JOHN MELLENCAMP
No Better Than This
www.mellencamp.com
Dist: Universal Music Canada


Produced by T Bone Burnett featuring 13 new original songs! Recorded with just one microphone and a vintage Ampex tape recorder at three historic locations!

In an age of auto-tuned, computerized recordings, John Mellencamp’s approach on his Rounder debut, No Better Than This, is refreshing. The entire album was recorded with Mellencamp and his band playing live in one room using a 55 year-old Ampex tape recorder and just one vintage microphone.
Legendary producer T Bone Burnett captured the stunning thirteen new Mellencamp originals at three historically important locations: Sun Studio in Memphis, TN (where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis all first recorded); the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, GA (the oldest Black church in North America, dating to 1775); and in Room 414 of the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, TX (where Robert Johnson made his first recordings in 1936). The songs on No Better Than This reflect classic American musical traditions including blues, folk, gospel, rockabilly, and country, while addressing such themes as the need for hope, the nature of relationships, and narratives that recount extraordinary occurrences in everyday life. Mellencamp says of the album, “It was absolutely the most fun I’ve ever had making a record in my life. It was about making music – organic music made by real musicians – that’s heartfelt and written from the best place it can come from.”

 

IRON MAIDEN
The Final Frontier
www.ironmaiden.com
Dist: EMI Music Canada

Thirty years on from their eponymous debut album in April 1980, The Final Frontier will be Maiden’s 15th studio album, making a remarkable average of a new album every two years for 30 years and totalling over 80 million album sales during this period.
The band reunited with long-time Maiden producer Kevin “Caveman” Shirley in early 2010 at Compass Point Studios, Nassau to record THE FINAL FRONTIER and then moved to LA to finish the recording and do the mixing. Compass Point Studio is very familiar to the band, it was where they recorded the Piece Of Mind (’83), Powerslave (’84) and Somewhere In Time (’86) albums.
The new album features artwork illustrated by Melvyn Grant, and is comprised of 10 new Iron Maiden compositions, clocking in at over 76 minutes in length. THE FINAL FRONTIER will be available in a special limited edition Metal Tin package at launch, as well as standard CD, Digital and Double Picture Disc vinyl.



BRIAN WILSON
Reimagines Gershwin
www.brianwilson.com
Dist: Universal Music Canada

Two American musical icons have created a listening experience like none other. Like Gershwin, Brian Wilson is one of the great composers of the last 100 years. On Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin, Wilson has re‐recorded and reimagined twelve classic songs from the Gershwin Brothers and completed two new Wilson/Gershwin compositions. The Gershwin estate gave Wilson access to rare, unfinished pieces of music by George Gershwin, with which Brian crafted collaborative compositions unlike anything the world has seen.



DAVID GRAY
Foundling
www.davidgray.com
Dist: Fontana North

David Gray’s new studio album Foundling is a stunning new effort by the internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter. It begins with those evocative and somewhat mysterious words. What follows is an extraordinary song cycle of rare and timeless power that bears a rather fitting title. As Gray puts it with a warm laugh, “__Foundling__ sort of arrived at my door without my asking it to, so it felt very appropriate for this album.”
Included with the full-length album will be a 9-song bonus disc featuring never before released material.



FILTER
The Trouble With Angels
www.officialfilter.com
Dist: Sony Music Canada

Eclecticism has been a hallmark of Richard Patrick’s career in Filter, and it’s administered with crushing efficiency on The Trouble With Angels. Fans weaned on the industrial outbursts and corrosive beats of 1995’s Short Bus and 1999’s title of record will be ecstatic to hear Patrick’s unmistakable scream and unflinching honesty dominating the new album. On the surface, leadoff single “the inevitable relapse” details a shattered man succumbing to addiction, but can be read as a study of love lost, consumption or obsession, depending on your perspective. “...it’s really a love song” says richard. Filter’s The Trouble With angels contains Richard Patrick’s strongest, most aggressive songwriting yet.



RAY LAMONTAGNE & THE PARIAH DOGS
God Willin’ & The Creek Don’t Rise
www.raylamontagne.com
Dist: Sony Music Canada


Grammy® nominated and critically acclaimed, Ray Lamontagne returns with his anticipated fourth studio album, “God Willin’ & The Creek Don’t Rise.” Entirely self-produced (for the first time) the album was recorded in two weeks at Lamontagne’s home in the woods of western Massachusetts. The newly restored historic home served as a homemade recording studio for Ray and his fellow musicians. With Ray’s vocals at the forefront of the songs and a loose, almost live sounding recording, the album stands as a testament to a band at the height of its powers.



JILL HENNESSY
Ghost In My Head
www.jillhennessy.com
Dist: Fontana Norh

Canadian born Jill Hennessy is taking a sharp turn from the small screen and going back to her musical roots as she gears up for the launch of her debut album Ghost In My Head.

Many fans will be familiar with Hennessy from her starring roles on the small screen (“Law & Order” and “Crossing Jordan”), however, her real roots are based in music. At the age of 17, the Canadian native packed up her belongings and headed for Toronto to pursue her passion for music. After gigs in subways and coffeehouses and playing small venues all over the city, Hennessy stumbled into a role in the Broadway musical production of “Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story. Guest artists on the album include Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Martie Maguire (Dixie Chicks) and the Texas country pedal-steel player / multi-instrumentalist / producer Lloyd Maines. Hennessy's musical style is powerful.



LISSIE
Catching A Tiger
www.lissie.com
Dist: Sony Music Canada

“Catching a tiger,” predominantly recorded with producer Jacquire King (Kings of leon, norah Jones, modest mouse) in Nashville, TN, is every bit the vibrant debut promised by last fall’s “Why You Runnin’” EP (Fat Possum), which introduced the heartland-native, California transplant lissie. “Why You Runnin’” amassed praise from Paste (‘Best of What’s next’), Nylon, Filter, Marie Claire, Bust, and the Boston Globe, to name just a few. “Catching A Tiger” and its advance “In Sleep” EP have already been earning rave reviews for this young songwriter across the pond in the UK with coverage in the Sun, the Sunday times, the Mirror (“One of the year’s true finds”), The Big Issue, and on the
BBC.



AMERICAN HI-FI
Fight The Frequency
www.americanhifi.com
Dist: Sony Music Canada

American Hi-Fi is back to their roots with their fourth studio album, Fight The Frequency. It’s the highly anticipated follow-up to 2005’s Hearts on Parade. The first single and video “Lost,” from the original line-up—Stacy Jones (singer/guitarist), Drew Parsons (bass), Jamie Arentzen (guitars) and Brian Nolan (drums) – will be released in coming weeks. The group issued its eponymous debut album in 2001, which lead to their hit single “Flavor of the Weak”. After successful worldwide touring, they released the live album Live from Tokyo and then the full album The Art of Losing, in 2002 and 2003 respectively.



SWEET THING
Sweet Thing
www.sweetthingmusic.com
Dist: EMI Music Canada

Sweet Thing is a five-piece Toronto band that plays infectious, high energy rock/pop songs that will get you singing, clapping & dancing. The band fuses pop hooks with Queen bombast, Beach Boys harmonies and Franz Ferdinand grooves to create a sound all their own. Sweet Things debut album is produced by Rob Shnapf (Beck, Elliott Smith, The Vines and Powderfinger).

Billboard Magazine picked SWEET THING as one of the five up and coming artists to watch.
CBC Radio 3 raves, “Charged with dueling guitars, foot stomping grooves, soulful harmony singing and a healthy dose of hand claps, they want to make you dance. Influences range from classic rock (The Beatles, CCR, The Band) to Motown/Soul (Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson) to indie power pop (Sloan, Ted Leo). This is music for the easily bored and the young at heart. The kids have got moxie!”



KEVIN COSTNER & MODERN WEST
Turn It On
kevincostnermodernwest.com
Dist: EMI Music Canada

*Released July 13, 2010

The modern genesis of Modern West began when Kevin’s wife, Christine, encouraged him to reconnect with his love of music.
However, the history of the band goes back over 20 years when Kevin met John Coinman in a dirty, downtown warehouse in Los Angeles during an acting workshop. John was a musician with an intense interest in acting and Kevin was an actor with an intense interest in music. They became friends and began to play and write music together along with another friend, Blair Forward. That collaboration turned into the band Roving Boy – a rock band with an edgy Western style and a small record deal in Japan where they had a #1 single called “Simple Truth”. As Kevin’s star began to rise, the band continued behind-the-scenes - playing, writing, and recording anytime they could get together. Coinman and Forward both ended up in Tucson, Arizona, where they met guitarist/producer Teddy Morgan and drummer Larry Cobb. So in 2005 when the three former Roving Boys decided to build a new band together, they brought in Teddy and Larry and named it Modern West.
Born from a shared love of music and comprised of a tight-knit group of longtime friends, Kevin Costner & Modern West draw their influences from a broad tapestry of American music and beyond.



JAH WOBBLE
Japanese Dub
www.30hertzrecords.com
Dist: Universal Music Canada

The background to Japanese Dub is best explained by Wobble himself: ‘For some time I’ve fancied having a crack at merging Japanese music with dub. I was very happy with the Chinese Dub album that I put together a couple of years ago, and was confident that I could do a similar job with Japanese styles. It can’t be denied that traditional Japanese music is heavily influenced by Chinese music. However, paradoxically, there is something unique and unmistakable about Japanese music. To an extent this is due to their distinctive chromatic modes, but above all the Japanese are incredible reductionists. Somehow they take other cultures’ ‘stuff,’ and in their own respectful way, rationalise it, reduce it, and thereby make it their own.



TAKING BACK SUNDAY
Live From Orensanz
www.takingbacksunday.com
Dist: Warner Music Canada


The members of Taking Back Sunday have been discussing doing a live acoustic recording in the vein of some of their favourite episodes of Unplugged for some time. In December of 2009, they came together in NYC to rehearse and rearrange some of their classic songs to fit a ‘theater in the round' format which worked perfectly in the amazing synagogue – Angel Orensanz - that the producers found for the two shows to take place. Surrounded by some of their longest supporters and hometown fans the band performed 11 favourite songs from their catalogue with new instrumentation. The performance expertly mixed by David Bendeth and enhanced by this beautiful setting is a one of a kind and will be a fan favourite for years to come.

ALSO AVAILABLE THIS WEEK:

AGUA DE ANNIQUE - IN MY ROOM
AIR SUPPLY - THE COLLECTION
ALABAMA - MOUNTAIN MUSIC "THE BEST OF ALABAMA"
ALICE COOPER - THE BEST OF ALICE COOPER
AMERICAN HI-FI - FIGHT THE FREQUENCY
ANTIBALAS - WHO IS THIS AMERICA?
ARAB STRAP - PHILOPHOBIA
ARAB STRAP - THE WEEK NEVER STARTS ROUND HERE
BLASKO, SARAH - AS DAY FOLLOWS NIGHT
BOB DYLAN - THE COLLECTION
BONEY M. - RIVERS OF BABYLON
BORIS & IAN ASTBURY - BXI
BRODY, DEAN - TRAIL IN LIFE
BROUGHT LOW, THE - THIRD RECORD
BROWNE, JACKSON - GOING HOME
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - THE COLLECTION 1973 -1984
BUCKET & CO - GUITARS, BEERS & TEARS
CAMPAGNE CARMEN - LA BELLE MOUSTACHE À PAPA
CAMU TAO - KING OF HEARTS
CHIEF - MODERN RITUALS
CROCODILES - SLEEP FOREVER
CYNDI LAUPER - TIME AFTER TIME: THE CYNDI LAUPER COLLECTION
DIRTY HEADS - ANY PORT IN A STORM
DOLLYROTS, THE - A LITTLE MESSED UP
DORA THE EXPLORER - WE DID IT! DORA'S GREATEST HITS
DOWNSPIRIT - POINT OF ORIGIN
DUBMATIX SYSTEM - SHAKEDOWN
DUKE ROBILLARD - PASSPORT TO THE BLUES
ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA - THE COLLECTION
ELVIS PRESLEY - CLASSIC ELVIS
FILM - THE BUILDER
FILTER - THE TROUBLE WITH ANGELS
GRAY, DAVID - FOUNDLING
HAMBONE - CONFLAGRATIONS
HANSON & DAVIS - CAN'T STOP - BONUS LP
HENNESSY, JILL - GHOST IN MY HEAD
HOLLY BUDDY - THE ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL 3
HOSTAGE CALM - HOSTAGE CALM
INSANE CLOWN POSSE - BIG MONEY RU$TLAS
JAH WOBBLE & NIPPON DUB - EN JAPANESE DUB
JOYCE SIMS - COME INTO MY LIFE - THE BEST OF
KENNY G - FOREVER IN LOVE: THE BEST OF KENNY G
KNIGHTS OF THE ABYSS - THE CULLING OF WOLVES
LADY GAGA - ULTIMATE FAN PACK (LTD ED
LADY GAGA - ULTIMATE FAN PACK (LTD ED
LESLIE STEVENS AND THE BADGERS - ROOMFUL OF SMOKE
LISSIE - CATCHING A TIGER
LISTER, AYNSLEY - TOWER SESSIONS
LLOYD MILLER & THE HELIOCENTRICS - LLOYD MILLER & THE HELIOCENTRICS
MELLENCAMP JOHN - NO BETTER THAN THIS
MILES DAVIS - KIND OF BLUE (VINYL)
MINISTRY - MIXXES OF THE MOLE
MINOTAURS - THE THING
MORBID CARNAGE - NIGHT ASSASSINS
PETER SALETT - ADDICTED TO DISTRACTION
RAY LAMONTAGNE - GOD WILLIN' & THE CREEK DON'T RISE
RIOTGOD - S/T
ROY ORBISON - PRESENTING... ROY ORBISON
SALEM - PLAYING GOD AND OTHER SHORT STORIES
SCHOFIELD, MATT - LIVE FROM THE ARCHIVE
SCORPIONS - HOT & SLOW - BEST MASTERS OF THE 70S
SHANNON WHITWORTH - WATER BOUND
SIMON & GARFUNKEL - AMERICA: THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL COLLECTION
SINATRA FRANK - THE ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL 3
SLAYER - LIVE INTRUSION
SOMEONE STILL LOVES YOU - BO LET IT SWAY
SOUNDTRACK - SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD
STEVE HOWE TRIO - TRAVELLING
STREET SWEEPER SOCIAL CLUB - THE GHETTO BLASTER (EP 10" LP)
SWEET THING - SWEET THING
TAKING BACK SUNDAY - LIVE FROM ORENSANZ (CD J/BOX)
THE DIG - ELECTRIC TOYS
THE LAST FELONY - TOO MANY HUMANS
THE POINTER SISTERS - JUMP: THE BEST OF
THEODORE SHAPIRO - DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS
VARIOUS - HORSE MEAT DISCO 2
VARIOUS ARTISTS - BEST OF BROADWAY
VARIOUS ARTISTS - 60 BAR-B-QUE SIZZLERS
VARIOUS ARTISTS - THE SWITCH: MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE
WALTER GIBBONS - JUNGLE MUSIC
WEBBER ANDREW LLOYD - MASTERPIECE
WILSON BRIAN - REIMAGINES GERSHWIN