Classic Hits

Queen is back with the latest installment in their weekly YouTube series Queen The Greatest Live, and this week they’re delving into what goes into creating a great set list for a show.

“Set lists are a very interesting case. You have all these songs and everything and what is the optimum way to put them across?” guitarist Brian May shares. “Do you just go in there and randomly work your way through where you can and that’s how everybody starts. But wouldn’t it be nice if you can take the audience on a journey and optimize the mood that happens?”

May adds that for Queen, their philosophy has always been to “come on big, give them what they’ve been waiting for.” 

“They’re full of adrenaline. They want to rock hard, hard, hard,” he says. “So the first two or three songs hit them hard in different ways, different tempos, different kind of atmospheres, but all hard rock.”

After going hard out of the gate, Roger Taylor says it gives them the freedom to “meander all over the place with different styles of stuff,” including their infamous acoustic sets on a B-stage, before coming back and building up to a huge end with songs like “The Show Must Go On,” “Radio Gaga,” “We Will Rock You,” and “We Are the Champions.“

Notes Taylor, “I think we like to send our audiences home feeling they’ve had a real experience.”

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The Police made their fans very happy when they reunited for a huge tour in 2007 and 2008. The tour wound up being the third highest-grossing tour at the time, which certainly makes reuniting an appealing idea for bands.

So, would Sting recommend other bands do it? “Once,” he tells the British publication Music Week with a laugh. “You should do it once and the timing should be right. When The Police reunited it had been long enough and it was the right time to do it. “

Sting takes full credit for the decision to reunite with his bandmates Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers, but don’t expect it to ever happen again. “Doing it again would just be gratuitous and that won’t happen,” he says. “But we did it, and everyone was happy that mum and dad got back together again and had one last fling.” 

While Sting says he and his bandmates “still love each other and respect each other,” he notes, “I’m happy not to be in a band.” He says they “didn’t even try” to make new music during the time of the reunion, noting “it was, what’s the word, nostalgia, with recreating that thing for a short time.”

At 71 some may wonder how much longer Sting plans to perform, but it doesn’t sound like he’s ready to slow down. He notes, “I’m not wearing a corset or anything. As long as I can get into my rock star pants, I’ll be fine.”

Next up for Sting, he’ll be honored as a Fellow of the Ivors Academy at the Ivor Awards on May 18 in London. He’ll then kick off a European tour in Bilbao, Spain, on June 1. A complete list of dates can be found at Sting.com.

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Here’s something every Bob Dylan fan will want to get their hands on.

Callaway Arts & Entertainment just announced a new comprehensive book, Bob Dylan: Mixing Up The Medicine, described as “a richly illustrated book that is the first panoramic look at” the Bob Dylan Archive, which is currently housed in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The 608-page book features close to 1,000 images, many of which have never been seen by the public. There’s also Dylan draft lyrics, writings, drawings and more, along with essays from writers and artists who were asked to pick an item from the archive that inspires them and write about it.

“This is the long-awaited book that Dylan fans have been dreaming of since the 1960s, and it introduces the full scope of this artist’s monumental creativity and achievements to a new generation,” Nicholas Callaway shares. “This is a book for the ages.”

The book is being done in cooperation with the Bob Dylan Archive, with Mark Davidson, its curator and director, who wrote and edited the book with archivist Parker Fishel, noting it “is unlike any book on Bob Dylan ever produced.”

Bob Dylan: Mixing Up The Medicine will be released October 24.

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Steve Perry is one of the many artists set to appear on Dolly Parton’s upcoming rock record, Rockstar, collaborating with the icon on the Journey classic “Open Arms.”

In a post on Facebook, Perry expressed how “thrilled” he is about the excitement surrounding the record, noting, “I have been a Dolly Parton fan for years and years and to sing one of my songs with her was truly a thrill.” 

He adds, “When I first got the track I could not believe how strong and amazing her voice was. I did my very best to keep up with that girl, but boy she’s got fire! And to quote her on my telephone she said ‘I think we harmonize well together, don’t you?’ And I said ‘Absolutely my dear. Absolutely.'”

Dolly’s Rockstar will be released November 17. In addition to Perry, it features a whole host of rock stars, including Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Steven Tyler, Elton John and Stevie Nicks. It is available for preorder now.

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A Bob Marley classic has returned to the top of the charts, and it’s all because of the hit Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso.

Billboard reports that the Marley and The Wailers classic “Three Little Birds” is number one on the Top TV Songs chart, after appearing in sixth episode of Lasso‘s current third season.

The episode focused on AFC Richmond and company’s free night in Amsterdam and ends with Rebecca, played by Hannah Waddingham, launching into the song, sparking a team singalong. The inclusion of the song resulted in 9.6 million on-demand U.S. streams, as well as 4,000 new downloads last month. 

And that’s not the only song Ted Lasso has helped return to the chart. The Peter, Paul & Mary song “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” lands on the same chart at 10, thanks to its appearance in the fourth episode.

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Last year, Rod Stewart made headlines when he rented a house near his home in England in order to put a roof over the heads of a Ukrainian family of refugees. Now he’s thinking of taking in a second family.

After the war in Ukraine started, Rod and his nephews organized a convoy of trucks to bring much-needed supplies to the border and to bring back a number of refugees. He was then put in contact with a different group of refugees — a family of seven who’d escaped the war and had made it to the U.K. He rented them a house, and has pledged to pay their rent and bills for a year. On top of that, he found jobs for two other refugees on his estate.

Now, Rod tells the Las Vegas Review Journal that he’s considering building another house just so he can take in a second family. “I’m just waiting for the Ukrainian offensive to stop this guy,” Rod says, referring to Vladimir Putin. “We can’t let him win. It’s 1939, all over again.”

During his Las Vegas shows at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Rod wears a blue and yellow suit, the colors of the Ukrainian flag, and dedicates his hit “Rhythm of My Heart” to the people of Ukraine.

Rod recently played his 182nd show in Las Vegas, which he says is more than he’s done in any other city. However, for now he’s refraining from kicking his signature soccer balls into the audience — not only because people fight over them, but occasionally people get injured by them.

“I’ve got one or two lawsuits,” he admits.

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Otis Redding passed away in 1967, but his music lives on. The four Redding albums released after his death are about to come out in a new vinyl box set, along with a compilation of the albums’ 24 singles in Mono.

The limited edition Otis Forever: The Albums & Singles (1968-1970) will be released June 9 as a multicolored set, with The Dock of the Bay on yellow vinyl, The Immortal Otis Redding in silver, Love Man in green, To Tell The Truth in blue and The Singles in yellow. Only 1,000 copies are being produced and sold through Rhino.com. There will also be a six-LP black vinyl set released to retailers.

In addition, fans will be able to purchase The Singles 1968-1970 as a standalone double album. It will include such songs as “(Sittin’ On )The Dock Of The Bay,” “The Happy Song (Dum-Dum),” “Hard To Handle” and more.

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Grateful Dead fans are getting their first peek at the band’s upcoming 11th annual Meet-Up At The Movies screening.

This year’s screening highlights the band’s June 22, 1991, concert at Chicago’s Soldier Field, the first time they ever played the venue. A just-released clip of the concert shows them performing the In The Dark track “Hell in a Bucket.”

The concert features the Dead’s Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, along with Bruce Hornsby and Vince Welnick on keyboards, taking the place of Brent Mydland, who had passed away a year earlier. It features performances of such songs as “Shakedown Street,” “Playing In The Band” and “Terrapin Station.”

This year’s Meet-Up At The Movies will screen in select theaters worldwide on June 22 and 24. Tickets are on sale now.

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Lionel Richie is going on vacation in November — and he wants you to join him.

The American Idol judge has announced a destination festival event dubbed Dancing on the Sand, which will take place at Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas from November 30 to December 3. Joining him will be Sheryl Crow, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Vanessa Carlton and country star Megan Moroney.

A fan club presale for the event starts May 16; another presale starts May 18 at 10 a.m. ET at dancingonthesand.com. The general onsale date is May 19.

In addition to concerts by all the artists involved, fans will get to attend a hosted conversation with Lionel and exclusive pool parties, one of which is an ’80s-inspired bash. There are also VIP packages, one of which includes a meet-and-greet photo op with Lionel and Sheryl.

In a statement, Lionel says, “I’m beyond excited to spend the weekend with my fans beachside in the Bahamas later this year … so this party will be going All Night Long!”

This is the third live event that Lionel has announced for 2023. Starting August 4, he’ll hit the road with Earth, Wind & Fire for the Sing A Song All Night Long tour. From October 11-21, he’ll be performing his all-new headlining show Lionel Richie: King of Hearts at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas.

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Pete Townshend‘s solo catalog is the latest to get the reissue treatment on half speed mastered vinyl.

The first two releases in the series are Rough Mix, Pete’s 1977 collaboration with late Small Faces bass player Ronnie Lane, and his 1980 solo album Empty Glass. Both will be available June 23 but can be preordered now.

Both albums have been mastered on limited edition black vinyl by noted producer and engineer Jon Astley, who’s also Pete’s former brother-in-law. The half speed mastering technique produces superior quality vinyl LPs. The albums have also been repackaged in their original sleeves; Empty Glass also comes with a 12-by-24-inch poster.

Rough Mix, whose best known track is “My Baby Gives It Away,” was recorded during The Who‘s hiatus after their 1976 tour. It features contributions from The Who’s John Entwistle, as well as Eric Clapton, who co-wrote the track “Annie,” and The Rolling Stones‘ Charlie Watts.

In addition to compositions by Townshend and Lane, the album features a cover of country star Don Williams‘ 1976 #1 hit “Til All the Rivers Run Dry.”

Empty Glass features one of Townshend’s biggest solo hits, “Let My Love Open the Door,” as well as the classic rock staple “Rough Boys.” Its songs were inspired by what Townshend was going through at the time, including substance abuse, problems in his marriage and his sadness over the 1978 death of Who drummer Keith Moon.

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