chris cameron photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 25, 1988 By Steve Newton Some guys have it and some guys don’t. A great band, that is. Springsteen had one when he played here in 1984. And the latest hero of the American heartland, John Cougar Mellencamp, had one at the sold-out Coliseum last Saturday (March 19). Mellencamp was definitely the … Continue reading John Cougar Mellencamp sells seats, not principles, in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 23, 1995 By Steve Newton If there’s one band I really miss these days, it’s the Georgia Satellites. The raging southern boogie blasted forth by that Dan Baird–fronted unit on three underrated ’80s albums never failed to lift my spirits. So it does this old heart good … Continue reading Album review: Jason & the Scorchers, A Blazing Grace (1995)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 22, 1983 By Steve Newton Gary Moore is an astounding rock guitarist, capable of wrenching the most scintillating and unique licks imaginable from six strings. His brief stints with Colosseum II and Thin Lizzy showed him to be a versatile and technically superior player, and on Corridors of … Continue reading Album review: Gary Moore, Corridors of Power (1983)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 11, 1999 By Steve Newton It’s no wonder that, after two unfocused and relatively unpopular CDs, the Black Crowes would get back to the straightforward boogie that made them a sensation with their 1990 debut, Shake Your Money Maker. But what is surprising is the vengeance with which … Continue reading Album review: The Black Crowes, By Your Side (1999)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 27, 2003 By Steve Newton When I recall my late-’70s/early-’80s fondness for Brit pop-punk Joe Jackson, I drift back to days spent in a rundown party pad at the foot of a dead-end street in Chilliwack. For some reason, I remember myself one spring afternoon mowing the lawn … Continue reading Album review: Joe Jackson Band, Volume 4 (2003)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 12, 1986 By Steve Newton This latest offering from Aussie ear-busters AC/DC is the official soundtrack of the new Stephen King film Maximum Overdrive. So is it music to watch possessed trucks run people over by? You betcha. Actually, Who Made Who is more of a compilation album … Continue reading Album review: AC/DC, Who Made Who (1986)
kevin statham photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 18, 1988 By Steve Newton One of the most memorable concerts of this scribbler’s young life was seeing Kiss at the Commodore Ballroom just after the release of its second album, Hotter Than Hell. A bunch of my buddies and I had crammed into a rented van and driven up … Continue reading Kiss struggles on stage in 1988, can’t rekindle the magic of Alive! from ’75
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 24, 1995 By Steve Newton They’ve had plenty of time to rehearse, but Deep Purple still can’t improve on Made in Japan, the live double album that captured the hearts and minds of hard-rock hooligans back in ’73. Still, you won’t hear me complain when the band rips … Continue reading Album review: Deep Purple, Come Hell or High Water (1995)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 24, 1983 By Steve Newton Former Uriah Heep keyboardist Ken Hensley has become the fifth Blackfoot member on their sixth studio album, Siogo. While I was a little worried that the overpowering organ sound he’d often wielded in his former band might drown out the gritty guitars of Rickey Medlocke and … Continue reading Album review: Blackfoot, Siogo (1983)
By Steve Newton The following is the Preface from my new coffeetable book, Gord Downie, published by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. of New York City and currently available at Indigo, Coles, and Chapters outlets across Canada. ———————————————————————- The first time I spoke to Gord Downie he was a longhaired 25-year-old rocker touring behind his band’s first full-length … Continue reading Exclusive excerpt from my new book, Gord Downie, about the late frontman of the Tragically Hip
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 3, 1997 By Steve Newton Its previous two albums—1993’s Sister Sweetly and 1995’s Strategem—were sterling examples of well played and wonderfully sung roots-pop, but on Beautiful World, Colorado’s Big Head Todd & the Monsters venture winningly into seriously funky and soulful territory. The title track—featuring former Parliament-Funkadelic … Continue reading Album review: Big Head Todd & the Monsters, Beautiful World (1997)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 29, 1988 By Steve Newton Prior to Aerosmith‘s local appearance last week, I’d seen the Boston band in concert three times, including a show on the massive Rocks tour that saw them headlining over Jeff Beck at the Kingdome in Seattle. Each time before, they had performed more raggedly than singer Steven … Continue reading Aerosmith is reborn as a killer live act on the Permanent Vacation tour
By Steve Newton The most popular story I ever posted on Ear of Newt–until I broke the news about AC/DC being spotted in Vancouver back in 2018–was the one from 2014 with the headline Yngwie Malmsteen calls Ibanez guitars “a bad copy” of the Strat and says Les Pauls are “furniture”. For some reason people–mostly guitar … Continue reading Caught on tape: that time Strat fanatic Yngwie Malmsteen trash-talked Ibanez and Les Paul guitars
