Classic Rock 93.9

Todd Rundgren‘s long-delayed studio album Space Force, which features collaborations with a wide variety of artists, finally got its release Friday, October 14.

The 12-track collection includes contributions from Cheap Trick‘s Rick Nielsen, Steve Vai, Thomas Dolby, Crowded House‘s Neil Finn, ex-King Crimson singer/guitarist Adrian Belew, Weezer‘s Rivers Cuomo, Sparks and The Roots.

Space Force is a follow-up to Rundgren’s similarly collaborative 2017 album, White Knight, and he tells ABC Audio that new record differs from its predecessor in that most of the new song ideas originated from the artists he worked with rather than himself.

“[With] Space Force … I was putting much more of the responsibility for the material on my collaborators,” he explains. “I wanted them to germinate … the process, to seed it by giving me something of theirs that they had worked on but perhaps never finished.”

Not surprisingly, the album features songs influenced by various musical genres, including hard rock, prog rock, R&B, ska, rap and electronica.

“[It’s] almost like an anthology of different artists who might have been popular at a certain time. Although the artists that are on my record have varying degrees of popularity in different eras,” Rundgren explains. “So the flavor of the record is eclectic.”

Since much of Space Force was put together during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rundgren generally created the tunes remotely with his collaborators.

Todd says the “typical process” of working on a track for the album would be “me getting someone to send me something — often they would send me more than one thing, so I would have an option — and then me … applying my sensibilities to it to bring it into the realm of … an actual song that can be released.

Here’s Space Force‘s full track list:

“Puzzle” — with Adrian Belew
“Down with the Ship” — with Rivers Cuomo
“Artist in Residence” — with Neil Finn
“Godiva Girl” — with The Roots
“Your Fandango” — with Sparks
“Someday” — with Davey Lane
“I’m Not Your Dog” — with Thomas Dolby
“Espionage” — with Narcy
“STFU” — with Rick Nielsen
“Head in the Ocean” — with Alfie
“I’m Leaving” — with The Lemon Twigs
“Eco Warrior Goddess” — with Steve Vai

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Alice Cooper has announced full details about the 2022 edition of his star-studded annual charity fundraiser, Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding.

The event, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, is scheduled to take place on December 3 at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix. Joining the shock rocker on the lineup are Sammy Hagar, Rob Zombie, The Romantics‘ Wally Palmar, Gin Blossoms, and comedian and Saturday Night Live alum Jim Breuer.

Tickets for the concert will go on sale to the general public Friday, October 21, at 10 a.m. local time at CelebrityTheatre.com. There will also be presale offers beginning Monday, October 17.

The event will raise money to pay for staff and resources at Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Centers, which provide free music, dance, arts and vocational training programs for people aged 12 to 20. There are two centers, located in Phoenix and Mesa, Arizona, respectively.

“We are excited to be celebrating our 20th year with a stellar lineup of talent who dedicate their time and passion to help us raise funds for our Rock Teen Centers,” says Alice. “We are grateful to everyone who continues to make this one of the finest shows in the Valley and promise another memorable evening of music and mayhem!”

The fundraiser will feature performances by the Solid Rock dancers, the Bucket Brigade percussion collective and the winners of the annual Proof Is in the Pudding Music and Dance Competition.

Visit AliceCooperSolidRock.com for more information.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Co-founding The Grateful Dead singer/guitarist Bob Weir celebrates his 75th birthday on Sunday, October 16.

While the late Jerry Garcia was The Grateful Dead’s main lead singer and lead guitarist, as well as the group’s predominant songwriter, Weir also sang and co-wrote many of the band’s tunes, while contributing his inventive rhythm playing.

Among the songs Bob had a hand in writing are “Truckin’,” “Sugar Magnolia,” “Playing in the Band” and “Estimated Prophet.” Weir frequently collaborated with lyricist John Perry Barlow.

While in the Dead, Weir also recorded and performed as a solo artist and with several side projects, including the bands Kingfish and Bobby and the Midnites.

Weir was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Grateful Dead in 1994.

After the group broke up following Garcia’s death in 1995, Weir launched the band RatDog and took part in a number of projects with other Grateful Dead alums.

In 2015, Weir co-founded the successful spinoff group Dead & Company, which also features longtime Grateful Dead drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, popular singer/guitarist John Mayer, ex-Allman Brothers Band bassist Oteil Burbridge and RatDog keyboardist Jeff Chimenti. The band recently announced they will launch a farewell tour next year.

Since 2018, Bob has also been touring with a project called Wolf Bros, which includes acclaimed bassist and producer Don Was and RatDog drummer Jay Lane. Weir is celebrating his 75th birthday with a trio of shows with Wolf Bros at the San Francisco theater The Warfield on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

This January, Weir will release an expanded 50th anniversary reissue of his 1972 debut solo album, Ace.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Sting has released an expanded, digital-only edition of his hit second solo album, 1987’s …Nothing Like the Sun, in honor of its 35th anniversary.

The updated version adds 14 bonus tracks to the album’s original 12 songs, including B-sides, remixes, alternate versions and instrumentals.

Originally released on October 5, 1987, the album peaked at #9 on the Billboard 200 and yielded two top-20 singles, “We’ll Be Together” and “Be Still My Beating Heart,” which reached #7 and #15, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also featured the gem “Englishmen in New York,” which was a minor chart hit.

Recorded just a few months after the death of Sting’s mother, …Nothing Like the Sun featured mainly subdued and introspective tunes, with the exception of the exuberant “We’ll Be Together.”

As Sting explained in the original liner notes, “I look back on this album, and I realize that the record is about my mother, although I didn’t see it at the time. It’s about mothers and daughters, mistresses and wives, sisters… Every song has one of these themes. It surprised me.”

Several noteworthy guitarists contributed to various tracks on the record, including Sting’s Police bandmate Andy Summers on “The Lazarus Heart,” Hiram Bullock on a cover of Jimi Hendrix‘s “Little Wing,” and Mark Knopfler and Eric Clapton on “They Dance Alone.”

Other contributors to the album included keyboardists Gil Evans and Kenny Kirkland, sax player Branford Marsalis and drummer Manu Katché.

Among the bonus tracks on the expanded edition of the album are multiple alternate versions and mixes of “Englishman in New York,” “Fragile” and “We’ll Be Together.”

Here’s the full track list:

“The Lazarus Heart”
“Be Still My Beating Heart”
“Englishman in New York”
“History Will Teach Us Nothing”
“They Dance Alone”
“Fragile”
“We’ll Be Together”
“Straight to My Heart”
“Rock Steady”
“Sister Moon”
“Little Wing”
“The Secret Marriage”
“Conversation with a Dog”*
“If You There”*
“Up from the Skies”*
“Someone to Watch Over Me”*
“Ghost in the Strand”*
“Englishman in New York” (Ben Liebrand Mix)*
“Englishman in New York” (Ben Liebrand Mix – Edit)*
“Fragile” (dj MONK’s Extended Vocal Remix Version)*
“Fragile” (dj MONK’s Radio Edit Version)*
“Fragile” (dj MONK’s Hard Rain Dub Version)*
“Fragile” (Bedroom Rockers Remix Version)*
“We’ll Be Together” (Extended Mix)*
“We’ll Be Together” (Alternate Version)*
“We’ll Be Together” (Instrumental)*

* = bonus tracks.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

This year marked the 50th anniversary of the release of Neil Young‘s landmark solo album, Harvest, and to commemorate the milestone, the folk-rock legend will release an expanded edition of the record on December 2.

The Harvest 50th Anniversary Edition box set, which can be preordered now, will be available in two physical versions offering the same content — a three-CD/two-DVD set and a collection featuring two vinyl LPs, a vinyl seven-inch disc and two DVDs.

The CD and vinyl box sets’ respective audio content includes the original Harvest album on one CD or LP, a recording of Young performing a solo acoustic set at the BBC in 1971 on a second CD or LP and three Harvest sessions outtakes on a third CD or the seven-inch vinyl disc.

The two DVDs feature a video of Young’s 1971 BBC performance and a previously unseen two-hour documentary filmed in 1971 that focuses on the making of Harvest. The box sets also include a hardbound book and fold-out poster, while the vinyl version comes with a lithograph print, as well.

Young’s rendition of his chart-topping Harvest hit “Heart of Gold” from the BBC performance has been released as an advance track from the box set and is available now via digital formats. A video of the performance has debuted on Young’s official YouTube channel.

A digital version of the Harvest 50th Anniversary Edition will also be released.

Released in February 1972, Harvest is Neil’s only solo album to top the Billboard 200. It features the aforementioned “Heart of Gold,” Neil’s only single to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and “Old Man,” which peaked at #31.

Here’s the Harvest 50th Anniversary Edition track list:

CD 1/LP 1: Harvest
“Out on the Weekend”
“Harvest”
“A Man Needs a Maid”
“Heart of Gold”
“Are You Ready for the Country?”
“Old Man”
“There’s a World”
“Alabama”
“The Needle and the Damage Done”
“Words (Between the Lines of Age)”

CD 2/LP 2: Neil Young Live In Concert at the BBC, February 1971
“Out on the Weekend”
“Old Man”
“Journey Through the Past”
“Heart of Gold”
“Don’t Let It Bring You Down”
“A Man Needs a Maid”
“Love in Mind”
“Dance Dance Dance”

CD 3/7-inch Vinyl: Harvest outtakes
“Bad Fog of Loneliness”
“Journey Through the Past”
“Dance Dance Dance”

DVD 1
Harvest Time (Two-hour film)

DVD 2
Neil Young Live in Concert at the BBC

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Red Hot Chili Peppers have premiered the video for “The Drummer,” a track off the band’s new album, Return of the Dream Canteen.

The clip finds the “Californication” outfit performing in a club of well-choreographed dancers. The song itself doesn’t identify the titular “Drummer,” only that they are “Leaning without any meaning/ Outside of the Club Troubadour,” which refers to the famed venue in — you guessed it — California.

You can watch “The Drummer” video streaming now on YouTube.

Return of the Dream Canteen, which also features the single “Tippa My Tongue” and the Eddie Van Halen tribute “Eddie,” is out now. It’s the second Chili Peppers album of 2022, following April’s Unlimited Love.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Jefferson Airplane was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday, and the three surviving members of the influential San Francisco band’s classic lineup — singer Grace Slick, guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bassist Jack Casady — attended the ceremony.

Before Slick, Kaukonen and Casady hit the podium to accept the honor, Doors drummer John Densmore gave a speech acknowledging the group’s main members, including late singer/guitarist Paul Kantner, vocalist Marty Balin and drummer Spencer Dryden.

Hollywood Chamber of Commerce chair Lupita Sanchez Cornejo, who emceed the event, then read a proclamation declaring it Jefferson Airplane Day in Hollywood.

Slick, who hasn’t appeared in public very often in recent years, began by declaring, “I am one lucky b****. I’ll tell you why. Jack and Jorma are … real musicians. I’m a screw-off who got lucky.” She then explained how, with little experience, she decided to be a rock singer after seeing Jefferson Airplane play in a small club and soon formed her own band, referring to her pre-Airplane group The Great Society.

“It turns out I did have the right voice for rock ‘n’ roll,” Slick noted. “It’s very loud, and I didn’t have any trouble singing over people.”

Also during her speech, she thanked a close female friend who she said saved her life a couple of months ago, revealing the friend got her to a hospital after she’d gone into septic shock.

In addition, Slick pointed out the hat she was wearing belonged to Kantner, who was the father of her only child, daughter China Kantner. “At least his DNA is here today,” she quipped.

You can watch the whole ceremony on the Walk of Fame’s official YouTube channel.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers‘ 1993 Greatest Hits compilation was released on the high-res Dolby Atmos format on Friday and is also available for streaming via Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited and Tidal.

The 18-track collection was mixed for Dolby Atmos by the late Tom Petty‘s frequent studio collaborator Ryan Ulyate.

Greatest Hits is Petty and the Heartbreakers’ bestselling release, having been certified 12-times Platinum by the RIAA for album-equivalent sales of over 12 million copies in the U.S.

The album included many of the most popular and enduring tunes that Petty recorded with his band and as a solo artist.

These include the top-20 hits “Don’t Do Me Like That,” “Refugee,” “The Waiting,” “You Got Lucky,” “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” “I Won’t Back Down” and “Free Fallin’.”

The compilation also featured two then-new tracks — “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” and a cover of Thunderclap Newman‘s 1969 classic “Something in the Air.” “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” went on to reach #14 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“It was a joy listening to the tapes and discovering all the sonic elements that went into each song, and then presenting them in a new, compelling and immersive way,” says Ulyate about remixing Greatest Hits. “The goal with this Atmos mix is simple: get people closer to the music they love by putting them inside it!”

He adds, “Greatest Hits has so many iconic recordings that fans have lived with and loved over the years. Several great producers and engineers contributed to these classic tracks. I did my best with the Atmos mix to give the music the respect it deserves.”

Here’s the full Greatest Hits track list:

“American Girl”
“Breakdown”
“Listen to Her Heart”
“I Need to Know”
“Refugee”
“Don’t Do Me Like That”
“Even the Losers”
“Here Comes My Girl”
“The Waiting”
“You Got Lucky”
“Don’t Come Around Here No More”
“I Won’t Back Down”
“Runnin’ Down a Dream”
“Free Fallin'”
“Learning to Fly”
“Into the Great Wide Open”
“Mary Jane’s Last Dance”
“Something in the Air”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

As previously teased, Green Day has announced a Nimrod reissue in honor of the album’s 25th anniversary.

The package will be available as a three-disc CD and five-LP vinyl collection on January 27. In addition to the original album, the reissue includes a host of previously unreleased demos, as well as a full live recording from a 1997 concert in Philadelphia.

Among the demos is a recording of an unreleased Green Day song called “You Irritate Me,” which you can listen to now via digital outlets, and a cover of Elvis Costello‘s “Alison.”

Nimrod, Green Day’s fifth album, was originally released October 14, 1997 — 25 years ago today. The record has been certified double Platinum by the RIAA, and spawned the singles “Hitchin’ a Ride” and “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).”

(Video contains uncensored profanity) 

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

We’ve got another taste of Bruce Springsteen‘s upcoming album of soul covers, Only the Strong Survive, which is due out November 11.

The Boss has released his take on The Commodores‘ “Nightshift,” a 1985 hit on which the group paid tribute to late soul music legends Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson.  The track inspired Bruce, his producer Ron Aniello and engineer Rob Lebret to dub themselves “The Nightshift” while working on the album. A video of Bruce performing the song in studio with string and horn sections, a small crowd in front, and dancers in the background, is also available now.

“Nightshift” follows the previously released track “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do),” originally recorded by Frank Wilson in 1965.

As previously reported, Only the Strong Survive features Sam Moore of Sam & Dave on backing vocals, along with E Street Band touring member Soozie Tyrell and others.  The covers range from songs by The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Walker Brothers, Jerry Butler and more.

Here’s the album’s full track list:

“Only the Strong Survive”
“Soul Days” — featuring Sam Moore
“Nightshift”
“Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)”
“The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore”
“Turn Back the Hands of Time”
“When She Was My Girl”
“Hey, Western Union Man”
“I Wish It Would Rain”
“Don’t Play That Song”
“Any Other Way”
“I Forgot to Be Your Lover” — featuring Sam Moore
“7 Rooms of Gloom”
“What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”
“Someday We’ll Be Together”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.