Classic Rock News

High-quality audiophile versions of the late Janis Joplin‘s classic final studio album, 1971’s Pearl, will be released on Tuesday, November 9.  The versions include two-LP box sets mastered at 45 rpm, as well as on the SACD format.

The vinyl box sets, which are pressed on 180-gram vinyl, will be available with LPs created using Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab’s ultra-hi-fi UltraDisc One-Step lacquering process for $125, or with discs made with the industry-standard three-step process for $59.99. The LPs come housed in a deluxe box that features special foil-stamped jackets.

The reissues celebrate Pearl‘s 50th anniversary. The album was released on January 11, 1971, about three months after Joplin’s October 1970 death at age 27 from a heroin overdose, and spent nine consecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200. Pearl features Janis’ chart-topping cover of Kris Kristofferson‘s “Me and Bobby McGee,” as well as such other classic tunes as “Mercedes Benz,” “Move Over” and “Cry Baby.”

“Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab is honored to be a part of the 50th anniversary celebration of Janis Joplin’s landmark recording,” says the company’s president, Jim Davis. “Our limited-edition, audiophile-grade vinyl box set brings out the explosive dynamics and delicate intricacies of Ms. Joplin’s powerhouse performances, allowing listeners to get closer to the singer’s music, passion, and emotions. Most importantly, this definitive version helps ensure Pearl will forever be regarded as one of the most important rock albums of all time.”

You can pre-order the Pearl vinyl box sets and SACD now at MoFi.com, and the ulra-hi-fi version also can be purchased at JanisJoplin.com and MusicDirect.com.

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Pearl Jam will headline the the second day of the 2022 edition of Lollapalooza Paris, taking place in the French capital on July 16 and 17.

Imagine Dragons will headline the first day of the festival, which also will include performances by The Struts, Megan Thee Stallion, A$AP Rocky, Måneskin, Phoebe Bridgers, Highly Suspect and many others. Tickets are on sale now.

Pearl Jam had previously been scheduled to headline Lolla Paris in 2020 before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The grunge icons are also playing 2022’s Lollapalloza Stockholm.

The 2022 U.S. edition of Lollapalooza, which takes place in Chicago’s Grant Park, will take place July 28-31.

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Metallica is helping to introduce a new combat sport to the world.

The metal legends are performing ahead of the debut of Triad Combat, a team-based fighting competition that combines the rules of boxing and MMA. Produced by Triller Fight Club, the event will take place November 27 in Arlington, Texas.

“Here’s something different for you and is definitely a first for us!” Metallica says of the show.

Tickets go on sale Friday, November 5, at 10 a.m. CT. You’ll also be able to watch live at home via pay-per-view.

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The latest installment of ABC’s Family Singalong franchise airs tonight. The Queen Family Singalong pays tribute to the iconic British rock group via songs belted out by a variety of music stars, including the band’s current lead singer, Adam Lambert.

Sharing some details about the special, Lambert says, “[Y]ou’re going to hear Queen songs in new and different ways that you’ve not heard them before, sung by some of your favorites and I think there’s a lotta surprises in there as well. I’m really happy to be a part of it and I can’t wait for people to see it.”

Lambert will be featured singing “Show Must Go On” on the special, which is hosted by former Glee star Darren Criss. Other artists who will perform on the show include Fall Out Boy, former Alice Cooper guitarist Orianthi, Alessia Cara, Jimmie Allen, Miss Piggy, JoJo Siwa, OneRepublic and Pentatonix.

Previous installments of ABC’s Singalong specials have focused on Disney music, so perhaps it’s not surprising that the Queen-themed show also will feature the casts of the Broadway productions of Disney’s The Lion King and Aladdin.

The Queen Family Singalong airs tonight at 8 p.m ET on ABC.

Here’s a select list of performances from the special:

Adam Lambert –- “The Show Must Go On”
Derek Hough featuring Alexander Jean -– “Another One Bites the Dust”
Fall Out Boy -– “Under Pressure”
Jimmie Allen featuring Miss Piggy -– “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”
JoJo Siwa and Orianthi -– “We Will Rock You”
OneRepublic -– “We Are the Champions”
Pentatonix –- “Somebody to Love”
The casts of Disney’s The Lion King and Aladdin — “Don’t Stop Me Now”
Alessia Cara — “We Are the Champions”

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Eddie Vedder has premiered a new live video for his latest solo single, “Long Way.”

The performance was filmed during the Pearl Jam frontman’s set at his Ohana Festival in September. The clip not only showcases Vedder, put also his backing band for the show, which included Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, former RHCP guitarist Josh Klinghoffer and guitarist/producer Andrew Watt.

Perhaps it’s the California night sky or the way Vedder stretches out the “Long Way” lyric “on the freeway,” but the whole thing has major Tom Petty vibes. You can watch the video streaming now on YouTube.

“Long Way” premiered in September. It’s the first single off Vedder’s upcoming new solo album, Earthling, release date TBA.

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Here comes a shock: Green Day has announced a new song.

The track, titled “Holy Toledo!”, will drop this Friday, November 5. It was recorded for the upcoming film Mark, Mary & Some Other People, which hits theaters, on-demand and digital that same day.

“Holy Toledo!” will be Green Day’s third new tune of 2021, following “Here Comes the Shock” and “Pollyanna.” The punk trio also released a cover of the KISS classic “Rock and Roll All Nite,” which was recorded during their Hella Mega tour with Fall Out Boy and Weezer.

Green Day’s most recent album is 2020’s Father of All… On December 10, they’ll release BBC Sessions, a collection of live recordings from the band’s four performances at the BBC’s Maida Vale Studios in the ’90s and early 2000s.

We now interrupt your weekly BBC Live Sessions broadcasts to announce that we’ll be releasing a NEW song this week. “Holy Toledo!” from @MarkMaryMovie is out everywhere this Friday. pic.twitter.com/lraBK1BzdY

— Green Day (@GreenDay) November 3, 2021

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Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have shared a third advance track from their upcoming collaborative album, Raise the Roof, an atmospheric rendition of a 1965 song by late British folk guitar legend Bert Jansch titled “It Don’t Bother Me.”

The tune, which is available now via digital outlets, is the final advance song the duo plans to debut before the album’s November 19 release.

The track showcases Krauss’ lead vocals, some eclectic instrumentation, and guitar interplay from Marc Ribot and Los Lobos‘ David Hidalgo.

The Led Zeppelin singer says of recording “It Don’t Bother Me” for the new album, “I’ve been a big follower of Bert Jansch’s work since I was a teenager, and of that whole Irish, Scottish, English folk style that has a different lilt and different lyrical perspective. I was very keen to bring some of that into the picture.”

Adds Krauss, “One of my favorite parts of this is the songs and songwriters that I had never heard of. Working with Robert, and with [producer] T Bone [Burnett], is always a great education in music history.”

As previously reported, Raise the Roof features covers of “legends and unsung heroes of folk, blues, country and soul music,” as well as one original tune co-written by Plant and Burnett titled “High and Lonesome.”

“High and Lonesome” was one of the previously released tracks from Raise the Roof, along with the album’s lead single “Can’t Let Go,” a song written by Randy Weeks that previously was recorded by popular alt-country artist Lucinda Williams.

Raise the Roof can be pre-ordered now. It’s a follow-up to Plant and Krauss’ 2007 collaborative album Raising Sand, which won a total of five Grammys in 2009, including Album of the Year.

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The recently reported special screenings of an updated version of the Doors concert film Live at the Bowl ’68 take place in select theaters around the world tonight, November 4, to celebrate the 50th anniversary this year of the release of the band’s classic album L.A. Woman.

The event, dubbed The Doors: Live at the Bowl ’68 Special Edition, will feature the full movie, as well as footage of a new performance by surviving Doors guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore, plus a conversation with Densmore, Krieger and the group’s manager, Jeff Jampol.

Krieger recently shared some details about the new performance with ABC Audio. Robby revealed that the performance was filmed a few weeks ago at his recording studio, and featured him and Densmore playing a couple songs with former Chicago singer/bassist Jason Scheff.

As Krieger explained, Jason has an interesting familial connection to The Doors.

“[H]is dad [Jerry] played bass on L.A. Woman,” Robby noted. “[A]nd he had his dad’s old Sunn amp that he actually used to play [on the] album.”

Jerry Scheff also played bass on a few other Doors albums, although he’s best known for being a longtime member of Elvis Presley‘s TCB Band.

Live at the Bowl ’68, which originally was released in 2012, features restored footage of a historic July 1968 show that The Doors played at Los Angeles’ famed Hollywood Bowl that’s widely considered one of the band’s best filmed performances.

The screenings feature a remastered audio mix in Dolby ATMOS and 5.1 surround sound created by longtime Doors engineer Bruce Botnick, who recorded the original Hollywood Bowl show.

You can buy tickets for the screenings now at TheDoorsFilm.com.

Meanwhile, as previously reported, an expanded 50th anniversary L.A. Woman reissue is due out December 3.

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After being off the road since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Carl Palmer and his current band ELP Legacy launches a new U.S. tour tonight in Warrendale, Pennsylvania.

The trek, which currently features 14 dates on the East Coast and Midwest, is mapped out through a November 21 concert in Wayne, New Jersey. More shows will be added to the schedule soon.

The tour will feature Palmer’s ELP Legacy marking the 50th anniversary of Carl’s old band, the legendary prog-rock trio Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

“Finally! The band and I are very eager to get back on stages in America, and around the rest of world, where possible,” says Palmer in a statement. “The show will have some material we have not played in years, as well as ELP’s best loved material. Visually, we will include footage in the show that reflects the highlights of ELP’s career.”

ELP Legacy is a power trio that also features guitarist/singer Paul Bielatowicz and bassist/Chapman stick player Simon Fitzpatrick.

Palmer is the sole surviving member of ELP, as keyboardist Keith Emerson and singer/bassist Greg Lake both died in 2016.

Meanwhile, Carl notes that the ELP Legacy tour marks the launch of a three-year series of events and releases celebrating the music and history of Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

Future plans include a limited-edition biography about the group, a new Palmer art collection focusing on ELP’s five main studio albums, a documentary, a film based on the band’s classic song “Karn Evil 9,” and a special trek that will feature Carl performing alongside archival footage of his late band mates.

Visit CarlPalmer.com to check out ELP Legacy’s full list of upcoming tour dates.

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U2 has premiered a new single called “Your Song Saved My Life.”

The characteristically uplifting tune was recorded for the upcoming animated film Sing 2, in which Bono voices a rock-star lion character named Clay Calloway. The movie hits theaters this Christmas.

You can listen to “Your Song Saved My Life,” which U2 previously teased via their newly launched TikTok profile, now via digital outlets. It’s U2’s first new, original song in two years, though Bono and The Edge just contributed to a track with DJ and producer Martin Garrix called “We Are the People” earlier this year.

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

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