Chronicling a landmark moment for blues guitar and music in the 21st century, Eric Clapton will release the new live album and concert film Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival 2023 on November 29, 2024. It will be available in various configurations, including 4CD/2Blu-Ray, 6LP Vinyl, 2DVD, and Digital (streaming & Dolby ATMOS mix).
Last year, Clapton hosted and curated the seventh installment of his Crossroads Guitar Festival on September 23 and 24 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA. It notably marked the event’s return after a four-year break, selling out the iconic arena on both days. Once again, Clapton carefully assembled a powerhouse cohort of influential guitarists representing various eras and styles. The impressive lineup boasted Joe Bonamassa, Clapton, Gary Clark Jr., Sheryl Crow, Eric Gales, H.E.R., Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Los Lobos, John Mayer, The Marcus King Band, Roger McGuinn, John McLaughlin, Santana, The Wallflowers, and many more. Not to forget, Bill Murray served as the evening’s “Master of Ceremonies.”
Coming together, the set rotated between blues staples, American Songbook classics, and generational rock ‘n’ roll anthems shocked to life by this elite six-string consortium.
The initial Pay-Per-View broadcast beamed out the performance to fans everywhere. Now, they can revisit the show on the 2DVD or 2Blu-Ray set. The Festival incited widespread critical applause. Forbes raved, “my God, it was breathtaking,” and Guitar.com summed it up best, “the lineup for this year’s Crossroads Festival could be described as—well, let’s just call it absolutely insane.” Guitar World hailed it as “a six-string celebration.”
Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival continues a legacy of its own, beginning with the first iteration in New York in 1999 and carried through Dallas, TX in 2004, Bridgewater, IL in 2007 and 2010, New York in 2013, and Dallas, TX in 2019. As always, all profits benefited The Crossroads Centre Antigua, a treatment and education facility for chemically dependent persons founded by Clapton.
The Festival has always served as a discovery point and launchpad for artists. Once again, it gathered the past, present and future of guitar music onto one stage for unparalleled musical events.
Originally compiled for U.S. release between January 1964 and March 1965 by Capitol Records and United Artists, seven Beatles albums have been analog cut for 180-gram audiophile vinyl from their original mono master tapes for global release on November 22 by Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe. Out of print on vinyl since 1995, the seven mono albums are available now for preorder in a new eight-LP box set titled The Beatles: 1964 U.S. Albums In Mono, with six of the titles also available individually.
All seven albums – Meet The Beatles!; The Beatles’ Second Album; A Hard Day’s Night (Original Motion Picture Sound Track); Something New; The Beatles’ Story (2LP); Beatles ’65; and The Early Beatles – feature faithfully replicated artwork and new four-panel inserts with essays written by American Beatles historian and author Bruce Spizer. The albums’ new vinyl lacquers were cut by Kevin Reeves at Nashville’s East Iris Studios. The box set collects the seven albums, and all except The Beatles’ Story are also available individually.
On February 7, 1964, scores of screaming, swooning fans gathered at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to catch a glimpse of John, Paul, George and Ringo as The Beatles took their first steps on American soil. Two nights later, on February 9, 73 million viewers in the U.S. and millions more in Canada tuned in to CBS to watch The Beatles make their American television debut on “The Ed Sullivan Show”. In this cultural watershed moment in American history, The Beatles performed five songs on the live broadcast. “Beatlemania”, already in full, feverish bloom in The Beatles’ native U.K. and developing in the U.S., exploded with blissful fervor across America and around the world. The British Invasion had begun.
Shortly before The Beatles’ history-making Stateside visit, Capitol Records secured exclusive U.S. rights to release the band’s recordings in a deal with EMI. The storied, already iconic record label rush released Meet The Beatles! on January 20, 1964. The album features 12 tracks drawn largely from the band’s U.K. album With The Beatles (released November 22, 1963). Showcasing the band’s original songwriting, Capitol replaced five cover songs from the U.K. album with three originals: both sides of The Beatle’s first Capitol single (“I Want To Hold Your Hand”/“I Saw Her Standing There”) and the latest U.K. single’s B-side (“This Boy”). The album hit Number 1 and held the top spot for 11 weeks, launching a hitmaking string of Beatles albums compiled, titled and packaged by Capitol for the American market.
By early April, more than 3.6 million Meet The Beatles! albums had been sold, and on the singles front, The Beatles swept the Billboard Hot 100’s top 5 positions on April 4, a stunning chart record that still stands. On April 10, Capitol released The Beatles’ Second Album. Its 11 tracks include the five covers not included on Meet The Beatles!, three songs previously released in the U.S. by the Swan and Vee-Jay labels, plus the B-side to the band’s U.S. “Can’t Buy Me Love” single (“You Can’t Do That”), and two new songs recorded in March during sessions for the band’s soon to be released debut film, A Hard Day’s Night (“I Call Your Name” and a cover of Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally”). Upon release, The Beatles’ Second Album replaced Meet The Beatles! atop Billboard’s albums chart for five weeks at Number 1.
On June 26, United Artists rush released the U.S. soundtrack album for A Hard Day's Night, which the studio would release to theaters nationwide in August. Along with its buoyant title track, the album features “Can’t Buy Me Love”, “And I Love Her”, and five more Beatles originals, as well as four George Martin-arranged orchestral instrumentals of Beatles songs. The soundtrack topped Billboard’s albums chart at Number 1 for 14 consecutive weeks, tallying a whopping 51 weeks on the chart. Capitol quickly released “A Hard Day’s Night” as a single, topping Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and selling more than a million copies in short order.
Released by Capitol on July 20, The Beatles’ Something New album includes five songs featured in the band’s A Hard Day’s Night film and six tracks new for America, including “Things We Said Today” and “Any Time At All”. Something New held at Number 2 on Billboard’s albums chart for nine weeks, just below the soundtrack.
Released in U.S. theaters in August, A Hard Day’s Night was a box office smash and a critics pick, earning two Academy Award nominations. Within days of the film’s release, The Beatles returned to North America for a monthlong mad dash of 32 concerts across the U.S. and Canada from August 19 to September 20.
Capitol’s next Beatles release was on November 23: The Beatles’ Story, described on its cover as “A Narrative and Music Biography of Beatlemania on 2 Long-Play Records.” A charming audio grab bag of band member interview clips and quips; Beatles song snips; instrumental versions of Beatles songs performed by the Hollyridge Strings; narration and Beatles storytelling by John Babcock and others; plus various other bits and bobs, the gatefold-packaged double album has a relatively short total runtime of 50 minutes across its four sides.
Capitol capped 1964 with the forward-looking Beatles ’65 album, rush released on December 15 and promising “Great New Hits by John * Paul * George * Ringo” on its cover. The album plucks eight tracks from the U.K. Number 1 Beatles For Sale album (released December 4), plus three more songs new for America, including “I’ll Be Back” and both sides of the band’s latest U.K. single (“I Feel Fine”/“She’s A Woman”). Out in time for the holidays, Beatles ’65 sold nearly two million copies within its first two weeks of release and held Number 1 for nine of its 71 weeks on Billboard’s albums chart.
1964 was a banner year for The Beatles in the U.S. (and all around the world), even by the band’s own ‘toppermost of the poppermost’ standards. The Beatles racked up 17 U.S. Top 40 singles including six Number 1s, six Top 10 albums including four Number 1s, and a blockbuster film. By year’s end, Capitol had sold more than 15 million Beatles records.
Capitol released The Early Beatles on March 22, 1965. The album’s 11 tracks were first released in the U.S. by Vee-Jay Records, starting in February 1963 with the “Please Please Me”/“Ask Me Why” single, with the rest issued in January 1964 on Vee-Jay’s Introducing The Beatles album. Vee-Jay also released three songs from that album as hitmaking U.S. singles in early 1964 (“Twist And Shout,” “Do You Want To Know A Secret,” and “Love Me Do”). Capitol’s exclusive American release rights for the tracks took effect in October 1964 upon settlement with Vee-Jay, and The Early Beatles collected them for their Capitol debut.
Sixty years on, Beatlemania is timeless. The Beatles’ beacon is alight evermore, renewed with the wonder of each generation’s joyful discovery and in creative exploration of the band’s music and cultural eminence by musicians, filmmakers, writers, and other fans of all stripes.
London label Transmission have announced a new edition of Porcupine Tree’s Grammy-nominated 2007 album Fear Of A Blank Planet to be released October 24. With a 112-page hardback book, five CDs, and a Blu-ray disc, the new edition includes remasters of Fear Of A Blank Planet and the Nil Recurring mini album, approximately 55 minutes of previously unreleased demos, an early live performance of a still work-in-progress version of the album, as well as BBC and instore session recordings - the most complete collection of the album and related material to date.
Highlights include a live recording of a work-in-progress version of the album made at The Garage, Saarbrucken on September 23, 2006, while the band were still refining and developing the material. This has been mixed from the multitrack tapes for the first time for this edition.
There's also a five-track BBC radio session (Maida Vale Studios, April 13, 2007) plus an eight-song acoustic / unplugged in-store performance from Park Avenue, Orlando (October 4, 2007).
A Blu-ray Disc includes remastered stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes of Fear Of A Blank Planet and Nil Recurring, as well as a new 2024 documentary, 'The Making of Fear Of A Blank Planet'. There's also three music videos, three songs performed live on film at The Palladium, Koln (December 4, 2007) and two live visual films.
Originally released in 2007, Fear Of A Blank Planet is Porcupine Tree's ninth studio album and both band and fans alike consider it to be a high point in their catalogue. Their biggest selling album at the time, it was the band’s first album to break into the Billboard Top 100 in the USA as well as charting significantly across Europe, earning them a Grammy nomination in the process. The album includes guest appearances from Robert Fripp (King Crimson) & Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson and featured in Rolling Stone Magazine’s Greatest Prog Albums Of All Time as well as being named Classic Rock’s Album of the Year in 2007.
A concept album inspired by the Bret Easton Ellis novel Lunar Park, Fear Of A Blank Planet’s lyrics address how the adolescent protagonist battles his terminal boredom and attention-deficit disorders with a regimen of prescription drugs, TV, computer gaming, mindless violence, empty sex, and self-harm.
Following the release of Fear Of A Blank Planet in 2007, Porcupine Tree solidified their reputation as one of the rock’s most celebrated bands with their 2009 release The Incident garnering critical acclaim and earning the band another Grammy nomination. After a significant hiatus while members moved on to other projects, 2022’s highly anticipated return with Closure/Continuation demonstrated the band's unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of their sound.
The Painted Turtle and The Bridge School are thrilled to announce “Harvest Moon,” a special daytime benefit concert featuring legendary musicians Neil Young and Stephen Stills, with additional artists to be revealed soon. Set against the stunning backdrop of The Painted Turtle camp in Lake Hughes, CA, this intimate event will take place on Saturday, October 5th, offering guests a unique opportunity to enjoy live music in a picturesque setting just 50 minutes from The Getty in Los Angeles. All proceeds will support The Painted Turtle, which provides children with serious medical conditions a free and transformative camp experience year round, and The Bridge School, which offers essential educational services to children with severe speech and physical disabilities.
The concert will begin as attendees arrive to the sounds of the marimba ensemble Masanga. As the day progresses, Neil Young and Stephen Stills will take the stage for individual sets, joined by other talented performers to be announced. The event will culminate with a sunset performance, creating a magical atmosphere for all who attend. The festival-like day will also feature family-friendly activities, including face painting, food trucks, and much more.
In order to maintain an intimate and uncrowded experience, ticket quantities are limited. General Admission tickets go on sale Friday, September 6 for $275 including fees. Sponsorship and VIP packages are available, with exclusive benefits such as overnight cabin stays, camp activities, and a gourmet dinner prepared by a top chef.
“We’re thrilled to welcome the community to Harvest Moon at The Painted Turtle,” said April Tani, Executive Director of The Painted Turtle. “This event not only brings together amazing musicians and families but also raises vital funds for two organizations committed to changing lives. It’s a day of music, fun, and philanthropy—what could be better?”
Recorded initially for a video release, the audio from the concert has, inexplicably, never been issued as a standalone release. Nor has a live album from the 1980s line-up previously appeared on vinyl. Sheltering Skies presents the complete King Crimson performance across two LPs pressed on 200-gram vinyl or a single CD, both completed with the addition of the recording of ‘The Sheltering Sky’ from the previous night’s concert at Cap d’Agde.
The 1980s King Crimson was, in terms of concert performances/album releases, still less than a year old when this album was recorded. The collective decades of experience of the individual musicians is funneled through the enthusiasm and freshness of the line-up and the newness of the material to produce a special concert recording.
While King Crimson material from this period is always in demand, with the forthcoming US tour by Beat (King Crimson’s Adrian Belew and Tony Levin, joined by guitarist Steve Vai and Tool drummer Danny Carey), performing the material from that period, there is increased interest in hearing this material as it was originally performed.
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