Classic Rock 93.9

Rod Stewart has hinted that he and his former Faces bandmate, Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, may be releasing new music at some point.

During an interview with Vulture to promote his new album Swing Fever with Jools Holland, which drops February 23, Stewart talked about songs that he’s written but not released and suggested they may wind up being Faces recordings.

“There are a lot of songs I’ve written that I haven’t put out and nobody knows about them,” he says. “My songs are like my children. I gave birth to them and then I put them out there in the world and see how they do.” 

He then shared that he’s sent some of those songs to Wood, explaining, “I told him, ‘This is stuff we’ve recorded with my band, maybe the Faces would like to do it instead?’” He added, “We’re still struggling to make this album. We’ll see. Some of them might see the light of day.” 

In the meantime, Faces is set to drop a special release for Record Store Day on April 20. The BBC Session Recordings is the second set of highlights from the band’s appearances on the BBC over the years. They previously released Had Me A Real Good Time… With Faces Live In Session At The BBC 1971-1973 for Record Store Day Black Friday in November.

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Opening statements are expected Wednesday in the trial of three men charged in a conspiracy involving nearly 100 pages of Don Henley’s handwritten notes and lyrics for the Eagles album Hotel California.

According to the indictment, Glen Horowitz, Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinki possessed notes that included lyrics to the songs “Hotel California,” “Life in the Fast Lane” and “New Kid In Town.”  

Despite knowing the materials were stolen, they attempted to sell the manuscripts, manufactured false provenance and lied to auction houses, potential buyers and law enforcement about the origin of the material, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said.

The manuscripts were originally stolen in the late 1970s by an author who’d been hired to write an Eagles biography. In 2005 he sold the manuscripts to Horowitz, a rare books dealer, who then sold them to Inciardi and Kosinski. 

When Henley learned of the sale, he filed police reports, told the defendants the materials were stolen and demanded the return of his property. Prosecutors allege that rather than making any effort to ensure they actually had rightful ownership, the defendants responded by engaging in a yearslong campaign to prevent Henley from recovering the manuscripts.

According to the indictment, Horowitz and Inciardi worked to fabricate the manuscripts’ provenance and attempted to use that false statement of provenance to coerce Henley into buying back his stolen property. When trying to sell the manuscripts, Inciardi allegedly lied and withheld information regarding Henley’s claims.

Horowitz also attempted to exploit the death of founding Eagles member Glenn Frey to prevent criminal prosecution: he allegedly produced a new false statement of provenance, this time claiming that the materials originated from Frey.

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We haven’t heard much from Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen since the death of brother and bandmate Eddie Van Halen, but that’s about to change.

A post on publisher Harper Collins’ website reveals that Alex has written a new book, Brothers, which will be released on October 22.

The announcement doesn’t offer many details about the book, only the release date, that it will be 384 pages and will sell for $32. It also lists an alternative title, The Brothers Van Halen. 

The book is available for preorder now.

Alex has been fairly quiet and hasn’t played music publicly since Eddie’s death in 2020. In January, on what would have been Eddie’s 69th birthday, he shared a picture of them together on Instagram with the caption, “We miss you” and the hashtag #VanHalenForever.

Alex isn’t the first member of Van Halen to write a book. The band’s original frontman David Lee Roth released his autobiography, Crazy from the Heat, in 1997, while Roth’s replacement Sammy Hagar released his, Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock, in 2011.

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After announcing a handful of U.S. shows for 2024, James Taylor has revealed dates for a full summer tour.

The tour kicks off May 29 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and includes a two-night stand at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, as well as shows in Nashville, Philadelphia, Boston and Bethel Woods, New York.

The tour wraps with three already announced shows in Vienna, Virginia, on September 12, 14 and 15.

A James Taylor fan club presale kicks off Wednesday, February 21, with the general onsale set for Friday, February 23, at 10 a.m. A complete list of dates can be found at jamestaylor.com.

Before he heads out for his summer trek, Taylor has dates booked in Tokyo, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. His next show is happening April 6 at Tokyo’s Garden Theater. 

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Foo Fighters are performing at an upcoming benefit concert being held in Washington, D.C.

The show takes place March 5 and will support Power to the Patients, a nonprofit that’s dedicated to “fighting for a more affordable, accessible, and equitable healthcare system through true price transparency.”

“When we were asked by Power to the Patients to help raise awareness of the need for transparency in healthcare pricing, we immediately said yes,” Foo Fighters say. “People suffering from illness and injury shouldn’t have to worry about being bankrupted by surprise charges for their treatment.”

Other artists that will be in attendance include Jelly Roll, Fat Joe, Chuck D, Busta Rhymes, Wyclef Jean and Lainey Wilson.

The concert will be a private event. For more info, visit PowertothePatients.org.

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The solo career of The Who’s late bassist John Entwistle will be the subject of a new CD box set coming in May. 

The Ox Box Set, dropping May 10, will feature Entwistle’s six solo albums — 1971’s Smash Your Head Against the Wall, 1972’s Whistle Rymes, 1973’s Rigor Mortis Sets In, 1975’s Mad Dog, 1981’s Too Late the Hero and 1996’s The Rock — with each CD containing bonus tracks made up of outtakes, demos and early versions of songs. The set will also include a 28-page booklet. 

Also on May 10, three of Entwistle’s solo albums will be reissued separately on 140g colored vinyl. Smash Your Head Against the Wall will be released on green vinyl, its first vinyl release since 1981. Whistle Rymes will be released on red vinyl, its first time on vinyl since 1973, and Rigor Mortis Sets In will be released on orange vinyl, becoming its first vinyl release since 1974.

Both the box set and the individual colored vinyl releases are available for preorder now.

This isn’t the first time Entwistle’s solo career has been the subject of a new release. Back in November, all six albums, including bonus tracks, debuted on digital services.

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AC/DC celebrated the 50th anniversary of their very first show in December, and now, they’re dropping some special vinyl releases.

The band is set to release their catalog on limited edition gold colored vinyl, starting March 15 with nine albums; further releases are expected later in the year. 

The first set of gold vinyl releases include: Back in Black, Highway to Hell, The Razors Edge, Powerage, For Those About To Rock (We Salute You), High Voltage, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheep, Who Made Who, which was the 1986 soundtrack to the Stephen King film Maximum Overdrive, and the double live album, Live.

Each gold vinyl, available for preorder now, will come with a 12×12 album, album-specific print and AC/DC 50 artwork.

AC/DC recently announced they’ll be hitting the road on the Power Up tour. It kicks off with a two-night stand in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, on May 17 and 21. So far, no U.S. dates have been announced.

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On This Day, February 20, 1974…

Steely Dan released their third studio album, Pretzel Logic, which was the last to feature the full lineup of Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, Denny Dias, Jim Hodder and Jeff “Skunk” Baxter. Future albums would be recorded by Becker, Fagen and hired studio musicians. 

Pretzel Logic was a top 10 hit for Steely Dan, peaking at #8 on the Billboard 200.  It featured the hit single “Ricki Don’t Lose That Number,” which was the highest charting single of the band’s career, hitting #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The album went on to be certified Platinum by the RIAA. 

Steely Dan, which these days consists of Fagen and a group of touring musicians, is still out on the road. They are currently opening for the Eagles on their Long Goodbye Tour, which hits Hollywood, Florida, on March 1 and 2.

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Eddie Vedder performed with noted grunge enthusiast Post Malone during a charity concert on Saturday, February 17, benefiting the Pearl Jam frontman’s EB Research Partnership organization.

During the event, Post joined Vedder for an acoustic rendition of PJ’s “Better Man.” The pair also performed a cover of Tom Petty‘s “I Won’t Back Down.”

Malone has previously covered “Better Man” on his own and has also put his spin on another grunge classic, Alice in Chains‘ “Them Bones.” Additionally, he famously performed a Nirvana covers set in 2020.

You can watch footage of the Post/Vedder “Better Man” collaboration via the EB Research Partnership’s Instagram Story. Malone also posted a video of a him rehearsing a cover of another Tom Petty song, “American Girl,” backstage with Vedder on his Instagram.

EB Research Partnership, which Vedder co-founded with his wife, Jill, endeavors to find a cure for epidermolysis bullosa, a rare genetic disorder that causes painful skin blisters.

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