Classic Rock
Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You Documentary Sheds Light on What Drives The Boss: Review
The Pitch: It’s not every day that you record the 20th studio album of your half-century career in music. When that time does come, it’s worth memorializing. Such is the case with Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You, the new making-of documentary now streaming on Apple TV+. Shot last November at Springsteen’s home studio in New Jersey during a four-day recording session with the E Street Band, the film does more than simply capture a veteran band making a hard job look easy. It also gives Springsteen a chance to expand upon and espouse the thoughts on legacy, time, and the creative process that animate the new record’s material. New Jersey in Winter: While it’s unlikely that Springsteen and his crew opted for a late fall recording date to maximize the potential for cinematic poignancy, that ...
Ozzy Osbourne: Eddie Van Halen Once Asked Me to Sing in Van Halen
Ozzy Osbourne (photo by David Brendan Hall), Eddie Van Halen (photo by Philip Cosores) In the wake of Eddie Van Halen’s passing earlier this month, some never-before-told stories have come to light about Van Halen’s search for a new singer over the years. Former Journey vocalist Steve Perry recently disclosed that Eddie had informally reached out to him about replacing David Lee Roth in the ’80s. Now, Ozzy Osbourne reveals that the guitarist once asked him to join the band. While Perry’s story had some viability, Ozzy admitted that Eddie was likely drunk when he received a late-night call from the guitar icon. In speaking with guitarist Billy Morrison (The Cult, Billy Idol) on SiriusXM’s Ozzy’s Boneyard channel, Ozzy said, “[Eddie] phoned me up one time and asked me if I wanted to sing in ...
Heart’s Nancy Wilson Shares Cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising”: Stream
Having already shredded her way into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Heart, guitarist Nancy Wilson is finally embarking on a solo career. Her debut album is expected in early 2021, and she’s now shared the lead single, a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising”. Written in the aftermath of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks, “The Rising” arrived as an instant classic. Springsteen wrote from the perspective of a firefighter rushing into the crumbling World Trade Center towers. As only The Boss can do, the song felt simultaneously hyper-specific and universal, with lines like “Can’t see nothin’ in front of me/ Can’t see nothin’ coming up behind,” capturing both an individual’s terrifying ascent and the national mood. When the uplifting chorus appeared, it did so with t...
Bruce Springsteen Reunites with the E Street Band on New Album Letter to You: Stream
Bruce Springsteen has reunited with the beloved E Street Band for a new album called Letter to You. Stream it below with Apple Music and Spotify. This is the first time The Boss has recorded with the likes of Roy Bittan, Nils Lofgren, Patti Scialfa, Garry Tallent, Stevie Van Zandt, Max Weinberg, Charlie Giordano, and Jake Clemons since 2014’s High Hopes. Letter to You features nine new Springsteen songs, which were written on a guitar randomly gifted to him by a fan, as well as three cuts from the 1970s that have never been released: “Janey Needs a Shooter”, “If I Was the Priest”, and “Song for Orphans”. Mixing was provided by Bob Clearmountain, and mastering was handled by Bob Ludwig. In anticipation of today’s release, Springsteen released two singles,...
Bruce Springsteen Talks E Street Band, New Album, and Favorite Bob Dylan Songs on Colbert: Watch
Bruce Springsteen is just one day away from releasing his new album, Letter to You. Ahead of its release, the Boss appeared on Wednesday night’s Late Show with Stephen Colbert to talk about the inspiration behind the record, putting it out during a pandemic, and his favorite Bob Dylan songs, among other topics. After joking about not being able to take Letter to You on the road (“I do a lot of work in front of my bedroom mirror with the tennis racket… I go for three hours, just like the show”), Springsteen spoke extensively about its creation. He said the album only took seven days to write and four to record, and was largely inspired by the loss of his old friend George Theiss, the last surviving member of Springsteen’s original band, The Castiles. “I guess being the last guy in...
Lindsey Buckingham Is Also Vibin’, Records His Own “Dreams” TikTok: Watch
Like cranberry juice, the “Dreams” TikTok challenge started out sweet and then quickly ran its course. Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham is the latest to hop on the bandwagon, sharing a 15-second video on social media. The trend was started by the slick skateboarding of Nathan Apodaca, who later received a truck full of cranberry juice from Ocean Spray for his trouble. It got new life when Mick Fleetwood joined TikTok to recreate Apodaca’s video, and then Stevie Nicks laced up her skates to get in on the fun. All the attention pushed “Dreams” onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time since 1977, while making Rumors a top-ten album. In announcing his own video, Buckingham wrote that he, “Made this with my girls this weekend.” The clip opens on a...
Paul McCartney Announces New Solo Album McCartney III
Paul McCartney will return on December 11th with McCartney III. The self-titled album arrives on the 50th anniversary of the former Beatles’ first solo album; like both McCartney I and its 1980 follow-up McCartney II, McCartney III is solo album in every sense, self-produced and recorded solely by McCartney, who plays every instrument. “Paul hadn’t planned to release an album in 2020, but in the isolation of ‘Rockdown,’ he soon found himself fleshing out some existing musical sketches and creating even more new ones,” a press release explains. “Before long an eclectic collection of spontaneous songs would become McCartney III: a stripped back, self-produced and, quite literally, solo work marking the opening of a new decade, in the tradition of 1970’s McCartney and 1980’s McCartney II...
R.I.P. Tony Lewis, Singer of The Outfield’s “Your Love”, Dies at 62
Tony Lewis, the lead singer and bassist of UK pop rock band The Outfield, has died at the age of 62. According to a statement from his publicist, Lewis died “suddenly and unexpectedly” on Monday (Oct. 19th) near London. A cause of death was not immediately made available. The Outfield’s origins date back to the early 1980s, when Lewis and guitarist John Spinks formed a prog rock band called Sirius B. The duo later recruited drummer Alan Jackman and reinvented themselves as a power-pop group under the moniker of The Outfield. The band experienced almost immediate success with the release of their debut, 1985’s Play Deep, which climbed to No. 9 on the album charts and was certified three-times platinum in the US. Much of the album’s success is owed to its massive single, “Your Love”, wh...
Bruce Springsteen Interviewed Eddie Vedder and Dave Grohl, And Of Course You’re Going to Listen
In the run-up to his new album Letter to You, Bruce Springsteen is hosting a five-episode radio series for Apple Music called Letter to You Radio. Eddie Vedder and Dave Grohl joined The Boss on the most recent episode, and together the rock veterans discussed key moments in their respective careers, what those first few breaks felt like, and the brotherhood of bands. Springsteen spoke to the Pearl Jam frontman first. He wanted to know about the Seattle grunge scene, because “we didn’t come out of a scene with a lot of peers. We were a one-shot out of Asbury Park.” To Springsteen, his own success seemed utterly unexpected, whereas Pearl Jam always felt inevitable. Springsteen said, “You had the kind of band that simply was a big, powerful band with a reach that want...
R.I.P. Spencer Davis, “Gimme Some Lovin” Rocker Dies at 81
Spencer Davis, founding member and namesake of the UK rock band The Spencer Davis Group, has died at the age of 81. His agent, Bob Birk, confirmed to the BBC that Davis passed away in a California hospital on October 19th after suffering heart failure while being treated for pneumonia. Davis formed The Spencer Davis Group — originally called The Rhythm & Blues Quartet — after he saw brothers Steve and Muff Winwood performing at a local pub. He asked them to join a band with him, and eventually brought in drummer Pete York to complete the lineup. Though bearing his name, Davis wasn’t the singer of the group, as might be expected. Instead, it was a teenaged Steve Winwood providing vocals on The Spencer Davis Group’s biggest hits, such as “I’m a Man”, “Gimme Some Lovin”, and “Keep on...
Tom Petty Estate Announces 70th Birthday Bash with Stevie Nicks, Foo Fighters, The Heartbreakers & More
Today would have been Tom Petty’s 70th birthday. To honor the iconic rocker, the Petty estate has organized separate audio and visual livestreams for this Friday, October 23rd, in the hopes of raising awareness for charities including Save Our Stages (NIVA)), Arts In Medicine, Digitunity, and MusiCares. The Birthday Bash main event kicks off at 7 ET on TomPetty.com and Amazon’s Twitch channel. For Petty purists, the highlight will be performances by Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench, the guitarist and keyboardist for Petty’s legendary backing band The Heartbreakers. Additional musical exhibitions will come from Adam Sandler, Amos Lee, Beck, Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton, Dave Stewart, Dhani Harrison & Graham Coxon, Emily King, The Flaming Lips, Foo Fighters, Gary Clark Jr., Jackson Bro...
Steve Perry: Eddie Van Halen Approached Me After David Lee Roth Left Van Halen
Steve Perry (via Columbia Records), Eddie Van Halen (via Warner Bros. Records) Imagine the groundbreaking guitar playing of Eddie Van Halen paired with the golden voice of Steve Perry? Well, it could’ve been. According to the former Journey singer, Eddie Van Halen suggested that he and Perry jam following David Lee Roth’s departure from Van Halen in 1985. In paying tribute to the late guitarist in a new interview with Rolling Stone, Perry strongly hinted that he could have been in line for the coveted Van Halen singing gig if he had followed up on Eddie’s invitation. However, there was one big thing holding him back. “I don’t think anyone knows this, but when David Lee Roth left Van Halen [in 1985] I was living in the Bay Area and not sure what I was or wasn’t going to do anymore,” recalle...
