Classic Rock News

Last month, Def Leppard released its 12th studio album, Diamond Star Halos, which debuted at #10 on the Billboard 200.

Not surprisingly, the 15-track collection is packed with revved-up rock anthems and tunes influenced by 70 glam rock. However, the group takes bit of a sonic detour on two tracks — “This Guitar” and “Lifeless” — melodic ballads that feature frontman Joe Elliott teaming up with Robert Plant‘s favorite duet partner, acclaimed country/bluegrass artist Alison Krauss.

Bassist Rick “Sav” Savage tells ABC Audio that the band decided to ask Krauss to contribute to the songs because they thought her voice would be perfect for the tunes, while also knowing that she was a longtime fan of the group.

“Well, she’s just got the voice of an angel,” Sav notes. “And we’ve known her for years and years and years. She actually interviewed Joe back in ’96 for Q magazine in England…So it was like, ‘Let’s just ask her,’ you know, guessing that she’d just say yes…And obviously, she was delighted to be involved.”

Elliott, meanwhile, tells ABC Audio that when the band sent Krauss the two songs, they initially intended have her just choose her favorite to sing on, but things worked out differently.

“[S]he says, ‘I can’t pick. I don’t know which one I want to do,'” Joe recalls. “So we just said, ‘Well, you want to do ’em both?’ And she was like, ‘Really? I would love to.'”

Elliot adds that he was impressed with how creative Krauss got with her vocal parts.

“[S]he comes back with not just the harmony vocal, but all these little counter melody arrangements of herself doing three-part harmonies,” Joe enthuses. “It’s like, what great work, you know?…[She] just colored it up really well.”

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Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band have postponed the remainder of their current North American tour leg after two members of the group tested positive for COVID-19 in the past few days.

On Tuesday, Ringo announced that Edgar Winter had contracted the virus and would be sitting out some shows, but after Toto guitarist Steve Lukather subsequently also tested positive for COVID-19, the decision was made to postpone the rest of the current trek until September, before the start of the band’s previously announced fall tour leg.

Twelve shows will be rescheduled, spanning from a concert that was to have taken place tonight in Easton, Pennsylvania, through a June 26 gig in Clearwater, Florida.

The second leg of Ringo and the All Starr Band’s 2022 tour is mapped out from a September 23 show in Bridgeport, Connecticut, through an October 19-20 stand in Mexico City.

“We are so sorry to let the fans down,” says Ringo. “It’s been wonderful to be back out on the road and we have been having such a great time playing for you all. But as we all know, Covid is still here and despite being careful these things happen. I want to thank the fans for their patience, I send you all peace and love, and we can’t wait to be back in the Fall.”

Meanwhile, as he’s done for many years, Starr is asking fans across the globe to celebrate his birthday with him on July 7 by saying, thinking or posting messages about “Peace and Love” at noon that day wherever they are. Local fan events already are being organized around the world, and more details will be shared soon at Starr’s Facebook page.

Here’s the full list of postponed All Starr Band dates:

6/11 — Easton, PA, State Theater
6/12 — Providence, RI, PPAC
6/14 — Baltimore, MD, Modell Lyric
6/15 — Baltimore, MD,- Modell Lyric
6/17 — Lenox, MA, Tanglewood
6/18 — Pittsburgh, PA, PPG Arena
6/19 — Philadelphia, PA, Metropolitan Theater
6/21 — Richmond, VA, Virginia Credit Union Live
6/22 — Atlanta, GA, Cobb Center
6/24 — St. Augustine, FL, The AMP
6/25 — Hollywood, FL, Hard Rock
6/26 — Clearwater, FL, Ruth Eckerd Hall

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Jackson Browne is one of the guest stars featured on Dirty Daddy, the new Netflix tribute special to late comedian Bob Saget, which was taped in January at the Comedy Store in West Hollywood, California.

The show also features John Stamos, Jim Carrey, Chris Rock, Jeff Ross, Seth Green, singer/guitarist John Mayer and many other celebs.

Browne performs two of his early songs on the special, “For a Dancer” and “These Days,” accompanying himself on acoustic guitar.

While introducing “For a Dancer,” which Browne wrote for a friend who died young, he explained that Saget had previously asked him to play the song at a New York City event that featured performances by various comedians. Browne said he was apprehensive about playing the tune at a comedy event, but Bob encouraged him to do it.

Reflecting on that, Browne said that perhaps “after laughing really hard, it’s good to contemplate death for a little while, and [then] you can … presumably go back to laughing.”

Later in the show, Stamos told the audience that he asked Browne to play “These Days,” which was one of Saget’s favorite songs. Browne then returned to the stage and asked Mayer if he’d accompany him on electric guitar, drawing cheers from the audience.

Before beginning the contemplative song, Browne pointed out that Mayer had said something at a memorial for Saget that had stayed with him, noting that “it had something to do with … the similarities between comedy and blues in its relation to truth.”

Browne continued, “For some reason, Bob liked a sad song. And there’s something about what comedy does when it dispels your sorrows and deepest fear.”

Dirty Daddy: The Bob Saget Tribute Special is streaming on Netflix now.

(Video contains uncensored profanity)

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The new archival Rolling Stones concert film and album Licked Live in NYC, which captures a January 2003 show that the British rock legends played at New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden, got its release Friday.

The release, which boasts restored video and remastered audio, is available in several formats and configurations, including a DVD/two-CD set, a standard-definition Blu-ray/two-CD set, and a standalone two-CD package and a three-LP white-vinyl set.

The Madison Square Garden performance took place during the band’s 40th anniversary Licks World Tour, and featured The Stones playing a deep set that included classics and gems from throughout their long career. Sheryl Crow joined the band for a rendition of “Honky Tonk Women.”

The film of the concert originally premiered in 2003 as an HBO special and was featured on the multiple-disc Four Flicks DVD set that was issued that same year.

The Licked Live in NYC DVD and Blu-ray include four previously unreleased songs from the Madison Square Garden show, as well as three bonus performances from a concert in Amsterdam that The Stones played during the Licks trek, plus footage from the group’s tour rehearsals in Toronto.

The CDs and LPs also feature the four unreleased tunes from the MSG concert.

Meanwhile, the SD Blu-ray features a 51-minute documentary titled Tip of the Tongue that offers a look at the conception and preparation of the Licks tour, which saw The Rolling Stones playing at three different-sized venues in each metropolitan area they visited.

Here’s the release’s track list:

Intro
“Street Fighting Man”
“Start Me Up”*
“If You Can’t Rock Me”
“Don’t Stop”
“Monkey Man”
“Angie”
“Let It Bleed”
“Midnight Rambler”
“Tumbling Dice”*
“Thru and Thru”
“Happy”
“Gimme Shelter”*
“You Got Me Rocking”
“Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”
“Honky Tonk Women” — with Sheryl Crow
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
“It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It)”
“When the Whip Comes Down”
“Brown Sugar”
“Sympathy for the Devil”*
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash”

Bonus Content (DVD and SD Blu-ray only)
Live in Amsterdam
“Star Star”
“I Just Want to Make Love to You”
“Street Fighting Man”

Rehearsals
“Well Well”
“Extreme Western Grip”

SD Blu-ray only
—Tip of the Tongue documentary
—Tip of the Tongue – Boston backstage

* = previously unreleased.

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The deluxe 50th anniversary reissue of Elton John‘s fourth studio album, Madman Across the Water, released in late 1971, hit stores Friday.

The collection is available now as a super deluxe box set featuring three CDs and a Blu-ray disc, a four-LP colored-vinyl package, a two-CD set and digitally.

The album, which peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200, yielded two singles — “Levon” and “Tiny Dancer.” Levon was the bigger chart hit, reaching #24 on the Billboard Hot 100, while “Tiny Dancer” just missed the top 40, stalling at #41 in the tally.

However, “Tiny Dancer” has gone on to become one of Elton’s most popular and recognized songs.

Madman Across the Water also includes as the fan-favorite title track and “Indian Sunset,” which was later sampled on the Eminem-produced Tupac Shakur track “Ghetto Gospel.” That song topped the British charts for three weeks in 2005.

Madman was also Elton’s first album to feature contributions from every member of his backing band’s classic lineup — guitarist Davey Johnstone, drummer Nigel Olsson, bassist Dee Murray and percussionist Ray Cooper — while Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman played organ on three songs.

Among the goodies on the super deluxe version are demos, rarities, single edits, a live radio recording, two British TV performances and a 104-page book that offers photos, artwork, interviews and memorabilia.

To promote the expanded reissue, an animated lyric video for a previously unheard piano demo of “Tiny Dancer,” which is among the collection’s bonus tracks, has been posted at Elton’s official YouTube channel.

Here’s the track listing for the Madman Across the Water super deluxe version:

CD 1
“Tiny Dancer” (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)
“Levon” (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)
“Razor Face” (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)
“Madman Across the Water” (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)
“Indian Sunset (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)
“Holiday Inn” (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)
“Rotten Peaches” (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)
“All the Nasties” (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)
“Goodbye” (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)
“Indian Sunset” (Live Radio Broadcast)
“Madman Across the Water” (Original Version, featuring Mick Ronson)
“Rock Me When He’s Gone”
“Levon” (Mono Single Version)
“Razor Face” (Extended Version)

CD 2
“Madman Across the Water” (1970 Piano Demo)
“Tiny Dancer” (Piano Demo)
“Levon” (Piano Demo)
“Razor Face” (Piano Demo)
“Madman Across the Water” (1971 Piano Demo)
“Indian Sunset” (Piano Demo)
“Holiday Inn” (Piano Demo)
“Rotten Peaches” (Piano Demo)
“All the Nasties” (Piano Demo)
“Goodbye” (Piano Demo)
“Rock Me When He’s Gone” (Piano Demo)
“Rock Me When He’s Gone” (Full Version)

CD 3: BBC Sounds for Saturday performance (Taped November 11, 1971/aired April 29, 1972)
“Tiny Dancer”
“Rotten Peaches”
“Razor Face”
“Holiday Inn”
“Indian Sunset”
“Levon”
“Madman Across the Water”
“Goodbye”

Blu-ray: Audio
Greg Penny 5.1 mix of “Madman Across the Water” (Original Version, featuring Mick Ronson)
Greg Penny 5.1 mix of “Madman Across the Water”

Blu-ray: Audiovisual
Sounds for Saturday (Taped November 11, 1971/aired April 29, 1972)
Old Grey Whistle Test (Aired December 7, 1971)

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Green Day will be presented with the Icon Award by the British publication Kerrang! at the 2022 Kerrang! Awards.

In a statement, Kerrang! editor Luke Morton says the prize recognizes Green Day’s “longevity and legacy as one of the greatest and most important acts in the history of rock and alternative music, who still captivate and electrify millions of fans all over the world with the power of punk rock.”

Previous Kerrang! Icon winners include Led Zeppelin‘s Jimmy Page, Blink-182 and the Ramones.

The 2022 Kerrang! Awards take place June 23.

Green Day, meanwhile, just launched a European tour. They’ll reunite with Fall Out Boy and Weezer later this month to launch the European leg of the Hella Mega Tour, which kicked off in the U.S. last summer.

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The Rolling Stones brought their SIXTY tour to Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium on Thursday, marking the first time the band played in the English city since 1971.

For their fifth song of the concert, The Rolling Stones appropriately played “I Wanna Be Your Man,” a tune written by two of Liverpool’s favorite sons — The Beatles‘ John Lennon and Paul McCartney — that also happened to be one of The Stones’ first singles.

Rolling Stone magazine reports that Mick Jagger introduced the tune during the Liverpool show by telling the crowd, “We had decided to rehearse a special version of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ [the Gerry and the Pacemakers hit adopted by Liverpool’s soccer team], but we decided instead to do a cover song written by other local lads, so we’ll do this especially for you.” RollingStone.com shared fan-shot footage of the performance.

Lennon and McCartney had given “I Wanna Be Your Man” to The Stones in 1963, and in November of that year it became the band’s second single and first top-20 hit in the U.K., reaching #12 on the chart. Later that same month, The Beatles released their own version of the tune, with drummer Ringo Starr on lead vocals, on their U.K. album With The Beatles.

The last time The Rolling Stones performed “I Wanna Be Your Man” in concert was in 2012, when they dusted the song off for three shows during their 50th anniversary tour.

You can check out the full set list of The Stones’ Liverpool concert at the band’s social media pages. The show was the fifth performance of the group’s 60th anniversary trek, which kicked off June 1 in Madrid. The European outing continues Monday, June 13, in Amsterdam and runs through a July 31 concert in Stockholm, Sweden.

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Bidding on Ringo Starr‘s first-ever collection of NFTs closes this Monday, June 13, at 11 a.m. PT.

The “Ringo Starr NFT Collection — The Creative Mind of a Beatle” includes five unique NFTs, each featuring an animated version of a painting created by the legendary drummer, and most soundtracked by a custom-made drum track played by Starr.

Those who purchase an NFT also will receive a 25-by-25-inch canvas print of the artwork signed by Ringo, and will be given access to a virtual gallery of Starr’s digital art called “RingoLand.”

The paintings that serve as the basis for the NFTs include self portraits and colorful spin art.

During a recent press event in Rama, Canada, promoting the launch of Ringo’s current tour with his All Starr Band, Starr talked about the virtual gallery created to display his digital art in conjunction with the NFT auction.

“It was just a great idea,” Ringo said. “And, you know, it’s not even there. It’s a fantasy just on your computer. And [an avatar of me is] walking around looking at my paintings, and you can do the same.”

A total of 20 NFT packages — four of each of the five pieces — will be auctioned as part of the sale, which is being hosted by Julien’s Auctions. Bids can be placed at JuliensLive.com. You also can check out videos of Ringo’s animated artwork at that website and on YouTube.

A portion of the proceeds raised by the auction will benefit Ringo’s Lotus Foundation, which funds and supports charitable projects that focus on various social welfare causes.

Ringo and his All Starr Band’s tour continues tonight in Red Bank, New Jersey. Since Tuesday, Edgar Winter has been sitting out the shows after testing positive for COVID-19.

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Grateful Dead spinoff group Dead & Company will make available livestreams of all 20 shows on their 2022 U.S. summer tour at the nugs.net concert-streaming service.

The trek kicks off this Saturday, June 11, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and runs through a July 15-16 stand at Citi Field in New York City. The tour also features several other two-show engagements — on June 13-14 in Mountain View, California; June 17-18 in Boulder, Colorado; and June 24-25 at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.

Streams of the concerts will be available in HD and 4K formats, priced at $29.99 and $44.99, respectively, per show. Those who subscribe to nugs.net will get a 15% discount on single-show purchases. Also available is the Summer 2022 Unlimited Devotion Pass, which gives fans access to livestreams of all 20 concerts. The shows can be watched live or on demand and will be available for replay viewing for 48 hours.

The livestreams can be watched on Apple and Android devices, or desktop browsers, and viewers will be able to interact with each other in nugs.net’s metaverse venue.

As previously reported, during the new trek Dead & Company will continue its sustainability partnership with the nonprofit organization REVERB. The band has committed to a comprehensive carbon offset program while also encouraging fans to take action to help the environment via the organization’s Music Climate Revolution campaign.

The summer outing will mark the band’s seventh tour since the its 2015 formation. The group’s lineup features Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, as well as singer/guitarist John Mayer, ex-Allman Brothers Band bassist Oteil Burbridge and RatDog keyboardist Jeff Chimenti.

For more info on the tour and the livestreams, visit DeadandCompany.com and nugs.net.

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Ozzy Osbourne is set to undergo a “very major operation” on Monday, June 13.

The Black Sabbath frontman’s wife, Sharon Osbourne, shared the news this week during an episode of her U.K. talk show The Talk.

“It’s really gonna determine the rest of his life,” Sharon said of the procedure.

Sharon did not speak on the nature of the operation, but Ozzy, 73, told Classic Rock magazine in an interview published in May that he was “waiting on some more surgery” on his neck. Ozzy suffered a fall in 2019, which aggravated injuries he sustained in a 2003 ATV accident.

Beyond that, Ozzy has been battling a number of health issues over the past few years. Prior to the 2019 fall, he’d been hospitalized with a bad case of pneumonia, and in early 2020, he revealed he’d been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

In April of this year, Ozzy tested positive for COVID-19.

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