JAGGER’S GOT A DISEASE
No, not that The Lips is ill, Mick Jagger is likely to be the last on Earth to kick the bucket, THE STONES frontman will appear on MATCHBOX 20’s new album and sing the song called “I Got A Disease”. MATCHBOX 20’s singer in Rob Thomas, who not only hit the big time warbling Santana’s “Smooth” but co-wrote and contributed vocals to “Visions Of Paradise” from Jagger’s recent solo album, “Goddess In The Doorway” – that’s how Mick got on the record which will come out next year.
PICTURES OF HOME… AND ABROAD
In February 2002 DEEP PURPLE begin homecoming UK tour, and this is the most right time for EMI to put out the “DP Singles Collection” that will comprise 11 CDs in replica sleeves. All the singles were released in the UK between 1968 and 1976 but, for the set, the covers from different countries were used, plus rare UK promo sleeves. Also there’s a card giving a brief history of the tracks included. As of the sides themselves and covers used, here they are:
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1. Hush / One More Rainy Day (UK promo cover) 2. Kentucky Woman / Wring That Neck (Italy) 3. Emmaretta / Wring That Neck (Denmark) 4. Hallelujah / April (Part 1) (UK promo cover) 5. Black Night / Speed King (India) 6. Strange Kind Of Woman / I’m Alone (Italy) 7. Fireball / Demon’s Eye (Spain) 8. Never Before / When A Blind Man Cries (Portugal) 9. Woman From Tokyo / Black Night (Live) – withdrawn (France) 10. Might Just Take Your Life / Coronarias Redig (France) 11. You Keep On Moving / Love Child (Yugoslavia) |
HTP COME TO SHAPE
HTP – the abbreviation meaning HUGHES-TURNER PROJECT looms larger and closer with the tracklisting announced. The album that will be released in Japan on February 6th, 2002 has the following songs on it: Devil’s Road, You Can’t Stop Rock’N’Roll, Missed Your Name, Mystery Of The Heart, Sister Midnight, Better Man, Heaven’s Missing An Angel, Fade Away, Ride The Storm, Run Run Run, Against The Wall and On The Ledge. Joe Lynn Turner and Glenn Hughes, who surely not only sings but plays bass as well, were helped in the studio by Glenn’s associate, guitarist J. J. Marsh, Vince DiCola on keyboards and Shane Galaas on the drums, plus guest guitarists John Sykes, Paul Gilbert and Joe Lynn’s friend Akira Kajiyama.
FANFARE FOR THE PIANO MAN
March 2002 is the release date for the newest Keith Emerson‘s project “Emerson Plays Emerson”, a solo piano album. Before that, BBC plan to record Emerson’s show with John Dankworth and Cleo Laine.
A GENUINE GENIUS ROCK OPERA
Frontiers Records finally unveil details on the forthcoming rock opera trilogy to appear on the label. It’s called “Genius”, and the first part of it, “A Human Into Dreams World” will be released next spring.
The music and lyrics are written, arranged and produced by the Italian musician Daniele Liverani of EMPTY TREMOR fame; he plays all guitars, keyboards and bass with drumming duites passed to Dario Ciccioni and a whole array of star singers is involved. For the first episode, they are:
Mark Boals – Genius,
Lana Lane – Doorkeeper,
Daniel Gildenlow (PAIN OF SALVATION) – TwinSpirit n.32,
Chris Boltendahl (GRAVE DIGGER) – Stationmaster,
John Wetton – Mc Chaos King,
Steve Walsh (KANSAS) – Wild Tribe King,
Oliver Hartmann (AT VANCE) – Wild Tribe Consultant,
Midnight (ex-CRIMSON GLORY) – Maindream,
Philip Bynoe (RING OF FIRE) – The Storyteller.
The characters that Genius meets during his journey anchor the whole concept. Genius himself is the teenage drummer accidentally captured in a parallel dimension where he discovers the secrets of the creation of human dreams. Currently the album is in the final vocal recording stage and will be mixed by Mike Slamer in Los Angeles during January 2002.
BOWIE CUTS
David Bowie parted company with Virgin Records as a result of “slow and lumbering” ways of major labels, and will release his new product on his own independent label, ISO. The new album signals the singer’s reunion with long-time collaborator Tony Visconti. “I want to keep the whole experience at a human level”, Bowie said in his online statement, “To characterize ISO, I think I would use guitarist Robert Fripp’s phrase and describe it as aiming to be ‘a small, mobile, intelligent unit'”.
LITTLE RIVER BAND – FLOW ON?
Remember LITTLE RIVER BAND? Aussie rockers are back to record and tour on 2002, announced original members Glenn Shorrock, Graham Goble, Beeb Birtles, Derek Pellicci, David Briggs and Roger McLachlan – before one-off player Stephen Housden, who appears to be current holder of the naming rights to the band and not involved in this line-up, threatened to seek legal advice to block the group using that name. What name they’ll stick to is unknown as of yet, but that will hardly prevent the band from their musical plans.
DEATH IS DEATH
Short and sad: on December 13 Chuck Schuldiner of DEATH fame lost his long battle with brain cancer. R.I.P., the Ripper.
ROCK’N’ROLL FANTASY COMES TRUE
After many years of endless demands BAD COMPANY are going to release a live album and DVD with Paul Rodgers holding the microphone, though both Mick Ralphs and Boz Burrell are unlikely to take part in the January 2002 tour. The album should be out in May, supported by two new singles from the band.
THE PARTY WAS MAGICIAN’S BIRTHDAY
On December 6th-8th the main London attraction was – hopefully – URIAH HEEP’s The Magician’s Birthday Party. Among many great events, there were two shows recorded for posterity to be released by Classic Rock Legends.
The first, penned in for March release and strangely titled Reviews22 (how will newcomers divide it from the classic 1972 album?), is the HEEP’s concert at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire on December 7th. The current band’s line-up was helped by guests, former colleagues Ken Hensley and John Lawton plus FOCUS’s flautist Thijs van Leer. The set was:
Intro
Return To Fantasy
Universal Wheels
Only The Young
Stealin’
Tales (***)
Sweet Pretender
Between Two Worlds
I Hear Voices
Logical Progression
Mistress Of All Time(***),
I’ll Keep On Trying
July Morning (*)
Paradise (*)
The Spell (*)
Circle Of Hands (*)
Magician’s Birthday (**)
Sympathy (**)
Easy Livin’ (*)
Sunrise (*)
Free N’Easy (**)
Lady In Black (**)
(*) – with Ken Hensley, (**) – with Ken Hensley & John Lawton, (***) – with Thijs van Leer.
The second show took place at The Forum on December 8th, and will be out under the title “Hensley-Wetton – More Than Conquerors”. The band’s line-up was Ken Hensley, John Wetton, Dave Kilminster, John Young, Andy Pyle, Steve Christey, and that’s what they played – Hensley’s and Wetton’s solo projects songs, HEEP songs:
A Minor Life
Easy Livin’
One Way Or Another
Return To Fantasy
July Morning
Battle Lines
Confession
Emma
Hold Me Now
After All
The Wizard
I Don’t Wanna Wait
Out Of My Control
Tell Me
Lady In Black
Heat Of The Moment
Though Ken’s voice is said to be suffering from flu he caught on arriving in England after relaxing in Spain, both sets are, undoubtedly, worthy to be cherished.
