MacNuggets

[LB Freakazoid]

http://www.billboard.com/articles/co...ncert-frontman


The Queen + Adam Lambert experiment -- which began tentatively in 2012, three years after the legendary U.K. band joined the*American Idol*finalist on stage during the show’s season finale, and has been touring the globe for much of the half-decade since -- has now been fine-tuned, to the point where it should really be a permanent partnership.
This isn't to say Lambert doesn't deserve his own career. But fronting Queen should probably be the pop star's full-time gig:

Perhaps not since Mick Fleetwood stumbled upon the Buckingham Nicks duo at Sound City 43 years ago -- leading to a lineup change that would turn Fleetwood Mac into one of the biggest bands of all time -- has there been a more serendipitous fusion of two established recording acts.

The story is not just that Queen, the ‘70s and ‘80s prog-rockers with one of the most unique catalogs in pop and rock, appear to have finally settled in with Lambert; in a way that carries the franchise forward, decades after the tragic 1991 death of frontman Freddie Mercury. It’s that their new world tour, which launched in Arizona last week and arrived at the Hollywood Bowl for capacity shows*on Monday*and*Tuesday (June 26 and 27), is a seamlessly executed Vegas assault -- a just-right balance of kitsch, classic rock and ‘70s excess. It's all there; the bombast, melodrama, the drum solos, the glitter, the great songs, a crazy light show, big power chords. Even Brian May’s power cape.*
But most important is the tone. None of it takes itself too seriously -- crucial when a group is replacing a legendary member. If concert promoters need a primer on how to keep a band going after the unthinkable, Queen + Adam Lambert is a pretty good case study.

“These two gentlemen are legends of rock n roll,” Lambert said on stage*Monday*night while introducing Queen’s founding members, drummer Roger Taylor, 67, and guitarist May, who will turn 70 next month. “Every time I take the stage with them, it blows my mind at what an honor this is -- to be singing the music of Queen.”
This came about five songs in, after Lambert, 35 had ridden in on a 3-D skull (modeled after the sci-fi album cover of Queen’s '77 set*News Of The World), singing a glorious “Killer Queen,” decked in a shiny pink suit and high-heels. The song was a showcase for his theatrically trained vocals, one of several during which he put his stamp on things in a way that was faithful to the band’s past, but kept it all in the now.

“I know what some of you might be thinking -- he's no Freddie Mercury,” Lambert said, acknowledging the obvious. “I know guys, I know. Of course I’m not Freddie. I’m a fan, just like you.”
Lambert’s devotion to the catalog shows, not just on big numbers like “I Want It All,” "We Will Rock You" and “Radio Ga Ga,” but on trifles like “Bicycle Race,” during which the saucy former reality star whipped out some perfect light-opera and a couple of cute sight gags.*
For his part May remains a marvel on guitar, racing around the multilevel stage, infusing the band’s genre-busting catalog with every possible six string flourish, and veering off into crunchy mini-jams as in*“Fat Bottomed Girls,” during which Lambert dashed off for the first of five costume changes.* May took a couple of acoustic moments center stage, notably on “Love of My Life.” He seemed to become emotional when a video of Mercury appeared. The duo finished the song in unison and then Taylor joined in on drums down stage with Lambert, to continue the acoustic segment with a buoyant rendition of 1980 Billboard Hot 100-topper “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”


The all-ages crowd appeared particularly reverential during “Under Pressure” (featuring bassist Neil Fairclough) -- the Queen & David Bowie collaboration which re-charted on the Hot 100 after Bowie’s 2016 death. And of course there was “Bohemian Rhapsody,” in all its strange and spectacular glory, synched to the 1975 music video splashed across five giant screens.
When it was over Lambert and May embraced, walking arm in arm toward the other band-members (including Spike Edney on keyboards and Tyler Warren on percussion) for their final bows. The moment was one of many during which the two men appeared happy and very connected on stage. A classic guitarist and his muse, carrying on.

[button-lip]

Originally Posted by LB Freakazoid

http://www.billboard.com/articles/co...ncert-frontman


The Queen + Adam Lambert experiment -- which began tentatively in 2012, three years after the legendary U.K. band joined the*American Idol*finalist on stage during the show’s season finale, and has been touring the globe for much of the half-decade since -- has now been fine-tuned, to the point where it should really be a permanent partnership.
This isn't to say Lambert doesn't deserve his own career. But fronting Queen should probably be the pop star's full-time gig:

Perhaps not since Mick Fleetwood stumbled upon the Buckingham Nicks duo at Sound City 43 years ago -- leading to a lineup change that would turn Fleetwood Mac into one of the biggest bands of all time -- has there been a more serendipitous fusion of two established recording acts.

The story is not just that Queen, the ‘70s and ‘80s prog-rockers with one of the most unique catalogs in pop and rock, appear to have finally settled in with Lambert; in a way that carries the franchise forward, decades after the tragic 1991 death of frontman Freddie Mercury. It’s that their new world tour, which launched in Arizona last week and arrived at the Hollywood Bowl for capacity shows*on Monday*and*Tuesday (June 26 and 27), is a seamlessly executed Vegas assault -- a just-right balance of kitsch, classic rock and ‘70s excess. It's all there; the bombast, melodrama, the drum solos, the glitter, the great songs, a crazy light show, big power chords. Even Brian May’s power cape.*
But most important is the tone. None of it takes itself too seriously -- crucial when a group is replacing a legendary member. If concert promoters need a primer on how to keep a band going after the unthinkable, Queen + Adam Lambert is a pretty good case study.

“These two gentlemen are legends of rock n roll,” Lambert said on stage*Monday*night while introducing Queen’s founding members, drummer Roger Taylor, 67, and guitarist May, who will turn 70 next month. “Every time I take the stage with them, it blows my mind at what an honor this is -- to be singing the music of Queen.”
This came about five songs in, after Lambert, 35 had ridden in on a 3-D skull (modeled after the sci-fi album cover of Queen’s '77 set*News Of The World), singing a glorious “Killer Queen,” decked in a shiny pink suit and high-heels. The song was a showcase for his theatrically trained vocals, one of several during which he put his stamp on things in a way that was faithful to the band’s past, but kept it all in the now.

“I know what some of you might be thinking -- he's no Freddie Mercury,” Lambert said, acknowledging the obvious. “I know guys, I know. Of course I’m not Freddie. I’m a fan, just like you.”
Lambert’s devotion to the catalog shows, not just on big numbers like “I Want It All,” "We Will Rock You" and “Radio Ga Ga,” but on trifles like “Bicycle Race,” during which the saucy former reality star whipped out some perfect light-opera and a couple of cute sight gags.*
For his part May remains a marvel on guitar, racing around the multilevel stage, infusing the band’s genre-busting catalog with every possible six string flourish, and veering off into crunchy mini-jams as in*“Fat Bottomed Girls,” during which Lambert dashed off for the first of five costume changes.* May took a couple of acoustic moments center stage, notably on “Love of My Life.” He seemed to become emotional when a video of Mercury appeared. The duo finished the song in unison and then Taylor joined in on drums down stage with Lambert, to continue the acoustic segment with a buoyant rendition of 1980 Billboard Hot 100-topper “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”


The all-ages crowd appeared particularly reverential during “Under Pressure” (featuring bassist Neil Fairclough) -- the Queen & David Bowie collaboration which re-charted on the Hot 100 after Bowie’s 2016 death. And of course there was “Bohemian Rhapsody,” in all its strange and spectacular glory, synched to the 1975 music video splashed across five giant screens.
When it was over Lambert and May embraced, walking arm in arm toward the other band-members (including Spike Edney on keyboards and Tyler Warren on percussion) for their final bows. The moment was one of many during which the two men appeared happy and very connected on stage. A classic guitarist and his muse, carrying on.

Thanks for this great article! I don't care very much about the Buckingham Nicks part because well, Mick wanted only Lindsey.

I heard great reviews about this Queen + Adam Lambert tour and I can't wait to see them in Brooklyn. While Adam Lambert is certainly not Freddie, someone has to take his place and he does it pretty well, although I preferred Paul Rodgers. Brian and Roger will be there, so that's all that matters to me.

[SisterNightroad]

Rock’s Most Dysfunctional Bands
By Eduardo Rivadavia

Music groups are a lot like families and, as the above gallery of Rock’s Most Dysfunctional Bands illustrates, they have many of the same issues as your average family.
Oh sure, it’s all fun and games at first: Musicians come together, unified by a shared love of performance. Outsized dreams put a rosy tint on any early disagreements that may crop up inside their still-developing personal relationships. (They do call it “playing” music, after all.) Once that initial rush of excitement subsides, however, underlying issues tend to bubble up.
It’s not a matter of if so much as how dysfunctional a band will become as they deal with the fame (or lack thereof) that inevitably surrounds rock and roll. What’s amazing is how the same internal issues that derail so many groups actually fuel a precious, special few. For the lucky ones, emotional tension between members actually sparks their creativity, to the point that their career actually thrives from all this drama.
Some of rock’s best-known acts have weathered and even prospered amidst the most outlandish internal dysfunction, while others have gone down the tubes. Sometimes, ironically enough, that process can contribute to their legend – thanks to all the gossip generated as they crashed to Earth. In this way, dysfunction appears to be as vital an ingredient in rock and roll as sex and drugs – oh yeah, and great music.
Click through as we celebrate all of the dizzying heights and the just as precipitous lows of rock’s most dysfunctional bands.

Fleetwood Mac

While most bands deny or try to gloss over any public talk of internal dysfunction, Fleetwood Mac turned it to their advantage: first tapping into it for inspiration while recording their career best seller 'Rumours,' and then owning up to all the dirty details so that their fans felt even closer to the men and women behind the music. All of this late-‘70s drama followed the group’s early trials with founder Peter Green (who suffered a nervous breakdown), and a series of personnel shifts in the ensuring Bob Welch era. That alone might have qualified Fleetwood Mac as one of rock’s most dysfunctional bands.



Read More: Rock's Most Dysfunctional Bands | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/dysfu...ckback=tsmclip

[SisterNightroad]

Vinyl makes a comeback at Leeds’s Kirkgate Market

A RECORD collectors’ fair made its debut appearance at Kirkgate Market this weekend, in a move which could see the event held there permanently. Vinyl lovers from across the country attended the Premier Music Fair on Saturday, with dealers and collectors swapping stories about new finds. The event is usually held in the Corn Exchange on the last Sunday of every month but fair organiser Adrian Melling said it may now run at both venues. He said: “It was interesting moving the event to a multi-function venue, as you can pick up a bit of extra interest with different people shopping.” Collectors were also invited to bring in their records and memorabilia to be valued. Mr Melling, who has been a record dealer for 40 years, said recent items brought in included a signed Beatles album. “People bring in records all the time. “We had the Beatles’ album A Hard Days Night come in with three autographs,” he said. “Many of the autographs on their albums were signed by their roadies but this one was real, although it was missing John Lennon’s autograph. “She didn’t want to sell it but it was valued at around £3,000.” With the recent vinyl revolution still increasing in popularity, Mr Melling said the most sought after records are by The Stone Roses and Joy Division. He said: “Rumours by Fleetwood Mac has been sold by the truck load and it still flies off the shelves.” The record collectors’ fair returns to its usual location of the Corn Exchange on July 30.



Read more at: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.u...rket-1-8642603

[SisterNightroad]

Power pop guru Matthew Sweet hits the road after 14th studio album

JACKSON, Miss. — Back in the early '90s when grunge was king and flannel was cool, Matthew Sweet blasted out of radio speakers and into the Top 10 with Girlfriend, a walloping chunk of guitar fuzz ear candy from his 1991 album of the same name.

Although that wasn't Sweet's first record, it was the one that pronounced him the king of jangly guitar power pop.

It's been more than a quarter century since then and Sweet just released his 14th studio album last month, Tomorrow Forever. The new one was funded by Sweet's fans via Kickstarter.

Sweet, a multi-instrumentalist who has worshiped Todd Rundgren and Lindsey Buckingham since his teen years, has been writing, recording and touring since his 1991 commercial breakthrough.

Sweet’s latest tour kicked off May 15 at the City Vineyard at Pier 26 in New York City and goes through Sept. 15 with a final stop in South Orange, N.J.


After a show in Jackson, Miss., on Tuesday, Sweet and his band play two nights in Atlanta on Wednesday and Thursday at the City Winery and then he moves on to the City Winery in Nashville on Friday.

5 things to know about Matthew Sweet

1. Sweet recorded three cover albums, each titled Under the Covers, with The Bangles' Susanna Hoffs. The first volume covered songs from the 1960s, the second featured tunes from the 1970s and the third highlighted songs from the 1980s. The second volume — featuring covers of Yes, Bread and Todd Rundgren — is the best of the trio.

2. Sweet, ever the Fleetwood Mac fan, got Richard Dashut to produce his 1993 record, Altered Beast. Dashut is best known for co-producing Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, Tusk and Mirage. Drummer Mick Fleetwood even makes an appearance on the album.

3. Both Debbie Peterson of The Bangles and The Zombies' founder/keyboardist, Rod Argent, play on Sweet's newest release.

4. Sweet and his wife moved from their longtime Hollywood Hills home to Nebraska in 2014. Sweet grew up in Lincoln, Neb. The couple bought an 80-year-old house spacious enough to house a home recording studio, dubbed Black Squirrel Submarine.

5. Although it's not on his '70s covers album, Sweet recorded Walter Egan's 1978 yacht rock classic Magnet and Steel in 1998. The song appeared on a soundtrack for Sabrina The Teenage Witch. It's his sweetest cover.



https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/...our/510775001/

[SisterNightroad]

Potent Pairings: How to Sound Like Fleetwood Mac

Disclaimer: Our Potent Pairing series aims to get you in the ballpark of the sounds on your favorite recordings using affordable, accessible pedals. The pedals featured are not the exact pieces of gear used on the recordings.

Since their original formation in the late-'60s and through various personnel changes and iterations, British–American band Fleetwood Mac has remained a hugely influential mainstay in rock music.

Their 1977 release Rumours has sold over 40 million copies to date, placing it eighth on the list of the highest–selling albums of all time behind the likes of Michael Jackson, Pink Floyd, and the Bee Gees.

Today, we're paying homage to Fleetwood Mac with another installment of our Potent Pedal Pairings series. Watch the video above for our overview of how to nail the band's seminal sounds with common guitar effects, and be sure to take a look at our library of other Potent Pairings videos here.

Click on any of the pedal graphics below for more on each of these pedals.

"Oh Well"




"Albatross"



"Rhiannon"



"Dreams"




"Go Your Own Way"



"Silver Springs"



"Big Love"

https://reverb.com/news/potent-pairi...-fleetwood-mac

[SisterNightroad]

Randy Erickson: Musical canon lists blow me away

Just in case anybody was thinking I’m some kind of expert in all things music, I have a confession to make: I’m not. I have been an avid consumer and lover of music my whole life but not an overall expert, and I feel like something less of an expert this week after National Public Radio offered “Turning the Tables: The 150 Greatest Albums Made by Women.”
The list covers albums released in popular music genres since 1964, and the intent was to create a “canon” for music created by women, providing a guide to the best, a standard of excellence. The effort was prompted in part by the long-noted under-representation of women in best albums lists, especially lists that establish the canon for rock music.

There’s no denying that female musical artists have had a less than prominent place on broad “best” lists. No women were in the top 20 on Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and they are vastly outnumbered by male artists on the rest of the expansive list.

The music I’ve purchased and listened to most over the years shows a similar bent, and I have to think a big part of that is because I generally gravitate toward rock music. (There’s a shocker, right?) There aren’t nearly as many women in rock as there are men, but this NPR list got me thinking about whether I’ve given women rockers a fair shake in my listening choices.

I decided to have a look at the NPR album roster and see how many albums on the list I’ve actually purchased. I’ve heard a lot of the albums on the list, of course, but I just wanted ones that I spent money on as an indication of how that list and my listening priorities mesh.

I have bought only 15 of the 150. What kind of a music “expert” has a collection with only 10 percent of the classics?

Part of it has something to do with my prime music-buying years. Maybe I’d have a greater percentage of the list if we only looked at the albums that came out from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, when I had to shift more of the dwindling music budget to Raffi, Barney, Hans Mayer and Disney hits for the kids.

The classic albums by female artists I’ve invested in include (in order of their appearance on the NPR list) Fleetwood Mac, Lucinda Williams, Sade, Gillian Welch, Heart, Rickie Lee Jones, Linda Ronstadt, The Go-Go’s, Pretenders, Dixie Chicks, k.d. lang, Eurythmics, Joan Jett, The Bangles and Norah Jones. This does not include albums on the list I bought strictly for my daughters (Dixie Chicks, Spice Girls, Britney Spears and Taylor Swift).

I don’t think I have anything against music made by women. The last band I played in had a fantastic female singer who handled at least half our songs, and I had a lot of fun listening to and learning the cover songs we did that she sang.

Just for grins, I decided to look at the top 150 songs on another greatest albums of the rock era list and see how many of those are in my collection, again counting only ones I’ve bought. I was surprised I only had 18 of the 150, and two of those albums — Fleetwood Mac and Gillian Welch — were on the NPR list, too.

Artists from that other list in my collection include, in order of appearance on the list, Television, The Beatles, The Clash, The Rolling Stones, R.E.M., Led Zeppelin, Sex Pistols, The Who, U2, Bruce Springsteen, The Specials, Nirvana, Elvis Costello, The Byrds and AC/DC.

I’ve decided I’m not going to feel too bad about having so many great female artists missing from my collection, and I don’t regret not owning so many other classics of the rock music canon by the guys, and nobody else should feel bad either. I know these lists are somewhat subjective — especially the order of the rankings — and making people feel dumb because they aren’t up on what experts consider the classics or superior because they are isn’t the point of these lists. In a way, they are bucket lists to me, albums I should listen to while the ears are still working and the mind is still open.

I will keep that new NPR albums list handy, and when I am at a loss for what to listen to, I’ll check these albums out on Spotify. Even if I can can fit in one album on the list each week, I can get caught up on all that great music, a lot of it in genres I’ve left largely unexplored, in less than three years.

And that should still leave time for me to listen to female artists on my Spotify listening list that I would hope could one day be make the canon, including Courtney Barnett, Charly Bliss, Haim and Kristin Diable, who is coming soon to the Cavalier Theater.

So much music, so little time.

Rock on …



http://lacrossetribune.com/entertain...7a8495155.html