Classic Hits

Queen‘s triple compilation The Platinum Collection, which gathers together all three volumes of the band’s official Greatest Hits albums, will be released on vinyl for the first time on June 17.

The six-LP collection will feature Greatest Hits, Greatest Hits II and Greatest Hits III as half-speed-mastered two-disc sets, with each LP pressed on a different-colored 180-gram vinyl disc and housed in an individually designed sleeve. The package will offer new artwork and will include an exclusive 24-page photo book.

First released in the U.S. in 2002 as a three-CD set, The Platinum Collection has been certified five-times Platinum by the RIAA.

Here’s a look at the individual compilations included in the retrospective:

— Greatest Hits got its initial release in 1981, and features classic Queen songs spanning from 1974 to 1980. The album has been RIAA-certified nine-times Platinum in the U.S. and is the best-selling album ever in the U.K.

— Greatest Hits II was first released in 1991 and has sold 19 million copies worldwide. It arrived shorty before the death of Queen singer Freddie Mercury and boasts highlights of the band’s catalog from 1981 to 1991.

— Greatest Hits III was originally released in 1999, and features songs from Queen’s Made in Heaven album issued after Mercury death, solo tunes by Freddie and guitarist Brian May, rarities, the group’s collaborations with other artists, and more.

You can pre-order the vinyl version of The Platinum Collection now.

In related news, a companion book titled Queen — The Platinum Collection: Complete Scores Collector’s Edition, a hardcover volume featuring full-band transcriptions for almost 50 classic songs by the British rock legends, is available for pre-order now at HalLeonard.com.

Here’s the full track list of The Platinum Collection vinyl edition:

Greatest Hits

LP 1 — Side A
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“Another One Bites the Dust”
“Killer Queen”
“Fat Bottomed Girls”

LP 1 — Side B
“Bicycle Race”
“You’re My Best Friend”
“Don’t Stop Me Now”
“Save Me”

LP 2 — Side A
“Crazy Little Thing Called Love”
“Somebody to Love”
“Now I’m Here”
“Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy”

LP 2 — Side B
“Play the Game”
“Flash”
“Seven Seas Of Rhye”
“We Will Rock You”
“We Are the Champions”

Greatest Hits II

LP 3 — Side A
“A Kind of Magic”
“Under Pressure” — Queen + David Bowie
“Radio Ga Ga”
“I Want It All”
“I Want to Break Free”

LP 3 — Side B
“Innuendo”
“It’s a Hard Life”
“Breakthru”
“Who Wants to Live Forever”

LP 4 — Side A
“Headlong”
“The Miracle”
“I’m Going Slightly Mad”
“The Invisible Man”

LP 4 — Side B
“Hammer to Fall”
“Friends Will Be Friends”
“The Show Must Go On”
“One Vision”

Greatest Hits III

LP 5 — Side A
Queen + Elton John — “The Show Must Go On” (Live, Theatre National de Chaillot, Paris, 1997)
Queen + David Bowie -– “Under Pressure” (Rah Mix)
Freddie Mercury + Montserrat Caballé -– “Barcelona” (Single Version)
Queen — “Too Much Love Will Kill You”

LP 5 — Side B
George Michael + Queen -– “Somebody to Love” (Live, The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert For AIDS Awareness, Wembley, April 1992)
Queen -– “You Don’t Fool Me”
Queen -– “Heaven For Everyone”
Queen -– “Las Palabras De Amor” (The Words Of Love)

LP 6 — Side A
Brian May -– “Driven by You”
Freddie Mercury -– “Living On My Own”
Queen –- “Let Me Live”
Freddie Mercury -– “The Great Pretender”
Queen -– “Princes Of The Universe”

LP 6 — Side B
Queen + Wyclef Jean -– “Another One Bites the Dust” (Remix)
Queen — “No One but You (Only the Good Die Young)”
Queen — “These Are the Days of Our Lives”
Queen — “Thank God It’s Christmas”

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While she was raised Catholic, Madonna has run into trouble with the church several times in her career. Now, it appears that she wants absolution.

On Wednesday, the Queen of Pop tweeted at Pope Francis — yes, he has a Twitter account — “Hello @Pontifex Francis —I’m a good Catholic. I Swear! I mean I don’t Swear! It’s been a few decades since my last confession. Would it be possible to meet up one day to discuss some important matters ?”

She added, “I’ve been ex communicated 3 times. It doesn’t seem fair. Sincerely Madonna.”

It’s not clear if Madonna has truly been excommunicated, but she’s certainly drawn condemnation from the Vatican and the previous Pope over the years for her videos and live performances.  For example, her video for “Like a Prayer,” in which she kisses a Black saint, dances in front of burning crosses and displays stigmata, was condemned by the Vatican, and Pope John Paul II encouraged people to boycott Madonna when she toured Italy.

In 1990, she responded to calls from Italian Catholic organizations to ban her concerts in Rome and Turin by saying, “If you are sure that I am a sinner, then let he who has not sinned cast the first stone.”

And in 2006, during her Confessions tour, religious leaders accused Madonna of blasphemy and condemned her because she performed the song “Live to Tell” while hanging on a cross and wearing a crown of thorns.

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On Wednesday, Live Nation launched its 2022 Concert Week promotion, which offers $25 tickets to shows by more than 200 artists taking place across North American throughout the summer.

In total, over 3,700 concerts will be discounted as part of the promotion, which runs through Tuesday, May 10. Among the many participating tours is REO Speedwagon, Styx and Loverboy‘s Live & UnZoomed package trek, which kicks off May 31 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Founding REO Speedwagon keyboardist Neal Doughty says he and his band mates are excited to be returning to full-scale touring following two years where the number of shows they played was reduced because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re thrilled that live music is back, of course, because that’s our entire life,” he tells ABC Audio. “But we just want to really let people know that, hey, come out of your house, it’s safe now. Live music is back and Live Nation is gonna kick-start the whole thing.”

Doughty notes that REO and Styx have toured many times together many times over the years, and the two bands really complement each other.

“[I]t just really works well,” Neal maintains. “Like our manager says, ‘One plus one equals three when it’s Styx and REO.’ And then, of course, you put somebody like Loverboy on the show, and who would not go to a show like that? I don’t know.”

Doughty also points out that his band and Styx both deliver a balanced show that offers up “the right mix between the love songs and the hard-rock songs.”

The Live & UnZoomed tour is mapped out through a September 18 concert in Bangor, Maine.

For full details about the Concert Week promotion, including a list of participating artists and venues, visit LiveNation.com/ConcertWeek.

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Doors guitarist Robby Krieger and original Chicago drummer Danny Seraphine will perform at the Asian Hall of Fame’s Celebrate Asia Festival, taking place July 30 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California.

The red-carpet event is a benefit for Asian Hall of Fame‘s newly launched Brain Injury Endowment, which supports trauma survivors, victims of hate crime and brain injury research.

Seraphine will be playing a headlining set with his band California Transit Authority, or CTA, which also features former Chicago bassist/singer Jeff Coffey and veteran keyboardist Ed Roth, who also frequently collaborates with Krieger.

Both Seraphine and Krieger are Asian Hall of Fame Ambassadors, awarded annually to noteworthy non-Asian people who support the Hall of Fame’s mission of celebrating Asian excellence, cross-cultural collaboration, and multiracial fairness to with a goal of overcoming anti-Asian violence.

The event begins with a VIP reception starting at 4 p.m. PT that will include an artisan showcase, traditional performers, and food from Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand. The reception also will include a memorabilia auction featuring collectibles from Chicago, The Eagles, U2 and more.

The concert will run from 7:15 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. PT. Early bird tickets to the Celebrate Asia Festival can be purchased at AsianHallofFame.org.

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Eurythmics are among the seven artists who’ve been chosen for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the Performer category in 2022.

The U.K. duo of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, who made their mark starting in the ’80s by mixing synth-pop with rock and soul, both chatted about the honor with Rock Hall president and CEO Greg Harris via Zoom, and an edited video of the conversation has been posted at the institution’s YouTube channel.

In the clip, Lennox noted that while she and Stewart were collaborating, they were wholly focused on making music, not on garnering honors like a Rock Hall induction.

“We were in a zone. We created our own zone. And I think…at that time…to get that opportunity to create was what we wanted,” Annie maintained. “It wasn’t about the prizes. Because those things, if you create something of value, maybe the prizes will come, but you can’t make anything because at the end of the day you were gonna be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. No, you have to do the journey. You have to take the steps.”

Stewart, meanwhile, pointed out that American music was a big inspiration to both him and Lennox.

“Obviously, Annie’s Scottish, I’m British, and we’re going into the American Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” Dave noted. “And…I feel quite full-circle in a way, because there we were in our hometowns…in Aberdeen and Sunderland, and listening to sort of American music, whether it’s like soul music or Motown or…I was listening to blues music, and never imagined in a million years that I’d even be making any music, never mind being in America and being put in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.”

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Pat Benatar is among the artists who will be welcomed into the Roll & Roll Hall of Fame at the institution’s 2022 Induction Ceremony, which takes place November 5 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

The powerhouse singer, who will be inducted with her husband and longtime musical collaborator, Neil Giraldo, issued the following statement with her husband: “We are thrilled and humbled to become part of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame family. Thank you to everyone who voted especially the fans and congratulations to all the other inductees.”

Benatar and Giraldo also shared their feelings about their impending induction in a Zoom interview with Rock Hall President and CEO Greg Harris that’s been posted on YouTube.

In the clip, Pat explains, “You know, I’ve been lobbying for probably 25 years to get the real story about how everything began. It wasn’t about [just] me…it was about us together. And so I’m really I’m very excited and pleased that we get to go in together because that is the real story.”

She adds, “It feels good and it doesn’t change everything…not in the way that you would think. It’s just really nice for your children, for the legacy, for the fans…But for you, you’re grateful and you’re like, ‘That’s great.'”

Giraldo, meanwhile, acknowledges that the Rock Hall induction is a great honor, while noting that he and Benatar have never been preoccupied with awards and accolades.

“[T]he greatest thing always…[is] when you see and talk to the fans or the people that loved the music [and hear] how it changed their lives,” Neil maintains. “And that’s the most powerful thing you can ask for. And if this helps to exploit that even more, we’ll keep going and we’re not stopping.”

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In her storied career, Madonna is the only artist ever to have 50 number-one hits on any Billboard chart — in this case, the Dance Club Songs chart.  Now, she’s celebrating that accomplishment with a massive new compilation.

Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones features the Queen of Pop’s favorite remixes of her number-one dance hits, including fan favorites and rarities that are either making their digital debut or being released for the first time.  The collection drops digitally on August 19, and there’s also a three-CD version. A six-LP version will be available exclusively at Madonna’s official store via Rhino.com.

Finally Enough Love is arranged in mostly chronological order, from the seven-inch version of “Holiday” all the way through her most recent Dance Club number one, the Honey Dijon Radio mix of the 2020 single, “I Don’t Search I Find.” 

In between, you’ll find remixes of pretty much every Madonna song you could want, from “Material Girl,” Like a Virgin” and “Into the Groove,” to “Vogue,” “Express Yourself” and “Like a Prayer,” to “Ray of Light,” “Beautiful Stranger” and “Music,” to her collaborations with Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Nicki Minaj and more. 

To whet your appetite for the collection, the “You Can Dance Remix Edit of “Into the Groove” is available now for the first time digitally.

If 50 tracks is just too much Madonna for you, an abridged 16-track version called Finally Enough Love hits streaming services on June 24, with the CD and LP versions coming August 19.

Here’s the track listing for the 16-song version:

“Everybody” (You Can Dance Remix Edit)
“Into the Groove” (You Can Dance Remix Edit)
“Like a Prayer” (Remix/Edit)
“Express Yourself” (Remix/Edit)
“Vogue” (Single Version)
“Deeper And Deeper” (David’s Radio Edit)
“Secret” (Junior’s Luscious Single Mix)
“Frozen” (Extended Club Mix Edit)
“Music” (Deep Dish Dot Com Radio Edit)
“Hollywood” (Calderone & Quayle Edit)
“Hung Up” (SDP Extended Vocal Edit)
“Give It 2 Me” (Eddie Amador Club 5 Edit)
“Girl Gone Wild” (Avicii’s UMF Mix)
“Living for Love” (Offer Nissim Promo Mix)
“Medellín” (Offer Nissim Madame X In The Sphinx Mix) – Madonna and Maluma
“I Don’t Search I Find” (Honey Dijon Radio Mix)

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If you can’t make it to Southern California’s 2022 BeachLife Festival later this month, you can still enjoy the beach vibes, and some of the musical performances, from the comfort of your own home.

Select sets from the three-day event, which will be held May 13-15 on Redondo Beach, will stream live online for free. Among the many artists you’ll be able to watch are Steve Miller Band, Sheryl Crow and UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell and Sugar Ray.

The stream begins May 13 at 1 p.m. PT via BeachLifeFestival.com and at Volume.com/BeachLifeFestival. Miller and his band, Crow and the UB40 spin-off group all will perform on Sunday, May 15, with the livestreams of their sets scheduled, respectively, at 7:30 p.m., 6:05 p.m. and 3 p.m. PT. Sugar Ray will be performing on Saturday, May 14, at 12:20 p.m. PT.

Other artists on the BeachLife Festival’s livestream schedule include Stone Temple Pilots, Weezer, The Smashing Pumpkins, 311 and Matisyahu.

BeachLife tickets are also still available for those who wish to attend in person.

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This year, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is more like the MTV Hall of Fame: The newly minted inductees in the Performer category include ’80s pop icons Pat Benatar, Duran Duran, Eurythmics and Lionel Richie, plus Carly Simon and country legend Dolly Parton, who also had ’80s pop hits. The one outlier: rap superstar Eminem. But according to the Hall of Fame’s head honcho, “it’s all rock ‘n’ roll.”

“Rock ‘n’ roll has never been one thing,” says Rock Hall president and CEO Greg Harris. “It’s always been changing. It’s heavily influenced by the youth culture of the era and drives people to think differently, to act differently, to dress differently, to really believe in things.”

He adds, “We are seeing that in a big way with this class for the 1980s, but we’ll see it for subsequent decades as time marches on and and we continue to evolve. We’re not stuck in any one sound, but it’s all rock ‘n’ roll in our book.”

According to the Rock Hall, those honored with induction have created music with “originality, impact and influence [that] has changed the course of rock ‘n’ roll.” So how do these ’80s pop stars fit in?

Harris says Benatar “really set a path” for lots of female artists who came after her, because she was “in control [and] uncompromising” and has an “unbelievable vocal range.”

As for Duran Duran, Harris cites their “infectious melodies” and “complex musical arrangements,” as well as their mixture of guitar and synths, as influential.

And speaking of guitars and synths, Harris says Eurythmics took those and made them “really funky,” adding that Annie Lennox‘s “unbelievable voice” really brought “’60s soul into the ’80s.”

And talking about soul, Harris says, “Richie [was] hitting just as hard as Marvin Gaye, in a different era.”

As for Simon, Harris names Taylor Swift and Alanis Morissette as examples of women who’ve been impacted by “the honesty of her music and her delivery.”

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held November 5 at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater, and will air later on HBO and stream on HBO Max.

This year’s other inductees include Musical Excellence Award honorees Judas Priest and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis; Early Influence Award recipients Harry Belafonte and Elizabeth Cotton; and music-industry figures Allen Grubman, Jimmy Iovine and Sylvia Robinson, who’ll be recognized with the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

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The Rolling Stones have partnered with the LEGO Group on the creation of a new LEGO set that celebrates the band’s classic tongue-and-lips logo in honor of the British rock legends’ 60th anniversary.

The set, which is part of the LEGO Art series, features 1,998 pieces that when put together creates a 3-D depiction of the Stones logo. It will be released on June 1, and will be available at LEGO.com and all LEGO retailers. The set is priced at $149.99.

LEGO designers have incorporated special surprise content into the set that can be accessed by fans — a soundtrack that includes music and an exclusive interview with graphic designer John Pasche, who created the original Rolling Stones tongue logo back in 1970.

“Who would have believed, 50 odd years ago…that design would be made into a LEGO piece. Wow!” Pasche said after he first saw the LEGO Art set.

The LEGO logo set measures over 22 inches long by 18.5 inches wide, and includes two hanger elements so that it can be affixed to a wall for display.

 

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