colm henry photo By Steve Newton With the COVID-19 epidemic causing death and economic destruction worldwide, there hasn't been a lot to cheer about in the last six months. But that all changed this week when a new double-disc collection by Rory Gallagher and a massive box set from Thin Lizzy were announced. Let's hear … Continue reading Thin Lizzy and Rory Gallagher packages bring hope for the future and proof that there is a god (for fans of Irish rock)
Category: sound and vision
Be-Bop Deluxe box set puts a Sunburst Finish on Bill Nelson’s brilliant career
By Steve Newton Be-Bop Deluxe: now that's what I call a true seventies-rock band. Led by singer Bill Nelson--who also wrote every single song and handled a mean guitar--Be-Bop Deluxe combined the finest elements of '70s-era hard-rock, glam-pop, art-rock, and prog. I bought every one of their five studio albums, and loved them all. 1974's … Continue reading Be-Bop Deluxe box set puts a Sunburst Finish on Bill Nelson’s brilliant career
Mötley Crüe’s debut album gets double duty on Music to Crash Your Car To, Volume 1
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 18, 2003 By Steve Newton Eighties L.A. glam-rockers Mötley Crüe borrowed well from their ’70s New York counterparts, KISS. The Crüe took a bit of KISS’s makeup and leather outfits, and a lot of its penchant for on-stage theatrics. Both groups had a habit of recording horrible ballads … Continue reading Mötley Crüe’s debut album gets double duty on Music to Crash Your Car To, Volume 1
Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues overflows with deathless blues classics
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 18, 2003 By Steve Newton Many music fans have discovered the beauty of the blues while uncovering the roots of rock, yours truly included. Twenty-some-odd years ago I got set on that course by a pedal-steel guitarist and country-bluegrass performer named Smokin’ Joe Michno. As a dedicated hard-rock … Continue reading Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues overflows with deathless blues classics
Motörhead’s Stone Deaf Forever! box set brings the ear-busting goods
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 18, 2003 By Steve Newton So I was hangin’ out in the vicinity of the Straight music editor’s desk—since that’s usually where the CDs go before being parcelled out to the various scrounging contributors—and along comes the shiny new expanded edition of the David Bowie boxed set, Sound … Continue reading Motörhead’s Stone Deaf Forever! box set brings the ear-busting goods
Kiss’s first-ever box set is a Kiss completist’s wet dream
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 2001 By Steve Newton Musicwise, I’ve always thought that Kiss went downhill after the release of its third album, Dressed to Kill. Of course, as rock history has proven, the band actually started to get hugely popular just after that, with the release of its 1975 double live … Continue reading Kiss’s first-ever box set is a Kiss completist’s wet dream
Grand Funk gives ’70s rock a bad name on Thirty Years of Funk: 1969-1999
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 9, 1999 By Steve Newton When I was a teenager, I was obsessed with collecting albums, and all my money went toward that goal. My friends had nice cars; I had nice records. Nowadays, I get most of my music free from record labels, but it’s almost … Continue reading Grand Funk gives ’70s rock a bad name on Thirty Years of Funk: 1969-1999
The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper includes the filler not found on Killer
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 9, 1999 By Steve Newton There are a couple of ways to enjoy the best music of legendary shock-rocker Alice Cooper, and one of them is to purchase this four-disc retrospective of his work. The other is to just go out and buy his four early-’70s albums, Love … Continue reading The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper includes the filler not found on Killer
Shades 1968-1998 box set delivers all the best colours of Deep Purple
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 9, 1999 By Steve Newton I’ve been a Deep Purple fan for as long as I’ve loved rock. Fireball was among the first LPs I ever purchased and played on my parents’ crappy rec-room stereo from the ’50s. Even today, when “Highway Star” comes on the car … Continue reading Shades 1968-1998 box set delivers all the best colours of Deep Purple
Willie Nelson bares his down-home soul on Revolutions of Time box
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 14, 1995 By Steve Newton I’ve gotta admit that I’m not a real huge country-music fan. I actually view what’s known as “new country”—that lightweight, vacuous, fabricated piffle churned out by the Nashville music mill these days—with the same jaundiced eye reserved for lowly “gangsta rap”. But there’s … Continue reading Willie Nelson bares his down-home soul on Revolutions of Time box
Dance of the Rainbow Serpent features some of Carlos Santana’s finest moments on guitar
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 14, 1995 By Steve Newton Unlike the recent Tom Petty box, this three-CD package doesn’t contain enough previously unreleased material to make it a must-have, but it does feature some of Carlos Santana’s finest moments on guitar, and you know that can’t be bad. Dance of the Rainbow … Continue reading Dance of the Rainbow Serpent features some of Carlos Santana’s finest moments on guitar
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers box set is a must-have for Pettyphiles
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 14, 1995 By Steve Newton Some boxed sets are basically just glorified greatest-hits collections, with maybe a handful of remixed or previously unreleased tracks tossed in to lure die-hard fans with bulging pockets, but the 92-track Playback isn’t one of those. While it does contain all the big … Continue reading Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers box set is a must-have for Pettyphiles
Pandora’s Box conjures vivid memories of Aerosmith in the seventies
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC .12, 1991 By Steve Newton This scribbler’s teenage memories are filled with happy thoughts of Aerosmith, the best thing from Boston since Bobby Orr. There’s the time me and some pals hijacked somebody’s dad’s car and travelled down to Seattle’s Kingdome to join 60,000 other maniacs for a … Continue reading Pandora’s Box conjures vivid memories of Aerosmith in the seventies