In our last post, we told y'all about the coming release of Symphonic Heavy Metal Christmas music from Rakasta Joulua, a group inspired by the likes of Trans Siberian Orchestra (or at least pursuing a similar musical concept).
I got an email from someone associated with the project who wanted to correct me on a key point. The group is from Finland, not Norway as I inexplicably typed in the earlier post. All my sources had said it was a Finnish project and, as I mentioned, this supergroup includes Marco Hietala of Nightwish, which I know is a Finnish band. So I have no excuse, other than the fact that I tend to do these posts at an ungodly hour, long after I shoud have been in bed. Still...very sloppy on my part and I apologize.
Good news is Amazon finally has a listing for "Ragnarok Juletide", as does iTunes. As we told you, the album went live overseas this week. The domestic release is set for November 11.
I'm informed that the lead single is "We Celebrate at Christmastime" , a medley of "Joy to the World". "Me Käymme Joulun Viettohon" and "O Come All Ye Faithful", sung by about 13 of Finland's premiere metal vocalists. And you CAN buy that single NOW on iTunes and at Amazon MP3. And let me just say, they may have been inspired by TSO, but Rakasta Joulua rocks a whole lot harder. Great stuff! See the post below for the full track list.
I got an email from someone associated with the project who wanted to correct me on a key point. The group is from Finland, not Norway as I inexplicably typed in the earlier post. All my sources had said it was a Finnish project and, as I mentioned, this supergroup includes Marco Hietala of Nightwish, which I know is a Finnish band. So I have no excuse, other than the fact that I tend to do these posts at an ungodly hour, long after I shoud have been in bed. Still...very sloppy on my part and I apologize.
Good news is Amazon finally has a listing for "Ragnarok Juletide", as does iTunes. As we told you, the album went live overseas this week. The domestic release is set for November 11.
I'm informed that the lead single is "We Celebrate at Christmastime" , a medley of "Joy to the World". "Me Käymme Joulun Viettohon" and "O Come All Ye Faithful", sung by about 13 of Finland's premiere metal vocalists. And you CAN buy that single NOW on iTunes and at Amazon MP3. And let me just say, they may have been inspired by TSO, but Rakasta Joulua rocks a whole lot harder. Great stuff! See the post below for the full track list.
Marilyn Scott is well known in Smooth Jazz circles. Her cover of Burt Bachrach's "The Look Of Love" earned a Grammy nomination for producer George Duke. You may have also heard her at the movies as she's highly in demand for soundtracks. In Torch Song Trilogy, for example, she did a perfect turn on "Skylark" and Twins featured her re-imagining of "I Only Have Eyes For You". She's written songs with and sung with some of the best contemporary Jazz artists around, including The Yellowjackets and Bobby Caldwell.
But Marilyn's earliest influences include the likes of Etta James, Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin. And it appears she's going to mine those influences a good deal for her upcoming Christmas album, "Get Christmas Started". While the album opens with a faithful rendition of "Christmas Time Is Here," it also includes the R&B of "This Christmas", the Blues of Leon Russell's "Slippin' Into Christmas" and his lesser known even bluesier "Christmas In Chicago", and the classic Motown sound of Stevie Wonder's "What Christmas Means To Me". And she closes out the party with a jamming "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer".
As of yet, we don't have a release date for "Get Christmas Started", but the lead single, "Christmas Time Is Here" is available at iTunes. And, if you're in the mood, you can pick up a pair of free holiday downloads (which I believe were released in 2009) from Marilyn's web site. Neither "Winter Wonderland" nor "Silver Bells" are on the coming album and they're FREE. So what are you waiting for?
But Marilyn's earliest influences include the likes of Etta James, Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin. And it appears she's going to mine those influences a good deal for her upcoming Christmas album, "Get Christmas Started". While the album opens with a faithful rendition of "Christmas Time Is Here," it also includes the R&B of "This Christmas", the Blues of Leon Russell's "Slippin' Into Christmas" and his lesser known even bluesier "Christmas In Chicago", and the classic Motown sound of Stevie Wonder's "What Christmas Means To Me". And she closes out the party with a jamming "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer".
As of yet, we don't have a release date for "Get Christmas Started", but the lead single, "Christmas Time Is Here" is available at iTunes. And, if you're in the mood, you can pick up a pair of free holiday downloads (which I believe were released in 2009) from Marilyn's web site. Neither "Winter Wonderland" nor "Silver Bells" are on the coming album and they're FREE. So what are you waiting for?
We're forever carrying on about former contestants on American Idol or The Voice. What about Star Search, hmmm? Remember that show? Don't make me feel ancient, now.
Vanessa Campagna was a contestant on Star Search, picked out of some 24,000 kids when she was 10 years old. These days, Vanessa is making music in a Country Pop vein. I actually like how straight forward her approach is (thanks to Idol, there's far too much needless vibrato out there these days and, sometimes, the backing tracks are way too busy).
"Home For The Holidays" is Vanessa's third holiday set and will be released October 11. Expect to find it on CD Baby. In the meantime, you can stream a full version of "Little Drummer Boy" on Vanessa's web site, which I dig quite a bit, actually.
Vanessa Campagna was a contestant on Star Search, picked out of some 24,000 kids when she was 10 years old. These days, Vanessa is making music in a Country Pop vein. I actually like how straight forward her approach is (thanks to Idol, there's far too much needless vibrato out there these days and, sometimes, the backing tracks are way too busy).
"Home For The Holidays" is Vanessa's third holiday set and will be released October 11. Expect to find it on CD Baby. In the meantime, you can stream a full version of "Little Drummer Boy" on Vanessa's web site, which I dig quite a bit, actually.
Count me in for the Christmas album by Reverend Chris & The High Rollers. The Philly based outfit originated in New Orleans but relocated following Hurricane Katrina. They specialize in the sound of Jazz and Blues from the Viper era, generously sprinkled with Zatarain's. You can get a good feel for that by checking the song samples of their debut disc, "Viper Mad", or by streaming the tracks at their Reverb Nation spot.
Reverend Chris has been busy working up some new arrangements of some old and unusual Christmas songs as the band expects to release "The Man With The Bag" later this year (expect it around Thanksgiving time). It's too early to say what you're going to find in this wild holiday casserole, but the Rev is promising the tunes will be "not your average Christmas songs". Obviously, based on the title, "The Man With The Bag" should make the cut and we're also expecting the seldom covered Miles Davis/Bob Dorough track "Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern)". That's all I need to know. That's exactly the sort of thing we root for at Stubbys. To stay up to date on this one, we recommend you follow on Facebook.
Reverend Chris has been busy working up some new arrangements of some old and unusual Christmas songs as the band expects to release "The Man With The Bag" later this year (expect it around Thanksgiving time). It's too early to say what you're going to find in this wild holiday casserole, but the Rev is promising the tunes will be "not your average Christmas songs". Obviously, based on the title, "The Man With The Bag" should make the cut and we're also expecting the seldom covered Miles Davis/Bob Dorough track "Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern)". That's all I need to know. That's exactly the sort of thing we root for at Stubbys. To stay up to date on this one, we recommend you follow on Facebook.
As I've mentioned before, I like pretty much every kind of music...except Opera. I just can't connect with Opera at all. Well, we may have a breakthrough on that front. Because I'm a sucker for harmonies.
Eden is a British group consisting of Libby Johnstone and Lucy Campbell. They're a Classical Crossover duo and there's no denying that their voices are classically trained and their delivery is operatic. But, oh, those harmonies. Eden got nowhere on Britain's Got Talent, beaten out by a dancing dog, but Eden has a international career, today, and I'm guessing the dog doesn't.
Libby and Lucy write all their own arrangements and they embrace modern music. They're as apt to cover Metallica and Heart as they are to perform the Classical classics. Pretty awesome, right? Eden released their debut album, "Wicked Game" earlier this year, but it hasn't turned up on Amazon US yet (or iTunes US, as far as I can tell). You can stream the title track at Reverb Nation. And, yes, its a cover of the Chris Isaak's hit and it's so perfectly done, I get chills listening to it. The ladies have also been recording a three song Christmas EP, "Stardust". As it happens, if you live in the states, the easiest way--possibly the only way--to pick up either is by visiting Eden's Pledge Music page.
Eden has yet to reveal the track list for "Stardust" but, yes, I pre-ordered the Christmas CD myself. And for me to lay down my money for anything more operatic than "Bohemian Rhapsody" means that I'm either crazy or hella impressed. Probably both.
Eden is a British group consisting of Libby Johnstone and Lucy Campbell. They're a Classical Crossover duo and there's no denying that their voices are classically trained and their delivery is operatic. But, oh, those harmonies. Eden got nowhere on Britain's Got Talent, beaten out by a dancing dog, but Eden has a international career, today, and I'm guessing the dog doesn't.
Libby and Lucy write all their own arrangements and they embrace modern music. They're as apt to cover Metallica and Heart as they are to perform the Classical classics. Pretty awesome, right? Eden released their debut album, "Wicked Game" earlier this year, but it hasn't turned up on Amazon US yet (or iTunes US, as far as I can tell). You can stream the title track at Reverb Nation. And, yes, its a cover of the Chris Isaak's hit and it's so perfectly done, I get chills listening to it. The ladies have also been recording a three song Christmas EP, "Stardust". As it happens, if you live in the states, the easiest way--possibly the only way--to pick up either is by visiting Eden's Pledge Music page.
Eden has yet to reveal the track list for "Stardust" but, yes, I pre-ordered the Christmas CD myself. And for me to lay down my money for anything more operatic than "Bohemian Rhapsody" means that I'm either crazy or hella impressed. Probably both.
Final note. A while back, we told you about "Forever Christmas", an album featuring David Lanz and Kristin Amarie. "Forever Christmas" features some 14 tracks--a mix of instrumental and vocal--eleven of which are all-new originals written by the couple during last year's very snowy winter.
The album has been recorded, but the expenses of mastering, manufacturing, etc., etc., remain. So David and Kristin have launched a Kickstarter campaign to get the project across the finish line. A reminder: if the funding drive falls short of its goal, they get nothing. As David points out, the record labels he used to record for don't even exist anymore and the independent labels that do exist don't have money for publicity and touring and the like.
So drop by their Kickstarter page and watch the video (you'll get a few song samples therein). It kinda sounds like Kickstarter is going to be the only place to get hard copy CDs...at least for this year. And, if they don't reach their goal, there may not be any hard copy at all. So keep that in mind, as well.
The album has been recorded, but the expenses of mastering, manufacturing, etc., etc., remain. So David and Kristin have launched a Kickstarter campaign to get the project across the finish line. A reminder: if the funding drive falls short of its goal, they get nothing. As David points out, the record labels he used to record for don't even exist anymore and the independent labels that do exist don't have money for publicity and touring and the like.
So drop by their Kickstarter page and watch the video (you'll get a few song samples therein). It kinda sounds like Kickstarter is going to be the only place to get hard copy CDs...at least for this year. And, if they don't reach their goal, there may not be any hard copy at all. So keep that in mind, as well.
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