Classic Rock News

The Beatles‘ Let It Be will be among the albums profiled during the second season of the Amazon Original weekly podcast Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums, which premieres at Amazon Music on November 16.

As its name suggest, the episodic podcast delves into records that were chosen for Rolling Stone magazine’s latest list of the 500 greatest albums. Each episode takes a behind-the-scenes look at how one specific album on the list was made, featuring interviews with people associated with the record, and sometimes including the artists themselves.

The Let It Be episode will kick off season two of the podcast. Interviews with surviving Beatles members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are featured in the presentation, discussing details about how the band’s final studio album came together, and the whether the common perception that the band members were angry with each other throughout the project is accurate.

Also appearing in the podcast are Giles Martin, son of late Beatles producer George Martin, and filmmaker Peter Jackson, director of Get Back: The Beatles, the upcoming Disney+ docuseries focusing on the Let It Be sessions.

Other upcoming episodes of the Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums podcast include shows focusing on Britney Spears‘ Blackout, jazz artist Alice Coltrane‘s Journey in Satchidananda, Dolly Parton‘s Coat of Many Colors, and Weezer‘s self-titled 1989 studio effort, a.k.a. The Blue Album.

Season two of the Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums podcast will be available exclusively at Amazon Music and Wondery+.

You can check out a trailer for the new season, and episodes from the podcast’s first season, at Amazon.com.

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Whitesnake recently released the latest installment of its deluxe reissue campaign, a four-CD/DVD set focusing on the band’s 1997 studio album, Restless Heart.

The Restless Heart: Super Deluxe Edition features newly remixed and remastered versions of the album, various unreleased demos and studio outtakes, and a DVD containing official music videos, fan videos, and a short making-of documentary.

Frontman David Coverdale tells ABC Audio that the new collection is “packed solid” with quality, like an “amazing box of chocolates.”

He’s “doubly excited” about the deluxe package’s arrival because the album wasn’t even released initially in the U.S.

Coverdale says he wasn’t happy with the album’s original mix, so the remix was beefed up with added tracks from current Whitesnake guitarist Joel Hoekstra and ex-Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian.

“They brought in this early Whitesnake vibe,” Coverdale notes. “[And Derek is] almost like the son of [late Deep Purple/Whitesnake keyboardist] Jon Lord, bringing this element…of scorching Hammond organ.”

The new mix also features a different running order than the original Restless Heart, and David explains that’s because he put “a lot more thought [and] a lot more care” into the updated version. He adds, “These things I’m looking upon as my legacy as an artist.”

Restless Heart was a particularly diverse collection of tunes for a Whitesnake album, which Coversale says was because the project originally was intended to be his third studio album.

Besides hard rockers and power ballads, the album included two power blues songs and a cover of the 1966 R&B hit “Stay with Me.”

Meanwhile, another interesting element of the Super Deluxe set is an “Evolutions” disc, which features tracks that show how each song evolved from demos to the studio version.

Visit Whitesnake.com for full details about the reissue.

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Arizona’s baseball-themed Innings Festival is coming to the East Coast next year.

The inaugural Innings Festival Florida will take place March 19-20 in Tampa, and Green Day will headline the bill on the first day. The lineup also includes Goo Goo Dolls, second-day headliners The Lumineers, Incubus, 311, Jimmy Eat World, O.A.R., Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Skip Marley, X-Files star and singer David Duchovny, among others.

As with the Arizona fest, Innings Florida coincides with the MLB spring training season, and will feature guest appearances by baseball greats including Ozzie Smith, Gary Sheffield, John Kruk, Lou Piniella, Bucky Dent, Andruw Jones and Tino Martinez.

Tickets go on sale this Friday, November 5, at 10 a.m. ET. For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit InningsFestival.com/Florida.

If you still prefer your baseball music festival with a side of dry heat instead of humidity, Innings Arizona takes place next year on February 26 and 27 in Tempe. The lineup includes headliners Foo Fighters and Tame Impala, as well as Fitz and the Tantrums, St. Vincent, My Morning Jacket, Dashboard Confessional and others.

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Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich and Ozzy Osbourne are among the many members of the metal community paying tribute to beloved English rock journalist Malcolm Dome, who passed away recently at age 66.

Dome, who wrote for publications including Kerrang! and Classic Rock magazine, is credited with the first use of the term “thrash metal,” which came to describe the sound of metal giants including Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax.

“Extremely sad to hear of Malcolm Dome’s passing,” Ulrich tweeted. “Not only was he an incredible talent who helped guide my relationship with heavy music, but he was also a great person. Today, I’m thinking of the fun, memorable times we spent together back in the day.”

Osbourne wrote, “Words cannot express how sorry I feel to hear about the passing of Malcolm Dome. Rest In Peace. God Bless.”

Here are a few other tributes to Dome:

Iron Maiden: “We are all very much saddened and shocked to hear about the passing of our friend Malcolm Dome. He was fearless, intrepid, passionate and forthright as a journalist and latterly a broadcaster and we respected him immensely.”

Mötley Crüe: “Sad to hear about the passing of Malcolm Dome. He was such an important figure for all things rock and metal and championed so many bands over the years. RIP Malcolm.”

Tony Iommi: “Malcolm was a lovely guy, he interviewed me many times and was always positive about the music. He was one of the first journalists to totally get metal. We even worked together last year when he helped me sort out my Wikipedia entry. Sadly missed.”

Geezer Butler: “So sad to hear of the passing of Malcolm Dome, one of rock and metal’s great journalists. It was always a pleasure giving interviews and generally having a chat. RIP Malcolm, you will be missed.”

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Paul McCartney‘s new book, The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, was released today.

As previously reported, the two-volume book profiles 154 songs McCartney wrote throughout his career, and features his commentary about each tune, as well as handwritten lyric sheets, rare personal photos, drawings and rough drafts of songs.

To celebrate The Lyrics‘ publication, Sir Paul has answered several fan-submitted questions about his songwriting as part of a new installment of his website’s “You Gave Me the Answer” feature.

One fan asked if, while putting the book together, “lyrics or memories…came back to you and reminded you of a time you’d forgotten,” to which McCartney responded that reviewing some of his tunes wound up being like visiting a psychiatrist for him.

“[R]evisiting the first song I ever wrote ‘I Lost My Little Girl’…kind of turned into a therapy session, because I thought I was happily writing a little pop song when I was fourteen,” he noted, “but if you look at the timing of it I had just lost my mother.” Paul added that it made him realize he may have subliminally written the tune about his mom.

He also pointed out that “Yesterday” may have been partly inspired by losing his mother. McCartney said thinking about the writing of other songs brought back “surprising memories,” such as hitchhiking trips he took with John Lennon and George Harrison.

Asked if he had rules or a formula for writing a song, McCartney said definitely not. “[I]t’s not like building a car or fixing a television, it’s something that is very different each time you do it,” he noted. “In fact, you don’t want to learn a set of rules because that’s what keeps it interesting!”

Check out the full Q&A at PaulMcCartney.com.

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Midas Man, an upcoming biopic about late Beatles manager Brian Epstein, will continue production although its director, Jonas Akerlund, apparently will be dropping off the project, Variety reports.

According to Variety, sources have revealed that Akerlund currently is “taking a break” from filming and likely will not return.

The movie began shooting two weeks ago in Liverpool, U.K., but the production was put on hold this week. A source close to the production confirmed to Variety that the shoot may start up again as soon as next week, and if Akerlund doesn’t return, a new director will be announced soon.

“The director of Midas Man Jonas Akerlund is taking a break from the film,” says StudioPOW co-founder Perry Trevers, whose company is co-producing the movie. “Until some matters become clearer we are not able to add any further comment to this statement. In the meantime we can confirm that filming of Midas Man will continue in London in November before breaking for Christmas. Filming will restart in early January in Los Angeles.”

Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, whose credits include The Queen’s Gambit and Wolf Hall, has been cast as Epstein in the film, while Outlander actress Rosie Day is portraying pop star Cilla Black.

Akerlund’s credits include directing videos for Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, U2, Madonna, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne and many others. He won Grammys for McCartney’s Live Kisses film, as well as for Madonna’s The Confessions Tour concert video and “Ray of Light” music video.

Epstein discovered The Beatles in 1961 and officially became their manager the following year, helping to guide the group to superstardom. He also managed such other Liverpool acts as Black and Gerry and the Pacemakers. Brian died in 1967 of an apparent accidental sleeping-pill overdose. He was 32.

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Nikki Sixx‘s new memoir The First 21 has landed on The New York Times best-sellers list.

The book, which recounts the first 21 years of the Mötley Crüe bassist’s life, debuts at number eight on the Hardcover Nonfiction ranking, and number 11 on the Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction tally.

“I am such a fan of books and storytelling,” says Sixx. “The whole process is extremely creative from the beginning to the end, which allowed me to open up candidly in the memoir about addiction, sobriety and reflect about the formative years of my life, while unpacking the complicated childhood that had some twists and turns along the way.”

He adds, “I am really happy The First 21 connected with people in such a deep way.”

Sixx previously earned the New York Times best-seller title with his 2007 and 2011 books The Heroin Diaries and This Is Gonna Hurt, respectively, and as a co-author of the 2001 collective Crüe autobiography, The Dirt.

In related news, Sixx is already working on another book, a children’s book co-written by his wife, Courtney. As Sixx tells The Aquarian, the book is about “this little girl who goes to all of these countries in her imagination.”

“She goes to Africa and she has this little African boy or girl teaching her about that culture, or she goes to England, and then she goes to Wyoming and learns about horses, then goes to Japan and learns about the food and the culture and the language,” Sixx explains. “That is a great idea and that will come out next year.”

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ZZ Top has partnered with the Waco, Texas-based Balcones Distilling company to create the band’s own unique brand of whiskey, Tres Hombres, named after the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame trios 1973 studio album.

In celebration of ZZ Top’s legacy, the liquor is made using three different grains — roasted blue corn, barley and rye.

Tres Hombres whiskey is available for pre-order now at BalconesDistilling.com and can be ordered soon at KegNBottle.com. The spirits will be available at liquor stores throughout Texas and in select other states starting in mid-November.

“ZZ Top’s love of Texas runs deep and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate that than by creating something together with Balcones — The Original Texas Whisky,” says the band’s manager, Carl Stubner, about the new collaboration. “Tres Hombres exemplifies what can be achieved when brands care deeply about their respective products and legacy.”

Adds Balcones Distilling’s head distiller, Jared Himstedt, “It was incredible to collaborate with the ZZ Top team to develop an exclusive whisky that celebrates ZZ Top’s and Balcones’ shared Texas roots. To actually get to taste through the blending process with ZZ Top and make a whisky that synthesizes our joint vision for Tres Hombres was an honor.”

In other news, ZZ Top’s 2021 U.S. tour continues this Saturday, November 6, in Key West, Florida. The trek winds down December 12 in Midland, Texas.

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Alice Cooper has announced plans for his first series of U.S. shows in 2022.

The shock rocker has lined up eight concerts in the Midwest and Southeast prior to his previously headlining appearance on next year’s Monsters of Rock Cruise in February.

The performances kick off on January 28 in Cincinnati and run through a February 8 show in Orlando, Florida.

Tickets for the concerts go on sale to the general public this Friday, November 5, at 10 a.m. local time, while a VIP pre-sale tickets will be available starting today, November 2, at 10 a.m. local time.

As previously reported, the 2022 Monsters of Rock Cruise sets sail from Miami on February 9 and visits the Haitian island of CocoCay and Labadee in the Bahamas before returning to port on February 14.

Besides Alice, the cruise will feature more than 30 other acts, including Queensryche, Winger, Cinderella‘s Tom Keifer, Skid Row, Great White, LA Guns, Kix, Pat Travers, Lit, Vixen, Michael Monroe of Hanoi Rocks, Loudness, Y&T, Faster Pussycat, current Whitesnake guitarist Joel Hoekstra, ex-Motley Crue singer John Corabi, former W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes and many more.

Cooper also is scheduled to mount a major European tour that kicks off in May of next year.

Alice continues to promote his latest studio album, Detroit Stories, which was released in February. The record is an homage to the hard-edged rock music of Cooper’s childhood hometown.

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Longtime Moody Blues singer/bassist John Lodge has released a live performance of his band’s classic 1968 song “Ride My See-Saw” as an advance track from his forthcoming concert album, The Royal Affair and After, which is due out December 3 on CD and digital formats.

As previously reported, the album features performances from a 2019 Las Vegas show that Lodge and his 10,000 Light Years Band played while serving as an opening act on the Yes-headlined Royal Affair Tour, as well as select songs recorded during John’s subsequent U.S. solo trek.

For the live rendition of “Ride My See-Saw,” Lodge and the group were joined on backing vocals by current Yes frontman Jon Davison.

The performance is available now as a digital download and via streaming services. A companion video has premiered on Lodge’s official YouTube channel that features footage of Lodge, his band and Davison combined with some animated celestial images.

Reflecting on the meaning behind “Ride My See-Saw,” John notes that the song “is really about how life is full of highs and lows, you can’t ride the wave forever…and the secret to me is to find a balance to keep the glass half full…something I’ve thought about a lot over the last 18 months.”

The Royal Affair and After also will be released as a limited-edition blue-vinyl LP on January 28, 2022.

In other news, Lodge has confirmed a series of 2022 U.S. concerts that will run from a March 8 show in Norfolk, Connecticut, through a March 26 gig in Dania Beach, Florida. After that trek, John will take part in the 2022 Flower Power Cruise, which sets sail from Miami on March 28. Visit JohnLodge.com for his full itinerary.

Here’s the live album’s complete track list:

“Steppin’ in a Slide Zone”
“Saved by the Music”
“Legend of a Mind”
“Sunset”
“Late Lament” (with Graeme Edge)
“Nights in White Satin” (with Jon Davison)
“Gemini Dream”
“Isn’t Life Strange”
“I’m Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band)”
“Ride My See-Saw” (with Jon Davison)

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