Classic Rock September 2019

WELCOME Please allow me a moment of indulgence. About a million years ago I used to work on Total Guitar – one of Classic Rock’s sister magazines – and one of the earliest features I remember writing was a deep dive into The End, from Side Two of The Beatles’ Abbey Road album. It’s the band’s only track that features a guitar solo from each of the three guitar-playing Beatles. Ever since then, Abbey Road has had a special place in my heart. I mean, seriously, how many classic rock songs does it include? Come Together, Here Comes The Sun, Something, Because, to name just a handful. So this month it’s been an absolute delight to take a look back at the final album the Fab Four made as it…

This month’s contributors JOHNNY BLACK Johnny has written for many magazines over the past 40 years, and this month he grapples with The Beatles’ Abbey Road (p26). His website www.musicdayz.com is the world’s largest archive of searchable chronologically organised rock music facts, and he Tweets a historic Song Of The Day via @ MusicDayzTweet every day. MIKE CHIPPERFIELD This issue’s amazing Beatles cover was brought to life by Magictorch’s Mike Chipperfield. Magictorch were founded in 1999, and the Brighton-based company have worked their magic (pun intended) on many covers for Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog magazines, to name but three. See what else they get up to at magictorch.com SLEAZEGRINDER …is very clearly the Evel Knievel of sleazy-rock journalism. When he isn’t spelunking through rock’n’roll’s deepest, darkest canyons for…

INSIDE THE WORLD OF ROCK the DIRT The Cult set to open the Sonic Temple in October 30th anniversary tour and big reissue imminent. HARD TO BELIEVE, but 2019 marks the 30th anniversary of The Cult’s classic album Sonic Temple. To celebrate, the band will release a deluxe 30th anniversary box set on September 13 through Beggars Arkive. The set includes three vinyl LPs plus a cassette, featuring previously unreleased tracks, demo versions and a show recorded live at Wembley Arena, plus replica laminate, backstage pass, original press releases and more. It will be limited to 3000 copies, with each box set numbered. “We wanted to retain our core DNA as we went deeper into psych and hard rock influences,” says frontman Ian Astbury of the band’s transformation from post-punks…

the DIRT RIP Thank you and good night. Art Neville December 17, 1937 – July 22, 2019 The New Orleans scene is mourning the loss of the locally born singer, songwriter and pianist. With a career spanning more than six decades, Neville was a member of The Neville Brothers, The Mekons and The Funky Meters. He also worked with artists like Paul McCartney, Dr John, Keith Richards, Carlos Santana and Allen Toussaint. The 81-year-old passed away peacefully at home in Louisiana. João Gilberto June 10, 1931 – July 6, 2019 Known as “the father of bossa nova” Gilberto was a pioneering Brazilian musician and composer. In scaling back the percussion of samba he discovered a whole new style. No cause of death for the 88-year-old has been revealed, though descendent…

NEWS The Woodstock 50 festival, which was due to take place between August 16 and 18, has now been cancelled after organisers faced “a series of unforeseen setbacks”. The festival was announced at the beginning of the year, with artists including Robert Plant, Greta Van Fleet, David Crosby and Rival Sons among those set to appear. Since then the event has suffered a series of setbacks, including the loss of financial backing and their original site. After more than a decade away from the big screen, Mick Jagger has revived his film acting career. The Rolling Stones singer plays reclusive art dealer Joseph Cassidy in the Italian-American thriller The Burnt Orange Heresy, based on the 1971 novel of the same name by Charles Willeford. Jagger’s last full acting role was…

Kinks Reunion Likely Dave Davies reveals “good demos” now exist. GETTY THE POSSIBILITY of a reunion of The Kinks now seems more likely than at any point in recent years. Last summer, in an interview with Channel 4, singer and songwriter Ray Davies hinted that a new Kinks album with his guitarist brother Dave and drummer Mick Avory could be on the cards. “The trouble is, the two remaining members, my brother Dave and Mick, never really got along very well,” he said. “But I made that work in the studio – it fired me up to make them play harder and with fire. So if I can recapture those moments… I’ve got some great Kinks tunes in my head.” Now, in a new interview with Rolling Stone, Dave has…