Author: wamdines

Motley Crue has gone out of its way plenty of times to create a spectacle. On October 7, 2024, they demonstrated that yet again, arriving for their performance at the Troubadour in a garbage truck.

The energy was running high with Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee and John 5 even before the first night of their “Hollywood Takeover,” where the band played rare club shows at three different venues. “Everybody was excited,” John recently told the UCR Podcast. “I remember Tommy going, ‘Dude, we should all get out of a garbage truck, for one of these club shows.'” It was an idea that the drummer and his bandmates had been discussing for a while and the Troubadour seemed like a good chance to bring the idea to life.

But as 5 shares now, there were some things about the experience that were perhaps a bit unexpected. “It was so cool, but it’s crazy, because it’s pitch black in there,” he explains. “You can’t see your hand in front of your face. You see little cracks and stuff, but it was pitch black in there. [But’ the thing opened up, we jumped out and got right on stage. Then, for the [subsequent] Whisky [concert], we got out of the Dr. Feelgood ambulance. It’s just an incredible experience being in that band. It’s the best.”

READ MORE: Motley Crue Launch ‘Dr. Feelgood’ Tour With Club Show

As fans know, the guitarist was a fellow fan long before he joined the Motley ranks and he has a lot of appreciation for the legacy established by the Crue. “It’s so hard to explain, but Nikki and the guys, [they have] something you just can’t teach. It’s something you can’t learn,” he says. “[They’re] churning out songs that people can really relate to. ‘Home Sweet Home,’ it’s about being on the road and wanting to go home. But anybody can relate to that. You don’t have to be in a touring band. You could be at work or you just want to get home. Everybody can relate to that. I can’t write a lyric. I don’t know what I’d write about, like, boobs and guitars, that’s all I’ve got. But it’s fun to write lyrics that can connect to millions of people. It’s such an art.”

John 5’s Kiss Museum Opens in May

Kiss fans will have a chance to get a look at John’s collection of more than 2,500 items that he’s amassed over the years including the last known pair of boots owned by Gene Simmons from the Destroyer era as well as his first tour outfit from ’74. Tours of his museum will be conducted personally by 5, who is looking forward to the experience. “it’s taken an absolute lifetime to do this. It really has. I started collecting when I was a kid, but when I decided to do a museum, it’s taken a couple of years, just putting it together,” he shares.

“You have to document everything. You have to really get into detail and talk about everything and have everything correct [with] the right years and the right months,” he continues. “I’ve got all of these tickets, passes, buttons from all over the world. Records and magazines from all over the world. Promoter shirts, jackets and towels, it’s just endless. So it’s a lot of work and it’s been overwhelming, but I’m really happy.”

Gram Parsons’ greatest contribution to the world wasn’t “A Song For You.” It wasn’t even “Return of the Grievous Angel.” It was Emmylou Harris, an artist whose gift for interpretation and pearly vocals have been blessing the charts, the radio, and our playlists for the best part of six decades. Since bursting onto the scene as Parsons’ protege in the early ’70s, she’s released dozens of albums and been nominated for an astounding forty-six Grammys. She earned a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame, and inspired armies of would-be singer-songwriters to pick up a guitar and start strumming. But no matter how many artists claim her as an influence, there’s only one Emmylou. Here, we doff our hats to her enduring legacy as we look back at the 10 best Emmylou Harris songs of all time.

#10 – Evangeline

Robbie Roberston knew how to write a good tune. He also knew how to write one fast. The night before The Band’s Last Waltz concert, he wrote “Evangeline.” It may have been a rush job, but you’d never guess it from the quality. The next day, Harris and Rick Danko performed it together to the backing of the Band. Martin Scorsese was on hand to immortalize it on tape. It’s a stunning effort… although not quite so sensational as the version Harris would record a couple of years later alongside Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt.

Read More: Top 10 Linda Ronstadt Songs

# 9 – Born To Run

“Born To Run” doesn’t find Harris doing her best impression of the Boss, but it does find her in a rockier mood than usual. A head-nodding, foot-tapping declaration of intent, it’s bold and assertive enough to make even Bruce Springsteen seem a little wimpish. And no, this is not a cover of the classic Bruce tune.  “Nobody is going to make me do things their way,” she insists defiantly. “By the time you figure it out, it’s yesterday.” As the song progresses, so does her impatience, culminating in the declaration, “But I don’t need it when I’m old and gray / Yeah, I want it today.” Written by her future husband, Paul Kennerly, it soared to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart on its release in 1981.

# 8 – To Daddy

She might be a fine, fine writer herself, but just like her frequent collaborator, Linda Ronstadt, Harris is at her best when she’s applying her own twist to the lyrics of others. “To Daddy” was written by Dolly Parton, but by the time Parton eventually got round to recording it herself in the 1990s, we’d already lost our hearts to the incredibly sensitive rendition on Harris’ 1977 album, Quarter Moon In A Ten Cent Town. After giving Harris a No.3 hit on Billboard’s Hot Country chart, it remained a set staple for years.

# 7 – Together Again

Harris’ knack for interpretation is out in force on “Together Again.” A decade after country artist Buck Owens took the song to the top of the country charts, Harris did the same. Her version is a little less smokey than Buck’s, but her wispy vocals add just the right amount of vulnerability to this tale of a longed-for reunion with a loved one. The song became her first No. 1 country single; four years later, she teamed up with Owens to record “Play Together Again, Again” in celebration of its success.

# 6 – Pancho and Lefty

Bettering Townes Van Zandt’s original version of “Pancho and Lefty” is almost impossible, but Harris comes closer than nearly any other artist has. Recorded in 1977 for the album Luxury Liner, she delivers the Texas Troubadours parable of two wayward outlaws with her signature combination of empathy and precision. An undulating guitar and melancholy pedal steel provide the perfect foil to her pure vocals. A few years later, she’d revisit Van Zandt on a pitch-perfect duet with Don Williams on the 1981 classic, “If I Needed You.”

Read More: Top 10 Don Williams Songs

# 5 – Boulder to Birmingham

Harris found her voice early, but it took her a while to find her muse. Most of her formative recordings consist of covers, but if you scratch enough, you can still find a few original compositions here and there. “Boulder to Birmingham” from the 1975 album Pieces of the Sky is one of them. A compelling and heartbreakingly mournful tribute to her late, great mentor Gram Parsons, it’s nothing short of gorgeous, with Harris’ plaintiff vocals weaving angelically around the lush strings and melancholy piano. Over forty years later, it’s still one of her most stunning creations.

Read More: Top 10 Gram Parsons Songs

# 4 – Two More Bottles of Wine

Written by the superbly talented Delbert McClinton, “Two More Bottles of Wine” finds Harris “16,000 miles from the people I know” but feeling “all right because it’s midnight / And I got two more bottles of wine.” There’s heartbreak, there’s whisky, and there’s Emmylou, whose jaunty delivery and carefree attitude took this punchy piece of honky-tonk strutting and stomping to No.1.

# 3 – Wayfaring Stranger

Harris has never stuck to the rule book, but her decision to delve into gospel with the 19th-century spiritual “Wayfaring Stranger” was one of the biggest left-turns of her career. The biggest surprise is just how well it works. Her haunting vocals dip and weave through the lyrics, taking us on a journey just as melancholy as the poor soul at the story’s center. Culled from the glorious 1980 album Roses In The Snow, this unlikely hit broke the Top Ten in the US and bag Harris a No. 1 in Canada.

# 2 – Sweet Dreams

Donald Gibson wrote “Sweet Dreams,” Patsy Cline popularised it, and Harris scored a No. 1 chart hit with it. Other artists have attempted to repeat her success in the years since, but none have managed it. Only Emmylou, it seems, can sing this ode to failed relationships in the way it was intended, and only Emmylou can turn the misery of heartbreak into such a sweet pleasure that it makes you forget your own.

Read More: Top 10 Patsy Cline Songs

#1 – Beneath Still Waters

George Jones is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest country singers ever, but even his biggest fans probably weren’t aware of “Beneath Still Waters” until Harris unearthed it from his 1968 album My Country, polished it off, infused it with an air of resigned sadness, and sent it soaring to the top of the country charts. Her vocal performance is staggering, but her gift for interpretation is truly remarkable.

In March 1980, Emmylou Harris reached the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart with her heartfelt rendition of “Beneath Still Waters,” marking her fourth number one country hit. The song was released as the second single from her critically acclaimed 1979 album Blue Kentucky Girl, which showcased her deep appreciation for traditional country music. Written by Dallas Frazier, “Beneath Still Waters” had been previously recorded by George Jones in 1967 and later by Diana Trask in 1970, whose version also charted modestly.

Read More: Top 10 George Jones Songs

Top 10 Emmylou Harris songs article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2025

Psychedelic metal band The Yagas – fronted by Academy Award-nominated actor Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring, Hawkeye, Godzilla: King Of The Monsters) – have announced their debut album Midnight Minuet.

The five-piece will put the record out on April 25 and precede the release with a show at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City on April 5. They’ve also shared new single Life Of A Widow, which you can hear below.

Farmiga says of her band’s new song: “Life Of A Widow is a song of searing lament. It’s a song of embodying that ol’ prodigious saying, ‘Why has thou forsaken me?’

“The song is aching to feel the presence of a deceased loved one. It’s a soul’s journey of yearning, pleading to crack the unbearable silence of solitude, that Vantablack void, just to hear your love’s voice once again, to feel your love’s touch again.

“The protagonist in our song wanders through her misery, she navigates through mad midnight moments of throbbing despair. She begs to feel less alone. She demands to feel the presence of her lost love. And she won’t stop wailing until he’s there.

“It’s about taking those sudden, violent jabs of red-hot grief, feeling pummelled and clobbered by desperation and crying out to the dearly departed for help and reconnection.”

Of The Yagas’ impending album, keyboardist Renn Hawkey comments: “Producing Midnight Minuet was very cathartic for me. I felt the need to prove to myself that I could make great music outside of [Hawkey’s other band] Deadsy, which, for the past 25 years, had been my only writing/recording partnership. This was a very different creative experience for me.

“I often felt in Deadsy like I was playing in someone else’s playground – I knew the rules, I mastered the slide and the monkey bars, but I felt like a visitor. Midnight Minuet just felt different. The Yagas built a new playground together, made up of our respective life experiences with equal ownership. We are the sum of our parts. When this kind of synergy exists, you grab it, nurture it, and give it a life.”

Midnight Minuet was mixed by Grammy nominee Brian Virtue (Deftones, 30 Seconds to Mars) and mastered by Grammy winner Emily Lazar (Beck, Coldplay). Other singles The Crying Room (The Yagas’ debut song) and She’s Walking Down are currently streaming.

See the album’s artwork and tracklisting below.

The Yagas – Midnight Minuet

01. The Crying Room
02. I Am
03. Life Of A Widow
04. Anhedonia
05. Pendulum
06. Charade
07. Bridle
08. Pullover
09. She’s Walking Down
10. Midnight Minuet

The Amazon Spring Deal Days event is on right now and will run through March 31. I caught some awesome Lego Star Wars deals earlier in the week, and today I saw a bunch of Marshall products on sale in both the UK and US, including the Marshall Major IV headphones for less than half price. Amazon UK have cut the price from £129.99 to just £62 – a huge 52% saving on the all black model.

But the Marshall deals don’t end there, with Amazon UK also cutting the cost of the Minor III True Wireless Bluetooth in-ears, ripping 49% off the RRP, taking them down from £119.99 to just £61.19.

And if you’re after a new Bluetooth speaker, then Spring Deal Days has you covered too, with the portable Marshall Emberton II Bluetooth speaker down from £149 to £91.03 in its black colour variation.

Or maybe the Marshall Willen II is more your thing. You can pick up this ultra portable powerhouse with 17 hours of playback for £86.11 – 21% down from the RRP of £109.

If you’re after something a little bigger and more powerful, then you can pick up the Marshall Acton III Bluetooth speaker for £215.10 – that’s 17% down from its regular price of £259.99.

If you’re based in the US, Amazon also have shaved dollars off a range of Marshall goods, such as the Black & Brass Emberton II for $126.30 – that’s 26% down from the $169.99 list price.

You can also get the Marshall Major V on-ear headphones with a 25% discount – they’re down from $149.99 to $112. We loved these headphones, with our reviewer saying: “They slam like bodies in a circle pit, have engaging musicality and boast a battery life few rivals can match.”

Read the full Marshall Major V review.

Read more

• Best Marshall headphones: Top picks from across the range
• Best Marshall speakers: Speakers from the guitar-amp giant

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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.

Evanescence have released a new song as part of the soundtrack for Netflix’s Devil May Cry series.

Amy Lee’s gothic metal favourites unveiled Afterlife today (March 27), ahead of the show’s premiere on April 3. Listen below.

The band say that the track – co-written by vocalist Lee alongside Alex Seaver, and co-produced by Seaver and Nick Raskulinecz – will appear multiple times throughout the series, which is based on the popular action-adventure videogame series by Capcom.

Promotional materials say of the show: “In this animated adaptation of the popular Capcom game and from the vision of Adi Shankar, sinister forces are at play to open the portal between the human and demon realms. In the middle of it all is Dante, an orphaned demon-hunter-for-hire, unaware that the fate of both worlds hangs around his neck.”

The band claim that they are “primarily focussed on creating new music this year”. Lee elaborated during a recent interview with Audacy Music, calling Afterlife “the first of many” new songs.

“We are working on a lot of songs right now for the new album, but this came up through Netflix, and we were just really excited to have an excuse to get in there right away,” she said (via Blabbermouth).

When asked if Evanescence have a new album coming, she answered, “I don’t have a date for you. We are just working. We got off the road in November or something, and we’ve been just creative.”

Despite their focus on recording their next album, Evanescence will play a handful of concerts this year. They’re supporting Halsey at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on May 14, then playing as the special guests of My Chemical Romance at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on September 13.

After that, the band will play Louder Than Life festival in Kentucky on September 21 and support Metallica in Australia and New Zealand in November. See all dates and details via their website.

In 2015, Tony Banks was named Prog God at the annual Progressive Music Awards. While his solo output has contributed significantly to his achievements, it’s his work with Genesis that stands out most – and to prove it, Prog editor Jerry Ewing chose five great keyboard moments from the band’s catalogue.

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Tony Banks has a musical career that can best be described as illustrious. He was a founding member of Genesis who helped the band endure as members came and went, including Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins.

In later years he turned down the opportunity to work on The Terminator movie, but excelled with his score on The Wicked Lady, as well as a spell in the pop mainstream and, most successfully, in the classical world. His solo work was recently collected in the lavish four disc box set, A Chord Too Far.

As he told Prog Magazine Show host Philip Wilding, “It’s ludicrous to say that there was no feeling of completion between the members of Genesis. But I think we’d have liked it if all four of us did well. Mike’s album did a bit better than mine, and I think any competition I had with Phil went out of the window on day one.

“I’d always use the excuse that Peter and Phil did well because they were the singers – but what was my excuse with Mike?!”

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The Apocalypse 9/8 section of Supper’s Ready (Foxtrot, 1972)

Banks’ keyboard genius exposed in all its unhinged glory, capturing the fiery cataclysmic ending to the band’s epic tune. It would be shamelessly plundered by Marillion in Grendel years later.

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The opening to Firth of Fifth (Selling England By The Pound, 1973)

Pretty much a signature sound for Genesis in the 70s. The way the opening piano chords build into full-blown keyboard effect laid down a prog blueprint for the next decade and beyond.

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Afterglow (Wind & Wuthering, 1976)

Possibly the finest of Banks’ Genesis moments. Delightfully atmospheric, sweepingly grandiose, hugely emotive and affecting. You only have to hear the opening sweep of notes to reach for your lighter and start waving it in the air.

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Home By The Sea/Second Home By The Sea (Genesis, 1983)

One of the band’s finest longform pieces from the Phil Collins era. It showed that the band could still capture conceptual progressive music when the mood took them, with Banks’ sweeping keyboards set very much to the very fore.

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Domino (Invisible Touch, 1986)

Again, more long form fun from the latter years. Domino moulded catchy pop with quirky instrumental progressive sounds to show there was still a prog heart (despite the massive arena shows) beating in the collective Genesis chest.

Bruce Dickinson is releasing a comic book box set that contains dirt from the grave of William Blake.

The Iron Maiden singer announced today (March 27) that he’s compiling the first four issues of his graphic novel series The Mandrake Project and releasing them in a deluxe set. The package comes with a medallion, interviews from the vocalist and the team behind the comic, and a foreword from Sons Of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter.

Most striking, though, is the fact that the comic book collection was printed using ink mixed with soil from the resting place of Blake, an 18th-century poet and painter.

Promotional materials declare: “Collecting the individual issues of the acclaimed comic series, this deluxe edition contains actual soil from the grave of William Blake.”

The set, full title The Mandrake Project: Year One, will come out on August 5 via Z2 Comics. See pre-order options now via the Z2 website.

Blake is best-known for his book The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell and his painting The Great Red Dragon And The Woman Clothed With Sun. Dickinson, an avid fan of his work, used the renaissance man as inspiration for themes on his 2024 solo album The Mandrake Project, which is the basis of the comic book series of the same name. He previously used one of Blake’s paintings as the cover of his 1998 record The Chemical Wedding.

Last year, the singer became a patron of the William Blake Cottage Trust, which owns and preserves William Blake’s only surviving house, “The Cottage” in Felpham, West Sussex.

He comments: “William Blake has given me so much over the years and I want to repay the debt by helping to restore The Cottage. Despite his impact on the world, there is no centre for Blake, nowhere people can visit to see where he actually lived and worked during a key part of his life. I want to change this.”

Blake’s work has inspired multiple projects across pop culture. Thomas Harris’ novel Red Dragon, featuring the serial killer Hannibal Lecter, and its adaptations feature The Great Red Dragon… as a major plot point. Norwegian black metal band Ulver released an album called Themes From William Blake’s The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell in 1998.

Dickinson will tour North America with his solo band in August and September. See dates and details via his website. He’ll also tour Europe with Iron Maiden this summer.

Steven Wilson has spoken about his recent chart battle with Playboi Carti.

Last week, the Porcupine Tree frontman’s new record The Overview hit number one in the UK’s midweek chart, surprisingly overcoming competition from US rap superstar Playboi Carti and his new album Music.

The upset seemingly set Wilson up for the first UK number one of his career, although The Overview ultimately reached number three on the end-of-week charts, with Music reaching number one. Short N’ Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter came in at number two in its 30th week.

In a new interview with The Telegraph, Wilson reflects on his commercial competition with Carti, expressing no surprise over the fact Music trumped The Overview sales-wise. The Overview is composed of two 20-minute tracks, whereas Music contains 30 much shorter songs.

“It was no competition, really, let’s be honest,” Wilson laughs. “[Carti’s] music is almost the antithesis of mine – short, minimal, full of the kind of digital sounds you hear on mobile phones. There are no solos, which have completely disappeared from modern music.

“It’s all about the vocals these days, and it reflects the pace of life we live now. I completely understand why it might be more interesting to 15-year-old kids raised on computer games and TikTok.”

Wilson also notes that his sales came from actual physical units, whereas Carti’s more likely came from digital streams. “All of my sales come from CDs and vinyl,” he says. “I’ve been touring around indie record stores, and I’ve yet to meet anyone who’s even heard of Playboi Carti.”

Later in the interview, Wilson laments what he perceives as a lack of variety in modern chart music. “Dire Straits’ biggest hit was Private Investigations, six minutes long with a three-minute marimba nylon string guitar duet,” he says. “I mean, fuck’s sake! It got to number two [in 1982], it wouldn’t even get to first base now.

“Sound And Vision by David Bowie, the vocal doesn’t come in for a minute and a half. [Rod Stewart’s] Maggie May doesn’t have a chorus, it’s just a succession of verses. And don’t get me started on [Queen’s] Bohemian Rhapsody. None of these songs would have a hope in hell today.”

Wilson will tour Europe to promote The Overview in May and June. He’ll then play across North America in September and October before jetting to Australia in November. See all dates and details via his website.