Guests also include Joss Stone, Snoop Dogg and Lil Wayne.

By Blurt Staff

Soul music icon Betty Wright - singer, composer, producer, arranger, vocal coach and spiritual godmother to countless young artists - has announced the release of Betty Wright: The Movie (S-Curve Records/Ms. B Records) on November 15. This is her first solo album since 2001's Fit For a King. The 15-time Grammy nominee and Grammy winner for Best R&B song "Where Is The Love" has kept busy during the past decade, however. Wright co-produced Joss Stone's first two albums, The Soul Sessions and Mind, Body & Soul.  In 2006, Wright was hand-picked by Sean "Diddy" Combs to be the vocal coach for the hit TV show Making the Band. In 2008 she co-produced two songs on Tom Jones' 24 Hours , was nominated for a Grammy with Angie Stone for the single "Baby," and was a Grammy nominee for Album of the Year as a writer, producer and singer on Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III, which includes Wright's duet with Lil Wayne, "Playing With Fire." And just last year, Wright's single "Go!" received a Grammy nod for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.  

Betty Wright: The Movie serves up 14 songs, all of which were co-written by Wright and co-produced by Wright, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson of The Roots, and Angelo Morris. Guests include The Roots, Lil Wayne, Lenny Williams (Tower of Power), Snoop Dogg and Joss Stone.

Wright, affectionately known to friends and family as Ms. B, reflects on the album's title: "I am more griot than singer. You can usually see what I say." She continues "I decided that each song would be a vision that you could take to the screen...14 songs equal 14 movies."

Betty Wright: The Movie:

1. Old Songs

2. Real Woman featuring Snoop Dogg

3. In The Middle of the Game (Don't Change The Play)

4. Surrender

5. Grapes on a Vine featuring Lil Wayne

6. Look Around (Be a Man)

7. Tonight Again

8. Hollywould featuring Robert "The Messenger" Bozeman

9. Whisper in The Wind featuring Joss Stone

10. Baby Come Back featuring Lenny Williams

11. So Long, So Wrong

12. You and Me, Leroy

13. The One [bonus track]

14. Go! (Live) [bonus track]

New album drops next week.

By Blurt Staff

To lead up to their new album release next week, Want More (Bloodshot), Windy City funk-soul-punk upstarts JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound are releasing a series of video shorts they shot with their "manager" Glenn Peacock. Created by the band in coordination with members of Chicago's Second City comedy group, the sequential videos become unlocked when 10 or more people "share" the link/post of the current teaser on their Facebook page  (http://www.facebook.com/JCBrooksandtheUptownSound).  So far the first two have been unlocked and you can check them out below.

There's also a free MP3 being served up: "Everything Will Be Fine."

Meanwhile, keep your eyes peeled for the new issue of BLURT in which we profile the band as part of our "Hot Newcomers" section. The band, writes Contributing Editor Jennifer Kelly, is a "funk-soul freight train in the vein of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, with Brooks combining elements of James Brown (in the dance moves and scream), Otis Redding (in the rough-edged mid-range) and Curtis Mayfield and Al Green (in his extraordinary falsetto)."

Free MP3 for the taking.

By Blurt Staff

Portland combo Blue Skies for Black Hearts' album Embracing the Modern Age arrived this past spring and the band is about to leave on tour to the Midwest and East Coast. Meanwhile, they've also recorded an ace cover of Teenage Fanclub's "The Concept" that they're offering up as a free download:

MP3: "The Concept"

Born as an outlet for producer turned songwriter/lead singer Pat Kearns, Blue Skies For Black Hearts is made up of a group of crack Portland music veterans, and the album also has an accompanying short sci-fi film.  Shot all over the Northwest, directed by Jon Griffith and written by bassist Kelly Simmons who describes the film as "sort of in the vein of Help, Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park and Purple Rain all packed into a Monkees episode. Blue Skies saves the future of rock n roll from conspiring evil professors, robots and druids, all with an underlying theme of evolution, monkeys, robots and swamp creatures."  

Worth noting: he band is currently running a pay-what-you-want campaign here (proceeds go to the Michael J Fox Foundation).

Tour Dates:

Oct. 20th - Chicago, IL  - the Beat Kitchen
Oct. 21st - Madison, WI - the Frequency
Oct. 23rd - Indianapolis, IN - the Melody Inn
Oct. 26th - New York, NY - Arlene's Grocery
Oct. 27th - Brooklyn, NY - Spike Hill
Oct. 28th - New York, NY - Bowery Electric
Nov. 4th - Portland, OR - Kelly's Olympian

With tapedecks running throughout the hinterlands, the band kicks off The Whole Love tour in fine fashion...

By Fred Mills

On September 21 Wilco commandeered the Ed Sullivan Theater in NYC for an extended performance for the "Live On Letterman" series. The 12-song, hour-long set spotlighted material from new album The Whole Love (which was released the following week on their own dBpm label) alongside old faves such as "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" and "Impossible Germany."

The show was webcasted as well as aired over the radio (on WXRT in Chicago), and as you might imagine, hard drives and tape decks were tuned in all over the place. Hence the current bootleg just released by the Naughty Dog label and made available for free download as high-quality 192kbs MP3s via the Big O Zine...

Meanwhile, back in the aboveground milieu, the new issue of BLURT arrives on newsstands in a few weeks and we've got Wilco on the cover, so keep your eyes peeled.

Setlist:

01. Art Of Almost 7:38

02. I Might 4:01

03. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart 6:24

04. One Wing 4:16

05. Born Alone 4:15

06. Whole Love 4:06

07. Handshake Drugs 6:27

08. Jesus Etc 4:02

09. Impossible Germany 7:11

10. Dawned on Me 4:12

11. War on War 3:20

12. A Shot in the Arm

"No Spare Parts" slated to appear on deluxe reissue of classic Rolling Stones album.

By Fred Mills

With news still fresh of the upcoming (Nov. 21) deluxe reissue of the Rolling Stones' 1978 album Some Girls, the band apparently aims to stoke the fan-flames further. Starting today the previously unreleased session track "No Spare Parts" goes to radio and was premiered this morning on the Ken Bruce show on BBC Radio 2 in England. If you head over to the Bruce show website, click on the "Listen now" button and it will bring up the BBC Radio music player so you can listen to the 150-minute broadcast.

But hey - why sit through 150 minutes' worth of ho-hum tracks from the likes of Electric Light Orchestra, the Eagles, Amy Winehouse and Coldplay while you wait to get your Stones fix? "No Spare Parts" has been available for ages on bootlegs - or at least a version of it; possibly a demo, given the somewhat medium-fidelity audio quality - and it was also uploaded to YouTube some time ago. (It was a key track on the Godfather bootleg label's Through the Vaults Darkly Vol. 2 two-CD set.) So as a public service....

Anyhow, we are looking forward to the Some Girls reissue, and the song ain't half bad either. Here's the officially-sanctioned description of the powerful and poignant track, which apparently was recently discovered in the vaults by reissue producer Don Was:

"No Spare Parts" captures the daring and diverse spirit of the album's legendary sessions.  Recorded in Paris, the song tells the story of a trip from Los Angeles to San Antonio, TX featuring Mick Jagger on electric piano, Keith Richards on acoustic piano, Ron Wood on pedal steel guitar, Charlie Watts on drums and Bill Wyman on bass. With a country guitar twang, subtle groove, and soulful storytelling, it's a powerful and poignant acoustic tune from THE ROLLING STONES and an essential addition to any fan's catalog.

Are ya ready? Can ya feel it? Can we get an ‘amen'? Rev. Shernoff has a few things to tell all you sinners...

By Blurt Staff

Nobody every called Pablo Picasso an asshole, and nobody's calling endtimes evangelical preacher Harold Camping one either. They ARE calling him a fookin' fruitcake, however, and Camping hasn't been helping his cause by waffling on his so-called rapture prediction for tomorrow, Oct. 21.

Recall that Camping originally claimed the end of the world would be May 21 but had to hit the reset button when everybody - sane people, at least; sorry about that life savings thing, Camping followers - went out shopping that day instead of ascending into Heaven (or going down to Hell, take your pick). But according to news reports, since locking in Oct. 21 as the official overdue date for humanity's metaphysical library book, Camping has taken to hedging his rapture bets by using terminology like "probably" and "maybe."

Schmuck.

You'll hear no such dissembling from Andy "Adny" Shernoff, however.

Queens-born Shernoff is a musician, songwriter, record producer and oenophile.  He is a founding member of The Dictators, one of the seminal New York proto-punk bands, for which he composed the lion's share of the material, played bass guitar, keyboards, sang back-up and occasional lead vocals. He has been involved with a variety of other musical projects over the years, most notably the heavily Dictators-populated Manitoba's Wild Kingdom and Joey Ramone's sole solo studio album, Don't Worry About Me.

Shernoff recently released a new 7" vinyl single "Are You Ready To Rapture" c/w "Tremble" - the latter featuring the late Joey Ramone guesting. And "Are You Ready To Rapture" is accompanied by an animated video created by world famous cartoonist Brian Musikoff, and it is, in the parlance, unequivocal. Jesus - "the zombie Jew" - is comin' back, he's seriously pissed, and there ain't nothing us sinful mortals can do about it. Well, Lemmy from Motorhead may be spared eternal torment, but that's it.

View it below - preferably as soon as possible, before it's too late... Oct. 21 is almost here...

You can replace those bootleg VHS tapes, fans. Watch trailer, below.

By Blurt Staff

SOFA Entertainment has just released Four Ed Sullivan Shows starring The Rolling Stones 2 DVD set. The collection features 4 full episodes starring The Rolling Stones and includes:

• The Rolling Stones making their triumphant return to the Ed Sullivan stage on May 2, 1965, performing an early original composition by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards -- the Top 10 hit "The Last Time"; a rendition of the Willie Dixon blues classic "Little Red Rooster"; a cover of Solomon Burke's "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love"; and closing out the show -- the rarely performed instrumental homage to Chess Records, "2120 South Michigan Avenue."

• Their February 13, 1966, Ed Sullivan Show appearance, presented in gorgeous CBS color, performing their No. 1 smash hit "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" against a backdrop of screaming fans and a touching rendition of their hit "As Tears Go By."  Performed as a duet, the song features the vocals of Mick Jagger and the soft chords of Keith Richards' acoustic guitar.  They end this Sullivan appearance with their newest hit, the manic "19th Nervous Breakdown."

• The Rolling Stones returning to the Ed Sullivan stage on September 11,1966, after being chased by a mob of fans down Broadway following the dress rehearsal, with a unique performance of their No. 1 hit "Paint It, Black" with Brian Jones sitting and playing the signature riff on his sitar; their hit "Lady Jane," featuring Jones on dulcimer, and the band showcases their versatility by closing the show with their smash Top 10 hit "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadows?"

• The Rolling Stones final appearance on the Ed Sullivan stage with founding member Brian Jones was on January 15, 1967, performing their No. 1 hit "Ruby Tuesday" which was followed by their now historic version of "Let's Spend The Night Together" with the lyrics changed to "Let's Spend Some Time Together" by CBS network's standards and practices department.  This was a memorable moment in the annals of TV censorship.   In true Stones' fashion, the chorus is defiantly delivered with a sarcastic roll of Mick Jagger's eyes as he looks into the camera and lets the audience at home know he's fully aware of the absurdity of the situation. 

Then on November 1st comes Six Ed Sullivan Shows starring The Rolling Stones (DELUXE EDITION) which features all 6 full episodes starring The Rolling Stones -- their first and final Sullivan appearances in addition to the four shows above. It includes:

• The Rolling Stones' very first appearance on October 25, 1964, includes their Top 10 hit, "Time Is On My Side." This show captures the excitement and hysteria of their fans in the Sullivan Theater as they nearly drown out The Rolling Stones' performances. The screams lasted throughout the entire performance, continuing after they finish and the curtain has dropped with Sullivan's futile attempts to calm the crazed teenage crowd as he tries to communicate a few words to Mick.

• Their November 23, 1969, appearance which marked their final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show where the band introduced their newest member, guitarist Mick Taylor, who replaced Brian Jones.  Jones who had left the band was soon thereafter found dead in his swimming pool.  The Stones performed "Gimme Shelter," a song that summed up the tumultuous period of the late '60s; the Robert Johnson blues classic,  "Love In Vain" and their latest No. 1 hit, "Honky Tonk Women."

Twilley's back pages, on the screen.

By Fred Mills

It's always a good day when we've got something new in hand from rock ‘n' roll auteur (and power pop avatar) Dwight Twilley. Which makes this a good week - Twilley's new album Soundtrack recently arrived via Varese Sarabande, prompting our reviewer to enthuse:

"The album provides an apt summation of his pop credo with respect to ambition and inspiration. Adhering to a basic rock ‘n' roll motif, Twilley applies his vocals with an angst and intensity that gives these tracks an amped up sense of commitment. Not since the halcyon days of his early hit "I'm on Fire" and his namesake band's other seminal efforts has Twilley sounded so triumphant."

So without further adieu, please check out a brand new video by Twilley, for the album track "My Life." The Lennonesque musical track is accompanied by home and professional footage dipping back all the way to the beginning of Twilley's career. Notable among the clips are brieft shots from some very early TV appearances, including one circa '77 from an early a.m. children's show, of all things, featuring none other than Tom Petty as a guest bandmember; both of Twilley's former Twilley Band foils, the late Phil Seymour and longtime guitarist Bill Pitcock IV (who passed away last year), are seen as well. It's a mini-documentary that's surprisingly moving, and a must-view for any longtime Twilley fan.

We votin' for Syl.

By Fred Mills

It's hard not to fall on the pro-Syl Johnson side of the situation at hand, when you consider his antagonists happen to be two of the biggest and baddest egos in the business who always seem to get a pass from the press no matter what they pull.

The situation, you ask: Soul-funk brother Johnson, who's been making music since the ‘60s (and was the subject of a BLURT profile a year or so ago), is suing Jay-Z and Kanye West because they allegedly used a sample of his track "Different Strokes" in their song "The Joy," from the Watch the Throne (Def Jam) album, without permission, credit or payment.

As Billboard is reporting, "Johnson says that West originally wanted to use the sample for his own solo album entitled My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, but that the defendant was unable to obtain permission at the time of release. After failure to clear a license for the sample on one album, West's use of the sample on another album without permission is said to be an example of knowing and willful misappropriation."

When Watch the Throne was originally released, Numero Group (Johnson's label), immediately brought the matter up, but apparently no one in the Kanye, Jay-Z or Def Jam camps felt sufficiently moved to take any preemptive action - hence the current lawsuit.

Read the entire story at Billboard, including possibly legal flaws that Johnson's suit will face as well as some details on an earlier lawsuit between Johnson and Cypress Hill. It will be interesting to see how this all unfolds, and in particular how Kanye and Jay-Z try to spin it in the press. Meanwhile, you can listen to the two songs and decide for yourself.

Revolution of the mind... now. New dB's album en route as well.

By Fred Mills

This is pretty special - the mighty dB's, in full-on MC5 mode, with a new song, "Revolution of the Mind." It's synched with riveting Occupy Wall Street images as well as sundry other timely and occasionally quirky clips (many are from an earlier generation's protests, and keep your eyes peeled for vintage cartoon footage too).

The version of the video above was done by Jerry Stifelman and Creato Destructro, while the one below is by director Mike Allen and editor Greg Parsons.

The song features - in addition to the dB's: Chris Stamey, Peter Holsapple, Will Rigby and Gene Holder - Ira Kaplan from Yo La Tengo and Django Haskins of the Old Ceremony.

Incidentally, the band has a new album finally set to drop: Falling Off the Sky, produced by the dB's along with Scott Litt and Mitch Easter, is due in early 2012. If you go to the official dB's website you can nab a free MP3 of the song.