It’s official and ahead of schedule!  Harmonix, the world’s premier music video game developer, and MTV Games,a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks, announced that next week’s downloadable content release of tracks from The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s seminal album, Are You Experienced, will push the Rock Band platform past the 2,000-song milestone, with the classic song “Are You Experienced?” coming in at No. 2,000.  More than 2,000 tracks will be available for play in Rock Band 3 when it is released Oct. 26 in North America and Oct. 29 in the rest of the world for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Nintendo DS.

“The success of our song downloads has afforded us the opportunity to approach Rock Band as an interactive music platform and reshape the way gamers think of expansion content,” said Paul DeGooyer, senior vice president of electronic games, music and programming for MTV Networks.   ”Our commitment to weekly releases, disc export, forward compatibility of downloads and the launch of the Rock Band Network were milestones in the development of Rock Band‘s vibrant digital business.  Now, with the release of our 2,000th song, we are reaffirming our commitment to present new music every week – and with the new features in Rock Band 3, there will be more ways than ever to experience it.”

Featuring the music of more than 800 different bands, including Jimi Hendrix, The Who, AC/DC, Green Day, Queen, Slayer, Metallica, Journey, Bob Marley and many more, the Rock Band platform leads the way in providing the best selection of interactive musical content, songs and artists. To see the complete listing of bands and a host of fun stats, please click here.

A mixture of live and studio tracks from the debut album from The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced, will be available as a special Rock Band edition album download Tuesday, Oct. 12 through the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 system and Wii.

When Rock Band 3 launches, fans will have access to a music library of more than 2,000 songs*, including on-disc content, exported on-disc tracks from Rock Band, Rock Band™ 2, LEGO® Rock Band™, Green Day: Rock Band™,  AC/DC Live: Rock Band™ Track Pack and a variety of other track packs that employ the disc export technology Harmonix pioneered.

All previously purchased downloadable content will automatically move forward into the Rock Band 3 Music Library when players insert the disc into their console. Additionally, Harmonix will also continue to offer downloadable content after the launch of Rock Band 3 in two ways – from the dedicated Harmonix in-house audio and art teams through the weekly updated Rock Band Music Store, and from the Rock Band Network, a suite of tools that allows bands and labels of all shapes and sizes to author their songs into downloadable, playable Rock Band tracks available for sale.

To allow users to get the most from this massive library, Rock Band 3 features improved song sorting, a recommendation engine and the ability for fans to create, save and share setlists. For information on how to pre-order Rock Band 3 today, please click here.

To date, Rock Band fans have downloaded more than 75 million songs from the Rock Band Music Store, and the Rock Band Network Music Store. With more than 2,000 tracks available in the Rock Band platform, Harmonix and MTV Games stands next to none as the leading provider of downloadable content for rhythm video games.

Developed by Harmonix, the world’s premier music videogame company, published by MTV Games, and distributed by distribution partner Electronic Arts Inc., Rock Band 3 will be compatible with all Rock Band and The Beatles: Rock Band peripherals, as well as most third-party instrument and microphone controllers. Mad Catz is the official peripheral manufacturer and distributor for Rock Band game controllers.

Experience Hendrix LLC and Sony Music Entertainment’s Legacy Recordings will launch their monumental 2010 Jimi Hendrix Catalog Project on Tuesday, March 9, with the release of Valleys of Neptune, a newly curated album of 12 fully realized studio recordings, more than 60 minutes of music never commercially available on a Jimi Hendrix album, from the artist Rolling Stone magazine called the greatest guitarist of all time.

Centered around tracks recorded during a pivotal and turbulent four-month period in 1969, Valleys of Neptune unveils the original Jimi Hendrix Experience’s final studio recordings, as the group lays down the foundation for its follow-up to Electric Ladyland, alongside the guitar superhero’s first sessions with bassist Billy Cox, an old army buddy he’d recruited into his new ensemble.

Valleys of Neptune provides an essential, compelling, and up-til-now largely unseen view of what Jimi Hendrix was up to musically in the critical period between the release of Electric Ladyland in October 1968 and the 1970 opening of his own Electric Lady Studios, the state of the art facility in Greenwich Village where he would begin his final project, the ambitious double album First Rays of the New Rising Sun.

Janie Hendrix, CEO of Experience Hendrix LLC, the Hendrix family-owned company entrusted with preserving and protecting the legacy of Jimi Hendrix, noted, “My brother Jimi was at home in the studio. Valleys of Neptune offers deep insight into his mastery of the recording process and demonstrates the fact that he was as unparalleled a recording innovator as he was a guitarist. His brilliance shines through on every one of these precious tracks.”Valleys of Neptune is originality electrified, offering more than 60 minutes of previously unreleased Jimi Hendrix music, originally recorded, and newly mixed for this historic release, by Hendrix’s longtime engineer Eddie Kramer, who first worked with the guitarist on Are You Experienced? in 1967. Valleys of Neptune is produced by Janie Hendrix, John McDermott (who contributes detailed liner notes to the album) and Eddie Kramer.

“Valleys of Neptune” has long been one of the most sought after of any commercially unavailable Jimi Hendrix recording. The song will be released as a single globally on February 2, 2010, nearly forty years after Jimi finished recording the track at New York’s Record Plant in May of 1970.

Other highlights on Valleys of Neptune include blazing studio covers of Elmore James’ classic “Bleeding Heart” and Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love” as well as premier performances of original Hendrix compositions like “Ships Passing Through The Night,” “Lullaby For The Summer” and the original un-dubbed Jimi Hendrix Experience rendition of “Hear My Train A Comin’.” Also included in Valleys of Neptune is “Mr. Bad Luck,” a Jimi Hendrix Experience track, produced by Chas Chandler during the 1967 Axis: Bold as Love sessions.

As part of the opening wave of releases for the Jimi Hendrix Catalog Project, Legacy Recordings will also be releasing new deluxe CD/DVD editions of Are You Experienced?, Axis: Bold As Love, Electric Ladyland, and First Rays of the New Rising Sun, also available on vinyl, on March 9.

Each of the essential titles in the Jimi Hendrix catalog to be newly reissued on Legacy will feature a bonus DVD featuring newly created documentaries directed by the Grammy award winning Bob Smeaton [Beatles Anthology, Festival Express, Beatles: The Studio Recordings] and featuring interviews with Experience members Noel Redding, Mitch Mitchell, Billy Cox, original producer Chas Chandler and engineer Eddie Kramer. In addition, Smash Hits, Jimi’s original compilation, will be reintroduced. The critically acclaimed Live At Woodstock will be available as a standard DVD as well as a Blu-ray Disc.

“No artist has ever transformed the pop music landscape as profoundly or as permanently as Jimi Hendrix,” said Adam Block, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Legacy Recordings. “We are proud to be partnering with Experience Hendrix in releasing Valleys of Neptune, a treasure for Hendrix fans both new and experienced. It’s an auspicious start in fulfilling a shared vision for the Jimi Hendrix catalog going forward.”

Valleys of Neptune

Stone Free
Recorded: Record Plant, New York, April 7, 9, 14, May 17,1969
Producer: Jimi Hendrix
Vocal, Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Billy Cox
Drums: Mitch Mitchell
Backing Vocals: Roger Chapman, Andy Fairweather Low

Valleys Of Neptune
Recorded: Record Plant, New York, September 23, 1969, May 15, 1970
Producer: Jimi Hendrix
Vocal, Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Drums: Mitch Mitchell
Bass: Billy Cox
Percussion: Juma Sultan

Bleeding Heart
Recorded: Record Plant, New York, April 24, 1969
Producer: Jimi Hendrix
Vocal, Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Billy Cox
Drums: Rocky Isaac
Tambourine: Chris Grimes
Maracas: Al Marks

Hear My Train A Comin’
Recorded: Record Plant, New York, April 7, 1969
Producer: Jimi Hendrix
Vocal, Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Noel Redding
Drums: Mitch Mitchell

Mr. Bad Luck
Recorded: Olympic Studios, London, May 5, 1967
Producer: Chas Chandler
Additional bass and drum recording, Air Studios, London, June 5, 1987
Vocal, Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Noel Redding
Drums: Mitch Mitchell

Sunshine Of Your Love
Recorded: Olympic Studios, London, February 16, 1969
Producer: Jimi Hendrix
Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Noel Redding
Drums: Mitch Mitchell
Percussion: Rocki Dzidzornu

Lover Man
Recorded: Olympic Studios, London, February 16, 1969
Producer: Jimi Hendrix
Vocal, Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Noel Redding
Drums: Mitch Mitchell

Ships Passing Through The Night
Recorded: Record Plant, New York, April 14, 1969
Producer: Jimi Hendrix
Guitar, Vocals: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Noel Redding
Drums: Mitch Mitchell

Fire
Recorded: Olympic Studios, London, February 17, 1969
Producer: Jimi Hendrix
Vocal, Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Bass, Backing Vocal: Noel Redding
Drums: Mitch Mitchell

Red House
Recorded: Olympic Studios, London, February 17, 1969
Producer: Jimi Hendrix
Vocal, Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Noel Redding
Drums: Mitch Mitchell

Lullaby For The Summer
Recorded: Record Plant, New York, April 7, 1969
Producer: Jimi Hendrix
Mixed By Eddie Kramer
Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Bass: Noel Redding
Drums: Mitch Mitchell

Crying Blue Rain
Recorded: Olympic Studios, London, February 16, 1969
Producer: Jimi Hendrix
Additional bass and drum recording, Air Studios, London, June 5, 1987
Vocal, Guitar: Jimi Hendrix
Percussion: Rocki Dzidzornu
Bass: Noel Redding
Drums: Mitch Mitchell

Experience Hendrix Tour 2010, the fourth edition of the biennial concert tour that features an all-star line up of music greats paying homage to the music and legacy of Jimi Hendrix gets underway in early March of next year with special performances across the country.

Featured artists who will be performing music written and inspired by Jimi Hendrix include some of the best known and most respected artists in contemporary rock and blues including Joe Satriani, Jonny Lang, Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Brad Whitford (of Aerosmith), Doyle Bramhall II, Ernie Isley, Living Colour, Double Trouble’s Chris Layton, along with bassist Billy Cox. Cox, who first befriended Hendrix when the two were in the 101st Airborne Division of U.S. Army, played in both the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Band of Gypsys and performed with Hendrix at such landmark festivals as Woodstock and the Isle of Wight. Cox commented, “It’s a thrill for me to play Jimi’s music for audiences now as it was in the 1960s.”

March 4 – Santa Barbara, CA – Arlington Theater (1)
5 – Los Angeles, CA – Gibson Amphitheater (1)
6 – Las Vegas, NV – The Joint @ Hard Rock (1)
7 – Mesa, AZ – Ikeda Theater (1)
9 – Fresno, CA – Table Mountain (1)
10 – San Francisco, CA – Warfield Theater (1, 2)
12 – Reno, NV – Silver Legacy (1, 2)
14 – Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre (1, 2, 3)
16 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater (1, 2, 3)
17 – Minneapolis, MN – Orpheum Theater (1, 2, 3)
18 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theater (1, 2, 3)
20 – St. Louis, MO – Fox Theatre (2, 3)
21 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theater (2, 3)
23 – Akron, OH – Civic Theatre(2)
24 – Montclair, NJ – Wellmont Theatre (2)
25 – Red Bank, NJ – Count Basie Theater (2)
27 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre (2)

1 = David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas appearing
2 = Sacred Steel featuring Robert Randolph appearing
3 = Susan Tedeschi appearing

For more information, visit www.jimi-hendrix.com

Source: Legacy Recordings

Buddy Holly:

He had a brief three-year professional recording career, but Buddy Holly left the music world a vast recorded legacy of 203 tracks–all of them on the limited edition six-CD Hip-O Select box set Not Fade Away/The Complete Studio Recordings And More.

The tracks range from his earliest recordings to demos with Bob Montgomery; from his earliest recordings with The Crickets to his first studio recordings for Decca in Nashville; from the Coral and Brunswick recordings and hits that made him famous to his heralded apartment tapes. There are six previously unreleased tracks plus another 11 previously unreleased in the U.S. All of the original, locatable undubbed recordings and all 57 overdubbed versions recorded after the “day the music died” are here. Many are hard-to-find or make their CD debuts.

Jimi Hendrix:

Two box sets from Dagger Records (Experience Hendrix through Geffen/UMe), offered exclusively through Amazon.com, are each presented with exclusive reproductions of Hendrix memorabilia, including a poster, postcard set replicating classic Hendrix concert posters, set of badges reminiscent of the era, Hendrix iPod Skin, PikCARD with four guitar picks adorned with Hendrix artwork from the concert posters and more.

Jimi Hendrix Experience Live 1968 Paris/Ottawa encompasses a pair of concerts, highlighted by performances of “Purple Haze,” “The Wind Cries Mary” and “Little Wing” from the L’Olympia Theater in Paris and a “Hendrixized” version of the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” taped at Ottawa’s Capitol Theater later that same year. Jimi Hendrix Experience Paris ’67 is a custom-swirled, colored vinyl album documenting an earlier concert at L’Olympia and featuring performances of “Stone Free,” “Hey Joe,” “Wild Thing,” etc.

Nirvana:

One of the most bootlegged concerts in the annals of rock– Nirvana’s August 30, 1992, headlining appearance at the U.K.’s Reading Festival–Nirvana Live At Reading (DGC/Geffen/UMe) will be issued in a limited edition DVD+CD Deluxe Edition in November. The footage and audio come in the original multi-track masters and are presented in 5.1 Surround Sound. Only two of the 25 performances on the DVD have ever been released before.

The concert ranked #1 in Kerrang’s “100 Gigs That Shook The World” and “Nirvana’s #1 Greatest Moment” by fans in an NME poll includes nearly the entire Nevermind tracklist, early performances of then-unrecorded songs (“All Apologies,” “Dumb” and the first performance of “Tourette’s”) and live versions of songs later heard on Incesticide. The career-spanning set list also reaches back to the band’s beginnings.

The Rolling Stones:

Thirteen of the 14 Rolling Stones albums since 1971 have been newly remastered and are available from UMe separately or in a limited edition collectible box set exclusively through Amazon.com (1972′s Exile On Main St. will be remastered and released in early 2010). Included is a full-color poster of the band’s Sticky Fingers classic promotional image re-created specially for this package.

The box brings together Sticky Fingers (1971, “Brown Sugar,” “Wild Horses”); Goats Head Soup (1973, “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker),” “Angie”); It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (1974, “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It)”); Black And Blue (1976, “Hot Stuff,” “Miss You”); Some Girls (1978, “Beast Of Burden,” “Shattered”); Emotional Rescue (1980, “She’s So Cold”); Tattoo You (1981, “Start Me Up”); Undercover (1983, “Undercover Of The Night”); Dirty Work (1986, “Harlem Shuffle”); and Steel Wheels (1989, “Rock And A Hard Place”) plus Voodoo Lounge (1994), Bridges To Babylon (1997) and A Bigger Bang (2005).

U2:

U2′s fourth album, The Unforgettable Fire, has been remastered for the first time with direction from U2 guitarist, The Edge, and will be released by Island/UMe on October 27, 2009. This special edition marks 25 years since the album’s original release in October 1984. Recorded at Slane Castle, Ireland, The Unforgettable Fire was the first U2 album to be produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, and spawned the US top 10 hit – “Pride (In The Name Of Love).”

The limited edition super deluxe box set features bonus audio material, including two previously unheard tracks from the Slane Castle sessions: “Yoshino Blossom” and “Disappearing Act” (a track which the band recently completed), and a DVD including music videos, a documentary and unreleased live footage from the Amnesty International Conspiracy of Hope Tour in 1986.

Klaus Voormann:

On A Sideman’s Journey (UMe), famed musician Klaus Voormann, who played bass on solo albums for every Beatle as well as for Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, Yoko Ono and others, is joined by musical friends in seven studio sessions in London, Memphis, Hamburg, Los Angeles and Munich. The limited edition two-disc box set, available exclusively through Amazon.com, includes three bonus audio tracks, a DVD documentary on the making of the album, a hardbound book of photos (renowned graphic designer Voormann created the Beatles’ Revolver cover) and more.

Featuring Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh, Yusuf (aka Cat Stevens), Dr. John, Bonnie Bramlett, Van Dyke Parks, Albert Lee, and others, A Sideman’s Journey finds Voormann & Friends performing favorites such as “Blue Suede Shoes,” “All Things Must Pass,” “Mighty Quinn” and “Just Like A Woman.”

Source: Universal Music Enterprises

Sony Music Entertainment and Experience Hendrix L.L.C. have agreed to a monumental catalog licensing deal to set the stage for a worldwide campaign to make all of Jimi’s extraordinary music, including classics, never before heard archive recordings, and filmed concerts available through every type of media.

Legacy Recordings, Sony’s catalog music division, will issue definitive deluxe editions of the classics released during Jimi’s all too brief career including GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Inductees “Are You Experienced”, “Axis: Bold As Love”, “Electric Ladyland” and (outside the US) “Band of Gypsys.” In addition, Legacy will also release those posthumous compilations produced by Experience Hendrix during its stewardship. Each title will also be available through major Digital Service Providers.

Dagger Records, Experience Hendrix’s “official bootleg” division, now in its eleventh year, offers recordings of great historical significance. The company has also sponsored numerous Experience Hendrix tours that have showcased contemporary artists performing the music of Jimi Hendrix in concert to underscore the never ending vitality and inspiration of Hendrix’s music. Participating artists on these tours have included Robert Randolph, Carlos Santana, Paul Rodgers, Buddy Guy, Jonny Lang, Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, members of Pearl Jam, Aerosmith, the Doors, Los Lobos and many others. Details about the 2010 Experience Hendrix Tour will soon be revealed. This historic partnership will include Legacy’s participation in Dagger Records, the Experience Hendrix tours and other Hendrix-related businesses.

“Jimi’s legacy and vision were unique and there will never be another that reaches his unparalleled genius. He was the greatest guitarist ever,” said Janie Hendrix, President and CEO of Experience Hendrix. “We are confident that our new relationship with Sony Music will honor my beloved brother’s legacy and will deliver Jimi’s special ‘Message Of Love’ across the globe. We look forward to the creative partnership and ground breaking releases that this new relationship will engender to bring Jimi’s music to successive generations of fans.”

“No artist has ever transformed the pop music landscape as profoundly or as permanently as Jimi Hendrix,” said Adam Block, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Legacy Recordings. “We are proud to be partnering with Experience Hendrix, keeping the sound and spirit of Jimi’s music alive for future generations around the world.”

About Legacy Recordings

The multiple Grammy-winning Legacy Recordings, Sony Music Entertainment’s catalog division, produces and maintains the world’s foremost catalog of historic reissues, an unparalleled compendium of thousands of digitally re-mastered archival titles representing virtually every musical genre including popular, rock, jazz, blues, R&B, folk, country, gospel, Broadway musicals, movie soundtracks, ethnic, world music, classical, comedy and more.

www.LegacyRecordings.com
www.MySpace.com/LegacyRecordings
www.YouTube.com/SonyMusicUSA

Paris/Ottawa Live, historic ‘in concert’ recordings from the Jimi Hendrix Experience, never before offered at retail, together with a unique and exclusive collection of Hendrix memorabilia are bundled together in a special offering to be released August 11th from Dagger Records, the official ‘bootleg’ label created by Experience Hendrix through Geffen Records/UMe. This limited edition “fan pack” will be offered exclusively through Amazon.com and celebrates the fan/collector commitment of Experience Hendrix’s Dagger Records label, the producer of these master recordings. Created eleven years ago to release primarily live and extemporaneous archival performances, Dagger’s mission is to sketch in the detail of the Hendrix legacy and augment the mainstream titles that Experience Hendrix offers through UMe. None of the eleven titles previously released by Dagger have ever been sold in stores and have been available only at jimihendrix.com. The participation of Amazon.com, where pre-orders are now underway, continues the tradition of Dagger’s online-only presence.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience Live 1968 Paris/Ottawa features sterling live performances of such Hendrix classics as “Purple Haze,” “The Wind Cries Mary,” and “Little Wing” recorded by RTE, the national French broadcasting company. The January 29, 1968 Paris concert was the band’s third foray to the fabled L ‘Olympia Theater where they had debuted as an opening act for the French pop star Johnny Halliday two years earlier. The Ottawa performances were taped by Hendrix himself during the group’s appearance at the Capitol Theater on March 19th of that same year and include a “Hendrixized” version of the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band.”

In a real nod to the bygone era, a similar, yet distinct, pack will have as its centerpiece a custom, swirled, colored vinyl album version of Jimi Hendrix Experience Paris ’67. These recordings document Hendrix’s wildly exuberant October 9, 1967 performance at L’Olympia originally recorded for French radio broadcast and never before released to the public. The album features performances of “Stone Free,” “Hey Joe,” and “Wild Thing” as well as other notable Hendrix hits.

Materials specifically created for and exclusively included in both versions include a ‘Jimi’ poster, a postcard set replicating classic Hendrix concert posters, a set of badges reminiscent of the sixties era, a Hendrix iPod Skin and a “PikCARD” loaded with four guitar picks adorned with Hendrix artwork from the concert posters. The array of goodies is topped off with an “all access” laminated pass with an exclusive, secret code designed to unlock special Hendrix content online.

Janie Hendrix, President and CEO of Experience Hendrix LLC, the family owned company entrusted with preserving and protecting the legacy of Jimi Hendrix, commented, “The concept behind this ‘Fan Pack’ is to throw a spotlight on Jimi as a live performer and give a glimmer of what it might have been like to encounter ‘The Experience’ when Jimi had the band at its peak. Jimi never failed to stun and leave audiences breathless with his performance and guitar virtuosity and we think fans today will be no less moved by the offerings included in these packs. This release highlights Dagger’s role in serving fans who want all Jimi had to offer and can’t get enough of his legacy and genius.”

While the package will be available on August 11th, fans will be able to queue up outside the auditorium, so to speak, by pre-ordering Fan Pack: the Jimi Hendrix Experience Live 1968 Paris/Ottawa in advance of Father’s Day, June 21st.

Experience Hendrix/UMe is also slated to reintroduce Jimi Hendrix Live At Woodstock on 180-gram audiophile grade vinyl as a 3-LP set on July 14th. The critically acclaimed original pressing for this title sold out long ago and this reissue makes available, once again, Hendrix’s earth shaking performance at the rock concert to end all rock concerts. With this performance, Jimi seized a place in world music, and even cultural, history that will never be equaled let alone surpassed. The Experience Hendrix catalog also includes the multi-platinum Jimi Hendrix Experience Live At Woodstock on CD, DVD and blu-ray.

Notes Janie Hendrix, “The relationship between Jimi and his fans can only be characterized as a deep, abiding love affair. We’re delighted to offer these Dagger releases that will strengthen that unique bond.”

Link to pre-order at Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_84488011_4?ie=UTF8&docId=10 00383901&tag=ilovethatsong-20

Source: Universal Music Enterprises

This month, gamers will again be able to expand their virtual set lists with over a dozen new downloadable tracks for Activision Publishing, Inc.’s Guitar Hero(R) World Tour. With over 37 million songs downloaded for the franchise to date, Guitar Hero(R) fans will soon be able to experience more awesome music – from the likes of English rock ‘n’ roll icons Queen, guitar legend Jimi Hendrix, a host of European superstars and more – which will join the more than 550 songs rocking the Guitar Hero catalog already.

On March 5th, Guitar Hero World Tour’s global music library will continue to grow with three additional tracks from some of Europe’s greatest bands. The third European Track Pack, which includes the hit song “Break It Out” by Italian pop punk band Vanilla Sky and “In the Shadows” by one of Finland’s most successful bands, The Rasmus, will also contain “C’est Comme Ca” the top single from French pop rock duo Les Rita Mitsouko’s 1986 album The No Comprendo.

As a follow-up to the third European Track Pack, rockers from the Netherlands, Germany and Spain will also be contributing to Guitar Hero World Tour’s increasing catalog of downloadable content. On March 19th, the Dutch symphonic rock/metal band Within Temptation takes the virtual stage with “What Have You Done,” the first single off their fourth studio album The Heart of Everything. Joining them are German punk band Die Toten Hosen, who made their debut appearance in Guitar Hero(R) III: Legends of Rock, playing an encore as part of the full band experience with their 1988 hit “Hier Kommt Alex” and Spanish rock band M-Clan with their classic song “Carolina.”

Already appearing as an in game playable character; on March 19th, guitar savant and music legend Jimi Hendrix returns to Guitar Hero World Tour’s stage once again with an extraordinary three song Track Pack that will set fans fingers ablaze as they strive to keep up with his intense guitar riffs and insane solos. The second Jimi Hendrix Track Pack features “Freedom” and “Angel,” two hit singles off of his First Rays of the New Rising Sun album, and a one of a kind 1969 live from Woodstock recording of the timeless classic “Foxey Lady.” Additionally, the songs from the first Jimi Hendrix Track Pack – “If 6 was 9,” “Little Wing” and “Fire” – will also be available on March 19th as downloadable singles for Wii(TM).

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Queen, one of the greatest and most influential bands of all-time, take center stage on March 26th with downloadable content for Guitar Hero World Tour. The three song Queen Track Pack contains some of the band’s most iconic tracks including the power ballad, “We Are The Champions,” which has become one of the most common anthems celebrating the ultimate victory, as well as “Fat Bottomed Girls” from the 1978 album Jazz and “C-lebrity,” from their 2008 album with Paul Rodgers, The Cosmos Rocks.

On March 26th, Bond aficionados and Guitar Hero rockers alike will have another reason to celebrate as Guitar Hero World Tour releases a new recording of the classic James Bond theme song as downloadable content.

The two European Track Packs, Jimi Hendrix Track Pack and Queen Track Pack will be available on Xbox LIVE(R) Marketplace for the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 440 Microsoft Points and on the PlayStation(R)Store for the PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system for $5.49. The songs in the two European Track Packs, Queen Track Pack plus the James Bond Track will be released as downloadable singles for Xbox 360 for 160 Microsoft Points, PLAYSTATION 3 system for $1.99 and Wii(TM) for 200 Wii Points each. The Jimi Hendrix tracks will be available as downloadable singles for Wii for 200 Wii Points.

Guitar Hero World Tour transforms music gaming by expanding Guitar Hero’s signature guitar gameplay into a cooperative band experience that combines the most advanced wireless controllers with new revolutionary online* and offline gameplay modes including Band Career and 8-player “Battle of the Bands,” which allows two full bands to compete head-to-head online. The game features a slick newly redesigned guitar controller, drum kit controller and a wired microphone, as well as an innovative Music Studio music creator that lets players compose, record, edit and share their own rock ‘n’ roll anthems. Music creators are also able to share their recordings with their friends online through GHTunes(SM) where other gamers can download and play an endless supply of unique creations.

Guitar Hero World Tour is now available for Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, the Wii home video game system from Nintendo and the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system. The game is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB. For more information on Guitar Hero World Tour, please visit worldtour.guitarhero.com.

Source: Activision Publishing, Inc.