BILL HICKS - The Essential Collection in stores September 14th

N.B.: You may remember that on season 2 of the Insomnia Cafe podcast we had an exclusive early play of Bill's song 'Moon Is Smiling'. That song, and 10 others (making up the album 'Lo-Fi Troubadour') will be available in this set via a special download card.

Ryko is proud to announce the release of The Essential Collection, a four disc set (2 CD/2 DVD) - out September 14th, 2010 on Ryko - that encompasses Bill Hicks’ short but influential career as a satirist, social critic and stand-up comedian.

The package contains double DVD discs with over five hours of footage from Bill Hicks’ personal archives including rare, never-before-seen performances from the early 80’s, the cult short film Ninja Bachelor Party (starring Bill Hicks, Kevin Booth and David Johndrow), in-depth interviews with Hicks and a photo gallery from his family’s keepsakes.

The 2 CD discs offer over two hours of his best stand-up material with never-before-released performance pieces from a San Ramon , CA show recorded by Bill Hicks that was found in his archives. The box set also features new liner notes written by family members as well as renowned figures (including Henry Rollins, Eric Bogosian, noted UK author Paul Outhwaite, and UK journalist/tv personality, Clive Anderson), and a download card containing original song recordings by Hicks (that were mastered at Abbey Road Studios - London, England) entitled, Lo-Fi Troubadour.

Tracklisting (selections marked with an asterisk are previously unreleased):

Disc One (CD):

1. Fevered Egos
2. I’m Talking To The Women Here
3. My Favorite New Kid
4. Marketing & Advertising
5. Artistic Roll Call
6. Orange Drink
7. Save Willie
8. Menu?
9. A Killer Idea
10. Goodbye You Lizard Scum
11. Summertime
12. Elvis*
13. The News
14. Confession Time (Cops)
15. Please Do Not Disturb*
16. Spectravision & Housekeeping
17. Girl Of Your Dreams
18. Clam Lappers & Sonic The Hedgehog TM
19. What Is Pornography?
20. Renting Pornos & Girlfriends*
21. Name & Address Not Withheld*
22. Beelzebozo*
23. Pussywhipped Satan
24. I Love My Job
25. Audience Member / Old Folks Home Manager*
26. Worst Audience Ever
27. The F Word
28. My Parents

Disc Two (CD):

1. Drugs Have Done Good Things
2. Rockers Against Drugs Suck
3. We Live In A World
4. Drugs Have Done Good Things Part 2*
5. Ding Dong
6. Gays In The Military
7. Speaking Of Homosexuality
8. Children On Airplanes
9. Your Children Aren’t Special
10. Pro Life
11. Non-Smokers
12. Audience Member / Dental Assistant*
13. Smoking
14. Smoking Tastes Great*
15. Yul Brynner
16. Smoking In Heaven
17. Flying Saucer Tour
18. Burning Issues
19. Odd Beliefs
20. Kennedy & The Warren Commission
21. Handguns – UK vs. USA*
22. The Vision

Disc Three (DVD):

The Early Years – Stand Up
Houston, TX – 1981*
Houston, TX – 1984*
Indianapolis, IN – 1985*
Houston, TX (Part 1) – 1986*
Houston, TX (Part 2) – 1986*

The Early Years – TV Interview

The Outlaw Comics
Outlaw Comics Performance
Origins Of The Outlaw Comics*

Extras – Photo Gallery

Disc Four (DVD):

Ninja Bachelor Party

About Ninja Bachelor Party

Austin Bootleg Series
November, 1991*
December, 1992*
June, 1993*
October, 1993*

About The Austin Bootleg Series

Download Card:

Lo-Fi Troubadour
Original Songs* – Written & Performed by Bill Hicks

1. Introduction
2. She’s A Woman
3. Hey Mama
4. The Road Can Be Hard
5. Jazz Instrumental
6. The Moon Is Smiling
7. Turn Your Mind Over To Your Heart
8. No Music In My Soul
9. Waiting To Meet You
10. I Never Really Cried For You
11. Outro Instrumental

In stores September 14th.

LEONARD COHEN to release 'Songs From The Road',

FILMED IN 2008/2009 IN HIGH DEFINITION AND 5.1. SURROUND SOUND, AT VENUES IN CANADA, GERMANY, ISRAEL, SCANDINAVIA, SWEDEN, THE UNITED KINGDOM AND U.S.A.

"Lover, Lover, Lover," "Bird On the Wire," "Chelsea Hotel," "Waiting for the Miracle," "Suzanne," "The Partisan," "Hallelujah," "Closing Time," and more - plus 20-minute "behind the scenes" interview feature

Separate DVD+CD and Blu-ray packages available at retail starting September 14, 2010, through Columbia/Legacy; Gatefold, 180 gram vinyl LP of the 12 audio tracks also available
In 1999, after an extended break from the spotlight, 64-year old Leonard Cohen returned to the recording studio and world stage with a passion. From then until now, his albums, concerts and DVD releases have informed a new generation. At the same time, Cohen has heroically fulfilled the dreams of his first generation of fans that have been following his career at Columbia Records since his debut LP in 1967.

Following the celebration of his 40th year as a Columbia artist in 2007 and coinciding with his induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in March 2008, Cohen thrilled his fans by announcing his first tour dates in 15 years. He's gone on to play the most prestigious and beautiful venues in virtually every corner of the globe, mesmerizing and charming audiences with performances that were hailed as some of the best of his career. "When legend Cohen takes to the stage," raved Ireland's The Independent (June 2008), "it's no less than a cultural event of Biblical dimensions."

One dozen of Leonard Cohen's most famous songs from those recent world tour performances – at auditorium halls, festivals, arenas, and stadiums from Tel Aviv to London, from across Europe to the California desert and his native Canada – are now collected on SONGS FROM THE ROAD. The 12-song program filmed in high def and recorded in 5.1 surround sound will be issued in two separate packages: The DVD+CD package will be an oversized 2-disc softpak, identical to last year's Leonard Cohen Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970. The Blu-ray will be in a standard amray case. Both will be available at all retail outlets starting September 14th through Columbia/Legacy, a division of SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT. A gatefold, 180 gram vinyl LP of the 12 audio tracks will also be released the same date.

As a bonus, the DVD and Blu-ray configurations will include a 20-minute "behind the scenes" backstage interview with the individual band members. The interviews were conducted by Leonard's daughter, Lorca Cohen.

The sets also feature two different sets of annotations. One is a rare album liner notes essay written by Leon Wieseltier, literary editor of The New Republic. The other is a detailed track-by-track insider's commentary written by Ed Sanders, who served as producer of the sound recording and editing, and producer and director of the video recording and editing. "I was there for every rehearsal," he begins. "I was at every sound check. I was present at every show."
Sanders' notes provides precious insight into the selection process for the twelve outstanding performances captured on SONGS FROM THE ROAD. For "Chelsea Hotel" (Royal Albert Hall, London, 11/17/2008), Sanders writes "Between sound check and show time Leonard would often play his guitar in the dressing room. In the early stages of this leg I would find him practicing 'Chelsea Hotel.' It came as a surprise to everyone (especially those on stage!) when at Rotterdam he launched into it solo after 'Tower of Song.' He continued to rehearse it with the band until the arrangement was ready. The version presented here is the second full-band performance. At the time I thought it was exceptionally compelling and I told Leonard so during intermission. He replied that he thought it went well; that he could feel the presence of a certain 'someone' as he sang it."

SONGS FROM THE ROAD is not only a tribute to Cohen's consummate artistry as a concert performer, it is also a tribute to his enduring worldwide popularity at this time in his career. The program complements his 2-disc DVD release of last year, Live In London, recorded on July 17, 2008, at London's 02 Arena, one of Europe's largest indoor venues. Live In London marked his first concert collection to be released since the 2001 CD, Field Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979. (Note: The O2 Arena selections on SONGS FROM THE ROAD are from November 2008.)
It is ultimately Cohen's ageless songs that draw faithful audiences – new fans and old – to his advance sold-out concerts. (The 2008 tour dates sold over 700,000 tickets alone, across 84 shows worldwide.)

SONGS FROM THE ROAD represents every decade of his life as a recording artist, from the 1960s ("Suzanne" from his 1967 debut, Songs Of Leonard Cohen; "Bird on the Wire" and his interpretation of "The Partisan" both from his second album, 1969's Songs From a Room) – to the '00s ("That Don't Make it Junk" from 2001's Ten New Songs).
Along the way, SONGS FROM THE ROAD revisits Cohen's 'greatest hits' from the 1970s ("Famous Blue Raincoat" and "Avalanche" both from 1971's Songs Of Love and Hate; "Chelsea Hotel" from 1974's New Skin For the Old Ceremony, and "Lover, Lover, Lover" from the 1979 Field Commander Cohen recordings) – the 1980s ("Hallelujah" and "Heart With No Companion" from 1984's Various Positions) – and the 1990s ("Waiting for the Miracle" and "Closing Time" from 1992's The Future).

"Throughout the show," Wieseltier concludes in his essay, "it was never clear whose gratitude was greater, Cohen's or the audience's. He seemed to find at every stop the sisters of mercy whom he immortalized in one of his oldest and most tender songs…. And now, wherever this precious man wanders, the famous blue raincoat notwithstanding, people sing 'hallelujah!' The Psalmist himself could not have asked for more."