Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Pearl Jam celebrates two milestone anniversaries on August 27. Not only does their massive 1991 debut Ten turn 30 today, but their 1996 effort, No Code, also turns 25.
To mark both anniversaries, Pearl Jam has released new digital mixes of both Ten and No Code. Producer and engineer Josh Evans, who produced PJ’s 2020 album Gigaton, gave the original records an audio revamp using Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio.
“These two albums sound amazing in the immersive format,” Evans says.
“For Ten, the goal was to create the best version of the record, bigger, wider and higher fidelity; now, it actually sounds as great coming out of your speakers as it does in your memory of hearing it the first time,” he explains. “[Twenty-five] years ahead of its time, No Code almost sounds like it was intended to be an immersive album; experimental layers, nuance and raw aggression are all amplified and expanded in a simultaneously bigger and more intimate experience.”
Ten, of course, put Pearl Jam on the map as one the most prominent bands in the rising grunge scene of the early ’90s. It spawned singles in “Even Flow,” “Jeremy” and “Alive,” and has been certified Diamond by the RIAA.
No Code, meanwhile, was a more of a polarizing record. With a more experimental sound, it didn’t reach the commercial heights of its predecessors, though it was still certified Platinum and featured singles including “Hail, Hail” and “Who You Are.”
Queen drummer Roger Taylor recently announced plans to release his first solo album in over eight years, Outsider, on October 1, and now the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has premiered the first single from the record, “We’re All Just Trying to Get By.”
The track features guest vocals by award-winning Scottish singer/songwriter KT Tunstall, and is available now as a digital download and via streaming services.
You also can check out a music video for the tune at Taylor’s official YouTube channel. The clip features footage of Roger in a recording studio singing and playing piano and slide guitar — but not the drums — and Tunstall singing her parts separately.
Taylor wrote the dreamy pop tune during the COVID-19 lockdown while reflecting on what ties all living things together.
“I tried to highlight the great things in life,” he explains. “It’s the simplest statement, really. It’s what every life force on Earth is doing: just trying to get by and proliferate and exist. That’s all we are trying to do, from plants to animals to humans, trying to survive…Also, of course, we are in the middle of a bloody pandemic.”
Regarding Tunstall’s participation in the recording, Roger notes, “The track was all finished, and it was suggested it might be nice if we got KT involved…I love what she did, I think it really adds to the track…She’s a very talented singer and musician, and it’s lovely to have her on the track.”
Adds Tunstall, “What a pleasure to work with such a brilliant writer and musical hero.”
Outsider, which can be pre-ordered now, is available on CD, as a vinyl LP and on cassette.
“Tides”
“I Know, I Know, I Know”
“More Kicks”
“Absolutely Anything”
“Gangsters Are Running This World”
“We’re All Just Trying to Get By” — featuring KT Tunstall
“Gangsters Are Running This World” (Purple Version)
“Isolation”
“The Clapping Song”
“Outsider”
“Foreign Sand” (English Mix)
“Journey’s End”
The Rolling Stones are planning to go through with their 2021 U.S. trek following the death of drummer Charlie Watts on Tuesday, according to the tour’s promoter.
“The Rolling Stones’ tour dates are moving ahead as planned,” the promoter, Concerts West, says in a statement, RollingStone.com reports.
The U.S. leg of the band’s No Filter Tour, which was rescheduled from 2020 after being postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic, is slated to get underway September 26 in St. Louis and is mapped out through a November 20 show in Austin, Texas. The trek features 12 dates, and tickets can be purchased at VividSeats.com.
Earlier this month, The Rolling Stones announced that Watts likely wouldn’t be joining them on the tour because he was recovering from an unspecified medical procedure. According to the announcement, Steve Jordan, who played drums on all of Keith Richards‘ solo albums, was picked by Charlie to “stand in” for him on the trek.
According to a statement from his spokesperson, Watts “passed away peacefully in a London hospital [on Tuesday] morning surrounded by his family.” He was 80.
After delighting the internet with their viral drum battle last year, Dave Grohl and Nandi Bushell finally got to jam in person.
The 11-year-old musical prodigy joined Foo Fighters on stage during their concert in Los Angeles Thursday night for a show-closing performance of “Everlong.” Referring to their epic drum-off, Grohl jokingly referred to Bushell as his “arch nemesis” before introducing her as the “most bad-a** drummer in the world.”
“We’ve had the honor to jam with some pretty amazing people over the years,” Grohl told the crowd. “Maybe some Beatles, maybe some Stones, maybe some Pink Floyds…but let me tell you something: this one right now takes the cake.”
Following the performance, which Bushell predictably crushed, Foo drummer Taylor Hawkins brought her to the edge of the stage to show her how to properly throw her sticks into the audience.
You can watch fan-shot footage of the Foo-Nandi collaboration streaming now on YouTube. Be warned: it’s impossible not to smile.
In addition to jamming with Bushell, Grohl also appears on the brand-new Halsey album If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, which was produced by Nine Inch Nails duo Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. He returns to his Nirvana role to play drums on a song called “honey,” which is available now via digital outlets.
Pearl Jam‘s Ten is now officially three times as old as its title.
The grunge band’s iconic debut album was released August 27, 1991 — 30 years ago today. The RIAA Diamond-certified record is now considered one of the defining records of the ’90s alternative rock scene.
Pearl Jam released Ten just one year after they were founded in 1990. After playing together in the band Mother Love Bone, which dissolved after the death of frontman Andrew Wood, guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament formed a new band with fellow Seattle musician Mike McCready. They then eventually recruited lead vocalist Eddie Vedder from San Diego, and drummer Dave Krusen.
Originally named Mookie Blaylock after the NBA point guard, Pearl Jam adopted a new moniker after they signed a record deal. The album title Ten is a reference to Blaylock’s jersey number.
Despite its now legendary status, Ten wasn’t an out-of-the-gate hit. That September, though, Nirvana released “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and Nevermind, and by the end of 1991 and into 1992, the grunge sensation was officially in full swing. Ten would eventually hit number two on the Billboard 200, and Pearl Jam joined Nirvana as the faces of the suddenly popular Seattle sound.
Ten‘s success was buoyed by singles including “Even Flow,” “Alive” and the Grammy-nominated “Jeremy.” “Jeremy” was also accompanied by a shocking video, which showed a young student killing himself in front of his classmates, though the scene of the student putting the gun into his mouth was infamously censored. Despite its controversy, “Jeremy” won the 1993 MTV VMA Video of the Year.
Interestingly, Ten isn’t the only PJ album celebrating a milestone anniversary today. The band’s polarizing fourth album, No Code, was released 25 years ago on August 27, 1996.
KISS was forced to cancel its concert Thursday night in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, after Paul Stanley tested positive for COVID-19.
“Tonight’s KISS show at The Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, PA is unfortunately postponed due to Paul Stanley testing positive for COVID,” the band announced on its official website Thursday. “More information about show dates will be made available ASAP. Everyone on the entire tour, both band and crew, are fully vaccinated.”
The message continues, “The band and their crew have operated in a bubble independently to safeguard everyone as much as possible at each show and in between shows. The tour also has a COVID safety protocol officer on staff full-time that is ensuring everyone is closely following all CDC guidelines.”
Stanley also took to his personal Twitter page to squash rumors that the Kiss frontman was having heart problems, insisting, “PEOPLE!!! I am fine! I am not in ICU! My heart allows me to do 26 miles a day on my bike! I don’t know where this came from but it’s absolute nonsense.”
In addition, the venue issued a statement on Twitter assuring ticketholders that the concert will be rescheduled and that “[a]ll previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new date once announced.” Ticketholders will be updated directly by email.
This is the second concert KISS was forced to postpone since kicking off the 2021 leg of its End of the Road World Tour on August 18 in Mansfield, Massachusetts. The band postponed its August 22 show in Hartford, Connecticut, because of Hurricane Henri.
KISS’ farewell tour was launched in January 2019 and was originally scheduled to conclude in New York City on July 17, 2021, but is now expected to last well into 2022.
On September 23, the shock rocker will visit the Rock City Music Company in the Detroit suburb of Livonia, Michigan, where he’ll sign copies of the album for fans.
This will mark the first time Cooper has participated in this type of event in or near Detroit since 1999.
Detroit Stories, which was released in February, is Cooper’s homage to the hard-edged rock music of his childhood hometown. The album features contributions from various guest musicians, including the three other surviving members of the original Alice Cooper group, plus ex-Grand Funk Railroad frontman Mark Farner, MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer, and Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels drummer Johnny “Bee” Badanjek.
“I’m excited to do an album signing in Detroit again, especially for the Detroit Stories album, and for all the Detroit fans,” says Alice. “Detroit still feels like home in so many ways. And Rock City Music is the right place to do it.”
The event begins at 4 p.m. local time. Tickets are priced at $25 and include either a vinyl LP or a CD/DVD copy of Detroit Stories. Cooper will only sign copies of the new album, and will autograph up to two per person. No photos with Alice, including selfies, will be permitted.
Masks will be required for entry into the event. People who are experiencing a temperature above 100.4 degrees or have any other COVID-19 symptoms are asked to stay home.
Two days after the signing event, Cooper will return to the Detroit area for a concert in Clarkston, Michigan, part of Alice’s upcoming U.S. tour that kicks off September 17 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Here’s a deeper look at the reissue’s Super Deluxe editions, which will be available as a five-CD/Blu-ray set, a four-LP/EP vinyl collection and in digital formats.
The expanded reissue boasts a new mix of the original album; previously unreleased recordings from the sessions, including alternate takes, rehearsals, jams, studio chatter and a performance from the band’s historic rooftop concert; and a recreation of the unreleased 14-track Get Back LP compiled in May 1969 by engineer Glyn Johns.
The CD and vinyl Super Deluxe reissue will come with a book featuring a foreword by Paul McCartney; commentary, notes and essays by respected Beatles historian Kevin Howlett and journalist John Harris; previously unpublished photos; and rare images of handwritten lyrics, session notes, sketches and more.
Let It Be was released in the U.K. on May 8, 1970 — a month after The Beatles announced their breakup — and 10 days later in the U.S.
The album spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 in June and July of 1970, and yielded the chart-topping hit “The Long and Winding Road.” It also featured alternate versions of two other songs that reached #1 prior to the album’s release — the title track and “Get Back.”
As previously reported, the new three-part documentary The Beatles: Get Back created by director Peter Jackson from unseen footage shot during the Let It Be sessions will premiere on Disney+ on November 25, 26 and 27.
A companion The Beatles: Get Back book will be published on October 12.
Here’s the track list for the CD version of the Let It Be Super Deluxe reissues:
CD 1: Let It Be (new stereo mix of original album)
“Two of Us”
“Dig a Pony”
“Across the Universe”
“I Me Mine”
“Dig It”
“Let It Be”
“Maggie Mae”
“I’ve Got a Feeling”
“One After 909”
“The Long and Winding Road”
“For You Blue”
“Get Back”
CD 2: Get Back — Apple Sessions
“Morning Camera” (Speech – Mono)/”Two of Us” (Take 4)
“Maggie Mae”/”Fancy My Chances with You” (Mono)
“Can You Dig It?”
“I Don’t Know Why I’m Moaning” (Speech – Mono)
“For You Blue” (Take 4)
“Let It Be”/”Please Please Me”/”Let It Be” (Take 10)
“I’ve Got a Feeling” (Take 10)
“Dig a Pony” (Take 14)
“Get Back” (Take 19)
“Like Making an Album?” (Speech)
“One After 909” (Take 3)
“Don’t Let Me Down” (First rooftop performance)
“The Long and Winding Road” (Take 19)
“Wake Up Little Susie”/”I Me Mine” (Take 11)
CD 3: Get Back — Rehearsals and Apple Jams
“On the Day Shift Now” (Speech – Mono)/”All Things Must Pass” (Rehearsals – Mono)
“Concentrate on the Sound” (Mono)
“Gimme Some Truth” (Rehearsal – Mono)
“I Me Mine” (Rehearsal – Mono)
“She Came In Through the Bathroom Window” (Rehearsal)
“Polythene Pam” (Rehearsal – Mono)
“Octopus’s Garden” (Rehearsal – Mono)
“Oh! Darling” (Jam)
“Get Back” (Take 8)
“The Walk” (Jam)
“Without a Song” (Jam) — Billy Preston with John and Ringo
“Something” (Rehearsal – Mono)
“Let It Be” (Take 28)
CD 4: Get Back LP — 1969 Glyn Johns Mix
“One After 909”
“I’m Ready” (aka “Rocker”)/Save the Last Dance for Me”/”Don’t Let Me Down”
“Don’t Let Me Down”
“Dig a Pony”
“I’ve Got a Feeling”
“Get Back”
“For You Blue”
“Teddy Boy”
“Two of Us”
“Maggie Mae”
“Dig It”
“Let It Be”
“The Long and Winding Road”
“Get Back (Reprise)”
CD 5: Let It Be EP
“Across the Universe” (unreleased Glyn Johns 1970 mix)
“I Me Mine” (unreleased Glyn Johns 1970 mix)
“Don’t Let Me Down” (new mix of original single version)
“Let It Be” (new mix of original single version)
Blu-ray: Let It Be Special Edition audio mixes
–Dolby Atmos
–96kHz/24-bit DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
–96kHz/24-bit High Res Stereo (2019 Stereo Mix)
Metallica has announced a $50,000 donation toward Haitian earthquake relief through the band’s All Within My Hands charity foundation.
The funds will be used by to help those impacted by the 7.2 magnitude quake, which hit Haiti on August 14. More than 2,200 people have died and over 12,200 have been injured, according to Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency. Additionally, over 50,000 homes have been destroyed.
All Within My Hands has previously donated money to causes including COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts for disasters including the West Coast wildfires, and this year’s Texas winter storm.
Meanwhile, Metallica has released two more previews of the upcoming Metallica Blacklist compilation, a 53-artist tribute to the group’s iconic 1991 self-titled record, aka The Black Album. The newly released covers include Japanese-British musician Rina Sawayama‘s version of “Enter Sandman,” and British rock band IDLES‘ rendition of “The God that Failed.”
The Metallica Blacklist will be released September 10. Proceeds will benefit a charity of each contributing artist’s choosing, as well as All Within My Hands.
As previously reported, the five-CD collection features previously unreleased live, studio and demo recordings from Joni Mitchell‘s early career leading up to Blue‘s release.
Archives Vol. 2 features home recordings from 1967 and 1968; tracks recorded during the making of Mitchell’s first four studio albums — 1968’s Song to a Seagull, 1969’s Clouds, 1970’s Ladies of the Canyon and ’71’s Blue — performances and an interview from Joni’s August 1969 appearance on The Dick Cavett Show; and several full-length concerts.
The concerts include a March 1968 show at the Le Hibou Coffee House in Ottawa, Canada, that was recorded by guitar legend Jimi Hendrix, a February 1969 performance at New York City’s historic Carnegie Hall, and an October 1970 concert at London’s Paris Theatre, during which Joni was joined by James Taylor for part of the show.
Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 2 also is available as a limited-edition 10-LP vinyl set.
In addition, a standalone three-LP vinyl edition of Mitchell’s 1969 Carnegie Hall performance also will be released on November 12. A limited-edition white-vinyl version of Live at Carnegie Hall, February 1, 1969 can be purchased exclusively at JoniMitchell.com.
The three-LP set offers audio of the entire concert over five sides, while the sixth and final side features an etching of the American eagle design that appeared on the skirt Mitchell wore at the show.
Joni’s performance of “Chelsea Morning” that kicked off the concert has been released as a digital track in advance of the live album and the Archives Vol. 2 box set.
Here’s the Live at Carnegie Hall track list:
First Set
Side One
“Chelsea Morning”
A Valentine for Joni
“Cactus Tree”
“Night in the City”
“I Had a King”
Side Two
“Blue Boy”
My American Skirt
“The Fiddle and the Drum”
Spoony’s Wonderful Adventure
“That Song About the Midway”
“Both Sides Now”
Second Set
Side Three
“Marcie”
“Nathan La Franeer”
Intro to “The Gallery”
“The Gallery”
“Hunter”
“Morning Morgantown”
Side Four
Intro to “Get Together”
“Get Together”
Intro to “The Circle Game/Little Green”
“The Circle Game/Little Green”
Encore
Side Five
“Michael from Mountains”
Intro to “Urge for Going”
“Urge for Going”
Side Six
Etching of American eagle design from the skirt Mitchell wore at Carnegie Hall show
