Classic Rock News

Neil Young will release a new live album and concert film titled Noise & Flowers on August 5, which was recorded during his nine-date 2019 European tour with his frequent backing group, Promise of the Real.

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

Noise & Flowers, which can be preordered now, will be 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 film was co-directed by Young and his wife, Daryl Hannah, under their Bernard Shakey and dhlovelife pseudonyms.

“Playing in [Elliot’s] memory [made it] one of the most special tours ever,” Young notes in the album’s liner notes. “We hit the road and took his great spirit with us into every song. This music belongs to no one. It’s in the air. Every note was played for music’s great friend, Elliot.”

Noise & Flowers includes performances of a wide range of songs from Young’s back catalog, including classics such as “Mr. Soul,” “Helpless” and “Rockin’ in the Free World” and deeper cuts like “On the Beach,” “I’ve Been Waiting for You” and “Winterlong.”

One track, a rendition of the 1992 tune “From Hank to Hendrix,” has been issued as an advance digital single, while a video of the performance has been posted on 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 NeilYoungArchives.com 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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Styx‘s Tommy Shaw is among the artists who have lent their talents to veteran British producer, composer and musician Alan Parsons‘ latest album, From the New World, which will be released on July 15.

Shaw is featured on a song titled “Uroboros.” The album also includes guest appearances by acclaimed blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa, ex-Ambrosia singer David Pack and James Durbin, an American Idol alum and former Quiet Riot frontman.

Parsons has released a track titled “I Won’t Be Led Astray” as a new advance single that features Pack on vocals and Bonamassa on guitar. A music video for the song also has debuted on the Frontiers Music label’s YouTube channel.

The album can be preordered now and is available on CD, as a CD/DVD-audio set, as a colored-vinyl LP, digitally and as a Collector’s Box Set.

The box set includes the CD, the DVD audio disc, a blue-vinyl LP, a t-shirt, a poster, a digipak version of the Alan Parsons Live Project‘s Live in Madrid concert album and more.

Here’s the full track list of From the New World:

“Fare Thee Well”
“The Secret”
“Uroboros” — featuring Tommy Shaw of Styx
“Don’t Fade Now”
“Give ‘Em My Love” — featuring James Durbin and Joe Bonamassa
“Obstacles”
“I Won’t Be Led Astray” — featuring David Pack and Joe Bonamassa
“You Are the Light”
“Halo”
“Goin’ Home”
“Be My Baby”

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After premiering his new solo song “Patient Number 9” featuring Jeff Beck earlier this morning, Ozzy Osbourne has now debuted the song’s video.

The clip, directed by famed comic book creator Todd McFarlane, finds the Prince of Darkness in a hospital slowly turning into a demon, cut with a fantastical cartoon adventure. At one point, cartoon Ozzy is about to once again bite the head off a bat, before an even bigger bat grabs him and takes revenge.

“Having worked with Ozzy in the past, I jumped at another opportunity to do so again…especially on the music side this time,” says McFarlane. 

“In the harsh business called the music industry, any creative person who’s sustained a multi-decades career has shown the skill, talent and tenacity that will always garner my admiration,” he adds. “Ozzy has shown many of us creative folks that it’s indeed possible to make a living doing what you love for nearly an entire lifetime. Go, Ozzy!”

You can watch the video streaming now on YouTube.

As previously reported, “Patient Number 9” is the lead single and title track off the next Ozzy solo album, the follow-up to 2020’s Ordinary Man. The Andrew Watt-produced record features a number of guests, including Black Sabbath‘s Tony Iommi, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Eric Clapton, Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready, Black Label Society‘s Zakk Wylde, Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses, Jane’s Addiction‘s Chris Chaney and Metallica‘s Robert Trujillo.

Additionally, late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins makes a posthumous appearance.

Patient Number 9, the album, arrives September 9.

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After The Zombies canceled two shows in Ontario, Canada, this week because founding singer Colin Blunstone and keyboardist Rod Argent contracted COVID-19, the band launches the second leg of its 2022 Life Is a Merry-Go-Round Tour tonight in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania.

Interestingly, Blunstone also celebrates his 77th birthday today.

The North American summer trek features 26 shows, and is mapped out through a three-night stand, July 28-30, in Park City, Utah.

Fans who attend the shows can expect the British Invasion group to perform their classic hits, some deeper cuts from their 1960s heyday and a few brand-new tunes that will be featured on the band’s upcoming studio album, which is expected to be released in the coming months.

Argent tells ABC Audio that it’s very important for the band to continue to make new music and to include fresh material in their concerts. He also notes that in general, Zombies fans have been reacting very positively to the new songs that the group has been performing.

“Obviously, if we play ‘Time of the Season,’ the place erupts,” Argent explains. “But…[when we play a] new song after that, [while the reaction isn’t] quite as amazing as we get after ‘Time of the Season’…it’s a really, really significant reaction…So people embrace that as well.”

One of the new tunes The Zombies are playing is “Merry-Go-Round,” which is the song that the tour is named after. Argent says “Merry-Go-Round” was one of the first tracks that the band recorded for the upcoming album, and he feels that it could be chosen as a single.

You can check out The Zombies’ full schedule at TheZombiesMusic.com. No word yet if the canceled Ontario shows will be rescheduled.

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Ozzy Osbourne has premiered a new solo song called “Patient Number 9.”

The track, which features guitar icon Jeff Beck, is available now via digital outlets. An accompanying video, directed by famed comic book artist Todd McFarlane, is set to premiere Friday at 10 a.m. ET on YouTube.

“Patient Number 9” is the first preview off Ozzy’s next solo album, also titled Patient Number 9, the follow-up to 2020’s Ordinary Man. Beck is one of the many guests to be featured on the upcoming record, along with Black Sabbath‘s Tony Iommi, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Eric Clapton, Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready, Black Label Society‘s Zakk Wylde and Metallica‘s Robert Trujillo.

Patient Number 9, the album, is due out September 9. 

The new song arrives amid a rough couple of health months for Ozzy, who tested positive for COVID-19 in April and underwent surgery earlier in June. The 73-year-old rocker has since returned home from the hospital and is “recuperating comfortably.”

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The 13th annual Global Beatles Day will be observed on Saturday, June 25.

The event, which was founded in 2009 by an Indianapolis-based Beatles fan named Faith Cohen, was established to honor the music and ideals of the Fab Four’s members and their many contributions to the world’s culture, including their promotion of peace and love.

June 25 was chosen as the date of the annual event because that was the day in 1967 that The Beatles’ performance of “All You Need Is Love” was part of Our World, a famous satellite broadcast that aired around the world.

This year, in addition to generally celebrating the band on June 25, Cohen is asking people to send a link to a video of the 1967 “All You Need Is Love” performance, which can be found at DailyMotion.com, to “10 people who matter” as a way to spread the message of peace and love around the world.

“This could be to family, friends and coworkers or elected officials,” Cohen says. “It could be kings, queens, princes, presidents, ambassadors, military leaders and law enforcement organizations.”

She adds, “We want them to send links to 10 people or organizations that matter in running our world and keeping it going. Then we want them to ask those 10 entities to send it on to 10 more and ask them to do the same. On and on … Send the link to those in power, from the local to global level, who keep the world running.”

You also can check out Cohen’s general suggestions for 10 ways you can celebrate Global Beatles Day at the event’s official site.

Interestingly, Paul McCartney‘s headlining set at England’s Glastonbury Festival coincides with the 2022 Global Beatles Day.

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Paul McCartney turned 80 on Saturday, June 18, but the former Beatles star has even more to celebrate: He recently surpassed the $1 billion mark in total grosses over the last 30-plus years as a solo touring act, according to Billboard.

In addition, Sir Paul landed at #1 on Billboard‘s Top Tours chart for May, according to data reported to Billboard Boxscore from nine concerts that McCartney played last month as part of his Got Back Tour. His tour brought in $52.4 million and sold 206,000 tickets.

Macca’s full U.S. trek featured 15 dates, running from an April 28 show in Spokane, Washington, through a June 16 performance in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The outing grossed $101.7 million with 416,000 tickets sold.

After his May 31 concert in Knoxville, Tennessee, McCartney’s reported total career grosses increased to more than $1 billion. Paul becomes just the 11th artist to reach the $1 billion mark in the 30-plus-year history of the Billboard Boxscore.

Meanwhile, McCartney’s May 13 show at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, brought in over $12 million alone, making it the second-highest-grossing concert event last month, according to Billboard‘s Top Boxscores. In addition, the rock legend’s May 28 show in Orlando, Florida, landed at #6 on the list, while his May 2-3 stand in Seattle was at #8; his May 6 and 8 engagement in Oakland, California, was at #9; and his May 21 show in Charlotte, North Carolina, was at #10.

In other news, McCartney just announced that he’ll be playing an intimate show on Friday, June 24, at the Cheese & Grain venue in Frome, England, as a warm-up gig for his headlining performance Saturday at England’s famed Glastonbury Festival.

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Details have been unveiled for the second annual Monsters on the Mountain festival, a three-day hard-rock extravaganza that will take place August 19-21 at The Gatlinburg Convention Center in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Set in the scenic Great Smoky Mountains, the event will feature over 30 performers, including Night Ranger, Quiet Riot, Cinderella‘s Tom Keifer, Queensrÿche, Ratt‘s Stephen Pearcy, Kip Winger, Autograph, Extreme, Stryper, Yngwie Malmsteen, ex-Mötley Crüe frontman John Corabi, Enuff Z’Nuff, KIX, Firehouse, Nelson, Vixen and Pat Travers.

In addition to the performances, Monsters on the Mountain will offer a variety of interactive events and activities, including photo opportunities with the performers, a rock ‘n’ roll merchandise vendor market and a rock-themed art gallery.

Tickets for the festival are available now, with three-day packages starting at $349 per person, and single-day tickets starting at $175 for August 19 and 20, and at $155 for August 21.

For more information, visit MonstersontheMountain.com.

The Monsters on the Mountain festival is organized by the same people who bring you the Monsters of Rock Cruise, the next installment of which is scheduled to set sail in April 2023.

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Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine briefly speaks on founding bassist David Ellefson‘s departure from the band in a new interview with Rolling Stone.

Ellefson, who formed Megadeth with Mustaine in 1983, was fired from the group in May 2021 after sexually explicit videos of him leaked online. Since the tweet announcing Ellefson’s departure, Mustaine has not publicly commented much on the situation, aside from revealing that Ellefson’s bass parts on the new Megadeth album would be re-recorded by someone else.

Speaking now with Rolling Stone, Mustaine shares, “With everything that had taken place over the past, 10, 20 years with my relationship with our past bass player, it just became time to…it’s so uncomfortable for me to talk about.”

Ellefson was previously absent from Megadeth when Mustaine reformed the band in 2004, which led to a legal battle between the two. He eventually rejoined the group in 2010.

When Ellefson was fired last year, he alluded to an “already strained relationship” between him and his now-former bandmate.

“It was hard on me letting him go,” Mustaine now says, adding “I’m happier now than I’ve ever been.”

Megadeth’s new album The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead! will be released September 2. The parts that Ellefson had already recorded for the album were replaced by Testament bassist Steve Di Giorgio. Megadeth has since recruited returning member James LoMenzo to be the band’s official new bassist.

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