Love is Free, Free is Love

Here's a wallet-friendly offer from the Beatles - 4, a new digital EP from the fab four for free (get it?). "Taste the individual brilliance" of John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Love by John, Call Me Back Again by Paul, Let It Down from George, and Walk With You from Ringo. Of course you probably already have these songs, but hey - they're free.

Cheaper Than A Dime

Here they go again. The Beatles are relentlessly relieving our wallets of our hard-earned cash with even more releases. They must be the most prolific band that broke up more than 40 years ago.

It's George Harrison week on Conan, which means four performances of classic Harrison tunes. Beck kicked it off last night with Wah-Wah, a refreshingly unique choice.


Of course what I love most is his band, which includes Jellyfish's Jason Falkner and Roger Joseph Manning Jr. Of course Jr. has been playing with Beck for many years and Falkner has played with McCartney himself, so it's legit. Paul Simon, Dhani Harrison, and Norah Jones will finish off the week. Each of the remaining artists have some personal connection to the Quiet One, which makes the whole idea that much more special.

It's all to celebrate this week's release of George Harrison's The Apple Years, a six album box set that includes, well, all his albums released by Apple Records, including his tour de force All Things Must Pass.

Official Site | Amazon | iTunes

Things Left Unsaid

Twenty years after their last release, Pink Floyd's latest and likely last is set for release on November 10 (although iTunes notes the release date as November 7). The Endless River is a mostly instrumental set said to be a tribute to the band's late, great keyboardist Rick Wright. I'm not normally a fan of instrumentals, but c'mon, it's Pink Floyd!

Rolling Stone has all the details as well as the tracklist here! Pre-order below.

Rolling Stone | Official Site | Amazon | iTunes

Maybe This Time It's Wanderlust For Me

I'm not sure we need yet another cover of Yesterday, but a new Paul McCartney tribute album, The Art of McCartney, has quite an impressive lineup conveniently listed below courtesy of Rolling Stone.

The Art Of McCartney Track List:
1. Billy Joel - "Maybe I'm Amazed"
2. Bob Dylan - "Things We Said Today"
3. Heart - "Band on the Run"
4. Steve Miller - "Junior's Farm"
5. Yusuf Islam - "The Long and Winding Road"
6. Harry Connick, Jr. - "My Love"
7. Brian Wilson - "Wanderlust"
8. Corinne Bailey Rae - "Bluebird"
9. Willie Nelson - "Yesterday"
10. Jeff Lynne - "Junk"
11. Barry Gibb - "When I'm 64"
12. Jamie Cullum - "Every Night"
13. Kiss - "Venus and Mars"/"Rock Show"
14. Paul Rodgers - "Let Me Roll It"
15. Roger Daltrey - "Helter Skelter"
16. Def Leppard - "Helen Wheels"
17. The Cure, featuring James McCartney - "Hello Goodbye"
18. Billy Joel - "Live and Let Die"
19. Chrissie Hynde - "Let It Be"
20. Cheap Trick's Robin Zander and Rick Nielsen - "Jet"
21. Joe Elliott - "Hi Hi Hi"
22. Heart - "Letting Go"
23. Steve Miller - "Hey Jude"
24. Owl City - "Listen to What the Man Said"
25. Perry Farrell - "Got to Get You Into My Life"
26. Dion - "Drive My Car"
27. Allen Toussaint - "Lady Madonna"
28. Dr. John - "Let 'Em In"
29. Smokey Robinson - "So Bad"
30. The Airborne Toxic Event - "No More Lonely Nights"
31. Alice Cooper - "Eleanor Rigby"
32. Toots Hibbert with Sly & Robbie - "Come and Get It"
33. B.B. King - "On the Way"
34. Sammy Hagar - "Birthday"

The Art of McCartney Bonus Tracks:
1. Robert Smith - C Moon"
2. Booker T. Jones - "Can't Buy Me Love"
3. Ronnie Spector - "P.S. I Love You"
4. Darlene Love - "All My Loving"
5. Ian McCulloch - "For No One"
6. Peter, Bjorn and John - "Put It There"
7. Wanda Jackson - "Run Devil Run"
8. Alice Cooper - "Smile Away"

It really is a nice mix of Beatles' and solo tunes, old and newer. It's an eclectic range of artists as well. I'm insanely curious to hear Brian Wilson's take on the near-sappy Wanderlust, but really want nothing to do with Kiss. Ever. Check out the perfect cover of Hello Goodbye by The Cure below for a taste.



Out November 17/18 in a variety of fancy, 21st century formats.

Official Site | Rolling Stone | iTunes | Amazon

The Melody Above The Noise

Embrace the New World. Or better yet, manipulate the fuck out of it! Nice to see dinosaurs like U2 pull off a fantastic new release strategy today.

All tech and fanboy eyes were on Apple today when they announced the new iPhone and the possibly game-changing Apple Watch. Hopefully more relevant to your interests as a Too Poppy reader however, U2 did in fact perform at the conclusion of the Apple event as rumored. Excitingly they also announced the instantaneous release of their new full-length studio album Songs of Innocence. Brilliant.

As an Apple geek I watched it all unfold in real time via live-bloggers - er - I mean I was working all day and only just read about it. My jaw quite literally dropped before transforming to a dumb-ass grin as U2 announced they were actually giving the album away free to all iTunes users! I was quite pleased to come home, fire up the MacBook, and find the album in my iTunes.

After today I expect the whole stunt to be referenced in dictionary examples of the word synergy. In an age where every artist wants someone, anyone, to hear their music so they could possibly make a living out of it, kudos to U2 for capturing the moment and setting a precedent. Of course the genius of it was the shock value so it will be hard to replicate. But it's the New World! Play along or get the hell off!

iTunes | Official Site | Apple

P.S. The music is exactly what you'd expect from post-prime U2. Soaring guitars, earnest lyrics, and Bono. It's not groundbreaking nor is it merely a boring retread of past success. It sounds precisely like U2 in 2014, which from me should be interpreted as a compliment.

Your Aimless Dreaming Has Found A Targeting

Well, it's not a new studio album, but we'll take it. Nada Surf is releasing the simply-titled digital release B-Sides, which collects, um, B-Sides from the last four studio albums. Of course, b-side is a bit of a misnomer these days particularly when we're talking digital releases, but I digress. It's greatly appreciated when a band actually releases these compilations for us fans that simply can't get enough.

1. No Quick Fix 
2. From The Rooftop Down 
3. Fools 
4. Concrete Bed (original) 
5. Au Fond Du Reve Dore 
6. Whose Authority (acoustic) 
7. I Like What You Say (acoustic) 
8. I Wanna Take You Home 
9. Everyone’s On Tour 
10. Je T’Attendais 
11. The Future (acoustic) 
12. Looking Through (acoustic) 
13. When I Was Young (acoustic) 
14. Waiting For Something (acoustic) 
15. Clear Eye Clouded Mind (acoustic) 

Nada Surf's B-Sides is out at your favorite digital retailers on September 23.

Official | iTunes | Amazon

Before It All Turns Sour

Twelve years after their last studio album was released, Del Amitri reunited for a UK tour this year, which is culminating in the release of their first live album. If enjoying a band's greatest hits performed live is your thing, Into the Mirror will be released October 20. Check out the full tracklist here. A limited amount of pre-orders may even be signed. Here in the states I would speculate it will only be available as an import, but who knows in this crazy 21st century global economy. Is a new studio album next?! Nah.

BTW, US fans won't get the full band just yet, but frontman Justin Currie is doing a solo tour. The details are here.

Official Site | Pre-Order