Classic Rock News

R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills is among several noteworthy musicians slated to participate in an upcoming U.S. tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of #1 Record, the debut album by the short-lived but influential power-pop band Big Star.

The “Don’t Lie to Me!” trek takes place November 30 in Athens, Georgia; December 3 in Memphis, Tennessee; December 4 in Jersey City, New Jersey; December 6 in Ardmore, Pennsylvania; December 7 in Washington, D.C.; and December 9 in Carrboro, North Carolina.

Mills will be part of a collective of musicians led by Big Star’s only surviving original member, drummer Jody Stephens. Others taking part include Posies singer/guitarist Jon Auer, who played with a later incarnation of Big Star; Wilco‘s Pat Sansone; and Chris Stamey of The dB’s.

Prior to the tour, a special charity concert featuring a full performance of #1 Record will be held on November 5 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California.

Stephens, Mills, Auer, Sansone and Stamey will perform at the Glendale event, along with The Bangles‘ Susanna Hoffs, indie rockers The Lemon Twigs, ex-Black Crowes guitarist Audley Freed and more.

The benefit show, presented by Stephens in partnership with the Wild Honey Foundation, will raise money for The Autism Collective. Tickets are available now at Ticketmaster.com.

Released in April 1972, #1 Record achieved little initial commercial notice, but went on to be embraced by a variety of artists, including R.E.M., The Bangles, The Replacements, Matthew Sweet, Teenage Fanclub and Elliott Smith. Most of the album’s songs were co-written by the group’s two leaders — singer/guitarists Alex Chilton and Chris Bell. Chilton had previously been the lead singer of The Box Tops.

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Following reports that a deal was in the works, the Wall Street Journal now reports that Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford — the most commercially successful lineup of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Genesis — have sold their catalog for a huge payday.

Concord Music Group is the buyer, and sources told the Journal that the deal is worth “upwards of $300 million.” In addition to the publishing copyrights, master recordings and “a mix of recorded music-income streams” of the three artists’ Genesis songs, the deal also includes their solo material.

That means Concord is buying the rights to Phil’s hugely successful solo albums, plus the ’80s hits Rutherford made with his side project Mike + the Mechanics, like “The Living Years,” “All I Need Is a Miracle” and “Silent Running.” The Journal notes that the catalogs of former members of Genesis, like Peter Gabriel, weren’t included in the deal.

Concord’s purchase isn’t surprising, since the company has been administering both Phil’s and Genesis’ publishing since 2017.

Genesis is the latest veteran rock act to cash in on the selling-your-catalog craze. Others who’ve sold their publishing and recorded music rights for millions in the last few years include Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and Stevie Nicks.

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Iron Maiden has announced a deluxe, three-LP vinyl reissue of their 1982 breakout album The Number of the Beast in honor of its 40th anniversary.

The package includes an updated track list of the original album, subbing out the song “Gangland” for the cut “Total Eclipse.”

“On this vinyl release we get the chance to put ‘Total Eclipse’ in its rightful spot on the album for the first time,” says bassist and songwriter Steve Harris.

“The reason it didn’t make it in the first place was that it was all a mad rush when we were finishing the record and we had to get the ‘Run to the Hills’ single out before the tour and we basically had to pick a B-side and it was between ‘Gangland’ and ‘Total Eclipse’ and we just picked the wrong one, really!” Harris adds. “I think ‘Total Eclipse’ is a stronger song and the album would have been stronger if it had been on there.”

Metalheads the world over will tell you that The Number of the Beast is already pretty strong, having spawned the Maiden classics “Run to the Hills” and the title track. The RIAA Platinum-certifed record also marked the debut of vocalist Bruce Dickinson.

Along with the revised track list, the reissue includes the live album Beast Over Hammersmith, which is making its vinyl debut after dropping as a CD in 2002. Beast Over Hammersmith was recorded in March 1982 just days before The Number of the Beast was released.

The Number of the Beast reissue will be released November 18.

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A new book that takes an in-depth look at Paul McCartney‘s life and musical endeavors following The Beatles‘ breakup will be published this winter.

The McCartney Legacy: Volume 1 — 1969–73 is a 720-page tome co-written by Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair that will be released December 13. The book utilizes recently unearthed documents and exclusive interviews with various producers, studio engineers and musicians, as well as archival interviews with McCartney, to examine the early years of his solo career.

Described as “the most exhaustive account of Paul McCartney’s life beyond the Beatles ever committed to paper,” the book also delves into his internal conflicts, his perfectionism and his struggle for acceptance in the wake of the Fab Four’s split.

Among the highlights included in the book are newly discovered details about such McCartney solo hits as  “Another Day,” “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey,” “Live and Let Die” and “Band on the Run”; information about Paul’s decision to sue his Beatles bandmates with regard to their business dealings, and the effect that had on his friendship with John Lennon; a look at the internal workings of McCartney’s solo group Wings; and Pink Floyd‘s surprising influence on Paul’s music.

The book also features stories about songs that McCartney wrote for other artists around this time, including “Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance” for model Twiggy, “Six O’Clock” for Ringo Starr and “Mine for Me” for Rod Stewart.

You can preorder The McCartney Legacy: Volume 1 now at HarperCollins.com.

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September 29, 1992, was a veritable grunge-a-palooza.

Thirty years ago today, both Alice in Chains‘ Dirt and Stone Temple Pilots‘ Core were released.

Dirt followed Alice’s 1990 debut Facelift, which put the band, and the signature harmonized vocals of Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell on the map with the single “Man in the Box.” As AiC prepped their sophomore follow-up, the grunge scene had begun to take off, and the budding genre eventually became a household term as Nirvana‘s Nevermind hit #1 on the Billboard 200 in January 1992.

A few weeks before Dirt dropped, the new Cameron Crowe movie Singles premiered in theaters, which featured Alice in Chains performing the album’s lead single, “Would?” When Dirt did arrive, it debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200, which was then a career-high for AiC.

Dirt also featured the singles “Rooster,” “Them Bones,” “Down in a Hole” and “Angry Chair.” The album would go on to earn a Grammy nomination and is today certified five-times Platinum by the RIAA.

As the grunge explosion continued, the “Seattle sound” of Nirvana, Alice, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden was no longer constricted to just the Pacific Northwest. Down the coast, Stone Temple Pilots were building a following in Southern California, leading to the release of their debut album, Core.

In addition to being geographical outsiders, Scott Weiland and company weren’t exactly critical darlings and were often dismissed as Pearl Jam imitators. Nevertheless, STP connected with listeners, who eventually propelled Core to #3 on the Billboard 200.

Singles including “Plush” and “Creep” are now considered ’90s classics, while Core has been certified eight-times Platinum.

Both AiC and STP have released deluxe reissues of Dirt and Core in honor of their respective albums’ milestone anniversaries.

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If your love of metal expands beyond just the music, then perhaps you’d be interested in a James Hetfield cigar or an Ozzy Osbourne burger.

The Metallica frontman has launched his own signature stogie, according to Cigar Aficionado. The Blacked M81 was created in collaboration with cigar maker Jonathan Drew and distiller Rob Dietrich, who also works with Metallica on their Blackened Whiskey.

“The three of us connected and shared each other’s vision and story about where we’ve been, what we like to see and what is important to us now,” Hetfield says. “We all came up with what a Blackened M81 cigar would look and taste like.”

Cigar Aficionado will be offering Blackened M81s at the magazine’s upcoming Big Smoke Las Vegas event in November.

Meanwhile, the metal-themed burger joint Grill ‘Em All has announced a new sandwhich inspired by Ozzy. Fittingly for the Prince of Darkness, the burger is served on a black bun with “house made
chimichurri, garlic aioli, blue cheese, onion frizzle and field greens” topping a half-pound of meat.

You can try one for yourself this Saturday, October 1 at the Grill ‘Em All in Alhambra, California. While the real Ozzy won’t be in attendance, the 25-foot inflatable version of the Black Sabbath frontman, which previously made its debut over the summer at San Diego Comic-Con, will be on display.

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2022 still has a few more months to go, but Billy Joel’s already making plans for 2023.

The Piano Man has announced that he’s headlining London’s annual British Summer Time Hyde Park festival on Friday, July 7. The gig is billed as his “only European appearance of 2023.” He’ll be joining his pal Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band at the festival: They’re performing July 6 and July 8.

The rest of the this year’s festival lineup — which has in the past featured the likes of Adele, Elton John, The Eagles, Celine Dion, Lionel Richie, Barbra Streisand, Michael Bublé and Bruno Mars as headliners — will be announced at a later date.

Tickets go on sale October 6  at 10 a.m. London time via www.bst-hydepark.com.

Meanwhile, Billy’s concert film Live At Yankee Stadium — which documents his June 1990 show, the first rock concert ever held at the iconic venue — will be shown in theaters on October 5 and 9. You can get tickets at BillyJoel.film.

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It turns out that those enigmatic posts that appeared on Bruce Springsteen‘s social media pages earlier this week were teasing a big album announcement. The Boss has revealed that he will be releasing a new collection of 15 soul covers titled Only The Strong Survive on November 11.

The studio album will include gems from the catalogs of the Motown and Stax labels as well as by the legendary Philadelphia-based songwriting and production duo of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.

Sam Moore of Sam & Dave fame is a featured guest vocalist on two tracks — renditions of Dobie Gray‘s “Soul Days” and William Bell‘s “I Forgot to Be Your Love.”

Only the Strong Survive, which was produced by Ron Aniello, also features contributions from the E Street Horns, strings, and backing vocals by a group of singers that includes E Street Band touring member Soozie Tyrell.

“I wanted to make an album where I just sang. And what better music to work with than the great American songbook of the Sixties and Seventies?” Bruce says in a statement. “I’ve taken my inspiration from Levi Stubbs, David Ruffin, Jimmy Ruffin, the Iceman Jerry Butler, Diana Ross, Dobie Gray, and Scott Walker, among many others. I’ve tried to do justice to them all — and to the fabulous writers of this glorious music.”

The Boss has released a version of “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do),” a 1965 rarity by Frank Wilson, as an advance digital track. A companion music video, which was directed by frequent Springsteen collaborator Thom Zimny, has debuted on Bruce’s official YouTube channel.

Springsteen also has posted a YouTube video of him sharing details about the making of the project.

Only the Strong Survive can be preordered now. Here’s the album’s full track list:

“Only the Strong Survive”
“Soul Days” — featuring Sam Moore
“Nightshift”
“Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)”
“The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore”
“Turn Back the Hands of Time”
“When She Was My Girl”
“Hey, Western Union Man”
“I Wish It Would Rain”
“Don’t Play That Song”
“Any Other Way”
“I Forgot to Be Your Lover” — featuring Sam Moore
“7 Rooms of Gloom”
“What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”
“Someday We’ll Be Together”

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Today, September 29, marks the 25th anniversary of the release of The Rolling Stones‘ 23rd U.S. studio album, Bridges to Babylon, which peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200.

While the 13-track collection yielded no U.S. pop hits, three singles from the record broke into the top 20 of Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock chart — “Anybody Seen My Baby?,” “Saint of Me” and “Flip the Switch,” which reached #3, #13 and #14, respectively.

While The Stones were recording “Anybody Seen My Baby?,” guitarist Keith Richards‘ daughter Angela pointed out to him that the melody of the chorus was similar to that of Canadian singer k.d. lang‘s 1992 hit “Constant Craving,” so lang and her co-writer Ben Mink were given songwriting credits on the Stones tune alongside Richards and Mick Jagger.

The music video for “Anybody Seen My Baby?” features Angelina Jolie.

Bridges to Babylon was recorded at Ocean Way Recording studio in Los Angeles, and in addition to The Stones’ core members — Jagger, Richards, guitarist Ronnie Wood and drummer Charlie Watts — a variety of guest musicians and singers contributed to the sessions.

Among them were longtime Stones touring member Darryl Jones, Me’Shell Ndegeocello, Living Colour‘s Doug Wimbish and album co-producer Don Was on bass; guitarist Waddy Wachtel; keyboardists Billy Preston and Benmont Tench; jazz sax great Wayne Shorter; rapper Biz Markie; ex-Beach Boy Blondie Chaplin on multiple instruments and backing vocals; and famed session drummer Jim Keltner on percussion.

To support Bridges to Babylon, The Rolling Stones mounted a major tour that featured 108 dates and ran from September 1997 to September 1998.

The album has been certified Platinum for sales of over 1 million copies in the U.S.

Here’s the full track list of Bridges to Babylon:

“Flip the Switch”
“Anybody Seen My Baby?”
“Low Down”
“Already Over Me”
“Gunface”
“You Don’t Have to Mean It”
“Out of Control”
“Saint of Me”
“Might as Well Get Juiced”
“Always Suffering”
“Too Tight”
“Thief in the Night”
“How Can I Stop”

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A music video for “Fantastic,” a previously unheard solo Joe Strummer song featured on Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years box set, has debuted on the late Clash frontman’s official YouTube channel.

The clip features a montage of photos and candid archival footage of Strummer, and includes a brief cameo appearance by Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder. The video begins with an emotional spoken-word recording of Strummer encouraging people to get along with each other.

The clip was directed by Lance Bangs, whose credits include videos for songs by R.E.M., Green Day and George Harrison.

“Fantastic” was one of Strummer’s last recordings and includes vocals he recorded at the famous Rockfield Studios in Wales in December 2002, the same month that he died.

Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years features remastered versions of the three studio albums Strummer made with his backing band, The Mescaleros — 1999’s Rock Art and the X-Ray Style, 2001’s Global a Go-Go and 2003’s posthumous Streetcore — as well as a disc titled Vibes Compass that boasts 15 rare and previously unreleased tracks.

Vibes Compass includes “Fantastic,” as well as some of the first demos Strummer made for The Mescaleros, outtakes of several later tracks by the group and a song called “Ocean of Dreams” that features contributions from Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones.

The collection was curated by Strummer’s widow, Lucinda Tait, and is available as a four-CD set, a seven-LP vinyl package and digitally.

The physical versions of the box set come with books featuring exclusive new interviews with Strummer’s friends, collaborators and Mescaleros bandmates, as well as previously unseen handwritten notes, lyrics and drawings from Joe’s archives.

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