Take 5: Stones tickets, Beatles vinyl, 'Iron Fists'
REISSUE
Beatles' 'Love Me Do' is back 50 years later
Love Me Do and its flip side P.S. I Love You, The Beatles' first Parlophone single, was released on seven-inch vinyl on Oct. 5, 1962. To mark its 50th anniversary, Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI have issued a limited-edition replica of the single in its original sleeve, with audio sourced from the 2009 remaster. Love Me Do, composed mostly by Paul McCartney when he was 16, was recorded with three different drummers in 1962, starting on June 6 with original player Pete Best. Replacement Ringo Starr recorded the song on Sept. 4, and producer George Martin enlisted session drummer Andy White for the Sept. 11 recording, leaving Starr to play tambourine. The latter version cropped up on The Beatles' U.K. debut album. Best's didn't emerge until 1995's Anthology 1. — Gundersen
SOUNDTRACK
Soundtrack to RZA-directed 'Iron Fists' features Wu, Black Keys, Kanye West
The music for RZA's directorial debut, The Man With the Iron Fists, is as hard-hitting as the action in the kung-fu-film-inspired thriller. The soundtrack includes music from Kanye West, Pusha T, Talib Kweli, Corinne Bailey Rae and Wu-Tang Clan members Ghostface Killah, Method Man and Raekwon. Just out is a video for The Baddest Man Alive by RZA and the Black Keys. The film opens Nov. 2 and stars Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu. — Jones
TICKETS
Grab Stones tickets while you can get them
Hopefully it's payday or else you've cleared out a lot of space on a credit card, because there are some big concert tickets going on sale this weekend. The Rolling Stones' one stop in the USA, Dec. 13 and 15 shows in the lucky city of Newark, have just been released to the public and go on sale at noon ET Friday. It'll be the first time the group has played together since 2007. "I've always said the best place for rock and roll is on the stage and the same is true for the Stones," Keith Richards said in a press release. "See you very soon!"
Cyndi Lauper continues to throw her weight behind raising awareness and funds for homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth with her second annual Home for the Holidays benefit concert on Dec. 8 in New York City. Joining her on stage are Sarah McLachlan, Adam Lambert, Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O'Donnell and Roberta Flack. Tickets go on sale at 11 a.m. ET Friday. Maroon 5 also hits the road on Feb. 13 with Neon Trees and Owl City. Those tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. ET Saturday.
Whew. Good luck! — Lopez
REISSUE
Peter Gabriel goes back to the 'Big Time'
In 1986, Peter Gabriel hit his commercial career peak, releasing So, a five-times-platinum album that included Big Time, Say Anything favorite In Your Eyes and the chart-topping smash Sledgehammer. To commemorate the album's 25th anniversary, Gabriel has made a remastered version of So available in multiple configurations, the heftiest of which is a $100 box set that includes DVDs of a 1987 Athens concert and a making-of documentary; a 60-page book; and a 12-inch vinyl disc with two previously unreleased tracks and an alternate version of Don't Give Up, a duet with Kate Bush. Perhaps most interesting to aficionados of the former Genesis frontman's music will be the So DNA CD, which edits together nascent versions and rough demos of the album's songs to show how they evolved from conception to finished product. —Mansfield
DVD/CD
Open your head to revamped 'The Doors: Live at the Bowl '68'
Quite often with the '60s, you just had to be there. But not always. Rhino and Eagle Rock Entertainment have joined forces to spruce up one of The Doors' most famous performances, a July 5, 1968 concert at the Hollywood Bowl. Both the film and audio of the show have been released previously, but this time the visuals have been restored using the original camera negatives and the sound has been remixed and remastered by the group's longtime engineer, Bruce Botnick. This version contains three previously unreleased tracks: Hello, I Love You; The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat); and Spanish Caravan, which marks the first time the entire 20-song concert has been available. The package is available in several formats: Blu-ray, DVD, digital video, CD and digital audio ($12-$20). A double LP will be released Nov. 13. The video versions come with numerous extras. — Shriver