Classic Rock News

30 years ago today — January 25, 1994 — Alice in Chains released their chart-topping EP Jar of Flies. Now, the band has announced details of a 30th anniversary version of the project, due out March 22.

The Jar of Flies 30th Anniversary edition will be available on black 12″ vinyl from all retailers. At the band’s web store, you can purchase it on tri-colored vinyl and cassette. A clear vinyl version with flies embedded in it and a deluxe limited-edition box set will also be available.

That set, which’ll set you back $225, includes the tri-colored vinyl, a log-embossed jar with a touch-activated LED and fake flies, a 60-page hardcover book and a poster, all in a screen-printed box.

And if that’s not enough AIC merch for you, there’s also a capsule collection available for preorder. It includes clothing, a skate deck, a poker set and adorable plush “Whale & Wasp” toys.

The acoustic-driven Jar of Flies EP was the first EP to debut at #1. It won two Grammy Awards, including Best Hard Rock Performance for “I Stay Away.” It’s been RIAA certified four-times Platinum.

Alice in Chains will perform April 27 at the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas.

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On This Day, January 25, 1991…

Paul McCartney recorded an episode of MTV Unplugged at Limehouse Studios in Wembley, London.

The legendary Beatle took the name of the show literally, performing each song completely unplugged, unlike other artists who used acoustic instruments plugged into amplifiers.

The set list featured such songs as “Blackbird,” “We Can Work it Out,” “And I Love Her,” “Here, There and Everywhere” and more.

McCartney’s appearance on MTV Unplugged’s second season proved to be pivotal for the show. As one of the first A-list artists to do the show, he influenced other big name stars, including R.E.M., Eric Clapton and Rod Stewart, to follow suit.

The episode aired on April 3, 1991, and a live album of McCartney’s performance, Unplugged (The Official Bootleg), was released a month later, including three songs that were not featured on the program. He was the first artist to release a live album of the show.

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Eddie Vedder‘s Ohana is confirmed to come back in 2024.

This year’s edition of the Pearl Jam frontman’s annual festival will take place September 27-29, once again in Dana Point, California. The lineup has yet to be announced, though Vedder encourages you to sign up for text alerts for up-to-date artist and ticket info.

The 2023 Ohana Festival featured Foo Fighters and The Killers as headliners, as well as a solo set by Vedder.

Pearl Jam, meanwhile, is set to be on the road in 2024 and is confirmed to play the BottleRock Napa Valley festival in May, as well as Europe’s Mad Cool and NOS Alive festivals. The grunge rockers have also been working on a new album, the follow-up to 2020’s Gigaton.

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If you missed the chance to see Queen Rock Montreal in IMAX theaters last weekend, you now have a second chance.

The film’s IMAX release has been extended, with additional showings set to run from Friday, January 26, to Thursday, February 1.

The extension comes after the initial IMAX weekend brought in $4.1 million globally, to make it the biggest IMAX exclusive event opening ever. 

Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor caught a screening of the IMAX film, and in a new video they share what it was like to see the concert on such a big screen.

“I’ve never seen anything that makes you feel quite so involved with the performance,” Roger shares. “And the great surprise for me was how f****** good we were.” 

“The quality of the shots is amazing, really amazing, but the energy is there, my God there’s a lot of energy,” May adds. “As Roger said when we finished watching it, ‘Bloody hell, we weren’t bad were we?’” 

As for seeing the late Freddie Mercury onstage again, Brian notes, “It’s just something you really treasure these days. You want to see every breath he takes. … It makes us very emotional seeing that.”

“Fred was just the most inspiring frontman. I have no bad memories, just joy working with him,” Roger recalls. “I guess it’s a good snapshot of Freddie probably near the height of his powers.”

Tickets for Queen Rock Montreal are on sale now.

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Back to the Future fans probably couldn’t imagine the film without Christopher Lloyd playing Doc Brown, but it turns out he may not have been the first choice for the role.

While at the Sundance Film Festival, Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo told The Wrap he was originally offered the part by the film’s producer Steven Spielberg and director Robert Zemeckis.

Mothersbaugh says Spielberg and Zemeckis attended one of Devo’s shows, and at the end of the night they came up to him and said they wanted to talk to him about working on their film. He was convinced they were going to ask him to do the score, so he was totally surprised by their offer.

“I went into this meeting and they said, ‘Well, we love what you do on stage. We love the way your band looks. We want you to be sort of a crazy mad scientist in this film we’re doing,”’ he shared. When he asked them what they meant, they told him, “There’s a part in the film of a guy who runs around in a lab coat and he has a car that goes through time. We want you to play that part.” 

But Mothersbaugh had no interest, telling them, “I don’t want to act in a movie.” When they argued he already acts onstage, Mothersbaugh countered, “Well, we make that stuff up ourselves.”

And while Mothersbuagh didn’t do the film, a quick reference to Devo is featured in the movie: Marty, played by Michael J. Fox, comments, “What is this Devo?” when he sees Doc’s contamination suit. That clip now appears in the new documentary Devo, which had its debut at the Sundance Film Festival.

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Iron Maiden‘s Bruce Dickinson has shared a new song called “Rain on the Graves,” a cut off his upcoming solo album, The Mandrake Project.

The track is accompanied by a six-minute video, in which Dickinson plays a preacher who makes a deal with the Devil, which, as is often the case, doesn’t work out too well for him. You can watch it now streaming on YouTube.

The Mandrake Project, Dickinson’s first solo effort in nearly 20 years, drops March 1. It also includes the single “Afterglow of Ragnarok.”

Dickinson will launch an international solo tour in April.

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 First he took a shot at Sammy Hagar; now David Lee Roth is taking aim at Eddie Van Halen’s son, Mammoth WVH frontman Wolfgang Van Halen.

In a new Roth Show video, the rocker shares his displeasure at having had to work with Eddie’s son, who played bass in Van Halen from 2007 to 2015. Roth starts off the video with a mock interview, painting Wolfgang as Jesus Christ, who’s complaining about not getting any respect.

“I want people to know I got this job because of my talent,” says Roth. “I woulda had this job anyway even if my dad wasn’t God,” a reference to claims Wolfgang only got the Van Halen gig because of his dad. 

Referring to Wolfgang as “this f****** kid” throughout the video, Roth then starts discussing how Wolfgang would complain about his behavior onstage.

“He’s complaining the entire tour like I’m not paying enough attention to him onstage,” Roth says. “I’m giving him the best, everything I got in front of 20-30,000 people at a clip and he’s complaining to everybody around me, the business manager, the security guy, the clothing lady, ‘Dave’s not paying enough attention to me.’”

Roth then tells two stories about how Wolfgang had Roth’s female guests thrown out of shows in New York and Los Angeles to allegedly teach him a lesson. But unbeknownst to Wolfgang, the women were actually from the band’s accounting firm and were there to pay the crew. Roth gave them tickets only after Eddie and Alex Van Halen stiffed them.

The video comes just days after Roth went after Hagar in a clip, suggesting Hagar being probed by aliens was the reason for his bad behavior toward Roth.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

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He’s not currently nominated for a Grammy, but Billy Joel will take the stage at this year’s Grammy Awards, set for February 4 in Los Angeles.

Over the years, The Piano Man has won five Grammys, including Album of the Year for 52nd Street, and Record and Song of the Year for “Just the Way You Are.” He also received a Grammy Legend Award. So far, he’s the only announced performer who isn’t a current nominee: The other performers include Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo, as well as Luke Combs, Afrobeats star Burna Boy and rapper Travis Scott.

News of Billy’s appearance on the telecast comes just a few days after the release of his first pop single since 2007, “Turn the Lights Back On.”  

Billboard suggests that the Grammy folks may want to create some kind of “Grammy moment” with Billy and Olivia, because she mentioned him in the lyrics of her song “déjà vu.” Olivia did actually join Billy onstage at Madison Square Garden in 2022: they sang “déjà vu” and “Uptown Girl” together.

January 27 marks the 10-year anniversary of the start of Billy’s record-breaking residency at Madison Square Garden, which will come to an end in July.

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Guns N’ Roses have gotten some technological help with their new video. The band has just dropped the video for their latest single, “The General,” which has been powered by artificial intelligence.

The video, created in collaboration with Dan Potter, creative director of London-based Creative Works, features A.I.-animated visuals that help give insight into the subconscious of a young boy, who seems to be battling monsters from his past. The clips are cut with live performance footage of the band.

Guns N’ Roses released “The General” back in December, although they first debuted the song live during their November two-night stand at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. It was the second new single the rockers released last year, following “Perhaps,” which was their first new song since 2021.

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Elton John‘s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour may be in the rearview mirror, but the memories will last forever.

The Rocket Man has announced a new book, Farewell Yellow Brick Road: Memories of My Life On Tour, which  offers fans a behind-the-scenes look at the record-breaking tour, from its kickoff in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 2018 to its final show in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2023.

On Instagram, Elton writes, “It’s been a beautiful journey creating this book and remembering the people and places that shaped an incredible chapter in my life. As well as the stories and memories — not just from this tour but from throughout my career — I’ve included unreleased photography and memorabilia that I hope give you never-before-seen insights of my life on the road.”

The book, which costs $59, also includes a forward by Elton’s husband, David Furnish, and the tour’s creative director. It’s out September 24, but if you’re a member of Elton’s Rocket Club or buy it through his official store, you’ll get yours two weeks early. You can visit store.eltonjohn.com to preorder it now.

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