Press Release: ROUNDER RECORDS GROUP OFFERS A VARIETY OF CDS, DVDS, AND BOOKS FOR THE 2007 HOLIDAY SEASON

ROUNDER RECORDS GROUP OFFERS A VARIETY OF CDS, DVDS, AND BOOKS FOR THE 2007 HOLIDAY SEASON



ALISON KRAUSS & ROBERT PLANT, MINNIE DRIVER, WEEN, MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER, LINDA THOMPSON AMONG 2007 HIGHLIGHTS


Burlington, MA – As you start thinking about your year-end lists and holiday gift guides for 2007, we've assembled a list of releases we hope you'll consider. Below are highlights from 2007, including holiday titles, box sets, CD's, soundtracks and Rounder books.

HOLIDAY TITLES:
Various Artists:
Home for Christmas: Voices from the Heartland
Street Date: October 16, 2007
From the Western swing of Riders in the Sky to the Memphis R&B of Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave) to the Missouri bluegrass of Rhonda Vincent to the New Orleans gospel of Irma Thomas, Home for Christmas is chock full of soulful interpretations of holiday classics. Whether you love uptown blues or downhome country, you'll find the heart of American music in these grooves. The perfect stocking stuffer for any true music fan.

Various Artists
A Christmas Celtic Sojourn, Live (CD & DVD)
Street Date: November 6, 2007
For nearly two decades, the Christmas edition of Brian O'Donovan's radio program, A Celtic Sojourn, has been a seasonal highlight for National Public Radio audiences. This tradition has now inspired the extraordinary holiday concert presented on this CD and DVD. Says O'Donovan, "Our initial idea was simple: replicate the gatherings that we love to have at this time of year with family and friends. Share some songs, read some poetry, tell a few stories, and dance. We simply decided to expand the guest list!" Here is a delightful panoply of Celtic Christmas songs, superbly recorded. Nollaig faoi shona dhuit (Merry Christmas)!

ROUNDER KIDS CD's:
Peter Himmelman
My Green Kite
Street Date: February 20, 2007
Peter Himmelman has many kites in the air – multiple award-winning creator of family music, Emmy Award-nominated writer of television music (for "Judging Amy") and critically acclaimed rock troubadour. On this, his fourth family recording, Peter's quirky sense of humor, strong, friendly vocals, expert musicianship and intelligent, touching and laugh-out-loud funny lyrics make his timeless songs soar. The only thing you can predict about Peter Himmelman is that he will always surprise and delight – any age, any time.

Girl Authority
Road Trip
Street Date: March 13, 2007
From classic hits like "The Loco-Motion" and "Car Wash" to chart-toppers of today like "Life Is a Highway" and "This One's For the Girls"…from songs parents remember fondly like "Holiday" and "Walking on Sunshine" to brand-new originals like the exuberantly poppy "Let's Get Together" and the dance-fueled "Rhythm of the World"…Girl Authority invites you to join them on a trip to remember. In addition to the upbeat, family friendly covers, Road Trip contains five original songs, hand-picked for their positive messages and girl-power spunk. Eminent songwriters like Vince Clarke of Erasure (and formerly of Depeche Mode) and Tanya Donelly (formerly of Throwing Muses , The Breeders, and Belly) penned songs for the girls.


BOX SETS:
Various Artists
City of Dreams: A Collection of New Orleans Music
Street Date: October 16, 2007
For nearly three decades, Rounder Records has been among the pre-eminent labels recording the music of New Orleans – second line brass bands, rhythm & blues singers, Mardi Gras Indians, piano players, jazz and funk. Here is a definitive overview of Rounder's New Orleans catalogue, featuring such iconic Crescent City names as Irma Thomas, Professor Longhair and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, as well as lesser-known but equally exciting artists such as Chuck Carbo and Eddie Bo. Here is music that looks into every corner of the New Orleans musical landscape, always funky, rollicking and soulful. With extensive notes by Grammy®-winning Rounder producer Scott Billington.

SPOKEN WORD:
The Lizard Lounge Poetry Jam
Next On The Mic
Street Date: August 28, 2007
*ONLINE RELEASE ONLY*
Every Sunday for more than 10 years, poets and musicians have gathered for the poetry jam at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The poets preach, teach, cry, pray, confess, inspire, slay demons and speak in tongues, with the Jeff Robinson Trio providing improvised musical accompaniment. The tracks on this CD capture some of the best of these performances.

SOUNDTRACKS:
Philip Glass
Notes on a Scandal
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Street Date: January 9, 2007
Philip Glass is inarguably one of the most distinctive and influential composers of the modern era. In addition to his ground-breaking concert hall works and operas, his film scores, such as The Hours, Kundun, and The Thin Blue Line , have won acclaim and popularity through their combination of Western classical music, synthesized sounds, and non-Western influences. His emotive score for Notes on a Scandal is an integral part of the dramatic arc of the film. Notes on a Scandal is a story of loneliness, loyalty, envy and love. Directed by Richard Eyre, the film follows a free-spirited and charismatic art teacher Sheba Hart (played by Cate Blanchett), who is brought down by scandal when she is arrested for engaging in sexual relations with a 15-year-old student. Academy Award winner Judi Dench plays a fellow teacher, Barbara Covett who befriends the younger woman and observes her fall from grace. "The score essentially is about Barbara," Glass states. "It begins with Barbara and it ends with Barbara."

The Namesake
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Street Date: March 6, 2007
With The Namesake, Mira Nair found ways to link New York and Calcutta not only visually, but via sound as well. Like the story itself, the film's soundtrack traverses both time and cultures. "I love Indian classical music and I wanted to link that classical sound with the pulsating New York sound of today," comments Nair. "So the soundtrack not only crosses 25 years of time but also moves from Bengali folk music, Geeta Dutt's 'Jhiri Jhiri Choyetali' to hip-hop, 'The Chosen One.' And then there is Nitin Sawhney's haunting score mixed throughout. This is the privilege of cinema: to bring together the sounds, voices, instruments of that which you love and make it one with image."


CD's:
John Waite
DOWNTOWN….Journey of a Heart
Street Date: January 9, 2007
DOWNTOWN….Journey of a Heart is a musical journey, a collection of new recordings of John Waite's greatest hits, including a stunning duet with Alison Krauss on a new rendition of the radio staple "Missing You," plus extraordinary re-recordings of other songs Waite made famous such as The Babys' "Isn't It Time" and Bad English's "When I See You Smile." Waite also adds an infectious version of Bob Dylan's "Highway 61," and the sweeping balladry of "St. Patrick's Day" and "New York City Girl."

Tony Trischka
Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular
Street Date: January 23, 2007
Bluegrass banjo pioneer Tony Trischka explores the realm of banjo duets in his new release Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular with some esteemed company. Joined by banjo legends Earl Scruggs and Béla Fleck and the actor-comedian-banjoist Steve Martin among many others, and supported by some of the finest pickers and singers in the bluegrass field, including Chris Thile, Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas, Trischka and friends deliver a set of music that ranges from tightly woven harmonic picking to spacious exploration and from deep bluegrass tradition to new acoustic composition. Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular is bluegrass as only Tony Trischka can envision it.

Peter Rowan & Tony Rice
Quartet
Street Date: January 23, 2007
On their own, Peter Rowan and Tony Rice have redefined bluegrass, creating music equally marked by the resonance of tradition and the expressive power of their own respective visions. Quartet, their second collaborative album, finds these two established masters joined throughout by bassist/vocalist Bryn Davies and mandolinist/vocalist Sharon Gilchrist. Using songs both vintage and new, the Peter Rowan and Tony Rice Quartet achieve an imaginative synthesis that bears traces of each man's prior groundbreaking achievements, yet is proudly rooted in the rhythms, improvisational dexterity, and achingly lonesome vocal stylings of classic bluegrass.

Harry Connick, Jr.
Chanson Du Vieux Carré
Street Date: January 30, 2007
New Orleans has been in everyone's thoughts and prayers, and with good reason, since the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in the summer of 2005. Yet for those like Harry Connick, Jr. who grew up in the city, New Orleans has always been a constant state of mind. The love that he and the members of his band share for this birthplace of so much of America's musical culture has been a constant in all of their performances, but never more so than on Chanson du Vieux Carré, the third disc in the Marsalis Music label's series Connick on Piano . Chanson du Vieux Carré stands out among current New Orleans tributes in that it was conceived and executed well before Hurricane Katrina. As Connick explains, "I have been writing original music about New Orleans and arranging traditional New Orleans music on my tour bus over a period of years, to hone my skills and to give the band new music to play." In May 2003, with his band assembled in Los Angeles' legendary Capitol Towers Studio A to record his hit Columbia albums Harry for the Holidays and Only You, Connick felt that the time was right to record his New Orleans music. "I always thought it would be a good idea to record after we got off the road, when everyone's chops would be strong and we'd be able to fly thought the charts – and that's what happened," he says with justifiable pride. "The band sounded great."

Donna Hughes
Gaining Wisdom
Street Date: February 27, 2007
As the title Gaining Wisdom suggests, Donna Hughes has a rare gift for transforming her experiences into riveting, revealing songs that are both uniquely personal and universally accessible. Until now Hughes was best known as an eminent songwriter, her songs having been recorded by such artists as Alison Krauss and The Seldom Scene. Gaining Wisdom finds Hughes to be an exceedingly compelling performer in her own right, delivering her compositions in a soulful, expressive voice with the support of a remarkable cast of musicians and vocalists. Though rooted in classic bluegrass, Hughes is unafraid to branch out, seeking a wide range of acoustic sounds and styles to complement her moving, thoughtful compositions.

Dean & Britta
Back Numbers
Street Date: February 27, 2007
Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips are best known for being one-half of Luna, one of the most critically acclaimed rock bands of the past two decades. Wareham is also known for fronting the seminal indie band Galaxie 500. As Dean & Britta, they have scored for films (the Academy Award-nominated The Squid and the Whale among them) and worked with producer Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T. Rex) on their lauded debut album, L'Avventura. Back Numbers, also produced by Visconti, picks up where L'Avventura left off, with the spotlight on Dean & Britta's laconic, dreamy vocal interplay on originals like "Words You Used to Say" and "Wait for Me," along with covers of '60s gems such as The Troggs' "Our Love Will Still Be There" and Lee Hazlewood's "You Turned My Head Around."

Mary Chapin Carpenter
The Calling
Street Date: March 6, 2007
As a songwriter and performer, Mary Chapin Carpenter has long since transcended the traditional notions of genre and style, finding widespread acclaim for her poetic, elegantly-observed compositions. The Calling, her first release for Zoë/Rounder, is the most topical album she's made in her twenty-year career. While it unequivocally addresses issues both public and political – from the after-effects of Hurricane Katrina to religious zealotry to the trial-by-radio of the Dixie Chicks - there is also something deeply personal about this extraordinary collection of songs. The album is a powerful, provocative meditation on the mysteries of fate and circumstance, which mingles timeless questions with contemporary issues. Introspective, defiant and deeply resonant, The Calling is a profound set from one of modern songwriting's most distinctive voices.

Uncle Earl
Waterloo, Tennessee
Street Date: March 13, 2007
Haunting, playful, elegant, relentless…on their sophomore album Waterloo, Tennessee, the four women of Uncle Earl awaken the sleeping giant of old-time stringband music and hold it as a mirror to our present era. Resolutely modern, yet preserving the luminous mystery of its ancient origins, their music illuminates what is timeless in the everyday. Produced by John Paul Jones, Waterloo, Tennessee laces raucous fiddle tunes and jug band blues with ballads of loss and exile, love songs, and a profound longing that can only be echoed in the strains of fiddles, banjos, mandolins, crystalline tender harmonies, and the occasional wobbleboard.

The Alan Lomax Collection
The Spanish Recordings: Mallorca: The Balearic Islands
Street Date: March 20, 2007
The Alan Lomax Collection is an assemblage of international field recordings that anthologizes the work of folklorist Alan Lomax. The Spanish Recordings were made by Alan Lomax in 1952 and 1953, traveling through Spain during the Franco regime. Covering the breadth of Spanish regional culture, these songs and dance melodies constitute a portrait of the country's varied musical life. Mallorca: The Balearic Islands was recorded at the 1952 Palma Folklore Festival and was the springboard for Alan Lomax's six-month recording trip through Spain. From the exuberant music of the Festival, he went on to record the island's ancient threshing and olive picking songs, raucous friction drumming, and tunes played by shepherds on moonlit, lonely hills.

Grant-Lee Phillips
Strangelet
Street Date: March 27, 2007
Grant-Lee Phillips calls Strangelet "an album for strange times." We call it a masterpiece. Combining the warmth of Grant's recent solo albums with the pure pop hooks found in his albums fronting Grant Lee Buffalo, Strangelet is a highwater-mark in Phillips' career. Grant was fascinated by magic as a child, and he brings the talents of a skilled magician to his songwriting, filling the songs on Strangelet with mystery, suspense and joy. From the soaring choruses of the single "Soft Asylum (No Way Out)" to the T. Rex-ish swagger of "Raise the Spirit," Strangelet is guaranteed to both thrill longtime Grant fans and to bring new members into that fold.

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
More Behind the Picture than the Wall
Street Date: March 27, 2007
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver are not only one of the most dynamic and soulful bands in contemporary bluegrass, they are also one of the most influential, with a musical legacy stretching back over twenty-five years. More Behind the Picture than the Wall finds the six-time IBMA Vocal Group of the Year continuing to excel at the powerful, intricately vocal-driven bluegrass that has become their trademark, while taking intriguing excursions into Carter Family-style country music ("Can You Hear Me Now") and touching modern balladry ("The Phone Call"). One of the most varied and exciting albums in their storied career, More Behind the Picture than the Wall finds Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver continuing to elevate and reinvent the bluegrass tradition for a new era.

Alison Krauss
A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection
Street Date: April 3, 2007
A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection is comprised of 16 tracks, highlighting Krauss' career outside of her traditional releases with long time band Union Station. The album features Krauss' collaboration with John Waite on the single, "Missing You," which also appears on Waite's recent Rounder release Downtown....Journey of a Heart. Billboard Magazine writes of the song, "…vet Alison Krauss adds a newfound tenderness to the ironic lyric 'I ain't missing you at all/No matter what I say.' Her vulnerable vocals, as ever, add ache to the familiar track…" A Hundred Miles or More features Krauss' contributions to film soundtracks including the Oscar® nominated songs, "The Scarlet Tide" and "You Will Be My Ain True Love," written for the motion picture Cold Mountain and "Down to the River to Pray" from the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? Known for her collaborations, Krauss also includes several duets in the collection such as the 2003 hit with Brad Paisley, "Whiskey Lullaby," and her duet with James Taylor for the tribute album Livin', Lovin', Losin': Songs of The Louvin Brothers, "How's the World Treating You." The collection debuts five new songs—"You're Just a Country Boy," "Jacob's Dream," "Simple Love," "Lay Down Beside Me," and "Away Down the River" all of which feature Krauss as a producer.

Chris Whitley and Jeff Lang
Dislocation Blues
Street Date: April 3, 2007
In April 2005 Chris Whitley and Jeff Lang made good on a decade long promise to record together, resulting in the intensely passionate Dislocation Blues. Working in Lang's home base of Melbourne Australia, they recorded twelve songs including new tunes by each artist, some choice Bob Dylan covers and reworked versions of songs from previous releases. Dislocation Blues is magical recording bringing together two artists unafraid to tread their own paths, and where blues is an emotional reference point but not one which either player is harnessed to or hemmed in by. Sadly, Dislocation Blues would turn out to be Chris Whitley's last studio recording. He passed away in November of 2005 from lung cancer at the age of 45.

Alvin Batiste
Marsalis Music Honors Alvin Batiste
Street Date: April 10, 2007
Marsalis Music continues its limited edition Honors Series with a focus on the diverse styles encompassed by the vast tradition of New Orleans. Marsalis Music Honors Alvin Batiste presents the legendary modern jazz clarinetist, composer and educator in his first album in over a decade, with assists from former students Branford Marsalis (who also produced) and Herlin Riley, plus special guest Russell Malone. The Honors Series, which has received a number of accolades (including a 10-Best pick in The New Yorker) for its focus on veteran artists who have not received their due in multi-generational ensembles, continues to feature the distinctive cover art of photographer Lou Jones.

Bob French
Marsalis Music Honors Bob French
Street Date: April 10, 2007
Marsalis Music continues its limited edition Honors Series with a focus on the diverse styles encompassed by the vast tradition of New Orleans. Marsalis Music Honors Bob French places drummer and traditional jazz stalwart Bob French at the head of a band where some of the city's favorite sons (including Harry Connick, Jr. and producer Branford Marsalis) and new stars Kid Chocolate and Trombone Shorty enliven eleven jazz classics. The Honors Series, which has received a number of accolades (including a 10-Best pick in The New Yorker) for its focus on veteran artists who have not received their due in multi-generational ensembles, continues to feature the distinctive cover art of photographer Lou Jones.

Cowboy Junkies
At the End of Paths Taken
Street Date: April 17, 2007
At The End of Paths Taken is Cowboy Junkies' first studio recording of original material since their critically acclaimed effort, One Soul Now (2004). Of the intensely personal collection of songs, Michael Timmins writes: "I rarely sit down with the objective of writing a set of songs based on a single theme, but this time I set out to write an album that dealt with "family" and all of its complex relationships. As a parent of three young children and a son of aging parents, I have been intrigued by how the consequences of those relationships continue to echo down through generations. As the writing progressed, the songs began to pull in more complex directions. "Family" remained a dominant theme but events of the larger world and how those events affect family relationships began to creep into the songs. It was as if the themes that we explored on Early 21st Century Blues (violence, fear, greed, war, loss) had not been fully exorcised and were insinuating themselves into these very intimate songs. I'm not sure if it's my age or the age we live in or both, but the songs began to hint at themes of inevitability and finality; not exactly pre-determination, but a sense of running out of choices, a sense of being at the end of paths taken." The album was produced by Timmins and recorded at the band's Toronto studio over several months in 2006.

The Heptones
Sweet Talking
Street Date: May 8, 2007
The Heptones were the top reggae group at Studio One and they recorded countless hits for the label. The group's sublime harmonies coupled with some of the greatest Studio One rhythms ever recorded made the Heptones one of Jamaica's most beloved and popular acts. Sweet Talking contains eighteen of the Heptones' most legendary songs and many are presented on CD for the first time. Included are rare stereo mixes as well as hard to find extended versions that make this release a virtual treasure trove of top Studio One hits. But it is the music itself that makes Sweet Talking an essential part of any reggae collection.

Dry Branch Fire Squad
30th Anniversary Compilation
Street Date: May 15, 2007
For three decades now, the beloved Dry Branch Fire Squad has been a bastion of mountain soul, bluegrass, and old-time music - carrying timeless traditions into the modern era with a blend of reverence, soul, and wit all their own. This special edition thirtieth anniversary collection is designed to complement Rounder's previous Dry Branch anthology, Tried and True (Rounder 11519), and contains material (some previously unreleased) recorded in the twenty years since that collection's release. Under the stewardship of Ron Thomason, Dry Branch Fire Squad has weathered the storms on the sea of time, all to forge an iron-clad brand of defiantly rugged old-time and traditional bluegrass music that imparts essential reminders of the past while unafraid to meet the future head-on.

G.G.'s Allstars
Roots Man Dub
Street Date: May 22, 2007
In the dance music world, the term "dub" is used to describe a remix where the mixing engineer takes the role of the artist. He emphasizes different vocal and musical elements by selectively dropping those elements in and out of the mix and by adding effects to the isolated tracks. Less widely known is the fact that these engineering techniques were developed and perfected in Jamaica during the early '70s and throughout the decade. This two disc set is centered around the Roots Man Dub album, originally released in 1978 on GG's Records Hit label. The set is enhanced by Alvin Ranglin-produced dub sides from the Maytones, the Starlights, and Al Brown, plus an entire album of previously unreleased dub selections. Remastered from the original tapes.

Joey Calderazzo
Amanecer
Street Date: June 5, 2007
Pianist and composer Joey Calderazzo continues his voyage of personal discovery with Amanecer , produced by Marsalis Music founder Branford Marsalis. Five tracks are solo performances, continuing the explorations featured on his previous Marsalis Music disc, Haiku , and reveal the scope and emotional intensity that Calderazzo's unaccompanied work has attained after additional study and solo touring, while the remaining four titles add vocalist/lyricist Claudia Acuña and guitarist Romero Lubambo in duo and trio performances that emphasize the growing lyricism in both Calderazzo's playing and his writing. The program features six Calderazzo compositions, including his popular "Midnight Voyage" and the title track (a reworking of his beautiful "Cat's Cradle," with Spanish lyrics by Acuña), plus a haunting solo version of "Sea Glass," composed by the late Michael Brecker.

Ron Block
DoorWay
Street Date: June 19, 2007
DoorWay is the second solo album by Ron Block, the fifteen-year veteran guitarist/banjoist/vocalist/songwriter of Alison Krauss and Union Station. Boasting an all-star lineup featuring Alison Krauss, Dan Tyminski, Jerry Douglas, Barry Bales, Adam Steffey, Stuart Duncan, Viktor Krauss, Suzanne and Sidney Cox, Homer, Lisa, and Lori Forbes, and others, DoorWay is a set of intensely moving and personal songs of faith written to bring encouragement to the deepest longings of the spirit - a beautiful and rewarding glimpse inside the human heart.

King Wilkie
Low Country Suite
Street Date: June 26, 2007
King Wilkie formed in 2003 and the band started a journey that took them from a suburban upbringing with a pop MTV soundtrack to an all-consuming obsession with bluegrass. Yet, even as they were named 2004's Emerging Artist of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association, their sound was extending outward in directions that could no longer be contained under the bluegrass banner. Low Country Suite finds King Wilkie deftly tapping into rock's blue-highways heritage, drawing on the pioneering spirit of The Byrds circa Sweetheart of the Rodeo, Gram Parsons' solo LPs, and the Rolling Stones in their "Country Honk" mode. Yet the album's gentler songs are equally informed by the sixties folk of Nico, Nick Drake, and Leonard Cohen, as by Bill Monroe, the Flying Burrito Brothers, or the Byrds. While Low Country Suite pulls from a broad range of musical influences, the resulting blend is uniquely King Wilkie.

Bobby Osborne
Bluegrass Melodies
Street Date: July 10, 2007
Fresh on the heels of his triumphant Rounder debut Try a Little Kindness, Bobby Osborne and his Rocky Top X-Press return with Bluegrass Melodies – twelve exhilarating new tracks that find veteran innovator Osborne at the very peak of his vocal and instrumental powers. Over the past fifty years, Osborne's incomparable tenor, nimble mandolin playing, and unerring ear for fresh material and ingenious arrangements have put him among the most influential figures in the creation of the contemporary bluegrass sound. The powerful and soaring performances collected on Bluegrass Melodies offer compelling evidence of Osborne's ongoing musical growth and undiminished, age-defying vocal prowess. This is the sound of a legendary artist who, at this point in his life, is still creating some of the most interesting and vital work of his long, storied career.

They Might Be Giants
The Else
Street Date: July 10, 2007
Since 1982, a few years before they released their 1987 debut, John Flansburgh and John Linnell have been They Might Be Giants, an independent band named after a 1971 George C. Scott movie who are, to echo their own description of their current collaborators The Dust Brothers, pop musicians unto themselves. Their work provides, in the prescient judgment of The SPIN Alternative Record Guide (1995) "a fabulous example of just how far the concept of punk can stretch." In subsequent years, They Might Be Giants have elongated things further, although never to the breaking point. They have released twelve albums, of which The Else, a wildly rocking and sturdy collection of thirteen unfailingly acute songs co-produced by The Dust Brothers (Beck, Beastie Boys), is the latest. It includes a 23 song bonus disc with the album's first edition and features Linnell (who sings and plays keyboards, primarily) and Flansburgh (who sings and plays guitar, primarily) working in tightest accord with their current band of guitarist Dan Solder Miller, bassist Danny Weinkauf, and drummer Marty Beller.

Minnie Driver
SEASTORIES
Street Date: July 17, 2007
Though best known as an actress, Minnie Driver defied critics' expectations and established herself as a serious artist and musician with her well-received debut album Everything I've Got in My Pocket. Her new CD SEASTORIES goes farther in exploring new musical territory, from the rich sonic textures of "Beloved" to the bluesy soul of "Cold Dark River" to the seductive minor key groove of "Mockingbird" to the poetic chamber folk of "Lakewater Hair." Producer Marc "Doc" Dauer and guest musicians Ryan Adams and The Cardinals, Liz Phair and Rami Jaffee (The Wallfowers) match but never overwhelm Driver's vivid lyrics, soaring melodies and spirited performances on this thoroughly pleasing collection of intelligent pop.

Dennis Alcapone
Forever Version Deluxe Edition
Street Date: July 17, 2007
One of the few DJs in Jamaica capable of giving the great U Roy any competition was another master of the genre named Dennis "Alcapone" Smith. His smooth singing style of toasting is brilliantly captured on this album that also features the singing of such Studio One greats as the Wailers, the Heptones, Alton Ellis, Ken Boothe, and John Holt. This deluxe edition features the rare stereo album mixes and adds an additional six bonus tracks. Produced by Clement Dodd.

Lone Ranger
On the Other Side of Dub
Street Date: July 17, 2007
On the Other Side of Dub is one of reggae's essential dee-jay albums, and Lone Ranger is one of the founding fathers of the dancehall dee-jay business. Ranger recorded big hits for Studio One and was one of the artists responsible for the label's renaissance in the early eighties. On the Other Side of Dub contains nine top deejay performances as well as eight Studio One dubs. Also included is the extended mix of "Keep on Coming a de Dance", one of the Ranger's signature toasts. This album is taken from the rare original stereo master which has never before appeared on CD and includes bonus tracks "The Answer," "Tribute to Marley," and "Screw Gone a North Coast."

Riders In The Sky
Public Cowboy #1: A Centennial Salute to the Music of Gene Autry
Street Date: July 24, 2007
Riders In The Sky tip their huge ten-gallon hats to Gene Autry, "Public Cowboy Number One," with this re-issue of their award-winning 1996 CD, marking the celebration of Gene's 100th birthday. All of the original songs are included PLUS four bonus recordings of Gene's best-loved numbers. Includes new notes by Ranger Doug. Thanks Gene. Thanks for teaching us the Cowboy Way.

Shivaree
Tainted Love: Mating Calls and Fight Songs
Street Date: July 31, 2007
What's love got to do with Phil Spector, Rick James, Michael Jackson or Gary Glitter? Shivaree attempts to mount this riddle in a fractured look beneath the covers and through the keyhole of some of true Rock n' Roll legends, interpreting the songs of these and many more controversial greats on Tainted Love: Mating Calls and Fight Songs. In the words of lead singer/headmistress Ambrosia Parsley, "Rock and Roll may save your soul, but a good man is truly hard to find." Shivaree's twisted, biting cabaret pop has been featured everywhere from Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill to Air America Radio (who employed Parsley to encapsulate each week's news in song form). Have a listen to what the fuss is all about.

The Charlie Sizemore Band
Good News
Street Date: August 14, 2007
Good News is the first Rounder Records release from singer, songwriter, and vocalist Charlie Sizemore, an artist much respected and loved in the world of bluegrass for both his musical talents and his unshakeable yet immensely likeable integrity. His reputation as "The Real Deal" is based equally on his considerable musical talents and his resolute commitment to doing things the right way, and has only added luster to his place as one of the finest bluegrass artists of his generation. Soulful and heartfelt, Charlie Sizemore's singing is capable of bringing a new level of emotion and insight to songs new and old. An equally powerful writer, Sizemore's compositions have been recorded by Ralph Stanley, Jimmy Martin, and Doyle Lawson. His first new album in six years, Good News is compelling proof that Sizemore is his own best interpreter – and that Good News is always worth waiting for.

Linda Thompson
Versatile Heart
Street Date: August 14, 2007
Superlatives fail to justly describe the voice of Linda Thompson. Steely yet vulnerable, comforting yet haunting, Thompson's singing is never less than riveting, and has played a crucial role in some of the most powerful, influential music of the past thirty years. On Versatile Heart, only her third solo album, Thompson demonstrates that, in addition to being an incomparable interpreter, she is an equally astonishing songwriter – stitching traditional British Isles music and more contemporary influences into a sound that is expressive and direct, yet timeless. From the brass-flecked acoustic pop of the title track to the cool rockabilly of "Do Your Best for Rock 'n Roll," her writing forms the core of Versatile Heart. Other writers represented on Versatile Heart include Thompson's son Teddy, daughter Kamila, Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan, and Rufus Wainwright, who contributes the devastating "Beauty," performed as a duet with Antony.

Jimmy Sturr
Come Share the Wine
Street Date: August 21, 2007
One of the most successful bandleaders in any genre, Jimmy Sturr has taken the polka to new heights of popularity and accessibility, while never sacrificing the joyous backbeat that has thrilled listeners for generations. Come Share the Wine is Sturr at his best, combining polka favorites with memorable new material and imaginative, polka-fied reinventions of time-honored classics.

Ann Wilson
Hope & Glory
Street Date: September 11, 2007
Ann Wilson is one of the best known voices in rock, having fronted the legendary band Heart since the mid-'70s. With hits like "Crazy on You" and "Barracuda," Heart was one of the most popular bands of the album rock era. In the '80s Heart found even greater success with monster MTV and radio hits such as "Alone," "Never," and "These Dreams." Hope & Glory is Ann Wilson's first-ever solo album and includes guest appearances from luminaries Deana Carter, Shawn Colvin, Elton John, Alison Krauss, k.d. lang, Rufus Wainwright, Gretchen Wilson, Nancy Wilson, and Wynonna on a variety of classic covers selected for their insight into important current social issues, including Elton John's "Where to Now St. Peter?," Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," and Neil Young's "War of Man." Produced by Ben Mink ( k.d. lang, Feist).

Various Artists
When Rhythm Was King
Street Date: September 11, 2007
Collectors beware, this is a release for the masses. Top Studio One rhythms, wicked singers and top basslines from Brentford Road. Sugar Minott, Alton Ellis, Johnny Osbourne, Wailing Souls and 14 more foundation singers ride the baddest rhythms in all of reggae courtesy of the legendary Studio One. Put it on, you can't take it off. Serious thing.


Claire Lynch
Crowd Favorites
Street Date: October 9, 2007
Crowd Favorites is a collection of some of the most-requested songs from Claire Lynch's impressively rich repertoire. New recordings of favorites from her Front Porch String Band days highlight the signature groove of the Claire Lynch Band, while ten classics from her Rounder catalog form an ideal introduction to one of acoustic music's most innovative artists. Luminous and elegant, Lynch's music is a mesmerizing blend of bluegrass, country, folk, and swing, exquisitely showcasing her gifts as a vocalist, songwriter, and bandleader.

Gladiators
Studio One Singles
Street Date: October 9, 2007
The Gladiators, Albert Griffiths, Clinton Fearon and Gallimore Sutherland, were one of the first "roots" groups to break out internationally. They, like many others, launched their career at Studio One and their '70s output for the label, like "Bongo Red" and "Jah Jah Go Before Us," brought them to the attention of reggae fans worldwide. This Gladiators' release, Studio One Singles, first appeared as a French bootleg, and in the tradition of albums like Mojo Rock Steady and Pirates Choice, is now reissued in an authorized edition featuring improved sound quality sourced from the original masters and rare singles.

Bob Marley & The Wailers
Another Dance: Rare Sides from Studio One
Street Date: October 16, 2007
This album consists of rare Wailers titles, alternate takes, and original single mixes, all recorded between 1964 and 1966 for late producer Clement Dodd at his Studio One recording studio at 13 Brentford Road in Kingston, Jamaica. The release of these seldom-heard tracks will be a cause for celebration among true Wailers collectors. All titles, takes, and mixes presented here were issued as singles in Jamaica on Dodd-owned labels like Coxsone, Studio One, Supreme, Tabernacle, and Wincox. These are indeed rare; not one has been previously used in Heartbeat's extensive series of albums documenting the Wailers' formative years at Studio One.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
Raising Sand
Street Date: October 23, 2007
*For review copies please contact Nick Baily at Shore Fire Media, nbaily@shorefire.com | 718.522.7171*
The musical collaboration of the decade, Raising Sand is the sound of two iconic figures stepping out of their respective comfort zones and letting their instincts lead them across a brave new sonic landscape. Despite hailing from distinctly different backgrounds, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant share a maverick spirit and willingness to extend the boundaries of their respective genres. This spirit, expertly honed by producer T Bone Burnett, has resulted in an album pitched three steps beyond some cosmic collision of early urban blues, spacious West Texas country, and the untapped potential of the folk-rock revolution. Supported by the unparalleled musicianship of Marc Ribot, Dennis Crouch, Mike Seeger, Jay Bellerose, Norman Blake, Greg Leisz, Patrick Warren, and Riley Baugus, Plant and Krauss – as both solo and harmony vocalists – tackle an intriguing selection of songs from such tunesmiths as Tom Waits, Gene Clark, Sam Phillips, Townes Van Zandt, The Everly Brothers, and Mel Tillis. Raising Sand finds Robert Plant and Alison Krauss exploring popular music's elemental roots while still sounding effortlessly, breath-takingly contemporary.

EPK: http://www.rounder.com/robertplant_alisonkrauss/

Ween
La Cucaracha
Street Date: October 23, 2007
*For review copies please contact Matt Hanks at Shore Fire Media, mhanks@shorefire.com | 718.522.7171*
For the past 20 years, Ween has established itself as a major artistic force, combining off-the-wall musical antics with brilliantly creative songwriting. La Cucaracha, Ween's new studio record, is an eclectic, dark, humorous, and bizarre assortment of songs. In other words, it's a typical Ween record. These thirteen tracks, though strongly diverse, share a common theme: relationships. It's a theme that can be at once joyful, morbid, humorous, and often frightening. From the tenderly introspective "Lullaby" to the disturbingly offensive "My Own Bare Hands," Ween pulls no punches in its latest endeavor, which achieves its power through sharp wit, clever songwriting, and brutal honesty.

The Abyssinians
Satta Massagana Deluxe Edition
Street Date: October 23, 2007
Satta Massagana is one of reggae's greatest albums by the most inspired of Jamaica's vocal groups, the Abyssinians. This album is filled with great performances, as well as two of reggae's most legendary songs, "Declaration of Rights" and "Satta Massagana." The song "Satta Massagana" serves as reggae's national anthem, but all the songs on this album are equally as good. The Abyssinians proclaim their message through heavenly harmonies, their lyrics ringing with righteousness and track for track this album achieves a breathtaking clarity of vision. This release of Satta Massagana also includes four extra songs.

ROUNDER BOOKS:
Under a Grapefruit Sun: Red Sox Spring Training a Quarter Century Ago by Dan Valenti
When writer and broadcaster Dan Valenti covered spring training on freelance assignments primarily centered on the Boston Red Sox during the 1980s, he fortunately took his camera with him. These photos, published here for the first time, depict spring training during a time that will never come again. In the 1980s, particularly early-to mid-decade, players' salaries had not exploded into megamillion-dollar contracts, fans still had essentially unregulated access to the action, and the focus was on baseball. Many of the great stars of Red Sox history are pictured in these pages. You'll witness Ted Williams, Jerry Remy, Carl Yastrzemski, Roger Clemens, Johnny Pesky, Dwight Evans, Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, Rick Burleson, Wade Boggs, and a host of other Sox players. Alongside the photos, Valenti's thoughtful text explores both his personal experiences behind the scenes and the greater philosophical implications of the spring training ritual.

Roadshow (paperback) by Neil Peart
For thirty years, Neil Peart had wanted to write a book about "the biggest journey of all in my restless existence: the life of a touring musician." Finally, the right time, and the right tour...In the summer of 2004, after three decades, twenty gold albums, and thousands of performances spanning four continents, the band Rush embarked on a celebratory 30th Anniversary World Tour. The R30 tour traveled to nine countries, where the band performed fifty-seven shows in front of more than half a million fans. Uniquely, Peart chose to do his between-show traveling by motorcycle, riding 21,000 miles of back roads and highways in North America and Europe - from Appalachian hamlets and Western deserts to Scottish castles and Alpine passes. Roadshow illuminates the daunting rigors of a major international concert tour, as well as Peart's exploration of the scenic byways and country towns along the way. His evocative and entertaining prose carries the reader through every performance and every journey, sharing the bittersweet reflections triggered by the endlessly unfolding landscape. Observations and reflections range from the poignantly, achingly personal to the wickedly irreverent.

The 1967 Impossible Dream Red Sox: Pandemonium On The Field edited by Bill Nowlin and Dan Desrochers
When Jim Lonborg induced Minnesota's Rich Rollins to pop up, and shortstop Rico Petrocelli stepped back and cradled the softly-looped fly ball, the '67 Sox had done the impossible--they had overcome 100-to-1 odds, climbing out of ninth place the year before to capture the American League pennant. It had been 21 years since the Sox last reached the post-season. Dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of fans streamed out onto the Fenway infield mobbing Lonborg, who lost a shirt and his shoelaces as he struggled through the delirious crowd to get to the clubhouse. Two or three dozen fans climbed the backstop screen toward the broadcast booth. Others dismantled the scoreboard in left field. Many just tore out handfuls of grass and stuffed their pockets. It truly was, in the words of Red Sox radio announcer Ned Martin, "pandemonium on the field."

Ted Williams at War by Bill Nowlin
Most biographies of Ted Williams devote a chapter or two to the five years he spent in the Marines. Bill Nowlin has interviewed over 40 pilots, who flew with Capt. Williams from K-3 in Korea, and interviewed over 120 people in all who knew or encountered Ted Williams during his years of service. Combined with access to Williams' squadron records, his personal flight logbooks, and his fitness and evaluation reports, Ted Williams At War presents by far the most comprehensive portrait of a man that many termed "the real John Wayne."

No Greater Love: Life Stories from the Men Who Saved Baseball by Todd Anton
In no professional sport have more men sacrificed for their country than baseball. In No Greater Love , many of baseball's military veterans - Bert Shepard, Don Newcombe, Dom DiMaggio, Jerry Coleman, Johnny Pesky, Ernie Harwell, Vin Scully, Bob Feller, and others - tell their stories - not just the facts of what they did, but more importantly, how they felt about their service and how their war experiences changed them as players and as men. The memories and wisdom of the men who saved baseball assist author Todd Anton as he pursues his own personal mission to honor his late father, a World War II/Korean War combat veteran. No Greater Love melds together elements reminding readers of both Field of Dreams and Saving Private Ryan.

Love That Dirty Water: The Standells and the Improbable Red Sox Victory Anthem by Bill Nowlin and Chuck Burgess
The Standells have long been considered one of the pioneering garage/punk bands, a decade ahead of their time. They were also billed as America's answer to The Beatles and toured with The Rolling Stones. Yet the story of The Standells includes a cast member of the Mickey Mouse Club, a fraternal connection to West Side Story, The Four Preps, a few tracks produced by Sonny Bono, a manager shared with Liberace, and - most improbable of all - the song "Dirty Water" serving for the last decade as the victory anthem of the Boston Red Sox. The more Nowlin and Burgess dug into the story, the more they learned of the longstanding ties between music and the Red Sox , dating back to "Tessie" and the very first World Series in 1903 up through the singing careers of Mickey McDermott and Tony Conigliaro, the ballpark organ of John Kiley, and the strange story of how Annette Funicello's old drum kit, a mugging in Boston, and a Los Angeles nightclub band came together to create this most unique cultural artifact - an ode to a quirky city that resonates more fully now than it did back in the Sixties.

Further Fenway Fiction edited by Adam Emerson Pachter
The time has come for a second Red Sox-inspired anthology, one which asks the question: can fiction handle victory as well as it did defeat? The 18 stories contained in Further Fenway Fiction answer that question with a resounding yes, taking the reader in exciting and previously unimaginable literary directions. Within these pages you'll follow the World Series trophy as it visits the smallest town in Massachusetts, learn what happens when a fan bets on her beloved Sox - with marriage as the stakes - and take a satirical visit to Red Sox fantasy camp. After reading Further Fenway Fiction, you'll agree that Sox-inspired fiction is just as exciting - and perhaps even a little more optimistic - than ever.

More information available at www.rounderbooks.com.

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