By Steve Newton I've just been watching the TV news, and apparently there's quite an uproar among Celine Dion fans because she wasn't included in Rolling Stone's new list of "The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time." Well, here's another uproar for ya: why the hell isn't Phil Lynott's name on the list? You know, … Continue reading Rolling Stone shockingly omits Phil Lynott from its Top 200 singers list. And Paul Rodgers too!
Tag: Paul Rodgers
That time Buddy Guy told me that he was a bluesman from his heart, as if I didn’t know
By Steve Newton I've interviewed Buddy Guy five times, because I freakin' love Buddy Guy. The second time we chatted was in March of 1993, three weeks after the release of his Feels Like Rain album, which featured guest appearances by Bonnie Raitt, John Mayall, and Paul Rodgers. Rodgers performed on a version of the … Continue reading That time Buddy Guy told me that he was a bluesman from his heart, as if I didn’t know
Album review: Bad Company, Dangerous Age (1988)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 23, 1988 By Steve Newton Bad Company put some mighty fine albums in the mid-'70s, particularly Straight Shooter and Run With the Pack. But that was when they had soulful crooner Paul Rodgers singing for them. Now they've got some Ted Nugent reject named Brian Howe in the … Continue reading Album review: Bad Company, Dangerous Age (1988)
Album review: Bad Company, Fame and Fortune (1986)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 26, 1986 By Steve Newton Mott the Hoople and Free were two of the best rock bands Britain ever produced, so it was only fitting that when their members joined forces in 1974 as Bad Company, the band was quickly labeled a supergroup. And it was pretty super … Continue reading Album review: Bad Company, Fame and Fortune (1986)
Album review: The Law, The Law (1991)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 2, 1991 By Steve Newton After having had to sit through Bad (Sad?) Company’s recent Vancouver concert—and its empty, money-grubbing versions of that band’s greatest hits—the release of the Law’s self-titled debut album came like manna from heaven. Original Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers has formed a new … Continue reading Album review: The Law, The Law (1991)
Singers from Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Free connect for a rock-god vocal summit in Oxford
By Steve Newton What do you get when you gather the lead singers from Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Free on stage at the same time? A pretty rockin' version of the '50s chestnut "Money (That's What I Want)", it appears. Robert Plant, Brian Johnson, and Paul Rodgers got together at one of Rodgers' shows in … Continue reading Singers from Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Free connect for a rock-god vocal summit in Oxford
Newt’s Top 10 albums of 1993
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 23, 1993 By Steve Newton Popular music hit an all-time low this year with the outbreak of something called gangsta rap, an ugly, expletive-laden noise that degrades women and glorifies real-life crime and violence. We can only hope this latest strain of the rap virus will help bring … Continue reading Newt’s Top 10 albums of 1993
Neal Schon’s fierce guitar dulled by Journey’s soulless corporate-rock vibe
By Steve Newton Journey has long been criticized for being one of the prime purveyors of "corporate rock", along with the likes of Foreigner, Boston, Styx, and REO Speedwagon. But anyone who's ever slagged the group for its commercial sensibilities would have to admit that its latest attempt to make even more moola is pretty … Continue reading Neal Schon’s fierce guitar dulled by Journey’s soulless corporate-rock vibe
Paul Rodgers on living the rock and roll fantasy and his new album Electric
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 21, 2000 By Steve Newton Anyone who’s ever raised a frosty Molson Pilsner to the bluesy riff-rock of Free or Bad Company would do well to attend the Commodore Ballroom on Friday (September 22), when the singer from those bands, Paul Rodgers, shows off the voice that launched … Continue reading Paul Rodgers on living the rock and roll fantasy and his new album Electric
The Art of McCartney boasts ’70s rockers Heart, Steve Miller, Sammy Hagar, and the Coop
By Steve Newton Groundworks Marketing announced today that a new Paul McCartney tribute album will be released on November 17, and that it will feature some of my fave artists from the seventies, including Alice Cooper, Steve Miller, Heart, Bad Company's Paul Rodgers, Montrose's Sammy Hagar, the Who's Roger Daltrey, and Cheap Trick's Robin Zander and … Continue reading The Art of McCartney boasts ’70s rockers Heart, Steve Miller, Sammy Hagar, and the Coop
Spine-tingling guitar solos light up Lynyrd Skynyrd’s first-ever Vancouver show
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 4, 1997 By Steve Newton Those ’70s-rock fans sure are a devoted bunch. Even if one of their fave old bands hasn’t produced a hit in two decades, they’ll stick with it and flock to its concerts to hold Bic lighters on high and relive the halcyon days … Continue reading Spine-tingling guitar solos light up Lynyrd Skynyrd’s first-ever Vancouver show
For Paul Rodgers, everything stems from playing live
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 28, 1997 By Steve Newton Back in the late ’60s, British blues-rock crooner Paul Rodgers wrapped his gravel ’n’ honey vocals around a simple, bludgeoning Paul Kossoff guitar riff and rock history was made. Twenty-seven years after its release, Free’s “All Right Now” has joined an elite club of records to … Continue reading For Paul Rodgers, everything stems from playing live
20-year-old Kenny Wayne Shepherd has the guitar world by the balls
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 7, 1997 By Steve Newton Some guys have all the luck—and a fair whack of talent, too. Take Kenny Wayne Shepherd, for instance. He just turned 20, yet he’s one of the biggest names on the blues-rock scene, with a debut CD that has moved more than 750,000 … Continue reading 20-year-old Kenny Wayne Shepherd has the guitar world by the balls