2003

Back in the 1980s, McCartney had tried to get into Russia but was told a concert was out of the question. This time, he got the red-carpet treatment, including a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, who confessed that in Soviet times the Beatles were considered “propaganda of an alien ideology.” Putin, an ex-KGB agent, had no such hang-ups Saturday, giving McCartney and his wife, Heather Mills, a personally guided tour of the Kremlin. In return, McCartney serenaded Putin with “Let it Be.”
“Good evening, Moskvichi,” McCartney yelled to the fans, some who arrived in chauffeur-driven Mercedes and others wearing old Beatles concert T-shirts.
Tickets ranged from about $30 to $300. With average monthly wages around $140, the concert was a splurge for many.
Source yahoo.com.

The Family Way, Paul McCartney’s first try at film music, has been rereleased by the Montreal-based XXI-21 Records label. McCartney scored the British film in late 1966, while the Beatles were on break between the Revolver and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band albums.
The original version of the album was only 24 minutes long, with McCartney’s music performed mostly by the Claudel String Quartet. The new edition features the McCartney soundtrack along with two additional treatments of the music performed by the George Martin Orchestra and Carl Aubut.
Source launch.com.

Atari Inc. said it had sold more than 1 million copies of “Enter the Matrix” one week after the computer and video game hit shelves in the United States and Europe.
The game was released May 15, the same day as the movie it is tied to, “The Matrix Reloaded.” The game includes additional footage and is one of the most expensive ever made.
In early May, the company said it expected to sell 4 million units of the game for a total of $160 million in revenue. Infogrames had total sales of $770 million for the year ended in June and does about 65 percent of its sales in the United States. Atari sales expectations, if reached, would put “Enter the Matrix” on track to be one of the best-selling games of all time.
Source yahoo.com.

Blues Traveler has firmed up plans for a U.S. tour to carry the group through summer. Beginning May 31 at Pensacola, Florida’s SpringFest, Blues Traveler hits large venues and several festivals in June, July, and August. The 16-date outing wraps up August 31 at The Beach in Las Vegas. The stretch will include the band’s traditional Independence Day stop at Denver’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre, with performances on both July 3 and 4.
In addition, Blues Traveler has been in the studio this year working on a new album, tentatively named Truth Be Told. Although expected around July, they have not set a specific release date.
Source musictoday.com.

Thirty-seven years after aborting his most ambitious project midway through recording, former Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson plans to resurrect the long-lost “Smile” album in U.K. concerts next year.
Wilson has set four dates at London’s Royal Festival Hall for February 2004 as well as five additional shows throughout the U.K. the following month.
“Smile” was intended to be the follow-up to the Beach Boys’ best-known album, 1966’s “Pet Sounds” (Capitol). Later that year, the symphonic hit single “Good Vibrations” gave listeners an idea of the direction Wilson was planning to take the music. The artist had extensive plans for the album, and was working with lyricist Van Dyke Parks on a number of tracks.
In December 1966, Wilson delivered to Capitol a tentative track list for the album, but in early summer 1967, with recording sessions already having lasted far longer than for any previous Beach Boys album, the group scrapped “Smile.” A separate album, “Smiley Smile,” was hastily assembled and featured “Good Vibrations,” a handful of intended “Smile” cuts, and newly written material.
Sourcecnn.com.

Elvis Costello, Pete Yorn, Billy Bragg, Dan Bern and Patty Griffin are among more than thirty artists contributing tracks to a two-CD Bruce Springsteen tribute album that will benefit two charities.
Sal Trepat, who publishes the Spanish Springsteen magazine Point Blank, and Bob Benjamin, organizer of the annual Light of Day fundraising concerts for the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, organized the project. Benjamin, who manages Springsteen’s friend Grushecky, learned he had the disease seven years ago. His foundation and the Kristen Ann Carr Fund will split all proceeds from sales of the double disc. Carr, who died ten years ago of sarcoma (a form of cancer), was the daughter of Springsteen’s co-manager, Barbara Carr.
Source RollingStone.com.

The film, tentatively titled “Bob Dylan Anthology Project,” planned for release in 2005, will chronicle Dylan’s 1963 breakthrough and the cultural and political influence of his music, Scorsese and his producing partners said Tuesday.
“I’ve admired and enjoyed his many musical transformations,” Scorsese said in a statement. “For me, there is no other musical artist who weaves his influences so densely to create something so personal and unique.”
The documentary is in the tradition of “The Last Waltz,” Scorsese’s 1978 concert film about The Band, which also featured Dylan. The Dylan film is expected to feature live concert performances, studio recording sessions and a rare interview with the singer-songwriter.
Source cnn.com.

Roxio has acquired online music service Pressplay from Universal Music Group (UMG) and Sony Music Entertainment and plans to revive it under the Napster name before March 2004. As previously reported, Roxio, a maker of CD burning software, acquired Napster’s assets late last year.
Should the new Napster service turn a profit, UMG and Sony are each eligible to receive up to $6.25 million. Additionally, UMG and Sony each will have a representative on Roxio’s board of directors.
The two major label groups have pumped an estimated $60 million into developing Pressplay since its bow in 2001. The venture has content licensing deals with all five major labels and a host of independents, as well as distribution agreements with Roxio, Yahoo!, and Microsoft.
Source Billboard.com.