ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 19, 2002 By Steve Newton Before Rod the Mod became the kind of guy who would release a CD of golden-oldie pop standards called It Had to Be You—and then shamelessly plug it on Larry King Live—he was quite a ferocious rock crooner. Nothing will ever match the … Continue reading Rod Stewart box set captures his post-Faces hits and the odd clunker
Thin Lizzy box set is a fitting tribute to hard-rock poet Phil Lynott
I became aware of Thin Lizzy after reading a rave review of 1973’s Vagabonds of the Western World in my mag of choice at the time, Circus.
Capitol Records 60th Anniversary box gets the Newt’s noggin noddin’
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 19, 2002 By Steve Newton To celebrate 60 years in business, Capitol Records has released an ambitious, six-CD boxed set, with each disc containing 16 tunes from one particular decade, spanning the ’40s to the ’90s. Not surprisingly, some of my fave pop and rock tunes of all … Continue reading Capitol Records 60th Anniversary box gets the Newt’s noggin noddin’
Tony Furtado dedicates song on American Gypsy to Americana great John Hartford
Twelve seems to be an age that many musicians—and music fans—look back on as being influential in the formation of their musical tastes.
The Blasters’ Dave Alvin wants to search the Commodore for lost brain cells
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 5, 2002 By Steve Newton Back in 1985, the Blasters were building a reputation as one of North America’s premier roots-rock acts. Then one cold November night in Montreal, the ongoing quarrels between guitarist Dave Alvin and his older brother, vocalist Phil, boiled over. After a particularly disastrous gig, the younger … Continue reading The Blasters’ Dave Alvin wants to search the Commodore for lost brain cells
Delbert McClinton once taught John Lennon a few harmonica tricks
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 5, 2002 By Steve Newton To get a good idea of how admired Delbert McClinton is by today’s top country and roots artists, one need only check out the centre spread in the booklet for his new CD, Room to Breathe. It’s a black-and-white shot of McClinton in the studio, surrounded … Continue reading Delbert McClinton once taught John Lennon a few harmonica tricks
The Headstones’ Hugh Dillon on great Canadian rock bands and having a gun to his head
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 28, 2002 By Steve Newton There are a ton of rowdy, punk-edged rock tunes on the latest Headstones CD, The Oracle of Hi-Fi, but the one that really stands out on first listen is “Tiny Teddy”. A rollicking, three-minute tale of shady characters, cocaine, and revenge, it’s reminiscent in style of … Continue reading The Headstones’ Hugh Dillon on great Canadian rock bands and having a gun to his head
Joe Satriani explains how he overcame pain and suffering to fulfill his new Blue Dream
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 19, 1990 By Steve Newton Just as almost everyone can recall where they were when news broke of John F. Kennedy's assassination, a lot of rock fans can vividly remember that day in 1970 when the news of Jimi Hendrix's death came down. Joe Satriani was in high school at the … Continue reading Joe Satriani explains how he overcame pain and suffering to fulfill his new Blue Dream
The Tragically Hip’s frontman goes Fully Completely bonkers in Vancouver
By Steve Newton Gordon Downie is famous for his wacky stage moves and bizarre gestures, but last night (February 6) at Rogers Arena he ramped up the oddness big-time. I've seen the Tragically Hip numerous times over the years, but never witnessed him being quite so wonderfully nutzoid. The fact that it was his 51st … Continue reading The Tragically Hip’s frontman goes Fully Completely bonkers in Vancouver
Joe Satriani’s Strange Beautiful Music grew from a cathartic Hendrix experience
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 21, 2002 By Steve Newton Joe Satriani named his latest CD Strange Beautiful Music, although the music on it isn’t much stranger or more beautiful than what the Bay Area guitar wizard has been conjuring over the past few years. The story behind the title has more to do with another … Continue reading Joe Satriani’s Strange Beautiful Music grew from a cathartic Hendrix experience
If Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand get heavy-metal T-shirts, why not Michael Bublé?
By Steve Newton A few months ago I was watching the Comedy Network and one of those heavily rotated ads for the network's awful @midnight show came on. What caught my eye was the T-shirt that one of the program's guests was wearing. It was black with the type of scary, devil-skull design you often … Continue reading If Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand get heavy-metal T-shirts, why not Michael Bublé?
Metallica must kick ass at Super Bowl 50
By Steve Newton Okay, by now we should all be over the disappointment (yeah, right) of the Seahawks handing the Super Bowl over to the "Boston" Patriots at the last minute and proving once and for all that Nirvana is not in the same league as Aerosmith. Now it's time to ponder which musical act would … Continue reading Metallica must kick ass at Super Bowl 50
Metal legend Devin Townsend tweets about his fave guitar heroes
By Steve Newton Devin Townsend is always fun to follow on Twitter. You never know what the Vancouver metal maestro will come up with in his daily musings. But you can always rely on a serious lack of bullshit. Yesterday Townsend caught my eye with a few tweets about some of his favourite guitarists-who also … Continue reading Metal legend Devin Townsend tweets about his fave guitar heroes