Classic rock fans have plenty to be excited about these days. Old bands are putting out new music, planning tours, and releasing old music from the vaults.
For me, the most exciting news is always new music, so that’s where we’ll start.
Jeff Lynne’s ELO have announced their latest album, From Out of Nowhere, will be released November 1. The album is the band’s first since 2015’s Alone in the Universe. Having recently completed a summer tour of the U.S., Lynne has admitted that the touring bug has bit him again and, while no dates have been announced, he has hinted that 2020 will see a tour to support the album.
The album’s title track was released last week. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Huey and the band have always been one of those acts that really did it for me or really didn’t do it for me. Few songs can make me happier than “Do You Believe in Love?,” but I can’t turn the dial fast enough when “Stuck with You” comes on. Thankfully, the new song, “Her Love is Killin’ Me,” is more like the former, and it makes me anxious to hear what else the band comes up with.
The new album, for which the song is the title track, currently has no scheduled release date. It’s the first album of new material from the band since 2010’s Soulsville, a lay-off that is mainly due to Huey’s hearing problems. He has Menier’s Disease.
His hearing loss also makes touring an impossibility so, for now at least, fans will have to settle for the studio work.
No, sadly for some of us, REM aren’t getting back together. This doesn’t mean they don’t have things stashed away in the vault. Their latest release, “Fascinating,” is one such song.
“Fascinating” originally comes from the Reveal sessions, from 2001, and the band have chosen to get it out and dust it off to help victims of Hurricane Dorian.
For a minimum donation for $2, the song can be downloaded on Bandcamp. Donations will go to Mercy Corps and will aid some 3000 Bahamian families affected by the storm. I can’t think of two better ways to spend a few bucks. You’ll be able to do both with the link below.
https://remhq.bandcamp.com/track/fascinating?from=embed
While it’s not new music, there is a new video for the re-mixed version of The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun,” and it’s pretty cool. The re-worked song comes from the 50th anniversary re-issue of Abbey Road, which hit sores September 26. I’m not enough of a Beatles aficionado to spend $92 on the three-disc set–or any set for that matter–but the video for the George Harrison penned tune is worth me listing it here. The disks are available on Amazon if you’re interested.
In other news
While nothing has been confirmed, it looks like those of us who have hoped for more from AC/DC (Sorry Axl, you’re great for Guns, but Brian Johnson is AC/DC’s singer), might get what we’ve longed for after all. Johnson, whose own hearing problems led him to be replaced on the 2016 tour by Rose, is rumored to have told fans that he’s back in the band. There are also rumors that the band is working on a new album. Still, right now it’s all just here say. I’ll keep you updated when I hear something more substantial.
Sadly, fans who’ve been waiting to see Lou Gramm back on stage with Foreigner won’t be so lucky this time around. Gramm was scheduled to be part of the upcoming Double Vision: Then and Now tour. His health, however, has caused him to have to pull out of those dates.
The tour, which will in part include the members of the band that recorded 1978’s Double Vision, as well the current lineup, is scheduled to go on as planned.
Still, there’s hope that Lou will get better and join the band on stage at some future point. I know my brother Steve would surely like to see it.
No new music from a Lou Gramm version of Foreigner, but I’ll give you, and Steve, a classic to enjoy.
So, a lot of our old bands might be just that, old, but many of them are still alive and kicking. I’ll try to keep you in the loop with some of the interesting news items that come my way.
Until then, keep on rockin’, and make good choices.
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