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10/31/07

VAN HALEN TOUR LIKELY TO EXTEND WELL INTO 2008

Van Halen is likely to extend its reunion tour with singer David Lee Roth well into 2008, according to LiveDaily.com. The band announced that a planned stop in St. Louis, which was scheduled for October 28th but postponed earlier this month, has now been rescheduled for March 30th, a likely indicator that the show will be part of a larger late winter/early spring jaunt for the reactivated band.

• Tickets for the postponed St. Louis date will be honored at the new one, with refunds available at the point of purchase.
• Van Halen's current tour schedule ends on December 30th in Las Vegas and the band has yet to confirm any other shows aside from the St. Louis gig.
• Van Halen's tour, which features Roth behind the mic for the first time in 22 years, launched in late September to massive ticket sales and mostly positive reviews. The trek features Wolfgang Van Halen, teenage son of guitarist Eddie Van Halen, playing bass instead of original member Michael Anthony, who was not invited to participate.
• Van Halen next performs on Thursday (November 1st) in Washington D.C.

U2 COMING TO YOU IN 3-D

U2 has a 3-D film that's due out in late January. According to Variety.com, National Geographic is releasing the flick, which was shot entirely in digital 3D during the band's Vertigo tour in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile. 3ality Digital CEO Sandy Climan said, "Digital 3-D is a new cinema medium that truly allows moviegoers to immerse themselves in the experience, energy and emotion of being in a prime seat at a U2 concert."

• U2 has been working on the follow-up to 2004's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.
• On November 20th, U2 will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its classic album The Joshua Tree by reissuing it in four different formats, including special CD and DVD editions.
• Guitarist The Edge said U2s biggest challenge while touring is coming up with shows that will satisfy all its fans, including those who come more than once: "There's an element of the crowd that wants (the band) to do, you know, a new thing every night because we do have a percentage of the audience every night that's been to multiple shows. But we don't want to lean too far in that direction and, as it were, not give the people that are only seeing us that one night the best show that we can give them. So it's a balancing act."

JIM MORRISON'S LAST DAYS CHRONICLED ON BIOGRAPHY CHANNEL'S 'FINAL 24'

Jim Morrison's final hours are explored tonight (October 31st) on the Biography channel's series Final 24, which is about the last 24 hours of different people's lives. The show "reveals hidden secrets, psychological flaws and untimely events that resulted in their untimely deaths."

In this clip from the show, Break On Through author James Riordan recalls Morrison's move to Paris in 1971: "So when he went to Paris it was the idea of, here is a new place. A place for artists, a place I can work on my poetry. I mean, what better place to write poetry than Paris? And I can explore new avenues in my thinking. And in his mind, I think get himself together."

Steve Harris, the senior VP at the time of the Doors' record label Elektra Records, is also featured in the show and revealed what he knows about Morrison's death: "It was heroin. So they bring Jim home and he's dead. And they put him in the bathtub and there's a knock on the door. (Jim's wife) Pam goes and opens the door. You know who it is -- Marianne Faithfull. She saw what was going on and she split."

• Jim Morrison died on July 3rd, 1971 at the age of 27.
• Final 24: Jim Morrison premieres tonight (October 31st) on the Biography channel. Check your local listings for stations and times.
• Next weeks episode of Final 24 (November 7th) will delve into the death of Janis Joplin.

SLASH LINES UP BOOK SIGNING APPEARANCES

Velvet Revolver and ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash has lined up a series of book signing appearances to promote the publication of his new memoir, Slash: The Autobiography, which arrived in stores on Tuesday (October 30th). Slash signed copies of the book on Tuesday night at Barnes & Noble in downtown Manhattan and will continue with a string of sessions on both coasts. The book goes into detail about Slash's rise to guitar hero status with G N' R, as well as his exploits with drugs, porn stars, and the excesses of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle.

• Slash's current band, Velvet Revolver, just completed a U.S. tour and will head to Japan and Australia in November.
• Upcoming Slash book signing appearances:
  October 31 - Book Revue - Huntington, NY (7:00 p.m.)
  November 1 - Ridgewood, NJ - Bookends (7:30 p.m.)
  November 5 - Torrance, CA - Borders (7:00 p.m.)
  November 7 - Los Angeles, CA - Book Soup (6:00 p.m.)

AEROSMITH DRUMMER NAMED HONORARY CHAIR OF BOSTON MUSIC AWARDS

Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer has been named honorary chairman of the 2007 Boston Music Awards. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the awards and Kramer says he's happy to be a part of the event, adding, "Aerosmith plays all over the world, but it all starts and comes back here to Boston for me. Boston is in Aerosmith's DNA. I am part of Boston's family of musicians." Kramer was born in The Bronx, New York, but now lives in Massachusetts.

• The Boston Music Awards take place December 1st at the Orpheum Theater. The ceremony recognizes artists in the New England region.
• Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler was recently featured on National Geographic Channel's Incredible Machine series. The show chronicled his vocal chord surgery and recovery.

ROD STEWART TO SHOW OFF ONE OF HIS FAVORITE HOBBIES

Rod Stewart will show off one of his favorite hobbies in the December issue of Model Railroader magazine. According to a release, he called up the publication to talk about his 1,500-square-foot model-train layout and offered a peak into his "Grand Street & Three Rivers Railroad" display. Model Railroader magazine got an interview and exclusive access to the third floor of Stewart's Beverly Hills home. The rocker said, "I'm proud to be a railway modeler. It means more to me to be on the cover of Model Railroader than to be on the cover of a music magazine."

• The December 2007 issue hits newsstands November 6th.
• Stewart isn't the only model-train fan. Neil Young has been a minority owner of Lionel L.L.C trains for years. Other enthusiasts have included Frank Sinatra and Joe DiMaggio.

THE STEVE MILLER BAND TO RELEASE FIRST-EVER DVD

The Steve Miller Band is expected to release its first-ever DVD next February. According to AntiMusic.com, the two-DVD collection was filmed this past summer over two sold-out nights at Chicago's Ravinia venue. The first DVD features 20 live performances, including the hits "The Joker," "Fly Like An Eagle," "Abracadabra" and "Take The Money And Run." The second disc includes more than 45 minutes worth of bonus material, including a never-before-released documentary of Miller revisiting some of the first venues he performed at in Chicago. There's also a bonus CD with 12 songs, including "Keep On Rockin' Me Baby," "Living In The USA" and "Wild Mountain Hone."

• The Steve Miller Band's next show is Saturday (November 3rd) in Phoenix.

FORMER MANAGER OF THE BEATLES APPLE RECORDS PUBLISHES HIS MEMOIRS

Ken Mansfield, the former US manager of Apple Records, has published his memoir on his time with the Beatles and his life in the music business, called The White Book. Mansfield, who promoted the Beatles on Capitol prior to being among the first on the Apple team, had worked with such legends as the Beach Boys, Buck Owens, Glen Campbell, and many others before joining Apple.

Starting with "Hey Jude," Mansfield played a crucial role in promoting both the Beatles' music, as well as other Apple acts such as Mary Hopkin, James Taylor and Badfinger.

• Mansfield was among the handful of insiders present at the Beatles' final live performance on the rooftop of the Apple headquarters on January 30th, 1969. Mansfield recalled prior to the lunchtime gig walking in on the four Beatles who were using one of the Apple offices as a makeshift dressing room: "It was like walking in on a band, a nervous bunch of guys getting ready to do an audition. I don't know if it's because they hadn't played together, or whether they were trying to put the set together, but it was one of those kind of tense things where they were nervous. When we locked the doors upstairs, and the minute they started playing -- and you know all the... everything that was going down, all the stuff. It's like it all went away and I really believe in my mind that they forgot everything and they were what they were. They were the Beatles."

10/30/07

THE EAGLES RELEASE FIRST STUDIO ALBUM IN 28 YEARS, EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH WAL-MART

The Eagles released their first new studio album in nearly 28 years today (October 30th) called The Long Road Out Of Eden. The 20-track double album features songs written by all four current Eagles, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmidt. The collection marks the band's first studio set since their multiplatinum album The Long Run, which was released on September 24th, 1979.

Glenn Frey says that the band is proud to finally present the new work to the public after years of delays and breaks in the recording process: "You know everybody has been waiting a long while, so that part's really good. It's exciting for us that we actually made it through the process and it's something that we really think is pretty good and up to our standards. Now the band has more possibilities, you know, I think that's healthy. So, it's a bit of a shot in the arm for us, yeah. We're... we're energized."

Frey addressed some fans' feelings that the band has bowed to corporate sponsorship by selling The Long Road Out Of Eden exclusively at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores, and through walmart.com: "My position is, they gave us the best chance to sell the most records, and they're also going to pay us more than anybody else. My job as the leader of the Eagles is to give us the best chance to sell the most records, and we looked at what Garth Brooks accomplished with his deal with Wal-Mart over the last two years -- and the numbers compared very favorably compared to what a regular record company would do. And you know what, we listened to Target and Best Buy and Apple and you know... But like I said, right now I'm in the business of selling records."

• The first single from the new album, the country-tinged "How Long," was written and recorded in the early 1970s by the Eagles' frequent collaborator J.D. Souther, and was first performed live by the band around that time. At their recent Los Angeles shows, "How Long" was featured as the band's opening number.
• The Eagles' last album, 1994's live Hell Freezes Over collection, featured four new tracks, peaked at Number One on the Billboard 200 album chart, and has sold over eight million copies.
• On Saturday (October 27th), the Eagles, along with special guests the Dixie Chicks, wrapped up a six-night stand at Los Angeles' new at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live.
• Tomorrow (October 31st), the Eagles will perform a one-off private gig at London's 2,300-seat Indigo venue, located inside the new O2 arena.
• Additional concert dates are still up in the air for this year, but the band is expected to launch an extensive tour behind the album in 2008.

HEAVEN AND HELL EYE NEW ALBUM IN 2008

Heaven and Hell are eyeing the release of a new album next year. Bassist Geezer Butler said the Black Sabbath offshoot is in talks with various record labels, and more information should be out soon. The group includes singer Ronnie James Dio, along with Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Butler and drummer Vinny Appice. Butler was surprised by the news, updating fans on Black-Sabbath.com, "This is a complete 100% about-face from everything I've been told. Since this project was started, I've been told not to expect anything past the tour, which ends in November. It was all about Dio going to do a new Magica album, etc, etc, etc..." He added, "Normally I wouldn't update sites on my anniversary, but this news was too hot to hold back."

• Heaven and Hell recently wrapped up a U.S. tour and are on the road in the U.K. this fall.

SLASH SETS 'AUTOBIOGRAPHY' LOOSE TODAY

Velvet Revolver and former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash's tell-all book, Slash: The Autobiography, comes out today (October 30th). Slash, whose real name is Saul Hudson, explained that even though he had a co-writer, Anthony Bozza, he was still surprised to find that he had to do a lot of hard work on the book: "It was a lot like having kids. It was sort of like, I thought my wife was gonna do all the, you know, diapers and this, that and the other, and I just had to hang out and be cool, and it turned out not to be that way (laughs) ... Writing the book was the same kind of deal. You know, it was a lot more complex than the actual interview part of the thing, which I thought that would basically be it. But instead I'd read it back and go, 'Oh, no, no, no...' and really have to write it myself."

• Some excerpts from the book have been leaked in recent weeks, including details of Slash's substance abuse, including Slash missing a date with porn star Traci Lords because he was coming down from a crack binge, asking a contractor working on his bathroom if he wanted some cocaine, and being so paranoid from his drug intake that he thought he was being stalked by the Predator from the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie of the same name.

ART GARFUNKEL ANNOUNCES U.S. TOUR DATES

Art Garfunkel has announced a series of upcoming U.S. concert dates. The announcement puts to rest the recent rumors that he and Paul Simon would be reuniting for a series of dates in January and February to perform in Australia and New Zealand.

• Art Garfunkel tour dates (subject to change):
  January 5 - Palm Desert, CA - McCallum Theatre for the Performing Arts
  January 11 - Waco, TX - Waco Hall
  January 12 - San Antonio, TX - Majestic Theatre
  January 13 - Grand Prairie, TX - Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie
  January 15, 16 - Stuart, FL - Lyric Theatre
  January 17 - Avon Park, FL - South Florida Community College
  February 9 - North Charleston, SC - PAC at North Charleston Coliseum
  February 11 - Tallahassee, FL - Ruby Diamond Auditorium at Florida State University
  February 12 - Augusta, GA - Bell Auditorium Civic Center
  February 14 - Bethesda, MD - Music Center at Strathmore
  February 15, 16 - Baltimore, MD - Meyehoff Symphony Hall
  February 22, 23 - Oklahoma City, OK Civic Center Music Hall
  March 27 - Aspen, CO, Wheeler - Opera House
  March 28 - Beaver Creek, CO - Vilar Center for the Arts
  March 29 - Colorado Springs, CO - Pikes Peak Center
  April 11 - Salem, VA Salem - Civic Center
  April 12 - Birmingham, AL - Stephens Performing Arts Center

Garfunkel says that despite having nearly 35 years worth of solo material to chose from, he always devotes a substantial portion of his live act to Simon & Garfunkel hits: "The structure of my show bounces between Simon & Garfunkel, which I try and keep less than half (laughs), but I can't not do 'Scarborough (Fair)' and them others. And there's a whole bunch of goodies that Paul wrote. He was too damn good for me to put as a tiny proportion of my show today."

• Last year Garfunkel released his first album of standards called Some Enchanted Evening. The set featured such evergreens as "Someone To Watch Over Me," "Life Is But A Dream," "What'll I Do," and the title track "Some Enchanted Evening."

U2, RUN DMC, NO DOUBT, STING & OTHERS ON 'A VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS' DVD

Classic performances from such artists as U2, Sheryl Crow, Run DMC, Sting and others will be part of A Very Special Christmas - 20th Anniversary Music Video DVD, in stores on November 20th. The first ever DVD collection from the A Very Special Christmas series benefiting Special Olympics, the package includes a diverse gathering of music luminaries who've taken part in the eight albums released over the years.

The series began in 1987 as the brainchild of Jimmy Iovine and his wife Vicki, who arranged with Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss of A&M Records to release the album without any royalties. All artists involved have donated their songs. "I am full of admiration for the many artists who have helped us," said Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of Special Olympics. "It's a great tribute that these men and women say to themselves, 'I'll use my talent to help others.'"

• The track listing for A Very Special Christmas - 20th Anniversary Music Video Collection is:
  Run DMC - "Christmas In Hollis"
  U2 - "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"
  No Doubt - "Oi To The World"
  John Mellencamp - "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"
  Sting - "Gabriel's Message"
  Jon Bon Jovi - "Please Come Home For Christmas"
  Vanessa Williams - "What Child Is This"
  Eric Clapton - "Christmas Tears"
  Tracy Chapman - "Oh Holy Night"
  Sheryl Crow - "Run Rudolph Run"
  Wyclef Jean - "Little Drummer Boy/Hot Hot Hot"
  Stevie Wonder (with Wyclef Jean) - "Merry Christmas Baby"

FIRST BOB DYLAN ART EXHIBITION EVER OPENS IN GERMANY

Bob Dylan's first public exhibit of paintings and drawings has gone on display in Chemnitz, Germany. The Associated Press reported that the show, which opened on Sunday (October 28th), is running at the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz museum and includes about 200 pieces, including Dylan's The Drawn Blank Series, which features "170 colored versions of pictorial motifs."

The series features pieces created by Dylan between 1989 and 1992, which the museum's curator Ingrid Moessinger had specially reprinted and painted upon Dylan's approval. The Dylan art exhibit runs through February 3rd.

• Dylan has featured his artwork on several albums throughout the years, beginning with the Band's 1968 debut Songs From Big Pink, and his own albums such as 1970's Self Portrait, 1974's Planet Waves, and 1983's Infidels. Many of Dylan's line drawings were featured in his 1985 book Lyrics: 1962-1985.

10/29/07

ROGER DALTREY SAYS THE WHO ARE CONSIDERING 2008 DATES

Roger Daltrey says the Who are considering plans for a 2008 tour. Daltrey told Reuters, "I think we'll do some shows next year. We just finished 13 months of touring all over the States and Europe, and are probably due to go back to Japan and Australia next year. So we'll see what happens there. We don't want to stop now. We don't want those long hiatuses that we used to have."

Daltrey, who battled severe vocal problems on the band's recent world tour, said that he and Pete Townshend are eager to keep the band an ongoing touring entity: "We feel at this time of our lives it's too precious a thing to take liberties with time. When you're young, you've got that time. When you're old, you haven't. You should at least keep the ball rolling."

• He went on to say Townshend is currently hard at work on new material. Daltrey added that he feels Townshend's best work is still ahead of him: "I've always felt -- after Pete had written Tommy -- I always had a little thing inside me saying, 'He'll write his best work when he's an older man.' Pete has that kind of intellect."
• Although Townshend and Daltrey will originally booked to appear tomorrow night (October 30th) at the U.S. premiere of the Who documentary Amazing Journey: The Story Of The Who at New York City's Paley Center, representatives for Townshend have said he will not be appearing due to "personal reasons."
• Daltrey will be on hand, but said that he will hold off on watching the film again: "There's no point in me seeing it, I lived it. I'll watch me, I won't see the film. I'll watch me in the film, and I find that very uncomfortable."
• Daltrey thinks that the touring version of the Who are still on top of their game: "I think the band's playing better than ever. The energy -- We may be older in ourselves and maybe individually, or even collectively, not actually have as much energy, but the music generates as much energy, if not more, than it did in the '60s and '70s."
• A deluxe DVD version of Amazing Journey: The Story Of The Who will be released on DVD on November 6th.
• On November 7th, Daltrey will join Slash, Joe Walsh, Vince Neil, Bad Company's Simon Kirke, Yes' Alan White and Kiss' Bruce Kulick for the 10th anniversary Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino.

BON JOVI ANNOUNCES WORLD TOUR

Bon Jovi will set out on an extensive world tour this fall, visiting more than 10 countries over the next half year. The New Jersey rockers have already kicked things off with the start of a 10-night stand at Newark, New Jersey's Prudential Center. After the run wraps next month, Bon Jovi will hit the road November 14th in Montreal. Frontman Jon Bon Jovi said, "We're starting in New Jersey and then taking it to the world." Shows have already been lined up in the U.S., Canada and Japan, with additional dates expected to be announced soon. Tickets for U.S. shows go on sale beginning November 3rd.

Bon Jovi is touring behind its ninth album, Lost Highway, which debuted at Number One on the album charts. It marked the band's first chart-topping set since 1988's New Jersey.

• Bon Jovi North American tour dates (subject to change):
  November 14 - Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre
  November 15 - Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre
  November 17 - Ottawa, Ontario - Scotiabank Bank Place
  November 19 - London, Ontario - John Labatt Centre
  December 6 - Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre
  December 7 - Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre
  December 9 - Winnipeg, Manitoba - MTS Centre
  December 10 - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - Credit Union Centre
  December 12 - Edmonton, Alberta - Rexall Place
  December 13 - Calgary, Alberta - Pengrowth Saddledome
  December 15 - Vancouver, British Columbia - GM Place
  December 16 - Vancouver, British Columbia - GM Place
  February 18 - Omaha, NE - Qwest Center
  February 20 - Detroit, MI - The Palace of Auburn Hills
  February 23 - Chicago, IL - United Center
  February 24 - Chicago, IL - United Center
  February 28 - Washington, DC - Verizon Center
  March 2 - Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center
  March 3 - Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center
  March 5 - Pittsburgh, PA - Mellon Arena
  March 10 - Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre
  March 18 - St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
  March 31 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
  April 2 - San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion
  April 4 - Anaheim, CA - Honda Center
  April 5 - Anaheim, CA - Honda Center
  April 8 - Phoenix, AZ - Jobing.com Arena
  April 9 - Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center
  April 14 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
  April 15 - Oklahoma City, OK - Ford Center
  April 20 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center
  April 22 - Des Moines, IA - Wells Fargo Arena
  April 24 - Nashville, TN - Sommet Center
  April 26 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - BankAtlantic Center
  April 27 - Tampa, FL - St. Pete Times Forum
  April 30 - Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena

KEITH RICHARDS MARCHES AGAINST BUDGET CUTS AT LOCAL UK HOSPITAL

Keith Richards was among the 10,000 people rallying on Saturday (October 27th) in Chichester, England, against the possible cuts in services provided at his local hospital. Timesonline.co.uk reported that Richards was marching as part of a campaign to save the St. Richard's hospital's emergency unit and maternity services.

Richards, who was dressed in a long black leather coat, a trilby hat and sunglasses, addressed the crowd and said, "I have used St. Richard's a couple of times myself and it has saved a couple of lives on my behalf. Why are we talking about downgrading St. Richard's? We should be talking about upgrading it."

• He went on to reference the nearby Chichester cathedral, by saying: "There's a big building over there called the cathedral that will look after you in the hereafter. St. Richard's will take care of you in the here and now."
• Richards' longtime country home called Redlands in West Wittering is near Chichester, and was the scene of his and Mick Jagger's legendary drug bust in 1967.
• The rally to save the hospital from budget cuts was organized by the Support St. Richard's group. Over the past year supporters have included Paul McCartney, among others.

ELTON JOHN-OWNED PHOTO NOT CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

British prosecutors ruled on Friday (October 26th) that a piece of art owned by Elton John is not child pornography. According to the Associated Press, the picture had been taken by police the day before it was to be included in an art exhibition in September. The photo features two girls dancing, and one of them is naked. John said the picture, called "Klara and Edda Belly Dancing," had been exhibited across Europe and the United States "without any objections of which he was aware." It was initially confiscated amid indecency concerns, but there wasn't enough evidence to justify charges of possession or distribution of an indecent photograph.

• John performs tonight (Monday, October 29th) in Las Vegas.

PAUL McCARTNEY RELEASING NEW LIVE EP ONLY ON VINYL

Paul McCartney will be issuing a live 12-inch vinyl EP on November 20th, featuring highlights from his recent concert at Los Angeles' Amoeba Records. The new set, which will not be made available online or released as a CD, is called Amoeba's Secret and is McCartney's second release through his new label Hear Music.

The record includes four songs recorded live at the June 28th show: "Only Mama Knows," "C Moon," "That Was Me," and "I Saw Her Standing There."

• Amoeba's Secret is one of three new McCartney releases set for next month.
• On November 6th, McCartney will release a deluxe, expanded version of his most recent album, Memory Almost Full. The expanded set features three bonus tracks originally only available on the deluxe version of the album, and a DVD featuring five songs from McCartney's July 5th show at London's Electric Ballroom. The disc also features McCartney's videos for the songs "Dance Tonight" and "Ever Present Past."
• On November 13th, McCartney will release a three-disc DVD collection, titled The McCartney Years. The set marks the first time the majority of McCartney's videos and promotional appearances, both with Wings and as a solo act, have been available commercially.

AC/DC DVD COLLECTION HITS NUMBER ONE

AC/DC's two-disc DVD collection, Plug Me In, debuted at Number One on Billboard's Top Music Video chart on Friday (October 26th), with first-week sales of 35,000 copies in the U.S. Australia's Daily Telegraph predicted that the retrospective set could shatter sales records, with more than half a million copies reportedly ordered internationally. The compilation contains over five hours of live and television performances, many of them rare and previously unavailable until now. A limited edition of the set includes a third disc featuring 21 additional performances, along with reproductions of authentic AC/DC memorabilia.

• Disc one is devoted to the band's early years with singer Bon Scott, while disc two covers the era with Brian Johnson on the mic.
• AC/DC is scheduled to begin recording its first all-new album since 2000's Stiff Upper Lip at some point soon, although exact dates remain a mystery.

METALLICA COVERS RARE EARTH, GARBAGE, DIRE STRAITS AT BENEFIT

Metallica stunned the audience at the first night of Neil Young's annual Bridge School Benefit in Mountain View, California on Saturday night (October 27th) by covering Rare Earth, Dire Straits and Garbage during its eight-song acoustic set. According to the Mercury News, "The metal superstars, performing their only U.S. show of the year in front of an audience plentifully stocked with diehard fans of the band, sat down on their stools and prompted jaws to drop throughout the amphitheater by opening with the 1971 Motown hit 'I Just Want to Celebrate.'"

The band continued its set with Nazareth's "Please Don't Judas Me," Garbage's "Only Happy When It Rains" and Dire Straits' "Brothers in Arms" before playing a couple of its own songs. The reviewer for the Mercury News wrote, "The combination baffled Bridge School regulars while it frustrated the Metallica faithful. The band would have been better served by picking just one of the covers... and using the remaining time to explore more Metallica material in the stripped-down acoustic setting. Hetfield's interpretive singing is not the band's strong suit."

• Metallica was scheduled to perform again on Sunday night (October 28th) at the second night of the event.
• Metallica's set list at the Bridge School Benefit:
  "I Just Want To Celebrate" (Rare Earth)
  "Please Don't Judas Me" (Nazareth)
  "Only Happy When It Rains" (Garbage)
  "Brothers In Arms" (Dire Straits)
  "Disposable Heroes"
  "All Within My Hands"
  "Turn The Page" (Bob Seger)
  "Nothing Else Matters"

HEART'S ANN WILSON SAYS MUSIC BUSINESS IS STILL TOUGH FOR FEMALE ROCKERS

Heart's Ann Wilson says that female musicians are still figuring a way to fit into the male dominated rock world. Wilson told Sun Media that, "(Women) want to be in the rock world, but don't want to be thought of as ugly by being too aggressive... (Heart) spent a lot of time being disappointed and upset in terms of what we saw and how men treated women. Also, how women just allowed themselves to be treated."

• She touched upon the early rumor that she and her sister Nancy were lesbian lovers as an example of some of the hurdles female rockers still seem to face: "That's a male vision, a male fantasy -- if there are two gorgeous chicks on stage, especially if they're sisters, then it's like, 'How cool would it be if they were sleeping together.' It's stupid and superficial. It takes the emphasis off of the important thing, which is them as musicians and people."
• Last month Wilson released her first solo album, called Hope & Glory. The set, which features sister Nancy on several tracks, includes covers of Pink Floyd's "Goodbye Blue Sky," John Lennon's "Isolation," Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising," Elton John's "Where To Now St. Peter," the Animals' "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place," Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," and more.
• Heart will perform tomorrow night (Tuesday, October 30th) in Richmond, BC at the River Rock Casino Resort. On Wednesday (October 31st) they'll be in Coquitlam, BC at the Red Robinson Theatre.

VELVET REVOLVER POSTPONES SHOW DUE TO CALIFORNIA FIRES

Velvet Revolver postponed its show on Friday (October 26th) at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine, California due to the wildfires that ravaged the Southern California area last week. Although many of the fires have come under control, Irvine faced evacuations because of the lingering threat and the school district closed all facilities in the area because of poor air quality. The show, which also features Alice In Chains, has been moved to the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles on December 12th.

• Fans who bought tickets either at the venue box office or a Ticketmaster outlet can exchange them for tickets to the December 12th show at the Gibson Amphitheatre box office starting Monday, November 5th. Anyone who bought tickets online will receive new ones automatically in the mail. Refunds are also available for those unable to make the new date.
• A statement said that the members of Velvet Revolver "send their sincerest thoughts and prayers to those who have been affected by the tragic fires."
• A number of other shows have been scrapped as a result of the disaster, while artists such as Serj Tankian have had their homes threatened by the blazes.
• Velvet Revolver has been on tour in support of its second album, Libertad.
• Guitarist Slash will publish his autobiography on Tuesday (October 30th).

WOODSTOCK MUSEUM TO OPEN DESPITE WITHDRAWAL OF FEDERAL FUNDING

The Museum at Bethel Woods, dedicated to the three-day Woodstock Festival that took place in 1969, is set to open next year in spite of the federal government's withdrawal of $1 million of funding for the project. Although New York state Senators Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer sought the federal funding that was voted down last week, the project has received $15 million in state funding.

"Our plans haven't changed," Ellyn Solis, spokeswoman for the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, told the Associated Press. The museum is part of the 2,000 acre performing arts venue and will be located on top of the hill near where the stage that hosted such legendary artists as Jimi Hendrix, Crosby Stills, Nash and Young, Janis Joplin and many others was.

• Republican Senator John McCain mocked Clinton's spending proposal in TV ads that juxtapose the hippie fest with his Vietnam POW days.

THE WRECKING CREW AND THE FUNK BROTHERS AMONG INAUGURAL INDUCTEES TO THE MUSICIANS HALL OF FAME

Legendary studio groups including Los Angeles' Wrecking Crew and Motown's Funk Brothers will be among the inaugural inductees at the Musicians Hall of Fame gala on November 27th at Nashville's Schermehorn Symphony Center.

Hall Of Fame magazine reported that the other inductees will include the Blue Moon Boys, who were Elvis Presley's original backing band, studio groups such as the Nashville A-Team and the Memphis Boys, and Johnny Cash's original group the Tennessee Two.

• The Blue Moon Boys included guitarist Scotty Moore, bassist Bill Black, and drummer D.J. Fontana. The group backed Presley on his historic Sun Records sessions and such seminal '50s hits as "Hound Dog," "Don't Be Cruel," "Jailhouse Rock," "Heartbreak Hotel," and dozens more. Moore and Fontana will be on hand to receive the group's award.
• The Wrecking Crew played on many of the hit singles recorded in Hollywood from the late 1950s through the early 1970s, including tracks by the Ronettes, the Beach Boys, the Monkees, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Leslie Gore, Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Righteous Brothers, Sonny & Cher, Jan & Dean, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, the Mamas and the Papas, the Turtles, Simon & Garfunkel, the Carpenters, John Lennon, and nearly all of Phil Spector's classic '60s "Wall Of Sound" productions.
• Representing the Wrecking Crew at the ceremony will be Billy Strange, Don Randi, Larry Knechtel, Joe Osborn, Hal Blaine, Lyle Ritz, James Burton, Jim Horn, and Mike Deasy.
• The Funk Brothers are best known for being Motown's house band during the label's glory days in the '60s and performing on most of the hits for the label's biggest acts, including those for the Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, the Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, among many others.
• Group members Uriel Jones, Joe Messina, Eddie Willis, and Bob Babbitt will represent the Funk Brothers at the awards presentation.
• The Nashville A-Team played on records by Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, Perry Como, Bob Dylan and others.
• The Memphis Boys can be heard on hits by Wilson Pickett, Dionne Warwick, the Box Tops, BJ Thomas, Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, and others.
• The Tennessee Two consisted of Johnny Cash's early Sun Records band, which featured Luther Perkins on electric guitar and Marshall Grant on upright bass. Among the legendary tracks they're featured on are "I Walk The Line," "Folsom Prison Blues," "There You Go," "Big River," "Guess Things Happen That Way," and many others.
• Glen Campbell was a member of the Wrecking Crew even after he achieved worldwide success. He thinks every one of the players deserves to be inducted in the "sideman" category included on each year's ballot for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: "Well, they should get it, because they had the talent. And there were more records that came out of Los Angeles and the studios there in the '60s than any studio in the world. And it was basically the same group of people playing on all of those records."

10/26/07

GENESIS TO RELEASE DOUBLE LIVE ALBUM NEXT MONTH

Genesis will release a live double-disc album on November 20th, called Live Over Europe. The collection features 25 tracks taped during last summer's European tour. Earlier this month Genesis, featuring their most successful lineup of Phil Collins, Tony Banks, and Mike Rutherford, wrapped up their first U.S. tour in 15 years.

The new double album features tracks spanning the band's entire career, including favorites from their 1970s albums which featured early members Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett.

The full tracklisting for Genesis' Live Over Europe is:

• Disc One: "Duke's Intro: Behind the Lines/Duke's End," "Turn It On Again," "No Son Of Mine," "Land Of Confusion," "In The Cage: The Cinema Show/Duke's Travels," "Afterglow," "Hold On My Heart," "Home By The Sea," "Follow You, Follow Me," "Firth Of Fifth," and "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)."
  Disc Two: "Mama," "Ripples," "Throwing It All Away," "Domino" "Conversations With Two Stools," "Los Endos," "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight," "Invisible Touch," "I Can't Dance," and "Carpet Crawlers."
• The same day the live album is released, a 12-disc boxed set of the Genesis' later albums will be released. The collection will feature all the band's studio albums recorded between 1983 and 1998 in deluxe, expanded editions.
• Phil Collins says that he was amazed at how warmly Genesis were received during their initial European shows last summer: "It was a big surprise to me just how warm the audience of all generations... There's people that saw us the first time, people that were too young to have seen us -- kids that have grown up with us through their parents. It was quite an amazing sort of thing when you've got 40, 50,000 people out there. Sixty to 70,000 people sometimes of all different ages and they all know the words and we're up there playing, very, very well."

THE BEATLES' DIRECTOR SAYS HE DIDN'T MIND THEM BEING STONED ON SET

The Beatles' film director Richard Lester said that he never got up in arms with the group's marijuana use during the filming of their second movie, Help! Lester, who contributed to the upcoming DVD release of the film, explained to timesonline.co.uk, "I didn't demand a standard of professionalism and get stroppy with them. If they wanted to indulge in certain substances, well, that's fine... They weren't lying in some sort of stupor, it's not heroin that we're talking about. They were giggling."

He went on to recall a seven hour flight with the less-than-sober Beatles: "The boys were giggling, and my son was three at the time. And there's nothing a three-year-old likes better than to see people laughing, so he laughed for seven hours as well."

• On November 6th two versions of Help! will be released on DVD: a standard digipack, and a deluxe boxed set that will contain a reproduction of Lester's original annotated script, eight lobby cards, a poster, and a 60-page book with rarely seen photographs and production notes from the movie.
• Both the deluxe book and the standard booklet feature an introduction by Lester and an "appreciation" by Martin Scorsese.
• Tomorrow night (October 27th) the Sundance Channel will premiere Help! at 10 p.m. ET, with repeated airings scheduled through November.
• Among the Beatles classics featured in Help! are the title track, "The Night Before," "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away," "I Need You," "Another Girl," "You're Gonna Lose That Girl," and "Ticket To Ride."

PRODUCER PHIL RAMONE PUBLISHES RECORDING MEMOIR

Legendary producer Phil Ramone has just published his musical memoir, called Making Records: The Scenes Behind the Music. The book chronicles his sessions with such superstar acts as Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, Paul Simon and Rod Stewart, among others.

Borders book stores is selling an exclusive CD along with the book, which features over a dozen of Ramone's classic productions throughout the years, including such highlights as "New York State of Mind" by Tony Bennett and Billy Joel; "Evergreen" by Barbra Streisand; "Slip Slidin' Away" by Paul Simon; "Put On A Happy Face" by Tony Bennett and James Taylor; "Liza With A 'Z'" by Liza Minnelli; and Billy Joel's "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)," among others.

• Among the many albums Ramone has produced are Billy Joel's The Stranger, 52nd Street, and Glass Houses; Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years and One Trick Pony; Simon & Garfunkel's The Concert In Central Park; Frank Sinatra's Duets and Duets II; and Rod Stewart's It Had to Be You... The Great American Songbook and As Time Goes By ... The Great American Songbook, Volume II. He co-produced Ray Charles' duets album Genius Loves Company.

PINK FLOYD RELEASING LIMITED EDITION BOX SET OF STUDIO ALBUMS

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Pink Floyd's debut album, the band will release a new 16-disc box set called Oh By The Way on December 4th, containing all of their studio albums. Billboard reported that for the time being the collection will be limited to a pressing of 10,000, and will only be available as an import in the U.S.

The albums are repackaged as mini-vinyl reproductions, including replicas of each album's posters, inserts and inner dust sleeves. The set will feature a new portrait collage from Floyd's longtime visual collaborator, graphic artist Storm Thorgerson, and will also include a 20 by 30 inch poster.

• The albums included in the Oh By The Way box set are: The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, A Saucer Full Of Secrets, More, Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother, Meddle, Obscured By Clouds, Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, The Wall, The Final Cut, A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, and The Division Bell.
• Missing from the set are the band's live, compilation and rarities sets, including Relics, A Collection Of Great Dance Songs, Works, Delicate Sound Of Thunder, and Pulse.
• Nick Mason says that although Pink Floyd made a dramatic shift stylistically when Roger Waters took over the as the band's main songwriter after Syd Barrett left the band, elements of their earlier work continued on throughout their entire career: "Lyrically they're quite different, because Syd's writing is different to Roger's, but musically, I think, there's a style, there's a sound and a way of assembling the sound that's continued through, and I think particularly in terms of overlaying sound and then this sort of introduction of special effects. That fact that 'See Emily Play,' for instance, has that bridge which is sort of a double-time, speeded-up tape thing, that was a forerunner of all sorts of ideas and sound effects and strange noises that have been used consistently ever since."

10/25/07

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN'S 'MAGIC' EDGES BACK TO THE TOP OF THE CHARTS

Bruce Springsteen's new album Magic edged back to the top of the Billboard album charts. Magic was knocked out of the top spot last week by Kid Rock's new album Rock N Roll Jesus, which sits at the Number Two spot this week.

Magic sold 77,000 copies in the U.S. last week with a three-week total of 547,337 copies. Magic has also topped the British and Canadian album charts.

• Springsteen talked to Rolling Stone about performing for longtime fans saying, "It's an organic living thing. There's something subtly said on a nightly basis... You're in that dark room together. The lights go down, and you're free to imagine the person, the place that you want to be. I suppose you take some of that with you when you go. It stays with you."
• Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform tonight and tomorrow (Thursday and Friday, October 25th and 26th) at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.

ELTON JOHN TO PLAY FIRST-EVER 'MOVIES ROCK' CONCERT

Elton John is among the performers set to play the first-ever Movies Rock concert December 2nd at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. The event will celebrate the relationship between music and film by honoring classic movies. Joining John for the show will be Carrie Underwood, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, John Legend, Fergie and others.

John will honor the music from animated films. Underwood will sing the title song from The Sound Of Music, and Blige and Legend will duet on "As Time Goes By" from Casablanca. Fergie and Jennifer Hudson will join forces on the songs "Live and Let Die" and "Goldfinger" from the James Bond movies.

• Movie Rocks will air on December 7th at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. There will also be a Movies Rock magazine, which will come with the December subscriber issues of 14 Conde Nast magazines. The cover features Bill Murray channeling Elvis Presley.

SANTANA'S 'ULTIMATE HITS' MAKES CHART DEBUT

Santana's new Ultimate Hits collection debuted at Number Eight on Billboard's Top 200 chart this week. The career-spanning collection features both past hits and never-before-released material, including the single "Into The Night," featuring Chad Kroeger of Nickelback. Santana and Kroeger already have a hit song together with 2002's "Why Don't You and I."

The Nickelback frontman tells us that this time he got to spend some quality time with Carlos Santana: "The last time it was just I got the song over. This time it just was entirely different. I mean we actually hung out together. We went down to San Francisco and we hung out and it was a lot of fun to get see things done. You just learn, and everybody does it completely differently."

Kroeger tells us how the song "Into The Night" came about: "I had this tune and it had this very lax feel to it. So we sent it over to Santana to see if he'd be interested in jamming with it. We flew down to San Francisco and had Carlos play all his guitar parts on it. And his percussion guy came in and Chester, his B-Three guy that he used to play with in Tower of Power. And they all laid down incredible parts on this song. And it turned out amazing. We're all really proud of it."

• Tina Turner duets on the song, "The Game of Love," which was a hit for Santana and Michelle Branch in 2002. Ultimate Santana also includes such hits as "Black Magic Woman," "Evil Ways" and "Smooth" featuring Rob Thomas, among others.
• 2007 marks 40 years since the original Santana Blues Band performed its first gigs at the Fillmore West in San Francisco.

PRINCE AND THE BEATLES TOP GREATEST FILM SOUNDTRACK LIST

Prince's Purple Rain has been voted the greatest film soundtrack ever by the editors of Vanity Fair. Reuters reported that the entire list of the 50 top film soundtracks will be published next month in a one-time magazine called Movies Rock, for subscribers of 14 Conde Nast magazines.

1984's Purple Rain beat out the competition, due to what editors claimed was "(its) flawless combination of funk, R&B, pop, metal, and even psychedelia into a sound that defined the '80s."

• The Top Ten Greatest Film Soundtracks:
  1. Purple Rain - 1984
  2. A Hard Day's Night - 1964
  3. The Harder They Come - 1972
  4. Pulp Fiction - 1994
  5. The Graduate - 1967
  6. Super Fly - 1972
  7. Trainspotting - 1996
  8. Saturday Night Fever - 1977
  9. American Graffiti - 1973
  10. The Big Chill - 1983

FLASHBACK: THE ROLLING STONES APPEAR ON 'THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW'

It was 43 years ago today (October 25th, 1964) that the Rolling Stones made their debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. The Stones' debut was nothing like the Beatles' celebrated first appearance the previous February, when they performed five songs. The Stones, who were on their second U.S. tour of the year, performed two songs in under seven minutes -- their latest hit "Time Is On My Side," and a cover of Chuck Berry's "Around And Around."

The Ed Sullivan Show wasn't the Stones' first U.S. TV performance. They had performed on Dean Martin's Hollywood Palace and The Mike Douglas Show during their first swing through the States the previous June. But it was during the Stones' 1964 Ed Sullivan Show performance that the majority of America got their first glimpse of the unruly Stones -- with Mick Jagger dressing down in a ragged sweatshirt and unwashed hair, and guitarist Brian Jones glaring menacingly toward the cameras.

• The Rolling Stones eventually played The Ed Sullivan Show five more times, returning again in 1965, twice in 1966, once in 1967, and once in 1969.

PETER FRAMPTON RECONNECTS WITH 'FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE!' BASSIST

Peter Frampton recently reunited with bassist Stanley Sheldon, the bassist who played on his classic 1976 live album Frampton Comes Alive! Frampton and Sheldon hadn't seen or performed together since 1978 before collaborating on a song for Frampton's most recent album, 2006's Grammy Award winning Fingerprints.

Sheldon is the sole surviving member of the Frampton Comes Alive! band, after drummer John Siomos died of undisclosed causes in January 2004, and guitarist-keyboardist Bob Mayo died the following month of a heart attack while on a European tour with Frampton.

Sheldon quit working with Frampton after an overseas tour in 1978. Frampton says that reconnecting with Sheldon both on a personal and creative level has meant the world to him, and that they share a bond few other musicians ever have: "Look, he knows what it's like to go through something like Frampton Comes Alive! So we have a lot of things that we shared that nobody else will ever share, because that thing was so goddamn huge."

• In January 2001, for its 25th anniversary, Frampton reissued a remixed and expanded version of Frampton Comes Alive! including four tracks that were not included on the original double album.

10/24/07

GLENN FREY SAYS THE EAGLES ARE TAKING A WAIT AND SEE APPROACH ON FUTURE GIGS

Glenn Frey says that the Eagles are weighing the options regarding future live dates. The band is currently in the middle of their six-night stand at L.A.'s new Nokia Theatre and will release their first new album in 28 years called Long Road Out Of Eden next week.

Frey says that the band is pretty much only focusing on the current gigs and the weeks ahead: "We're kind of taking a wait and see attitude right now. You know we're playing these shows at Nokia, we're gonna run across to London, and the international people are coming from all over to London to meet us, and we'll do a bunch of interviews and play one show over there."

• Frey says that the band's eager for fans to finally get their hands on the new music: "I think the fun starts right now for us, because we get to deliver this record and our fans get to buy it, enjoy it, live with it. You know -- find the stuff you really like."
• The Eagles, along with special guests the Dixie Chicks, will perform tonight (October 24th), Friday (October 26th), and Saturday (October 27th) at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live.
• The Eagles' new double album Long Road Out Of Eden will be released October 30th.
• On October 31st, the Eagles will perform a one-off private gig at London's 2,300-seat Indigo venue, located inside the new O2 arena.

LED ZEPPELIN ENTER DIGITAL AGE WITH iTUNES

Led Zeppelin has finally made its catalog available for pre-order at Apple's iTunes Music Store. The tracks will be ready for download November 13th, the same day that Mothership, the band's new 24-track retrospective set, comes out. All of Zeppelin's albums will be available, while a special one-click option will download all 165 songs in the band's catalog for $99. Fans who pre-order music will be entered into a contest for a free trip to see the band's show in London on November 26th. According to Billboard.com, despite rumors, there will be no live broadcast of the Zeppelin concert. But the band is recording it "for their own archive."

• The Beatles and Radiohead still have not made their music available on iTunes.
• Led Zeppelin has done a few rehearsals for the upcoming performance. Jimmy Page recently told Jam! Music that fans can expect some of the "normal songs," along with selections for hardcore fans and a couple of acoustic tracks. Page also hinted recently that Led Zep could come up with some new material following the London reunion show.

JOHN FOGERTY NOT INTERESTED IN CELEBRITIES' POLITICAL OPINIONS

Although John Fogerty's new album Revival takes multiple shots at the Bush administration, he admits that in general he's not crazy about hearing from celebrities about public policy: "As a guy, I'm very suspicious of celebrities talking about anything other than their cause celebre. You know, when I see some young starlet fall out in a stupor from her Mercedes and then a reporter walks up and says (laughs), 'Uh, how do you feel about the war in Iraq?,' I'm probably not going to listen."

• Earlier this month Fogerty's new album Revival debuted at Number 14, making it his highest charting solo album since his 1985 chart topper Centerfield.
• John Fogerty kicks off a month-long tour on November 2nd in New York City at the Hammerstein Ballroom.

PAUL McCARTNEY'S ESTRANGED WIFE REPORTEDLY CONSIDERING TELL ALL BIOPIC

Paul McCartney's estranged wife Heather Mills is reportedly considering a tell-all biopic about her relationship with the former Beatle.

According to Britain's Daily Mail, Mills is eying Reese Witherspoon to portray her in an upcoming biopic and is planning on enlisting writer and producer Robert von Dassanowsky for the project.

According to a source the script was put back into production by Mills after she and McCartney failed to come to terms on a financial settlement in their divorce case: "Heather has been working for some time on the film. Of course it had all been shelved while she thought (she and Paul) were heading for a settlement. But the script was dusted off pretty rapidly over the weekend. She had wanted Heather Locklear to play her. She now feels someone with slightly more credibility like Reese Witherspoon should play her. Heather wants an unknown to play Paul."

• Meanwhile, various reports continue to surface regarding the settlement for McCartney and Mills' divorce, most of which state that the couple is at a stalemate over a final payment to Mills and the matter of a confidentiality agreement. The couple is supposedly also at odds over their $11.4 million mansion in Beverly Hills.
• McCartney's personal tutorial for his song "Ever Present Past" is now posted on nowplayit.com, and available for download for $7.60. The 30-minute tutorial features him teaching the acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, and drums parts for the song, and includes chord patterns and drum charts for beginning musicians.
• Tomorrow (October 25th) McCartney will perform live on BBC's Electric Proms TV show on at London's famed venue the Roundhouse.

In other Beatles-related news

Out now is Ringo Starr's latest live album, titled Ringo Live At Soundstage. The show, which originally aired on the PBS concert series Soundstage, was taped on August 25th, 2005 at the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, Illinois, with his studio backing band the Roundheads.

Among the highlights on Ringo Live At Soundstage are: "With A Little Help From My Friends/It Don't Come