Classic Rock News

Next month marks the 55th anniversary of The Moody Blues‘ classic 1967 album, Days of Future Passed. To celebrate the milestone, the band’s longtime singer/bassist, John Lodge, will launch a 2023 U.S. tour showcasing a full performance of the record.

Lodge’s Performs Days of Future Passed tour will feature the 77-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer accompanied by his 10,000 Light Years Band and a guest appearance by his friend and current Yes frontman Jon Davison. In addition to the performance of the album, the show will feature renditions of other popular Moody Blues songs that were written by Lodge.

The trek, which will visit a variety of East Coast venues, kicks off February 18 in Lexington, Massachusetts and runs through a March 15 concert in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Tickets and VIP packages can be purchased by visiting JohnLodge.com.

As with Lodge’s recent solo shows, the new concert will also feature a special recording by late Moody Blues drummer Graeme Edge reciting the Days of Future Passed spoken-word piece he wrote, “Late Lament.”

Lodge has been working on the Days of Future Passed show with his longtime musical director and keyboardist Alan Hewitt, who he’s also collaborating with for his new studio album.

Like the album, the new concert will center on the story of “a day in the life of an everyday man.” The performance will recreate the record’s orchestral parts while adding a modern feel.

“[A]s I looked back to the past, I realised that I also wanted to look forwards to the Future,” Lodge says of the tour. “My hope is that in this show, and album, you will get to revisit 1967, but at the same time, see how this album has grown with me, and with you.”

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Bono is sorry he forced U2‘s 2014 album, Songs of Innocence, onto your iTunes.

In an excerpt from his upcoming memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story, published via TheGuardian.com, Bono issues a “mea culpa” over the whole incident.

“I take full responsibility,” he writes.

For those who don’t recall, U2 released Songs of Innocence by automatically uploading the album onto the library of every single iTunes user across the world, all for free. The strategy wasn’t exactly a hit with users, who criticized U2 for inserting the record into their library without their consent, while other artists and critics felt offering the album for free “devalued” the music.

In Surrender, Bono explains how he pitched the idea to Apple CEO Tim Cook by suggesting that the tech giant pay U2 for the album and then “give it away free, as a gift to people.”

“‘Like when Netflix buys the movie and gives it away to subscribers,'” Bono recalls saying. When asked about the iTunes users who maybe aren’t U2 fans, he replied, “It’s their choice whether they want to listen to it.”

“What was the worst that could happen?” Bono remembers thinking. “It would be like junk mail…Like taking our bottle of milk and leaving it on the doorstep of every house in the neighborhood.”

Eight years later, Bono now admits, “We didn’t just put our bottle of milk at the door but in every fridge in every house in town.”

“In some cases we poured it on to the good people’s cornflakes,” he writes. “And some people like to pour their own milk. And others are lactose intolerant.”

“I’d thought if we could just put our music within reach of people, they might choose to reach out toward it,” he adds. “Not quite.”

Surrender arrives November 1.

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Red Hot Chili Peppers have earned a Billboard chart rarity with their new album, Return of the Dream Canteen.

The latest effort from the “Californication” rockers — and their second of 2022 — sold 56,000 copies in its debut frame, making it the best-selling record of the week. Having already led the Top Album Sales ranking earlier this year with April’s Unlimited Love, the Peppers are the first rock band in 17 years to have earned two #1-selling records in the span of 12 months.

The last rock band to accomplish that feat was System of a Down, who earned two #1 albums in 2005 with Mezmerize and Hypnotize. Those two records remain the most recent System of a Down albums.

On the Billboard 200, which also incorporates streaming data into its ranking along with traditional album sales, Return of the Dream Canteen debuts at #3 with a total of 63,000 equivalent album units. Unlimited Love debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200.

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Carlos Santana has revealed plans to relaunch his Carlos by Carlos Santana line of women’s footwear in November.

To reintroduce the brand, the guitar legend has teamed up with veteran shoe executives, Gary Rich and Rick Gelber — who both previously worked with Santana on his footwear line — for a new partnership under the company name Jubilation LLC.

The line will offer feature a lifestyle collection including casual shoes, dress shoes, boots and fashion sneakers that feature leather from Brazil and Italy. The footwear will sell for a retail price ranging between $100 and $250.

Sales of the footwear will benefit The Milagro Foundation, which was established by Santana and his family to provide financial assistance to various community-based charities concerned with the well-being of underprivileged children.

The line will be available to purchase exclusively at CarlosShoes.com.

“It is an honor to partner with Gary and Rick to bring radiance, elegance, and style back to the forefront of the brand, while at the same time making a difference in the lives of children through the Milagro Foundation,” says Carlos. “We know that these shoes will inspire and compliment the confidence and light within every woman wearing them.”

Adds Rich, “From our first meeting back in 2000, we connected with Carlos and created instant synergy and great energy. It’s fitting today that the three of us join forces again to form this partnership and relaunch the brand back into the marketplace.”

Santana also notes, “It is a blessing to be a blessing. Women who wear our shoes are self-aware, self-confident, and know how to embrace their individuality and have fun. We invite you all to dance through life with us.”

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The new John Entwistle compilation Rarities Oxhumed – Volume One was released this past Friday.

The 13-track collection features previously unheard studio tracks, demos, live performances and other unreleased gems from the late Who bassist’s solo career.

The compilation was produced by Steve Luongo, drummer of Entwistle’s side project the John Entwistle Band and his main collaborator in the group.

Luongo tells ABC Audio that Entwistle’s “devoted” fans had long asked him if there was any unreleased material in the archives, and, with this year marking the 20th anniversary of John’s death, he felt the time was right to put together a rarities compilation.

Luongo says the studio tracks featured on Rarities Oxhumed include “songs that we either didn’t release on any of the albums or alternate versions of those songs that might have been released, but with different lyrics or a different arrangement.”

Most of the songs on the compilation are alternate versions or mixes of tunes that appeared on Entwistle’s final solo album, 2000’s Music for Van-Pires, which features material recorded for the soundtrack of a late-’90s animated kids show called Van-Pires.

Among those tracks is “Bogey Man,” which actually dates back to the 1970s, and features late Who legend Keith Moon on drums.

Luongo recalls that when Entwistle first played him an early, unfinished version of “Bogey Man,” he realized it would be perfect “for a scary kid show,” and when John told him that Moon was on the track, he convinced Entwistle to find the original multi-track so they could complete it while keeping Keith’s drum parts.

As for the live tracks on the comp, Luongo says they were recorded during the John Entwistle Band’s final trek, which was called 2001: A Bass Odyssey.

Here’s the compilation’s full 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” (Alternate Version)
“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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What happens when a sharp-dressed Texas blues-rock legend joins forces with a sharp-dressed funk/R&B great? Music fans can find out by checking out “Too Much Girl 4 Me,” a new song featuring ZZ Top‘s Billy Gibbons collaborating with Morris Day of The Time.

The duet begins with a humorous dialogue between Gibbons and Day before kicking into a grooving tune that combines heavy rock and funk.

“Too Much Girl 4 Me” is available now via digital formats. The track will also appear on Day’s upcoming farewell solo album, Last Call, which will be released November 11 and can be preordered now.

Rolling Stone reports the collaboration came about after Day’s manager, Courtney Benson, introduced himself to Gibbons after running into him at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

“Billy got up in the middle of the lounge and did my famous ‘Chili Sauce’ slide across the floor,” Day explained to Rolling Stone in an email. “And [Billy] said, ‘Morris and I have to do something together.'”

Morris then phoned Snoop Dogg and got permission to record at Snoop’s Dogg Pound studio with Gibbons.

Day said that he and Gibbons bonded over their shared love of music, while noting that they both like “doing things out of the box.”

“That’s what I love about the song ‘Too Much Girl 4 Me’: Billy’s production on this is not what you would expect him to do,” Morris said. “He managed to bridge his and my genre together to create this song. I was literally impressed working with him every day. He has a love for my music as well.”

He added, “I believe his favorite song of mine is ‘The Bird,’ and my favorite ZZ Top songs are ‘La Grange’ and, of course, ‘Sharp Dressed Man.'”

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Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the release of an unlikely hit album: It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook by Rod Stewart.

The raspy-voiced rocker surprised everyone by recording an entire album of standards including “That Can’t Take That Away From Me,” “The Way You Look Tonight” and “The Nearness of You.” Fans liked what they heard: The album reached number four on the Billboard album chart, becoming his first release to hit the top five since 1978.

In fact, the album was such a hit that it spawned no less than four Songbook sequels, all of which reached the top five. The third installment, 2004’s Stardust, was Rod’s first number one album since 1978’s Blondes Have More Fun, and it even won him his first, and to date only, Grammy.

After volume four of Songbook, Rod released yet another album made up of covers, except this one was rock: 2006’s Still the Same: Great Rock Classics of Our Time. That was followed by Soulbook, another covers album which featured him singing R&B and Motown hits, his final Great American Songbook album, 2010’s Fly Me to the Moon and a 2012 holiday album, Merry Christmas Baby.

Finally, in 2013, Rod, who’d always thought of himself as a songwriter first, released an album of original material: Time. He explained that he’d done all those covers albums because he’d been suffering from writer’s block, but reliving his life story for his 2012 autobiography led him to rediscover his love of songwriting.

Since then, Rod’s released no less than three additional albums of original material, the most recent being 2021’s The Tears of Hercules.

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Queen has debuted a newly created music video for “Face It Alone,” the recently released archival track featuring the late Freddie Mercury that was recorded during the sessions for the band’s 1989 studio album The Miracle.

The clip, which you can watch now on YouTube, features footage and photos of Queen’s members from around the time of the making and release of The Miracle, as well as statuettes of the band; a recreation of Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland, where the album was recorded; and animated segments.

The video was directed by Simon Lupton, who says of the clip, “The intention was to create, despite how the lyrics might be interpreted, an upbeat video that celebrated the fact that the period during which this song was recorded was one of the most prolific and cohesive in the band’s history.”

Lupton adds, “The meaning of the song has been interpreted that when something catastrophic occurs in your life, your instinct is to surround yourself with what is dearest and most important to you.”

“Face It Alone” serves as the lead single from an upcoming expanded reissue of The Miracle, dubbed The Miracle Collector’s Edition, which will be released on November 18. The recording was rediscovered during the process of putting the collection together.

The Miracle Collector’s Edition features five CDs, one vinyl LP, a Blu-ray disc, a DVD and a 76-page hardback book.

“Face It Alone” is one of six previously unreleased songs on the collection, along with “Dog with a Bone,” “I Guess We’re Falling Out,” “You Know You Belong to Me,” “When Love Breaks Up” and “Water.”

You can preorder the The Miracle Collector’s Edition now.

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Joni Mitchell will return to the stage for her first headlining concert in over two decades as part of Brandi Carlile‘s Echoes through the Canyon concerts next year at Washington’s Gorge Amphitheatre on Friday, June 9, and Saturday, June 10.

Friday’s show will feature a headlining set from Carlile and her band, while Mitchell will host one of her “Joni Jams” on Saturday, with Carlile opening. Friday night’s opening act, and the full list of performers for the “Joni Jam,” have yet to be announced.

“No one’s been able to buy a ticket to see Joni Mitchell play in 20 years, so this is enormous,” Carlile said during an appearance on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah on Wednesday. “And she’s so excited because it’s close to Canada and some of her Canadian fans…I can’t believe it’s happening, but it’s happening and she’s going to crush it.”

Mitchell, who has rarely performed in public since suffering a brain aneurysm in 2015, joined Brandi and an all-star cast of musicians and singers — including Wynonna Judd, Marcus Mumford of Mumford and Sons, Dawes‘ Taylor Goldsmith, Lucius, Allison Russell and Shooter Jennings — at this year’s Newport Folk Festival in July.

Carlile helped organize the informal “Joni Jams” with a rotating crew of music A-listers at Mitchell’s home in Los Angeles.

Tickets for this year’s Echoes through the Canyon shows on sale to the public at 10 a.m. on October 28, with presales for Citi card holders available from 10 a.m. on October 25 to 10 p.m. on October 27. Carlile’s Bramily fan club members will have earlier access to presales. Details are available at BrandiCarlile.com/tour.

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The Beatles have just debuted a couple of the previously unheard rarities that will appear as bonus tracks on the forthcoming deluxe reissue of their landmark 1966 album, Revolver.

One track is an acoustic demo of John Lennon singing part of an early version of “Yellow Submarine.” In the 30-second segment, which is subtitled “(Songwriting Work Tape/Part 1),” Lennon softly strums and picks an acoustic guitar while singing, somewhat sadly, “In the place where I was born/ No one cared, no one cared/ And the name that I was born/ No one cared, no one cared/ And the town where was born/ No one cared, no one cared.”

The final version of “Yellow Submarine” features Ringo Starr on lead vocals. It was long believed that Paul McCartney was the tune’s main writer, but the demo suggests that Lennon played a bigger role in its composition.

The second track is an early alternate version of “Got to Get You into My Life,” identified as “(Second Version / Unnumbered Mix).” The rendition is a bit more raw-sounding than the well-known studio version and lacks the song’s signature brass parts while showcasing some fuzzed-out guitar riffs.

Meanwhile, a new animated music video featuring the updated mix of “Taxman” from the Revolver reissue also recently debuted on YouTube.

As previously reported, the deluxe reissue of Revolver will be released on October 28 in multiple configurations.

Among the versions of the reissue is a special edition that features new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes of Revolver, the original mono mix of the album, 31 tracks of session outtakes, a four-song EP that includes the non-album tracks “Paperback Writer” and “Rain,” and a 100-page hardbound book.

You can preorder the Revolver reissues now.

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