New CD Releases, 22 Nov 2005
- Michael Bublé Caught in the Act (CD/DVD combo; live performance) (Reprise)
I smell Christmas present here. . .
- John Mayer Trio Try! (recorded in Chicago; ICE #224) (Columbia)
Because he just never goes away, does he?
- Scott Stapp (ex-Creed) The Great Divide (Wind-Up)
Many wish he would go away. . .
- VA High School Reunion: A Tribute to Those Great Eighties Films! (covers of ’80s tunes from popular films; w/Kristin Hersch performing the Pixies’ “Wave of Mutilation,” Matthew Sweet covering Tom Petty’s “American Girl,” Frank Black doing Iggy Pop’s “Repo Man” and more; ICE #224) (American Laundromat/Face Down)
Sounds cool.
But the list from MoviePoopShoot.com misses the most exciting one of the week for me:
- Billy Joel: My Lives
This is the new four CD retrospective of his career, featuring a ton of material never before heard on any of Joel’s own catalog. It compiles a lot of singles, B-Sides, soundtrack contributions, and unreleased demos that have floated around but never been collected. You’ll be surprised to hear how songs like “For The Longest Time” really began as bits like “The Prime of Your Life.” And, perhaps best of all, the Disney Channel concert from Frankfurt, Germany is included as a DVD. This one includes my all time favorite version of “My Life,” and that comes from someone with a couple dozen bootlegs laying around from different stages of the man’s career.
You can get this on sale for about $35 at Best Buy and various places on-line today.
Yes, it’s a godawful cover image to use, but it’s something Billy Joel picked out, himself, that his daughter had done for him at some point.
November 23rd, 2005 at 10:34 am
The Billy Joel set is going on my Christmas list.
November 23rd, 2005 at 11:21 am
It’s excellent for Billy Joel fans, Tom. I might need to do a full review of it here sometime. The only negative reviews I’ve read of it so far are from critics who don’t get it, or who wanted Yet Another Greatest Hits recording. This is a great collection of a broad assortment of tunes.
And hearing the way “Goodnight, My Angel” was originally melded into the ending of “River of Dreams” was chilling. Beautiful stuff.
Some of the songs were demos I’ve heard about in the past but never found a copy of. Now I have them.
There is one thing that pisses me off, though, about the set. It’s something too many record companies are starting to do now — bonus tracks based on where you buy the set. If you buy it on iTunes, for example, you get “Josephine,” a weirdly fun upbeat song that’s never been released before. I have a cassette tape with it, but I’d love a digital copy or a CD copy. I’m not paying $45 again to get that single song, though. Buying it at Best Buy got me four additional UMixIt tunes, which would be fun if I had a PC. And pre-ordering it on-line (through Sony, I think) scored you two different bonus songs.
I have an idea — just make it a five disc box set, raise the price $10, and give it ALL to me. UGH
November 23rd, 2005 at 12:38 pm
Why don’t YOU go away permanently! A Scott Stapp fan.
November 23rd, 2005 at 1:48 pm
To quote Elton John, “Can you feel the love tonight?”