Classic Rock News

The previously unheard archival Queen track “Face It Alone,” which features the late Freddie Mercury on vocals and was recorded during the sessions for the band’s 1989 studio album The Miracle, has just been released as a digital download and via streaming formats.

In addition, a lyric video for the tune has premiered at Queen’s official YouTube channel.

“Face It Alone” serves as the lead single from an upcoming expanded reissue of The Miracle, dubbed The Miracle Collector’s Edition, which will be released on November 18. The recording was rediscovered during the process of putting the collection together.

“We’d kind of forgotten about this track,” admits Queen drummer Roger Taylor, “but there it was, this little gem. It’s wonderful, a real discovery. It’s a very passionate piece.”

The Miracle Collector’s Edition features five CDs, one vinyl LP, a Blu-ray disc, a DVD and a 76-page hardback book.

The CDs include a remastered version of the original 10-track album; a disc featuring early takes and versions, demos, in-studio conversations and unheard tracks; a CD titled Alternative Miracle that compiles extra tracks from The Miracle sessions, B-sides, extended versions and more; a disc of instrumental and backing tracks from the record’s 10 songs; and a CD of archival interviews with the band’s members.

The LP features an originally planned 11-track version of The Miracle, which features “Too Much Love Will Kill You” — a song that later appeared on Queen’s 1995 Made in Heaven album.

The Blu-ray and DVD contain promotional videos of five Miracle songs — “I Want It All,” “Breakthru,” “The Invisible Man,” “Scandal” and the title track — as well as archival interviews and features about the making of the clips and the album cover.

You can preorder The Miracle Collector’s Edition now.

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In addition to spreading the word of rock, AC/DC will soon be providing another educational service.

The Australian company Love Police Books has announced a new children’s book using the “Back in Black” rockers to teach the alphabet.

Titled The AC/DC AB/CD High-Voltage Alphabet, the book introduces each letter with an AC/DC-themed cartoon and a short poem, such as, “A is for Angus, who thinks it’s good luck, to wear a school uniform, and walk like a duck.”

High-Voltage Alphabet will be released November 11 and is available to preorder now.

If you’re looking for an AC/DC book aimed at an older demographic, frontman Brian Johnson is releasing his memoir, The Lives of Brian: AC/DC, Me, and the Making of Back in Black, on October 25.

In other AC/DC news, the Royal Australian Mint has announced a new series of coins commemorating the band’s 50th anniversary. Brothers Angus and Malcolm Young founded AC/DC in Sydney in 1973.

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A selection of instruments and other gear belonging to Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson will be available for purchase via Wilson’s shop at the Reverb.com online marketplace starting Wednesday, October 19.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer will be selling more than two dozen items from her long career with Heart, including guitars, amplifiers and keyboards.

Among the guitars Wilson is selling is a late-1960s Gibson SG that she says has been one of her main guitars for playing the Heart classic “Barracuda” in concert. The instrument features a Bigsby vibrato bar, and the back of the body has two Marine Corps stickers affixed to it.

“It’s traveled really far with me. We’ve done a lot of stages and shows together … and you might recognize this Marine Corps symbol here that I used to flash at the end of ‘Barracuda,'” Wilson says. 

Other guitars that will be sold include a 1957 Fender Stratocaster, a Paul Reed Smith 12-string prototype electric guitar with a dragon inlay, a late-1970s David Petschulat Mini Les Paul that appeared on the cover of Heart’s Greatest Hits Live album, and a red-and-white TV Jones Spectrasonic model Wilson says she also frequently used to play “Barracuda” live.

A video of Wilson showing off and talking about the various guitars she’s selling has been posted on Reverb’s official YouTube channel.

The sale was organized by Wilson and Reverb in partnership with the DEFINITIVE Authentic company, which works directly with artists and other celebrities to help certify, preserve and exhibit their artifacts.

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Is Green Day planning something for the 25th anniversary of Nimrod?

The band’s 1997 album celebrates the milestone this Friday, October 14. In a tweet Tuesday, Billie Joe Armstrong and company teased the occasion, writing, “Someone’s got a VERY big birthday on Friday…any guesses who??!”

The tweet is also accompanied by an image featuring the Roman numeral for 25, XXV.

Nimrod is Green Day’s fifth studio album, which has been certified double Platinum by the RIAA. It spawned the singles “Hitchin’ a Ride” and “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” which, despite being originally written as a breakup song, has become a staple of high school proms and graduations.

Meanwhile, Green Day is set to headline the 2023 edition of Las Vegas’ When We Were Young festival on October 21 of next year.

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Back in 2015, Yes released a 14-CD box set titled Progeny: Seven Shows from Seventy-Two featuring recordings of seven full concerts from their 1972 North American tour. Now, a 21-LP vinyl version of the collection is set to arrive on December 2.

The limited-edition package will be available exclusively at Rhino.com, with each show pressed on a different color vinyl. Only 1,972 copies will be available.

The concerts featured in the box set span from an October 31, 1972, show in Toronto to a November 20, 1972, gig in Uniondale, New York.

Yes’ late 1972 tour found the band promoting its fifth studio effort, Close to the Edge. The band had recently welcomed Alan White as its new drummer, replacing founding member Bill Bruford. Making up the rest of the group’s classic lineup at the time were singer Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe and keyboardist Rick Wakeman.

The LPs come packaged in a cigarette-style flip-top box, with artwork created by longtime Yes artist Roger Dean.

Among the classic songs Yes played at the shows were “I’ve Seen All Good People,” “Heart of the Sunrise,” “Roundabout” and “Yours Is No Disgrace.”

Here is the complete list of shows featured in the Progeny: Seven Shows from Seventy-Two box set, along with the color vinyl on which each concert is pressed:

10/31/72 — Toronto, Canada, Maple Leaf Gardens (ruby vinyl)
11/1/72  — Ottawa, Canada, Ottawa Civic Centre (orange vinyl)
11/11/72 — Durham, NC, Duke University (cobalt vinyl)
11/12/72 — Greensboro, NC, Greensboro Coliseum (soda bottle clear vinyl)
11/14/72 — Athens, GA, University of Georgia (tan vinyl)
11/15/72 — Knoxville, TN, Knoxville Civic Auditorium (forest green vinyl)
11/20/72 — Uniondale, NY, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (grape vinyl)

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Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chili Peppers are among the many acts that have received nominations for the 2022 MTV Europe Music Awards.

Both bands will compete in the Best Rock category alongside former Oasis singer Liam Gallagher, The Killers, Muse and Måneskin.

In addition, Foo Fighters’ Studio 666 comedy-horror film and their star-studded tribute concert honoring late Foos drummer Taylor Hawkins at London’s Wembley Stadium are in the running for the Best Longform Video honor.

The 2022 MTV EMAs will take place November 13 in Düsseldorf, Germany and will air live on MTV throughout 170 different countries. The show will be available to stream globally on Paramount+ beginning November 14.

For more information about the event and to vote for your favorites, visit MTVEMA.com.

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Four new episodes of Mary McCartney Serves It Up, the discovery+ cooking series hosted by Paul McCartney‘s daughter Mary, will air in the coming weeks, starting with a show that premieres Tuesday, November 1.

Among Mary’s guests will be rocker Bryan Adams, who like McCartney also is an accomplished photographer. Bryan will join Mary to make a “Skillet Flatbread Caponata Pizza.”

Mary McCartney Serves It Up is a half-hour program that features Mary whipping up quick and easy dishes that showcase her “accessible vegetarian food philosophy,” while exchanging stories with her various guests.

Other guests on the upcoming episodes of Mary McCartney Serves It Up will include 50 Shades of Grey actor Jamie Dornan, Texas frontwoman Sharleen Spiteri, singer-songwriter Celeste and designer Henry Holland.

Among Mary’s previous guests were her famous dad and Dave Grohl, who were featured on episodes from the series’ second and first season, respectively.

Mary also is a cookbook author and filmmaker. Her feature-length directorial debut, If These Walls Could Sing, a star-studded documentary about London’s Abbey Road Studios, will get its TV debut soon on Disney+.

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The inaugural David Bowie World Fan Convention was held in June in Liverpool, England, and now details have been revealed about the 2023 installment of the gathering. 

The two-day Bowie celebration will take place June 17-18 in New York City and feature a variety of guest speakers, including musicians and other collaborators who worked with the late rock legend.

Among those set to participate in the event are Bowie’s frequent co-producer and good friend Tony Visconti; his longtime pianist Mike Garson; and guitarist Carlos Alomar, who played on 11 of David’s albums and co-wrote Bowie’s first U.S. #1 hit, “Fame.”

Other Bowie collaborators who will take part include bassists George Murray and Carmine Rojas; guitarist Kevin Armstrong; multiple instrumentalist and Earthling co-producer Mark Plati; and performance artist Joey Arias, who, along with late New Wave singer Klaus Nomi, joined David during his memorable 1979 Saturday Night Live appearance.

More participants will be announced at a later date.

The convention will feature a variety of Q&A sessions, meet-and-greets and live performances. The celebration’s first day will culminate with a party dubbed the Bowie Ball, where attendees are encouraged to don costumes and makeup honoring the rock icon’s various looks and eras. The bash will feature a music performance, DJs, best-dressed competitions and Bowie-themed drinks.

Tickets for the 2023 convention are available now at BowieConvention.com.

Limited VIP tickets will give fans the chance to visit a number New York City sites associated with Bowie’s life and career.

All attendees will receive a special New York City map that will point out various Bowie-related landmarks.

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Soundgarden‘s Kim Thayil and Stone Temple Pilots‘ Robert and Dean DeLeo will be taking part in an upcoming edition of Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp.

The program will take place March 16-19 in Los Angeles. Attendees will get the opportunity to learn from and jam with the guest rockers, including Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice, ex-Dio/Black Sabbath drummer Vinnie Appice, Night Ranger guitarist Joel Hoekstra, longtime Queen touring musician Spike Edney and many more.

Thayil, who participated in a grunge-themed Fantasy Camp earlier this year alongside Alice in Chains‘ Jerry Cantrell, says he’s “super excited” for another go-round.

“Bring your favorite axe, and let’s jam at Rock Camp!” Thayil says.

For more info, RockCamp.com.

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Part-time Los Angeles resident Elton John will provide the entertainment for this year’s big charity event for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, aka LACMA.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Elton will perform at LACMA’s Art + Film Gala November 5; Leonardo DiCaprio is the event’s co-chair. The money raised will help fund an initiative to make film more central to the museum’s programming. Elton will be in the neighborhood since his final U.S. tour dates are taking place November 17, 19 and 20 at Dodger Stadium.

In addition to having two homes in LA, Elton and his husband, David Furnish, also have homes in the U.K., the south of France and Atlanta, GA. Now, the real estate website Dirt reports the two have purchased a penthouse in a yet-to-be-completed futuristic complex in downtown Toronto, which will be their sixth home. The two-story condo is 2,400 square feet with three bedrooms and three bathrooms.

“David’s brothers and their wives and children are here. We spend a lot of the summer in Canada,” Elton told The Globe and Mail about their decision to purchase the home. David, who’s Canadian, added that their sons Elijah and Zachary “find Toronto dynamic.”

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