Classic Rock News

The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood doesn’t seem too keen on modern music.

Wood and The Who‘s Roger Daltrey recently attended a launch event in London for a new book about Buddy Holly. During a Q&A Wood shared his thoughts on music today, The Standard reports.

“We were throwing s*** at the wall and some of it stuck,” he said of The Stones’ music. “There’s something about the technology I feel personally, we’re losing the essence of the heartbeat.”

He added, “Maybe it’s because I’m older, but there’s not much new music.”

Words Of Love: Buddy Holly was conceived in 2017 by Daltrey and features cover art from Wood. It shares Holly’s life and legacy through never-before-seen photos and personal items, along with stories by his widow, María Elena Holly, and contributions from artists like Eric Clapton, Robert Plant, Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Pete Townshend, Van Morrison and Queen‘s Brian May.

The book is being released April 8, with proceeds going to Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America, the cancer charities co-founded by Daltrey and Townshend.

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Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and Cheap Trick are set to headline the main stage at the upcoming Taste of Minnesota festival, July 5 and July 6 in downtown Minneapolis.

The rockers will play opening day of the festival, with rapper Ludacris playing day two.

Taste of Minnesota, an outdoor music and food festival, is free and open to the public. More info can be found at taste-of-minnesota.square.site.

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts’ next show is April 12 in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. They are also set to join Billy Idol on his It’s A Nice Day To …Tour Again tour, starting April 30 in Phoenix, Arizona. A complete list of dates can be found at JoanJett.com.

Cheap Trick is currently on Heart’s Royal Flush tour, which hits Montreal on Wednesday. They also have several other dates on the schedule, including an appearance at New Orleans’ Jazz Fest on April 25. A complete list of dates can be found at CheapTrick.com.

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Who Believes in Angels?, Elton John‘s collaborative album with Brandi Carlile, comes out on April 4. And Elton says he really hopes it will make people all over the world sit up and take notice of his Grammy-winning pal.

Speaking to Billboard, Elton says, “My ambition for her with this album was to break her internationally. She’s a well-known artist in America, but in the rest of the world, she has a lot of work to do.”

Noting that Brandi “blew people away” when she performed in England last year, he adds, “This album hopefully will open all those doors that she deserves to walk through and become the international artist that she should be.”

Elton says as much as he hopes they’ll make another album, he wants her to do her own album first, “because we don’t want to become Steve and Eydie.” Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé were a married pop vocal duo who were popular in the ’60s. 

And as far as his own recording plans, Elton is clear that Who Believes in Angels? won’t be his last album — especially because the final song, “When This Old World Is Done With Me,” is about his own mortality.

“I don’t want it to be the last song people hear about me,” he says. “I’ve got more songs in me than that.”

In other Brandi/Elton collab news, a New York City pop-up store will be open Friday and Saturday, selling Who Believes in Angels? vinyls and merch, as well as archival Elton merch. The pop-up at 19 E. Houston St. will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET.

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Bruce Springsteen has confirmed that the cryptic tease he posted on Tuesday had to do with the release of the long-awaited Tracks II.

Although he didn’t share full details, The Boss’ latest Instagram post reveals he will be sharing news of what he’s calling Tracks II: The Lost Albums on Thursday.

Springsteen first teased fans with news of an announcement by posting a recording session log from his Thrill Hill Recording company, with the date April 3 written on the top. Written on the document was the statement, “What was lost has now been found.” The name “Springsteen” is stamped at the bottom.

The original Tracks, released in 1998, was a four-disc set that contained 66 songs, comprised of single B-sides, demos and alternate versions of already-released material. Many of the songs on the set had never been released before.

A possible follow-up is something Springsteen has talked about in the past. When asked about it in 2022, he told Rolling Stone, “Yes. I have a box set of five unreleased albums that are basically post-1988.”

The project was also teased in a December press release from his publicist, which noted, “Upcoming releases in 2025 will include a look back at Springsteen’s storied recording career, featuring never-before-heard material.”

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Chicago is set to revisit their 1970 album, Chicago II, with a new Dolby Atmos mix from famed producer Steven Wilson.
 

Chicago II (Steven Wilson Remix) will drop April 25 on Blu-ray through Rhino.com, with a two-LP black vinyl set dropping May 23.

The new release marks the first Dolby Atmos mix of Chicago II, which peaked at #4 on the Billboard Albums chart and featured three top-10 hits: “25 or 6 to 4,” which went to #4, “Colour My World,” which hit #7, and “Make Me Smile,” which hit #9.

“When I first heard it as a teenager, I was captivated by the mixture of jazz, blues, pop, classical, progressive and heavy rock styles, including both improvisational elements and intricate arrangements, and by songs written and sung by several different members, all with their own unique personality,” Wilson says of the album. “How could that possibly hang together?! But it does, and brilliantly so.”

Chicago II (Steven Wilson Remix) is available for preorder now.

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On This Day, April 2, 2013…

Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora left the group ahead of the band’s show in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The New Jersey rockers were on their Because We Can Tour, in support of their 12th studio album, What About Now.

Sambora, who had been with Bon Jovi since 1983, never returned to group, and was eventually replaced by guitarist Phil X.

Although there were rumors that Sambora had been fired, both he and frontman Jon Bon Jovi denied that was true. Years later Sambora said he left the band to spend more time with his family.

Since his departure, Sambora has only played with Bon Jovi one other time, at their 2018 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, where the band performed “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “It’s My Life,” “When We Were Us” and “Livin’ on a Prayer.”

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Bruce Springsteen has paid tribute to his childhood friend Joe DePugh, who inspired his hit Born in the U.S.A. track “Glory Days.” According to The New York Times, DePugh died of cancer at the age of 75.

“Just a moment to mark the passing of Freehold native and ballplayer Joe DePugh,” Springsteen wrote on social media. “He was a good friend when I needed one.”

Springsteen then added a quote from the song, “He could throw that speedball by you, make you look like a fool,” adding, “Glory Days my friend.”

“Glory Days” was the fifth single Springsteen released off Born in the U.S.A., peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, the fifth of seven top 10 songs released from the album. Springsteen has said that the first verse of the song was inspired by a chance encounter with DePugh in a bar in 1973.

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There have been a lot of books written about The Beatles over the years, and now a new one will focus on the relationship between John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs, by author Ian Leslie, will be released April 8. It’s described as a “myth-shattering biography of a relationship that changed the cultural history of the world.”

According to the description, John & Paul follows the “twists and turns” of the rock stars’ relationship, revealing “how these shifts manifested themselves in the music.” It will offer readers “an intimate and insightful new look at two of the greatest icons in music history, and rich insights into the nature of creativity, collaboration, and human intimacy.”

John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs is available for preorder now.

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Neil Young is worried he may not be able to tour America as planned due to his feelings about President Donald Trump.

The rocker writes on his Neil Young Archives website that he’s concerned he’ll be barred from reentering the U.S. if he chooses to speak out against the president during his upcoming European tour.

“If I talk about Donald J. Trump, I may be one of those returning to America who is barred or put in jail to sleep on a cement floor with an aluminum blanket,” Young writes. “That is happening all the time now. … If I come back from Europe and am barred, can’t play my USA tour, all of the folks who bought tickets will not be able to come to a concert by me.”

Young, who is from Canada and became a U.S. citizen in 2020, questions what it means for freedom if he could be kept out of the country for freely sharing his feelings about the current administration.

“I love America and its people and its music and its culture,” he writes. “By these latest actions of the US government, it seems that those who speak freely with their own opinions are now vulnerable to non-existent Trump law.”

Finally, Young ends his post by paraphrasing the Pledge of Allegiance. “One country, indivisible, with Liberty and Freedom, for all,” he writes. “Remember that? I do.”

Young’s love earth tour with his band The Chrome Hearts kicks off June 18 in Rättvik, Sweden. It hits the U.S. Aug. 8 in Charlotte, North Carolina, wrapping with a show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Sept. 15.

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Foreigner’s Lou Gramm and Mick Jones have had a troubled relationship over the years, with Gramm leaving the group in 1990 over their differences. But Gramm now says the band’s 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction has helped heal the rift.

“Ever since (the induction) it felt like, personally, I had to find a way to let go of some of the things I’ve been holding onto for years — and, like the song says, let it be,” he tells Billboard.

Relations between Gramm and Foreigner have improved so much that it was recently announced he’d be joining the band for their South American tour; Gramm and Luis Maldonado will fill in for current frontman Kelly Hansen, who’s missing the tour due to “some issues.”

“It’s a hackneyed sentiment, but it’s true — life’s too short,” Gramm says of his decision to return. “And a lot of the things that are blown up and made big deals about are easy enough to get over and humble yourself and reach out a little bit, ’cause what you’ve been mad about for the past 20 years is not a monumental thing.”

And Gramm’s new attitude apparently extends to Hansen, as well. “We didn’t have a very good relationship before, either, but it’s good now,” Gramm says.

Foreigner’s South American tour kicks off April 28 in Mexico City and runs through May 10 in São Paulo, Brazil. A complete list of Foreigner dates can be found at foreigneronline.com.

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