Live On Air

Yes is one of the most innovative and successful rock bands of all time with a career that now spans five decades. This live concert was recorded 1985 for a local radio station and is now available on CD in a limited edition. A rare live document.

Price: $12.96

Man Up

CD and DVD Combo

Price: $8.10

Chickenfoot III

Having established themselves in record time as one of the earths premier rock bands with their Gold-certified 2009 self-titled debut, Chickenfoot the illustrious, virtuosic supergroup formed by singing legend Sammy Hagar, guitar god Joe Satriani, and the renowned rhythm section of bassist Michael Anthony and drummer Chad Smith approached the initial stages of recording their new album, Chickenfoot III, with supreme confidence and a firm sense of intention.

They, of course, had good reasons to feel cocky: There were the high-octane, hook-o-rama singles, Oh Yeah, Sexy Little Thing and My Kinda Girl. Then there were the riveting live shows, starting with a sold-out-within-seconds Road Test run of clubs and ending a year later with a sold-out-within-seconds world tour of large halls. The not-so-little engine that could definitely did…time after time.

Beyond the obvious, however, something more important happened during Chickenfoots rise to the top of the rock: They became a band. A real band. We went from being a weekend fun-time thing to making a record and touring the world, says Sammy Hagar. Our learning curve was fast even for us. But we went out every night to kick ass and prove that we weren t resting on our laurels. We earned everything we got, and along the way, we established a trust in one another that happens very rarely in bands. To me, it s magical.

It was that very trust factor that allowed Joe Satriani to approach Hagar during the demoing stage of the new album and express this wish: I want to hear you sing differently, he told the vocalist. You have light and shades to your voice that have never been on record. I want to hear you do new things. Hagar accepted Satrianis words as a challenge, and then he threw down the gauntlet: Fine. But you ve got to bring it too, Joe. I want to hear you play guitar like you never have. We shook hands on that.

And so it was that Chickenfoot set about making the heart-pounding and high-minded Chickenfoot III. And they did it at the perfect time, too. In an era when the relevance of the album as an art form is under close scrutiny, Chickenfoot III is a superlative, rip-roaring rock n roll disc that simply must be experienced from start to finish. Tough yet full of intricate textures, played by musicians at the top of their game, this is the kind of record that bands both young and old dream of making.

Its the best record Ive ever been a part of, Hagar says unashamedly. Songwriting-wise, playing-wise, we reached a level I ve hoped was possible. There s nothing this band cant do. I m convinced of it.

The origins of Chickenfoot III began to take shape in early 2010 as Satriani and Hagar exchanged song ideas while the group was still on tour. Throughout that year, Satriani sent the band demos in various forms of completion. Then, in February of this year, Chickenfoot convened in Hagars warehouse studio (affectionately dubbed the Foot Locker ) to hash out the material. On board was veteran, award-winning engineer Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Metallica), who was also serving as co-producer with the group. According to Michael Anthony, We thought we might still be demoing at this point, but the sounds Mike Fraser got were extraordinary. Plus, the spontaneity in the room was incredible. The musical chemistry was undeniable. Suddenly, it was like, Might as well roll tape. We re making a record!

Price: $8.99

Don’t Explain

Price: $9.99

The Whole Love (Limited Deluxe Edition)

This Deluxe CD includes a 52 page book and two discs in oversized CD wallets. Disc two has four bonus tracks that do not appear on the regular full length CD.

Price: $13.36

Live at the Metropolitan Opera

Our generation’s greatest performer on the MET stage showcases her finest performances in one collection. Live At The Met features excerpts from live performances on the Met stage from La Boheme, Don Giovanni, War &Peace, I Puritani, Les Contes d’Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann), Romeo etJuliette, Don Pasquale and Lucia di Lammermoor. Anna Netrebko Live at the Metropolitan Opera is Anna’s first live solo album on CD.The selections – including performances with tenors Roberto Alagna, Joseph Calleja and Juan Diego Flórez – demonstrate Anna Netrebko’s remarkable vocal range and dramatic imagination. All recorded live, they are infused with her unique vocal magnetism and irresistible on-stage charisma.

Price: $10.14

A Wonderful World

Never mind the project’s odd couple, “He’s got a girlfriend; so does she” marketing shuck. This is a musical love affair in all its splendor. Produced by the seemingly chameleonic producer T Bone Burnett (who previously revived traditional bluegrass with spectacular success on O Brother, Where Art Thou?), the septuagenarian legend and his unlikely contemporary foil affectionately court a dozen songs from the Louis Armstrong repertoire with the warmth and natural grace that have been a deceptively effortless Bennett trademark for 50-plus years. The pair kick proceedings off with a playful, irony-free “Exactly Like You,” then perform a tender vocal waltz across both the ages and the masterful, sympathetic orchestrations of the late Peter Matz, one of Bennett’s longtime collaborators. But it’s on the more melancholy performances, like “If We Never Meet Again,” “I’m Confessin’,” and the Armstrong perennials “Wonderful World” and “Lucky Old Sun,” that the pair tap into something akin to timeless musical telepathy. Her own talents hardly in need of burnishing, lang invests the project with some gratifying new smokiness and is rewarded with a postgraduate course in saloon singing for the ages. It’s an album that begs the best kind of question: When do we get an encore? –Jerry McCulley

Price: $9.12

Road Shows 2

Sonny Rollins’s forthcoming album, Road Shows, vol. 2, is quite likely to revive the delirious excitement stirred up at the saxophonist’s sold-out 80th-birthday concert held in New York nearly one year ago. Four tracks on the new CD, which will be released September 13 by Doxy/Emarcy Records, were recorded that night; one of them is the 20-minute “Sonnymoon for Two” on which Rollins and surprise guest Ornette Coleman performed together in public for the first time in their long acquaintance, with electrifying results.

“This material was not intended to be my next album,” says Rollins, “but it was so strong that I felt I had to release it.”

Bassist Christian McBride and drummer Roy Haynes, who had previously appeared with Rollins at his 50th-anniversary Carnegie Hall concert in 2007, are special guests along with Coleman on “Sonnymoon.” Other @80 selections feature trumpeter Roy Hargrove (“I Can’t Get Started,” “Rain Check”) and guitarist Jim Hall (“In a Sentimental Mood”) with Rollins’s working band: guitarist Russell Malone, bassist Bob Cranshaw, drummer Kobie Watkins, and percussionist Sammy Figueroa.

The remaining tracks on the new CD, “They Say It’s Wonderful” and “St. Thomas,” were recorded during a Japanese tour one month after the @80 concert. “I wanted this Road Shows to comprise performances from 2010,” Rollins states. Volume 1, by contrast, presented a range of performances recorded over a nearly 30-year period.

The historic onstage meeting of Rollins and Coleman, whom CD annotator Francis Davis describes as “the two sharpest minds in jazz,” was a first, though the saxophonists are friends who used to practice together on the beach in California. Coleman was invited to play at the September 10th Beacon concert, says Rollins, “but I didn’t know until the last minute whether he would accept the invitation.” Indeed, his participation was confirmed just a few hours before showtime.

“I figured that `Sonnymoon’ would be open enough for Ornette and for everybody,” says Rollins. “It could be played in a structured way or an unstructured way. It was malleable enough to suit whatever my guests wanted to do with it.”

Road Shows, vol. 1 was one of the most highly-praised albums of 2008, placing at the top of many best-of lists and critics polls. Stereophile, in a five-star review, wrote that it “represents a new entry on the short list of albums that every serious jazz fan needs to own.”

Referring to the three-year gap between the two Road Shows CDs, the saxophonist comments that “it is my intention and desire to release more music in a much shorter span of time. I have a lot in the archives, but I am thinking about recent things. I want to capture some of Sonny Rollins 2011–new material that I have, and new ideas that I have and am working on, which are as yet unfulfilled and undocumented. Working in the studio is a definite possibility.”

Rollins, whose most recent honor is the National Medal of Arts, which was presented to him by President Barack Obama in March, is currently on tour in Australia and New Zealand. Early last month, he returned to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival for the first time since the mid-1990s, premiering a much-talked-about composition called “D. Cherry.” Shortly after the release of Road Shows, vol. 2, Rollins will perform several concerts in California, including the Monterey Jazz Festival, as well as in Washington, DC and Nashville, before embarking on a fall European tour. *

Price: $10.16

Duets II

DUETS II is the follow-up to Tony Bennett’s multi-platinum CD, DUETS, which was released in conjunction with Tony’s 80th birthday in 2006. DUETS won three Grammy Awards and was the singer’s best selling album to date.

Now the legendary performer celebrates a milestone 85th birthday with the release of DUETS II. The singer has completed recording with Lady Gaga and Aretha Franklin, adding to a celebrated list of artists previously announced including Amy Winehouse, Michael Buble, Norah Jones, John Mayer, Queen Latifah, Carrie Underwood and many others. Lady Gaga joined Tony for a rendition of the Richard Rodgers song, “The Lady Is A Tramp” and Bennett and Franklin collaborated on the Alan and Marilyn Bergman classic, “How Do You Keep The Music Playing.”

Phil Ramone produced the original DUETS as well as DUETS II.

Price: $9.98

The Wonder Years

After years of speculation and delays, multi-platinum, Grammy award winning producer 9th Wonder is set to release his long awaited solo album The Wonder Years on September 27th. The former Little Brother member brings a star-studded cast to the album that includes Erykah Badu, Raekwon, Talib Kweli, Murs, Mac Miller, Saigon, Kendrick Lamar, Warren G, Big K.R.I.T, Pharoahe Monch, Marsha Ambrosius, Skyzoo, Big Remo, Rapsody, and former Little Brother groupmate Phonte Coleman. In addition to a string of critically acclaimed albums with Little Brother, as well as a number of collaborative projects with Murs and Buckshot, 9th Wonder has also produced for some of the biggest stars in the world, a list that includes Jay-Z, Destiny’s Child and Erykah Badu. 9th Wonder’s cultural influence goes well beyond reaching fans through his music. The producer is currently a professor at Duke University, and recently had a documentary entitled The Wonder Year released that followed a year in the life of 9th Wonder. ”If there was ever a better time to express how I feel about hip-hop music, black music, or just music in general…it would be to do it now….on this project. My career has been from the depths of the underground, to the pop charts, but it has always stayed my sound, and what I believed in to be pure…welcome to the Wonder Years,” says 9th Wonder

Price: $11.99

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