Yes‘ most familiar ’70s-era albums have undergone a remarkable sonic transformation as Steve Wilson creates new Dolby Atmos and 5.1 Surround Sound mixes. Steve Howe is still listening to the originals.
“There are different mixes and they all have their different values,” the guitarist tells Rolling Stone. “And maybe it’s the time I should confess that for me, the original mixes are the original mixes. It’s not possible to surpass them. They’re the end stop. … I was there. I know the differences. They’re incredibly small, incredibly slight – but to my ear, I can tell.”
“We much admired them,” Howe says of Rush. “This was a very powerful trio. … I love the guys very much, particularly Geddy, who I had a chance to spend some time with a little while back. So basically, this is a great band with its own story, but they came from the embryo, if you like, of what [Emerson Lake and Palmer] and Genesis and Yes started doing in the ’70s – and I say bravo.”
Wilson released Dolby Atmos mixes for The Yes Album in 2023 as part of a super deluxe edition of the album. His Dolby Atmos mix of Fragile arrived in May as part of a similarly expanded reissue.
Howe has led Yes since Squire’s death, releasing 2021’s The Quest and 2023’s Mirror to the Sky with the stalwart bassist’s handpicked replacement, Billy Sherwood. Yes is currently on tour with Deep Purple. Their North American dates continue into September.
“I was thrilled to work with them back then,” Adams said previously. “I was a broke songwriter – it came at the perfect time. While sitting with the band, Gene [Simmons] played me this fantastic bass riff, which ended up being the backbone of ‘War Machine.’”
He added: “I was trying to think of a theme that could possibly match the riff and came up with the title, which was actually an homage to a comic book character.”
Creatures of the Night was Kiss’ marked attempt to reconnect with their rock’n’roll past after experiments in pop, disco and prog had bombed in recent years. Possibly the closest to metal the band ever came, it was their second outing with drummer Eric Carr after Peter Criss’ departure.
‘War Machine’ Remained Kiss Live Favorite Until the End
With Ace Frehley also gone, although kept for the artwork, guitar duties were taken up by Bob Kulick, Robben Ford, Steve Farris and Vinnie Vincent – the latter of whom would soon be confirmed as Frehley’s replacement, although he too would be out within two years.
“War Machine” remained a regular in Kiss set lists since its release, despite notable gaps in the late ‘90s and late ‘00s. It was performed during the band’s last-ever show, in New York on Dec. 2 last year. Discussing the song in 2021, Adams said: “Well, I’ve never seem them live. So I’m glad to hear it worked out.”
Watch Bryan Adams Perform ‘War Machine’
Hear Kiss Perform ‘War Machine’
Top 100 ’80s Rock Albums
UCR takes a chronological look at the 100 best rock albums of the ’80s.
The breakup was inevitable yet unexpected. Oasis was in the midst of European tour dates when Noel reportedly reached his boiling point and stormed out of the group. A scheduled concert in Paris on Aug. 28 wouldn’t happen, leaving a performance at the V Festival six days earlier as the band’s last gig.
Though Liam and Noel have spent plenty of time since then bad mouthing each other in the press, both rockers have also released an extensive amount of material. And while American music fans may think the musicians’ popularity has faded, that couldn’t be further from the truth – at least, not in the U.K. Both Gallaghers remain a massive draw in their homeland and around Europe, enjoying sold out concerts, No. 1 albums and multi-platinum sales.
Here’s a look at what Liam and Noel have done in the years since Oasis’ demise.
Liam Gallagher Opens His Beady Eye
Liam was the first Gallagher to announce his post-Oasis plans, revealing three months later that he’d started a new group called Beady Eye. Gem Archer (guitar), Andy Bell (guitar) and Chris Sharrock (drums) who had all previously been in Oasis joined Liam in the initial lineup.
“We’ll do it in a different kind of way now. I’ll try and reconnect with a new band, new songs, and I’m feeling confident about the songs,” Liam declared prior to recording the band’s first album. “I’m feeling a million percent confident that they could be better than Oasis.”
Watch Beady Eye’s Video for ‘The Roller’
While Beady Eye didn’t match Oasis’ commercial heights, it certainly had its share of success. The band’s critically-hailed debut album Different Gear, Still Speeding, was released in February 2011. Roughly 18 months later, Beady Eye performed at the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, playing the Oasis classic “Wonderwall.”
The band’s second studio album, BE, came out in June 2013. The LP was less enthusiastically received, especially in America. Liam scrapped plans for Beady Eye to tour the U.S. and in October 2014 he announced the group had disbanded.
Liam Gallagher Finds Solo Success
The singer’s next move was unexpected, considering he’d rejected the idea of a solo career for years. Still, that’s exactly what he embarked on in 2017. Liam’s debut solo single, “Wall of Glass” was released that June, and he quickly began performing a long run of solo gigs. He also became a vocal supporter of his hometown of Manchester, following a tragic terrorist attack that year. Liam appeared at several notable benefit events for the victims, including the One Love Manchester concert where he performed Oasis classics alongside members of Coldplay.
Liam’s debut solo album, As You Were, arrived in October 2017 to overwhelmingly positive reviews. The LP hit No. 1 on the U.K. chart and enjoyed larger commercial popularity than his previous efforts with Beady Eye. So began a streak of solo success for the singer, as his next two albums Why Me? Why Not (2019) and C’mon You Know (2022) also debuted at No. 1 in the U.K.
In November 2019, Liam received the first Rock Icon award at the MTV Europe Music Awards. His acceptance speech was short – roughly 20 seconds in length – but he was sure to feature some of his trademark swagger. “I want to congratulate MTV for recognizing my brilliance,” the singer declared. “Thanks for the award, I’ll wear it well.”
In September 2022 Liam – who became close with Dave Grohl when the two co-wrote the song “Everything’s Electric” for Gallagher’s C’mon You Know LP – appeared at the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert in London. The singer was the event’s first performer, delivering the Oasis songs “Rock ’n’ Roll Star” and “Live Forever,” backed by the Foo Fighters.
Watch Liam Gallagher Perform ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’ With Foo Fighters
In 2024, Liam collaborated with ex-Stone Roses guitarist John Squire on the appropriately-titled album Liam Gallagher & John Squire. The LP was released in March to critical acclaim and continued Liam’s streak of hitting No. 1 in the U.K.
Most recently, the singer spent much of 2024 celebrating the 30th anniversary of Oasis’ debut album, Definitely Maybe. Liam embarked on an expansive tour which saw him performing the album in its entirety, along with other Oasis classics.
Noel Gallagher Flies High After Oasis
Compared to his brother, Noel Gallagher was a bit slower in moving on from Oasis. He didn’t play his first post-break up gig until February 2010 an it wasn’t until July 2011 that he unveiled his new project, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. The name was a moniker for Noel’s solo work with a regular rotation of musicians, similar to how Paul McCartney created with Wings.
Debut album Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds was released in October 2011 to critical and commercial success. The LP reached triple-platinum status in the U.K., solidifying Noel’s place among the nation’s most revered rockers.
Watch Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ Video for ‘If I Had a Gun’
Like Liam, Noel’s popularity in the U.K has never waned. Three of his four albums – Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (2011), Chasing Yesterday (2015) and Who Built the Moon? (2017) – all debuted at No. 1 in the U.K., as did his greatest hits compilation Back the Way We Came: Vol. 1. Meanwhile, Noel’s most recent LP, 2023’s Council Skies, fell jus short of continuing the streak, debuting at No. 2.
Noel Gallagher’s Collaborations
Additionally, Noel has actively collaborated with other artists since Oasis broke up. In 2016, he co-wrote the song “Birth of an Accidental Hipster” with Paul Weller, a tune they gave to the Monkees for the group’s Good Times! album.
In 2017, Noel joined forces with an unlikely partner: Damon Albarn. The two had been rivals in the ‘90s, with the press often pitting Oasis against Albarn’s band Blur in the battle for Britpop supremacy. Still, any lingering tensions have long since dissipated, as Noel’s contribution to the song “We Got the Power” for Albarn’s animated group Gorillaz proved.
Most recently, Noel co-wrote three songs for the Black Keys’ 2024 album Ohio Players. The Oasis rocker also played guitar and provided backing vocals on all three tracks: “Only Lover Matters,” “You’ll Pay” and “On the Game.”
Oasis Albums Ranked Worst to Best
The Manchester-born band only released seven albums — and they ended on rough terms — but there’s a subtle arc to their catalog that both draws from clear influences and stands entirely alone.
Every band you can think of has had to cut their teeth, playing tiny clubs, high school gymnasiums, community centers and backyard barbecues in their quest to eventually become marquee headliners.
Many of rock’s biggest artists had humble beginnings to their rise in fame. Kiss famously had only 10 people in attendance for their first gig, a far cry from the stadium-size crowds they would later entertain. Similarly, the Ramones only had about 30 in the audience when they began their journey to punk rock greatness.
Several future rock icons struggled mightily during their initial gig. Motley Crue’s first show devolved into a fistfight, while Black Sabbath reportedly “went down like the Titanic.” Meanwhile, the Velvet Underground‘s distinctive style of rock completely baffled the crowd at their first performance.
Of course, not every debut was calamitous. AC/DC played their first show on New Year’s Eve, making for an energetic – and inebriated – night of fun. That same New Year’s Eve, on the other side of the world, Journey performed a their first show, playing in front of 10,000 people in San Francisco – easily, the biggest crowd among the acts featured below.
These shows, as well as the debuts of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Nirvana and many others, are highlighted in our list of The First Concerts for 25 Legendary Rock Acts.
From the eerie mists of the Blue Mountains, Australia, Carmeria combine the haunting sounds of dark symphonic metal with the lovelorn energy of gothic rock. Their sophomore LP, Tragédie D’amour, is available now and to celebrate, Carmeria unveil the new video for their latest single, “A Thousand Winter Rains”. This atmospheric and intense track delves into themes of longing and sorrow, perfectly complemented by the evocative visuals in the clip below, showcasing the band’s dedication to exploring the more melancholic aspects of the human experience.
Singer / songwriter Jordan von Grae shares: “The past three years have been a monumental journey through the peaks of love, and the valleys of loss, and reflecting on these experiences in the writing and production process for this album was both haunting and beautiful. As a writer, Tragédie D’amour took me out of my comfort zone, and the result was a series of wonderful lessons in songcrafting and production, and a newfound appreciation for the vast range of emotions and experiences held in the dichotomy of love and grief. It is my hope that those who listen to our record find solace in the fact that they are not alone in their experiences – the good, and the bad.”
Since reforming with a new lineup in 2018, the band has been on a momentous warpath through the Australian music scene. Carmeria’s debut album Advenae (2021) saw the five-piece garner international acclaim. In the summer of 2021/2022, the group embarked on their first nation-wide tour, culminating in a sold out show in their hometown capital, Sydney. The following years saw the ensemble write and record music for their second opus, titled Tragédie D’amour, which consists of ten new songs and sees the band’s sound taking on a more energetic gothic rock approach than its predecessor.
Tracklisting:
“Call Forth My Sorrow” “A Thousand Winter Rains” “Thorns” “Leading The Lyre” “Whispers Of Forgiveness” “Shadow’s Throne” “Immortal” “Burning Ships” “The Hoping Heart” “A Vision In Passing”
Cypriot thrash / death metallers Blynd unleashed a new official video for the song “Infernal”, taken from their fourth studio album Unbeliever, out now via Pitch Black Records.
Directed by Anthony Frangous, the “Infernal” video is set in a forest, in the middle of winter, where a bloody river flows and where crows fight for survival. The song proceeds with its heavy and rhythmic pace. Andrea Paraschos’s full-bodied growl and the wall of guitars will delight the palates of the most uncompromising lovers of thrash / death metal.
The band’s latest opus Unbeliever delivers an onslaught of blistering riffs, thunderous drums, and thought-provoking lyricism that fans have come to expect from Blynd.
Musically, the album has an overall dark atmosphere with both slow and fast-paced songs, some progressive passages, epic choruses and outros. Lyrically, the album deals with a variety of issues that have plagued (still plague) humanity – from war themes to Orwellian mass surveillance, propaganda, rewriting history and the suppression of free speech.
Unbeliever is available on CD and Digital and can be ordered at PitchBlackRecords.com.
Tracklisting:
“Infernal” “Between Two Worlds” “Primordial Hunter” “One Last Dance” “Until We Die” “1984” “Fire In The Sky” “Uncrowned” “Ground Zero”
After many years and many requests from fans, Wolfsbane are to release a re-recorded version of their first album Live Fast, Die Fast titled, Live Faster.
The record is scheduled for release towards the end of 2024 and is an entirely new recording, NOT a remix or remaster of the original.
When asked about the record, guitarist and producer Jase Edwards said, “You’ve asked, we’ve listened. None of us know how long we’ll be here on this earth, especially me, so it felt like the right time to remake the album in the way the band first envisioned it. It’s going to be brutal.”
The record is currently in its final stages of production, with Jase having already blown up two amps trying to get the intensity he’s looking for.
“The original recording was lost years ago,” comments Blaze Bayley. “It’s great to be able to go back to the vibe of these songs and use the experience we have now to re-record and reimagine them with Jase producing it all. It’s been one of the most exciting things we’ve done and we didn’t expect it to be so much fun.”
Steve Danger, Wolfsbane’s dynamic drummer’s take is a little more pragmatic, “Black Leather Jacket! A new one, because old faithful no longer zips up due to a life full of experiences. Experiences equals cake!”
Finally, bassist Jeff Hateley summed it up well, “People have asked us to do this for years, we’ve always said no. But then we realised we still play most of these songs live and they’ve evolved over the years. The 35th anniversary seems like a good time to do it all again, our way. The same but different, different but the same.”
The band recently shared a teaser video from the studio on their social media and YouTube channel with the caption, ‘Name That Solo?!?!’ (watch below).
The album follows Wolfsbane’s last record, 2022’s Genius.
Originally produced by Rick Rubin, Live Fast, Die Fast was released on Def American Recordings in 1989.
For further details, follow Wolfsbane on Facebook.
Australia’s head-banging rock‘n’roll powerhouse Emergency Rule are stoked to announce that they will be touring Japan in November. The tour signals the first time the Aussie rockers are heading out on an international tour.
Their debut album was released in February to rave reviews, followed by a June release in Japan. Starting in Tokyo on November 5th, they will play five shows across Japan:
November 5 – Tokyo – Moonstep 6 – Tokyo – The Wall 7 – Nagoya – Huck Finn 8 – Osaka – Hokage 9 – Kobe – Blueport
To celebrate the occasion, Emergency Rule unleashed their new lyric video for the powerful track “From The Grave”:
Emerging from the pulsating heart of the Aussie rock scene, Emergency Rule has shattered genre boundaries, forging a unique sound that weaves together rock, stoner, and metal influences into a sonic tapestry of raw power and innovation.
“We are absolutely stoked to be joining the WormholeDeath family,” said the band in an exuberant statement. “Our debut album, The King Of Ithaca, is the culmination of numerous recording sessions completed throughout Covid lockdowns. It comprises riff-laden songs we have honed live on stage over the course of several years, and Jarrad Nettle (co-producer, engineer) has managed to perfectly capture the sound and energy of our live shows in a studio environment.
With lyrical themes of corporate greed, revenge, heartache, domestic violence, drug addiction, death, mental health, religion, and regret, this album truly is a reflection of the world and a sign of the times we live in. We can’t wait for everyone to hear The King Of Ithaca, and we are thrilled to be partnering with WormholeDeath to deliver it to the masses.”
It’s Sabbath with attitude, Down with a swagger, Skynyrd with power. The band’s laid-back vibe is a smokescreen to the musicians’ earth-shaking riffs. Bringing heavy grooves, V8 style booming bass lines, and pounding room-quaking drums, Emergency Rule is a foot-stomping, head-banging rock ‘n’ roll sensation.
They’re a band of gifted musicians with a diverse history featuring Doug Clark (Universum) on bass/vocals, former 63 Stone guitarists Chris George and Cal Wegener, with Travis Dragani (Bruce Kulick, Mike Tramp) on drums. They have supported acts as prestigious as Corrosion of Conformity, Suicidal Tendencies, Buckcherry, Sasquatch, Dozer, and Hardcore Superstar. Whether it’s the deal with the devil ‘Snake Eyes’ or the bar room barfly ‘Bartender’, Emergency Rule is a good time, no-nonsense-boogie-grooving infectious vibe. Pull up a chair, get a drink, and roll that dice.
Tracklist:
“The Hook” “Garden” “Bartender” “Something To Say” “Abuse” “Corporation” “From The Grave” “Ulysses”
“Garden”
For further details, visit Emergency Rule on Facebook.
As another week of righteous and rowdy rockin’ gets underway, we offer our heartiest congratulations to SKAM, who were so dominant in last week’s contest that they scored almost as many votes as the rest of the field put together, smiting them usunder.
So condolences to everyone else, not least the beleaguered runners-up Texas Hippie Coalition, and the even more beleaguered runners-up to the runners-up, Giant Walker.
Here’s this week’s selection, for the enjoyment of humanity.
The Sheepdogs – Take Me For A Ride
The rollicking opener for the surprise new mini-album from Saskatoon’s finest (Paradise Alone, just out now) is described by frontman Ewan Currie as “a good old fashioned, dumb rock song”. It is that, in the best way possible. Gloriously catchy with a sunny, almost glam 70s stomp, you can practically hear the palm trees in the guitars from Currie’s soul-searching visit to the Florida Keys, before work began on the record. If you’re a fan already, you’ll bloody love this. If you’re new to ‘em, this is a good place to start.
The Sheepdogs – Take Me For A Ride (Visualizer) – YouTube
Following the moody, lush stylings of 2022’s Red Alert In The Blue Forest, Finland’s enigmatic sibling trio are back with something shorter and brighter – though no less intriguing. Part alt. pop rock banger, part prog epic in miniature, Starlings pads its soaring, melodic heart with clever Nordic and Eastern-flavoured twists. More to come on In Murmuration, which comes out in October. “Essentially, it’s a song about how there is power and beauty in teamwork,” the band say, “and how the individual elbowing and struggle to succeed is unappealing, ugly and tiring. Of course, we tried to write it in a funny, relatable way.”
One of the more tender but still uptempo moments on the British foursome’s debut, Dancing On The Milky Way (yours in full next month), Can You Hear Me Now is a rainbow cloud of glossy harmonies, 80s power-pop and rock feels with a huggable chorus. A band with this many inflatable unicorns (all of them called Neil, apparently), beach balls and bucket hats in their collective mix ought to feel like more of a joke… but with king-sized tunes like this, they really don’t.
The Hot Damn! – Can You Hear Me Now? (Official Video) – YouTube
These Canadian classic rockers make a deliciously retro racket (not so much flirting with the Rolling Stones as shacking up with them and pledging to ‘go steady’) on the keys-thumping, blues-grooving opening/title track of their new album. Following some ‘almost-made-it’ moments in the music industry, they wound up in a series of life curveballs including a battle with cancer, working as a garbageman, near-fatal car accidents and going back to school. On Moving Along they sound totally fired up to be back in the saddle, like a time machine just landed from the early 70s and ready to rock out.
Lions in the Street, “Moving Along” #hotrod #rocknroll – YouTube
Hitting notes of Rainbow’s Since You’ve Been Gone, plus a shitload of anthemic 80s vibes, German rockers The New Roses have a recipe for good-time singalongs right here – plus a juicy little minor-ley twist in the chorus that keeps the whole thing ever-so-slightly off-centre. “I just played around with that riff and then imagined us in the middle of a live show,” the band say, of the song’s origins. “I thought, ‘what should happen now to put a smile on everybody’s face, but make them wanna rock out at the same time?’ After that, the song kind of wrote itself and I just had to pick it like a flower…”
THE NEW ROSES – When You Fall In Love (Official Video) | Napalm Records – YouTube
Aussie punks A&TS pave the way for their next album, Cartoon Darkness, with this woozy, gnarly yet big-sounding new mix of ‘young dumb’ energy and existential darkness. “Surrendering to joy, surrendering to being a vision, in your own power, because making decisions based on emotion rather than logic is liberating,” singer Amy Taylor says of the song, “and despite the external inferno, you walk away unscathed, through flames, burnt but only superficially, unstopped, unaffected, unhuman. Life is work, life is not free, we can never work enough because the end goal doesn’t exist, so all we can do is choose to be wrong.”
Amyl and The Sniffers “Chewing Gum” (Official Music Video) – YouTube
According to Devid Townsend, a PowerNerd is a) A person of any gender who has, through tenacity and perseverance, turned what society may deem as a ‘weakness’ into a superpower, b) A total fucking badass and c) You. Which is all rather lovely and inclusive. The song, meanwhile, is a blast, with an atmospheric intro giving way to a riff that thunders and races like the best racing and thundering thing ever. It comes from the guitar maestro’s upcoming album of the same name, which, we’re reliably informed, is “noticeably heavier” than his last release. It’s out on October 25.
Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace has a new band, the Mississippi Medicals, in which she’s joined by Matt Patton of Drive-By Truckers, Mikey Erg of The Ergs and Paris Campbell Grace. Their debut EP Give An Inch is out early next month, but, confusingly, this song – a cover of Baby, Baby, a 2012 single by now-defunct Ohio alt.rockers The Sidekicks – isn’t actually on it. Instead, it comes from 20 Years Of Dreaming And Scheming, a forthcoming compilation from The Sidekicks’ old label Red Scare Industries. But enough of the blurb: Baby, Baby is glorious and upbeat and deserves every second of your attention.
Laura Jane Grace “Baby, Baby” (OFFICIAL VIDEO) – YouTube
Polly is deputy editor at Classic Rock magazine, where she writes and commissions regular pieces and longer reads (including new band coverage), and has interviewed rock’s biggest and newest names. She also contributes to Louder, Prog and Metal Hammer and talks about songs on the 20 Minute Club podcast. Elsewhere she’s had work published in The Musician, delicious. magazine and others, and written biographies for various album campaigns. In a previous life as a women’s magazine junior she interviewed Tracey Emin and Lily James – and wangled Rival Sons into the arts pages. In her spare time she writes fiction and cooks.
Bad Company have become the latest act to be added to The Midnight Special‘s ever-growing online archive.
The footage shows the band performing the classic Can’t Get Enough in concert, and was broadcast on April 27, 1979, just three days before Bad Company’s first North American show of the year, a Desolation Angels tour date at The Summit, a 17,000-capacity arena in Houston, TX.
The footage, previously released by Bad Company as an official video in 2015, was shot at the band’s date at Wembley Arena in London in March 1979, a show released as part of the Live 1977 & 1979 album in 2016. It showcases a performance of Can’t Get Enough that proceeds at a slower pace than the version that appeared on their self-titled debut album five years previously, and finds frontman Paul Rodgers taking a rare guitar solo.
Other acts appearing on the show on April 27 were studio guests Greg Allman – who also hosted – Edwin Bishop, Booker T & The MGs, Jerry Lee Lewis and Jennifer Warnes.
Can’t Get Enough, which had become Bad Company’s traditional set closer by 1979, was the first tune the band recorded together in 1974 at Headley Grange, the former workhouse in Headley, Hampshire, where Led Zeppelin famously recorded Led Zeppelin IV.
“We were scattered all over this country house,” drummer Simon Kirke told Songfacts in 2017. “I was in the basement, Boz [Burrell] the bass player was in the boiler room, Mick Ralphs and Paul Rodgers were up in the main living room where the guitar amps were. So, in order to get their attention, because we couldn’t see each other, I did the count: ‘1, 2… 1, 2, 3…’ and then I did this ‘guh-brah’ to get everyone’s attention. And that’s how we kicked it off. It was born out of necessity.”
Can’t Get Enough of Your Love – Bad Company | The Midnight Special – YouTube
Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!
Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazinesince 2014. 38 years in music industry, online for 25. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.
