Category Archives: Classic Rock

Watch Elton John Deliver Emotional Speech at Final Farewell Show

Elton John thanked his fans, band and family during an emotional speech just before the last song of the final show of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour tonight in Stockholm, Sweden. “It’s the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour show, and the last one,” he noted just before the set-closing “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” “We’re […]

The Worst Song From Every Kiss Album

Here’s a mind-blowing thought: Even after a lifetime of single-minded preparation, one of the world’s most elite athletes comes in last place in every Olympic competition. Similarly, even the best Kiss albums must have a worst song. Sometimes the choice is obvious, sometimes it’s a matter of “least great” and sometimes it’s a race to […]

Justin Hawkins on the Darkness’ Early Days: ‘It Was Pandemonium’

“Sometimes getting onstage is the thing that makes you realize it’s not for you,” the Darkness‘ Justin Hawkins concedes during a recent chat. He’s not speaking from experience. “I had the opposite feeling, actually,” the frontman remembers. “Our first gig was in August 2000. It was that long ago. And we were opening a night — I […]

Foreigner Kicks Off Farewell Tour: Set List and Interview

Foreigner kicked off their farewell tour Thursday night with a hit-packed, 13-song set at Atlanta’s Ameris Bank Amphitheatre. “It was fabulous, a sold-out crowd in Atlanta for our first night – it couldn’t have gone better,” bassist Jeff Pilson tells UCR. “The show went off without a hitch. We had done a couple of days of production […]

Poison Gets Autobiographical on ‘Fallen Angel’

Poison mastered the art of escapist party metal on their first two albums, but they took care to revisit their hardscrabble roots on “Fallen Angel,” released as a single on July 6, 1988. The Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, quartet — singer Bret Michaels, guitarist C.C. DeVille, drummer Rikki Rockett and bassist Bobby Dall — had graduated from hand-to-mouth hustle to […]

Darkness Announces ‘Permission to Land … Again’ Reissue Set

The Darkness will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their star-making debut album Permission to Land with a deluxe reissue, aptly titled Permission to Land … Again. The collection arrives on Oct. 6 and will be available as a five-LP set, a four-CD/DVD set, a two-CD set and digitally. The band is previewing the set with a […]

Watch Las Vegas’ MSG Sphere Debut Its Incredible Visuals

MSG Sphere, the massive $2.3 billion entertainment space in Las Vegas, lit up its exosphere for the first time on Tuesday. The first message displayed on the giant venue said, “Hello World.” From there, the Sphere showed off an incredible array of eye-catching visuals, including fireworks, the American Flag and a rotating planet Earth on […]

Jethro Tull Preps ‘The Broadsword and the Beast’ Deluxe Reissue

Jethro Tull has announced a 40th-anniversary deluxe edition of their 14th album The Broadsword and the Beast, featuring demos, rough mixes, live recordings, studio sessions and new mixes from Porcupine Tree founder Steven Wilson. The collection arrives on Sept. 1 and will be available as a five-CD, three-DVD “Monster Edition,” a three-LP “Vinyl Edition” and digitally. You […]

Rock’s Best First Solo Albums

The best solo albums are more than just mere solo albums. They’re mad dashes toward freedom and expression, statements of purpose from voices who have been silenced too long and declarations of independence from creatively stagnant artists who have something to say outside of their stifling groups. In our look at 10 Declarations of Independence: […]