Andrews Rock Blog

I don’t know about you but I’m a little freakin’ tired of hearing the Led Zeppelin reunion rumours. There’s been so much talk over the past year about the band regrouping following the success of their London O2 Arena show, and every time it seems like the talk is dying down, some new piece of “information” comes out that gets everyone excited again.

The latest RUMOUR that came out Friday afternoon via England’s The Sun is that Robert Plant has elected to rejoin his former bandmates after hearing they were contemplating touring without him in 2009. Page, Plant, and Jason Bonham were reportedly auditioning lead singers to try and fill Plant’s shoes, with an American singer supposedly high in the running. When word got back to Plant about what the guys were allegedly considering, he “thought long and hard” and then got back to the guys to say he was in for a 2009 tour.

Maybe the tour will happen. Maybe it won’t. I can’t imagine the stories about a ringer singer for Led Zeppelin being true, though. Can you imagine a Zeppelin in 2009 without Plant. I mean, Plant and Page didn’t tour as Zep without JPJ, so there’s no way the others would do it without Plant. I’m just so sick and tired of all the rumours and speculation. Do we even need Led Zeppelin to tour? Wouldn’t it be great if the band’s last hurrah was the O2 Arena show, which by all accounts was a fantastic evening that made up for the band’s previous botched reunions.

What do you want - a full blown reunion tour that may not live up to all of our lofty expectations or should the legend of Led Zeppelin be laid to rest for good? Let me know and then use ZEP as today’s bonus code.

UPDATED: Robert Plant released the following via his website.

Robert Plant – Official Statement

29^th September 2008

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss are currently touring the USA on the last leg of their ‘Raising Sand’ tour. They played a benefit concert in Oklahoma City for victims of Hurricane Ike last Friday; Austin,Texas last Saturday and tomorrow they play Portland, Oregon before finishing the tour in Saratoga, California on October 5th.

After those dates, Robert has no intention whatsoever of touring with anyone for at least the next two years. Contrary to a spate of recent reports, Robert Plant will not be touring or recording with Led Zeppelin. Anyone buying tickets online to any such event will be buying bogus tickets.

“It‘s both frustrating and ridiculous for this story to continue to
rear its head when all the musicians that surround the story are keen to get on with their individual projects and move forward,” Robert Plant said.

“I wish Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham nothing but success with any future projects,” he added.

Lots of talk over the last day or so about some quotes that were credited to Angus Young about ACDC not allowing their music on iTunes. According to an article published by the Telegraph UK, Young said “We don’t make singles, we make albums.”

The article also quotes Angus as saying, “if we were on iTunes, we know a certain percentage of people would only download two or three songs from the album - and we don’t think that represents us musically.” Check out the entire article here.

I’m not sure how I feel about this . I know the talk is that ”Black Ice” is the band’s best album since ”Back In Black”, but the notion of ACDC being an album band rather than a singles band is pretty ridiculous from where I’m sitting. While the band’s 70’s output with Bon Scott is incredibly consistent (”Dirty Deeds…” and “Highway To Hell” being that line-up’s essential albums), I don’t think the same can be said about the Brian Johnson era. There’s no denying that “Back In Black” is a classic album, as timeless as any other band’s defining work, but has there been another certifiable classic since? When someone is asked to recommend an ACDC album to a new fan, I’m pretty sure nobody’s suggesting “Blow Up Your Video” or “Fly On The Wall”. You could absolutely make an argument for “The Razor’s Edge”, but even that album’s legacy is based on a string of singles embraced by radio…and Mistress For Christmas. In fact, other than “Back In Black”, I think the Brian-era ACDC’s most consistent album is “Who Made Who”, and that’s a compilation.   

The Beatles are an album band that had great singles. The Stones are the same. Led Zeppelin is an album band. I don’t see ACDC as album band; they’re a great band with a few stellar tracks per album. That being said, I can’t wait for the day they put out a double disc greatest hits collection. That one will be guaranteed to be all killer, no filler.

Is ACDC an album band like Angus says? Am I missing something? Let me know, and then use NOITUNES as today’s bonus code.  

Have you heard Metallica’s new album “Death Magnetic” yet? If you haven’t, you can win one in the Jack Nation. I’ve had it for a few weeks now and have been enjoying it a lot. It’s full of solid hooks, catchy songs, and lots of intricate metal noodling. Pretty much everything you’d want in a Metallica album. The thing is, Metallica fans are notoriously picky. The die-hards anyway. There always seems to be some sort of complaint coming from what the band’s manager calls the “tiny minority”. This time out, people are complaining about the mastering of “Death Magnetic” and that the cd is too loud, at least compared to the Guitar Hero play along version that was released the same day as the CD.Now there are remixes floating around the web that many of the fans are saying sounds superior to the official album. I took a listen and quite honestly, I think the cd sounds just fine to me. I don’t have any issues, and I think the majority of the 1 million people in North America who’ve purchases the album in the last two weeks aren’t complaining either.

Take a listen to the official and remixed versions of “Broken, Beat, and Scarred” and let me know if you hear a huge difference. Then use BBS as today’s bonus code.

Album Version:

Remixed Version:

 Can you believe it was 17 years ago today that not one but two monumentally important albums were released? Nirvana’s “Nevermind” and the Red Hot Chilli Pepper’s “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” both hit store shelves September 24th, 1991. Who would have thought at the time just how influential both albums and bands would become? The RHCP already had a devoted following by the time “Give It Away” started getting spins across all sorts of radio formats, but Nirvana only had one indie album to their credit. Before long, with “Smells Like Teen Spirit” ruling the airwaves, they would be knocking Michael Jackson off the top of the charts and the Chilli Peppers would be headlining Lollapalooza.

Today, Kurt Cobain is an icon and the Red Hot Hot Chilli Peppers are elder statesmen. The alternative nation they helped spearhead are moms and dads with kids and mortgages. We may all be getting older, but both “Nevermind” and “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” are as memorable today as they were on the day they were released.

Any memories of either or? Let me know and then use NEVERMIND as today’s bonus code.

Well yesterday sure got people talking on the blog, didn’t it? Thanks for all the feedback, positive or negative. Any talk is good talk.

On that note, the new list of nominees for the 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions came out, and it looks like this:

Metallica, Chic, The Stooges, Bobby Womack, Jeff Beck, War, Wanda Jackson, Little Anthony and The Imperials.

Let’s get the good out of the way first - Metallica, Jeff Beck, and the Stooges all deserve to be in there. In fact, the Stooges have been eligible for 10 years already! I don’t know if they’re all a given, but they should be.

As for the rest of them, I don’t have issues with any of them per se. I certainly think that RUN-DMC belong in the Hall of Fame. But it continues to be ridiculous and inane that some of rock’s greatest band’s haven’t made the cut! I don’t think any of us will ever understand the politics behind these decisions. Here’s a quick list of artist who are both influential and big sellers that are awaiting induction:

Genesis, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Yes, Rush, Journey, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, solo Phil Collins, solo Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed

The biggest oversight of all those bands as far I’m concerned is Kiss. I’m curious who you think is the biggest oversight. Let me know and then use ROCKHALL as today’s bonus code.

Arnel Pineda won the lottery as far as I’m concerned. A year ago he’s singing Journey songs in little bars in the Phillipines as a cover singer. Than the band discovers him on YouTube and offers him the gig of a lifetime - become the singer of the band you’re covering. He comes, he records a cd of new and old material that becomes a huge hit, and he gets to spend the summer on the road playing to packed houses of fans who DON’T CARE that he isn’t Steve Perry. So what does Pineda tell Rolling Stone in its latest issue:

“It’s very, very sad,” he says. “There are days I just break down and cry. This is a job I’m doing for my family. That’s all the consolation I’m getting.” Traveling around America isn’t what he expected. “It’s all buses, stage, microphone,” he says. “I never really get to go around and walk. They wake me up for soundcheck, then I wait until the show at nine. It’s a fantastic job, but at the same time it’s a curse. . . . I told Neal that the only thing that will make me quit this is if I get sick. I guess that’s the same reason Steve Perry bailed out.”

 Read the full excerpt here. 

Are you freaking kidding me??? This is a curse? Arnel, my friend, you’ve played 63 gigs so far. You’ve landed in a prime spot and you’ll be able to take care of your family. If all goes well you can spend three months on the road every summer, make a tidy sum, and then go home and spend time with your family. Right now, this “singer” is looking the proverbial gift horse in the mouth and slapping it away. This “curse’ is an amazing blessing, buddy. Try and enjoy the ride.

UPDATED: Rolling Stone had a complete interview with Arnel Pineda that gives the comments above way more clarity. You can read it below. In the meantime, let me say this. The guy is a great singer. He’s got an amazing opportunity. He misses his family. I get it. But he’s also scored an amazing job that will help him and his family out. He’s been accepted by fans of a huge band. Nobody is leaving a Journey show wondering where Steve Perry is, because Pineda can deliver. To call his opportunity a curse in any context makes me think he may not fully appreciate the opportunity he has. That’s my opinion. You can leave yours.

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/23180978/qa_journeys_arnel_pineda

Today’s bonus code is OPPORTUNITY

Well, since I’ve been in a Pink Floyd mood this week I thought I’d end off giving you some details on the new David Gilmour live album that will hit stores Tuesday.

“Live In Gdansk” captures the final night of Gilmour’s 2006 Summer Tour in support of his album “On An Island”. Musicians along for the ride include Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera, Pink Floyd 1987 Ltd bassist Guy Pratt, and Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright. If you’re looking to get “Live In Gdansk” you should be aware that there are multiple versions of the album, including a 2 cd set, a 2cd/1DVD set, a 2cd/2DVD set, a vinyl version, and a 3cd/2DVD version. Phew. That final one seems to be the hardest to find in Canada (Best Buy has the exclusive rights to that one in the U.S., but not in Canada, and they won’t deliver here). If you’re looking to score that one, check out indigo.ca. They might be able to help you out.

I leave you with some live David Gilmour, a bonus code GDANSK, and wishes for a solid weekend!

Monday stunk pretty large for me considering the death of Pink Floyd’s Richard Wright. I spent a fair amount of time the last few days listening to some classic Floyd, including “Obscured By Clouds” which I’d never really gotten into before. It’s a great piece of work and worth searching out. I also watched the Live 8 reunion as well, which I have to admit once again left tears in my eyes.

Then I find out the news that legendary Motown producer Norman Whitfield had passed away Tuesday at the age of 67. While I’m not as attached to Whitfield as I was to Wright, I was totally bummed out to hear about his death. This guy is one of music’s greatest architects, responsible for writing and producing some of the most memorable songs ever recorded.

I Heard It Through The Grapevine, Papa Was A Rolling Stone, Ball of Confusion, War - all of those came from Norman Whitfield. The whole psychedelic, funky work of the Temptations in the late 60’s and early 70’s came from Whitfield.

Check out some classic Temptations below, and then use WHITFIELD as today’s bonus code.

As much as I love the hard rock and the prog rock and the jam bands, I’m also big on catchy and accessible power pop. Big choruses, catchy hooks. There was a time in the early-90’s when power pop was quite the rage, at least in the music media, and the reigning king and queen were The Lemonhead’s Evan Dando and Julianna Hatfield. I was 15 years old when those two were making waves, and I was reading today that Hatfield’s memoirs are due to be released next week. So I thought I’d take a quick look back at the two of them. Today it’s the queen.

I’ve got to admit I had a huge crush on Juliana Hatfield back when I was a kid. She seemed cool, she was attractive, and she wrote some pretty darn catchy songs. She was actually pretty nice in person too, and didn’t look at me like I was crazy when I gave her a book of Leonard Cohen poetry during an in-store appearance at Sam The Record Man following the release of her 1993 “Become What You Are”. Around that time she also made some pretty controversial remarks which got her noticed, including claiming to be a 23 year old virgin and stating her belief that women can’t play guitar.

Musically you’d probably remember her girlish voice on “Spin The Bottle”, which was highlighted on the soundtrack to Ben Stiller’s “Reality Bites” and actually became a top 40 hit (I prefer “My Sister” over that one, but both are solid tunes). Though that would really be her one and only big mainstream push, Juliana’s continued to put out albums and tour. Her memoirs, titled “When I Grow Up” will be in stores September 22nd.

Check out the two songs from Juliana Hatfield that you’ll likely remember and then use HATFIELD as a bonus code for today.

Yesterday the news came out that Pink Floyd founding member Richard Wright had passed away from cancer at the age of 65. This came as a bit of a shock to me and I’ve been pretty down since I heard about it. You see, Pink Floyd is without a doubt my favourite band. There was an 8-year period where I often said The Beach Boys were tops for me, but I realized around the time of Live 8 that the Floyd was the one band I always come back to, time and time again.

In the world of Floyd, you’re either a Gilmour supporter or a Waters supporter. Me, I’ve always been about Rog. His songs, his vision. But I also know that while Pink Floyd was never the same after he departed the band in 1985, neither was he. Floyd lost the conceptualist, but Roger lost the sympathetic musicians. While the songs of the band’s 1994 album “The Division Bell” don’t really hold up for me, the playing does. And a big part of that is Richard Wright’s amazing keyboard work. The solo on “Keep Talking” is quinessential Floyd, as is his harmony vocals that pop up throughout the course of the album.

I was extremely lucky to see Richard as part of David Gilmour’s touring band in 2006 for two shows at Massey Hall. While the first night left me sort of cold, the second night was differant. I was sitting third row, right in front of Richard. I had a chance to watch him play up close, and I’ll always remember the smile on his face when hit the opening note to “Echoes”. He was a great player and an amazing songwriter - “The Great Gig In The Sky” and “Us and Them” were his. Pretty good ones, eh?

Let me just finish up simply by saying rest in peace, Richard Wright. I hope you’re happy playing the great gig in the sky. Watch the video below and then use USANDTHEM as your bonus code.