News
February 28, 2002
NOT SUCH AN EASY GAME TO PLAY
February 24th saw the George Harrison tribute concert taking place in the late Beatle native Liverpool with Steve Harley, Ralph McTell, Pete Wylie and The Fabs' fellow Liverpudlian act, GERRY AND THE PACEMAKERS, performing among others. Out of the blue, there came Paul McCartney up on-stage to deliver an a cappella version of "Yesterday", saying, "I thought I should just come on and say how much George would have loved this." Profits from the show benefit the cancer-battling charity fund.
ABBEY ROAD FOR SALE
"Abbey Road" and "For Sale" are the titles of two BEATLES albums and that seemed the only reason for these four words to go together - until recently. Blaming Mariah Carey's last album for the last year's financial loss, EMI, the owner of the famous studio, put it to the auction for sale. There's a possibility that the label’s shares in HMV Media may also go on sale.
A COMET SOLUTION
Since release of their first album, "Judgement Day", BAILEYS COMET had lost their singer and after some pretenders for the spot found the right one, Tony Martin, who used to be in BLACK SABBATH. Martin will be fronting the band during the April-May tour - not only warbling but playing fiddle for the first time as well. The live set is to comprise his songs alongside those by Bailey brothers, and with a song co-written with Tony, there may be more than that for the future.
THE LOUD "HUSH"
For the first time ever, the DEEP PURPLE Mk I live recording is to be released in the "Bootleg Series" started with "Space Vol. 1 & 2". This fantastic item titled "Live At The Forum" harks back to 1968's LA when PURPLE were a warm-up act for the CREAM's farewell tour. The sound is taken from an original video reel and said to be very good. As for the songs, the set looked like this:
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1. Hush |
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LOVE'S ONE IS FREE
Having served six years of an 11-year jail sentence, LOVE leader, Arthur Lee, was freed last December and currently is going to record a new album and go on tour this summer. After that, Lee plans to start working on his autobiography, "Love Volume One".
TWO NIGHTS IN THE LIFE OF A WILD ONE
The unique recording of Phil Lynott, titled "Live In Sweden 1983" is out on Zoom Club Records. The Sweden's route was called Three Musketeers Tour and featured THIN LIZZY's John Sykes and Brian Downey and MAGNUM's Mark Stanway. The set represented a mix of both LIZZY's and Lynott's solo songs ("Look At These Eyes" aka "No More" being previously unreleased) - and there's a limited (1000 copies) edition of the album including a bonus CD in a collectors digipack that contains sleeve notes from Mark Stanway and previously unseen photos.
First Night:1. Yellow Pearl |
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Second Night:1. Yellow Pearl |
THE PIANO MAN BOXED
With too many albums released from legendary piano player Rick Wakeman, fans always asked for more stuff from the artist's past, and, eventually, there's a wild dream coming true. "Wild" - because the 8-CD box set is the one to cherish but the one too pricey, as the rarities collection "Treasure Chest", pencilled in for the early summer release, is a limited to 1000 copies edition. It comes in a wooden package shaped according to its title and has been assembled in collaboration with Wakey himself. Hopefully, later on the set will be available as separate CDs
but it's a worthy thing anyway.
CD 1: The Real Lisztomania contains the original Wakeman's version with Paul Nicholas, Roger Daltrey and Linda Lewis that was rejected by the record company:
The Scene, The Metronome, The Country Sword Dance, Free Song, The Freudian Dream, Dante Period, Orpheus Song, For The Chop, Hell, Wagner's Dream, The Dream Of Hell, The Inferno Ride, Master Race, The Ride Of Thor, Excelsior Song, The Guardian Virgins, Rape, Pillage And Clap, Love's Dream, The Suffering,
Peace At Last, Love's Dream.
CD 2: The Oscar Concert comprises the gist of a piano concert recorded on March 21st, 2000 at the Festival Hall in Corby and dedicated to the dog named Oscar in the first row:
Pachobel Canon in D, Put Down, Birdman Of Alcatraz, Guide Dog, Seasons Of Change, Showbiz Dog, Merlin The Magician, Children Of Chernobyl, The Rotweiler, Guinevere/ Lancelot And The Black Knight,
Help/ Eleanor Rigby, Classical Doggy In The Window.
CD 3: The Missing Half features the previously unreleased part of the January 18th, 1974 concert at which "Journey To The Centre Of The Earth" album was recorded, plus extras:
Catherine Parr, A Road To Ruin, Catherine Howard, Anne Boleyn, Twelfth Street Rag, The Pearl And Dean Piano Concerto, The David Hemmings Voice Collection
(Camp, West Indian, Irish, South London, Welsh), King Arthur, Guinevere.
CD 4: Almost Classical is a collection of a piano sketches beginning from 1975:
Sophie For Joy, Merlin The Magician (home demo), The Nursery Rhyme Concerto, The Swiss Suite (La Baumaz, Les Monts De Corsier, Lac Le Mans,
Canton Doe Vaud), The Barber Of Wigan.
CD 5: The Mixture represents various live performances including one of the only two concerts at which Rick was accompanied by his old singer, Ashley Holt:
No Earthly Connection, Make Me A Woman, Fool On The Hill/ Eleanor Rigby, Burlington Arcade, Space Oddity/ Life On Mars, The Jig,
The Breathalyser, Clair De Lune.
CD 6: Medium Rare contains rarities of various value and quality:
Jane Seymour (original recording), Beyond, The Microcosm Suite (The Sun, Callhinor, Egoniaga, Quiggin, Bodor, Healey-Kae, Quida, Kalum Koll), Flyin', Robot Man,
After Prayers, Your Move, The Realisation, The Suicide Shuffle.
CD 7: Journey To The Centre Of The Earth + - the title says for itself, as it's the show recorded for television in 1975 in Canada during the North American tour and unique in the way that it featured a choir accompanying Wakeman's ENGLISH ROCK ENSEMBLE:
Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, Catherine Parr, Catherine Howard, Anne Boleyn,
The American Advert Concerto.
CD 8: StoriesRick Wakeman is very famous for his storytelling skills and often intersperses his concert numbers with funny anecdotes, the collection of which is this:
Knickers, St. Giles, The Chop, Countdown One, Countdown Two, Postman Pat, Hotels, Jethro Tull, Grass Skirts, Wrong Number, Siamese Twins, Albert, After The Balls Up.
February 20, 2002
ONE MORE RING
With Tolkien saga-inspired albums coming in as of recently from the likes of Bob Catley, MOSTLY AUTUMN and GLASS HAMMER, it's just surprising that the next in line is the one who should have been the first, Jon Anderson. Talking to "Entertainment Weekly", the YES-man said, "I just re-read [the book] last year when I heard they were doing the movie. I got together with a musician who works on 17th-century music, and we wrote half a dozen songs that we sent to the producers." Let's wait for the angelic voice to sing of the Hobbits.
MOVER MOVES ON
Jonathan Mover, the sticksman behind many a rock band, is to put out a compilation of his session work recordings that have not been released to the date, including material from GTR, Steve Howe, Steve Hackett, ACTION, MARILLION and others going up the line to the drummer's early tapes.
CAUGHT... IN ARGENTINA
It's been some four years since the title of this outing from John Wetton first popped up. Eventually, "Live in Argentina" double CD is on the way to the eager fans' hands. The recording harks back to 1996 when Wetton's band comprised Martin Orford on keyboards and flute and Thomas Lang on drums.
LOOKING BACK TO ASIA
The year of 2002 marks the 20th anniversary of the first '80s supergroup, ASIA, and to celebrate the issue, Universal Music plan to release a 2CD ASIA retrospective that is to include all the tracks from the first three albums with all the B-sides and the tracks recorded in 1990 for "Then And Now" album. The release date for the USA is April 16th.
READ THE RAINBOW
The first ever book on Ritchie Blackmore's RAINBOW, titled "Rainbow Rising", is nearly completed by Michael Heatley and Roy Davies to be published by Helter Skelter Books on Rainbow in April. The book tracks down the band's history spread over 288 pages with colour photos, all members' biographies, gear details and gig listings.
GEORGE, NO GALLANT NIGHT
Contrary to earlier information, George Harrison won't be knighted posthumously, apparently due to Britain’s rules of protocol not allowing such a honour. A spokesperson for the Prime Minister's office said on the occasion, "The rules state that posthumous honors are only awarded for acts of valor. There are absolutely no plans to change that and we have never indicated that there are." To set the record straight, William Chapman, the Secretary of Appointments at 10 Downing Street, wrote an open letter stating, "The Prime Minister may not recommend posthumous awards to the Order of the British Empire. I can assure you that this rule has not changed and that there is no truth in newspaper reports that a knighthood is to be bestowed on the late George Harrison."
THIS WAS, INDEED
January 29th saw the first JETHRO TULL line-up re-united. Ian Anderson, Mick Abrahams, Glenn Cornick and Clive Bunker not only were filmed for DVD that's to be released this April but rehearsed and recorded three tracks from the band's debut album, "This Was": "A Song For Jeffrey", "Someday The Sun Won't Shine For You" and "My Sunday Feeling".
"VIEWS" FOR VIEWS
"Views" was the title of the legendary artist Roger Dean's book, printed for the first time in 1976. Now this is the title of the first ever film portrait of the man whose paintings graced the covers of YES, URIAH HEEP, ASIA and many more rock legends - that's why the DVD is being released by Classic Rock Legends and presented by Rick Wakeman. It's a chance to have a new glimpse at the famous works and see some of them animated. The interviews for the project come from Roger's musicians friends: Steve Howe, Ken Hensley, Mick Box and John Wetton, as well as art critics, fans, and the master himself. Extra features include extended interviews with Dean, Howe and Wakeman and live performances by the latter, HEEP and ASIA.
A ROUTE MAP OF THE ACOLYTE
There's a new compilation from Steve Hackett out, following the guitarist's post-GENESIS career with tracks from Hackett's recent studio and live albums, drawing mainly on material off "Genesis Revisited" and "Tokyo Tapes" and including rare version of "Horizons".
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CD 1:1. Firth Of Fifth |
CD 2:
1. Horizons |
February 6, 2001
A NEW HOME FOR SOTO
In their effort to serve the best of melodic hard rock, Frontiers Records and Now & Then Productions gladly add to their roster former Malmsteen's sidekick Jeff Scott Soto. Recently, the singer parted company with Z Records who'd been causing a delay with the release of Soto's new album which currently is being finished, and, alongside mighty pipes of Jeff himself, will feature guest vocals from Glenn Hughes.
CAUGHT IN THE CAGE AGAIN
Italian guitarmeister Dario Mollo and Tony Martin, who's famous for his stint with BLACK SABBATH, have completed the second album to the name of their joint project, THE CAGE. Currently, the album is in the mixing stages and will include the following songs:
Terra Toria, Overload, Amore Silenzioso, Life Love, Wind Of Change, Balance Of Power, Theatre of Dreams, What A Strange Thing Love Is, Guardian Angel, Poison Roses and ZEP's Dazed And Confused.
The first album from the band was released in 1999 and featured veteran keyboardist Don Airey, in 2000 Mollo switched to another project, with Glenn Hughes, that resulted in "Voodoo Hill album. All this said, means the new one should be extremely good, though hardly bring any surprise.
HEAVY GUESTS FOR HERO-NATION
METALIUM are ready to kill with their new album, titled "Hero-Nation", as not only the band will reincarnate into various historical persons like El Cid in Spain or Nero in Italy, but they have two heavy guests, working in the keyboards department: the first is Don Airey, who, in the band's words, should bring in the "Mr. Crowley"-spirit, and the second Ken Hensley, who is to fill the album with his classic Hammond B3.
ANOTHER PURPLE BOX
An endless conveyer of DEEP PURPLE releases brings forth another box set, being compiled by EMI. The box will include the pre-break-up material from 1968-1976, spreaded across six CDs, a full-length history of the band, based on the original "Illustrated Biography" which is out of print for a long time, and a good amount of rare pictures.
This time around, it seems, the compilation is to be interested not only to either hard-core collectors or neophytes, but to major Purpleheads as well: the quater of the selection is said to be rarities. At the time, there's no word on unknown songs yet talk is about unreleased versions alongside classic tracks. As of live recordings, included will be PURPLE's BBC sessions from 1969 and 1970, that didn't make it onto the remastered versions of the first three albums. One more songs, which wasn't included in the re-releases due to space limitation is the ad-lib vocal version of "Fools" mastered for the "Fireball" anniversary edition.
Moreover, if there's no post-reunion material, pre- PURPLE era songs will be covered, with an appropriate selection of tracks, one by each of the ten members.
Tentative release date is October 2002 with possible EP to be out in order to promote the box and mark the 30th anniversary of the "Smoke On The Water" single.
ILL-FATED EXODUS
Paul Baloff, the singer with metal masters EXODUS , suffered a massive heart attack and passed away, aged 41.
SEE ME? HEAR ME?
Pete Townshend has closed his website at PeteTownshend.com due to his need to write and THE WHO being in the spotlight. Some parts of the site will be moved to the guitarist's commercial web-space, eelpie.com.
OYE COMO PLACIDO
"Shaman" is the title of the new album from Carlos Santana. The successor to celebrated "Supernatural" is penned in for the June release and will feature Placido Domingo on one of the songs.
SUPER-GROUPING ON THE WAY
Presently, there are two supergroups in the making.
The first, still untitled, comprises Sammy Hagar, Neal Schon, Deen Castronovo, Slash and, possibly, Michael Anthony, and is set to take off this fall. The second already has the name of THE BARRELHOUSE BROTHERS and a plan to release a blues-rock album in May. There are even more great players onboard, all from the '70s: Noel Redding of JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE, Corky Laing of MOUNTAIN, Colin Earl of MUNGO JERRY, John Coughlan of STATUS QUO, Jeff Ward, who worked with Roy Harper, Noel Jones of WHITE LIGHTNING, Smiley, the Robin Williams and Joe Strummer companion, Eric Bell of THIN LIZZY, David Jackson of VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR and Roger Earl of both SAVOY BROWN and FOGHAT.