Author: LRussell

The past three months’ best reissues and archival releases focus on artists’ key albums and the stories behind their creations.

This is especially true of new releases by David Bowie, Deep Purple and Billy Idol, whose respective best records are expanded for their anniversaries with demos, alternated versions, outtakes and live tracks.

But other great records from the first part of the year turn the spotlight on previously unreleased concert recordings. Late-’60s era Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, “Godmother of Rock ‘n’ Roll” Sister Rosetta Tharpe and spiritual jazz icon Alice Coltrane all saw releases of their unheard stage work during the first quarter of 2024. Plus an oft-bootlegged Paul McCartney & Wings live album from the ’70s gets an official release.

READ MORE: The Best Reissues From Winter 2024

Then there are sets by Timothy B. Schmidt‘s early bands before he joined Poco and Eagles, and a British garage-rock combo that recorded under several different names; these collections gather the artists’ complete recorded output for the first time.

There are also new reissues and archival sets from Nancy Sinatra (Light in the Attic continuing its excellent series of her records with B-sides and outtakes) and cult baroque pop singer-songwriter Margo Guryan, whose career is outlined in a new collection from Numero Group.

All this plus an overview of the Los Angeles music scene, via Laurel Canyon, in the late ’60s and early ’70s on a three-CD compilation featuring some of the era’s biggest and best names, and a newly expanded box set about Black artists in country music. These records are highlighted below in the spring 2024 edition of Reissue Roundup.

The complete lineup of R.E.M. delivered their first public performance since 2007 to mark their induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame Thursday night.

The quartet delivered just one song – their signature track “Losing My Religion” –  at the Marriott Marquee Hotel, New York, NY, which can be seen below.

While singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills broke up the band in 2011, drummer Bill Berry left in 1997. He made a handful of guest appearances over the following decade, the last of those being at their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2007.

READ MORE: Peter Buck Wouldn’t Go Back to R.E.M. Level of Success

The band posted two pictures via social media about the experience. The first showed them receiving their award, with the comment: “What a moment at the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Thank you Jason Isbell and so many others over the years.” The second showed the quartet in action, with the brief comment: “Another moment… oh life.”

As Consequence reported, it’s possible that the performance was a last-minute decision. Asked in a CBS interview earlier that day whether a reunion was possible, Mills said only “a comet” could make it happen. Asked why it wasn’t on the cards, Buck replied: “It would never be as good.”

Why R.E.M.’s ‘Losing My Relgioin’ is Like a Bumble Bee

In the same interview, Buck looked back on how he’d come up with the riff for “Losing My Religion,” which became the band’s biggest hit when it reached No. 4 in 1991. “We were just messing about with a mandolin,” he said. “And I still don’t play mandolin!”

Stipe said he had “no idea” how he’d come up with the leading lyrics. “I remember originally it was ‘That’s me in the kitchen’ and not ‘in the spotlight,’” he explained. “ I love the song – but I never thought it was going to be a hit.”

Mills added: “It’s like a bumble bee – they shouldn’t be able to fly; and that song should never have been a hit!”

R.E.M. Perform ‘Losing My Religion’

Mark James, the songwriter known for penning such timeless tracks as “Suspicious Minds,” “Hooked on a Feeling” and “Always on My Mind”, has died at the age of 83.

James’ passing was first reported by the Houston Chronicle, who noted he died in his Nashville home on Saturday, June 8.

James’ career got started in the late ‘60s when he became a staff songwriter for Memphis record producer Chips Moman. While there, he wrote and recorded the song “Suspicious Minds,” however James’ rendition didn’t garner any commercial attention. A year later, Elvis Presley recorded his version of the tune and turned it into a No. 1 single, the final chart-topper of the King’s career.

In a 2012 conversation with the Wall Street Journal, James recalled how “Suspicious Minds” came together. “Late one night, fooling around on my Fender guitar and using my Hammond organ pedals for a bass line, I came up with a catchy melody,” he explained. “I was married to my first wife then but still had feelings for my childhood sweetheart, who was married back in Houston. My wife suspected I had those feelings, so it was a confusing time for me. I felt as though all three of us were all caught in this trap that we couldn’t walk out of.”

Listen to Elvis Presley’s Version of ‘Suspicious Minds’

Also in 1968, James wrote the song “Hooked on a Feeling.” It was recorded by one of his childhood friends, B.J. Thomas, and eventually peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969. Four years later the band Blue Swede would reach No. 1 with their version of “Hooked on a Feeling,” featuring the memorable “ooga chaka” chant.

Another of James’ beloved songs, “Always on My Mind,” was originally recorded by singer Brenda Lee in 1972 and became a minor country hit. Presley recorded a version of the song later that year and released it as the b-side to “Separate Ways.” Still the biggest commercial success for “Always on My Mind” came courtesy of Willie Nelson, who released his rendition in 1982. The single topped the country charts and crossed over to mainstream radio, peaking at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Watch Willie Nelson Perform ‘Always on My Mind’

Nelson’s rendition of “Always on My Mind” earned James a pair of Grammys, as the tune took home Best Country Song and Song of the Year in 1983.

James wrote more than 200 songs over his impressive career. His material has been recorded by a wide range of artists, including Blood, Sweat & Tears, Pet Shop Boys, Fine Young Cannibals, Jay-Z and Bill Withers. James was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014.

Gene Simmons spent decades one of the most notorious womanizers in rock, which is why fans were shocked when the Kiss bassist married his longtime girlfriend Shannon Tweed in 2011.

During a recent appearance on the Steve-O’s Wild Ride podcast, Simmons explained why he finally decided to give up his philanderous ways.

“The first 29 years of Shannon’s and my relationship, we were unmarried. And I was doing anything you could imagine somebody who didn’t care about anybody else who was completely self-absorbed, arrogant and… You know, ‘Where are you going?’ ‘Where am I going? Who wants to know?’ That kind of thing.”

READ MORE: Top 10 Kiss Love Songs

Simmons’ sexual conquests were legendary, and the Kiss rocker gladly embraced his reputation.

“It was no secret that I was carousing,” he admitted. “Shannon, bless her, never backed away. I would have thrown my sorry ass out in a second.”

The Epiphany That Changed Gene Simmons’ Life

Simmons went on to explain that his whole life changed when he had a moment of clarity while in Belize filming his reality show, Gene Simmons Family Jewels.

“I had this epiphany. I’m probably going to die alone and a miserable old fuck. And the people that I love and care about the most – our kids especially, Shannon, who never tortured me about getting married – I don’t know if they’re going to be here,” the rocker confessed. “If I was Shannon, I’d remarry and try to find happiness while you’re alive instead of having this arrogant, self-absorbed guy doing whatever he wants to do and not caring about it.”

Simmons – who described himself as “not an emotional guy” – was overwhelmed by his epiphany. In the moment, he dropped to his knees and confessed his love to Tweed.

READ MORE: Rock’s Longest Lasting Marriages

“You are lucky if you find, as they say, your soulmate,” the bassist reflected. “You never think about those things when you’re younger, when you’re busy, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, because it doesn’t mean anything and you’re having a lot of fun. That’s fine. But what does it mean? Do you miss those people? You never miss anybody. You just say, ‘That was good then. Tomorrow’s another day. I’ll have another salad, a doughnut and I’ll have that piece of ass over there.’”

“If you’re lucky and you find that soulmate, you don’t want to be around anybody else,” Simmons continued, admitting that his view on relationships totally changed from his younger years. “This sounds like a completely different guy than I ever expected to be. I think it’s called maturity.”

Bruce Springsteen rolled back into action in Spain Wednesday night after being forced to postpone some dates on his current European tour.

The boss thanked fans last week for partying without him after he had to return home under doctor’s orders. But he appeared to be in fine health as he delivered a 30-song set at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid, with assistance from the E Street Band.

Among those songs was “Frankie Fell In Love” from his 2014 solo album High Hopes. It’s a track he’s only played 10 times live in total. Only five of those times were with the E Street Band, with those performances all in the year of the song’s release.

READ MORE: Bruce Springsteen Will Totally Get You Out of Class

His cover of John Fogerty’s “Rockin’ All Over The World” was another tour debut, making its first appearance since 2016. Videos and a full set list can be seen below.

Springsteen plays two more shows in Madrid, on June 14 and 17, with the European area run ending in London, U.K., on July 27. North American dates commence in Pittsburgh on Aug. 15. The latest currently-scheduled date is in Italy on July 3, 2025.

Bruce Springsteen Performs ‘Frankie Fell In Love’

Bruce Springsteen Performs ‘Rockin’ All Over the World’

Bruce Springsteen Performs ‘Hungry Heart’

Bruce Springsteen Performs ‘Thunder Road’

Bruce Springsteen Performs ‘Dancing in the Dark’

Bruce Springsteen, Madrid 6/12/24 – Set List

1. “Lonesome Day”
2. “No Surrender”
3. “Ghosts”
4. “Two Hearts”
5. “Seeds”
6. “Darlington County”
7. “Darkness on the Edge of Town”
8. “Frankie Fell in Love”
9. “Rockin’ All Over the World”
10. “Hungry Heart”
11. “The Promised Land”
12. “If I Was the Priest”
13. “My Hometown”
14. “The River”
15. “Nightshift”
16. “Last Man Standing”
17. “Backstreets”
18. “Because the Night”
19. “She’s the One”
20. “Wrecking Ball”
21. “The Rising”
22. “Badlands”
23. “Thunder Road”
24. “Land of Hope and Dreams”
25. “Born to Run”
26. “Bobby Jean”
27. “Dancing in the Dark”
28. “Tenth Avenue Freeze-out”
29. “Twist and Shout”
30. “I’ll See You in My Dreams”

Why Bruce Springsteen Called Killers Collaboration ‘Cathartic’

Geezer Butler says he and his Black Sabbath bandmates felt a sense of shock when they watched Kiss for the first time.

It was 1975 and Gene Simmons and company were out opening for Sabbath on their U.S. tour. During a recent conversation with Rock Cellar, Butler admitted his band was taken aback by the theatrics of their opener.

“Kiss was the first band that ever used stage production,” the bassist explained. “Up until Kiss came, bands like Black Sabbath used to just go on and plug in and play. Kiss was the first one to use pyro. You’ve never seen that. I mean, the shock of that. And they were supporting us, so they weren’t even headlining.”

READ MORE: Black Sabbath Albums Ranked Worst to Best

Butler further noted what it was like to see Kiss’ fiery antics.

“I went out and watched them. There were all these flames coming out the stage and everything,” he recalled. “It was like, ‘Oh, my God, what’s going on here?’”

‘What the Hell Just Happened?’

While fans were undoubtedly impressed by Kiss’ stage production, Black Sabbath couldn’t help but feel outshined.

“It was tough to follow them,” Butler confessed. “We went on just as an ordinary band, no effects or anything, and everybody else still had their mouths wide open from seeing Kiss. We were like, ‘What the hell just happened?’”

READ MORE: The Best Song From Every Kiss Album

“It was impossible to follow Kiss after the production,” Butler continued. “When I watched them play, I didn’t even listen to the music. I was just astounded by the stage production.”

According to Butler, Kiss’ influence pushed concerts in “a completely new direction,” as “people had to start thinking about stage production.” He and Black Sabbath also learned a valuable lesson: “We made sure that we never had Kiss supporting us again.”

Jon Anderson has released the first single with a group of collaborators he found on YouTube. Listen to “Shine On” with the Band of Geeks below.

The new track was produced by Anderson and Blue Oyster Cult‘s Richie Castellano, who also serves as bass player and musical director of the Band of Geeks.

“I can’t even wrap my head around all this,” Castellano told Rolling Stone. “I used to go watch Jon in concert and scream at him. Getting to do something like this is just a dream. It’s also been an opportunity as a Yes fan to go, ‘OK, we’ve been handed the keys to the kingdom. We have Jon Anderson singing for us. How do we want this to go?'”

READ MORE: Ranking Every Yes Album

They’ve been touring together for a few years, sharing classic Yes songs. True, set for release on Aug. 23 by Frontiers Records, will be the first album of originals. Preorder the LP here.

Anderson discovered Castellano’s side project in the summer of 2018 after they posted a cover of Yes’ 1972 epic “Close to the Edge” on their YouTube channel. The title, “Close to the Edge: A Band Geek Yes Cover with Chris Clark,” would eventually inspire the new group’s name.

Soon, Anderson was touring with Band of Geeks, which also includes keyboardists Clark and Andy Ascolese, bassist Andy Graziano, guitarist Robert Kipp. “It felt really exciting,” Anderson added. “I remember thinking, ‘I don’t believe what’s happening! Everyone is just amazing. Let’s go around the world!'”

They’ve now put the finishing touches on nine new songs. The video for “Shine On” was filmed in New Jersey before the start of their latest U.S. tour, dubbed Yes: Epics, Classics and More. “Shine On” has now been added to their regular setlist. Dates continue through September and can also be found below.

Jon Anderson’s Yes: Epics, Classics and More Tour
6/13 – Chicago Copernicus, IL
6/15 – St. Louis El Monstero, MO
6/18 – Greensburg Palace Theater, PA
6/20 – Hershey Hershey Theatre, PA
6/22 – Concord Capitol Center for the Arts, NH
6/25 – Boston Shubert Theatre, MA
6/27 – Ridgefield Ridgefield Playhouse, CT
7/21 – Patchogue Great South Bay Music Festival, NY
7/24 – Nashville Ryman Auditorium, TN
7/27 – Peachtree City Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheatre, GA
7/30 – Camdenton Ozarks Amphitheater, MO
8/2 – Bonner Springs Azura Amphitheater, KS
8/4 – La Vista The Astro Outdoors, NE
8/7 – Waite Park The Ledge Amphitheater, MN
8/10 – Denver Paramount, CO
8/14 – Phoenix Celebrity Theatre, AZ
8/16 – Thousand Oaks Performing Arts Center, CA
9/13 – Glenside Keswick Theatre, PA
9/15 – Glenside Keswick Theatre, PA

Revisiting Yes’ First LP Without Chris Squire