Classic Rock News

Ozzy Osbourne has shared his full performance from his halftime set during the NFL’s season opening game last Thursday in Los Angeles.

Leading up to the game, a press release said that a “portion” of Ozzy’s performance would air as part of the NBC broadcast. Metal heads who tuned in to see the Prince of Darkness rock LA’s SoFi Stadium were disappointed to find that NBC only showed about 10 seconds of Ozzy before cutting back to analysis of the game’s first half.

Now, you can finally watch the performance in its entirety streaming via Ozzy’s YouTube.

The seven-minute set included renditions of “Patient Number 9,” the title track off Ozzy’s just-released solo album, and his solo classic “Crazy Train.” Ozzy’s backing band included drummer Tommy Clufetos, bassist Chris Chaney and Patient Number 9 producer Andrew Watt on guitar. Black Label Society frontman and Ozzy touring guitarist Zakk Wylde joined in to shred the solo on “Crazy Train.”

The halftime performance marked Ozzy’s first U.S. live appearance since he played the 2019 American Music Awards alongside Post Malone and Travis Scott. He hasn’t played a full live show since New Year’s Eve 2018.

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Yes‘ classic fifth studio album, Close to the Edge, was released 50 years ago today, Tuesday.

A follow-up to the English prog-rock band’s popular 1971 album Fragile, Close to the Edge is Yes’ highest-charting entry on the Billboard 200, peaking at #3.

Close to the Edge features three long-form pieces, including the four-part, more than 18-minute title track, which took up the entire first side of the LP version.

An edited version of the second track, “And You and I,” was released as a single, reaching #42 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Making that album was a breakthrough for me completely … as a musician, as a sort of composer with [guitarist] Steve [Howe],” original Yes frontman Jon Anderson explains to ABC Audio, “’cause me and Steve, during the course of the Fragile tour … spent a lot of time sketching out the idea of ‘Close to the Edge.’ So when we got in the studio, everything was planned pretty well.”

Anderson also notes putting together “Close to the Edge” in the studio was an interesting process where the band members worked on multiple 3- to 5-minute segments as they built the epic song.

“At the end of it,” Jon recalls, “I couldn’t believe how extraordinary it was to edit it all together, and sit back after a month of creativity … and listen to it and go … ‘It’s so beautiful. It’s so good. Wow.'”

Close to the Edge was the last 1970s Yes studio album to feature founding drummer Bill Bruford, who left the band to join King Crimson. He was replaced by Alan White.

Close to the Edge is ranked #5 on Rolling Stone‘s 2015 list of the “50 Greatest Prog-Rock Albums of All Time.”

Here’s the track list:

“Close to the Edge”
–I. “The Solid Time of Change”
–II. “Total Mass Retain”
–III. “I Get Up, I Get Down”
-IV. “Seasons of Man”
“And You and I”
–I. “Cord of Life”
–II. “Eclipse”
–III. “The Preacher, the Teacher”
–IV. “The Apocalypse”
“Siberian Khatru”

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The track list and cover art have been unveiled for the upcoming John Entwistle compilation Rarities Oxhumed – Volume One, which will be released on CD on October 21.

The 13-track collection features previously unheard studio tracks, demos, remastered live performances and other unreleased gems, mostly from the late Who bassist’s solo career. The album includes a song called “Bogey Man,” which features a guest appearance by late Who drummer Keith Moon, and a demo version of “Where Ya Going Now,” which John had intended for The Who.

Rarities Oxhumed – Volume One also features several tracks that appeared on the final record Entwistle released with his solo group, 2000’s Music for Van-Pires, as well as The John Entwistle Band‘s live renditions of the 1978 Who tune “Trick of the Light” and the 1986 Roger Daltrey hit “Under a Raging Moon.”

An advance track from the collection, “I’ll Try Again Today” — a song that also was featured on Music for Van-Pires — will debut on September 16.

Rarities Oxhumed – Volume One can be preordered now at Merchbucket.com. In addition, special bundles are available that include an expanded 12-page booklet with photos, recording information and either a necklace or a keychain.

Entwistle died in June 2002 of a heart attack at age 57.

Here’s the compilation’s complete track list:

“Bogey Man”
“Darker Side of Night”
“I’ll Try Again Today”
“When You See the Light”
“Back on the Road”
“Left for Dead”
“I Wouldn’t Sleep with You”
“Don’t Be a Sucker”
“Life Goes On” (Demo)
“Where Ya Going Now” (Demo)
“Trick of the Light” (Live)
“Under a Raging Moon” (Live)
“Shakin’ All Over” (Live)

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The David Bowie-themed NFT sale “Bowie on the Blockchain,” which had been scheduled to take place Tuesday, September 13, has been postponed in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death.

A message posted on Bowie’s official website explains, “Out of respect for the people of the UK and Queen Elizabeth II, we will be postponing the ‘Bowie on the Blockchain’ sale. We will update soon.”

As previously reported, the sale was organized by Bowie’s estate in partnership with NFT marketplace OpenSea and the We Love the Arts venture.

The “Bowie on the Blockchain” sale will feature nine NFTS that pay tribute to the late rock legend, and his influential life and music, each created by a different artist. Among the artists who created the collectible digital tokens are Nadya Tolokonnikova, of the Russian activist and music collective Pussy Riot.

The Bowie estate will donate all of the profits from the sale to the anti-poverty and humanitarian organization CARE. In 2019, David’s widow, Iman, was named CARE’s first Global Advocate.

Queen Elizabeth died Thursday, September 8, at the age of 96.

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Former Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman and the band’s current keyboardist, Geoff Downes, are among the musicians who have contributed to multi-instrumentalist/producer Fernando Perdomo‘s soundtrack to the recent thriller film Frost.

The album, which features a score composed by Perdomo, will be released as a white-vinyl LP and digitally on September 23, while a CD version will be packaged with a Blu-ray featuring the film that’s due out on October 11.

Wakeman is featured on the album’s lead single, “The Crash,” which was released Friday via digital formats. He also appears on two additional tracks. Downes lends his talents to a pair of other tunes, while other guest musicians on the album include veteran U.K. singer/guitarist Terry Reid and electric violinist L. Shankar.

Among Perdomo’s previous projects are Energy Overload, a collaborative album with Vanilla Fudge/Cactus drummer Carmine Appice, and Ram On, a star-studded 50th anniversary tribute to Paul and Linda McCartney‘s Ram album. Both albums were released last year.

The Frost soundtrack tells the story of a father and daughter who have to fight for their lives when they are stranded on an icy mountain after a car accident.

Here’s the full track list of the Frost soundtrack:

“The Crash” — featuring Rick Wakeman
“Fading Heartbeat” — featuring Terry Reid
“Helicopter Rescue” — featuring L. Shankar
“First Sign of Impending Snowstorm” — featuring L. Shankar
“Orchid Dreaming — Big Electric Cat
“Photo Album” — featuring Terry Reid
“Hoodoo Man Blues — Junior Wells featuring Joe Louis Walker
“Desperation” — featuring Geoff Downes
“The Bonening — Front Line Assembly
“Not Alone” — featuring Rick Wakeman
“Snowy Landscape” — featuring Geoff Downes
“Dad Finally Answers the Walkie” — featuring L. Shankar
“Family Tragedy” — featuring Terry Reid
“Frosted Blonde” — featuring Rick Wakeman
“Intruder — Front Line Assembly*

* on CD and digital versions only.

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Vanilla Fudge has announced official details about the release of Vanilla Zeppelin, a newly remastered version of the group’s 2007 Led Zeppelin covers album, Out Through the In Door.

Vanilla Zeppelin will be released September 30 as a digital download and via streaming services and is available for preorder now.

The 12-track collection features renditions of various classic Led Zeppelin songs done in the style of Vanilla Fudge, with soaring keyboards and added soul and funk influences. The Vanilla Zeppelin album also boasts a brand-new cover design.

Three of the remastered songs from the album have already been released as advance digital tracks — “Rock and Roll,” “Ramble On” and “The Immigrant Song.” You can now watch the music video for “The Immigrant Song” on Golden Robot Records’ official YouTube channel.

In other news, Vanilla Fudge has confirmed a series of eight fall U.S. shows in the Northeast, which will run from a September 30 concert in Millville, New Jersey through a November 5 performance in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Among the shows is a previously announced October 1 appearance at the prog rock-themed Sea of Tranquility Festival in Poughkeepsie, New York.

More shows will be added to band’s schedule soon. Visit VanillaFudge.com to check out the full itinerary.

Here’s the full Vanilla Zeppelin track list:

“Rock and Roll”
“Immigrant Song”
“Ramble On”
“Dancing Days”
“Black Mountain Side”
“Your Time Is Gonna Come”
“Dazed and Confused”
“Trampled Under Foot”
“Moby Dick”
“All of My Love ”
“Babe I’m Gonna Leave You ”
“Fool in the Rain ”

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Pearl Jam‘s concert at New York City’s Madison Square Garden Sunday coincided with the 21st anniversary of 9/11, so the grunge rockers honored the occasion with a performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

The show ended with guitarist Mike McCready shredding an instrumental rendition of the national anthem as the rest of the band looked on.

Fan-shot footage of the performance was posted to YouTube by user NKArch.

The MSG concert also featured a guest appearance by Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, who joined in for PJ’s customary cover of Neil Young‘s “Rockin’ in the Free World.” Additionally, Eddie Vedder gave a shout-out to tennis icons Serena and Venus Williams, who, according to Spin, were in attendance at the show.

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Megadeth‘s new album The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead! has debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard 200.

The 16th studio effort from the thrash-metallers lands at #3 on this week’s edition of the all-genre chart, earning a total of 48,000 equivalent album units, 45,000 of which were traditional album sales.

Megadeth now has a total of eight top-10 albums. The group’s highest-charting release is 1992’s Countdown to Extinction, which hit #2 on the Billboard 200.

The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead! includes the single “Soldier On!” and a collaboration with Ice-T. It also includes a surprising co-write from Dr. Anthony Cmelak, who treated Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine during his battle with throat cancer in 2019.

As Cmelak tells The Tennessean, Mustaine recruited him to write some lines for the song “Dogs of Chernobyl.” In particular, Mustaine was interested in Cmelak’s expertise on radiation.

“I think [Mustaine] wanted descriptive terminology on how your bodily functions would change after exposure to massive doses of radiation,” Cmelak shares. “He also wanted a flair of someone being left behind…I geared toward that and it came around very quickly.”

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Elton John will play his final U.S. concert at LA’s Dodger Stadium on November 20, but if you can’t make it, don’t worry, Disney+ has got you covered.

Deadline reports that the streaming platform will livestream the concert as Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium.

Elton will play three shows in all at Dodger Stadium on November 17, 19 and 20. These shows are particularly symbolic for the  since his original 1975 Dodger Stadium shows, during which he played to 100,000 fans, are legendary. They were the first at that stadium by a rock act since The Beatles a decade before, and are depicted in Elton’s biopic Rocketman.

Deadline notes that the livestream is in addition to the documentary Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The Final Elton John Performances and the Years that Made His Legend, which will also stream on Disney+. 

As previously reported, the documentary will focus on Elton’s final months on the road but will also feature concert footage from the past 50 years, plus present-day footage of the star and his family. The doc will also have a limited theatrical release.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Mötley Crüe doesn’t plan to be staying “Home Sweet Home” for too long over the next couple years.

The Los Angeles metallers, who launched their reunion tour this summer after playing their supposed “final” show in 2015, are setting their sights on returning to U.S. stages in 2024.

“We’re far from being over,” vocalist Vince Neil tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “When we come back in ’24, we’re going to do it all over again.”

Those 2024 dates may also include another Las Vegas residency following Mötley’s previous Sin City engagements in 2012 and 2013.

“We have definitely talked about doing it, and everybody loves to do the residencies, so I say, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna do it,'” Neil says. “We just have to look at sometime in ’24, to be back in Vegas. But we will be back.”

Mötley’s reunion tour, which also featured Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, launched in June after a two-year pandemic delay and concluded last Friday in Vegas.

In addition to the potential return stateside in 2024, Mötley plans to take the reunion international in 2023 with dates in Mexico, South American and Europe.

Meanwhile, Tommy Lee will be busy with a different kind of venture. The drummer has announced that he’s launching an OnlyFans account where he can have “fun that Instagram won’t let us have here.”

The news follows the controversial, nude selfie Lee posted on Instagram over the summer, which was eventually removed from the social media platform for violating its content guidelines. Lee addressed the post multiple times onstage, and during one Mötley show, pulled a dachshund out of his pants after asking the crowd if they wanted to see his “wiener.”

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