NEWSLETTER #35!

FOX'S U-BET CHOCOLATE SYRUP - JUST WANTED TO PUT THAT OUT THERE.

R.I.P. RED AUERBACH, JOE NIEKRO, TREVOR BERBICK, AND SILAS SIMMONS

(INSERT NON-MUSIC RELATED HEADLINE OF YOUR OWN HERE)

NEXT WEEK'S NEW RELEASES... HERE WE GO!!

Let's start out with our PICKS OF THE WEEK, which both happen to be box sets.

SAL'S PICK OF THE WEEK!

THE BEE GEES - STUDIO ALBUMS 1967-68. When not getting verbally abused for liking the Pet Shop Boys, I'm getting verbally abused for calling the Bee Gees one of the greatest bands of all time. And all I can say to that is, "Your mother was a toaster." For the first time since their initial CD release in the '80s, the first three Bee Gees albums (Bee Gees 1st, Horizontal, and Idea) get remastered and expanded into a limited edition box set. With over 40 bonus tracks, this set is essential. The Bee Gees gained twice as many fans as they lost when they released their legendary soundtrack Saturday Night Fever, but the majority of those new fans never really knew the brilliant songwriting and Brit-style pop of these seminal records. Hits like "To Love Somebody," "Massachusetts," "New York Mining Disaster 1941," "Holiday," "I've Gotta Get A Message To You," and "World" are all here, with the addition of deep album tracks that were just as strong, and a wealth of unreleased-on-CD B-sides, single mixes and demos. The Bee Gees inspired everyone from the Hollies to XTC to the Posies to Jellyfish and countless others. Take off your propeller hat and nose glasses and be proud to order this box set!

TONY'S PICK OF THE WEEK!

FRANK SINATRA - VEGAS. Four CDs and a DVD consisting entirely of unreleased live performances by the Chairman Of The Board from 1961-87. And for all you bootleg buyers who think you already have everything, more than half this set has never even come out illegally. Please excuse me while I go hold my breath and wait for the UPS guy to show up with a copy on Tuesday.

and now... THE REST OF NEXT WEEK'S NEW RELEASES!

JAMES BLUNT - BACK TO BEDLAM (2 CD EXPANDED EDITION). Talking about this record after talking about our picks of the week is like getting Mac Davis and Jackie Gleason to star in "The Sting II." But for those who care, the second disc is a full live concert recorded in Ireland in 2005.

J.J. CALE & ERIC CLAPTON - THE ROAD TO ESCONDIDO. Ol' Slowhand, who's gotten more mileage out of Cale's songs than ol' Cale himself, returns the favor and teams up with the legendary roots-rocker for this new release, which has the potential to be amazing as long as Clapton took off his lazy pants and showed up for the session.

ISOBEL CAMPBELL - MILK WHITE SHEETS. Her second solo record finds the ex-Belle & Sebastian vocalist collaborating with members of the Soup Dragons, Smashing Pumpkins, and the Vaselines. In 1994, this would have been the coolest thing ever. Now it's just an excuse to keep them all off the dole.

MORE "DEFINITIVE POP" SETS!

In the ongoing series of 2 CD, inexpensively priced anthologies from RHINO, the following will now be available as of Tuesday, the 7th:

MARSHALL CRENSHAW, BOBBY DARIN, MANHATTAN TRANSFER, SONNY & CHER, and AL STEWART.

This series is actually very good in that it gives you more than a single-disc best-of, but it doesn't add any filler by jamming both discs with non-essential tracks. By keeping the running time down on each CD (between 50 minutes and an hour, which still ain't bad), they're able to keep the list price down to less than $20.

FOO FIGHTERS - SKIN & BONES. A live document from the recent acoustic tour of one of the most successful hard rock bands today. The set list is career-spanning.

PAVEMENT - WOWEE ZOWEE: SORTED, TWO CDs AND A BOOK. We never really got these guys. Back in the '90s, lots of young indie hipsters would throw the band's name around in the same sentence as the Beatles, the Stones, Led Zeppelin and Mudhoney, but we were left cold. Still, somebody thought this record worthy enough for expansion, so it now includes 18 unreleased tracks, 9 non-album B-sides, 4 tracks from various compilation CDs, and 5 BBC Evening Session tracks, plus a 64 page book and an embossed slipcase. Kinda anti-indie, no?

WENDY & LISA - WENDY & LISA & FRUIT AT THE BOTTOM. Wounded Bird, our current favorite reissue label, remasters and expands the debut and sophomore releases from the girls of the Revolution (Prince's band, that is). Both these records were much better than people remember. Good funk-pop, as well as a Top 40 single or two. Each now includes bonus tracks and remixes!

TONY BENNETT & BILL EVANS - THE ALBUM. Arguably the best vocal performance of Bennett's career. Although reissued twice before, this 1974 classic gets reissued once again, this time with five previously unissued alternate takes and new liner notes by Will Friedwald. It really is brilliant, and worth a hell of a lot more than that dumb James Blunt CD.

YOU CAN ORDER ANY OF THESE FABU NEW RELEASES, AS WELL AS ANY NEW OR OLD CDs & DVDs THAT WE DIDN'T MENTION, BY EMAILING US AT HEYNYCD@AOL.COM OR BY PHONE AT (212) 244-3460!

A PLEA FOR PRODUCT!

All our old friends have been telling us that the music industry is dead, CDs are dead, and Norman Fell is dead. We don't believe them! But the closing of Tower Records and the diminishing amount of reissues tells us otherwise. So if you're one of the "digerati" who thinks that music that isn't on a hard drive is passé, then walk the walk like you talk the talk and SELL US ALL YOUR OLD CDs! Dying for both the Bee Gees and Sinatra box sets? BRING IN YOUR CDs and you can get them both in trade! WE WANT YOUR COLLECTIONS! We'll even come get them if you don't feel like leaving your house, providing you're within cab-ride distance. (Hey, while you're at it, SELL US ALL YOUR DVDs, TOO!)

SAL & TONY'S WANT LIST!

Anyone out there have the following CDs? We'll trade for those as well!

ORNETTE COLEMAN - SOAPSUDS, SOAPSUDS.
ORNETTE COLEMAN - CHAPPAQUA SUITE.
IAN HUNTER - ALL OF THE GOOD ONES ARE TAKEN.
JOHNNY JENKINS - TON TON MACOUTE.
COZY POWELL - OVER THE TOP.
MIKE VIOLA - TEMPLE OF STATIC.
TIM CURRY - THE BEST OF.
VARIOUS ARTISTS - THE EXOTICA TRILOGY.
PRICE-SULTON - LIGHTS ON.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: "Wow, how will you make the Sophie's Choice-like decision of which Aimee Mann show to go to, the one hosted by Fred Armisen or the one hosted by Paul Tompkins?" (special thanks to Smashmark)

UNTIL NEXT WEEK, WE LEAVE YOU WITH THIS:

Assuming the world is going to end any day now (thanks, W!), let's go out happy! Come on, people! Go out, have a few laughs, bungee jump, eat more hot dogs, booze it up, buy a hula hoop, scratch your ass with an awl, root for the Devil Rays, tip big, swim without a bathing cap, join the Mindy Cohn fan club, talk at the movies, do a spit take at your next job interview, listen to the Pet Shop Boys, and don't be afraid to get excited about music! Even James Blunt!

Your friends,
Simon Townshend & Jim Belushi