MID-CAREER RETROSPECTIVE SHINES LIGHT

ON TROUBADOUR TALENT

MISSION OF MY SOUL

THE BEST OF PETER HIMMELMAN

In Stores September 6 th Via Shout! Factory

LOS ANGELES, CA - Mid-career retrospectives can be a dubious proposition, more often than not concocted to extend the shelf-life of a disposable pop star by recycling a handful of radio hits.   But in the case of Peter Himmelman, it's a prodigious honor, bestowed upon a songwriter whose career is only at its midpoint.   On September 6 th , Shout! Factory pays remarkable homage to the musician with the release of Mission of My Soul: The Best of Peter Himmelman , a collection of 19 choice songs from the artist's 20-year solo career.

From his 1986 debut solo album, This Father's Day , to this year's Imperfect World , Shout! Factory's The Mission of My Soul includes Himmelman's favorite songs, plucked from each of his 11 solo albums.   "Sometimes I'll find myself singin' a song on stage and thinkin' about where I left my car keys," jokes Peter. "I guess these are some songs of mine that I'm least likely to be able to do that with."   The resulting anthology is stunning; Himmelman's depth of range and command of his craft is absolute.   The Mission Of My Soul is marked by the powerful "Woman With The Strength Of 10,000 Men," an ode to a heroine struggling with Lou Gehrig's Disease, which is sweetly offset by the pop-leaning "Beneath The Damage And The Dust."    Himmelman also includes standouts such as the solo acoustic "7 Circles" from Love Thinketh No Evil, and a live version of "Closer" recorded at New York's The Bottom Line in 1995.   These 19 songs that make up this "best of" collection reveal Himmelman's ability to effortlessly stretch from one end of the songwriting spectrum to the other.

Peter Himmelman could be seen as the strong silent type of the songwriting community; it's easy to take him for granted.   He can always be counted on to write song after solid song, never trying too hard to impress with flash and style, happy to stand in the shadow of his lyrics.   TIME magazine poetically described his work as "songs with the same emphatic edge and aesthetic urgency that impelled the Lost Generation to write novels," while Rolling Stone rhapsodized about his "stunning" talent. As a songwriter, Himmelman has consistently supported himself as an artist since his teen years.   He has been swayed into writing music for television, but even that he does with intensity and skillfulness, proof positive in his Emmy®-nominated scores for "Judging Amy."   Himmelman has also spent years lovingly crafting children's music which easily appeals to parents as well, releasing My Best Friend Is A Salamander, My Fabulous Plum and The Lemonade Stand , certainly finding inspiration in his own four children.  

About Shout! Factory:  

Shout! Factory is a broad-based audio and home video entertainment company whose cofounders -- Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos -- share a passion for pop culture of the 20 th century and beyond.   Video and DVD projects include television programming spanning 75 years, live music concerts, animation and sports collections and special interest documentaries.   Audio products from Shout! Factory consist of GRAMMY®-nominated box sets, anthologies and "best of" collections, as well as new music, soundtrack releases, deluxe album reissues and quirky compilations. Shout! Factory's catalog features vintage and legendary performances from some of the greatest -- and most eccentric -- artists of our time.   Shout! Factory products are distributed by Sony BMG Music Entertainment Inc. www.shoutfactory.com

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CONTACT:

The Brookes Company                                 Shout! Factory

Jolyn Matsumuro                                Stacey Studebaker

(310) 558-3000 x202                                (310) 979-5602

jolyn@brookescompany.com                           s studebaker @shoutfactory.com

Annissa Mason

(310) 558-3000 x204

annissa@brookescompany.com

PETER HIMMELMAN: MISSION OF MY SOUL: THE BEST OF PETER HIMMELMAN

Catalog Number:                       DK

Price:                            $18.98 SRP

Release Date:               September 6, 2005

TRACK LISTING

•  Beneath The Damage And The Dust

•  Mission Of My Soul

•  Eleventh Confession

•  Always In Disguise

•  Imperfect World

•  Raina

•  With You

•  In The Ceaseless Din

•  Impermanent Things

•  Closer (Live)

•  Time Just Flew

•  Name

•  I Feel Young Today

•  Shilo

•  Woman With The Strength of 10,000 Men

•  Discipline Of Rain

•  245 Days

•  7 Circles

•  Racing Off To Nowhere