Classic Hits

Neil Young will release a remastered version of his 1989 EP Eldorado as a standalone vinyl disc for the first time on August 19.

The five-track collection was originally only released in Japan and Australia on CD and was later included as part of Young’s Original Release Series #4 box set, which arrived in March.

Eldorado includes two songs, “Cocaine Eyes” and “Heavy Love,” that had never appeared on any other album as well as three tunes from Neil’s 1989 studio album Freedom — “Don’t Cry,” “Eldorado” and a cover of the 1963 Drifters hit “On Broadway.”

Young recorded the disc with bassist Rick Rosas and drummer Chad Cromwell, while longtime Crazy Horse guitarist Frank “Poncho” Sampedro is featured on the title track.

The EP can be pre-ordered now and is available on CD as well as vinyl. Those who order the discs will also receive a high-res download of Eldorado.

When discussing the sound quality of the new release, Neil says, “Because of the technology used in mastering from the original files, the digital to analog transfer is superb, getting more out of the digital masters than the original CD could present. This then, is the best sounding Eldorado ever!”

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The Bangles and The Allman Brothers Band are taking part in the 2022 edition of Ten Bands One Cause.

The annual charity initiative features 10 artists reissuing albums on pink vinyl to raise money for Red Door Community, formerly known as Gilda’s Club NYC, which supports those with cancer and their caregivers. The organization was founded in memory of late comedian and Saturday Night Live star Gilda Radner, who died of ovarian cancer in 1989.

This year’s crop of reissues includes The Bangles’ 2014 compilation Ladies and Gentlemen…The Bangles! and the Allman Brothers’ Live from A&R Studios, which was recorded in 1971 but wasn’t released until 2016. Other artists taking part include The Black Keys, Judah & the Lion, Nas and Senses Fail.

For more info, visit 10Bands1Cause.com.

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Indie-pop act Bleachers welcomed a surprise guest to the stage during their show at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall on Tuesday: the one and only Bruce Springsteen.

The Boss joined frontman Jack Antonoff and company to perform their collaborative tune “Chinatown,” which appears on the latest Bleachers album, 2021’s Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night. Fan-shot footage of the rendition is streaming now on YouTube.

The onstage team up with Bleachers follows a recent run of live guest appearances by Springsteen, who also showed up at concerts by Coldplay and Paul McCartney over the past month or so. Bruce will head out on his own tour with his E Street Band in 2023.

“Chinatown” was first released as a single in November 2020, and Springsteen also appeared in the official music video for the song.

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Late Clash frontman Joe Strummer would have celebrated his 70th birthday this August 21, and to mark the milestone, a box set collecting all of his work with post-Clash band The Mescaleros will be released on September 16.

Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years features remastered versions of the group’s three studio albums — 1999’s Rock Art and the X-Ray Style, 2001’s Global a Go-Go and 2003’s posthumous Streetcore — as well as a disc titled Vibes Compass that boasts 15 rare and previously unreleased tracks.

Vibes Compass includes some of Strummer’s first demos for The Mescaleros, outtakes of Joe’s last recordings with the group and a song called “Ocean of Dreams” that features Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones.

The collection, which can be preordered now, will be available as a four-CD set, a seven-LP vinyl package and digitally.

The physical versions of the box set come with a book featuring new interviews with Strummer’s friends, collaborators and Mescaleros bandmates plus unseen handwritten notes, lyrics and drawings from Joe’s archives.

A demo version of the 1999 Mescaleros song “The Road to Rock ‘n’ Roll,” which appears on Vibes Compass, has been released as an advanced digital track. Its video, which features animated versions of Joe’s drawings, has premiered on YouTube.

Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years was curated by Strummer’s widow, Lucinda Tait.

“There’s so much great music that Joe left us in his archive,” says Tait. “[The] songs he made with [The Mescaleros] just seemed to resonate so strongly and reinvigorated his connection with his audience at a level he hadn’t experienced since his days with The Clash.”

Strummer died of a heart attack in December 2002. He was 50.

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Comic books might usually cover superheroes, but this one is all about a music superstar.

Stevie Nicks is the focus of a new 22-page comic book detailing the rocker’s life and career from TidalWave Comics.

The comic book is part of the brand’s “Female Force” series, which highlights impactful women from all around the world. As per its description, it explores Nicks’ “passion and unrelenting drive to succeed as an artist.”

Michael Frizell penned the story, with illustrations by artist Ramon Salas.

“There’s a popular meme that talks about how Taylor Swift writes sad songs about her exes, but Stevie Nicks makes her exes sing songs she wrote about them explaining how horrible they are, and every time I see it, I laugh,” notes Frizell. “Stevie’s fearlessness makes her a rock legend and explains her staying power and popularity.”

You can check out a preview of Female Force: Stevie Nicks at Tidal Wave Comics’ Twitter page.

Female Force: Stevie Nicks is available now in both print and digital formats.

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The Kinks have announced plans for the latest in a series of expanded 50th-anniversary reissues, this one focusing on two of the lauded U.K. band’s albums — 1971’s Muswell Hillbillies and 1972’s Everybody’s in Show-Biz – Everybody’s a Star.

The collection, which can be pre-ordered now, will be released on September 9 in multiple formats and configurations, including a box set featuring six vinyl LPs, four CDs, a Blu-ray, a 52-page hardback book, a badge, glossy photos and more.

Additionally, remastered versions of Muswell Hillbillies and Everybody’s in Show-Biz will be released as standalone CD and LP packages, while a two-CD set featuring both albums and select bonus remixes will also be available.

Muswell Hillbillies found The Kinks reflecting on growing up in the London area of Muswell Hill and celebrating the American music and culture that influenced them. The album includes the gem “20th Century Man.”

Everybody’s in Show-Biz – Everybody’s a Star was a double album that featured a studio disc of new songs and a live disc recorded at the band’s two-show engagement at New York’s Carnegie Hall in March of 1972. The studio portion includes the classic singles “Celluloid Heroes” and “Supersonic Rocket Ship.”

The box sets, LPs and CDs feature remastered versions of the two albums as well as 11 new remixes by Kinks frontman Ray Davies. The Blu-ray contains an unseen 15-minute 1971 home movie shot and narrated by Ray.

In advance of the collection’s arrival, a new edit version of “Celluloid Heroes” has been released as a digital video, while a companion video boasting archival footage of the band has been posted on YouTube.

For more details, visit TheKinks.info.

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Founding Grateful Dead singer/guitarist Bob Weir and his side band Wolf Bros have lined up a fall U.S. tour that’s mapped out from a September 30 show in Waterbury, Connecticut, through a November 4-5 stand in Denver.

The trek includes a number of multiple-show engagements, including a three-gig stint at San Francisco’s Warfield theater — October 14-16 — during which Weir will celebrate his 75th birthday; Bob turns 75 on the 16th.

The Wolf Bros lineup for the tour features acclaimed producer/bassist Don Was, RatDog drummer Jay Lane and RatDog and Dead & Company keyboardist Jeff Chimenti. Weir and his group will be joined by the horn-and-string section The Wolfpack and, as a special guest, veteran pedal-steel player Barry Sless.

Tickets for almost all of the shows will go on sale to the general public this Friday, July 29, at 10 a.m. local time. Pre-sales tickets will be available starting today at 10 a.m. local time.

Special VIP bundles also will be available offering premium seats, an invitation to attend a soundcheck, an exclusive singed and numbered poster and more. Visit CIDEntertainment.com for more details.

Before the trek kicks off, Weir and Wolf Bros’ trio lineup, featuring just Was and Lane, will play a September 10 benefit concert at the Hoodoo Ski Area in Sisters, Oregon, supporting the Oregon Adaptive Sports organization.

In other news, Weir will perform with his Dead & Company band mate John Mayer on August 8 in Livingston, Montana, at the first of three benefit concerts Mayer has organized to raise money for those devastated by Montana’s recent historic flooding.

The concert series, dubbed Rise for the River, also will feature comedian David Chapelle joining Mayer on August 4 and John performing solo on August 21.

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An official documentary about the British Invasion band The Zombies titled Hung Up on a Dream is currently in the works and is being directed by filmmaker and alternative-rock artist Robert Schwartzman, according to Variety.

The movie, which is tentatively scheduled to be released in the summer of 2023, will chronicle The Zombies’ 60-year history, including their 1960s heyday, when they scored hits like “She’s Not There,” “Tell Her No” and “Time of the Season”; their influential 1968 album Odessey and Oracle, which was released after the original lineup broke up; the band members’ solo projects; and the group’s eventual reunion and 2019 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Schwartzman’s band, Rooney, opened several shows on The Zombies’ current North American tour, which gave him the opportunity to shoot portions of the film while the groups were on the road together.

The documentary will include exclusive interviews and previously unseen archival footage.

Fans can preorder a special VIP early access screening of Hung Up on a Dream for $19.99 at ALTAVOD.com, a video-on-demand service launched by Schwartzman’s Utopia production company. The offer includes an extended version of the movie, two new songs from The Zombies’ upcoming studio album, and commentary from co-founding members and band leaders Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone.

“[The Zombies’] story has to be told, the music is too good to not give fans and audiences a better perspective of their career to this point, says Schwartzmann. “I can’t express how happy I am to be on this journey with them.”

Adds Blunstone, “It is so great to be working with Robert’s documentary team and finally telling the extraordinary story of The Zombies journey from teenage rock fans to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees!”

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UB40 recently released “Champion,” the official anthem for the 2022 Commonwealth Games sporting event, and now, a companion music video for the tune has debuted on their YouTube channel.

As previously reported, this year’s Commonwealth Games will run from July 28 to August 8 in Birmingham, U.K, UB40’s hometown. The group collaborated with local rappers Dapz on the Map and Gilly G on the song, which marks the debut of the group’s new frontman, Matt Doyle. The track also features a horn line from founding UB40 sax player Brian Travers, who died of cancer last year.

The “Champion” video was directed by award-winning filmmaker and Birmingham native Daniel Alexander. The clip features footage of UB40 and the guest rappers performing on a Birmingham rooftop, mixed with scenes of athletes competing in various sports. The song boasts an inspiring message encouraging people to strive to always do their best.

“Champion” also celebrates the Commonwealth Games being held in England for the first time in 20 years. The event is an international multiple-sport competition, held every four years, that features athletes from countries that are part of the Commonwealth of Nations.

“We are proud to be representing the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games with the official anthem ‘Champion,'” says UB40 guitarist Robin Campbell. “Birmingham represents the best of global Britain and it’s our pleasure to showcase this to the world. Birmingham is a city of champions!”

The song is the first single from UB40’s forthcoming studio album, UB45, which is due out in early 2023 and will feature new original songs as well as updated versions of some of the group’s classic hits and fan favorites.

Meanwhile, the band kicks off a new U.S. tour on August 18 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

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Here’s wishing a very Happy Birthday to Mick Jagger, who still has us rocking at age 79.

In celebration of Jagger’s big day, his bandmates Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood both posted birthday messages to him on their social media sites.

In his post, Richards wrote, “Dear Mick, what a trip!! Happy Birthday! Love, Keith” and accompanied the note with two photos of him and Jagger together — one from the 1960s and the other, a recent pic of them onstage.

Wood, meanwhile, simply wrote, “Happy birthday @MickJagger!” followed by several birthday-appropriate emojis. Ronnie also posted photos of him with Mick as well as pics of two portraits he painted of the singer.

The Rolling Stones’ official Twitter feed also features a message for the frontman that reads, “Join us in wishing the one and only @mickjagger a very happy birthday today! Happy birthday Mick!” along with a vintage black-and-white pic of Jagger onstage as confetti falls down around him.

The Rolling Stones have three shows left on their current European tour leg, with the next concert taking place tomorrow, July 27 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

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