We’ll keep this dead simple: if you’re unfamiliar with these killer records from the year 2000, we strongly recommend you remedy this forthwith.
Groop Dogdrill – Every Six Seconds
(Image credit: Mantra)
When Groop Dogdrill first emerged in the mid ’90s, all quiffs, ‘wifebeater’ vests, brothel creepers and prison-ink tattoos, they were largely patronised as a ’50s rockabilly pastiche, with their early singles on former Undertones frontman Feargal Sharkey’s EXP label conjuring up visions of flick-knives, fisticuffs and messy lads’ nights out in run-down seaside towns. But the Doncaster trio – vocalist/guitarist Pete Spiby, bassist Damo Fowkes and drummer Hugh Kelly – were a much sharper, more sophisticated group than they were ever given credit for, and their excellent second album, Every Six Seconds, is a brilliantly-observed, unflinching dissection of toxic masculinity, lad culture, gender roles, class, sexual politics and short-sighted, reductive stereotyping. Frontman Spiby is still fighting the good fight with Black Spiders, but this over-looked and under-rated album is his finest hour.
Though their earliest influences came from the noisier end of the 1980s US underground scene – as evidenced by their joyously ramshackle, irresistible debut mini album Captain – it wasn’t long before Idlewild’s superior songwriting skills and melodic sensibilities had UK music journalists likening the Edinburgh band to a young R.E.M., with similar world-beating potential. 100 Broken Windows is the sweet spot between these two poles, with thrillingly direct singles Little Discourage and Actually It’s Darkness sitting alongside more meditative, sombre album tracks such as Quiet Crown and Bronze Medal. The album cracked the UK Top 20, peaking at number 15, and the band were relentlessly championed by both Kerrang! and NME – even scoring US talk show appearances – but true mainstream success remained elusive. Shame.
Sona Fariq – Sona Fariq
(Image credit: Warners)
An outrageously good live band, East London’s Sona Fariq were pitched somewhere Rage Against The Machine, Asian Dub Foundation, Bad Brains and the pre-John Frusciante Red Hot Chili Peppers. Produced by Chris Sheldon (Therapy?/Biffy Clyro), the group’s explosive self-titled debut album boasted a clutch of killer singles – Drop The Bomb and Love You Crazy among them – but despite strong media support, the quartet were rather drowned out by louder, less cerebral nu metal acts at the time. Whatever, their self-titled debut remains a cult classic.
Sunna – One Minute Science
(Image credit: Melankolic)
The brain-child of Londoner Jon Harris, Sunna released their debut album on Massive Attack‘s record label Melankolic, and had their biggest break touring with A Perfect Circle: if you want a simplistic reference for their arty, moody, industrial-tinged alt-metal then imagining the Bristol band existing in the hinterlands between those two groups isn’t the worst idea. Alternatively, you could place the group alongside VAST and Khoma in the – pretentiousness alert! -‘thinking man’s metal’ bracket, but that’s possibly not much help if you’ve never heard either of those equally under-rated cult collectives. Whatever, great band, great album, great pity it’s not better known.
Primal Scream – XTRMNTR
(Image credit: Creation)
While it would be stupid to claim that Primal Scream‘s sixth studio album went under the radar – it charted at number 3 in the UK, and was bested only by Queens Of The Stone Age’s Rated R – in NME‘s Albums of the Year list, it’s been greatly overshadowed in the ensuing years by the Scottish band’s most acclaimed record Screamadelica, and indeed by cult classic Vanishing Point. In truth, like some of the greatest rock and roll albums in history, it teeters on the edge of ridiculousness at times – Swastika Eyes, anyone? – but at it’s darkest, dirtiest and most exciting it brilliantly evokes the exhilaration, fear, panic and out-of-control euphoria of the most ill-advised but memorable drug trips, with a load of classic Bobby Gillespie mumbo-jumbo about ‘The Man’, multinationals, and the military-industrial complex for good measure, Intense, and then some.
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A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne’s private jet, played Angus Young’s Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.
The new edition of Live At The Greek – recorded over two nights at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles in October 1999, and in Wantagh, NY, the following year – will be available as a six-disc vinyl set and a three-CD edition, and will finally include tracks by the Black Crowes omitted from the original release due to contractual restrictions set by the Crowes’ then label, Columbia Records.
The album will also be available as a “Best Of” set, a limited edition double coloured vinyl package which is only available via the Black Crowes website.
“I’m really looking forward to the soon-to-be-available release of Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes material from concerts in 1999,” says Page. “The new mixes capture the collaboration of those historic encounters and provide the full explosive passion and exciting energy of those alchemical moments.”
“The new Live at the Greek box set brings the whole experience of our work with Jimmy into a vibrant, electric, mystical and powerful perspective,” says Chris Robinson. “Hail, hail rock ‘n roll!”
“Going through the shows and putting together the new box set has been such an incredible dive back to that time in our history,” adds Rich Robinson. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime thrill to play these amazing iconic songs with the man who composed them. The sound of the new mixes and extra songs blew me away when I first heard them.”
Among the additions to the tracklist – now expanded from 20 songs to 35 – are Black Crowes’ Remedy, Wiser Time and No Speak, No Slave and, as well as their cover of Otis Redding‘s Hard To Handle. A video for No Speak, No Slave has also been released, featuring never-before-seen footage.
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The package also includes five songs recorded during an as-yet-unidentified soundcheck (The Zeppelin classics Custard Pie, You Shook Me, The Lemon Song and Ten Years Gone as well as a track simply entitled Jam written by Rich Robinson and Jimmy Page, which is exclusive to the Best Of edition).
The other new additions include versions of Led Zeppelin’s In the Light and Misty Mountain Hop, which are presumably those that appeared as bonus tracks on the Japanese version of the album, and were recorded at the Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, NY in 2000. A version of Bring It On Home – also on the new tracklist – was recorded at the same show and appeared with the other two on a Record Store Day 10″ single in 2017.
The other new tracks include The Black Crowes’ She Talks To Angels – an encore at the Jones Beach Show – and Led Zeppelin’s Hots On For Nowhere.Full tracklist below.
The album was produced, mixed, and remastered by Kevin Shirley, and is accompanied by behind-the-scenes photos and more. It’s released via The Orchard on March 14, and is available to pre-order now.
Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes – No Speak No Slave – YouTube
Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes: Live at the Greek tracklist
Celebration Day Custard Pie Sick Again No Speak No Slave Hard to Handle The Wanton Song Misty Mountain Hop Hots On For Nowhere What Is and What Should Never Be Wiser Time Mellow Down Easy Woke Up This Morning (My Baby She Was Gone) Ten Years Gone In My Time of Dying Your Time Is Gonna Come Remedy The Lemon Song In The Light Shake Your Moneymaker Sloppy Drunk Blues Shape of Things Nobody’s Fault But Mine Heartbreaker Bring It On Home She Talks To Angels Oh Well Hey, Hey, What Can I Do You Shook Me Out on the Tiles Whole Lotta Love Custard Pie (soundcheck) You Shook Me (soundcheck) The Lemon Song (soundcheck) Ten Years Gone (soundcheck) Jam (soundcheck)*
(Image credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Sly Lives! (aka The Burden Of Black Genius) at a glance
When: The Questlove-directed documentary lands on streaming services from February 13, 2025 in both the US and UK. Where: Hulu and Disney+ Watch anywhere:Nord VPN
The long-awaited documentary charting the life and music of Sly And The Family Stone has been released on both sides of the Atlantic and is available to stream right now on Hulu and Disney+.
Sly Lives! (aka The Burden Of Black Genius) was revealed back in 2021 and the 1h 50m film has been directed by Roots drummer, producer and DJ Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. It features interviews with artists including Andre 3000, Nile Rogers, Q-Tip, Chaka Khan, D’Angelo, Ruth Copeland and George Clinton.
A press release explains: “The film captures the rise, reign and subsequent fade-out of one of pop music’s most influential artists, but also shines a light on how black artists in America navigate the unseen burden that comes with their success.
“Drawing from his own personal experience and relationships, Questlove tells an empathetic human story about the cost of genius, framing the way we all engage with pop culture.”
Sly Lives! (aka The Burden Of Black Genius) is available from today (February 13) on Hulu in the US and on Disney+ in the UK.
How to watch
If you want to watch Sly Lives! (aka The Burden Of Black Genius) right now, just hop over to either Hulu or Disney+, search for the documentary and you’re all set.
A Hulu subscription with ads costs $9.99 per month, while the ad-free option is priced at $18.99. You can also pick up a sub with Hulu and Disney+ for $10.99 per month, or go for the Max Bundle featuring Hulu, Disney+ and Max for $16.99 a month.
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In the UK, a Disney+ monthly sub with ads costs £4.99 a month, while you can get the standard package for £8.99 a month. A Premium subscription costs £12.99 per month and that ups the resolution to 4K UHD & HDR.
How to watch from anywhere
If you’re outside the US or the UK on holiday or traveling with work and want to watch the Sly Lives! (aka The Burden Of Black Genius) right now, don’t worry, as you’ll still be able to watch wherever you are with the use of a VPN.
Virtual Private Networks are used to change the location of your IP address, enabling you to watch any show outside of a streaming territory. NordVPN is our service of choice and it’s currently available at a great price and with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
How to use a VPN
1. Install a VPN. As we’ve mentioned above, NordVPN is Louder’s current favourite.
2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN. If you’re currently outside the US or UK on holiday and want to watch Sly Lives! (aka The Burden Of Black Genius), just select ‘US’ or ‘UK’ from the list.
3. Turn the volume up and relax. You’re all set to watch this highly anticipated documentary.
Watch the trailer
SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) | Official Trailer | Hulu – YouTube
Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more for Louder. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He’s previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott’s favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, The Tragically Hip, Marillion and Rush.
Award-winning graphic artist David Edward Byrd, whose unique work helped promote Kiss, Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead and many others has died at the age of 83.
His passing from pneumonia in an Albuquerque hospital on Feb. 3 was a complication of Covid, the New York Times reported.
His poster designs were strongly associated the Fillmore East Ballroom after he was hired by promoter Bill Graham. Byrd produced era-defining images of Jefferson Airplane, Iron Butterfly, Traffic, Ravi Shankar and others. His Jimi Hendrix Experience design was once voted the eighth best rock ’n’ roll poster of all time by Billboard magazine.
Byrd created artwork for the Rolling Stones’ 1969 American tour and the sleeve art for Lou Reed’s 1974 album Sally Can’t Dance. His work on the packaging for the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s 1971 production of the Who’s Tommy led to a Grammy award.
He later produced the mural poster inserts for the Kiss members’ solo albums of 1978, then worked as art director for Van Halen’s 1981 Fair Warning tour. He became a staff creative with Warner Brothers, which included developing Looney Turnes and Hanna-Barbera characters, and visualization of the Harry Potter movie series.
Byrd also designed the original Woodstock poster; but when event details changed and he couldn’t be reached as he was on vacation, Arnold Skolnick was brought in instead and the original poster was never used. Byrd’s Broadway work included posters for Godspell, Jesus Christ Supererstar and Little Shop of Horrors.
In an undated interview, Byrd recalled he’d been given just a weekend to come up with the designs for the Kiss solo album posters, with the help of two assistants, one of whom was designer Arthur K. Miller.
“[W]e did this crash thing – I mean, I can’t tell you how fast we had to do these big paintings,” Byrd said. “[A]nd we had to do these montages of everybody. And then they had to interlock. … Arthur could actually imitate me, so I could do more work because he could do phony me and I would trick it up, which is an illustrator’s secret!”
Why Kiss Solo Albums Carried Cartoonish Artwork
He explained the “cartoonish” approach was out of necessity. “I had to sort of differentiate each one from the other. We had to do this really fast and we kept it really flat because we couldn’t spend a lot of time rendering or anything.”
He said of Kiss: “You know, at the turn of the [19th] century, you could go and see people executed. It was all phony, but they were shows. So Kiss was like doing that. They were recreating that whole European Grand Guignol Theatre.”
Reflecting that he’d rather have had two weeks to work on the albums, he added that he was proud of the unusual experience, and that he’d recently sold the original pencil sketches. “I think about 10 years ago we sold those to a bond trader on Wall Street, who was a Kiss fan. You know, he grew up on Kiss.”
Curious Ruminant is the Ian Anderson-led Jethro Tull’s third album in four years; it’s highlighted by a nearly 17-minute epic titled “Drink From the Same Well.” Waters has added live material to complete a limited-edition super deluxe 10-disc reissue of The Dark Side of the Moon Redux.
Longtime Yes frontman has also been revisiting some of his former band’s best-known music in concert, as heard on Jon Anderson and the Band Geeks Live: Perpetual Change. Yes is releasing a tandem super deluxe edition of 1972’s breakthrough Close to the Edge that’s expanded into a five-CD/LP/Blu-ray box set.
Stygian Wavz is the sophomore album from Lifeson’s Envy of None. Pair that with a new compilation titled Rush 50, featuring lots of rare early live material. Genesis‘ expanded super deluxe edition of 1974’s The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway includes a complete performance of the album from 1975.
Elsewhere, Neil Young finally unveils the previously unissued Oceanside Countryside. Recorded in late 1977, the 10-song LP shares themes – and three songs – with the record that replaced it, 1978’s Comes a Time. Jason Isbell‘s new album is billed as his first solo acoustic LP. Foxes in the Snow is also the first record released without his longtime 400 Unit backing group since 2015’s Something More Than Free.
The Darkness‘ eighth album, Dreams on Toast, follows 2021’s Motorheart. Eric Burdon & War: The Complete CD Collection returns to a turn-of-the-’70s era when Eric Burdon collaborated with War on a pair of albums that produced the No. 3 hit “Spill the Wine.”
More information on these and other pending rock albums can be found below. Remember to follow our continuously updated list of scheduled new music for details on records issued throughout the year.
March 7 Ace Frehley, Now Playing (vinyl release) Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen, Black Light/White Noise Alter Bridge, One Day Remains (20th anniversary deluxe edition 2LP reissue) Benmont Tench [Tom Petty], The Melancholy Season Billy Morrison, The Morrison Project (expanded vinyl reissue with Ozzy Osbourne) Bob Mould, Here We Go Crazy David Bowie, Young Americans (50th anniversary half-speed master vinyl reissues) Eric Burdon and War, The Complete CD Collection Fernando Perdomo, Babies of War Babies: A 50th Anniversary Tribute to Daryl Hall & John Oates and the Production of Todd Rundgren Jason Isbell, Foxes in the Snow Jethro Tull, Curious Ruminant (2LP/2CD/Blu-ray deluxe edition box) John Mayall, Second Generation: Live Magic 1968-1993 (30CD box) Kraftwerk, Autobahn (50th-anniversary Blu-ray reissue) Neil Young, Oceanside Countryside (vinyl release) Twisted Sister, Now Playing (vinyl release) Wang Chung, Clear Light/Dark Matter (expanded 2LP hits collection) Yes, Close to the Edge (super deluxe 5CD/LP/Blu-ray edition)
March 14 Envy of None [Alex Lifeson], Stygian Wavz Goo Goo Dolls, A Boy Named Goo: 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (2LP) Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes, Live at the Greek (expanded 3CD or 6LP reissue) Jon Anderson [Yes], Jon Anderson and the Band Geeks Live: Perpetual Change Ozzy Osbourne, See You on the Other Side V2.0 (18LP box) The Pogues, The Rest of the Best (transparent green vinyl reissue) Ricky Warwick [Thin Lizzy], Blood Ties (with Lita Ford, Billy Duffy, others) Roger Waters, The Dark Side of the Moon Redux (expanded 3LP/2CD/4 singles/Blu-ray reissue) Rufus/Chaka Khan, Stompin’ at the Savoy/Seal in Red (2CD reissue) The Smithereens, 2011 (clear vinyl reissue) Steven Wilson, The Overview (with XTC’s Andy Partridge) Talk Talk, The Very Best of Talk Talk (expanded double vinyl reissue) Throwing Muses, Moonlight Concessions Tim Burgess, Tim’s Listening Party Pt. 1 (4CD deluxe set with John Lennon, Suede, Breeders, Dexys Midnight Runners, others) World Party, Best in Show (yellow and red 2LP vinyl release)
March 21 Climie Fisher [Eric Clapton], Everything (deluxe edition 5CD reissue) Dave Mason [Traffic/Fleetwood Mac], A Shade of Blues (with Michael McDonald, Joe Bonamassa, others) Don McLean, Greatest Hits Live! at the Dominion Theater (vinyl reissue) Flamin’ Groovies, Jumpin’ in the Night (transparent grape vinyl reissue) My Morning Jacket, Is Paul McCartney and Wings, Venus and Mars (50th anniversary half-speed master vinyl edition) Rik Emmett [Triumph], Ten Telecaster Tales Rush, Rush 50 (4CD/7LP box set) Tina Turner, Private Dancer: 40th Anniversary Edition (5CD/Blu-ray, 2CD, 1LP pearl vinyl or 1LP picture disc) Various artists, Jingle Jangle Morning: The 1960s U.S. Folk Rock Explosion (3CD set with Bob Dylan, the Byrds, Lovin’ Spoonful, Simon and Garfunkel, Buffalo Springfield, others) Various artists, Middle Earth: The Soundtrack of London’s Legendary Psychedelic Club 1967-1969, (3CD set with Traffic, Fleetwood Mac, the Who, Yardbirds, Jefferson Airplane, others) Various artists, Motor City Is Burning: A Michigan Anthology 1965-1972 (3CD set with Alice Cooper, Mitch Ryder, ? and the Mysterians, Tommy James, MC5, others)
March 28 Andy Summers [Police] and Robert Fripp [King Crimson], The Complete Recordings 1981-1984 Bryan Ferry [Roxy Music], Loose Talk Camel, Nude (remastered 2CD/Blu-ray set); Pressure Points: Live in Concert (remastered 2CD/Blu-ray set) The Darkness, Dreams on Toast Don Airey [Deep Purple], Pushed to the Edge Fleetwood Mac, 1975 to 1987 (5LP clear vinyl reissue box) Genesis, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway: 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition (4CD/Dolby Atmos mix Blu-ray or 5LPs/Dolby Atmos mix Blu-ray) Heart, Heart (vinyl reissue) Pete Townshend, The Studio Albums (8CD box) Rick Wakeman, Yessonata (limited edition green vinyl edition) Ricky Byrd [Joan Jett and the Blackhearts], NYC Made Van Der Graaf Generator, World Record (remastered vinyl or 2CD/Blu-ray reissues) Van Halen, Live in Dallas 1991 (double vinyl release) Various artists, Time! Gentlemen! Pub Rock Rhythm ‘n’ Grooves: Classic Cuts and Rarities 1974-1982 (3CD set featuring Elvis Costello, Dave Edmunds, Graham Parker, Nick Lowe, others) Wishbone Ash, At the BBC 1970-1988 (11CD/DVD box)
April and Beyond British Lions [Mott the Hoople], Trouble With Women (expanded reissue) Elton John & Brandi Carlile, Who Believes in Angels? 2025 Record Store Day The Waterboys, Life, Death and Dennis Hopper (2CD or 2LP set with Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle, Taylor Goldsmith, others) Sex Pistols, Live in the USA 1978 (3CD set or individual special-edition vinyl releases) Various artists, Dear Mr Fantasy: A Celebration for Jim Capaldi Featuring the Music of Jim Capaldi and Traffic (2CD/Blu-ray with Steve Winwood, Pete Townshend, Joe Walsh, Bill Wyman, others) Eric Clapton, Unplugged: Enhanced Edition (2CD or 3LP set) INXS, Listen Like Thieves (expanded 40th-anniversary deluxe edition) Roxy Music, Avalon (Blu-ray reissue with new Dolby Atmos 5.1 and stereo mixes) Neal Casal [Blackfoot, Chris Robinson Brotherhood], No One Above You: The Early Years 1991-1998 (vinyl release) Doobie Brothers, Walk This Road (with Mick Fleetwood, Mavis Staples, others)
Top 25 Rock Albums of 2024
Once again, reports of the genre’s death have been greatly exaggerated.
Understandably, he’s still processing the news. “It’s a great honor,” he told UCR during a brief conversation on the day the nominees were revealed. “If I do get to be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, you really get a chance to thank your fans. That’s what I like about it. You know, you get a chance to really thank everybody who supported you through thick and thin. So that’s an incredible honor. I mean, I’m knocked out. I’ve only just started to take it in.”
It’s an honor that’s been well-earned, as UCR’s Bryan Rolli noted during a discussion of this year’s nominees. “From his voice to his showmanship to his catalog of hits, Billy is the consummate rock star in every sense of the word,” he wrote. “As one of the first artists to blend punk, rock and pop to astonishing success, he inadvertently set the stage for future generations of pop-punk stars like Green Day and Blink-182.”
Hearing that assessment, Idol admits it’s a chain of events that he couldn’t have predicted from his position. “It’s one of those things you couldn’t imagine when you started out,” he explains. “Because of course, we didn’t know how long anything was going to [last]. We were really doing it for the love and [thought], ‘Maybe it’s just going to last a few months, maybe a year or two years.’ And look, it’s 50 years later. So of course, all of that stuff starts to happen.”
“You [hear] that you’ve influenced people. I know ‘Kiss Me Deadly’ is Billie Joe Armstrong’sfavorite song,” he continues. “Things like that are really amazing, because you don’t think of that when you start out. You’re just literally doing what you’re doing for the love of it, not really thinking what’s going to happen. You can’t imagine it going on this long and that you may have an effect on other musicians and other people who write songs and love rock and roll like I do.”
Listen to Generation X’s ‘Kiss Me Deadly’
Idol was one of the major highlights of the Rock Hall induction ceremonies last fall when he took the stage to pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne as the Prince of Darkness was being honored for his solo work. Joined by guitarist and longtime collaborator Steve Stevens, he blitzed through a powerful version of the title track from Osbourne’s 1991 album No More Tears.
Billy Idol’s 2025 Summer Tour Plans
The legendary rocker has a busy year on tap which includes a summer tour that will feature him sharing the stage with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts for 30 shows. The It’s a Nice Day to…Tour Again outing begins on April 30 in Phoenix and is currently set to wrap up on Sept. 25 in Los Angeles. He also recently wrapped up a new solo album that reportedly will be available around the time that he hits the road with Jett. In a social media post at the end of last year, he described the upcoming set as “a rockin’ guitar record.”
Watch Billy Idol and Joan Jett’s Tour Video
145 Artists Not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Many have shared their thoughts on possible induction.
Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes will release an expanded and remastered box set edition of their collaborative album Live at the Greek on March 14.
Available on six vinyl albums or three CDs, the 36-song set features 16 previously unreleased tracks, including a previously unreleased soundcheck jam.
You can see the complete, expanded Live at the Greek track list below. A previously unreleased cover of the Black Crowes’ “No Speak No Slave” is also embedded below.
In October of 1999 Page and the Black Crowes teamed up for a handful of concerts in Los Angeles, New York and Worcester, Massachusetts. The set lists leaned heavily on Led Zeppelin songs, along with a handful of Black Crowes tracks and other covers.
Due to restrictions from their record label, no songs from the Black Crowes catalog were included on the original 2000 edition of Live at the Greek. However they have been restored to their proper placement on this expanded collection.
“The new Live at the Greek box set brings the whole experience of our work with Jimmy into a vibrant, electric, mystical and powerful perspective,” Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson said in a press release for the new collection.
“Going through the shows and putting together the new box set has been such an incredible dive back to that time in our history,” added his bandmate and brother, guitarist Rich Robinson. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime thrill to play these amazing iconic songs with the man who composed them.”
Live at the Greek was produced, mixed, and remastered by Kevin Shirley and will include exclusive behind-the-scenes photos and much more. “The new mixes capture the collaboration of those historic encounters and provide the full explosive passion and exciting energy of those alchemical moments,” said Page.
The 25th anniversary edition of Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes: Live at the Greek will be available in three formats:
6 LP Box Set: 180-gram black vinyl with individual sleeves, a foldout poster, and a removable top box. The fully remixed and remastered show features 16 previously unreleased tracks.
3-CD Set: Presented in a six-panel digipak with a foldout poster, offering the full remixed and remastered show.
Double LP “Best Of” Edition: Features 15 remixed and remastered tracks, pressed on an exclusive electric smoke-colored vinyl, limited to 1,000 copies, and available exclusively on The Black Crowes’ official website.
Watch Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes Perform ‘No Speak No Slave’
Live at the Greek Expanded Track List (Bold = previously unreleased)
1. “Celebration Day” 2. “Custard Pie” 3. “Sick Again” 4. “No Speak No Slave” 5. “Hard to Handle” 6. “The Wanton Song” 7. “Misty Mountain Hop” 8. “Hots On For Nowhere” 9. “What Is and What Should Never Be” 10. “Wiser Time” 11. “Mellow Down Easy” 12. “Woke Up This Morning (My Baby She Was Gone)” 13. “Ten Years Gone” 14. “In My Time of Dying” 15. “Your Time is Gonna Come” 16. “Remedy” 17. “The Lemon Song” 18. “In the Light” 19. “Shake Your Moneymaker” 20. “Sloppy Drunk Blues” 21. “Shape of Things” 22. “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” 23. “Heartbreaker” 24. “Bring It On Home” 25. “She Talks to Angels” 26. “Oh Well” 27. Band Intros 28. “Hey, Hey What Can I Do” 29. “You Shook Me” 30. “Out on the Tiles” 31. “Whole Lotta Love” 32. “Custard Pie” (soundcheck) 33. “You Shook Me” (soundcheck) 34. “The Lemon Song” (soundcheck) 35. “Ten Years Gone” (soundcheck) 36. “Jam” (soundcheck)
Ranking Every Led Zeppelin Live Album
It took a while, but they finally got things right.
In 2014 we celebrated the 200th edition of Classic Rock by doing what we do best, and brought you more interviews with the biggest names in the rock world than we ever had before. Two hundred of them, in fact. And we asked Black Sabbath about their heroes and villains.
Who were your earliest musical heroes?
Ozzy Osbourne:The Beatles had a massive impact. I remember walking down Witton Road in Aston with a blue transistor. I was only a young guy, trying to be flash. I heard She Loves You and that fucking moment absolutely catapulted me into some zone that I’ve never quite got out of. It was like being hit by a lightning bolt.
My son Jack once asked what it was like when The Beatles were happening. I went: “The only thing I could say is that you go to bed today, then get up tomorrow morning and it’s a completely better world.” That’s what it was like when I got Beatlemania. It was a magic time for me. The Beatles were the reason why Ozzy Osbourne started singing.
Geezer Butler: The house was always full of music. My mum and dad would play Irish music, then my three brothers were all Teddy boys, into Elvis, Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran. And my sisters liked Cliff Richard. But I didn’t have anybody I could latch on to until The Beatles came along. That was my band.
I started out playing rhythm guitar so I could be like John Lennon. A few years later I went to see Cream. Everybody was going on about what an incredible guitarist Eric Clapton was, but I ended up being mesmerised by Jack Bruce. I’d never even thought about playing bass until I saw Jack, but that’s what I wanted to be after that.
Tony Iommi: For me it was all about rock’n’roll, from Buddy Holly to The Shadows. I leaned towards The Shadows more because they were an instrumental band and it was a guitar thing, because that’s what I wanted to play in the end. At first I wanted to play drums, but my parents wouldn’t let me have any. Apart from not having any room, they wouldn’t have put up with the row.
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Django Reinhardt was an important one too. I only discovered him by chance after I’d had my accident at work, where I cut the ends of my fingers off. It was my final day and I was about to leave the job and go to Germany with a band. But that put paid to that. Then the manager of the firm told me about Reinhardt and brought me an EP. And that got me back into playing again.
I’ve often thought about what I would’ve done if it hadn’t worked out like this. Having the accident made me persevere with making a guitar that I was able to play. A regular guitar wouldn’t work for me, so I had to come up with light-gauge strings and sit there filing down frets.
What about other heroes?
Ozzy: My heroes are my kids, I suppose. Being a father is a challenge and I’m learning from them all the time. I’m clean and sober today, which is the longest I’ve been sober in a long time, but I used to say to them: “Oh, you’d drink and do drugs if you had the pressure I have.” But that’s an excuse really.
I constantly tell my kids I love them. I’m not being mushy or anything, but when I was growing up, it just wasn’t the thing to do. My folks never told me about sex, alcohol, tobacco or any of that. And without Sharon, I don’t know where I’d be. I’d probably be dead. She taught me a lot of things about myself.
For me to still be alive at sixty-five is fucking unbelievable. I’d done a good job of fucking up my family for years, through drugs and alcohol abuse, then the TV show came along [The Osbournes] and I watched my family virtually implode over the next three years. My wife was diagnosed with cancer, my two kids ended up in rehab and I was diagnosed with Parkin’s [Syndrome].
No amount of money or success is worth that. But I’m not ashamed about doing the show. My son said to me, “Dad, do you like the fact that people are either laughing with you or at you?” I went, “I don’t give a shit what they do. I’d rather have them laughing than throwing shit at me.”
Geezer: Peter McParland of Aston Villa was a big hero growing up. He was part of the team that won the FA Cup against Manchester United in 1957. United were champions, it was the famous Busby Babes team and nobody had given Villa a chance whatsoever. But McParland more or less won the match on his own.
I used to work for a sportswear company and once designed the Villa kit for the 2000-2001 season. I came up with an all-black away strip that everyone hated.
Geezer: Really? I’ve still got one of those at home. I was glad that it was black because it fitted in with the whole Sabbath thing.
Paul Merson wearing Aston Villa’s controversial 2000-2001 away kit: Designed by Classic Rock writer Rob Hughes, endorsed by Geezer Butler (Image credit: Tom Shaw /Allsport)
What about the villains in your life?
Ozzy: Patrick Meehan poached us from our first manager, Jim Simpson, because he couldn’t really help us make it in America. But he took us for a ride. Then again, I can’t blame anybody or anything for what happened to Black Sabbath. Our lives had already changed forever. And you get there in the end if you keep going.
Geezer: Our early manager is probably the worst one. Then again, things often happen for a reason. He did get us to America, so there’s a yin and yang kind of thing. Did it make us wiser? You always regret certain things, but you also realise that what happens happens.
Tony: I’ve met quite a few real-life villains over the years – ex-managers and the Mafia, that kind of thing. The band got mixed up in a lot of that in the early days. There were certain people who wanted to manage the band because it was another feather in their cap.
There was Wilf Pine [gangster and one-time co-manager of Sabbath], who was involved with us in the early days. He and this big guy called Arnie used to go around carrying a large case with a hammer in it. And if you weren’t getting paid, they’d break somebody’s knees. That was the kind of thing that happened in those days because there weren’t any music lawyers. They’d have to beat somebody up to get money.
Any others?
Geezer: Probably George Bush, for starting the Iraq war.
Tony: Sections of the music press didn’t like us at all early on. If we’d read some of the articles about the band, we probably would never have played again. But it just spurred us on even more. It’s fair enough if people don’t like your music, and everyone’s entitled to an opinion, but one guy from Melody Maker wrote something about me that I thought was very insulting. It became personal, and I wouldn’t accept that. I called him up and said: “If I ever see you, this is what’s going to happen…” And I saw him [laughs].
Ozzy: Divorce. I treated my first wife abominably. With Sharon I wasn’t exactly a knight in shining armour either. I’d come home in an ambulance or police van: “Can you bail me out, darling?” I’m lucky to have a fucking friend, never mind a family. But she stuck it out. Sharon wouldn’t let me abuse her all the time. She’d punch me in the fucking eye.
So maybe one of your biggest villains has been yourself?
Ozzy: Looking back, I would’ve treated my wives and family a lot better than I did. I thought that by providing for them, everything else would be acceptable. But it’s not. Last year I came very close to Sharon actually dumping me.
She just couldn’t handle it any more. I remember having a disagreement about something with Jack when he was about fifteen. I said to him: “Why the fuck are you always complaining? When have you ever wanted for a damn thing?” And he went: “How about a father?” It was like being hit by a rock between the eyes.
How does it feel playing with Sabbath these days?
Ozzy: I’m blessed to be doing what I’m doing at the age of sixty-five. There ain’t many of us left. Getting up on stage with Sabbath is special. There’s nothing like the original guys. Tony Iommi is a fucking monster with riffs. He comes up with stuff time and time again. I’ve known him for over fifty years now and he fucking does it every time. He’s a one-off guy.
Tony: Obviously I’ve still got my lymphoma and have to cope with that. This latest tour was quite rough on me. I kept getting pains here and there and not feeling so good some nights. But the band has been brilliant. When I was diagnosed, everybody palled round me. And being back with Ozzy and Geezer, and Bill [Ward] when he was there, was just really supportive. It’s made me appreciate things so much more than I did before.
Geezer: The original intention with the latest album [13] was to just have some new stuff that we could play on stage. We didn’t expect it to take off the way it has.
Incidentally, is it true that Sabbath once auditioned Michael Bolton to replace Ronnie James Dio?
Tony: Yes. We had a lot of audition tapes and Michael Bolton was one of them. Actually, he did a good job. But we had so many during those days and were looking for a particular person.
Will there be another Sabbath album?
Tony: I’d like to think we could do one. The only thing that I find hard now is touring, but doing an album in one place is a little different.
Ozzy: [13 producer] Rick Rubin said: “Think back to the first album [Black Sabbath, 1970]. I want you to forget heavy metal as you know it.” I thought: “What the fuck are you on about? We invented it!” But after a few days I realised he was talking about the freedom of the playing. I’m hoping that if we do another album, it’ll be the next Paranoid. We could do with a new anthem to finish the show.
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Lacuna Coil‘s latter-day career has been an exercise in resilience and reinvention. After a mid-career wobble, where albums like Shallow Life missed their earlier spark, the Italian gothic metal icons came storming back with Black Anima. Their heaviest album to date, it was dark, uncompromising and full of bite, reminding the world why Lacuna Coil have always been more than just scene staples.
Now, with Sleepless Empire, they’ve gone even heavier, delivering an album packed with bone-crushing riffs, haunting melodies, and the kind of unrelenting energy that feels fresh yet unmistakably theirs.
The Siege crashes in with dense riffs and primal energy. Andrea Ferro’s guttural growls anchor the chaos, while Cristina Scabbia’s soaring lines slice through the mix with surgical precision. Oxygen and Scarecrow follow, their djent-inspired grooves and subtle synth layers adding depth without dulling the aggression. Scarecrow in particular is hypnotic, balancing weight and atmosphere to draw you further into the album’s microcosm.
Lacuna Coil excel in making the heavy sound hooky. Gravity is brooding and dark, but its anthemic chorus feels tailor-made for festival pits. On the crushing, groove-laden In The Mean Time, featuring New Years Day’s Ash Costello, Cristina’s fiery chorus provides the perfect counterpoint to Ash’s fierce delivery.
Marco Coti Zelati leaves an indelible mark on Sleepless Empire. Not only do his crushing riffs and bass form the backbone of its sound, his layered synths and sharp production tie everything together. The sonic palette balances raw intensity with rich textures – a hallmark of Lacuna Coil’s modern era.
Andrea’s vocal performance deserves its own spotlight. His career-spanning adaptability as a vocalist shines here, as his growls reach new depths of intensity. Relentless, raw and commanding, he’s the perfect counterpart to the album’s crushing weight, his brutal, gutteral vocals meeting the sonic swell head-on. It’s a standout showing that cements his role in the band’s harder-hitting direction.
Not everything lands perfectly. Hosting The Shadow, featuring Randy Blythe, feels more like a showcase for the Lamb Of God frontman than a cohesive Lacuna Coil track. But even here, the explosive chorus reminds you why the band still dominate. Ironically, the title track channels LOG’s energy even better, evoking the pummelling intensity of 512.
Elsewhere, I Wish You Were Dead leans into sleazy 80s glam rock swagger, while In Nomine Patris delivers all-out stadium grandeur. Cristina’s triumphant cry of ‘I’ll build my empire’ is pure gothic metal theatre, and the shredding guitar solo that follows is a chef’s kiss moment. Sleep Paralysis, with its eerie atmospherics and Andrea’s unrelenting force, leaves another lasting impression.
With Sleepless Empire, Lacuna Coil dive headfirst into their heavier side – and it works. This is a band that’s unafraid to evolve, to experiment and to hit hard. Gothic metal’s crown isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Sleepless Empire is out February 14 via Century Media. The band play Bloodstock Festival in August and tour the UK in November. For the full list of tour dates visit the band’s official website.
Lacuna Coil – Gravity (Official Music Video) – YouTube
With over 10 years’ experience writing for Metal Hammer and Prog, Holly has reviewed and interviewed a wealth of progressively-inclined noise mongers from around the world. A fearless voyager to the far sides of metal Holly loves nothing more than to check out London’s gig scene, from power to folk and a lot in between. When she’s not rocking out Holly enjoys being a mum to her daughter Violet and working as a high-flying marketer in the Big Smoke.
“Please join us to help celebrate the final ride of our irreverent thoroughbred.” Patti Smith announces 50th anniversary celebrations for Horses, unveiling dates in the UK, Europe and US at which she’ll perform her classic 1975 album in full
(Image credit: Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images)
Patti Smith will celebrate the 50th anniversary of her classic album Horses by performing the 1975 release in full at special shows in the UK, Europe and America later this year.
The Chicago-born singer/songwriter and punk poet will be touring with two members of her original group, guitarist Lenny Kaye and drummer Jay Dee Daugherty, along with keyboardist/bassist Tony Shanahan, and her son Jackson on guitar.
Prroduced by the Velvet Underground’s John Cale, Horses is one of the most acclaimed albums of the punk era. It is included in the US National Recording Registry maintained by the Library of Congress, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2021.
Smith performed Horses live in full for the first time in 2005, when curating the Meltdown Festival in London.
A press release announcing the new tour states, “Please join us to help celebrate the final ride of our irreverent thoroughbred.”
Patti Smith Horses 50th anniversary tour
Oct 06: Dublin 3Arena, Ireland Oct 08: Madrid Teatro Real, Spain Oct 10: Bergamo Chorus Life Arena, Italy Oct 12: London The Palladium, UK Oct 13: London The Palladium, UK Oct 15: Brussels Cirque Royale, Belgium Oct 16: Brussels Cirque Royale, Belgium Oct 18: Oslo Sentrum Scene, Norway Oct 20: Paris The Olympia, France Oct 21: Paris The Olympia, France
Nov 10: Seattle The Paramount Theatre, WA Nov 12: Oakland The Fox Theatre, CA Nov 13: San Francisco The Masonic, CA Nov 15: Los Angeles Walt Disney Concert Hall, CA Nov 17: Chicago The Chicago Theatre, IL Nov 21: New York City The Beacon, NY Nov 22: New York City The Beacon, NY Nov 24: Boston The Orpheum Theatre, MA Nov 28: Washington D.C. The Anthem Nov 29: Philadelphia The Met, PA
You can register for a pre-sale for the London dates here.
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A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne’s private jet, played Angus Young’s Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.
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