CD Review: Iggy Pop's Roadkill Rising: The Bootleg Collection 1977 - 2009

CD REVIEW: Iggy Pop's Roadkill Rising: The Bootleg Collection 1977 - 2009
Shout! Factory 
All Access Review: A

Pleading for quiet, Iggy Pop is having no luck convincing the crowd of mangy curs at Bookie’s in Detroit in 1980 to settle down and stop screaming. Worked into a frothy, rabies-infected lather, the audience, pressing dangerously against the stage, wants blood. They demand that Iggy and the band punch them in the mouth with the kind of grimy psychedelia and brass-knuckled garage rock his old band, The Stooges, used to dish out with violent glee. Iggy, on the other hand, is intent on serenading them with a soft, jazzy old standard, “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)” written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer and popularized by Frank Sinatra, of all people.

In the end, the stubborn and confrontational Iggy, spewing a stream of expletives amid entreaties for sanity, reason and safety, gets his way, and unexpectedly, he croons the song with great reverence. It’s one of the most disarming moments on the sprawling new four-CD, 66-track collection of unreleased Iggy Pop live recordings Roadkill Rising, setting them up for the kill that is the brawling, propulsive, furious ball of energy “Take Care of Me” from 1980’s Pop solo effort Soldier.

Spanning four decades of Iggy’s solo years, Roadkill Rising bulges with more than four hours of well-chosen concert audio – more than 60 tracks in all of Stooges and Iggy solo material, and a clutch of interesting covers – from some 20 different shows, like the four-song snippet from the show at Bookie’s, with its sweaty, intimate atmosphere, that includes a creeping version of “Nightclubbing” or Iggy’s performance at the huge Glastonbury Festival in England, where the classic Stooges’ growler “Down On The Street” is burned and beaten to within an inch of its life and “Real Cool Time” whips around in a cyclone of riffage.

Another in a series of “official” bootleg collections from Shout! Factory, which has featured artists like Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Todd Rundgren, Roadkill Rising might just be the cream of the crop. Stooges’ material such as “I Wanna Be Your Dog” and “Loose,” from Disc 2’s 1987 gig at New York City’s Club 1018, jump out of the speakers like a mugger from the shadows, while Iggy’s “Kill City” is a muscular, turbo-charged thrill ride and covers of the “Batman Theme” and “Hang on Sloopy” are fun-filled rock-and-roll romps that celebrate rock-and-roll’s past. Disc 1 sees Iggy digging into The Stooges’ past with seething takes on “Raw Power,” “1969,” “Search And Destroy” and “Gimme Danger,” and Disc 3 – from the ‘90s – presents a rousing survey of Iggy’s best-known solo work, with “Lust for Life,” “China Girl,” “Butt Town,” “Candy” and “The Passenger” rumbling menacingly and snarling with anger.

Iggy’s fingerprints are all over these recordings. Like other artists in the series, Iggy not only has given the collection his stamp of approval, but he’s also been involved in the remastering. And the sonic quality, tough, full-bodied and electric, of Roadkill Rising is pure Iggy. There’s nothing weak sounding or lethargic. Take “Corruption,” “Howl” and “The Jerk” from Disc 3’s 2001 Bizarre Festival performance in Germany.  The guitar wrangling is viciously clear, the stomping bass is thick and powerful and the drums hit like wrecking balls – as they all do throughout Roadkill Rising. Even comments, such as “Iggy is God” and other less complimentary utterances, from the peanut-gallery crowd come through loud and clear. The only drawback the set has is its packaging. Although the comic-book artwork is cool and the accompanying booklet features vintage photos, it lacks liner notes about how these bootlegs were found or even chosen for this collection. A minor complaint, though, as Roadkill Rising is a must-have for Iggy completists or anybody with a healthy respect for ballsy, take-no-prisoners rock and roll.

Peter Lindblad  

Artist Official Page: Iggy Pop

Shout! Factory Link: Roadkill Rising: The Bootleg Collection 1977 - 2009

Rock and Roll Limited Edition Lithographs

THE BEATLES, ROLLING STONES & BON JOVI LIMITED EDITION LITHOGRAPHS

In the mid 1990s, the music memorabilia community responded with excitement to the release of a most impressive series of a strictly limited quantity, museum-quality lithographs, featuring works of the worlds' best known graphic artists, such as Giger, Van Hamersveld, Volmer, Dean, Warhol and others. Combined, they produced rocks' most memorable album art for the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Yes, Eagles, Genesis, The Who, ELP and many more. Available for a limited time only, these fully authorized works-of-arts sold out quickly (worldwide) and have since become highly collectible. 



Currently in the Backstage Auctions Store, a selection of Bon Jovi, Rolling Stones and The Beatles lithographs are available for direct purchase. The limited edition lithographs range in price from $35.00 - $150.00. 

"These are truly beautiful pieces of artwork and look absolutely stunning framed and displayed. We recently sold an entire set of Rolling Stones lithographs to a customer that was had them framed and then hung in their media room at home," says Backstage Auctions owner, Jacques van Gool. "And make no mistake,  these fine pieces of art will not break the piggy bank - they are all moderately priced."


The entire collection can be view by clicking on this link: Limited Edition Lithographs

ONE OF KIND FIND: CHRIS CORNELL CUSTOM MADE GUITAR

SOUNDGARDEN CHRIS CORNELL'S SILVER CUSTOM GRETSCH GUITAR

There are lots of cool and collectible guitars in the world - but rarely do you find an opportunity to actually own one as cool and significant as THIS silver (pre-Fender) Gretsch 6128 DuoJet with Bigsby that belonged to none other than Chris Cornell of Soundgarden. !!! Yes, you read that correctly. THE Soundgarden, one of the pioneering bands at the epicenter of the "Seattle sound" known as Grunge that emerged from the Great Northwest in the early 1990s. Soundgarden were - beyond question - at the forefront of that movement, along with the likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains, and this Gretsch DuoJet was undeniably involved in the creation of that sound. 

The Gretsch 6128 (DuoJet) is a solid body electric guitar manufactured since the mid 1950s. Made of a chambered mahogany body, the DuoJet model 6128 is one of Gretsch's most sought after guitars. The difference between the DuoJet and comparable guitars, is in its configuration variations. While it shares the same two pickup, single cutaway style of the popular Gibson Les Paul guitar, the 6128 DuoJet models have more controls for shaping the tonality of the instrument. 

The DuoJet has been popular with anyone from Chet Atkins to David Gilmour, and is still in demand to this day. The most famous example of a DuoJet being played was by George Harrison during the Beatles' early days in Hamburg, and first few albums. In fact, he used that exact guitar on the cover for his 1987 "come back" masterpiece, "Cloud Nine." Clearly these guitars have impacted all types of music and players - including Chris Cornell and Soundgarden! 

Soundgarden achieved their biggest commercial success with the release of their 1994 album "Superunknown," spawning mega-hits "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman" which won Grammy Awards and helped Soundgarden reach mainstream popularity. In 1995, the album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. 

The album has been certified five times platinum by the RIAA in the United States and remains Soundgarden's most successful album. In 2003, the album was ranked number 336 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time! Their follow-up album "Down on the Upside," their last studio album to date, produced a few successful singles as well. The video to one of these singles, "Pretty Noose Live" shows Chris Cornell playing the Gretsch as offered here. In addition to this video there are numerous pictures and videos floating around of him playing it, and you can rest assured knowing that there is no other single guitar on the planet that will match this one.

Specs: 
Gretsch 6128 DuoJet: 
* Custom Silver Finish 
* Solid Body 
* Two Humbucking Pickups 
* Bigsby Tremolo 
* Silver Pick Guard 
* Two Volume/Tonal Controls 
* Neck/Bridge Pickup Switch 
* White Pearl Fret Inlays 
* White Pearl Gretsch and Horseshoe Inlay in Headstock 
* Chrome Hardware 
* Serial Number: 9411129.301 (11/1994) 



For more information on how to acquire this super rare and unique guitar, visit our website for more information: CHRIS CORNELL SILVER CUSTOM GRETSCH GUITAR







Here is an awesome clip of Chris playing the guitar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8nkHrv_4Mg (Pretty Noose Live 1996)

DVD Review: David Byrne "Ride, Rise, Roar"

DVD Review: David Byrne "Ride, Rise, Roar"
Eagle Vision
All Access Review: A-

The iconic "big suit" David Byrne wore to arty, and somewhat comic, effect in the classic Talking Heads concert film "Stop Making Sense" is nowhere to be found on the idiosyncratic artist's newest performance documentary "Ride, Rise, Roar." In that exquisitely tailored, yet enormous, the rail-thin Byrne seemed like he was drowning in colorless fabric. It wouldn't have fit anybody, let alone the stick-like frame of Byrne, and yet, it told us much about contemporary living.

To anybody paying attention, it was hardly a great leap of imagination to make a connection between that suit, so devoid of personality in and of itself and yet so strangely compelling to look at, and how the frenetic, soul-stealing activity of modern life and work can swallow a person whole. And yet, there was nothing obvious or ham-handed about Byrne's unforgettable theatricality. As outsized as that suit was, the statement Byrne made with it was subtle and small, just a little tweak at the self-important business man wanting to become a master of the universe and losing himself in the process. Then again, to Byrne, maybe it was just a funny-looking, clown-ish get-up, a way to get a laugh — not bloody likely, though.

Whatever the case, it's Byrne's ability to dissect the human condition and all its mundane preoccupations, its underlying tensions, as if the world were a biology class's fetal pig — be it through enigmatic lyrics or his own strangely compelling visual artistry, and do so with a sly wit and a scientist's curiosity — that's made Byrne such a consistently interesting figure in pop music and other arenas.

"Ride, Rise, Roar" only adds to the mythology. Though not one inclined to revisit the past often, in 2008, Byrne did re-connect with Brian Eno for the LP Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, his first collaboration with Eno since 1981's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Informed by a decidedly un-ironic love of gospel music and its effervescent hopefulness, plus a healthy interest in electronica, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today was a triumph of man and machine. Then came the tour, the 2008-09 celebration of the music Eno and Byrne have made together over the years, starting with Eno's production and writing work with the Talking Heads, when they were a new wave, art-punk oddity that somehow forged a connection with the masses through the power of nerdy funk.

Wanting to make the experience more of a dazzling show, Byrne dreamed up an unlikely marriage of pop music and modern dance — reflecting his growing interest in the interpretive power of group movement — that could have been a train wreck. Unbelievably, it worked. The tour received glowing reviews, and "Ride, Rise, Roar" shows why. Decked out all in angelic white, the band and the small cadre of darting, twirling dancers — not the usual posse of break-dancing, hip-hop athletes you see on MTV — have a synergistic bond that adds spiritual weight and uplifting joy to performance segments that are thrilling, thought-provoking and full of boundless energy.

Cringe if you must at the thought of combining "interpretive dance" with the straightforward ethics of a traditional rock concert, but be prepared also for a visceral religious experience that mixes Talking Heads classics with selections from other Byrne-Eno works, including, of course, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. It is beautifully shot by filmmaker David Hillman Curtis, with multiple camera angles and instinctual editing making the action even more intense and profound.

Though there's an awkwardness to the choreography surrounding Byrne in an otherwise electric version of "Once In A Lifetime," the concept comes together in the reflective "Life Is Long," with dancers wheeling fluidly and expressively across the stage on office chairs. Wonderfully abstract and moody, "I Feel My Stuff" shifts from jazzy, jungle-like atmospherics to sinewy, driving rock and then back again, the deceptively tricky choreography growing more and more anarchic. Taking on Talking Heads' favorites "Burning Down The House," "Road to Nowhere" and "Life During Wartime," Byrne and company attack them with an intoxicating, wild-eyed fervor and a snake-handler's belief that every note they're playing and every mapped-out dance step they take is full of meaning.

Sprinkled in between the concert footage are black-and-white, behind-the-scenes segments that reveal much about Byrne's creative process and how the experimental choreography developed. It's a fascinating look at an art form that doesn't get a lot of exposure, and the part where Byrne and Eno share a moment describing what influenced them musically on their latest collaboration offers fresh theories on inspiration and how they've channeled it into their more recent creations.

Boldly innovative, "Ride, Rise, Roar" gives "Stop Making Sense" a run for its money. Once again, Byrne's artistic sensibilities win out, and this grand experiment captures the best of what pop music and dance can accomplish when boundaries are pushed to the limits of imagination.

— Peter Lindblad

CD Review: Rory Gallagher's Irish Tour 74

CD Review: Rory Gallagher's Irish Tour 74
Eagle Records
All Access Review: A-

Though he lived and breathed American blues and was beloved worldwide for his raw talent and fiery passion, blues-rock guitar god Rory Gallagher belonged to Ireland. And that meant Northern Ireland, too. At a time when the place was a battleground, when “The Troubles” were far more disturbing than that euphemism would imply and ethno-political tensions always seemed on the verge of exploding in violence, most artists avoided it like the plague, but not Rory. He went willingly, and for an all-too-brief period when he played, he brought a little peace and unity to a land most people considered a powder keg.

In 1974, Rory Gallagher made stops throughout Ireland, and the tour was filmed by Tony Palmer. Originally, it was a project developed for the small screen, but Palmer instinctually knew that the TV was too small to contain such an epic musical journey. Eventually, Palmer’s shootings were transformed into a movie that was played all around the U.K. and parts of Europe. It would then go with Gallagher on a tour of America, and now, Eagle Rock Entertainment has reissued the film on DVD and Blu-ray. Audio evidence, collected from concerts at Belfast’s Ulster Hall, Dublin’s Carlton Cinema and Cork’s City Hall, of Gallagher’s powerful magic was also captured and released on what many consider to be one of the greatest live albums ever, Irish Tour.

This reissue doesn’t do anything to alter anybody’s opinion of Irish Tour. It has the same track listing from top to bottom, with nothing new in the way of bonus recordings added, except new, laudable liner notes and chunks of historical insight to each song by Shu Tomioka and Charles Stanford. The music is spectacular, with Gallagher cutting through the swirling keyboard smog of the wall-of-sound opener, “Cradle Rock,” with piercing, penetrating solos and lifting Muddy Waters’ “I Wonder Who” to smoky new heights with arrows of bluesy notes of truth shot with conviction and sharpness that other guitarists can only dream of flinging. Shifting into high gear, “Tattoo’d Lady” drives along at an urgent pace, with Gerry McAvoy’s bass galloping hard, Lou Martin electric keyboard firing like pistons and Rod de’Ath’s drums providing the rhythmic horsepower and Gallagher soaring at the end. Gallagher and company give the J.B. Hutto composition “Too Much Alcohol” a mean blues workout, before Gallagher straps on a Dobro 1932 National guitar for the Tony Joe White number “As The Crow Flies” and holds an acoustic séance with ghosts of the Mississippi Delta that dances and moans with religious fervor.

And Gallagher and his mates are far from done. From his own Tattoo album comes “A Million Miles Away,” where Rory and his band exhibit patience in letting the song build and burn away at the same time. His touch and creativity are sublime, as are the fireworks he displays on a feverish “Walk on Hot Coals,” where the band simply lets it all hang out. As the audience grows more and more hungry, Gallagher feeds them a multi-dimensional meal of different guitar textures, stylistic virtuosity, fearless exploration and playful experimentation with the templates of hallowed songs. To immerse yourself in the full experience of Irish Tour, get the DVD of the film and save the CD, if you don’t already have a copy, for lonely reflections on a back porch or a study with a glass of fine whisky or a wild, belated Irish wake for one of the most reveredand brilliant musicians from a tortured country’s painful past.

-         Peter Lindblad

CD Review: Duff McKagan's Loaded - Sick

CD Review: Duff McKagan's Loaded - Sick
Armoury Records
All Access Review: A

There’s nothing unhealthy about this reissue of Sick, the 2009 predecessor to Loaded’s grungier cousin, the 2011 release The Taking. Two years removed, it hardly seems like enough time has passed for a second bite at the apple with Sick, still in its toddler stage as far as music history is concerned. But, The Taking has apparently taken off, gaining favor even with many who’ve forgotten, or no longer even care, that McKagen used to be in Guns ‘N Roses. So, in keeping with the “strike while the iron is hot” line of thinking, the timing couldn’t be better to revisit Sick and Armoury Records gives us good reason to do so.

On balance, where The Taking is unexpectedly heavy and tilting more towards Soundgarden-like grunge – and therefore, a bit more lethargic in spots – Sick takes its cues from punk and maintains stronger, more aggressive tempos, while still managing to traffic in the thick, punishing rhythms and riffs of metal. Really, when it comes right down to it, it’s a matter of taste in comparing The Taking with Sick. Either you’re a fan of the more metallic dynamics and crushing heaviness of The Taking or it’s the sharper songcraft, faster pace and stylistic variety of Sick that heats your blood. Place your bets on Sick if you want an album that’ll stay with you for a long, long time.

From the nasty grooves and stinging guitars of the title track – and its great line, “You’re like Typhoid Mary mixed with the Asian flu” – that opens the 13-song set, plus two bonus tracks, and shoots right on through the wailing kiss-off “Flatline” and its meat-and-potatoes plate of ‘70s hard-rock and straight into the frantic energy of “The Slide,” to the marriage of surprisingly sweet harmonies and strong melody that is “Translucent,” Sick is relentless in its approach. That is until the touching “Mother’s Day” comes along. Beautifully written, this is Loaded’s Paul Westerberg moment. A wistful lament and treatise on loss and aging that’s neither cloying nor saccharine in its treatment of those themes, it’s the best thing Loaded has ever done. And then comes the runaway freight-train of “I See Through You” and, later, the hyper pogo-stick bounce of closer “No More” to remind everyone that Loaded doesn’t dwell on sentiment for very long.

As for the bonus tracks, one is an acoustic version of Sick’s “Wasted Heart,” the original a slow-building beauty that gets only prettier when stripped down to its essential structure. The other is “Roll Away,” a winning mix of contemplative lyrics and guitars that burn like dying embers in a fire. Throw in a 90-minute DVD featuring the scintillating “Live at the Garage” concert filmed in Glasgow in 2008, a promo video for “No More” and various webisodes, and you’ve got a rich, full package of everything you could want in reissue. Loaded? Yes, this version of Sick truly is just that.

- Peter Lindblad

Official Artist Site: http://duff-loaded.com/thetaking/

The Rock 'n Pop Summer 2011 Auction

Backstage Auctions Offers Up Investment Opportunity with Photos, Image Rights

By Patrick Prince

One of the main attractions at Backstage Auctions’ Rock ‘n’ Pop Summer Auction on June 4-12, 2011, will be more than 350 auction lots of negatives and slides — classic rock artists ranging from Eric Clapton to The Doors — with a full transfer of rights.

Ted Nugent 

One hundred auction lots will be from the archives of rock ‘n’ roll photographer and author Philip Kamin. Backstage Auctions claims that Kamin only sold his photographs to the bands he toured with, the bands’ managers, their public relations firms, record companies, or bands’ merchandisers. The Kamin images up for auction have never been sold to newspapers, magazines or photo agencies. As a result, these photographs and their original rights have remained in Kamin’s possession for decades.

“I have had a lot of time to enjoy these images,” Kamin says, “and I want to make sure they end up in the hands of individuals who will cherish them as much as I have. Bringing them to avid collectors seems to make the most sense.”

The real golden nugget of this auction is that all of these images will be offered with a full transfer of image rights. According to Backstage Auctions, purchasing photographs, negatives and slides with the transfer of rights is becoming increasingly popular, as it represents a fantastic investment opportunity for any music collector.

Bob Dylan

“We have customers that have purchased similar lots from us in the past to produce limited prints for resale, larger-scale book projects in concert with the artists and hosting of the images with various agencies, such as Getty and Corbis,” says Jacques van Gool, founder of Backstage Auctions.

What should not be overlooked is the inclusion of negatives and slides (with full transfer of rights, of course) of lesser-known photographers, such as the late Jim Townsend and the late Larry E. Lent. And many of these images have never been used.

“Jim Townsend and Larry E. Lent were both Houston-based, independent, concert photographers, who were mostly active during the 1970s and 1980s,” van Gool explains, “and are locally best known for their contributions to Music News, Houston’s longest running local music magazine.”

Some of the Houston venues where Townsend and Lent took photos were Hofheinz Pavilion, Sam Houston Coliseum, Music Hall, The Summit, Astrodome and Rockefeller’s. 

Faces

“In the ’70s, concert photos were typically used by the existing music press,” van Gool says, “and all of those magazines — whether it was Creem or Hit Parader or Rolling Stone — either had offices on the East Coast or West Coast, and as a result, live photos that were used were typically from East or West Coast venues. Photos from venues in the middle (of America) were hardly used or seen, for that matter. These two photographers in Houston were really the only two who archived almost every band that came through town — and every major band made a stop in Houston just as much as they stopped in any other major city. The irony and the sad part of it was that there was no outlet for it. The Houston media was hardly interested in it. I would say that a good 99 percent of these images had never been seen.”

The auction also will include a number of vintage concert posters and signed memorabilia, including signed artwork by The Rolling Stones’ Ron Wood.

Other types of music memorabilia featured in the auction include:

Artist Signed Items

Concert Photos, Negatives and Slides

1960s & 1970s Concert Posters

Recording Reels & Dat Recordings

Record Awards & Plaques

Vintage Amps, 1960s Gibson-EB Bass Guitar

Unique Woodstock 1969 Memorabilia

Acetates, Test Pressings, Vintage Vinyl

Amazing collection of Ron Wood signed Rolling Stones Artwork

The line up of artist memorabilia reads like the who's who of rock and roll royalty, including but not limited to Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones, The Who, Janis Joplin, The Doors, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Aerosmith, Yardbirds, Kiss, Ted Nugent, Journey, Boston, Kansas, Styx, Molly Hatchet, Rory Gallagher, Van Halen, Fleetwood Mac, Johnny & Edgar Winter, Jethro Tull and 100s more legendary 1960s, 1970s and 1980s artists and bands. Even the 1990s is represented by A-list pop artists such as Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and Jennifer Lopez.

For more information about the auction or to obtain your VIP All Access pass, visit our auction page on our site. http://www.backstageauctions.com/catalog/auction.php

(This article originally featured on the Goldmine Magazine website. To view the original follow the link: http://www.goldminemag.com/?s=backstage+auctions&x=0&y=0 )