Megadeth main man Dave Mustaine has never been shy of sharing his opinions, or voicing his frustrations when he feels he has been wronged. You probably wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of MegaDave though, as one unlucky guitar tech found at last weekend’s Barcelona Rock Fest.
Set up in Parc de Can Zam, Barcelona Rock Fest features two side-by-side ‘main’ stages, meaning punters can often watch bands back to back without having to run from one stage to the other. Unfortunately, that does present some logistical challenges for the crew who need to soundtrack while other bands are playing.
Megadeth were deep into their set and about to play Countdown To Extinctionclassic Symphony Of Destruction when Mustaine called a halt to proceedings as a guitar tech from the adjacent stage had apparently started soundchecking for Judas Priest’s set.
It all starts out fairly civil, if a little tense Mustaine sarcastically telling the audience “we’ll wait ’till he’s done checking his guitar”.
Dave then stalks over to the far end of the stage, eventually flipping off the offending tech to cheers from the crowd.
Returning to the mic, a pissed off Mustaine lambasts the incident. “Last night of the tour – we went all the way to the last night, and then some pussy over on the stage next to us has to start playing while we’re playing. How fucking pathetic, amateur… piece of shit you are.”
Then, just as you think things are calming down and Mustaine is going to kick off Symphony Of Destruction, he wanders back over for a second go, peering through the gap before returning to his mark to utter ‘motherfuckers’ and put away his handbags before kicking the thrash classic off.
Journey has released “United We Stand,” the latest single from their upcoming album Freedom. You can listen to the song below.
The mid-tempo track is classic Journey, with Neal Schon‘s repeating guitar melody anchoring the song and Arnel Pineda‘s impassioned, soaring vocals bolstered by rich backing harmonies and dramatic horns as he sings, “United we stand / Divided we fall / Just hold on to me, girl / And together we can face it all.”
Freedom was almost the title of a different Journey release. During a conversation with UCR, Schon revealed the band’s late manager, Herbie Herbert, had pitched the title for their 1986 album, which was eventually called Raised on Radio. “He wanted to call Raised on Radio, Freedom. Steve Perry did not want that and he fought him profusely,” Schon recalled. “So Steve ended up getting Raised on Radio. Herbie wanted to stay with a one-word title.”
More than 30 years later, Schon and the group revisited the title and realized it had taken on new meaning. “We had just gone through this whole lawsuit with the ex-band members. We went through this whole divorce from old attorneys, old managers, old accountants,” he explained. “It became more evident to me that the word ‘freedom’ meant a lot of different things to me.”
“Not only was it something that Herbie wanted to do a long time ago, but [it represented] everything that we just went through,” the guitarist continued. “I felt like freedom is what I want to know about. That became our new actual LLC as well for our business. We just figured, let’s tie it all in. It all makes sense.”
Coincidentally, the title “United We Stand” has also previously appeared in Journey’s orbit. In 1998, the same year Perry left Journey for the second (and seemingly final) time, the singer released a tune also called “United We Stand” on the soundtrack to the animated film Quest for Camelot.
The Best Song From Every Journey Album
Singers may come, and singers most certainly may go, but some great songs remain.
Bright Eyes brought the “highs and lows” to Mission Ballroom. The Mile High City welcomed indie band Bright Eyes last Thursday night, June 30, for their first tour since the pandemic. This spring and summer tour supports their latest full-length album Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was. An arrangement of unique styles hit the stage with a fiery presence. Sans guitarist Mike Mogis, who was out with COVID, the band stepped out of the dark into the eyes of their awaiting fans. Their animated and funky vibes provided a pulsating release for any anguish Thursday night.
Doors opened as the sun set in the cloudy sky, allowing for the seasoned audience to settle with their beers and peers. Platform combat boots and mom jeans filled the venue. General admission included general seating, likely to allow guests to enjoy the show comfortably. Many moved their party after one too many shots of Maker’s Mark. Fans brought anyone they could think of to the show.
Hurray for the Riff-Raff lit the stage pink with their kaleidoscopic and mind-expanding sound as the opener for the night. Led by Alynda Segarra, the band floated onto select tour dates. Their hour set was filled with guests like three-fourths of Canine Heart Sounds and instrumentalist Miwi La Lupa from the Bright Eyes backing band. Segarra’s “nature punk” voice carried through the crowd like a sonic wave. Each note enchantingly left the audience in a dreamy haze.
Bright Eyes sported a Snellen Eye Chart in the background — the eye chart most commonly used for eye exams. The play on their moniker was inspired by a scene from Planet of the Apes. The audience lost their minds when Bright Eyes’ backing band hit the stage. This crowd was ready and would not be disappointed. Shirts were lost within the first three songs. And who could pull off mic drops on the intro? Conor Oberst. He had the right after nailing a dance break and capturing the energy of the audience within seconds. “I need my oxygen,” he said with sweat caked in his hair.
Bright Eyes switched between emotions rapidly. During one song your heart raced along with the sticks hitting each drum; the next, you could feel a tear sliding down your cheek. Bright Eyes took the audience through grief, trauma and survival. Oberst took a moment to remind everyone to take the next person’s health into consideration because, as the age-old saying goes, you don’t know what they’re going through. “Everyone had plans in 2020,” he said. The band not only touched on the political but also unfolded memories of the past two and a half years.
The mastery behind the backing band was breathtaking. The variety of instruments included clarinet, baritone saxophone, violins and more. The various style changes progressed throughout the show easy as a breeze. The band was all smiles as they played along to the experimental indie rock featuring head-turning soloists with a clear passion for their art. The set list spanned the breadth of their catalog, but Bright Eyes’ emotional take on indie-folk primed the crowd for whatever was to come next, including an emotional encore.
As it turned out, the ’80s were pretty great for Motley Crue and Ratt, but Stephen Pearcy reveals there was a moment in the early ’80s where both acts could have had a different trajectory if a proposed band pairing had worked out. Pearcy reveals that a foursome of himself, Robbin Crosby, Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee had gotten so far as rehearsing together, but ultimately continued with their respective bands and decided not to pursue their collective.
The revelation came up as the singer was speaking with Tommy London of SiriusXM’s Hair Nation. As transcribed by Blabbermouth, Pearcy says the formation of their group came about from their Sunset Strip days of the early ’80s. “Robbin and I used to go out all the time into Hollywood — you know, ‘The [Sunset] Strip, yeah. You’ve gotta be seen. You’ve gotta be out there.’ Well, Motley was doing the same thing. Nikki, Tommy, Vince — they’d be doing the same thing. You know, tripping down the Strip, going to the Rainbow, going here, getting fucked up,” he recalled.
“So anyway, we meet them on the Strip, hanging out. We became friends and we became The Gladiators, which was our street thing there, when we went out together. And we each had names, which goes back to [Robbin’s nickname] ‘King’. I don’t know if it was Nikki who gave him that nickname or Robbin gave it to himself,” continued the singer.
He then added, “So in ’82, we really became close friends. I don’t think Nikki was ever really satisfied. Musicians were coming and going in bands, as the whole implosion was getting going — [in] ’81, ’82 in L.A. and that whole Strip thing. He wasn’t happy with his band at that moment. So, yes, it’s a true story. Robbin, Nikki, Tommy and myself, and me on guitar, were rehearsing at Mickey Ratt’s rehearsal in Culver City there. And I believe we rehearsed for a couple of times.”
Reflecting on that time, Pearcy says, “I don’t know if we wanted to start a band or if we were just jamming, but something was getting intense in there. And Nikki is, like, ‘Nah. I’m gonna go do my thing.’ And I said, ‘Well, I’m here. Me and Robbin are doing our thing.’ And so be it.”
The singer adds, “True story. True story. So, if that would have been a band, it would have been a great band, actually. I don’t know what songs we played, but we were very supportive of each other back in the day, in the beginning, yeah. It was great.”
As it turns out, Motley Crue would find their breakout with 1983’s Shout at the Devil album, their second release as a band. And they would be one of the biggest heavy bands of the ’80s. Ratt also fared quite well in the ’80s. Their biggest success came with 1984’s Out of the Cellar debut album featuring the single “Round and Round.”
Countdown Coming Home Blackout Bad Boys Running Wild Loving You Sunday Morning Make It Real Big City Nights Coast to Coast Holiday Still Loving You Rock You Like a Hurricane Can’t Live Without You Another Piece of Meat Dynamite The Zoo No One Like You Can’t Get Enough Six String Sting Can’t Get Enough
While 1978’s Tokyo Tapes might be the hardcore fans’ favourite, 1985’s World Wide Live captures Scorpions at their captures the band at their pyramid-building, imposingly practised and highly commercial peak, with the occasional flower-powered excursions of the Uli Jon Roth era consigned to rock’s great dustbin. Instead, the performances were relentlessly taut and ruthlessly delivered.
The recording was a by-product of a documentary project that centred around the band’s their life as a touring rock band. The film crew followed the band around the US, Asia, Europe and South America, and recorded five shows in San Diego, Los Angeles, Costa Mesa, Paris and Cologne for the album.
“Every performance here is a killer,” guitarist Rudolf Schenker told us. “It was recorded at so many cities across the world, and our producer Dieter Dierks came on the road with us and spent ages going through every recording we made to find the best version of each song.
“It was a long job, but worth it. This represented how exciting everything was for us at the time, because we were headlining massive venues.”
Every week, Album of the Week Club listens to and discusses the album in question, votes on how good it is, and publishes our findings, with the aim of giving people reliable reviews and the wider rock community the chance to contribute.
The Firstborn Is Dead – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
The Beach Boys – The Beach Boys
Empire Burlesque – Bob Dylan
Fables of the Reconstruction – R.E.M.
Little Creatures – Talking Heads
Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good! – Megadeth
Invasion of Your Privacy – Ratt
Misplaced Childhood – Marillion
Theatre of Pain – Mötley Crüe
Innocence Is No Excuse – Saxon
Call of the Wild – Lee Aaron
Fly on the Wall – AC/DC
Love You to Pieces – Lizzy Borden
What they said…
“Overall World Wide Live is an amazing live album that perfectly captures the spirit of a band at the top of their game, a memorable statement of a time where major hard rock/heavy metal acts ruled the charts and played sold-out shows all over the world, still remaining one of the best hard rock live albums ever released.” (Sputnik Music (opens in new tab))
“Love at First Sting produced a number of hits (all here). Nothing from the early (Uli Roth) days though, which means the album leans towards the streamlined-style Scorpions. Older stuff would have been nice, but also would have overlapped with their prior double live, Tokyo Tapes. None of that material was in their current set either.” (LeBrain (opens in new tab))
“World Wide Live is a great live-album, but it also reveals some weaknesses. Some parts which sounded amazing on albums have lost some of their magic live. Some limitations in Meine’s vocals are also revealed. The album lacks few good songs which should have been here, Is There Anybody There? for instance.” (Encyclopaedia Metallum (opens in new tab))
What you said…
Marco LG: In 1987 World Wide Live was my introduction to the Scorpions, and one of my early steps into the world of Heavy Metal. That summer, 13 year old me got into Europe and Bon Jovi, and on my return to school I got talking about those bands with everyone who would care to listen. And some people did.
A few of us gathered around a schoolmate who had one very important asset: an older brother with a vinyl collection! A flurry of tape recordings started to happen, several albums arrived in my hands over the coming weeks and months. Iron Maiden and Metallica became firm favourites and among those first recordings was World Wide Live. I don’t remember exactly why, but this was clearly the only live album of the lot, and the only album by the Scorpions.
Looking back I am glad I started with this live album. All the songs are played much faster than on the studio albums and the band sounds tighter and more menacing for that. There’s a clear connection between the audience and the stage, which makes the atmosphere magical even during the ballads. To me, these are the quintessential versions of Blackout, Big City Nights, No One Like You and all those other classics. Including of course the big two, the two songs I probably don’t feel the need to hear ever again: Still Loving You and Rock You Like a Hurricane.
Incidentally, last time I heard the latter live there was Francis Buchholz on bass and Herman Rarebell on drums but it was sang by Doogie White and on guitar there was Michael Schenker. In a strange and incestuous mix of a show, where Michael ended up playing songs of his brother’s band he had no involvement in creating. Odd.
In conclusion, for me this is one of the best live albums ever. I’m going to give it a perfect score because it encapsulates everything good about the 80s: tight band, great connection with the audience, sharp songs and no unnecessary noodling. A masterpiece.
Michael Böcher: This was one important career-defining live album and closed the most important phase of Hannover‘s finest (the albums from Lovedrive until Love At First Sting), a time when the Scorpions transformed from some kind of obscure teutonic rockers to a household name even in the US and UK.
No wonder that the live album only contains songs from those four albums – and all very energetic versions. It is one of the bestselling live albums from that era and very much worth giving a spin to again. It became the definitive album of my youth, while I was transforming from a rock listener to a heavy metal and hard rock addict.
It is a little cheesy sometimes, but which album from this era isn’t? Especially Klaus‘s speeches: “California, you are dynamite”, “Can you see the microphones up in the air…?”, “We’re doing a live recording tonight” etc. All songs performed are top notch, and the sound is great as well. One of the best live albums of all time. 9/10 for the music, 10/10 for the memory.
Gary Claydon: A live album covering what is, arguably, The Scorpions’ golden period was always likely to be a winner and so it proved with World Wide Live. It’s far from perfect: I never bothered much with side two of the album, not being a fan of the band’s cornier side, particularly the ballads. But when it rocks it rocks hard, most notably on tracks from Lovedrive and Blackout, The Scorpions’ best albums. The one-two of Another Piece of Meat and Dynamite that rounds off side three is the highlight for me.
Always a brilliant live band, I don’t remember ever coming away from a Scorpions gig feeling disappointed, and the same applies to World Wide Live.
Chris Downie: While not as pronounced as the divide among fans of Def Leppard or Metallica, there is a noticeable demarcation between those who favour the pre-Lovedrive era of Hanover’s finest, and those who cite their commercial peak years of 1979-88 as their true meisterwerk.
While the former is documented in previous live recordings, World Wide Live sees them at their most bombastic and over the top, an approach that had culminated in the smash hit Love At First Sting album.
While the small but dedicated hardcover will always have a longing for the Uli Jon Roth era, it’s hard to argue with the feeling that the band were in their element on classic rockers like Coming Home and on the mid-paced groover The Zoo, not to mention the lighters-in-the-air (nope, not that song, that came half a decade later!) of Still Loving You, arguably one of the greatest power ballads in history.
In an era where live albums were often hit and miss, and/or embellished by studio trickery, this serves as a fine, if not quite essential, document of one of Europe’s finest hard rock / heavy metal bands, at the peak of their powers. 8/10
John Davidson: No argument over the Scorpions ability to deliver classic metal singalongs and the occasional power ballad, but they’re a band that I enjoy best in small doses and best-ofs rather than ever owning regular studio albums.
I’d never heard this selection before and it is the kind of live best of that made UFO and Thin Lizzy’s reputations. Wish I’d heard it in 1985 as I think I’d have played it to death. The crowd banter is a bit overdone and the authentic live sound means the audio quality isn’t perfect, but it’s a fine selection of their best songs from the period.
Greg Schwepe: This is a good representation of a “tour souvenir” type live album. Reflects the most popular songs of stuff mostly from Lovedrive to whatever album was current at the time this was recorded.
Scorpions for me always seemed to be an energetic, fun, band to see in concert. And this album reflects that. And who knows if the crowd noise was real or dubbed in afterward. Doesn’t matter to me; adds nice vibe to it.
Bands seemed to put out big live double albums (CD?) so fans could hear all the hits in one place. And maybe these live albums counted in what they owed their record company.
As far as content, first album I bought was Lovedrive and got to see them as the opener in 1979 on a Ted Nugent tour (AC/DC second on the bill). Like all the songs here, but anything after that, not really that interested in.
Mike Canoe: World Wide Live is a well-deserved victory lap by Germany’s most valuable hard rock exports. How much one likes it likely correlates with how much one likes that period of the Scorpions. Fortunately for me, that’s quite a bit.
The Scorpions’ setlist here sticks resolutely to the previous four studio albums, arguably the four that brought them to arenas around the world. While “2022 me” thinks it’d be fun to include older tracks like Speedy’s Coming or The Sails of Charon, “1985 me” didn’t miss them. If anything, I would have thought my favourite album, Animal Magnetism, woefully underrepresented with only two songs.
I certainly don’t have the world’s best ears, but World Wide Live sounds genuinely live. Some not-so-intensive Google searching was unable to find evidence of copious studio overdubs that have besmirched the reputations of other classic live albums. With extended listens this week, I have started to wonder how live this version of Rock You Like a Hurricane really is. Otherwise, If overdubs are there, and the law of averages suggests they are, long-time producer Dieter Dirks has worked them in well.
As a product, World Wide Love is an example of a very well-made live album. No superfluous cover songs here – that would wait until their 1989 greatest hits. No padding aside from the Matthias Jabs showcase, Six String Sting, which neatly intersects Can’t Get Enough so that each sound natural on their own. Most importantly, banter about the next song is not tacked incongruously onto the one that just finished playing.
There is a very tangible impression of a positive feedback loop between the Scorpions and their audience, each getting the other more and more excited. Any band with an ounce of smarts says they’re nothing without their fans but the Scorpions seem to mean it more than most. The live version here of Can’t Live Without You exemplifies their relationship with their fans. Similarly, during the extended sheer glorious noise that ends Dynamite, it’s easy to visualise thousands of pumping fists and guitar windmills and big smiles all around. A very fun listen.
Evan Sanders: A fun album, making me think back to the days when bands regularly put out double live albums that also served as greatest hits packages. I’ve never been a big Scorpions fan, though I still like the popular songs such as No One Like You. A worthy keepsake for fans as well as those who want a set of favourite Scorpions songs on one album. And they look like Spinal Tap on the cover.
Uli Hassinger: After a run of four exceptional albums this live album shows the Scorpions at their absolute peak. Saw them many times in this period and this albums captures the sensation quite well.
Rudolf Schenker belongs to the Olympia of metal song writers, and this album proves it. Beside that, Meine is an outstanding vocalist and Jabs as an accurate lead guitar player way too rare.
The album contains the best songs of the previous four albums. Every song is an absolute killer. The two songs that stand out are the The Zoo and Dynamite because they’re even more thrilling than on the studio albums. When I recall the live experience it still makes me shiver.
The Scorpions belong on any list of the best live bands. Them headlining Monsters of Rock in 1986 is still one of the most impressive gigs I’ve seen. The only thing one can criticise is that most of the songs are very similar to the album versions, and that the band were playing the same gigs, note by note, tone by tone, all the time. There is no room for improvisation. That was totally different in the Uli Roth era, were the live versions of the songs differ very much from the studio versions.
The Scorpions are still kicking ass live. In the five years before corona I saw them three times and they still deliver the same quality as on this album. Meine is probably the best rock singer in his age. If you have the chance to see them go for it. This is definitely a 10/10.
Christopher Hawley: My favourite live album… superb
Richard Cardenas: I saw this tour live and remember the excitement of seeing this band at this stage of their career. I’d seen them before but the mass appeal they now had gave the shows an extra level of energy.
Pete Delgado: Well, I might trigger a few of these snobs, but World Wide Live is the better live album. Tokyo Tapes is great, don’t get me wrong, but World Wide Life has a better, more memorable set list. I’d pick it over Tokyo Tapes any day, sorry.
Kurt Zanzi: The setlist on this album is very similar to the set I saw them play at Day on the Green in 1985. To me, Tokyo Tapes and this album are two completely different eras of the Scorpions. World Wide Live captures them as I knew them, the very high-energy 80s band that really kicked ass live.
Edward Fortney: This album perfectly captures a snapshot in time. The band was firing on all cylinders. Enjoyable slab of vinyl!
David Heaton: The difference between Tokyo Tapes and World Wide Live is immense. The only difference is the lead guitarist, Uli Roth on the former and Matthias Jabs on the latter. But it could be two completely different bands.
Willard Whyte: A cringeworthy and infantile era for the Scorpions. Another Piece of Meat. Don’t Make No Promises (Your Body Can’t Keep). Ooh, young girls’ tits.
Bryan Aguilar: Great album, though I prefer Tokyo Tapes. Not often a band has two classic double live albums with no repeated material. Rush is another, KISS kind of but not sure if it counts cuz Side four has studio songs.
Adrian Bolster: Love both live albums but energy on both albums is very different. Saw them at Knebworth in 1985 and again in February 1989 at Hammersmith Odeon. Both amazing shows. At Hammersmith they played Sweet Child O’ Mine just before they came on stage and the crowd was singing along when the burst on stage. Fantastic memories.
Philip Qvist: If I had to choose my favourite Scorpions era then it has to be their five studio album run from Lovedrive to Savage Amusement – and World Wide Live captures that period perfectly.
One thing about the Scorpions is that they know how to produce great rock ballads, which they mix well with their harder rocking tunes – and this live set has no shortage of either.
Big City Nights, Still Loving You, Blackout, The Zoo (slightly different to the studio version) and Rock You Like A Hurricane are the standout tracks – although Holiday deserves a better outing than this shortened version on World Wide Live.
It isn’t the greatest live album of all time and it certainly lives in the shadow of Live After Death, the other big live album from 1985 – but it’s still an enjoyable and very good record from a band at its commercial peak. Well worth a spin.
PS – I think that it is about time that Rudi Schenker and Matthias Jabs get a bit more love. Both are damn good guitarists.
Adam Ranger: Never been a big fan of the Scorpions, in the sense that I own none of their music. Have heard many tracks on playlists etc. and they don’t annoy me but with the exception of a few tracks they have never excited me.
This album reflects that view. A few great rocking tracks with in your face guitars.. and a few enjoyable slower numbers. A good time album for the most part.
However.. I did find myself skipping some tracks. Klaus Meine’s voice and his “do you wanna rock… cmon!” exhortations to the crowd began to annoy me. I guess you had to be there. There is an undeniable real live energy feel to the recordings though, and I did like that, if not all of the songs.
Final Score: 8.13 (110 votes cast, total score 895)
A remake of Kiss’ 1979 classic “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” has become a 2022 dance hit.
The new version comes courtesy of Oliver Heldens, a Dutch electronic music producer who is regarded as one of the top DJs in the world. Heldens initially created a “funk and disco inspired bassline” in 2015, then connected with Chic’s Nile Rodgers to expand the tune further.
“He also loved it and he blessed the track with his signature jamming electric funk guitars, which was a dream come true for me,” Heldens admitted, before explaining how he decided to infuse Kiss into his creation.
“Finding the right vocal for this track has been a real journey,” the DJ revealed. “I’ve done over a dozen toplines on it with several singers/songwriters, but in the end the hook of Kiss’ iconic hit ‘I Was Made for Lovin’ You’ turned out to be a match made in heaven.”
The new version omits the original’s verses and instead just repeats the chorus in various ways with instrumental dance fills in between. The track was released in May and has steadily climbed the charts ever since. It recently cracked the Top 20 on Mediabase’s Dance Chart and has racked up more than 8 million streams on Spotify.
Released in May 1979, “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” was a major hit for Kiss. Still, the tune was polarizing, as it featured the hard rock group embracing a disco sound which turned off many of their hardcore fans.
Despite its success, Kiss bassist Gene Simmons has admitted disdain for the track. “I hate playing that song to [this] day,” the rocker revealed in 2018. “Stadiums full of people jump up and down like Biblical locusts, they go nuts, with tattoos and grills on … they’re all jumping up and down and I’m going, ‘Do, do, do, do do … ’ Kill me now!”
The success of the new version of “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” follows a recent trend of classic tracks getting reworked for modern dance audiences. In 2021, “Cold Heart” — a collaboration of Elton John, pop star Dua Lipa and Australian electronic trio Pnau — became a worldwide hit. The tune mashed-up John’s previous songs “Rocket Man,” “Sacrifice,” “Where’s the Shoorah?” and “Kiss the Bride.”
Listen to Oliver Heldens’ Version of ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’
Kiss Lineup Changes: A Complete Guide
An in-depth guide to all of the personnel changes undergone by the “hottest band in the land,” Kiss.
Arkells left behind the trappings of the indie rock pigeonhole years ago. They’re going for something grander.
Arkells headline the SaskTel Jazz Festival MainStage at the Bessborough Gardens on July 2, 2022. (Nick Pearce/Saskatoon StarPhoenix).jpg
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Arkells are more or less built for this.
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The band has its summer festival shows down to a science, honed over years and refined down to the minute. They delivered an infectious pop-rock performance to a packed crowd at the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival TD Mainstage at Bessborough Gardens on Saturday night.
They also don’t have to twist anyone’s arm. The first few driving chords of well-loved set mainstays “Leather Jacket” and “Michigan Left” were easy sells for an audience who have memorized the lyrics to the point that frontman Max Kerman hardly had to sing.
Kerman, regularly running the length of the stage and flashing a megawatt grin, had an easy rapport with his audience, able to give chapter and verse on a Saskatoon Arkells show from 2008 in his stage banter. It’s a winning way to build a relationship with a crowd and make them dance, even if the band has come a long way from those early days.
Make no mistake: Arkells left behind the trappings of the indie rock pigeonhole years ago. They’re going for something grander.
Backed by a four-piece brass band who slipped in and out of some light choreography, it was almost a spectacle. Some of came from tongue-in-cheek staging, like when Kerman called a “band meeting” to settle a jokey beef between keyboard player Anthony Carone and drummer Tim Oxford that led to some musically impressive duelling solos.
Arkells headline the SaskTel Jazz Festival MainStage at the Bessborough Gardens on July 2, 2022. (Nick Pearce/Saskatoon StarPhoenix)jpg
When Kerman recited the band’s three rules for its live shows (dance, look after each other and don’t wait), he was hanging his shingle on big, exuberant showmanship that relied on some respectable crowd pleasing.
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Arkells have no qualms about putting their own spins on standards to make that happen. The band dipped into R&B classic “Land of Thousand Dances” before launching into ABBA’s “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)” for an encore. The horn section made these songs sing, but the guest spots of the band’s openers, singer-songwriter Shawnee Kish and hip hop artist Haviah Mighty, to the ABBA hit hint at something welcome.
Arkells have an all of the above strategy to making a crowd dance. It’s let them embrace artists and music that rarely appear in high voltage rock shows like theirs, lending some needed surprise to older songs and a bigger punch to their shows.
It’s far from their first show on the summer festival circuit, but evolving the tried and true feels like a long way from aging.
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A KISS classic is getting new life in the summer of 2022, as Dutch producer Oliver Heldens currently has his version of “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” inside the Top 20 of the Mediabase Dance Chart this week.
The song, released in May, has enjoyed a steady climb up the charts, climbing another five spots this past week to hit the No. 20 position. And Heldens isn’t alone on the track, pulling in Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Nile Rodgers to play guitar. Rodgers, best known for his work with disco outfit Chic as well as working with Daft Punk, David Bowie, Duran Duran and more, also joins the London-based House Gospel Choir on the song.
The original “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” was released in 1979 and hit No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. Being release at the height of the disco era, it clearly has a bit of influence from the predominant musical style at the time. That danceable vibe, it turns out, is one of the things that brought the song to Heldens’ attention.
“When I made the very funk and disco inspired bass line for this track in 2015, I knew it was one of my best bass lines since ‘Gecko,’ and I just had to send it to one of my all-time heroes Nile Rodgers,” recalls Heldens. “He also loved it and he blessed the track with his signature jamming electric funk guitars, which was a dream come true for me!”
He continues, “Finding the right vocal for this track has been a real journey though, I’ve done over a dozen of toplines on it with several singers/songwriters, but in the end the hook of KISS’ iconic hit ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’ turned out to be a match made in heaven. And with the extraordinary House Gospel Choir on board, they managed to make it sound even more heavenly! This song has been such a vibe in my sets, so I’m happy it’s finally out now! I hope you like it.”
The track is currently available in multiple platforms here. Check out the song in full below.
Heldens is currently touring in Europe but will return to North America later this month for shows in Quebec City, Denver, Chicago and Toronto. Stay up to date with his touring here.
Oliver Heldens With Nile Rodgers + House Gospel Choir, “I Was Made for Lovin’ You”
Finnish prog trio Burntfield have announced that they have released their second album Impermanence on vinyl. You can watch a video for the song Empty Dream below.
Originally released through the Progressive Gears label last year, the follow-up to 2018’s Hereafter debut, was met with critical acclaim upon release.
Burntfield were formed by guitarist-singer-songwriter Juho Myllylä in Helsinki in 2012. The band have thus far released two EPs, Organic Wave (2013) and Cold Heart (2015). Currently based in Amsterdam, the band also feature bassist Maarten Vos and drummer Steven Favier.
The new vinyl version of Impernanence is available on 140g vinyl, in eco friendly packaging with insert.
She guested on the classic track “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” then returned for set-closer “Paradise City” at the 63,000-capacity Tottenham Hotspur soccer stadium. Performance clips can be seen below.
Frontman Axl Rose performed the same two songs with Underwood during her appearance at the Stagecoach country music festival in May – a moment she told fans had been “the greatest night of my life.” She’d previously played the tracks a number of times herself, alongside GNR staples “November Rain” and “Patience.”
In 2020, speaking on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, Underwood had recalled a trip to Las Vegas to see Rose’s band while her own group was on tour. “It’s kind of a life-long dream of mine I never thought would happen,” she said. “I couldn’t waste that opportunity, so I abandoned my husband, abandoned my children, went to Vegas and saw Guns N’ Roses. Amazing!”
She continued: “Usually when I go to concerts I’m like, in a box on the side, which is great. … But you miss the energy of the crowd. Because we were in Vegas, we were just in there with everyone else; it was absolutely incredible. You could feel everybody – everybody was screaming, I was screaming – I was like, ‘I’m never gonna see none of these people ever again. I’m gonna act like a fool!’”
Watch Carrie Underwood Guest With Guns N’ Roses on ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’
Watch Carrie Underwood Guest With Guns N’ Roses on ‘Paradise City’
Guns N’ Roses Lineup Changes: A Complete Guide (We Think)
Few bands have impacted rock ‘n’ roll the way they have, and even fewer have weathered as many changes.
