Classic Rock News

Neil Young has made available a live version of his 1995 song “Throw Your Hatred Down,” recorded with his backing group Promise of the Real while on tour in Europe in 2019, as an advance digital track from his upcoming album Noise & Flowers.

“Throw Your Hatred Down” originally appeard on Mirror Ball, Young’s 1995 collaborative album with Pearl Jam.

As previously reported, Noise & Flowers will be released on August 5 on audio and video formats. The album and film, which were recorded during Young’s nine-date 2019 European tour with Promise of the Real, are dedicated to Neil’s longtime friend and manager Elliot Roberts, who died at age 76 just a couple of weeks before the trek was launched.

Noise & Flowers, which can be preordered now, will be available on CD, as a two-LP vinyl set, via digital formats and as a deluxe CD/two-LP/Blu-ray collection featuring the film on the Blu-ray disc. In addition, a standalone Blu-ray can be purchased exclusively at Young’s Greedy Hand Store. The film was co-directed by Young and his wife, actress Daryl Hannah, under their Bernard Shakey and dhlovelife pseudonyms.

Those who purchase Noise & Flowers at the Greedy Hand Store will receive a high-res digital download of the album from Young’s Xstream Store at his Neil Young Archives website.

Here’s Noise & Flowers full track list:

“Mr. Soul”
“Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere”
“Helpless”
“Field of Opportunity”
“Alabama”
“Throw Your Hatred Down”
“Rockin’ in the Free World”
“Comes a Time”
“From Hank to Hendrix”
“On the Beach”
“Are You Ready for the Country”
“I’ve Been Waiting for You”
“Winterlong”
“F***in’ Up”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On Wednesday, David Lee Roth posted a previously unreleased solo song called “Nothing Could Have Stopped Us Back Then Anyway” on his official website and YouTube channel. The song pays homage to Van Halen, and now Roth’s main collaborator on the track, one-time DLR Band guitarist John 5, has debuted a music video for the tune.

The clip, which you can watch now on John 5’s YouTube channel, features archival performance footage, home movies and rare photos of Van Halen during the band’s early years.

In a message accompanying the video, John 5 writes, “Honored to be a part of this amazing piece of history. When I wrote the song with Dave, I knew it was something very special. I created this video on the tour bus as a tribute with [director] Mike Savage. Very proud to share it with everyone.”

As previously reported by the Van Halen News Desk fan site, “Nothing Could Have Stopped Us Back Then Anyway” is one of a number of songs that Roth recorded with guitarist John 5 several years ago. Over the last couple of years, Diamond Dave has released a number of other tunes from those sessions, including “Somewhere over the Rainbow Bar and Grill,” “Giddy-Up!,” “Low-Rez Sunset” and “Pointing at the Moon.”

“Nothing Could Have Stopped Us Back Then Anyway” is available now via select streaming services.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

A limited-edition vinyl reissue of David Bowie‘s 1977 album “Heroes” will drop on October 14 in celebration of its 45th anniversary. Pressed on gray vinyl, the reissue will only be available at brick-and-mortar stores.

“Heroes,” Bowie’s 11th studio album, was released in October of ’77 and is best known for its classic title track, which was one of four songs Brian Eno co-wrote on the record. It was released as a single and became a minor hit in the U.K. Though it didn’t chart in the States, it’s become one of Bowie’s most enduring and widely covered tunes. The album peaked at #3 in the U.K. but only reached #35 in the U.S. 

The “Heroes” album was the second of what is known as Bowie’s “Berlin Trilogy,” which also includes 1977’s Low and 1979’s Lodger, but it’s the only one that he recorded entirely in the German city. The album, which Bowie co-produced with frequent collaborator Tony Visconti, features the same group of musicians who recorded Low, with the addition of King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp.

Also on October 14, the mini album Live in Berlin (1978) will be released via digital formats for the first time. The eight-song collection, which was recorded at a May 1978 concert at the Deutschlandhalle in West Berlin, was previously only available as a limited-edition orange vinyl LP, sold in 2018 at the “David Bowie Is…” exhibition in Brooklyn, New York.

The performance included versions of three songs from the “Heroes” album, as well as the Bowie hits “Fame” and “Rebel Rebel.”

Here’s the full “Heroes” track list:

Side 1
“Beauty and the Beast”
“Joe the Lion”
“‘Heroes'”
“Sons of the Silent Age”
“Blackout”

Side 2
“V-2 Schneider”
“Sense of Doubt”
“Moss Garden”
“Neuköln”
“The Secret Life of Arabia”

And here’s the complete Live in Berlin (1978) track list:

“‘Heroes'”
“Be My Wife”
“Blackout”
“Sense of Doubt”
“Breaking Glass”
“Fame”
“Alabama Song”
“Rebel Rebel”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Sammy Hagar and his band The Circle have unveiled plans to release a new studio album titled Crazy Times this fall and made the title track available as an advance digital single Friday, along with a companion music video for the tune.

The 10-song collection, which can be preordered now, will be released on CD and via digital formats on September 30, while standard black vinyl and limited-edition red vinyl LP versions will follow on October 28.

Hagar & The Circle recorded Crazy Times at Nashville’s famed RCA Studio A with Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb.

Crazy Times, which is a follow-up to the group’s 2019 debut, Space Between, features nine songs either written or co-written by Hagar, as well as a cover of Elvis Costello and the Attraction‘s 1978 classic “Pump It Up.”

The title track was one of three tunes the Red Rocker co-wrote with his Circle bandmates — bassist Michael Anthony, drummer Jason Bonham and guitarist Vic Johnson — and Cobb.

The video for the hard-driving, riff-heavy song features Hagar and the band performing the tune as a montage of explosions and other ominous images appear behind them.

Hagar says that after the long COVID-19 lockdown, he really appreciated getting to work with his bandmates again in person.

“Going back in the studio, creating and being with the music is just what felt natural,” Hagar notes. “There was joy in the hard work, catharsis and the comradery we’d craved. It was like those two years of not being able to do very much fell away and we really all came together and let it out in the music and lyrics.”

The digital version of Crazy Times also features a pair of bonus tracks. Here’s the album’s full track list:

“Intro: The Beginning of the End”
“Slow Drain”
“Feed Your Head”
“Pump It Up”
“Be Still”
“You Get What You Pay For”
“Crazy Times”
“Funky Feng Shui”
“Father Time”
“Childhood’s End”

Digital-only bonus tracks:
“2010”
“Father Time” (acoustic demo)

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

After teasing the news in a recent video update, Ringo Starr has now announced full details about his upcoming EP, EP3.

The four-track collection, which can be pre-ordered now, will be released digitally and on CD September 16, while a limited-edition blue cassette and 10-inch vinyl-disc version are due out on November 18.

EP3 is the third EP the former Beatles drummer released after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — following Zoom In and Change the World, which both arrived in 2021.

Starr recorded all three EPs at his Roccabella West studio.

EP3 begins with the upbeat rock tune “World Go Round,” which is available now as an advance digital single. It was co-written by founding Toto guitarist, longtime All Starr Band member Steve Lukather, and Toto lead singer Joseph Williams, who both co-wrote the Change the World‘s title track.

The second track, “Everyone and Everything,” was written by hit-making producer and songwriter Linda Perry, who also contributes guitar, percussion and backing vocals to the tune.

The third song, “Let’s Be Friends,” is a catchy dance tune co-written by Starr’s longtime studio engineer Bruce Sugar and acclaimed songwriter Sam Hollander.

The EP’s final track, “Free Your Soul,” is a laid-back, reggae-flavored tune that Starr co-wrote with Sugar. The tune includes guest appearances by Dave Koz on tenor sax and José Antonio Rodriguez on nylon guitar.

“I am in my studio writing and recording every chance I get,” Ringo notes. “It’s what I have always done and will continue to do, and releasing EPs more frequently allows me to continue to be creative and give each song a little more love.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

After giving the Upside Down the most metal concert its ever seen, Eddie Munson made his debut at Lollapalooza on Thursday.

During Metallica‘s headlining set on the opening day of the Chicago festival, the metal legends broadcasted the Stranger Things character’s famous shredding scene on the stage screens while performing — what else? — “Master of Puppets.”

Footage of the production was posted to Twitter by @Consequence.

Following its placement in the season four finale of Stranger Things earlier this month, “Master of Puppets” has seen a resurgence, making its first-ever appearance on the Billboard Hot 100. To celebrate the song’s newfound popularity, Metallica released a new lyric video for “Master of Puppets” this week.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Just a reminder that Aerosmith launches its new streaming concert series, 50 Years Live!: From the Aerosmith Vaults, today at 3 p.m. ET at the band’s official YouTube channel.

The first installment, is titled Live from The Summit, Houston, TX, 1977, and features footage from a two-night stand that the rock legends played at the Houston venue in June ’77 during their Draw the Line Tour. The film, which has been digitized from the original analog tape and remastered in HD, will be viewable for one week after its premiere.

As previously reported, the five-part series will offer a new archival “official bootleg” concert film featuring never-before-seen footage debut weekly for five weeks. Each flick captures Aerosmith during a different decade and features shows filmed by multiple cameras.

One day after each film premieres, highlight clips from the respective movies also will be added to Aerosmith’s YouTube channel.

In conjunction with the 50 Years Live! series, Aerosmith has launched a contest at Tunespeak.com offering fans who watch the films each week a chance to win two tickets to the band’s 50th anniversary concert at Boston’s Fenway Park on September 8. Those who enter also will have the opportunity to win an Aerosmith t-shirt.

Here’s the complete schedule of the 50 Years Live!: From the Aerosmith Vaults series:

7/29 — Live from the Summit, Houston, TX, 1977 (Draw the Line Tour)
8/5 — Live from the Capital Centre, Landover, MD, 1989 (Pump Tour)
8/12 — Live from the Coca-Cola Star Lake Amphitheatre, Pittsburgh, PA, 1993 (Get a Grip Tour)
8/19 — Live from Comerica Park, Detroit, MI, 2003 (Rocksimus Maximus Tour)
8/26 — Live from Arena Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, 2016 (Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble Tour)

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

A woman who accused Bob Dylan of sexually abusing her when she was a minor dropped her lawsuit on Thursday, following accusations that she destroyed key evidence.

The lawsuit alleged that Dylan — born Robert Allen Zimmerman — abused the woman over a six-week period in 1965 when she was 12 years old, saying the legendary singer-songwriter left her “emotionally scarred and psychologically damaged.” Dylan’s lawyers dismissed the accusations as “false, malicious, reckless and defamatory” and a “brazen shakedown masquerading as a lawsuit,” according to Billboard.

At a hearing on Thursday, however, the plaintiff — identified only as J.C. — suddenly asked the federal judge overseeing the case to dismiss it “with prejudice,” meaning the suit cannot cannot be refiled, Billboard reports. The move came after the plaintiff was accused of deleting text messages and emails and was threatened with monetary sanctions.

“This case is over. It is outrageous that it was ever brought in the first place,” Dylan’s lead attorney, Orin Snyder, said in a statement obtained by Billboard. “We are pleased that the plaintiff has dropped this lawyer-driven sham and that the case has been dismissed with prejudice.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

As he waits to head back out on tour with his All Starr Band in September, Ringo Starr has posted a video update at his YouTube channel in which he shares some news about an upcoming release he has planned.

In the clip, the former Beatles drummer starts by sending out his usual “peace and love” message to fans, explaining that he’s hanging out on a beautiful day.

Then, after noting that the tour will be picking up again in September after a bunch of June dates were postponed, he declares, “I have another EP out in September. It’s called EP 3. And so, September’s gonna be pretty busy, thank you.”

As previously announced, Ringo and the All Starr Band’s postponed shows were rescheduled to run right into their fall North American leg, which is mapped out through an October 19-20 stand in Mexico City.

As its title suggests, Starr’s upcoming EP with be the third EP he’s released in the last couple of years. The first, Zoom In, was issued in March 2021, while the second, Change the World, arrived in September of last year.

Meanwhile, the end of the update video features footage of Ringo having fun while briefly jamming out with Toto and All Starr Band guitarist Steve Lukather on a version of Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water,” with Ringo accompanying Steve on bongos.

After he stops playing, Starr comments, “Let’s do a version of that,” then declares, “Bongo boy!”

You can check out the All Starr Band’s full list of tour dates at RingoStarr.com.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

A new box set featuring remastered versions of former Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler‘s four most recent solo studio albums, plus a disc of bonus songs, will be released on October 7 as a six-CD set, a nine-LP vinyl collection and on digital formats.

Mark Knopfler: The Studio Albums 2009-2018, which can be preordered now, includes 2009’s Get Lucky, 2012’s Privateering, 2015’s Tracker and 2018’s Down the Road Wherever. It also features the companion compilation Back in the Day: The Bonus Tracks 2009-2018, which includes studio B-sides and bonus tracks, as well as two previously unreleased songs from the Down the Road Wherever era — “Back in the Day” and “Precious Voice from Heaven.”

Three tracks from the rarities compilation — “Back in the Day,” “Don’t Suck Me In” and “Sky and Water” — are available now as advance digital tracks.

The vinyl box set will feature two LP versions of Get Lucky, Privateering, Tracker and Down the Road Wherever, plus the single-disc Back in the Day, all pressed on 180-gram vinyl. The collection also will come with five embossed prints of the cover art of each album.

Get Lucky, Privateering, Tracker and Down the Road Wherever peaked at #17, #65, #14 and #15, respectively, on the Billboard 200.

The upcoming box set is the follow-up to the Mark Knopfler: The Studio Albums 1996-2007 collection, which focused on Mark’s first five solo albums and was released in the U.S. in April.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.