Category Archives: Classic Rock

Hear Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ New Single, ‘If You’re Blue’

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts have released a new single, “If You’re Blue,” from their upcoming EP, Mindsets. Mindsets, which is currently available for preorder, will be out on June 2. The EP follows Jett’s 2022 album with the Blackhearts, Changeup, a 25-song collection of acoustic versions of her best-known songs. You can listen to “If You’re Blue” below. […]

German Police Investigate Roger Waters Over Nazi-Like Costume

German police are investigating Roger Waters after the former Pink Floyd frontman wore a Nazi-inspired costume during his recent performance in Berlin. The concert in question took place on May 17 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. Waters, who has become a lightning rod of controversy thanks to his outspoken opposition of Israel, wore an SS-style uniform during […]

Dio Starts Over as Band Leader on ‘Holy Diver’

By May 25, 1983, the man baptized Ronald James Padavona had already accumulated an incomparable musical CV including passages through numerous obscure ‘60s doo-wop groups, ‘70s blues-rockers Elf, castle-metal kings Rainbow and heavy-metal originators Black Sabbath. Now, at the ripe age of 41, Ronnie James Dio was finally ready for his close-up with his debut, Holy […]

Van Halen, ‘OU812’: Retro Album Review

Van Halen has always worshipped at two altars. From their earliest days on the backyard beer-bash circuit, the Pasadena party-rockers toed the line between coolness and credibility. At first, this tightrope act seemed effortless, with David Lee Roth‘s inimitable swagger playing counterpoint to Eddie Van Halen‘s mind-bending guitar sorcery. But after Sammy Hagar replaced Roth in 1985, […]

Paul Simon Says He Has Lost Most of the Hearing in One Ear

Singer-songwriter Paul Simon has revealed that he’s lost most of the hearing in his left ear. In an interview with The Times, the famed rocker confessed that the ailment came on “quite suddenly.” “Nobody has an explanation for it,” Simon explained. “So everything became more difficult. My reaction to that was frustration and annoyance; not […]

How Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Prove It All Night’ Was Reborn Onstage

The first single from Bruce Springsteen‘s Darkness on the Edge of Town became a tale of two versions shortly after its release. “Prove It All Night,” which preceded his fourth LP by 10 days in May 1978, was a straightforward, four-minute rock anthem in its studio form dubbed by Rolling Stone as “the lightest item” […]

Tom Johnston Leaves Doobie Brothers Tour Due to Back Injury

Tom Johnston will not tour with the Doobie Brothers on the upcoming leg of their 50th-anniversary tour due to a back injury. According to a press release, Johnston is scheduled to undergo surgery and, as advised by doctors, “should not be performing at this time.” The tour will proceed with Pat Simmons, Michael McDonald and John […]

The 10 Weirdest Rush Songs

Rush‘s first side-long epic was 1975’s “The Fountain of Lamneth,” a 20-minute fantasy-adventure piece with a rambling narrative, choppy musical structure and randomly inserted drum solo. It was undoubtedly a bold move at the time — before Caress of Steel, Canada’s prog kings had largely trafficked in virtuoso hard rock. But in retrospect, it was […]