Classic Rock
Ranking Every Van Halen Album From Worst to Best
It took the death of their iconic guitarist to finally stop Van Halen. For four decades, the band seemed like it could adapt to and survive anything. The arrival and departure of multiple lead singers. The rise of MTV. The births of heavier styles of rock that overtook the hearts and t-shirt collections of fans worldwide. Drugs and alcohol. Health problems. A constant clashing of egos and personalities. Even if they weren’t releasing music. Van Halen seemed destined to limp forward like a rusting muscle car for eternity. But on October 6th, 2020, the linchpin of the band’s sound, guitarist Eddie Van Halen, passed away and closed the book on one of the greatest rock groups of all time. As Wolfgang, Eddie’s son and the band’s latter-day bassist, put it to Howard Stern a month after his dad’s...
Robert Fripp and Toyah Salute a Famous Misheard Lyric in Cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze”: Watch
It’s Super Bowl Sunday in the United States, but in the UK it’s another super “Sunday Lunch” with Robert Fripp and Toyah. This time around, the King Crimson guitarist and his singer wife have a little fun with the Jimi Hendrix Experience classic “Purple Haze”, incorporating rock’s most famous misheard lyric into their performance. As she did last week for “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll”, Toyah straps on a guitar for the Hendrix song. While Fripp is considered one of rock’s most innovative guitarists, Toyah is no Jimi Hendrix … or Robert Fripp, for that matter. But this is not an exercise in guitar histrionics, it’s an amusing take on an iconic rock song. Compared to their recent “Sunday Lunch” covers, their take on “Purple Haze” is rather subdued, both in physicality and Toyah’s attire. Where it ge...
Neil Young Announces Unreleased 1982 Album Johnny’s Island and New Film Trans: The Animated Story
The holidays are over, but the Neil Young Archives is the gift that keeps on giving. Young has announced a pair of projects centered around his 1982 album Trans. The first is the unreleased LP Johnny’s Island, recorded with the Trans band in 1982, and the second is a new film entitled Trans: The Animated Story. Trans was a significant departure from Young’s folk-inflected rock, and its release became one of the more controversial moments in his career. With synthesizers and heavy doses of vocoder, it was inspired by the robopop of Kraftwerk as well as his own attempts to communicate with his nonverbal son, Ben. Many fans hated it, and Geffen Records sued Young for not sounding like himself. Almost 40 years later, time has dulled some of the sharper takes, and while few would...
Steven Wilson Says He Was Unaffected by Eddie Van Halen’s Passing, “Bums Out” Wolfgang Van Halen
In a new interview, progressive rock artist Steven Wilson was asked about the recent passing of guitar legend Eddie Van Halen. The former Porcupine Tree frontman bluntly replied that he was unaffected by Van Halen’s death before offering a negative opinion of the guitar “shredder” style that Eddie inspired. “Honestly, it didn’t [affect me], because I was never a fan,” Wilson told FaceCulture. “I know he’s an extraordinary musician, and it’s always sad when an extraordinary artist dies, [but] I was never a fan of the so-called shredder mentality. And I think in many ways, he was the father of that whole kind of movement.” He added: “I never understood that ‘playing as fast as you can’ thing. And I know that wasn’t all he did — I know he was a more flexible musician than that — but I think t...
Edgar Wright’s The Sparks Brothers Crams 50 Years of Art Pop Into Two Giddy Hours: Sundance 2021 Review
This review is part of our Sundance 2021 coverage. The Pitch: Sparks has been around for just shy of 50 years, and have influenced just about every major pop act since the 1970s –from New Order to Weird Al Yankovic. They’re one of the greatest bands of all time, but you probably haven’t heard of them. That is, of course, unless you’re Edgar Wright, pop culture vagabond and Sparks superfan, who brings his giddy, high-tilt cinematic energy to a two-and-a-half-hour chronicle of two California-born brothers who made it to the top of the pop charts, and have spent the last several decades reinventing themselves with every new album and experimentation. Along the way, he talks to artists and fans who’ve grown up with their work (Jason Schwartzman, Amy Sherman-Palladino, Fred Armisen), and i...
Summer of Soul Is Questlove’s Thrumming Ode to Black Music and Culture: Sundance 2021 Review
This review is part of our Sundance 2021 coverage. The Pitch: In 1969, the same summer as Woodstock, a different music festival played just 100 miles away in Harlem. It was the third annual Harlem Culture Festival, a weeks-long celebration of soul, Motown, blues, and gospel where nearly 300,000 people gathered and celebrated the sounds of Stevie Wonder, Mavis Staples, Nina Simone, and a host of other Black artists at the time. But the festival was more than, as it would be haphazardly marketed, the “Black Woodstock”. It was a nexus around which so many facets of Black life at the time would intersect, from Afrocentrism to the Black Panthers (who would provide security for the event) to the renewed reclaiming of the word “Black” to identify themselves in print and in person. The music ...
R.I.P. Hilton Valentine, Guitarist of The Animals Dead at 77
Hilton Valentine, guitarist and founding member of The Animals, has died at the age of 77. A representative for ABKCO Records announced Valentine’s passing on behalf of his wife, Germaine Valentine. A cause of death was not immediately made available. In 1963, Valentine was recruited by Eric Burdon, Chas Chandler, and Alan Price to join what would become The Animals. The UK band quickly made a name for themselves thanks to their high-energy concerts and rock ‘n’ roll covers of Nina Simone, Sam Cooke, and John Lee Hooker. They achieved their first No. 1 single in 1964 with “House of the Rising Sun”, on which Valentine is credited with playing the song’s iconic arpeggio introduction. The Animals’ early success culminated in visit to America in October 1964. As was the case for The Beatles mo...
Ten Years After on Why We Keep Returning to Woodstock
Kyle Meredith With… 10 Years After Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Ten Years After co-founder Ric Lee talks with Kyle Meredith about his new autobiography, From Headstocks to Woodstock, which recounts his early life up until the moment the band played the legendary festival. Lee discusses the enduring legacy of their song “I’d Love To Change the World” and why we continue to revisit the late ’60s era, as well as a very different atmosphere that they found at The Isle of Wight festival that same year. The legendary drummer also revisits the time he taught Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham drum patterns and how Ten Years After learned to jam after touring with Grateful Dead. Kyle Meredith ...
Freaks and Geeks’ 10 Greatest Needle Drops
Freaks & Geeks is now on Hulu. That’s great news for fans of the ’80s-set dramedy that launched the careers of James Franco, Jason Segel, Linda Cardellini, Seth Rogen, among others. Yet it’s also, in a way, a minor miracle for newcomers. While DVDs of the series remain in print, the show has been largely shelved from streaming circulation due to music clearances. These issues tend to affect variety shows that include music performances — like The Muppet Show or Saturday Night Live — but Freaks & Geeks runs into licensing challenges due to its heavy use of classic pop music. All too often, the series featured multiple hit songs from major artists like The Who or Van Halen. Rewatching the series now, it’s clear how effectively Paul Feig, Judd Apatow, and the rest of the team used thi...
Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden) and Richie Kotzen Detail New Album, Share “Taking My Chances” Video: Watch
Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith and veteran rocker Richie Kotzen have detailed their new collaborative debut album, Smith/Kotzen, which arrives March 26th. The duo have also shared a music video for the previously released lead single, “Taking My Chances”. The collab between the two friends was born from a mutual appreciation for the blues guitar style, as evidenced on “Taking My Chances”. Smith and Kotzen are both highly gifted players, and their world-class fretwork is truly impressive in tandem. In addition to an extensive solo discography, Kotzen has been a member of Poison, Mr. Big, and The Winery Dogs. Fans of virtuoso guitar performances should look no further than the song’s accompanying video. Smith and Kotzen’s skills are front and center, as the camera primarily focuses ...
Giant Eddie Van Halen Mural Unveiled Outside Hollywood Guitar Center
A large mural depicting the iconic Eddie Van Halen was unveiled at the Hollywood Guitar Center on the Sunset Strip on Tuesday, in commemoration of what would’ve been the late guitarist’s 66th birthday (January 26th). The artwork was created by local muralist Robert Vargas. The Van Halen guitarist died on October 6th, with countless tributes coming from his musical peers in the ensuing weeks. The new mural now immortalizes the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer in painted form, with Vargas’ artwork taking up an entire outer wall at the back entrance of Guitar Center’s flagship Hollywood store. The piece, which stands at 17 feet tall by 105 feet wide, depicts Eddie playing his famous “Frankenstrat” guitar. “Eddie was one of my creative heroes. When I was young, the debut Van Halen record was the ...
Robert Fripp and Toyah Turn Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle” into a Serpentine Workout: Watch
King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his singer wife Toyah Willcox are back with another Sunday treat — a musical workout routine to the Guns N’ Roses classic “Welcome to the Jungle”. The couple’s last two “Sunday Lunch” quarantine performances — Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” and Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell” — are closing in on a combined 5 million views. Those clips are as popular for Toyah’s revealing outfits as much as the couple’s quirky takes on the rock classics, and the trend continues for the GN’R cover. Fitness seems to be a central theme to the playful pair’s recent performances. After rocking an exercise bike (“Enter Sandman”) and a cheerleader routine (“Rebel Yell”), Toyah turns the focus on biceps with dumbbell curls, all while paying homage to Axl Rose’s signature snake dance. Fu...
