The promoters of Coachella on Monday night unveiled a lineup that’s actually much more diverse than any of the previous seven festivals they’ve thrown in the deserts of Indio, California. Instead of featuring the typical mixture of indie flavors of the month and reunited bands from the alt-rock dynasty, the 2008 festival will feature a number of artists you wouldn’t typically hear in the hipster havens. Roger Waters? Jack Johnson? Of course, there are still plenty of acts like The Breeders and Cold War Kids on the bill to satiate the Pitchfork crowd.

So let’s preview this year’s Coachella by checking out some amazing recordings from eight of the bands that are scheduled to rock the desert on April 25-27, including Roger Waters, Sharon Jones and My Morning Jacket…

Roger Waters 03/14/2007 Pre-FM [FLAC, MP3]

Roger Waters isn’t exactly the first person that comes to mind when you think of Coachella, but festival-goers will be in for a quite a treat when he headlines that Sunday night — Waters has spent the last two years on the road perfecting his band’s performance of Dark Side of the Moon. Everyone who saw one of these shows had nothing but glowing things to say, including Ace, who ranked Waters’ MSG gig as his second favorite concert of 2006. The best-sounding bootleg to emerge from the tour comes from a radio broadcast of a March 2007 gig in Chile.

Roger’s backing band is in fine form throughout their performance in Santiago, especially during Dark Side of the Moon. Carol Kenyon delivers the booming high notes that are so essential to a well-played Great Gig In The Sky, while guitarists Andy Fairweather-Low and Snowy White both rip it up during Money. Even Roger’s usually ragged voice sounds perfect throughout the evening. Waters doesn’t spare any expense, recreating every aspect of the album both visually and aurally. Those Coachella attendees who are thinking about beating the traffic should just take a hit of acid and enjoy a mind-blowing set that will make you remember why Dark Side of the Moon is the fifth highest-selling album of all time. Read on for more…

My Morning Jacket 10/27/2006 FM [FLAC, MP3, STREAM]

KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic was one of the first media outlets to prominently feature the music of My Morning Jacket back in 2001. The band never forgot the support and returned to the show to promote each of their albums. During MMJ’s first major headlining tour in the fall of 2006, Jim James and Carl Broemel joined forces to play an acoustic set for Morning Becomes Eclectic. The resulting music is both beautiful and haunting, and well worth downloading.

Jim and Carl break out new arrangements of Gideon and What A Wonderful Man from Z, as well as classics such as Bermuda Highway and Old September Blues. The lyrics and structure of the music come to the forefront without the buzz of electric guitars that is a trademark of MMJ’s sound. While I love the arena-rock qualities of Jim James’ music, it’s also nice to hear these stripped down versions where you can actually make out the words he sings. Be sure to also check out audio and/or video of MMJ’s appearances on Morning Becomes Eclectic from 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005. That’s a gold mine right there.

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings 01/05/2008 DAUD [FLAC, MP3]

Photo by Dave Vann

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings are clearly one of Coachella 2008’s best bookings. I don’t care whether you’re a hipster or a hippie, you cannot help but dance when this band starts to play. Jones and the Dap-Kings recently stole the show on Jam Cruise 6 — and it’s no surprise that most of the reviews coming from the boat seem to focus on Sharon’s performances. Jones treated cruise-goers to a couple of wide ranging shows featuring material from all three of her albums with the Dap-Kings. We came across a great recording of the band’s indoor gig from the third night that gives us a nice taste of what they bring to the table.

The show starts with a few instrumental tracks from the Dap-Kings before they welcome Sharon to the stage. You can almost hear Jones take control of the crowd from the moment she enters the room. Sharon shows off her slick yet soulful vocals during exceptional versions of Nobody’s Baby and Be Easy. Other highlights included a brilliantly reworked cover of Janet Jackson’s What Have You Done For Me Lately that has become a staple of her live show, and special guest Ivan Neville’s intense organ playing on Pick It Up, Lay In The Cut. While I’m sure those at Coachella would have preferred seeing Amy Winehouse on the bill, hopefully they will appreciate seeing a true professional with a better voice.

Here are live shows from five other artists who’ll be rockin’ the desert:

So what’s been on your plate lately? Got anything to share with the class?