Classic Rock News

The Beach Boys released an expanded and remastered version of their popular 2003 hits compilation Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of The Beach Boys this past Friday.

The updated retrospective features a whopping 80 tracks, 50 more than the original version, and is part of a recently launched worldwide celebration marking The Beach Boys’ 60th anniversary.

Founding Beach Boys member Al Jardine marvels at his group’s long history and the deep, wide-ranging body of work they created — as exemplified by Sounds of Summer — thanks in great part to the compositional skills of his band mate Brian Wilson.

“Yeah, it’s fantastic, really. We were really lucky,” Jardine tells ABC Audio. “We were a tight-knit family for a long period of time. And the miracle of the songwriting part of it, being Brian’s forte, we just got lucky. And we got so many wonderful opportunities since that first recording to grow with the music. And here we are 60 years later.”

The deluxe Sounds of Summer reissue includes 24 new mixes, with stereo mixes of two tracks being made available for the first time.

Jardine says he thinks it’s cool when Beach Boys tunes get sonic updates, noting that “it’s nice to…have a little slightly different point of view each time you hear it all [again].”

Regarding the decision to release an expanded compilation, Al says, “[W]e’re capturing new generations every decade, so it kind of makes sense in a way. Our audience is expanding. We have more folks listening to us now, and enjoying the lesser-known stuff as well [as the summer-themed classic hits].”

As previously reported, the deluxe Sounds of Summer reissue is available now as a three-CD set, as a six-LP vinyl package and via digital formats.

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Founding Pink Floyd singer/bassist Roger Waters is getting ready to embark on his This Is Not a Drill tour of North America, and he gave us a little taste of what to expect during a surprise visit to CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday.

Amid a dazzling light show and video screens, Roger and his band performed a medley of “The Happiest Days of Our Lives” and “Another Brick in the Wall” Parts 2 and 3, from Floyd’s 1979 album, The Wall.

Waters’ This Is Not a Drill tour, which originally was supposed to kick off in July 2020 before being postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will get underway on July 6 in Pittsburgh runs through an October 8 show in Dallas.

In a statement, Roger explained that his performances will offer “a stunning indictment of the corporate dystopia in which we all struggle to survive, and a call to action to LOVE, PROTECT and SHARE our precious and precarious planet home.”

He added, “The show includes a dozen great songs from PINK FLOYD’S GOLDEN ERA along side several new ones, words and music, same writer, same heart, same soul, same man.”

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A new book that tells the story of the making of Pink Floyd‘s 1977 concept album Animals and the tours in support of the record will be released on August 1 and can be preordered now at MusicGlue.com.

Pink Floyd: The Animals Tour – A Visual History is available in three versions — a standard hardcover edition, a hardcover version signed by author Glenn Povey, and a Deluxe Edition that’s packaged in a box and features memorabilia reproductions, and a signed and numbered certificate.

Released in January 1977, Animals was Pink Floyd’s 10th studio effort. The album, which was loosely based on George Orwell‘s dystopian novel Animal Farm, included three extended themed pieces titled “Pigs (Three Different Ones),” “Dogs” and “Sheep” that represented humanity as three different classes — subservient sheep, despotic pigs and predatory dogs.

The album’s cover famously featured a giant inflatable pig tied by ropes to the smokestacks of London’s Battersea Power Station. Animals peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 and has gone on to sell over 4 million copies in the U.S.

Pink Floyd’s tour in support of the album featured a multimedia show that incorporated inflatable structures, film projected on large screens, special effects and state-of-the-art audio.

During the final concert of the tour, which took place at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium in July ’77, singer/bassist Roger Waters‘ disillusionment over the band’s growing stature as rock stars and fans’ rowdy behavior led to an infamous confrontation with an audience member that ended up serving as an inspiration for Pink Floyd’s classic 1979 album The Wall.

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Judas Priest has added another U.S. leg to the band’s ongoing 50 Heavy Metal Years tour.

The newly announced fall outing will run from October 13 in Wallingford, Connecticut, to November 29 in Houston, Texas. Queensryche will also be on the bill.

“Defending the heavy metal faith for 50 years, the Priest is back!” says frontman Rob Halford.

Tickets go on sale this Friday, June 24, at 10 a.m. local time. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit JudasPriest.com.

Priest first launched the 50 Heavy Metal Years tour, which celebrates the “Breaking the Law” icons’ 50th anniversary, in 2021 after being postponed from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Halford and company are set to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year with the Musical Excellence Award. The 2022 Induction Ceremony takes place November 5 in Los Angeles.

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A new four-part docuseries about The Rolling Stones titled My Life as a Rolling Stone will premiere on the EPIX network on August 7.

The series, produced to coincide with the British rock legends’ 60th anniversary, will trace the band’s journey from a young blues-inspired musicians act to one of the world’s all-time great musical acts.

Each episode of the series will offer an intimate look at one of the band’s four main members — singer Mick Jagger, guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, and late drummer Charlie Watts — and will delve into their unique personalities, talents and impact on the culture. My Life as a Rolling Stone will also examine the band members’ inspirations, struggles and other personal aspects as they worked together to create their enduring catalog of songs.

My Life as a Rolling Stone was directed by Oliver Murray — director of the 2019 Bill Wyman documentary The Quiet One — and Clare Tavernor, whose credits include a Keith Richards-themed episode of the BBC TV newsmagazine The Culture Show. Mercury Studios is producing the docuseries.

“Compelling music docuseries have become a pillar of EPIX’s slate of premium original programming, and My Life as a Rolling Stone is a perfect addition to that mix,” says network president Michael Wright. “This distinctive documentary captures the raw and organic energy that defines The Rolling Stones, and tells the gripping, epic story of their journey. I am excited for viewers to experience this legendary band as few ever have before.”

Adds Mercury Studios CEO Alice Webb, “As they celebrate 60 years we couldn’t be prouder that EPIX viewers will enjoy exclusive access to The Rolling Stones through these special shows.”

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Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant and acclaimed country-bluegrass artist Alison Krauss have added four new dates to the end of their forthcoming second U.S. tour leg in support of their 2021 album, Raise the Roof.

The trek, which kicks off with an August 15 concert in San Diego, California was originally plotted out through a September 4 performance in Austin, Texas. The new shows are scheduled for September 7 in Franklin, Tennessee; September 9 in Boston, Massachusetts; September 10 in Mashantucket, Connecticut; and September 12 at New York City’s famed Beacon Theatre.

In addition, an Atlanta concert that was to have taken place on June 16 but was postponed because of bad weather has been rescheduled for September 6.

Tickets for the Beacon Theatre show go on sale to the general public this Friday, June 24 at 9 a.m. ET, while tickets for the other three concerts will be available to the public that day at 10 a.m. local time. Pre-sale tickets for all four performances will go on sale starting tomorrow.

For more information, visit PlantKrauss.com/#tour.

The first leg of Plant and Krauss’ 2022 U.S. tour wrapped up on Friday, June 17 with a performance at the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tennessee. The duo will launch a series of European shows with an appearance this Friday, June 24 at U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival. The trek will run through a July 20 gig in Berlin.

Released in November 2021, Raise the Roof peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album is a follow-up to Plant and Krauss’ Grammy-winning 2007 collaborative record, Raising Sand.

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A new capsule collection of t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts featuring images of and quotes by late Queen singer Freddie Mercury has been launched by the BOSS apparel brand as part of its BOSS Legends series.

According to a press release, the new collection, which arrived during Pride Month, celebrates “the attitude, vision and spirit” of Mercury, noting that shared philosophy of the singer and the brand “exemplifies the desire to defy convention, live life on your own terms, and be your own BOSS.”

The t-shirts are available in black, white and bright yellow, with the latter color a nod to the famous jacket Mercury wore during his final tour with Queen in 1986. The hoodie comes in black.

The shirts and the hoodie feature black-and-white photos of Freddie performing as well as Mercury’s autograph and a specially created design combining the BOSS logo and the autograph.

One of the t-shirts from the collection boasts a quote by Mercury declaring, “I’m not going to be a star. I’m going to be a legend!”

The Freddie Mercury BOSS Legends capsule collection is available now online and in BOSS stores around the world. A portion of proceeds from sales of the items will benefit the Mercury Phoenix Trust, the AIDS-related charity founded by Queen guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and manager Jim Beach in Mercury’s honor.

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Today marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Crosby, Stills & Nash‘s Daylight Again, the famed folk-rock trio’s third studio album.

Daylight Again featured two hit singles, “Wasted on the Way” and “Southern Cross,” which peaked at #9 and #18, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album reached #8 on the Billboard 200.

The project began as duo collaboration between Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, but David Crosby, who had been struggling with drug issues at the time, was eventually brought in to make it a full-fledged CSN album.

“David was going through…a difficult time in his life, but we made the best record that we could at the time, absolutely,” Nash tells ABC Audio. “And I think it’s a fine piece of music.”

In Crosby’s absence, various other singers were brought in to fill out the tracks, including Art Garfunkel and Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmit.

Nash says a musician who made particularly important contributions to Daylight Again was keyboardist and backing singer Mike Finnigan, who died of cancer in 2021.

“Mike Finnigan was our organ player for many, many years, and he…was a fantastic musician,” Graham notes. “A lot of Daylight Again was done with Michael singing with me and Stephen, that we replaced with David’s voice when David came back to health.”

Meanwhile, Nash explains that “Wasted on the Way,” which was CSN’s second-highest-charting single ever, was written about his feeling that he and his band mates could’ve made much more music together than they did.

“I understand that CSN and CSNY did a lot of really fine music, and I’m very proud of it all,” he says, adding with a laugh, “but once you play me a great song, I want more.”

Here’s Daylight Again‘s full track list:

“Turn Your Back on Love”
“Wasted on the Way”
“Southern Cross”
“Into the Darkness”
“Delta”
“Since I Met You”
“Too Much Love to Hide”
“Song for Susan”
“You Are Alive”
“Might as Well Have a Good Time”
“Daylight Again/Find the Cost of Freedom”

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If you’re a Pretenders fan, here’s some potentially disappointing news: Frontwoman Chrissie Hynde says she no longer plans to play concerts that focus on her band’s best-known tunes.

In a Facebook message posted Friday, Hynde revealed she had some “good news,” writing, “I’m completely dumping any sort of Greatest Hits set for now on. I never wanted to go there in the first place but was trying to keep myself alive and pay the bills. And yes, I know that’s no reason to be in a rock band. (I was just too scared to go back to waitressing.) But those greatest hits/ballads days are now behind me.”

She added, “If anyone wants to come and see me in the future it’s going to be punk rock/no hits.”

Hynde also sung the praises of and shared a video clip of a hard-rocking new song by longtime Pretenders guitarist James Walbourne‘s current project, His Lordship‘s “All Cranked Up.”

The Pretenders currently have no tour dates scheduled, although Hynde has been announced as one of the performers at the Foo Fighters-headlined star-studded tribute concert to late Foos drummer Taylor Hawkins that will take place September 3 in London.

Also, Hynde announced in a Facebook post last month that The Pretenders had finished recording a new album.

Hynde explained that the project “started out as more of a Valve Bone Woe sort of thing” — referring to her jazz-influenced 2019 solo album — “but morphed into a rock thing.” 

She added, “I guess I just can’t help it. I know I shouldn’t name drop, but in the words of Neil Young ‘she’ll be rocking till she drops.'”

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If you’re a director looking to make a new Popeye movie, look no further than Flea.

In a recent tweet, the Red Hot Chili Peppers suggested he’d be a good choice to play pipe-chewing, spinach-eating Sailor Man, should the opportunity ever arise.

“If a good director decides to make a Popeye movie, I’m your man,” Flea declared.

Should Flea be able to manifest a starring role in a new Popeye film — which, judging by other franchise reboots/sequels, would probably be called Dawn of Popeye or Popeye Returns or simply The Popeye — he’d be following in the footsteps of the late Robin Williams, who played the character in the 1980 live-action movie Popeye. The Robert Altman-directed feature received poor reviews, but has developed more of a following in recent years.

In the meantime, Flea is currently on tour with the Peppers in support of their new album, Unlimited Love. The global trek will come to the U.S. in July.

You can also catch Flea in the new Disney+ miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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