Classic Rock News

Aerosmith launched its 2022 Deuces Are Wild Las Vegas residency on Wednesday night at the Dolby Live theater at the Park MGM resort.

The concert is one of eight dates the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers are playing at the Sin City venue in September and early October; the band has another eight-show engagement scheduled there in late November and early December.

Aerosmith originally was supposed play its first 2022 Las Vegas stand in June and July, but those concerts were canceled in May when it was announced that frontman Steven Tyler had entered a treatment facility after relapsing while recovering from foot surgery.

According to People, Tyler was in fine form at Wednesday’s show. The magazine notes he seemingly eluded to his substance abuse issues when he commented to the audience, “It’s either too much or too little all the time. I’m a big fan of too much.”

According to Setlists.fm, the band played a hit-packed, 17-song set that included such classics as “Back in the Saddle,” “Love in an Elevator,” “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” “Sweet Emotion,” “Dude (Looks Like a Lady),” “Dream On” and “Walk This Way.”

Aerosmith also included covers of The Shangri‐Las‘ “Remember (Walking in the Sand)” and Fleetwood Mac‘s “Stop Messin’ Around” in the show, which featured immersive Dolby Atmos audio technology and 12-inch screens displaying never-before-seen visuals.

Leading up to the launch of the residency, the band played concert on September 4 in Bangor, Maine and September 8 at Boston’s Fenway Park. Their next Vegas concert takes place this Saturday, September 17.

Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com/Aerosmith.

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The Grateful Dead‘s “Meet-Up at the Movies” screening events are set to return this year for the first time since 2019.

The latest edition of the cinematic gathering, dubbed “Grateful Dead Meet-Up 2022,” will take place at select theaters around the world on November 1, with additional screenings to be held in the U.S., Canada and other locations on November 5.

This year’s event will feature film of an April 17, 1972 show at the Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark — a performance that was part of the band’s legendary Europe ’72 tour.

Tickets for the screenings go on sale on Friday, September 23 at 10 a.m. ET at MeetUpattheMovies.com.

The 90-minute performance was The Grateful Dead’s first concert ever to be broadcast live and was shown on Danish television. The footage has been restored and color corrected in high-def, and the audio has been mixed and mastered from the original master tapes.

The Dead’s lineup at the time featured Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, Donna Jean Godchaux and Keith Godchaux.

The set included the first live performance of “He’s Gone” as well as renditions of such other songs as “Ramble on Rose,” “Jack Straw” and “One More Saturday Night.” You can check out a video of the “One More Saturday Night” performance now on The Grateful Dead’s YouTube channel.

The “Grateful Dead Meet-Up 2022” event will bring to an end a year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the band’s Europe ’72 live album. The commemoration also included the release of remastered versions of the original album as well as a 24-LP box set, exclusively available at Dead.net, that documents four full concerts from the trek.

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Foo Fighters have announced a new best-of compilation.

The collection is titled The Essential Foo Fighters and is due out October 28. The track list includes selections from every Foo Fighters album from their 1995 self-titled debut to 2021’s Medicine at Midnight, except for 2014’s Sonic Highways.

The CD version consists of 19 tracks, while the vinyl edition features 21. Both formats include two versions of the Foo standard “Everlong”: the original Colour and the Shape recording and an acoustic rendition.

Foo Fighters previously released a best-of record, titled Greatest Hits, in 2009.

News of The Essential Foo Fighters comes in between the band’s two tribute concerts to late drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died in March. The first show took place in London on September 3, and the second will be held in Los Angeles on September 27.

Here’s the track list for The Essential Foo Fighters:

“Everlong”
“Making a Fire”
“Times Like These”
“Rope”
“Monkey Wrench”
“My Hero”
“Cold Day in the Sun”
“Big Me”
“Long Road to Ruin”
“Shame Shame”
“Best of You”
“All My Life”
“The Pretender”
“This Is a Call”
“Waiting on a War”*
“Walk”
“Learn to Fly”
“The Sky Is a Neighborhood”
“Breakout”*
“These Days”
“Everlong (Acoustic)”

* = vinyl version only.

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The reissue of Pink Floyd‘s classic 1977 concept album Animals, featuring a 5.1 Surround Sound mix created in 2018, gets released in multiple formats this Friday, September 16.

Along with the updated mix, the reissue boasts a reimagined and updated version of Animals‘ memorable cover art, which featured a photo of London’s massive Battersea Power Station with a giant inflatable pig tied to its chimneys.

Both covers were created by Aubrey “Po” Powell, co-founder of Hipgnosis, the graphic-design firm that has worked on most of the band’s albums.

The new cover features an ominous-looking recent photo of the building, which is covered in scaffolding, taken at night from a different angle than the original pic, with the pig added digitally.

Powell tells ABC Audio that he had to act fast to get a good current photo of the building because the site is in the middle of a “massive regeneration project” that’s obscuring the view of the station.

Powell says the new photo reflects Animals‘ cynical look at humanity, which was partly inspired by George Orwell‘s dystopian novel Animal Farm.

“I think the reflection of the image is very much related to the album, this Orwellian, dark, bleak, futuristic image,” he notes. “It’s almost sci-fi … Roger [Waters is] over the moon about it, and I think one of the reasons is because [it echoes] the period of time that we live in.”

Powell adds that Pink Floyd’s other members also think the new cover was great.

In addition, Powell says the cover reflects the edgier, more in-your-face new Animals mix, which, he maintains, “sounds so different and so good.”

The Animals reissue will be available Friday on CD, vinyl LP, Blu-ray and SACD. A deluxe multiple-disc package will follow on October 7.

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John Mellencamp will release an expanded and remastered version of his classic 1985 album Scarecrow on November 4.

The box set will feature two CDs featuring a remixed and remastered version of the original album, as well as demos, outtakes and rough mixes of tracks. The package will also include a booklet featuring rare photos and new liner notes penned by music journalist and author Anthony DeCurtis.

Mellencamp has made available the new mix of his hit “Small Town,” as well as a “Writer’s Demo” version and an acoustic version of the song, as advance digital tracks.

Scarecrow was Mellencamp’s eighth studio album; it was released in August 1985 and peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200. The album features five top-40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 — “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute to ’60s Rock),” “Lonely Ol’ Night,” “Small Town,” “Rain on the Scarecrow” and “Rumbleseat,” which reached #2, #6, #6, #21 and #28, respectively. Scarecrow has gone on to sell over 5 million copies in the U.S.

You can preorder the reissue now.

Meanwhile, Mellencamp recently reported that’s he finished recording what will be his 26th album. He shared the lyrics to a new song titled “The Eyes of Portland,” which focuses on the homelessness he witnessed in the Oregon city.

Here’s the track list of the deluxe Scarecrow reissue:

CD 1
“Rain on the Scarecrow”
“Grandma’s Theme”
“Small Town”
“Minutes to Memories”
“Lonely Ol’ Night”
“The Face of the Nation”
“Justice and Independence ’85”
“Between a Laugh and a Tear”
“Rumbleseat”
“You’ve Got to Stand for Somethin'”
“R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute to 60’s Rock)”
“The Kind of Fella I Am”
“Small Town” (Acoustic Version)

CD 2
“Under the Boardwalk”
“Lonely Ol’ Night” (Rough Mix)
“Between a Laugh and a Tear” (Writer’s Demo)
“Carolina Shag”
“Cold Sweat”
“Rumbleseat” (Writer’s Demo)
“Smart Guys”
“R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute to 60’s Rock)” (Rough Mix)
“Minutes to Memories” (Rough Mix)
“Shama Lama Ding Dong”
“Small Town” (Writer’s Demo)

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Ozzy Osbourne is giving you a peek behind the Patient Number 9 curtain.

The Black Sabbath frontman has announced a three-part documentary series detailing the making of his brand-new solo album. The first episode, titled “When Ozzy Calls,” will premiere this Friday, September 16 at 11 a.m. ET via Ozzy’s YouTube channel.

A teaser for the premiere suggests that it will focus on the many guest artists that play on Patient Number 9, including Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Black Sabbath‘s Tony Iommi, Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready, Black Label Society‘s Zakk Wylde, Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses, Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica‘s Robert Trujillo and late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.

Patient Number 9, Ozzy’s 13th solo effort and first since 2020’s Ordinary Man, was released last Friday. Ozzy celebrated the album’s arrival by playing halftime at the NFL’s season opening game last Thursday. Ozzy premiered the set in full this week after the broadcast only aired seconds of the performance.

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Record Store Day has announced the list of exclusive vinyl releases that will be available during the 2022 edition of its annual Black Friday event, taking place at independent record stores on November 25.

Among the discs that will be available are releases from Jimi Hendrix, Ringo Starr, Fleetwood Mac, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Dave Grohl‘s Dream Widow project.

Hendrix’s offering is Burning Desire, a two-LP colored-vinyl collection of rare tracks the guitar great recorded in 1969 and 1970 that was previously released on CD.

Starr has multiple Record Store Day releases on tap for Black Friday, including reissues of his respective 1977 and 1983 solo albums, Ringo the 4th and Old Wave, and Live at the Greek Theater 2019, a two-LP set capturing a Los Angeles performance by the former Beatles drummer’s All Starr Band.

Fleetwood Mac is issuing The Alternate Collection, a box set available on CD or colored vinyl featuring rare alternate tracks by the band spanning from 1975 to 1987.

The Chili Peppers will release a two-LP, silver-vinyl version of their upcoming Return of the Dream Canteen, featuring alternate cover artwork and an exclusive poster.

The self-titled debut album from Dream Widow, aka Grohl’s fake metal band from Foo Fighters‘ Studio 666 horror-comedy movie, will make its vinyl debut.

Other artists issuing 2022 Black Friday releases include Ace Frehley, David Bowie, The Doors, Eric Burdon & War, The Grateful Dead, Hot Tuna, Iggy Pop, Jefferson Airplane, The Kinks‘ Dave Davies, Mötley Crüe, Motörhead, Ted Nugent, Keith Richards, Todd Rundgren, Joe Strummer, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Brian Wilson.

For the full list of releases and participating stores, visit RecordStoreDay.com.

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Julian Lennon released Jude, his first new studio album in 11 years, this past Friday. Now, the singer/songwriter is taking part in a special streaming event to promote the record, which is set to kick off September 14 at 3 p.m. ET on the LOOPED platform.

During the interactive event titled “Jude: Behind the Album,” Julian — who is John Lennon‘s older son — will be interviewed and will share stories and details about each track on the record.

Fans can view and participate in the Q&A by visiting LoopedLive.com. Tickets for the event are free, but only a limited number are available. The session will also feature giveaways and opportunities to purchase limited-edition merchandise.

Jude is an 11-track collection that Julian says includes songs that “have been in the works for several years, so it almost feels like a coming-of-age album.”

The record’s title is a nod to the famous Beatles song “Hey Jude,” which Paul McCartney wrote to try to comfort five-year-old Julian following his parents’ separation.

Julian co-produced Jude with his longtime guitarist Justin Clayton. The album includes the track “Gaia,” which features guest vocals by Paul Buchanan of The Blue Nile and French singer Elissa Lauper.

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During a new Billboard interview, Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner apparently let slip that a new Bruce Springsteen album will be released soon.

Wenner, whose new memoir Like a Rolling Stone was published Tuesday, was asked by Billboard how he felt about pop and hip hop becoming the dominant music genres, and he admitted that he still prefers rock ‘n’ roll.

“Give me the [Rolling] Stones,” the publisher declared. “There’s a new Bruce [Springsteen] record coming out this fall, which is stunning. I’m listening to that.”

Back in May 2021, Springsteen revealed while accepting the Woody Guthrie Prize that he had a new, California-inspired album “coming out soon,”but little word about the project has been heard about since.

Meanwhile, Springsteen interviewed Wenner about his book on Tuesday night at an event in New York City that also was streamed live online.

According to the Asbury Park Press, during the Q&A, the Boss jokingly griped about how Rolling Stone didn’t put him on the cover after the success of his 1975 album Born to Run.

“I’m not picking a bone here or anything. But … I always felt they were a little skittish about putting me on the cover when that record came out,” Springsteen commented. “I was on the cover of Time and Newsweek!”

Wenner responded by noting, “He was the establishment pick at that time. I mean, nobody ever got on the cover of those two magazines at once. There was a huge controversy in New York media between Time and Newsweek.”

Wenner also reflected on some of the famous rock artists who were easy to interview, mentioning Springsteen, The Who‘s Pete Townshend and U2‘s Bono.

“All you have to do is ask one question,” Jann said.

“We can’t shut up,” Springsteen added.

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