Classic Rock News

Former Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman is back with a new album.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is set to release Melancholia on Oct. 17. It will be the third in a series of solo piano albums he launched in 2017 with Piano Portraits, followed by 2018’s Piano Odyssey.

A press release for the album describes it as “the most personal, introspective, and perhaps profound music of Rick’s storied career.”

Wakeman adds that the album, recorded on a Steinway Model D, is “one of the most meaningful suites of piano music I have ever done.”

Although the album’s title hints at sadness, the description notes that songs on the album “are neither bleak or morose,” adding, “They are generous in spirit, filled with moments of light and resolve, reflecting a mind that has learned to make peace with melancholy – not to escape it, but to transmute it.”

Melancholia will be released on CD, and on black and silver vinyl. It is available for preorder now.

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The first album ever to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart is getting a 50th anniversary edition release this fall.

Elton John‘s Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, originally released in 1975, was Elton’s ninth album in six years. A concept album about Elton and lyricist Bernie Taupin‘s career beginnings, it only produced one big hit — “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” — but is revered by fans and critics alike. 

The album was RIAA-certified Gold the day of its release due to preorders and was the first album to enter the Billboard 200 at #1, where it stayed for seven weeks.

Oct. 24 will see the release of the 50th anniversary edition on multiple formats, including digital, a two-LP and a two-CD set, as well as a single LP, Live at Midsummer Music, Wembley Stadium 1975. It documented a concert in which Elton played the brand-new album from start to finish, disappointing fans who wanted to hear the hits. All versions are available for preorder now.

The digital, LP and CD versions include the original album, unreleased session demos and Elton’s live 2005 performances of some of the tracks. There’s also a 28-page booklet that includes Elton’s 1974 diary entries.

Elton says in a statement, “I think it’s the best thing we ever did. The songs were strong, Bernie’s lyrics were brilliant … seeing it go to Number One faster than anything I’d ever released felt like vindication, like the culmination of everything Bernie and I had fought for.”

Bernie adds that the album “chronicled a very special time in our lives.”

“Hearing this album once again 50 years on reminds me of how very deep our bond of friendship and creativity ran,” Bernie says.

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Neil Young debuted the new protest song “Big Crime” during his concert in Chicago on Aug. 27, and now he’s officially released the track.

The song, recorded with his band The Chrome Hearts during soundcheck for the Chicago show, is available via the rocker’s Neil Young Archives site. A video of the performance is on YouTube.

In “Big Crime,” Young rails against President Donald Trump and the White House, with the rocker singing “Don’t need no fascist rules/ Don’t want no fascist schools/ Don’t want soldiers on our streets/ There’s big crime in DC at the White House.”

He also sings “No more great again” several times in the song, a reference to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.

Young and The Chrome Hearts are currently on their Love Earth tour, which hits Woodinville, Washington, on Thursday. The tour wraps Sept. 15 in Los Angeles.

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Now that they’re Rock & Roll Hall of Famers you’d think Foreigner would be too big to play a wedding, but apparently that’s not the case. It seems the group may be interested in taking on the gig for newly engaged couple Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.

Foreigner offered up their services in “an open letter” to the couple on Instagram. “Dear Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, we know what love is. We spent 40 years figuring it out … and now you guys have it too,” reads the message. It’s a reference to the band’s biggest hit, “I Want to Know What Love Is,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1985.

“Please accept this as our formal offer to be your wedding band,” the message continues. “Best wishes, Foreigner.”

If Foreigner, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, did perform at the wedding, they could inspire plenty of couples to hit the dance floor with their romantic hits, such as “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” “Feels Like the First Time” and “I Don’t Want to Live Without You.” They could also get the crowd going with their more upbeat rockers, like “Hot Blooded,” “Jukebox Hero” and “Double Vision.”

Your move, Taylor and Travis.

In the meantime, Foreigner will be pretty busy on the road. They are playing a special fundraising show in Brookville, New York, on Friday and an anniversary concert on Ellis Island on Saturday, which will be filmed for a documentary. Their tour picks up again on Sept. 11 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A complete list of date can be found at Foreigneronline.com.

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Blondie is revisiting their 1999 comeback album No Exit with a new reissue.

No Exit Deluxe Edition will include a remastered version of the original album, which featured the hit “Maria,” along with remixes and new liner notes. The set will also include the bonus track “Hot Shot,” which was previously only available in Japan. The reissue drops Oct. 31.

“Hot Shot” is available now via digital outlets, featuring a new mix by producer David Wrench.

The deluxe edition also includes all new packaging, created by the original album’s photographer and creative director, Rob Roth.

No Exit Deluxe Edition will be released digitally and in two-CD, two-LP black vinyl and two-LP crystal glass clear configurations. This will mark the first time the album’s available on vinyl. All formats are available for preorder now.

Released in February 1999, No Exit was Blondie’s first album after a 17-year hiatus, reuniting band members Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Clem Burke and Jimmy Destri. The album was a top-20 hit in the U.S. and peaked at #3 in the U.K., with the song “Maria” hitting #1 in the U.K. The track was also a top-10 hit on the U.S.dance charts.

And Blondie is still making music. The band is getting ready to release a new album, High Noon. So far there’s no word on when it will be released, but a recent press release announcing a special edition of the 2023 graphic novel Blondie: Against the Odds reported it was coming in “spring 2026.”

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The upcoming movie Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere follows Bruce Springsteen as he makes his 1982 solo album Nebraska, and to coincide with the release The Boss is treating fans to a new expanded edition of the album.

Nebraska ‘82: Expanded Edition, dropping Oct. 17, will feature lots of previously unreleased material, including the long-rumored “Electric Nebraska.” There are also solo outtakes, including additional songs from Springsteen’s original Nebraska home recordings that didn’t make the album, as well as recordings from a 1982 solo studio session.

The set also features a 2025 remaster of the album, as well as a present-day recording of Springsteen performing Nebraska in its entirety at New Jersey’s Count Basie Theatre, with the performance also included on Blu-ray.

Springsteen fans have been talking about the fabled “Electric Nebraska” for years and are now getting their first taste of it with a previously unreleased version of “Born in the U.S.A.” from April 1982, featuring E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg and bassist Garry Tallent. While the song would go on to be the title track of Springsteen’s seventh studio album, it was originally written alongside the other songs on Nebraska.

“We threw out the keyboards and played basically as a three-piece,” Springsteen says of the performance. “It was kinda like punk rockabilly. We were trying to bring Nebraska into the electric world.”

“Born in the U.S.A. (Electric Nebraska)” is available via digital outlets.

Nebraska ‘82: Expanded Edition will be released in four-LP plus Blu-ray and four-CD plus Blu-ray configurations. 

The set will be released just one week before Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere hits theaters on Oct. 24. The film, directed by Scott Cooper, stars Jeremy Allen White as Springsteen and Jeremy Strong as his manager Jon Landau.

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On This Day, Sept. 4, 1982 …

Steve Miller Band landed their third #1 single with “Abracadabra,” the title track from their 12th studio album.

The song spent two weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100, which was their longest reign at #1.

The band previously topped the chart with “The Joker” in 1973 and “Rock‘n Me” in 1976. Both songs spent only one week at #1.

“Abracadabra” was back on the charts in 2024 after rapper Eminem interpolated the song for his single “Houdini,” which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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Ozzy Osbourne‘s son Jack Osbourne has shared a video statement reflecting on the passing of his late father.

In the video, which is titled “A personal note before moving forward on the loss of my father,” Jack details how he found out about Ozzy’s death, which happened on July 22, just over two weeks after the metal legend’s final performance with the original Black Sabbath lineup at the Back to the Beginning concert on July 5. 

“One thing that has kind of stuck with me about my father’s exit … there is almost a perfection to it,” Jack says. “He got to say goodbye in such a profound way. He got to thank his fans, he got to see his friends he hadn’t seen in such a long time, he got to perform. There was so much accomplished before the full stop.”

Jack also thanks everyone who reached out or posted tributes for the outpouring of love and support since Ozzy’s passing.

“There will come a time, I think, where you’ll hear from us as a family together, we’ll talk about things in more details,” Jack says. “I’m not gonna share a lot of the personal stuff, the deeply kinda intimate parts of my father’s passing and funeral, I wouldn’t do that without my family present.”

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Robert Plant and the band Saving Grace have released another track off their debut album, Saving Grace, which is due out Sept. 26.

The latest is the album’s opening track, “Chevrolet,” which is the band’s take on Donovan’s 1965 tune “Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness).” That tune was itself an adaptation the 1930 Delta blues classic “Can I Do It For You” by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy.

“Chevrolet” is available now via digital outlets; there’s also a video.

This is the third track released from Saving Grace. Plant and the band previously shared a cover of Low’s “Everybody’s Song” and their take on the African American spiritual “Gospel Plough.”
 

Plant and Saving Grace — drummer Oli Jefferson, guitarist Tony Kelsey, banjo and string player Matt Worley, cellist Barney Morse Brown and vocalist Suzi Dian — have been touring together since 2019. The album was recorded between April 2019 and January 2025, with Plant describing it as “a song book of the lost and found.” 

Plant and the band will launch their first U.S. tour in support of the album on Oct. 30 in Wheeling, West Virginia, with dates confirmed through Nov. 23 in Valley Center, California.

A complete list of dates can be found at RobertPlant.com. 

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When Pink Floyd co-founder David Gilmour released his 2024 solo album Luck and Strange, it was his first album of new material in nine years. Well, it sounds like fans may not have to wait as long for his next one.

In an interview with Rolling Stone to promote his upcoming concert film, Live at the Circus Maximus, Rome, Gilmour reveals that he’s already started work on his next record.

“I’m slowly building up towards a new album, and I have quite a bit of material that is in some sort of formative stage,” he tells the mag. “That’s what’s keeping me busy at the moment.”

But he’s not ready to head into the studio with his band just yet.

“I put things together so that I can fiddle around for months, adding little bits, taking things away till I think that I’ve got something close to where I want it,” he says. “I then can take it into a studio with a bunch of people and know exactly what I want to do and how I want to get it done and present it to these people for their input.”

As for how long he thinks it will take for him to be ready to release a new album, Gilmour shares, “It’s always my intention to be a bit quicker, and I suspect this one will be a bit quicker. But you never can tell. Within the next year or two.”

Live at the Circus Maximus, Rome captures one of Gilmour’s Luck and Strange concerts at the famed Italian venue set against the backdrop of the ancient ruins of Rome. It hits theaters and IMAX on Sept. 17.

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