News: The Cure Are Releasing Two New Songs On Eco-Vinyl

The Cure are releasing two new songs from The Cure will be released on "eco-vinyl" on October 1. This marks the first new music from the legendary group in over a decade and a half. The songs included in the release are: "And Nothing Is Forever" and "I Can Never Say Goodbye," have become live favorites in the band’s extensive repertoire.

 

The songs belongs from the recording The Cure – Novembre: Live in France 2022 will be released by NAKED Record Club, with net profits being sent to Brian Eno’s climate charity, EarthPercent, and the first 100 of the 5,000 pressings will be signed by Robert Smith. 

 

Brian Eno expressed: “I’d like to thank The Cure and NAKED Record Club—both true innovators—for their generous support of vital climate projects through the release of The Cure - Novembre: Live in France 2022,” Eno also shared in a press release. "It’s a powerful example of how the music community can work together to build a better world."

New Music: Broken Boys

           

The Waeve, Graham Coxon's band with former Pipettes member Rose Elino Dougall, are back with another cool single, the nerviously and psychedelic "Broken Boys", full of distorted garage rock riff and some hiss-clank early-industrial action in the rhythm section, the video was shot by Tom Pallant showing several scenes of the band mates altogether with heavy and distortionated images of guitars, lights and anything else your mind and your eyes can capture.

New Music: Trail Of Destruction

           

Kim Wilde is back with a brand neew single "Trail Of Destruction" taken from her upcoming album "Closer", according to Wilde: I wanted a connection to 'Stone' from my Close album in 1988 as well as referencing Jack Black’s 60’s referencing "Sticking it to the man' speech from School Of Rock. "Stone" was a protest about the "man" taking ownership of our planet and not keeping their promises to stop messing it up. Trail Of Destruction is a protest for a new generation, the video displays Wilde in her most defiant pose with images and footages about political and social situation in the world today 

Audio: Decline & Fall

           

Manic Street Preachers have announced the release of their new single,"Decline & Fall" their frist track since their 2021 album "The Ultra Vivid Lament", which was recorded at the band’s Door To The River studio in Newport and Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, the single was produced by Dave Eringa and Loz Williams, with mixing by Caesar Edmunds, about the song: Musically with "Decline & Fall" we tried to create forward motion – a song which harnesses the past to propel it into the future – the lyric is one of realisation and understanding – of celebrating the tiny miracles that still exist whilst accepting and embracing managed decline.”

New Music: Razzamattazz

           

Kim Gordon has teame up with the experimental duo Model Home for a new song called "Razzamatazz", on the single, Gordon is accompanied by Justin Raisen who worked on 2021 "No Home Record" and this year "The Collective" albums, the new singles comes with a music video made and directed by P Cain from Model Home too. This is the second new single Gordon has shared since releasing The Collective back in March.

Rocktrospectiva: The Intense And Heartbreaking "The Holy Bible" Turns 30

Released on 30 august 1994, "The Holy Bible" was the third studio album by Welsh indire rock band Manic Street Preachers, while the album was being written and recorded, lyricist and rhythm guitarist Richey Edwards was struggling with severe depression, alcohol abuse, self-harm and anorexia nervosa, and its contents are considered by many sources to reflect his mental state. 

Indeed the songs focus on themes relating to politics and human suffering. It was published six months before the mysterious Edward's disappearance on 1 Februay 1995, near the Severn bridge in his native Wales. The album reached No. 6 in the UK initially, global sales were disappointing compared to previous albums and the record did not chart in mainland Europe or North America. In the years to come, the album received widespread acclaim from critics and has sold over half million copies worldwide. 

The lyrics was split fairly evenly between Richey Edwards and Nicky Wire, 70-75% written by Edwards, according to James Dean Bradfield. The album's lyrics deal with subjects including prostitution, American consumerism, British imperialism, freedom of speech, the Holocaust, self-starvation, serial killers, the death penalty, political revolution, childhood, fascism and suicide. 

The album opened with "Yes"  a song that is undermined by its focus on the subject of prostitution and the recurrence of sexual sweari in the lyric, next "ifwhiteamericantoldthetruthforonedaysit'sworldwouldfallapart" was "not a completely anti-American song", but instead was about "how the most empty culture in the world can dominate in such a total sense".The title of the song has been repeatedly attributed to Lenny Bruce without any clear source for this claim given. It is possible that an error of attribution has arisen as a result of the band's discussion around Bruce, "Of Walking Abortion" is about right-wing totalitarianism, "Archives of Pain", dealing with the glorification of serial killers and seemingly advocating capital punishment, he said "was the song that me and Richey worried about mostthe song isn't a right-wing statement, it's just against this fascination with people who kill"."Revol" as being about Edwards' idea that "relationships in politics, and relationships in general, are failures". "P.C.P.", he said, was about how "PC followers take up the idea of being liberal but end up being quite the opposite". He said that he was "completely confused" by "Faster"  was about self-abuse.

"Mausoleum" and "The Intense Humming of Evil", Wire said, were both inspired by visits by the band to former concentration camps at Dachau and Belsen. "Die in the Summertime" and "4st 7lb" were "pretty obviously about Richey's state of mind".However, Edwards attested that the former song is actually about a pensioner wanting to die with memories of childhood in his mind. "This Is Yesterday", according to Wire, is "about how people always look back to their youth and look on it as a glorious period". "She Is Suffering", Wire saying it suffers from "man-coming-to-the-rescue syndrome".According to Edwards, the "she" in the song title is desire: "In other Bibles and Holy Books no truth is possible until you empty yourself of desire".

Musically, The Holy Bible marks a shift from the modern rock sound of their first two albums, into a more oriented alternative rock, post-punk, hard rock, punck rock, gothic rock and glam punk 

Despite not charting in mainland Europe, and not selling very well initially, The Holy Bible received widespread acclaim from music critics upon release. the album isn't elegant, but it is bloody effective". which regarded the album as primarily the work of Richey Edwards, described it as "the sound of a group in extremis. Although the music itself isn't as scarily intense, its tight, terse hard rock and glam hooks accentuate the paranoia behind the songs, making the lyrics cut deeper, this marks the album as one of the best albums of the 90s—ignored by many, but loved intensely by the few who've lived with it over the years. 

The Holy Bible Track List: 

 

1. Yes

2.  Ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayit'sworldwouldfallapart

3. Of Walking Abortion

4. She Is Suffering

5. Archives Of Pain

6. Revol

7. 4st 7lb

8. Mausoleum

9. Faster

10. This Is Yesterday

11. Die In The SUmmertime

12. The Intense Humming Of Evil

13. P.C.P

 

Rocktrospectiva: The Acclaimed And Unique "Medúlla" Turns 20

 

Released on 30 August 2004, "Medúlla" was the fifth studio album by Icelandic artist Björk, the artist intended to make an album almost entirely constructed with human vocals, in contrast to the previous album's intense process of composition and multiple layers of instrumentation. The album's title derives from the Latin word for "marrow". The album spawned two singles "Who Is It" & "Triumph Of a Heart" both singles charted the top 40 in the UK, this helped the album to received critical acclaim from music critics, with many calling it "unique", although others deemed it "confusing". 

 

Despite the album was not as commercially successful as her previous albums, but did reach number one in France, Iceland and Wallonia, whilst also peaking within the top ten in the United Kingdom. Medúlla is estimated to have sold more than a million copies worldwide, and received two nominations at the 47th Grammy Awards. 

 

Björk began working on her fifth studio album in 2002, being known as The Lake Album at the time, she explained that she wanted to get away from the world of instruments and electronics present on her previous album, Vespertine, and remarked that the project was "very introverted" and avoided eye contact.When she was finishing Vespertine, Björk knew she wanted to make a vocal album, and had known since her teenage years that one day she would. For her, the majority of the album is connected to the time when she was 17 to 18 years old, focusing on aspects of life, love, family, and friends. She commented that she was thinking about how she used to live her life, how carefree she was, and how others around her affected the way she thought, saying it is shown clearly at the core of Medúlla.

 

Björk began working on the album while eight months pregnant by adding her own live drumming to arrangements to previously recorded demos. She then started muting the instruments, and liked the result of it. Inspired by paganism, and the idea of returning to a universe that is entirely human, without tools or religion or nationalities. "I wanted the record to be like muscle, blood, flesh. We could be in a cave somewhere and one person would start singing, and another person would sing a beat and then the next person sing a melody, and you could just kind of be really happy in your cave. It's quite rootsy", she added.

 

At the time of its construction, Björk considered Medúlla to be her most political album, saying that it countered outbreaks of racism and patriotism that followed the 11 September attacks. Regarding the album's composition, Björk also mentioned that she tried to find the common soul in everything, outside nationality and religion, whilst elaborating that she felt that "in that sense, it's a greatest hits of human spiritualism. Medúlla is almost entirely a cappella, also demonstrating avant-garde and experimental music."Despite its voice-only premise, Medúlla shows off a mile-wide scope of influences", noting elements of folk and medieval music, she also considered the style encompassing the album as "primitive and silly".  

 

The album combines beatboxing, classical choirs that suggest composers like Penderecki or Arvo Pärt, and "mews, moans, counterpoint and guttural grunts" provided by herself and guests like Mike Patton, Robert Wyatt and Tanya Tagaq. Also ncludes "vocal fantasias" that lean toward chamber music, alongside tracks that "are obviously but distantly connected to hip-hop. Glimpses of Bulgarian women's choirs, the polyphony of central African pygmies, and the "primal vocalisms" of Meredith Monk were also noted. 

 

Medúlla opens with "Pleasure Is All Mine", which begins with a vocal harmony layered on top of a woman's panting for a short while prior to when Björk starts singing her verses. The verses additionally have the background filled by a harmonic and cathedral-mimicking choir. "Show Me Forgiveness", an a cappella "short confessional anthem" follows, having no other effect than a subtle echo exerted onto her voice. The third song "Where Is the Line", she lyrically attacks a younger relative for being greedy and unreliable, displaying vexation: "I'm elastic for you, but enough is enough", "Demonic vocals" are delivered by singer Mike Patton, and "angelically dissonant swaths of lush singing" from the Icelandic Choir; as Rahzel beatboxes, the choir emotes some "ahhhs". The song grows darker as it builds up as the male members of the choir deliver heavier sounds, "Vökuró", originally by Jórunn Viðar, is the fourth track on Medúlla. The song is in Icelandic; Björk rolls her tongue around certain words, accompanied by a choir. 

 

During the fifth track "Öll Birtan", Björk's voice is layered over several times, with a voice resembling a drone in the left channel, whilst "doot-doos" echo into the right side of the audio. The lead single "Who Is It" features collaborations by Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq and Rahzel, "Submarine", the seventh track on the album, was influenced by Björk's pregnancy with her daughter Ísadóra and how she felt somewhat lazy during that time, "Desired Constellation" was created from a sample of Björk singing the phrase "I'm not sure what to do with it" from "Hidden Place" on her previous album, Vespertine. She imagines herself "With a palm full of stars/ I throw them like dice on the table/ Until the desired constellation appears". 

 

With the ninth song, "Oceania", is about "Mother Oceania", from whom Björk believes all life materialised, whilst she sings: "You have done well for yourselves / Since you left my wet embrace / And crawled ashore"^, "Oceania" also features The London Choir., tenth song "Sonnets/Unrealities XI" was based on the poem "It May Not Always Be So; And I Say" by E. E. Cummings, and features only Björk's singing, with small inflections from the Icelandic Choir while she bids farewell to a lover lyrically. The following track "Ancestors" has no lyrics, featuring only Björk and Tagaq's voices. The twelfth song "Mouth's Cradle" is paced by a "glug, glug" sample of "what might as well be the emptying of a gallon bottle of water". Lyrically, she concludes: "I need a shelter to build an altar away from Osamas and Bushes", the thirteenth track of the album, "Miðvikudags", Björk sings once again in gibberish, while some "doot-doos" can be heard in the background, reminiscent of "Öll Birtan". On the closing track and second single, "Triumph of a Heart", the singer lyrically "celebrates the workings of anatomy", whilst musically it is the album's closest thing to a dance track. The song also features orchestral arrangements by the Icelandic and London Choirs.

 

The album receives acclaim from critics, considered the album as brave and unique, an interesting record in which Björk found a way to bathe her immediately distinctive melodies and vocal nuances in solutions that cause me to reevaluate her voice and her craft, her most extreme record and the most immediately accessible. 

 

Medúlla Track List: 

 

1. Pleasure Is All Mine

2. Show Me Forgiveness

3. Where Is The Line

4. Vökuró

5. Öll Birtan 

6. Who Is It (Carry My Joy On The Left, Carry My Pain On The Right)

7. Submarine

8. Desired Constellation

9. Oceania 

10. Sonnets/Unrealities XI

11. Ancestors

12. Mouth's Cradle

13. Miðvikudags

14. Triumph Of A Heart

Rocktrospectiva: The Epic And Critically Acclaimed "Fear Inoculum" Turns 5

Released on 30 August 2019, "Fear Inoculum" was the fifth studio album by American rock band Tool, it was the band's first album in 13 years, due to creative, personal, and legal issues band members encountered since the release of 10,000 Days. It was released to critical acclaim, with reviewers generally agreeing that the band had successfully refined their established sound. The album topped the US Billboard 200 chart, and spawned two singles "Fear Inoculum" & "Pneuma".

The album was like a slow-burn, back in 2008 band member Keenan said that the band would begin writing new material for their fifth studio album "right away". In 2012, the band's website was updated again, with the webmaster writing that they had heard instrumental material that had "sounded like Tool…some of it reminiscent to earlier Tool stuff, with other parts pushing the envelope" and that they estimated that the album was around half done. In 2013, it was reported that two separate scooter accidents injured two undisclosed members of the band, eliminating nine days of planned “jamming” time. In 2014, Jones and Carey revealed that complicated legal issues and court battles stemming from a 2007 lawsuit had been slowing down the process as well. 

The issues stemmed from a lawsuit from a friend who claimed credit for artwork the band had used, but escalated after an insurance company involved sued the band over technicalities, leading to the band then counter-suing the insurance company. The constant court battles and delays, coupled with other life obligations, limited the band's time for working on music, and drained members of their motivation to be creative and write music.

Work on the album continued to progress through 2015 "slowly", according to Keenan. Jones reported that the band had 20 different song ideas being developed.The band toured, and debuted a new track, "Descending", in a shortened, incomplete form, according to Jones. While it was reported in early 2016 by the band's webmaster that it was largely just a few shorter songs and interludes that needed finishing^. This work on the album continued throughout 2017. At the time, Carey predicted finishing and releasing in mid-2018, while Keenan countered these claims, stating it would likely take longer than that to finish.

On March 10, 2018, Tool entered a major recording studio to start recording sessions with Joe Barresi, with whom they had worked on 10,000 Days. Keenan recorded his vocals during the 2018 wine harvest at his Caduceus Cellars winery, resulting in him having to fit in his recording hours around his winemaking. Barresi and engineer Mat Mitchell traveled to his Arizona home for the recording process. In January 2019, Keenan announced that he had finished his final vocal recording sessions "months ago", but that the album would still likely require lengthy mixing sessions.

The album consists of seven main tracks of music, and a run time just short of 80 minutes, the maximum runtime of CDs The digital version of the album contains three short interlude tracks, stemming from Carey's scrapped plan to have the album be entirely one long song.Jones and Carey described the songs as lengthy, but containing multiple movements within each track.The concept of seven is a recurring theme of the album both musically and conceptually; Chancellor and Jones wrote guitar riffs in unusual time signatures related to the number seven, while Keenan introduced ideas related to seven as well. 

The album also explores the concept of growing "older and wiser". Keenan explained that the album covers the idea of "embracing where we are right now, acknowledging where we've come from and some of the things we've gone through." Keenan also advised that patience and multiple listens were required in understanding the album, comparing it to a slowly developing movie. Jones described it as very different from their prior album 10,000 Days. Music critics and journalists have described the album as progressive rock, progressive metal, and alternative metal.

The album received acclaim from critics, giving a perfect score, singling out Keenan's work as "perhaps the best collection of vocals that singer Keenan has ever committed to tape, with many lines exiting the vocalist's lips closer to the honey daubed croon of Keenan's, also agreed with the sentiment, praising the album for being an 80-minute prog-metal fever dream that proves the band is back and better than ever.

Fear Inoculum Track List:  

 

1. Fear Inoculum

2. Pneuma

3. Invincible

4. Descending

5. Culling Vocals

6. Chocolate Chip Trip

7. 7empest 

News: Kim Deal Announces Debut Solo Album

Legendary former Pixies bassist, Kim Deal, has announced her debut solo album, Nobody Loves You More, set to be released via 4AD on November 22. Deal has shared the first single from her project "Crystal Breath", with a video, about the sound, it's a blend of spooky electronic thriller that dips and dives around lilting guitar chords, crunchy electronic drums, and melodic hums.

 

The project features a number of cherished collaborators. The last recording for Nobody Loves You More occurred in November of 2022 with Steve Albini at his Electrical Audio studio in Chicago. Other musicians who played on the record include Breeders affiliates twin sister Kelley, Mando Lopez, Jim Macpherson, and the band’s original drummer Britt Walford, as well as Teenage Fanclub’s Raymond McGinley, The Raconteurs’ Jack Lawrence, and Savages’ Fay Milton and Ayse Hassan.

Rocktrospectiva: Giant's Underrated Debut Album "Last Of The Runaways" Turns 35

 

Released on 29 August 1989, "Last Of The Runaways" was the debut studio album by American rock band Giant, the album spawned two singles "I'm A Believer" and their biggest hit to date "I'll See You In My Dreams" this propelled the album into mainstream top 40 success. Definitely a band out of time, they probably might have sold millions of albums during the heyday of rock oriented albums early in the 1980s alongisde bands such as Styx or Foreigner, unfortunately their bright melodies and clean production were unfashionable by 1989 standards. 

 

An AOR classic, the album opened with "I'm A Believer" was a strong and uptempo rocker thant opens with a smoking guitar intro and doesn't betray the band's Christian beliefes and paved their way into solid arena rock market, "Innocent Days" changed their sound and almost a filler, now here it comes two tracks "I Can't Get Close Enough" & "No Way Out" that sounds too close as Loverboy, like I said before, a little bit out of time appealing back then to this sound, "I'll See You In My Dreams" was the album gem, the song had a nice hook accompanying the chorus that set the key of the song, the crack the top 20 and put them briefly on mainstream audiences. 

 

The album had another ballads too, "It Takes Two" and "Love Welcome Home" but not as the same height as "I'll See You In My Dreams", they tried to increased the sound to make the songs seemed bigger, then "No Way Out" and "Shake Me Up" were rock bangers, "Hold Back The Night" and "The Big Pitch" the first one a sort of spritual song, remember that Dann Huff and his brother David started off in Christian rock band, this really worked for the song the music and lyrics joined together to make an stronger stuff and finally the closer "The Big Pitch" a decent killer rock track. 

 

In brief, the album was a mixed sound of Foreigner or Signal, but a little bit harder, a truly must-have for hard rock fans, you can noticed the great composition in vocals and sound that paved the sound of what would be their next album "Time To Burn". 

 

Unfortunately, Giant would only managed to released one more album before gone, despite the album has become a truly underrated gem through the years and is a far better record than I tought back then.  

 

Last Of The Runaways Track List: 

 

1. I'm A Believer

2. Innocent Days 

3. I Can't Get Close Enough

4. I'll See You In My Dreams 

5. No Way Out

6. Shake Me Up

7. It Takes Two

8. Stranger To Me 

9. Hold Back The Night

10. Love Welcome Home 

11. The Big Pitch

Rocktrospectiva: Rolling Stone's Magnificent Comeback "Steel Wheels" Turns 35

Released on 29 August 1989, "Steel Wheels" was the 19th., studio album and greatest comeback at the time by legendary British rockers, The Rolling Stone, the album is notable for the patching up of the working relationship between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, a reversion to a more classic style of music and the launching of the band's biggest world tour to date. It is also the final full-length studio album to involve long-time bassist Bill Wyman, preceding the announcement of his departure in January 1993.

After the relative disappointment of their prior two albums, Steel Wheels was a hit, reaching multi-platinum status in the United States, Top 5 status in numerous markets around the world, the album spawned four singles "Mixed Emotions" and "Rock And a Hard Place", "Almost Hear You Sigh", & "Terrifying".  Recording in Montserrat and London during the spring, Steel Wheels was designed to emulate a classic Rolling Stones sound. 

According to critics back then, the album encapsulates the energy, ambivalence, recriminations, attempted rapprochement and psychological one-upmanship altogether on Steel Wheels testify that the Stones are right in the element that has historically spawned their best music and once again generated an album that will have the world dancing to deeply troubling, unresolved emotions. The Stones sound good, and Mick and Keith both get off a killer ballad "Almost Hear You Sigh" and "Slipping Away", respectively, another killer ballad as "Fool To Cry" and of course the old-fashioned "Continental Drift", the album reinforces with their best singles "Sad, Sad", Sad", and the killer tracks "Rock And A Hard Place" 6 "Mixed Emotions" making the record feels a little bit longer. Altough it doesn't make for a great Stones album, but it's not bad, and it feels like a comeback – which it was supposed to, after all.

Steel Wheels Track List: 

1. Sad Sad Sad

2. Mixed Emotions

3. Terrifying

4. Hold On To Your Hat

5. Hearts For Sale   

6. Blinded By Love

7. Rock And A Hard Place

8. Can't Be Seen

9. Almost Hear You Sigh

10. Continental Drift

11. Break The Spell

12. Slipping Away

Rocktrospectiva: The Brilliant And Massive Succesful Britpop Igniter "Definitely Maybe" Turns 30

 

Released on 29 August 1994, "Definitely Maybe" was the debut studio album by the English rock band Oasis, the album was an immediate commercial success in the United Kingdom, having followed on the heels of the singles "Supersonic", "Shakermaker", and the UK top-ten hit "Live Forever". It went straight to number one in the UK Albums Chart and became the fastest-selling debut album in British music history at the time. It is the only Oasis album to feature all five original members completely; drummer Tony McCarroll was ejected from the band in early 1995, but he would still partially appear on their second album on the track "Some Might Say". 

 

The album spawned four singles "Supersonice", "Shakermaker", "Live Forever", & "Cigarettes & Alcohol", this was positively appreciate by critics that acclaim the album and helped to spur a revitalisation in British pop/rock music in the 1990s. It was embraced by critics for its optimistic themes and rejection of the negative outlook of much of the grunge music of the time and is regarded as a cornerstone of the Britpop genre.

 

Oasis aren't looking to redefine rock & roll here; they'd rather inhabit it. They scour through the remnants of the past three decades to come up with a quintessentially British rock & roll record, one that swaggers with the defiance of the Rolling Stones, roars with the sneer of the Sex Pistols, thieves from the past like the Happy Mondays, and ties it all together with a melodicism so cool, even if Definitely Maybe never quite sounds like the Beatles. 

 

Definitely Maybe. It is a furious, inspiring record, a rallying cry for the downtrodden to rise above and seize their day but, most of all, it's a blast of potent, incendiary rock & roll. Soon after its release, Noel Gallagher would be hailed as the finest songwriter of his generation, an odd designation for a guy drawn to moon June rhymes, but his brilliance lies in his bold strokes. He never shied away from the obvious, and his confidence in his reappropriation of cliches lends these bromides a new power, as do his strong, sinewy melodies so powerful, it doesn't matter if they were snatched from elsewhere. The other secret is of course Noel's brother, Liam, the greatest rock & roll vocalist of his generation, a force of nature who never seems to consider either the past or the present but rather exists in an ever-present now. He sometimes sighs but usually sneers, shaking off any doubt and acting like the rock & roll star Noel so wanted to be. 

 

Definitely Maybe Track List:  

 

1. Rock 'n' Roll Star

2. Shakermaker

3. Live Forever

4. Up In The Sky

5. Columbia

6. Supersonic

7. Bring It On Down

8. Cigarettes And Alcohol

9. Digsy's Dinner

10. Slide Away

11. Married With Children

New Music: Foreign Spies

           

The Smile has shared two new singles "Foreign Spies" & "Zero Sum" as a part of their forthcoming album "Cutouts" due to be released on 4 October, Under Sam Petts-Davies production the trio formed by Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Tom Skinner, the video was directed by Weirdcore under the creative programmer Ciro Negroni and Andrew Benson.

Rocktrospectiva: Elton John's Highest-Selling Álbum In The UK "Sleeping With The Past" Turns 35

 

Released on 29 August 1989, "Sleeping With The Past" was Elton John's 22nd., studio album and one of his most succesful in certain countries such a Denmark and of course his native home soil, the album spawned four singles "Healing Hands", "Sacrifice", "Bar At The End On The Street" & "Whispers", the single "Sacrifice" became a chart-topper in the UK it was his first solo No. 1, this propelled the album to platinum status in the UK and gold in the United States. 

 

The style for the songs lies on 1960's R6B, according to John and Bernie Taupin, with a renewed energy and creativity, the duo sought to create a cohesive album with a consistent theme, inspired in huge part by the success of Billy Joel's 1983 "An Innocent Man", so, Taupin would listen to '60s soul songs and use those songs from the past to inspire new lyrics for their album. John would then use Taupin's lyrics as a guide to write a soul-influenced song based on the original source of inspiration. 

 

In the end, both parts eventually sit down and decide what we want to make, and make a cohesive album with a collection of songs that sound like they all fit together. So, the duo came up with the idea of going back and listening to the songs that inspired us when we first started writing songs, the time when R&B records were really great, So, Elton John started dragging out all these old records and listening to them to get a feel, and eventually decided to basically make a white-soul album for the late ‘80s.

 

Months after the album's completion, John attributed its creative success to the certainty that some unpleasant chapters in his life, such as his battle with The Sun tabloid, were drawing to a close. In 1989 he said: "This is the first album I've made where I didn't have any pressures hanging over me...When I started it, I knew my personal life was going to be sorted out". "I was sober when I recorded Sleeping with the Past - just". but that changed soon after: "I went off the rails when I did the tour afterwards". During the tour's first week, he collapsed onstage.

 

During John's 1989 American tour he realized that MCA records was giving little support  to his brand new album. Eventually he canceled tour shows and interviews. In New Haven, Connecticut, on October 18, 1989, he rushed through his performance rarely talking to the audience. Midway through his concert, he announced he would not perform material from the new album because MCA was not promoting it. In addition to "Sacrifice", "Healing Hands" and "Club at the End of the Street", which were singles in both the UK and US, the songs "Whispers" and "Blue Avenue" were released as singles in parts of Continental Europe. "Whispers" reached No. 11 in France, whilst "Blue Avenue" managed to reach the Top 75 in the Netherlands. 

 

Three other songs were recorded during the sessions: "Dancing In The End Zone" and "Love Is A Cannibal," both with Davey Johnstone as a co-writer, were released as B-sides to two of the album’s singles. "Love Is Worth Waiting For" had been demo during the Reg Strikes Back sessions the year before and was further worked on at Puk but has never been released. This song, however, was performed live at an Athletes and Entertainers for Kids event in Los Angeles in July 1988, making one of only two Elton John/Bernie Taupin songs to be performed live but never officially issued. "Love Is a Cannibal" was featured in the 1989 film Ghostbusters II.

 

The album received mixed reviews, eventually peaked at No. 6 on UK charts, but a year later due the re-released of "Sacrifice" and "Healing Hands" in June 1990, that propelled the labum to rise to the No. 1 position, this eventually helped the album to became Elton's highest-selling studio album in the UK and spawned his first solo No. 1 hit in his home  

Sleeping With The Past Track List: 

1. Durban Deep

2. Healing Hands

3. Whispers

4. Club At The End Of The Street

5. Sleeping With The Past

6. Stone's Throw From Hurtin'

7. I Never Knew Her Name

8. Amazes Me

9. Blue Avenue

Primicia: Zero Sum

           

The Smile has shared two new singles "Foreign Spies" & "Zero Sum" as a part of their forthcoming album "Cutouts" due to be released on 4 October, Under Sam Petts-Davies production the trio formed by Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Tom Skinner, the video was directed by Weirdcore under the creative programmer Ciro Negroni

New Music: What's Fair

           

Blondshell aka Sabrina Teitelbaum released a new single "What's Fair", a song about any relationship between a mother and a daughter  which is inherently complicated, she has reflected, speaking more about the song’s subject matter. "Maybe it’s because of my own relationship, which was grounded in a lot of trauma and loss, but I think it’s always confusing. What are you allowed to expect, what is normal, what behavior from a parent is okay or not okay etc? And to what extent does normal even matter when your experience is all you have. I was just trying to sift through the past when I wrote this song and I mostly had a lot of questions", in the video you can see the artist playing alongside her bandmates. 

New Music: Star

           

Legendary British crooner Bryan Ferry has returned with his first original song in over a decade, "Star" which features the collaboration of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of NIN and also on vocals Amelia Barratt a recent friend of Ferry's to turn the single into a proper duet, according to Ferry on NIN collaboration, he described it as a sketch giving a sound more like the industrial "Year Zero" than the atmospheric "Avalon", the video was directed and filmed by Jamez Garzke and Bryan Ferry himself, and there is plenty yet to come, new music which will coincide with the release of his massive retrospective box set on October 25.

New Music: Crystal Breath

           

The former Pixies bass player Kim Deal finally surprises us with her first solo full-lenght debut album "Nobody loves You More", and now she is releasing this brand new single "Crystal Breath", which it’s a spacey/new wavey pop song like in the days of yore, faux-funky guitars and peppy refrains about “the beat” are abound. Definitiely so attached to the 1980s  her debut album comes out November 22nd on 4AD.

Rocktrospectiva: The Formidable And Chart-Topper "Dr. Feelgood" Turns 35

Released on 28 August 1989, "Dr. Feelgood" was the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, a classic of the gener, was the band's only album to claim the first position on Billboard 200, in addition this is the band's best album so far, highly regarded by music critics and fans as well and also the last album to be recorded with lead singer Vince Neil until "Generation Swine" in 1997. 

The album spawned four singles "Dr. Feelgood", "Kickstar My Heart", "Without You", "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)", & "Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S)",  a classic within the dominant genre of the time, glam metal, where its main assets were the strong and distorted guitars along with the powerful and melodic choruses, for which the Canadian producer, Bob Rock, gave it a strong and vibrant sound with production techniques totally alien to those the band usually used. 

The album highlights the lyrics related to drug abuse, sex, and love relationships, as well as social and political issues of the time, also it had a wonderful and challenging sound throughout its ten tracks, demonstrating the quality and at the same time maturity of the band, in addition to having the necessary commercial strength that made it one of the best sellers reaching more than 6 million copies with singles that reached the top ten plus the videos that had high rotation on MTV at the time. 

The band sought to recover from the decadent spiral that it had been suffering, of course the recordings were not easy and Bob Rock had to put them to work separately seeking to avoid them arguing and relapsing into drugs again. Bob Rock couldn't have made a better decision, as the band sounded better than ever, Vince Neil sang beautifully, Nikki Sixx was at his best as a composer, Mick Mars hits every note and Tommy Lee stands out for his power offering new textures as a drummer.  

The album was tuned in D scale which made the lowered tone reach a more original sound, highlighting "Kickstart My Heart" which talked about drug abuse, while "Dr. Feelgood" was about Mexican drug dealers in Hollywood, then moving on to other types of songs like the power ballad "Without You" with strange harmonies that make it a unique song and which dealt with the love story between Tommy Lee and Heather Locklear, there was another song with a certain Beatles notion like "Slice Of Your Pie" which had some influence from "I Want You (She's So Heavy) with Steven Tyler from Aerosmith in the intro, although it also helps in the choruses of "Sticky Sweet", there were other songs like "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away) the best for me on the album, which talked about love relationships and was very but very catchy and enjoyable, the commercial "S.O.S (Same Ol' Situation)" where they talked about sex, relationships loving and lesbian, to give way to the most serious song on the album, "Time For Change" which is barely heard but which had a serious touch compared to the other songs. 

Bob Rock's production was special and thanks to successful result of the album, the guy became the producer of the moment, so much, that Metallica will hired him for their masterpiece album in 1991, and it was also Mötley Crüe's last great album before their split as a banda and demise of glam metal with the arrival of grunge and alternative music

Dr. Feelgood Track List:

1. T.N.T (Terror in Tinseltown)

2. Dr. Feelgood

3. Slice Of Your Pie

4. Rattlsnake Shake

5. Kickstart My Heart

6. Without You

7. Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S)

8. Sticky Sweet

9. She Goes Down

10. Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)

11. Time For Change

New Music: Old Tape

           

Lucius guested on the title track from the War On Drugs' "I Don’t Live Here Anymore" and now Adam Granduciel has returned the favor he contributes on vocals and guitar to "Old Tape" Lucius new single. It also has a music video with Fred Armisen, Lucius singers Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig shared this statement on the song: We wrote “Old Tape” while working on new music at Danny Molad's studio in LA; we were discussing the loops we get stuck in, the rabbit holes our minds go down, even getting nerdy on epigenetics — the voices in our heads that might not be our own, and ultimately, how to quiet that noise and let it all go. We wanted to make something that was both driving and uplifting and no one does it better than The War on Drugs…so after building a landscape, we called our dear friend, Adam, to see if he’d lend his beautiful vocals and guitar. He graciously and enthusiastically accepted and it really brought the track to life. The video was directed by Lauren Wade.

New Music: Schlager-Hitparade

          

The Pet Shop Boys made a video for this, the German demo of "The Schalger Hit Parade" during their Dreamworld Tour leg in Berlin, Mallorca and London, this video includes images of Chris Lowe performing the song and some IA-generated footage, the "Schlager-Hitparade (Deutsches Demo)" is taken from "Feel" the new single available now, and is due to be release as a CD single this 27th. September.

Crack In The Union Jack: Oasis Reunited Live '25

It's been 15 years since the Gallagher Brothers played their last gig together, having split up after a backstage fight in Paris. But now those days are over, as an ending days, months and years of speculation, Oasis have announced they will be reuniting for the first time since 2009 and will play reunion shows next year in a world tour.

Both Noel and Liam Gallagher shared the news of the Oasis Live 25 tour on their social media sites, together with the official Oasis accounts, saying: "This is it, this is happening, and then their first comment on the announcement, the band said: ”The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised.”

The announcement comes after rumours that band would be headlining Glastonbury and playing a string of gigs next year, including ten dates at both London's Wembley Stadium and the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. The Gallagher brothers did little to quell speculation that an Oasis reunion was imminent. The former frontman, and songwriter-guitarist, both took to social media to fuel the fan frenzy regarding a potential Oasis tour in 2025.

A short clip in the same font and style of the band’s hallmark logo was shared on both of the brothers' social media accounts on Sunday night (25 August), as well as the official Oasis accounts. The clip shows a black sign reading "27.08.24", which flickers and changes to "8am".

Rocktrospectiva: Soda Stereo's Historical Debut Studio Album Turns 40

Released on 27 August, 1984, "Soda Stereo" was the debut studio album of an unknown-then Argentine rock band named Soda Stereo, with a total amount of 11 tracks that would mark a before and after in the history of rock in Español thanks to its curious mix of post-punk, ska and new wave. 

 

Released under the CBS label, this album featured the production of another great, Federico Moura, the late leader of the band Virus, as well as clear sound influences from bands like The Police, The Cure and Men at Work, both in music and image, especially within the hits that this album had like "Tele-Ka", "Por Qué No Puedo Ser Del Jet Set", "Te Hacen Falta Vitaminas", "Trátame Suavemente" "Un Misil En Mi Placard" and "Sobredosis de T.V.".

 

The album had danceable songs, full of rhythm and strong power although it seemed to be a collection of meaningless and frivolous songs, deep down it was a criticism against the consumerism and hedonistic Argentine society of the time. According to Moura, the work was simple because the band already had the arrangements ready with everything and the sound of the instruments and details like the voices, although they had their problems with the rotating schedules and different technicians, but in the end they gave the flavor to the album today considered a key piece in the Ibero-American rock culture. 

 

The curious cover showed a diagonal drawing of the band, although that was not the original theme, it would be three individual photographs but Alfredo Lois in charge of the design did not like them and decided to replace it with this theme, along with the lines that were cut in a special way, and were going to go somewhere else and not on their faces which was left as a printing error but in the end it served Bosio to draw it on their faces before each concerts back then. 

 

The album featured the group's first big hit, "Trátame Suavemente," but also classics like "Un Misil En Mi Placard," masterfully covered during the pseudo Unplugged that the band did for MTV, giving it new life.

  

Soda Stereo Track List: 

 

1. ¿Por Qué No Puedo Ser Del Je Set? 

2. Sobredosis de T.V. 

3. Te Hacen Falta Vitaminas 

4. Trátame Suavemente 

5. Dietético 

6. Tele-Ka 

7. Ni Un Segundo 

8. Un Misil En Mi Placard 

9. El Tiempo Es Dinero 

10. Afrodisíacos 

11. Mi Novia tiene Bíceps

New Music: Full-Time Heist

          

Joan Wasser aka Joan As Police Woman returns with a new single "Full-Time Heist" the song according the lyrics examine the fickle trappings of celebrity without judgment. Speaking on her original inspiration, Joan As Police Woman said: “‘Full-Time Heist’ is about an attempted bank robbery. The bank, in this case, is truth. The hook of the song uses the phrase "pull the wool over one’s eyes". The etymology comes from 18th century wig-wearing gentlemen. Thieves would try to steal from them by pulling their massive wigs over their eyes.The video is directed by Sekou Abineri dissecting the anguish that comes with a passionate love affair through dance, on a deserted stretch of beach. Clara Davidson and Emma Aldjia Belabed play the lovers caught mid-argument in their broken-down car, as the black-clad Joan walks by and then observes how their conflict unravels via expressive movement. It's a process which explores unbridled emotion in a controlled and dramatic fashion, to accompany the delicately soulful Full Time Heist.

New Music: Always A Stranger

          

Taken from the new album "Soft Issue" to be released on 13 September 2024, Tindersticks share a new single, the spooky and mystery "Always A Stranger" according to Stuart Staple: some of the songs I write, I understand their reference points,but some songs I don’t understand where they come from at all — They just kind of happen, and this is the case of "Always A Stranger" is one of those songs, it holds a kind of mystery to me at the very centre of it, this is deliciously paced, tender melancholy in the distinctive style of the band's vocalist, the video is directed by Stuar Staples himself, photographed by Neil Fraser and edited by Sandie Bompar.

News: Oasis Reunited At Last?

The music industry are ready for what would be the return of the biggest britpop band, Oasis, telling the Sunday Times Wembley Stadium is booked for 10 nights, smashing Taylor Swift's eight-gig record set earlier this month. The band were set to perform a series of gigs next year at London's Wembley Stadium and Manchester's Heaton Park, and a sort of speculation that a Glastonbury headline slot could be possible.

Liam and Noel Gallagher have ramped up speculation that an Oasis reunion could finally be on the cards as the brothers teased that a band announcement could be made on Tuesday. A short clip in the same font and style of the band’s famous logo appeared on the brothers' social media accounts on Sunday, as well as the official Oasis page. It shows the date "27.08.24" before flickering and then reading "8am".

Fans of the Manchester rock band have pleaded with the brothers to regroup since they broke up in 2009, after a backstage brawl at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris. The band formed in 1991, the group rose to fame with hits including Wonderwall, Don't Look Back In Anger and Stop Crying Your Heart Out.

Liam Gallagher spent much of Sunday responding to rumours on X: "I never did like that word FORMER", he said, before sharing news articles about the reunion rumours. At his headline Reading Festival set on Sunday evening, he dedicated the Oasis track Half The World Away to his brother, saying: "I wanna dedicate this song to Noel Gallagher." He later dedicated Cigarettes & Alcohol to people who he said hate the band.

At the end of the gig, the same teaser clip showing Tuesday's date appeared on the stage's main screens. It has been 30 years since chart-topping Definitely Maybe album by Oasis turned the Gallagher brothers into stars in 1994 helping to kick off the Britpop era and launching the band, into mega-stardom. In 1996, an incredible 2.5 million people applied for tickets to their two dates at Knebworth – which could hint at the demand any new gigs might see.

The brothers always had a combative relationship, and a string of tours have fallen apart over the years, ending in the backstage fight in 2009 that resulted in Noel leaving the band. Helen Brown, a music critic at The Independent, told BBC News: "After the decades of going at each other with cricket bats and fire extinguishers, it's extraordinary that the Gallagher brothers seem to be getting along better and maybe money is an incentive here."

Both brothers have since gone on to have successful careers separately, with Noel fronting the group Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. Of the other original band members, Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs has recently toured with Liam, but drummer Tony McCarroll and bassist Paul McGuigan have not played with either Gallagher since Definitely Maybe and 1997's Be Here Now respectively.

In Memoriam: England's First Overseas Manager "Sven-Göran Eriksson" Dies Aged 76

The Former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson has died; the Swede was England's first foreign head coach and led the country to the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and Euro 2004; Eriksson also coached Benfica, Roma, Fiorentina, Sampdoria, Lazio, Manchester City and Leicester among othersormer England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson has died at the age of 76 following a long illness.

 

The Swede became the first foreign manager of the England men's football team in 2001, coaching the so-called "golden generation" of players including David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard. Amongst the coolest memories during the Swede era, we can't forget that iconic 5-1 victory away to Germany in 2001 but the team suffered painful quarter-final exits at three major tournaments during his reign.

 

The FA has announced a tribute will be paid to Eriksson in September, when England host Finland in a Nations League game at Wembley. Eriksson recently reflected on his illness and life. "I had a good life," he said. "I think we are all scared of the day when we die, but life is about death as well. You have to learn to accept it for what it is."Hopefully, at the end people will say, 'yeah, he was a good man', but everyone will not say that. I hope you will remember me as a positive guy trying to do everything he could do.

Sven-Goran Eriksson - major honours in management

• IFK Goteborg - UEFA Cup 1981/82
• Benfica - 3x league champions (1982/83, 83/84, 90/91), Portuguese cup (82/83), European Cup runners-up (89/90), UEFA Cup runners-up (82/83)
• Roma - Coppa Italia (1985/86)
• Sampdoria - Coppa Italia (1993/94)
• Lazio - Serie A (1999/00), 2x Coppa Italia (97/98, 99/00), UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (98/99), UEFA Super Cup (99), UEFA Cup runners-up (97/98)
• England - World Cup quarter-finals (2002, 2006), European Championship quarter-finals (2004)

A family statement read: "After a long illness, Sven-Goran Eriksson died during the morning at home surrounded by family. "The closest mourners are daughter Lina; son Johan with wife Amana and granddaughter Sky; father Sven; girlfriend Yanisette with son Alcides; brother Lars-Erik with wife Jumnong.

 

Eriksson managed a string of high-profile European clubs during his career including Benfica, Roma, Fiorentina, Sampdoria and Lazio. After defeats in the quarter-finals of the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and Euro 2004, Eriksson left the England role and would later manage Mexico and the Ivory Coast, as well as Manchester City and Leicester City, clubs in China and the Philippines national team.

 

Due to his health issues, he stepped down as sporting director at Swedish club Karlstad in February 2023. After announcing his cancer diagnosis, Eriksson was granted his lifelong wish when he led out Liverpool Legends for a charity match against Ajax at Anfield in March.

 

When he was appointed in 2000, the FA hailed him as one of the best coaches in world football. He was the unanimous choice of English football's kingmakers. He was a media dream - enigmatic, controversial, colourful, European. He was very different from his predecessors.

 

He appeared as regularly on the front pages of the tabloid newspapers as he did on the back. But his football CV showed him to be a serial winner, with 18 trophies across three countries. Eriksson took charge of England's 'Golden Generation' of players, but he couldn't deliver a major international title, and he was eventually sacked after being famously tricked by the Fake Sheikh in 2006.

 

It was a typically chaotic and controversial conclusion to his biggest job in football.