Catch that beat

Anyone know of a free, good quality Drum track maker that you can download online?

I have a mic to record guitar and i’m wanting to add in some Drum Parts to my songs. I usually write metal type stuff on guitar and more mellow stuff on acoustic. I need a pretty good quality drum track maker that is a free download. It also has to be compatible to audacity so that I can put The Drum track into audacity so that I can record my guitar over the Drums.

Know of any?

I’ve used hammerhead before. How suitable it’ll be for your ends I don’t know, but it’s gotta be worth a try. I put the link here;

http://download.cnet.com/HammerHead-Rhythm-Station/3000-2170_4-10027874.html?tag=mncol

If this is no good you can scour download.com for more and filter the results, ie platform and cost

HTP DrumTrack #1

Black Radio $8.33 GLASPER ROBERT BLACK RADIO…

Joe Bonamassa Live from the Royal Albert Hall $17.49 American blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa–who draws his inspiration from the British blues sound–takes the stage at London’s venerable Royal Albert Hall for an unforgettable concert experience. Performing such songs as “Django,” “The Ballad of John Henry,” “Further on up the Road,” “Lonesome Road Blues,” and more, Bonamassa is joined by special guests Eric Clapton and Paul Jones. Standard; Sou…

I and Love and You $8.22 Track Listings:1. I And Love And You2. January Wedding3. Head Full Of Doubt/Road Full Of Promise 4. And It Spread 5. The Perfect Space 6. Ten Thousand Words 7. Kick Drum Heart8. Laundry Room 9. Ill With Want 10. Tin Man 11. Slight Figure Of Speech 12. It Goes On And On 13. Incomplete And Insecure…

MLCS 9765 Drill Press Table $75.79 Our 12″ x 24″ Drill Press Table is made of 7/8″ thick MDF/Melamine. Includes two T-Tracks for hold-downs, an adjustable fence that guarantees maximum holding power and a removable insert that can be drilled for any size sanding drum. Mounting & Compatibility Note: This table mounts to all drill presses, most without any modifications. The table will adapt to Drill Presses that have parallel slots …

WAC Lighting G614 MF QP PENDANT GLASS Hand crafted European fine glass trumpet style shade for use with low voltage wall canopies to produce a decorative wall sconce. Glass shade and halogen lamp combine to provide warm, even light distribution without glare. Surface mount low voltage canopies contains an integral pre-wired electronic transformer. Low voltage canopies are …

Alfa Lighting P59QJ-BNK 12V Studio Pendant with Quick Jack Adapter …

The ANTI-Social Network $1.99 …

The Rodgers & Hammerstein Collection (The Sound of Music / The King and I / Oklahoma! / South Pacific / State Fair / Carousel) $52.62 The Rodgers & Hammerstein Collection contains film versions of the five major works by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, who helped define the American musical landscape and rewrite the direction of musical theater. After enjoying extremely successful careers working with others, Rodgers and Hammerstein first teamed up in 1943 for the prairie tale Oklahoma!, with songs including “Oh, What …

Guitar Pro 6 $48.98 Since it’s release in 1997, eMedia’s Guitar Pro software has become known as one of the most powerful and intuitive tablature editors on the market. With the 40 features added to eMedia’s Guitar Pro 6, it should help keep the brand amongst the leaders in its class as a top software choice of guitarists worldwide looking for a guitar software to assist them in becoming better guitarists and for tea…

TASCAM DP-008 8-Track Digital Portastudio $449.99 The Tascam DP008, an 8-track digital Portastudio recorder, is small enough to fit into a guitar case. The DP008 features eight tracks with built-in mixing, dedicated knobs for volume and pan for each track, plus a reverb send knob for the built-in reverb effect. The DP008 Portastudio recorder has two XLR microphone inputs with phantom power, a guitar level input and even built-in stereo mics so yo…

The Sheffield Lab: Drum & Track Disc $33.44 The Sheffield Lab: Drum & Track Disc

Drum’s Not Dead [Japan Bonus Track] $35.99 Continuing to explore the noise rock/prog rock fusion they pioneered with They Were Wrong, So We Drowned, Liars return with another concept album, Drum’s Not Dead. The idea behind this album is even more abstract than They Were Wrong’s conflation of witch trials and pagan rituals: Drum’s Not Dead revolves around the yin-yang relationship of two forces in the creative process, personified as Mt. Heart Attack (who represents stress and self-doubt) and Drum (the embodiment of creative energy and productivity). While this is an intriguing concept, unfortunately the actual music doesn’t always live up to it. Drum’s Not Dead borrows pages from the urban-pagan, atmospherically noisy playbooks of both Black Dice and Animal Collective, although the album isn’t as evocative as the former band’s work nor as cuddly-weird as the latter’s. Nothing here is nearly as abrasive, or immediate, as “There’s Always Room on the Broom” — throughout the album, Liars stay away from their comfort zone of dynamic noise-rock. This “quiet is the new loud” philosophy is admirable, but too often, Drum’s Not Dead sounds oddly blurred and subdued. Interestingly enough for an album that uses mountains as a motif, its terrain is actually more like a valley, starting and ending with powerful tracks and dipping sharply in the middle. Drum’s Not Dead begins with “Be Quiet Mt. Heart Attack,” which is not only the album’s best track, but one of the finest things Liars have ever done. With dark, shimmering guitars that recall EVOL-era Sonic Youth and minimal but monumental drumming, it’s full of beauty and brooding that is immediately exploded by the growling drones and heavy, tribal polythrhythms of “Let’s Not Wrestle Mt. Heart Attack,” which conjures up images of fiery, twirling drumsticks and sinister rites. It’s tempting to say that Drum’s Not Dead gets its point across in just the first two tracks, but that would ignore how well “To Hold You, Drum” mixes noise and whispery negative space and sets up the album’s surprisingly sweet, hopeful resolution, “The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack,” which also ranks among the band’s finest work. They Were Wrong, So We Drowned might have been too densely packed with ideas and sounds, but Drum’s Not Dead errs in the opposite direction: too many tracks feel like variations on the album’s themes that don’t really go anywhere. Though there are many moments of primal energy (the eerie, hypnotic taunting of “Hold You Drum,” “Drum and the Uncomfortable Can”‘s climactic doom) and beauty (the flowing water and brooding melody on “The Wrong Coat for You Mt. Heart Attack,” “A Visit from Drum”‘s expansive guitars and emotional vulnerability), they never quite jell into something that goes beyond being momentarily impressive. Drum’s Not Dead is undeniably interesting, but somehow unsatisfying; arguably the best thing about it is how it shows Liars are willing to keep pushing themselves into unknown creative territory, even if the results aren’t always consi

Drum $6 Drum

Drum’s Not Dead [Japan Bonus Track] (Import) $34.71 Continuing to explore the noise rock/prog rock fusion they pioneered with They Were Wrong, So We Drowned, Liars return with another concept album, Drum’s Not Dead. The idea behind this album is even more abstract than They Were Wrong’s conflation of witch

Flower Drum Song [Original Soundtrack] [Bonus Track] $14.87 Flower Drum Song, that rarity among Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals, a moderate hit (otherwise, their shows were either smashes like South Pacific or flops like Me & Juliet), also became a moderately successful film in late 1961, three years after its Broa

By Way of the Drum $11.18 To a certain degree, you can say that Funkadelic’s By Way of the Drum is a kin to Prince’s The Black Album — it’s a completed album that was shelved, and it seemed like it would never see the light of day. The story goes something like this: in the mid-’80s, Funkadelic completed the album for MCA Records, who then rejected the release, before (supposedly) misplacing the master tapes. Almost two decades later, the tapes were found, and By Way of the Drum finally saw its belated release in 2007. Those expecting another classic like Maggot Brain or Standing on the Verge of Getting It On will be disappointed, as the album reflects the clean-sounding robotic funk style that was commonplace in the ’80s. And as evidenced by such tunes as “Nose Bleed” and especially the title track, the album doesn’t exactly spotlight the group’s strongest songwriting hour (a pointless cover of Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love” helps pad the track listing). By Way of the Drum will only be of interest for diehards interested in hearing this curious relic from the vaults. The rest of us can stick with the aforementioned classics. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi

Drum’s Not Dead $10.38 Continuing to explore the noise rock/prog rock fusion they pioneered with They Were Wrong, So We Drowned, Liars return with another concept album, Drum’s Not Dead. The idea behind this album is even more abstract than They Were Wrong’s conflation of witch trials and pagan rituals: Drum’s Not Dead revolves around the yin-yang relationship of two forces in the creative process, personified as Mt. Heart Attack (who represents stress and self-doubt) and Drum (the embodiment of creative energy and productivity). While this is an intriguing concept, unfortunately the actual music doesn’t always live up to it. Drum’s Not Dead borrows pages from the urban-pagan, atmospherically noisy playbooks of both Black Dice and Animal Collective, although the album isn’t as evocative as the former band’s work nor as cuddly-weird as the latter’s. Nothing here is nearly as abrasive, or immediate, as “There’s Always Room on the Broom” — throughout the album, Liars stay away from their comfort zone of dynamic noise-rock. This “quiet is the new loud” philosophy is admirable, but too often, Drum’s Not Dead sounds oddly blurred and subdued. Interestingly enough for an album that uses mountains as a motif, its terrain is actually more like a valley, starting and ending with powerful tracks and dipping sharply in the middle. Drum’s Not Dead begins with “Be Quiet Mt. Heart Attack,” which is not only the album’s best track, but one of the finest things Liars have ever done. With dark, shimmering guitars that recall EVOL-era Sonic Youth and minimal but monumental drumming, it’s full of beauty and brooding that is immediately exploded by the growling drones and heavy, tribal polythrhythms of “Let’s Not Wrestle Mt. Heart Attack,” which conjures up images of fiery, twirling drumsticks and sinister rites. It’s tempting to say that Drum’s Not Dead gets its point across in just the first two tracks, but that would ignore how well “To Hold You, Drum” mixes noise and whispery negative space and sets up the album’s surprisingly sweet, hopeful resolution, “The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack,” which also ranks among the band’s finest work. They Were Wrong, So We Drowned might have been too densely packed with ideas and sounds, but Drum’s Not Dead errs in the opposite direction: too many tracks feel like variations on the album’s themes that don’t really go anywhere. Though there are many moments of primal energy (the eerie, hypnotic taunting of “Hold You Drum,” “Drum and the Uncomfortable Can”‘s climactic doom) and beauty (the flowing water and brooding melody on “The Wrong Coat for You Mt. Heart Attack,” “A Visit from Drum”‘s expansive guitars and emotional vulnerability), they never quite jell into something that goes beyond being momentarily impressive. Drum’s Not Dead is undeniably interesting, but somehow unsatisfying; arguably the best thing about it is how it shows Liars are willing to keep pushing themselves into unknown creative territory, even if the results aren’t always consi

Digidesign TL Drum Rehab $495 Digidesign TL Drum Rehab Digidesign TL Drum Rehab Description: Drum Replacement for Pro Tools TL Drum Rehab™ offers a comprehensive set of tools to enhance or replace original drum recordings precisely, automatically, and in real time. Digidesign TL Drum Rehab Features: Automatic, sample-accurate, and real-time replacement of drum sounds Editable sample-accurate trigger locations Dynamic multi-sample support for up to 16 levels Extensive drum sample library included Access to exclusive samples online Envelope and tone shaping Powerful sample browser and converter Undo capabilities Digidesign TL Drum Rehab Details: Whether you need to energize a feeble snare track, replace a kick drum that sounds more like a cardboard box, or simply exchange one tom sound for another, get those tracks to drum rehab. TL Drum Rehab™ offers a comprehensive set of tools to enhance or replace original drum recordings precisely, automatically, and in real time. TL Drum Rehab can spare you the tedious work of replacing individual drum hits by giving you tools to automatically transform your drum tracks. Set it to listen to the track you’ve targeted and hit play. TL Drum Rehab adds trigger points and calculates velocity levels for each hit. Load up to 16 different replacement samples for each track and assign the samples to different velocity zones. Mix new sounds with the original tracks or completely replace the initial recording. You can hear your revitalized track in real time, during playback, with sample-accurate precision. TL Drum Rehab also offers advanced options to give you ultimate control of the final drum track. Use the Position control to incorporate two sticking positions. Select free or choked voicing for different types of drums. Adjust the attack, sustain, and EQ for shaping replacement drum samples. TL Drum Rehab includes an extensive drum sample library, but you can also add your own samples easily. Using the same powerful sample browser and converter interface as TL Space, TL Drum Rehab lets you locate and load new samples quickly and then save popular samples to a list of favorites for fast recall. Get Your Digidesign TL Drum Rehab Today!

Tin Drum, The $30.01 Rated: NASynopsis: In Volker Schlondorff’s award-winning adaptation of Nobel Prize-winner Gunter Grass’ allegorical novel, David Bennent plays Oskar, the young son of a German rural family, circa 1925. On his third birthday, Oskar receives a shiny new tin drum. At this point, rather than mature into one of the miserable specimens of grown-up humanity that he sees around him, he vows never to get any older or any bigger. Whenever the world around him becomes too much to bear, the boy begins to hammer on his drum; should anyone try to take the toy away from him, he emits an ear-piercing scream that literally shatters glass. As Germany goes to hell during the 1930s and 1940s, the never-ageing Oskar continues savagely beating his drum, serving as the angry conscience of a world gone mad. Filled to overflowing with unforgettable sequences, The Tin Drum was one of the most financially successful German films of the 1970s and won the 1979 Oscar for Best Foreign Film. In the late 1990s, the film became the center of a censorship controversy when some U.S. videotapes were confiscated because of the film’s supposed violation of a child pornography statute. Hal EricksonPRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES:Presentation: Wide ScreenFeatures: Audio commentary by director and cowriter Volker Schlöndorff; Remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack; Isolated music track, featuring the score by Academy Award®-winning composer Maurice Jarre; Rare deleted scenes; “Volker Schlöndorff Remembers The Tin Drum,” a 21-minute audio/video montage featuring Schlöndorff’s thoughts and recollections about the film; Video interviews with Schlöndorff and actor David Bennent at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival, cowriter Jean-Claude Carrière and actor Mario Adorf, Schlöndorff and author Günter Grass during filming, and Schlöndorff after winning the Palme d’Or at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival; “The Platform,” a rare 1987 German recording of Günter Grass reading an excerpt from his novel The Tin Drum, accompanied by the music of famed improvisational percussionist Günter “Baby” Sommer; Reprinted excerpt of the screenplay’s original, unfilmed ending; “Banned in Oklahoma,” a documentary by Gary D. Rhodes following the child pornography lawsuit revolving around The Tin Drum; Production sketches, designs and promotional art; Original theatrical trailer; New digital transfer, with restored image and sound and enhanced for widescreen televisions.Language: DeutscheSubTitles: EnglishEditions: SubtitledTime: 2 Hours 22 Minutes

Drum and Bossa $13.58 What would normally be another in a line of bored junglists trying to attach to any random subgenre that passes them by is in fact a sophisticated and tightly packed arrangement of Latin jazz, hard-boiled drum’n'bass, and British 2-step. The key moments of Drum & Bossa — the abrupt payoff in “Round the Corner” and the not-unpleasant post-adolescent Mis-Teeq touch of “Incurable Voices” — invoke strange reactions in the listener, everything from impatience to soft resentment over someone who can make a mild evolutionary statement out of a simple repetition of old ideas. While there’s little denying that once listeners have heard one track they’ve basically heard them all, and Landslide can’t help to countermine his own importance with too many detours and farcical vocals, the fact that he appears like he’s onto something in his world of bossa beat garage adds to the appeal. ~ Dean Carlson, Rovi

Boss BR-1600CD Digital Studio, 16 Track, 8 XLR, Drum & Bass $1199 Boss BR-1600CD Digital Studio, 16 Track, 8 XLR, Drum & Bass > The BR-1600CD Digital Recording Studio is the first BOSS studio with eight XLR inputs for recording eight tracks simultaneously. This affordable 16-track recorder comes loaded with specialized effects for guitars and vocals including COSM® Overdrive/Distortion, Amp Modeling and a new Vocal Tool Box plus a 40GB hard drive, CD-R/RW drive and USB port. Its the perfect way to record your band. Features: 16-track (256 V-Track) digital studio with 40GB hard drive and CD-R/RW drive Record all 8 XLR inputs simultaneously ideal for tracking live performances Powerful onboard effects including COSM modeling for guitar, bass and vocals New Vocal Tool Box with auto pitch correction and Harmony Sequence function 16 individual Track EQs, plus 8 dedicated compressors Mastering Tool Kit with multi-band compression for loud and punchy CDs Create backing tracks quickly via independent Drum/Bass and Loop Phrase tracks V-LINK video control*, plus USB port for easy data exchange V-LINK requires EDIROL video equipment (sold separately). Boss BR-1600CD Details: Easy Multitrack Recording The BR-1600CD includes eight sweet-sounding XLR microphone inputs with phantom power. Use them to mic up a drum set or to record your entire band in a single pass. Recording eight tracks at once is easy, thanks to a new °Multi-Track± recording mode just pick your inputs and start recording while taking advantage of powerful channel effects like a compressor, 3-band EQ and bass cut filter. Superb Guitar and Vocal Effects Plug into the BR-1600CD and youve got an arsenal of world-class BOSS effects ranging from reverb, delay and modulation to the latest modeling effects for guitar, bass and vocals. These include powerful overdrive/distortion and amp modeling identical to the BOSS GT-6, acoustic and bass effects, plus mic modeling and a new Vocal Tool Box. This special algorithm includes auto pitch correction to keep you in tune, plus a Harmony Sequence function for creating realistic harmonies no background singers needed!Build Your Own Backing Tracks The BR-1600CD now includes separate Drum, Bass and Loop Phrase tracks for creating complete backing arrangements. The Drum and Bass tracks come with high-quality PCM sounds. The Loop Phrase track can be loaded with user samples, or you can choose from a collection of loop phrases pre-loaded onto the hard disk. Using these tracks, you can build professional-quality arrangements for your guitar and vocals. Complete Connectivity with USB and V-LINK The BR-1600CDs USB port makes it easy to load .WAV/AIFF files into a track, or export your audio for further editing in software or data backup. Want to integrate video with your music? Using V-LINK and an optional Edirol video editor, you can control and manipulate images using the BR-1600CDs buttons and knobs. Its easy and youll love the results. With the BR-1600CD, the skys the limit! Specifications: Tracks Tra

Boss BR-1200CD Digital Recorder Studio, 12 Track, Drum & Bass $899 Boss BR-1200CD Digital Recorder Studio, 12 Track, Drum & Bass Versatile, Feature-Packed Portable Studio From guitar pick to compact disc, the BR-1200CD can turn your ideas into radio-quality songs with power and ease. Packed with great COSM®effects and amp models derived from BOSS’s GT-6/6B multi-effects processors, plus a great-sounding bass and drum rhythm programmer for instant backing tracks, the BR-1200CD is the friendliest and most comprehensive hard disk recorder on the market. Features: Built-in CD-burner and mastering effects for CD-quality mixes 12 simultaneous playback tracks (192 V-Tracks) with individual Comp/EQ 2 individual XLR inputs with phantom power, digital output GT inside! Famous BOSS GT-6 Guitar and Bass effects engine built in for unsurpassed signal processing Vocal Toolbox provides pitch correction and harmony generator for true pro vocal processing COSM Mic and Amp models offer incredible hardware simulation Backing band built in – programmable drum/bass pattern generator with 600 patterns and EZ compose feature for super fast drum and bass pattern creation Easy importing of stereo drum loops with Automatic Tempo Matching feature Internal hard drive can store up to 120 hours of uncompressed music USB port for data backup to computer, plus importing/exporting WAV files Boss BR-1200CD Details: Hassle-Free Recording & CD Burning Fly from point A to B in record time, thanks to the BR-1200CD’s logical arrangement of buttons, knobs, and faders, and its inviting icon-based user interface. Recording, mixing, and CD burning is simple. To record, simply connect an instrument or microphone (XLR inputs with phantom power are provided), and follow the logical flow of controls on the left side of the panel. Use the fader pack in the middle to mix, and press the “Audio CD Write/Play” button to jump to the CD Burning menu. Multi-Effects & COSM® Models From full dunk to subtle sweetening, the BR-1200CD is equipped with a powerful multi-effects processor derived from the famous BOSS GT-6/GT-6B. A lineup of COSM amp models are in the lineup, including the world standard Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus™, R-FIier Vintage, Metal Stack, BOSS Compact Pedal models such as OD-1 and MT-2, and more. Also onboard – COSM® Mic Models, which emulate expensive condenser mics. Correct pitch and add hamornies with the Vocal Tool Box, and for the finishing touch, tap into the Mastering Tool Kit to put a pro-quality polish on your track. Backing Band Built In Another distinguishing feature of the BR-1200CD is its world-class bass and drum programmer, packed with instruments and patterns to suit a variety of styles. Realistic acoustic drums and percussion are included, as well as many electronic sounds to compose modern hybrid type of music. For bass, you can choose from a variety of bass sounds, such as slapped basses, picked basses, and fretless basses. Jam along with the supplied patterns or create your own from scratch. The EZ Co

Killer Joe Drum Styles & Analysis $14.9 “By Steve Davis. For drums. Killer drum track from Volume 70 of the Aebersold series.. Intermediate, advanced. Book. 48 pages. Published by Jamey Aebersold Jazz”

Bang On The Drum All Day (Bonus Track) $4.99 We believe it is important to preserve what makes music special, and make it easy to craft listening experiences. At MOG, browse millions songs and play them instantly. Or just turn on radio where you can stop and replay songs. You can also create playlists for any occasion, and even download songs to your mobile. We are dedicated to employing the cleanest but most powerful technology so you can enjoy music as much as ever.

The Hang Drum Track (4-Track Maxi-Single) $4.99 For everything you do, there’s a song that hits the spot. MOG brings them all to you: a world of music on demand, unlimited mobile downloads and ways to discover music free from the limitations of Pandora. The music you love, with you everywhere you go.

The Sheffield Track & Drum Record (6-Track Maxi-Single) $4.99 For everything you do, there’s a song that hits the spot. MOG brings them all to you: a world of music on demand, unlimited mobile downloads and ways to discover music free from the limitations of Pandora. The music you love, with you everywhere you go.

USBSTUDIODRM Five-Piece USB Drum Set $599 The USB Studio Drum Kit enables drummers and studios to track drum performances with MIDI software and hardware sound modules. This USB/MIDI drum set features dual-zone RealHead drum pads, low-noise DMPad Cymbals, and a compact, studio-friendly StealthRac

Drum & Bass: Greatest Ever $11.98 2010 three CD collection that brings together the most firing Hardcore beats from such luminaries as Goldie, Generation Dub, DJ Friction & Nu Balance, Dope Skillz, DJ Hype, DJ Zinc, Mental Power and many others. Culled from both the golden age of Drum ‘n’ Bass and its more contemporary cannon, Greatest Ever Drum ‘n’ Bass is a storming compilation with a track for every mood and classics you’ll want to hear again and again. 31 tracks. Greatest Ever.

Track This $13.6 Track This

On Track $10.79 On Track

FastTrack Drum Method – Book 1 $7.95 “(by Blake Neely & Rick Mattingly). For drum set. Fast Track Music Instruction. Instructional, Learn To Play and Play Along. Instructional book and accompaniment CD. 48 pages. Published by Hal Leonard”

Alfred Publishing 00EL03139 Drum Solos $22.44 A collection of standard snare drum solos for contest recital or jury. Contains: Battle Hymn of the Republic Circling Cut and Shoot Echo Valley Kirk s March March for a Different Drummer Our Director Picking Up Six Track South Tie Two Up Beat Pete s Suite Vacation Antics Whodonit. This piano accompaniment is intended for use with Drum Solos Level 2. Level: Level IIInstrument: Snare DrumFormat: BookCategory: Percussion Snare Drum Collection

Baer Brake Kit – Track Rear [99-00 Civic w-OE-drum] $1031.25 “Baer Claw?« TRACK brake systems are one of Baer’s most popular systems. Employing 2-Piston aluminum calipers and 1-Piece 13″” cross-drilled, slotted and zinc-washed performance rotors, they fill out 17″” wheel packages and supercharge braking performance. May fit some 16″” wheels. Check wheel fitment with Baer fit check templates.”

Drum Reclamation (Drum Beats) $14.88 Drum Reclamation (Drum Beats)

Guitar and Drum $12.79 Since they reunited in 1990, Stiff Little Fingers have been releasing a new album every few years, and the discs seem to get lost in the constant glut of live reissues that pop up every six to 12 months. It’s a shame, really, because the band is still very good and at times great. Signing to EMI in the U.K. was good for them, as it raised their profile a few notches. This, their second album on EMI, is actually better than their 1999 release, Hope Street, and should hopefully help the band reconnect with old fans while opening the doors for a whole new generation. Still as energetic as they’ve always been, Stiff Little Fingers remain true to their original sound, although the punk edge has been softened a bit (by age, perhaps?). Original SLF vocalist/guitarist Jake Burns still leads the pack, followed by former Jam bassist Bruce Foxton (a full-time SLF member for 15 years), guitarist/vocalist Ian McCallum, and drummer Steve Grantley. Burns handles most of the vocals and songwriting, but each of the members either has co-writing credit or sole writing credit on nearly half the album, adding a new dimension and depth to the band’s sound. Burns shines with the harmony-laden “Dead Man Walking,” the rocking yet still touching Joe Strummer tribute “Strummerville,” the energetic “Best of Fools,” and the anthemic title track. McCallum’s two tracks, the soulful “Can’t Get Away With That” and the reggae groove of “Be True to Yourself,” are welcome additions to the SLF catalog. The distinctive guitar sound of the band fuels every song, with even more interplay than usual — just listen to the first few bars of “Who Died and Made You Elvis” for proof. By the time the acoustic “Protect and Serve” finishes up the album, you’ll be ready to hear it all again. They’ve released some fine albums over the last decade, but this is, hands down, the best SLF in 20 years. ~ Steve “Spaz” Schnee, Rovi Performers: Bruce Foxton – Vocals (Background), Guitar (Bass), Bass, Vocals; Ian McCallum – Vocals (Background), Guitar, Vocals; Jake Burns – Vocals, Guitar; Steve Grantley – Drums, Percussion