Pitchfork

As of late, Mark Kozelek's been busy pa-rup-a-pum-pummin' up Little Drummer Boy Live, a two-disc, you guessed it, live compilation. But not, as you may have guessed, another one of those gawdurn holiday albums. Instead, the album collects 20 classic Kozelek originals and covers recorded during a series of recent European and North American shows, and arrives November 28 via his own Caldo Verde label.

In addition to Mark's take on Xmas standard "Little Drummer Boy", the material spans the Red House Painters/Sun Kil Moon star's mammoth catalogue, including two previously unreleased numbers, "Moorestown" and "Unlit Hallway". Several Little Drummer Boy selections feature Phil Carney as well, also of RHP and SKM, who appeared alongside Kozelek on many of these tour dates. Those of you who choose to purchase the tunes direct from Caldo Verde will be eligible to win one helluva Yuletide present: a 12-string Takamine guitar, played by Kozelek himself from late 2003 through early 2005.

Meanwhile, on February 6, 2007, Caldo Verde will reissue Sun Kil Moon's Ghosts of the Great Highway-- in honor of the record's three-year anniversary (oh boy). The new edition of the record comes with re-worked packaging and a six-song bonus disc. Extra tunes include two covers of Leonard Bernstein's "Somewhere", alternative and acoustic takes, a radio recording of "Gentle Moon", and the previously unreleased "Arrival", which Mark originally put together for the The Girl Next Door soundtrack.

And as previously reported, former Low bassist Zak Sally will put out Nights of Passed Over, a collection of lyrics and other items of interest from Kozelek, on Sally's La Mano 21 publishing imprint. The work, previously released only in Portugal, has been given a makeover since its debut-- a new introduction, the lyrics to Ghosts of the Great Highway, more hand-written lyrics, and several setlists-- and will finally see a North American release in early 2007. Scoop it up then via Caldo Verde, as well as La Mano 21's distributors and Sub Pop.

Little Drummer Boy Live:

01 Trucker's Atlas
02 Salvador Sanchez
03 Cruiser
04 Katy Song
05 Little Drummer Boy
06 All Mixed Up
07 Moorestown
08 Unlit Hallway
09 Duk Koo Kim
10 Four Fingered Fisherman
11 Lily and Parrots
12 Carry Me Ohio
13 Bubble
14 Mistress
15 Michigan
16 Void
17 Down Colorful Hill
18 Rock 'n' Roll Singer
19 Glenn Tipton
20 Tiny Cities

Ghosts of the Great Highway:

01 Glenn Tipton
02 Carry Me Ohio
03 Salvador Sanchez
04 Last Tide
05 Floating
06 Gentle Moon
07 Lily and Parrots
08 Duk Koo Kim
09 Si Paloma
10 Pancho Villa

Bonus disc:

01 Somewhere
02 Carry Me Ohio (alternative version)
03 Salvador Sanchez (acoustic)
04 Arrival
05 Somewhere (version 2)
06 Gentle Moon (radio recording)