Neil Young Quietly Releases Covers Album for Online Sale

Neil Young’s new covers album “A Letter Home” was quietly released for sale Friday without formal announcement.

The album is out via Jack White’s Third Man Records online shop on 12-inch vinyl a day before Record Store Day. It will be sold through physical retailers for Saturday’s shopping holiday. At the Third Man Records web store, the album is selling for $20 plus shipping.

The album track list includes covers of classics by Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Gordon Lightfoot, Bruce Springsteen, the Everly Brothers and others. Many of these songs have been a part of Young’s live set over the past few months. On his website, Young describes the collect as “rediscovered songs from the past recorded on ancient electro mechanical technology captures and unleashes the essence of something that could have been gone forever.”

“A Letter Home” was recorded recorded in the “Third Man Recording Booth”, a refurbished 1947 Voice-o-Graph machine. Below, watch a video about the recording booth featuring The Raconteurs‘ Brendan Benson.

 

“A Letter Home” track listing:

1. “Changes” (Phil Ochs)

2. “Girl From The North Country” (Bob Dylan)

3. “Needle of Death” (Bert Jansch)

4. “Early Morning Rain” (Gordon Lightfoot)

5. “Reason To Believe” (Tim Hardin)

6. “On The Road Again” (Willie Nelson)

7. “If You Could Only Read My Mind” (Gordon Lightfoot)

8. “Since I Met You Baby” (Ivory Joe Hunter)

9. “My Hometown” (Bruce Springsteen)

10. “I Wonder If I Care As Much” (Everly Brothers)

U2 deny pushing next album back to 2015

A spokesperson for U2 has denied that the band have pushed back the release date of their 13th studio album to 2015.

Investigations by Billboard last week suggested that the band had pushed the album back to next year. It reported that the band had booked further studio time with producers Paul Epworth and Ryan Tedder, who would join the project’s main producer Danger Mouse. It also suggested that U2 had cancelled a tour due to take place in summer 2014.

Speaking to The Guardian, a spokesperson for the band flatly denied the claims, saying: “U2’s album is planned for this year (2014), is still on track and touring plans haven’t been confirmed yet.”

Following recent appearances at the Golden Globes and the release of new tracks ‘Ordinary Love’ and ‘Invisible’, which was downloaded for free three million times, speculation had mounted that the band were gearing up to release their next album this year . Following Billboard’s investigation last week, an Interscope representative said the album cannot be considered delayed as a release date was never announced.

Miranda Lambert ‘ready to rock’ as she preps album

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The good news? Miranda Lambert has completed her much anticipated, though somewhat overdue, fifth album. The bad news? You have to wait until June 3 for “Platinum,” a full two years and eight months since her last LP.

Why the wait? Lambert released an album with her Pistol Annies trio in 2013 and extended her tour. She also decided she was at a place in her career where she’d earned the time to fulfill her entire creative vision, and it simply took time.

“From the day you kinda go I need to start looking for songs and writing songs, it feels like no matter how much time you have, you’re rushed,” Lambert said. “And so I didn’t want to rush it at all. To me it’s all about timing and making sure that you can feel like you can finally sit there and go, OK, the album’s done, and never have a moment where you go, I wish we could change that or I wish we had a different song.”

An early listen reveals the singer’s most ambitious album yet. At 16 songs, “Platinum” sprawls across genre and style and expands on her already adventurous sense of song choice. She says everyone urged her to trim a few songs and conform to the usual country conventions.

“Now when you listen to it as a whole, what do you take off?” she asked.

The album paints a picture of Lambert’s life as she reaches 30. She wrote or co-wrote eight songs and chose the others based on how they reflected her personality or world view.

The first single, “Automatic,” suggests returning to a slower time and way of thinking. She contemplates her self-image in “Bathroom Mirror,” takes on tabloid scrutiny in “Priscilla” and teams up with several guests on songs that underscore her range and willingness to experiment.

The collaboration with Carrie Underwood on “Something Bad” brings together two of country’s most popular stars.

“We’re really rocking in country music and we’re coming together as a force,” Lambert said. “To me, like, if you’re sitting on the front row, you might want to scoot back. It’s a force. It just feels exciting to me. I’m ready to rock.”

AC/DC heading back to the studio for new album

The rumors are true.

AC/DC are set to return to the studio to record a new album. It’s their first new music since 2008’s Black Ice. The Aussie rockers are planning to work their magic in Vancouver, and there also are plans for a tour surrounding their 40th anniversary.

Lead singer Brian Johnson confirmed the news in a radio interview on Monday. “Really, because we’ve been denying anything, ’cause we weren’t sure … But I think we’ll be going into the studio in May in Vancouver. Which means, we should be getting ready.”

Johnson also revealed a few details about the tour. “It’s been 40 years of the band’s existence,” he said. “So I think we’re gonna try to do 40 gigs, 40 shows, to thank the fans for their undying loyalty. I mean, honestly, our fans are just the best in the world, and we appreciate every one of them. So, like I said, we’ll have to go out, even though we’re getting a bit long in the tooth. You know what?! It’s been four years, and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Foo Fighters are recording their new album in multiple studios, with Steve Albini and Butch Vig

A few weeks ago, the question was asked, “Are Foo Fighters recording their new album in 12 different studios?” It would appear the answer is now a definitive yes.

Although not officially confirmed, Reddit points to a Facebook post that reports of new songs recorded by Dave Grohl & Co. at Washington D.C.’s Inner Ear Studios, Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio Studios in Chicago, and Butch Vig’s 606 Studios in Los Angeles.

There’s even photographic evidence to prove it. Grohl can be seen online in a photo with DC musician Pete Stahl outside Inner Eat Studios on Sunday. This would also explain why Grohl was randomly riding a Chicago subway last month.

This juicy bit of news certainly goes hand-in-hand with the previously reported tweet by Twitter fan account FooArchive. Back in January, the user posted a scan of a section from Billboard’s “Over Heard” rumors column, which said “an insider” had told the magazine Grohl “is scouting iconic studios in 12 cities” for the next Foo album.

So yes, it would appear that Grohl’s racking up the SkyMiles while recording the highly-anticipated follow-up to 2011′s Wasting Light. Whether or not it’s “a way that no-one’s ever done before,” well, that’s up for us to discern once it finally comes out.

‘The Beatles: The Night That Changed America – A Grammy Salute’ celebrates 50 years with Katy Perry, Keith Urban

On Feb. 9, 1964, the British invaded America in a way that made pop-culture history.

Four lads from Liverpool gave their first U.S. television performance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” and exactly 50 years later — same hour, same night, same network — the event will be recalled in the CBS special “The Beatles: The Night That Changed America – A Grammy Salute” Sunday, Feb. 9. Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr perform on the show, and also are interviewed by David Letterman, but renderings of the ultra-iconic group’s music largely fall to others.

The roster includes teamings of Keith Urban and John Mayer, and Alicia Keys and John Legend, plus Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Stevie Wonder, Brad Paisley, Pharrell Williams, Dave Grohl, Joe Walsh, and a reunion of former Eurythmics partners Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart.

The Beatles themselves will be represented by clips from the Sullivan show, on which they also appeared the following two Sundays in 1964. They would do so once more in 1965, then furnished the program exclusively with what essentially were early music videos of some of their later tunes.

“I’d been talking to Apple Corps (the Beatles’ company) for years about doing something, but they just weren’t ready,” executive producer Ken Ehrlich, who also has overseen the Grammy Awards for more than 30 years, tells Zap2it. “Ringo is still out touring with his All-Star Band, and Paul certainly does more dates now than he ever did when he was a Beatle, probably more than he did with Wings.

“I think the gravity of this 50th anniversary kind of got to them that it was an important enough event that it should be commemorated and celebrated,” Ehrlich adds. “Even though they want to live in the present — and they do — I think they saw this as kind of a nice way to put a bow on it. Paul and Ringo have both been incredibly cooperative, as have Olivia Harrison (George’s widow) and Yoko Ono (wife of the late John Lennon).”

The tunes the Beatles offered on that 1964 evening were “All My Loving,” “She Loves You,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and the Fab Four’s take on “Till There Was You,” from the musical “The Music Man.” That last number had a shot of Lennon with the caption “Sorry girls, he’s married” superimposed over it, which writer-director Tom Hanks mimicked for one of the fictional Wonders in his 1996 movie “That Thing You Do!”

Often citing rock music as one of the strongest influences on his work, country superstar and current “American Idol” judge Urban is happy to participate in a Beatles tribute. “It’s an incredible band to be honoring,” he says, “and I’m glad I get to do it with John Mayer, who’s just one of my all-time favorite guitar players.”

Ehrlich wanted them on the special together after hearing them team on the Beatles classic “Don’t Let Me Down” at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival last year.

“That’s cool to know,” reflects Urban, whose latest album, “Fuse,” debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart last September. “I was really glad that John asked me to sit in with him at Crossroads, because I’d never played it before.

“Not long before he called me, I had rediscovered ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ … and I just thought, ‘That’s such a great song.’ It’s very hard when you’re looking for a song with a lyric that’s going to be good for two guys, and that’s potentially going to have a great guitar solo as well, and I was glad that John was cool with that one. And lo and behold, here we are, honoring the Beatles with it!”

Interviewees on the special include some who were at the 1964 Sullivan broadcast, either on the crew or in the audience.

“I can remember, when I was 20-something years old, writing a letter to Apple when it had just been formed, ” Ehrlich says. “They were looking for someone to run it, and I was this little punk publicist in Chicago saying, ‘Dear Mr. Epstein (Beatles manager Brian), I would love to talk to you about running Apple.’

“Over the years, I was very fortunate. One of the early specials I did was with Ringo. I never worked with John, but I worked with Yoko on a show that aired after 9/11 and turned into ‘Come Together: A Night for John Lennon’s Words & Music.’ And we’ve done a number of things with Paul over the years because he’s been so active.”

Recently seeing an interview with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell reinforced Urban’s view of the Beatles.

“He loves them for the same reason I do,” Urban says. “He said, ‘Those records were always about the guitar playing supporting the song.’ Whenever George or Paul played a solo, it was never a big showoff moment and never took away from the song. I’ve always been inspired by that kind of playing; Mark Knopfler very much fits into that category, too.”

On “American Idol,” Urban occasionally has known what it’s like to have a Keith Urban song performed for him. With McCartney and Starr present for the late January taping of the special, he’s gratified he could perform a Beatles tune for them.

“We were in the middle of touring, then we played on the Grammys, then the very next night was the Beatles show … and then we flew straight back to the East Coast to perform at Madison Square Garden. I’m just amazed that the stars aligned so I was able to be there.”

Recalling watching the Beatles’ first Sullivan broadcast as it happened as “one of those things you never forget,” Ehrlich stresses the cultural significance of it coming when it did, in the aftermath of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and as America’s involvement in the Vietnam War was ramping up.

“You can’t divorce these things,” he reasons. “This is all very personal to me. I was pleased with what we did on [last year’s] Emmys by pointing out the depths of depression this country was in after the Kennedy assassination. In a very real way, Feb. 9, 1964, was a symbol of the beginning of feeling we could again yell and scream and applaud and be happy about something.”

Ehrlich now aims to recapture that feeling for those who never have experienced the effect of the Beatles appearing on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” as well as for those who remember it vividly. “This special hopefully will continue not only the legacy,” he says, “but the impact this one group had on the world.”

The Nine Biggest Revelations In Bono’s ‘BBC’ Interview About U2

Even though U2’s upcoming album isn’t finished yet — more on that in a bit — the band’s charitable opening salvo “Invisible” has allowed Bono to share nuggets of info about the album and the band’s current state of mind. The singer called into Zane Lowe’s BBC Radio 1 show Monday night for a frank discussion of the group’s past, present and future. Here’s what we learned:

1. A U2 Album Isn’t Done Until It’s Done

“Until it’s on the radio or online, it’s not real,” said Bono. “With U2, our album isn’t finished until it’s in the stores. It’s tricky getting us four boys across the line. But we are very thrilled with ‘Invisible.’ I’m just delighted that there are still people that are interested in us. We’re at nearly two-and-a-half million downloads and there were one million downloads in one hour Sunday. You never really know. With all singers, insecurity is your best security. That’s why we’re such loud people and why we walk all funny. You think, ‘Are people interested?’ But I think our band has something and they know we don’t just put albums out. We do think about it.”

2. There’s No Official Album Title, But At Least One Working Title

When Lowe asked what the band’s “stupidest working title” was, Bono replied, “Insecurity. Somebody drew a picture of somebody in a riot with a big mullet and it just said – instead of Security on the back of the jacket – it just said Insecurity. That was our working title, but that is not the title though.”

3. They’re Incorporating Both Punk and Electronic Music on the New Album

“We listened to all this extraordinary music in the late Seventies and started to think about those times and the things that made us who we were,” said the singer. “We went back to why we wanted to be in a band in the first place. It opened up a whole valve for me writing and it was a dam burst of sorts. Punk rock and electronic [music] was when it started for us. We were listening to the Ramones and Kraftwerk and you can hear both of those things on ‘Invisible.'”

4. Bono Channeled His Younger, Struggling Self for “Invisible”

“I was writing about leaving home with just enough rage to see it through and this feeling of arriving in London, sleeping in the station and coming out into the punk rock explosion that was happening,” recalled Bono. “There were really wild extraordinary people and then you feel deeply not extraordinary. You feel invisible and you’re screaming to be seen and you’ve got your band and this is your whole life. It’s that feeling of getting out of town.”

5. They’re Still Working on the Album

Bono said he hopes to finish the album “in a couple of months,” but cautioned that, “It’s finished when it’s finished.” The singer raised an optimistic note, though, saying that, “People are feeling very upbeat about things.”

6. More Girls, Less Overalls

Collectively, U2’s net worth is in the hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars, yet they’re still recording in dingy surroundings. “We’re here in this great nation, in this capital, in some dank basement. Where I’m calling from, as we speak, there were mice spotted earlier,” said Bono. “We call it the Oil Rig. Why is it that we always end up hanging out with men in overalls? You start a band when you’re 17 and then you get a crew if you’re lucky and they’re all in overalls and then you go to the studio and there’s more people in overalls. Not enough girls. Please, girls out there, start twiddling those knobs.”

7. They love James Mercer, Danger Mouse and Broken Bells

“We have Danger Mouse working with us,” said the singer. “He’s a great soul and beautiful dude and the [Broken Bells] album is pretty amazing. [It’s got] extraordinary, melancholy melodies. As a singer, let me say: This boy [James Mercer] really knows how to be truthful in the telling of the lyrics he writes. There’s something about his voice that is very compelling. The kid’s a star! [Laughs]

8. They Want to Tour in Indoor Venues, Like the “Intimate” 20,000-Capacity O2 Arena

“We love those big outdoors shows, but for these tunes, we’re going to start indoors,” said Bono. “We played a ballroom the other night for Sean Penn. It was for 200 people and it was interesting playing on a little stage. Sometimes, we want to dye those roots.”

9. The Band Thought They Might Be Irrelevant

Asked if the group had any doubts about maintaining their success, Bono admitted, “We were trying to figure out, ‘Why would anyone want another U2 album?’ And then we said, ‘Well, why would we want one?’ There was some unfinished business. We felt like we were on the verge of irrelevance a lot in our lives. How you get through is to make stuff that’s relevant to you and you have to make an honest account of what you’re going through.

“For me, I poured what I’m going through now back through the eye of the experience I had when I first started being in a band and that’s what opened me up. If that is relevant to other people, then great; that would be a thrill. But we don’t know. I think ‘Invisible’ is a great song, but I don’t know how accessible it is. We’ll find out if we’re irrelevant. I’m perfectly prepared for people to try and blow us off the stage. We’re just not going to make it easy.”

Dave Grohl says new Foo Fighters material is ‘unlike anything we’ve ever done’

Dave Grohl has said that the new Foo Fighters album is different from anything the band have done before.

The band recently revealed that the sessions for their new album are “fucking on” by posting a picture of a row of master tapes labelled ‘Foo Fighters LP 8’ to their official Instagram.

Speaking to BBC Radio 1’s Zane Lowe, Grohl confirmed that the band are working on their eighth album, but said, “We haven’t really disclosed exactly what we are doing.”

Commenting on the suggestion that the band are recording with previously unused recording techniques with producers Butch Vig and Steve Albini, Grohl said: “I know what it sounds like and I honestly think the entire concept is really going to take people by surprise and it sounds nuts.

“We recorded something the other day that’s unlike anything we’ve ever done and it starts with a fuse and then it explodes.”

Grohl would not say when the album will be released, but said it would be “great”.

Foo Fighters will headline a special gig next month in the run-up to February’s Super Bowl. Imagine Dragons, The Roots and Fall Out Boy will also perform at the event, which will be sponsored by the Bud Light Hotel, and will take place at New York’s Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. Foo Fighters will team up with the Zac Brown Band for the February 1 gig. Dave Grohl recently worked on the country band’s latest EP.

Foo Fighters recently made their live return, performing in Mexico on December 11, 2013. During the concert, the band covered songs by The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Tom Petty.

Sarah McLachlan Signs to Verve; New Album ‘Shine On’ Coming May 6

Sarah McLachlan has signed with Verve Records and will release her eighth studio album — titled “Shine On” — May 6.

The new album is currently being recorded in Vancouver with longtime collaborator/producer Pierre Marchand (the co-writer of hits like “Adia” and “Building a Mystery”), along with contributions from producer/songwriter Bob Rock (Michael Bublé, Nelly Furtado) and keyboardist Vincent Jones.

In a press release, McLachlan revealed that the album was inspired by her father’s passing and her own appreciation of life:

“This album is about moving through the second half of my life in a more mindful and meaningful way, recognizing that every day, every moment is precious and though we all have our issues and problems, our damages, we all have the ability to continue to learn, grow from our experiences, thrive and shine on. Many of the songs are inspired at least partially or wholly by my father’s passing three years ago and the profound effect losing him had on me. I had to find my footing again without the anchor of his unconditional love.”

Previously with Nettwerk/Arista, McLachlan’s “Shine On” will be her first studio effort since 2010’s “Laws of Illusion,” which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. On signing McLachlan, Verve Music Group chairman David Foster comments, “Sarah’s captivating voice and undeniable talent has established her as a celebrated global artist with an ability to reach fans on a deeply emotional level.”

McLachlan is a three-time Grammy winner and an eight-time winner of Canada’s Juno Awards. Her 1997 album “Surfacing” produced a pair of Grammy-winning tracks: “Building a Mystery” (Best Female Pop Vocal Performance) and “Last Dance” (Best Pop Instrumental Performance).

In other recent McLachlan news, the singer-songwriter previewed a lighthearted Super Bowl ad for Audi, which references her tearjerking ASPCA endorsements.

Christine McVie rejoins Fleetwood Mac

More than 15 years after announcing her retirement from Fleetwood Mac, Christine McVie is back in the fold. According to Fleetwood Mac News, Mick Fleetwod confirmed McVie’s return during a concert in Maui on Saturday night, telling the audience,”This is the worst kept secret there is, but Christine McVie will be rejoining Fleetwood Mac.”

Last September, McVie reunited with her former bandmates in Fleetwood Mac during a concert in London. In a subsequent interview with the Guardian, she expressed a desire to rejoin the band permanently. “I like being with the band, the whole idea of playing music with them,” McVie explained. “I miss them all. If they were to ask me I would probably be very delighted… but it hasn’t happened so we’ll have to wait and see.”

In response to McVie’s comments, Stevie Nicks told Billboard, “If Chris wants to come back to the band, I said to her, ‘It’s your band. I don’t really think you have to ask. Because it’s your band. McVie. Fleetwood Mac-vie? So, it all depends, Chris, on you. How you feel. Do you want to take this on again?’”

Fleetwood Mac is currently on a temporary hiatus as McVie’s ex-husband, John, is being treated for cancer. In an interview with Rolling Stone last week, Nicks said John is “gonna be fine, adding, “He’s got his treatment, and now he did a show on the 30th and 31st, another tomorrow night, then he has surgery next week. . . I’m not the least bit worried about John. He’s very, very strong and a man of very few words. He’s not a person to mess with.”