Classic Rock News

R.E.M. released its debut EP, Chronic Town, 40 years ago this August, and to mark the milestone, the band will be reissuing the five-song collection on August 19 in multiple formats.

The EP will be made available for the first-time ever as a standalone CD, and also will be released on cassette and as a vinyl picture disc. Chronic Town‘s co-producer, Mitch Easter, has written new liner notes for the reissue.

Released on August 24, 1982, Chronic Town arrived about a year after R.E.M.’s debut single, “Radio Free Europe,” and preceded the band’s classic 1983 debut studio album, Murmur.

“One might fancifully say that Chronic Town was the sound of an expedition, ready for anything, setting forth,” says Easter about the EP. “If R.E.M. ‘Radio Free Europe’ single was a signpost, the Chronic Town EP was the atlas.”

The EP included the early gems “Wolves, Lower,” “Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars)” and “1,000,000,” and features singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry coming together to create the jangly “College Rock” sound that has influenced so many other artists over the years.

You can preorder the Chronic Town reissue now. Here’s the full track list:

“Wolves, Lower”
“Gardening at Night”
“Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars)”
“1,000,000”
“Stumble”

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Pearl Jam has announced the Tour Edition of the band’s latest album, Gigaton.

The expanded set includes a bonus disc featuring live versions of nearly every song off the original album, recorded during PJ’s festival shows in 2021.

Gigaton (Tour Edition) will be released July 8 and is available to preorder now.

The original Gigaton was released in March 2020 and marked the first Pearl Jam album in seven years. The band’s planned headlining tour, which was postponed from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, finally launched this year, though the U.S. leg was cut short after both drummer Matt Cameron and bassist Jeff Ament tested positive for COVID-19.

Pearl Jam is currently on tour in Europe and will return to North America for a round of U.S. and Canadian dates in September.

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Robert Plant opened the first chapter of his post-Led Zeppelin career 40 years ago today with the release of his debut solo album, Pictures at Eleven.

The eight-track collection peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200, while reaching #2 on the U.K. albums chart. Four of the tracks broke into the top 20 of Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock tally — “Burning Down One Side,” “Worse Than Detroit,” “Pledge Pin” and “Slow Dancer.”

“Burning Down One Side” was the most successful single released from the album, peaking at #3 on Mainstream Rock chart and at #64 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Phil Collins played drums on six of the album’s eight tracks, while journeyman rocker Cozy Powell was behind the kit for the other two songs. Other musicians featured on Pictures at Eleven included guitarist Robbie Blunt, keyboardist Jezz Woodroffe and bassist Paul Martinez. In addition, sax player Raphael Ravenscroft, best known for his memorable playing on Gerry Rafferty‘s “Baker Street,” lent his talents to the song “Pledge Pin.”

Plant co-wrote all of the tunes with Blunt, with Woodroffe also helping to write three songs — “Burning Down One Side,” “Fat Lip” and “Far Post.”

Plant produced the album, which was recorded in Wales at Rockfield Studios, a famous facility where Queen worked on “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Pictures at Eleven has been certified Platinum for sales of over 1 million copies in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Plant launched a European tour with his Raise the Roof collaborator Alison Krauss last Friday with a performance at England’s Glastonbury Festival. The trek runs through a July 20 gig in Berlin and will be followed by a second 2022 U.S. leg that begins August 15 in San Diego.

Here’s Pictures at Eleven‘s full track list:

“Burning Down One Side”
“Moonlight in Samosa”
“Pledge Pin”
“Slow Dancer”
“Worse Than Detroit”
“Fat Lip”
“Like I’ve Never Been Gone”
“Mystery Title”

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In celebration of Def Leppard‘s 45th anniversary, the band has partnered with Rock and Roll Beauty to launch a limited-edition line of themed beauty products.

The 19-piece collection includes a colorful eyeshadow palette designed to resemble Def Leppard’s famed diamond-shaped logo, as well as eyeshadow sticks, lipsticks, highlighters, scented candles, makeup brushes and sponges, nail decals and accessories.

Among the items are blush-and-highlighter packs designed to look like backstage passes, and cosmetic bags featuring the Hysteria album cover art and replicating an old audio cassette. The line also features eyeshadow sticks named after four Def Leppard songs — “Come Undone,” “Gravity,” “Let’s Go” and “Your Touch.”

The Def Leppard x Rock and Roll Beauty collection is available exclusively in Ulta Beauty stores across the U.S., and online at Ulta.com and RockandRollBeauty.com.

Def Leppard is currently co-headlining The Stadium Tour with Mötley Crüe. The next stop on the trek, which also features Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, takes place this Tuesday, June 28, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Def Leppard is promoting its recently released studio album, Diamond Star Halos.

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ZZ Top has released an updated live version of their 1975 gem “Heard It on the X” as the latest advance digital track from their upcoming album, Raw, which is due out July 22.

As previously reported, Raw was recorded in conjunction with the famed blues-rock trio’s 2019 documentary, That Little Ol’ Band from Texas. It’s being released as a tribute to longtime bassist Dusty Hill, who died in July 2021 at age 72.

For the movie, ZZ Top’s classic lineup of singer/guitarist Billy Gibbons, Hill and drummer Frank Beard played an intimate set of songs from their back catalog at historic Gruene Hall, known as “the oldest continually run dance hall in Texas,” which was filmed and recorded. That “raw” performance serves as the basis for the new album.

“Heard It on the X” originally appeared on ZZ Top’s fourth album, 1975’s Fandango!, which also included the classic hit “Tush.”

“Heard It on the X,” which featured Gibbons and Hill trading lead vocal lines, was an homage to the famous “border blaster” high-wattage AM radio stations that would broadcast from Mexico and that featured the call letters that started with “X.”

“Even though Dusty, Frank, and I grew up in different part of Texas we listened to the same stations, particularly the ‘X’ stations,” Gibbons notes, “and, as a result, we gained a lot of the same musical and cultural points of reference.”

You can check out a video of ZZ Top performing “Heard It on the X” at Gruene Hall at the band’s YouTube channel.

Raw, which was produced by Gibbons, can be preordered now and will be available as a 180-gram vinyl LP, on CD and via digital formats.

Here’s Raw‘s full track:

“Brown Sugar”
“Just Got Paid”
“Heard It on the X”
“La Grange”
“Tush”
“Thunderbird”
“I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide”
“Legs”
“Gimme All Your Lovin'”
“Blue Jean Blues”
“Certified Blues”
“Tube Snake Boogie”

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Stevie Nicks has good news and bad news: She didn’t get COVID during her recent run of tour dates — but she is very upset about the Supreme Court’s ruling last week.

In a letter posted to Twitter, the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer writes, “Dear people, I got home from the tour late Wednesday night exhausted. It was great to be back in my world doing what I love for the first time in three years…AND I did not get COVID! We definitely proved that it can be done if you follow the rules. That is the good news.”

Stevie continues, “The bad news is that our women’s rights have been taken away.”

The Fleetwood Mac frontwoman then says that before she comments further, she wants everyone to watch a documentary called The Janes. “It’s a huge deja vu for me, as it is about my generation leading up to Roe v Wade,” she writes. “Please watch it. It will blow your mind.”

She signs off, “History is repeating itself…and it’s even more frightening this time.”

The Janes, available on HBO Max, tells the true story of seven women in Chicago in 1972 who were arrested for running an underground network for women who wanted to have safe, affordable abortions — which at the time were illegal. The film features firsthand accounts from those women, some speaking on the record for the first time.

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The cause of death of Depeche Mode member Andy Fletcher has been revealed.

In an Instagram post penned by DM vocalist Dave Gahan and multi-instrumentalist Martin Gore, the “Enjoy the Silence” outfit shares that Fletcher died of aortic dissection, which occurs when there’s a tear in the inner layer of the aorta artery.

“Even though it was far, far too soon, he passed naturally and without prolonged suffering,” Depeche Mode says of Fletcher.

Fletcher, often referred to as “Fletch” by his friends, bandmates and family, passed on May 26. He was 60 years old. At the time, a source close to the band shared that he passed away from natural causes.

In addition to sharing the cause of death news, Depeche Mode’s post also details a “celebration of Andy’s life” that took place in London last week.

“[It] was a beautiful ceremony and gathering with a few tears, but filled with the great memories of who Andy was, stories of all of our times together, and some good laughs,” the post reads. “Andy was celebrated in a room full of many of his friends and family, our immediate DM family, and so many people who have touched Andy’s and our lives throughout the years. All being together was a very special way to remember Andy and see him off.”

“Thank you for all of the love you’ve shown Andy and his family and friends over the last few weeks,” Gahan and Gore conclude. “It honestly means the world to all of us. Andy, you’ll be missed, but certainly not forgotten.”

Fletcher was a founding member of Depeche Mode and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the band in 2020.

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The lineup has been unveiled for the star-studded 2023 edition of the RockIsland Fest, which will take place January 17-21 in Key West, Florida.

The artists on the bill include Styx, Loverboy, Tesla, 38 Special, Queensrÿche, Quiet Riot, Extreme, Ratt frontman Stephen Pearcy, Stryper, ex-Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler, Enuff Z’Nuff, Honeymoon Suite and Autograph.

Pre-sale passes for the five-day rock extravaganza are available now, while tickets, passes and packages will go on sale to the general public on July 6 at 10 a.m. ET.

The main venue for the event is the 4,000-seat capacity Truman Waterfront Park Amphitheater, located on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico.

“The inaugural RokIsland Fest in early 2022 brought some of the biggest rock bands on the planet to the island of Key West for four days of epic performances and tropical bliss,” says festival co-founder Dave Giencke in a statement posted by uDiscoverMusic.com. “After the overwhelming response from the artists and attendees who came in from all over the country and across the pond, we decided to add another day to RokIsland Fest 2023 with a lineup as equally stacked as year one. I’m fairly certain we’ve once again created the premier destination experience for rock fans around the world.”

This year’s inaugural RokIsland Fest included performances by Cheap Trick, Night Ranger, Poison‘s Bret Michaels, Twisted Sister‘s Dee Snider, Skid Row, Warrant, Winger, Dokken, Lita Ford, Enuff Z’Nuff and many others.

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Ozzy Osbourne is apparently going from bat biting to bat housing.

As reported by the British tabloid The Mirror, the Prince of Darkness is building bat boxes on the property of his U.K. home, which will help in protecting the winged creatures.

“Ozzy, 73, has promised planning chiefs he will put in the bat protection measures to aid conservation,” The Mirror writes.

Ozzy, of course, will always be remembered for when he bit the head off a bat during a 1982 concert. He’s continued to reference the infamous incident throughout the years, launching his own run of bat NFTs and selling a plush bat with a detachable head.

Meanwhile, the video for Ozzy’s new solo single “Patient Number 9” features a cartoon bat taking revenge by biting off the metal legend’s head.

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Whitesnake canceled its appearance Saturday at the Rock Imperium Festival in Cartagena, Spain, and the rockers’ decision to pull out of the event apparently upset the festival’s organizers.

On Saturday, Whitesnake issued a statement apologizing to fans for canceling that read, in part, “Please know we are doing everything in our power to bring you the best high energy and exciting shows we possibly can. We always strive to deliver 100%, as Whitesnake fans always deserve that much, and never anything less.”

The note adds, “We knew embarking on this tour could present many new obstacles and potential issues, which had been unknown to us on previous tours. Please know we are doing everything in our power to work through these unprecedented challenges.”

Following Whitesnake’s cancellation, festival organizers issued a lengthy statement complaining that the band had given little notice before pulling out of the gig and noting that much of the group’s equipment already was set up on stage when they officially canceled.

The note explains, “At 1:23 [p.m.], we received a call from Whitesnake’s agent indicating that the band’s drummer, Tommy Aldridge, was very ill with a high fever and that they could not perform. We appealed to the band’s sense of professionalism so as not to leave fans stranded, but their agent was blunt, stating that the show was ‘100% cancelled by the band.'”

You can read the festival organizers’ full statement about the situation at RockImperiumFestival.es.

On Sunday, Whitesnake issued another statement that reads, “Tommy was under the weather, as we all can get, but is getting better: he never had, what was inaccurately described [by the Spanish promoter] as ‘severe health problems’ and can’t wait to get back out there to perform for the fans!”

Whitesnake’s next scheduled performance is Monday, June 27 in Milan, Italy.

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