Classic Rock News
Rush Share Permanent Waves 40th Anniversary Reissue: Stream
Rush have shared a 40th anniversary reissue of their classic 1980 album Permanent Waves. Stream it below with Apple Music or Spotify. Permanent Waves was a defining moment in the prog-rock era. Rush eased back from the epic song formats that had defined their first six albums, producing tight, radio-friendly cuts and an honest-to-goodness hit in “The Spirit of Radio”. But the essence of the band remained experimental, and in the shifting time signatures of “Jacob’s Ladder” and the multi-suite, nearly ten-minute closer “Natural Science”, they allowed their creativity to run wild. Fittingly for the band’s maximalist ethos, the new reissue has been given the name Super Deluxe. In addition to the original six tracks (re-mastered as part of the famous “Abbey Road Mastering Studios 2015” se...
R.I.P. Astrid Kirchherr, Legendary Beatles Photographer Dies at 81
Astrid Kirchherr, the legendary rock photographer who documented the earliest days of The Beatles, has died at 81. Via The Guardian, Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn announced the news of her passing on Friday. No cause of death is known at this time. Born in 1938 in Hamburg, Germany, Kirchhherr became one of The Beatles’ earliest fans during their 1960 residency at Hamburg’s Kaiserkeller club. At the time the band consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe, and Pete Best. Kirchherr convinced them to sit for their first photo session, and later became engaged to Sutcliffe until his death in 1962. In addition to capturing the band’s time in Germany, Kirchherr famously advised them to cut their hair into mop tops. Those hairstyles became one the band...
Frank Zappa’s The Mothers of Invention Getting 50th Anniversary Box Set
The legend goes that on Mother’s Day of 1964, the R&B group Soul Giants handed over the reins to their new lead guitarist Frank Zappa, who then switched the band’s name to The Mothers. When record label executives balked, Zappa riffed on an old proverb about necessity, and The Mothers of Invention were born. The freak rock trailblazers went through a variety of personnel changes over the years, and by the ’70s Zappa had mostly dropped the “of Invention”. Now, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1970 lineup — which lasted only seven months — the Zappa estate has announced a gargantuan 70-song box set called The Mothers 1970, out June 26th. Featuring Aynsley Dunbar (drums), George Duke (piano/keys/trombone), Ian Underwood (organ/keys/guitar), Jeff Simmons (bass/vocals) and vo...
Ben Gibbard Performs All-Beatles Covers Livestream: Watch
Ben Gibbard continued his weekly livestream series on Thursday with an all-Beatles cover special edition. Like we’ve been doing all week, the Death Cab for Cutie frontman was celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Beatle’s final album, Let It Be. Even so, he didn’t actually play any Let It Be tracks, instead opening with “I’m so Tired” off The White Album and “For No One” from Revolver. He later played “Here, There & Everywhere” and “I’m Only Sleeping” off the latter LP, and delivered the former’s “I Will” on piano. He also played the Rubber Soul cut “You Won’t See Me” on the keys before returning to acoustic guitar for that record’s “I’m Looking Through You” and “In My Life”. A Hard Day’s Night also made an appearance with “I’m Happy to Dance with You”. In the middle of the set,...
Not Even Journey Is Safe From the Coronavirus
Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” may have become the anthem for survivors of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the band itself isn’t immune to the consequences of the global pandemic. With the live music industry shuttered for the foreseeable future, the classic rockers have called off their upcoming summer upcoming jaunt with Pretenders. (It seems like playing shows only in Missouri wasn’t a viable option). “There is no greater thrill for us than playing for our incredibly devoted audience, but their safety must come first,” Journey said in a statement. “Having seen what the world has endured during the last 45 days, and not knowing what the rest of this year or 2021 will bring, we knew the right thing to do was to make sure our fans’ health was not put in jeopardy and to provide immediate...
