Triumph Documentary, ‘Lay it On the Line,’ Coming

The first feature-length documentary about legendary Canadian power trio Triumph is in the works and its producers are inviting a limited number of fans to be part of the action. Banger Films, in association with Revolver Films and Bell Media’s streaming service Crave, is currently in production on Triumph: Lay it On the Line, about the dramatic career of the band, with previously unseen footage and unheard audio. They’re giving a group of lucky fans a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend a special event that will be filmed for the documentary.

From the September 24 announcement: The intimate and interactive celebration is scheduled for Saturday, November 16, 2019, in the greater Toronto area, and it’s a chance for the attendees to explore the story of the group, interact with rare artifacts and iconic props from the Triumph legacy, and of course, hang out with the band themselves. More than that, it’s a chance for Triumph to say “thank you” to the fans who have stuck with them for over thirty years. Capacity for the event is extremely limited. Fans interested in attending should contact Banger Films at TriumphEvent@bangerfilms.com for information on how they can be a part of the event. .

Produced by Emmy and Peabody award-winning Banger Films, Triumph: Lay it On the Line is a Crave Original Documentary that covers the history of one of rock’s most unsung bands. Slated for release in 2020, the film covers Triumph’s humble beginnings as staples of the GTA circuit in the mid-70s to their heyday when they sold out arenas and stadiums. .

Drummer/vocalist Gil Moore, bassist/keyboardist Mike Levine, and guitarist/vocalist Rik Emmett formed Triumph in 1975, and their blend of heavy riff-rockers with progressive odysseys, peppered with thoughtful, inspiring lyrics and virtuosic guitar playing quickly made them a household name in Canada. Anthems like “Lay it On the Line,” “Magic Power” and “Fight the Good Fight” earned them significant success on U.S. rock radio along with some pop airplay, and they amassed a legion of passionate fans. .

They ultimately disbanded. The announcement notes: “Triumph missed out on an opportunity to say thank you to those loyal and devoted fans, a base that is still active today, three decades later.” “Mike, Rik, and I are thrilled to revisit Triumph’s history, and especially to express our gratitude to our amazing fans,” says Moore. .

Featuring interviews with Triumph, their contemporaries, their close friends and partners, and their fans, Triumph: Lay it On the Line is described as “an all-access pass into the story behind the hit records and the light shows.” – CREDITS: - by Best Classic Bands Staff

Van Morrison Releasing New Album: Three Chords And The Truth

Van Morrison has announced details of a new album - Three Chords And The Truth. It will be released on Exile/Caroline International available on CD/vinyl and digital download on October 25th, 2019.

Three Chords And The Truth is truly something wonderful — fourteen new original compositions effortlessly encapsulate the Van Morrison sound and showcase his talents as one of our generation’s most celebrated songwriters. His sixth album in just four years, Three Chords And The Truth is further proof that Van Morrison is one of the greatest recording artists of all time and a creative force to be reckoned with. .

Three Chords And The Truth was produced and written by Van Morrison (except for If We Wait for Mountains which was co-written with Don Black). The album features contributions from legendary guitarist Jay Berliner and a duet with The Righteous Brothers’ Bill Medley (Fame Will Eat the Soul). Explaining what it was like to record the album, Van Morrison said: .

“You’re just plugging into the feeling of it, more the feeling of it… when they’re playing… It’s like reading me. So, I think there’s more of that connection.”.

Van Morrison is performing a series of shows around the album release date and has also announced a residency at the London Palladium in March 2020. For tickets and information visit www.vanmorrison.com/live.

Credits: https://www.vanmorrison.com

Michael Stipe with Douglas Coupland: Our Interference Times - A Visual Record

For this second book in an ongoing exploratory series, multifaceted artist Michael Stipe has collaborated with the writer and artist Douglas Coupland on an investigation of how analog imagery is crashing on the shores of our digital future. For Stipe the signature mark of this phenomenon is the moiré pattern.

Culled from Stipe’s vast archive of personal images, the book is a contemplation on the tug-of-war between pixels and halftone, between past memory and new memory and their vagaries of representation. As an undergraduate studio art major at the University of Georgia, Michael Stipe (born 1960) studied photography and painting before leaving school upon the formation of R.E.M., the band for which he served as frontman and singer/songwriter until its dissolution in 2011.

The sensibility that he began to develop during his time as an art student transferred to his spectrum of work for R.E.M., from art directing all graphic, video and stage design, to writing, composing and performance, and his iconoclastic personal style. Stipe’s visibility as a media figure in the popular culture of the 1980s and ’90s left an indelible mark on the aesthetic trends of the time, many of which have trickled down to contemporary culture. - www.artbook.com

REM TO RELEASE ‘MONSTER’ 25TH ANNIVERSARY BOX SET

R.E.M. have announced a 25th-anniversary box-set edition of their ninth studio album, Monster, which will extend the 1994 LP to six discs. Original producer Scott Litt created an all-new mix of the LP, which will appear alongside unheard demos and an unreleased live recording. The box set, as well as a double-vinyl edition, will arrive on Nov. 1. “The original 1994 version was dense in guitars and feedback with the vocals mixed within the sonic wall, but on this alternative version the guitars are pulled back and the vocals pushed forward to create a more open sound and showcase often-revealing lyrics,” a statement noted.

Litt’s new mix appears on Disc 3; the first disc contains the original album newly remastered, while the second features 15 demos, most with temporary titles like “Pete’s Hit,” “Mike’s Gtr” and “Rocker With Vocal.” The fourth and fifth CDs present 25 tracks recorded live in Chicago on June 3, 1995, while the final disc, a Blu-ray, includes a 5.1 surround mix, a hi-res audio mix, the band's Road Movie concert film and six music videos.

CREDITS: ultimateclassicrock.com – Martin KIELTY / ARTBOOK – www.artbook.com