Classic Rock
Robert Fripp and Toyah Slice Their Way Through ZZ Top’s “Gimme All Your Lovin’”: Watch
Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox continue their “Sunday Lunch” quarantine series with a slice of the ZZ Top hit “Gimme All Your Lovin’”. This time around, the couple is joined by a mysterious second guitarist and two pairs of scissors. In both a musical and visual tribute to ZZ Top, King Crimson founder Fripp and the mystery guitarist are sporting hats and super-long beards in honor of the legendary Texas rock act’s Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill. Toyah, meanwhile, looks like a burlesque cross between Sweeney Todd and Edward Scissorshands (both played by Johnny Depp), with her eyelashes conjuring up images of Malcolm McDowell’s sociopathic Alex in A Clockwork Orange. Not to mention, she’s wearing a top that more than rivals the see-through number she wore in the couple’s viral performanc...
Paul McCartney and Beck Share New Version of “Find My Way”: Stream
Paul McCartney and Beck have released “Find My Way”, a new single from McCartney’s upcoming McCartney III Imagined album. Stream the visualizer video below. The cover transforms the whimsical classic rock song into a disco-funk tune and finds Beck having a bit of fun with a vocoder. “You never used to be afraid of days like these / But now you’re overwhelmed by your anxieties,” he sings on the chorus. “Let me help you out, let me be your guide / I can help you reach the love you feel inside.” “Find My Way” is the opening track from McCartney’s new album, which features artists like St. Vincent, Phoebe Bridgers, Anderson .Paak, Damon Albarn, and Blood Orange covering and/or reimagining a particular track from McCartney III, which The Beatles bassist originally released in December 2020...
Gibson Unveils Tom Petty SJ-200 Wildflower Acoustic Guitar
Gibson has announced the new Tom Petty SJ-200 Wildflower signature acoustic guitar. The beautiful instrument is inspired by the Gibson acoustic commissioned by the late rock legend in 1996 and used on the Wildflowers album — hence the guitar’s name. “It is so incredible to see the SJ-200 design our Dad worked on so long ago, lovingly brought to fruition with his longtime guitar tech and friend Alan Weidel and the craftsmen and women at Gibson guitars,” commented Tom Petty’s daughter Adria Petty in a press announcement. “There has been much effort made to make certain this guitar lives up to Tom’s musical standards and the specs he wanted for a best-in-class instrument,” she continued. “Alan Weidel has put this instrument through its paces as he has with all Tom Petty signature guitar model...
Paul Stanley on Soul Station, His Favorite Singers, and Whether KISS Will Complete Their Farewell Tour
For several years, KISS singer-guitarist Paul Stanley has been moonlighting as the frontman for Soul Station — a musical collective that focuses on covers of vintage soul and R&B classics of the ‘60s and ‘70s (as well as some originals that sound as if they were cut from the same musical cloth). But it was not until this month that the band finally issued their debut album, Now and Then. And it turns out the wait was certainly worth it — Stanley’s voice is in fine form throughout, especially on covers of the Five Stairsteps’ “O-O-H Child” and Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together”, among others. The singer, who forgoes rhythm guitar when fronting Soul Station, spoke with Consequence of Sound shortly before the arrival of Now and Then, which you can pick up here. Not only did he discuss Soul ...
Thin Lizzy’s Ricky Warwick: “Rock & Roll Ain’t Dead, It’s Just Lost Its Mystery”
Kyle Meredith With… Ricky Warwick Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Thin Lizzy and Black Star Riders frontman Ricky Warwick hops on the line with Kyle Meredith to talk about When Life Was Hard and Fast. The new solo record finds the Irish songwriter taking stock of the past and Warwick tells us about having Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott and Guns N’ Roses keyboardist Dizzy Reed as guests, the loss of mystery in rock, and carrying Thin Lizzy’s legacy forward. There’s also a bonus disc of covers on the new record, and Warwick talks about covering the Britney Spears classic “Baby One More Time”. Kyle Meredith With… is an interview series in which WFPK’s Kyle Meredith speaks to a wide b...
Greta Van Fleet Share New Song “Broken Bells”: Stream
Greta Van Fleet are prepping for the release of their highly anticipated sophomore album, The Battle at Garden’s Gate, out April 16th. Now the band has shared the anthemic new single, “Broken Bells”. A coming-of-age song of sorts, the track again sees Greta Van Fleet expanding their sonic palette beyond the restrictive classic-rock pastiche of their debut record. The prog-like Rush influences and subtle folk flourishes add new colors to the band’s sound. For the third consecutive single, Greta Van Fleet push the song past the five-minute mark as they stretch their musical ideas. “Broken Bells is what the fetter of society does to impact a pure and innocent soul,” bassist Sam Kiszka said in a press release. “Our intention is to remove the obligation of generational synthetic expectations; b...
Damon Johnson on Working With Alice Cooper and Thin Lizzy
Kyle Meredith With… Damon Johnson Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Damon Johnson hops on the line with Kyle Meredith to discuss his new solo record, Battle Lessons, which finds the former Alice Cooper and Thin Lizzy member recounting his past with big rock sounds. Johnson tells us about embracing his past in this set’s music and the puzzle of songwriting. Also as a founding member of ’90s band Brother Cane, Johnson discusses the impact of being featured on the soundtrack to Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. Kyle Meredith With… is an interview series in which WFPK’s Kyle Meredith speaks to a wide breadth of musicians. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Meredith digs deep...
Tom Petty Breezes Through His Wildflowers Era in Somewhere You Feel Free: SXSW Review
Editor’s Note: The following review is as part of our coverage of the 2021 South by Southwest Film Festival. Stay tuned for further reviews straight outta Austin — well, virtually, of course. Below, Clint Worthington reviews Mary Wharton’s Tom Petty documentary. The Pitch: While Tom Petty’s work with The Heartbreakers gave us some of the most iconic country-rock tunes of the past half-century, Petty purists likely cite his second solo album, 1994’s Wildflowers, as his arguable creative apex. But for all the relaxed charms of songs like “You Wreck Me” and “Only a Broken Heart”, the album was made at a particularly tumultuous time for the artist, including creative struggles with MCA, clashes with Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch, and the end of his first marriage. While Petty...
Alice Cooper: David Bowie Saw My Stage Show and Said This Is What He “Should Be Doing”
Legendary rockers Alice Cooper and David Bowie each broke new ground as theatrical stage performers. While the two pioneers of glam rock were contemporaries, Cooper says it was his stage show that influenced Bowie. In a new feature for Metal Hammer, Cooper answered a number of fan questions. One reader named Debbie asked, “Did you ever cross paths with your theatrical comrade, David Bowie?” “David used to come to the show when he was a mime artist, he was Davy Jones back then,” responded Cooper. “I remember at one of our ‘Welcome to My Nightmare’ shows, he brought his band the Spiders From Mars and he was saying, ‘This is what we should be doing.’ But he never did it the way we did it.” He added, “When we started doing theatrics and still had hit records, that opened up a huge door for Bow...
Bill Ward Would Love to Record a New Black Sabbath Album with the Original Lineup
Founding Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward has said he would “love to” record one more studio album with his former band. Ward parted ways with the group in 2012, prior to Sabbath recording their most recent album, 13, and embarking on their farewell tour. Ward was originally supposed to be aboard for the tour and the album but he departed citing contractual issues. Ozzy Osbourne later alleged that Ward was physically unfit for the tour. Rage Against the Machine’s Brad Wilk performed drums on the album, while Tommy Clufetos played drums on the final tour. It’s been nearly 10 years since Ward’s exit, and now the drummer has floated the idea about making another record with his old band. Speaking with SiriusXM’s Eddie Trunk, Ward — who turns 73 in May — said he definitely wouldn’t be able to e...
Eddie Van Halen’s Son Wolfgang Declined Invite to Perform Tribute at Grammys
Many viewers came away from Sunday’s Grammy Awards disappointed with the very brief tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen. On Monday, his son Wolfgang revealed that he was invited to perform Van Halen’s “Eruption” but declined. Even so, he was one of the ones who was underwhelmed by the salute to his father. While such artists as John Prine, Little Richard, and Kenny Rogers were toasted with full musical performances, Eddie Van Halen’s legacy was observed with one of his guitars sitting on a stage for 15 seconds during the “In Memoriam” segment, as a few videos played behind it. In a tweet, Wolfgang explained that he didn’t want play his father’s iconic Van Halen instrumental track “Eruption” because he felt he wouldn’t do it justice. That said, he was hoping the Grammys would do a little mo...
Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler: I Was Doing the Devil Horns Hand Gesture Long Before Ronnie James Dio
The late Ronnie James Dio has long been credited for popularizing the devil horns hand gesture that has become a universal symbol for metalheads and rock fans. However, in a new interview, Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler says he was flashing the devil horns long before Dio, and was even the one who introduced the gesture to the singer. “I’ve been doing that sign since — I’ve got pictures of me doing it since 1971,” Butler told SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk on Monday (March 8th). “And I always used to do it in the breakdown in the song ‘Black Sabbath’ — just before it goes into the fast part at the end, I’d do that sign to the audience.” In 1979, Dio replaced Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath. According to Butler, when Sabbath hit the road to support their 1980 album Heaven and ...
