Classic Hits

Elvis Costello will take part in a four-day music and vacation event that will offer his fans the chance to explore the island nation and see special performances by the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer.

The event, dubbed Elvis in Iceland, is scheduled for May 25 to May 29 and will be based in Reykjavik, Iceland. It will include a private performance by Elvis and his longtime keyboardist Steve Nieve, plus prime seats to a May 28 show at the city’s Harpa Concert Hall featuring Costello and his old friend and collaborator Nick Lowe.

The excursion also offers accommodations at a four-star hotel, Q&A sessions with Costello and Lowe, photo ops with Elvis, Nick and Steve, a limited-edition poster signed by the three musicians and concerts by local music acts.

In addition, those who register for the destination event will be treated to meals at fine restaurants and will get a fly-over tour of Reykjavik, a spa visit to the Sky Lagoon, a Golden Circle tour of the Icelandic countryside and more.

Registration for the extravaganza is open exclusively at ElvisInIceland.com, with a 10% discount available through December 25; use the promo code “ICELAND.”

In a message posted about the event on YouTube, Elvis says, “For many years I’ve been thinking to myself, ‘When am I going to get to come back to Reykjavik? When am I going to come back to Iceland?’ Well, it seems that May 2023, marks the time when I will return! I will be there with Steve Nieve, a huge stack of songs, and many stories to tell you on my Elvis in Iceland trip.”

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Prince‘s fifth studio album, the double-LP 1999, was released 40 years ago — on October 27, 1982.

1999 found Prince exploring R&B, funk, rock and pop, and its success propelled the mutlitalented artist to major stardom, and paved the way for 1984’s chart-topping Purple Rain.

The album initially peaked at #9 on the Billboard 200, and featured Prince’s first two top-10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, “Little Red Corvette” and “Delirious,” which reached #6 and #8, respectively. The album’s apocalypse-themed title track, meanwhile, made it to #12 on the Hot 100, and has become one of his most recognizable and enduring tunes.

The success of “1999” and “Little Red Corvette” was bolstered by popular music videos that went into heavy rotation on MTV, making Prince among the first Black artists to have clips in heavy rotation on the network.

The track “International Lover” was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Male R&B Vocal Performance category, Prince’s first Grammy nod.

1999 was Prince’s first album to feature his backing band The Revolution, although he played the majority of the instruments on the record.

After Prince’s death in 2016, his 1999 album returned to the charts, and peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200. The album has been certified four-times Platinum by the RIAA for sales of more than 4 million copies in the U.S.

In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked 1999 at #130 on its list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” The magazine notes, “The second half of 1999 is just exceptional sex-obsessed dance music; the first half is the best fusion of rock and funk achieved to that date, and it lays out the blueprint for Prince’s next decade.”

Here’s the full track list of 1999:

Side One
“1999”
“Little Red Corvette”
“Delirious”

Side Two
“Let’s Pretend We’re Married”
“D.M.S.R.”

Side Three
“Automatic”
“Something in the Water (Does Not Compute)”
“Free”

Side Four
“Lady Cab Driver”
“All the Critics Love U in New York”
“International Lover”

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Green Day and The Black Crowes are among the artists set to perform at the 2023 edition of the baseball-themed Innings Festival, taking place February 25-26 in Tempe, Arizona.

Green Day will headline the first day of the festival; The Black Crowes are also on the bill that day. Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder has been tapped to headline day two of the fest.

The lineup also includes Weezer, The Offspring, the late Michael Jackson‘s daughter Paris, Marcus Mumford, The Pretty Reckless and The Head and the Heart.

The Innings Festival coincides with the beginning of Major League Baseball’s spring training. In keeping with the baseball theme, the festival will feature appearances by a number of MLB greats, including Randy Johnson, Jake Peavy and Dontrelle Willis.

Tickets go on sale this Thursday, October 27, at 10 a.m. PT. For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit InningsFestival.com/arizona.

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Legendary guitarists Robby Krieger of The Doors and Rush‘s Alex Lifeson teamed up to perform at a charity event held Monday at the club Bogie’s in Westlake Village, California.

As reported by Blabbermouth.net and seen in a fan-shot video posted on the Heavy Metal Hill YouTube channel, Krieger and Lifeson played a version of the Santana classic “Evil Ways” with longtime Santana singer Andy Vargas on vocals. Keyboardist Ed Roth, who frequently collaborates with Krieger, also took part in the jam.

The performance was part of the 2022 Medlock-Krieger Golf, Art Show & Guitars event, the latest installment of a multifaceted annual charity fundraiser co-founded by Krieger and his friend Scotty Medlock. This year’s event honored Medlock, who died of cancer last November at the age of 53.

Clips of two other performances from the show were posted on the Heavy Metal Hill YouTube channel, featuring founding Chicago drummer Danny Seraphine and his current group, California Transit Authority, joined by onetime Journey singer Jeff Scott Soto for versions of Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4” and “Saturday on the Park.”

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The Jimi Hendrix Experience‘s performance of “Purple Haze” from the forthcoming archival live album Jimi Hendrix Experience Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969 has been released as an advance digital track.

In addition, a companion video, featuring a montage of photos of Hendrix and his band taken at the concert, has premiered on Hendrix’s official YouTube channel.

As previously reported, the album, which can be preordered now, will be released November 18 and will be available on CD, as a two-LP vinyl and via digital formats.

The concert, which has never been released in its entirety before, features the group’s original lineup of Hendrix, bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell performing a set that includes classics like “Foxey Lady,” as well as deeper cuts such as “Red House,” “Spanish Castle Magic” and “I Don’t Live Today.”

The show also features Hendrix doing his take on the “Star Spangled Banner” — several months before his historic performance of the national anthem at Woodstock — and an epic 17-minute medley combining “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” with Cream‘s “Sunshine of Your Love.”

One of the main support acts at the Forum concert was Chicago Transit Authority, which would soon shorten its name to Chicago. A new video featuring founding Chicago members Robert Lamm, James Pankow and Lee Loughnane sharing recollections about getting to tour with and open for the Jimi Hendrix Experience has debuted on Hendrix’s YouTube channel.

In the clip, Pankow says of Hendrix and his band’s live performances, “Nobody had the ferocity and the daring that Jimi and his trio had … I’m not so sure that the audience necessarily understood the musicality, but they felt the power. It was overwhelming. It was undeniable.”

Here’s the album’s full track list:

“Intro”
“Tax Free”
“Foxey Lady”
“Red House”
“Spanish Castle Magic”
“Star Spangled Banner”
“Purple Haze”
“I Don’t Live Today”
“Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”
“Sunshine of Your Love”
“Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”

(Chicago video contains uncensored profanity)

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E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt has launched new lines of holistic products, Little Steven’s Underground Apothecary and Wicked Cool Wellness, that include boutique teas and coffees, scented soy candles and uniquely flavored lollipops featuring organic ingredients.

The lines, which Van Zandt launched in partnership with the Wakaya Perfection wellness enterprise, are available now at WickedCoolWellness.com.

The various products utilize a range of Wakaya Perfection’s single-sourced ingredients, including Australian Manuka Honey, Organic Pink Fijian Ginger, Fijian Kava, Fijian and Nicaraguan Turmeric and Peruvian Maca.

In celebration of the launch, a special video introducing the products has premiered on Little Steven’s official YouTube channel. The clip features appearances by Van Zandt; his wife, Maureen; his fellow Sopranos cast members Vinnie Pastore and Sammy Semenza; singer Jessie Wagner; and Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul backing vocalists Tania Jones and Sara Devine.

“I have always demanded the very best from myself and of everyone around me,” says Van Zandt, “and my new wellness brand Little Steven’s Underground Apothecary is no different. These products are the best I can find in the world. So enjoy, be well, and stay focused on the only part of our destinies we totally control — what we choose to put in our bodies.”

Ten percent of the profits from Little Steven’s Underground Apothecary products will be donated to TeachRock.org, an initiative launched by the Van Zandt-founded Rock and Roll Forever Foundation that offers a free arts-integration curriculum to grade school and high school students.

Plans for more Little Steven’s Underground Apothecary products, including brownies and ice cream, will be announced soon.

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Joe Walsh‘s recently reunited pre-Eagles band the James Gang will participate in their first in-store signing event in over 50 years on Tuesday, November 8, at Used Kids Records in Columbus, Ohio.

During their appearance, Walsh, drummer Jim Fox and bassist Dale Peters will take part in an interview and then sign autographs at the store, which is located just a few blocks from Joe’s childhood home

To gain entry, those attending the event will be asked to buy an exclusive t-shirt or hat, and all proceeds will go directly to Walsh’s VetsAid charity, which raises and funds for various veterans-related organizations. Attendees also can bring one piece of James Gang or Walsh memorabilia to be signed in addition to the item they purchase.

Since the in-store event is taking place on Election Day, attendees wearing an “I Voted” sticker will receive a coupon giving them $5 off on purchases of $25 or more at Used Kids Records.

“Like many a music geek, I have spent a fair amount of my life in independent record stores and I owe a lot of my musical education to their existence,” says Walsh. “Thanks to Used Kids Records for hosting us and for hopefully blowing the mind of a little Joe Walsh who may be growing up just down the street like I did.”

As previously reported, the James Gang, joined by special guest Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters, will headline the 2022 edition of Walsh’s annual VetsAid charity concert, taking place November 13 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. The lineup also includes Nine Inch Nails, The Breeders and The Black Keys.

The concert also will be livestreamed globally at via the Veeps platform, and passes are available for purchase now at VetsAid.Veeps.com.

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Anna Gabriel, Peter Gabriel‘s oldest daughter, recently released a unique photo book titled Eye-D that features close-up images of the eyes of dozens of famous music artists and other celebrities, including her father.

At a recent New York City event celebrating the book’s release, Anna and Peter both chatted with ABC Audio about the project.

Anna explained that the initial photos appearing in the book were shot for her father’s 2010 covers album Scratch My Back and its 2013 companion And I’ll Scratch Yours, which features other artists’ versions of Peter’s songs.

“[W]e wanted to shoot all the artists that he’d covered or they covered him. And we thought of an interesting way to do it would be … to use their identification, and we sort of shot their eyes and their thumbs,” Anna said. “So I did have many artists … artists on the album, and … as I was going, thought, ‘I’ll continue on with this … and maybe just do the eyes,” ’cause that for me was more interesting than the thumbs.”

Not surprisingly, Anna’s dad was among the first artists whose eyes she shot, and Peter explained that she actually rejected the first photo she took of him.

“She told me to do it again and get it right,” Peter quipped to ABC Audio.

Anna added, “I felt that the first one was actually too dark. It felt like it was … the wrong impression of him for me … So I did it again with a much nicer one, I think.”

Asked what some of his favorite photos in the book are, Peter mentioned ones of Mick Fleetwood and Debbie Harry. As for how he feels about his daughter’s work, he said, “I’m a very proud dad.”

Visit EyeDPhotographs.com for more info about the book.

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Van Morrison celebrates his lifelong love of the folk-influenced skiffle genre on his forthcoming studio album, Moving On Skiffle, which will be released March 10.

The 23-track collection will be available as a two-CD set, as a two-LP vinyl package, on cassette and via digital formats.

Skiffle, a form of folk music showcasing simple acoustic instruments, was popularized in the United Kingdom in the 1950s, particularly after the success of Lonnie Donegan‘s hit 1954 version of Lead Belly‘s “Rock Island Line.”

“I was still in school when I performed with a skiffle band — a couple of guitars, washboard, tea-chest bass,” Van recalls. “I was already familiar with Lead Belly’s recordings, so when I heard Lonnie Donegan’s version of ‘Rock Island Line’ I intuitively understood what he was creating, I knew that it was what I wanted to do. It was like an explosion. This record retranslates songs from that era.”

Moving On Skiffle features various covers of folk, blues, country, jazz and gospel songs, including Hank Williams‘ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” and “Cold Cold Heart,” and traditional tunes like “Gypsy Davy” and “Green Rocky Road.”

The album also features a version of the old blues song “Mama Don’t Allow,” which Morrison has reworked and retitled “Gov Don’t Allow,” a nod to his fight against what he characterizes as government’s recent interference in people’s daily lives.

Morrison has released his version of “Streamline Train” — a song written in the 1930s by Mississippi bluesman Red Nelson that became a 1957 hit for The Vipers Skiffle Group — as the lead single from the album.

Van will celebrate the album’s release with a series of shows in London and Belfast in March and April, respectively.

Here’s Moving On Skiffle‘s full track list:

“Freight Train”
“Careless Love”
“Sail Away Ladies”
“Streamline Train”
“Take This Hammer”
“No Other Baby”
“Gypsy Davy”
“This Loving Light of Mine”
“In the Evening When the Sun Goes Down”
“Yonder Comes a Sucker”
“Travellin’ Blues”
“Gov Don’t Allow”
“Come On In”
“Streamlined Cannonball”
“Greenback Dollar”
“Oh Lonesome Me”
“I Wish Was an Apple on a Tree”
“I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”
“I’m Movin’ On”
“Cold Cold Heart”
“Worried Man Blues”
“Cotton Fields”
“Green Rocky Road”

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Brian Johnson‘s new memoir The Lives of Brian was released Tuesday. In a new Rolling Stone interview, the AC/DC frontman chats about the book while also revealing his feelings about recording and touring with the band again.

Regarding the possibility of making a new AC/DC album and hitting the road once again with the band, Johnson says, “I would love to. It’s as simple as that. I think everybody would. There’s a groundswell of people just asking. But I hate talking about the future, because, f***, we were ready two years ago, and the pandemic came, and it screwed everything up. So I’m terrified to say what could happen and what couldn’t.”

He adds, “And I hate talking for a band. If a couple of other boys [from the band] was with us, I could probably have an answer, but I cannot take the responsibility.”

In The Lives of Brian, Johnson tells his life story, which includes joining AC/DC in 1980 and recording one of the best-selling album’s of all time, Back in Black. He also discusses the hearing issues that forced him to temporarily retire from the band in 2016.

While Johnson co-wrote all of Back in Black‘s songs, in the book, he addresses long-circulating rumors alleging that some lyrics credited to him were actually penned by Brian’s predecessor in the band, the late Bon Scott.

Explaining why he decided to write about the issue, Brian tells Rolling Stone, “[E]very now and again, a fan would come up and say, ‘This guy’s saying this.’ And factually, it wasn’t true … I thought it was awful I had to explain meself and that’s why in the book, I went, once and for all, I want to put this baby to bed.”

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