Music news aplenty going into the weekend including updates on Royal Blood (whose set blew away at Coachella back in 2015), Don McLean, and Paul McCartney's forthcoming album...Robert Kinsler
Royal Blood share new video for hit single "Trouble's Coming”
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Royal Blood is Mike Kerr (vocals, keys, bass, piano)
and Ben Thatcher (drums).
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October 23, 2020 (Los Angeles, CA) - Royal Blood are back. The taut rhythms and electrifying riffs that burst from their current hit single “Trouble’s Coming” herald a bold evolution in their sound as they stride confidently towards next year’s release of their highly anticipated third album. Click here to view and share the video. Click here to stream the track.
Just weeks after its release, it’s already approaching 6 million streams. The duo landed on the cover of ROCK THIS, Spotify’s flagship global rock playlist, while breaking the Top 20 at the Alternative and Active Rock formats in the US. Add support from alternative radio everywhere, plus global media attention spanning Rolling Stone, NME, Spin, Clash and much more. Royal Blood are set to make the biggest impact of an all-conquering career.
Today, Royal Blood share the official video for “Trouble’s Coming.” Their granite-heavy bass and drums attack is now flavored by insistent grooves inspired by Daft Punk, Justice and Phillipe Zdar. The video was directed by Dir. LX, best known for his work on U.K. rap and grime icons such as Dave, Bugzy Malone and Kojo Funds, and takes his cues from Mike Kerr’s ominous lyrics to create a video that pulsates with foreboding atmospherics and cinematic, neo-noir flair.
“Trouble’s Coming” proved to be the turning point in the creative process. It concisely tees up what to expect from the record: a very organic infusion of their visceral hard rock sting with a dance-tinged rhythm that grooves rather than pummels.
In the space of just two albums, Royal Blood have ascended to become one of the world’s biggest and most vital rock bands. The Brighton, England duo have scored two U.K. #1 albums - their self-titled double-Platinum, self-titled debut from 2014 and 2017’s How Did We Get So Dark? – in the process of selling 2 million albums worldwide. Their acclaim has included the BRIT Award for Best British Groupplus further accolades at the NME and Kerrang! Awards as well as a Mercury Prize nomination. What’s more, they’ve made a major international impact, hitting the Top 10 in a further seven territories and peaking at #2 on the U.S. Alternative Album chart. Further U.S. success has included three #1 hits at Rock Radio, plus four Top 20 records at Alternative Radio.
A huge draw in the live arena, Royal Blood’s most recent full-scale U.K. and Ireland headline tour saw them perform in front of 100,000 people, including 30,000 over three sold-out nights at London’s cavernous Alexandra Palace. Key festivals have included Coachella, Lollapalooza, Glastonbury (where they famously discovered, mid-set, that their second album had debuted at #1), Reading and Leeds Festivals. Highlights of their extensive international touring include huge North American tours with Queens of the Stone Age and Foo Fighters, plus headline shows as far afield as Los Angeles, Tokyo and Sydney.
Don McLean releases new album 'Still Playin' Favorites'
| A follow-up to his 1973 covers album 'Playin' Favorites', this new collection digs deep into the roots of American music and adds a rock and roll edge to country, folk, gospel, bluegrass, blues, jazz, and soul gems |
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FAIRFAX, Va. - Don McLean pays homage to American music with his new covers album, Still Playin’ Favorites, released today through Time Life. Spanning more than 100 years of songwriting, McLean assembled a treasury of music from country, folk, gospel, bluegrass, blues, jazz and soul for the album, performing them with a rock and roll twist. Don discusses several of the tracks in a new video series on his YouTube channel, including “Backwater Blues,” originally recorded by Bessie Smith in 1927.
“I just love writing songs and I love hearing songs by good writers that make sense and have lyrics that say something and that are pretty simple,” Don explains about the concept behind the album. “My version is just a little bit more rock and roll, a little harder-edged, with drums and double guitars,” he goes on to say about the classic blues and jazz song, “Backwater Blues.” When it came to recording “Got The Bull By The Horns,” originally performed by Johnny Horton, “I changed a few of the words, I hope he won’t mind,” McLean admits good-naturedly. The collection also features songs made famous by Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Clyde Moody, Mel Tillis, Ray Charles, Mahalia Jackson, Elvis Presley, and more.
Still Playin’ Favorites is modeled after his first album of cover songs, Playin’ Favorites, a remarkable artistic statement for a young songwriter to release on the heels of his masterworks “American Pie” and “Vincent.” The new album extends his original tribute to the great songwriters who have helped shape American music and, in turn, McLean’s work.
To keep up with Don McLean and be a part of his upcoming announcements, visit his website and follow his social channels linked below.
Still Playin' Favorites track listing:
01. So Doggone Lonesome (Johnny Cash)
02. Greenback Dollar (Hoyt Axton, Ken Ramsey)
03. Hide Nor Hair (Morton Craft, Percy Mayfield)
04. I Ain’t Never (Webb Pierce, Mel Tillis)
05. Little Sister (Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman)
06. I’m Going To Live The Life I Sing About in My Song (Thomas A. Dorsey)
07. Six White Horses (Clyde Moody)
08. Treat Me Nice (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller)
09. Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine) (Bob Dylan)
10. Backwater Blues (Bessie Smith)
11. The Keys to the Kingdom (Jenny Lou Carson)
12. Got The Bull By The Horns (Amos E. Byrd, Billy Jones)
13. Tell Old Bill (Traditional, Arranged by Don McLean)
14. She Used To Love Me A Lot (Charles W. Quillen, Dennis Morgan, Kye Fleming)
About Don McLean:
Don McLean is a Grammy award honoree, a Songwriter Hall of Fame member, a BBC Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, and his smash hit “American Pie” resides in the Library of Congress National Recording Registry and was named by the Recording Industry of America (RIAA) a top 5 song of the 20th Century. A New York native, Don McLean is one of the most revered and respected songwriters in American history. After paying his dues in the New York club scene in the late ‘60s, he went on to score mega-hits like “Vincent (Starry, Starry Night),” “Castles in the Air” and many more. His catalog of songs has been recorded by Madonna, Garth Brooks, Josh Groban, Drake, Weird “Al” Yankovic, and countless others. In 2015, one of McLean’s four handwritten manuscripts of the lyrics to “American Pie” was auctioned by Christies, selling for just over $1.2 Million. 2019 honored Don with a star on the Las Vegas Walkway of Stars and his song “And I Love You So” was the theme for Prince Harry and Megan Markle’s wedding. Now in 2020, Don signed a recording contract with Time Life to release his catalog of recordings as well as the highly anticipated new album Still Playin’ Favorites, releasing October 23rd. “American Pie” will be featured in the Avengers Black Widow and the Tom Hanks movie BIOS and much more to be announced. And when you think things are slowing down, not so for Don McLean! 2021 will mark the 50th anniversary of American Pie with a world tour to follow.
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Van Morrison shares 'No More Lockdown,' anti-lockdown original protest song |
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Rock Cellar magazine has a timely update and link to hear the newly-released blues-flavored track "No More Lockdown" from legendary great Van Morrison you can see HERE. The lyrics for the hard-hitting song taking a swipe at government overreach are also included on the post.
'McCartney III' update via Music Worth Buying co-host TJR
TJR has a new video preview on Paul McCartney's forthcoming album McCartney III that you can see via his YouTube channel HERE.
