Classic Rock News

A rare electric guitar that The Ramones‘ Johnny Ramone played and recorded with from 1977 to 1996 is slated to be auctioned later this month.

Johnny used the 1965 Mosrite Ventures II model guitar at every Ramones gig from November 1977 through the band’s final concert in August of ’96, a total of 1,985 shows. The late rocker, who died of prostate cancer at age 55 in 2004, also played the instrument on most of The Ramones’ albums.

The instrument is part of a Ramones memorabilia sale being hosted by RR Auction that will take place September 25 at the Newbury Boston hotel in Boston.  Bidding on the items began last week, and as of Wednesday morning, the highest bid for the guitar stood at over $73,200, although it’s expected to fetch over $500,000.

The guitar is has a white body and a black pickguard, and is signed on the back in black marker, “Johnny Ramone, My Main Guitar, 1977-1996.” The original strap is affixed to the instrument with gaffer’s tape, along with three Ramones picks.

Johnny purchased the guitar after his original blue Mosrite was stolen in 1977 from the band’s van after a show in Chicago.

Another interesting item being sold as part of the auction Johnny’s Electro-Harmonix Mike Matthews Freedom Amp, which he often used at early Ramones shows at New York’s legendary punk club CBGB. The amplifier is expected to sell for more than $50,000, while the latest bid stands at $8,000.

The memorabilia being sold is part of a collection belonging to veteran producer and musician Daniel Rey, a longtime associate of The Ramones. You can check out full details about the auction at RRAuction.com.

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Sting has announced plans for a new album, The Bridge, which will be released on November 19.  The upbeat first single, “If It’s Love,” which describes being in love as some kind of symptom, is out now on all digital platforms.

Speaking about the song, Sting says in a statement, “I’m certainly not the first songwriter to equate falling in or out of love with an incurable sickness, nor will I be the last. ‘If It’s Love’ is my addition to that canon where the tropes of metaphorical symptoms, diagnosis, and downright incapacity are all familiar enough to make each of us smile ruefully.”

Sting wrote and recorded The Bridge over the past year in lockdown, with the musicians contributing their parts remotely.  As for the title, he explains, “These songs are between one place and another, between one state of mind and another, between life and death, between relationships. Between pandemics, and between eras — politically, socially and psychologically, all of us are stuck in the middle of something. We need a bridge.”

The Bridge, which can be pre-ordered now, will be available in various formats, including standard and deluxe CD and vinyl, and on cassette. The deluxe CD and vinyl versions will feature bonus tracks, including a cover of Otis Redding‘s “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay.”

The Bridge is Sting’s first solo album of original material since 2016’s 57th & 9th.

Sting will return to performing live later this month with a September 27 gig in Sicily, Italy, followed by two shows in Greece. His Las Vegas residency, My Songs, kicks off October 29.

Here’s The Bridge‘s full track list:

“Rushing Water”
“If It’s Love”
“The Book of Numbers”
“Loving You”
“Harmony Road”
“For Her Love”
“The Hills on the Border”
“Captain Bateman”
“The Bells of St. Thomas”
“The Bridge”
“Waters of Tyne”*
“Captain Bateman’s Basement”*
“(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay”*
“I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City”**

* = Deluxe bonus track
** = Japanese exclusive bonus track

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Former Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum counts himself among the many musicians who were influenced and inspired by late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, who died a week ago today at age 80.

Sorum is known for his powerful, hard-hitting style, while Watts’ drumming had more of a jazz swing to it, but Matt tells ABC Audio that he aspired to the way Charlie and The Beatles‘ Ringo Starr played so well with their respective band mates.

“I looked up to Charlie and Ringo as band guys, song drummers, and I always wanted to place myself in there,” Sorum explains. “I just want to play what’s right for the song. You know, I got some chops and stuff, and I could do stuff, but the most important thing is figuring out what’s gonna make the song sound great. So, Charlie was a really huge influence in that.”

Reflecting on what Watts brought to The Stones, Matt notes, “[He was] such a pivotal guy, like a guy that’s so important in the foundation and the heartbeat.”

Sorum says fans can get an idea of what Watts contributed to The Stones by watching the 1968 film Sympathy for the Devil, which documents how the band’s famous song of the same name came together in the studio.

“[I]t takes him nine days to find the groove,” Matt points out. “And you watch that and you understand why The Stones’ groove and sound is so great.”

As previously reported, Sorum is preparing to release a candid memoir titled Double Talkin’ Jive: True Rock ‘n’ Roll Stories in the coming weeks. You can pre-order the book now at RareBirdLit.com.

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A new concert album and video focusing on a 2019 show by veteran studio whiz, composer and musician Alan Parsons‘ current band, the Alan Parsons Live Project, will be released on November 5 in various formats and configurations.

The NeverEnding Show: Live in the Netherlands captures a May 2019 concert by the group at the Tivoli theater in Utrecht, Netherlands.

The concert featured performances of many of the Alan Parsons Live Project’s best-known songs from the 1970s and ’80s, including “Games People Play,” “Time” and “Don’t Answer Me,” as well as a medley combining the group’s oft-heard 1982 instrumental “Sirius” with its ’82 hit “Eye in the Sky.”

The NeverEnding Show can be pre-ordered now and is available as a two-CD/DVD set, a Blu-ray disc and a three-LP vinyl collection. Two limited-edition colored-vinyl versions of the release — pressed on crystal and on blue vinyl — can be purchased exclusively at the Frontiers Music’s online store.

The audio versions of The NeverEnding Show also will include a new studio recording of a song called “The Never Ending Show” as a bonus track.

You can check out a video of the Alan Parsons Live Project performing “Games People Play” from The NeverEnding Show film now at Frontiers Music’s YouTube channel.

The band recently postponed a U.S. tour because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The trek had been scheduled to run from an August 27 show in Burbank, California, through a September 22 show in Minneapolis. New dates haven’t been announced.

Here’s the track list of The NeverEnding Show‘s CDs:

CD 1
“One Note Symphony”
“Damned If I Do”
“Don’t Answer Me”
“Time”
“Breakdown”/”The Raven” (Medley)
“I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You”
“Psychobabble”
“Luciferama”

CD 2
“Don’t Let It Show”
“I Robot”
“Limelight”
“Standing on Higher Ground”
“As Lights Fall”
“I Can’t Get There from Here”
“Prime Time”
“Sirius”/”Eye in the Sky” (Medley)
“Old and Wise”
“(The System of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether”
“Games People Play”
“The Never Ending Show” (New Studio Audio Track)

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Elton John has announced that he’s, well, making an announcement tomorrow. And from some of the hints he’s posted on social media, it seems like it could be some kind of all-star duets project.

On his Instagram Stories, Elton has posted a sparkling rhinestone star graphic over which a series of names are displayed, including Stevie Nicks, Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder, alt-rockers Gorillaz, Stevie Wonder, late country legend Glen Campbell, Miley Cyrus, singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile, rappers Nicki Minaj, Lil Nas X and Young Thug, Dua Lipa, Australian dance duo Pnau, country star Jimmie Allen, pop singer Charlie Puth, British act Years & Years, British singer/songwriter Rina Sawayama and American pop duo Surfaces.

Of course, Elton and Dua Lipa just released a new single titled “Cold Heart” that was mixed by Pnau. In the past year and a half, Elton also has released singles with Years & Years, Rina Sawayama, Gorillaz and Surfaces. He’s very friendly with Carlile, and he’s just worked on a Metallica cover song with Cyrus. In addition, in the past, he and Puth have both referred to some sort of collaboration that they did.

As for Nicks, Vedder, Wonder, Campbell and the other artists mentioned, well, Elton pretty much knows everyone, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s worked with those folks too.

Based on the artists involved, it’s likely that the project will collect all the collaborations Elton has done since the pandemic, along with some newly recorded tracks.

In 1993, Elton released an album called Duets that featured him collaborating with the likes of Don Henley, Bonnie Raitt, Wonder, George Michael, the late Little Richard and Leonard Cohen, and others.

 

 

 

 

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Bonnaroo won’t be happening in 2021.

The Tennessee festival, which was canceled in 2020 and postponed from June 2021 to this week because of the COVID-19 pandemic, has now been canceled for this year for an entirely different reason: Hurricane Ida.

After making landfall in Louisiana this past Sunday — leaving millions without power, including all of New Orleans — Ida has continued to move throughout the Southeast, creating dangerous conditions in states including Tennessee.

“We are absolutely heartbroken to announce that we must cancel Bonnaroo,” organizers announced Tuesday. “While this weekend’s weather looks outstanding, currently Centeroo is waterlogged in many areas, the ground is incredibly saturated on our tollbooth paths, and the campgrounds are flooded to the point that we are unable to drive in or park vehicles safely.”

The statement continues, “We have done everything in our power to try to keep the show moving forward, but Mother Nature has dealt us a tremendous amount of rain over the past 24 hours. We have run out of options to try to make the event happen safely and in a way that lives up to the Bonnaroo experience.”

Bonnaroo 2021 was scheduled to begin this Thursday. The lineup included Foo Fighters, former Talking Heads member Jerry Harrison, and many others.

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KISS recently postponed a few tour dates after singer/guitarist Paul Stanley tested positive for COVID-19 last week, and now the band has announced that four additional shows have been postponed because Stanley’s co-founding band mate Gene Simmons also has contracted the virus.

A message on KISS’ official website reads, “While Paul Stanley recently tweeted that he has recovered from COVID, Gene Simmons has now tested positive and is experiencing mild symptoms. The band and crew will remain at home and isolate for the next 10 days.”

The note reports that “doctors have indicated the tour should be able to resume on September 9th at FivePoint Amphitheatre in Irvine, CA.”

The newly postponed concerts were scheduled for September 1 in Clarkston, Michigan; September 2 in Dayton, Ohio; September 4 in Tinley Park, Illinois; and September 5 in Milwaukee. The last show was to have been part of Milwaukee’s Summerfest.

Tickets that were purchased for the postponed concerts will be honored for the rescheduled dates when they are announced. Additional details will be emailed to ticketholders.

These four postponed shows follow three other dates that were delayed when Stanley revealed his diagnosis last week. The earlier concerts had been scheduled for August 26 in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania; August 28 in Raleigh, North Carolina; and August 29 in Atlanta.

Yesterday, Stanley tweeted, “My COVID symptoms were MILD compared to many others and let me tell you…It kicked my a**. It’s over now.”

In other news, KISS also has postponed the 2021 Australian leg of its End of the Road Tour because of ongoing COVID restrictions. The trek, which had been scheduled for November and December of this year has been moved to March and April of 2022. Visit KISSOnline.com for full details.

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A recent book about The Rolling Stones‘ Charlie Watts has received a big sales boost following the passing of the legendary rock drummer, Billboard reports.

Sympathy for the Drummer: Why Charlie Watts Matters, which originally was published in hardcover and digital editions in November 2019 and was released this past August 1 in paperback, has bounded into the top 10 of Amazon’s latest “Best Sellers in Music History & Criticism” list.

The hardcover, paperback and Kindle editions of the book, which was written by veteran author, editor and musician Mike Edison, currently are at #2, #4 and #8, respectively on the list. The hardback version of the biography also sits at #8 Amazon’s “Best Sellers in Rock Band Biographies” list.

Sympathy for the Drummer follows Watts’ life from his early days playing in London’s jazz and R&B scene to joining The Rolling Stones and accompanying the group as they became the biggest rock band on the planet. The book also examines Charlie’s swinging drum style, his work as a composer and producer, his close camaraderie and long relationship with his Stones band mates.

A description of the biography at BackbeatBooks.com characterizes Watts as “the anti-rock star — an urbane jazz fan with a dry wit and little taste for the limelight — [who] was witness to the most savage years in rock history, and emerged a hero, a warrior poet.”

In addition to the hardcover, paperback and Kindle versions, Sympathy for the Drummer is available as an audio book read by Edison. You can check out a NSFW video featuring the author reading a section of the book on YouTube.

Watts died at a London hospital on August 24 at the age of 80.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

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David Lee Roth apparently did not “Jump” at the opportunity to open for Mötley Crüe.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the “Dr. Feelgood” rockers asked the Van Halen icon if he wanted a spot on the bill for their upcoming stadium reunion tour. When bassist Nikki Sixx got an answer back from Roth, Diamond Dave did more than just decline the invitation.

“‘I don’t open for bands that I influenced,’ Sixx says Roth told him,” the Los Angeles Times report reads.

As for who will be sharing the lineup with the Crüe on the tour, that’d be Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. The outing is finally set to kick off in June 2022 after being postponed from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

By the way, Roth turning down Mötley Crüe isn’t the only bit of opening-act drama he’s been involved in this year. He was supposed to support KISS on their ongoing farewell tour, like he had been doing before the pandemic. However, when the trek started up again this summer, Roth wasn’t included on the bill anymore.

Asked about Roth’s absence by Rolling Stone, Gene Simmons suggested that he is no longer the “ultimate frontman” of his “heyday,” and seemed to compare him to “bloated naked Elvis on the bathroom floor.”

Roth then responded by posting 18 photos of a boy giving the middle finger on his Instagram, after which Simmons apologized for hurting Dave’s feelings with his comments, admitting that he suffered from “diarrhea of the mouth.”

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Metallica has unearthed a previously unreleased instrumental version of the Black Album song “My Friend of Misery.”

The recording, dubbed “My Friend of Misery (From Jason’s Riff Tapes),” was created by bassist Jason Newsted, and proved to be the foundation of the Black Album‘s penultimate track. You can listen to it now via digital outlets.

“My Friend of Misery (From Jason’s Riff Tapes)” is one of many bonus tracks featured on the upcoming 30th anniversary Black Album reissue, due out September 10. The deluxe package also includes the original record remastered, as well as a variety of live tracks, outtakes, rough mixes and demos, interviews and videos.

Metallica’s also celebrating the Black Album‘s 30th anniversary with The Metallica Blacklist, a compilation featuring 53 artists covering every song off the 1991 record, with all profits going to charity.

In keeping with the “My Friend of Misery” theme, Metallica has released acclaimed jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington‘s Blacklist version of the song, which is available now for digital download.

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