Last year on Record Store Day Black Friday one of my goals was to find and buy the Rolling Stones 7″ 45, high-resolution, individually numbered collectible. Cutler’s Record Store in New Haven didn’t have it available that day. I eventually found it at Cutler’s after Christmas and bought it. I haven’t opened it yet.
“No Spare Parts” is a song featured as a bonus track on the 2011 re-release of the 1978 album Some Girls. It is one of twelve previously unreleased songs that appear on the reissue. It features newly recorded vocals from Mick Jagger. The song reached number 2 on Billboard’s Hot Singles Sales.
Here is the Stones, “No Spare Part” YouTube video from their Web site.
Rosemary bought us tickets to see the Jefferson Starship Paul Kantner 71st birthday gala at the Ridgefield Playhouse on Thursday March 15th, 2012. This secures our first concert for calendar year 2012.
Nona Hendryx is listed as a special guest star. You may remember her from Labelle who had the hit “Lady Marmalade“.
The concert listing also indicates there will be other guest stars appearing with Jefferson Starship that night. My personal wish is that it will include Marty Balin but I’m not confident he will be there.
My son gave me as my sixtieth birthday present, The Beach Boys Smile Sessions Box Set. I have to tell you it is one amazing package of music and art. Capitol Records and The Beach Boys have done a marvelous job with the graphic art coupled with documenting the music sessions to bring to life for us this fundamental time capsule recording.
I was skeptical of how good Smile was going to be. It didn’t take long to dispel an unrealistic concern. The first song that makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck is “Surf’s Up“. It is a masterpiece that opens my heart and soul to the orchestral beauty of The Beach Boys vocals and harmonies layered over rich sounds. A monumental recording written by the genius team of Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks that I first heard in 1971 the same and only year I saw The Beach Boys live in Central Park.
It’s unfair to just single out “Surf’s Up” on Smile. There are many songs that flow with spiritual intent and divine purpose. The Beach Boys Smile Sessions box set engages the listener’s sensibilities. I love how Smile reawakened the love and purity of The Beach Boys sound.
I continue to explore the five CD set, sipping the music a glass at a time from a fine bottle of wine. The 60 page booklet is my reading companion that happily unearths more about the efforts that went into the making of Smile.
Al Jardine sums up Smile best, “It’s truly life changing.”
I love that Sir Paul McCartney is constantly reinventing himself. His latest ventures take us further into Web 3.0,with a rich multimedia experience accompanied by a vastly redesigned Website. The first hint I had of this new technology direction was an advertisement in the tour program booklet we picked up at the McCartney concert at Yankee Stadium this past summer.
The Website is powered by technology partner HP. The collaboration between HP and McCartney MPL Communications Ltd. is very exciting and stimulating for McCartney fans.
Sir Paul McCartney announced his brand new as yet untitled album yesterday in a press release on his blog The first of his new songs that he has recorded only using his voice as an instrument is entitled, “My Valentine.” It is available as a preview for McCartney Collection Premium Account Members ($50). It is a striking recording that will reach your heart in a new musical fashion.
The premium account membership includes access to premium content, a lithograph, a plectrum, 4 button badges, membership card and letter, a t-shirt and high quality MP3 320kbs recordings of Good Evening New York City and Live at Hyde Park.
There is a lot to explore at McCartney.com. Go reacquaint yourself with your Beatle fan self. You know you want to
Have a wonderful Christmas time. Gotta love that Abe on the drums with the bells and his Christmas cap
I just needed a rock and roll adrenalin rush tonight. Love when they come out of the laser lights and Peter Townsend goes sliding across the floors on his knees. 4,729,468 Views!
Little did we realize that down the street a ways rock and roll history was being made at Madison Square Garden. They do not call it “The World’s Most Famous Arena” for nothing Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band were in town performing their concert magic at the Garden.
We saw Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band perform at the Boardwalk in Atlantic City in April of this past year. I privately hoped that since Bob Seger and Bruce Springsteen are close friends, Bruce who lives in New Jersey might make a surprise appearance that night. He did not.
The last time Bob Seger and Bruce Springsteen shared the same stage together was at the University of Michigan in 1980.
Here is what Rolling Stone Magazine‘s Andy Greene reported: ”Just because you’ve been good little boys and girls this year we have a little Christmas treat for you,” Bob Seger told the crowd early in his set at Madison Square Garden last night. “Mr. Bruce Springsteen!” With that, the place went absolutely insane as Springsteen came onstage, gave Seger a hug and launched into “Old Time Rock & Roll.”
The excitement level in the arena is fever pitch. You can see from the faces of Bruce Springsteen and Bob Seger thay are having a great time performing with each other. Alto Reed, the Silver Bullet Band saxophonist plays his heart on this song. I wonder if Bruce Springsteen flashed on what I was thinking when the video panned to Alto Reed. Perhaps Alto Reed might play with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band when they tour in 2012. Just a surmise on my part nothing more. No one will ever take Clarence Clemmons place in the E Street Band but I couldn’t help but contemplate on Alto Reed as that distinct possibility. Read more here: http://www.rollingstone.com/videos/new-and-hot/bruce-springsteen-and-bob-seger-perform-old-time-rock-roll-in-nyc-20111202#ixzz1fViElEjP
It drops today. Bob Seger’s ultimate hits package. The recording that Bob Seger didn’t want to do but Capitol Records convinced him otherwise to release. Hard to imagine Capitol Records would repackage Bob Seger greatest hits again, when Greatest Hits Vol, 1 has sold 10 million copies…
Oh well there is some cool stuff on here, mono Ramblin Gamblin Man being my main interest. His best song ever to me. How I discovered Bob Seger in 1968. Still a fan today 43 years later.
Ultimate Hits: Rock And Roll Never Forgets also includes the Detroit rocker’s two #1 radio singles from this year, “Downtown Train” and his current #1 Classic Rock hit, “Hey Hey Hey Hey (Going Back To Birmingham).”
We saw Bob Seger live in concert this past April in Atlantic City. He and the Silver Bullet Band rocked the house that night.
Should have my copy tomorrow from Amazon. I’ll let you know what I think when I have given it a quality listen.
You won’t find this recording on Spotify….
DISC ONE:
1. Old Time Rock And Roll
2. Hollywood Nights
3. Night Moves
4. Mainstreet
5. Roll Me Away
6. Turn The Page
7. Her Strut
8. Still The Same
9. You’ll Accomp’ny Me
10. We’ve Got Tonight
11. Like A Rock
12. Fire Lake
13 .Tryin’ To Live My Life Without You
DISC TWO:
1. Rock And Roll Never Forgets
2. Against The Wind
3. Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man
4. The Fire Down Below
5. Travelin’ Man (Live)
6. Beautiful Loser (Live)
7. Shakedown
8. Shame On The Moon
9. Katmandu
10. Little Drummer Boy
11. Wait For Me
12. Hey Hey Hey Hey (Going Back To Birmingham)
13. Downtown Train
40 years ago today, the greatest rock band of all-time released the greatest rock album of all-time, Led Zeppelin IV. A powerhouse from the legendary opening vocal intro of “Black Dog” to the final notes of the hypnotic Mississippi blues-infused “When The Levee Breaks,” IV contains eight radio classics including “Rock And Roll,” “The Battle Of Evermore,” “Misty Mountain Hop,” “Four Sticks,” “Going To California,” and, of course, the ultimate rock anthem, “Stairway To Heaven.”
“Hats Off…” to Jimmy, Robert, John Paul, and John for creating a true work of art that only gets better with age.
The raw force they generated with “Sweet Jane”, done Lou Reed, Rock and Roll Animal style made me think to myself…(Wow, I hope that Lou Reed and Metallica get around to recording together some day because they are just scratching the surface for what they can carry out together seismically.) Loutallica! My silent wishes have been granted. Lou Reed and Metallica will be releasing a new studio recording, LuLu on November 1st, almost two years to the day of their auspicious NYC concert début.
There is a Web site focused on this important teaming, http://www.loureedmetallica.com/. It has published content early and will be further updated as we get closer to the drop date.
Five of the 10 songs planned are now listed, (Tracks 3,6-9), ” Frustration, Junior Dad, Little Dog Mistress Dread, and Pumping Blood.”
I find the inspiration of the LuLu recording, challenging and revealing all at once. LuLu was inspired by German expressionist writer Frank Wedekind‘s plays “Earth Spirit” and “Pandora’s Box,” which tell a story of a young abused dancer’s life and relationships and are now collectively known as the “Lulu Plays.” Lou Reed says about LuLuand Metallica:
We had to bring LuLu to life in a sophisticated way, using rock and the hardest power rock you could come up with would have to be Metallica. This is the best thing I ever did. And I did it with the best group I could possibly find. By definition, everybody involved was honest. This has come into the world pure. We pushed as far as we possibly could within the realms of reality.
Rosemary bought us tickets to see the 
Sir Paul McCartney announced his brand new as yet untitled album yesterday in a press release on his 
The first of his new songs that he has recorded only using his voice as an instrument is entitled, “My Valentine.” It is available as a preview for McCartney Collection Premium Account Members ($50). It is a striking recording that will reach your heart in a new musical fashion.
