Filmed digitally in Hi Def to provide pristine picture quality, FLIGHT 666 was directed by Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen with the award-winning Banger Productions team (‘Metal - A Headbanger’s Journey’ and ‘GLOBAL METAL’) who take you right inside the Maiden family with almost total access to the band, something which Maiden have never allowed before. The stunning 5.1 soundtrack was specially mixed by Maiden producer Kevin Shirley to complement the picture quality as an ultimate attack on your senses.

As a very special bonus for the fans, Maiden have included a second disc of the entire set from the 2008 segment of this tour with  the DVD (and as a long-play Blu-ray). Sixteen songs from sixteen different cities in eleven countries around the world, for the first time ever encompassing such varied places and cultures in one concert. (See full track listing below). In addition to a standard double DVD, EMI will release a special souvenir Limited Edition Deluxe DVD with 30 page booklet. The soundtrack audio version of the live show will be available on two CDs, as a limited edition vinyl set with two picture discs, and a digital download especially for those fans who do not have DVD access or just want to enjoy the show as a great live album.  All are lavishly packaged as an ultimate memento of a tour to remember!

Here’s the trailer-

After a number of tries, well, this is F&%#@ing hard! I ended picking songs that I could relate to. These are songs that have meaning for me. They are not the necessarily the best musicians or best lyrics or any of that. Just good classic rock songs that I like.

So here’s my top 10 best classic rock songs:

1. Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin)
2. Freebird (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
3. Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd)
4. Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix)
5. Stranglehold (Ted Nugent)
6. Back in Black (AC/DC)
7. Dream On (Aerosmith)
8. Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)
9. Baba O’Riley (The Who)
10. Hotel California (The Eagles)

Here are some different versions of these songs that you may have never heard, some great, some just funny. Listen and see what you think!

So obviously your top ten best classic rock songs will be different than mine, right? So tell me! Leave your Top Ten list in the comment form below…

The more I listen, the better Face The Promise gets.

This CD is VERY Bob Seger. If you’re looking for him to reinvent himself, look elsewhere. Seger is genius at what he does and he has done it again.

He still rocks, and his lyrics speak to the average Joe trying to live a decent life.

I, along with many others, grew up listening to Bob Seger’s classic seventies music. I must admit my expectations were not high before I actually heard this CD. What with Seger’s last uninspiring album release coming almost 11 years ago.

I’m happy to announce here and now, this CD sets the record straight.

Bob Seger was, and still is, one of America’s great rock-and-roll treasures.

Starting with the very first track “Wreck This Heart”, Face The Promise rocks like there’s no tomorrow. The songwriting is inspired, the production is simply outstanding, and Seger’s voice sounds like it is indeed in very good shape.

Of particular note on this offering is his breathtaking ballad with Patty Loveless.

Welcome back, Mr. Seger. We’ve missed you.

I have little doubt that TRUE Seger fans will throughly enjoy Face The Promise.

Track List

1. Wreck This Heart

2. Wait For Me

3. Face The Promise

4. No Matter Who You Are

5. Are You

6. Simplicity

7. No More

8. Real Mean Bottle - (with Kid Rock)

9. Won’t Stop

10. Between

11. Answer’s In The Question, The - (with Patty Loveless)

12. Long Goodbye, The

via 80s-music.

“If I had those golden dreams
Of my yesterdays
I would wrap you in the heaven
’till I’m dyin’ on the way”

The Performance

Fans of classic rock will be encouraged by Eagle Rock’s steadfast support of Blu-ray with yet another concert title, this one from veteran hard rock frontman Paul Rodgers of Free and Bad Company fame. Over the course of his career, Rodgers has also performed in another supergroup with one of his 1970’s era colleague, Jimmy Page, when in the 1980’s The Firm was formed after Rogers left Bad Company.

Apart from Free and Bad Company, Rodgers hasn’t exactly been a staple on the airwaves and pop charts, but he’s a journeyman in the truest sense, and as evidenced by this captured performance, the man can still rock and can still pack the house.

Like many others of his era, his music is very much rooted in the blues, and this show is laden with 12-bar swamp rock and pentatonic riffs that’ll make you want to get up and shake your moneymaker. Rodgers’ voice is still strong and gritty, and when he wails on “Feel Like Makin’ Love” and “All Right Now,” it’s like the 70’s never ended.

His backing band is also tight, and full of energy. The licks squealing from Howard Leese’s guitars are raw and moving whilst Ryan Hoyle thumps out the rhythms with authority.

Other highlight performances include “Bad Company,” “Radioactive,” and the acoustic show closer “Seagull.”

Read the rest here-
Brandon A. DuHamel on BigPictureBigSound.

The Arista/Legacy Label through Sony Music has just issued re-mastered and expanded versions of six of their albums. Pyramid (1978), Eve (1979), The Turn Of A Friendly Card (1980), Ammonia Avenue (1984), Stereotomy (1986), and Gaudi (1987) have all been re-released with a large number of bonus tracks.

The two albums being reviewed here, Pyramid and Eve, were the first two in the series of releases. When comparing the sound to the vinyl editions in my collection, I find it significantly improved. The lyrics and the instrumentation are crystal clear and have a crispness that the original issues never had. Each comes with seven bonus tracks. They are mostly early demos of material contained on the albums and provide an interesting look into the development of their songs.

Read the rest at blogcritics.org

Jeff Beck continues to reinvent himself and amaze us 45 years after he made his debut with Yardbirds. He’s fronted bands that featured Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Terry Bozzio, and Tony Hymas, collaborated with jazz musicians Stanley Clarke and Jan Hammer, and even recently made an appearance on AMERICAN IDOL with Kelly Clarkson (above). He’s done jazz, and rock, and even a stint at a power trio with former Vanilla Fudgers Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice. There have been Grammies and gold records, and tours that are still successful and packing them in.

The group pictured above was the first JEFF BECK GROUP, from 1968, featuring the young Ron Wood (bass), Micky Waller (drums), and a bearded Rod “the Mod” Stewart. I still remember my reaction to “I Ain’t Superstitious” with Rod on lead vocals…I never heard a voice quite like it. They were a great group that might have been too talented to hold together, and by late 1969 they disbanded, with a second Beck Group coming together in the early 1970’s. After their demise, and the scuttling of BB&A, Beck began his instrumental phase, which carries on to this day. BLOW BY BLOW (1974) was a landmark, and was a definitive jazz-rock fusion album of that era.

Beck’s band is about to start an American tour in April, right after his induction as a solo artist into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The tour starts April 6th in Scranton, Pa.

His band currently consists of Jason Rebello on keyboards, Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, and the incredible young female bass player from Australia, Tal Wilkenfeld (pictured above).

Below, from BLOW BY BLOW, Beck, Wilkenfeld, and the rest perform CAUSE WE ENDED AS LOVERS from a concert in 2007.