Classic Rock News

June 2 marks the 45th anniversary of Bruce Springsteen’s fourth studio album, Darkness on the Edge of Town, and The Boss is giving fans a new way to appreciate it.

To celebrate the milestone, Springsteen has released a new 20-song playlist from the 1978 Darkness tour, featuring performances that were previously unavailable to streaming platforms. The playlist includes every song from the classic album, plus other bonus material. 

In addition, fans can celebrate the occasion by watching the 2010 Thom Zimny-directed documentary The Promise, which chronicles the making of the album, with a new trailer for the doc out now.

Released June 2, 1978, Darkness on the Edge of Town features several songs that went on to be Springsteen classics, including the title track, “Badlands,” “The Promised Land,” “Prove It All Night” and “Racing in the Streets.” The album peaked at #5 on the album chart and has been certified three-times Platinum by the RIAA.

Darkness has gone on to appear on several best-of lists, including Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Albums of All Times, landing at 91 in 2020.

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June 1 marked the 50th anniversary of Paul McCartney and Wings‘ James Bond theme “Live And Let Die,” and the music legend is looking back on the track in the latest Q&A posted to his website. 

McCartney says he can’t really believe it’s been 50 years since the song’s release, but admits “it’s always very weird when you get these kind of anniversaries because I don’t keep count.” He added, “It’s shocking really, but in a nice way. I think, ‘Where did the time go?’ It’s nice that the song has lasted though, and people still enjoy it.”

The song has become a staple in McCartney’s live set, complete with “big pyrotechnic explosions.” He says he loves “shocking people with the first bang,” but one time he thought that was going to be a problem.

Asked about his most memorable performance of the song, McCartney recalls an early performance where he saw a very old lady in the front of the audience.

“She was loving the show, and I’d started singing the opening lines of the song, ‘When you were young, and your heart was an open book…’ But then I looked at her and thought, ‘Oh God! We’re going to kill her! What do we do?'” he shares. “I carried on and got to the crucial bit, ‘Say live and let die’ and… BOOM! The explosions went off. I sheepishly looked over, expecting the worst, and she was going, ‘Yeah!’ She was loving it! So, we didn’t kill her; we thrilled her!” 

In honor of the anniversary, a new Dolby Atmos mix of “Live And Let Die” is out now. You can listen to it now via digital outlets.

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On This Day, June 2, 1941…

Drummer Charlie Watts was born in London, England.

After getting his start playing blues and jazz, Watts joined The Rolling Stones in 1963, and remained with the group for 58 years until his death.

Watts, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are the only three members of the band who appear on every Stones album. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the band in 1989.

Watts played his final show with the Stones on August 30, 2019. It was announced in August, 2021 that he was going to sit out of the Stones’ No Filter tour due to heart surgery. He passed away on August 24, 2021 at the age of 80.

Watts’ catalog of jazz recordings, covering a span of close to 20 years, is being celebrated with a new box set, Anthology, dropping June 30.

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The Beach Boys‘ 1966 album, Pet Sounds, is often considered one of the best albums of all times, and now fans have a new way to experience it. For the first time ever, Pet Sounds has been released with a new mix in Dolby Atmos, courtesy of music producer Giles Martin, son of Beatles producer George Martin.

Giles, who’s responsible for recent Dolby Atmos mixes of Beatles anniversary releases, was personally asked by The Beach Boys to remix Pet Sounds; by doing so he’s retained the album’s classic feel, while giving fans an immersive music experience.

“Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys is a game changing, iconic album that changed the face of popular music,” Giles shares. “It’s a fascinating record because it’s really the workings of a genius, Brian Wilson, that sort of had boundless enthusiasm for ideas and textures.”

He adds, “Moving Pet Sounds to Dolby Atmos means those worlds can be fully immersive, you can be surrounded by them, you can hear instruments that you never heard before, that are on the record, but they are now in a space where you can identify them.”

Finally he notes, “For me to be asked by The Beach Boys to work on this album was a huge honor. I was surprised and excited to get a chance to work on one of the most iconic albums of all time.” 

You can listen to it now via digital outlets. 

Released in May 1966, Pet Sounds features such classic Beach Boys songs as “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “God Only Knows,” “Sloop John B” and more. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA and in 2004 was chosen by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Recording Registry.

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Joan Jett & The Blackhearts are back with new music. The band just dropped the new digital EP, Mindsets, featuring six new tracks.

“The last several years have been tough ones on the whole world. These songs reflect the various ‘mindsets’ needed to make it through the day, the week, the year, or the next minute,” says Jett. “It’s a way to feel more connected to that big, beautiful, scary world out there, and in your head.”

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer adds, “The Blackhearts and I had an incredible experience writing, rehearsing, and recording these songs.”

The band has already released the first single from the record, “If You’re Blue,” and you can now listen to the entire EP via digital outlets.

Mindsets is the band’s first new music release since their acoustic album Changeup, which dropped in March, 2022.

Here is the track list for Mindsets:

“If You’re Blue”
“Whiskey Goes Good”
“Shooting Into Space”
“Rearview Mirror”
“Before the Dawn”
“(Make the Music Go) Boom”

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While the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart is known for his music, when he’s not onstage he loves making art. His latest collection, the Art of Mickey Hart, is going to be on display in June at two Wentworth Gallery locations, with Mickey set to make appearances at both of them. 

Mickey tells ABC Audio that his first interest in art was “quite accidental,” explaining that years ago while out shopping for a birthday gift for his young daughter he picked up an art kit and decided to bring it home.  

“She didn’t think much of it, but eventually I grabbed it and started using it,” he shares. “It was so sensuous; it was so attractive and it was so full of life that I just couldn’t put it down.”

Mickey says art is like “a mediation for him,” adding that it’s a “visual component” to his “sonic-driven world.”

“Life is full of beautiful colors,” he says. “These things just start to appear to me and they come out on, on the canvas or the wood or plastic” or whatever other medium he may be using.

Mickey says he feels great making his art, noting, “It’s uplifting, you know, it’s life giving.” He adds, “It’s all of those things that art does.” 

Mickey is set to appear at the Wentworth Gallery at Tysons Galleria in McLean, Virginia, on Sunday, June 4, at 2 p.m., followed by an appearance at the Wentworth Gallery at Short Hills Mall in New Jersey on June 23 at 6:30 p.m. More info on Mickey’s appearances can be found at wentworthgallery.com.

Of course, he’s also currently on tour with Dead & Company. They play Bristow, Virginia, on June 3. A complete list of dates can be found at deadandcompany.com.

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Foo Fighters‘ new album, But Here We Are, has officially arrived.

The 11th studio effort from Dave Grohl and company follows 2021’s Medicine at Midnight and marks the first Foos record following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in March 2022.

Following their massive tribute concerts to Hawkins last September, the future of Foo Fighters still remained in doubt until they revealed in a New Year’s Eve post that they intended to continue on as a band. In January, they started to schedule live shows, and in April, they announced But Here We Are alongside the debut of the lead single, “Rescued.”

In sharing the album news, a press release described But Here We Are as a “brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters endured over the last year.” Indeed, the lyrics for “Rescued” seemed to be about Hawkins’ death, while subsequently released songs “Under You,” “Show Me How” and the 10-minute “The Teacher” also reflected feelings of grief.

As the Foos continued to announce more concerts and the release date for But Here We Are drew closer, questions remained about who would be taking Hawkins’ place behind the kit. One report claimed that Pearl Jam and Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron had gotten the gig, though he denied it.

Ahead of their first scheduled show in May, Foo Fighters held a streaming concert revealing Josh Freese, who previously played with bands including Nine Inch Nails, Guns N’ Roses, A Perfect Circle and The Offspring, as their new drummer. During the stream, a conversation between Freese and Grohl suggested that the frontman handled drumming duties on But Here We Are.

Foo Fighters’ tour continues Friday in Germany and returns to the U.S. June 14 in Rogers, Arkansas.

Here’s the But Here We Are track list:

“Rescued”
“Under You”
“Hearing Voices”
“But Here We Are”
“The Glass”
“Nothing at All”
“Show Me How”
“Beyond Me”
“The Teacher”
“Rest”

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Guns N’ Roses returned to the stage Thursday in Abu Dhabi and treated the crowd to some songs they haven’t played in a very long time.

According to setlist.fm, the band performed a trio of songs that haven’t been part of their set list since the ’90s. They include the Use Your Illusion I track “Bad Obsession,” which they haven’t performed since February 1993; Use Your Illusion II’s “Pretty Tied Up,” not played since April 1992; and Appetite for Destruction’s “Anything Goes,” last played in August 1988.

The set also included a performance of the band’s UK Subs cover “Down on the Farm,” from The Spaghetti Incident. They haven’t played that song since December 2006.

In total, GNR played a 32-song set and treated the crowd to plenty of hits, including “Welcome To The Jungle,” “Don’t Cry,” “November Rain,” “Paradise City,” “Patience” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine.”

Guns N’ Roses’ next show takes place June 5 in Tel Aviv, Israel. A complete list of dates can be found at gunsnroses.com.

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U2 is scheduled to open the new Las Vegas venue The MSG Sphere in September with their new residency, U2: UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere, and it appears Bono took it upon himself to check out the new digs.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the band’s frontman was spotted visiting the venue last Saturday, while the band’s sound man of 45 years, Joe O’Herlihy, was spotted there Friday.

The outlet reports that Bono was there as they tested out the sound of the venue, with Madonna’s “Vogue” heard blasting through the sound system.

U2: UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere at The Venetian is set to kick off September 29 and run through December 16. A complete list of dates can be found at U2.com.

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Forbes is out with their list of America’s richest self-made women entrepreneurs, executives and entertainers, with Madonna, Dolly Parton and Barbra Streisand all nabbing spots on the list.

Madonna lands at #45 with $580 million, a number which is likely to increase with her upcoming Celebration tour, which kicks off July 15 in Vancouver.

Dolly, who last year was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, comes in at #59 with $440 million, while Babs, who in 2022 re-released her early live album Live at the Bon Soir, is close behind her at #61 with $430 mil.

The trio is just a handful of the famous names to make the list this year. Others include Oprah Winfrey at #13 with $2.5 billion, and Taylor Swift at #34 with $740 million.

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