With earthquakes in the news lately, some may be curious of the U.S. fault lines. I know I was.

Turns out, most states are at risk of major earthquakes, with 39 of the 50 states in the moderate-to-high risk areas for seismic activity, ABC News reports.

This map courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) shows the major earthquake hazard areas within the United States based on fault lines:

Earthquake danger zones in the U.S. by state

The Dude wants to know… So if an earthquake happened and you were trapped for a day with nothing but music to listen to… what would be your first go-to “comfort” record?

In a word, the new Peter Gabriel album is Haunting. 53 minutes of voice, piano and orchestra. It’s dark. And mysteriously sinister throughout the 12 cover tunes. The “Scratch My Back” project has Peter Gabriel performing completely stripped-down arrangements of tunes by other artists. These 12 artists will then cover Peter’s original compositions on the to-be-released album “I’ll Scratch Yours.” Clever. You need to be in the mood for sure. But if you are, you will captivated, drawn-in, almost afraid to pull away. Because you might miss something important. And that’s the key. Is this album something important? Time will tell.

Gabriel has a knack for changing the course of music every decade. His experimentation with drum sounds and world music in the early 80’s was underratedly influential. The production of the 1986 album “So” changed what was expected in terms of a perfectly mixed album. In 1992 he released “Us” which changed how loops were used and the production was a bit, dare I say it, grundgy. Gabriel was also the first person I saw sport a goatee in the 90’s. Perhaps his influence in the 2000’s were minimal, but certainly his pursuit of international artists have exposed more than 65 performers to the rest of world.

So here we are, 2010. How will this deeply intense record effect the next 10 years of music. There are no drums, percussion, guitars, bass guitar, synthesizers. Perhaps the I-cover-your-song/you-cover-mine will be the more influential element here?

Here is the track listing with the original artists

1. “Heroes” – David Bowie 4:10
2. “The Boy in the Bubble” – Paul Simon 4:28
3. “Mirrorball” – Elbow 4:48
4. “Flume” – Bon Iver 3:01
5. “Listening Wind” – Talking Heads 4:23
6. “The Power of the Heart” – Lou Reed 5:52
7. “My Body Is a Cage” – Arcade Fire 6:13
8. “The Book of Love” – The Magnetic Fields 3:53
9. “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today” – Randy Newman 2:34
10. “Après moi” – Regina Spektor 5:13
11. “Philadelphia” – Neil Young 3:46
12. “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” – Radiohead 5:06

Stephin Merritt’s (The Magnetic Fields’ frontman) has covered “Not One Of Us” and Paul Simon’s version of “Biko” is expected to be the second release on March 28. Both songs are from Gabriel’s 3rd self-titled album. Radiohead will be covering “Wallflower” from Gabriel’s 4th self-titled album.

I rate the album 4 out of 5 record sleeves.

There are two versions available. The Deluxe version w/ a 2nd disc of remixes:

And the standard single-disc version:

Pick one up, fer sure! Let me know if you do.

NO LONGER BLOCKED BY YOUTUBE!

March 06, 2010 — Using a rare DJ pressing of YES’s 1973 controversial double album “Tales From Topographic Ocean,” I created this special edit. This could have been used as a “single” if they had done such a thing to this nearly 19-minute song. This is from Part 4 of “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)” which consumes the entire 3rd side (as does each of the four songs on this release – hence the “controversy”).

The video was filmed in East Tennessee out in the woods of Fairfield Glade. The turntable was mostly covered, but as you can see, snow did occasionally drift in. I was on a “spiritual retreat” and of course, I brought my turntable. I hope you enjoy it. 5-star ratings are always appreciated.

Remember… The Dude gets some spare change when you purchase something thru Amazon using the provided links. Support TheDailyVinyl! thanks…
The YES store on Amazon. (CDs and MP3s)

This classic soul number was performed by Peter Gabriel in Chicago 1979. It was released on the Bristol Recorder. Which was apparently a record with a magazine attached to the gatefold sleeve and produced in Bristol, UK. This was the 2nd volume released like this. To my knowledge, this recording is NOT AVAILABLE ANYWHERE! (Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.)

Peter’s notes on this track (and references to 2 other live songs “Not One Of Us” and “Humdrum” for possible future TheDailyVinyl release) are as follows:
“A cassette recording featuring my Alexis Korner impersonation on the intro. The band were Tony Levin: bass. Larry Fast: synthesiser. Allan Schwartzberg: drums. Jimmy Maelen: percussion. Phil Aaberg: piano. Steve Hunter: lead guitar. Robert Fripp: rhythm guitar (partly concealed). These cassettes were dug out of the live cassette box, so the quality of sound is rough. Certain of the vocal bits made me cringe so I spent a little time ‘doctoring’ ‘Not One Of Us’ and ‘Ain’t That Peculiar.’ In the profession, we call this cheating.” (You can hear how his vocals are “double tracked”)

Pre-order the new Peter Gabriel record “Scratch My Back”

Description on Amazon:
Peter Gabriel s Scratch My Back album project is the first part of a series of song exchanges in which Gabriel and other leading artists reinterpret each other s songs. To help craft his recording of the album s eclectic array of cult favorites and classic tracks, Gabriel enlisted former Durutti Column member John Metcalfe, composer, arranger and the expertise of producer Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd’s The Wall , Lou Reed’s Berlin ) and engineer, mixer and producer Tchad Blake (Suzanne Vega, Sheryl Crow, Tom Waits).

Gabriel describes this as a very personal record with twelve songs performed only with orchestral instruments and voice. He made the choice not to include guitar or drums. The album’s richly diverse sounds include the sparse romance of Lou Reed’s The Power of the Heart , the powerful musical journey of David Bowie’s Heroes and an epic arrangement of Arcade Fire’s My Body Is A Cage. Gabriel and his collaborators recorded the album at George Martin’s Air Lyndhurst Studios and the Real World Temple with further editing and mixing at his own Real Worlds Studio in Wiltshire. The Scratch My Back release is one of the most creative and engaging records from an iconic artist in a long time. The marketing focus is to penetrate Peter Gabriel’s core fan base as well as fans of all genres and in all demographics given the scope of artists being covered as well as its depth of composition.

Here is the complete track listing:
1. Heroes (David Bowie)
2. The Boy In The Bubble (Paul Simon)
3. Mirrorball (Elbow)
4. Flume (Bon Iver)
5. Listening Wind (Talking Heads)
6. The Power Of The Heart (Lou Reed)
7. My Body Is A Cage (Arcade Fire)
8. The Book Of Love (The Magnetic Fields)
9. I Think It’s Going To Rain Today (Randy Newman)
10. Apres Moi (Regina Spektor)
11. Philadelphia (Neil Young)
12. Street Spirit (Fade Out) (Radiohead)

The Deluxe special edition has a 2nd disc with:
1. The Book Of Love (Remix)
2. My Body Is A Cage (Oxford London Temple Version)
3. Waterloo Sunset (The Kinks) (Oxford London Temple Version)
4. Heroes (Wildebeest Mix)

The Release Date is March 2nd!!!

Emerill BAM!!!

Here’s a video I made several years ago for a sales team motivational kickoff. You know, it was all “c’mon sales guys… Kick it up a notch… BAM!” I spent all day watching TiVo’ed videos of Emeril just waiting for the payoff.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Daily-Vinyl/195059149588

“I Missed Again” and “If Leaving Me Is Easy” early home demos.

Uploaded to YouTube: January 09, 2010

This is the first time I produced a special request by a loyal viewer. The Daily Vinyl video #4 featured the home demo version of “In The Air Tonight” from a Phil Collins Maxi-Single released in conjunction with his debut album “Face Value” in 1981. And someone asked to hear the other demos on this record. (6 months later, here they are!)

It’s amazing to me that these demos (recorded in 1980 while Phil was going thru a very rough divorce) were ever released. It’s fun to find the the improvised phrases that eventually made it to the final versions. To my knowledge, these versions, entitled “Drawing Board” are not available for purchase anywhere. So please… ENJOY.

(I can’t believe Nashville schools were closed for two days for THAT snow!)

Pick up the classic 1981 album for under $7.

This also seems like a pretty sweet deal, if you’re looking for instruments.

Save Up to 83% During the Semi-Annual Rockstar Clearance Sale at Music123.com (exp:2/3) (but of course, it’s always best to support your local music store, if you’ve got a good one, like Fanny’s House of Music in East Nashville. They have awesome vintage instruments and cool guitars for smaller-framed peoples.)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

The Daily Vinyl #35: “Groovin’” at The Groove from The Daily Vinyl on Vimeo.

It was a lovely Sunday afternoon. Just hangin’ out at my neighborhood record store called “The Groove” in 5-Points/East Nashville. The fellas were kind enough to let me buy this record by The Young Rascals and to pull my turntable out of the car, and set-up shop right there while the customers were browsing. No fancy effects or editing this time around. Just a sweet song and chillin’. Take a break. Relax. It’s time for The Daily Vinyl.

And here’s a little trivia from TheDailyVinyl DJ… The Young Rascals changed their name to just The Rascals after this 1967 hit record “Groovin’”.

After two weeks of computer problems, it’s finally live!

Featuring the first four song of Side 2: “Martha My Dear” / “I’m So Tired” / “Blackbird” / “Piggies”. Thanks to the East Nashville art group, The Collective Muse. They completely brainstormed this 2nd of 4 videos featuring about 9 minutes from each side of the classic 1968 album “The Beatles” (aka “The White Album”).

In case you didn’t know, “Martha My Dear” was about Paul McCartney’s sheepdog. Although we didn’t have one of those handy, we thought to take the puppy inspiration literally.

“I’m So Tired” became my theme while trying to edit the whole video. For some reason while creating the sleepy/blur effect, the file became corrupted. 2 weeks were wasted trying to figure out the problem. I decided to just start from scratch.

Did you know that the new remastered Mono box set is limited edition??? Amazon still has a good price on it. It sounds amazing! Who’s gonna get this collector’s item?

Honestly, I’m stunned. I cannot believe Genesis will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That just blows my mind. Being a fan of the band since the early 80’s, and having seen how the press typically hates anything Phil Collins has ever touched in the last 30 years, I was shocked, surprised, but really freakin’ glad to hear that on September, 23 2009 Genesis was even nominated .

One of my best friends – (let’s call him “Chris” because that’s his real name) — was asking me – “The Dude” — why I liked them. Well, this thought runs through my head often. Why do I keep choosing to listen to Genesis when I have nearly 34,000 songs on my iTunes that could play for more than 108 days (That’s 15 weeks, non-stop, day & night!)

I think there are several factors. But first, I’m excited to report that YouTube is now allowing my Genesis video for the 1970 song “Stagnation”. Watch it here:

Here are some cool things about Genesis in no particular order:

1. Genesis functioned as a true democratic band. Most of the musical ideas and lyrics were fleshed out amongst the 3-to-5 musicians. The singer (be it Peter Gabriel: 1968-1975, Phil Collins: 1976-1992, Ray Wilson: 1997) didn’t always (or even typically) write the lyrics. This is pretty rare in rock ‘n’ roll.
2. Melody is king. Not just the vocal melody, but the piano/keyboard lines, the guitar “solos”, even the drum parts can be hummed.
3. It’s all about the Song. Each song is like a short story. Every instrument contributed to the telling of that story. Solos were not just to dazzle other musicians or make non-musicians worship the ground they played upon. When they used odd time signatures, it was also for the proper shaping of the song. Not just to show off that they could play in 7/8. (IMHO, of course).
4. Variety of lyrical concepts. Probably because each musician contributed whole or part of the lyrics, the topics are all over the place. “The Fountain of Salmacis” was a tale about the first hermophrodie, “Can-Utility and the Coastliners” is based on the legend of King Canute, who supposedly ordered the seas to retreat to mock the sycophancy of his followers. (I don’t even know what that means!) “Eleventh Earl of Mar” refers to the historical figure of John Erskine, 11th Earl of Mar. But Genesis could occasionally still romance the ladies in those early days. Peter Gabriel sings “Hello Babe with your guardian eyes so blue. Hey my baby, don’t you know our love is true. I’ve been so far from here, far from your warm arms. But now I’m back again. And, babe, it’s gonna work out fine. Can’t you feel our souls ignite?” Lyrical variety is even on their #1 pop/rock album “Invisible Touch” – Romantic lyrics (“Throwing It All Away”) next to an 11-minute epic with a nuclear war scenario (“Domino”).
5. Songs often developed through jamming. I love that many of their songs just came about while jamming for hours in the studio. The guys would then take the tapes home and return with the bits & pieces that they thought worked well. And the wide-range of musical moods within each song is so unlike what other bands do.
6. Underrated musicians. Founding member Tony Banks is one amazing keyboard/piano player. Pretty humble guy too, from what I can tell. Oh sure, he’s stubborn as a mule, but you’ll never see him showboating. Heck you’ll hardly ever see him move from his hunched-over stance. Founding member Mike Rutherford may not be the best guitar player out there, but his bass guitar work is up there with the “greats.” (Listen to “No Reply At All” for some excellent bass playing.) Phil Collins is probably more remembered for his use of drum machines in the 80’s than his stellar drumming in the 70’s.
7. Trench coats. So many videos of Phil, Mike & Tony in trench coats, walking the streets of London or sitting in an auditorium. Who doesn’t love grown men in trench coats, a little nervous that they may get flashed any moment?
8. Ok, strike #7.
9. Innovators. Genesis have always been on the leading edge of technology. Show lighting and instruments were always the latest. The Yamaha CP-70 electric piano is practically synonymous with Genesis circa 1979-1987. And who could possibly discount the incredible roll Peter Gabriel played in bringing 3rd-World music to the West?
10. The new remixed and remastered series. I hear something new and interesting every time I listen. Worth every penny.

Chris… I hope you enjoy your birthday present of a 4cd “mixtape” of Genesis. C’mon man, give ‘em a chance.

The Dude says…
Favorite Genesis studio albums
1. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)
2. Duke (1980)
3. Abacab (1981)
Favorite live Genesis album: Seconds Out (1978)
Favorite Genesis songs:
1. Behind The Lines (Duke, 1980)
2. In The Cage, Live Medley (Three Sides Live, 1982)
3. Stagnation (Trespass, 1970) — watch TheDailyVinyl Video #23
4. Lilywhite Lillith (The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, 1974)
5. Evidence Of Autumn (Extra Trax 1976-1982)

So there you go.

And here’s an interview w/ Mike Rutherford & Tony Banks about the induction: www.rollingstone.com/artists/genesis

I have had a frustrating week trying to get my latest Vinyl Video to finalize. I continue to receive an “out of memory” when I render it. Grrr! Frustrating. So, in the meantime while I troubleshoot, I was wondering if all my loyal (and new visitors) were ready for the Holidays! Do you have all of your shopping done for Christmas yet?

I recently established an affiliate relationship with a few companies. If you purchase anything thru these links I get some spare change to buy more vinyl records. Seems like some of the companies might have something of interest. Can’t hurt to look!

I’d love to know if you find anything interesting!