A new track that Paul McCartney recorded in collaboration with famed DJ/producer Mark Ronson and synth-pop veteran Gary Numan has been released as part of the soundtrack album for a new Ronson-hosted Apple+ series that premiered today.
Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson is a six-part series that follows Ronson as he “uncovers the untold stories behind music creation and the lengths producers and creators are willing to go to find the perfect sound.” To do that, he interviews artists including McCartney, Numan, Foo Fighters‘ Dave Grohl, Beastie Boys members Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz and “Mike D” Diamond, and more.
Each episode ends with Ronson debuting a new piece of original music created with the guest artist using various groundbreaking techniques and technology.
McCartney and Numan are featured in an episode focusing on the synthesizer, and the tune they created with Ronson is called “I Know Time (Is Calling).”
The six-track soundtrack is available now as a digital download and via streaming services.
Here’s the full track list of Watch the Sound (Original Soundtrack):
Autotune: “Show Me” — Mark Ronson
Sampling: “Why Would I Stop” — DJ Premier featuring Wale
Reverb: “One Life” — Mark Ronson featuring Diana Gordon & Jónsi
Synth: “I Know Time (Is Calling)” — Mark Ronson featuring Paul McCartney & Gary Numan
Drum Machine: “You’ll Go Crazy” — Mark Ronson featuring King Princess
Distortion: “Do You Do You Know” — Mark Ronson featuring Santigold & Kathleen Hanna
A previously unreleased alternate version of George Harrison‘s classic song “Isn’t It a Pity” that will appear on the upcoming deluxe reissue of the late Beatles legend’s landmark 1970 solo album, All Things Must Pass, is now available as an advance digital track.
Two versions of “Isn’t It a Pity” are featured on the original album, while the expanded reissue offers three additional renditions — a demo recording and two alternate takes.
The newly released “Take 27” version features a slower and simpler arrangement than the best-known version of of “Isn’t It a Pity,” which was issued as a double-sided single with “My Sweet Lord.”
An animated music video for “Isn’t It a Pity (Take 27)” has debuted at Harrison’s YouTube channel in conjunction with the track’s release. The melancholy clip brings surreal and evocative painted images to life, including a windmill, grandfather clocks, hot air balloons, and a man rowing a boat followed by an old sailing ship, all inside of a bottle.
As previously reported, the expanded 50th anniversary edition of All Things Must Pass will be released August 6 in multiple formats and configurations, including a Super Deluxe eight-LP or five-CD/Blu-ray-audio set.
The Super Deluxe reissue features a new mix of the original 23-track album, as well as 30 demos and various outtakes, alternate takes and studio jams. Forty-two of the tracks are previously unreleased.
The collection comes with a 60-page scrapbook curated by Harrison’s widow, Olivia, that features rare images and memorabilia, handwritten lyrics, diary entries and more. A replica of the original album poster also is included.
Released in November 1970, All Things Must Pass spent seven weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200.
Just as Journey starts playing live again for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, the band has announced that Deen Castronovo, who was the group’s drummer from 1998 to 2015, has rejoined its lineup as a second drummer alongside Narada Michael Walden.
On Wednesday, Journey guitarist Neal Schon and Castronovo hinted at Deen’s return in a series of Twitter posts promoting the band’s Chicago concerts this week, on Thursday at the Aragon Ballroom and Saturday at the Lollapalooza festival.
Schon’s post featured the Twitter tags of the Aragon Ballroom and most of Journey’s current members, plus Marco Mendoza — who will be filling in on bass for Randy Jackson this week — and Deen.
Also, Castronovo tweeted on Wednesday a message that reads, “It’s ON!! STOKED to be playing with my brothers in Journey this weekend!! Let’s DO THIS!,” along with the hashtags #deencastronovo, #teamdeeno, #lollapalooza, #aragonballroom, #journeyband and #journeyfamily. The post also featured photos apparently taken at the group’s rehearsals for the concerts.
Then, on Thursday, Schon chatted with fans via a Facebook thread and was asked if Castronovo was back as an official member of Journey, to which he replied, “Yes.” He also noted that both Deen and Narada will be playing drums, adding, “JOURNEY AS YOU’VE NEVER HEARD US BEFORE!!!!”
Castronovo was fired from Journey in 2015 after he was arrested on domestic violence charges involving his then-girlfriend, to whom he’s now married.
In 2019, Castronovo took part in Schon’s short-lived Journey Through Time project, which celebrated Journey’s early music and also featured founding Journey singer/keyboardist Gregg Rolie and, interestingly, Mendoza.
Walden, Jackson and keyboardist/backing singer Jason Derlatka all joined Journey in 2020 after drummer Steve Smith and bassist Ross Valory were fired from the band.
ZZ Top in 2016; Brill/ullstein bild via Getty Images
Following Wednesday’s sad news of the death of longtime ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill, the band’s frontman, Billy Gibbons, has revealed that the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers plan to continue.
Yesterday, rock radio personality Eddie Trunk took to his Twitter feed to share a text message Gibbons sent him that reads, “As Dusty said upon his departure, ‘Let the show go on!’ and…with respect, we’ll do well to get beyond this and honor his wishes.”
The 71-year-old singer/guitarist added, “Dusty emphatically grabbed my arm and said, ‘Give Elwood the bottom end and take it to the Top.’ He meant it, amigo. He really did.”
The “Elwood” Billy mentions is Elwood Francis, ZZ Top’s longtime guitar tech, who’d been filling in for Hill on bass at recent concerts by the band.
Before Hill’s death, ZZ Top announced on their Facebook page that Dusty had to exit the band’s tour and return home to Texas “to address a hip issue,” and that Francis was stepping in “with his slide guitar, bass guitar, and harmonica playing in full swing.”
ZZ Top canceled their show on Wednesday, July 28, in Simpsonville, South Carolina, but the band is still slated to play its next scheduled gig this Friday, July 30 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
On Wednesday, ZZ Top announced that Hill had “passed away in his sleep at home in Houston.” He was 72. No cause of death has yet been publicly revealed.
The upcoming archival Joni Mitchell compilation Archives Vol. 2: The Reprise Years (1968-1971) includes a full unreleased live performance Mitchell gave in March 1968 at Le Hibou Coffee House in Ottawa, Canada, that — amazingly — was recorded by Jimi Hendrix.
Hendrix had been performing at another Ottawa venue at the same time that Mitchell was playing a residency at the coffee house and he decided to catch her show there on March 19, 1968, and record it on a reel-to-reel tape machine he owned. The guitar legend documented his plan in a diary entry that reads, “talked with Joni Mitchell on the phone. I think I’ll record her tonight with my excellent tape recorder.”
After Joni’s two-set show, Jimi wrote about her, describing her as a “fantastic girl with heaven words.”
In a new interview featured in the Archives Vol. 2 liner notes, Mitchell recalls giving Hendrix permission to record the concert. “He beautifully recorded this tape,” Joni remembers. “Of course I played part of the show to him. He was right below me.”
Unfortunately, Hendrix’s tape was stolen a few days later, but the recording recently was rediscovered in a private collection that was donated to the Library and Archives Canada. The recording was then given to Mitchell, and it now will be released on Archives Vol. 2.
The five-CD collection features numerous previously unreleased live, studio and demo recordings from Joni’s early career, leading up to the release of 1971’s Blue.
The studio version of “The Dawntreader” appeared on Mitchell’s 1968 debut album, Song to a Seagull.
It’s hard to believe it’s taken this long, but Rick Astley‘s 1987 video for “Never Gonna Give You Up” has finally hit one billion YouTube views.
The cheese-tastic clip for Astley’s number-one hit earned a second life online starting in 2007 thanks to the popular RickRolling meme, where you’re directed to click on a link but instead of getting what you expect to see, you get Astley’s video instead.
This year alone, the clip received 2.3 million daily views on April Fool’s Day.
This makes “Never Gonna Give You Up” only the fourth music video of the ’80s to join the Billion Views Club, following Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child o’ Mine”, a-ha’s “Take on Me,” and Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.”
Whitesnake‘s ongoing deluxe reissue campaign continues with a four-CD/DVD collection focusing on the band’s 1997 studio album, Restless Heart, which will be released on October 29.
Restless Heart: Super Deluxe Edition features newly remixed and remastered versions of the album, plus a variety of unreleased demos and studio outtakes, and a DVD containing official music videos, fan videos, and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the record that includes new interviews with frontman David Coverdale.
Restless Heart originally was intended to be Coverdale’s third studio album, but it was released as a new Whitesnake record due to label pressure. It was never issued in the U.S. at the time.
The super deluxe reissue’s first disc features a 2021 remix of Restless Heart that’s closer to how Coverdale originally intended for the album to sound. It includes three bonus tracks, which were originally available on the Japanese version of the record.
The original musicians who contributed to the project included guitarist Adrian Vandenberg, drummer Denny Carmassi and bassist Guy Pratt, while Coverdale tapped guitarist Joel Hoekstra and keyboardist Derek Sherinian to add their talents to the updated tracks.
Disc two features a remastered version of Restless Heart, while the third and fourth CDs boast demos and outtakes that help show how the tracks evolved to their final stage.
In addition to the aforementioned music videos and making-of feature, the DVD offers a trio of acoustic performances from the 1997 live acoustic album, Starkers in Tokyo, originally only available in Japan.
The set comes with a hardbound book featuring rare and unseen photos.
The Restless Heart reissue, which you can pre-order now, also is available as a two-CD set, a two-LP silver-vinyl release and a single CD.
Here the Super Deluxe reissue’s track list:
Disc 1: Restless Heart — 2021 Remix
“Restless Heart”
“You’re So Fine”
“Can’t Go On”
“Crying”
“Take Me Back Again”
“Anything You Want”
“Too Many Tears”
“All in the Name of Love”
“Your Precious Love”
“Can’t Stop Now”
“Woman Trouble Blues”
“Stay with Me”
“Oi (Theme for an Imaginary Drum Solo)”
“Don’t Fade Away”
“Can’t Go On (Unzipped)”
Disc 2: Restless Heart — 2021 Remaster
“Don’t Fade Away”
“All in the Name of Love”
“Restless Heart”
“Too Many Tears”
“Crying”
“Stay with Me”
“Can’t Go On”
“You’re So Fine”
“Your Precious Love”
“Take Me Back Again”
“Woman Trouble Blues”
“Anything You Want”
“Can’t Stop Now”
“Too Many Tears ’95 (Live & Drunk in the Studio featuring The Horny B’stards)”
Disc 3: Dancing on the Titanic — Early Arrangements & Getting Drum Tracks in the Studio
“Restless Heart “
“You’re So Fine”
“Can’t Go On”
“Crying”
“Take Me Back Again”
“Anything You Want”
“Too Many Tears”
“All in the Name of Love”
“Your Precious Love (Soul Version)”
“You Precious Love”
“Can’t Stop Now (Instrumental Version)”
“Woman Trouble Blues”
“Stay with Me”
“Oi (Instrumental)”
“Don’t Fade Away”
“Snakes Down South (Unreleased Demo)”
Disc 4: Restless Heart — Evolutions
“Restless Heart”
“You’re So Fine”
“Can’t Go On”
“Crying”
“Take Me Back Again”
“Anything You Want”
“(Red Light Green Light)”
“Too Many Tears”
“All in the Name of Love”
“Your Precious Love”
“Can’t Stop Now”
“Woman Trouble Blues”
“Stay with Me”
“Oi (Instrumental)”
“Don’t Fade Away”
Disc 5: Restless Heart — DVD-Video
“All in the Name of Love” (Fan Video)
“Anything You Want” (Fan Video)
“You’re So Fine” (Music Video)
“Restless Heart” (Fan Video)
“Too Many Tears” (Music Video)
“Don’t Fade Away” (Music Video)
“Can’t Go On” (Acoustic Slideshow)
“Restless Heart” (Lyric Video)
Starkers Trilogy
“Too Many Tears”
“Can’t Go On”
“Don’t Fade Away”
Journey returns to the concert stage this week for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 with two shows in Chicago — one tonight at the Aragon Ballroom and the second on Saturday at the Lollapalooza festival in Grant Park.
The concerts also will mark Journey’s first live performances since three new members were welcomed into the band — bassist Randy Jackson, drummer Narada Michael Walden and keyboardist Jason Derlatka. However, keyboardist Jonathan Cain tells ABC Audio that Jackson — who previously played with Journey during the mid-1980s — will be missing the Chicago gigs.
“Unfortunately, Randy’s not going to be there, ’cause he’s got back surgery,” Cain reports. “Marco Mendoza, a good friend of ours [who] plays great, he’ll fill in for now.”
Cain says he finds it interesting that Journey will launch its new chapter in Chicago, where he was born.
Journey recently released its first single with the new lineup, “The Way We Used to Be,” and Cain says the band likely will include it in their sets this week, as well as plenty of the group’s classic hits. Jonathan also notes that Journey will be playing a longer set at the Aragon Ballroom — which is considered an official Lollapalooza “Aftershow” event — so they may dig deeper into their catalog for that performance.
Journey guitarist Neal Schon, meanwhile, tells ABC Audio that he’s hoping the band will be jamming more and be doing more extended sets in the future.
“I think Journey is capable of being one of the greatest jam bands in the world ever,” he declares. “And everything in my intuition is telling me that it’s time to…encompass it all in one concert, be daring, go out on a limb with no net and create…in front of people.”
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the release of Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler‘s debut solo album, Golden Heart. To commemorate the milestone, an expansive box set featuring newly remastered versions of all of the solo studio efforts Knopfler issued from 1996 through 2007 will hit stores on December 10.
Mark Knopfler: The Studio Albums 1996-2007 will be available as a six-CD package or an 11-LP set, and will feature remastered editions of the lauded singer, songwriter and guitarist’s first five solo records — 1996’s Golden Heart, 2000’s Sailing to Philadelphia, 2002’s The Ragpicker’s Dream, 2004’s Shangri-La and 2007’s Kill to Get Crimson. The box set also will include as a bonus disc a new companion compilation titled Gravy Train: The B-Sides 1996-2007.
The vinyl box set will feature two-LP versions of the five studio albums, plus the single-disc compilation, all pressed on 180-gram black vinyl. This will mark the first time that Golden Heart, Sailing to Philadelphia and, of course, Gravy Train, will be available on vinyl.
Both box sets will come with a download card allowing access to digital versions of the albums, plus six embossed art prints of the albums’ covers.
The Knopfler studio album featured in the box set that saw the most commercial success is Sailing to Philadelphia, which peaked at #4 on the U.K. chart and was certified gold for sales of over 500,000 copies in the U.S.
Joan Jett loves rock ‘n’ roll, and the rock legend will get back to doing what she loves with her band, The Blackhearts, when they kick off a series of 2021 concerts with a show this Sunday, August 1, in San Francisco at the Stern Grove Festival.
Jett & the Blackhearts have 20 concerts lined up this year, running through a November 21 performance in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Several shows on Jett and company’s schedule are joint gigs with some other big-name rock acts. These include an August 12 concert in Vienna, Virginia, with George Thorogood & The Destroyers; performances with Cheap Trick on August 28 and 29, respectively, in Chesterfield, Missouri, and Kansas City, Missouri; and an October 2 show in Laughlin, Nevada, with Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Joan and the band also will play the 2021 of Milwaukee’s Summerfest on September 9.
Meanwhile, The Stadium Tour, the long-delayed trek that will feature Joan Jett & the Blackhearts teaming up with Def Leppard, the reunited Mötley Crüe and Poison, is scheduled to finally get underway on June 16, 2002, in Atlanta. The outing is plotted out all the way through a September 7 show in San Francisco.
