Classic Hits

Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium streams live on Disney+ Sunday night. It’s the final show Elton will play in North America as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. Because it’s live, you’ll have to stay up till 11 p.m. to watch it on the East Coast, but it’s going to be worth it.

“I think the reason why you should watch it is because there’s very rarely a moment that we know will be a historic moment in music,” executive producer Ben Winston tells ABC Audio. He notes, “One of the greatest artists of all time is saying, ‘This is me saying farewell to you … a country … that has been so good to me, that I’ve toured for years and years and years … at the most iconic venue that you could play.”

Winston says you should also tune in for Elton’s special guests Dua Lipa, Kiki Dee and Brandi Carlile, as well as the preshow, featuring farewell wishes from a range of celebrities, from President Joe Biden to Billie Eilish. 

Speaking with ABC’s Robin Roberts about doing this final show at the same place he played two career-making shows back in 1975, Elton noted, “Dodger Stadium, at that point, was the pinnacle of my career. I was the biggest I could possibly be.”

“I’ve played there since with Eric Clapton,” he adds. “But to be there again on my own … I couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful ending.”

“I can’t do any better than I’ve done. I’m going out on the biggest high. This is the biggest tour we’ve ever done,” he adds. “What more can I want? I’ve had enough applause. I’ve said it before: I just want the applause of my children, saying, ‘You’ve been a good dad.'”

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Stewart Copeland‘s post-Police band Animal Logic, which the drummer formed with acclaimed jazz bassist Stanley Clarke and singer/songwriter Deborah Holland, has just released two new songs, the group’s first new tunes in over 30 years.

“Can I Tell You” and “Ordinary” are available via major digital music providers and at Animal Logic’s Bandcamp page.

Animal Logic formed in 1987 and released a pair of studio albums, 1989’s self-titled effort and 1991’s Animal Logic II, before the members moved on to focus on various other projects.

Copeland tells ABC Audio the new songs don’t signify a full-fledged Animal Logic reunion, noting that the tracks are just part of an ongoing casual remote collaboration between him, Clarke and Holland.

“The concept of reuniting the band is kind of maybe a little dramatic, because, really, we just like working with each other,” Stewart maintains. “Deborah Holland writes incredible songs, and Stanley and I are always inspired … We send [a] track around and we do something cool, and we’re all very happy about it.”

One of the songs, “Ordinary” is an upbeat pop tune that features Holland offering a rundown of various serious modern issues.

“That’s what we love about Deborah … she’s a thinker,” Stewart says. “She thinks about things and has a very interesting perspective on things … She lives a real life and has her poetic take on it, which I find inspiring.”

Meanwhile, Copeland notes that Animal Logic won’t be going out of the way to promote the songs.

“There’s no major record company involved or anything like that,” he says. “This really is art for art’s sake. You know, it’s just because we think it’s cool, and hope you think it’s cool, too. But we’re not gonna ram it down your throat.” 

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Folks can’t seem to get enough of ABBA residency Voyage. It was just announced that there’s been such a high demand for tickets that the residency, which debuted in May, has been extended until November 2023. 

The residency at Queen Elizabeth’s Olympic Park in London doesn’t actually feature the members of the Swedish group live. Instead it stars ABBAtar versions of the foursome — Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad — backed by live musicians.

Tickets for the new dates are on sale now.

The news comes just days after ABBA earned four Grammy nods, including two in the major categories: “Don’t Shut Me Down” is nominated for Record of the Year and Voyage for Album of the Year. They also earned nods for Best Pop Vocal Album for Voyage and Best Pop/Duo Group performance for “Don’t Shut Me Down.”

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(Note Content) In Bob Dylan’s recent book The Philosophy of Modern Song he shares some big praise for Elvis Costello and The Attractions, while insulting other artists in the process. 

In an essay about Costello’s “Pump It Up,” Dylan writes, “Elvis Costello And The Attractions were a better band than any of their contemporaries. Light years better.” At least one of those contemporaries wasn’t too happy about that. 

Earlier this month Talking Heads’ Chris Frantz had some strong opinions about Dylan’s comments, writing on Facebook, “With all due respect to the Attractions and to drummer Pete Thomas in particular, I’d like to say to Bob something he once said to a buddy of mine. ‘Suck a d***.”

Well, now, in a new interview with Rolling Stone, Frantz is expanding on his thoughts, telling the mag, “When I read that, I just thought, ‘Jesus, Bob. I understand you dig Elvis Costello, but did you have to put it that way?’”

“I’m not trying to pit the Heads against any of the bands of that era,” Frantz notes. “There were so many good bands then, and I spent many nights at CBGB and saw a lot of superior performances,” adding, “But I would say to Bob, ‘How are you making such a sweeping generalization?’ I think it’s a very good book—despite that one chapter.”

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Barry Manilow is heading out on a short tour next year. The 79-year-old singer has announced a new tour, Manilow: Hits 2023, presented by World of Westgate.

The seven-night, limited engagement arena tour will have Manilow performing some of his biggest tunes, including tracks like “Mandy,” “I Write the Songs,” “Looks Like We Made It,” “Can’t Smile Without You” and “Copacabana (At the Copa).”

The tour is set to kick off January 13 in Sunrise, Florida, hitting Tampa, Savannah, Orlando, Atlanta and Nashville, before wrapping in Charlotte, North Carolina, on January 21.

“We are going to kick off 2023 having fun,” Manilow shares. “I can’t wait to see everyone!”

Tickets for all shows go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time.

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Robert Plant and Alison Krauss are set to star in the latest edition of CMT Crossroads, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

The 90-minute special, CMT Crossroads: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, will debut November 29 at 9 p.m. ET and have the two artists performing tracks from their albums Raising Sand and Raise The Roof, including “High And Lonesome,” “Can’t Let Go” and “Gone Gone Gone.” They will also team for some Led Zeppelin tracks, including “Rock and Roll” and “When The Levee Breaks.”

This isn’t the first time Plant and Krauss have appeared on CMT Crossroads. They first teamed for an episode back in 2008 after releasing Raising Sand.

The announcement comes just days after the pair earned three Grammy nominations: Best Americana Album for Raising Sand, Best American Roots Song for “High and Lonesome” and Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Going Where The Lonely Go.”

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Queen’s new The Miracle Super Deluxe Collector’s Edition box set drops Friday. In addition to two new songs, “Face It Alone” and “Too Much Love Will Kill You,” it features something really special for fans. The set includes audio from the band’s 1988 studio sessions for the album, giving listeners some insight into the band’s dynamic during recording. 

“Listening to our dialogues on ‘The Miracle,’ it feels as if I am in the middle of our sessions – finding joy, finding frustration,” Queen guitarist Brian May tells Variety. “That was the intention: to invite people into our studio environment at that point in time.”

“Face it Alone” was stitched together from fragments of recordings; May says he got “emotional” the first time he heard the late Freddie Mercury on the track. “All I could hear was Freddie’s incredible vocal cords, working so splendidly and passionately….,” he shares. “Yeah, I was pretty emotion-ed up. It was, as if, he was there, and you realize, again, what an incredible talent that was. Such an amazing human being with an extraordinary instrument.”

And in news that’s bound to excite Queen fans, May hints that there’s a possibility more songs can be released based on old recordings. “It’s possible. We don’t really know until we go back in there,” he explains. “I wouldn’t have predicted that we would have had as much unreleased material around “The Miracle,” as it turned out. I’m guessing we’ll find many more hidden treasures, yeah.”

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Nils Lofgren is having a hard time juggling his gigs. The guitarist is, of course, a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, but he’s also part of Neil Young’s Crazy Horse, and that has left him with a scheduling problem.

Bruce has already announced a tour for 2023, and Neil just released the new Crazy Horse album World Record, but despite how hard he tried, Nils won’t be able to support both, should Neil decide to tour on his record.

“Every time I call Neil’s manager and Bruce’s manager, I say, ‘Guys, I’m a half a century in. I paid some dues,’” Lofgren tells Rolling Stone. “‘Can you just let me create the schedules for Bruce and Neil for the next couple years, please?’ And they always tell me to get lost.”

He adds that since Bruce started planning his tour before the Neil album happened, he had to commit to The Boss. “I can’t get them to let me make the schedule. And so, sadly, I’m doing that tour,” he says. “I talked to Neil about it. It bums me out, but I can’t be in two places at once.”

Neil has talked about Promise of the Real’s Micah Nelson as a fill in for Lofgren, and while he says that band is “fabulous,” Lofgren admits, “It bums me out talking about being replaced for a tour.”

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A Marvin Gaye live performance is getting an audio release for the very first time. The 2007 DVD, Marvin Gaye: Greatest Hits Live, is set to drop as a standalone audio recording on January 27. This will mark the first time these songs will be released on both vinyl and CD.

The album consists of more than 20 songs, spanning Gaye’s career up until that point. The performances were recorded live at Edenhalle Concert Hall in Amsterdam during Gaye’s 1976 European tour.

The tracklist features such Gaye classics as “Let’s Get It On,” “What’s Going On” and “Save the Children,” along with “Ain’t That Peculiar,” “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You),” “You’re All I Need To Get By” and more.

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The 60th anniversary of Booker T. & The MG’s debut album, Green Onions, is being celebrated with a new release.

Green Onions: 60 Anniversary Deluxe Edition, dropping February 24, will be a completely remastered version of the record, on 180-gram translucent green “onion” vinyl. It will also be released digitally and on CD with all packaging containing all-new liner notes by author David Ritz, based on his interview with founding members Booker T. Jones and Steve Cropper. A newly remastered version of “Mo’ Onions” is out now.

Released in the summer of 1962, the title track of Green Onions, the result of an impromptu studio jam, went on to sell a million copies, topping the R&B chart and peaking at number three on the pop chart.

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