The Rolling Stones announced May 10 that the latest release in their “From the Vault” series will be “No Security - San Jose '99,” a 1999 concert from the “No Security Tour” that took place in San Jose, California. The film will hit the streets July 13 and be available on DVD, Blu-ray, DVD + 2CD, 3 LP and digital formats by Eagle Rock Entertainment.
The concert, which took place near the end of the tour, features the band on a stripped-down tour playing smaller venues with no security, no inflatables and no extras. The band is in an interactive mood as Jagger takes pictures of the crowd and gives high fives to fans. “We're here to have a good time,” Jagger tells the crowd.
The setlist goes retro back to the '60s and includes “Midnight Rambler” and rare performances of “Some Girls” and “Saint of Me.”
The announcement on May 10 comes on the 40th anniversary of the release of “Miss You” in 1978. The song, which kicked off the “Some Girls” album, was a number 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 during a 20-week run.
The track list from “No Security - San Jose '99” (Source: Eagle Rock Entertainment):
Jumpin’ Jack Flash Bitch You Got Me Rocking Respectable Honky Tonk Woman I Got The Blues Saint Of Me Some Girls Paint It Black You Got The Silver Before They Make Me Run Out Of Control Route 66 Get Off Of My Cloud Midnight Rambler Tumbling Dice It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It) Start Me Up Brown Sugar Sympathy For The Devil
By: Steve MarinucciAXS ContributorJun 9, 2018
It was unseasonably cold in Saratoga, California June 6 as The Monkees' Micky Dolenz and Mike Nesmith brought “The Mike Nesmith & Micky Dolenz Show' to town at the scenic Mountain Winery. Unlike past Monkees tours with movie clips and cutting up, “The Mike & Micky Show” is no-frills Monkees spotlighting just the music. It began quietly as the guys came out on stage with no introduction and launched into “Good Clean Fun” from The Monkees Present
Although the cold weather didn't help much in making the audience comfortable, it was a relaxed evening of music as the two Monkees sang 31 songs from the group's catalog, even throwing in such gems as “Different Drum,” a Nesmith song rejected for The Monkees but which was later given to Linda Ronstadt, who was then with the Stone Poneys. She and her group hit No. 13 on the Billboard singles chart with it in 1968.
The set also included three songs from their psychedelic movie “Head”: “The Porpoise Song,” “Circle Sky” and “As We Go Along,” plus other deep cuts like “The Door Into Summer,” “St. Matthew,” “Auntie's Municipal Court” and “I'll Spend My Life With You.” The show also featured two from the group's much-acclaimed “Good Times!” album, “Birth of An Accidental Hipster” and “Me and Magdalena,” which sounded great live. The backing band is a tight group and also a family affair with Micky's sister, Coco Dolenz, singing backup vocals, and Christian Nesmith, Mike's son, playing guitar. Christian's musical partner, Circe Link, also sang backup vocals.
A live album from this tour would be a real gem and the idea is currently being floated. Cross your fingers and here's hoping it happens.
The setlist (from Micky Dolenz's representatives):
The Grapes, a venerable Liverpool tavern that was at one time a hangout for The Beatles in their early days, may have closed for the last time, the local newspaper the Liverpool Echo reported June 8. The paper reported The Grapes' owners confirmed to them it had closed, but they would not say whether it would remain shuttered permanently.
“The Grapes is a Liverpool institution, originally servicing the workers around the warehouses in Mathew Street,” Beatles historian and expert Spencer Leigh, author of The Beatles In Liverpool and several other books on the group told AXS.com. “It found a new clientele in the 1950s. As the Cavern was dry, musicians would cross the street to the Grapes for refreshment, in many instances smuggling booze into the Cavern for their next set.”
“The Grapes was the pub all the musicians that played at the Cavern went to – as the Cavern didn’t have a license to serve alcohol. The Beatles were certainly regulars,” said tour guide Richard Porter, who leads walking tours of Beatles sites from The Beatles in London website.
Leigh says the venue had changed little since the days that the Fab Four hung out there. “There was a wonderful photo of The Beatles sitting 'round a table in The Grapes and as little had changed, you could recreate the pose on the same benches.” He said he didn't think it was a lack of clientele that caused it to close. “Mathew Street is always busy and especially so on the weekends. Indeed, I steer clear of Mathew Street on Friday and Saturday nights as it is so rowdy and unpleasant.”
Howard A. DeWitt, who wrote about his visit to The Grapes in his book The Beatles: Untold Tales, said being there was like being in a time machine. “When I visited the Grapes in the 1970s, it was like being back in 1963,” he told AXS.com. “Bob Wooler and Clive Epstein took me around and we met Brian Kelly. And then in 1983, I went back to write The Beatles Untold Tales. The Grapes was filled with stories and surprisingly they were true.” He called it “a wonderful spot for a relaxing drink and some tall tales that have truth."
Donna Jackson, from St Peter’s Church, Woolton, where the historic July 6, 1957, meeting between John Lennon and Paul McCartney, took place, and who is also a senior lecturer in modern history at the University of Chester, told AXS.com she hopes the closure is not permanent. “The general impression that I get is that it’s only a temporary thing. I hope so anyway. It’s definitely an important place in Beatles history. If you remember, the Jacaranda (another pub frequented by the Beatles when they were still in Liverpool) closed down very suddenly a few years ago, but then it reopened and now it’s better than ever.”
Spencer Leigh said his favorite memory of The Grapes took place in 2002. “Allan Williams, the Beatles first manager, had had a bit too much to drink and he was mourning the loss of his close friend, the Cavern DJ Bob Wooler. 'I have the ultimate Beatles possession for sale,' he shouted, 'Bob Wooler’s ashes .' The patrons laughed but the sad thing about this story is that the person who would laugh the most – Bob Wooler -- wasn’t able to
.”
The Monkees' Michael Nesmith will release a new live album with the First National Band Redux. Live at the Troubadour, recorded during their recent tour on July 27 in the UK and Aug. 3 in the U.S. by 7A Records was announced by the record company on June 18. The album will be available on CD and vinyl and feature 21 tracks on one CDs and 22 songs on two vinyl albums that will have a bonus performance of “Rio.” The first 1,000 LP pressings will be on 180-gram gold vinyl. The CD will include a color booklet with previously unseen photos.
The vinyl set will have an embossed cover. Both will have liner notes written by Nesmith.
“I've never been happier with a record,” Nesmith said in a statement about the release of the album. “I've never been more proud and pleased to get it out in front of people, and play it and leave it with the people, in their care. It's at the top of my form. It's the best I can do. So if I die now … that was it, guys.”
Nesmith announced the first of The First National Band Redux shows in November with two Southern California shows, then additional ones were added. In a recent interview in Billboard. Nesmith raved about the revived band. “This band is stellar, this FNBR,” he said. “And I think I've got new territory to explore, and new songs to sing, and ideas to purvey. I just can't help but think there's some sort of life left in FNB that I want to nurture and bring forward.”
The live album was recorded, mixed and produced by Christian Nesmith, Michael's son, who is currently on tour with his father as part of “The Mike & Micky Show” that also features Monkee Micky Dolenz. Another round of dates by The First National Band Redux will begin at the end of the current Nesmith-Dolenz tour. Tickets for some of the upcoming First National Band Redux shows are available here. Tickets for remaining dates of “The Mike and Micky Show” are available here.
CD Track list:
1. “Intro” 2. “Nevada Fighter” 3. “Calico Girlfriend” 4. “Nine Times Blue” 5. “Little Red Rider” 6. “The Crippled Lion” 7. “Joanne” 8. “Dedicated Friend” 9. “Grand Ennui” 10. “Lady Of The Valley” 11. “50 Years Ago” 12. “Propinquity (I've Just Begun To Care)” 13. “Different Drum” 14. “Papa Gene's Blues” 15. “Tengo Amore” 16. “Keys To The Car” 17. “Mama Nantucket” 18. “Bye Bye Bye” 19. “Some Of Shelly's Blues” 20. “Silver Moon” 21. “Thanx For The Ride”
2LP Vinyl Track list:
LP 1 Side 1
1. “Intro” (1:16) 2. “Nevada Fighter” (3:23) 3. “Calico Girlfriend” (2:42) 4. “Nine Times Blue” (2:00) 5. “Little Red Rider” (2:49) 6. “The Crippled Lion” (3:30) 7. “Joanne” (3:50)
LP 1 Side 2
1. “Dedicated Friend” (3:33) 2. “Grand Ennui” (6:58) 3. “Lady Of The Valley” (4:05) 4. “Rio” (6:26) (Vinyl Only Bonus Track)
LP 2 Side 1
1. “50 Years Ago” (2:30) 2. “Propinquity (I've Just Begun To Care)” (3:10) 3. “Different Drum” (2:10) 4. “Papa Gene's Blues” (2:38) 5. “Tengo Amore” (4:02) 6. “Keys To The Car” (3:06)
LP 2 Side 2
1. “Mama Nantucket” (3:07) 2. “Bye Bye Bye” (4:07) 3. “Some Of Shelly's Blues” (3:58) 4. “Silver Moon” (4:27) 5. “Thanx For The Ride” (4:21)
By: Steve MarinucciAXS ContributorJun 19, 2018 Paul McCartney and Capitol Records today announced the former Beatle will release a new double A-sided single with the songs “I Don't Know” and “Come On To Me” on Wednesday, June 20. The new songs will be a prelude to an album release coming in the fall. The LP is as yet officially untitled, though indications point to it being called Egypt Station. Some of the picture clues posted by McCartney's social media accounts had that title and his Twitter account has now added an #egyptstation hashtag.
A press release described the two new songs as having completely different styles. “I Don't Know” is a soulful ballad, while “Come On To Me” is an uptempo rocker. “Come On To Me” was played for the first time when he performed live at the Philharmonic Pub last week in Liverpool during a visit to his hometown. A fan-made video of the song turned up on YouTube shortly after the performance. McCartney had surprised locals and tourists by suddenly turning up with James Corden of CBS' “The Late Late Show” to film a segment of Carpool Karaoke. As part of the filming, the pair also went to the statues of the four Beatles on the Liverpool waterfront, McCartney's childhood home on Forthlin Road and “the shelter in the middle of the roundabout” on Penny Lane mentioned in the song by The Beatles. CBS has announced the segment will air on June 21.
The release of the two new songs follows a week of daily clues posted on McCartney's social media accounts that had fans feverishly trying to guess what it all meant. The LP release this fall will be his first album under his new deal with Capitol Records that was announced in 2016. More details on the album and its release will be forthcoming, the announcement today said.
McCartney recently added four new reissues to his McCartney Archive Series -- NEW, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, Wings GreatestandThrillington. All were released in single CD digipaks, 180gram black vinyl and in limited edition 180gram color vinyl pressings.
Paul McCartney was definitely not on the mind of South Side Slim's (Henree Harris) when he went to audition for the video shoot his friend had suggested to him in 2013. “Willie McNeil, the former drummer for John Mayall and a friend of mine, sent me a note about this audition,” Slim said in an email interview. “Willie (then) called and asked if I'd gotten the email he sent for an audition for a blues artist. So I checked, found it and went down for it. I thought because Willie had called me up that they had requested a blues guy and I would just get the job.”
But then Slim, who'll appear at 3:30 p.m. June 23 at the Long Beach Bayou Festival at Queen Mary Events Park in Long Beach, California, found out a lot of people were trying out, too. “The corridor was full of artists vying for the position, and at that point I thought, "Oh well," and got in line. I gave the interviewer my CD and a brief history about myself.” He said as he was leaving the building, he saw bluesman Roy Gaines and his friend McNeil. “When I saw Gaines,” he said, “I thought I know who's going to get this part.”
The interview was on a Thursday and the shoot was to take place the following Monday. Friday came and went and nothing happened. “Then on Saturday, I was in a car with my son and got a call, and they said they picked me and would be sending me the information.”
It was still a secret who he'd be shooting with. “When I got the call, I still didn't know. I went in on Monday and all the people that were selected were on set. No one really knew who the artist was going to be. I was thinking it was going to be Little Richard. We were given a non-disclosure agreement, which everyone had to sign.”
It was then he found out. “After we signed it, we were told, 'You're going to be working with Paul McCartney!' Wow, I was ecstatic! I couldn't believe I was going to be working with an icon. I felt like I was going to be part of history.”
The shoot took place in a Los Angeles theater. “The setting was to be 1957, which is ironic as that's the year I was born. We were then sent to wardrobe to put on 50's costumes. Upstairs was the area where we were filming. There was a monitor playing and Paul was sitting behind the monitor playing 'Early Days.' He was behind a partition so we saw him only on the monitor at that point.”
Then came a second surprise. “There was a guy there in a cowboy outfit that looked sort of like Indiana Jones. I thought to myself, 'Wow, that guy looks like Johnny Depp!' Later on, I was in the balcony looking over downtown and he was smoking a cigarette. I casually said to someone that guy looks like Johnny Depp. They said, "Dude, that IS Johnny Depp.'”
Slim had a chance to chat with McCartney during a quiet moment. “After the first jam session, and lunch break, we were sitting around waiting for the crew to get reorganized. I asked him about his first guitar. He said, "This is it right here. It's the first guitar I ever had. My Dad gave it to me." He told me about his father giving it to him and I remember him saying at the end of the conversation, "It changes life." I also still have my first guitar and coincidentally my father gave me my first guitar also. It sure does change life.”
This year's festival will feature a huge array of blues, jazz, R&B, soul, zydeco and cajun music. Performers beside Slim include Ray Goren, Margaret Love & The Lovetts, The McKee Brothers, Corney Mims and The Knowitaltz, Jeffrey Broussard & the Creole Cowboys, T-Broussard and the Zydeco Steppers, Jo Jo Reed, The Acadien Cajun Band and Crawdaddio. Tickets are available in advance at The Long Beach Bayou website.
This week, McCartney released two new songs, “I Don't Know” and “Come On To Me,” ahead of a new album, “Egypt Station,” coming out Sept.7. He also told the BBC in interviews that he plans several live shows in upcoming months.
The cover of Steve Perry's new album, 'Traces'. (Courtesy Concord Music)
Concord Music announced Aug. 15 that former Journey lead singer Steve Perry will release his first new album in 25 years, Traces, in October. Perry released a music video, “No Erasin',” and a digital single ahead of the album today.
Perry also issued a statement to his fans about his long time away from music. “Years ago, I disappeared. There were many reasons, but mainly … My Love for Music had suddenly left me.
"I knew that simply stopping, was what I had to do. If music was ever to return to my heart, then and only then I would figure out what to do. If not… so be it, for I had already lived the dream of dreams.
“Many years passed. One day, I began sketching some musical ideas with the creative freedom that I was the only one who would ever hear them. One song led to many. My Love for Music had returned.
"Then another beautiful thing happened. I found Love. My precious Kellie gave me a life I never knew I had. I lost her December of 2012. I now deeply understand the meaning of: ’It’s better to have Loved and Lost, Than to have never Loved at All.' “May of 2015, I began recording. These songs are special to me. I respectfully ask that you please listen to them, And whatever they make you feel, I thank you for listening.”
The album, produced by Perry and co-producer Thom Flowers, has nine original tracks in the regular edition and 15 in the deluxe version. One of the tracks is a Beatles cover, "I Need You."
“Putting 30 years into 10 songs has certainly been an emotional experience for me. I started writing and recording these songs with the creative freedom that I was the only one who would ever hear them. Along the way, I rediscovered my love for music. Each track represents traces of my past, but is also a hopeful look into the future. I invite you to listen with an open heart,” Perry said about the album.
Perry joined Journey in 1977. His first album with the group, Infinity, included one of his original songs, “Lights,” which became a band staple. He sang on nine of the band's albums. The others were Evolution, Departure, Dream After Dream, Captured, Escape, Frontiers, Raised on Radio and Trial By Fire. He left the band amid a dispute in the band over back issues he was having and the band wanting him to have surgery for it so they could tour to support Trial By Fire. He recently opened his own website, www.steveperry.com.
The CD tracklist:
TRACK LISTING: 1. No Erasin’ 2. We’re Still Here 3. Most Of All 4. No More Cryin’ 5. In The Rain 6. Sun Shines Gray 7. You Belong To Me 8. Easy To Love 9. I Need You 10. We Fly 11. October in New York (Deluxe edition only) 12. Angel Eyes (Deluxe edition only) 13. Call On Me (Deluxe edition only) 14. Could We Be Somethin’ Again (Deluxe edition only) 15. Blue Jays Fly (Deluxe edition only)
