MANN’S EARTHY DEEDS
After a long silence, some good – and not so good – news came from MANFRED MANN‘S EARTH BAND‘s camp. First off, arguably not so good: after 19 years in the ranks, the ensemble’s singer Noel McCalla amicably split to pursue some other things which the man’s capable of. Which means the following weeks will see the hectic, if scrupulous, search for the new standalone vocalist.
Of course, Mick Rogers could take it all upon himself – but this week the veteran starts recording his solo album in Austria with such luminaries as Gregg and Matt Bissonette. The work that is planned to be completed in Febuary 2010, will see Mick perform new songs alongside tasty covers. Why so long? Because of the EARTH BAND commitments!
As for the new recordings from Manfred, nothing’s on the cards at the moment, save for a set of five official bootlegs scheduled for release in October and spanning the period from 1981 to 2007. Following them around Christmas will be the “Then & Now” DVD which pairs live footage taped in 1972 in Australia with 2005’s German recordings. Enough for a time, until there’s a fresh album comes along.
BOUND FOR INFINITY
40 years ago, two band were on the rise in the wake of THE YARDBIRDS’ split: the heavy one, LED ZEPPELIN, and the mellower one, RENAISSANCE. Four decades on, none of them exist to celebrate. Or, to be exact, existed up to now, as the second of the two come alive again, for the first time since 2001 when they got together to record "Tuscany" and undertake a tour which brought forth a live album, In The Land Of The Rising Sun. Whether the current reunion will result in a new product is anyone’s guess, yet it’s not the classic line-up this time, as singer Annie Haslam and guitarist-composer Michael Dunford – neither of whom were in the initial ensemble – are joined not by their former colleagues but by new, if seasoned, players. Well, Haslam’s long-time accompanist, keyboard master Rave Tesar, and bassist David Keyes toured with the band at the start of the Millenium, but the second keyboard operator Tom Brislin and drummer Frank Pagano came onboard for the first time. As great as the news is, there’s a question of what the rest of the collective, for instance Terry Sullivan, think of it all. And then, why there are only American dates in the pipeline?
PUNKS NOT DEAD
When it comes to Iggy Pop he is not the one to stop. And John Lydon doesn’t shake off all of his energy off-stage only. Both old punks are working hard now to bring their old bands to the public eye again.
Next year’s the “All Tomorrow’s Parties” festival will see THE STOOGES reunite once more; having lost the original guitarist Ron Asheton this January, the group – who reformed in 2003 – decided not to recruit new members but invite James Williamson who played guitar on the classic “Raw Power” when Ron took up the bass.
Meanwhile, the former SEX PISTOLS singer decided to move on back but not so much, and revive not his spunky ensemble yet PiL, and lead them on-stage in December. No Jah Wobble this time, though, he’s replaced with Scott Firth, nor Keith Levene whose place is taken by Lu Edmonds from the “Happy?” line-up, as well as drummer Bruce Smith. Lydon never officially broke up the band, so now it’s a mere return.
ANY COLOR YOU LIKE
With many albums being re-issued for the second or third time now, many RAINBOW fans have been hoping to see not the simple remasters that were out around ten years ago but something more substantial, even though Ritchie Blackmore doesn’t seem to give a damn about his old group. But, as DPAS report, there’ll be the deluxe editions of 1976’s “Rainbow Rising” and 1979’s “Down To Earth” released rather soon. No word of additional material yet but, with a couple of tracks from the 1980’s “Monsters Of Rock” festival appearing on a recent RAINBOW “Anthology”, a good chance is for the whole show to be attached as a bonus CD to the latter album. As for the former one, all the bootleggers had to offer were working mixes, nor out-takes. Those do exist for 1981’s “Difficult To Cure”, though, the tapes of which are being worked on now. Is there a chance to hear Graham Bonnet sing “I Surrender” and “No Release”, then?
THE BEAST WITH HIS HORN
To be following Jimi Hendrix on-stage would require some stamina, but Leonard Cohen has always had it in him, and the “Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970” DVD and CD set, due out on October 19th, is a great testament to it. The aural part of the package will contain the full performance of the Canadian poet, while the visual is to be a new Murray Lerner documentary. There’s hoping, though, that the film allows to see more of the artist than of the audience as it was with the similar JETHRO TULL DVD.
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1. Introduction 2. Bird On The Wire 3. Intro to So Long, Marianne 4. So Long, Marianne 5. You Know Who I Am 6. Intro to Poems 7. Lady Midnight They Locked Up A Man / A Person Who Eats Meat 8. One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong 9. The Stranger Song 10. Tonight Will Be Fine 11. Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye 12. Diamonds In The Mine 13. Suzanne 14. Sing Another Song, Boys 15. The Partisan Famous Blue Raincoat 16. Seems So Long Ago, Nancy |
