2 new E Street band sax players…

When Bruce Springsteen announced that he was taking the E-Street Band on the road, many fans wondered who could possibly take over from the late Clarence Clemons.  It will take 2 to do it and one is family. Jake Clemons,  nephew of Clarence will join a five-piece horn section on the road with Bruce. He has, on occasion, played with them in the past. Springsteen also announced that longtime collaborator Eddie Manion will “share” duties with Jake . The new horn section will also feature two trumpeters and a trombone player, and two new backing vocalists have been added to the line-up. We may get to see them all when Bruce plays the Grammy Awards on Sunday night.

Yes and no…

There have been rumours that Yes had recently invited original lead vocalist Jon Anderson to return to the band,  but Anderson has denied it. It turns out that there will be a new Yes singer called Jon, but he’s got a different last name.  Anderson has claimed that he had been replaced by his band because he was ill and  didn’t want to tour when they did. Benoit David then took over as lead vocalist but now he’s become Ill . Yes have decided to carry on touring without him and have brought in a new singer called Jon Davison. This band is trying to break the record set by Van Halen!

Bruce Springsteen will release his new album “Wrecking Ball” on March 6  and kick off a world tour March 18. He’s just been named as a performer at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night.

Brian Johnson of AC/DC tells us that the band is ready to work on a new album but had to put things on hold due to the illness of “one of the boys” . He didn’t say what the illness was or which band member was affected but “one of the boys” has led many to believe that one of the Young brothers has been ill. Johnson says things are improving and the band will be back on track shortly.

Neil Young confirms that he’s working with Crazy Horse again and there’s an album ready to go and one in the works. They will also be performing next week at the Paul McCartney “Musicares Person of the Year” tribute.

Today (Feb 3) is “Motley Crue Day” in Sin City!  The band begins a run of shows at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino tonight so L.A. Mayor Carolyn Goodman decided to mark the ” first hard rock residency” in Vegas, by honouring the band.

Ringo Starr’s new album is due to be released the same day as fellow former Beatles Paul McCartney’s issues his latest “Kisses On the Bottom” . “Ringo 2012″  arrives on Tuesday February 7.

Aerosmith‘s Joe Perry made a progress report on the new Aerosmith LP earlier this week – and let some juicy news slip too. The album is almost finished so we should have a release date soon. Perry also announced that the band intends to hit the road in June.  He tells us we should hear an announcement later this month or early March.

CD:

Pink Floyd – The Discovery Studio Album Box Set (16 disc set)
Pink Floyd – Animals (remastered)
Pink Floyd – Atom Heart Mother (remastered)
Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon (remastered)
Pink Floyd – The Division Bell (remastered)
Pink Floyd – The Final Cut (remastered)
Pink Floyd – Meddle (remastered)
Pink Floyd – A Momentary Lapse of Reason (remastered)
Pink Floyd – More (remastered)
Pink Floyd – Obscured By Clouds (remastered)
Pink Floyd – The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (remastered)
Pink Floyd - A Saucerful of Secrets (remastered)
Pink Floyd – Ummagumma (remastered)
Pink Floyd – The Wall (remastered)
Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (remastered)
Nirvana – Nevermind (remastered 2-CD set)
Nirvana – Nevermind (remastered 4-CD & DVD box set)
Chickenfoot (Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani et al) – iii
Johnny Winter – Roots (blues classics)
Sting – 25 Years (3 CD & DVD box set)
Joe Bonamassa and Beth Hart – Don’t Explain
Anvil – Monument of Metal: The Very Best of Anvil

Vinyl:

Nirvana – Nevermind (4-vinyl LP box set reissue)
Bob Dylan – Oh Mercy (reissue)

DVD:

Nirvana – Live at the Paramount
Bruce Springsteen – DVD Collector’s Box
Iggy and the Stooges – Raw Power Live: In The Hands of the Fans

     They’re calling it a “surprise appearance”, but few people are surprised that Bruce Springsteen showed up at a tribute to the late E-Street Band saxophone player Clarence Clemons.  Clemons’ son Nick and his band the Sensational Soul Cruisers played several sets, including one with J.T. Bowen who was the lead singer of the Big Man’s band the Red Bank Rockers in the 80s.  Then Springsteen, who was in the crowd, joined them on stage for a 45 minute set, highlights of which follow:

     Just in time for the 4th of July, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have been named the Greatest American Band of All Time by Gibson.  For the past week, Gibson.com has been running down the top 50 list, which looks like this:

1. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

2. Aerosmith

3. Nirvana

4. The Ramones

5. Metallica

6. Van Halen

7. The Byrds

8. R.E.M.

9. The Beach Boys

10. Allman Brothers

11. Guns N Roses

12. The Doors

13. The Eagles

14. Creedence Clearwater Revival

15. The Stooges

16. Lynyrd Skynyrd

17. The Velvet Underground

18. Pearl Jam

19. Wilco

20. Buddy Holly and the Crickets

     Some other notable names are the Grateful Dead at #21, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at #24, KISS at #26, ZZ Top #30, The Flaming Lips (at Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest tonight) at #37, Buffalo Springfield #40, Cheap Trick #42, Alice Cooper #44, and Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention at #49.  For the full list, click here.

     At their concert in Denmark on Sunday night, Bon Jovi payed tribute to E-Street Band saxophone player Clarence Clemons, who died on Saturday.  With these words, Jon Bon Jovi introduced “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”:

     “A long way from here, back in our home state of New Jersey…we lost a pillar of the rock n roll community today. Woke up to hear that Clarence Clemons of the E Street Band had passed. The Big Man had gone up to heaven to play for the Big Man upstairs.  The only thing bigger in stature and status was probably the size of the guy’s heart. He was always kind, always had a kind thing to say…no matter if we were going to see them or he was coming to see us.  The Big Man will be missed forever. But the legend of the E Street Band with Clarence Clemons will always live on. So for our friend…and our friends….”

     E-Street Band saxaphone player Clarence Clemons died over the weekend.  Clemons suffered a stroke the Sunday before, June 12th, and died of complications Saturday resulting from the stroke. 

     Bruce Springsteen posted the following tribute to Clemons on his website: 

     “It is with overwhelming sadness that we inform our friends and fans that at 7pm tonight, Saturday, June 18, our beloved friend and bandmate, Clarence Clemons passed away.

     “The cause was complications from his stroke of last Sunday, June 12. Clarence lived a wonderful life. He carried within him a love of people that made them love him.

“He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage. His loss is immeasurable and we are honoured and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly 40 years.”

     Bruce Springsteen has been a fan of Pete Seeger’s for a long time.  Now Springsteen has recorded one of the folk icon’s new tunes for Seeger’s upcoming album.  The Boss sings two verses and a chorus on “God Is Counting On Us”, a song Seeger wrote about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  Springsteen has a long history with Seeger, including his 2006 album of cover songs called We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions.  The album is still untitled, and is slated for release before Christmas this year.

     E-Street band saxaphone player Clarence Clemons was rushed to the hospital over the weekend after suffering a stroke.  New details have emerged, and we have learned that over the last few days, Clemons had two different surgeries on his brain.  Initially reported by Springsteen fan site Backstreets.com and independantly verified by Rolling Stone, a source close to Clemons says:

     “Yesterday, it did not look good at all. Today… miracles are happening. His vital signs are improving. He’s responsive. His eyes are welling up when we’re talking to him. He was paralyzed on his left side, but now he’s squeezing with his left hand. This is the best news we’ve heard since [the stroke] happened — it’s nothing short of miraculous. The next five days will still be critical. But he’s a fighter.”

CD:

Black Country Communion – Black Country Communion 2
Iggy Pop and David Bowie – Iggy & Ziggy: Sister Midnight Live At The Agora (reissue)
Neil Young – A Treasure
Paul McCartney – McCartney (remastered with bonus tracks)
Paul McCartney – McCartney II (remastered with bonus tracks)
Various Artists – Music From Spider-man: Turn Off The Dark (w/ Bono and the Edge)
Various Artists – Rockabye Baby!  Lullaby Renditions of Def Leppard

Vinyl:

Bob Marley – Soul Rebel (reissue)
Elvis Costello – The Delivery Man (reissue)
Keith Richards – Vintage Vinos (reissue)
Neil Young – Harvest (reissue)

DVD:

Bob Dylan – Gotta Do My Time
Bruce Springsteen – Between Lull & The Storm
Foo Fighters – Back And Forth
Yes – Union

Blu-Ray:

Heavy Metal (the 1981 animated classic)