The Black Sabbath co-founder and guitarist Tony Iommi is currently promoting the band's new box-set "Anno Domini", which has the albums the group recorded with Tony Martin on vocals. In an interview with Eddie Trunk, the guitar player also talked about another overlooked era of the group which was with the Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan. Iommi, Geezer Butler, Gillan and Bill Ward recorded the album "Born Again" in 1983 and since then the record has had mixed reviews. Iommi said that he would like to remix that album because at the time the band even tried to stop the album from being released because they really didn't like the final result. He said that everything was sounding great and they left to tour, but when they came back someone had changed a lot of things and the record was really sounding worse. Tony Iommi recalls why Black Sabbath tried to stop "Born Again" from being released in 1983 "It's funny how that works. Later on, a new generation comes in and then people get to hear, the original fans will hear it and go, 'Oh, yeah. I forgot about that record.' It is funny how it all works, but it's great. It's great that it does." "That's why I'd like to present ("Born Again") that again. Have a look at that and see what we can do with it. Because I know we weren't very happy with the sound." He continued: "But a lot of people accepted the sound, really. Certainly now. At the time, it was, 'Oh my God.' Because we went on tour, left it to somebody else. When we heard it, we nearly had a fit. It was in the top — I think it was No. 4 in England at the time." "And we tried to stop it (from being released), but it was too late by the time we'd heard it. And it just sounded really muffly. It was nothing like when we left before we went on tour. So it would be nice to get it so we can get a better sound on it, really. There really are some great songs on that album. There really are," Tony Iommi said. Some of the most famous tracks from "Born Again", besides the title-track, are "Trashed", "Disturbing The Priest" and "Zero The Hero". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8TKU_5bius&pp=ygUYYmxhY2sgc2FiYmF0aCBib3JuIGFnYWluThe post Tony Iommi recalls why Sabbath tried to stop “Born Again” release appeared first on Rock And Roll Garage.

There are many people who say that the most important thing in music is what you leave out of a song and not what you include in it. That's what the Kiss co-founder, bassist and singer Gene Simmons meant in an interview with Adam Carolla (Transcribed by Ultimate Guitar). The musician said that it's easier to be in a Progressive Rock band or Jazz group rather than to be in a band that plays mostly about three chords. He used Bruno Mars and The Rolling Stones as examples of that, comparing their music with what Jazz groups do. Gene Simmons explains why it's easier to be in a Progressive Rock or Jazz band "The hardest thing to do is to do a simple song. It's easier to be in a prog band. Really. Because you're not playing the game of 'memorable,' you're playing the game like jazz, of showing off. You don't expect somebody to walk out of a jazz concert humming (sings a jazz horn line with many notes). You don't expect that." "So the hardest thing to do and you have to respect the art of it, if it's a Bruno Mars tune or, you know, whoever, is that hearing it once and the melody — especially the chorus — sticks. And the art of that, it just happens. Like all these musicians, The Beatles and whoever you like, Lennon, Jagger/Richards, can't read a stick of music." "I can't read or write music. Nobody could. Hendrix couldn't read or write music. No, you just do it. It's like being able to write a book in another language, although you can't read or write in another language because it's verbal," Gene Simmons said. Although Kiss was one of the most successful bands of all time, with an estimated amount of more than 100 million records sold worldwide, many people criticized the band for making "simple songs", when it came to music and lyrics. Kiss came to an end in 2023 after 50 years on the road and in 2024 Gene Simmons reactivated his solo career and he has been touring around the world playing his solo material, Kiss tracks and some covers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzOpaE3NglQ&pp=ygUWZ2VuZSBzaW1tb25zIGJhbmQgMjAyNA%3D%3DThe post Gene Simmons explains why it’s easier to be in a Progressive Rock or Jazz band appeared first on Rock And Roll Garage.

The legendary singer and guitarist Eric Clapton (79) is back on the road in 2024 and he already performed his first shows of the year in Europe. So now the setlist was revealed and we can see that there are acoustic and electric parts of the show. Like Bob Dylan, Clapton never was an artist who played all of his hits live, as can be seen in the setlist, there are only a few bigger hits from his career. This year he has scheduled dates in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and the United States. This is Eric Clapton's 2024 setlist Blue Dust Key to the Highway (Charles Segar cover) I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man (Willie Dixon cover) Badge (Cream song) Prayer of a Child Back Home (acoustic) Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out (Jimmy Cox cover) (acoustic) Golden Ring (acoustic) Tears in Heaven (acoustic) Got to Get Better in a Little While (Derek and the Dominos song) Holy Mother Cross Road Blues (Robert Johnson cover) Little Queen of Spades (Robert Johnson cover) Cocaine (J.J. Cale cover) Before You Accuse Me (Bo Diddley cover) Next Eric Clapton shows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5rUS0U1fvY&pp=ygUYZXJpYyBjbGFwdG9uIGZyYW5jZSAyMDI0 May 27 - Accor Arena - Paris, France 29 – LC Arena – Décines-charpieu, France 31  – Arena of Nîmes – Nîmes, France June 2 - Lucca Summer Festival - Mura Storiche - Lucca, Italy September 20 – Vélez Sarsfield Stadium – Buenos Aires, Argentina 24 – Ligga Arena (Arena da Baixada) – Curitiba, Brazil 26 – Jeunesse Arena (Rio Arena) – Rio De Janeiro, Brazil 29 – Allianz Parque – São Paulo, Brazil October 3 – Mexico City – Mexico 8 - Pechanga Arena - San Diego, CA 10 - Acrisure Arena - Palm Desert, CA 12 - Hollywood Bowl - Los Angeles, CA The post This is Eric Clapton’s 2024 setlist appeared first on Rock And Roll Garage.

Besides Ian Paice, Roger Glover and Jon Lord, the classic Deep Purple line-up was obviously formed by the vocalist Ian Gillan and the guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Although that line-up recorded most of their 70s classic albums and made some good records during their reunions in the 80s and 90s, the fights between Gillan and Blackmore, especially caused the end of that formation. In an interview with Made In Metal (Transcribed by Blabbermouth), the singer Ian Gillan praised Blackmore saying he is a genius and that probably half of the issues they had between each other were caused by Gillan himself. He said that after praising the band's new guitarist Simon McBride. Ian Gillan says that Ritchie Blackmore is a genius "Oh, first of all, Simon (McBride) is a genius. He's absolutely fantastic. He's got all the energy and articulation and musical skills and creative skills that you could ever dream of. You can't compare Ritchie with Simon or with Steve Morse or with Joe Satriani, the players that we've had in a band. And I think that Ritchie (Blackmore) has to have all the credit in the world. He's a genius. He was fantastic. I thought he was brilliant." He continued: "He was my roommate and we partnered and we shared a lot together. And then things, for some reason, went wrong later on. And I'm sure half of it was my fault, so those days were dim and distant. But as far as the guitar is concerned, Simon interprets these songs very, very brilliantly." "(...) Steve Morse said a good thing when he joined the band and somebody said, 'How does it feel like stepping into Ritchie Blackmore's shoes?' And Steve said, 'I think Ritchie took his shoes with him when he left.' And that, that applies to everyone — that applies to Simon now," Ian Gillan said. The group continued after Blackmore decided to leave for good more than three decades ago. Since then they had in his place Joe Satriani (From 1993 to 1994) and Steve Morse (From 1994 to 2022). Now the band’s guitarist is Simon McBride. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvPtsSFEzLsThe post Ian Gillan says that Ritchie Blackmore is a genius appeared first on Rock And Roll Garage.

Brian May is certainly one of the most unique guitarists in Rock and Roll music, besides his incredible playing and technique, he created his own guitar with the help of his father when he was young and always used a coin to play the instrument. He was a fundamental part of Queen's sound and was a real inspiration for countless guitar players all over the world. He was even elected by the readers of Guitar World in 2020 as the best guitarist of all time. May obviously was flattered by the prize but didn't agree with that and praised many of his peers in an interview with the magazine. He even mentioned three of them as being his heroes and Rock and Roll Garage selected what the musician said about those artists over the decades. The 3 guitarists that Brian May listed as his heroes Eric Clapton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITAVcm1iCNc One of the guitarists mentioned by Brian May as one of his heroes is the legendary Eric Clapton, who is only two years older than Brian. He first achieved fame as a member of The Yardbirds, then joining John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers and of course, forming Cream with Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce, which is often called the first supergroup in the history of Rock and Roll. Brian was deeply influenced by Clapton's playing and even paid tribute to him, writing a song which was inspired by his work. The track is called "Blues Breaker" and was part of May's solo album "Star Fleet Project", an EP which was recorded by May and many guests like Eddie Van Halen in 1983. In 2023, May reissued that album and in an interview with Cleveland in 2023, he was asked if Clapton had many any comments about that track. "I think he hated it! (laughs) But that’s OK; he’s entitled. He can do what he wants. I mean, Eric could do anything and he’ll still be our hero. That’s the way it is. There’s probably lots of things I disagree with Eric about, but that doesn’t change anything." "He’s been one of the greatest influences, inspirations of my life, and that’ll never change. I always get goosebumps if I get to be anywhere near him. When I’m playing with him, the couple of times I’ve done it, it’s a wonderful moment, experience," Brian May said. They performed together As the musician noted, he had the chance to perform with Clapton a few times. One of the most memorable performances happened at one of the first Prince 's Trust concerts back in 1988. Both guitarists performed "With a Little Help From My Friends" alongside Joe Cocker and Phil Collins. He recalled that experience in an interview for the Prince's Trust Music channel in 2018. He said: (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) "Next to me (on stage) is Eric Clapton. I'm thinking 'Ohh', because he is my hero and still is. Eric turns to me and said: 'So, this riff at the beginning, do you wanna play that riff?' I kind of froze, because I'd assumed that being Eric Clapton, he would want to do it." "It's something that every guitarist would love to do, you know. So he said: 'Why don't you do it? I'm very happy just to do the rhythm'. So I was kind of electrified and we did it. It was great," Brian May said. Hank Marvin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu6WE5gzhAQ&pp=ygUVYnJpYW4gbWF5IGhhbmsgbWFydmlu The oldest guitarist on the list is Hank Marvin, the guitarist and leader of the important and influential British band The Shadows. The group was formed in 1958, when Brian May was still a teenager learning to play the guitar and they were a big influence to him and of course, particularly Marvin. In an interview with The Guardian in 2023, May recalled Hank's influence, saying: "The Shadows Hank Marvin was an inspiration for all of us kids. He had an amazing, melodic, fluid sound," Brian May said. In 2020 the documentary "The Shadows at Sixty" was released and featured an interview Brian May gave in the 80s talking about the band. He recalled how he first discovered them. (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) "That's when I was in school. You use to listen to everybody you could get your hands on. (...) It was his style (Hank's) and Bruce (Welch's) rhythm style. Everything about The Shadows, I say, was very original for the time," Brian May said. The band was active on and off multiple times over the decades and their most recent reunion happened in 2020. During their career, the band released 21 studio albums, the most recent one being "Reflection" in 1990. In 1996 a tribute album called "Twang!" was released featuring many special artists who were influenced by the band. May was obviously invited to be part of it and he covered the track "FBI". May was also part of Hank Marvin's 1992 album "Into the Light", being a guest on the cover of "We Are The Champions". Ritchie Blackmore https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tsw3nKDlBE&pp=ygUcYnJpYW4gbWF5IHNtb2tlIG9uIHRoZSB3YXRlcg%3D%3D The legendary Rainbow and Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore is another guitar player that Brian May admires a lot. He even was part of Blackmore's documentary “Ritchie Blackmore Story” in 2015. (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage): “He’s a fireball, you know. He really is beyond belief. His technique is incredible. Where did that come from? I have no idea. And this is before Hendrix. Ritchie really is a great originator and creator of the wild electric guitar.” “No, it’s not just speed (That is Blackmore’s secret). There is a lot of people that can play fast now. But they can’t be Ritchie Blackmore. I think Ritchie will be remembered as somebody wild and untamed to the end of his days. I think that’s a magnificent thing to be. When people get things all in perspective, Ritchie will be right there as one of the cornerstones of what Rock and Roll is today,” Brian May said in the documentary. During the same conversation he noted that although everyone thinks it is easy to play the famous riff for "Smoke On The Water", no one actually can play it like Blackmore. The Queen guitarist is not only a big fan of Ritchie's work in Deep Purple, he already praised many times his records with Rainbow. He loves even the more commercial phase of Rainbow, which for example had the vocalist Graham Bonnet.The post The 3 guitarists that Brian May listed as his heroes appeared first on Rock And Roll Garage.

Donors Vow $5.4 Bn For Syrian Refugees

US forces destroyed an uncrewed aerial system launched over the Red Sea early Monday morning from an area of Yemen controlled by Iranian-backed Houthis, the US Central Command says. The drone “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels in the region,” CentCom says. The Houthis earlier claimed to have attacked three merchant vessels and two warships in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.

After years of reporting on forever chemicals, ProPublica reporter Sharon Lerner had one question that still nagged at her. She knew that a handful of 3M scientists and lawyers had learned in the 1970s that the chemical PFOS had seeped into the blood of people around the country and that company experiments around that time had shown that PFOS was toxic. But the company kept making the compound until 2000. How, she wondered, had 3M kept its dark secret for decades? For years, no one...

AMemorial Day barbecue is expected to cost 10% more in 2024 than it did last year due in large part to the increasing price of meat. According to a report from Fox Business, the average American family is paying about 10.19% more for Memorial Day festivities than they did in 2023.   Datasembly reports that inflation has made products more expensive with the cost of burgers increasing from $7.04 in 2023 to $8.07 in 2024. Ketchup has reportedly increased by 10 cents, and a...