NEWSLETTER #31!

SAL PREPARES FOR TRIP TO ITALY BY WRITING NEWSLETTER IN ITALIAN!

I PRIMI DUE PRETENDERS CHE GLI ALBUM OTTENGONO REMASTERED E SI ESPANSI!

LOTTI DI NUOVI RILASCI PER LA SETTIMANA PROSSIMA!

GIORGIO W. BUSHI, KENNY GIO, CELINE DIONA, E MIGUEL BOLTONO -- OOFA!

SAL DECIDES WRITING NEWSLETTER IN ITALIAN EVEN MORE DIFFICULT THAN IN ENGLISH

And now... NEXT WEEK'S NEW RELEASES!

TREY ANASTASIO - BAR 17. We've never been Phishheads or Phish Phans, although we do like a nice piece of scrod. But Trey's last few solo records have been better than good, and his latest release, Bar 17, is getting great advance word. Featuring all-star jam banders Benevento & Russo, Joan Wasser, and John Medeski.

BECK - INFORMATION. Sal considers Beck a jack of all trades and a master of none, with the exception of pretension. Tony considers Sal just plain wrong when it comes to Beck, and is happy he'll be in Italy when this comes out, so he can blast it in the office.

LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM - UNDER THE SKIN. The first solo album in fourteen years from the legendary Stevie Nicks obsessive. Stripped down and less of a pop record than his brilliant Out Of The Cradle, but still a very interesting collection of introspective tunes that highlight Buckingham's guitar playing and knack for melody. Features an awesome cover of the Stones' "I Am Waiting."

THE DEARS - GANG OF LOSERS. The followup to one of Sal's favorite records of 2004, "No Cities Left," sounds a little less like the Smiths-inspired debut and a bit more aggressive. This band can go from perfectly executed '80s new wave to Brian Wilson-inspired ballads with the click of a remote. Both CDs are highly recommended.

THE DECEMBERISTS - CRANE WIFE. Pioneers of the annoying "literary rock" movement, we don't know much about this band, except that Tony doesn't like them. But if literary rock is your thing, this is their major label debut, so that's certainly saying something.

EVANESCENCE - OPEN DOOR. New release from the Grammy Award-winning band fronted by that goth cutie, Amy Lee. But that doesn't mean we like them, either.

ROBYN HITCHCOCK & THE VENUS 3 - OLE TARANTULA. The Venus 3 are Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey, and Bill Riflin, which is 3/4 of the Minus 5 and 1/2 of R.E.M. So there's a 63% chance that this will be an excellent album.

THE HOLD STEADY - BOYS & GIRLS IN AMERICA. Hailed as the greatest rock n' roll band in the world by a handful of morons that we spoke to last year, they now release their new CD, and if it's anything like their last CD, it will leave Tony and Sal baffled yet again as to why Red Buttons never got a dinner.

JET - SHINE ON. Hard retro-rockers follow up their very cool debut with an even cooler sophomore release. A little more produced, and not as many AC/DC-crossed-with-the-Faces -type rockers, but the kickass first single, "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is," is worth the price of admission alone.

KILLERS - SAM'S TOWN. We kind of liked their debut, Hot Fuss, although not as much as the rest of the world. This new release, although getting trashed in the new issue of Rolling Stone, is still highly anticipated by many. And hey, they gave the last Mick Jagger solo album five stars, so what do they know anyway?

AMOS LEE - SUPPLY & DEMAND. Lee made a name for himself with his debut on Blue Note, singing a dozen snoozerific tunes in an attempt to court the Norah Jones audience. Now we know it's very uncool to like Norah Jones, but the truth is, she's a lot better than Amos Lee.

SEAN LENNON - FRIENDLY FIRE. His first album, "Into The Sun," was a likable effort that could have been better if he'd tried a little harder. His new album, on the other hand, sounds like he's trying too hard. He's got a knack for melody and a talent for arranging, but even at the age of 31, he still sounds like a 14-year-old John Lennon. We know it must be tough being the son of a Beatle, but this guy just needs to relax and do what comes naturally. Maybe the Who need a keyboardist?

NRBQ - LUDLOW GARAGE 1970. The original lineup, which featured Steve Ferguson on guitar, not Big Al, is caught here in a legendary, crazy-ass performance, thanks to the fine people at Sundazed Records.

JOHN POPPER PROJECT - THE JOHN POPPER PROJECT. Featuring master of the turntables DJ Logic, this new release mixes Popper's unique harmonica style with Logic's ear for rhythm. Popper really blows on this one.

TONY'S PICKS OF THE WEEK!

As we mentioned earlier, the first two PRETENDERS albums, PRETENDERS and PRETENDERS II, get the long-awaited, much-needed, what-the-hell-have-you-been -waiting-for, these-CDs-sound-awful remastering they richly deserve. They each now feature a bonus disc of rare and unreleased material, most of which is NOT included on their recent box set. No collection is complete without the first album, and the second one is pretty amazing, too.

BOZ SCAGGS - HITS (EXPANDED). Nobody doesn't like Boz Scaggs, to paraphrase the great cake maker Sara Lee. Now, his hits collection gets remastered and five additional tracks. The 1976 masterpiece "Silk Degrees" had also been slated for remastering and expanding at the same time, but it seems to have disappeared. Anyone have an answer?

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - THE SEEGER SESSIONS (DELUXE EDITION). The "American Land" edition of this already-legendary album now features four additional live videos from the recent tour as well as the bonus audio tracks "Bring 'Em Home," "American Land," and "How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live." One of the best records of the year just got better.

TIM BUCKLEY - THE BEST OF. The first ever single disc compilation from a man who makes Elliott Smith seem like Donald O'Connor.

SAL'S PICK OF THE WEEK!

DON BYRON - DO THE BOOMERANG. Jazz great Byron gets together a killer band that features George Colligan on B-3, Brad Jones on bass, Curtis Fowlkes on trombone, and Chris Thomas King on vocals and guitar, for a 12 song tribute to the great Junior Walker. Funky and groovy, and totally out there.

STEFON HARRIS - AFRICAN TARANTELLA. Vibraphonist and composer Harris recreates three movements from Duke Ellington's classic "New Orleans Suite," two from his "Queen's Suite," and a few Harris originals.

NOW PAY ATTENTION!!!

To order any of these new releases, or anything else you may want, whether they're CDs or DVDs, you must send an email to HEYNYCD@aol.com, or call (212) 244-3460. SAL WILL NOT BE PLACING ORDERS THIS WEEK BUT TONY WILL BE! So if you directly reply to Sal, you will not get your CDs until the week of October 9. And you wouldn't want that, would you?

DON'T FORGET YOU NEED TO SELL US CDs and DVDs! CALL OR EMAIL!

DON'T FORGET ROBERT STACK IS A MUCH BETTER ACTOR THAN ROBERT REED!

DON'T FORGET TO BUY THINGS FROM US ON AMAZON!

DON'T FORGET TO BRING HOME A QUART OF MILK!

UNTIL NEXT WEEK, WE LEAVE YOU WITH THIS:

Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.

Your friends,
Tony Sachs and Baciagalupe Vafuoncuolo