Classic Hits

R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe has contributed a track to a compilation paying tribute to The Velvet Underground and Nico‘s legendary 1967 self-titled debut album.

The record, titled I’ll Be Your Mirror, will be released September 24, and features new versions of The Velvet Underground & Nico‘s 11 songs recorded by various artists. Stipe’s contribution is a rendition of the album’s lead track, “Sunday Morning.”

I’ll Be Your Mirror is available for pre-order now. In advance of the album’s arrival, you can listen to indie-rocker Kurt Vile‘s version of “Run Run Run” now via digital outlets.

The Velvet Underground & Nico was initially a flop, but later came to be considered one of the best records of all time, as well as a massive influence on the what would become punk rock and alternative rock. Even if you’ve never actually heard the album by the Lou Reed-fronted band, you’d surely know it by its iconic Andy Warhol-designed cover artwork, featuring a partially peeled banana on a white background.

Other artists featured on I’ll Be Your Mirror include Iggy Pop, St. Vincent, Sonic Youth‘s Thurston Moore, Primal Scream‘s Bobby Gillespie, Courtney Barnett and  The National‘s Matt Berninger.

Here’s the full track list:

“Sunday Morning” — Michael Stipe
“I’m Waiting for the Man” — Matt Berninger
“Femme Fatale” — Sharon Van Etten
“Venus in Furs” — Andrew Bird & Lucius
“Run Run Run” — Kurt Vile
“All Tomorrow’s Parties” — St. Vincent & Thomas Bartlett
“Heroin” — Thurston Moore feat. Bobby Gillespie
“There She Goes Again” — King Princess
“I’ll Be Your Mirror” — Courtney Barnett
“The Black Angel’s Death Song” — Fontaines D.C.
“European Son” — Iggy Pop & Matt Sweeney

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Ex-Creedence Clearwater Revival drummer Doug “Cosmo” Clifford has debuted the title track from an upcoming album of previously unreleased archival recordings called For All the Money in the World that he made in 1986 with late Greg Kihn Band bassist Steve Wright.

The upbeat pop-rock song got its premiere Tuesday on The Aquarian Weekly‘s official website and is available now as a digital download and via streaming services.

The For All the Money in the World album is the first in a series of archival project Clifford is planning to release via his new CliffSongs Records label under the Cosmo’s Vaults moniker.

It features 11 tracks co-written by Clifford and Wright, and boasts contributions from a variety of guest musicians, including guitar-whiz Joe Satriani, as well as keyboardist Pat Mosca and guitarists Jimmy Lyon and Greg Douglass, all of whom played with The Greg Kihn Band around that time. Lead vocals were handled by a singer named Keith England.

Speaking to The Aquarian Weekly about the newly released single, Clifford notes, “‘For All the Money in the World’ has a very nice uptempo groove and it’s a love song, as well.”

Regarding the album in general, Doug says, “It’s a rock ‘n’ roll album, that’s for sure, but it covers many different [rock] genres.”

Wright, who died in 2017, co-wrote many Greg Kihn Band songs, including their two biggest hits — “The Breakup Song (They Don’t Write ‘Em)” and “Jeopardy.” He and Clifford both grew up in the same California town, El Cerrito, and had known each other since they were young, before finally collaborating together during the ’80s.

For All the Money in the World will be released on August 27, and can be pre-ordered now.

Here’s the album’s track list:

“For All the Money in the World”
“I Need Your Love”
“She Told Me So”
“Lost Pride Fever”
“I See Your Silhouette”
“Real Love”
“You Keep Runnin’ Away”
“Just in the Nick of Time”
“Weekends”
“Lonesome Boy”
“You’re Gonna Love Again”

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Andy Summers recently announced that he’ll be publishing his first book of short stories, Fretted and Moaning, in August.  The Police guitarist has now revealed that he’ll also be releasing a new solo album in the coming months.

Summers tells ABC Audio that the album is a collection of “beautiful” instrumentals called Harmonics of the Night that he’s planning to release in October.

“[A]ctually, I’ve had this around for a while,” the 78-year-old Rock & Hall of Famer notes. “I made this record actually about 18 months ago. Everything got so crazy [because of the pandemic], we couldn’t get it out. Anyway, I’ve got a lot of help now, so it is coming out.”

In addition, Summers says he will be doing “a big photography show,” also called “Harmonics of the Night,” at the Leica Gallery in London.

“[T]he idea is that [all] the pictures in the show…sort of reflect the album,” he explains. “So, everything is going along nicely together…So, you know, lots of energy there.”

Back in 2019, Summers did a multimedia show called “A Certain Strangeness” that featured him playing guitar to accompany a presentation of photos he took that appeared in his 2019 photography book of the same name.

Andy tells ABC Audio that he’d like to do more shows like that once he’s able to tour again.

“That show [was] just me on stage…with my sophisticated guitar equipment that makes all sorts of amazing sounds,” he points out. “And we project on a…full-sized cinema screen…various photographic sequences. It’s all very exotic and lovely.” 

As previously reported, Fretted and Moaning will be released on August 19. You can pre-order three different editions of the book now at Rocket88Books.com and AndySummersBook.com.

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Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who, a 2007 documentary that takes a career-spanning look at the legendary British band, is available to stream for the first time via Amazon Prime’s music-themed streaming service The Coda Collection.

The film features in-depth interviews with The Who‘s surviving original members — singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist/songwriter Pete Townshend — as well as rare footage, live performance clips and segments examining various facets of the band’s music and history.

Amazing Journey, which was directed by Murray Lerner and Paul Crowder, also includes interviews with some of The Who’s famous musical friends and fans, among them Sting, U2‘s The Edge, Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder, Oasis‘ Noel Gallagher, and Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols.

The doc covers The Who’s connection to the U.K.’s 1960s mod scene, the band’s penchant for destroying their instruments on stage, their landmark 1969 rock opera Tommy, the untimely deaths of drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle, Daltrey and Townshend’s complex relationship, and the band’s historic 2001 performance at The Concert for New York benefit.

Daltrey says of the documentary, “It’s not easy to capture in film the power and energy of any rock band, especially the four characters that made up The Who, the brilliance of Pete Townshend’s music, and the magic that happened between Pete, John, Keith and myself. But Who fans tell me Amazing Journey does just that.”

A companion film to the doc, Amazing Journey: Six Quick Ones, which features six mini-documentaries offering an extended look at The Who’s four band members, also has premiered as part of The Coda Collection.

The Coda Collection is available to Amazon Prime members for $4.99 a month. A seven-day free trial also is offered.

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Carlos Santana has lent his guitar talents to “She’s Fire,” a track from acclaimed songwriter Diane Warren‘s forthcoming debut studio album, Diane Warren: The Cave Sessions Vol. 1.

The song, which features vocals by hitmaking rapper G-Eazy, is available now as a digital download and via streaming services. In addition, a lyric video for the tune has been posted at Warren’s official YouTube channel.

“It is an honor to co-join with Diane Warren and G-Eazy on ‘She’s Fire,'” Santana says in a statement. “Diane has an incredible gift, vision-awareness-ability to paint a picture to transport the listener to a place of emotion and passion. Her lyrics and arrangements are a part of the world’s musical tapestry and should be forever cherished.”

Adds Warren, “I’m so excited for everyone to hear ‘She’s Fire!!’ To be able to work with Carlos Santana has always been a dream of mine…I expected [the song] to be great, and it turned out even better than I imagined, pure fire.”

As previously reported, The Cave Sessions Vol. 1 is due out this year, and also features guest appearances by Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige, Hootie & the Blowfish‘s Darius Rucker, John Legend and many others.

Warren released another advance track in November 2020 called “Times Like These” that features vocals by Rucker.

Diane’s long list of credits and achievements include nine number-one hits and 32 top-10 singles. Among the hits she’s composed are Aerosmith‘s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” Starship‘s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” Cher‘s “If I Could Turn Back Time,” Toni Braxton‘s “Unbreak My Heart,” and LeAnn Rimes‘ “How Do I Live.”

Santana recently told ABC Audio that Warren has written two songs that will appear on his band’s next album, Blessing and Miracles.

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David Byrne’s American Utopia, the Spike Lee-directed TV special presenting former Talking Heads singer David Byrne‘s critically acclaimed Broadway show of the same name, will vie for honors in six categories at the 2021 primetime Emmy Awards.

The program, which premiered on HBO and HBO Max in October 2020, has been nominated for trophies for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded), Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, Outstanding Musical Direction, and in three technical categories.

The American Utopia show features Byrne accompanied by 11 musicians, dancers and singers who move freely about an almost-empty stage. The production includes monologues by David connecting performances of songs from his 2018 American Utopia album, as well as Talking Heads songs and several other Byrne solo tunes.

The TV shows receiving the most Emmy nods this year are Netflix’s The Crown and the Disney+ Star Wars series The Mandalorian, which both scored 24 nominations.

You can find the full list of nominees at Emmys.com.

The 73rd Emmys will be held live and in person on Sunday, September 19, airing at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

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Global Citizen Live, a 24-hour live broadcast on Saturday, September 25, will feature performances from many of the music world’s top stars, including Duran Duran and Green Day.

The broadcast will be filmed across six continents, with a goal of uniting the world in order to defeat poverty and defend the planet.  It’ll air on ABC, ABC News Live, FX, Hulu, YouTube, Twitter and more.  The musical performances will take place at “iconic locations” in New York, Paris, London, Seoul, Los Angeles, Sydney and Rio de Janeiro.

Other artists on the bill include Adam Lambert, Alessia Cara, Andrea Bocelli, Billie Eilish, BTS, Coldplay, Demi Lovato, Ed Sheeran, Keith Urban, Lorde, Metallica, Ricky Martin, Usher and The Weeknd.

The broadcast is part of Global Citizen’s Recovery Plan for the World in the wake of the pandemic. It calls on governments, the private sector and philanthropists to donate one billion COVID-19 vaccine, contribute $6 billion to famine relief efforts, donate $400 million to education, give $250 million to support COVID-19 response efforts for marginalized communities, and get the world’s biggest companies to commit to reaching net zero emissions to fight climate change.

“COVID-19 has drastically reversed the progress toward achieving the United Nations’ Global Goals, pushing upwards of 160 million people back into extreme poverty,” said Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans. “There are now more than 40 million people on the brink of famine. Progress on climate change has halted, as the majority of the Fortune 500 fail to set science-based carbon reduction targets. We must rectify the damage done and hold world leaders and businesses accountable for ensuring that the entire world recovers from this pandemic together.”

Visit GlobalCitizen.org for more information.

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After his solo touring plans were put on hold last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Moody Blues singer/guitarist Justin Hayward will get back on the road starting in September for a monthlong U.S. trek.

The outing, dubbed the “Nights” tour, gets underway with a September 13-14 stand in Chicago and winds down on October 15 in Clearwater, Florida. The 22-date trek also will stop in venues in other Midwest cities, as well as along the East Coast.

Hayward’s longtime guitar accompanist Mike Dawes will open the shows with a solo set.

The most recent new music that the 74-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer released was a two-song digital EP featuring the original songs “One Summer Day” and “My Juliette” that came out in March 2020.

Here’s a full list of Hayward’s upcoming U.S. tour dates:

9/13 — Chicago, IL, City Winery
9/14 — Chicago, IL, City Winery
9/16 — Cincinnati, OH, The Ludlow Garage
9/18 — Warren, OH, Robins Theatre
9/19 — Kent, OH, The Kent Stage
9/20 — Munhall, PA, Carnegie of Homestead
9/22 — Annapolis, MD, Rams Head On Stage
9/24 — Fairfield, CT, The Warehouse at FTC
9/25 — Hartford, CT, Infinity Hall Hartford
9/26 — East Greenwich, RI, Greenwich Odeum
9/28 — Boston, MA, City Winery Boston
9/29 — Rockport, MA, Shalin Liu Performance Center
9/30 — Plymouth, NH, The Flying Monkey
10/2 — Huntington, NY, The Paramount
10/3 — Sellersville, PA, Sellersville Theater 1894
10/5 — Nashville, TN, City Winery Nashville
10/7 — Atlanta, GA, City Winery Atlanta
10/9 — Fort Lauderdale, FL, Amaturo Theater at Broward Center for the Performing Arts
10/10 — Key West, FL, Key West Theater
10/12 — Ponte Vedra, FL, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
10/14 — Orlando, FL, The Plaza Live
10/15 — Clearwater, FL, Capitol Theatre

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The annual Stagecoach festival focuses mainly on country music, but the event also has traditionally featured some big-name artists from other genres, and the forthcoming 2022 edition of the fest is no exception.

Motown legend Smokey Robinson and rockers The Black Crowes are part of next year’s lineup for the three-day extravaganza, which is scheduled to run from April 29 to May 1 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, the same site as the popular Coachella fest.

Both Robinson and The Black Crowes will play on the final day of the festival. The respective daily headliners for the upcoming event are country stars Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood and Luke Combs.

Among the many other artists on the bill are Tanya Tucker, Maren Morris, Brothers Osborne, Midland, Lee Brice, The Mavericks, Brandi Carlile and Margo Price.

Additionally, next year’s festival — Stagecoach’s 14th event — will feature a new partnership between YouTube and music event promotions company Goldenvoice, enabling the festival to livestream all three days of music on YouTube.

Passes for Stagecoach 2022 go on sale this Friday, July 16, at 10 a.m. PT.

The 2020 and 2021 installments of the Stagecoach fest were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Doors guitarist Robby Krieger will share his life story, including his adventures with his famous band, in an upcoming memoir tilted Set the Night on Fire: Living, Dying, and Playing Guitar with The Doors.

The book, which will be published on October 12, features the 75-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and songwriter opening up about his journey to becoming a member for one of the most influential U.S. bands to emerge during the the 1960s and beyond.

Set the Night on Fire offers a series of vignettes in which Krieger discusses such highlights as buying his first guitar, getting arrested for drugs as a teenager, writing songs with singer Jim Morrison in his parents’ living room, playing his first gigs with The Doors at empty bars and backyard parties, recording his bands classic albums, and eventually performing in front of massive adoring crowds.

The book also will feature anecdotes about Robby’s experiences and encounters with other famous musicians, unhinged fans and more.

In addition, Robby recounts some of the difficulties he endured during his life, including his struggle with drug addiction, battling cancer, and his twin brother’s mental health issues.

Krieger co-wrote Set the Night on Fire with Jeff Alulis, an author and documentary filmmaker who also was lead singer of veteran punk band The Dead Kennedys from 2003 to 2008.

You can pre-order the book now.

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