Classic Rock News

Julian Lennon continues to try to raise awareness of the many issues plaguing the environment, and he’s doing so with a brand new project. The singer and his White Feather Foundation have joined forces with Future Youth Records for a new EP that will raise funds for environmental issues.  

The Think Earth 23 EP, dropping Sunday, April 23, for Earth Day, features a cover of Lennon’s 1991 track “Saltwater,” written about our world’s climate issues. Artists on the tune include Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro, Wings guitarist Laurence Juber, The Mars Volta bassist Eva Gardner and Jim Keltner, a session drummer who worked with Julian’s dad, John Lennon.

The EP also includes a remix of “Save Me,” from Lennon’s 2022 album, Jude, by German youth artist Josh Heitzler.

“I always try to do something special on Earth Day one way or another,” Lennon tells People. “I tend to go with my gut on these things. And this was one of those project ideas that I thought, ‘Okay, well I kind of like this,’” adding, “Especially considering it was about a lot of the kids and their involvement in not only environmental and humanitarian issues, but the arts too, and music.” 

Lennon’s White Feather Foundation, which he founded in 2007, will donate proceeds from the EP to its Save the Mirning Sea Country Campaign to “help preserve critical biodiversity and protect a sacred Aboriginal culture.” Future Youth Records will use its share to help young artists as they “inspire environmental change and social justice through music.”

Think Earth 23 is available for preorder now.

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The Rolling Stones have shared a newly restored music video for “Child of the Moon,” the Mick Jagger and Keith Richards-penned track that was a B-side to the hit “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”

Originally shot in 1968 as a promotional film, the clip, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, features all five original members of the band, along with actress Dame Eileen June Atkins. The moody video, shot on a farm near Enfield, outside north London, is now being released in both a standard color and a 4K resolution black and white version. 

“Child of the Moon” is the latest restored video released by the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers and ABKCO Music & Records. They previously shared restored videos for “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “We Love You,” “Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?” and “2000 Light Years From Home,” with more coming this year.

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Metallica‘s 72 Seasons video saga has come to an end.

Since dropping their much-anticipated new album Friday, April 14, the metal legends have premiered a new visual every day to accompany a different song off the record. The four prerelease tracks — lead single “Lux Æterna,” “Screaming Suicide,” “If Darkness Had a Son” and the title track — also got videos.

Now, Metallica’s premiered the video for the final 72 Seasons song, album closer “Inamorata.” You can argue whether they saved the best for last, but they certainly saved the longest — the epic “Inamorata” lasts 11 minutes and 10 seconds, a personal record for Metallica.

You can watch the “Inamorata” video, an animated, hallucinatory journey through a desert, streaming now on YouTube.

While every 72 Seasons song now has its own video, Metallica is not quite done with the album’s visual side. Each 72 Seasons video is also being released in American Sign Language, or ASL. The ASL edition of the title track is out now, and the remaining 11 videos will premiere April 25.

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John Mellencamp is back with new music. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is set to release the new album Orpheus Descending on June 2, and just dropped its first single “Hey God.” 

The 11-track album is Mellencamp’s 25th studio release, and is being described as “one of his most personal records to date,” featuring songs that “focus on social issues Mellencamp continues to passionately advocate for.” 

In the meantime, Mellencamp is currently on the road with his Live and In Person tour, which hits St. Louis, Missouri on Friday, April 21. A complete list of dates can be found at Mellencamp.com. 

Here is the track list for Orpheus Descending:

“Hey God”
“The Eyes of Portland”
“Land of the So Called Free”
“The Kindness of Lovers”
“Amen”
“Orpheus Descending”
“Understated Reverence”
“One More Trick”
“Lightning and Luck”
“Perfect World”
“Backbone”

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Roger Waters is finally releasing physical copies of his 2022 digital release The Lockdown Sessions. CD and vinyl copies of the six-song recording are due out June 2.

The release features songs Waters recorded and filmed at home during COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, along with “Comfortably Numb 2022,” which he recorded during his 2022 This Is Not a Drill tour. 

In addition to “Comfortably Numb 2022,” the release features performances of Pink Floyd tracks like “Mother” and “Vera” from The Wall, and “Two Suns in the Sunset” and “The Gunner’s Dream” from The Final Cut. It also features “The Bravery of Being Out of Range,” from Waters’ solo album Amused to Death.

Waters explained that he originally had an idea to record an album of all the encores he did on tour, but the COVID lockdowns got in the way. That’s when he shifted plans. As for the new version of “Comfortably Numb,” he said he added it to the end, “as an appropriate exclamation point in closing this circle of love.” 

The Lockdown Sessions is available for preorder now. 

Waters is currently in Europe on his This Is Not a Drill tour. He plays Budapest, Hungary on Sunday, April 23. A complete list of dates can be found at RogerWaters.com.

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On This Day, April 21, 1984 … 

Genesis frontman and drummer Phil Collins landed his first-ever solo number one with “Against All Odds (Take A Look at Me Now).”

The track was featured in the romantic thriller Against All Odds, which starred Jeff Bridges, Rachel Ward and James Woods. 

In addition to being number one, the song was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a Grammy.

Collins went on to have 14 top-10 solo hits and six more solo number-one songs: “One More Night,” “Sussudio” and “Separate Lives,” featuring Marilyn Martin, which were all released in 1985; 1988’s “Two Hearts” and “Groovy Kind of Love”; and 1989’s “Another Day in Paradise.”

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Queen is back with the latest installment of their YouTube series Queen The Greatest Live, with this week’s episode taking another look at their iconic stage wear — this time with a special performance of the track “Ogre Battle.” 

The performance is from their 1975 Christmas Eve show at the Hammersmith Odeon, which was broadcast live on BBC TV and radio, and eventually released as A Night At The Odeon.

The concert featured an ambitious production from the band, including elaborate lighting that flooded the stage in a green glow. And the band went for it with their look, as well, with Freddie Mercury in a chest-baring white satin catsuit and Brian May in a winged cape. The pair also wore contrasting nail colors, Mercury with black and May with white. 

“The black and white stuff we got into – it’s all designed to be dramatic,” May explained in a previous episode. “It’s designed to accentuate our movements and accentuate the moods of the songs.” 

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Record Store Day is happening Saturday, April 22, and music fans are going to want to be prepared before they head out to shop at their local independent record store this weekend.

A whole lot of exclusive releases will be available, and here are some to be on the lookout for:

The 2020 John Lennon compilation Gimme Some Truth is being released as a box set consisting of nine 10-inch vinyl EPs. Meanwhile, Paul McCartney is contributing a 50th anniversary reissue of the 1973 Wings album Red Rose Speedway, while fellow surviving Beatle Ringo Starr is putting out a reissue of his 1981 solo effort, Stop and Smell the Roses. 

Keith Richards‘ long out-of-print Vintage Vinos collaboration will be out as a two-LP set, while The Rolling Stones‘ 1968 classic Beggars Banquet is being reissued on vinyl with its original artwork.

Stevie Nicks‘ Bella Donna Live 1981, capturing a 1981 live show supporting the Fleetwood Mac star’s first solo album, is making its vinyl debut. Fleetwood Mac’s early single “Albatross” is also getting a vinyl reissue.

And U2 is celebrating the 40th anniversary of their album War with a 12-inch EP featuring remixed versions of “Two Hearts Beat As One” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” as well as two versions of the same songs from their recently released Songs of Surrender album. The EP will be released on 180g white vinyl.

RSD 2023 will also feature exclusive releases from Duran Duran, Pearl Jam, The Allman Brothers Band, David Byrne, The Cranberries, The Cure, The Doors, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Jerry Garcia Band, The Grateful Dead, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Billy Joel, Elton John, Todd Rundgren, T. Rex, Van Halen, Yes and Warren Zevon. 

For the full list of releases and participating stores, visit RecordStoreDay.com.

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A new immersive exhibit dedicated to the New York punk scene has opened in Manhattan.

Punk & Beyond: Legends of the Lower East Side celebrates the musicians whose careers started in lower Manhattan. It features guitars, memorabilia, tour artifacts and more from such artists as Lou Reed, Johnny Ramone, Lenny Kaye, Living Colour’s Vernon Reid, D Generation’s Jesse Malin and others.

The exhibit, put on by the MOSCOT Mobileyes Foundation and the music education nonprofit Music Will, is free and open to the public. It is running from April 20 to July 9, Wednesday to Sunday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Mark Miller Gallery. 

The exhibition is intended to raise funds for the launch and expansion of Music Will’s music programming for the public schools in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

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Paul McCartney is celebrating the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Wings album Red Rose Speedway with the release of a special half-speed mastered vinyl arriving on Saturday, April 22, for Record Store Day. 

To mark the special release, McCartney is sharing memories of the album in a Q&A on his website, and he reveals that there are at least two songs on the album that are very personal to him. 

Asked about what songs stand out to him, Sir Paul notes, “I’m very proud of ‘My Love.’ This was early days for me and (wife) Linda, so it’s a love song to her really.” He adds, “One of the things I was proud of, funnily enough, was that it charted. It sort of did very well,” referring to the fact that the song hit number one in the U.S.

McCartney shares that another song on the album, “One More Kiss,” was inspired by his family, this time his daughter Mary, who was 3 or 4 at the time it was written. 

“And you know how fathers often fuss over their kids? So I was fussing over her, she was a really cute baby,” he explains. “And I’m fussing away going, ‘Give me a kiss. Come on, give me a kiss!’ And she’d get fed up with me and sort of go: ‘Dad. Alright. But only one more kiss.’ So I got one more kiss … and a song!”

Overall, McCartney says Red Rose Speedway sounds “more professional” to him than Wings’ previous releases. He notes, “It sounds like it’s putting in more effort, but it’s less rebellious than (1971’s) Wild Life.” 

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