Classic Rock News

Joni Mitchell is giving fans another preview of her upcoming box set, Archives, Vol. 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980), due out Oct. 4.

The legendary singer just released a demo of “Traveling (Hejira),” which was recorded in March 1976 at A&M Studios in Hollywood, California.

Archives, Vol. 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980) features early recordings and alternate takes from Joni’s albums Hejira, Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter and Mingus, plus the 1980 live album Shadows and Light. It also includes live recordings from Mitchell’s time on Bob Dylan‘s Rolling Thunder Revue, which ran from 1975 to 1976 and also included Joan Baez and Roger McGuinn, among others.

It will be released digitally and as a six-CD set, plus there’s a four-LP set, Joni Mitchell Archives – Volume 4 Highlights: The Asylum Years (1976-1980), featuring Joni’s personal favorites from the CD set. All options come with a book with never-before-seen photos and liner notes that include a discussion between Mitchell and filmmaker Cameron Crowe about this five-year period of her career.

All formats are available for preorder now.

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Green Day has shared three of the bonus tracks included on the band’s upcoming 20th anniversary American Idiot reissue.

The recordings include a demo of “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” a VH1 Storytellers performance of “St. Jimmy” and the B-side “Governator,” which is a throwback to when Arnold Schwarzenegger was the governor of California.

You can listen to them all now via digital outlets.

The American Idiot reissue is due out Oct. 25. The album’s anniversary is Sept. 21.

Green Day is currently on tour playing American Idiot in full in honor of its 20th anniversary. They’re also playing Dookie in full to celebrate its 30th anniversary and supporting their new album, Saviors.

(“St. Jimmy” video contains uncensored profanity.) 

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Elton John is giving fans a sneak peek at his upcoming documentary, Elton John: Never Too Late, which will look back on the legendary performer’s 50-year career as he prepares for his final North American show at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has shared some exclusive photos from the doc with People, including shots of him and his band after the Dodger Stadium show in November 2022, and one of him FaceTiming with his 13-year-old son Zachary. 

There’s also a photo of him onstage with John Lennon at Madison Square Garden in 1974, and another of them backstage together. Lennon was a surprise guest at that concert, and it wound up being his last live concert performance ever.

Other photos include one of Elton lying on a couch backstage at MSG in 1974; a performance shot from the ’70s, where he’s banging on the piano with his boot; a shot of him in the studio while recording “Hold Me Closer,” his 2022 collab with Britney Spears; and one of him on his private plane, The Starship, during his 1974 tour.

Elton John: Never Too Late is set to premiere Friday at the Toronto Film Festival. It will stream on Disney+ starting Dec. 13.

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On This Day, Sept. 6, 1968 …

George Harrison asked Eric Clapton to contribute a guitar solo to his new Beatles song, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”

Clapton initially declined Harrison’s request, saying “nobody ever plays on Beatles records,” but Harrison eventually convinced him to participate, and Clapton recorded the solo that night.

The song appeared on the band’s album The Beatles, also known as The White Album, which was released in November 1968. The track was one of Harrison’s songs on the album. It went on to be an iconic track for him and has often made it on lists of the greatest guitar songs of all time.

Harrison eventually paid Clapton back for his contribution by cowriting and playing guitar on Cream’s “Badge.”

Harrison and Clapton performed “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” live together several times. In November 2002 Clapton performed the tune at the Concert for George at London’s Royal Albert Hall backed by a band that included Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. The concert took place on the one-year anniversary of Harrison’s death.

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Bonnie Raitt is one of the many artists contributing songs to the upcoming benefit album Better Than Jail, aimed at raising awareness and support for improving our criminal justice system.

The album, due out Oct. 4, features covers of iconic prison songs. Other artists contributing to the project include Steve Earle, Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires, Lukas Nelson, Margo Price, Old Crowe Medicine Show, Taj Mahal and The War and Treaty.

The first single released from the record is Earle’s cover of The Crickets’ classic “I Fought the Law,” which is available now via digital outlets.

“I didn’t get an electric guitar until I was 26,” Earle shares. “This was the first song I wanted to play. Covering it now for a cause so close to my heart is a gift.”

Proceeds from the album will benefit two organizations, Equal Justice USA and Free Hearts. 

“Musicians have been singing about the failures of our justice system long before the US exploded into the most incarcerated country in the world,” Brian Hunt, Better Than Jail producer and president of Believe Entertainment Group, shares. “These iconic artists breathe new life into storied songs, empowering the organizations who address this issue head on. We must do more to improve our criminal justice system, and this album harnesses the transformative power of music to rally the call.”

Better Than Jail is available for preorder now.

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The history of two legendary music venues will be explored in books set for release in October.

This Ain’t No Disco: The Story of CBGB, about the famed New York punk club CBGB that launched the careers of bands like the Ramones, Blondie and Talking Heads, will be reissued with bonus material on Oct. 15.

The book from author Roman Kozak with photos by Ebet Roberts was originally released in 1988 and has long been out of print. It’s described as “a detailed warts-and-all history, with memories, stories and gossip from dozens of insiders who worked, played or just hung out at CBGB.”

The new edition features an added forward by Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz, plus new photographs and added pieces about the club’s 2006 closing.

Also coming out on Oct. 15 is Marquee: The Story of the World’s Greatest Music Venue by Robert Sellers and Nick Pendleton. The book, which was previously released in the U.K. but will now be available in North America, delves into the history of London’s Marquee, opened by Nick’s father, Harold Pendleton.

The Marquee originally opened as a jazz club in 1958 but later transitioned to rock, with bands like Jethro Tull, Yes and Genesis playing the venue in the early days of their careers. The Rolling Stones played their first-ever show there in July 1962, with artists like the Police, the Jam, Adam and the Ants, Iron Maiden and Def Leppard also playing there.

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Bruce Springsteen’s filmography will be the focus of a new event put on by the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music. 

Springsteen on Screen: From the Vault with Thom Zimny will take place Sept. 28 as part of a celebration of The Boss’ upcoming 75th birthday, which is Sept. 23. 

Director and longtime Springsteen collaborator Thom Zimny will be on hand for the event, where he’ll talk about his work “documenting, preserving, and interpreting Springsteen’s legendary, 50-plus year career.”

He’ll also show footage from the many films he’s made with The Boss, including 2001’s Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: Live in New York City; the 2018 Netflix film Springsteen on Broadway; and the 2020 documentary about the making of Letter To You. He’ll also show a preview of the Hulu documentary Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, set to debut on Oct. 25.

“We look forward to another memorable evening with Thom Zimny as he shares with us rare and intimate glimpses into the life of Bruce Springsteen,” Eileen Chapman, the director for the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music, shares. “Thom’s films will show the history of Bruce’s prolific career and will give us an intimate look into the mind that created such amazing music.” 

The event will take place at the Pollak Theatre on the campus of Monmouth University in Monmouth, New Jersey. Tickets go on sale Monday at 12 p.m.

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The Rolling Stones are out to improve the way you hear their music on the go.

The band has teamed with Speaqua Sound for a limited-edition portable and waterproof speaker collection. The line is made up of three of Speaqua’s models, each decorated with The Stones’ iconic lips and tongue logo.

“This collection is where the rebellious spirit of rock and roll meets Speaqua’s cutting-edge, adventure-ready design,” reads the description. “Celebrating The Rolling Stones’ unparalleled influence on global music, the collaboration embodies Speaqua’s mission to bring more music to more places.”

The three models are The Cruiser H2.0, which is a small to-go speaker that comes with a bottle opener, and the Barnacle Pro 2.0 and Barnacle Vibe 3.0, which feature a mounting station and store up to 2,000 songs.

They are available to order now at speaqua.com.

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Sting is getting ready to launch his North American tour with his new STING 3.0 power trio, and now they have a new song to play onstage.

It’s called “I Wrote Your Name (Upon My Heart)” and it’s the former Police man’s first new music since his 2021 album, The Bridge. It features guitarist Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas, the other two members of the trio. The uptempo love song, rooted in the classic Bo Diddley beat, finds Sting singing in a more gravelly voice than usual, “I wrote your name upon my heart/ So I’d remember if ever we should part/ When I got lost inside life’s game/ I’d look into my heart and find your name.”

The Sting 3.0 theater tour kicks off Sept. 17 in Detroit and is set to wrap up Nov. 13 in Los Angeles.

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