Classic Hits

U2 is celebrating the 20th anniversary of their 11th studio album, How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, with what they’re calling a “shadow album,” featuring songs from the original album’s recording sessions. 

Dubbed How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb, the album features 10 previously unreleased tracks from the band’s archive, including two newly released songs, “Country Mile” and “Picture of You (X+Y),” which are available now via digital outlets.

“The sessions for How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb were such a creative period for the band, we were exploring so many song ideas in the studio,” guitarist The Edge shares. “For this anniversary edition I went into my personal archive to see if there were any unreleased gems and I hit the jackpot.” 

He adds, “What you’re getting on this shadow album is that raw energy of discovery, the visceral impact of the music, a sonic narrative, a moment in time, the exploration and interaction of four musicians playing together in a room… this is the pure U2 drop.” 

The standalone How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb will be released Nov. 29 as an exclusive for Record Store Day Black Friday, along with a digital release. 

In addition to the shadow album, U2 will release a special 20th anniversary remastered edition of How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, featuring the bonus track “Fast Car.” They’ll also release a package with the remaster and the shadow album together, dubbed How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (Re-Assemble Edition). Both will be released Nov. 22. 

The track listing for How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb is:
“Picture Of You (X+W)”
“Evidence Of Life”
“Luckiest Man In The World”
“Treason”
“I Don’t Wanna See You Smile”
“Country Mile”
“Happiness”
“Are We Gonna Wait Forever?”
“Theme From The Batman”
“All Because Of You 2”

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This year marks the 50th anniversary of the American Music Awards, and a special celebrating the milestone on Oct. 6 features plenty of big-name acts. 

Mariah Carey will make an appearance to celebrate the 20th anniversary of her album The Emancipation of Mimi by performing a medley of hits, while Chaka Khan will sing “I’m Every Woman.” Gladys Knight, who performed on the first AMAs in 1974, will sing her classic “Midnight Train to Georgia,” and Jennifer Hudson will perform a tribute to the late Whitney Houston. 

The legendary James Brown will be remembered with a tribute by British singer RAYE, who’ll perform the classic “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World.” The performance will be part of a segment highlighting the American Music Award of Merit, which over the years has been presented to Brown, Prince, Billy Joel, Annie Lennox, Whitney Houston and more.

Other artists announced for the show include Gloria Estefan, Green Day, Jennifer Lopez and country stars Carrie Underwood, Kane Brown and Brad Paisley.

The American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special will air Oct. 6 on CBS at 8 p.m. ET and will stream on Paramount+.

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On This Day, Sept. 26, 1979 …

U2 made their recording debut with the release of a three-song EP, aptly titled Three.

The release featured the songs “Out of Control” and “Stories for Boys,” which were both later rerecorded for their debut album, Boy. The other song on the release was the B-side “Boy/Girl.” 

U2, of course, went on to huge success, releasing 14 studio albums and selling over 150 million records worldwide. They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.

Three was later reissued in November 2019 as part of Record Store Day Black Friday, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of its original release.

U2’s last release was 2023’s Songs of Surrender, which featured reworked versions of previously released songs. They have reportedly been working on a new album, which frontman Bono has described as a “an unreasonable guitar record.”

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Patti Smith will be celebrated with an upcoming tribute concert in New York City.

People Have the Power – A Celebration of Patti Smith is set to take place March 26 at Carnegie Hall. The show is the latest in a series of charity concerts put on by New York City entrepreneur Michael Dorf, with each one celebrating a different artist. 

The concert, which marks the 20th anniversary of Dorf’s Carnegie Hall series, is happening the same year Smith will celebrate the 50th anniversary of her debut album, Horses.

Proceeds from the concert go toward music education for underserved youth.

“Celebrating two decades of the Music Of series at Carnegie Hall with the songbook of the iconic Patti Smith fills me with immense pride and gratitude,” Dorf shares. “Over the years, this series has not only honored the legends of music but has also played a crucial role in supporting music education for countless young people.”

A lineup for the concert has yet to be announced. VIP tickets are on sale at musicof.org.

Since the series launch in 2004, the concerts have raised over $2 million for charity. Other artists who’ve received such tributes include Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, R.E.M. and last year, Crosby Stills & Nash.

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Thursday marks the 50th anniversary of John Lennon’s fifth solo album, Walls and Bridges, which went to #1 and features “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night,” Lennon’s first U.S. #1 as a solo artist, and his only solo song to top the chart in his lifetime.

The album was recorded during Lennon’s “lost weekend,” the 18-month period in which he was separated from wife Yoko Ono and was in a relationship with his assistant May Pang.

Pang tells ABC Audio that Walls and Bridges was one of John’s “proudest moments,” not only because of the #1 single, but because “he did it all in eight weeks from start to finish.” She noted he was “jumping around” when he finished the record and handed it in. 

Pang appears on the album’s second single “#9 Dream,” which was a top 10 hit. She can be heard whispering John’s name in the song, although fans probably didn’t think it was her.

“To this day, people didn’t realize it was me,” she said. “Because you had the natural assumption, of course, (it’s) Yoko.” 

And while “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night,” which featured Elton John on backing vocals and piano, did top the chart, Lennon wasn’t so confident it would get there.

During the recording of the tune, Elton bet Lennon the song would go to #1, with Lennon agreeing to join him onstage if it did. After losing the best, Lennon made a guest appearance at Elton’s Nov. 28, 1974, concert at Madison Square Garden, performing “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night,” and The Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There” and “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.” He also played tambourine on Elton’s encore of “The Bitch is Back.”

The concert would wind up being Lennon’s last major concert appearance.

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Albums by artists including Stevie Nicks, Deep Purple, The Doobie Brothers and Foreigner are being reissued on vinyl in celebration of Rhino’s Rocktober campaign.

Among the titles getting the reissue treatment are Nicks’ In Your Dreams, Deep Purple’s Machine Head, The Doobie Brothers’ Toulouse Street and What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits and Foreigner’s Head Games.

Also available will be albums by Black Sabbath, Devo, Fleetwood Mac, INXS, The Stooges, Stone Temple Pilots, Third Eye Blind, Twisted Sister, Whitesnake, Ronnie Wood, Ramones, Velvet Underground,  The Cars, The Monkees, Foghat and Yes.

Rhino’s Rocktober begins Oct. 4, and will also feature releases on Oct. 18 and Oct. 25. For more info, visit Rhino.com.

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The Bangles’ Susanna Hoffs is getting ready to release a new old album.

The singer will drop the archival album The Lost Record on Oct. 18, which she recorded in her garage back in 1999 but never released. It features songs she wrote and recorded with a variety of artists, including the Go-Go’s Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin.

Hoffs describes the recording of the album as a “sweet, special period of being home with a new baby, but also an exploration of identity, separate from the Bangles.”

She adds, “It’s an immense thrill to finally be able to share rare recordings that have been near and dear to my heart.”

The first single from the album is “Under a Cloud,” which was eventually released by the Bangles in 2011. It is available now via digital outlets. 

The Lost Record is available for preorder now on limited-edition vinyl and CD.

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Heart’s Ann Wilson has given fans a health update, the first time she’s talked about her condition since announcing in July she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy after doctors removed something cancerous from her body.

“Now I know lots of you have been wondering how I have been doing so I thought it’d be best if you heard it straight from me,” she said in audio posted to social media. “I’m doing absolutely fine now, but it’s been, to put it mildly, a lot.” 

“Chemo is no joke. It takes a lot out of a person. And then there’s that two weeks of waiting around for test results, a form of mental torture,” she added. “Luckily for me when the results finally came they were the good kind!”

Wilson said she’s now done with chemo and is focusing on getting ready for Heart’s rescheduled tour in 2025, although she says she’ll have to deal with some maintenance. But, “I’m told the side effects are much less severe.”

“The worst is over and I’m thankful for the efficacy of the poison – but it’s more than welcome to get the f*** out of my body now,” she said.

Finally she thanked those who “prayed and sent me those good vibes,” noting, “I’ve so felt your love.”

“My story has a happy ending due in part to early detection. My advice? Get checked regularly,” she added.

“I love you all and I’ll see you very very soon,” she concluded her message. “There’s much to celebrate.”

Wilson’s health forced the postponement of Heart’s 2024 Royal Flush tour. The band recently announced the rescheduled dates for the trek, which will now kick off in February. A complete list of dates can be found at heart-music.com.

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Paul Simon hasn’t performed live all that much since revealing he lost his hearing, but he took the stage Monday night in New York for The Soho Sessions, which was a fundraiser for the Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss. 

According to setlist.fm, Simon performed a seven-song set: “Mrs. Robinson,” “Slip Slidin’ Away,” “Mother and Child Reunion,” “Me and Julio Down By The School Yard,” “Homeward Bound,” “The Boxer” and “Sound of Silence.”

The New York Post reports that Simon had a bit of help during “Me and Julio Down By The School Yard,” when former Yankees centerfielder/jazz guitarist Bernie Williams joined in on the song’s whistling solo.

The paper notes that Simon then handed Williams $17 for payment, joking it was all he had with him.

Simon revealed in May 2023 that he had lost hearing in his left ear, making it difficult for him play. In March, he shared that his hearing had returned enough to make him feel comfortable singing and playing guitar again.

He has since performed the occasional song, including “Graceland” at a White House state dinner in April and “Your Forgiveness,” from his most recent album, Seven Psalms, on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, in March.

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Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde is one of the artists booked to perform at a tribute concert for the late Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan.

The concert, Mark Lanegan – A Celebration, is set to take place Dec. 5 at the Roundhouse in London, about a week after what would’ve been the rocker’s 60th birthday. 

In addition to Hynde, the lineup includes Queens of the Stone Age‘s Josh Homme, Depeche Mode‘s Dave Gahan, The Afghan Whigs‘ Greg Dulli, The Kills‘ Alison Mosshart and Primal Scream‘s Bobby Gillespie.

Tickets to the tribute go on sale Oct. 1 via MyTicket.co.uk.

Lanegan died in February 2022 at age 57.

Pretenders are currently on a European tour and play Cologne, Germany, on Wednesday. A complete list of dates can be found at thepretenders.com.

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