Classic Rock 93.9

Bob Marley & The Wailers’ classic album Catch A Fire is being reissued in celebration of its 50th anniversary.

Dropping November 3, the reissue will be released as a three-LP set, as well as a three-CD set and digitally. All versions will feature the full studio recording, along with a 10-song live album, Live From The Paris Theatre London, and Sessions, an album of alternative and extended takes, as well as instrumental Jamaican versions of Catch A Fire songs.

In addition, the vinyl will include a 12-inch featuring three live performances recorded at the Sundown Theatre in Edmonton, North London, in May 1973. Those three songs — “Slave Driver,” “Get Up, Stand Up” and “Stop That Train” — will also be included on the CD. You can listen to “Slave Driver” now via digital outlets and on YouTube. 

All formats of Catch A Fire are available for preorder now.

The reissue comes as a new biopic on Marley, Bob Marley: One Love, is scheduled to hit theaters January 12, 2024. It stars British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir as Marley and Captain Marvel actress Lashana Lynch as Marley’s wife, Rita.

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The Who is set to be honored at the Scottish Music Awards later this year.

The London Evening Standard reports that the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers will be honored with the icon award for their achievements and contributions to music. 

The Scottish Music Awards will take place November 4 at Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow, with the ceremony raising funds for Nordoff and Robbins, a music therapy charity that’s been very important to The Who over the years.

“We’ve been involved with Nordoff and Robbins since the beginning… and it’s good to see it’s still going,” The Who’s Roger Daltrey shares. “I hope people continue to support the charity.”

Meanwhile, fans of The Who have a lot to look forward to this week. On Friday, September 15, they’ll drop Who’s Next/Life House super deluxe edition featuring a whopping 155 tracks, with 89 songs that have never been released and 57 fresh remixes. It is available for preorder now.

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Motörhead‘s 1983 album, Another Perfect Day, is being reissued in honor of its 40th anniversary.

The expanded set will arrive November 3 and includes remastered audio of the original album, various B-sides and demos and a previously unreleased full live recording from a 1983 concert at England’s Hull City Hall.

One of the demos, an early recording of the track “Shine” back when it was called “Climber,” has been released alongside a new video streaming now on YouTube.

Another Perfect Day was Motörhead’s first album following the departure of guitarist “Fast” Eddie Clarke in 1982. Clarke, who was part of Motörhead’s classic lineup alongside frontman Lemmy Kilmister and drummer Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor, was replaced on Another Perfect Day by Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson.

The Another Perfect Day reissue continues Motörhead’s series of archival releases following the death of Lemmy in 2015.

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Barbie may have been a huge hit this summer, but not everyone is a fan. 

Derek Smalls, former vocalist and bass player of the heavy metal band Spinal Tap, has released his first new song in five years, “Must Crush Barbie,” in which he blasts everyone’s favorite doll.

“Been spending the last year or so as Brand Ambassador for BruegelCoin, the Dutch cryptocurrency,” Smalls shares. “Since it was cratering this past spring, I was following the news more than usual, which is where I got bombarded by all the Barbie BS.”

He adds, “I don’t know which angered me more, but it’s really hard to write a song about crypto. But the overwhelming shroud of pinkness definitely deserved a major pricking. And that’s where I came in.”

You can listen to “Must Crush Barbie” via digital outlets and on YouTube.

Released in 1984, This is Spinal Tap was a mockumentary about the fictional rock group Spinal Tap, made up of Harry Shearer as Smalls, Christopher Guest as guitarist Nigel Tufnel and Michael McKean as guitarist David St. Hubbin. Directed by Rob Reiner, the film poked fun of the ridiculous behavior of pretentious rock stars. In 2002, it was chosen by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry.

It sounds like there is more Spinal Tap on the way. In 2022, Reiner revealed that he was working on a sequel to the film, which will be celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2024.

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After postponing a concert in Indianapolis due to unspecified illness, Pearl Jam resumed their tour on Wednesday, September 13, in Fort Worth, Texas, albeit with a slightly different lineup.

The show featured ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist and current PJ touring member Josh Klinghoffer on drums in place of Matt Cameron, who, according to Fort Worth Star-Telegram‘s recap, is recovering from a bout of COVID-19.

Additionally, the Star-Telegram reports that Eddie Vedder was battling the flu, though he still powered through the 27-song set, which included a cover of Van Halen‘s “Eruption.”

Cameron previously missed a few Pearl Jam shows in 2022, during which Klinghoffer filled in on drums alongside Jeff Ament collaborator Richard Stuverud, original drummer Dave Krusen and even a local high school student.

Pearl Jam’s tour will continue with a second show in Fort Worth on Friday, September 15. The Indianapolis date, which was originally scheduled for September 10, has yet to be rescheduled.

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On This Day, September 14, 1981…

The Rolling Stones headlined a surprise show at Sir Morgan’s Cove club in Worcester, Massachusetts. The concert was a warm-up show ahead of their American tour, and they were billed as Little Boy Blue & The Cockroaches.

After a local radio station spilled the beans on the secret, over 4,000 fans showed up to try and get into the 350 capacity venue.

Lucky fans who did get in got to see The Stones play such songs as “Under My Thumb,” “Honky Tonk Woman,” “Start Me Up,” “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Brown Sugar,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and more.

The Stones’ full tour kicked off September 25 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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The Rolling Stones have just dropped some more info about their upcoming album, Hackney Diamonds, which drops October 20. 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers have confirmed the guests appearing on the record, including the already announced appearance of their late drummer Charlie Watts on two tracks: “Mess It Up” and “Live By The Sword” featuring their former bassist Bill Wyman.

“Live By The Sword” also features special guest Elton John on piano; he also plays piano on the track “Get Close.”

While The Stones and The Beatles are often pitted against each other, the album will feature a guest appearance by Beatles legend Paul McCartney, who plays bass on the track “Bite My Head Off.”

Finally, as previously revealed, Lady Gaga provides vocals on “Sweet Sounds Of Heaven,” which also features keys and piano from Stevie Wonder.

Hackney Diamonds will be released in a variety of formats, including a limited edition blue vinyl and a limited edition CD and Blu-ray box set, with hi-res 24/96 audio and Dolby Atmos versions of the album, plus a 64-page book with exclusive essays and photos of the band. All formats are available for preorder now.

Here is the track list for the album:

“Angry”
“Get Close”
“Depending On You”
“Bite My Head Off”
“Whole Wide World”
“Dreamy Skies”
“Mess It Up”
“Live By The Sword”
“Driving Me Too Hard”
“Tell Me Straight”
“Sweet Sounds Of Heaven”
“Rolling Stone Blues”

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R.E.M.’s Mike Mills is reminiscing about the band’s music in a new interview with Vulture and says he’s still surprised that “Losing My Religion” wound up being such a big hit for the group.

“When we started out, radio was still the dominion of what people disparagingly referred to as ‘corporate rock.’ It was safe and there was nobody taking many chances on it,” he says. “So the fact that we were able to break some of those doors down was very gratifying.”

Mills says “Losing My Religion” was only expected to be a “warm up track” to help get the next single played on the radio, but it took off. 

“Nobody would expect a five-minute song with no chorus and a mandolin being the lead instrument to be played on the radio at all — much less become a worldwide number-one hit,” he says. “It was just crazy. Anybody that says they saw that coming is lying to you.”

The tune was so big, Mills says they were once riding in the jungle in Paraguay and heard it being played on the radio. “That was pretty surprising,” he says. “That’s when we knew we had a worldwide hit.” 

Released February 19, 1991, “Losing My Religion” was the first single off R.E.M.’s hit album Out of Time. It reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is the band’s highest-charting single to date. It also topped the Billboard Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock charts.

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Bruce Springsteen’s classic solo album Nebraska is being celebrated with a special show in Nashville.

Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska: Celebrating A Rough Masterpiece will take place Tuesday, September 19, at Analog at the Hutton and will be part of Americanafest, which is happening in Nashville September 19-23. 

The event will be taped for PBS’ Recorded Live at Analog series, which will debut in 2024. It will be hosted by Warren Zanes, who wrote the recently released book about the album, Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska. Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, The Lumineers, Lucinda Williams and Noah Kahan are confirmed to perform songs from the album.

Released September 30, 1982, Nebraska featured such classic Springsteen tunes as “Atlantic City,” “Reason to Believe” and “Johnny 99.” It was a critical darling and a top 10 hit for The Boss, and has been included on several lists of the greatest albums of all time.

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Back in June, Paul McCartney sat down for a chat with Stanley Tucci at the National Portrait Gallery in London to promote McCartney’s photo exhibit, Paul McCartney, Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm. The event was livestreamed across the globe, but if you missed it, you now have a second chance to check it out. 

A recording of the chat is now available to rent on the National Portrait Gallery’s website for about $12; fans have until October 1 to check it out. 

McCartney offered a preview clip from the chat on his YouTube page, where he breaks down a photo he took of The Beatles‘ arrival at the Miami airport, discussing the folks in the crowd who gathered for their arrival.

“That’s one of the beauties of rediscovering these [photos], because I must admit when I took it, I just grabbed it quickly, because it looked so exciting,” he says. “But then when we started looking at them, that was the great thing. You actually started to pore over them.”

Paul McCartney, Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm is at London’s National Portrait Gallery until October 1. It then moves to North America, coming to the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia, from December 5, 2023, to April 7, 2024.

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