With a mix of instrumentals and compositions featuring guest vocalists, the album has two distinct feels – one of vital rock and one of 80’s throwback. But it’s the strong guest vocal numbers, such as David Bowie’s spectral croon on “Isn’t It Evening,” adding a mysterious aura over Slicks’s subtle guitar fades that provides us with a handful of ripe moments.
The legacy of Seattle rock act Alice In Chains will be celebrated on a two-disc retrospective, “The Essential,” due March 16 from Columbia/Legacy. The 29-track album features the most well-known hits from the Layne Staley-led group, a stalwart of rock radio in the 1990s and an undeniable influence on such recent acts as Staind and Godsmack, the latter of whom is named after an Alice In Chains song.
Beyond familiar songs such as “Them Bones,” “Rooster,” “No Excuses,” “Heaven Beside You,” “Would?” and “I Stay Away,” the set sports two contributions to the 1993 “Last Action Hero” soundtrack (“What the Hell Have I,” “A Little Bitter”) that have been remixed by producer Toby Wright. Also included are two cuts from the group’s 1996 “Unplugged” release and the 1999 boxed set “Music Bank.”
Staley’s struggles with drug abuse had derailed Alice In Chains by the release of its 1995 self-titled album, the last it would record. He was rarely seen in public in the ensuing years and was ultimately found dead of a drug overdose on April 19, 2002, in Seattle.
Here is the “Essential” track list:
Disc one:”We Die Young””Man in the Box””Bleed the Freak””Love, Hate, Love””Am I Inside””Brother””Got Me Wrong””Right Turn””Rain When I Die””Them Bones””Angry Chair””Dam That River””Dirt””God Smack””Hate To Feel””Rooster”
Disc two:”No Excuses””I Stay Away””What the Hell Have I” (remix)”A Little Bitter” (remix)”Grind””Heaven Beside You””Again””Shame in You””Over Now” (unplugged)”Nutshell” (unplugged)
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Former Smashing Pumpkins/Zwan leader Billy Corgan has begun work on his solo debut, according to posts by the artist on his official Web site. “I am excited to work on this music, because for the first time in my life it will be my tunes with no compromises to anyone or anything,” he writes. “It’s gonna be loud and beautiful and poetic and dumb. Just the way I like it.”
While Corgan will be guiding the project, he alluded to participation from other artists. “I come in with no songs but maybe one or two, no lyrics, no band (but a few Santa’s helpers lined up) and no dairy,” he said. Perhaps in reference to long-standing rumors that he erased the studio work of his Smashing Pumpkins bandmates in favor of re-recording their parts himself, he said, “some would argue that it’s not my first [solo album], and I wouldn’t argue with you there.”
Zwan broke up less than a year after the early 2003 release of its Warner Bros. debut, “Mary, Star of the Sea.” This time around, Corgan says he is looking forward to “starting over from such a fresh perspective that there is nothing to rely on but my good name. I am being honest when I say I am ready for that and love the challenge and relish the mustard.”
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With a nomination for best score and two nods in the song category, “Cold Mountain” dominates the musical contenders for the 76th annual Academy Awards. Composer Gabriel Yared earned his third nomination for his score for the Civil War epic, while Sting and the team of T-Bone Burnett and Elvis Costello each earned song nominations.
Sting’s nomination for “You Will Be My Ain True Love” is his third Oscar nod. Burnett and Costello’s collaboration, “Scarlet Tide,” gives each his first nomination. Both songs are performed by Alison Krauss on the film’s DMZ/Columbia soundtrack.
Also nominated in the song category is “Into the West,” written by first-time nominee Annie Lennox in tandem with veterans Fran Walsh and Howard Shore, who have been nominated seven and three times, respectively. The Lennox-performed theme of “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” won the comparable honor at Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards.
Rounding out the category is “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow” from the folk music parody “A Mighty Wind.” The song was written by the film’s co-star and “Spinal Tap” alum Michael McKean and his wife, Annette O’Toole, and is the first nomination for each.
In the score field, Yared will go up against Shore’s formidable “Lord of the Rings” work, which won him the Golden Globe. Also nominated are Danny Elfman’s “Big Fish” score, Thomas Newman’s “Finding Nemo” work and James Horner’s music for the film “House of Sand and Fog.”
The final installment of director Peter Jackson’s trilogy, “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” leads all films with 11 Oscar nominations, including best picture and director. The seafaring epic “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” is close behind with 10 nominations, also netting best picture and director nods.
The best picture category is rounded out by “Lost in Translation,” “Mystic River” and “Seabiscuit.”
ABC will broadcast the Academy Awards Feb. 29 live from Los Angeles. Actor/comedian Billy Crystal will take his eighth turn hosting the ceremony, which will be held at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ Kodak Theatre.
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With four nominations each, String Cheese Incident and Gov’t Mule lead the field for the fourth annual Jammy Awards. Set for March 16 at New York’s Roseland Ballroom, the event recognizes the best among the crop of jam bands, with a concentration on live performance.
SCI is up for live performance of the year for an Aug. 2, 2003, set in North Plains, Ore. The group also earned a nod for DVD of the year for “Live at the Fillmore Auditorium,” plus studio album and album cover of the year for “Untying the Not,” all on the band’s own Sci-Fidelity label.
Gov’t Mule is nominated in the live album and DVD of the year categories for “The Deepest End,” as well as for the May 3, 2003, performance in New Orleans that spawned the releases. The show boasted Les Claypool, Bela Fleck, Sonny Landreth, George Porter Jr., Dave Schools and Victor Wooten, among others, joining the band on stage. Gov’t Mule’s fall Rebirth of the Mule trek also netted the Warren Haynes-led band a nod for tour of the year.
A lifetime achievement award honoree will be announced closer to the event. Singer/guitarist Bob Weir was on hand at last year’s event to receive the honor on behalf of the Grateful Dead.
Produced by Relix Magazine, Jambands.com and concert promoter Peter Shapiro, the event largely consists of performances by nominees and other prominent members of the jam band community. “The improvisational music scene continues to expand, evolve and diversify,” Shapiro says. “And the Jammy’s is a night to celebrate that diversity.”
Source billboard.com.
To vote, please visit jammys.com.
