Classic Rock News

Nikki Sixx kickstarted his weekend by dissing Pearl Jam as “one of the most boring bands in history.”

The Mötley Crüe bassist was responding to an interview Eddie Vedder recently gave to The New York Times Magazine, in which the PJ frontman said he “despised” Sixx’s band.

“I hated it,” Vedder said of the “Girls, Girls, Girls” outfit. “I hated how it made the fellas look. I hated how it made the women look. It felt so vacuous. Guns N’ Roses came out and, thank God, at least had some teeth.”

In a tweet this past Saturday, Sixx fired back with, “Made me laugh today reading how much the singer in Pearl Jam hated @MotleyCrue.”

He added, “Now considering that [Pearl Jam is] one of the most boring bands in history it’s kind of a compliment isn’t it?”

Vedder, who’s currently on tour in support of his forthcoming solo album Earthling, has not yet publicly responded to Sixx’s comments.

Mötley Crüe, meanwhile, is preparing for the band’s long-in-the-works reunion tour, which is set to kick off this June, which has been delayed since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Last year, Roger Daltrey said that The Who would return to the stage in April of 2022, and he wasn’t lying.  The band has announced The Who Hits Back! Tour for North America, kicking off April 22 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

The spring leg of the tour wraps May 28 in Bethel, NY and the fall leg gets underway October in Toronto. Those dates are scheduled through two shows in Las Vegas on November 4 and 5. In May, for the first time in 43 years, the band will perform in Cincinnati, the site of the 1979 incident in which 11 people were killed when fans rushed the doors of the Riverfront Coliseum ahead of the Who’s show there.

The dates will feature the Who’s full live band — including Zak Starkey on drums, Jon Button on bass and Simon Townshend on guitar and vocals — as well as local orchestras.

In a statement, Daltrey says, “Pete and I said we’d be back, but we didn’t think we’d have to wait for two years for the privilege. This is making the chance to perform feel even more special this time around. So many livelihoods have been impacted due to Covid, so we are thrilled to get everyone back together — the band, the crew and the fans”.

We’re gearing up for a great show that hits back in the only way The Who know how: by giving it everything we’ve got,” Daltrey adds.

Tickets go on sale February 11 at 10 a.m. local time via LiveNation.com.  The Who Fan Club pre-sale starts Tuesday, February 8th at 10:00 a.m. local time and runs through Thursday, February 10th at 10:00 p.m. local time.

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On Friday, longtime Elton John guitarist and music director Davey Johnstone released his first solo album in almost 50 years, Deeper than My Roots.

Johnstone tells ABC Audio that the project started coming together when Elton’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour was postponed in 2020 album because of the COVID-19 pandemic and he unexpectedly found himself with extra time on his hands.

As he amassed new songs, aided by some lyrical help from his friend, actor and poet Rick Otto, Davey says he got the idea to enlist several of his musically inclined children to contribute to the album, which he notes became “a complete family affair.”

Early in the project, he asked his youngest son, Elliot, to sing on a track, while his son Charlie, an accomplished keyboardist, also played on that song and engineered it.

“[I]t was suddenly sounding really magical,” Johnstone notes, “and I thought, ‘Well, this could be the basis for this record. It could be…me writing all this material and then involving my kids.'”

Elliot wound up singing lead on most of the tracks. Johnstone reports that his other family members who contributed to the album included “my middle son, Jesse, [who] played drums remotely on about four, maybe five songs, [and my] eldest son, Tam, who…produced and mixed a couple of the tracks.”

Davey tells ABC Audio that he titled the album Deeper than My Roots because it’s “got a lot of different influences,” including 1960s and ’70s pop and rock, and “Scottish and Irish traditional music.”

Johnstone also reveals that his famous boss “was blown away” when he listened to the record, pointing out that Elton said, “[T]his is sweetest album I think I’ve ever heard,” and was particularly impressed by Elliot’s vocals.

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Oliver Wakeman, longtime Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman‘s oldest son who followed in his dad’s footsteps to play with the U.K. prog-rock legends from 2008 to 2011, will be releasing a new three-CD box set on April 11 featuring some of his noteworthy collaborative recordings.

Collaborations features expanded reissues of Oliver’s 2001 album with Yes guitarist Steve Howe, The 3 Ages of Magick, and his 2013 project Ravens & Lullabies, which he made with respected British folk and prog-rock guitarist Gordon Giltrap.

The box set’s third disc is a previously unreleased acoustic live album, From a Stage, recorded at a Christmas concert Oliver and Giltrap played several years ago with current Sweet lead singer Paul Manzi.

Ravens & Lullabies also features contributions from Manzi, as well as from ex-Yes frontman Benoît David.

The reissues of The 3 Ages of Magick and Ravens & Lullabies feature a few bonus tracks.

Collaborations comes packaged with a 16-page booklet and individual art prints of the three albums’ cover art.

In advance of the box set’s release, a new music video for the Ravens & Lullabies track “Moneyfacturing” has debuted on Oliver Wakeman’s official YouTube channel.

“This is one of my personal favorite band tracks I have ever written and recorded, allowing me to make use of a lot of my collection of keyboards,” Oliver says of the tune. “It is a radio-friendly song which also reminds people what a great electric guitar player Gordon is!”

You can pre-order the Collaborations box set now at BurningShed.com.

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Elton John‘s recently relaunched Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour has put him on top of a new weekly chart: Pollstar‘s Artist Power Index.

The ranking combines concert ticket sales data with streaming, radio airplay and social media of the top 1,000 artists to determine which ones are truly the most popular. The concert ticket sales data is more heavily weighted, since it usually generates the most revenue.

Elton tops the first chart, because not only is his tour doing well on the road, but he also is ranked fairly high when it comes to airplay and streaming. The top 10 also includes Elton’s former tour mate Billy Joel at #6, and Bryan Adams at #8. Further down the tally are Santana at #12 and Van Morrison at #23.

In coming up with the ranking, Pollstar takes into account headline performances over the last 30 days, and an average of ticket sales over the past 36 months.

Pollstar says the new ranking truly reflects “fan passion, audience consumption, and consumer engagement.”

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Longtime Elton John guitarist Davey Johnstone‘s first new solo album in nearly 50 years, Deeper than My Roots, got its release today.

Coinciding with the album’s arrival, Johnstone has premiered a music video for the first track, “Go Easy on My Heart,” a melodic ballad that, like most of the songs on Deeper than My Roots, is sung by Davey’s youngest son, Elliot.

The clip features Davey, Elliot and former Paul McCartney & Wings drummer Denny Seiwell performing the tune in what appear to be a rehearsal room.

As previously reported, Davey recorded Deeper than My Roots while Elton’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour was forced off the road because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to his son Elliot, a number of Davey’s other children contributed to the project. His son Charlie recorded many of the basic tracks at his home in California and contributed keyboard and backing vocals, and his son Jesse played drums on some of the songs. Also, Davey collaborated with his oldest son Tam and Jesse to write, record and produce the two instrumental tracks that are featured on the album, “Black Scotland” and “Walt Dizney,” while his daughter Juliet conceived and designed the cover art.

Meanwhile, Seiwell is featured on three tracks, while Davey’s longtime Elton John band mate Nigel Olsson plays drums on the Deeper than My Roots‘ lead single, the melancholy “Melting Snow.”

Deeper than My Roots also features a pair of bonus tracks, including a cover of The Beatles‘ “Here, There and Everywhere.”

Davey’s only other solo album, Smiling Face, was released in 1973. You can order Deeper than My Roots on CD now at CherryRed.co.uk and Amazon, while the record also is available via digital formats.

Here’s the Deeper than My Roots full track list:

“Go Easy on My Heart”
“One Look in Your Eyes”
“Meh Amour”
“Walt Dizney”
“Melting Snow”
“You Lied to Me”
“Deeper”
“Boxer in the Corner”
“Black Scotland”
“The Final Quarter”

Bonus Tracks
“Here, There and Everywhere”
“All the Time in the World”

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Robbie Robertson, the founding lead guitarist and main songwriter of The Band, joins the list of rock greats who have recently sold the rights to their music catalogs for big bucks.

Music Business Worldwide reports that Robertson’s music publishing, the rights to his name, image and likeness, and his recorded music interests to date have been acquired by the Los Angeles-based Iconoclast, a company launched by Olivier Chastan. Chastan is the former CEO of Eagles manager Irving Azoff‘s Iconic Artists Group.

Sources tell Variety that the deal had a $25 million price tag. According to Music Business Worldwide, the agreement doesn’t include the underlying publishing rights to The Band’s 1968 debut album, Music from Big Pink, which were owned by Bob Dylan, and passed to Universal when that company bought out Dylan’s catalog in 2020.

Among the classic songs Robertson composed for The Band are “The Weight,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and “Up on Cripple Creek.” Robbie also has had a significant career as a solo artist and as a film score composer.

Chastan tells Music Business Worldwide that as part of the agreement, Robertson has joined Iconoclast’s board and will serve as a creative adviser with the company.

Robbie says in a statement, “Olivier’s deep appreciation for art and creativity infused with his vision for the future of entertainment convinced me that Iconoclast was the right partner to entrust with the legacy of The Band and my catalog.”

Chastan, meanwhile, explains that he’s been a fan of Robertson since he first first heard Music from Big Pink when he was 13 years old, adding, “His sophisticated and cinematic songs changed my life and have never left my musical universe.”

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Dave Navarro, Taylor Hawkins and Chris Chaney have released their debut EP as NHC.

The four-track collection, titled Intakes & Outtakes, includes two new songs — “One and the Same” and “I Could Be Somebody Else” — as well as covers of Pink Floyd‘s “Fearless” and “Something About You” by English jazz-funk outfit Level 42.

“I’m really proud of this collection of songs as they really showcase the range that we like to explore collectively,” says Navarro. His Jane’s Addiction band mate Chaney adds, “This is a great batch of songs that covers an amalgamation of our combined styles and influences.”

Hawkins says, “We had tons of fun as usual creating these little gems.”

“If you can’t see the connection between what we do, what Pink Floyd does, and what Level 42 did well then you’re just not getting it,” the Foo Fighters drummer shares.

NHC made their debut last fall with the songs “Feed the Cruel” and “Better Move On.” They later followed those tracks with two more original tunes, “Devil That You Know” and “Lazy Eyes.”

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Introducing: FoOasis.

Dave Grohl guests on a new Liam Gallagher solo track, “Everything’s Electric.” The Foo Fighters frontman also co-wrote the song, which is set to appear on the ex-Oasis vocalist’s upcoming album, C’mon You Know.

It’s probably no surprise that Grohl is Team Liam, since Foo drummer Taylor Hawkins previously labeled Noel Gallagher a “jerk” after the High Flying Birds leader suggested starting a petition to “get the Foo Fighters to split up.

You can download “Everything’s Electric” now via digital outlets. Liam is set to give the song its live debut at the 2022 Brit Awards, taking place February 8.

C’mon You Know, Liam’s third solo effort, arrives May 27.

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Welcome to your 60s, Axl Rose!

The Guns N’ Roses frontman was born on February 6, 1962, 60 years ago this Sunday. He moved to Los Angeles in the early ’80s, and in 1985, Guns N’ Roses was formed with Rose on vocals, guitarists Slash and Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steven Adler, now referred to as the band’s classic lineup.

Two years later, GN’R released their debut album, Appetite for Destruction, which spawned hit singles in “Welcome to Jungle,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Paradise City,” and went on to become one of the best-selling records of all time.

GN’R followed Appetite with 1988’s GN’R Lies, and then 1991’s Use Your Illusion I and II. By then, drummer Adler had been fired from the group because of his drug use, and the band had earned a bad reputation due to destructive behavior on the road. Stradlin soon left, too.

Guns would release one more album, a covers compilation called “The Spaghetti Incident?”, in 1993, before Slash and McKagan eventually departed the group in 1996 and 1997, respectively.

Rose, the only remaining original member, continued to work on new GN’R music for a new album called Chinese Democracy, which would become one of the most notorious records in history while sitting in development hell for a decade before finally being released in 2008.

As Rose kept touring GN’R without his old band mates, fans wondered whether a reunion was ever possible. Finally, in 2016, Slash and McKagan rejoined for the Not in This Lifetime tour, a reference to Rose’s previous comments regarding a reunion. The run became the third highest-grossing tour of all time.

In between, Rose fronted AC/DC in 2016 in place of Brian Johnson, who was sidelined due to hearing issues.

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