By Steve Newton I have hazy memories of the very first albums I ever owned, but there's three that stick out in my mind: Alice Cooper's Billion Dollar Babies, Deep Purple's Fireball, and Black Sabbath's Paranoid. I used to play the hell out of them on an ancient stereo downstairs in my parents' "rumpus room". And my favourite … Continue reading Black Sabbath reissues bring back memories of “War Pigs”-inspired furniture abuse
Tag: previously unreleased
Good news for those who can’t get enough Bad Company
By Steve Newton If you were type of rock fan in the '70s who thought it was the end of the world when guitarist Mick Ralphs left Mott the Hoople--only to be blown away when he formed a supergroup called Bad Company with singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke (from Free) and bassist Boz … Continue reading Good news for those who can’t get enough Bad Company
Paul McCartney & Wings deluxe-edition box sets are pretty sweet
By Steve Newton Nineteen-seventy-five was one hell of an awesome year for rock. That was when Floyd released Wish You Were Here, Zep dropped Physical Graffiti, and Lizzy unleashed Fighting.And a band named Wings, featuring ex-Beatle Paul McCartney, joined the fray with a 13-track monster titled Venus and Mars. Man, I played the crap out of that album. From the … Continue reading Paul McCartney & Wings deluxe-edition box sets are pretty sweet
The Doors box set documents the band in all its unrefined glory
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 11, 1997 By Steve Newton This four-disc package of Doors material, spanning the years 1965 to ’71, favours previously unreleased live tracks and demo recordings over studio-polished hits, and documents the band in all its eccentric, unrefined, and—with tunes that pass the 18-minute mark—excessive glory. Its mix of … Continue reading The Doors box set documents the band in all its unrefined glory
The only thing missing from Faces box set is a big honkin’ bottle of JD
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, DEC. 9, 2004 By Steve Newton Believe it or not, Rod Stewart used to rock. You wouldn't know it from those snoozy Great American Song Book volumes he's released in the last few years, but at one point the gravelly-voiced crooner fronted the world's greatest party band: the Faces. That group was only … Continue reading The only thing missing from Faces box set is a big honkin’ bottle of JD
The riff returns with first batch of deluxe Led Zeppelin box sets
By Steve Newton If you're a Led Zeppelin fan--and who isn't, apart from those indie geeks at Pitchfork--you should mark June 3 on your calendar and start putting away some spendin' money. That's when the mighty Zep will release super-deluxe boxed sets of its first three albums--1969's Led Zeppelin, 1969's Led Zeppelin II, and 1970's Led Zeppelin III. Each … Continue reading The riff returns with first batch of deluxe Led Zeppelin box sets