Metallica, currently in the midst of their “M72 World Tour” played Cardiff in Wales and included in their set a cover of a controversial Tom Jones classic. The band has been playing covers with some connection to the area they are playing and during the band’s “Doodle” segment of their show, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo played a segment of local legend Tom Jones’ “Delilah.” In his introduction Trujillo said that it is one of his favorite songs. Continue reading »
Margo Price has made no secret of how she feels about current events happening in Washington and perhaps the most tangible example of that is her new mixtape, which she released on July 3rd, titled Days of Unrest.
And one of the centerpieces of the record is when Price is joined by Joan Baez for a cover of Woody Guthrie‘s “Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos).” Featuring a beautiful backing by the Memphis Mariachi, the song is a moving tribute to a 1948 plane crash that killed 32 people. The press didn’t bother to name the 28 migrant farm workers killed, instead referring to them merely as “deportees.” Continue reading »
The Foo Fighters just wrapped up a two night stand in Liverpool, England, their first time playing the hometown of The Beatles. Of course the occasion couldn’t go unremarked upon and the band covered the relatively deep cut “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” from Abbey Road. The song appeared during the band’s encore. (Reportedly “Blackbird” was also in the setlist for the band’s acoustic set, but Grohl chose to play “Under You” instead.) Continue reading »
“Who Can It Be Now?” is Men at Work‘s breakout hit. Though their follow up single, “Down Under,” was bigger and remains their signature song, “Who Can It Be Now?” paved the way by slowly breaking around the world. First, it was a #2 hit in their home country of Australia in the summer of 1981. Then, it was a Top 10 hit in Canada that winter. Because of its success in Canada, it was released in the US, eventually topping the Hot 100 over a year after it was released in Australia. Continue reading »
The Chris Cornell tribute band King Ultramega has released their newest single “Loud Love” and it features members of Halestorm, Testament and Pearl Jam. With Halestorm‘s Lzzy Hale on lead vocals, Testament guitarist guitar Alex Skolnick and former Pearl Jam drummer Dave Krusen, and King Ultramega’s creator Mark Menghi on bass. The song originally appeared on Soundgarden’s debut album, 1988’s Ultramega OK.
And the contributors on the track were all in. “I feel like I’m always learning something from Chris. Every few years I’ll discover something deeper in his lyrics, or higher in his range,” said Lzzy Hale, “But there is an authenticity that comes with Chris that can’t be taught or trained for.” Krusen, for his part, was thrilled to be able to join together with these particular musicians to record. “The fact that I was asked to be a part of this King Ultramega record was a huge honor,” said Krusen, “I was very intimidated to try and tackle the drum parts in ‘Loud Love.’”
The single, which is out now, is available from Reigning Phoenix Music and proceeds will go towards MusiCares, a group offering emergency support, addiction recovery services and mental health care.
Well, this was an unexpected pleasure.
Old No. 1 Revisited drops a full half-century plus one (gulp) after Guy Clark issued Old No. 1, a timeless pillar of honest country roots music. Not a huge seller at the time, it is only with the passage of time and, inevitably, with Clark’s passing in 2016 that its value has become truly realized and recognized. It’s not the first time others have celebrated Clark’s songs; an earlier all-star tribute, 2011’s This One’s for Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark, helped defray the not inconsiderable medical costs of his fight with lymphoma. But fifteen years have passed since then, and Old No. 1 Revisited gets the happy task of introducing Clark to the next generation.
Here we get a bevy of the current great and good in country and Americana, ranging from Margo Price and Sarah Jarosz to a returning Rodney Crowell, present on the earlier tribute as well as the original. Producer Dan Kobler put the album together, in conjunction with the Guy Clark Family Foundation. Players as noteworthy as Sam Bush (mandolin) and Mickey Raphael (harmonica) turned up, and guest harmony vocals come courtesy of the likes of Rosanne Cash and Ruth Moody. (Raphael appeared alongside Crowell on the original Clark release.) Besides the faithful track by track recreation of the original, there is a 100-page book, by Peter Blackstock, full of interviews of those involved with Clark at that time, and photos that document the process. All proceeds will return to the family trust.
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