Classic Rock News

Most music fans have albums they simply can’t live without, and Mike Reno is no exception. In an interview with AXS TV, the Loverboy frontman reveals the five albums he’d want with him if he was stranded on a deserted island.

Topping the list is 1969’s Led Zeppelin, with Reno saying the band’s debut album “changed everything” for him. He called it “the best thing I’d heard in many years.”

Next on his list is Chicago’s 1971 release, Chicago Live at Carnegie Hall, sharing that he loved the double album so much, “I played them until I had to buy a second copy.” That was followed by Styx’s 1976 release, Crystal Ball, with Reno noting he wasn’t into Styx until Tommy Shaw joined the band. “That took it over the edge for me.”

Coming in at four is Steely Dan’s 1972 album, Can’t Buy A Thrill, with Reno saying it’s an album he “always has to listen to, even to this day.” Elton John’s 1973 classic Goodbye Yellow Brick Road rounds out the top five.

“It was a time in my youth that was one of the happiest times in my life,” Reno says of listening to Elton’s album. “To this day, when I hear Yellow Brick Road, the song in particular, I just go right back to the place I grew up when I was a youngster, about 17, and it takes me right back to the beginning and I loved it.”

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Metallica has announced an update to the bill for the band’s upcoming show in Phoenix on September 9, which was rescheduled from September 3 due to frontman James Hetfield testing positive for COVID-19.

Opener Ice Nine Kills will no longer be playing the rescheduled date and have been replaced by Suicidal Tendencies. Five Finger Death Punch will remain on the lineup.

The Phoenix show is part of Metallica’s ongoing M72 tour, during which the metal legends are playing two shows in each city with completely different set lists. On the U.S. leg, Pantera and Mammoth WVH have been opening the first night, while Ice Nine Kills and Five Finger Death Punch have provided support for the second.

Ahead of Hetfield’s COVID diagnosis, Metallica played the first Phoenix show on September 1, though the set was cut two songs short.

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“Margaritaville” singer Jimmy Buffett passed away Friday, September 1, after a four-year battle with Merkel cell skin cancer, a rare and aggressive form of skin cancer, and his family says he stayed positive all the way until the end.  

His sister Laurie Buffett McGuane tells People she and Jimmy spent his final days reminiscing about their childhood,” noting, “We would repeat stories, and Jimmy would laugh and nod his head to let us know that he remembered.” 

She shares, “I have never seen Jimmy depressed ever. Not even at the end. We all like to joke and laugh and that was very much Jimmy,” adding, “he brought joy to so many.”

Laurie’s husband, Tom McGuane, a longtime friend of the singer, noted Jimmy “was always high-spirited, fun-loving, hard working and creative,” sharing, “It is remarkable to be able to say that he remained the same during the last month of his life. His sense of humor was fully intact. God bless him for keeping himself that way.”

Now with Jimmy gone, Laurie is having a hard time imagining what the future will be like without her brother. “When Jimmy was in the world, I felt safe,” she says. “Even though I have Tom, it will be a whole new thing for me to be without my brother Jimmy.”

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An autographed copy of Led Zeppelin’s classic album Houses of the Holy sold for big bucks at auction, and it didn’t even contain the actual album. 

According to the BBC, the cardboard sleeve of the 1973 release, featuring the signatures of all four members of the iconic band, sold for over $18,000, well above the estimated selling price of between $1,500 and $2,200.

The inclusion of drummer John Bonham’s signature made the item a rare find, which resulted in what is believed to be the highest sale price for an autographed copy of the album. This is despite the lack of the actual record and the sleeve being slightly worn out in the corners.

“We were thrilled to achieve this astonishing result for this set of Led Zeppelin autographs 50 years on from the original release of Houses of the Holy,” Andrew Smith, music and memorabilia specialist at Gildings Auctioneers in Leicestershire, England, tells the BBC. “Thanks to the extreme rarity of full sets of the band’s signatures, this album cover represented a holy grail for collectors determined to own a very special piece of music memorabilia.”

Houses of the Holy was Led Zeppelin’s fifth studio album. It featured such Zeppelin classics as “The Song Remains the Same,” “The Rain Song” and “Dancing Days.”

(A previous version of this story published on 9/5/23 erroneously identified the winning bid as $15,000 in the headline. The headline has been updated to correct the error.) 

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The Osbournes are back, in podcast form.

The heavy metal family’s audio series will return after a five-year hiatus beginning September 12. Ozzy and Sharon will be joined by kids Jack and Kelly for the show.

“Nothing is off limits,” Sharon tells Rolling Stone, to which Kelly replies, “I wish there were things that were off limits.”

You can get a preview of said no-limits discussions in the podcast’s trailer, which is streaming now on YouTube.

The first season of The Osbournes podcast premiered in 2018 and featured 10 episodes. That, of course, followed The Osbournes TV show, which aired from 2002-2005.

The Osbourne family is also set to return to the TV world with the upcoming series Home to Roost, which will document Ozzy and Sharon’s move back to the U.K. after years of living in Los Angeles.

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Foreigner is currently on their Farewell Tour, but it looks like they aren’t saying goodbye to the road that quickly. In a new interview with Rock Show Critique, bassist Jeff Pilson confirmed the band will still be on the road next year.

Pilson told the show that the tour has been “going great,” adding, “the attendance has been really crazy. We’re freaking out at how many people are coming.” He then revealed that fans will have even more chances to see them.  

“I can’t give you all the details, but yes, we will be touring through 2024,” he said when pressed about their future plans. “And there is a major tour in mind, and we’ll be announcing it shortly so you’ll hear about it.” 

Foreigner’s Farewell tour hits Airway Heights, Washington, on September 22. A complete list of dates can be found at foreigneronline.com.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

An autographed copy of Led Zeppelin’s classic album Houses of the Holy sold for big bucks at auction, and it didn’t even contain the actual album. 

According to the BBC, the cardboard sleeve of the 1973 release, featuring the signatures of all four members of the iconic band, sold for over $18,000, well above the estimated selling price of between $1,500 and $2,200.

The inclusion of drummer John Bonham’s signature made the item a rare find, which resulted in what is believed to be the highest sale price for an autographed copy of the album. This is despite the lack of the actual record and the sleeve being slightly worn out in the corners.

“We were thrilled to achieve this astonishing result for this set of Led Zeppelin autographs 50 years on from the original release of Houses of the Holy,” Andrew Smith, music and memorabilia specialist at Gildings Auctioneers in Leicestershire, England, tells the BBC. “Thanks to the extreme rarity of full sets of the band’s signatures, this album cover represented a holy grail for collectors determined to own a very special piece of music memorabilia.”

Houses of the Holy was Led Zeppelin’s fifth studio album. It featured such Zeppelin classics as “The Song Remains the Same,” “The Rain Song” and “Dancing Days.”

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Former Yes guitarist Trevor Rabin is giving fans another preview of his upcoming solo album, Rio, dropping the new track “Push.” 

“For this song I was thinking of the horror of politics and politicians,” Rabin shares. “Once Vinnie Colaiuta played drums on this, it inspired me to redo some of the instrumentation. Vinnie‘s performance lifted this song beyond what I imagined.”

You can listen to “Push” now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying video streaming on YouTube.

Rio is Rabin’s first album in 34 years on which he sings; his last album with vocals was 1989’s Can’t Look Away. “Push” is the second song he’s released from the album following “Big Mistakes.”

Rio is due out October 6 and is available for preorder now.

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Paul McCartney’s original Höfner bass guitar has been missing for years, but now some folks are trying to change that. 

The Lost Bass Project is a global search to find the instrument, which has been described as “the most important bass in history.” The two-time Rock & Roll hall of Famer purchased the bass in Hamburg, Germany, in 1961, but eight years later, it disappeared, reportedly after being put away following the filming of 1969’s Get Back.

Nick Wass, who has written articles about the missing instrument, has teamed with two BBC News journalists, Scott and Naomi Jones, to try and track down the bass, which McCartney used on such classic Beatles classics as “Love Me Do” and “She Loves You.” Wass tells the BBC, “For most people, they will remember it… it’s the bass that made the Beatles.”

While Beatles guitars have sold for big bucks at auction, The Lost Bass Project isn’t searching for it for financial gain, even though they realize if someone finds it, they may try to make money off it.

“It would be nice if it could go on public display one day – and if the only way someone is going to come forward is to make some money from it, then so be it, because at least it would be found,” Scott Jones says. “But ultimately we’re just doing this to get Paul his guitar back. We know via Nick and Höfner that it’s what he’s always wanted.” 

Since launching, The Lost Project has gotten hundreds of tips regarding the missing bass. As for how to identify it, it will have the Höfner logo written vertically on the headstock. It also had the pearl pick guard removed and the two pickups mounted in a single piece of black wood.

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Bruce Springsteen has been getting a lot of flack for not changing up his set lists during his current tour with the E Street Band, but he still drops in some surprises for fans, and that certainly was the case for the final night of his three-night stand at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. 

According to setlist.fm, the Sunday, September 3, show featured the tour debut of The River track “Two Hearts,” the first time he performed the song with the E Street Band since 2017. Other set list additions included “Something In The Night,” “Spirit in the Night” and “Atlantic City.” “Spirit in the Night” was also performed during the MetLife show on September 1, marking the tour debut of the track.

The encore also had The Boss veering from the normal show, with the inclusion of “Jungleland” and “Detroit Medley,” ending the night with “Jersey Girl” instead of the usual “I’ll See You In My Dreams.” 

Next up, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band bring their tour to Syracuse, New York, on September 7. A complete list of dates can be found at brucespringsteen.net.

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