Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
No Depression review
Labels: guterman, music, review, sandinista
Sunday, June 17, 2007
We are relics...
Labels: guterman, music, review, sandinista
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
The Sandinista Project is on iTunes -- but don't buy there unless you have to
Labels: guterman, itunes, music, sandinista
Monday, June 04, 2007
Our record label: No longer a toddler
Labels: 00:02:59, abe_bradshaw, guterman, music, sandinista
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
We've reached Chattanooga and Harp
Harp says we made "a tribute record with much imaginative inspiration," but I can't find the review on its website
Labels: guterman, music, sandinista
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Amazon returns to its senses
And while you're on Amazon, there are two other records I recommend. I'm in California now for a conference, and these two new collections kept me good company during the flight west.
The Future Is Unwritten is the sort-of soundtrack to Julien Temple's new film about self-proclaimed "punk rock warlord" Joe Strummer. It's an appropriately weird collection of songs Joe championed or played on.
And, if you adored Ethan Lipton's "Corner Soul" on The Sandinista Project, you'll want to hear a full record by him. Fortunately for you, he happens to have a new one. I played his Mr. Softy twice during my travels yesterday. I love its humor, the hard truths lurking behind its humor, its diversity (of mood, of genre). I even love the costumes (which you won't see unless you buy the physical product). My favorite favorite song (that is, my favorite of many favorites) is "Pirates of the Heart." I can’t count how many times I’ve heard a great new song live only to find it ruined when the performer got around to cutting it in the studio. But the revelation live is even sturdier, nastier, funnier, and more vulnerable on disc. Congratulations to Ethan and His Orchestra! Now go visit his website.
Labels: ethan_lipton, guterman, joe_strummer, music, sandinista
Monday, May 28, 2007
The New York Times on The Sandinista Project
"Tribute albums have always been exercises in memory and continuity, mapping connections of sound and style. They trade on familiar songs or famous names, but what they promise is not an oldies experience (or for that matter, the experience provided by tribute bands that mimic name-brand acts). They aim for relevance, not nostalgia. And now, in the era of the isolated MP3 download and the randomly shuffled playlist, tribute albums aren’t just homages to musicians. They are also tributes to the vanishing idea of the album itself: that a collection of songs can still mean something as a whole. That is the strategy behind another worthwhile tribute album, “The Sandinista! Project” (00:02:59), a song-by-song remake of the Clash’s 1980 album “Sandinista!” by indie-rock and alt-country stalwarts and unknowns.
"Beyond each track’s individual thrills, a tribute album can illuminate a style and sensibility or reconsider a historical moment, as “The Sandinista! Project” does with contributions from Amy Rigby, Stew, Jon Langford and Sally Timms and dozens of others.
"The original “Sandinista!” filled three LPs with outsize ambitions: songs about violence, victims, revolution and drugs, delivered in a haze of punk, reggae, funk and glimmers of hip-hop. The remake, like most tribute albums, is hit or miss, but luckily it’s anything but reverent. A few Clash imitations show up, but so do multidirectional time warps. Songs skew toward Appalachia with banjos, plunge into psychedelic loops and echoes, unleash theremin on “The Call Up” and the Persian wail of Haale on “One More Time.” Members of the Clash wanted their songs to reverberate worldwide; “The Sandinista! Project” proclaims that they succeeded. And it not only insists that the original album hung together but goes on to take the sprawl of “Sandinista!” even further."
The full article is available here.
Labels: guterman, music, sandinista
More bloggers weigh in
BlogCritics also comments, at greater length, mostly positively. (I love "Broadway"!)
Labels: guterman, music, sandinista
Friday, May 25, 2007
The bloggers begin to weigh in
Labels: guterman, music, sandinista
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Two more in the "thumbs-up" category
The Iowa City Press-Citizen says we made "a cool roundup by any measure."
Labels: guterman, music, sandinista, they_like_us_they_really_like_us
Four pieces today .. including our first all-out negative review (hey, it was bound to happen)
The Evanston (IL) Review says we're "varied and often inspired."
The Chicago Free Press (scroll down) thinks we did "an admirable job."
Stylus hates us. And we've received a grade to match. It's my first C- since second-semester statistics 22 years ago. I have, however, been called "charmless" somewhat more recently than that.
Labels: charmless, guterman, music, sandinista
Monday, May 21, 2007
Want to know more about the outstanding artist who performed "Broadway" on The Sandinista Project?
Labels: guterman, music, sandinista, stew
Saturday, May 19, 2007
The Sun rises for us
SHORT CUTS
By Bill Bentley
Various Artists, The Sandinista Project (00:02:59)
Tribute albums are tricky business. You know going in that the original work is going to be almost impossible to beat. How in the world can, say, a recreation of the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album be better than the original? The list goes on and on at those taking a well-intentioned stab at these affairs, until recently it felt like there should be a total ban on the endeavors. It got so overloaded that for a bit, it seemed like there were tribute albums to tribute albums being recorded. That said, every once and awhile a collection will slip through the net and make actual sense, just like The Sandinista Project does. Based on the 1980 Clash magnum opus, this effort features a wild range of musicians, each taking one of the original songs and having a go at it. And like the law of averages would dictate, some succeed with total flair, with only a few dragging through. Producer Jimmy Guterman has wisely chosen artists on these 37 tracks, which in the end is the difference between luster and lethargy, and does what any righteous tribute album should do: send you running for the original to rediscover the majesty contained within.
If you really want the whole PDF, it's here.
Also, in what now feels like a previous life, I knew a great guy at Warner Brothers named Bill Bentley (who also took part in a spirited tribute record: More Oar). If the author of this review is the same person and sees this, please get in touch with me: jimmy @ guterman.com (spaces added in vain attempt to curb spam).
Update: Found (thanks, Cary)!
Labels: bill_bentley, guterman, music, sandinista
Friday, May 18, 2007
The Orange Country Register weighs in
They like the record ("a grandly ambitious lark") -- and misspell my name (update: fixed)!
Labels: guterman, music, sandinista
Coverville covers us
Labels: guterman, music, sandinista
Thursday, May 17, 2007
"a broad, globalized worldview and buoyant spirit of possibility"
Labels: guterman, music, sandinista
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Positive review in the Village Voice ... and an opportunity to save a buck
On an unrelated matter, but useful if you're cheap, my friend Mark just wrote me that the price of the record on Amazon has dropped again, from $14.99 to $13.99. I don't know if it's an error, but get it cheap while you can.
Labels: guterman, music, sandinista
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Release date!
Labels: guterman, music, sandinista
Saturday, May 12, 2007
$14.99 is the new $18.98
Labels: amazon_price_drop, guterman, sandinista
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
Interview with Jeff Sanchez (Soul Food, "Midnight Log")
Labels: guterman, music, sandinista
Monday, April 16, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
What's next?
Labels: guterman, now_what, sandinista
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Sex Clark Five, "Career Opportunities"
Labels: guterman, music, sandinista, sex_clark_five
Friday, March 16, 2007
Advance CDs
I'll begin shipping the advances to the performers over the weekend. If you're a member of the media and would like a copy, please contact our publicist Cary Baker.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to shovel some snow...
Labels: guterman, sandinista
Monday, March 12, 2007
Sneak peek
UPDATE: It's also available, sans DRM, on eMusic. Thanks for the pointer, Doug.
Labels: blizzard_of_78, guterman, mikey_dread, sandinista
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Harp: Clash’s Sandinista! Gets Covers Treatment
The press release went out yesterday. This is the first piece it generated that isn't merely a reprinting of the press release. More as they come in...
Labels: guterman, sandinista
Friday, February 23, 2007
An album cover for a covers album

cover painting by Jon Langford
cover design by Eric Mongeon
original Sandinista! cover photograph by Pennie Smith
original Sandinista! package design by Clash/Stiles
Labels: guterman, sandinista
Monday, February 19, 2007
From The Sandinista Project to real success...
Labels: lothars, sandinista, theremin
Sunday, February 11, 2007
I hope this "Rudie" can fail
Labels: giuliani, guterman, sandinista
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
May 1 is the new March 27
We have signed with a distributor for The Sandinista Project. It’s RED Distribution. RED has been the NARM Distributor of the Year two years running now and we believe the record will get the attention it deserves.
Because we now have to coordinate our schedule with RED’s schedule, we have to bump back the release date a month, to Tuesday, May 1. I’m sorry for the delay and whatever inconvenience it may cause you, but it’s unavoidable. The new date may make more conceptual sense: May 1 was one of the two biggest national holidays in Nicaragua during its Sandinista years.
We were able to get a reduced rate from Universal on the mechanicals for the Clash compositions. I would have preferred they gave us free use, since this is a charity project, but in the current music-industry climate I suppose I should be pleased they gave us even a minor break.
We have a publicist signed on, too. Starting February 15, Cary Baker, who some of my fellow old-timers might remember from when he ran publicity for I.R.S. Records, will be on the team.
We’re looking to have three concert/record-release events in late April/early May in three cities: New York, Boston, and Chicago. More info as it develops.
It’s getting real…
Labels: guterman, sandinista
Sunday, January 28, 2007
For those of you who can't wait until the record's out to listen to "Silicone on Sapphire"...
UPDATE: More from the band's blog.
Labels: blizzard_of_78, guterman, sandinista, strummercamp
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Amy Rigby is blogging. Who else is?
Labels: amy_rigby, guterman, sandinista
Interpreting without copying
Labels: beatles, guterman, sandinista, smithereens
Thursday, January 11, 2007
More important than any record (no matter how cool the record is)
Labels: amnesty_international, guterman, sandinista
Friday, December 29, 2006
Strummer 2002, get it while you can
PS A blog not filled with treasures, at least not yet, is my revived one.
Labels: guterman, sandinista, strummer