Hidden Track

Lifted from an October 2007 interview with our very own Ace:

AC: Let me switch gears again…I thought the Gathering of the Vibes solo set you played in 2002, if I may cloak my objectivity here for a minute, was one of the most fucking perfect acoustic sets of music I’ve ever heard. Do you have these yens to do get out and do some more solo shows?

RG: Yeah, I like it. And that is a show that I’m proud of — it was a defining moment. Kind of like an “I’m here to stay” kind of thing. That might be why it was what it was; there was a lot riding on it. Yes, I like it, and I’d like to do more of it, whether it’s incorporating it into the AoD set or solo shows or whatever. In fact, it’s something I discussed recently, and I would like to do more of it.

In the comments section, myself and Paul Robinson (Owner of The Stone Church) chime in to comment on the interview and express their hopes to see a Reid Solo tour in the future.

04/10/08: Tin Angel, Philadelphia PA
04/11/08: Iron Horse, Northampton MA
04/24/08: Higher Ground, South Burlington VT
04/25/08: Sullivan Hall, New York City NY
05/01/08: The Stone Church, Newmarket NH
05/02/08: Harpers Ferry, Allston MA

These dates mark Reid’s first ever “official” solo tour. Click here for a ZIP file of 320kb MP3s of the SBD from Reid’s Solo Set from Gathering Of The Vibes 2002.

Reid on for four amazing clips of Genauer performing solo and an interview…

We’ve got yet another new festival to tell you about, and this one takes place nine miles from Denver. The inaugural Mile High Festival will feature five stages of music spread out across 24 soccer fields at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City on July 19-20. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Dave Matthews […]

It’s not every day we can compare and contrast Death Cab For Cutie and Phish, so we’re gonna take our shot while we can. We were shocked when DaveO forwarded us a copy of Stereogum’s review of Death Cab For Cutie’s new single. The author compares the beginning of I Will Possess Your Heart to […]

There is a new sheriff in town. As of now, Battlefield Earth is but a deputy alongside Gigli and Little Nicky. The new worst film in the history of the world is Across the Universe. Call me a sensationalist; I don’t care, this movie sucks – A Tour De Manure.

Like any self-respecting music fan, I creamed in my pants when I heard about the release of a new coming-of-age story in the late 60s set entirely to the music of the Beatles. I mean, what could go wrong. This sounds like a recipe for a masterpiece. Let’s fire up the bong and head to the theater right? WRONG.

In all my haste and excitement, I overlooked one very important detail. The movie is not set to the music of the Beatles, but rather the movie is entirely comprised of the actors and actresses performing the music of the Beatles. In other words, it’s a musical. Read on for more of Rupert’s rant about Across The Universe…

Well the Tea Leaf Green fans have done it…and that is awesome because ballot-stuffing is encouraged here at Hidden Track. Turns out Trevor really is the best one to sing “I Am An Old Woman”…Seriously though, nice turnout! DGold, the person who had TLG on his radio show in the first place to play this song, said he listened to all eight versions and ended up casting his vote for Susan Tedeschi – you sir are why we do this.

Onwards to Volume 5, this week we’ll be listening to interesting renditions of Paul Simon’s 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover. Paul Simon is very guarded when song meanings are attempted to be extracted from him, and this single from his album Still Crazy After All These Years is no exception.

Read on to get DaveO’s tale of the tape on this week’s song and competitors…

We’ve given Rhino Records and the Grateful Dead tons of shit in the past for their lack of releases, but now we’re gonna give them some props. That’s because Rhino and the Dead are teaming up to put out a comprehensive nine-cd box set containing nearly every note they played (one encore wasn’t recorded) on […]

We’re extremely honored to welcome Randy Ray onto the Hidden Track team. You’re probably familiar with Randy’s work on both Relix and Jambands, but he’s also authored two novels with a third on its way. Here’s Randy’s first column:

Most people are unaware that on the initial release of London Calling, The Clash’s landmark double album, their hit single, arguably the most commercial piece of old school ear candy the band would ever record, wasn’t even listed on the sleeve.

Train in Vain appeared as a hidden track, the last song on side 4, kicking in after Revolution Rock, and solidified the legendary status of the album and the band. The gesture also spoke volumes about the post-punk quartet’s confidence that a) they could record a cool, timeless track, and b) they didn’t need to shove the product down the consumer’s throat by highlighting its appearance with even a slight mention on the sleeve.

That sort of hidden track mentality also feeds into my philosophy of live music and film. Like most people who either write or consume the many morsels of heady and witty words on this site, we are longtime Phish fans, as well—just sort of comes with the territory these days like the idea that most of us are either post-college, in college or live near one of those brick or ivy institutions. Anyway, I take that fact as a given and it follows that a lot of the old Phish head way of thinking feeds into our daily lives beyond the “1 for 3, 2 for 5” and “brotha can ya spare an extra” ingrained information.

The best comment I ever heard about improvisation actually came from Phish keyboardist, Page McConnell when he very simply stated that if the band had not been venturing out into the Great Unknown for 15 minutes, they would not have reached that point where everyone was in sync, a new form of music was being created on the spot, and the entire audience was part of that process. There are numerous examples from a 20-plus year career where Phish did, indeed, find this passage of space after the 10- or 12- or McConnell-branded 15-minute demarcation mark. Suffice to say, it required the band and fan to be patient through quite a bit of improvising before one got to that sweet spot.

Read on to find out what film Randy chose as the first Hidden Flick…

Move over Wilco and My Morning Jacket, jam fans may have a new indie band to embrace – Of Montreal. While they may be best know for an insane arty stage show, nonsensical song names and the peddlers of the Bloomin’ Onion – they are also no stranger to the art of the cover song […]

Over the past 12 months we’ve seen a number of bands create innovative methods to try to beat the dreaded internet leak. The latest brilliant ploy comes from The Raconteurs who have just announced that they will release their second album, Consolers Of The Lonely, on vinyl, cd and digital formats next Tuesday. In a little over a week we’ll have 14 new tracks from the supergroup.

The Raconteurs finished recording the album two weeks ago, and have opted to bypass the traditional “first week sales” marketing push the record labels love so much. Instead they plan to release Consolers Of The Lonely, and then promote the album after everyone has a chance to hear the music at the same time. We figure that there are some major label execs that are hoping the new album goes down like a lead balloon, but we’re banking on Jack White and the boys to deliver another delicious serving of rock. Read on for the full letter from the band, including the outstanding news that they plan to sell 320kbps mp3s.

For their Rolling Stone cover shoot back in 1992 Kurt Cobain famously wore a t-shirt declaring “Corporate Magazines Still Suck” as a way of sticking it to the establishment that was fawning over the band and seeing dollar signs. I’d like to see what Kurt’s reaction would have been to the new limited edition line […]