Celebrating the 20th anniversary of Nirvana’s genre-defining second album Nevermind, VH1 Classic will televise a special, never-before-seen concert “Nirvana: Live At The Paramount” Friday, September 23 at 11 PM ET/PT. The 60-minute, hometown concert will also be simulcast on VH1 and Palladia, MTV Networks’ high-definition music channel.

Shot at Seattle’s Paramount Theater on Halloween night in 1991, the historic and riveting concert will remind viewers how one band changed the music scene with an inspirational bounty of seminal songs including their 90′s anthem “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”  Launching the 11 song set with a brilliant cover of the Vaselines’ “Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam,” the band tears through Nevermind hits including “Lithium” and “Breed,” plus other favorites including “Aneurysm,” “Polly,” “Sliver,” “On A Plain,” Blew,” “Territorial Pissings” and “Endless, Nameless.”

Twenty years since Nirvana’s groundbreaking 1991 album Nevermind was released, VH1 Classic is celebrating and honoring the punk trio Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl on Friday, September 23 at 11 pm ET/PT. Tune in to VH1 Classic for a front row seat to “Nirvana: Live At The Paramount” and witness how an alt-rock trio from Seattle became one of the most renowned rock bands in history. To learn more about Nirvana visit their official Web site at www.nirvana.com.

Rising to No. 1 the world over by year’s end and ultimately selling over 30 million copies worldwide, Nevermind would come to be much more than one of the most successful and influential albums of its or any era.  As the album that returned unaffected rock ‘n’ roll integrity and passion to the top of the charts, Nevermind would prove a singular inspiration to fans and musicians alike over the last two decades–and will undoubtedly do so for generations to come.

Now on the occasion of Nevermind’s 20th anniversary, Universal Music Enterprises presents a full spectrum re-release worthy of such a pivotal classic. With configurations ranging from a 4-CD/1-DVD Super Deluxe Edition to a standard digital/CD remaster of the original album, the 20th anniversary reissue of Nevermind makes the most of the occasion, unearthing literally dozens of previously unreleased recordings, obscure B-sides, alternate mixes, radio sessions, studio rarities and live recordings, including a 1991 Halloween concert at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre in its entirety.

The limited, numbered Super Deluxe Edition more than lives up to its name as one of the most expansive and ambitious collections of its kind with only 10,000 copies available in North America, and another 30,000 for the rest of the world. The Super Deluxe features not only the original remastered album and accompanying studio and live B-sides, but the first full official release of the pre-Nevermind demos recorded at producer Butch Vig’s Smart Studios, as well as boombox recordings of subsequent rehearsals through which the listener can actually experience “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Come As You Are,” “On A Plain” and others that take shape before his or her very ears. The Super Deluxe also offers an altogether new perspective on the finished Nevermind album exclusive to this format in the form of the Devonshire Mixes: the album as produced and mixed by Vig as opposed to the commercially released final version produced by Vig and mixed by Andy Wallace. Rounding out the Super Deluxe are a pair of previously unreleased BBC recordings and the aforementioned 1991 Paramount show available for the first time and exclusive to this format on CD and DVD (which also features all four music videos from Nevermind ), as well as a stunning 90-page bound book full of rarely and never- before-seen photos, documents and various other visual artifacts of the Nevermind era.

The Nirvana Nevermind 20th anniversary reissue is also available as a 2-CD Deluxe Edition featuring the remastered album and B-sides, the Smart Studio sessions, boombox rehearsals and BBC sessions, a 4-LP, 180-gram heavyweight vinyl edition featuring the same 40 tracks as the Deluxe Edition, a remastered CD of the original album, and digital versions of the standard and deluxe editions. The Paramount concert, transferred from 16mm film and multi-track audio, is the only known Nirvana concert shot to film and will be available in a 1080p high-definition picture and uncompressed 5.1 surround sound and stereo on stand-alone Blu-ray, along with DVD and digital long form video formats.

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

Fifteen New Songs in April Add to the Massive Guitar Hero World Tour Set List

In April, gamers will have no shortage of new songs to rock out to on Activision Publishing, Inc.’s Guitar Hero(R) World Tour with downloadable music from five distinctive rock bands. The Pixies make their Guitar Hero(R) debut; returning veterans Silversun Pickups will release two brand-new songs off their sophomore album, prior to its release; Nirvana returns for a downloadable encore with three additional hits; while Motorhead and Steely Dan, each with singles featured on Guitar Hero World Tour’s on-disc set list, make a resounding return.

On April 2nd, fans will be introduced to The Pixies’ alternative rock music for the first time ever in a Guitar Hero game. Virtual musicians will experience two singles from The Pixies’ second album, Doolittle, with “Debaser” and the highly successful “Monkey Gone to Heaven,” along with “The Sad Punk” from Trompe le Monde, their fourth and final full-length studio album.

Gamers will be able to get an exclusive taste of Silversun Pickups’ new music before their release of their second album, Swoon, on April 14 with “Panic Switch” and “It’s Nice to Know You Work Alone.” “Well Thought Out Twinkles” from their breakthrough album, Carnavas, will round out the Track Pack, available on April 9th.

Returning to Guitar Hero World Tour on April 16th is the popular rock band from the 70′s, Steely Dan. This time around, the band will contribute one single each from three of their albums – “Black Friday” from Katy Lied, “Kid Charlemagne” from The Royal Scam and “Bodhisattva” from Countdown to Ecstasy.

For download on April 23rd, British hard rock band, Motorhead, re-recorded new versions of “Jailbait,” “Love Me Like a Reptile,” and “Iron Fist” for Guitar Hero World Tour.

With their second downloadable Track Pack, Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl of Nirvana will be returning to Guitar Hero World Tour on April 30th with “Very Ape” from In Utero, “Sappy” from the No Alternative compilation and “Stay Away” from their breakthrough, first major label album, Nevermind.

The Track Packs 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. All songs in the Track Packs 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.

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.

Legendary multi-platinum recording artists The Eagles, Nirvana and The Smashing Pumpkins, all featured in the on-disc set list of Activision Publishing, Inc.’s Guitar Hero(R) World Tour, are returning in December with exclusive downloadable content for the game. Additionally, fans will be in for a treat just in time for Christmas with three free Reggae Rock tracks from Pepper, Slightly Stoopid and Expendables.

The Smashing Pumpkins, one of rock’s defining and most acclaimed bands who have sold over 30 million albums, return to Guitar Hero World Tour, tomorrow December 4th, with a three-song track pack featuring the recently released single “G.L.O.W.,” “1979″ and “Everlasting Gaze.”

Featuring the stylistic melodies of Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl, the pioneers of alternative rock, Nirvana, make their Guitar Hero(R) downloadable content debut with the Nirvana Track Pack. Featuring the final single released by the band, “You Know You’re Right,” along with “Negative Creep,” off the band’s debut album Bleach, and the smash hit “Sliver,” the Nirvana Track Pack will be available for Guitar Hero World Tour on December 11th.

After delivering the timeless rock ballad “Hotel California” to the on-disc set list of Guitar Hero World Tour, The Eagles will thrill the Guitar Hero audience once again on December 18th with three chart topping hits. From the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees’ seventh studio album and first in 28 years, Long Road Out of Eden, “Frail Grasp on the Big Picture” is joined by two classic tracks that climbed to the top of the Billboard’s Hot 100, “One of These Nights” and “Life in the Fast Lane.”

Rounding out the downloadable set list for Guitar Hero World Tour in December are three free Reggae grooves. The Reggae Rock Track Pack is comprised of “Jimi” from Slightly Stoopid, “Your Face” from Pepper and Expendables’ “Sacrifice.” The free tracks will be available for download on December 23rd.

The Eagles, Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins Track Packs 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 each Track Pack will be released as downloadable singles for Xbox 360 for 160 Microsoft Points, PLAYSTATION 3 system for $1.99 and Nintendo(R) Wi-Fi Connection for Wii(TM) for 200 Wii Points. The Free Reggae Rock Track Pack will be available for Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 and as singles for Wii.

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 GHTunesSM where other gamers can download and play an endless supply of unique creations.

Guitar Hero World Tour is now available for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, 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.