NEWSLETTER '07 #16!

MUSIC BUSINESS THRIVING!

GEORGE W. BUSH GREATEST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES!

PAULY SHORE GETS ANOTHER TV SERIES!

SAL AND TONY DELUSIONAL!

R.I.P. KITTY CARLISLE HART, DON HO

NEXT WEEK'S NEW RELEASES, AS WELL AS BUMPS AND DELAYS

and now... THE NEWSLETTER!

BULLETIN

Many of you ordered both the new Holly Cole and the US edition of David Bowie's Young Americans CD/DVD. They have been bumped to 5/1 and 6/5, respectively. Thank you for your patience! Please reorder when you see them in the appropriate newsletters a few weeks from now.

NEXT WEEK'S NEW RELEASES!

ARCTIC MONKEYS - FAVORITE WORST NIGHTMARE. It took a couple of listens for us to get into their debut because the hype surrounding it made us expect the next Sgt. Pepper, when it was really the next Goodnight Vienna. That said, we are looking forward to their followup, and their inevitable stadium tour.

THE BAND - THE BEST OF: A MUSICAL HISTORY (CD/DVD). As we say here in the NYCD office, "too much Band is not enough." If you missed out on the multi-disc box set, A Musical History, or if you just felt that it may have been too much for you (even though, as we just said, too much Band is not enough), here is a single CD from the box set, containing all the hits, some strong album tracks, and a couple of tracks that were unavailable apart from the box set. A version is also available which includes a DVD that features a half dozen of the videos that appeared on the box's bonus DVD.

FRANK BLACK - CHRISTMASS. Big Cholly Thompson, as we like to call him here when we're not saying how too much Band is not enough, got busy on his 2006 tour by not only playing live to partially packed houses but laying down some tracks in his hotel, too. This release comprises some live acoustic recordings and those hotel room tracks.

SAMMY DAVIS, JR. - SINGS JUST FOR LOVERS & STARRING SAMMY DAVIS, JR. His first two albums, from 1955, and they're proof that long before he was wearing Nehru jackets and calling everyone "Babe," he was an amazing singer of standards. First time on CD!

DETROIT COBRAS - TIED AND TRUE. There aren't many things that we all agree on here at the NYCD offices. One is that too much Band is not enough. The other is that the Detroit Cobras are about as hip and rockin' as Rose Kennedy on poppers. This new record does not break any new ground... THANK GOD! They do what they do best, which is take old R&B tunes, some of which you know and some of which you don't, and just have a party with them.

You know, another band who does this is THE COOL JERKS, and they just happen to be playing tonight! DON HILL'S, 511 GREENWICH ST. (off the corner of Spring), at 8 PM! Sal will be there, as well as all the other Jerks (we mean the band members). Tony & Rob will be there too, doing the Frug, the Monkey, and possibly even the Shing-A-Ling.

TIM FINN - IMAGINARY KINGDOM. The quirky Finn brother releases his strongest record to date. This is the perfect combination of the infectious pop that brother Neil created with Crowded House, mixed with the slightly more daring arrangements that Tim was noted for with Split Enz. This is a winner.

GOLDEN SMOG - BLOOD ON THE SLACKS. Sort-of-supergroup releases a followup EP to their super-commercial "Another Fine Day." Features six originals, an annoying cover of David Bowie's "Starman," and a Dinosaur Jr classic.

COLIN HAY - ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME? The Man is still Working. What could it be now? Straight from the land Down Under, Mr. Hay actually releases a fine new record of guitar-driven pop and some pretty ballads. So Be Good, Johnny -- put down that vegemite sandwich and order this! (Sorry, were the Men At Work jokes Overkill?)

MARIA McKEE - LATE DECEMBER. All of McKee's solo records have been worth a listen. We're hoping that this comes close to the brilliant "Life Is Sweet." We haven't heard it yet, so we can't say how much we hate it.

JOHN PRINE & MAC WISEMAN - STANDARD SONGS FOR AVERAGE PEOPLE. Just a fantastic record. Two weathered but warm voices running through a repertoire of such classics as "I Love You Because," "Pistol Packin' Mama," and "Old Cape Cod."

PICK OF THE WEEK!

LOU REED - HUDSON RIVER WIND MEDITATIONS. The 91-year-old Reed, who from what we hear has one of the nicest lawns in New York state, is also a longtime practitioner of yoga and tai chi. Here he takes a break from such commercial releases as "The Raven" to release a record of soothing harmonics so that the listener can settle his or her mind and open his or her heart. You too, after listening to this wonderful release, will also be able to look like a 91-year-old woman named Yetta. Thanks, Lou! Aaaaahhhhhh....

REAL PICK OF THE WEEK!

MARK RONSON - VERSION (UK IMPORT). Hot British producer who's turned both Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse into household names, depending on where your house is, releases his second solo album, and man, is it good. With the help of the aforementioned ladies as well as Robbie Williams and Daniel Merriweather, Ronson takes the current hit parade (tracks by Coldplay, Ryan Adams, the Kaiser Chiefs and Radiohead, to name a few) and turns them into a retro dance party. If that's hard to understand, you have to trust us that it's shaping up to be one of our Top Ten of the year. As of now, there is no US release, so if you do order the import, give us a week or two to get a hold of it.

SIMPLY RED - STAY. The Tina Yothers of British pop singers keeps churnin' 'em out, and that's OK, because Mick Hucknall's got a great voice, and he covers the Faces' "Debris" on this new 11 track release.

PATTI SMITH - TWELVE. Have you ever wondered what Patti Smith singing Tears For Fears would sound like? Well, wonder no more, because it's here, along with covers of The Beatles, Neil Young, Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix, and more. Not bad, Patti. All that's missing is "Old Cape Cod."

ANOTHER PICK OF THE WEEK!

MAVIS STAPLES - WE'LL NEVER TURN BACK. Produced by the legendary Ry Cooder, Miss Staples returns to what she does best -- the emotional soul and gospel that made the Staple Singers so damn good. Staples' voice is is better than ever and Cooder's production is clearly a labor of love, right down to the Pops-like tremolo on his guitar. This is one emotional powerhouse of a record.

VARIOUS ARTISTS - A TRIBUTE TO JONI MITCHELL. Great songwriter plus great musicians equals great tribute record. Artists involved include Prince, James Taylor, k.d. lang, Brad Mehldau, Sarah McLachlan, Bjork, Elvis Costello, Caetano Veloso, and Henry Kissinger doing "The Last Time I Saw Richard."

W.A.S.P. - DOMINATOR. Heavy metal legends return with an album we have absolutely no feeling about whatsoever -- we just wanted to ask this question: Who was lead singer Blackie Lawless' uncle? The answer -- Yankees pitcher Ryne Duren! Thank you very much.

LEONARD COHEN - REISSUES. Canadian poet and life of the party Leonard Cohen gets three of his legendary releases remastered with previously unreleased bonus tracks -- SONGS FROM A ROOM, SONGS OF LEONARD COHEN, and SONGS OF LOVE AND HATE.

JOSHUA REDMAN TRIO - BACK EAST. Featuring both original Redman compositions and some cover versions, Redman uses a handful of different rhythm sections to create what people are calling the strongest record of his career. We don't know who these people are, but we believe them, because this record is on Nonesuch. And as we always say here in the NYCD office, "Too much Band is never enough, and anything on Nonesuch sounds great once you sandblast it out of those stupid slipcases."

SLY & THE FAMILY STONE - REMASTERS. The bane of our existence has now been broken up into seven individual CDs for your listening pleasure. A WHOLE NEW THING, DANCE TO THE MUSIC, LIFE, STAND!, THERE'S A RIOT GOIN' ON, FRESH, and SMALL TALK. The obvious choices would be Stand, Riot and Fresh, and the one to avoid would be Small Talk. But truth be told, after giving all seven fresh listens, there's not a hack in the bunch. Even the least favorable Small Talk is much better than we ever remembered, and this particular reissue campaign has one more very amazing thing going for it -- the bonus tracks are not throwaways! So what are you waiting for? You need these!

ORDER THEM NOW! LINE FORMS TO THE RIGHT! CALL (212) 244-3460 OR EMAIL!

WE HATE AMERICAN IDOL AND ALL THAT IT STANDS FOR!

SELL US YOUR OLD CDs! SERIOUSLY! CALL OR EMAIL!

UNTIL NEXT WEEK, WE LEAVE YOU WITH THIS:

In the words of the great Penny Marshall, "Every day will hopefully be your last."

Your friends,
Kurt Ellling & Max Schmeling