently completed his first Festival of Light Hanukkah tour, which included a mid-December, three-night stand at New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom.
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“Rocky Balboa: The Best of Rocky”
This 17-track set, which is being released in conjunction with the latest “Rocky” film, collects all of the memorable songs featured in Sly Stallone’s profitable film series. Included in the mix are James Brown’s “Living in America,” Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” and, of course, the late Bill Conti (music)’s “Gonna Fly Now.”
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“Family Values Tour 2006”
This is the fourth release to document a Family Values Tour (the others came from tours in 1998, 1999 and 2001). This CD includes performances by such tour participants as Stone Sour, Flyleaf, Dir en Grey, 10 Years, Deadsy, Bury Your Dead, Bullets and Octane, and Walls of Jericho. There is also a companion DVD being released separately.
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David Gilmour “Arnold Layne EP”
The Pink Floyd guitarist/vocalist pays his respect to the band’s troubled visionary Syd Barrett, who died in July, with this recording of two memorable Barrett numbers. The first selection is the early Floyd tune “Arnold Layne.” The second is “Dark Globe,” which originally hails from Barrett’s solo album “The Madcap Laughs.” David Bowie and Floyd’s Richard Wright are also featured on this work.
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More new releases:
Chetes, “Blanco Facil” (EMI)
Earth, Wind & Fire, “Beautiful Ballads” (Sony)
Enigma, “LSD: Love, Sensuality and Devotion–The Remix Collection” (Virgin)
Gang Starr, “Mass Appeal: Best of Gang Starr” (Virgin)
Incognito, “Bees + Things + Flowers” (Universal)
Angela Lansbury, “Legends of Broadway” (Sony)
Bernadette Peters, “Legends of Broadway” (Sony)
Matt Redman, “Beautiful News” (Sparrow)
Chita Rivera, “Legends of Broadway” (Sony)