Deep Purple releases “Pictures of You” from upcoming album ‘=1’

June 5, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Deep Purple has given fans another preview of their upcoming album, =1.

The band just dropped the new single “Pictures of You,” along with an accompanying video. The track is the second song released from the record, following “Portable Door.”

“Pictures of You” is available now via digital outlets, and is also available as a four-track bundle featuring previously unreleased live recordings of “When A Blind Man Cries” and “Uncommon Man,” from a 2022 concert in Milan, Italy. The single will also be released on limited-edition CD and 12-inch vinyl starting June 28. Each format will be limited to just 5,000 hand-numbered copies.

=1, Deep Purple’s first album of new material since 2020’s Whoosh!, will be released July 19. It is available for preorder now.

Deep Purple will support the album with the upcoming =1 More Time tour, which kicks off Aug. 14 in Hollywood, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at deeppurple.com.

David Lee Roth covers Tommy Tutone classic

June 5, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

David Lee Roth is sharing his take on an ’80s classic.

The former Van Halen frontman has just released a cover of the Tommy Tutone track “867-5309/Jenny,” although Roth labels his version “Jenny Jenny (That telephone song)...” The release includes a video featuring various Styrofoam heads passing across the screen.

This is just one of a series of songs Roth has released in recent years. In May, he shared his take on the LL Cool J track “Going Back to Cali.” He’s also released new takes on several Van Halen songs, including “Unchained,” “You Really Got Me,” “Dance The Night Away,” “Panama,” “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,” “Everybody Wants Some!!” “Jump” and “Atomic Punk.”

Released in November 1981, “867-5309/Jenny” was a top five hit for Tutone, with the track hitting #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart.

Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello & others contribute to Jesse Malin tribute album

June 5, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello are among the artists contributing to a tribute album in honor of longtime New York City punk fixture Jesse Malin.

The record is titled Silver Patron Saints and will be released Sept. 20. Proceeds will benefit Malin, who suffered a spinal stroke in 2023 that left him paralyzed from the waist down.

“My whole process—since I was 13—is to progress, evolve and challenge myself on each record,” Malin says. “I really hope people in all parts of the world can relate to these songs, just the spectrum of emotions, overcoming by celebrating life through music and art.”

Others taking part include Green Day‘s Billie Joe Armstrong, Rage Against the Machine‘s Tom Morello, Bleachers, late MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer, Spoon, The Wallflowers, Rancid, The Kills‘ Alison Mosshart, The Bangles‘ Susanna Hoffs, Counting Crows, Dinosaur Jr. and The Replacements‘ Tommy Stinson.

Silver Patron Saints is available for preorder now.

Here comes the water: Duff McKagan reflects on playing Velvet Revolver’s “Slither” with GN’R

June 5, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Velvet Revolver‘s debut album, Contraband, was released June 8, 2004 — 20 years ago Saturday.

The supergroup was made up of then-former Guns N’ Roses members Slash and Duff McKagan, as well as Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots, which had broken up the previous year. The lineup also included former GN’R drummer Matt Sorum and guitarist Dave Kushner.

Contraband debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and is certified double-Platinum by the RIAA. It spawned the single “Slither,” which won the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. Contraband as a whole was nominated for Best Rock Album.

Velvet Revolver followed Contraband with a second album, 2007’s Libertad, before Weiland left in 2008 to reunite with STP. The remaining members attempted to continue on with a new singer, but never landed on a replacement.

In 2012, Velvet Revolver reunited for a one-off benefit concert, which ended up being the band’s final show. Weiland died in 2015, and Slash and McKagan reunited with Axl Rose in Guns N’ Roses in 2016.

While Velvet Revolver is over, Slash and McKagan have kept the band’s music alive by playing “Slither” during GN’R shows. Speaking with ABC Audio, McKagan says performing “Slither” is “heavy in a lot of ways.”

“Scott’s no longer with us,” McKagan says. “But Axl’s the one who asked us … ‘Would you guys be into doing that song? ‘Cause I really like the song.’ And I know he’s just being a bro.”

Not only does “Slither” live on in GN’R’s set, it has been a near-constant part of their show since that 2016 reunion.

“People like it, people love to see Guns do that song,” McKagan says. “So, why not?”

Jon Bon Jovi has “nothing but love” for “Livin’ On A Prayer”

June 5, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Bon Jovi‘s been around for 40 years and frontman Jon Bon Jovi is still amazed at how successful some of their songs have become.

One of those tunes, the band’s #1 hit “Livin’ On A Prayer,” has over a 1.5 billion streams on Spotify. In a new interview with Music Week, Jon lets fans know he has “love, nothing but love” for the track.

“It evolves. But ‘Livin’ On a Prayer,’ ‘It’s My Life’ and ‘Always’ have more than a billion YouTube [views]. It’s crazy what the catalog has done to touch people,” he shares.

Jon calls “Livin’ On A Prayer” “an anomaly beyond young, old, left, right, Republican, Democrat, black, white … It’s bigger than all of us could have ever imagined in our wildest dreams.”

He also believes “Legendary,” the first single off their new album, FOREVER, could be just as big.

“It’s just something about those big ballads that are fascinating, so there’s nothing but love for all of them,” he says.

FOREVER drops on June 7, and Jon is offering some insight into how he wrote one of the tracks, the ballad “I Wrote You A Song.”

“If you ever wonder where the inspiration comes from, let me ruin it for you,” Jon jokes in a new video. “I rolled out of bed, in the middle of the night, a notebook by the side of the bed, I’m laying on the floor with a pen, piece of paper and I write verbatim the entire first verse.”

He relayed what he wrote to his wife and his friend Billy Falconer, and Falconer immediately suggested the title “I Wrote You A Song.”

He noted, “So, a man in his underwear can write a great verse in the middle of the night.”

‘Born in the U.S.A.’ live playlist released for Springsteen album’s 40th anniversary

June 4, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Bruce Springsteen’s iconic album Born in the U.S.A. was released 40 years ago June 4, and a new live playlist has just been released to mark the milestone anniversary.

The official Born in the U.S.A. Tour ’84 – ’85 compilation is now live on nugs.net, featuring live performances of 15 tracks, taken from shows in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and Los Angeles.

In addition to performances of the album’s songs like “Dancing in the Dark,” “Glory Days,” “Cover Me,” “My Hometown,” the title track and more, it also includes live performances of “Seeds,” which was recorded during the sessions for Born in the U.S.A., as well as “Stand on It” and “Pink Cadillac,” which were B-sides for Born in the U.S.A. singles.

Released June 4, 1984, Born in the U.S.A. was one of Springsteen’s most successful albums, selling over 30 million copies worldwide. It spent seven weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart and produced seven top-10 singles: the title track, “Dancing in the Dark,” “Cover Me,” “Glory Days,” “I’m On Fire,” “I’m Goin’ Down” and “My Hometown.”

And speaking of Springsteen, if fans want to read about his old stomping grounds, a new book about the legendary club The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey, has just been released. I Don’t Want to Go Home: The Oral History of the Stone Pony, from New York Times journalist Nick Corasaniti, features a foreword by The Boss, along with interviews from Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt and more, with never-before-seen photos from Danny Clinch.

Ahead of Father’s Day, watch Rod Stewart teach his son how to make a “rockstar martini”

June 4, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Not long ago, Rod Stewart launched his own brand of whisky, Wolfie’s, and he’s enlisted one of his sons to help him show you why it’d make a great Father’s Day gift.

In an Instagram video, Rod and his son Liam, who recently got married in Croatia, are standing in a bar in front of a bottle of Wolfie’s, two martini glasses and a cocktail shaker.

“Welcome, everybody, to our Father’s Day celebrations,” says Rod. “My son Liam here is going to teach you how to make a rockstar martini. And I’m the rock star.”

Liam proceeds to mix 2 ounces of Wolfie’s whisky with 1 ounce of vanilla syrup, 1 ounce of passionfruit liqueur and lime juice. He shakes it up, pours it into the glasses and then Rod tops it off with some champagne. “Have a lovely Father’s Day,” says Rod.

The two drink their concoction, which seems like it’d be very sweet — but then again, Rod’s previously owned up to preferring sweet drinks. “Mmm,” says Rod. “Mother’s milk.”

Rod, of course, knows a thing or two about Father’s Day: He has eight children, ranging in age from 59 to 13, and all of them managed to get together in Croatia to celebrate Liam’s wedding.

Yusuf/Cat Stevens to reissue 1973’s ‘Foreigner’

June 4, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Yusuf/Cat Stevens is set to release a remastered edition of his 1973 album, Foreigner.

The album will be released July 26 to streaming services in both standard and high resolution audio. It will also be released on vinyl for the first time since its original release, with two options: standard 180-gram black and limited-edition 180-gram blue, which comes with a 12-inch lyric card insert. It will also be released on CD for the first time since 2000 and will include a 16-page booklet.

“We’re all foreigners. Say to an American or a European, that he’s a foreigner and he’ll say, ‘No, you’re the foreigner!’” Stevens shares. “But we’re all foreigners here, in a wider sense. We’re all looking for freedom and accommodation within humanity.”

Foreigner, Stevens’ seventh studio album, was the first album he wrote and produced himself. It peaked at #3 on the U.S. chart.

The reissue of Foreigner is available for preorder now.

Foreigner is just the latest in a series of reissues from Yusuf/Cat Stevens that began in 2020. He previously reissued 1970’s Mona Bone Jakon and Tea for the Tillerman and 1971’s Teaser and the Firecat. All three of those albums will now be released on limited-edition colored vinyl on July 5 — Mona Bone Jakon in sky blue, Tea for the Tillerman in mint green and Teaser and the Firecat in neon orange.

They are available for preorder now.

Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Chris Stein executive producing doc about songwriter/producer Mike Chapman

June 4, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Chris Stein are set to executive produce a new documentary about producer/songwriter Mike Chapman, Deadline reports.

Simply The Best: The Mike Chapman Story will feature previously unseen photos and video footage from Chapman’s career, with Harry and Stein also set to appear in the picture.

Chapman co-wrote the Tina Turner classic “The Best” and produced several Blondie albums, including Parallel Lines, Eat to the Beat, Autoamerican and The Hunter. He also worked with such artist as The Knack and Suzi Quatro, and co-wrote such hits as Toni Basil’s “Mickey,” Huey Lewis and the News‘ “Heart and Soul” and Pat Benatar‘s “Love is a Battlefield.”

“After several years of putting this together I am looking forward to getting it out there,” Chapman said. “It’s a story of how music changed and shaped me as I fought my way through decades of ups and downs. The directors and producers share that vision, and I am thrilled to be working with them.”

As for Blondie, they have a handful of dates booked for this summer. They kick things off Friday in England. A complete list of dates can be found at blondie.net.

Billie Joe Armstrong reviews Taylor Swift’s France show: “Great voice. Great entertainer. Great songwriting.”

June 4, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

’90s rock is entering its Taylor Swift era.

Following Billy Corgan‘s headline-making defense of the pop superstar — “Taylor Swift is one of the most gifted pop artists of all time,” The Smashing Pumpkins frontman told The Irish Times — Green Day‘s Billie Joe Armstrong has shared his thoughts after seeing an Eras Tour stop in France.

Armstrong writes in an Instagram post, “Great production. Great voice. Great entertainer. Great songwriting. Crazy crowd.”

“People even shared with me some friendship bracelets,” he adds. “Thanks a million @taylorswift.”

Exchanging friendship bracelets has become a staple of Eras Tour shows among Swifties. Armstrong received ones reading “sexy baby” and “a****** outlaw,” references to the songs “Anti-Hero” and “Hits Different,” respectively.

The European leg of the Eras Tour, which features support from Paramore, resumes Friday in Scotland. Green Day is currently touring Europe behind their new album, Saviors.

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