Classic Rock News

Phil Collins’ 1993 solo album, Both Sides, is getting a special reissue for its 30th anniversary.

Both Sides (All The Sides) will be released Sept. 20 as a deluxe-edition five-LP box set, featuring a remastered version of the original album, along with a bunch of extras. 

Those extras include early demos, rarities, single B-sides and live tracks, all of which are on vinyl for the first time. Live tracks include songs recorded during Collins’ MTV Unplugged performance, including “Can’t Turn Back the Years” and “Both Sides of the Story.”

The set comes in a slipcase with picture sleeves and includes a 16-page booklet featuring new liner notes written by journalist Michael Hann. 

Released in November 1993, Both Sides was Collins’ fifth solo album and the follow-up to 1989’s blockbuster #1 …But Seriously. It was a true solo album for Collins, as he performed, wrote and produced the album by himself at his home studio. It went to #1 in the U.K. and peaked at #13 in the U.S. 

Both Sides (All The Sides) is available for preorder now.

And in more Phil Collins news … a limited-edition 10-inch vinyl, Live From the Board: Official Bootleg, will be released for Record Store Day Black Friday on Nov. 29. The four-track EP, originally released in 1995, features songs recorded during 1994’s Both Sides tour. 

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After ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill passed away in July 2021, Elwood Francis, the band’s guitar tech, took over the job permanently, but he says he’s still not completely comfortable in the role. 

While it was Hill’s wish for Elwood take over for him, Elwood tells Guitar World it still feels “weird” having the gig, which he originally thought would just be temporary.

“When I first started doing it, Dusty was just sick and going home for a few weeks. It was entirely different; I was just helping out,” he says. “I didn’t have to worry about the weight of the crown because I was just helping.”

He adds, “They pulled me aside and said, ‘Can you honestly say you can’t play his parts?’ I said, ‘I can do it, but I don’t think people would enjoy me doing it.’ They said, ‘You can cover him for a few weeks.’” 

Elwood’s now been ZZ Top’s bassist for three years, but he still has mixed feelings about it.  

“We’d done some gigs when Dusty passed, and by that time, I wouldn’t say I was comfortable because I’m still not f***** comfortable,” he shares. “It’s just weird. Dusty is their bass player. I’m not the bass player.”

He adds, “I’m not in the band. I’ll never be in the band. I shouldn’t be in the band. It’s Dusty’s thing. Sure, I’ll still play with them, but it’s a weird thing, man.”

Elwood and ZZ Top are currently on tour overseas and will play London’s OVO Arena Wembley on Thursday. A complete list of dates can be found at zztop.com.

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Nirvana‘s long-running copyright lawsuit against Marc Jacobs is set to finally come to a close.

The band’s Nirvana LLC entity and the fashion label filed a notice of settlement on Tuesday, according to case info viewed by ABC Audio. The notice is signed by lawyers for both parties, as well as attorneys for Robert Fisher, a former art director for Geffen Records who later entered the case.

“The parties agreed to the Mediator’s Proposals … and are in the process of fully documenting their settlement agreement,” the case docket reads. 

Nirvana LLC — made up of surviving members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic and the estate of the late Kurt Cobain — first sued Marc Jacobs in 2018, alleging that its Bootleg Redux Grunge collection copied the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” outfit’s signature smiley face logo.

In between various motions to dismiss and countersue, Fisher joined as a plaintiff-in-intervention in 2020, claiming that he was the one who originally created the logo, and not Cobain, as Nirvana LLC maintained.

Since filing the notice of settlement, the parties will have 21 days to agree on the exact details and terms of the agreement.

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Elton John‘s new musical The Devil Wears Prada is currently in out-of-town previews before it moves to London’s West End this fall. Vanessa Williams plays the role that Meryl Streep had in the movie, the fearsome fashion editor Miranda Priestly, and she gave Kelly Clarkson a bit of a preview of one of Elton’s songs for the show while appearing on Kelly’s talk show Wednesday.

“I am honored because I grew up listening to Elton John on my little transistor radio on my windowsill with my two antennae, listening to ‘Bennie and the Jets’ and [Goodbye] Yellow Brick Road — that was my childhood,” she told Kelly. “So, to be able to work with him and have him write new songs that I get the chance to sing for him is pretty epic.”

“The script is very much based on the movie, so you see all the aspects of that, but it’s amplified by the music,” Vanessa continued, before singing an a cappella rendition of a song that she says Miranda sings at a Paris fashion show, when everyone thinks she’s about to lose her job at Runway magazine.

Vanessa says the songs that Elton wrote for the show are musical theater, but are “pop, too,” adding, “There’s going to be remixes on the radio from The Devil Wears Prada, because he know what works in both genres.”

The Devil Wears Prada opens in London’s West End in October. Also in October, Elton’s other musical, Tammy Faye, will open on Broadway.

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Peter Frampton and Scandal frontwoman Patti Smyth are set to perform at the New York City Parks Foundation Dinner & Concert gala, which will honor tennis brothers John and Patrick McEnroe with the City Parks Foundation Icon Award.

The event will take place at SummerStage in New York’s Central Park on Sept. 26, with Smyth, who is John McEnroe’s wife, performing with Steve Jordan, the current drummer for The Rolling Stones.

The City Parks Foundation’s annual fundraising gala raises money to support SummerStage concerts, as well as free environmental education, sports and community volunteer programs for New York’s underserved communities. 

Tickets are available now on the City Parks Foundation website.

Frampton’s appearance will come just three days after he wraps his The Positively Thankful Tour, and ahead of his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. That’s happening Oct. 19 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, with the ceremony to stream live on Disney+, followed by a special airing on ABC at a later date.

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Mick Jagger has launched a new merch collection inspired by one of his iconic looks of the ’70s.

The Rolling Stones frontman just debuted the Palace Laundry collection, inspired by a “Palace Laundry” t-shirt he wore in a famous 1972 tour photo taken by music photographer Jim Marshall.

The collection includes a green and white replica of the t-shirt, that sells for $164, as well as a special Palace Laundry box set that includes the replica t-shirt and a limited edition Marshall autographed art print of the Jagger photo, housed in an embossed custom box. There are only 50 available box sets, which sell for over $1,300. 

The collection also includes a red satin Palace Laundry jacket with an “M” patch on the back, which is inspired by a jacket Jagger wore at an Yves Saint Laurent party at New York’s 21 Club in 1972, as well as a hat and keychain.

All items in the collection are available to order now and will ship August 12.

Mick and The Stones have only a handful of dates left on their Hackney Diamonds tour. They open a two-night stand at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium on July 10. A complete list of dates can be found at rollingstones.com.

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Jon Bon Jovi has paid tribute to his late mother on social media.

Carol Bongiovi passed away on Tuesday, three days shy of her 84th birthday. On Wednesday, Jon posted a clip of the video for “Story of Love,” from Bon Jovi‘s album 2020, which features home movie footage of his mother. 

“Momma We carry you with us Always,” he captioned the post, along with two heart emojis.

After news of Carol’s death was released, Jon said in a statement, “Our mother was a force to be reckoned with, her spirit and can-do attitude shaped this family. She will be greatly missed.”

She’s survived by her husband, John Sr., three sons, daughters-in-law and eight grandchildren.

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Metallica has announced the return of the Weekend Takeover events for the upcoming U.S. leg of their M72 world tour.

Various ‘Tallica-related festivities will take place around each city on the outing, including pop-up shops, film festivals, and performances by the bands Bastardane and OTTTO, which feature the children of frontman James Hetfield and bassist Robert Trujillo, respectively.

Additionally, acclaimed rock photographer Ross Halfin will be speaking about his Metallica photo book in select cities.

For the full list of Weekend Takeover events, visit Metallica.com.

The M72 tour returns to the U.S. starting in August. As with the first leg, which launched in 2023, Metallica will be playing two shows with unique set lists in each city.

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Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist and current Pearl Jam touring member Josh Klinghoffer is named in a wrongful death lawsuit, TMZ reports. 

The suit alleges that a 47-year-old pedestrian died after Klinghoffer hit him while driving a car in Alhambra, California, in March. TMZ obtained video purporting to show footage of the incident.

In a statement to TMZ, Klinghoffer’s attorney calls what happened a “tragic accident.”

“After Josh struck this pedestrian in the intersection, he immediately pulled over, stopped the car, called 911 and waited until police and the ambulance arrived,” the statement continues. “Obviously, he’s cooperating with the police throughout the traffic investigation. This was purely a tragic accident.”

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Sammy Hagar is set to kick off his The Best of All Worlds Tour on Saturday. The rocker and his band will be playing Van Halen songs during the show, and while he may have originally hoped that former Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen would stop by, he knows it isn’t about to happen.

Hagar tells Classic Rock that when he started planning the tour with Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony he “immediately reached out to Al” but heard nothing back.

“No response,” Hagar says. “I hit him again. No response. I called (manager) Irving Azoff; he goes, ‘Al doesn’t want to play with anybody. He’s still mourning his brother’s death… I don’t think he’s ready.’ And I said, ‘Well, get him to talk to me.’” 

Then in May, Alex announced he was selling off all his equipment at an auction that closed June 9. Hagar is taking that personally.

“I think that was his statement to me,” he says. “I think that was his way of saying, ‘I’m over. I’m done.’ It’s a shame.”

“There’s a time I was saying, ‘Oh, he’ll show up. You watch, he’ll f*****’ show up at the (Los Angeles) Forum or something,’” Sammy adds. “Mike and I had this running joke that we were gonna put him on the guest list every night of every show, just for fun. But, no, after selling his drums, he ain’t showing up nowhere, I can guarantee you that.” 

Hagar’s The Best of All Worlds tour kicks off July 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at redrocker.com.

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