A.A. RockBlog

After some happy news about Brian Johnston's potential return to AC/DC, bad news comes from one of the biggest British Invasion bands - the Rolling Stones. The Stones, since September of 2017, had been on their No Filters  tour. The tour was to conclude with 18 shows on this side of the Atlantic starting in Miami on April 20, and ending in Orlando on June 29. Towards the end of March, however, it was announced that "the show could not go on" because of Mick Jagger's health condition which wasn't revealed at the time. In early April, sources indicated that Jagger required a heart valve replacement operation. A few days later, Jagger was announced to have gotten some rest and would be ready to tour in the summer. However here are the bad news folks. Tour organizers say that it would take UP TO A YEAR to reorganize the 18 North American tour dates. The good news is you may be able to get your money back. New Orleans Jazz Fest ticket holders are able to get a ...

Just when many fans had lost all hopes of Johnson ever returning to AC/DC, the latest buzz is that BJ is set to make a record with AC/DC and...wait for it...TOUR with the band! For those who don't know, or remember, Brian Johnson first came on in AC/DC after the tragic death of Bon Scott. He debuted on their 1980 record Back in Black , and has since helped the guys sell millions of records (many fans, myself included, may even consider Johnson a "Bon Scott 2.0.)" Sadly during their Rock or Bust Tour in late winter/early spring of 2016, BJ had to leave AC/DC after docs warned him that he was at risk for permanent haring damage. This seriously upset many fans who were already disappointed with Phil Rudd's departure the previous year not to mention the retirement of long-time bass player Cliff WIlliams after about forty years of service. Well lo and behold, the dream is coming true. American Rock DJ Eddie Trunk stated about a week ago (and I quote): "I think ...

It's a given - nearly all rock bands (except for maybe The Cars) have released at least one live album some time in their career. Live albums are usually recorded at a specific concert, or as may be the case with Pink Floyd's P*U*L*S*E , throughout an entire tour. Most acts release a live album suually as part of recording contract. Some contracts require that a live album be released, whereas others require that a CERTAIN number of albums of ANY kind, be released. Usually a live album is used as a "filler," (i.e. to decrease the lag time between new studio albums), or when a band goes on an extended hiatus (such as Styx releasing Caught in The Act  in 1984). While many will tell you that a live performance of a particular song is better than the studio performance, live performances usually have the extra effects of crowds. In some RARE cases, one may find live/studio versions (a la live performance stripped of crowd noises). Perhaps the best example of this is ...

False endings, over the years, have become commonplace - especially in the realm of rock. To begin, let's define a "false ending." A "false ending," is when it seems as though a song is over because the music stops (or starts fading out). However, the music fades back IN within several seconds or so. This concept has since been applied to nearly any form of music known to mankind, although it is still, to this day, more common in rock. Example 1:  The Beatles "Strawberry Fields Forever In this mysterious classic by the Fab Four, the music goes up to 3:30 where it fades out. You think the song is over, but seven seconds later, surprise! THE MUSIC FADES BACK IN. Yet folks, it's rather abrupt. While we're at it, Hello Goodbye , from the same record Magical Mystery Tour , "ends" for two seconds before the music suddenly restarts and fades back out. I couldn't find a video for that one, however. Example 2:  Bachman Turner Overdrive ...

Supertramp are often considered one of the many "forgotten" bands in the rock world. They had a mostly cult following, but despite that, they did make plenty of strides on the charts. Their peak...1979's Breakfast in American It took a long time to record, but Supertramp's sixth album (cover pictured above) is considered to be the zenith of their career. The album spawned four singles, The Logical Song  (#1 Canada, #7 in the UK, #6 in the US, and top 20 in seven other countries), the title track - a UK top 10 hit, Goodbye Stranger , and the top 20 smash hit Take the Long Way Home . All four of these songs were performed on the accompanying tour and a live performance of them can be heard on their 1980 live album, Paris . The album itself also performed impressively on the charts. It was the top spot in ten countries, and in the top 10 in several others. The band's relationships As was the case with some bands at the time, Supertramp also experienced the...

Earlier this week,  I wrote a review of "Bohemian Rhapsody."  I had been a strong Queen fan since high school and always enjoyed their lyrics. There are particularly a few songs that strike me and I want to highlight them. The first, the obvious, Bohemian Rhapsody . Inproperly titled as "Mama" by many, the song is seen as a collage on Mercury's traumas and such. It's notable for being meant as an easily accessible progressive rock number - being that prog rock was on its death bed around 1975 or so. Apart from the fact that the song goes from a capella intro, to power ballad, to opera, to hard rock, and back to a power ballad, there are some terms that many may be curious about. I will briefly define them below: Scharamouche: A stock character from a popular Italian commedia d'arte . He is portrayed as a lunatic but quickly learns to come to his senses. The fandango  is a Spanish flameco dance. Galileo was a famous Florentine astronomer. Beelzeb...

As promised, I have watched Bohemian Rhapsody , and here I am to discuss the movie. First of all, as I stated previously, Bohemian Rhapsody is a biopic on Freddy Mercury's life and his tenure with Queen. The movie is nearly accurate in records to what happened; however there are a few subtle differences. The GOOD: The movie overall reflected the entire recording career of Queen. With the exception of the Jazz sessions and post-Live Aid records, the movie caputres the band's history in two and a half hours time. The BAD: What may shock many is the fact that the movie is not entirely in order. One thing that made it harder for me to follow personally was that it tends to "jump around." For example, it tends to show their 1978-1979 tour before even showing the making of A Night at The Opera (1975). It even shows the recording of We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions , AFTER showing Mercury's redesigned image There is also NO mention of Roy Thomas Baker, or t...