Author: wamdiness

Honestly, there has been no rhyme or reason to Paul McCartney‘s choice of album opening songs.

In some cases, like 1973’s Band on the Run, 1975’s Venus and Mars and 1984’s Give My Regards to Broadstreet, McCartney led with big hit singles. Other times, as on his ’70s band Wings‘ debut Wild Life and the 2013 solo LP New, he kicked things off with loose jams.

There are songs here that became part of a generation’s soundtrack and others that sank like a rock to the bottom of his discography. Then there were those times, from 1970’s McCartney and 1979’s Back to the Egg to 2018’s Egypt Station, when he employed song snippets that did little more than set the scene.

READ MORE: Top 40 Paul McCartney ‘70s Songs

He took the opportunity on albums including 1980’s McCartney II, 1993’s Off the Ground and 2020’s McCartney III to try some intriguing, if not always successful experiments. But then 1976’s At the Speed of Sound gets going with one of McCartney’s most McCartney-esque songs.

All of it works in concert to make this ranked list of Paul McCartney’s opening songs one of the most entertaining, frustrating and ultimately varied as any in rock history:

No. 24. “Mumbo”
From: Wild Life (1971)

One of the more conspicuous throwaways on Wings’ decidedly shaky debut, “Mumbo” sounds like what it is: This shambolic jam session around a song with essentially only a title for lyrics. “At the beginning of the cut, you can hear me say, ‘Take it, Tony,'” McCartney said in Keith Badman’s The Beatles: The Dream is Over – Off the Record 2. “We had been going for five minutes and then I suddenly realized that he wasn’t recording.” But really, co-engineer Tony Clark needn’t have bothered.

No. 23. “Lonely Road”
From: Driving Rain (2001)

So casual it’s barely a song, “Lonely Road” was written while on a beach vacation in January 2001 in Goa, India, and very much retains that vibe. “It is what it is, this song,” McCartney later wrote on his website. “You can make of it what you want to make of it. To me, it’s not particularly about anything other than not wanting to be brought down.” Today, “Lonely Road” is best remembered, if it’s remembered at all, for the debuts of guitarist Rusty Anderson and drummer Abe Laboriel Jr., who’d remain with McCartney for decades.

No. 22. “Save Us”
From: New (2013)

McCartney was still kicking off albums with throwaway rockers, decades after 1971’s Wild Life. This time, he dropped by new co-producer Paul Epworth’s studio without any concrete song ideas. Epworth had a sound in mind, and “Save Us” grew out of their first jam. “So he jumped on the drum kit; I jumped on the piano. We multilayered it,” McCartney told Rolling Stone. “I put chords in, structured it a bit, and started blocking out the words.” Unlike “Mumbo,” however, he actually went back and wrote lyrics.

No. 21. “Off the Ground”
From: Off the Ground (1993)

Originally a little folk thing, the title track from this early-’90s album wasn’t even in the running until McCartney and keyboardist Paul “Wix” Wickens rebuilt it on a computer. This was exciting new terrain for McCartney, who moused out a foundation of mechanical rhythm and synth bass before personally adding guitars and percussion. One of McCartney’s daughters later asked him about his day and she loved the name of the song. “And it ended up being the title track – the song that nearly didn’t make it,” McCartney mused in the souvenir booklet for his subsequent tour.

No. 20. “London Town”
From: London Town (1978)

Wings was once again whittled down to a Band on the Run-style trio by the time they completed London Town, but this would be a decidedly more laid-back affair. That’s made clear on an opening title track that walks right up to the edge of twee. Since-departed guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Joe English took part but couldn’t imbue this Denny Laine co-write with the energy and fun of earlier work on Venus and Mars and Speed of Sound. Tellingly, “London Town” reached No. 17 on the U.S. Easy Listening chart.

No. 19. “Long Tailed Winter Bird”
From: McCartney III (2020)

The seeds of this song date back to a ’90s-era leftover titled “When Winter Comes,” co-produced by George Martin. McCartney began extending the musical lines and a new song emerged. “Long Tailed Winter Bird” opened McCartney III, with much anticipation. As McCartney circled around a fluttering riff, he added a lurching, swamp-stomping rhythm and some whispers of Eastern intrigue. But then “Long Tailed Winter Bird” became an unkept musical promise as both its lyric and musical structure dissolved into a drone.

No. 18. “Pipes of Peace”
From: Pipes of Peace (1983)

There’s a reason Pipes of Peace often echoes 1982’s Tug of War. The LP was rounded out with leftovers from its more celebrated predecessor. There’s also a reason the sweetly conveyed title track sounds like a kid’s song. McCartney had been asked to write something for an international children’s society when inspiration struck. “Pipes of Peace” reached No. 1 in the U.K. but failed to chart in America until it was re-released as the b-side to “So Bad,” a song so saccharine that it ruined a long-hoped-for reunion with Ringo Starr.

No. 17. “Coming Up”
From: McCartney II (1980)

Docked a few points because McCartney II opened with the skeletal solo synth version instead of the Wings live take that pushed McCartney to the top of the U.S. singles charts again. He was an admitted amateur with this new keyboard technology, but joy and gumption occasionally carried the day on his uneven successor to 1970’s more acoustic McCartney. This version is also docked a few more points, however, because it’s one of the McCartney II tracks where he annoyingly speeds up his vocals using a vari-speed tape machine.

No. 16. “Stranglehold”
From: Press to Play (1986)

Positioning this as the lead track on the often exhaustingly mechanized Press to Play should have had McCartney brought in on false-advertising charges. Still, “Stranglehold” represents the first frail flowerings of a creative rebound, as he sets a smart little reed-honking groove, then barks out the lyrics with a whiskey-shot of vigor. For all of the times he got lost in billowing clouds of whimsy — or in the case of this album, billowing clouds of Fairlight synths — McCartney very nearly pulls off a “Jet”-level anthem. Unfortunately, the LP was basically completed with a gleaming pile of MTV-ready, Hugh Padgham-produced dreck.

No. 15. “The Lovely Linda/That Would Be Something”
From: McCartney (1970)

McCartney played the “Lovely Linda” snippet while trying out a new four-track recorder in his home studio in London just before Christmas 1969. At less than 45 seconds, this remains his second shortest song – but suddenly, McCartney’s first proper solo album was underway. “The Lovely Linda” would lead directly into the groove-laded “That Would Be Something.” Honestly, it’s all groove. “There’s no lyrics, really: hippies and the rain – a very ’60s idea, very peace and love,” McCartney later admitted. He’s not wrong.

No. 14. “Let ‘Em In”
From Wings at the Speed of Sound (1976)

McCartney scheduled his first U.S. tour since the Beatles‘ final bow in 1966 – but only after rushing out the doggedly democratic At the Speed of Sound. The LP shot to the top of the charts over seven non-consecutive weeks as Wings’ blockbuster tour continued into the summer of ’76, powered in no small way by two consecutive gold-selling Top 5 smashes, including the feather-light Grammy-nominated “Let ‘Em In.” Some of those found knocking at the front door were real friends and relatives and some weren’t. Ironically, McCartney later married Nancy Shevell, who has both a “Sister Susie” and a “Brother Jon.”

No. 13. “Dance Tonight”
From: Memory Almost Full (2007)

McCartney found inspiration in his toddler, who danced when he played a new left-handed mandolin. Unlike so many of his other album-opening songs, however, the lilting, utterly charming “Dance Tonight” was the last song McCartney completed for Memory Almost Full. He created the distinctive kick-drum sound by stomping his foot – just as he had at home. “So I fell in love with this song and with the mandolin and the whole hoe-down aspect,” McCartney said on his website, “and eventually it kind of wrote itself.”

No. 12. “Tug of War”
From: Tug of War (1982)

“Here Today” was the most obvious song about John Lennon found on Tug of War, which arrived two years after McCartney’s Beatles bandmate was brutally murdered. But McCartney seems to be talking about their tangled relationship here, too. And what better setting than alongside George Martin once more? The former Beatles producer created an emotional orchestral framework that perfectly mirrors the ebbs and flows of McCartney’s lyrics. Darkness in the verses eventually gives way to soaring hope in the song’s chorus.

No. 11. “No More Lonely Nights”
From: Give My Regards to Broadstreet (1984)

McCartney named his film Give My Regards to Broad Street and, not surprisingly, struggled to come up with a title track. So, instead, he wrote one of his most gorgeous mid-tempo love songs, completing things with the reliably celestial guitar solo by David Gilmour. “No More Lonely Nights” came together very quickly in the studio – then, unlike the movie, became an international Top 10 hit. For some reason, however, there was also an Arthur Baker dance mix and it should be avoided at all costs.

No. 10. “Opening Station/I Don’t Know”
From: Egypt Station (2018)

After 41 seconds of pointless atmospherics, McCartney’s first No. 1 LP since 1982 officially got underway with a looming sense of doubt. It’s a surprising emotion from the world’s most famous progenitor of silly love songs. But then, “I Don’t Know” echoes “Tug of War,” found earlier on this ranked list of McCartney opening songs: The verses, perhaps the bleakest McCartney has ever penned, gave way to a gorgeous, more typically consoling chorus. Then McCartney’s deft piano figure somehow transcends this brilliant juxtaposition.

No. 9. “Nothing Too Much Just Out of Sight”
From: The Fireman’s Electric Arguments (2008)

McCartney ran into Jimmy Scott, a fast-talking conga player to the stars, at London’s Bag O’Nails club – and walked away with two song titles. Scott was fond of saying “Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on.” McCartney used that on the White Album. Decades later, he returned to another Scott saying – “nothin’s too much, just outta sight” – for the opener from his only rock-leaning album as the Fireman with Martin “Youth” Glover. “He was just one of those guys who had great expressions, you know,” McCartney told Playboy in 1984.

No. 8. “Reception/Getting Closer”
From: Back to the Egg (1979)

“Reception” is about twice as long as “The Lovely Linda” or “Opening Station” from earlier in this ranked list, but doesn’t say anything more. “Getting Closer” then provides one of the most curious moments in all of the McCartney solo catalog by using “my salamander” as a term of endearment. Seriously, a slimy, amphibian wall-crawler? Even so, because he’s Paul McCartney, “Getting Closer” is still propulsively enjoyable. Credit late-period Wings guitarist Lawrence Juber’s simply monstrous riff.

No. 7. “The Song We Were Singing”
From: Flaming Pie (1997)

Work on the Beatles’ Anthology series clearly had McCartney in a nostalgic mood. The first song attempted for Flaming Pie puts McCartney back together with John Lennon at the peak of their friendship and musical collaborations. “The song represents for me good memories of the ’60s, of dossing around late at night, chatting, smoking, drinking wine, hanging out, jawing through the night,” McCartney later remembered. “I think it works as an opening track – it creeps you into the album and sets it up nicely.”

No. 6. “Big Barn Bed”
From: Red Rose Speedway (1973)

On the preceding Ram, McCartney returned to “Ram On” with a reprise that connects directly to the first song on Wings’ second LP: “Who’s that coming round that corner? Who’s that coming round that bend?” is also the opening line of “Big Barn Bed.” In the end, however, this is perhaps the best example of McCartney putting everything he had into a song – except a proper conclusion. He never quite figured one out. Thankfully, the first half is so perfect, so joyous and loved filled, that it carried Wings past another bad end.

No. 5. “Fine Line”
From: Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (2005)

You get the sense that McCartney could write catchy songs like this in his sleep. (And maybe he does?) But that doesn’t make “Fine Line” any less charming – and there’s a cool little quirk buried beneath its radio-ready hook. But first, the Top 20 U.K. hit opens with a telling lyric: “There’s a fine line between recklessness and courage.” McCartney knew something about that, having thrown out his entire way of working for this aptly named LP. The biggest change was hiring Nigel Godrich, best known for producing Radiohead. He’s the one who encouraged McCartney to continue building “Fine Line” around a wrong bass note.

No. 4. “My Brave Face”
From: Flowers in the Dirt (1989)

It seemed McCartney’s spell of ’80s disappointments could only be broken with a new songwriting partner in the vein of John Lennon. McCartney found that person in Elvis Costello, who helped him back to the charts — and, more importantly, back to respectability. With a newfound knife-sharp approach to the lyrics, collaborations like “Mistress and Maid” and “You Want Her Too” worked as canny updates of the Beatles’ “We Can Work it Out” and “I’ve Got a Feeling” yet didn’t feel derivative. Their work on “My Brave Face” was different: Costello helped McCartney channel his own vintage pop self, right down to that old bass.

No. 3. “Too Many People”
From: Ram (1971)

Ram arrived amid a period of very public sniping between McCartney and Lennon. The LP included an utterly unsubtle cover image of two beetles copulating – and the rather silly conceit that his photographer wife was somehow stepping in as a songwriting equal. Then McCartney opened with “Too Many People,” a song clearly directed at his former bandmate that risked immediately tanking the whole project with haughty sermonizing. But “Too Many People” rises above that fractious moment, catching a tough groove. It’s helped along by two electric guitar solos that McCartney completed in one take.

No. 2. “Venus and Mars/Rock Show”
From: Venus and Mars (1975)

Recorded in part at local impresario Allen Toussaint’s Sea Saint Recording Studio in New Orleans, Venus and Mars reflected the settled atmosphere surrounding McCartney (and Wings). He’d firmly established himself outside of the Beatles, so there was suddenly time to look toward the stars. “Venus and Mars,” a dreamy piece of space junk, fed directly into “Rock Show” as McCartney name checked favorite concert venues back here on Earth. Record buyers pushed the third single from Venus and Mars to No. 12 in the U.S., but U.K. listeners were apparently less into astronomy. “Venus and Mars/Rock Show” didn’t chart at all there.

No. 1. “Band on the Run”
From: Band on the Run (1973)

From their lowest moment arose Wings’ greatest triumph, as a band searching for direction after a pair of member defections crafted an ageless Grammy-winning multi-part paean to escape. With the arguable exception of Ram, no McCartney album so successfully blended his interests in the melodic, the orchestral, the rocking and the episodic. Somehow all of that fizzy creativity is found in miniature within its title track, too. And to think, it all started with a throwaway complaint former bandmate George Harrison made as an Apple Corps meeting dragged on: “If we ever get out of here.”

A New Jersey bar has come under fire for canceling a Bruce Springsteen cover band’s scheduled performance following the Boss’ recent criticisms of President Donald Trump.

No Surrender, the eight-piece band that’s been covering Springsteen and other classic rock acts for more than 20 years, was slated to perform at Riv’s Toms River Hub in Toms River, New Jersey, on May 30, NY Advance Media reports. But bar owner Tony Rivoli scrapped the performance this week, telling bandleader Brad Hobicorn that performing Springsteen covers for the bar’s conservative clientele was “too risky at the moment.”

When Hobicorn offered to play a non-Springsteen covers set instead, Rivoli said he couldn’t justify paying the band $2,500 for the change of plans. “Unfortunately it’s just too much money I wanted to do the Springsteen tribute for that money in my social media team would have promoted it we would have done well but now because Bruce can’t keep his mouth shut we’re screwed,” Rivoli texted Hobicorn.

READ MORE: Top 10 Bruce Springsteen Songs

In a separate message to No Surrender bassist Guy Fleming, Rivoli added, “Whenever the national anthem plays, my bar stands and is in total silence, that’s our clientele. Toms River is red and won’t stand for his bullshit.”

“This is not political for us at all,” Hobicorn told NJ Advance Media. “We’re just a cover band that’s trying to make some money, and people rely on it financially. We’re the ones really getting hurt.”

In the wake of the Riv’s Toms River Hub cancellation, No Surrender booked a show at the Headliner Oasis in Neptune City, New Jersey, roughly 20 miles north of Toms River, for May 30.

How Did the Trump-Springsteen Feud Start?

The current Trump-Springsteen feud began on May 14 during Springsteen’s tour kickoff in Manchester, England. The Boss slammed Trump’s “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration” and called on “all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experience to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring.”

Trump responded to Springsteen two days later on Truth Social, calling him “a dried up prune of a rocker” and a “pushy, obnoxious JERK.” He added that Springsteen “ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare.’ Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!”

READ MORE: The Best Song From Every Bruce Springsteen Album

On Monday, the president posted another tirade on Truth Social in which he demanded an investigation into Springsteen, Bono, Beyonce and Oprah Winfrey, all of whom he accused of accepting campaign money to endorse and perform for 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Springsteen, in turn, rushed-released a live EP from his hot-button Manchester show titled Land of Hope & Dreams, which shares its name with his ongoing tour. The set contains four songs — “Land of Hope and Dreams,” “Long Walk Home,” “My City of Ruins” and “Chimes of Freedom” — plus his impassioned commentary before “Land of Hope and Dreams” and “My City of Ruins.”

Riv’s Toms River Hub Review-Bombed on Yelp After No Surrender Cancellation

Riv’s Toms River Hub, meanwhile, appears to be getting review-bombed on Yelp, leading to the temporary disabling of posts on its page.

“This business recently received increased public attention resulting in an influx of people posting their views to this page, so we have temporarily disabled the ability to post here as we work to investigate the content,” a notice on the bar’s Yelp page says. “While racism has no place on Yelp and we unequivocally reject racism or discrimination in any form, all reviews on Yelp must reflect an actual first-hand consumer experience (even if that means disabling the ability for users to express points of view we might agree with).”

Recent one-star reviews from earlier this month accuse Riv’s Toms River Hub of serving dry, flavorless food with a side of racism. One review includes a photo of a white woman wearing a poncho and sombrero emblazoned with a picture of Trump and the words “Deport Illegals!”

Rivoli previously drew controversy with his former business, Rivoli’s Restaurant, which also operated in Toms River and closed in 2016. In 2014, Rivoli’s posted a message on its electronic sign that said “I can breathe I obey law,” in reference to the death of Eric Garner, who repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe,” as a New York City Police Department officer held him in a prohibited chokehold shortly before he died.

Pictures of the sign recirculated in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, who said the same thing as police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for over nine minutes. Rivoli apologized for the sign in 2020.

In a Facebook post recapping the ordeal, Fleming thanked fans for their support of No Surrender and urged people to “think about spending your money” at Riv’s Toms River Hub.

Jethro Tull will release an expanded version of 1972’s Living in the Past compilation.

The upcoming six-disc album, Still Living in the Past, includes remixes, demos, and live tracks, and will be released on July 11.

As with other recent Jethro Tull reissues, Steven Wilson has remixed the original album and the previously unreleased concert recordings. In addition to five music CDs, the set includes a Blu-ray disc of audio and four promotional clips from 1970 and 1971.

READ MORE: Jethro Tull, ‘Curious Ruminant’ Album Review

“After 53 years since its original issue, this collection with the Steven Wilson remixes and surround sound upgrades is a splendid addition to the Tull album series,” Tull leader Ian Anderson said in a press release announcing the set. “It was conceived at the time primarily to update the Tull story for U.S. and European audiences who might not have had the benefit of the many songs which had already reached U.K. fans’ ears.

“I recall the recordings of many of these songs with surprising clarity and some I can still play from memory without a moment of hesitation. Quirky in some instances and covering a range of musical styles, it shows off my attempts to broaden my writing and arranging and develop beyond the more rocky and bluesy origins of the band. My mandolin and acoustic guitar tracks are amongst my personal favorites.”

What’s on Jethro Tull’s ‘Still Living in the Past’?

At the time of its release in 1972, Living in the Past was designed as an introduction to the band for new fans who discovered them after Thick as a Brick, their fifth album, reached No. 1 earlier in the year.

Living in the Past made it to No. 3 in the U.S.; the original LP included outtakes, album tracks and singles dating to 1968. The new version features remixed versions of those tracks and alternate recordings of Jethro Tull songs from the era.

Still Living in the Past also features a Carnegie Hall concert from Nov. 4, 1970, that has never been released.

“I am so happy to have this material made available again,” Anderson said.

You can see the track listing for Still Living in the Past below.

Jethro Tull, ‘Still Living in the Past’ Track Listing
CD1
ORIGINAL MIXES, REMIXES, EDITS & DEMOS 1968-1971
1. A Song For Jeffrey (Remixed at Morgan Studios in April 1971 for the Living In The Past album)
2. Love Story (Remixed at Morgan Studios in April 1971 for the Living In The Past album)
3. A Christmas Song (Remixed at Morgan Studios in April 1971 for the Living In The Past album)
4. Living In The Past (Remixed at Morgan Studios in April 1971 for the Living In The Past album)
5. Driving Song (Remixed at Morgan Studios in April 1971 for the Living In The Past album)
6. Sweet Dream (Remixed at Morgan Studios in October 1971 for the Living In The Past album)
7. Singing All Day (Remixed at Morgan Studios in October 1971 for the Living In The Past album)
8. Teacher (US Album Version) (Remixed at Morgan Studios in October 1971 for the Living In The Past album)
9. Inside (Andy Johns Mix) (Mixed at Olympic Studios on 18th September 1969 by Andy Johns)
10. My God (Early Version) (Mixed at Morgan Studios on 12th April 1970)
11. Just Trying To Be (Mixed at Morgan Studios on 12th April 1970)
12. Wond’ring Aloud Again (Demo)** (Recorded on 2-track at Morgan Studios in June 1970)
13. Wond’ring Again (Mixed at Morgan Studios in June 1970)
14. Lick Your Fingers Clean (1970 Mix) (Mixed at Island Studios on 31st December 1970. Working Mix #4)
15. Locomotive Breath (DJ Single Edit) (Mixed at Island Studios in February 1971, edited for US Radio in March 1971)
16. Life Is A Long Song (Mixed at Sound Techniques Studios in June 1971)
17. Up The ’Pool (Mixed at Sound Techniques Studios in June 1971)
18. From Later (Alternative Master Mix) (Mixed at Sound Techniques Studios in June 1971. Unused master mix)
19. Life Is A Long Song (Alternative Master Mix) (Mixed at Sound Techniques Studios in June 1971. Unused master mix)
**Mono recording

CD2
LIVING IN THE PAST (Part One)
The Steven Wilson Stereo Remixes [Sides 1 & 2] except+
1. A Song For Jeffrey (2025 Remix)
2. One For John Gee (2025 AI remix from mono master)
3. Love Story (2025 Remix)
4. A Christmas Song (2018 Remix. Previously released on This Was 50th Anniversary Edition book set)
5. Living In The Past (2016 Remix. Previously released on Stand Up Elevated Edition book set)
6. Driving Song (2016 Remix. Previously released on Stand Up Elevated Edition book set)
7. Bourée (2016 Remix. Previously released on Stand Up Elevated Edition book set)
8. Fat Man (2016 Remix. Previously released on Stand Up Elevated Edition book set)
9. Singing All Day (2013 Remix. Previously released on Benefit Enhanced Edition book set)
10. Sweet Dream (2013 Remix. Previously released on Benefit Enhanced Edition book set)
11. 17 (2013 Remix. Previously released on Benefit Enhanced Edition book set. Edited in 2024)
12. Teacher (UK Single Version) (2025 Remix)
13. The Witch’s Promise+ (Remixed at Morgan Studios in October 1971 for the Living In The Past album)
14. Teacher (US Album Version) (2025 Remix)
15. Inside (2013 Remix. Previously released on Benefit Enhanced Edition book set)
16. Alive And Well And Living In (2013 Remix. Previously released on Benefit Enhanced Edition book set)
17. Just Trying To Be (2011 Remix. Previously released on Aqualung Adapted Edition book set)
Remastered by Steven Wilson, 2025

CD3
LIVING IN THE PAST (Part Two)
The Steven Wilson Stereo Remixes [Sides 3 & 4] except+
1. By Kind Permission Of (Live) (2025 Remix)
2. Dharma For One (Live) (2025 Remix)
3. Wond’ring Aloud (Early Version) (2011 Remix. Released on Aqualung Adapted Edition book set)
4. Wond’ring Again (2011 Remix. Released on Aqualung Adapted Edition book set)
5. Lick Your Fingers Clean (2025 Remix)
6. Up To Me (2011 Remix. Released on Aqualung Adapted Edition book set)
7. Hymn 43 (2011 Remix. Released on Aqualung Adapted Edition book set)
8. Locomotive Breath (2025 Remix)
9. Life Is A Long Song (2011 Remix. Released on Aqualung Adapted Edition book set)
10. Up The ’Pool (2011 Remix. Released on Aqualung Adapted Edition book set)
11. Dr. Bogenbroom+ (Mixed at Sound Techniques Studios in June 1971)
12. From Later+ (Mixed at Sound Techniques Studios in June 1971)
13. Nursie+ (Mixed at Sound Techniques Studios in June 1971)
BONUS TRACK
14. Locomotive Breath (Unplugged Mix) (2025 Remix)
Remastered by Steven Wilson, 2025

CD4
LIVE AT CARNEGIE HALL, NOVEMBER 4, 1970
Part 1: 2025 Steven Wilson Stereo Remix
(Recorded on 16-track by Fedco Audio Labs at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
on November 4, 1970. Engineered by Kim King, assisted by Vin Leary and Dave Palmer)
1. Introduction to Nothing Is Easy
2. Nothing Is Easy
3. Introduction to My God
4. My God (including flute solo)
5. Introduction to With You There To Help Me
6. With You There To Help Me / By Kind Permission Of
7. Introduction to A Song For Jeffrey
8. A Song For Jeffrey
9. Introduction to To Cry You A Song
10. To Cry You A Song

CD5
LIVE AT CARNEGIE HALL, NOVEMBER 4, 1970
Part 2: 2025 Steven Wilson Stereo Remix
(Recorded on 16-track by Fedco Audio Labs at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
on November 4, 1970. Engineered by Kim King, assisted by Vin Leary and Dave Palmer)
1. Introduction to Sossity; You’re A Woman
2. Sossity; You’re A Woman / Reasons For Waiting
3. Introduction to Dharma For One
4. Dharma For One (including drum solo)
5. Introduction to We Used To Know
6. We Used To Know
7. Guitar instrumental
8. For A Thousand Mothers

DISC 6: BLU-RAY AUDIO
Steven Wilson studio remixes in 24/96 PCM stereo
(and Steven Wilson studio remasters in 24/96 PCM stereo)
Steven Wilson studio remixes in DTS 5.1 surround
Steven Wilson remixes [sides 1 & 2]
Steven Wilson remixes [sides 3 & 4]
Flat stereo 24/96 transfer of original
Living in the Past studio album reels (UK & US versions combined)
Flat stereo 24/96 transfer of bonus unreleased original mixes
Live Carnegie Hall 1970, 2025 remix in 24/96 PCM stereo
Steven Wilson Live Carnegie Hall 1970, 2025 remix in DTS 5.1 surround
BLU-RAY AUDIO/VIDEO
The Witch’s Promise (March 1970 Promo Film)
Teacher (UK Single Version, March 1970 Promo Film)
Teacher (US Album Version, March 1970 Promo Film)
Life Is A Long Song (September 1971 Promo Film)

The Indianapolis Colts NFL team announced the death of owner Jim Irsay, who was also known as a large-scale collector of rock ’n’ roll memorabilia.

The Colts reported he’d died in his sleep at the age of 65, and hailed his “generosity, commitment to the community, and most importantly, his love for his family.”

Irsay worked in every department of the team while his father owned it, taking charge on his death in 1997. Their success – including 10 division titles, two Super Bowl final appearances and one win – helped support his passion for collecting artifacts of value to rock, sport and culture fans.

READ MORE: 29 of the Most Expensive Rock Artifacts Ever Sold

“Beyond his career in sports, music has been Jim Irsay’s lifelong passion,” the collection website reports. “With a heavy focus on guitars, The Jim Irsay Collection contains vintage and unique instruments, some owned and played by legendary artists.”

Among the billionaire‘s most expensive purchases are the black Fender Stratocaster owned by David Gilmour, which cost $3.9 million; the Strat played by Bob Dylan at Newport in 1965, which cost $965,000; and the Gibson SG used by George Harrison on the Beatles’ Revolver album, for which Irsay paid $567,000.

Why Rock Memorabilia Mattered to Jim Irsay

“History is so important,” he told Guitar.com in 2021 as he prepared to tour a major part of his collection. “So much of what we’re about as a world, as humanity, is tied to music.

“It’s been that way ever since the cavemen were around the fire and they scrawled on the walls, they beat things – there was always this feeling of self-expression, and a deeper feeling than just having words or sign language, or hunting and gathering systems. 

“To me, it’s really important that the museum is alive. How you experience it when you walk in? I want it to be interactive.”

He went on to argue the case for allowing visitors to touch and hold the valued items, referring to Jerry Garcia’s Tiger guitar, which he bought for $957,500. “I like people to be able to say, ‘I played Tiger’… Our emotional and spiritual lives are so tied to the arts, so tied to music. 

“If someone has a death in the family or a transformative time in their life, and a certain song came out at that time, they remember that moment. It’s way bigger than just saying, ‘Oh, that’s a nice song’ … It’s much more than that. I mean, it’s the fabric of people’s lives.”

Van Halen knew how to make a strong first impression.

Eddie Van Halen and his bandmates always took care to put their best foot forward, launching their studio albums with an opening track that knocked you on your butt and also gave a taste of what would be new and exciting on that particular record.

12. “Neworld” / “Without You”
From: Van Halen III (1998)

It feels like piling on to place the opening track from the much-maligned Van Halen III here, but it has to be done. We’re combining the instrumental “Neworld” with “Without You” because they share the same melody and are pretty clearly meant to be heard together. Of course “Without You” features some typically dazzling guitar work from Eddie Van Halen, but this aimless song runs nearly seven minutes long and loses momentum long before that.

11. “Tattoo”
From: A Different Kind of Truth (2012)

“Tattoo” isn’t a bad song, by any means. In fact it has an insistent, low-key charm that sinks in nicely with repeated listening. But it didn’t deliver the kind of flashy excitement people were expecting from their first taste of Van Halen’s long-awaited reunion with David Lee Roth – and in a 2022 interview Wolfgang Van Halen agreed with them. The follow-up single, “She’s the Woman,” would have been a much better choice as both lead single and album opener.

10. “Mine All Mine”
From: OU812 (1988)

Just to avoid saying a variation of this for every entry – these are all good songs, it’s just an intensely competitive field. The distorted keyboard bit at the very beginning of “Mine All Mine” belongs in Eddie Van Halen’s “How the hell did he come up with THAT?” hall of fame, and the rest of the song finds the group boldly pushing into ambitious prog-rock territory, blending keyboards and guitars for something beyond love songs.

9. “Where Have All the Good Times Gone!”
From: Diver Down (1982)

Pressured by their label to quickly come up with a new album when what they really needed was a break, Van Halen packed Diver Down with instrumentals and covers. The group played about a half-dozen Kinks covers in their early days, and their version of “You Really Got Me” helped launch their career back in 1978. So they raided the Davies brothers’ catalog again, and came up with another winner in “Where Have All the Good Times Gone!”

8. “Good Enough”
From: 5150 (1986)

Stepping into David Lee Roth’s shoes is not for the meek. Sammy Hagar proved he was up for the challenge in the opening seconds of his first album as Van Halen’s lead singer, channeling the Big Bopper with an enthusiastic “Hellooo Babbbbbbbyyyyyy” to kick off “Good Enough.” There are more innovative and enduring songs elsewhere on 5150, but this opening track did its job perfectly by letting fans know they were still at a great party – just with a different host.

7. “The Seventh Seal”
From: Balance (1995)

Van Halen were fracturing or under fire in multiple ways by the time they recorded their fourth and final album with Sammy Hagar as their lead singer. But they still managed to put together about half of a great album with 1995’s Balance, and the cinematic opening track “The Seventh Seal” is one of the clear highlights. Opening with chanting monks, the song featured a more sophisticated, Eastern-influenced sound without sacrificing any ass-kicking. Unfortunately, when they tried to bring the monks out to perform it live with them, things didn’t go all that smoothly…

6. “Poundcake”
From: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991)

After three straight albums that found them delving deeper into pop-friendly sounds, Van Halen decided to re-establish their claim on the hard rock world with the back-to-basics For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. The lead single and opening track famously begins with Eddie Van Halen abusing his guitar with a power drill, but the fun doesn’t stop there. “Poundcake” (and the album as a whole) also features the fullest, most well-rounded production of the “Van Hagar” era to date.

5. “1984” / “Jump”
From: 1984 (1984)

We are once again combining two clearly interconnected tracks here. After taking drastic steps – such as building his own recording studio – to get more control over the band’s recording process for 1984, Eddie Van Halen overcame internal objections and pushed keyboards to the front of “Jump.” The result was the band’s first and only chart-topping hit, which catapulted them to even higher levels of fame and (for better or worse) inspired just about every other hard rock band in the world to add keyboards to their sound.

4. “You’re No Good”
From: Van Halen II (1979)

The fact that Linda Ronstadt had recorded her own excellent and highly successful cover of the R&B hit “You’re No Good” in 1974 didn’t stop Van Halen from covering it five years later on their second album. “So what, man,” Ted Templeman remembers David Lee Roth telling him, in his book A Platinum Producer’s Life in Music. “We’ll scare people with ours.” That’s exactly what the did, thanks to Eddie Van Halen’s dark, menacing arrangement and dramatic guitar solo. It was one of the earliest signs that Van Halen could be more than just a party band.

 Read More: David Lee Roth Albums Ranked Worst to Best

3. “And the Cradle Will Rock…”
From: Women and Children First (1980)

The aforementioned “Jump” wasn’t the first time keyboards appeared on a Van Halen song. That happened four years earlier, with “And the Cradle Will Rock…,” the lead single from 1980’s Women and Children First. However, the electric piano that drives the song’s main riff was processed and put through an amp, so it sounded more like a guitar. After their first two albums were largely drawn from their pre-fame demos, Women and Children First found writing new, more complex and sophisticated songs, without sacrificing their immediate appeal.

2. “Runnin’ With the Devil”
From: Van Halen (1978)

This is a very tight race; if this list was written again tomorrow Van Halen’s debut single could easily take the top spot. ‘Runnin’ With the Devil” is the perfect introduction to each of the four members of the band as well as their collective chemistry. It’s Michael Anthony’s thumping bass that begins the song, and his background vocals also play an important role. Rather than show off everything he can do at once – there would be time for that on Van Halen‘s next track, “Eruption” – Eddie Van Halen serves the song by twice repeating a gorgeously composed melodic refrain.

1. “Mean Street”
From: Fair Warning (1981)

Eddie Van Halen was in a bit of a mood when it came time to record Van Halen’s fourth record – wary of being pushed into a more pop-friendly direction and restricted from studio exploration. So he took more control over Fair Warning by returning to the studio after his bandmates went home. The result was a dark and aggressive album which many fans consider to be among the band’s finest works. “Mean Street” kicks off with a guitar solo that sounds like a bull being let out of a rodeo pen, and finds the band locking into a sinister and downright dirty groove.

Bruce Springsteen has rush released a four-song EP from his much-discussed May 14 performance in Manchester, England, as the E Street Band’s European tour continues. He announced a new name for the trek on stage that night, the Land of Hope and Dreams Tour, and this new release shares the same title.

“The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock ‘n’ roll, in dangerous times,” Springsteen said before launching into the set. Land of Hope and Dreams includes the title track, “Long Walk Home,” “My City of Ruins” and Springsteen’s cover of “Chimes of Freedom” by Bob Dylan. Check out “Land of Hope and Dreams” and “Chimes of Freedom” below, and see the cover image and complete track listing.

“Land of Hope and Dreams” was written and recorded prior to Springsteen’s 1999 reunion tour with the E Street Band, and premiered on 2001’s Live in New York City before the official studio version was included on 2012’s Wrecking Ball. “My City of Ruins” actually pre-dates 9/11 but later became the gospel-tinged concluding anthem from 2002’s The Rising, an album centered on New York City’s survival and renewal following historic terrorist attacks.

READ MORE: Top 10 Bruce Springsteen Songs

Listen to Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’

“Long Walk Home” originally appeared on 2007’s Magic. Springsteen last played “Chimes of Freedom” on stage in 1988, during his Tunnel of Love Express Tour with the Miami Horns. He released a previous live recording of the track later the same year in support of Amnesty International.

Before kicking off these dates in 2023, Springsteen hadn’t appeared with the E Street Band since 2017. Illness postponed some shows. Springsteen has now reworked the setlist with a new focus on more politically charged songs, and on-stage remarks included in this EP sparked a heated controversy. Confirmed 2025 tour dates continue through July in the UK and Europe, with shows in the U.S. presumably to follow.

Listen to Bruce Springsteen’s Cover of ‘Chimes of Freedom’

Columbia / Sony

Bruce Springsteen, ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’ Track Listing

“Land of Hope and Dreams (Introduction)”
“Land of Hope and Dreams (Live)”
“Long Walk Home (Live)”
“My City of Ruins (Introduction)”
“My City of Ruins (Live)”
“Chimes of Freedom (Live)”

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Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci

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Britpop icon Robbie Williams has released a new song, “Rocket,” featuring Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath fame.

“Rocket” will be part of Williams’ upcoming album, aptly titled Britpop. It will be released this fall, though an exact date has yet to be revealed, and is currently available for pre-ordering.

You can listen to “Rocket” below.

READ MORE: Top 10 Tony Iommi Guitar Solos

Iommi is not the only former Sabbath member to be a part of Williams’ album — Glenn Hughes also participated in it — but Williams has said that “Rocket” is his top choice.

“This [track] is massive guitars, as you can imagine,” he told NME last December. “It’s adrenaline-filled and balls-to-the-wall. That one in particular is my favorite song off my new album – that I’ve just announced is happening!”

More About ‘Britpop’

“I set out to create the album that I wanted to write and release after I left Take That in 1995,” Williams recently said of his new LP in a statement (via Billboard). “It was the peak of Britpop and a golden age for British music. I’ve worked with some of my heroes on this album; it’s raw, there are more guitars and it’s an album that’s even more upbeat and anthemic than usual. There’s some ‘Brit’ in there and there’s certainly some ‘pop’ too – I’m immensely proud of this as a body of work and I’m excited for fans to hear this album.”

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Neil Young has a message for President Donald Trump in the wake of his attacks against Bruce Springsteen.

President Trump recently lashed out at Springsteen, who has been vocal at his concerts about what he describes as a “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.” In a social media post, President Trump deemed Springsteen a “dried out prune of a rocker” who should “keep his mouth shut” when it comes to American politics. Springsteen did not respond to the post.

But Young has now weighed in on the matter, posting a statement to his website: “Bruce and thousands of musicians think you are ruining America. You worry about that instead of the dyin’ kids in Gaza. That’s your problem. I am not scared of you. Neither are the rest of us. You shut down FEMA when we needed it most. That’s your problem Trump. STOP THINKING ABOUT WHAT ROCKERS ARE SAYING. Think about saving America from the mess you made.

“You are more worried about yourself than AMERICA,” Young’s statement continued. “Wake up Trump!! Remember what the White House is? … You work for us. Wake up Republicans! This guy is out of control. We need a real president!”

Young signed off on his statement: “Neil Young and many others.”

Neil Young’s History With President Trump

Young has previously spoke about possibly being detained if he goes overseas to play concerts, as he is scheduled to do this summer.

“When I go to play music in Europe, if I talk about Donald J Trump, I may be one of those returning to America who is barred or put in jail to sleep on a cement floor with an aluminum blanket,” Young wrote on his site (via The Guardian). “That is happening all the time now. Countries have new advice for those returning to America.”

Young’s tour will head back to the U.S. in August.

“If I come back from Europe and am barred, can’t play my U.S.A. tour, all of the folks who bought tickets will not be able to come to a concert by me,” he continued. “That’s right folks. If you say anything bad about Trump or his administration, you may be barred from re-entering U.S.A. if you are Canadian. If you are a dual citizen like me, who knows? We’ll all find that out together.”

Young, who has been critical of President Trump in years past, was born and raised in Canada, but had held U.S. citizenship since 2020. Young’s wife, the actress and filmmaker Daryl Hannah, recently said that Young’s citizenship was nearly not completed because of President Trump’s first administration.

READ MORE: 16 Rockers Who Followed the American Dream and Became US Citizens

“They tried every trick in the book to mess him up, and made him keep coming back to be re-interviewed and re-interviewed,” she told the San Francisco Chronicle last month, also addressing the concern of re-entry into the U.S.

“They’ve been detaining people who have green cards or visas — which is hideous and horrifying — but they have not, so far, been refusing to let American citizens back in the country,” she said, “so I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

Starship‘s “We Built This City,” which its own singer Grace Slick labeled “the worst song ever,” has seemingly achieved its ultimate destiny as the soundtrack for a toilet paper commercial.

The gratingly peppy, keyboard-saturated “We Built This City” topped the pop charts in 1985. It also drew immediate and lasting scorn from fans offended by its highly produced corporate rock style, especially since Starship’s family tree (via Slick and Jefferson Starship) traced back directly to ’60s counter-culture icons Jefferson Airplane. It is regularly included on lists of the worst songs of all time.

Now re-written and re-recorded as “We Quilt This City,” the song is being used to sell Quilted Northern toilet paper. The commercial embedded below features three women turning a supermarket into a brightly colored ’80s dance club while promising to change your toilet paper game: “So cushy and so plushy / Just give it a try / Feeling is believing / We quilt this city with a comfy roll.”

Read More: In Defense of Starship’s ‘We Built This City’

In a 2012 interview Slick explained that she never liked “We Built This City,” but agreed to sing it in order to make up for being a bad bandmate in the past. “I was such an asshole for a while, I was trying to make up for it by being sober, which I was all during the ’80s, which is a bizarre decade to be sober in,” she told Vanity Fair. “So I was trying to make it up to the band by being a good girl. Here, we’re going to sing this song, ‘We Built This City on Rock & Roll.’ Oh you’re shitting me, that’s the worst song ever.”

Watch the Starship-Inspired “We Quilt This City” Commercial

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Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band have added a fall tour to their already scheduled 2025 dates.

The new tour starts in a few weeks and runs through June. The latest shows start in September and will keep the band on the road throughout the month, with most of the concerts part of a new residency at the Venetian in Las Vegas.

Starr’s latest album, Look Up, is a country record produced by T Bone Burnett and featuring appearances by Alison Krauss, Larkin Poe, Lucius, Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle. He played a show in Nashville around the time of the album’s release in January.

READ MORE: Every Beatles Song Ranked

The band for the newly announced run includes the same lineup as the spring dates: Steve Lukather, Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Hamish Stuart, Gregg Bissonette and Buck Johnson.

Where Is Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band Playing in 2025?

Starr and his group will kick off their new tour on June 12 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and play 10 dates before wrapping up on June 25 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The fall dates start on Sept. 10 in Chicago and include a date at the Bourbon & Beyond music festival in Louisville. The new concerts include six performances at the Venetian in Las Vegas with a final show on Sept. 27.

Ringo Starr and His All Star Band’s 2025 concert dates are below.

Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band 2025 Tour
June 12 Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater, Bridgeport, CT
June 13 Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY
June 15 TD Pavilion at The Mann, Philadelphia, PA
June 17 Wolf Trap, Vienna, VA
June 18 Tanger Center, Greensboro, NC
June 20 Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, FL
June 21 The BayCare Sound, Clearwater, FL
June 22 The St Augustine Amphitheater, St Augustine, FL
June 24 Mercedes-Benz Amphitheater, Tuscaloosa, AL
June 25 Ovens Auditorium, Charlotte, NC
September 10 The Chicago Theatre, Chicago, IL
September 12 Miller High Life Theater, Milwaukee, WI
September 13 Bourbon & Beyond, Louisville, KY
September 17 The Venetian, Las Vegas, NV
September 18 The Venetian, Las Vegas, NV
September 20 The Venetian, Las Vegas, NV
September 21 Ironstone, Murphys, CA
September 23 TBA
September 24 The Venetian, Las Vegas, NV
September 26 The Venetian, Las Vegas, NV
September 27 The Venetian, Las Vegas, NV