Mortality and the very, very thin line between life and death, those ideas quietly rumble just beneath the surface on most of The River‘s more serious tracks. “Wreck On The Highway” brings that all into focus, with a man realizing just how fragile life can be.
Looking back, this song feels like a bridge over to Nebraska. Of course, back in 1980, we had absolutely no idea of the turn Bruce’s music was about to take. I sure didn’t.
BOOM!: Ringo Starr’s forceful drumbeat provides an abrupt, attention-grabbing introduction for “Any Time at All,” a Hard Day’s Night track that was never released as a single, but stands as an extraordinary example of the Beatles’ gift for creating sophisticated yet catchy songs.
“Any Time at All” originates from June 2, 1964, when principal writer John Lennon brought the rough draft into Abbey Road Studios. That afternoon, The Beatles first recorded seven takes of the rhythm track, then Lennon’s lead vocal. After breaking to record two more songs, they returned to the song in the evening. They recorded four more takes, overdubbing piano, guitar, and vocals. According to the Beatles Bible website, the track was mixed for mono on June 4; this mix was discarded, and new stereo and mono mixes were completed on June 22.
As is typical of many Lennon/McCartney compositions, Lennon and Paul McCartney did not sit side by side, writing the music and lyrics. Instead, Lennon wrote the song on his own. In his 1980 Playboy interview, Lennon explained that the tune was “an effort at writing ‘It Won’t Be Long’ — same ilk: C to A minor, C to A minor with me shouting.” By this time, Beatlemania was in full swing, which meant that their manager Brian Epstein, and their label wanted to fully exploit their (erroneously) presumed fleeting fame. Therefore, in between shooting A Hard Day’s Night scenes, the foursome would quickly pen songs and record in the studio late into the evening. This tight time limitation led to “Any Time at All” being released in a relatively unfinished state. When Lennon presented the song to the group, he lacked lyrics for the middle eight. McCartney suggested a series of piano chords, with the intention of writing additional lyrics over them. As the deadline loomed, however, the band and producer George Martin abandoned this plan and left in just the piano-infused middle eight.
A new documentary focusing on the late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury will include a snippet of the unreleased Michael Jackson collaboration “There Must be More to Life Than This” and a demo with Rod Stewart singing the previously unreleased “Take Another Piece of My Heart,” along with a never-before-seen appearance with the Royal Ballet in 1979.
The Great Pretender, due September 25, 2012, also features rare footage from the band’s initial TV appearance, Mercury’s earliest filmed interview, and newly filmed talks from fellow Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor. The documentary was produced and directed by Rhys Thomas, who worked again with the group that created the recent BBC documentary Queen: Days of Our Lives. Thomas found film of Queen’s initial television appearance among the belongings of the late comedian Dick Emery, and unearthed the 1976 interview with Mercury in Australia. He also found a rare talk with NBC, also filmed in 1976, as well as film from Mercury’s 39th Black and White birthday party in Munich in 1985 — footage made for the video for “Living On My Own,” and promptly banned by his record company because of its cross-dressing theme. There are also interesting video outtakes from “I Want To Break Free,” “One Vision,” “Days of Our Lives,” “I Want It All,” “A Kind Of Magic,” “Princes of the Universe,” “Living on My Own,” Born To Love You,” “Great Pretender,” “Made In Heaven,” and “Who Wants to Live Forever.” Among the others interviewed for the documentary: soprano Montserrat Caballé, composers David Arnold and Mike Moran, lyricist Tim Rice, and comedian and lifelong fan Matt Lucas, among others. The Great Pretender, presented in high definition, will be available in DVD and Blu-ray.
Through their Twitter account Ocesa announced that Yes the influential prog rock band will be coming to Mexico in August 21. The event will take place in the new Pepsi center in Mexico City.
This famous rock band has been in stages since 1968 and nowadays they're touring with their new album "Fly From Here", and of course people want to hear the classics like Roundabout.
A new boxset of Elton John's classic 70's albums has been announced, at the same time as he prepares to go out on tour.
This limited edition box set i s set to be released on July 2, 2012 through Universal Music. Each original album will be presented in its entirety, along with some bonus and previously unreleased tracks. Elton John will soon begin a 25 date summer tour through Europe and North America.
John has also announced a remix album: "Goodbye To The Night" along with the australian dance duo Pnau. the proyect is expected to be released on July 16, 2012.
The album is finished and Gaga has tweeted that she has handed it over to her label. 'Exciting news little monsters! I've played my new record for my label and will be announcing my new Album Title in September! X,' she wrote.
The unnamed album will be closely watched by fans who contributed to double platinum sales in the USA and Australia and platinum in the USA, well short on sales of the first album 'The Fame' and its morphed version 'The Fame Monster'.
