Rush ‘2112’ Vinyl to Include Hologram (Ultimate Classic Rock)

Fans buying the vinyl reissue of Rush’s 1976 album 2112 next month will be the recipient of a cool surprise. The band has embedded a hologram of its logo directly onto the platter.

Read More of Dave Lifton's article @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Rush ‘2112’ Vinyl to Include Hologram

'Motown 25' Special, Expansive Box Set Planned for Release (Rolling Stone)

In 1983, music icons like Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and Diana Ross came together for Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, a live NBC special that celebrated the 25th year of that legendary label. Now an updated version of the program will air Saturday, February 28th at 8 p.m. EST on most public television stations, followed by an immediate repeat screening.

Read more of Ryan Reed's article @ Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/motown-25-special-expansive-box-set-planned-for-release-20150223#ixzz3Sb3xTtnn

Trey Anastasio on Dead Reunion Shows: 'I Don't Want to Just Copy Jerry' (Rolling Stone)

"I learned so much from seeing those guys – about the feel, the vernacular of the songs. But I never really sat and studied what Jerry actually played, until now."

Inside the Grateful Dead's Final Ride »

Trey Anastasio, the singer-guitarist of Phish, is on the phone, taking a one-hour break on a recent morning from his current crash course in the music of the Grateful Dead and, specifically, the roots, branches and lessons in the licks and exploration of their late, founding guitarist Jerry Garcia.


Read more of David Fricke's article @ Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/trey-anastasio-on-dead-reunion-shows-i-dont-want-to-just-copy-jerry-20150217#ixzz3SJ6n484q

Led Zeppelin 'Physical Graffiti (Deluxe Edition) Album Review (Ultimate Classic Rock)

For an album half filled with leftovers from earlier records, Physical Graffiti sure sounds cohesive. Led Zeppelin‘s 1975 double-LP behemoth — a rafters-shaking, foot-stomping assault that’s bigger and badder than their previous five albums — was made during a rocky period in the band’s career. 

Read More of Michael Gallucci's review @ Ultimate Classic Rock : Led Zeppelin, 'Physical Graffiti (Deluxe Edition)' - Album Review | 





Forty years after the double-album's release, the guitarist and producer explains how the band made an epic masterpiece

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/jimmy-page-on-the-swagger-of-led-zeppelins-physical-graffiti-20150223#ixzz3Sb0VYW7r

Foo Fighters Set to Headline Glastonbury

As the Foo Fighters collected their award for Best International Band at the NME Awards, the band revealed they will be one of the headliners at this year’s Glastonbury Festival in England. The Foos have never headlined the major festival but have played there as early as 1998. 

Read more @ jambands.com

Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson Undergoing Cancer Treatment (UCR)

Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson has spent the early weeks of 2015 undergoing treatment for a cancerous tumor...  


Read More of Jeff Giles' article @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson Undergoing Cancer Treatment 

On the turntable this Sunday...Run the Jewels 2

Run the Jewels 2 is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Killer Mike and El-P, collectively known as Run the Jewels. The album was released early for free on October 24, 2014 and the following day on iTunes. It was made available on CD and LP through Mass Appeal Records on October 28, 2014, although some retailers sold physical copies early. It has been praised by music critics for its layered and darker production, the chemistry between El-P and Killer Mike, and guest contributions. 

On September 2, 2014, Run the Jewels released a song titled "Blockbuster Night, Pt. 1", as the album's first single. On September 15, 2014, Run the Jewels released "Oh My Darling Don't Cry", the second offering from the album. "Oh My Darling Don't Cry", was later released on September 30, 2014, via digital distribution, as the album's second single.

In 2015, a remix album is scheduled to be released through Fool's Gold. In addition to the traditional remix album, El-P plans on releasing a remix album titled Meow the Jewels, featuring beats created entirely from cat sounds. Other producers, such as Just Blaze, Prince Paul, The Alchemist, Geoff Barrow, Dan the Automator, Boots and more will contribute to the project. The creation of this album was funded through Kickstarter, with part of the proceeds going to charity.

Randall Roberts of the Los Angeles Times stated, "Run the Jewels is the team of two indie titans, El-P and Killer Mike, who have upended convention by remaining idealistically true, artistically adventurous and creatively emboldened well into their second decade as rapper-producers. The pair's second album, released as a free download last week, proves it 11 times over." Al Horner of NME said, "Cranking the urgency and confrontation of last year's self-titled debut to neck-breaking levels of intensity, RTJ2 is an urgent, paranoid album for a violent, panicked time. It's a bleak future Run The Jewels envision for America, but as long as Mike and El-P are collaborating, at least the future of hip-hop is in safe hands."^[16] Rolling Stone named RTJ2 the "Best Rap Album of 2014", noting that "the appeal is still in their giddy disses, labyrinthine boasts, alliteration, bravado, alpha male antics — basically the stuff that Killer Mike and El-P enjoyed about rap in 1989."  Run the Jewels 2 received widespread acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 89, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 35 reviews. Pat Levy of Consequence of Sound said, "An album like RTJ2 is rare. Decades from now, this album may just be revered as one of the best hip-hop records of our era, the total synchronicity of two talented artists reaching the apex of their prime." James Rainis of Slant Magazine stated, "RTJ2 is the rare sequel that bests the beloved original in almost every facet."  Dan Rys of XXL said, "For people looking for soulful, melodic hip-hop, this is not the album to pick up. Neither is it one for the kids who just want to repeat two words over and over again and call it a hook while jumping up and down and punching the air repeatedly. When listening to RTJ 2, those feelings are translated into punches aimed at faces instead of spaces, and they always connect. The beats are grimy—typical of an El-P-produced project—and add even more grit to an album that doesn't ooze confidence so much as shoves you in the chest with it."

Nikki Sixx, Michael McDonald Blast Kayne West's Grammy Actions

The hits keep coming for Kanye West, and not the Billboard kind.
Nikki Sixx has taken the hip-hop star to task on the issue of respecting artistry, a key element of West’s controversial Grammy-night complaints about Beck‘s best-album win, while Doobie Brothers star Michael McDonald is questioning whether West has any talent in the first place. 





Read More @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Nikki Sixx, Michael McDonald Blast Kanye West’s Grammy Actions 

True Myth: A Conversation With Sufjan Stevens (Pitchfork)

After 15 years of translating his personal phantasmagorias through various ambitious musical styles, Sufjan Stevens does away with all of the pomp on Carrie & Lowell, a meditation on the grief surrounding his mother's death: "This is not my art project; this is my life." By Ryan Dombal. 

Please follow link to read Ryan Dombal's excellent interview @ Pitchfork

Faith No More Announce New Album ‘Sol Invictus,’ Tour (KROQ)

Legendary Bay Area rock band Faith No More are releasing a new album, their first since they dropped Album Of The Year in 1997. 

Their long in-the-works follow-up Sol Invictus will hit shelves on May 19.

Read More @ KROQ 106.7 FM

AC/DC Announce North American Tour Dates (Ultimate Classic Rock)

The dog days of summer 2015 will bring AC/DC‘s ‘Rock or Bust‘ tour to North America.
Continuing the string of dates they’d previously announced for Europe in the spring and early summer, the band has added 13 U.S. and Canadian stops to its itinerary, starting with an Aug. 22 show in Massachusetts and concluding with an appearance in Los Angeles on Sept. 28.  


Read More of Jeff Giles' article@ Ultimate Classic Rock: AC/DC Announce North American Tour Dates 

Paul McCartney, Miley Cyrus, Paul Simon Captivate at ‘SNL 40’ (Rolling Stone)

Music played a big part of SNL's 40th anniversary festivities Sunday night, starting with Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake opening song-and-dance number, which channeled years of famous catchphrases and characters. Kanye West also performed a medley of tunes — "Jesus Walks," "Only One" and "Wolves," — while Martin Short and Maya Rudolph (as Beyoncé) helmed a tribute to SNL's best musical-comedy moments, including Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer as Marty and Bobby Culp, and Bill Murray as lounge singer, Nick Ocean.

Read more of Jon Blistein's article @ Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news/paul-mccartney-miley-cyrus-paul-simon-captivate-at-snl-40-20150216#ixzz3Rwp7qEsl

The Replacements Announce Tour Dates (jambands.com)

The Replacements’ reunion tour will see the band break away from their festival show routine to play their own headlining shows beginning April 9 in Seattle, WA. 

Read full article @ jambands.com

The Replacements Tour Dates:
April 9 Seattle, WA—Paramount Theatre
April 10 Portland, OR—Crystal Ballroom
April 13 San Francisco, CA—The Masonic
April 16 Los Angeles, CA—Hollywood Palladium
April 19 Denver, CO—The Fillmore
April 29-30 Chicago, IL—The Riviera Theatre
May 2 Milwaukee, WI—Eagles Ballroom
May 3 Detroit, MI—The Fillmore
May 5 Pittsburgh, PA—Stage AE
May 6 Columbus, OH—LC Pavilion
May 8 Washington, DC—Echostage
May 9 Philadelphia, PA—Festival Pier
May 28-29 Barcelona, ESP—Primavera Sound
May 30 London, UK—Roundhouse
June 2 London, UK—Roundhouse

On the turntable this Sunday...Spilt Milk

Spilt Milk is an album released in 1993 by Jellyfish. 

The album contained the singles "The Ghost at Number One" (reached No. 9 on Billboard's Modern Rock Chart), "New Mistake" (which yielded a Japanese-only ten-song E.P.), "Joining a Fan Club" (covered ten years later by Puffy AmiYumi on an album written and produced by Andy Sturmer) and "Bye, Bye, Bye" (which almost appeared on Bellybutton). 

"He's My Best Friend" later appeared in the 1994 comedy Threesome and on its soundtrack. There were promotional videos for "The Ghost at Number One" and "New Mistake". "Joining A Fan Club" was also covered by Drake Bell in his video Drake Bell In Concert, where he performed in Mexico in 2008. Outtakes and B-Sides included "Family Tree", "Worthless Heart", and "Watchin' The Rain". The latter two are covers of Jellyfish's forerunners Beatnik Beatch's songs. 

Track listing

All songs written by Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. and Andy Sturmer, except where noted.

1. "Hush" – 2:10
2. "Joining a Fan Club" – 4:03
3. "Sebrina, Paste, and Plato" – 2:23
4. "New Mistake" – 4:03
5. "Glutton of Sympathy" – 3:49
6. "The Ghost at Number One" – 3:37
7. "Bye Bye Bye" – 4:02
8. "All Is Forgiven" – 4:10
9. "Russian Hill" (Sturmer) – 4:45
10. "He's My Best Friend" – 3:44
11. "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" – 3:15
12. "Brighter Day" – 6:12

Personnel

• Andy Sturmer: Vocals, Drums, Some Guitar, Keyboards & Producer.
• Roger Joseph Manning, Jr.: Keyboards, Piano, Vocals & Producer.
• Tim Smith: Bass, Vocals.

Additional personnel

• Lyle Workman - Guitars.
• Jon Brion - Guitars.
• Tom "T-Bone" Wolk - Bass.

Read more at Wikipedia. 

1. ^ Spilt Milk at AllMusic. Retrieved 2 May 2014.

Ultimate Classic Rock's Van Halen Albums, Ranked Worst to Best

Unlike most bands that have managed to stick around for decades, there’s no real consensus on the Van Halen catalog; for most fans, how you rank the band’s records has a lot to do with which side you’re on in the David Lee Roth vs. Sammy Hagar debate, and putting together a fair Worst to Best list that takes into account each lineup’s separate strengths is easier said than done.

Read More: Van Halen Albums, Ranked Worst to Best

D'Angelo Finds Redemption at Stunning Apollo Theater Show (Rolling Stone)

In 1991, a 16-year-old kid from Virginia named Michael Archer took the stage at Harlem's Apollo Theater. He was there to compete for a cash prize in the venue's famously tough Amateur Night contest – and he won, three nights in a row. Few audience members had come on purpose to see him, but they must have known they were witnessing something special... 

Read more of Simon Vozick-Levinson's article @ Rolling Stone : http://www.rollingstone.com/music/live-reviews/dangelo-finds-redemption-at-stunning-apollo-theater-show-20150209#ixzz3RMIKChlZ

Jack White, Beck, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen Honor Bob Dylan at MusiCares Ceremony (jambands.com)

On Friday night, Grammys weekend began with the MusiCares Person of the Year ceremony honoring this year’s recipient—Bob Dylan. An all-star cast of musicians gathered to pay tribute to the legendary singer-songwriter as the likes of Beck, Jack White, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi all took the stage to pay homage to Dylan. 

Read full article @ jambands.com

Van Halen Live Album Details Revealed (Ultimate Classic Rock)

Van Halen will release what the band is calling its “definitive live album” on March 31 — the same date they’re scheduled to begin a six-album remaster series with reissues of ‘Van Halen‘ and ‘1984.’ 


Read More of Jeff Giles' article @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Van Halen Live Album Details Revealed | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/van-halen-live-album-reissues/?trackback=tsmclip

Beck Responds to Kanye Grammy Diss (Rolling Stone)

Kanye West faked out the world during Sunday night's Grammys ceremony, bum-rushing the stage as a stunned Beck accepted his Album of the Year award for Morning Phase (which he won over Beyoncé's self-titled 2013 LP). 

Read more @ Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beck-responds-to-kanye-grammy-diss-i-thought-beyonce-was-going-to-win-20150209#ixzz3RHiFLj8X

Blitzen Trapper to Release Live Harvest LP, Cover Neil Young’s Harvest at Upcoming Shows (jambands.com)

Blitzen Trapper will release Live Harvest, an exclusive Record Store Day LP, on Saturday, April 18. The album was recorded over the course of two shows at Portland’s Dour Fir Lounge, during which the band performed Neil Young’s classic 1972 album Harvest in its entirety.  

Read full article @ jambands.com

On the turntable this Sunday..Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory

Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory, released in 1973, was the seventh album and sixth studio album by English rock band Traffic. It followed their 1971 album The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys and contained five songs. Shoot Out, while achieving poorer reviews than its predecessor, did reach number six on the Billboard Pop Albums chart, one space higher than Low Spark had peaked in 1972. Like its predecessor, the original jacket for the Shoot Out LP had its top right and bottom left corners clipped. The album was remastered for CD in 2003. 

Retrospective reviews were less forgiving, with Allmusic stating that both the compositions and the performances are uniformly weak, adding up to "a competent, if perfunctory effort in the band's familiar style", while Robert Christgau's review consisted of a single sentence followed by the note 'Giveaway: "(Sometimes I Feel So) Uninspired."' Rolling Stone had a subdued reaction, saying that most of the songs are too even-tempered and uniform in structure and tone, but that "Evening Blue" and "(Sometimes I Feel So) Uninspired" are high points. They summarized that the album "embodies the inconsistencies that beset the band as well as the high points that have kept Traffic moving."

Track listing:

All songs written by Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi unless otherwise indicated.

1. "Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory" – 6:05
2. "Roll Right Stones" – 13:40
3. "Evening Blue" – 5:19
4. "Tragic Magic" (Chris Wood) – 6:43
5. "(Sometimes I Feel So) Uninspired" – 7:31

Versions of the album

The original, full-length master of Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory was originally only heard on the original U.S. vinyl version. This was at a time when Island Records was an independent label and the album was manufactured and distributed by Capitol Records.
When Island's distribution deal with Capitol ended, Traffic submitted a revised master in which "Roll Right Stones" and "Uninspired" were remixed and faded out early.  "Uninspired" was shortened by about 15 seconds and "Roll Right Stones" by a full two minutes. This shortened master was used for all subsequent copies of the album until May 2003. With Island's 2003 remaster of the album, the original full-length versions of these songs finally became available on CD. LPs and CDs with the shortened versions of these songs falsely list the longer times for them.

Personnel:

• Steve Winwood – vocals, guitar, piano, organ
• Chris Wood – saxophone, flute
• Jim Capaldi – percussion, backing vocal on "Roll Right Stones"
• David Hood – bass Of The Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section
• Roger Hawkins – drums Of The Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section
• Rebop – percussion

Additional personnel:

• Barry Beckett – keyboards on "Tragic Magic" Of The Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section
• Jimmy Johnson – clarinet on "Tragic Magic" Of The Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section

• Tony Wright – cover art

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alice Cooper Offers to Chop Off Motley Crue's Heads (UCR)

Alice Cooper has hatched a novel plan for ending the last stop on Motley Crue‘s farewell tour.  

Cooper, who knows a thing or two about giving audiences a show to remember, sounds like he’s ready to reclaim his title as rock’s reigning guillotine enthusiast

Read More of Jeff Giles' article @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Alice Cooper Offers to Chop Off Motley Crue's Heads 

My Morning Jacket end hiatus in Mexico (jambands.com)

My Morning Jacket ended their year-long hiatus with a show last weekend in Mexico as their own One Big Holiday destination event kicked off. The band opened with a debut of “Ride Like the Wind” by Christopher Cross before rolling through many of their classics including “Off the Record” and “Evil Urges” as well as “It Beats 4 U.” 

Read full article and view the complete setlist @ jambands.com 

Music Industry Execs Sees Vinyl Rise as More 'Fad' Than 'Explosion' (Rolling Stone)

Last year's 52 percent jump in vinyl sales has been fantastic for record stores — "and growing more important by the day," Carl Mello, senior buyer for New England music chain Newbury Comics tells Rolling Stone — but the record industry isn't quite so enthusiastic. The vinyl explosion has been so pronounced that pressing plants can't keep up with demand, putting retailers in the awkward position of running out of hit LPs such as Taylor Swift's 1989, Sam Smith's In the Lonely Hour and even Jack White's Lazaretto, which sold more than 86,000 copies and was 2014's best-selling vinyl album.Read more of Steve Knopper's article @ Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/music-industry-execs-sees-vinyl-rise-as-more-fad-than-explosion-20150130#ixzz3QbPhLzqw

Jack White Performs With Q-Tip, Run the Jewels Bring Out Zack de la Rocha in New York (Pitchfork)

Last Friday night, Jack White performed at Madison Square Garden, and during the show, he was joined by an unexpected special guest. Q-Tip joined White to perform the Lazaretto track “That Black Bat Licorice” and A Tribe Called Quest’s “Excursions”.  

Read more of Evan Minsker's article @ Pitchfork

Watch the Black Keys' Scorching 'Austin City Limits' Set (Rolling Stone)

Austin City Limits' stellar 40th season continued Saturday night with a scorching set from the Black Keys, with the Akron, Ohio outfit performing six songs for their ACL episode: "Your Touch," "Lonely Boy," "Weight of Love," "Fever," Gotta Get Away" and "Little Black Submarine." 


Read more of Daniel Kreps' Article @ Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/watch-the-black-keys-scorching-austin-city-limits-set-20150201#ixzz3QbO9efxq

Watch the Foo Fighters Cover Rush’s ‘Tom Sawyer’ and Other Classic Rock Favorites

The Foo Fighters rocked out to Rush‘s ‘Tom Sawyer’ during their performance at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium over the weekend. Recorded in the round, the muscular cover is part of a two-and-a-half hour concert that included other notable classic rock favorites too. You can watch the video above.

Read More of Nick DeRiso's article @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Watch the Foo Fighters Cover Rush's 'Tom Sawyer' and Other Classic Rock Favorites

On the turntable this Sunday...Rip It Up

Rip It Up is the second album released by Scottish post-punk band Orange Juice. It was released in 1982. This album contains their hit song of the same name, which reached the Top 10.  

Track listing:

1. "Rip It Up" – 5:19 (Edwyn Collins/David McClymont/Malcolm Ross/Zeke Manyika)
2. "A Million Pleading Faces" – 3:14 (Manyika)
3. "Mud in Your Eye" – 3:56 (Collins)
4. "Turn Away" – 3:19 (Ross)
5. "Breakfast Time" – 5:10 (Collins)
6. "I Can't Help Myself" – 5:05 (Collins/McClymont)
7. "Flesh of My Flesh" – 3:15 (Collins)
8. "Louise Louise" – 2:51 (Collins)
9. "Hokoyo" – 5:06 (Collins/McClymont/Ross/Manyika/Zop Cormorant)
10. "Tenterhook" – 5:01 (Collins)
11. "Tongues Begin To Wag" - 4:14 (Collins/McClymont/Ross/Manyika) (1998 Reissue bonus track)
12. "Barbecue" - 4:48 (Collins/McClymont/Ross/Manyika) (1998 Reissue bonus track)
13. "Flesh Of My Flesh (7" version)" - 3:16 (Collins) (1998 Reissue bonus track)

Personnel:

• Edwyn Collins – guitar, vocals, violin, songwriting
• Malcolm Ross – guitar, vocals, keyboards, songwriting
• David McClymont – bass guitar, keyboards
• Zeke Manyika – drums, vocals, percussion, songwriting