David Lee Roth has shared a new solo version of the VAN HALEN classic “Dance The Night Away”. The track, like the previously released “Panama” and “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”, was laid down on May 3, 2022 during a session at Henson Recording Studio in Hollywood, California. Joining Roth in the studio were Al Estrada on guitar, Ryan Wheeleron bass and Francis Valentino on drums. A total of 14 songs were recorded in two hours. The music and the vocals were tracked live with “no samples” and without the pitch-correction technology Auto-Tune.
Roth‘s versions of “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” and “Panama” come more than a month after he shared a previously unheard solo recording from 2007, “Nothing Could Have Stopped Us Back Then Anyway”, in which he looked back nostalgically on his days in VAN HALEN. The latter song was recorded in 2007 with guitarist John 5 and drummer Gregg Bissonette for an album that never came out.
Aja is the sixth studio album by the American jazz rock band Steely Dan. Its regarded as a masterpiece and way ahead of their time complete with cryptic lyrics and very progressive jazz flavored rock. It was released on September 23, 1977, by ABC Records. Recording alongside nearly 40 musicians,. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker pushed Steely Dan further into experimenting with different combinations of session players while pursuing longer, more sophisticated compositions for the album.
Becker and Fagen masterminds had 5 albums behind them but they felt like something was amiss in their collection. They auditioned the best session musicians available at the time to piece together the magnum opus that would be titled Aja. Weeks of sessions were held, but on more than one occasion, no music was recorded at all. Becker and Fagen were looking for the best.
legendary drummers like Bernard Purdie and Steve Gadd rubbed elbows with jazz greats like Wayne Shorter and Plas Johnson. Doobie Brothers vocalist Michael McDonald lent his signature voice to the stacked harmonies of ‘Peg’ while future Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmidt contributed to tracks like ‘Home at Last’ and ‘Josie’. Chuck Rainey, who incorporated funk and R&B grooves into the band’s arrangements, held down the bass on every track except ‘Deacon Blues’. It was a who’s-who of the best players at the time, collected onto one vinyl record. Walter and Becker might have been impeccable in their craft, but they weren’t above a very basic rule: make it sound good.
No other Steely Dan album is as naturally appealing or easy on the ears as Aja. It’s a masterclass in the pursuit of perfection.
The songs on Aja (pronounced Asia) have been dissected and examined countless times over the last 45 years, so I’m giving this great artwork its due. According to Wikipedia, the name Aja belonged to the Korean wife of Donald Fagen’s friend’s brother. I’m not sure if that’s true but it sounds plausible, so I’ll pretend it is.
Credit for the cover image goes to Hideki Fujii, who took this striking photo of model/actress Sayoko Yamaguchi.
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born in this day, September 23rd 1926 in Hamlet North Carolina.
John Coltrane departed this mortal plane more than fifty years ago but he still remains a part of us, more alive than ever. His sound continues to grab the ears of an ever-widening circle of fans. His music legendary. He’s a permanent fixture in jazz culture as that of any 20th century musical giant. His saxophone sound—brooding, searching, dark—is still one of the most recognizable sounds in modern jazz. His influence stretches over styles and genres, and transcends cultural boundaries. The modern ideal of music serving a deeply spiritual, connective purpose. A defining facet of John Coltrane.
Jazz journalist Nat Hentoff, who interviewed and championed Coltrane, praised him more soberly. “By the time A Love Supreme hit, Trane struck such a spiritual chord in so many listeners that people started to think of him as being beyond human. I think that’s unfair. He was just a human being like you and me — but he was willing to practice more, to do all the things that somebody has to do to excel. The real value in what John Coltrane did was that what he accomplished, he did as a human.”
Timing had much to do with building Coltrane’s musical foundation as well. Being born in ‘26 meant that by his teenage years he was hearing the popular songs and sophisticated arrangements at the height of the big band era. As he approached adulthood in the mid ‘40s, the bebop of alto saxophonist Charlie Parker and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie grabbed the ears of his generation. Johnny Hodges, the longtime alto saxophonist in Duke Ellington’s famed orchestra; and Dexter Gordon, the tenor-sax playing, first-generation bebopper, were two of Coltrane’s earliest heroes.
“I know that there are bad forces, forces that bring suffering to others and misery to the world. I want to be the opposite force. I want to be the force which is truly for good.” ~John Coltrane
THE PRETTY RECKLESS will release a new collection of music, “Other Worlds”, on November 4 via Fearless Records. The effort sees the group delivering its first proper acoustic recordings, unexpected covers and other reimaginings.
Today, the band has shared the visualizer for the acoustic version of “Harley Darling”. Watch it below.
“‘Harley Darling’ is a love letter to [late THE PRETTY RECKLESS producer] Kato Khandwala,” says singer Taylor Momsen. “It’s as simple as that. So many of us have stories of losing loved ones, especially now, and I hope this song can be used in other’s healing as it was in my own.”
“Other Worlds” collates striking acoustic renditions of personal favorites accompanied by some very special guests. The recording of Elvis Costello‘s “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding” served as Momsen‘s first cover originally performed for the “Fearless At Home” livestream in the midst of COVID. As another pandemic-era cover, Matt Cameron played guitar and sang as Taylor powered an airy and lithe reimagining of SOUNDGARDEN‘s “Halfway There” from “King Animal”, generating hundreds of thousands of views on its initial post. Iconic multi-instrumentalist, producer and artist Alain Johannes handled guitar on THE PRETTY RECKLESS‘ pensive and poetic interpretation of “The Keeper”, originally by Chris Cornell, while David Bowiepianist Mike Garson performed a stirring piano movement for THE THIN WHITE DUKE‘s “Quicksand”.
“For a long time, we’ve been trying to figure out an alternative way of releasing music, including songs we love that didn’t make our records, covers, and alternate versions,” explains Momsen. “We found a way to do this coherently and consistently with ‘Other Worlds’. We’re a rock band, so there are lots of electric guitars on our records. However, we’ve gotten incredible feedback from fans about our acoustic performances, and we’d never put those out in any real format. So, this is a different take on the traditional format of a record and a stripped back version of us that our fans haven’t really heard before, but it’s still us.”
“You get to hear a different side of Taylor‘s vocals,” adds guitarist Ben Phillips. “It was a chance for us to see what she would sound like singing songs by people who have inspired us. It also gave us some perspective of where we need to go and what we need to be if we want to be that good.”
“Other Worlds” track listing:
01. Got So High (remix) 02. Loud Love 03. The Keeper (feat. Alain Johannes) 04. Quicksand (feat. Mike Garson) 05. 25 (acoustic) 06. Only Love Can Save Me Now(acoustic) 07. Death By Rock And Roll (acoustic) 08. Halfway There (feat. Matt Cameron) 09. (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding 10. Harley Darling (acoustic) 11. Got So High (album version)
Ian Astbury of The Cult. Credit: Mariano Regidor/Redferns
The Cult share new single “A Cut Inside” which follows the recently released debut single “Give Me Mercy,” from their new album Under The Midnight Sun.
Its been six years since The Cult put out anything new. Their latest work titled ‘Under The Midnight Sun. The album is set to be released October 7 tbrough Black Hill Records. Pre-order Under The Midnight Sunhere. News of the album came out with the release of the single, ‘Give Me Mercy’, which guitarist Billy Duffy said in a press release “has all the hallmarks of the new classic Cult to my ears”.
Ian Astbury said: “I was absolutely enamoured with this piece of music Billy had written, and it perfectly fit these thoughts I’d been having about our culture’s need to move past assumptions of duality. We need new language because words can’t express where we’re going.”
Astbury recalls: “It’s three in the morning in Finland, the sun’s up, and there’s all these beautiful people in this halcyon moment. People are laying on the grass, making out, drinking, smoking. There were rows of flowers at the front of the stage from the performances earlier that evening. It was an incredible moment.
“When the world stopped, I had this moment to write in real time, to calculate. I was compelled by this vision, this anomaly, this memory, of being under the midnight sun.”
Track Listing:
1. Mirror 2. A Cut Inside 3. Vendetta X 4. Give Me Mercy 5. Outer Heaven 6. Knife Through Butterfly Heart 7. Impermanence 8. Under the Midnight Sun
Stay tuned for more from The Cult and this album — and catch the band on the road in the coming weeks:
July 8 – Palace Theatre – St Paul, MN July 9 – Cellular Stage at Summerfest- Milwaukee, WI July 10 – The Factory at The District – Chesterfield, MO July 12 – Riviera Theatre – Chicago, IL July 14 – PNC at Riverbend – Cincinnati, OH July 15 – Rose Music Center at The Heights – Dayton, OH July 16 – Stage AE – Pittsburgh, PA July 19 – The Anthem – Washington, DC July 20 – The Rooftop at Pier 17 – New York, NY July 22 – Metropolitan Opera House – Philadelphia, PA July 23 – Leader Bank Pavillion – Boston, MA July 24 – College Street Music Hall – New Haven, CT July 26 – Crouse Hinds Theater – Syracuse, NY July 27 – Meadowbrook Amphitheater – Detroit, MI July 29 – Hogs for Hospice Charity Event at Seacliff Park – Leamington, ON July 30 – Casino Rama – Orilla, ON
Experience Hendrix L.L.C. in partnership with Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE “Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969” this November 18 on 2LP vinyl, CD and all digital platforms. Recorded in the spring of 1969 before a raucous, sold-out audience, the captivating performance of the original lineup (singer/guitarist Jimi Hendrix, drummer Mitch Mitchell, bassist Noel Redding) has never before been released in its entirety. This album comes out in time for the 80th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix‘s birth (November 27). An advance track from the album, “I Don’t Live Today”, is now available below.
Following the massive success of THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE‘s 1967-68 studio album trifecta (“Are You Experienced”, “Axis: Bold As Love”, “Electric Ladyland”),the trio had developed into the most popular international touring attraction in rock music. This widescale public interest coincided with the construction of new arenas for sporting events, among them the Forum in Inglewood, California. Designed by famed architect Charles Luckman (who also designed New York’s rebuilt Madison Square Garden),this multi-purpose venue opened in 1967 as the home of the Los Angeles Kingshockey team and Los Angeles Lakersbasketball team, but also began to serve as a music venue. Among the earliest concerts held there was Aretha Franklinin January 1968 and the CREAM farewell tour with opening act DEEP PURPLE in October of that year. THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE were booked to perform on April 26, 1969 with opening acts CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY (soon-to-be renamed CHICAGO) and CAT MOTHER & THE ALL NIGHT NEWSBOYS, the latter of whom shared management with the headliners. Floor seats cost $6.50 ($51.20 adjusted for inflation).
By the time THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE took the stage to blaze through a spirited set, live concert sound had drastically improved from the time of THE BEATLES baseball stadium tours, but crowd control was still a major concern. Between songs, Jimi pled with audience members to stop rushing the stage. A heavy police presence is felt; lyrics for their hit “Purple Haze” are altered (“‘Scuse me while I kiss that policeman!”) and Jimi dedicates “Spanish Castle Magic” to “the plain clothes police out there and other goofballs.” Hendrixtreated each performance as a unique event. He never relied on a standard set list comprised only of his biggest commercial hits. This approach was on full display at the Forum performance, blending more familiar tunes such as “Foxey Lady” with “I Don’t Live Today”from “Are You Experienced” and his signature blues original “Red House”(“Everybody want to know what America’s soul is; everybody think it’s Motown . . . America’s soul is something more like this here”) which had still not yet been released in the U.S. at this time. Furthermore, the group opened their set with a cover of “Tax Free” — an obscure 1967 instrumental by Swedish duo HANSSON & KARLSSON (consisting of Bo Hansson and Janne Karlsson),with whom the EXPERIENCE had previously shared bills in Stockholm. Another unique highlight featured within the Forum performance was an early reimagining of “The Star Spangled Banner”, which Jimiwould canonize four months later at Woodstock. “Here’s a song we was all brainwashed with,” Jimi trenchantly declares, at a time when the nation was in a state of great political unrest. The group closed their performance with a unique, extraordinary medley of “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” and CREAM‘s “Sunshine Of Your Love”. The song was an EXPERIENCE favorite and a perfect live vehicle for the trio’s unparalleled improvisational skill.
“Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969” was recorded by Wally Heider and Bill Halverson contemporaneously, and recently remixed by longtime Hendrixproducer/engineer Eddie Kramer for maximum audio fidelity. It was produced by Janie Hendrix, CEO of Experience Hendrix, L.L.C. and the sister of Jimi Hendrix, Kramer and John McDermott, who manages the Hendrix music catalog on behalf of Experience Hendrix. The package’s liner notes are by former Los Angeles Times staff writer/critic Randy Lewis with a preface by ZZ TOP‘s Billy Gibbons who attended the HendrixForum show, having toured with the EXPERIENCE, as part of the MOVING SIDEWALKS, his pre-ZZ band.
Also coming out during the month of Hendrix‘s 80th birthday is the book “Jimi”. Published by Chronicle Books imprint Chroma for a November 15 release, this comprehensive visual celebration is an official collaboration with Janie Hendrixand John McDermott. “Jimi” significantly expands on the authors’ previously published titles, including “An Illustrated Experience”, and features a new introduction by Janie, extensive biographical texts, and a trove of lesser known and never-before-published photographs, personal memorabilia, lyrics, and more. Additionally, “Jimi”includes quotations by legendary musicians such as Paul McCartney, Ron Wood, Jeff Beck, Lenny Kravitz, Eric Clapton, Drake, Dave Grohl and others who have spoken about Hendrix‘s lasting influence.
QUEENSRŸCHE will release its sixteenth studio album, “Digital Noise Alliance”, on October 7 via Century Media. The record was once again helmed by Chris “Zeuss” Harris, who previously worked with QUEENSRŸCHE on 2015’s “Condition Hüman” and “The Verdict” LPs. The LP’s third single, “Behind The Walls”, can be streamed below.
[NEW] “Behind The Walls” Official Video: While the two songs previously released, “In Extremis” and “Forest” were exploring two contrasting facets of “Digital Noise Alliance”, “Behind The Walls” offers a deep dive into QUEENSRŸCHE’s trademark sound.
The band comments: “It is a story about those in crisis dealing with various forms of abuse. The protagonist is faced with the dichotomy of reconciling a lifetime of devout faith, while suffering immense abuse with no intervention.”
Mapledurham Watermill, the building that featured on the cover of Black Sabbath’s self-titled debut album 52 years ago, has been vandalised.
The picturesque 1970 debut cover of Mapledurham Watermill in Oxfordshire is the scene on Black Sabbath’s album ‘Black Sabbath’, with a mysterious woman wearing a black cloak standing in front and is one of the most famous images in heavy metal.
Police said the windows of the mill, in Mapledurham, Oxfordshire, were smashed, with significant damage to the wooden frames. Officers have linked five boys and one girl to the incident. They are believed to be between the ages of 15 and 16 and are from the Purley area.
The building dates back to 1690 and remains the only one on the River Thames still producing stone-ground flour.
The model on the infamous album cover was Louisa Livingstone, who told Rolling Stone magazine it was a really cold day and she was literally freezing. was when photographer Keith Macmillan did the shoot.
She said she had to get up at 4:AM and Keith was throwing dry ice into the water for atmosphere but it wasn’t working very well so they ended up using a smoke machine.
Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iomi made a surprise reunion in their hometown of Birmingham, England, on Monday night with a performance at the city’s Commonwealth Games. They performed their classic “Paranoid” alongside two musicians who joined them on their final tour, The End: Adam Wakeman, who played bass and keyboards, and drummer Tommy Clufetos.
Osbourne and Iommi performed versions of ‘Iron Man’ and the complete ‘Paranoid’, the latter of which ended with a spectacular firework display. The performance apparently disrupted the BBC’s 10 O’Clock news broadcast, but nobody seemed to mind.
News of Osbourne’s performance comes ahead of the release of his new album, Patient Number 9, on September 9th. The new studio effort features guest appearances by the likes of Iommi, Zakk Wylde and Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan, Metallica’s Rob Trujillo, Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, and former Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins are also all rumoured to have contributed.
The 2022 edition of Wacken Open Air just less than two days ago and the promoters are already able to confirm that next year’s installment of the annual metal festival has sold out. Within six hours, 80,000 tickets to the 2023 Wacken Open Air were sold. This marks the fastest sellout in Wacken‘s history.
The Wacken Open Air organizers said in a statement: “Metalheads! We absolutely cannnot believe what just happened: The Wacken Open Air 2023 is completely sold out after a record time of 6 hours — all 80,000 tickets are sold out! Thanks for your incredible loyalty, support and the trust you give us!”
They added: “You are the best fans in the world! So we can’t wait to celebrate another superlative metal party with you next year. Look forward to many more great bands and a festival with which we will take you back to the age of the Vikings — officially on four days instead of three!”
Promoter Thomas Jensen added: “A sold-out festival in that amount of time — unbelievable. And especially in these times, the backing of the community is enormously important.
“We are still knocking off the dust of this year’s Open Air and now, thanks to the trust of our fans, we can continue to fully concentrate on the program in 2023 under the motto ‘Vikings’, which will have one or two highlights in the bag in addition to the great IRON MAIDEN!”
“This is an enormous proof of confidence from our fans and we appreciate it very much,” said promoter Holger Hübner. “This allows us to push Wacken Open Air forward and develop various projects and themes alongside the billing, which we will announce during the year.”
As previously reported, British heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN will headline next year’s edition of Wacken Open Air, set to take place August 2-5, 2023.
Wacken Open Air takes place annually in the village of Wacken, which has a population of just about 2,000.
Up to 85,000 people attend the event, which is 32 years old.
The first Wacken Open Air event in 1990 drew less than 800 people, but it has since grown to become the biggest open-air festival of its kind.
Around 30 percent travel from other countries to the festival, which over recent years has been growing in popularity.
So far the following artists have been confirmed for the 2023 edition of Wacken Open Air:
IRON MAIDEN MEGADETH THE DROPKICK MURPHYS WARDRUNA JINJER BEARTOOTH TWO STEPS FROM HELL ENSIFERUM DEICIDE PENTAGRAM NERVOSA BURNING WITCHES
200 bands performed at this year’s Wacken Open Air, including headliners SLIPKNOT, POWERWOLF and JUDAS PRIEST.
Wacken Open Air was forced to take a break for two years due to coronavirus restrictions.
Wacken Open Air normally does not announce the names of its headliners before tickets go on sale. Still, the festival usually sells out within hours.
The festival also doesn’t sell VIP access or upgrades and all purchases are for all the days without a single-day ticket option, something they did away with nearly two decades ago.
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