Mechanize is a full-fisted blast of passion and innovation that sounds like the missing link between’s 1995’s groundbreaking Demanufacture and 1998’s more texturally nuanced Obsolete. Songs like “Industrial Discipline” and “Powershifter” are crushing and colossal, melding fast and precise rhythms with vocals that pinwheel from raw and scathing to hauntingly melodic while “Fear Campaign,” which features harrowing spoken word passages, quickly segues into a showcase of punishing beats, rapid-fire riffs and ghostly keyboards. For the first time in years, the band’s industrial roots glimmer through its street-lethal metal, thanks in part to Fulber, who worked on Fear Factory’s popular industrial remix albums Fear is the Mindkiller and Remanufacture.

“I didn’t want any of the soundscapes to sound natural,” says Bell. “I wanted them to be really mechanical because I wanted that aspect of Fear Factory to really shine again. I feel it kind of got dulled over and that’s the aspect that I really enjoyed a lot about Fear Factory. I was a huge fan of industrial music and still am. And you don’t hear much of that anymore these days.”

While Mechanize is instantly reminiscent of Fear Factory’s most potent moments of discovery, it’s hardly a stroll down the old assembly line. Through a combination of technological advancements and experience, Fear Factory have evolved like a computer virus, constantly reconfiguring itself to maximize its destructive impact. As work began on the album in early April, Bell, who resides in Pennsylvania, admitted he initially expected the years apart would leave him feeling awkward or uncomfortable. However, when Cazares picked him up at the airport his apprehensions melted like a block of ice on a hot electric motor. “After being with him a couple hours and talking to him everything was cool,” Bell says.” Three months later the duo had a fresh batch of new songs written and a more importantly a renewed confidence in their union.

“Our creative juices were really flowing the whole time,” says Cazares about the entire creative process. “All of a sudden we’d look at the clock and go, ‘Holy shit, it’s already 2:30 or 3 am.’ We just lost track of time because we were all bouncing ideas off each other really productively. We were adding touches right up until the final second to make the record as fresh as it could be.”

In the early ’90s, many years before Killswitch Engage and Shadows Fall started combining strangled growls with catchy vocal melodies, and Static-X and Rammstein began blending pounding staccato riffs and jackhammer beats with electronic samples, Los Angeles future-thinkers Fear Factory were reinventing both death metal and industrial rock with an arsenal of sonic styles. The band, with Bell and Cazares at its core, landed a record deal based on a self-financed recording they made with producer Ross Robinson (Slayer). They immediately entered the studio to record their first proper album, Soul of a New Machine. Released in 1992, the album nearly transformed death metal overnight with its blend of throat-abrading screams and melodic vocals, and sci-fi lyrics about a machine that was invented to control and contain mankind.

“A lot of people didn’t get it and really ridiculed us,” Cazares recalls. “Because of the different vocals some people were like, ‘whoah, this is cool, this is different.’ And then other people went, ‘he’s singing melodically? That shouldn’t be on a f**kin’ death metal record.’ It took a while for more people to catch on to that style of singing, and now it’s everywhere.”

Fear Factory would release four critically acclaimed albums and two industrial remix EPs, selling well over a million albums in the process. In early 2002, following a grueling tour with Machine Head, the band imploded due to personal differences and sheer over-exertion. A revamped group, moving forward without Cazares, would go on release two more records over the next few years.

As time passed, the chance of a reunion between Bell and Cazares seemed less likely. Then in April, 2008, a full six years after they had last spoken, Bell, who at that time was touring with Ministry, ran into Cazares while in Los Angeles and the two reopened the lines of communication. “It just didn’t feel complete,” says Bell. “I realized that Dino and I were a real integral part of Fear Factory and we needed each other to make it work. Without the both of us it just lost that intensity.”

In the six years that have passed since the original Fear Factory splintered, lots of transformation has taken place. Bell has formed the gothic rock band Ascension of the Watchers, and Cazares has put out two Divine Heresy discs and toured extensively. Stroud and Hoglan have recorded and toured with Strapping Young Lad, Zimmer’s Hole and Dethklok. For Bell, the myriad of projects have only provided creative ideas and inspiration for Fear Factory. He notes, “in this day and age you gotta keep busy. You can’t just rely on one band; something we’ve all learned from time and years of experience. Not only is it good to support yourself, but it also keeps you going creatively.”

“This is definitely a different chapter for us and I think it’s the best thing we’ve ever done,” Cazares adds. “Obviously, Burton and I have grown up and we’ve pretty much perfected what we do. More importantly we’ve discovered why we so were good together in the first place. Our combination just works. All the ingredients and the elements that we had in the past, combined with what we’ve learned since being apart feels like putting on a new glove that still feels as good as an old glove.”

Triple GRAMMY® Award winning guitarist Steve Vai will be the featured guest on VH1 Classic’s “That Metal Show” on Saturday, November 7 at 11PM. For fans outside the U.S., it will be available online shortly after it airs.

Vai will be speaking about his new concert film WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE: LIVE IN MINNEAPOLIS (WTWTA), which just debuted at #4 on Billboard® Magazine’s Top Music DVD Chart. The film, released by Vai’s record company Favored Nations Entertainment, hit retail September 29 (a companion live audio CD came out that day as well). The Blu-ray edition will be in-stores November 10, and an online preview is available at: www.vai.com/wildthings.

Later this month, Vai will have the honor of performing the National Anthem at the New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday, November 29. Of the experience, he says, “Being a native New Yorker, it’s a thrill for me to play the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ at the Knicks game at Madison Square Garden. I may even use red, white and blue strings!” Vai will also host an in-store event at Borders (2 Penn Plaza, New York, NY) after the game.

2010 will mark Vai’s 30-year touring anniversary. He first stepped into the spotlight in 1980 as a guitarist in Frank Zappa’s band. His indelible contribution to music came during his solo career, which includes combined sales of nearly six million albums over the last three decades-and more musical mojo than most could even dream of.

WTWTA was filmed and recorded at the historic State Theatre in Minneapolis, MN before a sold-out crowd during Vai’s acclaimed 2007 String Theories World Tour. Vai chose the State Theatre for its lush acoustics and equally inspiring interior–his unparalleled guitar wizardry amazes throughout the film, as do the talents of the stellar band, an ace group of players Vai put together and called String Theories.

Also in November, Vai will head to Canada for two Alien Guitar Secrets Master Classes. Alien Guitar Secrets is an unprecedented, master class opportunity offered by Steve Vai to all music students and guitar enthusiasts. This 3+ hour unique package gives student a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear Vai discuss music theory, guitar techniques, the music business, and most importantly, techniques on how to discover and unlock your personal musical identity. It also includes a question and answer session, and a few attendees will be chosen to jam with Vai in this intimate environment.

Steve Vai will be teaching a Master Class in Calgary on Nov. 22 at the Engineered Air Theater and another in Toronto on Nov. 24 at the Rock Star Music School. Tickets are $250 and the class is limited to 100 students. To purchase tickets, please visit http://www.vai.com/News/tourdates.html.

Source: Favored Nations Entertainment

The collection will be available November 10 at all retail outlets, including www.thedoors.com and www.rhino.com, for suggested list price of $89.98 for the physical boxed set. A digital version featuring select highlights from all four Felt Forum shows will also be available at all digital retail outlets for $9.99. An exclusive stream of “Break On Through (To The Other Side)” from the second show on January 17, 1970 will premiere at spinner.com beginning this Thursday, August 27.

Recorded January 17 and 18, 1970 – just a few weeks before the release of Morrison Hotel – these concerts find Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Robby Krieger, and Ray Manzarek locked in tight as they deliver smoking takes on soon-to-be-classics from their forthcoming album, including “Roadhouse Blues,” “Peace Frog,” “Ship Of Fools,” and “Maggie M’Gill.” The shows also feature a number of driving blues covers, such as Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love,” Howlin’ Wolf’s “Little Red Rooster,” and John Lee Hooker’s “Crawling King Snake.” “Those were the bluesy songs we always used to do,” Krieger says. “We probably hadn’t done them in years, but we resurrected them for these shows.”

The year prior to these shows, The Doors became one of the first rock bands to play New York City’s Madison Square Garden. When they returned in 1970, Densmore says they chose to play the Felt Forum, a smaller venue at the Garden. “It was more intimate, and you could feel the audience more,” he says. “There was more interaction, and the acoustics were much better, because it was designed for music.”

Manzarek hails these shows as a return to the group’s early days, when they used to play a small Los Angeles club called the London Fog. “I mean, talk about going back to basics. We used to do four sets a night at the London Fog, and we only had a small block of songs written up to that time. So we would do other people’s material. And in New York, it was like the same thing. We’ve got four shows to play here, two sets tonight, two sets tomorrow night. Let’s play whatever we want! Let’s just go!”

And go they did. Along with a mix of then-unheard new songs and old covers, the band also tapped into its 1967, self-titled debut, peppering the set lists with signature songs such as “Break On Through (To The Other Side),” “Soul Kitchen,” “The End,” and “Light My Fire,” The Doors’ first #1 hit.

For the final show of the Felt Forum stand, the band was joined onstage by two guests – The Lovin’ Spoonful’s John Sebastian (who played harmonica on the studio version of “Roadhouse Blues”) and drummer Dallas Taylor, who’d played on Crosby, Stills & Nash’s debut. Sebastian sat in for “Rock Me” and was joined by Taylor for “Going To N.Y. Blues” and “Maggie M’Gill.”

Fans will be blown away by the crisp sound found on LIVE IN NEW YORK. All four shows were mixed and mastered by the band’s longtime engineer, Bruce Botnick, who recorded a number of shows from The Doors’ 1970 tour on multi-track tape for the Absolutely Live album. While most of the music contained on LIVE IN NEW YORK is unreleased, a few songs (and portions of songs) surfaced in 1970 on Absolutely Live and in 1997 on The Doors Box Set.

Sadly, these shows represent The Doors’ final New York City performances with Morrison, who passed away July 3, 1971.

Rhino released 180-gram vinyl versions of all six Doors studio albums on September 15. Previously available only in 2007’s The Doors Vinyl Box, original stereo mixes of The Doors, Strange Days, Waiting For The Sun, The Soft Parade, Morrison Hotel, and L.A. Woman will now be available individually at all vinyl retail outlets for a suggested list price of $24.98 each.
Disc 1
January 17, 1970 (First Show)
1. Start Of Show
2. “Roadhouse Blues”
3. “Ship Of Fools”*
4. “Break On Through (To The Other Side)”
5. Tuning
6. “Peace Frog”
7. “Blue Sunday”
8. “Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)”
9. “Back Door Man”*
10. “Love Hides”*
11. “Five To One”*
12. Tuning/Breather
13. “Who Do You Love”
14. “Little Red Rooster”
15. “Money”
16. Tuning
17. “Light My Fire”*
18. More, More, More
19. “Soul Kitchen”*
20. End Of Show

Disc 2
January 17, 1970 (Second Show)
1. Start Show 2
2. Jim “How Ya Doing?”
3. “Roadhouse Blues”
4. “Break On Through (To The Other Side)”*
5. “Ship Of Fools”
6. “Crawling King Snake”
7. “Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)”
8. “Back Door Man”*
9. “Five To One”
10. Pretty Neat, Pretty Good
11. “Build Me A Woman”
12. Tuning/Breather
13. “Who Do You Love”*
14. Tuning/Breather
15. “Wild Child”*
16. Cheering/Tuning
17. “When The Music’s Over”

Disc 3
January 17, 1970 (Second Show) continued
1. Tuning/Breather
2. “Light My Fire”*
3. Hey, Mr. Light Man!
4. “Soul Kitchen”*
5. Jim’s Fish Joke
6. “The End”
7. End Of Show

Disc 4
January 18, 1970 (Third Show)
1. Start Show 3
2. “Roadhouse Blues”*
3. “Ship Of Fools”*
4. “Break On Through (To The Other Side)”*
5. Tuning/Breather
6. “Universal Mind”*
7. “Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)” – False Start*
8. “Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)”*
9. “Back Door Man”*
10. “Five To One”
11. Tuning/Breather
12. “Moonlight Drive”
13. “Who Do You Love”*
14. Calling Out For Songs
15. “Money”*
16. Tuning/Breather
17. “Light My Fire”
18. More, More More
19. “When The Music’s Over”*
20. Good Night – End Show

Disc 5
January 18, 1970 (Fourth Show)
1. Start Show 4
2. “Roadhouse Blues”*
3. “Peace Frog”*
4. “Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)”*
5. “Back Door Man”
6. “Five To One”
7. We Have A Special Treat
8. “Celebration Of The Lizard”
9. Alright Let’s Boogie
10. “Build Me A Woman”
11. “When The Music’s Over”*
12. More, More, More

Disc 6
January 18, 1970 (Fourth Show) continued
1. “Soul Kitchen”*
2. For Fear Of Getting Too Patriotic
3. Petition The Lord With Prayer
4. “Light My Fire”
5. Only When The Moon Comes Out
6. “Close To You”
7. The Encore Begins
8. “Rock Me”*
9. What To Do Next?
10. “Going To N.Y. Blues”*
11. Tuning/Breather
12. “Maggie M’Gill”*
13. Tuning/Breather
14. “Gloria”*/End Of Show

*Previously unreleased

U2 will perform in front of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate on November 5, as part of the 16th MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs), the news was announced by MTV Networks International (MTVNI), owned by Viacom Inc.. As a prelude to the Fall of The Wall celebrations in Berlin, U2 return to the city for a free ticketed performance which will be beamed into the 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards.

U2’s manager Paul McGuinness said: “It’ll be an exciting spot to be in, 20 years almost to the day since the wall came down. Should be fun.”

Tickets to attend MTV EMAs present U2 at the Brandenburg Gate will be free of charge and available by registering on www.u2.com or www.mtvema.com from 9pm (CET) on Wednesday 28 October 2009. Tickets, which will take the form of a bar-coded e-ticket, will be available on a first-come, first-served basis and will be restricted to a maximum of 2 per applicant. Access to the performance will be strictly via one advance, scanned e-ticket per person. Tickets will not be available on the night of the show.

Commented Antonio Campo Dall’Orto, EVP, Music Brands, MTV Networks International and Executive Producer for the MTV Europe Music Awards: “The exceptional musical heritage of this year’s EMAs spans genres and generations and we are extremely proud to be bringing U2 to Berlin for this extraordinary performance. This year’s Awards will be remembered as the night when the world’s major music players came together against the backdrop of the fall of the Berlin Wall to celebrate music, freedom and the birth of a new age in Europe.”

The MTV Europe Music Awards will take place at the 02 World, Berlin on Thursday 5 November 2009 and will be broadcast live on MTV at 9pm CET. The MTV Europe Music Awards are sponsored by Sony Ericsson, MTV Games / Harmonic’s The Beatles(TM): Rock Band(TM) and Dell.

For more information on 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards artists — and to vote — please go to: www.mtvema.com

Source: MTV Networks International

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — When it wraps up this week, the U2 360 Tour will have played to over 3 million fans in just 44 cities. With record shattering sales including the largest attendance at the Rose Bowl this evening as well as setting the all time record at New York’s Giant Stadium where the audience surpassed that of the Pope – the largest rock and roll touring production ever has just confirmed the return to North America beginning June 6th at Anaheim’s Angel Stadium. The tour is once again produced by Live Nation Global Touring and sponsored by BlackBerry®.

Having performed in a limited number of North American cities in 2009, U2 360 is set to touch down in a new set of stadiums next summer including stops in Anaheim; Denver; Oakland; Seattle; Edmonton; East Lansing; Miami; Philadelphia and Montreal. Due to overwhelming demand, U2 360 will also return for one night only in Toronto and Chicago before finishing the North American leg in New York at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

With sell-outs already reported for the 2010 European tour including Denmark (2 shows sold out); Brussels (2 shows sold out); Helsinki (2 shows sold out) and Coimbra (2 shows sold out); and Paris where over 90,000 tickets were sold for a third show at that venue, U2 2010 will offer fans who missed out a new opportunity to experience the U2 stadium spectacle.

With a cylindrical video system of interlocking LED panels, and a steel structure rising 150 feet from the floor over a massive stage with rotating bridges, the band has truly created an intimate 360 experience for concert goers. In keeping with the concept that this tour is more about a unique staging configuration with excellent sight-lines, tickets for the U2 360 2010 tour will once again be scaled so that 85 percent of the tickets are priced at less than $95.00, general admission floor tickets at $55.00 and at least 10,000 tickets per venue priced at $30.00.

Tickets for the U2 360 Tour performances in Oakland, Edmonton, and Toronto will go on sale Monday November 2. Additional North American on sales will take place over the following few weeks in November. Full details of all dates and on-sale information as well as multiple imagery and video of the unique production and seating positions can be found at www.U2.com.

As always, subscribers to U2’s official website u2.com will have an opportunity to purchase tickets in advance of the public on sale date. Existing members who renew their memberships as well as new subscribers will be eligible to receive a Limited Edition U2 remix CD as well the chance to participate in the pre-sale for the 2010 shows. Complete details at: www.u2.com.

U2 360 TOUR 2010
Presented by BlackBerry
NORTH AMERICAN ITINERARY

6-June Anaheim, CA Angel Stadium On sale soon
12-June Denver, CO Invesco Field On sale Nov. 6
16-June Oakland, CA Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum On sale Nov. 2
20-June Seattle, WA Qwest Field On sale soon
23-June Edmonton, AB Commonwealth Stadium On sale Nov. 2
30-June East Lansing, MI Spartan Stadium On sale soon
03-July Toronto, ON Rogers Centre On sale Nov. 2
06-July Chicago, IL Solider Field On sale soon
09-July Miami, FL Land Shark Stadium On sale soon
12-July Philadelphia Lincoln Financial Field On sale soon
16-July Montreal, QC Venue to be announced On sale soon
19-July New York New Meadowlands Stadium On sale soon

EUROPEAN TOUR ITINERARY
10-August Frankfurt, Germany Commerzbank-Arena On sale now
12-August Hannover, Germany AWD Arena On sale now
15-August Horsens, Denmark Casa Arena SOLD OUT
16-August Horsens, Denmark Casa Arena SOLD OUT
20-August Helsinki, Finland Olympiastadion SOLD OUT
21-August Helsinki, Finland Olympiastadion SOLD OUT
25-August Moscow, Russia Luzhniki On sale soon
30-August Vienna, Austria Ernst Happel Stadium SOLD OUT

03-September Athens, Greece Olympic Stadium On sale Nov. 2
06-September Istanbul, Turkey Ataturk Olympic Stadium On sale Nov. 2
15-September Munich, Germany Olympiastadion On sale now
18-September Paris, France Stade de France SOLD OUT
22-September Brussels, Belgium Stade Roi Baudouin SOLD OUT
23-September Brussels, Belgium Stade Roi Baudouin SOLD OUT
29-September Seville, Spain Estadio Olimpico De La Cartuja On sale now

02-October Coimbra, Portugal Estadio Cidade Coimbra SOLD OUT
03-October Coimbra Portugal Estadio Cidade Coimbra SOLD OUT

Additional dates and cities to be confirmed. Itinerary subject to change.

For complete tour and ticket information, fan club memberships, merchandise and more, visit:www.U2.com

Source: Live Nation

Guitar Hero is the #1 best-selling third party video game franchise in North America and Europe calendar year to date. Since its release, the franchise has sold more than 38 million units worldwide, including more than 7 million units in calendar 2009 alone, according to The NPD Group, Charttrack and GfK.

Guitar Hero 5® was released on Sept. 1 to critical acclaim for its music variety, innovative gameplay and empowering fans to rock anyway they want with all-new features that make it the most social and interactive Guitar Hero game ever. Official Xbox Magazine said, “This is the Guitar Hero game to own” while AOL GameDaily said, “Guitar Hero 5 feels just fresh as it did when the series debuted on the PlayStation 2.”

Guitar Hero’s Facebook community can come together at the social networking site to get the latest information on Guitar Hero games and the artists in the games, as well as share their favorite artists, songs, and Guitar Hero experiences. Facebook fans also gain access to exclusive information and content on past, current and future games.

Living room legends can now rock any way they want to a variety of iconic rock music in Guitar Hero 5. The entire set list is at players’ fingertips from the start, featuring genre-defining hits from some of the biggest rock artists and bands of all time, including The Rolling Stones, The White Stripes, Kings of Leon, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Vampire Weekend. Players take complete control as Guitar Hero 5 allows gamers to personalize and customize how they experience music by being able to play with any controller combination — multiple vocalists, guitarists, bassists and drummers, in any game mode. With the game’s all-new Party Play Mode, getting the band back together has never been easier. Players can now jump in or drop out of gameplay seamlessly, without interrupting their jam session. Elevating the Guitar Hero® series to new heights with unmatched social gameplay, an enhanced style, new in-game artists and more rock legends, Guitar Hero 5 features new surprises and challenges that will fire-up long-time fret board fanatics and create a new generation of addicts.

Source: Activision Publishing, Inc.

Buddy Holly:

He had a brief three-year professional recording career, but Buddy Holly left the music world a vast recorded legacy of 203 tracks–all of them on the limited edition six-CD Hip-O Select box set Not Fade Away/The Complete Studio Recordings And More.

The tracks range from his earliest recordings to demos with Bob Montgomery; from his earliest recordings with The Crickets to his first studio recordings for Decca in Nashville; from the Coral and Brunswick recordings and hits that made him famous to his heralded apartment tapes. There are six previously unreleased tracks plus another 11 previously unreleased in the U.S. All of the original, locatable undubbed recordings and all 57 overdubbed versions recorded after the “day the music died” are here. Many are hard-to-find or make their CD debuts.

Jimi Hendrix:

Two box sets from Dagger Records (Experience Hendrix through Geffen/UMe), offered exclusively through Amazon.com, are each presented with exclusive reproductions of Hendrix memorabilia, including a poster, postcard set replicating classic Hendrix concert posters, set of badges reminiscent of the era, Hendrix iPod Skin, PikCARD with four guitar picks adorned with Hendrix artwork from the concert posters and more.

Jimi Hendrix Experience Live 1968 Paris/Ottawa encompasses a pair of concerts, highlighted by performances of “Purple Haze,” “The Wind Cries Mary” and “Little Wing” from the L’Olympia Theater in Paris and a “Hendrixized” version of the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” taped at Ottawa’s Capitol Theater later that same year. Jimi Hendrix Experience Paris ‘67 is a custom-swirled, colored vinyl album documenting an earlier concert at L’Olympia and featuring performances of “Stone Free,” “Hey Joe,” “Wild Thing,” etc.

Nirvana:

One of the most bootlegged concerts in the annals of rock– Nirvana’s August 30, 1992, headlining appearance at the U.K.’s Reading Festival–Nirvana Live At Reading (DGC/Geffen/UMe) will be issued in a limited edition DVD+CD Deluxe Edition in November. The footage and audio come in the original multi-track masters and are presented in 5.1 Surround Sound. Only two of the 25 performances on the DVD have ever been released before.

The concert ranked #1 in Kerrang’s “100 Gigs That Shook The World” and “Nirvana’s #1 Greatest Moment” by fans in an NME poll includes nearly the entire Nevermind tracklist, early performances of then-unrecorded songs (”All Apologies,” “Dumb” and the first performance of “Tourette’s”) and live versions of songs later heard on Incesticide. The career-spanning set list also reaches back to the band’s beginnings.

The Rolling Stones:

Thirteen of the 14 Rolling Stones albums since 1971 have been newly remastered and are available from UMe separately or in a limited edition collectible box set exclusively through Amazon.com (1972’s Exile On Main St. will be remastered and released in early 2010). Included is a full-color poster of the band’s Sticky Fingers classic promotional image re-created specially for this package.

The box brings together Sticky Fingers (1971, “Brown Sugar,” “Wild Horses”); Goats Head Soup (1973, “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker),” “Angie”); It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (1974, “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It)”); Black And Blue (1976, “Hot Stuff,” “Miss You”); Some Girls (1978, “Beast Of Burden,” “Shattered”); Emotional Rescue (1980, “She’s So Cold”); Tattoo You (1981, “Start Me Up”); Undercover (1983, “Undercover Of The Night”); Dirty Work (1986, “Harlem Shuffle”); and Steel Wheels (1989, “Rock And A Hard Place”) plus Voodoo Lounge (1994), Bridges To Babylon (1997) and A Bigger Bang (2005).

U2:

U2’s fourth album, The Unforgettable Fire, has been remastered for the first time with direction from U2 guitarist, The Edge, and will be released by Island/UMe on October 27, 2009. This special edition marks 25 years since the album’s original release in October 1984. Recorded at Slane Castle, Ireland, The Unforgettable Fire was the first U2 album to be produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, and spawned the US top 10 hit – “Pride (In The Name Of Love).”

The limited edition super deluxe box set features bonus audio material, including two previously unheard tracks from the Slane Castle sessions: “Yoshino Blossom” and “Disappearing Act” (a track which the band recently completed), and a DVD including music videos, a documentary and unreleased live footage from the Amnesty International Conspiracy of Hope Tour in 1986.

Klaus Voormann:

On A Sideman’s Journey (UMe), famed musician Klaus Voormann, who played bass on solo albums for every Beatle as well as for Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, Yoko Ono and others, is joined by musical friends in seven studio sessions in London, Memphis, Hamburg, Los Angeles and Munich. The limited edition two-disc box set, available exclusively through Amazon.com, includes three bonus audio tracks, a DVD documentary on the making of the album, a hardbound book of photos (renowned graphic designer Voormann created the Beatles’ Revolver cover) and more.

Featuring Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh, Yusuf (aka Cat Stevens), Dr. John, Bonnie Bramlett, Van Dyke Parks, Albert Lee, and others, A Sideman’s Journey finds Voormann & Friends performing favorites such as “Blue Suede Shoes,” “All Things Must Pass,” “Mighty Quinn” and “Just Like A Woman.”

Source: Universal Music Enterprises

Apple Corps, Ltd., MTV Games and Harmonix announced The Beatles(TM): Rock Band(TM) debuted as the top selling music video game in the U.S. for September. Released simultaneously with the digitally re-mastered Beatles CD catalogue on September 9, 2009, the critically acclaimed game was also the #2 selling title across all genres by revenue in the U.S. for the month of September. In addition, over 100K downloads of “All You Need Is Love” were sold in September. The charity single was released exclusively through Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network for a limited time with All Apple Corps Ltd, MTV Games, Harmonix and Microsoft proceeds benefiting Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).

“We’ve heard countless stories about how The Beatles: Rock Band has inspired and brought friends, families and even complete strangers together,” stated Scott Guthrie, EVP and President, MTV Games. “The overwhelmingly positive reaction by music fans, hardcore gamers, critics, retailers, young and old alike, has been extremely gratifying. The game was a labor of love for the teams at Apple Corps, MTV Games and Harmonix and seeing it resonate across generations the world over is truly priceless.”

Critics Praise The Beatles: Rock Band:
– “The Beatles: Rock Band is nothing less than a cultural watershed … It may be the most important video game yet made” – NY Times
– 4 stars (out of 4) – “A superb, vibrant presentation” – USA Today
– Grade: A “I had a blast losing myself in the game’s glorious saga of sound” – Entertainment Weekly
– 9 out of 10 – “Stunning and imaginative This is a labor of love.” – IGN

The Beatles: Rock Band Limited Edition Bundle is available for a limited time. MTV Games and Harmonix have now completed production of these bundles and no more will be manufactured.

Available now for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Wii(TM) console from Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and other territories, The Beatles: Rock Band allows fans to pick up the guitar, bass, mic or drums and experience The Beatles’ extraordinary catalogue of music through gameplay that takes players on a journey through the legacy and evolution of the band’s legendary career. Additionally, for the first time in a music videogame, The Beatles: Rock Band introduces three-part vocal harmonies to gameplay, allowing gamers to revel in the unparalleled vocal stylings of The Beatles.

The Beatles: Rock Band features 45 songs on-disc representing a cross-section of hits and favorites that span The Beatles’ storied career. Additional music from The Beatles’ epic catalogue will be made available for purchase and download through The Beatles: Rock Band Music Store. Abbey Road will be released on October 20, 2009, followed by the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in November and Rubber Soul in December.

The game is compatible with all Rock Band(TM) instrument controllers, as well as most Guitar Hero® and other authorized third party music video game peripherals and microphones.

The Beatles: Rock Band marks the first time that Apple Corps, along with EMI Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Harrisongs Ltd and Startling Music Ltd has presented The Beatles music in an interactive video game format. The Beatles: Rock Band is published by MTV Games and developed by Harmonix, the world’s premier music video game company and creators of the best-selling Rock Band. Electronic Arts Inc. is serving as distribution partner for the game. In addition, Giles Martin, co-producer of The Beatles innovative LOVE album project, provided his expertise and served as Music Producer for this groundbreaking Beatles project.

The Beatles: Rock Band is rated “T” for Teen with the descriptors “Mild Lyrics” and “Tobacco Reference” by the ESRB.

(1) According to NPD Group

Source: MTV Games

Harmonix and MTV Games announced that legendary rockers Queen will be added to the Rock Band platform, with a 10-pack of songs available next week in the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation® 3 computer entertainment system and Wii™. Tracks from Blink-182 and The Offspring will also be available for download next week for Rock Band Unplugged on PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system.

Rock Band DLC Additions for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 System and Wii
Queen, composed of Brian May, John Deacon, Roger Taylor and quintessential frontman Freddie Mercury, formed in England in 1970. The group has released 15 studio albums and was known for their epic live concerts. Queen will release Absolute Greatest Nov. 17, featuring 20 of the band’s biggest hits. The Queen pack for Rock Band features 10 of the band’s most loved songs, including “Killer Queen,” “Somebody to Love,” “Fat Bottomed Girls” and the Queen/David Bowie collaboration, “Under Pressure.”

Available on Xbox 360 and Wii (Oct. 20) and PlayStation 3 system (Oct. 22):

• “Another One Bites the Dust”
• “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”
• “Fat Bottomed Girls”
• “I Want It All”
• “I Want to Break Free”
• “Killer Queen”
• “One Vision”
• “Somebody to Love”
• “Tie Your Mother Down”
• “Under Pressure”

(All tracks are original master recordings)

These tracks will be available for purchase as “Queen Pack” and as individual tracks on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 system and as individual tracks on Wii.

Rock Band Unplugged Tracks for PSP®System
Rock Band Unplugged fans will enjoy the addition of Blink-182’s “The Rock Show” and The Offspring’s “All I Want” to the 49 tracks already available via the Rock Band Unplugged in-game music store for the PSP system.

Tracks available for Rock Band Unplugged (Oct. 22):

• Blink-182 – “The Rock Show”
• The Offspring – “All I Want”

** Dates for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change. **

Bon Jovi will be the very first artist ever to appear across the many brands of NBC Universal in a unique “Artists in Residence” partnership. In the exclusive agreement, Bon Jovi’s music/appearances/performances will be widely seen and heard across the multiple brands and platforms of NBC Universal. The announcement was made by Jeff Gaspin, Chairman, NBC Universal Television Entertainment.

The “Artists in Residence” project coincides with the November 10th launch of the band’s new studio album, The Circle.

The project offers a unique opportunity for NBCU to work with Jon Bon Jovi and the members of the band, through interviews, musical guest appearances, and guest-starring roles, to provide exclusive and compelling content across the company’s many brands — its news and cable information platforms, its cable entertainment, its broadcast network and digital assets — and allow the band the opportunity to promote The Circle to a broad, diverse audience that can not be matched in the industry.

“By assembling a unique mix of personal appearances on a variety of its brands, NBC Universal has the ability to offer Bon Jovi the opportunity to reach a wide audience in a variety of compelling ways, while at the same time making interesting, exclusive content available to the properties of NBCU,” said Gaspin.

As part of the “Artists in Residence” program, Bon Jovi has confirmed appearances on a number of NBCU platforms including the special “Bon Jovi Month” on the “Today” show in November during which they will appear live on the program on all four Wednesdays that month, capped off with a special concert performance on the plaza on Wednesday, November 25th.

Additionally, Bon Jovi will appear on several NBC Entertainment programs and be the featured guest on Bravo’s “Inside the Actors’ Studio.” Jon Bon Jovi will be the subject of a “USA Character Showcase,” which will highlight Jon as both an artist and philanthropist in an on-air and on-line campaign. He will be a featured panelist at a USA Network and Tom Brokaw-sponsored “Characters Unite National Town Hall,” about overcoming social injustices, in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, December 2. Jon will also be featured on NBC’s Nightly News with Brian Williams, as well as in the company’s award-winning public service campaign “The More You Know” with spots running on NBCU’s cable and broadcast networks. The band’s music will also be heavily integrated throughout NBC’s network and cable programming.

Bon Jovi’s lead single from The Circle — “We Weren’t Born To Follow” — was written (and co-produced) by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, and was produced by John Shanks, who worked with Bon Jovi on their last two albums, Have A Nice Day (2005), which featured the Grammy winning single, “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” and Lost Highway (2007), which debuted at #1 on the Soundscan charts in the U.S. and around the world.

The resulting “Lost Highway World Tour” — which famously started with 10 triumphant nights in New Jersey and came to a close with an historic free concert in New York City’s Central Park and two sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden — was ranked as 2008’s #1 top-selling tour around the world according to Billboard.

Bon Jovi has set the standard for more than two decades as one of the most successful rock bands in the world. Globally, the Grammy Award-winning band has sold more than 120 million albums and performed more than 2,600 concerts in over 50 countries for more than 34 million fans.

Source: NBC Universal