Classic Rock News

Just in time for the holidays, Blackmore’s Night, the renaissance folk-rock band led by former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and his wife, singer Candice Night, has released an expanded and remastered version of its 2006 Christmas album, Winter Carols.

Available as a two-CD set and digitally, the updated Winter Carols features the original album’s tracks, as well as a brand-new recording, a rendition of the 16th century tune “Coventry Carol”; the four songs from the group’s 2020 holiday EP, Here We Come A-Caroling; five live performances that previously were released as part of a 2013 Winter Carols reissue; and more.

Blackmore’s Night’s version of “Coventry Carol” also features added lyrics by Night and new musical arrangements by Blackmore.

Coinciding with the release of the expanded Winter Carols, an animated music video for the original Blackmore’s Night tune “Christmas Eve” has premiered at the band’s official YouTube channel.

The festive clip features computer-animated images of Santa Claus and his gift-filled, reindeer-drawn sleigh flying over a snow-covered town as children go ice skating and people walk around a brightly lit Christmas tree in the town square.

Here’s the full track list of the expanded Winter Carols album:

CD 1
“Coventry Carol”
“Deck the Halls”
“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”
“O Christmas Tree”
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing/O Come All Ye Faithful”
“I Saw Three Ships”
“Winter (Basse Dance)”
“Ding Dong Merrily on High”
“Ma-O-Tzur”
“Good King Wenceslas”
“Simple Gifts (Lord of the Dance)”
“We Three Kings”
“Wish You Were Here” (2021 Version)
“Emmanuel”
“Christmas Eve”
“We Wish You a Merry Christmas”

CD 2
“Crowning of the King”
“Here We Come A-Caroling”
“It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”
“O Little Town of Bethlehem”
“Silent Night”
“Christmas Eve” (2013 Version)
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing/O Come All Ye Faithful” (Live from Minstrel Hall)
“Emmanuel” (Live from Minstrel Hall)
“We Three Kings” (Live from Minstrel Hall)
“Ma-O-Tzur” (Live from Minstrel Hall)
“Good King Wenceslas” (Live from Minstrel Hall)

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Earlier this month, U2 returned with a new tune called “Your Song Saved My Life.” As guitarist The Edge tells Rolling Stone, there’s more where that came from.

“We are firmly locked in the tower of song and working away on a bunch of new things,” The Edge reveals.

“I’m just having so much fun writing and not necessarily having to think about where it’s going to go,” he explains. “It’s more more about enjoying the experience of writing and having no expectations or limitations on the process.”

U2’s November has also included the 30th anniversary of their hit 1991 album, Achtung Baby. Having previously hit the road in support of The Joshua Tree‘s 30th anniversary, The Edge is open to bringing back the Achtung Baby Zoo TV tour three decades later.

“I would love that and I couldn’t rule it out,” The Edge says. “I think [Zoo TV] is such a current thought. Back then we were we’re dealing with the overload and kind of the whiplash of 24/7 news cycles, which hadn’t been known before. It was the overload of cable TV and hundreds and hundreds of channels.”

He adds, “Little did we know that that was just the beginning of this avalanche of channels to kind of draw your attention.”

However, The Edge cautions that nothing yet has been officially planned. “We haven’t actually got to the point of doing anything more than this kind of talk, but I wouldn’t rule it out again,” he says.

In the meantime, you can hear “Your Song Saved My Life” on the soundtrack for the new animated film, Sing 2.

U2’s most recent album is 2017’s Songs of Experience.

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Whitesnake has parted ways with bassist Michael Devin, who’s been a member of the band since 2010.

The David Coverdale-fronted rock group announced the news Sunday in a post on the singer’s and his band’s social media pages.

The message reads in part, “WHITESNAKE & bassist Michael Devin have decided to go their separate ways after an amazingly successful decade together…We all wish Michael every success in his life & all his endeavours…We sincerely thank him for being part of our journey & for all his exceptional gifts he brought to WHITESNAKE…God speed, Michael…Know we love you & will miss you…& we wish you well. Once a snake…always a snake.”

The band also revealed that it’s “secured a new bass player who will be announced very soon.”

Besides taking part in many Whitesnake tours, Devin contributed his talents to three of the band’s studio albums — 2011’s Forevermore, 2015’s Deep Purple tribute The Purple Album and 2019’s Flesh & Blood.

Whitesnake’s current lineup features Coverdale, longtime drummer Tommy Aldridge, guitarists Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra, keyboardist/backing vocalist Michele Luppi and multi-instrumentalist/backing singer Dino Jelusick. Jelusick joined the band earlier this year.

Last month, Whitesnake released a deluxe 25th anniversary reissue of their 1997 studio album Restless Heart. The band currently is scheduled to return to touring next year for their first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a European leg that kicks off May 10 in Dublin, Ireland.

❤️🔥❤️🔥💔❤️🔥❤️🔥 pic.twitter.com/YZcVxGVHP2

— David Coverdale (@davidcoverdale) November 21, 2021

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An acoustic guitar once owned and played on stage by Eric Clapton was the priciest collectible sold at a memorabilia sale hosted by Julien’s Auctions that took place November 19-20 at the Hard Rock Café in New York City.

The instrument, a 1968 Martin D-45 model that was played by Clapton at the debut live performance of his group Derek and the Dominos at London’s Lyceum Theatre in June 1970, fetched $625,000. The guitar was gifted by Clapton to singer/guitarist Dave Edmunds in 1976.

Another Clapton collectible, a partially handwritten working draft of the lyrics to Eric’s classic song “Layla” written on a Miami Beach, Florida, hotel’s stationery, was auctioned for $37,500.

Selling for the second-highest price at the auction was a 1976 Gibson Explorer electric guitar owned and stage-played by U2‘s The Edge, which brought in $437,500. Another guitar that belonged to The Edge, a blue Gibson Les Paul model, went for $96,000.

A cream-colored Fender Stratocaster Vintage ’57 reissue electric guitar that Pink Floyd‘s David Gilmour owned and played on stage with the band during the 1980s and ’90s sold for $200,000.

A Martin D-28 acoustic guitar that the late Elvis Presley played both on stage and off during the mid-to-late ’70s fetched $187,500.

An electric guitar belonging to another member of U2, frontman Bono, a green 2005 Gretsch Irish Falcon model, brought in $115,200. The instrument was signed in gold marker by Bono, who also drew gold flowers on it.

Also, an EVH Fender “Frankenstrat” guitar that the late Eddie Van Halen played on stage and that he and his brother, Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen, both signed, sold for $83,200.

Check out the auction’s full results at JuliensLive.com.

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Sammy Hagar is famously known as the Red Rocker, but he may be donning silver and black this afternoon, when he’ll be performing during the halftime show at the Las Vegas Raiders’ game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Sin City’s Allegiant Stadium.

Hagar will be joined by guitarist Vic Johnson, a member of Sammy’s backing groups The Circle and The Wabos, and the two musicians will be accompanied by the Raiders House Band.

Hagar’s set will include renditions of his former band Van Halen‘s “Right Now” and his 1982 solo song “There’s Only One Way to Rock.”

“It’s going to be a blast to come out…and rock the Raiders’ halftime show,” says Hagar in a statement. “I have a great deal of respect for [Raiders owner] Mark Davis and it’s incredible what he and the team have brought to Las Vegas, which is like a second home to me…I’ve done some cool things in my life, and this is up there.”

Sammy recently wrapped up a run of sold-out “Sammy Hagar and Friends” residency shows at the Las Vegas venue The Strat.

Hagar becomes the latest in a series of music stars who have performed at Raiders home games this season, joining Carlos Santana, electronic music artist DJ Marshmello and rappers Ludacris, Too $hort and Ice Cube.

The Raiders-Bengals game begins at 4:05 p.m. ET/1:05 p.m. PT.

Meanwhile, Hagar and The Circle will wrap up their 2021 tour schedule next month with the “A Toast to Texas” trek, a four-show outing taking place December 3 in Fort Worth, December 4 in San Antonio, December 6 in Austin and on December 8 in Houston.

Visit RedRocker.com for more details about Hagar’s itinerary.

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The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts, an archival film and album focusing on the performances that Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band gave during a series of historic, star-studded environmental-themed shows in New York City, got its release today on DVD, Blu-ray and audio formats.

The film and companion audio feature The Boss and his band playing 13 songs at two of the MUSE benefit concerts, aka the “No Nukes” concerts, which took place in September 1979 at Madison Square Garden. Ten of the performances are previously unreleased.

The movie was edited by longtime Springsteen collaborator Thom Zimny using the original 16-millimeter film, and the audio was remixed by lauded engineer Bob Clearmountain.

Earlier this week, a video premiered on Springsteen’s YouTube channel featuring Bruce, E Street guitarist “Little Steven” Van Zandt and longtime Springsteen manager Jon Landau discussing the No Nukes performances with Zimny, intercut with footage from the shows.

At one point, Zimny comments that it was great to see two of the E Street Band’s late members, sax player Clarence Clemons and keyboardist Danny Federici — who died in 2011 and 2008, respectively — performing so vibrantly at the concerts.

“Clarence was probably at his greatest. Danny also,” Bruce notes. “And it was just a certain peak moment in one of the many chapters of the band.”

The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts is available now as a two-CD/DVD or two-CD/Blu-Ray set, a two-LP vinyl package, and on digital audio and video formats.

Here’s the full track list:

“Prove It All Night”
“Badlands”
“The Promised Land”
“The River”
“Sherry Darling”
“Thunder Road”
“Jungleland”
“Rosalita Come Out Tonight”
“Born to Run”
“Stay”
“Detroit Medley”
“Quarter to Three”
“Rave On”

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NHC, the band featuring Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins and Jane’s Addiction members Dave Navarro and Chris Chaney, has premiered the video for the song “Devil That You Know.”

The animated clip follows a mohawked skeleton who has a habit of breaking windows, which is surely a metaphor for something. You can watch it now streaming on YouTube.

“Devil That You Know” dropped last week alongside another NHC song, “Lazy Eyes.” The group made their debut in September with the singles “Feed the Cruel” and “Better Move On.” 

NHC will play their first headlining gig November 23 at the Troubadour in Los Angeles.

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Former Blue Öyster Cult members Albert Bouchard and Joe Bouchard have teamed up for a special livestream event that’s scheduled to premiere this Saturday, November 20, at 3:30 p.m. ET at Volume.com.

The show will feature the musical brothers performing songs as well as taking part in a Q&A.

Albert tells ABC Audio that he and Joe will be playing selections from their respective solo careers and well as a few Blue Öyster Cult classics.

The virtual event is free for those who sign up for a Volume.com membership. Viewers are encouraged to “tip” the artists during the event.

The Bouchard brothers also make up two-thirds of the band Blue Coupe, along with founding Alice Cooper group bassist Dennis Dunaway.

Meanwhile, Albert recently released a sequel to his 2020 concept album Re Imaginos, titled Imaginos 2 — Bombs over Germany (minus zero and counting).

The new album continues the story based on the writings and poems of late Blue Öyster Cult manager, producer and songwriter Sandy Pearlman about an alien conspiracy that comes to fruition during the late 1800s and early 1900s through the actions of an evil character named Imaginos.

Re Imaginos itself is a reimagined version of the 1988 Blue Öyster Cult concept album, Imaginos.

Last week, Bouchard premiered a music video for one of the Imaginos 2 tracks, “OD’d on Life Itself,” which you can check out on the Deko Entertainment label’s YouTube channel. Blue Öyster Cult originally released their own version of the tune on their 1973 album Tyranny and Mutation.

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Legendary drummer Carmine Appice, best known for his work with Vanilla Fudge, Cactus and Rod Stewart, is releasing a box set gathering together many recordings by his star-studded Guitar Zeus project, including several previously unheard bonus tracks.

The Guitar Zeus 25th Anniversary box set, due out December 17, is a limited-edition 39-track collection that includes all of the songs from 1995’s Camine Appice’s Guitar Zeus and 1997’s Guitar Zeus 2: Channel Mind Radio. It also features two versions of an unreleased song called “Mystified” that showcase respective solos by KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer and ex-Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian.

An impressive list of famous musicians contributed their talents to the Guitar Zeus tracks, including Brian May, Slash, Neal Schon, Elliot Easton, Richie Sambora, Vivian Campbell, Mick Mars, Edgar Winter, Leslie West, Denny Laine, Zakk Wylde, Ted Nugent, Pat Travers, Dweezil Zappa, Bruce Kulick, Steve Morse, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal and Yngwie Malmsteen.

The collection also features rough mixes of four Guitar Zeus tracks created so that guitarists can play along at home.

“I consider Guitar Zeus one of the best projects, if not the BEST project I’ve done,” Appice says. “I hope you enjoy this 25th year celebration of some of the greatest rock [guitarists] ever put together.”

Two versions of the box set can be pre-ordered now at DekoEntertainement.com and MerchBucket.com, both featuring four vinyl LPs, three CDs and a booklet containing new interviews and rare photos.

The pricier “Mega-Bundle” version of the set also comes packaged with a Guitar Zeus t-Shirt, an autographed photo of Appice, and a limited-edition Guitar Zeus necklace.

You can check out a video for the version of “Mystified” featuring Thayer at Deko Entertainment’s YouTube channel.

Here’s the box set’s full track list:

“Mothers Space” — featuring Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal
“Gonna Rain” — featuring Richie Sambora
“Mystify” — featuring Derek Sherinian*
“Nobody Knew” — featuring Brian May
“Where You Belong” — featuring Slash
“Out of Mind” — featuring Neal Schon
“This Time Around” — featuring Yngwie Malmsteen and Dug Pinnick
“Nothing” — featuring John Norum
“Doin’ Fine” — featuring Vivian Campbell
“Under the Moon and Sun” — featuring Mick Mars and Edgar Winter
“Code 19” — featuring Zakk Wylde
“Angels” — featuring Char
“Guitar Zeus, Pt. 1” — featuring Jennifer Batten
“Days Are Nights” — featuring Ted Nugent
“Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” — sung by Carmine, featuring Pat Travers
“Safe” — featuring Neal Schon
“Dead Wrong” — featuring Dweezil Zappa
“Trippin’ Again” — featuring Ty Tabor
“Even Up the Score” — featuring Ted Nugent
“Dislocated” — featuring Paul Gilbert
“Stash” — featuring Stevie Salas and John McEnroe
“Perfect Day” — featuring Warren DeMartini
“Killing Time” — featuring Ty Tabor
“So Long” — featuring Doug Aldrich
“My Own Advice” — featuring Kenji Kitajima
“Guitar Zeus, Pt. 2” — featuring Leslie West and Jennifer Batten
“Mystify” — featuring Tommy Thayer*
“Time to Set Alarms” — featuring Elliot Easton and Bob Daisley
“Where You Belong” — featuring Paul Gilbert
“Cruzin” — featuring Denny Laine
“Couldn’t Be Better” — featuring RaiZi
“Snake” — featuring Bruce Kulick
“4 Miles High” — featuring Steve Morse
“Surrender” — featuring Chris Biggiani*
“GZ Blues” — featuring Seymour Duncan and Steven Seagal
“This Time Around” (music rough track – guitar play along)**
“Days Are Nights” (music rough track – guitar play along)**
“Where You Belong” (music rough track l – guitar play along)**
“Guitar Zeus” (music rough track – guitar play along)**

* = previously unreleased
** = CD only.

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A previously unheard 2000 version of the 1966 David Bowie song “Can’t Help Thinking About Me” that Bowie recorded for his unreleased album TOY, was made available today as a digital single along with an unreleased live version of the same tune.

The studio version of “Can’t Help Thinking About Me” also will appear on the recently announced Bowie box sets Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) and TOY (TOY:BOX), which will be released on November 26, 2021, and January 7, 2022, respectively.

The live rendition of “Can’t Help Thinking About Me,” which is exclusive to the digital single, was recorded at London’s Maida Vale Studios on October 25, 1999, for a BBC Radio show hosted by presenter Mark Radcliffe.

The original recording of “Can’t Help Thinking About Me” was the first song David released under the name David Bowie.

In conjunction with the single’s release, a video of Bowie performing “Can’t Help Thinking About Me” at the Elysée Montmartre in Paris in October 1999 has been posted on David’s official YouTube channel.

As previously reported, TOY was a planned album that Bowie recorded in 2000 that featured updated versions of songs that date from 1964 through 1971.

The full TOY album will get its first official release as part of Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001), an expansive collection that also includes remastered editions of five 1990s Bowie studio albums, a previously unreleased live album and a compilation of rarities.

The TOY (TOY:BOX) set also will include the originally planned TOY album, as well as alternative mixes of the TOY tracks and tunes intended as B-sides, and stripped-down, mostly acoustic mixes of the songs.

You can pre-order Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) and TOY (TOY:BOX) now. Visit DavidBowie.com for more information.

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