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(Listen) Rare, Unreleased Elton John Track from 1969 Comes from “Jewel Box,” New Collection of Rarities and Demo’s

Roger Friedman
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(Listen) Rare, Unreleased Elton John Track from 1969 Comes from “Jewel Box,” New Collection of Rarities and Demo’s

See that picture? Remember that guy? That was Elton John, like, in the 60s! He had hair! So did I!

Now known as Sir Elton, he’s releasing a big “Jewel Box” of demos and rarities and an unreleased song called “Sing Me No Sad Songs.” It’s all coming on November 13th in all different formats and I want it!

“Jewel Box” unearths everything Elton has never released. It’s like going through his notebooks.
Here’s the breakdown:

Discs 1 & 2: Deep Cuts – A selection of personal favorites, curated by Elton. The box set book includes a track-by-track commentary by Elton.

Discs 3, 4, and 5: Rarities 1965 -1971 – Elton’s much sought-after 1960s and early 1970s demos and music that cemented the foundations of the iconic Elton John / Bernie Taupin writing partnership. The compelling, previously unreleased, missing piece in his illustrious career. Daryl Easlea narrates this fascinating story with contributions from those who were there at the time. These discs encompass 65 songs, all but a few of which have been stored in the vaults for more than 50 years. Most of these demos were recorded during sessions before Elton was signed to a recording contract or released his first album. Also included are the first song ever written by Elton and his debut appearance on a record (both “Come Back Baby” – 1965), Elton and Bernie’s first composition (“Scarecrow” – 1967), and newly-unearthed piano/vocal demos of some of Elton’s most acclaimed songs from his early albums. The packaging appropriately contains rare archival artwork and select original lyric sheets.

Discs 6 & 7: B-Sides 1976-2005 – Non-LP tracks and flipsides, never before compiled together. 36 gems that are now given another chance to sparkle – 17 previously only available on vinyl, resulting in all of Elton’s studio B-sides now being offered digitally for the first time in his career.

Disc 8: And This Is Me . . . – To coincide with the release of the updated paperback edition of Me, the final collection celebrates the songs mentioned by name by Elton in his acclaimed autobiography, closing Jewel Box with the 2020 Academy Award-winning duet with Taron Egerton, “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again.”

Grammy Special Merit Show Set for October 16th, PBS: Sam Moore, Cyndi Lauper, Philip Bailey, John Legend Among Performers

Roger Friedman
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Grammy Special Merit Show Set for October 16th, PBS: Sam Moore, Cyndi Lauper, Philip Bailey, John Legend Among Performers

The Grammys have set October 16th for their PBS show saluting this year’s Lifetime Achievement winners with Special Merit Awards.

The winners this year were Chicago, Roberta Flack, Isaac Hayes, Iggy Pop, John Prine, Public Enemy, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. There are also trustee awards for famed composer Philip Glass, former Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich, and Frank Walker.  George Augspurger was recognized with the Technical GRAMMY® Award. Mickey Smith Jr. will also accept the Music Educator Award™ as this year’s recipient.

The show on PBS is exceptional. The great record producer and racounteur Jimmy Jim Harris is hosting. R&B legend Sam Moore is singing his Sam & Dave hits all written by Isaac Hayes. Other performers include Laurie Anderson, Philip Bailey, Brandi Carlile, Cynthia Erivo, Chris Isaak, Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires, Cyndi Lauper, Leslie Odom, Jr., and Yola. Presenters include Rhiannon Giddens, Joe Mantegna, John Legend, LL COOL J, Greg Phillinganes, Henry Rollins, and Don Was.

Greg Phillinganes is the music director extraordinaire. (If it weren’t for Greg, Rickey Minor, and Narada Michael Walden, we would really be nowhere up a river in a canoe without paddles, kids.)

Last year’s show was held in the Dolby Theater in Hollywood with many honorees performing along with their pals. Remember how Garth Brooks flew in to honor Sam Moore? This year, with the pandemic, the show was pre-taped. But I know for a fact that the producers spent a lot of time to make into something memorable. BTW, watch out for Yola. She sang at this year’s MusiCares back in January. She’s about to break out star-wise.

 

RIP Erudite, Curmudgeonly Stanley Crouch, 74, A Friend, a Hero, A Culture Critic and Jazz Man

Roger Friedman
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RIP Erudite, Curmudgeonly Stanley Crouch, 74, A Friend, a Hero, A Culture Critic and Jazz Man

There are a lot of good obits today for Stanley Crouch. I liked the ones on NPR and the NY Times, and Leonard Greene’s piece in the New York Daily News.

I realized when I heard that Stanley died today at 74, I hadn’t seen him in some time. He used to come to a lot of Peggy Siegal’s movie luncheons and dinners, where he asked serious questions and added intellectual heft to the proceedings. We met at one of those events probably around 1998.

He was a fan of the movie I made with DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, “Only the Strong Survive,” about R&B music. Stanley was an outstanding jazz critic and he understood the whole thing, the lives of musicians, their roots and their fates. He was very cool, you know. With his deep, scratchy rumbling voice he had come to embody jazz. And when I needed a sounding board, he was there.

It’s hard to believe he wrote for the Daily News, which was not particularly cool, but it was New York, working class, liberal and he was in tune with it. He published many books of essays, all the more topical right now. “The All-American Skin Game, or Decoy of Race: The Long and the Short of It, 1990-1994” resonates in 2020.

Stanley wrote: “Just as important to my sense of what is is to be done is the clarity the years have allowed me in terms of recognizing my most inspirational historical forebears, the people I could never know personally. They came from nowhere to somewhere; they made a way where there was no way; they moved from outside the argument into the center of the dialogue and helped define its direction and determine its highest ideals.”

And that’s what he did. I am so sorry we’ve lost him, but his work lives on.

 

 

Alicia Keys’s Postponed “Alicia” Coming Thursday Night, Half the Album Already Released as Singles

Roger Friedman
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Alicia Keys’s Postponed “Alicia” Coming Thursday Night, Half the Album Already Released as Singles

Alicia Keys is finally releasing her “Alicia” album Thursday night at midnight. It has 15 tracks, 7 of them have already been released in some form, so it’s really just 8 new songs.

“Alicia” is four years in the making since Keys’s last album, “Here,” which was a sales disappointment and had no singles. It disappeared as it arrived.

With the new album, at least Alicia had a nice hit with “Underdog,” and got some action of a few of the others. “Perfect Way to Die” should have been treated more seriously upon its release, it should have been the “Living for the City” of this album and time. Maybe it can be revived.

Most of the songs are co-written, although the opener, “Truth Without Love,” is a solo effort. And Alicia has written a song called “Jill Scott,” which features Jill Scott. Alicia is said to have been knocked out by Jill Scott’s Verzuz battle with Erykah Badu and asked Ms. Scott to be on the album. That battle was on May 9th, well after March 20th, the day before “Alicia” was supposed to have been released the first time. Clearly “Alicia” was not ready then or for May 15th. If the pandemic hadn’t arrived, I wonder what the excuse would have been for no album?

Anyway, think of it: Alicia Keys has been around since 2001. I met her the year before that. She was Clive Davis’s first star on his J Records, and had the full force of his team, Peter Edge, et al. driving her to stardom. “Alicia” is only her 7th album in 19 years. She has not been prolific. But she’s been a steady and welcome presence for a generation. Her best song remains “If Ain’t Got You.” Her most popular song is definitely her reworking of “Love on a Two Way Street” into “Empire State of Mind.” Let’s hope “Alicia” is received warmly, and that there are some nice surprises on it.

See you tomorrow night.

 

“SNL” New Season Will Have 3 New Players, As Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant Will Come and Go, Kate McKinnon in for Election Shows

Roger Friedman
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“SNL” New Season Will Have 3 New Players, As Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant Will Come and Go, Kate McKinnon in for Election Shows

The new season of “Saturday Night Live” will bring changes galore, besides having a smaller live audience.

For one thing, according to reports, Jim Carrey will be playing Joe Biden. This will come as a bit of a sting to Jason Sudeikis, who originated Biden years ago when he was a regular. But Woody Harrelson played Biden last season, and now Carrey will step into the role. I wish they’d asked Sudeikis back, but this is like replacing Darrell Hammond with Alec Baldwin for Trump.

Three new players are joining the show: Lauren Holt, an actor and comedian; Punkie Johnson, a comedian and writer; and Andrew Dismukes, a stand-up comic who has been a staff writer at “SNL.”

Holt looks like she might be groomed as a replacement for Aidy Bryant, who Lorne Michaels has said will come and go this season while she shoots her series, “Shrill.” Cecily Strong is shooting a series in Vancouver, so Michaels tells New York Mag’s Vulture she’ll be green-screened in when she can’t be in New York. And Kate McKinnon? Michael says she’s “here for the election shows” somewhat enigmatically. After that, McKinnon could very well be moving on.

And Alec Baldwin? Now that he has five small children to support, you don’t hear him making noises about playing Donald Trump. It’s easy money and not much of a commute. When Biden wins the election, though, that may be the end of the line for his famous impersonation.

PS Congrats to Lorne. “SNL” won a bunch of creative arts Emmys earlier this week. Eddie Murphy is sure to win as Guest Star in a Variety series from last season. Forty six seasons and still at the top of the heap!

Showstopper: Kanye Posts Video of Himself Urinating on a Grammy Award Placed in Toilet — He Has 21 Grammy Awards!

Roger Friedman
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Showstopper: Kanye Posts Video of Himself Urinating on a Grammy Award Placed in Toilet — He Has 21 Grammy Awards!

Kanye West has posted a video to Twitter in which he’s urinating on a Grammy Award placed in a toilet. It’s him, he’s wearing his ugly sneakers. Kanye has 21 Grammy Awards from 69 nominations!!!! It’s not like they’ve snubbed him.

This is an act of mental illness. It’s crude, coarse, and completely inappropriate. In all these years, the Grammys have done nothing to Kanye. But he’s made a fool of himself on stage, interrupted the show, and called them names. This is the last straw.

What he doesn’t realize is that plenty of his colleagues have won or been nominated for Grammys. They just acted in a civil, human way. This is crossing the line. Even for someone with bipolar condition.

PS Kanye is a presidential candidate from the Birthday Party. Yes, It’s true.

Hit songwriter Diane Warren responded on Twitter: “How vile and disrespectful of U. This was given to U by your peers out of respect for your work and U r literally pissing on them. I’ve won one Grammy and I’m forever grateful and humble that my peers found me worthy of it.”

View this post on Instagram

ALL THE MUSICIANS WILL BE FREE !

A post shared by Kanye West (@kanyewestt_official) on

Yeezus! Kanye West Received $12 Million Advance for 2013 Album That Has Sold Only 609,000 Copies in Seven Years

Roger Friedman
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Yeezus! Kanye West Received $12 Million Advance for 2013 Album That Has Sold Only 609,000 Copies in Seven Years

Kanye West is posting pictures of his 2012 contract with DefJam. It looks like he got a $12 million advance in 2012 for his 2013 album, Yeezus. Yeezus is right. The album was not a hit. According to Buzz Angle, “Yeezus” has a sold a total of 609,000 copies. Only 92,000 are CDs and downloads. The rest is all streaming.

“Yeezus”– which I like to call “Meezus” — was one of Kanye’s botched releases, had no marketing and no time to set up. If this is what DefJam has been paying him, they are crazy. And he’s crazy like a fox. His albums have not been big sellers in years. The licensing fees and royalties for samples he takes from other artists prey on his profit and loss sheets. And now he’s angry with Def Jam? LOL.

When black artists were really ripped off in the past, they didn’t have $12 million advances. They got nothing. Smokey Robinson will do a spit take when he sees this contract. Kanye West has never written an actual song, and doesn’t sing. What exactly is he being paid all this money for? This is completely insane. But this is how the hip hop world works. It’s all smoke and mirrors.

Kanye West Posts His 2012 Recording Contract with Universal Music on Twitter, Read It Here

Roger Friedman
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Kanye West Posts His 2012 Recording Contract with Universal Music on Twitter, Read It Here

keep refreshing…

Kanye writes: “This is what me Kanye West deal looks like today … I PRAY IN THE NAME OF JESUS THAT IT DONT LOOK LIKE THIS TOMORROW”

UPDATE Read the Disingenuous Memo from Fox News Chief About Layoffs: Firing Hair and Make-Up People, Lowest Paid and Most Vulnerable

Roger Friedman
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UPDATE Read the Disingenuous Memo from Fox News Chief About Layoffs: Firing Hair and Make-Up People, Lowest Paid and Most Vulnerable

Fox News is starting a round of layoffs by firing the most vulnerable, nicest group in the building: hair and make up. When I was at Fox, this group of mostly women were the friendliest, most normal, and lowest paid at 1211 Ave of the Americas. So it’s not a surprise to see the Murdochs dump them first, and make them scramble for money.

From now on, Fox News says only on air talent will get hair and make up. Guests will have to fend for themselves. Sine most of the guests are right wing crazies who don’t have great grooming, this should make the shows so much more interesting.

“As Fox News Media has evolved into a streamlined multi-platform organization, we are realigning several functions and restructuring various divisions in order to position all of our businesses for ongoing success,” the company said in a statement Wednesday.

Total layoffs this time will be less than 100, Fox says, but we’ll see how that shakes out. No highly paid people will be affected.

Since there is no face of Fox News now, I’ve run a photo of the late Roger Ailes, who’s booking Ronald and Nancy Reagan on the Mike Douglas Show up in heaven, but not getting a table at Elaine’s.

 

Kanye On Manic Twitter Rant This Morning: Bible Quotes, Attacks on Music Biz, And Keeping His French Couches “Museum Quality”

Roger Friedman
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Kanye On Manic Twitter Rant This Morning: Bible Quotes, Attacks on Music Biz, And Keeping His French Couches “Museum Quality”

Kanye West has Tweeted about 18 times between 8:30am and 9:40am this morning. There are lots of quotes from the Bible, including “Vengeance is mine.”

Kanye’s beef is with Universal Music and their corporate owner Vivendi. He wants the master recordings of his records back. The company owns them. Kanye is in a long financial deal with Universal and knows the details of his contract a lot better than we do. But he’s in a manic mode, he’s freaking out. It was only a few weeks ago that he declared himself a billionaire, but he may actually need money.

He Tweeted: I AM ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS PEOPLE ON THE PLANET AND UNIVERSAL WONT TELL ME WHAT MY MASTERS COST BECAUSE THEY KNOW I CAN AFFORD THEM … BLACK MASTERS MATTER

He also wrote: “EVERYONE AT UNIVERSAL AND VIVENDI PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT I WILL DO EVERYTHING IN MY LEGAL POWER AND USE MY VOICE UNTIL ALL ARTIST CONTRACTS ARE CHANGED STARTING WITH GETTING MY MASTERS FOR MY CHILDREN I WILL NOT STOP I PROMISE YOU IM AM PETTY AND VERY PERSONAL”

Kanye is calling on his followers to “cover him” in massive prayers as he tries to dismantle the record business and invalidate contracts he’s signed. He’s using Michael Jackson’s similar “breakdown” just prior to his own massive legal problems in the early 2000s, when Michael called Sony Music and Tommy Mottola “the devil” and so on. Michael was in dire need of funds, owed Sony hundreds of millions of dollars in loans, and went on a ill-thought out public attack that got him absolutely nowhere.

According to his Twitter feed, Kanye has been calling Vivendi board members, and also called tech investor Ben Horowitz whose name rarely appears anywhere.

This might be taken more seriously but Kanye just Tweeted this picture of a beige French couch called a Royere and wrote: “I honestly need all my Royeres to be museum quality… if I see a fake Royere Ima have to Rick James your couch”

So, really.

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