Classic Rock News

Paul McCartney kicked of his 2022 Got Back tour last night in Spokane, Washington, with a marathon set that saw him celebrating the legacy of his famous former band The Beatles, while also digging into his solo catalog.

Rolling Stone reports that a highlight of the show was McCartney singing a virtual duet with the late John Lennon on the Fab Four’s “I’ve Got a Feeling,” using Lennon’s isolated vocals from The Beatles’ famous 1969 rooftop concert at Apple Records’ London headquarters.

Sir Paul explained to the crowd that Peter Jackson, director of The Beatles Get Back documentary miniseries, told him, “‘We can extract John’s voice [from the concert footage] and he can sing with you.’ I said, ‘Oh, yeah!'”

According to Setlist.fm, McCartney also dusted off a few Beatles songs he hadn’t played live for many years, including “Getting Better” and “You Never Give Me Your Money,” both of which he hadn’t performed in concert since 2003. He also played “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window” for the first time since 2008.

The rock legend, who turns 80 in June, also showcased some newer material in his set, performing “Woman and Wives” from his latest solo album, 2020’s McCartney III, for the first time ever live, and also playing two songs from his 2018 album Egypt Station — “Come On to Me” and “Fuh You.”

The Spokane show was Paul first concert since July 2019, and, according to Rolling Stone, he shared his excitement about returin to the stage while also referencing the name of his tour.

“Well, we said we’d come back, and we got back,” he declared. “And believe me, we’re really happy to be back.”

McCartney’s Got Back tour continues Monday in Seattle.

Here’s the Spokane show’s full set list:

“Can’t Buy Me Love”
“Junior’s Farm”
“Letting Go”
“Got to Get You into My Life”
“Come On to Me”
“Let Me Roll It”
“Getting Better”
“Women and Wives”
“My Valentine”
“1985”
“Maybe I’m Amazed”
“I’ve Just Seen a Face”
“In Spite of All The Danger”
“Love Me Do”
“Dance Tonight”
“Blackbird”
“Here Today”
“Queenie Eye”
“Lady Madonna”
“Fuh You”
“Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite”
“Something”
“Ob La Di Ob La Da”
“You Never Give Me Your Money”
“She Came in Through the Bathroom Window”
“Get Back”
“Band on the Run
“Let It Be”
“Live and Let Die”
“Hey Jude”

Encore:
“I’ve Got a Feeling”
“Birthday”
“Helter Skelter”
“Golden Slumbers”/”Carry That Weight”/”The End”

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A new archival Creedence Clearwater Revival documentary focusing on a historic April 1970 concert that the band played at London’s famed Royal Albert Hall us currently in production.

The movie, titled Travelin’ Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall, is narrated by Oscar-winning actor and CCR fan Jeff Bridges, and directed by Grammy-winning filmmaker Bob Smeaton, whose credits include The Beatles Anthology series and Jimi Hendrix Band of Gypsies.

Travelin’ Band will be the first movie ever to feature footage of a full concert by Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s classic lineup of John Fogerty, Tom Fogerty, Stu Cook and Doug “Cosmo” Clifford.

The film follows the band from their early years in their hometown of El Cerrito, California, to their emergence as one of the most popular rock groups in the world, performing at Woodstock and selling out the Oakland Coliseum before heading overseas for a European trek that included the Royal Albert Hall show.

Travelin’ Band offers a treasure trove of rare and unseen footage, including recently rediscovered 16-mm film of the concert, behind-the-scenes clip of the band members, and interviews from the archives of the Fantasy Records label. The movie also includes what is thought to be the earliest known footage of the group playing live.

Audio of the concert has been mixed and restored using the original multi-track tapes by Beatles reissue producer Giles Martin and his studio collaborator Sam Okell.

Smeaton says that while working on the film, “I was able to see and hear why [CCR] are worthy of their status as one of the greatest bands of all time. I knew they were good, I never knew they were that good.”

Adds Bridges, “What a band! Love listening to ’em, love playin’ Fogerty’s tunes.”

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Heart frontwoman Ann Wilson‘s latest solo album, Fierce Bliss, gets its release today.

The 11-track collection was recorded during the last couple of years at studios in Nashville, Seattle, Connecticut and Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

The album features mostly new originals co-written by Wilson, plus covers of Queen‘s “Love of My Life,” Robin Trower‘s “Bridge of Sighs” and Eurythmics‘ “Missionary Man.” “Love of My Life” is a duet with country star Vince Gill, while acclaimed blues-rock guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd plays on “Bridge of Sighs” and “Missionary Man.”

Wilson tells ABC Audio that the Gill duet came about “all of a sudden” while he was visiting Muscle Shoals during one of her sessions there.

“It was so cool,” notes Ann. “It wasn’t even forced. It was just something that happened. It was great.”

As for her “Bridge of Sighs” cover, Wilson says, “[I]t’s maybe my favorite track on the record right now. Kenny Wayne just really succeeded with that one. He blew me away. It’s a blues song incarnate.”

Wilson recorded most of the tracks with a group of “go-to, top flight session musicians [from] Nashville.” She was so happy with the musicians’ spontaneous creativity and her chemistry with them, she hired them as her backing band, christening them The Amazing Dawgs.

As Ann recalls, “[T]here was a moment where all of a sudden we all looked at each other and went, ‘You know, this is really cool. This is more than just a sideman thing. These guys are amazing.”

Wilson also recorded two tracks with Gov’t Mule — “Gladiator” and “Angel’s Blues” — which she co-wrote with the jam band’s frontman, Warren Haynes.

“It was so great working with Gov’t Mule,” Ann says. “They just really get it.”

Here’s the full Fierce Bliss track list:

“Greed”
“Black Wing”
“Bridge of Sighs”
“Fighten for Life”
“Love of My Life” — featuring Vince Gill
“Missionary Man”
“Gladiator”
“Forget Her”
“A Moment in Heaven”
“Angel’s Blues”*
“As the World Turns”

* = on CD and digital formats only.

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The Who‘s Pete Townshend and Santana guitarist Carlos Santana, are part of the lineup of the Audible audio service’s next Words + Music series, a program that combines music and storytelling.

The new series of programs kicks off on May 6 with Pete Townshend: Somebody Saved Me, a two-hour presentation that features the legendary Who guitarist/songwriter discussing the period between the 1978 of Who drummer Keith Moon and the 2002 passing of bassist John Entwistle.

In the episode, the 76-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer reflects on the music he made with The Who and as a solo artist, his various other creative projects and endeavors, his personal relationships and more. The program also features newly recorded versions of several tunes from Pete’s catalog, including “Let My Love Open the Door,” “Slit Skirts,” “You Better You Bet,” and “Eminence Front.”

A one-minute preview clip from Somebody Saved Me has been posted on Audible’s SoundCloud page, in which Townshend notes that episode will look at a time “when The Who was at its most popular, and when The Who broke up…a time when I made solo records and worked on projects of all kinds outside rock ‘n’ roll.”

He adds, “It was a time that The Who suffered great loss, and then came together again. You could say that in this Words + Music project I’m going to focus on my ‘Middle Ages.'”

Word + Music episodes are available for free at Audible.com. The premiere date for Santana’s Words + Music episode hasn’t been announced yet.

Other artists featured in upcoming Word + Music presentations include Beck, comedy rock duo Tenacious D, Mariah Carey and Aimee Mann.

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Metallica frontman James Hetfield has teamed up with Ernie Ball to create his own line of signature guitar strings.

Dubbed Papa Het’s Hardwired Master Core, the strings come in a unique 11-50 gauge combo, which Ernie Ball calls “ideal for [Hetfield’s] aggressive style and technique.”

“It’s only taken 40 years for me to have my own strings!” Hetfield laughs in a video making the announcement.

You can order your Papa Het strings, which come in a tin box designed with artwork by Hetfield, now via Metallica.com. They’ll be available through Ernie Ball retailers beginning May 10.

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Over 200 artists, including The Who, Aerosmith, ZZ Top and KISS, are taking part in Live Nation’s 2022 Concert Week promotion, which will offer $25 tickets to shows across North American throughout the summer.

Among the many, many other participating tours are Alice Cooper, Alice in Chains & Bush, Anthrax, The Beach Boys, The Black Crowes, Bonnie Raitt, Chicago & Brian Wilson, Collective Soul, Def Leppard & Mötley Crüe, Devo, The Doobie Brothers, Elvis Costello, Foreigner, Kraftwerk, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Megadeth, REO Speedwagon & Styx with Loverboy, Rod Stewart, Roxy Music, Sammy Hagar, Santana, Steely Dan, Sting, Tedeschi Trucks Band and Tesla.

In total, over 3,700 shows will be discounted as part of the promotion.

The $25 Concert Week tickets will be on sale beginning Wednesday, May 4 at 10 a.m. ET, through Tuesday, May 10. For the full list of participating artists and all other info, visit LiveNation.com.

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David Bowie‘s landmark 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was released 50 years ago this June, and to commemorate the milestone, two special vinyl collections will be issued that month.

The first is a limited-edition half-speed-mastered Ziggy Stardust LP, while the second is a picture disc featuring the same master and packaged with a replica promotional poster. Both discs are due out on June 17, one day after the 50th anniversary of the Ziggy Stardust album’s original U.K. release.

The new master for LPs was created using restored masters of the original master tapes from Bowie’s sessions at London’s Trident Studios.

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was Bowie’s fifth album and his first to break into the top 40 of the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at #21. While the record yielded no hit singles in the U.S., it features many of classic Bowie songs, including “Moonage Daydream,” “Starman,” “Ziggy Stardust” and “Suffragette City.” The record is a loose concept album focusing on the Bowie-created Ziggy Stardust character, a bisexual alien rock star, and his mythical backing group, The Spiders from Mars.

During that time, Bowie and his real band took on the personas of Ziggy and The Spiders from Mars in concert, until David dramatically declared onstage at the end of a July 1973 show at London’s Hammersmith Odeon that the group had played its last gig.

Today’s announcement of the upcoming vinyl discs coincides with the 50th anniversary of release of the album’s first single, “Starman,” which reached at #10 in the U.K.

Here’s the full Ziggy Stardust track list:

Side One
“Five Years”
“Soul Love”
“Moonage Daydream”
“Starman”
“It Ain’t Easy”

Side Two
“Lady Stardust”
“Star”
“Hang On to Yourself”
“Ziggy Stardust”
“Suffragette City”
“Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide”

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Ozzy Osbourne has tested positive for COVID-19.

The 73-year-old Black Sabbath legend’s wife Sharon Osbourne revealed the news in an interview on the U.K.’s Talk TV Thursday. Sharon, who’s currently in the U.K. while Ozzy is in Los Angeles, said that she spoke to her husband and that he’s “OK,” while adding that she’s “very worried” about him.

“We’ve gone two years without him catching COVID,” Sharon said through tears. “It’s just Ozzy’s luck he would get it now.”

She added that she’s returning to L.A. to be with Ozzy so that she can “hold him and kiss him with about three masks on.”

Sharon had just started a new show on Talk TV called The Talk, not to be confused with the CBS show The Talk that she used to co-host before her controversial exit in 2021. In returning home to Ozzy, she says she’ll miss a week before returning to the U.K. The Talk.

“I know my husband,” Sharon said. “We’re gonna get him back on his feet and we’re going to get a negative test by next week.”

Various members of the Osbourne family have contracted COVID-19 over the pandemic, including Sharon and several of her and Ozzy’s grandchildren.

Ozzy received his first COVID-19 vaccine in February 2021.

In an interview with Metal Hammer last October, Ozzy joked that being a “devil worshipper” helped him avoid catching the virus.

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The Beach Boys are launching a yearlong worldwide celebration to mark their 60th anniversary that will include special audio releases, an official documentary, a tribute special, new music videos, exhibitions, other commemorative events, and more.

Kicking things off will be an expanded and remastered reissue of the band’s 2003 hits compilation Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of The Beach Boys that will be released on June 17.

The updated collection, features 80 tracks, 50 more than the original version, including classic hits and deeper cuts spanning from the group’s 1962 debut album, Surfin’ Safari, through 1989’s Still Cruisin’.

The track list boasts nearly every top-40 single that the band released, including “California Girls,” “I Get Around,” “Surfer Girl,” “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” “God Only Knows,” “Good Vibrations” and “Kokomo.” Newly added songs include such gems as “Feel Flows,” “Sail On Sailor” and “Surf’s Up.”

The Sounds of Summer reissue includes 24 new mixes, with two tracks getting stereo mixes for the first time. The collection, which can be pre-ordered now, will be available as a three-CD set, digitally and as a six-LP vinyl package. A limited-edition, numbered version of the vinyl collection will feature a rainbow foil slipcase and four lithographs.

A remastered version of the original 30-track compilation also will be released, on CD and as a two-LP set.

In advance of the reissue’s arrival, a new stereo mix of “Good Vibrations” has been made available as a digital single.

The Beach Boys also are planning to release an archival multi-disc set this fall that delves into two of the band’s early-’70s albums — 1972’s Carl and the Passions — “So Tough” and 1973’s Holland.

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Phil Collins and his ex-wife Orianne Cevey faced off — online, at least — Wednesday in front of a judge, in the latest chapter of their ongoing multi-million-dollar legal battle over Phil’s Miami mansion.

The New York Post reports that Phil and Orianne are fighting over the proceeds to the mansion, which he sold in January of 2021 for $40 million. Phil believes Orianne has no right to half the proceeds from the house; she thinks otherwise. In their latest court filing, Phil’s lawyers accuse Orianne of “committing a fraud” when it comes to the various affidavits she’s filed in connection with the case.

Phil and Orianne were married from 1999 to 2008. Orianne then married Charles Mejjati, but divorced him, she claims, after Phil promised to give her half of the proceeds from the Miami mansion if she split up with Mejjati. She also claims that Phil asked her to move in with him and said he’d “take care” of her.

Phil denies ever promising her half the house. However, the two did reconcile in 2016 and were together until 2020, when Orianne secretly married another man named Thomas Bates — who, court papers reveal, she “picked from a male escort site.” 

She then moved Bates into the Miami mansion when Phil was in Europe; the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was forced to legally evict them. Phil then sold the mansion and moved to Switzerland.

Phil’s lawyers say there are “literally dozens of additional irreconcilable conflicts between” Orianne’s position in the case and things she stated in 2016 when she divorced Mejjati.

Orianne was Phil’s third wife. They have two children: 21-year-old Nic — who drummed in Phil’s place during his farewell tour with Genesis — and Matthew, 17.

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