2006

Dr. Dre has produced several tracks for Snoop Dogg’s upcoming album, “The Blue Carpet Treatment,” due Nov. 21 via Doggystyle/Geffen. The new songs, which include “Imagine,” will be the duo’s first collaborative effort in roughly five years.

“Imagine” finds the two longtime friends and collaborators ruminating about hypothetical situations such as life without hip-hop (“Imagine Russell [Simmons] still struggling/no Def Jam,” Dre raps) and if Tupac Shakur never died.

“Blue Carpet” also boasts production from the Neptunes, Timbaland and Rick Rock, among others. Nate Dogg and Ne-Yo have joined the list of previously announced guest artists, which includes R. Kelly, Stevie Wonder, the Game and Ice Cube.

Source billboard.com.

Neil Young is finally ready to roll out releases from his long-rumored “Archives Performance” series. First up is “Live at the Fillmore East 1970,” due Nov. 14 via Reprise. The album features six as-yet-unannounced selections from Crazy Horse’s March 6-7 runs at the New York venue, at a time when late guitarist Danny Whitten was still a member of the band.

“Fillmore” will also be available in a CD/DVD edition featuring a high-resolution audio mix, photos from the show, Young’s handwritten song lyrics and press articles from the era.

In addition to core members Whitten, Billy Talbot (bass) and Ralph Molina (drums), the four shows found Crazy Horse augmented by producer Jack Nitzsche on electric piano. Among the songs featured in the set lists were “On the Way Home,” “Broken Arrow,” “Cinnamon Girl,” “Cowgirl in the Sand” and “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.”

Source billboard.com.

Previously unreleased tracks from Jack Johnson and Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder will see the light of day on the soundtrack to the Johnson-spearheaded surfing documentary “A Brokedown Melody.” The album is due Nov. 14 via Johnson’s Brushfire label; the film, which was released on DVD last year, will see theatrical release in November.

Johnson’s contributions are the tracks “Home” and “Sung,” the latter featuring Matt Costa and Zach Gill. Also included is an acoustic version of “Breakdown,” which Johnson wrote while traveling to Chile for a 2001 surf trip with his childhood hero, Gerry Lopez.

Vedder offers the ukulele track “Goodbye,” which he first performed at a March 15, 2002, solo show in Los Angeles. “A Brokedown Melody” is rounded out by previously released tracks from Kings Of Convenience, Built To Spill’s Doug Martsch, the Beta Band, M. Ward and Costa.

In related news, Brushfire has signed artist/producer Money Mark and will release his next album in January.

Here is the track list for “A Brokedown Melody”:

“The Cave,” Culver City Dub Collective
“Home,” Jack Johnson
“Know How,” Kings Of Convenience
“Heart (Things Never Shared),” Doug Martsch
“Goodbye,” Eddie Vedder
“We Need Love,” Johnny Osbourne
“Sung,” Jack Johnson with Matt Costa and Zach Gill
“Needles in My Eyes,” the Beta Band
“Transfiguration No. 1,” M. Ward
“The Road,” Matt Costa
“Vuelvo Al Sur (Koop Remix),” Astor Piazzolla
“Breakdown,” Jack Johnson

Source billboard.com.

Icelandic rock act the Sugarcubes will take the stage for the first time in 14 years Nov. 17 in Reykjavik. The group, whose most famous alumnus is Bjork, is reassembling to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its debut single, “Birthday.”

Proceeds from the show will be donated to the band’s Smekkleysa SM label, which “will continue to work on a non-profit basis for the future betterment of Icelandic music and artists,” according to a post on Bjork’s Web site.

Source billboard.com.