Plant Agrees To Zeppelin Tour (Allegedly)

Rock legends Led Zeppelin are finally set to embark on a reunion tour after West Bromwich-born lead singer Robert Plant caved in and agreed to join the rest of the band, it was reported on birminghammail.net.
Guitarist Jimmy Page, aged 64, bassist John Paul Jones, 62, and drummer Jason Bonham, 42, son of the late Led Zep drummer John Bonham, from Redditch, were resigned to going on the road without Plant.
They even rehearsed with stand-in singers in preparation for a tour next year following the massive success of a one-off concert at London’s 02 Arena last December.
It is understood that the rehearsals for a replacement lead vocalist finally persuaded Plant, aged 60, who grew up and began his musical career around Kidderminster in Worcestershire, to return to the Led Zeppelin line-up.
Plant, who has been spending a lot of time working with country singer Alison Kraus, helped celebrate last October’s re-opening of Birmingham Town Hall.
A source close to Led Zeppelin said: “The rest of the band had all but given up on Robert joining them, but they were determined to go ahead and had started to seriously explore other avenues. “When Robert realised the band were serious about doing it without him, he realised he couldn’t face the thought of not being involved.”

McCartney Rocks Tel Aviv

After a 43-year wait, Paul McCartney performed his first concert in Israel tonight (Sept. 25) in Tel Aviv, kicking it off with the familiar Beatles song "Hello, Goodbye" to the joy of tens of thousands of cheering fans, reports Billboard.
McCartney billed the concert "Friendship First," saying he's on a mission of peace for Israel and the Palestinians.
During "Give Peace a Chance," he stopped and let the audience sing the chorus alone. "Here tonight you sang it, you want it," the 66-year-old rocker said. He dedicated the song to his fellow Beatle, John Lennon, who was killed in New York in 1980. Fireworks lit the sky as McCartney sang "Live and Let Die."
A crowd made up of Israelis of all ages, estimated at 40,000, cheered as McCartney performed outdoors in Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park on a warm late summer night. Some wore T-shirts with the slogan, "I love Paul."
He greeted the crowd with a mixture of English and Hebrew, wishing them "shana tova," happy new year, ahead of next week's Jewish new year holiday. He added "Ramadan kareem" in Arabic, a greeting to Muslims, who are marking their holy month.
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His repertoire included many Beatles hits, as well as songs from his post-Beatles group, Wings. The songs included "Yesterday," "Back in the USSR," "Hey Jude" and "Jet."
The Beatles had been scheduled to perform in 1965. But in one of the country's most widely repeated tales, an Israeli official supposedly called off the concert for fear it would corrupt the nation's youth. Only in recent weeks, it turns out the story may not have been true.
So pervasive is this story that Israel's ambassador in London, Ron Prosor, sent a letter to McCartney and Ringo Starr, the two surviving Beatles, to express regret over the matter.
"Israel missed a chance to learn from the most influential musicians of the decade, and the Beatles missed an opportunity to reach out to one of the most passionate audiences in the world," he wrote. He invited them to play during this year's celebrations marking Israel's 60th anniversary.
When McCartney announced plans for tonight's concert, he acknowledged the brouhaha, saying he was finally coming "43 years after being banned by the Israeli government." He promised to give fans "the night they have been waiting decades for."
Ahead of the concert, newspaper columnist Yossi Sarid, son of the Israeli official who allegedly banned the Beatles, went on a campaign to clear his father's name. Sarid claimed his father had nothing to do with the decision, and that it involved a more mundane feud between two Israeli concert promoters.
Sarid, reached ahead of the concert, said he hadn't heard from McCartney's people and had no plans to attend. "The tickets are too expensive," he said.
A small group of Palestinians had urged McCartney to call off the show, saying it was supporting the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. A radical Muslim preacher in Lebanon also called on McCartney to cancel the show.
During a visit to the biblical town of Bethlehem on Wednesday, McCartney brushed off the criticism. "I get criticized everywhere I go, but I don't listen to them," McCartney said. "I'm bringing a message of peace, and I think that's what the region needs."

Kinks To Reform?

Ray Davies has told BBC Radio 4 that the seminal English band The Kinks could reform soon.
However, not content for them to function as little more than a nostalgia act, he wants the band to work on new material.
Davies told the UK radio station: "There is a desire to do it. The thing that would make me decide 'yes' or 'no' would be whether or not we could do new songs.
"I couldn't do it just for nostalgic reasons. My pitch to the other guys in the band was what would we have written if we hadn't had our first hit, You Really Got Me?
"What if we put ourselves in that situation, what would have happened? I think new work is important for artists as they mature and get older."
He went on to explain that the main obstacle to them reforming was the illness of his brother, guitarist Dave Davies, who suffered a stroke in 2004.
Here's a reminder of what was so great about The Kinks, this video of the band rocking an NME awards show in 1965, introduced by an appallingly-attired Jimmy Saville.

McCartney Tells Terrorists To Shove It

Paul McCartney’s concert in Israel next week could be his last, because a gang of Islamic extremists are running around telling everyone that they’re going to kill him if he follows through with his plan to play there.
However, Paul McCartney has shown admirable strength of character by refusing to bow to these religious fanatics. In fact, if anything this death threat has just strengthened Paul McCartney’s resolve.

Next Thursday he is playing a concert in Tel Aviv, which would be fine except for all the Islamic extremists carping on about killing him if he does. But, as The New York Times reports, McCartney is unbowed:
Paul McCartney has refused to cancel his concert in Israel, despite threats from Islamic militants, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. The response follows comments made by Omar Bakri Muhammad, a militant Lebanese Islamic activist, in an interview. Mr. Bakri said, “If he values his life, Mr. McCartney must not come to Israel… He will not be safe there. The sacrifice operatives will be waiting for him.”

Paperwork Hitch To Zeppelin Reunion

Singer Robert Plant insists he hasn't ruled out another Led Zeppelin reunion. Turns out he just hates paperwork, that's all.
Apparently, there's a lot of it attached to anything Zep-related, and it's this kind of bureaucracy that puts him off the idea.
SinceLed Zeppelin's historic one-off gig at London's O2 arena last year - the band's first concert in 19 years - they have been hounded by rumours of a world tour. All of which makes Plant, still on tour with bluegrass star Alison Krauss (whose legal documents must be written on Post-It notes), skittish about hitting the road.
Just for the O2 show, Plant says, "The endless paperwork was like nothing I've experienced before. I've kept every one of the emails that were exchanged before the concert and I'm thinking of compiling them for a book, which I feel sure would be hailed as a sort of literary version of Spinal Tap."
In must will come as a harsh slap to millions of Zeppelin fans, Plant adds: "Led Zeppelin's never been about the fans. We've always been about four guys coming together to make thrilling, disturbing rock 'n' roll. On our own terms."
Coming together on your own terms? Avoiding paperwork? Hmmm, seems like Plant could use a lawyer. You'd think he could afford one.

Floyd's Rick Wright Dies

Pink Floyd keyboardist and founding member Rick Wright has died.
The musician passed away at home on Monday 15th September aged 65 after losing a battle with cancer.
A spokesperson for Rick's family said: "The family of Richard Wright, founder member of Pink Floyd, announce with great sadness that Richard died after a short struggle with cancer. The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this difficult time."
Rick played with Pink Floyd from 1965 - originally alongside the first line-up of Roger Waters, Nick Mason and the late Syd Barrett - and continued to play with the group until 1985.
The self-taught musician was seen as the early driving force in the band, alongside frontman Syd, and his organ playing was one of the distinguishing features of debut album 'Piper at the Gates of Dawn'.
Rick saw his responsibilities as a songwriter increase in the group after Syd left in 1968 and was replaced by David Gilmour. He composed and recorded vocals on two songs on the band's second album 'A Saucerful of Secrets'.
He also wrote 'Us and Them' and 'The Great Gig in the Sky', both of which featured on the band's seminal album 'Dark Side of the Moon'.
David paid tribute to his former bandmate, saying: "He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognised Pink Floyd sound. I have never played with anyone quite like him."
Tensions between Rick, bassist Roger and David led to a fall out during the making of 'The Wall' album, and Rick was subsequently not included on the group's 1983 album 'The Final Cut'. He then left the group in 1985.
He later rejoined the band following Roger's departure, and recorded two more albums with drummer Nick and David - 'A Momentary Lapse of Reason' and 'The Division Bell'.
The last time the band performed together was in 2005 when all four members took to the stage for the Live 8 charity concert in London - the first time in 25 years they had all played together.
Rick also released two solo albums, 'Wet Dream' in 1978 and 'Broken China' in 1996. He is survived by three children and third wife Millie.

New Peter Green Anthology

A comprehensive new anthology that covers the entire career of troubled guitar genius, Peter Green is due to be released on 27 October.
Simply titled The Anthology, the 4CD, 64 track collection starts with Peter Green’s work with John Mayall in the early 60s and runs chronologically via Fleetwood Mac all the way through to Green’s recent work with the Splinter Group.
Here’s the full tracklist:

Disc 1
1. Evil Woman Blues With John Mayall
2. The Stumble With John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
3. Sitting In The Rain With John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
4. The World Keep On Turning With Fleetwood Mac
5. The Supernatural With John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
6. Looking For Somebody With Fleetwood Mac
7. Long Grey Mare (Feat. Bob Brunning) With Fleetwood Mac
8. Stop Messin' Around With Fleetwood Mac
9. Train Is Coming With Eddie Boyd & His Blues Band
10. Greeny With John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
11. Soul Dressing With Peter B's Looners
12. I Loved Another Woman With Fleetwood Mac
13. No Place To Go With Fleetwood Mac
14. You Don't Love Me With John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
15. Lazy Poker Blues With Fleetwood Mac
16. Merry Go Round With Fleetwood Mac
17. Trying So Hard To Forget With Duster Bennett
18. Ramblin' Pony With Fleetwood Mac
19. Drifting With Fleetwood Mac


Disc 2
1. Black Magic Woman With Fleetwood Mac
2. Albatross With Fleetwood Mac
3. Ain't Nobody's Business With Otis Spann
4. Someday Baby With Otis Spann
5. Watch Out With Fleetwood Mac (Blues Jam At Chess)
6. Ooh Baby With Fleetwood Mac (Blues Jam At Chess)
7. Horton's Boogie Woogie - (Blues Jam At Chess)
8. Love That Burns With Fleetwood Mac
9. First Train Home With Fleetwood Mac
10. Need Your Love So Bad With Fleetwood Mac
11. Don't Goof With The Spook With Peter Bardens
12. The Answer With Peter Bardens
13. Homage To The God Of Light With Peter Bardens
14. Oh Well Part 1 And Part 2 With Fleetwood Mac


Disc 3
1. Man Of The World With Fleetwood Mac
2. Before The Beginning With Fleetwood Mac
3. Momma Don'tcha Cry Peter Green, Solo
4. Underway With Fleetwood Mac
5. Rattlesnake Shake With Fleetwood Mac
6. It's Gonna Be Me Peter Green, Solo
7. White Sky (Love That Evil Woman) With Fleetwood Mac
8. The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown) With Fleetwood Mac
9. Show-Biz Blues With Fleetwood Mac
10. In The Skies Peter Green, Solo
11. Like A Hot Tomato Peter Green, Solo
12. Whatcha Gonna Do? Peter Green, Solo
13. Carry My Love Peter Green, Solo
14. Corners Of My Mind Peter Green, Solo
15. Hidden Depth (Feat. Zoot Money) Peter Green, Solo


Disc 4
1. Big Change Is Gonna Come With Splinter Group
2. I'm A Steady Rollin' Man (Feat. Otis Rush) With Nigel Watson & Splinter Group
3. It Takes Time With Splinter Group
4. Don't Walk Away With Splinter Group
5. Heart Of Stone With Splinter Group
6. Love In Vain Blues With Nigel Watson & Splinter Group
7. From Four Until Late (Feat. Dr John) With Nigel Watson & Splinter Group
8. I'm Ready For You With Splinter Group
9. Cruel Contradictions With Dick Heckstall-Smith
10. Me And The Devil Blues With Nigel Watson & Splinter Group
11. Cross Road Blues (Feat. Buddy Guy) With Nigel Watson & Splinter Group
12. Dead Shrimp Blues (Feat. Hubert Sumlin) With Nigel Watson & Splinter Group
13. Travelling Riverside Blues (Feat. Joe Louis Walker & Honey Boy Edwards) With Nigel
Watson & Splinter Group
14. Time Keeps Slipping Away With Splinter Group
15. Look Out For Yourself With Splinter Group
16. Albatross With Chris Coco

Review - Ryan McGarvey - Forward In Reverse

Ryan McGarvey was born on October 30th 1986, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

At a very early age Ryan took an interest in music, in particular the guitar. As an infant, Ryan would crawl over to his father Patrick while he was playing and listen intently.

At two years old, Ryan received his first real acoustic guitar, made by Harmony.

At around seven years old, Ryan's interest in music intensified. He became well acquainted with the music he had grown up listening to from his parents record collection of classic hard rock. Soon he was trying to recreate the sounds he heard coming from those albums by such artists as Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers and Stevie Ray Vaughan. From these early influences, Ryan discovered new artists.

New inspiration developed from these new artists such as Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Chris Duarte, Ian Moore and Joe Bonamassa.

Gathering inspiration from all of these influences helped shape the sound which would soon become Ryan's own.

In his second year in high school, Ryan's first band won a city wide talent competition, allowing the him to open for internationally known Latino singing sensations Sparx and Lorenzo Antonio. The concert was held at Sandia Casinos outdoor amphitheatre to a sold out crowd, exceeding 5,000 people.

Ryan won the contest the following year too. Since then, Ryan has performed at many of the most prestigious venues and festivals in New Mexico, Texas, and southern Colorado.

As well as playing with many well known blues musicians in the southwest, Ryan has also had the opportunity to jam with Mississippi Delta Blues legends Kenny Brown and Cedric Burnside at the Thirsty Ear Festival.

He has since opened, and played for the likes of Phil Brown, John Hammond Jr. , Buddy Guy, Joe Ely, Ozomatli, Reckless Kelly, Junior Brown, Tim Reynolds, Shannon Curfman, Shemekia Copeland, Blue Oyster Cult, Gov't Mule, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Joe Bonamassa and many others as well as being asked to sit in with the likes of his heroes Wes Jeans, Chris Duarte and Ian Moore.

At the 2006 Guitar Center "Guitarmaggedon" Ryan was named the "Next King Of The Blues" champion for New Mexico and was most recently voted in 2007 "Best Blues Act" of the year by The Weekly Alibi's (Readers Poll). Ryan also took home the 2007 New Mexico Music Award for "Best Musical Production: Blues" in addition to being nominated for "Best Musical Production : Mainstream/Rock".

Now 20 years of age, his debut CD "Forward In Reverse" available and he is presently playing shows throughout the southwest U.S. backed by his band.

The album’s pace is set with the sounds of blues harmonica combined with slide guitar on the intro to "Right In All The Wrong ways" and never lets up.
"Joyride" sounds like early Bad Company before morphing into a full blown guitar workout with two extended solos. Aficionados of great guitar will love this track.
"Texas Special", a tribute to SRV, is the only time McGarvey truly travels this route and it is well worth the journey. With a passing resemblance to "Scuttlebuttin'", it's a model for this facet of his playing style. Featuring lightning quick fingerwork, this live favorite captures perfectly what the legendary bluesman was all about.
"Someone Like You" brings a touch of modernity to the proceedings.
"Second Time Around" is an acoustic workout with its delicate picking providing a change of pace to the blistering guitar work featured elsewhere.
Tough, hard rocking blues is what you get with “Crying Over You”, bringing the sound of classic Chicago guitar based blues to the modern age.
Next comes the instrumental "Mystic Dream". Beginning with an intro similar to recent live renditions of Joe Bonamassa's "Mountain Time", with a middle eastern vibe, it has a spaced out, psychedelic feel. It builds in intensity until exploding guitars take flight. This track alone would serve notice that McGarvey is poised to become one of the cream of the crop of new blues rock players.
The last track is another high note, a down and dirty blues, "Blue Eyed Angel Blues". With strong vocals and more explosive playing, it's a fine end to a very strong debut.
Whereas artists like Joe Bonamassa are dragging the blues kicking and screaming into the new century, it's players such as McGarvey who are it's future. Purists will probably wince when they hear some of this, but seeing as earlier (and sometimes the same) said keepers of the blues museum felt the same way about Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Page, Hendrix and Jeff Beck in the past, he seems to be in good company.
Preview the future of the blues today without hesitation. You won't be disappointed. In the crowded blues rock multitude, McGarvey stands out as the real thing.

Let's hope we see him over here soon.


"Ryan's playing has the passion and exuberance of youth, but its further lifted by a deep dedication to his craft. His technique is awe-inspiring, but it's the dawning subtleties and emotional range that hints of the greatest possibilities--"- Ian Moore


"Look for this young lion in the future because he's looking for his own sound and what I've heard so far, I like it."- Chris Duarte



http://cdbaby.com/cd/ryanmcgarvey

Winwood On Tour

Former Blind Faith & Traffic star Steve Winwood is touring the UK this winter.
The legendary keyboardist & songwriter will play six dates promoting his excellent Nine Lives album, which was released earlier this year.
Winwood has been busy this year. As well as the new album, he reunited with Eric Clapton for a sold out and very well received three night stint at Madison Square Garden back in February.
Tickets for the UK dates are on sale now from http://www.livenation.co.uk/

New Bonamassa Album Hits Charts

Joe Bonamassa’s new live album, Live From Nowhere In Particular, is hitting the charts around the world.
It currently lies at number 45 in the UK charts, and at number 5 in the UK indie charts.
Meanwhile in his native US the album is really riding high. Now they do have a lot of charts over there so pay attention:
It is number 1 on the Billboard Blues Charts and number 136 in the general Billboard Charts.
If you haven’t heard it yet it is well worth hearing. It will certainly feature as one of the best albums of the year.

Original Stones Logo Back Home

The original artwork of the famous Rolling Stones Tongue & Lips logo has been bought at an auction by the V&A Museum in London, reports Planet Rock.
John Pasche originally designed it in 1970 and it has adorned every Stones album since 1971 and remains one of the most recognisable rock images.
He was apparently paid £50 for the rights to the logo in 1970 and a further £200 in 1972.
The V&A Museum bought the original drawings of the for around £50,000 at a US auction last week after learning they were on sale. They’re now on display at the museum.
Speaking to the Guardian, Pasche says that funds would go towards his family. "I have an 11-year-old son and this money is going to go towards his education," he said.