Classic Hits

The late Eddie Van Halen put aside a substantial amount of money that was recently donated to the youth music education organization Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, the nonprofit has announced.

According to a statement, the rock guitar great, who died of cancer in October 2020 at age 65, left “a meaningful percentage of his estate to the organization in his will.” In the decade before his passing, Van Halen forged a close relationship with Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation and embraced the organization’s mission of helping students who attend at-risk public schools develop a passion for music.

The statement notes that Eddie’s donation will help the foundation to assist more schools, hire more employees, improve its technology and more.

“Eddie’s support and friendship over the years meant the world to us and to his fans. His passion for music and our work created a strong bond, which is evident in his extraordinary bequest,” says the foundation’s president and CEO, Felice Mancini. “To know how much our foundation meant to Eddie is intensely humbling and gratifying to all of us — and we know that Eddie’s family is confident that his powerful legacy and values live on through our efforts.”

Eddie’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen, also has become a major supporter of Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, and has been carrying on the partnership his dad began with the charity. In tribute to his father, he donated the proceeds from his group Mammoth WVH‘s solo single, “Distance,” to the foundation.

“Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation and the work they do for music education was always something that was important to my father,” says Wolfgang. “I am incredibly proud to help facilitate this donation as he wished.”

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Elton John‘s fourth studio album, Madman Across the Water, released in late 1971, is getting the 50th anniversary reissue treatment.

You can choose from a three CD/1 Blue-ray Super Deluxe Box Set, a four-LP, colored vinyl package, or a two-CD package, which are now available for pre-order. The release date is June 10.

Madman Across the Water features the classics “Tiny Dancer” and “Levon,” as well as the fan-favorite title track and “Indian Sunset,” which was later sampled on the Eminem-produced Tupac Shakur track “Ghetto Gospel.” That song topped the British charts for three weeks in 2005.

Madman Across the Water also was Elton’s first album to feature the full lineup of his Elton John Band, and features Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman playing organ on three songs.

The package includes a previously unheard piano demo of “Tiny Dancer,” which will be available to stream later Thursday, though a teaser is out now.

Among the goodies on the Super Deluxe version are demos, rarities, single edits, a live radio recording, two British TV performances, a 104-page book, photos, artwork, interviews and memorabilia.

Here’s the track listing for the Madman Across the Water Super Deluxe version:

CD 1
“Tiny Dancer” (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)
“Levon” (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)
“Razor Face” (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)
“Madman Across the Water” (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)
“Indian Sunset” (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)
“Holiday Inn” (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)
“Rotten Peaches” (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)
“All the Nasties” (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)
“Goodbye” (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)
“Indian Sunset” (Live Radio Broadcast)
“Madman Across the Water” (Original Version, featuring Mick Ronson)
“Rock Me When He’s Gone”
“Levon” (Mono Single Version)
“Razor Face” (Extended Version)

CD 2
“Madman Across the Water” (1970 Piano Demo)
“Tiny Dancer” (Piano Demo)
“Levon” (Piano Demo)
“Razor Face” (Piano Demo)
“Madman Across the Water” (1971 Piano Demo)
“Indian Sunset” (Piano Demo)
“Holiday Inn” (Piano Demo)
“Rotten Peaches” (Piano Demo)
“All the Nasties” (Piano Demo)
“Goodbye” (Piano Demo)
“Rock Me When He’s Gone” (Piano Demo)
“Rock Me When He’s Gone” (Full Version)

CD 3
“Tiny Dancer” (BBC Sounds for Saturday)
“Rotten Peaches” (BBC Sounds for Saturday)
“Razor Face” (BBC Sounds for Saturday)
“Holiday Inn” (BBC Sounds for Saturday)
“Indian Sunset” (BBC Sounds for Saturday)
“Levon” (BBC Sounds for Saturday)
“Madman Across the Water” (BBC Sounds for Saturday)
“Goodbye” (BBC Sounds for Saturday)
Taped November 11, 1971 / transmitted April 29, 1972

Blu-ray
Audio
Greg Penny 5.1 mix of Madman Across the Water (Original Version, featuring Mick Ronson)
Greg Penny 5.1 mix of Madman Across the Water

Audio-Visual
Sounds for Saturday (Taped November 11, 1971 / transmitted April 29, 1972)
Old Grey Whistle Test (Transmitted on December 7, 1971)

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Earlier this month, Police drummer Stewart Copeland was honored with a Grammy for Best New Age Album for Divine Tides, a 2021 collaborative project he recorded with Indian-music composer Ricky Kej.

It was Copeland’s sixth career Grammy, but his first for a recording project not involving his famous band.

“I am the boss of New Age!” the 69-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer jokingly boasts to ABC Audio.

“I can finally tick that box,” he declares. “I mean, how many rock drummers…in fact, technically, it could be argued that I am a punk rock drummer, since that story started out in ’77…[So,] punk rock drummer wins New Age Grammy…That’s cool.”

Copeland notes that he’d first worked with Kej a few years ago on another project, and Ricky then reached out and asked if he’d like to play percussion on his new album.

“[H]e started sending me these…tracks that he was…assembling,” Stewart recalls. “And I just was immediately inflamed by the beauty of his melodies and the mix that he was creating, so I started miking up all my crotales, timbales, whatchamacallits and thingamajigs, and started aggressing upon inanimate objects here [in my studio]…and kind of created a rhythmic envelope for all of the beautiful melodies that he was assembling.”

Divine Tides is just one of Copeland’s many recent non-rock projects. This Saturday, Satan’s Fall, an oratorio Stewart composed based on John Milton‘s Paradise Lost that first debuted in 2020, will get its West Coast premiere at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.

A Satan’s Fall also is scheduled for May 8 in Minneapolis with VocalEssence, which, Copeland notes, are “one of the premier choirs in the nation.”

Visit StewartCopeland.net to check out what else is on Copeland’s upcoming schedule.

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Def Leppard has debuted a second advance track from their forthcoming 12th studio effort, Diamond Star Halos, a melodic rock gem called “Take What You Want” that kicks off the album.

“Take What You Want” combines all the elements of the classic songs from Def Leppard’s heyday, including a jangly guitar intro, catchy riffs, soaring vocals, and blazing guitar solos.

The track is available now via digital formats. “Take What You Want” was preceded by the album’s first single, the rocking “Kick.” The band also released a music video for “Kick.”

As previously reported, Diamond Star Halos, which is due out May 27, is a 15-track collection that’s the band’s first album of new original tunes since 2015’s self-titled effort. It can be pre-ordered now as a deluxe package, a two-LP set and digitally, among other configurations.

Diamond Star Halos includes two duets with acclaimed country/bluegrass artist and longtime Def Leppard fan Alison Krauss — “This Guitar” and “Lifeless.” In addition, famed David Bowie pianist Mike Garson plays on two songs — “Goodbye for Good This Time” and “Angels (Can’t Help You Now).”

Diamond Star Halos will arrive in advance of Def Leppard’s 36-city Stadium Tour of North America with Mötley Crüe, Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. The trek gets underway June 16 in Atlanta, and is mapped out through a September 9 concert in Las Vegas.

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Police drummer Stewart Copeland and Sean Lennon are among the musicians who have contributed to a song co-written by Primus frontman Les Claypool and Ukrainian musician Eugene Hütz of the band Gogol Bordello that’s been released in support of Ukraine as it continues to fight against Russia’s ongoing invasion.

The track is titled “Zelensky: The Man with the Iron Balls” and pays tribute to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Along with Claypool, Hütz, Copeland and Lennon, the track also features Grammy-winning bluegrass musician Billy Strings and Gogol Bordello violinist Sergey Ryabtsev. Stewart plays percussion on the song, while Sean contributes guitar and vocals.

“The night of the invasion, I was dining with close friends of mine from Poland who were hosting their family visiting the US from their town, which is 50 kilometers from the Ukraine border,” Claypool says. “Needless to say, they were stressed and concerned about what was happening in their homeland. After a few vodka shots of solidarity, I started texting with my buddy Eugene from Gogol Bordello to get his perspective and insight.”

He continues, “In that vodka-laced dialogue, we started mutually praising Zelensky for his surprisingly epic display of courage. ‘Zelensky has balls of steel!’ we agreed. It was then that we decided that some freaky, ‘East meets West’ art needed to be thrown that way.”

“Zelensky: The Man with the Iron Balls” is available now via digital outlets. Proceeds will be donated to the humanitarian aid organization Nova Ukraine.

Incidentally, Copeland plays with Claypool in the jam supergroup Oysterhead, which also features Phish singer/guitarist Trey Anastasio. The band is scheduled to headline final day of the three-day Sweetwater 420 Fest in Atlanta on May 1.

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George Michael‘s final artistic statement, a documentary called George Michael Freedom Uncut, will debut in theaters worldwide on June 22.

The autobiographical documentary is narrated by the late star, who died in 2016. It focuses on the period after the release of his Faith album made him a global superstar, through the time following the release of his 1990 follow up Listen Without Prejudice: Vol 1. 

The film shows how, during that time, George fought for his artistic freedom, met his first love, Anselmo Feleppa, and lived through Feleppa’s death from an AIDS-related illness, as well as the loss of his mother.

The movie features “exclusive, personal archive footage,” as well as never-before-seen footage from George’s iconic video for “Freedom! ’90.”  The supermodels who starred in that video, including Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista, appear in the documentary, as do Elton John, Stevie Wonder, James Corden, Ricky Gervais, Mary J. Blige, Tony Bennett and fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier.

Freedom Uncut also features “timeless duets with George’s favorite artists,” and “explores how he influenced the cultural landscape,” according to a press release.

Starting April 27, you can find out where the film is playing, and buy tickets, at GeorgeMichaelFreedomUncut.com.

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Heart‘s Ann Wilson has debuted another advance track from her forthcoming solo album, Fierce Bliss, a duet version of the classic 1975 Queen ballad “Love of My Life” featuring country star and current Eagles touring member Vince Gill.

“‘Love of My Life’ is a beautiful song about endless love,” Ann says in a statement. “It was my honor to duet with Vince Gill on this song; an unforgettable experience for which I’m grateful!”

She further explains, “I had the idea for the Queen song ‘Love of My Life’ as a duet, so I just tried to picture who would be ‘the male angel’ that would sing the other part of it. I thought how great the song would be if it was stripped down and just sung with soul, and it had to be Vince Gill because he’s got that voice, that soul.”

Wilson and Gill recorded the track with the members of Ann’s current backing group, The Amazing Dawgs.

The “Love of My Life” duet is available now via digital formats, while a companion music video for the tune has debited on Wilson’s official YouTube channel. The clip shows a thorny rose and a woman’s hand with long, sharp fingernails pulling petals off of the flower. As she comes to the last few petals, she removes the hand that was holding the rose, and we see that it’s bleeding. We then see a man’s hands enter the frame, and he helps wipe the blood off of the woman’s hand.

“Love of My Life” is the fourth advance tune that Ann has released from Fierce Bliss, following the original songs “Greed” and “A Moment in Heaven,” and a cover of Eurythmics‘ “Missionary Man.”

As previously reported, Fierce Bliss will be released on April 29, and can be pre-ordered now.

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Last month, Christine McVie revealed in a BBC Radio interview that she had plans to release a new solo album called Songbird that will include a reworked version of her popular Fleetwood Mac ballad of the same name.  Now full details of the project have been announced.

The album, Songbird (A Solo Collection), is due out June 24, and is a 10-track compilation made up mostly of previously released tunes songs from two of McVie’s solo albums — her 1984 self-titled effort and 2004’s In the Meantime. All of the tracks have been remastered by famed producer Glyn Johns.

The record also boasts three previously unreleased recordings, including an updated, orchestral version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Songbird” that pairs Christine’s original vocals with a new string arrangement created by Grammy-winning composer and arranger Vince Mendoza.

The other two previously unreleased tracks are “Slowdown,” a song Christine wrote for the 1985 film American Flyers, and “All You Gotta Do,” a duet that McVie recorded with singer/bassist George Hawkins during the In the Meantime sessions. The latter tune wasn’t completed at the time, and Glyn finished the track by adding Ricky Peterson on Hammond organ and Ethan Johns on drums and guitar.

“Slowdown” has been released as an advance digital single.

Songbird includes two interesting songs from the 1984 Christine McVie album. “The Challenge” features backing vocals from Lindsey Buckingham and lead guitar by Eric Clapton. The other song, “Ask Anybody,” was co-written by Christine and Steve Winwood, who contributed backing vocals and piano to the tune.

Songbird can be pre-ordered now, and will issued on CD, on vinyl and digitally. A limited-edition sea-foam green vinyl LP will be available exclusively from Rhino.com.

Here’s the full Songbird (A Solo Collection) track list:

“Friend”
“Sweet Revenge”
“The Challenge”
“Northern Star”
“Ask Anybody”
“Slowdown”*
“Easy Come, Easy Go”
“Giving It Back”
“All You Gotta Do”*
“Songbird” (Orchestral Version)*

* = previously unreleased.

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The Security Project, a Peter Gabriel tribute group featuring Gabriel’s former drummer Jerry Marotta and ex-King Crimson bassist Trey Gunn, will launch a 12-date U.S. tour in May.

The trek, dubbed the “Expect the Unexpected” tour, will visit venues throughout the Northeastern U.S., kicking off May 5 in Pawling, New York, and running through a May 20 show in Annapolis, Maryland.

The Security Project’s lineup also features former Shriekback guitarist Michael Cozzi, along with keyboardist David Jameson and new lead singer Happy Rhodes. The band focuses on presenting reimagined versions of Gabriel compositions, both from his tenure with Genesis and from his solo career. You can check out The Security Project performing a live rendition of “Slowburn,” a song from Peter’s 1977 self-titled debut album, at Marotta’s official YouTube channel.

To check out the band’s full tour schedule, visit SecurityProjectBand.com.

Marotta played on all of Gabriel’s solo albums from his 1978 self-titled effort through his classic 1986 record, So.

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Earlier this month, The Zombies launched a 2022 North American tour, marking the first time the British Invasion legends have been out on the road since 2019.

Zombies keyboardist and main songwriter Rod Argent tells ABC Audio that it’s been great to again be performing for their fans, adding, “[I]t was so energizing just playing with the band again.”

The two-part tour features nearly 50 total concerts, and The Zombies also have a 25-show European trek in September and October. The 76-year-old Argent admits that it’s a bit daunting thinking about doing so many gigs after a two-year-plus hiatus, noting, “I feel pretty good at the moment, but it makes you wonder with your stamina…So…I want to try and keep things in proportion and be careful, but it is great to play.”

The Zombies’ concerts feature plenty of their classic early tunes, including hits like “She’s Not There” and “Time of the Season,” but they also include a few songs from a new studio album that Argent says the band expects to release sometime this year.

“I think it’s basically a very good album,” Rod offers. “I’ve written nine songs for the album. [Frontman] Colin [Blunstone wrote] one that we finish up…the album with, which is a lovely sort of breath to say goodbye to…the album…So all that’s very exciting.”

Argent says he’s “really hoping” the album will be released by the time the band kicks off its second 2022 North American leg, which begins June 21 in Belleville, Canada, and runs through July 28-30 stand in Park City, Utah.

The Zombies’ current leg continues tonight in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, and runs through a May 1 show in Fall River, Massachusetts. Visit TheZombiesMusic.com for the full schedule.

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