Queen Rock Montreal presents Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon at their most excitingand exhilarating. As Brian May puts it, this is Queen “live and dangerous.” Queen were on all-conquering form when they returned to Montreal, Canada for the fourth time in November 1981 to play two hugeconcerts at the 18,000-seat Forum. This pair of Montreal concerts marked an historic moment for Queen. After their massive success in the 1970s, the band entered the 80s bigger than ever, with the hugely successful The Game album producing their two biggest ever US singles in Another One Bites The Dust and Crazy Little Thing Called Love (both Billboard No.1’s), followed by theUK No.1 single Under Pressure. Queen’s return to Montreal came afteralmost two years of touring, including their very firsttours of South and Central America, which saw the band playing two nights at Sao Paulo’s Morumbi Stadiumtomore than 150,000 devoted fans. As a result, when the band arrived in Canada in November 1981 they were in electrifying form. “Montreal is one of our favourite cities, it’s a great audience there, very full of energy,” says Brian May. “We’d played this particular venue, The Forum, several times before, and it was always full of really enthusiastic people giving us a lot of energy back.”

The original concerts,which took place on November 24 and 25, 1981, were truly ground-breaking. They were arranged specifically to be filmed for a full-length concert film to document their live show. Director Saul Swimmer planned to shoot them using state-of-the-art Double Anamorphic 35mm footage, which allowed it to be projected on a gigantic, five-storey high screen.Backstage tensions between the members of Queen and Swimmer could have caused problems, but instead they propelled the band to new heights.

“We were very, very hyped up, some of the tempos are really fast, there’s a lot of really incisive, angry playing,” says May.

Queen Rock Montreal features a rawer version of the band who had released Bohemian Rhapsodyhalf a decade earlier, showcasingtheirunparalleled musicianship, soaring vocal powerand unstoppable live energy.“There’s no one on the stage apart from us,” says May.

Says Taylor: “It's fascinating to now realize how free we were on stage in 1981. It's a four piece, just the four of us in Queen, and to see Freddie. It's like being on stage with the band because the cameras are very high quality for the time. I've never seen anything that makes you feel quite so involved with the performance.”

From Freddie Mercury’s opening cry of “Hello Montreal… long time no see. You wanna get crazy?” through to the thrilling climactic one-two of We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions, the energy rarely lets up – and even then only for signature ballad Love Of My Life. The powerful vocal acrobatics of Mercury, May’s dazzling six-string pyrotechnics, Deacon’s rock solid heartbeat bass, Taylor’s unstoppable rhythmic display, and not to mention the unique combination of all four voices – Queen Rock Montreal shows the total cohesion and individual strengths of four musicians who were, as Brian May says, “at the top of our game”.

TRACK LISTING

2CD

CD1
1. Intro
2. We Will Rock You (Fast)
3. Let Me Entertain You
4. Play The Game
5. Somebody To Love
6. Killer Queen
7. I'm In Love With My Car
8. Get Down, Make Love
9. Save Me
10. Now I'm Here
11. Dragon Attack
12. Now I'm Here (Reprise)
13. Love Of My Life


CD2
1. Under Pressure
2. Keep Yourself Alive
3. Drum And Tympani Solo
4. Guitar Solo
5. Flash
6. The Hero
7. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
8. Jailhouse Rock
9. Bohemian Rhapsody
10. Tie Your Mother Down
11. Another One Bites The Dust
12. Sheer Heart Attack
13. We Will Rock You

3LP

SIDE A
1. Intro
2. We Will Rock You (Fast)
3. Let Me Entertain You
4. Play The Game
5. Somebody To Love

SIDE B
1. Killer Queen
2. I'm In Love With My Car
3. Get Down, Make Love
4. Save Me

SIDE C
1. Now I'm Here
2. Dragon Attack
3. Now I'm Here (Reprise)
4. Love Of My Life
5. Under Pressure

SIDE D
1. Keep Yourself Alive
2. Drum And Tympani Solo
3. Guitar Solo
4. Flash
5. The Hero

SIDE E
1. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
2. Jailhouse Rock
3. Bohemian Rhapsody
4. Tie Your Mother Down

SIDE F
1. Another One Bites The Dust
2. Sheer Heart Attack
3. We Will Rock You
4. We Are The Champions
5. God Save The Queen

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2024 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 20TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 22ND.

More than four decades after it first appeared on their Hot Space album - QUEEN are releasing 1982's Cool Cat on limited edition 7" pink vinyl. Making its debut as an A-side - this marks the seventh single to be taken from the album. The B-side will be a brand-new previously-unreleased instrumental mix of the song. Cool Cat was co-written by bassist John Deacon and singer Freddie Mercury, and features a rare falsetto lead vocal performance from the flamboyant front man.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2024 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 20TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 22ND.

The third single off her seminal 1989 debut album, "Ladies' First" remains one of Queen Latifah's signature songs

Featuring Monie Love, "Ladies' First" became an anthem of women's empowerment. This 7" also includes a B-side of "Come Into My House," originally released in 1990 as the fourth single.

TRACK LISTING

Ladies First (feat. Monie Love) [Radio Edit]
Come Into My House

A favourite of some of the biggest DJs out there, including the likes of Floating Points and Theo Parrish, Queen Yahna - Ain't It Time is a slice of P&P gold that’s been crying out for an official reissue.

Succulent soul-soaked vocals with that top shelf disco production that effortlessly marries peaking strings with glorious horns and a conga-led percussion section. Smiles for miles - this is feel-good business right here with the instrumental nestled on the flip.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Vocal
B1. Instrumental

Back in 2013 we took ourselves on a discographic adventure without really knowing what we were doing! Who would have thought that 10 years later, we'd be releasing our 50th 45 RPM record?

As luck would have it, we are happy to announce our new release, in collab with one of the flagship bands from today's funk scene, Germany's own "Mighty Mocambos", who have been delivering their instrumental groove and Caribbean vibes via their alter ego, "Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band" across Europe for more than fifteen years.

So, what better way to immortalize the raw and intense live sound that they're famous for than releasing a record on our favourite format?

Two sides recorded live on tape during the "Queen 16 B-Girl battle" in Berlin in 2022. Somewhat reminiscent of Can's "Vitamin C", the A side "International Cypher" has an oriental funk feel thanks to the use of the sharp sound of an electric Phin (Thai guitar), while the straight up percussive funk instrumental "Queen 16 theme" pays tribute to the B-Girls only festival, of which the soundtrack was designed for the occasion.

TRACK LISTING

1. International Cypher
2. Queen 16 Theme

Prima Queen's highly anticipated debut EP 'Not The Baby', demonstrates this band's remarkable ability to straddle genres and embrace heartfelt topics, starting with lead single Back Row, a soaring, horns-led pop song about the heartbreak of breaking someone else's heart.

TRACK LISTING

1. Back Row
2. Crow
3. Dylan
4. Hydroplane

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2023 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

Queen Talk: Live at the Left Bank is an official never-before-seen concert recording from one of the greatest female jazz organists of all-time, Shirley Scott

With George Coleman on tenor saxophone and Bobby Durham on drums completing a powerhouse trio, this hand-numbered (to 3,000), double LP set was transferred from the original tape reels and is pressed on 180- gram vinyl. It features 100 minutes of music and is packaged in a gatefold sleeve with an extensive booklet containing liner notes by acclaimed music writer A. Scott Galloway, rare photos by Don Schlitten and Raymond Ross, and memorabilia from the Left Bank archives.

Jazz heads can also find interviews with jazz organ icon Joey DeFrancesco, Scott’s former bandmate saxophonist Tim Warfield, and pianist Monty reminiscing about drummer Bobby Durham. The set is co- produced by label owner musician Cory Weeds and renowned archival recording producer Zev Feldman.

The show was recorded at the Famous Ballroom in Baltimore Maryland on August 20, 1972 and hasn’t ever been previously available. Philadelphia- born Scott rose to fame in the late 1950s playing the Hammond B-3 organ influenced by blues and gospel evolving into '60s soul jazz. She recorded numerous albums for Prestige, Impulse!, Atlantic, Cadet and Candid performing with countless jazz legends including Stanley Turrentine, Oliver Nelson and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis.

Synth lovers rock at its best! Jamaican born and New-York based, Laury Webb is a singer, musician, producer, actor, former model and writer. He's been called both the Opera Dread and the Frank Sinatra of reggae. Laury's musical career began with a role as keyboardist and later backing vocalist with the reggae vocal group The Meditations (with whom he continues to perform).

Laury Webb posses a unique and eclectic vocal style. He has performed at some of New York city's premier musical venues, including Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, The Village Gate, S.O.B.'s, The Ritz, The Lion's Den, Joe's Pub, Leopard Lounge, Kenny's Castaway, Central Park Summer Stage, The Baggot Inn and The Brooklyn Bowl.

After enjoying years of being a back-up musician, Laury launched a solo career with his Tigerbone Band. During that period he recorded and releases singles "Woman My Queen" and "It Seems The Same". He was fresh out of college and touring with The Meditations, when he purchased a small organ for his girlfriend/mother of his two children for Christmas. By the time her birthday came around he was so broke and could not afford to purchase a birthday present for her so he gave her a writing pad and pen and told her to write down whatever came out of her mouth, and he sat at the keyboard and began playing and singing. “Woman My Queen”, was the result.

“It Seems The Same” was begun in America but he did not finish writing it till the music was recorded. His cousin, Barry Biggs, worked with him on this one. They both sang on the backing tracks.

Written, Composed & Arranged by Laury Webb
Artwork by Parade Studio
Woman My Queen: Recorded at Quadrasonic Studio (New-York) in 1986
Backed by The Tiger Bone Band

Bass: Leroy Guy
Keyboard: Laury Webb
Drums: David Ranglin
Guitar: Royo
Mixed by Peter Lewis
It Seems The Same:

Recorded at Music Mountain Studio (Jamaica) in 1987
Keyboard & Drum Programming: Winston Wright
Backing Vocal: Laury Webb & Barry Biggs

TRACK LISTING

Woman My Queen
It Seems The Same
The Same Dub

Hiding in Place, the new EP from Philadelphia’s Queen of Jeans, opens with the springy pluck of a single note on electric guitar, like a ping from a satellite waiting for a response in a long, quiet expanse. Then, Miri Devora’s voice atop guitar and drums: “Hiding in place, conjure your face/Don’t wanna lose my mind.”

This is the title track’s invitation to a four-song study of loneliness, alienation, and the unraveling that comes with those states, but it’s also bookended with moments of levity: joy and romance burst through on second track “Why Hide,” a response of sorts to the title track’s cloistered anxiety. Devora wrote the songs at the start of the pandemic in March 2020 when she had just been laid off from her job of almost 10 years. Her partner, guitarist Mattie Glass, worked 11 hour shifts at a grocery store, so Devora was alone in their apartment for months on end. When they were written, these weren’t intended to be pandemic-specific.

“While these aren’t ‘pandemic songs,’ they carry that weight,” says Devora. “There’s that sense of loneliness and even longing that I think for many have gone hand-in-hand with the pandemic. Hiding in Place is like hiding within these walls that we were confined to, but it’s also about hiding within yourself and not being able to necessarily express any kind of fears or desires you have.”

This is part of what makes Hiding in Place such an apt collection for this moment: with this EP, which follows the band’s 2019 LP If you’re not afraid, I’m not afraid, hiding can be a safe release or a painful suppression, depending on the context. That duality—and the complicated nuance of lived experience that it suggests—defines our lives now.

This 12” EP features Hiding in Place in Full as well as the entirety of Queen of Jeans’ 2021 Covers EP, including a bombastic cover of Wheatus’ now viral “Teenage Dirtbag.”

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Hiding In Place
2. Why Hide
3. Was I Ever
4. The Wait Is Over
Side B
1. Teenage Dirtbag
2. I’m The Only One
3. Actor Out Of Work

An instant connection that was nearly missed. A divide of 4,000 miles and an Atlantic Ocean. An almost-marriage. A tour supporting The Big Moon, Dream Wife and Wet Leg, and six- figure streams. The magic of their ethereal, guitar- driven sound is built not on romantic love, but something immeasurably stronger: female friendship.

TRACK LISTING

Eclipse 
Butter Knife

Describing herself simply as a ' modern English musician', Eliza Carthy is
one of the most recognisable faces in British folk.

From the purest unaccompanied traditional songs to original music incorporating myriad infuences, she has moved through English folk music like a force of nature, both stirring it up & putting it back on the map, and as a member of big bands The Imagined Village, and the musical force- of- nature that was The Wayward Band she has headlined main stages at festivals around the world. With a wealth of musical & life experience under her belt, Eliza's talent has matured and is fourishing. She continues to bring new audiences to English folk through well-judged recordings, performances, and collaborations with the likes of Paul Weller, Jools Holland, Patrick Wolf, and Kae Tempest. 2022 sees Eliza celebrating an incredible 30 years in the music business with album Queen Of The Whirl, featuring new interpretations of fan- selected favourites from her previous albums, recorded with her band Eliza Carthy & The Restitution.

TRACK LISTING

1. Whirly Whorl
2. The Snow It Melts The Soonest
3. The Company Of Men
4. Jacky Tar
5. Stumbling On
6. Mohair
7. Mr Magnifco
8. My Father's Mansions
9. Space Girl / Two Tears
10. Blood On My Boots
11. Pretty Ploughboy
12. In London So Fair
13. Accordion Song
14. Good Morning Mr Walker

Natural Brown Prom Queen is Sudan Archives’ second album following her widely celebrated 2019 debut Athena. Over its 18 epic and ambitious tracks, Natural Brown Prom Queen shows a new side to Sudan Archives: Brittney Parks or Britt, the girl-next-door. On this album, Sudan explores themes of race, womanhood and family.

Natural Brown Prom Queen features the singles “Home Maker” and “Selfish Soul”, released in Spring 2022 to great acclaim. Available on standard black vinyl, indies Orange Dream vinyl and CD.

TRACK LISTING

1. Home Maker
2. NBPQ (Topless)
3. Is This Real? (Can You Hear Yourself?)
4. Ciara
5. Selfish Soul
6. Loyal (EDD)
7. OMG BRITT
8. ChevyS10
9. Copycat (Broken Notions)
10. It’s Already Done
11. FLUE
12. TDLY (Homegrown Land)
13. Do Your Thing (Refreshing Springs)
14. Freakalizer
15. Homesick €

Hot off the back of their self-titled debut single – the energetic five piece made up of Joel Douglas (vox/guitar), Tom Butler (vox/bass), Robbie Cottom (keys), Mike Hendry (guitar) + George Thompson (drum/percussion) follow it up with the provocatively titled ‘Your God Owes You Money.’

For those unacquainted with the band’s brand of esoteric eclectic pop - The Queen's Head are a five piece from South London making alternative music about modern anxieties. Blending elements of post-punk, noise-rock, disco and modern dance music, wrapped in a familiar verse-chorus pop structure, the resulting sound is simultaneously enchanting and terrifying.

Ordering this giddy chaos are the dual vocals of childhood friends Joel Douglas and Tom Butler. Together they combine cutting, spoken word narratives and growling melodies which take form as vigorous, traumatised calls to arms, scriptures not as much sung but bellowed and preached to the audience. It’s a sermon.

‘It did feel like that’ recounts Speedy co-runner Pierre Hall who put them on at one of Speedy’s ‘Homecoming’ nights at The Social at the end of lockdown. ‘From the second they came on to the second they finished – everyone was completely entranced. You were sucked in. It was powerful. Scary, intense, confrontational. But powerful nonetheless. I was hooked.’

On the resulting track – a heady mix of post-punk influences crossed with everything from The Clash to The Specials via Daniel Avery and Charlie XCX, the band say: ’We are a band interested in world-building, with our process normally meticulous, pouring over tiny production and song-writing details. Taking 'Your God Owes You Money' into Dan Carey's space and method was a deliberate attempt to disrupt our complacencies. We played live, welcomed error and followed improvised ideas, under Dan's guiding hand. The version of this song we produced in just a day hopefully captures the rage and range of our live show - a direct glimpse into the band, what we believe and our frailties as self-confessed performers. An honour, a privilege and a wholly enjoyable day amidst Dan's Aladdin's cave.’ The genie is out of the lamp.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2022 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

'The Red Queen Kills Seven Times' blurs the line between thriller and horror. The cult success it enjoys can be attributed to its aesthetics that encapsulate the essence of the Italian thriller. Bruno Nicolai's score for The Red Queen Kills Seven Times flawlessly brings together the pop and underground music sensitivity of the 1970s with the gothic nuances of the plot thanks to a clever use of harpsichords. The result is a pivotal score, not just because of the importance of the film itself, but for the whole golden age of the soundtrack genre. Exquisite, sweet and sensual lounge tracks are counterbalanced by tense, deranged and suspense-filled dodecaphonic highlights and by obstinate bass lines that become the perfect soundtrack for the Red Queen's murders or the victims' desperate getaways.

The album is part of CAM Sugarís PAURA, a series of standalone soundtrack releases that follow the same-titled compilation which explores rare and unreleased horror gems from the label archive. This new limited 50th anniversary blood-red vinyl edition of this cult, sought-after soundtrack - a masterpiece of Italian Giallo cinemaóis fully remastered from original tapes, includes two bonus tracks and is destined to become a staple for the collectors of the genre and for the fans of the golden age of Italian and horror cinema, making it an essential release of Record Store Day 2022.

On the new single Prima Queen offer the following: “Chew My Cheeks is a song that centres on an unhealthy obsession with someone who is slightly out of reach. We wrote it in lockdown last year when we were remembering what it was like to idealise people you don’t know and to use them as a form of escapism. We ended up watching The Matrix in isolation together around the same time and were really inspired by the world in which the movie creates” Prima Queen are an all-female indie/alternative rock band fronted by songwriting duo and best friends Louise Macphail (Bristol, UK) and Kristin McFadden (Chicago, USA). Combining vulnerable and nostalgic story telling with light-hearted lyrical imagery, their ethereal yet gritty style draws influences from artists such as Julia Jacklin, Nilüfer Yanya and Lucy Dacus.Discussing their collaboration with The Big Moon, the band say “It was incredible being able to work with The Big Moon since they’ve been such a big inspiration to us and we look up to them so much. They really understood our vision for the song and we were so impressed with how they were able to bring it to life.” Prima Queen have recently played sold out headline shows at The Windmill and the Dalston Victoria and have just come off tour with Billy Nomates.

Grace Cummings is an actor and musician from Melbourne, Australia.Grace learned piano as a child and took up the guitar as a young adult, but only began to write and perform music in 2018.

She went from a debut gig at Melbourne’s Old Bar to a breakthrough performance at Boogie Festival in the space of six months, pickingup support slots with J Mascis and Evan Dando along the way. With buzz building around her powerhouse live show, Grace grabbed the attention of Flightless Records (King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard), who released her debut album, Refuge Cove, in late 2019.

Refuge Cove won praise from publications around the world, including Pitchfork and All Music, and Grace was tapped for support slots with Weyes Blood, Cash Savage, Teskey Brothers and Allah-Lahs. In 2020, Grace recorded the single Sweet Matilda for Mexican Summer’s Through the Looking Glass series before landing a worldwide deal with indie powerhouse ATO Records (Alabama Shakes, My Morning Jacket, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard) and a distribution deal with Caroline Australia.

Her sophomore album, Storm Queen, is set for release early in 2022.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Part way between widescreen Americana or electric country and soulful lounge music, Grace Cummings presents a distinctive and evocative suite both confident and athletic. Her vocals shine with emotion and skilfully dominate the beautifully laid backdrop. An exciting and bracing journey.

TRACK LISTING

1 Heaven
2 Always New Days Always
3 Dreams
4 Up In Flames
5 Freak
6 Here Is The Rose
7 Raglan
8 Two Little Birds
9 This Day In May
10 Storm Queen
11 Fly A Kite

Songwriter, composer, director and visual artist Dev Hynes - best known under his moniker Blood Orange - releases the original motion picture score for the highly accoladed ‘Queen & Slim. ‘Queen & Slim’ is a 2019 American romantic crime drama film that follows two African-Americans on the run after killing a police officer in self-defence during a traffic stop. Directed by Melina Matsoukas (Beyonce’s Formation) and written by Lena Waithe (Master of None and Ready Player One), the film stars Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), Jodie Turner- Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Chloë Sevigny, Flea, Sturgill Simpson and Indya Moore.

The release of the ‘Queen & Slim’ score marks an incredible couple of years for Hynes, who recently wrapped up a tour opening for Tyler, The Creator in arenas across America. As Blood Orange, he released the mixtape Angel’s Pulse this past summer, in addition to directing a video for Beck, writing a collection of classical music with Third Coast Percussion, directing and releasing a series of his own videos and being called one of the Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People For 2019

TRACK LISTING

Kids
Hair
Slim Lets Go
Opening
This Is A Safe Place
Bed
A Couple Deer
Slim’s Haircut
What’s Next
Love Theme (Dance)
Slim’s Horse
Slim Calls Home
Uncle’s House
Love Theme
(Photograph)
Get Upstairs
The Sheriff
Start The Car
Sneak Out
Arrival
Kissed All Your Scars

On her third album, Little Scream offers a reflection on class and poverty in America. Speed Queen began as bits of prose written while touring her last album across North America—observing the slow entropy of the US, ruminating on her own low-income upbringing in a flyover state, and, as she says, “taking it all in from the privileged position of being a new Canadian.” In “Privileged Child,” she reminds wealthy people who like to adopt the style of the poor and working class that “poverty’s a feeling money just can’t buy.” On “Dear Leader,” she reminds those opposing migration that “when the waters rise, it’s gonna be you, Miami,” warning them that when they’re needing help, “…you will ask your God, but he’ll be busy getting risen, and the rich will be too busy buying stock in private prisons— that’s where they’ll send you for talking about socialism.”

The biting commentary served with a sense of humour softens its presentation but doesn’t detract from its power. This is a theme throughout Speed Queen, where humour and warm heartedness prevail despite some of the darker subjects touched upon. Montreal-based Laurel Sprengelmeyer has been playing music under the moniker Little Scream since 2008. In 2011, she released The Golden Record, which Pitchfork dubbed “a stellar debut” and NPR called “an absolutely captivating record.” It was included in NPR’s Best Albums of 2011 list, and the New York Times evoked its “hints of the divine.” Her second album and Merge debut Cult Following featured guests including Sufjan Stevens, Mary Margaret O’Hara, and Sharon Van Etten. Little Scream is using the release of first single “Dear Leader” to raise awareness about the 1000 Cities initiative. “If 1000 cities adopt Paris climate accord standards, the world can still meet its global emissions targets,” Little Scream explains. “Most of us feel disenfranchised from international agreements. But all of us can get our heads around local involvement.” That kind of optimism in the face of harsh reality is a theme that has always run through Little Scream’s work, whether personal or political. Speed Queen is a powerful reflection of that hard-won hope. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Dear Leader
2 One Lost Time
3. Switchblade
4. Disco Ball
5. Still Life
6. Forces Of Spring
7. No More Saturday Night
8. Speed Queen 
9. Don’t Wait For It 
10. Privileged Child.

"If Day at the Races was a sleek, streamlined album, its 1977 successor, News of the World, was its polar opposite, an explosion of styles that didn't seem to hold to any particular center. It's front-loaded with two of Queen's biggest anthems -- the stomping, stadium-filling chant "We Will Rock You" and its triumphant companion, "We Are the Champions" -- which are quickly followed by the ferocious "Sheer Heart Attack," a frenzied rocker that hits harder than anything on the album that shares its name (a remarkable achievement in itself). Three songs, three quick shifts in mood, but that's hardly the end of it. As the News rolls on, you're treated to the arch, campy crooning of "My Melancholy Blues," a shticky blues shuffle in "Sleeping on the Sidewalk," and breezy Latin rhythms on "Who Needs You." Then there's the neo-disco of "Fight from the Inside," which is eclipsed by the mechanical funk of "Get Down, Make Love," a dirty grind that's stripped of sensuality. That cold streak on "Get Down, Make Love" runs through the album as a whole. Despite the explosion of sounds and rhythms, this album doesn't add up to party thanks to that slightly distancing chilly vibe that hangs over the album. Nevertheless, many of these songs work well on their own as entities, so there is plenty to savor here, especially from Brian May. Whether he's doing the strangely subdued eccentric English pop "All Dead, All Dead" or especially the majestic yet nimble rocker "It's Late," he turns in work that gives this album some lightness, which it needs. And that's the reason News of the World was a monster hit despite its coldness -- when it works, it's massive, earth-shaking rock & roll, the sound of a band beginning to revel in its superstardom." - Allmusic.

"In every sense, A Day at the Races is an unapologetic sequel to A Night at the Opera, the 1975 breakthrough that established Queen as rock & roll royalty. The band never attempts to hide that the record is a sequel -- the two albums boast the same variation on the same cover art, the titles are both taken from old Marx Brothers films and serve as counterpoints to each other. But even though the two albums look the same, they don't quite sound the same, A Day at the Races is a bit tighter than its predecessor, yet tighter doesn't necessarily mean better for a band as extravagant as Queen. One of the great things about A Night at the Opera is that the lingering elements of early Queen -- the pastoral folk of "39," the metallic menace of "Death on Two Legs" -- dovetailed with an indulgence of camp and a truly, well, operatic scale. Here, the eccentricities are trimmed back somewhat -- they still bubble up on "The Millionaire Waltz," an example of the music hall pop that dominated Night, the pro-Native American saga "White Man" is undercut somewhat by the cowboys 'n' indians rhythms -- in favor of a driving, purposeful hard rock that still could have some slyly hidden perversities (or in the case of the opening "Tie Your Mother Down," some not-so-hidden perversity) but this is exquisitely detailed hard rock, dense with minutiae but never lush or fussy. In a sense, it could even function as the bridge between Sheer Heart Attack and Night at the Opera -- it's every bit as hard as the former and nearly as florid as the latter -- but its sleek, streamlined finish is the biggest indication that Queen has entered a new phase, where they're globe-conquering titans instead of underdogs on the make." - Allmusic.

"Queen were straining at the boundaries of hard rock and heavy metal on Sheer Heart Attack, but they broke down all the barricades on A Night at the Opera, a self-consciously ridiculous and overblown hard rock masterpiece. Using the multi-layered guitars of its predecessor as a foundation, A Night at the Opera encompasses metal ("Death on Two Legs," "Sweet Lady"), pop (the lovely, shimmering "You're My Best Friend"), campy British music hall ("Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon," "Seaside Rendezvous"), and mystical prog rock ("'39," "The Prophet's Song"), eventually bringing it all together on the pseudo-operatic "Bohemian Rhapsody." In short, it's a lot like Queen's own version of Led Zeppelin IV, but where Zep find dark menace in bombast, Queen celebrate their own pomposity. No one in the band takes anything too seriously, otherwise the arrangements wouldn't be as ludicrously exaggerated as they are. But the appeal -- and the influence -- of A Night at the Opera is in its detailed, meticulous productions. It's prog rock with a sense of humor as well as dynamics, and Queen never bettered their approach anywhere else." Allmusic.

The first Greatest Hits album by the legendary Queen. Originally released in 1981, this compilation album contains all of Queens best selling singles since their first chart appearance in 1974.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bohemian Rhapsody
2. Another One Bites The Dust
3. Killer Queen
4. Fat Bottomed Girls
5. Bicycle Race
6. You're My Best Friend
7. Don't Stop Me Now
8. Save Me
9. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
10. Somebody To Love
11. Now I'm Here
12. Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy
13. Play The Game
14. Flash
15. Seven Seas Of Rhye
16. We Will Rock You
17. We Are The Champions

"Following the disappointing commercial performance of the dance-oriented Hot Space in 1982, Queen took 1983 off to get refocused and work on a follow-up that would put the band back on track. While the songwriting had definitely improved on the resulting The Works in 1984, the album sonically lacked the punch of such earlier releases as News of the World and The Game (strangely, Hot Space even had a better overall sound). Although the album only peaked at number 23 on the U.S. album charts, it was a Top Ten hit in just about every other area of the world, producing the huge single "Radio Ga Ga." Three other tracks were hits in Queen's native England -- the uplifting "I Want to Break Free," the love song "It's a Hard Life," and the politically conscious rocker "Hammer to Fall," which dealt with the danger of nuclear weapons. Other highlights included the '50s-sounding "Man on the Prowl," the electronic experiment "Machines," the thunderous "Tear It Up," and a touching acoustic ballad, "Is This the World We Created...?"" - Allmusic.

"Queen had long been one of the biggest bands in the world by 1980's The Game, but this album was the first time they made a glossy, unabashed pop album, one that was designed to sound exactly like its time. They might be posed in leather jackets on the cover, but they hardly sound tough or menacing -- they rarely rock, at least not in the gonzo fashion that's long been their trademark. Gone are the bombastic orchestras of guitars and with them the charging, relentless rhythms that kept Queen grounded even at their grandest moments. Now, when they rock, they'll haul out a clever rockabilly pastiche, as they do on the tremendous "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," a sly revival of old-time rock & roll that never sounds moldy, thanks in large part to Freddie Mercury's panache. But even that is an exception to the rule on The Game. Usually, when they want to rock here, they wind up sounding like Boston, as they do on John Deacon's "Need Your Loving Tonight," or they sound a bit like a new wave-conscious rocker like Billy Squier, as they do on the propulsive "Coming Soon." But even those are exceptions to the overall rule on The Game, since most of the album is devoted to disco-rock blends -- best heard on the globe-conquering "Another One Bites the Dust," but also present in the unintentionally kitschy positivity anthem "Don't Try Suicide" -- and the majestic power ballads that became their calling card in the '80s, as they reworked the surging "Save Me" and the elegant "Play the Game" numerous times, often with lesser results. So, The Game winds up as a mixed bag, as many Queen albums often do, but again the striking difference with this album is that it finds Queen turning decidedly, decisively pop, and it's a grand, state-of-the-art circa 1980 pop album that still stands as one of the band's most enjoyable records. But the very fact that it does showcase a band that's turned away from rock and toward pop means that for some Queen fans, it marks the end of the road, and despite the album's charms, it's easy to see why." - Allmusic.

"Famously tagged as "fascist" in a Rolling Stone review printed at the time of its 1978 release, Jazz does indeed showcase a band that does thrive upon its power, thrilling upon the hold that it has on its audience. That confidence, that self-intoxication, was hinted at on News of the World but it takes full flower here, and that assurance acts as a cohesive device, turning this into one of Queen's sleekest albums. Like its patchwork predecessor, Jazz also dabbles in a bunch of different sounds -- that's a perennial problem with Queen, where the four songwriters were often pulling in different directions -- but it sounds bigger, heavier than News, thanks to the mountains of guitars Brian May has layered all over this record. If May has indulged himself, Freddie Mercury runs riot all over this album, infusing it with an absurdity that's hard to resist. This goofiness is apparent from the galloping overture "Mustapha," and things only get a lot sillier from that point out, as the group sings the praises of "Fat Bottomed Girls" and "Bicycle Races." May and Mercury have an unspoken competition on who can overdub the most onto a particular track, while Roger Taylor steers them toward their first disco song in the gloriously dumb "Fun It." But since over-the-top campiness has always been an attribute in Queen, this kind of grand-scale exaggeration gives Jazz a sense of ridiculousness that makes it more fun than many of their other albums." - Allmusic.

Having already made a name for himself in Nollywood (the Nigerian film industry) and in the sweatiest of London’s sweaty clubs. Ekiti Sound fuses Chicago house, Detroit techno and African poly rhythms with deviant electro synth patterns and a sub bass so deep you can hear the speakers rattling from Manchester. Throw in some cowbell, (what sounds like, to my uneducated ears anyway) arabic vocal and you have a dark, brooding, wall shaking, floor filling Lagos via London bomb.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Area 10k Boys Riddim
B1. Area 10k Boys Riddim (Flightmode Remix)
B2. Area 10K Boys Riddim (Radio Edit)

November sees the release of MERRIE LAND, the second album from The Good, The Bad & The Queen, a band comprising of Damon Albarn, Paul Simonon, Tony Allen and Simon Tong. The Good, The Bad & The Queen began life as the acclaimed 2007 album of the same name, a heartfelt tribute to London described by The Observer in a 5 star review as –“One of the most surprising and magical records for which Damon Albarn has ever been responsible”.

The record traced a journey from the English music hall tradition to West Africa and Afrobeat, zigzagging through the West Indies and its reggae and dub, back to England and London's punk scene, all the while taking in a strand of British beat music from the '50s right through to Britpop. The result was a record specific to a place and mood but with a background that was geographically wide-ranging.

Now the four musical storytellers are back with a new studio album titled ‘Merrie Land’.

Produced by Tony Visconti and The Good, The Bad & The Queen was completed in London and Wales this year, during the current ongoing period in which the UK is preparing to leave the European Union, ‘Merrie Land ’is a questioning good-bye letter, a series of observations and reflections on Britishness in 2018. Even though it has been over 10 years since the band last released a record, the timing could not be more apt – there could not be a more perfect band to untangle the optimism, disorientation and confusion in the atmosphere today.

With ‘Merrie Land’, the band taps into a creative symbiosis of past and future, drawing inspiration from their shared glittering musical histories and wrapping the hybrid results in a brilliantly postmodern yet thoroughly British package.

The album sees the band’s focus move beyond London with a beautiful and hopeful paean to the Britain of today - an inclusive Britain - and the possibilities of the future. In the band’s own words, Merrie Land is a ten song lament of Anglo-Saxosentialism marking the reluctant end of a relationship, and about picking up the pieces and seeing what can be salvaged. The band set a beautifully muted palette and lustrous finish to bring out a mood that is bruised yet unapologetically defiant and optimistic, and carries the underlying message: we will survive.

In times of metaphysical trauma, the people need to forge ahead and wear armour. Here it is, set to the mood music of a nation about to be broken yet undefeated.

TRACK LISTING

1. Introduction
2. Merrie Land
3. Gun To The Head
4. Nineteen Seventeen
5. The Great Fire
6. Lady Boston
7. Drifters & Trawlers
8. The Truce Of Twilight
9. Ribbons
10. The Last Man To Leave
11. The Poison Tree

On Sons of Kemet’s third studio album, and first under the impulse! label, Shabaka Hutchings and his band incorporate sounds of global jazz all while keeping a consistent and pulsing groove throughout the record. Shabaka Hutchings is a saxophonist, composer, and band leader based in the UK. He is the newest signing to the impulse! label, and he is in three prominent jazz outfits – Sons of Kemet, Shabaka & The Ancestors, and The Comet Is Coming. Sons of Kemet is the iconoclastic mix of tenor sax, tuba and double drums.

On this third studio album, they bring a genre defying approach that celebrates the restless exploration of identity within the Caribbean diaspora within the U.K. Your Queen is a Reptile was recorded in London with a host of guests spanning the breadth of the U.K. scene including jungle legend Congo Natty and poet Joshua Idehen. Sonically, this album stretches from New Orleans to the Caribbean to London to the Middle East. With the instrumentation of tuba, drums and sax, it has a second-line quality that marches into the Caribbean diaspora. There is spoken word, rap, and elements of dub, further emphasizing jazz’s place in today’s hip-hop world.

TRACK LISTING

My Queen Is Ada Eastman
My Queen Is Mamie Phipps Clark
My Queen Is Harriet Tubman
My Queen Is Anna Julia Cooper
My Queen Is Angela Davis
My Queen Is Nanny Of The Maroons
My Queen Is Yaaasantewaa
My Queen Is Albertina Sisulu
My Queen Is Doreen Laurence

Arguably the most varied of the P&P related labels, Queen Constance was responsible for the release of some of the hottest shit NYC had to offer during the seventies and eighties, so rejoice when I tell you a reissue program is underway. High Fidelity will be the first in a series of Queen Constance rarities to be reissued, an extremely rare and coveted record that can change hands on the second hand market for big big money, so avoid those low rent bootlegs that are out there and cop this fully licensed repress.

The group's self-titled sole long-player is a fantastic 6 track set of gritty, soulful and uplifting funky Disco with a DIY edge. Not too much is known about the artists themselves, or even when the record was performed, recorded or released but it certainly sounds like a group who knew their craft inside out. The energy is high across the record and the group sound like they're on fire, just check the outrageously funkified 'Magic Carpet' and you'll see what we mean. Amazing. The whole project has that enchanting lo-fi, back-street feel to it in terms of production and the mind boggles as to how such a record would have come off had it been recorded at a Motown or any other 'big' studio, but no matter as this release is perfect the way it is, an essential piece of street-level NYC Disco straight from the underground.

TRACK LISTING

A1 - Life Time
A2 - Dedicated
A3 - Love Champ
B1 - From Us To You
B2 - Destiny
B3 - Magic Carpet

Jeremy Enigk performed with legendary indie rock band Sunny Day Real Estate from 1993 to 2000. He was their singer, songwriter, and one of their guitarists. In 1996, following Sunny Day Real Estate’s first breakup (which lasted from 1995 to 1997), Enigk released his first solo album, Return of the Frog Queen.

Return of the Frog Queen represents a major shift from the sound of Sunny Day Real Estate. The album features a 21-piece orchestra backing Enigk as he performs striking, dramatic, chamber-pop compositions that demonstrate the full breadth of Enigk’s talents as a singer, musician, and songwriter. The album was produced by Greg Williamson, who also produced Sunny Day Real Estate’s 1998 comeback album, How it Feels to Be Something On.

Return of the Frog Queen has been out of print since its original 1996 pressing. This reissue includes the original album, remastered in 2018, plus digital bonus tracks from Enigk’s 1996 live session on Seattle radio station The End.

TRACK LISTING

Abegail Anne
Return Of The Frog Queen
Lewis Hollow
Lizard
Carnival
Call Me Steam
Explain
Shade And The Black Hat
Fallen Heart
Abegal Anne (The End Sessions) *digital-only Bonus Track
Return Of The Frog Queen (The End Sessions) *digital-only Bonus Track
Lizard (The End Sessions) *digital-only Bonus Track
Carnival (The End Sessions) *digital-only Bonus Track
Explain (The End Sessions) *digital-only Bonus Track

We are the Wildlife is the debut solo LP from celebrated Irish folk chanteuse and harpist Brona McVittie. We are the Wildlife is a psycho-geographic journey through a collection of traditional folk ballads and original compositions inspired as much by the geometries of London's urban fringes as by the sonic phenomena within the great rural landscapes of Mourne. This mixing of traditional songs with her own compositions, and thematic ties between songs old and new, coupled with the use of traditional instruments (harp/flute/strings, etc.) against subtle electronic backdrops and innovative production techniques all adds up to a record that is heartfelt, timeless, yet pleasingly contemporary in feel.

Widely considered to be both The Smiths’ finest work and one of the greatest albums ever made, ‘The Queen Is Dead’ has cast a significant influence over subsequent generations since it was first released in the summer of 1986.

This reissue represents the first time that The Smiths’ back catalogue has been revisited in such a way. The album features several of the band’s finest moments including the title track and ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’, as well as the iconic singles ‘The Boy With The Thorn In His Side’ and ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’.

‘The Queen Is Dead’ will be released on digital and streaming formats as well as the following physical formats – all of which feature the 2017 master of the original album:

5LP box – featuring the 2017 master of the album, additional recordings and the ‘Live In Boston’ recording. Housed in lift-off box with 2 double gatefolds and 1 single sleeve pressed on 180g heavy weight vinyl.

Deluxe 3CD / 1 DVD box set – features the 2017 master of the album; additional recordings featuring demos, b-sides and alternative versions; the ‘Live In Boston’ album recorded at the Great Woods Center For The Performing Arts on 5th August 1986; and a DVD featuring the 2017 master of album in 96kHz / 24-bit PCM stereo and ‘The Queen Is Dead – A Film By Derek Jarman’.

2CD – features the 2017 master of the album; additional recordings featuring demos, b-sides and alternative versions.

TRACK LISTING

VINYL BOX SET TRACKLISTING:
LP 1 – Original Album: 2017 Master
Side A:
1. ‘The Queen Is Dead’
2. ‘Frankly, Mr. Shankly’
3. ‘I Know It’s Over’
4. ‘Never Had No One Ever’
5. ‘Cemetry Gates’

Side B:
6. ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’
7. ‘The Boy With The Thorn In His Side’
8. ‘Vicar In A Tutu’
9. ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’
10. ‘Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others’

LP 2 & 3 – Additional Recordings
Side A:
1. ‘The Queen Is Dead’ (full Version)
2. ‘Frankly, Mr. Shankly’ (demo)
3. ‘I Know It’s Over’ (demo)

Side B:
4. ‘Never Had No One Ever’ (demo)
5. ‘Cemetry Gates’ (demo)
6. ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’ (demo)

Side C:
7. ‘Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others’ (demo)
8. ‘The Boy With The Thorn In His Side’ (demo Mix)
9. ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’ (take 1)

Side D:
10. ‘Rubber Ring’ (b-side)
11. ‘Asleep’ (b-side)
12. ‘Money Changes Everything’ (b-side)
13. ‘Unloveable’ (b-side)

Tracks 1-7 And 9 Are Previously Unreleased.
Track 8 Was Released On 7” For Record Store Day.
Tracks 10 And 11 Are 2017 Masters Of B-sides From ‘The Boy With The Thorn In His Side’.
Tracks 12 And 13 Are 2017 Masters Of B-sides From ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’.

LP 4 & 5 – ‘Live In Boston’ – Previously Unreleased
Side A:
1. ‘How Soon Is Now?’ (5.25)
2. ‘Hand In Glove’ (2.58)
3. ‘I Want The One I Can’t Have’ (3.24)
4. ‘Never Had No One Ever’ (3.29)

Side B:
5. ‘Stretch Out And Wait’ (3.09)
6. ‘The Boy With The Thorn In His Side’ (3.34)
7. ‘Cemetry Gates’ (3.01)
8. ‘Rubber Ring/What She Said/Rubber Ring’ (4.17)

Side C:
9. ‘Is It Really So Strange?’ (3.23)
10. ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’ (4.09)
11. ‘That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore’ (4.51)

Side D:
12. ‘The Queen Is Dead’ (5.08)
13. ‘I Know It's Over’ (7.39)

Recorded At The Great Woods Center For The Performing Arts On 5th August 1986.

DELUXE 3CD / 1 DVD BOX SET TRACKLISTING: 
CD1 – Original Album: 2017 Master
1. ‘The Queen Is Dead’
2. ‘Frankly, Mr. Shankly’
3. ‘I Know It’s Over’
4. ‘Never Had No One Ever’
5. ‘Cemetry Gates’
6. ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’
7. ‘The Boy With The Thorn In His Side’
8. ‘Vicar In A Tutu’
9. ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’
10. ‘Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others’

CD2 – Additional Recordings
1. ‘The Queen Is Dead’ (full Version)
2. ‘Frankly, Mr. Shankly’ (demo)
3. ‘I Know It’s Over’ (demo)
4. ‘Never Had No One Ever’ (demo)
5. ‘Cemetry Gates’ (demo)
6. ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’ (demo)
7. ‘Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others’ (demo)
8. ‘The Boy With The Thorn In His Side’ (demo Mix)
9. ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’ (take 1)
10. ‘Rubber Ring’ (b-side)
11. ‘Asleep’ (b-side)
12. ‘Money Changes Everything’ (b-side)
13. ‘Unloveable’ (b-side)

Tracks 1-7 And 9 Are Previously Unreleased.
Track 8 Was Released On 7” For Record Store Day.
Tracks 10 And 11 Are 2017 Masters Of B-sides From ‘The Boy With The Thorn In His Side’.
Tracks 12 And 13 Are 2017 Masters Of B-sides From ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’.

CD3 – ‘Live In Boston’ – Previously Unreleased
1. ‘How Soon Is Now?’ (5.25)
2. ‘Hand In Glove’ (2.58)
3. ‘I Want The One I Can’t Have’ (3.24)
4. ‘Never Had No One Ever’ (3.29)
5. ‘Stretch Out And Wait’ (3.09)
6. ‘The Boy With The Thorn In His Side’ (3.34)
7. ‘Cemetry Gates’ (3.01)
8. ‘Rubber Ring/What She Said/Rubber Ring’ (4.17)
9. ‘Is It Really So Strange?’ (3.23)
10. ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’ (4.09)
11. ‘That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore’ (4.51)
12. ‘The Queen Is Dead’ (5.08)
13. ‘I Know It's Over’ (7.39)

Recorded At The Great Woods Center For The Performing Arts On 5th August 1986.

DVD:
‘The Queen Is Dead’ On 96kHz / 24-bit PCM Stereo.
‘The Queen Is Dead – A Film By Derek Jarman’.

2CD TRACKLISTING:
CD1 – Original Album: 2017 Master
1. ‘The Queen Is Dead’
2. ‘Frankly, Mr. Shankly’
3. ‘I Know It’s Over’
4. ‘Never Had No One Ever’
5. ‘Cemetry Gates’
6. ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’
7. ‘The Boy With The Thorn In His Side’
8. ‘Vicar In A Tutu’
9. ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’
10. ‘Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others’

CD2 – Additional Recordings
1. ‘The Queen Is Dead’ (full Version)
2. ‘Frankly, Mr. Shankly’ (demo)
3. ‘I Know It’s Over’ (demo)
4. ‘Never Had No One Ever’ (demo)
5. ‘Cemetry Gates’ (demo)
6. ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’ (demo)
7. ‘Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others’ (demo)
8. ‘The Boy With The Thorn In His Side’ (demo Mix)
9. ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’ (take 1)
10. ‘Rubber Ring’ (b-side)
11. ‘Asleep’ (b-side)
12. ‘Money Changes Everything’ (b-side)
13. ‘Unloveable’ (b-side)

Tracks 1-7 And 9 Are Previously Unreleased.
Track 8 Was Released On 7” For Record Store Day.
Tracks 10 And 11 Are 2017 Masters Of B-sides From ‘The Boy With The Thorn In His Side’.
Tracks 12 And 13 Are 2017 Masters Of B-sides From ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’.

One of the greatest albums of all time, but then you don't need me to tell you that! Again there were surprises: the sprawling power of the title track, the vaudevillian jokiness and throwaway lightness of "Frankly Mr. Shankly" and "Vicar In a Tutu" respectively, the swaying poise and drama of "I Know It's Over" and the murky psychedelia of "Never Had No-one Never". These tunes rung the changes but the remaining 5 were world classics: "Bigmouth Strikes Again", "Cemetry Gates", "The Boy with the Thorn in his Side", "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" and, of course "There is a Light That Never Goes Out". The whole thing was perfectly sequenced to take you on a proper musical journey. A truly beautiful record.

Death to the Strange are a Salford (Manchester) based five piece, fusing lyric-driven, folk-inspired songs with ambient electronic sounds and an amplified rhythm section. With instrumentation tailored to each tune, the band are looking to take in and build on all interesting music out there. In recent months things have been moving more and more quickly for Death to the Strange, with headlining slots at acclaimed Salford and Manchester venues, more high profile supports (Gomez) and a growing repertoire of radio and press coverage. In the words of one Salford City Radio DJ: 'check them out or look proper daft in a year or so!'

John Grant, former singer/songwriter with Bella Union cult favorites The Czars, finally returns in April 2010 with an extraordinary debut solo album made with Midlake.

Everyone has a favorite band or singer they reckon is subject to criminal neglect. That John Grant’s effortlessly rich, expansive baritone, couched in typically heartbreaking, lush melody, hasn’t found a wider audience many would consider a crime. But no longer. Because Grant’s first solo album is so undeniably great that the world will surely listen.

It’s a record of gravitas and grace, of FM melody magic laced with raw emotional bleeding. It asks why relationships are roulette and love is hell in a last-ditch attempt at self-improvement and atonement after years of alcohol and cocaine dependency. And on top, to further the album’s brilliance, Grant’s backing band on the album are Bella Union label-mates Midlake, contributing their most empathic ‘70s-style soft-rock know-how. Put simply, “Queen Of Denmark” is the record Grant’s been waiting his whole life to make.
Not that the Czars didn’t hit their own heights. After emerging from Denver, Colorado, rave reviews were the norm… “Long distinguished by John Grant’s superlative baritone, ‘Goodbye’ reeks of wistful, melancholic class… as meticulous and complete-sounding as the best works by Mercury Rev or The Flaming Lips” said Uncut about The Czars’ final album.
“Queen Of Denmark” was recorded in Denton in late 2008 through 2009 in the studio downtime while Midlake were recording their own record. The album moves through simple piano settings via an infusion of period-perfect synths that epitomise the lonely mood. There’s flute from Midlake frontman Tim Smith on the dreamiest cut ‘Marz’ and velvet strings on ‘Dreams’, which imagines Scott Walker influenced by Patsy Cline. There is pure longing in the opening ‘TC And Honeybear’ and bitterly sarcastic anger in the magnificent title track finale… Pain, hope, fear, regret and self-discovery… “Queen of Denmark” has it all… framed within some of the finest songs you’ll hear in this or any other year…

TRACK LISTING

1. TC & Honeybear
2. Marz
3. Where Dreams Go To Die
4. Sigourney Weaver
5. Chicken Bones
6. Silver Platter Club
7. It’s Easier
8. Outer Space
9. Jesus Hates Faggots
10. Caramel
11. Leopard & Lamb
12. Queen Of Denmark

The Good, The Bad and The Queen is a new album featuring Damon Albarn (Blur / Gorillaz), Paul Simonon (The Clash), Tony Allen (Africa 70 / Fela Kuti) and Simon Tong (The Verve) which began life in the Aphrodisia Studios in Nigeria in 2004: Damon Albarn and guitarist Simon Tong had travelled to Lagos to record with veteran drummer and Afro-beat pioneer Tony Allen. Working with local musicians, the trio recorded an album's worth of rough material. Back in England, Damon was finishing off Gorillaz' "Demon Days" album and the project went on the back burner. When he came back to the tracks Damon began writing lyrics about his West London neighbourhood and why he thinks it's such a special place to live, then gave the recordings to producer Brian 'Danger Mouse' Burton and the album began to take shape. The final collaborator to come in to the studio was Clash bassist – and West London native – Paul Simonon. Sessions for the album proper took place in Damon's studio just off the Golborne Road, and in Devon, and were finished by early summer 2006. The result is a record specific to a place and a time but with a background that is geographically wide-ranging and stretches far back into a glittering musical past. "The Good, The Bad & The Queen" traces a journey from the English music hall tradition, over to West Africa for Afro-beat, zig-zagging through the West Indies and its reggae and dub, back to England and London's punk scene, all the while taking in a strand of British beat music from the 50s right through to Britpop.