Classic Rock Newswire

Google
 
Web classicrocknewswire.blogspot.com
Click here for GRTR! Free Guestbook
My Guestbook

Friday, January 05, 2007

QUEEN have been named the greatest band of all time by BBC Radio 2 listeners.

ELO will include a modest smattering of bonus tracks on an upcoming reissue of its 1977 album Out Of The Blue. The 17-track set -- a double album when it was first released on vinyl -- will now include the unreleased song "Latitude 88 North" and two short instrumentals, "The Quick And the Daft" and the 24-second "Wild West Hero." The album is due out February 20th in the US, with a European release on the 19th Feb and features new liner notes by ELO leader Jeff Lynne.

Escape Music is pleased to announce the signing and the release date for Union Mac – Lost In Attraction. This new Melodic Rock outfit is centered around Mikael Klevengård and Kristoffer Lagerström who will be familiar to some from their work with bands such as Spin Gallery, Radioactive, Prisoner & Sayit. The band’s debut album “Lost In Attraction” will be released on 19th February 2007.
Escape have also announced a list of their scheduled releases for the early part of 2007; these include
Code "The Enemy Within" Jan 2007
Stormzone "Caught In The Act" Jan 2007
Last Autumn Dreams "Saturn Skyline" Feb 2007
Union Mac "Lost In Attraction" Feb 2007
The Ladder "Sacred" Mar 2007
Neverland "Schizophrenia" Mar 2007
Further into 2007 the label is also planning new releases from the likes of Heartland, White Wolf, Day Dreamer, Jet Trail, Pleasure Dome (with Ted Poley and the Shotgun Symphony boys), Mass, WildKard. Cloven Hoof will also be reissuing their “Dominator" & "A Sultans Ransom” albums in a double CD Digipak complete with bonus tracks

JUDAS PRIEST aim to release their new album in the summer.

Sinead O'Connor is to release a new album in April called Theology.

UK music retailer Music Zone has entered into administration although the shops will continue to trade for a couple of months whilst hopefully a buyer is found. They took over some MVC stores last year but have been hard hit by online retailers and discount CD/book chain Fopp.

The surviving members of The Doors and The Grateful Dead receive Lifetime Achievement Awards the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on February 11th.

PRESS RELEASE

Black Star Records in conjunction with executive producers Dan Pavlik and Dave Honaker are proud to announce the official release of the Making of Heaven & Earth DVD.
The Making of Heaven & Earth DVD will include interviews, previously unseen live and studio footage, both acoustic and electric, featuring Stuart Smith & Richie Onori (Heaven & Earth), Keith Emerson (E.L.P.), Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi), Howard Leese (Heart/Paul Rodgers), Bobby Kimball (Toto), Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow), Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Kelly Hansen (Foreigner), Jay Schellen (Hurricane/Asia), Carmine Appice (Rod Stewart/Jeff Beck/Vanilla Fudge) and many others.
The DVD features over 4 hours of footage including an in depth breakdown of the writing and recording of each song as well as Live Shows, Production & Equipment Info, Stories & Shenanigans, Bloopers, Photo Gallery, a new Heaven & Earth song performed live at the Lake Havasu Rock Festival as well as many other features.
The DVD is available from the band's website and AOR Heaven and will shortly be in stores throughout the States. The first 300 copies will be personally autographed by Heaven & Earth guitarist Stuart Smith. To see a short commercial and to order your copy please go to www.heavenandearthband.com


Rock 'n' Roll is alive and well as rock music legends convene in the Colorado Mountains to record on a hot new CD! Jock Bartley, lead guitarist, songwriter and leader of '70s U.S. rock sensations Firefall, has just completed his debut solo CD entitled Blindside. Bartley is best known for his inspired work on such classic Firefall hits as "You Are The Woman", "Just Remember I Love You", "Strange Way", "Cinderella" and "Mexico". Recorded between January and August 2006, Blindside features guest appearances by such rock luminaries as Richie Furay, former Poco member and Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame inductee with the Buffalo Springfield, Rusty Young from Poco, John McEuen and Jimmie Fadden of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Mark Andes from Spirit, Heart and Firefall, John Magne from The Subdudes, Brian Nevin from Big Head Todd And The Monsters, Michael Travis of The String Cheese Incident, Bob Harris from Warren Zevon, Frank Zappa and Axe, along with many other notable musicians and singers.
Songs from Blindside effortlessly span the musical spectrum - from rock to pop to blues, the album showcases Bartley's extraordinary songwriting talents.
Blindside is now available on the new independent record label Winged Horse Records. It is also available on www.jockbartley.net and My Space for individual songs or entire CD download. Blindside can also soon be purchased online from CDBaby.com, iTunes and E-Bay. In support of Bartley's new album, plans for a major tour of the US and Europe are in the formative stages.
In Addition to his new CD and continuing work with Firefall, Jock is an artist of growing renown. Four of his Beatles paintings are featured in a new coffee table book released worldwide, entitled Beatles Art - Fantastic New Artworks of The Fab Four, in which Jock has also written the foreword. Borders Books is sponsoring a number of Colorado and national book signing 'events' in which they will also display, promote and sell his solo CD Blindside.
For more information www.jockbartley.net & www.firefall.com


One of our new signings, Slavior, featuring Mark Zonder (ex-Fates Warning/Warlord) on drums, Wayne Findlay (Michael Schenker Group) and ex-Tribe of Gypsies singer, Gregg Analla, will be playing two showcases in Los Angeles in preparation for the release of their debut, self-titled CD coming in April on Inside Out Music. Both shows will take place on the last weekend in January.

Friday, January 26 @ 8:00pm PCT
Bill's Place Studios
12028 Vose Street
N. Hollywood, CA 91605
(818) 982-0180
FREE SHOW!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, January 27
Paladinos
6101 Reseda Blvd.
Tarzana, CA 91335
$10 admission / $8 w/ flyer
www.paladinosclub.com

So come check it out!

To hear new music go to our MySpace page at
www.myspace.com/insideoutamerica
or www.myspace.com/slaviorband


Testament’s classic late ‘80s/early ‘90s period has been well documented over the years by several compilations. However, the group’s latter era has thus far slipped through the cracks as far as compilations go. In February, this will change, as ‘The Spitfire Collection’ will be issued.
Consisting of tracks from such Spitfire/Testament titles as ‘The Gathering,’ ‘Demonic,’ ‘Live at the Fillmore,’ ‘First Strike Still Deadly,’ and ‘Live in London,’ the fourteen track set chronicles an era that ultimately saw the original Testament reunite for a successful 2005 tour. As a result, ‘The Spitfire Collection’ features both live versions of such Testament classics as “Practice What You Preach,” “Over the Wall,” and “Souls of Black,” as well as such oft-overlooked studio tracks as “Careful What You Wish For” and “The Burning Times.” With such bands as Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax introducing the world to thrash metal during the 1980’s, Testament was one of the few second wave thrash bands to make a strong impression on the charts – resulting in such renowned releases as 1988’s ‘New Order,’ 1989’s ‘Practice What You Preach,’ 1990’s ‘Souls of Black,’ and 1992’s ‘The Ritual.’

TRACKS LISTING FOR ‘THE SPITFIRE COLLECTION’:
The New Order
Souls of Black
Practice What You Preach
Hatreds Rise
The Burning Times
John Doe
Careful What You Wish For
Down for Life
Riding the Snake
Over the Wall
The Preacher
Into the Pit
Trial by Fire
Disciples of the Watch

GIG NEWS

PAUL STANLEY
Apr. 11 - Twin Towns, Coolangatta
Apr. 13 - WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong
Apr. 14 - Civic Theatre, Newcastle
Apr. 17 - Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Apr. 18 - Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Apr. 20 - Palais Theatre, Melbourne
Apr. 21 - Palais Theatre, Melbourne
Apr. 24 - Burswood Theatre, Perth
Apr. 26 - Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide

MAGNUM
17th May The Garage Glasgow UK
18th May The Academy Newcastle UK
19th May Rock City Nottingham UK
20th May The Academy Bristol UK
23rd May The Academy 2 Manchester UK
24th May Wulfrun Hall Wolverhampton UK
25th May Rio's Bradford UK
26th May The Astoria London UK
28th July Rock Of Ages Festival Seebronn/Rottenburg Germany

KAMELOT + LEAVE’S EYES
Aug. 18 - Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance Theatre
Aug. 19 - New York, NY @ B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
Aug. 21 - Bedford, NH @ Mark’s Place (no KAMELOT)
Aug. 22 - Montreal, QUE @ Medley
Aug. 24 - Toronto, ON @ Opera House
Aug. 25 - Cleveland, OH @ Peabody’s
Aug. 27 - Mokena, IL @ The Pearl Room
Aug. 28 - St.Paul, MN @ Station 4

FRIDAY 26th JANUARY at The PEEL, Kingston Upon Thames, London.
LANDMARQ + Special Guests, £6 8pm.
Sat, FEB 24th, GALAHAD + EZRA
Sat, MAR 24th, STRANGEFISH + ARDENCY
Sat, APR 14TH,The REASONING + TOUCHSTONE

REVIEWS

Pat TRAVERS
Hooked On Music (DVD)
Cherry Red CRDVD141

Despite a plethora of live albums by this genuine guitar god, this is a noteworthy release in dating from 1976, while the Travers’ Band featured bassist Mars Cowling and drummer Nicko McBrain. Yes, he of Iron Maiden some 6 years later and to this day.
This line up recorded 2 classic albums in the late 70s, Making Magic and Putting It Straight, which are among his best works, and the music here is equally excellent. Whether technical fretboard workouts, classic solid and searing blues rock or the Iron Maiden connection are your interest, you’ll love this.
The hour long set, recorded for German TV in Cologne, is somewhat lacking in the fireworks you’d expect from Travers, and the select audience polite (almost staid). That said, ‘As My Life Flies’, ‘Step And Smile’ and ‘Hooked On Music’ kick off in fine form, the sound solid, bright and punchy, the performance perfect.
The three piece clearly are enjoying themselves, with Nicko grinning throughout.
‘You Don’t Love Me’ features a catchy riff and some hot slide guitar too, a stripped down version of Foghat perhaps. But it works and is thoroughly enjoyable.
If the band are a little understated, the music is electric and the classic ‘Boom Boom’ really rocks. ‘Makes No Difference’ closes, another classic number.
Sadly, with the short running time, there are absolutely no extras, not even a band line-up. Classic, almost essential music, but far from value for money.

3.5/5
Joe Geesin

THE HOLD STEADY ‘Boys And Girls In America’ Vagrant www.theholdsteady.com

The band’s debut album received rave reviews in the US and after hearing this album you can see why. The nest way to describe it would be Jellyfish jamming with AC/DC and Bruce Springsteen on vocals! Take ‘Stuck Between Stations’ where vocalist Craig Finn sounds uncannily like Springsteen. ‘Chips Away’ features some neat organ riffs and hints at Green On Red. You can even hear shades of Phil Lynott on ‘Hot Soft Light’, complete with Thin Lizzy style riffing. This band are no mere copyists but revel in good musical taste and influences. You even get a bit of laid back West coast music with ‘First Night’, whilst ‘Chillout Tent’ adds all sort of musical wonders. ‘Southtown Girls’ again brings to mind Thin Lizzy with its melodic twin lead guitar, making a fitting finale to a very enjoyable album.
For music fans who like a mixed bag this album pushes all the right buttons. It takes a few plays to stick but it is well worth it and already 2007 is starting off very strongly musically.

****
Jason Ritchie

MIDAS ‘Don’t dance’ (CDS 2007) www.myspace.com/midas

Midas hail form the West Midlands here in the UK and they have produced a superbly cactchy, fast paced tune in ‘Don’t Dance’. Once you get the blighter onto your stereo you can’t stop playing it! Great guitars, neat harmonies and a vocoder – Peter Frampton’s legacy lives on!
Definitely a band to look out for in 2007 and beyond. More please!

****
Jason Ritchie

McQUEEN ‘Break the Silence’ Demolition records (2007) www.mcqueenmusic.com

Debut album for the four piece female rockers from Brighton. They have been touring non-stop with the likes of the Almighty, Foo Fighters and the overrated Towers of London. The songs batter you into submission being catchy yet with a strong punk edge to them. ‘Dirt’, ‘Numb’ and the title track would all lends themselves to airplay. Musically it can sound slightly ‘samey’ after a few spins but if your thing is fast paced rock then you’d better invest in this and pronto. A natural successor to those stalwarts Girlschool, but with a bigger punk influence.

***1/2
Jason Ritchie

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home