Category: rock


After a 2+-year break, Neil Young is continuing his Official Release Series with new box sets on both CD and LP rounding up another four albums from the 1990s. ORS Vol. 6 arrives on the Reprise label with newly remastered editions of Harvest Moon (1992, ORS Disc 26), Unplugged (1993, ORS Disc 27), Sleeps with Angels (1993, ORS Disc 28), and Mirror Ball (1995, ORS Disc 29).
…Following the heavy rock of the Crazy Horse collaborations Ragged Glory, Arc, and Weld – the latter an experimental sound collage – Young cooled down with a return to the mellow milieu of 1972’s chart-topping Harvest. Young picked up his acoustic guitar and reteamed with co-producer/guitarist Ben Keith for Harvest Moon. Though the songs had been written over…

You need to be logged in to view the rest of the content. Please .

Dave’s Picks Vol. 56, the fourth and final Dave’s Pick of 2025, feature two nearly complete shows recorded March 20, 1981, and March, 21, 1981, at the Rainbow Theatre in London. The shows were the opening two nights of a four-night stand at the venue.
The concerts, which were the first time The Dead returned to Europe in seven years, feature performances of such Dead classics as “Friend of the Devil,” “Scarlet Begonias,” “Fire on the Mountain,” “Althea,” “Truckin’” and “Alabama Getaway.”
“These London shows are right up there with the best,” Dead archivist David Lemieux says in a video shot in front of Big Ben. “Some really, really wonderful, wonderful music to end the year.”

You need to be logged in to view the rest of the content. Please .

From the Garage fueled shadows of upstate New York, The Chesterfield Kings have returned this Halloween with Loose Ends: 1989–2004 Rare, B-Sides & Unreleased that is out via Wicked Cool Records. This anthology cracks open the vault to deliver a fuzz-drenched feast of rarities, forgotten gems, and unreleased recordings spanning the band’s wildest years. For the first time ever, these deep cuts and obscure one-offs, many previously scattered across hard-to-find vinyl and CD pressings, have been digitally remastered and compiled into one explosive release. It’s a time capsule of pure Rock swagger: stomping rhythms, snarling guitars, and that signature Chesterfield Kings attitude that has influenced generations of garage revivalists and true believers.

You need to be logged in to view the rest of the content. Please .

Recorded and filmed October 5, 2024, before a sold-out crowd at London, England’s historic Islington Assembly Hall, Lighthouse: Live from London sees McKagan and his band performing songs from throughout the iconic musician-songwriter’s legendary career, including stellar renditions of tracks originally found on his critically acclaimed third solo album, 2023’s ‘Lighthouse’.
Lighthouse Tour ’24 saw McKagan lighting up sold-out houses across North America, Europe, and the United Kingdom, joined by his murderer’s row of musicians, guitarist Tim DiJulio, guitarist/keyboardist Jeff Fielder, bassist Mike Squires, and drummer Michael Musburger, with live sound engineered by longtime collaborator Martin Feveyear.

You need to be logged in to view the rest of the content. Please .

After a five-year break, Magic 8-Ball marks Gazpacho’s return with eight new tracks built around the idea of fate-how it moves without warning, and how the choices we make can slowly strip away who we thought we were.
Magic 8-Ball is about someone who gambles everything, believing that eventually everyone gets their break. That the universe is fair if you just wait long enough. But the break never comes. He loses everything and is left with the realization that it was never fate, only his own choices. His responsibility. His idea.
The title, Magic 8-Ball, ties into the idea of randomness and inevitability—shaking something for answers you already suspect and repeating the cycle over and over. The idea of infinity is central.

You need to be logged in to view the rest of the content. Please .

Originally released in 1999, No Exit marked a bold and fearless reinvention — bridging Blondie’s punk roots with a contemporary pop sensibility that resonated across generations.
The album was their first for 17 years at the time and features what was, frankly, a surprise UK number one single in ‘Maria’ along with its less successful follow-up, ‘Nothing Is Real But the Girl’. The new deluxe edition features a remastered version of the standard 14-track album on the first disc while CD 2 offers Japan-only bonus track ‘Hot Shot’ (with additional production and mix by David Wrench) along with a selection of seven remixes (from the many that were issued back in the day).
…“It’s been an idea that’s been hatching for a while, but it’s only just come to fruition now,”…

You need to be logged in to view the rest of the content. Please .

Keith Moon’s death three weeks after its release added a tragic coda to The Who’s eighth album. In truth, Pete Townshend had threatened to sack Moon during the protracted sessions for Who Are You, his booze-addled antics by then eclipsing his ability to actually do the job.
Contemporary reviews bemoaned the guitarist’s infatuation with synthesizers, but on a record frequently concerned with slipping into irrelevance – ‘New Song’, the still barnstorming title track – it’s one of the most interesting elements, elevating what might otherwise have been stodgier rockers.
Extras on the new multi-format reissue include Glyn Johns’ rejected mix (not enough Ox); 1979 live tracks with replacement Kenney Jones (not enough Moon); demos and rehearsals,…

You need to be logged in to view the rest of the content. Please .

The second album from Pilcrowe, by their own admission, is not a concept album, but rather a three-act play. Drawing inspiration from the rugged beauty of their home state of Arizona, it provides an exploration of struggle and perseverance amid desolate times.
The first single, ‘North Rim’, takes us to an isolated part of the Grand Canyon to witness incremental change on an inhospitable landscape. Storytelling is the major strength on show here; the title track is a personal reflection on moving to new realities: “It’s funny how one day you wake up and don’t feel like anyone anymore.”
The Dust Bowl era of the 1930s is explored on three tracks: ‘Black Sunday’ recalling one of the period’s darkest days, ‘New Deal Dirt’…

You need to be logged in to view the rest of the content. Please .

In 2017, Real Gone Music reissued guitarist Jesse Ed Davis’ first two albums — his eponymous debut and Ululu — as Red Dirt Boogie: The Atco Recordings 1970-1972. It drew press notice partly because Davis was so prominently featured in that year’s award-winning documentary Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World by directors Catherine Bainbridge and Alfonso Maiorana. It re-centered attention on his three fine studio albums, including 1973’s Keep Me Comin’ from Epic. Real Gone Music steps in again with this rarities collection. It contains 17 unissued performances including songs, alternates and outtakes recorded during sessions for his first two albums. It loosely coincides with the Liveright publication of Douglas K. Miller’s excellent biography…

You need to be logged in to view the rest of the content. Please .

Including alternate takes of every piece, this edition sheds new light on a truly unique album. One of the highlights of the King Crimson 50th anniversary CD/Blu-Ray editions to date has been King Crimson producer David Singleton’s series of Elemental Mixes as he utilises the full spectrum of available studio sessions for each album to produce very different takes on the familiar songs and pieces.
This is especially true of Lizard where the ambition of the material, the much-expanded line-up of musicians – the background of many of them in the jazz rather than the rock world – and the number of takes recorded, resulted in a large amount of material to be considered for this album.
There was enough material for David to be able to mix and produce alternate takes for every…

You need to be logged in to view the rest of the content. Please .

The legendary Americana band’s 1983 album re-released with brand new liner notes and band interviews written by Chris Morris with rare photos and memorabilia images. The release recreates the band’s third studio album complete with a replica of the inner sleeve with songwriter Dave Alvin’s lyrics.
The 11-track set features the four core band members-Phil Alvin, Dave Alvin, John Bazz and Bill Bateman accompanied by Gene Taylor, Lee Allen and Steve Berlin. Includes band classic cuts- “Long White Cadillac” (a hit for Dwight Yoakum in 1989), “Jubilee Train”, “Red Rose” along with deep track covers of “Barefoot Rock” and “Tag Along”, sung by piano player Gene Taylor. The album was critically acclaimed with positive reviews…

You need to be logged in to view the rest of the content. Please .

If great art, as many believe, is inherently polarizing, then the Stone Temple Pilots’ Tiny Music… Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop easily ranks as the California-based band’s finest album.
Simultaneously celebrated and castigated upon release in spring 1996, the group’s third full-length finds vocalist Scott Weiland and company expanding their “grunge” palette with a smart blend of glam rock, psychedelia, jangle pop, and other related styles. Having benefited from long-view reassessments that shed the biases and meanness of initial criticisms, the double-platinum effort is now largely and rightly seen as a creative masterwork. All the more reason why it deserves reference-grade production.
Sourced from the original master tapes,…

You need to be logged in to view the rest of the content. Please .

Deep Country is an anthology-like collection by Bruiser and Bicycle. Spanning across 15 songs the band shows a rich appreciation for disparate styles of music, with notes of jangle pop, art rock, tin pan alley, americana, and progressive folk.
…While their sophomore album, 2023’s Holy Red Wagon, stuck its toe over the hour line by a single minute, their third LP saunters in sound and runtime, clocking in at just shy of 75 minutes. The Albany quartet rummage through a bin of acoustic instruments and vocal tricks to indulge in the art of low-key merrymaking until you lose track of time alongside them.
Bandleaders and multi-instrumentalists Keegan Graziane and Nicholas Whittemore, bassist Zahra Houacine, and drummer Joe Taurone…

You need to be logged in to view the rest of the content. Please .

In a recent thought piece on The A.V. Club, Josh Modell ruminated on the dilemma of bands touring endlessly around the hits that made them famous, even as they continue to record new material (or not). He rightfully noted everyone from The Pixies to Van Halen for their habits of living in the past on stage, writing, “I wonder if there’s not a bit of shame in strict nostalgia. Sure, Frank Black has made plenty of new music since the Pixies started playing again, but it hasn’t reached anywhere near the same audience. What does a once-and-maybe-current great songwriter do?”
This is the same question that’s dogged Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze for five years. The British duo formed one of the most evocative songwriting partnerships…

You need to be logged in to view the rest of the content. Please .

Lê Almeida’s improvisational indie rock troupe Oruã had been making fine records for years before their debut for K, 2025’s Slacker. In fact, their earlier work impressed Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch so much that he asked most of Oruã to join his group and together they made one of the best BTS albums, 2022’s When the Wind Forgets Your Name. Slacker gives the uninitiated plenty of clues why Martsch was so enamored; the album is made up of long songs that unspool at languid paces and are just barely moored by swirling guitar lines, hazy melodies, and a crack rhythm section that pushes and pulls on the underpinnings like it was so much taffy. Almeida sings in a similar drawl too, delivering the words in a plaintive fashion that gives the proceedings some added…

You need to be logged in to view the rest of the content. Please .

After years of obscurity, Pulp shot to stardom in Britain with 1994’s His ‘n’ Hers. By the time Different Class was released at the end of October 1995, the band, particularly lead singer Jarvis Cocker, were genuine British superstars, with two number two singles and a triumphant last-minute performance at Glastonbury under their belts, as well as one tabloid scandal.
On the heels of such excitement, anticipation for Different Class ran high, and not only does it deliver, it blows away all their previous albums, including the fine His ‘n’ Hers. Pulp don’t stray from their signature formula at all — it’s still grandly theatrical, synth-spiked pop with new wave and disco flourishes, but they have mastered it here. Not only are the melodies and…

You need to be logged in to view the rest of the content. Please .