Classic Rock 93.9

Heart‘s Ann Wilson has debuted another advance track from her forthcoming solo album, Fierce Bliss, a duet version of the classic 1975 Queen ballad “Love of My Life” featuring country star and current Eagles touring member Vince Gill.

“‘Love of My Life’ is a beautiful song about endless love,” Ann says in a statement. “It was my honor to duet with Vince Gill on this song; an unforgettable experience for which I’m grateful!”

She further explains, “I had the idea for the Queen song ‘Love of My Life’ as a duet, so I just tried to picture who would be ‘the male angel’ that would sing the other part of it. I thought how great the song would be if it was stripped down and just sung with soul, and it had to be Vince Gill because he’s got that voice, that soul.”

Wilson and Gill recorded the track with the members of Ann’s current backing group, The Amazing Dawgs.

The “Love of My Life” duet is available now via digital formats, while a companion music video for the tune has debited on Wilson’s official YouTube channel. The clip shows a thorny rose and a woman’s hand with long, sharp fingernails pulling petals off of the flower. As she comes to the last few petals, she removes the hand that was holding the rose, and we see that it’s bleeding. We then see a man’s hands enter the frame, and he helps wipe the blood off of the woman’s hand.

“Love of My Life” is the fourth advance tune that Ann has released from Fierce Bliss, following the original songs “Greed” and “A Moment in Heaven,” and a cover of Eurythmics‘ “Missionary Man.”

As previously reported, Fierce Bliss will be released on April 29, and can be pre-ordered now.

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Last month, Christine McVie revealed in a BBC Radio interview that she had plans to release a new solo album called Songbird that will include a reworked version of her popular Fleetwood Mac ballad of the same name.  Now full details of the project have been announced.

The album, Songbird (A Solo Collection), is due out June 24, and is a 10-track compilation made up mostly of previously released tunes songs from two of McVie’s solo albums — her 1984 self-titled effort and 2004’s In the Meantime. All of the tracks have been remastered by famed producer Glyn Johns.

The record also boasts three previously unreleased recordings, including an updated, orchestral version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Songbird” that pairs Christine’s original vocals with a new string arrangement created by Grammy-winning composer and arranger Vince Mendoza.

The other two previously unreleased tracks are “Slowdown,” a song Christine wrote for the 1985 film American Flyers, and “All You Gotta Do,” a duet that McVie recorded with singer/bassist George Hawkins during the In the Meantime sessions. The latter tune wasn’t completed at the time, and Glyn finished the track by adding Ricky Peterson on Hammond organ and Ethan Johns on drums and guitar.

“Slowdown” has been released as an advance digital single.

Songbird includes two interesting songs from the 1984 Christine McVie album. “The Challenge” features backing vocals from Lindsey Buckingham and lead guitar by Eric Clapton. The other song, “Ask Anybody,” was co-written by Christine and Steve Winwood, who contributed backing vocals and piano to the tune.

Songbird can be pre-ordered now, and will issued on CD, on vinyl and digitally. A limited-edition sea-foam green vinyl LP will be available exclusively from Rhino.com.

Here’s the full Songbird (A Solo Collection) track list:

“Friend”
“Sweet Revenge”
“The Challenge”
“Northern Star”
“Ask Anybody”
“Slowdown”*
“Easy Come, Easy Go”
“Giving It Back”
“All You Gotta Do”*
“Songbird” (Orchestral Version)*

* = previously unreleased.

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The Security Project, a Peter Gabriel tribute group featuring Gabriel’s former drummer Jerry Marotta and ex-King Crimson bassist Trey Gunn, will launch a 12-date U.S. tour in May.

The trek, dubbed the “Expect the Unexpected” tour, will visit venues throughout the Northeastern U.S., kicking off May 5 in Pawling, New York, and running through a May 20 show in Annapolis, Maryland.

The Security Project’s lineup also features former Shriekback guitarist Michael Cozzi, along with keyboardist David Jameson and new lead singer Happy Rhodes. The band focuses on presenting reimagined versions of Gabriel compositions, both from his tenure with Genesis and from his solo career. You can check out The Security Project performing a live rendition of “Slowburn,” a song from Peter’s 1977 self-titled debut album, at Marotta’s official YouTube channel.

To check out the band’s full tour schedule, visit SecurityProjectBand.com.

Marotta played on all of Gabriel’s solo albums from his 1978 self-titled effort through his classic 1986 record, So.

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Earlier this month, The Zombies launched a 2022 North American tour, marking the first time the British Invasion legends have been out on the road since 2019.

Zombies keyboardist and main songwriter Rod Argent tells ABC Audio that it’s been great to again be performing for their fans, adding, “[I]t was so energizing just playing with the band again.”

The two-part tour features nearly 50 total concerts, and The Zombies also have a 25-show European trek in September and October. The 76-year-old Argent admits that it’s a bit daunting thinking about doing so many gigs after a two-year-plus hiatus, noting, “I feel pretty good at the moment, but it makes you wonder with your stamina…So…I want to try and keep things in proportion and be careful, but it is great to play.”

The Zombies’ concerts feature plenty of their classic early tunes, including hits like “She’s Not There” and “Time of the Season,” but they also include a few songs from a new studio album that Argent says the band expects to release sometime this year.

“I think it’s basically a very good album,” Rod offers. “I’ve written nine songs for the album. [Frontman] Colin [Blunstone wrote] one that we finish up…the album with, which is a lovely sort of breath to say goodbye to…the album…So all that’s very exciting.”

Argent says he’s “really hoping” the album will be released by the time the band kicks off its second 2022 North American leg, which begins June 21 in Belleville, Canada, and runs through July 28-30 stand in Park City, Utah.

The Zombies’ current leg continues tonight in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, and runs through a May 1 show in Fall River, Massachusetts. Visit TheZombiesMusic.com for the full schedule.

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Organizers of New York City’s Tribeca Festival have announced the film event’s 2022 lineup, which includes a number of noteworthy music-related documentaries. Among the music docs that will get their world premiere at the festival are Angelheaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex, and Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song.

Angelheaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex focuses on the life and music of late glam-rock pioneer Marc Bolan and his famous band, as well as on the making of a 2020 tribute album of the same name. The album was the brainchild of lauded producer Hal Willner, who sadly died of COVID-19 at age 64 a few months before the record’s release. The movie, which mixes recent and archival footage, includes appearances by Bolan, Marc’s romantic partner and backing singer Gloria Jones, his son Rolan, Ringo Starr, Willner, Joan Jett and David Bowie.

The documentary Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song looks at the career of late Canadian poet and singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen, with a focus on his classic ballad, “Hallelujah.” The film features interviews with Cohen as well as with some of his friends, lovers and fellow musicians. A post-screening event will feature performances by Judy Collins, Cohen collaborator Sharon Robinson, and others.

Other music docs that will be screened at the Tribeca Festival include The Lost Weekend: A Love Story, which features May Pang recalling the 18-month period during the 1970s that she spent as John Lennon‘s friend, lover and confidante; and Nothing Compares, a profile of Irish singer/songwriter Sinead O’Connor and her eventful and turbulent life.

Visit TribecaFilm.com for more information about the 2022 festival’s lineup.

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Rob Halford has announced a new book.

The follow-up to the Judas Priest frontman’s 2020 autobiography, Confess, is titled Biblical: Rob Halford’s Heavy Metal Scriptures, and will arrive November 1.

A press release describes Biblical as a “lively encyclopedia and manifesto in which Halford shares his opinions, memories, and anecdotes regarding every element of the rock and roll lifestyle: from tours to tattoos, riffs to riders, and drugs to devil horns.”

“After my penitence with Confess, it’s time for me to be Biblical and take our congregation through all the ins and out and ups and downs of what it takes to make the life of the Metal God,” Halford says. “So get comfy in your pew and prepare for the light of revelations by becoming Biblical!”

Biblical is available for pre-order now.

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Last year, KISS singer/bassist Gene Simmons and the Gibson company announced that they had partnered to launch a new line of electric guitars and basses called G2, pronounced G-squared.  Now the first offering from the brand has been released: the G2 Thunderbird Bass.

The instrument features a classic Reverse Thunderbird body and headstock design, a mahogany body with a glossy ebony finish, an ebony fingerboard, a pair of T-Bird pickups, a G2 logo on the back of the headstock, and a pickguard boasting a laser-engraved custom Gene Simmons logo.

The G2 Thunderbird Bass is priced at $2,799, and is available around the world at authorized Gibson dealers and via Gibson.com.

“Gibson is an outstanding company and has earned its place as a leading guitar brand with fans around the world,” says Simmons in a statement. “The new G2 Thunderbird basses are all handmade in the USA, with a sound that is off the charts. The design is so beautiful and collectible, they are simply works of art.”

Adds Gibson Brands executive Cesar Gueikian [GOY-kee-en], “The Gibson Gene Simmons G2 Thunderbird Bass guitar has been more than a year in the making. It looks and sounds EPIC, and it is unmistakably Gene. Working with him is such a privilege for all of us at Gibson; he is deeply involved in every aspect of developing the guitars and planning our launch.”

To promote the new bass, a hilarious video has premiered on the Gibson TV YouTube channel starring Simmons and featuring a voiceover by John Stamos. The clip mimics an ’80s infomercial that features a skinny nerd who is picked on by his high school classmates, until he buys a G2 Thunderbird Bass and is transformed into a cool and popular rocker.

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Jane’s Addiction will record new music this year, if frontman Perry Farrell has his way.

Speaking with Consequence about possible fresh tunes from the “Been Caught Stealing” outfit, Farrell shares, “I would love to see us record a couple of tracks this year.”

“Even if it’s two or three tracks,” he adds. “Two tracks, I feel two is nice. I think people can take two, like two aspirin.”

Jane’s Addiction’s most recent song is the 2013 one-off single “Another Soulmate,” which followed the band’s 2011 album, The Great Escape Artist.

In addition to potential new music, Farrell also hopes to add more Jane’s tour dates around their upcoming festival appearances, which include sets at Lollapalooza and Welcome to Rockville.

“We do have ambitions to hit the road this year,” Farrell says. “So it won’t be long before you’ll know if those ambitions have come to fruition.”

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The Doobie Brothers have released a new single from their latest studio album, 2021’s Liberté: the grooving, mid-tempo rock track “Easy.”

The tune was co-written by founding Doobies singer/guitarist Tom Johnston and the new album’s producer, John Shanks.

The band is preparing to launch a busy 2022 touring schedule that will see the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers continue their 50th anniversary trek with a lineup featuring core members Johnston, Pat Simmons and John McFee, along with returning Doobie Brothers singer/keyboardist Michael McDonald.

The group kicks things off with an eight-show Las Vegas engagement at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, running from May 13 through May 28. The tour then hits the road for a summer leg starting June 2 in West Palm Beach, Florida, and mapped out through a July 14 show in Noblesville, Indiana, followed by a series of fall concerts running from a September 2 gig in Pelham, Alabama, until an October 12 performance in Nashville.

Check out the band’s full schedule at TheDoobieBrothers.com.

In addition to the The Doobies’ busy touring schedule, the band will release Long Train Runnin’, an autobiography co-written by Johnston and Simmons, on July 26.

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Get ready to do a little dance and drink a little water while watching the Billboard Music Awards.

Red Hot Chili Peppers are set to perform at the 2022 edition of the ceremony, which airs May 15 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. The set will mark the “Give It Away” outfit’s first BBMA performance in 23 years.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have certainly made an impression on the Billboard charts this year.  Their new album, Unlimited Love, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with the biggest week for a rock record in over a year, while lead single “Black Summer” is the number-one song on the Alternative Airplay chart, and number three on the Mainstream Rock Airplay ranking.

While the Chili Peppers aren’t BBMA nominees themselves this year — Unlimited Love was released after the 2022 eligibility period — a number of other Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees will be competing for awards at the ceremony, including The Rolling Stones, Genesis, Green Day, The Eagles and Elton John. You can check out a full list of nominees at Billboard.com.

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