Andrews Rock Blog

Just a quick note for those of you that were wondering what I thought of the Neil Diamond show last night. Honestly, it was a little dissapointing for me, though I’m sure most walked away very pleased. I was hoping for a few more tunes from his last two albums, though he did a great version of a song called “Don’t Go There” from “Home Before Dark”. Of course, he delivered his classics with conviction, songs like “Sweet Caroline”, and “I’m A Believer”, which was a pleasant surprise. Neil’s voice was in amazing form as well; he’s the best sounding 67 year old I’ve heard, and better than a lot of musicians half his age.

That being said, I don’t love every song in his catalogue and I thought the show was a bit slow at times. For all the talk of a Neil Diamond show being all Vegas-like, there wasn’t anything particularly cool about his stage show, a baren stage with moving platforms where his musicians stood. I also need never hear the song “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” ever again.

Overall, I’m glad I went but I it didn’t blow me away like the Tina Turner show from a few weeks ago. That was rock and Vegas all rolled into one, and it was awesome!

If you went to either Neil Diamond shows, let me know what you thought!

So I just got verbally assaulted by both Jeff Brown and Samantha Stevens because I’m going to the Neil Diamond concert tonight. Whatever. He’s been on my list of artists that I haven’t seen who I’d like to. It was a bit of a last minute decision, mind you, but I managed to find a single ticket with good sightlines. My wife wasn’t too keen on going so I’ll be flying solo at this one. He’s a bit of a legend in my book, and I’ve dug his last two Rick Rubin-produced albums, including this year’s “Home Before Dark”,  which featured appearances by members of The Heartbreakers, so I’m looking forward to it. I’ll let you know what I thought of the gig tomorrow.

In the meantime, take a listen to this amazing duet Neil did with Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks from his last album, and then use NEILDIAMOND as today’s bonus code. And feel free to make fun of me, if you want. I can take it

Last night my wife and I were flipping channels and wound up on HDNET, which broadcasts high-def concerts every Sunday evening. We came across a Lynyrd Skynyrd show from a few years back, and watched the band as they played Freebird. The whole time I was rolling my eyes thinking “this isn’t right”.

Now I know I’m going to come off as a hypocrite here, but the fact that there were only two original members of the band onstage really bugged me. You have two guitar players up front doing all of the song’s killer solos, but neither of them are Ed King, who is alive and kicking but no longer in the band. Meanwhile original member Gary Rossington was standing in the back strumming a guitar I could barely hear. The playing was fine, and vocalist Johnny Van Zandt did a good job honouring his brother Ronnie, but to me there was just something weird and wrong about the whole thing. Perhaps it was the tragic way in which the band first ended. Of course, the crowd was eating it up, so no doubt I’m overthinking things. I guess people just want to hear the tunes and don’t really care whose on stage playing them.   

Check out some live Skynyrd below and let me know if it matters to you who’s in any band. Then use SKYNYRD as today’s bonus code.

The week is over. How about that. For me, the most notable thing this week was the release of Guns N Roses Chinese Democracy, which I consider to be the album of the year. It’s totally an earful of just amazing rock, and you should do yourself a favour and pick it up and play it loud. But don’t be drinking a Dr. Pepper while you do it. I don’t think Axl would appreciate that, considering how pissed he is about the debacle involving Pepper’s online coupon voucher for a free pop for every American on the day the album was released. The site crashed, millions didn’t get their drink, and now Axl is fuming. And believe me, you wouldn’t like Axl when he’s angry.

If you haven’t picked up Chinese Democracy yet, you can sample some tunes here. Use PEPPER as your bonus code, and have a great weekend.

Did you see Van Halen when they played Air Canada Centre with David Lee Roth last year? I loved the gig, even if Michael Anthony was missing from the line-up. Wolfgang did an admirable job standing in for him, even if some of the high notes were missing during the background vocals. I was happy to see that all the guys seemed to get along pretty well onstage; their seemed to be some genuine camaraderie. Maybe that’s because the guys were so far away from each other in the backstage area.

The Smoking Gun has a copy of the tour rider for the 2007/2008 Van Halen tour. A rider is a list of things a band wants backstage on the road. Among the requests were a study room for Wolfgang Van Halen and his tutor along with lots of Red Bull (sugar free for Diamond Dave). Also among the requests was that Dressing Room 1 (DLR’s) would be as far away from the rest of the band’s dressing rooms. Maybe that’s how the guys managed to keep it together for the last 2 years. No mention of brown M & M’s on there, mind you.

Check out the entire rider here, watch some great live footage below, and then use TOURRIDER as today’s bonus code.

Sad news to report today. Michael Lee, the drummer who was behind the kit for the Jimmy Page/Robert Plant tours of 1994 and 1998 and their reunion album “Walking Into Clarksdale” passed away Monday at the age of 39. No cause has come out yet. Lee, who also worked with Lenny Kravitz and The Cult, was impressive with Page/Plant, a heavy hitter who recalled John Bonham at his best.

I had the chance to see Page/Plant when they played Toronto’s Molson Amphitheatre in the summer of 1998; it was my first and so far only time seeing Page in concert and I was absolutely blown away by the performance. The band, which included Lee and bassist Charlie Jones, were on fire. Of all the tunes they played that night, the one that I remember most was “How Many More Times” - for 10 minutes I felt as though I was transported back to 1969.

Check out a version of the tune featuring the amazing Michael Lee on drums, and the use LEE as today’s bonus code.

Try as they might to hide it, I think a lot of bands that continue to be snubbed by the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame are pretty ticked off. As they should be. There’s way to be many genre defining artists with both influence and sales that are sitting on the sidelines while arguably lesser acts are taking up space. While the guys in Kiss don’t need the accolade since they’ve got the dough, clearly the continuous snub is irking Gene Simmons. Speaking at a industry conference a few days ago Simmons said:

“There are disco bands, rap bands, Yiddish folk song bands in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but not Kiss. I believe we have more gold records in
America than any other group, but it’s okay.”What a joke it is that Kiss isn’t in there! They’ve influenced everyone from pop bands to rock bands. Heck, Kurt Cobain loved them! The Smashing Pumpkins! Garth freakin’ Brooks. I have no problem with putting pop or rap artists into the hall, but none of them should be in there before Kiss. Am I the only one who thinks this way?

Let me know if you think Kiss belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and then use SNUB as today’s bonus code.

My pal Ryan in Jack’s promo department had a chance to check out the Smashing Pumpkins a few weeks ago when they played a sold out two night stand at Massey Hall. He said the show was fantastic, 2 1/2 hours plus. But it sounds as though not everyone is enjoying what the Pumpkins are offering up on their current tour. The band has been greeted with lacklustre reviews at certain stops, along with booing crowds! The latest incident occurred at the band’s homecoming show in Chicago, where Billy Corgan went on a 9 minute rant at the end of the gig, declaring “we don’t know what you *&^$R^$ want from us!”. You can check it out for yourself below. And if saucy language offends you, don’t listen because there is a bit of cursing going on in the footage.

It seems to me Corgan is really trying to cement the legacy of the Smashing Pumpkins and is having a tough time doing it. What do you think? Lemme know and then use “PUMPKINS” as today’s bonus code.

I’m counting down the days until Sunday, when I can finally head over to a record store and purchase my long awaited copy of Guns N Roses “Chinese Democracy”. It doesn’t matter that I’ve heard many of the songs over the past few years, either in live versions or in the various demos that have leaked since the dawn of the 21st century. It’s all about the finished product and how Axl Rose intends for us to hear it. Of course, for a lot of people “Chinese Democracy” will be nothing but a disappointment. They won’t be satisfied, and they’ll wonder why Axl spent all those years on the material. People will expect the wheel to be redefined when really 13 years is simply how long its taken Axl to finish this piece. The guy views himself as an artist and music is his canvas. It may sound pretentious, but I tend to think it’s simply the truth.

I’ll have a review of the album in next week’s Jack Nation Magazine and under the Skip A Beat section of our website, but I can tell you right now I’m predisposed to liking “Chinese Democracy” based on what I’ve heard so far. Take a listen to the album’s first two singles, the title track and “Better” here, let me know your thoughts, and then use GUNNERS as today’s bonus code.

Tomorrow’s Jack Nation Magazine has my review of the brand new Genesis box set “1970-1975″, which collects the band’s 5 studio albums with Peter Gabriel. I’ll leave most of the talk for the review, which should convince you to pick up the set (it’s absolutely essential for fans new and old alike). In short, each album (Tresspass, Foxtrot, Nursery Cryme, Selling England By The Pound, and the Lamb Lies Down On Broadway) is remixed and remastered on cd and DVD. Each DVD features the albums in 5.1 Surround Sound, along with new interviews and rare live footage. All of them sound great, but extra care has been given to “The Lamb…”, which in it’s DVD format syncs up the original slideshow footage the band used when they performed the album in its entirety back in 1974/75, along with whatever brief live footage they had in the archives.

I was never a huge fan of the album, but I have a newfound appreciation for it in its surround sound format. Since Genesis never filmed a complete “Lamb” show back in the day, I imagine that the DVD is as close to seeing it performed by the band as we’re going to get until Peter Gabriel takes the stick out of his butt and agrees to tour with his former bandmates.

Check out some rare “Lamb” footage, let me know what you think of the band and the album, and then use LAMB as today’s bonus code.