Classic Rock News

The Smashing Pumpkins have announced a reissue of their 2000 album, Machina/The Machines of God, in honor of its 25th anniversary.

A deluxe vinyl box set, which also includes the companion record Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music and 32 bonus tracks, will be available on Aug. 22 exclusively through Billy Corgan‘s Madame Zuzu’s tea shop in Highland Park, Illinois.

“It’s taken some 25 years to finally release Machina as we in the band had hoped it would be, and with MadameZuzus.com as the only place one can get this expansive, 80-song collection, I personally could not be more proud,” says Corgan. “Machina was meant as our swan song, and it was truly a labor of love to bring it to fruition, however broken we were back then.”

The original Machina albums marked the final Smashing Pumpkins releases to feature the band’s classic lineup of Corgan, guitarist James Iha, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin and bassist D’Arcy Wretzky before they broke up in 2000. Corgan then reformed the band in 2006 with just Chamberlin, who left in 2009 before rejoining in 2015. Iha then came back in 2018.

“This set stands as a celebration and testament of will, for the songs alone have helped James, Jimmy, and I keep the faith,” Corgan says.

A standalone reissue of just Machina/The Machines of God will also be released on vinyl, CD and digital on Aug. 22.

Corgan has been playing songs off Machina on his Machines of God solo tour, which concludes Sunday in Minneapolis. The Pumpkins will launch an international tour in July.

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The music of the Ramones has gotten a sound upgrade.

Rhino just dropped a new box set, 1!2!3!4! The Ramones Atmos Collection. It features the band’s first four albums — Ramones, Leave Home, Rocket to Russia and Road to Ruin — in Dolby Atmos on Blu-ray audio, along with each album’s original stereo mixes in high-resolution.

The Atmos mixes of Leave Home, Rocket to Russia and Road to Ruin were handled by Ed Stasium, who originally engineered those three albums. Craig Leon, producer of the band’s 1976 self-titled debut, handled its remix.

“These Atmos mixes present the Ramones’ recordings with the clarity and power with which I always imagined hearing them,” Stasium says. “It might sound a bit cliché, but I find listening to them to be like seeing the sequence from The Wizard of Oz where the film morphs from black & white to color. These Dolby Atmos mixes are transforming the original mixes from 16mm black & white into vivid IMAX!”

The set, 1!2!3!4! The Ramones Atmos Collection, will be limited to 2,000 copies and is available now at Rhino.com.

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There’s no doubt plenty of people can say Paul McCartney’s music has played an important role in their life, and now the Beatles legend is revealing the albums that are just as important to him.

In his latest Q&A on his website, a fan shared that they’d recently been discussing albums and songs that have become the soundtrack to their life, and asked McCartney if there were any “albums that take you back to certain periods in your life.” 

McCartney named three, noting his “favorite albums by other people” are 1968’s Music from Big Pink by The Band, 1966’s Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys and 1972’s Harvest by Neil Young.

“They are the three classics that I love to listen to, and they all remind me of certain times in my life,” he says.

McCartney also shared that performing his own music can also spark special memories for him.

“When I perform my own songs, the great thing is that they often bring back memories of recording them,” he says. “That can often entail memories of John and George in the studio – sweet memories!,” referring to his late bandmates John Lennon and George Harrison.

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Much like time, Metallica marches on, and that doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon. At least, as long as Kirk Hammett has his way.

Speaking to Metal Hammer about the possibility of him hanging his guitar up, Hammett declares, “I don’t believe in retirement.”

“Retirement is something that’s been forced onto people; I don’t believe musicians are allowed to retire!” Hammett says. “This was the thinking of all musicians for the last century; because you’ve earned the right to be up there onstage, you have to fulfill that responsibility to the very end.”

“The goal was to die onstage!” he continues. “Playing music is a gift, a blessing and a privilege. I love what I do and it’s magic – it helps people. So I can’t walk away from that.”

Despite Hammett’s own feelings on retirement, he’ll help Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne say goodbye when Metallica performs at the massive Back to the Beginning concert on July 5.

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When Gary Rossington, the last original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, passed away in 2023, the band decided to continue on, and it turns out, that could mean new music in the future.

The band recently announced a new label deal with Frontiers SRL and in a new interview with Classic Rock magazine, frontman Johnny Van Zant suggests a new album isn’t out of the question. He says that in 2020 they put out a new song “The Last of the Street Survivors,” and there had been plans for more.

“We were headed to doing a new studio album, and then Gary’s health got really bad,” he says. “There are other songs written with Gary before he died that we could record. We will leave that door open for the future.”

He notes that it’s all a matter of if they have the time, sharing, “For me, Skynyrd always made great records, but it was a live band, and that’s still true today.”

“When I first joined [in 1987] we were all still into drinking and having a party on stage – just like the audience – but nowadays we soak that music up,” he says. “It’s become more of a spiritual thing, and we never, ever phone it in. That’s something I’m very proud of.”

Lynyrd Skynyrd will release the live album and DVD, Celebrating 50 Years – Live at the Ryman, on Friday. It’s a recording of the band’s historic 50th anniversary concerts, which took place in November 2022. They were the band’s last shows with Rossington before his death.

Skynyrd’s next concert is happening Friday in Barcelona, Spain. They return to the U.S. for shows starting Aug. 1 in Saratoga, California. A complete list of dates can be found at LynyrdSkynryd.com

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Rod Stewart is making the most of his upcoming performance at the U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival.

He’s teamed up with the charity Water Aid to design a public toilet for the festival that’s — we kid you not — shaped like a giant boombox. Dubbed the “Boombox Bog” — bog is British slang for toilet — it features Rod Stewart cassette tapes affixed to the walls, a neon sign in the shape of a pair of headphones, and a leopard-print seat, because Rod has a fondness for that pattern.

While you’re using the facilities, you’ll hear Rod’s biggest hits and “specially recorded water-themed messages from the man himself,” according to a press release.  The whole thing is located near the festival’s main Pyramid Stage, where Rod is performing on Sunday.

“I’ve spent my life singing to packed arenas and festival crowds, but nothing hits a high note quite like clean water and a decent loo,” Rod says in a statement. “They might not be sexy, but they’re life-changing.”

“That’s why I’ve teamed up with WaterAid to bring our funky Boombox Bog to Glastonbury Festival and shine a light on the importance of these everyday essentials that millions still live without,” he adds. “Together, we’re creating change that’s gonna last forever.”

As Water Aid notes, nearly one in 10 people around the world don’t live near a clean water source, and almost one in five don’t have a decent toilet of their own.

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While Dead & Company are playing three nights in San Francisco in August to mark the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary, those won’t be the only shows celebrating the band’s enduring legacy.

Grahame Lesh & Friends are set to host a three-night concert series, The Heart of Town, put on by The San Francisco Giants and Relix. The concerts will take place July 31-Aug. 2 at San Francisco’s Pier 48 in Mission Rock, near Oracle Park.

Grahame, son of the late Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, will be joined on the bill by Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith of Dawes, John Medeski, Duane Betts, Neal Francis and others.

While the July 31 show starts at 8 p.m., the Aug. 1 and 2 shows coincide with the first two nights of Dead & Company’s Golden Gate Park stand, so they won’t start until 11 p.m. As a press release notes, this way “the music never stops.”

“I’m so thrilled to be among the countless Deadheads flocking to beautiful San Francisco to celebrate 60 years of the Grateful Dead – the timeless music of my father Phil and his dear friends – in Golden Gate Park with Dead & Company,” Grahame shares. “And I know that San Francisco will be filled with that music all weekend. I’m honored to contribute to that with all of my friends at The Heart of Town.”

Various presales will kick off Friday at 10 a.m. PT, with tickets going on sale to the general public starting Monday at 10 a.m. PT. There will also be three-day passes available, which go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. PT.

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Scorpions are celebrating their 60th anniversary with a new compilation album.

The German rockers are set to drop From the First Sting on Sept. 26, a 16-track, career-spanning collection that features such hits as “Rock You Like a Hurricane,” “Wind of Change” and “No One Like You,” along with two previously unreleased songs, “This Is My Song” and “Still Loving You,” the latter of which features a guest appearance by British violinist Vanessa Mae.

The compilation will be released in the U.S. on CD and two-LP. It is available for preorder now. In Europe and the rest of the world it will be released on two-LP or two-CD, and as a deluxe two-LP/two-CD set.

Next up for Scorpions, they play the Rock Imperium Festival in Murcia, Spain, on Friday. They’re also set to continue their anniversary festivities in Sin City with the five night Scorpions – Coming Home to Las Vegas 60th Anniversary Las Vegas Residency, kicking off Aug. 14 at PH Live at Planet Hollywood.

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The Pretenders are set to reissue their greatest hits collection.

The Chrissie Hynde-led band will rerelease their 1987 compilation, The Singles, on two-LP and CD with remastered audio on Aug. 15.

The 16-track album features Pretenders classics like “Brass in Pocket,” “Back on the Chain Gang,” “Talk of the Town,” “Middle of the Road,” and “Don’t Get Me Wrong,” as well as their cover of the Sonny & Cher classic “I Got You Babe.”

The Singles is available for preorder now.

The news comes just a week after the Pretenders treated their fans to a new live album. They released Pretenders Live – Kick ‘Em Where It Hurts! on June 20, featuring live performances recorded during the band’s 2024 theater tour.

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Bob Dylan broke out one of his classic songs in Tennessee Wednesday night for the first time in more than a decade.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer performed a slow version of his 1964 classic “The Times They Are A-Changin'” on piano during his set at the Outlaw Music Festival in Franklin, Tennessee.

According to Rolling Stone, the last time Dylan performed the song was 15 years ago during a February 2010 event at the White House honoring the civil rights movement.

Dylan’s next stop on the Outlaw Music Festival is happening Friday in Memphis, with the final show set for Sept. 19 in Troy, Wisconsin. A complete list of dates can be found at BobDylan.com.

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