Classic Rock News

Grateful Dead fans have some new recordings to sink their teeth into.

The band just released From The Mars Hotel: The Angel’s Share, featuring 16 previously unreleased session recordings, to digital services, giving fans a taste of the original Mars Hotel recording sessions, which happened during the spring of 1974 at San Francisco’s Coast Recorders.

It features outtakes and alternative and acoustic versions of songs like “Scarlet Begonias,” “China Doll,” “Ship of Fools” and more, all of which will hit digital outlets for the very first time.

The digital release comes as The Dead is getting ready to release From The Mars Hotel (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) on June 21. It will feature a remastered version of the 1974 album, along with demos and rarities, and a previously unreleased concert recorded May 12, 1974, at the University of Nevada, Reno. 

It will be released as a three-CD and digital set. The remastered version of the album will also be released as a single black vinyl, a limited-edition neon pink vinyl, a limited-edition “Ugly Rumors” custom vinyl — sold exclusively on Dead.net — and a specially designed zoetrope picture disc, which when viewed by a camera or strobe appears to animate.

All formats are available for preorder now.

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The Tom Petty estate has announced they’ve donated $150,000 to support women’s reproductive rights in the U.S.

A post on the late singer’s Instagram account shares that the estate “is proud to strongly support @plannedparenthood’s efforts to preserve important healthcare in the USA,” noting the money is going to the Planned Parenthood Federation, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast and Planned Parenthood Greater New York. 

“Tom’s widow, Dana Petty, worked for Planned Parenthood for over a decade in various roles, including as a counselor, and Tom was quite proud of that fact,” the post explains. “It is in this spirit that we encourage everyone to support the important access to rape kits and counseling, early screenings for cancer and of course the right to choose whether or not to become a parent.”

They also shared a link for those who’d like to follow their lead and donate to the organization.

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On This Day, April 17, 1964…

Sixty years ago, The Rolling Stones released their self-titled debut album in the U.K, which shot to #1 on the  charts, where it stayed for 12 weeks.

Although Mick Jagger and Keith Richards would go on to become a superstar songwriting pair, they wrote only one original song for the album, “Tell Me (You’re Coming Back).”

A U.S. version was released a month and a half later, with a slightly different track list. The track “Not Fade Away” replaced “I Need You,” and several other song titles were shortened. Like the U.K. version, the U.S. version was originally self-titled, with the sub-title England’s Newest Hit Makers, with the latter eventually becoming its official title.

The U.S. version peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold by the RIAA.

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Green Day has added a last-minute concert in Los Angeles.

The “American Idiot” outfit will play the 780-capacity Echoplex on Thursday, April 18. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, April 17, at noon PT.

Green Day has played a number of surprise, intimate shows as part of their Hella Tiny underplay series, which has also included performances in Las Vegas, New York City and Paris.

Green Day will be headlining much larger venues on their upcoming world stadium tour, which launches in the U.S. in July. They’ll be supporting their latest album, Saviors, and will also be playing their 1994 and 2004 albums Dookie and American Idiot in full in honor of their respective 30th and 20th anniversaries.

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A lot of music fans will be lining up at independent record stores across the country for Record Store Day on Saturday, April 20, but the day is about more than just landing that special release.

“It’s almost like Record Store Day is two different days in one,” RSD co-founder Carrie Colliton tells ABC Audio. “In the morning, it’s all about, ‘Oh, I got this special treasure.’ … But the second half of the day is a party, and a celebration of stores and what they do in the community all year long.”

RSD started in 2007 and artists like Metallica, Dave Grohl and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy were early supporters, but for RSD co-founder Michael Kurtz, it was when Paul McCartney emailed them after an in-store appearance that he knew they had made it.

Kurtz notes, “That was the moment I think we all were like, ‘Holy crap, one of the Beatles likes us,’” adding it made them realize they “must be doing something right.”

And this year there are several Beatles-related items fans can get their hands on, including Ringo Starr’s new EP, Crooked Boy, and zoetrope picture disc pressings of two George Harrison albums. 

There’s also a collectible mini turntable featuring the songs The Beatles played on The Ed Sullivan Show 60 years ago. “It’s so cute. You just can’t help but smile or laugh when you see it because it’s just adorable,” Kurtz shares. 

Of course there are lots of other records to pick up on Saturday, including a Lou Reed tribute album, Neil Young’s new album, FU##IN’ UP, and two releases from The Rolling Stones. A complete list of releases can be found at recordstoreday.com.

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The legendary Bob Marley will be celebrated with a new immersive experience coming to Las Vegas later this year.

Bob Marley Hope Road, set to open at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, “invites audiences to enter a world where the heartbeat of one man unites all in celebration.” It will give fans a chance to experience Marley’s Jamaica through musical and visual experiences.

Hope Road will be open seven days a week, with guests offered the option of two different experiences. Bob Marley Hope Road by Day is described as “an illuminating, shared, multi-sensory experience” with digital and analog instillations. There will also be Bob Marley Hope Road by Night, which will feature an intimate show with dancers, DJs, musicians and entertainers celebrating Marley’s music.

“Our family is incredibly proud of this project that honors the life of our father,“ said two of Marley’s children, Cedella and Ziggy Marley, who are among the project’s executive producers. “His legacy lives on through his music and life’s work of empowering and uniting the people. We invite all to be a part of this journey through Bob Marley Hope Road.” 

More information and details about tickets are expected to be announced in the fall.

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In March, Pete Townshend suggested The Who should maybe do one final tour before giving up the road, but now he appears to be backtracking on that idea.

Pete’s initial comments came during an interview with The New York Times, with the rocker sharing, “It feels to me like there’s one thing the Who can do, and that’s a final tour where we play every territory in the world and then crawl off to die.”

But in a new interview on the Sound Up! podcast hosted by Mark Goodman and Alan Light, Townshend suggests fans shouldn’t take him too seriously.

“I was being ironic. I was being British,” he says. “I’m not doing a farewell tour. I think I was being sarcastic about it.” 

Back in March, The Who played two shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall for Teenage Cancer Trust. They have no future dates scheduled, although Roger Daltrey does have some U.S. solo shows planned, starting May 6 in San Diego. A complete list of dates can be found TheWho.com.

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Extreme and Living Colour are hitting the road together once more.

The two bands’ Thicker than Blood tour, which first launched in 2023, will continue with a fall leg kicking off September 4 in Billings, Montana.

Tickets go on sale Friday, April 19. A presale starts Wednesday, April 17, at 10 a.m. local time.

For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit Extreme-Band.com.

Extreme will be touring in continued support of their 2023 album, Six. Living Colour’s most recent record is 2017’s Shade.

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Neil Young is set to kick off his Love Earth tour later this month, and he’s got a big treat in store for fans.

Rolling Stone reports that during a Zoom with subscribers to his Neil Young Archives site, the rocker revealed he’s planning to perform the classic “Cortez The Killer” with previously lost lyrics that he hasn’t performed in 50 years.

“Just a couple of days ago, I found the other verses,” he shared. “Just the lyrics…We may have those lost lyrics in the show, which will be fun for me.”

Those verses were lost during the recording process due to a power outage to the recording console. The band was unaware and kept performing, but that resulted in one verse being missed. 

Young added, “Now that I’ve found the lyrics, I’m trying to find exactly where they come in the song. I need to look at the tape and see where the cut is, where we lost some. I’ll insert them there.”

Also on the Zoom, Young gave fans more info on the Crosby, Stills & Nash Fillmore East 1969 live album, which he previously announced on his site, as well as the planned Archives III and IV box sets, which will cover a period of 30 years each, with IV being the final installment. 

Young’s Love Earth tour is set to kick off with a two-night stand in San Diego, California, on April 24 and 25. A complete list of dates can be found at neilyoungarchives.

Young and his band Crazy Horse are also set to release the new album, FU##IN’ UP, on clear vinyl for Record Store Day, April 20. The black vinyl, CD and digital edition will be released April 26.

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