Classic Rock News

Fender is bringing back the Kurt Cobain Jag-Stang, a new guitar that the late Nirvana frontman created with the company back in the early ’90s. As Fender EVP of Product Justin Norvell tells ABC Audio, the collaboration first came about thanks to Cobain’s penchant for destroying guitars.

“Kurt was not the most precious with his guitars back in the day,” Norvell recalls. “He would smash a lot of guitars, need guitars repaired.”

“Through that Fender formed a relationship with Kurt and the Nirvana camp,” he explains. “And just within that, Kurt started to throw ideas, [saying], ‘I’ve been drawing this dream guitar of mine for a while.'”

Those drawings, which can be seen in the posthumously released Cobain book Journals, combined elements of two different Fender guitars: the Jaguar and the Mustang. It was that hybridization that really caught the attention of Fender, which normally only built signature guitars with artists based on preexisting models.

“For an artist to actually have a vision for a complete guitar — that was a completely new guitar and a whole encapsulated idea — was fascinating,” Norvell says.

When Cobain died in 1994, the Jag-Stang was still in the final stages of development and received only a limited release. Now, Fender’s finally reissuing it widely to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Nirvana’s Nevermind.

Aesthetically, the Jag-Stang boasts a “pawn shop, 1960s” feel, while its two-pickup design will help you recreate Nirvana’s classic, Pixies-inspired loud-quiet-loud dynamic.

“The fact that it’s offset and off-kilter, it’s almost like an abstract, almost cubist take on guitar playing I think fits [Cobain’s] style,” Norvell says.

The Kurt Cobain Jag-Stang is available now via Fender.com. To celebrate the launch, Fender has added 11 Nirvana songs to its Fender Play guitar instruction app.

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Happy Golden Anniversary to Elton John, who can now officially brag that he’s been scoring top 40 hits for 50 years.

“Cold Heart,” his collaboration with U.K. pop star Dua Lipa that’s a mashup of four of his past songs, has jumped from #36 to #32 on the Billboard Hot 100.  It’s the first time he’s been in the top 40 of the chart since “Written in the Stars,” his 1999 duet with LeAnn Rimes.

According to Billboard, that means Elton’s top 40 hits now span 50 years and 10 months — his first top 40 hit, “Your Song,” charted in December of 1970.  Not including holiday songs, this is the longest span for any artist in Billboard history. Michael Jackson previously held the record at 46 years, eight months and three weeks.

Elton recently told Billboard that he credits “Dua Lipa’s popularity” with a lot of the song’s success, as well as the “brilliant” remix that the Australian dance act Pnau did in mashing up the songs.  However, he notes, “I feel very, very content and happy that I’m relevant. I’ve always tried to be relevant.”

Billboard also points out the mind-blowing fact that the week in 1970 when Elton scored his first top 40 hit, the artists in the top five were Smokey Robinson, Santana, George Harrison, The Fifth Dimension and The Partridge Family.  Now, it’s the likes of Drake, Justin Bieber, Lil Nas X and Ed Sheeran.

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Paul Simon, one of the most important singer/songwriters of the rock music era, celebrates his 80th birthday today.

Simon came to fame in the mid-’60s as half of the legendary folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, and then launched a successful solo career in the early 1970s that has seen him incorporate jazz, African, Brazilian and Latin music influences into his pop-rock sound.

Paul’s melodic, intelligent and poetic songs helped make Simon & Garfunkel one of the most popular and celebrated music acts of the 1960s and early ’70s. The duo topped the Billboard Hot 100 three times, with “The Sound of Silence,” “Mrs. Robinson” and “Bridge over Troubled Water.” Simon won eight Grammy Awards for his work with Art Garfunkel, including a 1970 Album of the Year prize for Bridge over Troubled Water, and Record of the Year and Song of the Year honors for the title track.

Simon enjoyed similar success as a solo artist, winning 1975 and 1986 Album of the Year Grammys, respectively, for Still Crazy After All These Years and Graceland. The latter album was not only a huge commercial success, selling more than five million copies in the U.S. alone, it’s considered a critical high-water mark for Paul, who collaborated with South African musicians to create an infectious hybrid of world music and pop.

Simon has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice, as a member of Simon & Garfunkel in 1990 and as a solo artist in 2001. Other accolades include induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1982, being named MusiCares Person of the Year in 2001, receiving a Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, being awarded the first Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in 2007, and receiving Sweden’s prestigious Polar Music Prize in 2012.

Paul retired from touring in 2018, although he has continued to play select concerts that raise money for various charities he supports. Simon’s most recent album was 2018’s In the Blue Light, a collection of new versions of some of his favorite tunes from his back catalog, reimagined to incorporate jazz and classical influences.

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A new 10-CD box set titled The Official Live Bootlegs Volume 1, featuring recordings of five concerts by Asia‘s original lineup from various years of the prog-rock supergroup’s career, will be released on November 26.

Two shows featured in the expansive collection took place during the band’s initial early-1980s heyday, while the other three concerts were recorded after the original lineup reunited during the 2000s.

The concerts were recorded in May 1982 at Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, New York; in August 1983 at The Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts; in March 2007 at the Credicard Hall in São Paulo, Brazil; in May 2008 at the International Forum in Tokyo; and in December 2010 at The Forum in London.

Asia’s classic lineup featured former King Crimson and UK singer/bassist John Wetton, longtime Yes guitarist Steve Howe, Emerson, Lake & Palmer drummer Carl Palmer and Buggles/Yes keyboardist Geoff Downes.

The original band recorded two albums, 1982’s Asia and 1983’s Alpha, before Howe exited the group. Wetton, Howe, Downes and Palmer reunited in 2006 to mark Asia’s 25th anniversary and the group went on to record three more albums together — 2008’s Phoenix, 2010’s Omega and 2012’s XXX — before Howe again left the band in 2013.

The concerts feature Asia playing its classic songs “Heat of the Moment,” “Only Time Will Tell” and “Don’t Cry,” while the post-2000 shows also include renditions of tunes by the members’ other famous groups, among them Yes’ “Roundabout,” King Crimson’s The Court of the Crimson King and The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star.”

The Official Live Bootlegs Volume 1 can be pre-ordered now. A digital album featuring 24 tracks from the box set also will be released on November 26.

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Mark Stein, lead singer and keyboardist of the veteran psychedelic rock band Vanilla Fudge, will release his debut solo album, There’s a Light, on November 26.

Stein recorded the album during the COVID-19 pandemic, and was inspired by the health crisis and other issues the U.S. and the world have been facing — including social unrest, racial disparity and political conflicts — to put together collection of songs offering such themes as hope, unity and redemption.

“This is an album about hope, but at the same time, I had to sing about the dangers of division,” the 74-year-old musician notes. “When I started the newest collection of songs during the early weeks of the pandemic, it dawned on me that I had created an album with a theme. These songs are reflections of what the world is about now, and what we need to do to bring us together again.”

The album’s lead track, “We Are One,” has been released as an advance digital single, and a companion music video for the tune has premiered on YouTube. Stein says the song speaks of “unity and what I know our country and the world is capable of.”

There’s a Light also includes two classic covers tunes that reflect the album’s themes, renditions of The Temptations‘ “Ball of Confusion” and The Rascals‘ “People Got to Be Free,” and culminates with an emotional version of “America the Beautiful.”

There’s a Light can be pre-ordered on CD now at MerchBucket.com, and limited-edition bundles featuring a signed copy of the disc, as well as a Mark Stein T-shirt, bracelet and bandana, also can be purchased at the site.

Here’s the There’s a Light track list:

“We Are One”
“Ball of Confusion”
“We Are Survivors”
“Lyin'”
“Racism”
“All Lives Matter”
“Let’s Pray for Peace”
“People Got to Be Free”
“Break It Down”
“America the Beautiful”

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Guns N’ Roses‘ Slash, Metallica‘s James Hetfield and Jeff Beck are among the many artists contributing signed items to an upcoming auction benefiting the Recording Academy’s MusiCares charity, which provides medical, financial and personal assistance to in-need members of the music community.

The sale includes guitars signed by Slash, Hetfield and Beck.

Slash’s contribution a Epiphone Slash Les Paul Deluxe, valued between $1,000 to $2,000. Separately, the guitar great is parting ways with one of his famous top hats, autographed and featuring a hand-drawn skull-and-bones sketch, that will be sold alongside a sterling silver ring for an estimated total of $5,000 to $7,000.

Hetfield is offering a black ESP Vulture guitar that has an estimated worth of $4,000 to $6,000.  A 1960s Gibson Les Paul electric guitar signed Beck also is going up for bid, and has an estimated value of $1,000 to $2,000.

The auction will also include items from Mötley Crüe‘s Tommy Lee, KISS‘ Gene Simmons, the late Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland, Depeche Mode and many others.

Julien’s Auctions is hosting the sale, which takes place online and in Beverly Hills, California, on January 30, ahead of the 2022 Grammys on January 31. For more info, visit JuliensAuctions.com.

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2022 marks the 50th anniversary of Styx‘s formation, and the band will start celebrating the milestone with a new five-show Las Vegas residency at The Venetian Theatre scheduled for January 28 and 29, and February 2, 4 and 5.

Joining the veteran rockers as the special guest during the engagement will be Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson, who released her debut solo studio album, You and Me, in May.

“We are thrilled to announce that Nancy Wilson, the super talented singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist performer we’ve enjoyed as a member of Heart, will be joining STYX on stage when we return to the Venetian,” frontman Tommy Shaw says in a statement. “Talk about ‘these dreams’ coming true!!!”

Adds Wilson, “I’m so pleased to be part of the STYX plus Nancy Wilson collaboration. I think it’s going to be fun and really different from other shows.”

For the shows, Styx has created a special set list and a new stage production. The 2022 residency follows Styx’s September 2021 engagement at the same venue, which is located inside The Venetian Resort Las Vegas.

Tickets for the new Vegas shows go on sale to the general public this Friday, October 15, at 10 a.m. PT. Styx fan club members will be able to buy pre-sale tickets starting Wednesday, October 13, at 10 a.m. PT, while Live Nation customers and members of The Venetian Resort’s Grazie loyalty program can purchase pre-sale tickets beginning Thursday, October 14, at 10 a.m.

You can buy tickets via Ticketmaster.com, VenetianLasVegas.com, the box offices at the resort, and by calling 702-414-9000 or 866-641-7469.

Styx, which released a new studio album titled Crash of the Crown in June, also has many other U.S. tour dates on their schedule. Visit StyxWorld.com for more info.

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Earlier this year, Police guitarist Andy Summers revealed to ABC Audio that he planned to release a new solo instrumental album in the fall titled Harmonics of the Night. Now full details about the project have been unveiled.

The album, which features 12 tracks, will be released this Friday, October 15, on CD, as a digital download and via streaming services.

Summers considers Harmonics of the Night the third in a trilogy of instrumental solo records, following 2015’s Metal Dog and 2017’s Triboluminescence. He recorded the album at his Hill of Beans studio in Venice, California, and co-produced it with longtime collaborator Dennis Martin Smith.

The 78-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer also shot the photos featured on the album’s cover and in its packaging.

Andy says lead track “A Certain Strangeness” was written as a sound installation to accompany his 2019 photo exhibit of the same name that opened in Montpellier, France.

“Bringing the two mediums together was a natural move and from that first piece came this whole new recording,” Summers explains. “In a word, it set the mood for the rest of this album.”

Andy has released a track called “Chronosthesia” as Harmonics of the Night‘s first single, which is available now digitally. You can check out a music video for the tune at Andy’s official YouTube channel, featuring photos Summers shot in downtown Los Angelesm along with superimposed footage of Andy playing guitar.

Harmonics of the Night also will be released as a two-LP vinyl set boasting three tracks not included on the CD or digital versions.

In August, Summers published his first fiction book, Fretted and Moaning: Short Stories, which is available at AndySummersBook.com.

Here’s the Harmonics of the Night CD and digital track list:

“A Certain Strangeness”
“City of Crocodiles”
“Aeromancer”
“Chronosthesia”
“Harmonics of the Night”
“Mirror in the Dirt”
“Prairie”
“Fantoccini”
“Aphelion”
“Spell”
“Inamorata”
“Strange Return”

And here’s the vinyl track list:

Disc 1

Side A
“A Certain Strangeness”

Side B
“City of Crocodiles”
“Aeromancer”
“Chronosthesia”
“Harmonics of the Night”

Disc 2

Side A
“Mirror in the Dirt”
“Prairie”
“Fantoccini”
“Aphelion”

Side B
“Spell”
“Inamorata”
“Micrografia”*
“Ecstasy Blooms”*
“A Joint in West Kensington”*

* = appears on LP version only.

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U2‘s second album, October, was released 40 years ago today, October 12, 1981.

The album helped the young Irish rockers continue their ascendance as a popular new wave band following their memorable 1980 debut, Boy, and that record’s standout track “I Will Follow.”

Many fans in the U.S. got their introduction to U2 thanks to the music video for October‘s second single, “Gloria,” which was the first video by the group to be put in heavy rotation on MTV during the network’s early days. The clip famously features the band performing on a barge at the Canal Basin in their hometown of Dublin.

October was not a commercial success in the U.S., reaching only #104 on the Billboard 200. Things were different in the U.K., where the album reached #11.

The first single from October, “Fire,” was released in July of 1981, and it became U2’s first top-40 hit in the U.K., peaking at #35.

October was a challenging project for U2, largely because of an infamous incident that occurred while the band was on tour in the U.S. early in 1981 while promoting Boy. At a show in March of that year in Portland, Oregon, a briefcase with Bono’s lyrics and song ideas for the album went missing backstage. This led to the singer having to quickly pen new lyrics or improvise words when it came time for U2 to record the album.

In comparison with Boy, October‘s songs featured more religious and spiritual themes, exemplified by tunes such as “Gloria,” “With a Shout (Jerusalem),” “Rejoice” and “Tomorrow.”

The album also featured guitarist The Edge contributing his piano talents to a number of songs.

October has gone on to sell more than a million copies in the U.S.

Here’s the October track list:

“Gloria”
“I Fall Down”
“I Threw a Brick Through a Window”
“Rejoice”
“Fire”
“Tomorrow”
“October”
“With a Shout (Jerusalem)”
“Stranger in a Strange Land”
“Scarlet”
“Is That All?”

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The Doors‘ Robby Krieger delivers a candid, in-depth account of his famous band’s history in his new memoir, Set the Night on Fire: Living, Dying, and Playing Guitar with The Doors, which was released today.

Krieger tells ABC Audio that one of the main reasons he wrote the book was he wanted to address the inaccuracies and exaggerations included in such popular accounts of The Doors’ story as Danny Sugerman‘s 1980 book No One Here Gets Out Alive and Oliver Stone‘s 1990 film The Doors.

“The most fun part was to correct a lot of the misinformation out there that people really believe, I guess,” the 75-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer says of the project. “I’m trying to set the record straight as much as possible.”

Krieger says he especially hopes his book gives a clearer picture of what late frontman Jim Morrison was really like, noting, “[W]hen they see the movie, they see Jim in this one light, and he just was so much more than [that].”

In addition to delving into all phases of The Doors’ history, Krieger also writes about his childhood, his post-Doors musical career, his struggles with cancer and drug addiction, and the legal battle that drummer John Densmore initiated against him and keyboardist Ray Manzarek over usage of the group’s name.

Robby says he believes that Densmore’s lawsuit was motivated by bitter feelings he had over insulting things Manzarek wrote about him in his 1998 memoir, Light My Fire, and that Ray, in turn, had been upset by John’s portrayal of him in his 1990 book Rider on the Storm.

Krieger says he made sure to show Densmore “all the parts about him” in his new book before it was released, noting that “he was fine with it.”

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