Classic Rock News

Sting is among the many stars who will take part in an upcoming CMT special celebrating the career of country music great — and current Eagles touring member — Vince Gill.

The 90-minute show, CMT Giants: Vince Gill, will air September 16 at 9 p.m. ET and will feature a variety of major country stars performing Gill’s songs, including Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Luke Combs, Maren Morris and Ricky Skaggs.

Sting is among a number of guest stars who will appear on the special to share personal stories about Gill, reflect on their experience collaborating with him and discuss his contributions to country music. Others include Emmylou Harris, Keith Urban, Reba McEntire and Rodney Crowell.

Back in 2011, the Police frontman and Gill were featured together on an episode on the popular CMT performance series CMT Crossroads.

In addition, the special will feature a new interview with Gill as he reflects on “his career, his classic songwriting, musical influences and his future plans,” along with rare photos, performance footage and archival conversations.

Meanwhile, Sting recently announced plans for two new special 2023 concerts that will take place on January 9 and 10 at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Hall. They will feature the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer performing his classic Police and solo hits accompanied by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

Tickets for the shows go on sale to the general public on August 22, while members of Sting’s fan club can purchase presale tickets starting today. In addition, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra subscribers will be able to buy presale tickets beginning August 15. General public tickets will be available at PittsburghSymphony.org, by calling 412-392-4900, or in person at Heinz Hall in downtown Pittsburgh.

Visit Sting.com for his full tour schedule.

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After canceling the last 11 dates of their 2022 European summer trek due to health problems affecting various band members, Whitesnake has now canceled the entire 2022 North American leg of its Farewell Tour because frontman David Coverdale continues to battle ongoing respiratory issues.

Most of the dates on the veteran hard rockers’ upcoming trek were to have featured them opening for The Scorpions, while a few of the shows were headlining gigs. The tour had been plotted out from an August 17 concert in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, through an October 21 performance in Las Vegas.

“It is with profound disappointment and a heavy heart that I must announce that Whitesnake will no longer be able to join The Scorpions on their US and Canadian tour due to my continued treatment for a persistent upper respiratory infection that affects my ability to perform,” Coverdale explains in an official announcement. “This includes the cancellation of our own headlining shows as well.”

He adds, “While Whitesnake will no longer be on the tour, the Scorpions will be continuing on. We Wish Our Good Friends, The Scorpions Every Success!!! We Wish You Well.”

Coverdale also has posted a separate personal statement about the tour cancellation on Whitesnake’s social media sites.

“My sincere apologies to my incredible Whitesnake band members…I couldn’t wish for a more amazing, exciting, inspiring & thrilling band,” the 70-year-old singer writes. “Also our wonderful Whitesnake Crew of 2022…Our dear friends, The Scorpions…All the agents & promoters…& of course to YOU our truly awesome fans…I am deeply & profoundly sad to be unable to tour.”

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Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen is featured on a new song by his wife, singer-songwriter Lauren Monroe.  “Void of Course” was released Friday as an advance track from her forthcoming studio album, Messages from Aphrodite.

Allen is part of a two-drum attack on the tune, along with Beth Goodfellow, who has also worked with such artists as Iron & Wine and Boygenius. The track also features cellist/upright bassist Steve Uccello and Larkin Poe guitarist Tyler Bryant.

Explaining the meaning behind “Void of Course,” which was inspired by an astrological term, Lauren says, “This song is an expression of anger, fear, desperation and knowing what can heal you but choosing the opposite. A pattern of our soul choosing self-love but not being strong enough to stay the course alone.”

“Void of Course” is available now via digital formats, while an official music video for the tune will premiere soon.

Messages from Aphrodite will be released on September 9 and can be preordered now. Allen contributes to multiple tracks on the album, while longtime Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers drummer Steve Ferrone plays on the recently issued advance track “Kiss Me Now.”

Meanwhile,Lauren recently announced a series of five West Coast shows to promote the album, running from a September 7 concert in Seattle through a September 22 concert in Venice, California. Allen will join his wife to perform at three of the shows — on September 19 in Mill Valley, California; September 22 in La Jolla, California; and at the September 25 gig in Venice.

Allen is currently on the road with Def Leppard on The Stadium Tour, which also features Mötley Crüe, Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. The trek runs through a September 9 show in Las Vegas.

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The first episode of the recently announced four-part Rolling Stones docuseries My Life as a Rolling Stone gets its U.S. television premieres on EPIX this Sunday, August 7, at 9 p.m. ET.

As previously reported, the series, which was produced to coincide with the British rock legends’ 60th anniversary, features four hourlong episodes, each focusing on one of the band’s four main members — singer Mick Jagger, guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, and late drummer Charlie Watts.

The first episode profiles Jagger, and looks at how important the frontman’s creative vision and commercial sensibilities have been in guiding the band throughout its massively successful and influential career.

The Jagger episode will be available to watch for free via various cable and streaming services for 90 days after it premieres. The episodes focusing on Richards, Wood and Watts will debut on EPIX on August 14, August 21 and August 28, respectively.

My Life as a Rolling Stone will feature new interviews with Mick, Keith and Ronnie, as well as with Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Chrissie Hynde, Jon Bon Jovi, Joe Walsh, AC/DC‘s Brian Johnson, Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Tom Waits and Dan Aykroyd. The series is narrated by actress Sienna Miller.

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The new Neil Young live album and concert film, Noise & Flowers, which was recorded during his nine-date 2019 European tour with his frequent backing group Promise of the Real, was released Friday.

The album and film are dedicated to Young’s longtime friend and manager Elliot Roberts, who died at age 76 just two weeks before Neil and Promise of the Real launched the trek.

“Playing in [Elliot’s] memory [made it] one of the most special tours ever,” Young writes in the album’s liner notes. “We hit the road and took his great spirit with us into every song … Every note was played for music’s great friend, Elliot.”

Noise & Flowers includes performances from concerts in London, Ireland, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. It features renditions of a wide range of songs from Young’s back catalog, including classics such as “Mr. Soul,” “Helpless” and “Rockin’ in the Free World,” plus deeper cuts like “On the Beach,” “I’ve Been Waiting for You,” “Winterlong” and “From Hank to Hendrix.”

Noise & Flowers is available on CD, as a two-LP vinyl set, via digital formats and as a deluxe CD/two-LP/Blu-ray collection featuring the film on the Blu-ray disc. In addition, a standalone Blu-ray can be purchased exclusively at Young’s Greedy Hand Store. The movie was co-directed by Young and his wife, Daryl Hannah, under their Bernard Shakey and dhlovelife pseudonyms.

You can check out a video of the performance of “From Hank to Hendrix” at Young’s official YouTube channel.

Those who purchase Noise & Flowers at the Greedy Hand Store will receive a high-res digital download of the album from Young’s Xstream Store at his Neil Young Archives website.

Here’s Noise & Flowers full track list:

“Mr. Soul”
“Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere”
“Helpless”
“Field of Opportunity”
“Alabama”
“Throw Your Hatred Down”
“Rockin’ in the Free World”
“Comes a Time”
“From Hank to Hendrix”
“On the Beach”
“Are You Ready for the Country”
“I’ve Been Waiting for You”
“Winterlong”
“F***in’ Up”

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The second installment of Aerosmith‘s new archival streaming concert series, 50 Years Live!: From the Aerosmith Vaults, premieres Friday at 3 p.m. ET on the band’s official YouTube channel.

The movie captures that veteran rockers performing in December 1989 at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, during the band’s tour in support of its then-latest studio album, Pump.

The show features renditions of “Walk This Way,” “Rats in the Cellar,” “Rag Doll,” “Dude (Looks Like a Lady),” and the Pump singles “Janie’s Got a Gun” and “Love in an Elevator.”

The film, which has been remastered in HD from the original master tapes, will be viewable for one week after its premiere.

As previously reported, the five-part series, which kicked off last Friday, offers a new archival “official bootleg” concert film featuring never-before-seen footage debuting weekly for five weeks. In honor of the band’s 50th anniversary, each flick captures Aerosmith during a different decade.

One day after each film premieres, highlight clips from the respective movies will be added to Aerosmith’s YouTube channel.

Here’s the complete remaining schedule of the 50 Years Live!: From the Aerosmith Vaults series:

8/5 — Live from the Capital Centre, Landover, MD, 1989 (Pump Tour)
8/12 — Live from the Coca-Cola Star Lake Amphitheatre, Pittsburgh, PA, 1993 (Get a Grip Tour)
8/19 — Live from Comerica Park, Detroit, MI, 2003 (Rocksimus Maximus Tour)
8/26 — Live from Arena Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, 2016 (Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble Tour)

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Mötley Crüe has teamed up with fellow hard rockers Asking Alexandria, Ice Nine Kills and From Ashes to New on a new song for the soundtrack to the upcoming thriller film The Retaliators.

The track, titled “The Retaliators Theme Song (21 Bullets),” was co-written by Mötley’s Nikki Sixx and his Sixx:A.M. bandmate James Michael. It marks the first new music from the “Dr. Feelgood” rockers to follow the 2019 soundtrack to The Dirt, which featured four new Crüe recordings, including the Machine Gun Kelly collaboration “The Dirt (Est. 1981).”

“Writing a new theme song for a horror flick was inspiring,” Sixx says. “This was my first time writing for a horror-thriller film, and it took me in a different direction from the first theme song I wrote — ‘The Dirt (1981)’ by Mötley Crüe.”

The bassist adds, “I worked with some great new artists to create a new sound that will stretch Mötley Crüe’s audience to new fans. I had a great time writing it, and I think our fans will love it, too!”

You can listen to “21 Bullets” now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying video streaming now on YouTube.

The Retaliators will be released September 14, and its soundtrack, which also songs featuring Mötley Crüe members Tommy Lee, Vince Neil and Mick Mars, as well as contributions from Papa Roach, Five Finger Death Punch, The Hu and others, drops September 16.

Lee, Papa Roach’s Jacoby Shaddix and members of Five Finger Death Punch have roles in the film, as well.

Meanwhile, you can catch Mötley Crüe on their ongoing Stadium Tour with Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, which continues Friday in Boston.

(Video contains uncensored profanity) 

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The recently announced limited-edition box set gathering together Paul McCartney‘s three self-titled solo albums — 1970’s McCartney, 1980’s McCartney II and 2020’s McCartney III — hit stores today.

The McCartney I II III collection is available in three formats -– a three-CD set, a three-LP black-vinyl package and a limited-edition three-LP colored-vinyl set.

All three versions feature three photo prints with notes from the former Beatles star about each record. 

Coinciding with the release of the box set, McCartney, McCartney II and McCartney III have become the first solo albums by Sir Paul to be mixed in the high-res Dolby Atmos format. You can listen to the Dolby Atmos mixes via various streaming outlets.

The common thread between all three albums is that Paul wrote, produced and recorded them almost entirely by himself.

Released in April 1970, McCartney was Paul’s debut solo album and signaled the breakup of The Beatles. The record spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, although no singles were released from it. The album included the enduring song “Maybe I’m Amazed,” as well as such gems as “Every Night,” “Junk” and “Teddy Boy,” three tunes that McCartney previously had worked on with The Beatles.

McCartney II was released in May 1980 and found the veteran rocker experimenting with synthesizers and modern recording techniques. The album reached #3 on Billboard 200 and included the chart-topping hit “Coming Up” and the tune “Waterfalls,” which was a top-10 single in the U.K.

McCartney III was recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown and was released at the end of December 2020. It debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200.

Here’s the McCartney track list:

“The Lovely Linda”
“That Would Be Something”
“Valentine Day”
“Every Night”
“Hot as Sun/Glasses”
“Junk”
“Man We Was Lonely”
“Oo You”
“Momma Miss America”
“Teddy Boy”
“Singalong Junk”
“Maybe I’m Amazed”
“Kreen-Akrore”

Here’s the McCartney II track list:

“Coming Up”
“Temporary Secretary”
“On the Way”
“Waterfalls”
“Nobody Knows”
“Front Parlour”
“Summer’s Day Song”
“Frozen Jap”
“Bogey Music”
“Darkroom”
“One of These Days”

Here’s the McCartney III track list:

“Long Tailed Winter Bird”
“Find My Way”
“Pretty Boys”
“Women and Wives”
“Lavatory Lil”
“Slidin'”
“Deep Deep Feeling”
“The Kiss of Venus”
“Seize the Day”
“Deep Down”
“Winter Bird/When Winter Comes”

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About three years ago, Kinks guitarist Dave Davies told ABC Audio that he and his brother and band mate Ray had spent time working on material for a possible new album project, although none of that music has been released yet.

In a new ABC Audio interview, Dave says he feels there’s still a good chance that he and Ray will finish and release some new collaborative, songs and perhaps perform together as well.

“It’s possible,” Dave offers. “[I]t’d be nice, you know? I don’t know if it will [happen], but I’m hopeful that we’ll get together, and see where we can go.”

As for the possibility of performing again with his brother, Dave says, “[O]bviously, we’ll have to meet with Ray and think what sort of shows we can do and what makes sense…[We] can’t do elaborate rock shows like we did decades ago, but, you know, we should be able to do something fun.”

The only time Davies brothers have performed together in public since the final Kinks tour ended in 1996 was at a December 2015 solo show that Dave played in London, where Ray came out at the end of the concert and sang “You Really Got Me.”

Meanwhile, Dave candidly discusses his often-contentious relationship with Ray in his new memoir, Living on a Thin Line, which was published in digital formats globally last month and will be released in physically in the U.S. in January 2023.

“I tried to be as honest but as fair as possible, and I hope I achieved it,” Dave says with regard to writing about Ray. “I don’t want to be mean spirited. I want to make sure that he’s covered in a respectful, honest and inspiring way. And I hope that’s in there.”

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An NFT featuring an animated version of a drawing by late Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia depicting Garcia’s frequent collaborator, bluegrass mandolinist David Grisman, will be auctioned on Friday, August 5, at 6:30 p.m. ET.

The sale, which is being held at MakersPlace.com, is taking place in conjunction with what would have been Garcia’s 80th birthday on August 1. The NFT is being sold by Jerry Garcia Music Arts, a music and arts company launched by Garcia’s daughter Keelin and his ex-wife Manasha.

In addition to featuring the animated “Mandolin Player” drawing, the digital token includes a studio recording of Garcia and Grisman playing “Jack-A-Roe.” Three percent of the proceeds from the auction will benefit the Jerry Garcia Foundation, which supports various environmental, artistic and humanitarian causes.

The NFT was created in collaboration with the ecologically minded Aerial platform, which focuses on reducing humanity’s global carbon footprint.

The auction winner will receive a signed certificate of authenticity and a large canvas print of the “Mandolin Player” drawing.

“Working with MakersPlace allows us to celebrate my father’s art through new mediums on what would have been his 80th birthday,” says Keelin. “We’re grateful to the Aerial team as well for being able to continue to honor his legacy as an environmentalist by ensuring the collection is carbon neutral.”

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