Welcome to the VintageRock.com Digital Lounge. This is where we offer you a feast of information and multimedia on the latest CD, DVD & Blu-ray Disc releases from your favorite Vintage Rock artists. Turn it up!
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Following a successful IMAX Event Cinema worldwide release, Queen Rock Montreal will become available in several different configurations, including a double Blu-ray / double 4K ultra high definition package, a double CD, a double CD limited edition version, and a triple vinyl set (black and colored transparent blue). Recorded in 1981, Queen Rock Montreal presents Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon when they returned to Montreal, Canada, for the fourth time in November 1981 to play two huge concerts at the 18,000-seat Forum. After their massive success in the 1970s, the band entered the 80s bigger than ever, with the hugely successful The Game album producing their two biggest ever US singles in “Another One Bites The Dust” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” (both Billboard No.1’s), followed by the UK No.1 single “Under Pressure.” Queen’s return to Montreal came after almost two years of touring, including their very first tours of South and Central America, which saw the band playing two nights at Sao Paulo’s Morumbi Stadium to more than 150,000 devoted fans. As a result, when the band arrived in Canada in November 1981 they were in electrifying form. The original concerts, which took place on November 24 and 25, 1981, were arranged specifically to be filmed for a full-length concert film to document their live show. Director Saul Swimmer planned to shoot them using state-of-the-art Double Anamorphic 35mm footage, which allowed it to be projected on a gigantic, five-story high screen. Backstage tensions between the members of Queen and Swimmer could have caused problems, but instead they propelled the band to new heights. Queen Rock Montreal features a rawer version of the band who had released “Bohemian Rhapsody” half a decade earlier, showcasing their unparalleled musicianship, soaring vocal power and unstoppable live energy. The powerful vocal acrobatics of Mercury, May’s dazzling six-string pyrotechnics, Deacon’s rock solid heartbeat bass, Taylor’s unstoppable rhythmic display, and not to mention the unique combination of all four voices – Queen Rock Montreal shows the total cohesion and individual strengths of four musicians who were, as Brian May says, “at the top of our game.” Preview “Let Me Entertain You” below.
Release Date: 05/10/24
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Spirit of Unicorn Music presents Emerson, Lake & Powell’s The Complete Collection, a triple CD box set that pays tribute to the power and creativity of this all-too-brief powerhouse collaboration. In the early 1980s, many of the established progressive rock artists were experiencing a rough ride. The musical landscape was changing. The arrival of punk rock and new wave meant that for many, the grand, creative indulgences which were de rigueur throughout the 1970s, were fast becoming outdated. During a time of rapid change, bands had to adapt to survive. By 1979, Emerson Lake & Palmer, one of the biggest bands in the world during the 1970s, were struggling and quietly called time on their once supergroup status band. Having both explored solo careers, come 1984 Keith Emerson (The Nice, Emerson, Lake & Palmer) and Greg Lake (King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer) were considering their next move. Carl Palmer (PM, Asia, Emerson, Lake & Palmer) was busy enjoying enormous success with Asia. Thus, the legendary Cozy Powell (Rainbow, Whitesnake) stepped in to occupy the drum stool. “When Cozy came in, he really dazzled us. We didn’t intend to put the group back together but he was such a good technical drummer and such a good performer, we thought it might be a good idea to go back out with a new version of the band,” Greg Lake told the LA Times back in 1986. And so, Emerson, Lake & Powell came to pass. This box set includes the band’s one and only studio release: Emerson, Lake & Powell, featuring three bonus tracks. Also included is their live album, Live In Concert and a CD of rehearsals called The Sprocket Sessions. All material included in the box set has been remastered by renowned engineer Andy Pearce. It is also presented with an enhanced booklet with sleeve notes written by Prog Magazine editor, Jerry Ewing. Check out the clip of the group’s hit “Touch And Go” below.
Release Date: 04/12/24
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Mercury Studios releases the first official audio companion of the Who’s Live At Shea Stadium 1982. Previously released on DVD and Blu-ray in June 2015, The Who (Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, and Kenney Jones) delivered both classic tracks and rarely performed songs across three vinyl LPs and two CDs. Songs include “Pinball Wizard,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “My Generation,” “Substitute,” “Who Are You,” “I Can’t Explain,” “See Me Feel Me,” “Baba O’Riley,” and many more. The tour promoted the 1982 album It’s Hard and the set list also included a few numbers from the new release, some of which the band would only play live on this tour. The Who’s 1982 North American tour was their last to feature Jones on drums and the band did not tour again until 1989. This recording features the show from the second of their two nights at New York’s Shea Stadium and was recorded on October 13, 1982. Check out the video below of the Who performing “Love Reign O’er Me” at the Shea Stadium show.
Release Date: 03/01/24
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Canadian melodic rock band Honeymoon Site have a new album for 2024 called Alive via Frontiers Music Srl and featuring core band members, including Johnnie Dee (vocals), Derry Grehan (guitars, keyboards, and background vocals), Dave Betts (drums), Gary Lalonde (bass), and Peter Nunn (keyboards). Alive is produced by notable Canadian producer Mike Krompass, whose songwriting and production credits include artists like Meghan Trainor, Steven Tyler, Theory of a Dead Man and Smash Mouth. His expertise combined with the bands celebrated melodic rock, powerful vocals and memorable guitar riffs, is sure to make this a timeless record of unforgettable rock anthems. Honeymoon Suite was originally formed in 1981 by Dee from Niagara Falls, Ontario. Following the departure of the original lead guitarist, Derry Grehan, also from the Niagara Falls area, joined the band. Dee and Grehan decided to re-build the band at that point and recruited Dave Betts on drums, Ray Coburn on keys, and Gary Lalonde on bass. In 1983, the band entered a demo of “New Girl Now” to a homegrown contest put on by Toronto rock station Q107. They won that year and this led to a multi album deal with WEA Canada after being signed by Bob Roper. They recorded their debut self titled album which was released in July, 1984. The album was an instant success, and with the help of massive airplay, several videos on MTV and MuchMusic, it went on to sell over 300,000 units in Canada alone. Since their debut release, the group has released a total of seven studio albums with over 1 million units sold worldwide driven by the success of a string of hit singles such as “New Girl Now”, “Burning In Love”, “Wave Babies”, “Stay In the Light”, “Feel It Again” and “What Does It Take”, to name a few. Fast forward to 2020. the group is armed with a surplus of new original songs. They reached out to fellow Canadian producer/songwriter MIke Krompass based in Nashville, TN. A long-time fan, Krompass was all in to co-write and produce a new Honeymoon Suite album for his new record label. The band are excited about the album’s release. Check out the title track below.
Release Date: 02/14/24
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Robby Krieger and The Soul Savages release the ensemble’s debut album via Provogue Records / Mascot Label Group. Krieger knows that when you assemble the right bunch of musicians, and trust in the creative process, magic happens. As a founding member of The Doors, the guitarist intuitively understands the beauty of free-flowing collaboration and telepathic group interplay. This is evident on Robby Krieger And The Soul Savages. The album was recorded old school style with a bunch of friends jamming and recording in a relaxed studio setting. Tracked at Krieger’s own Love Street Studios in Glendale, California, it finds the guitarist stretching out over cinematic groove music inspired by classic soul, 1960s jazz, blues, rock, psychedelic rock, and beyond. Fans of the guitarist’s singular style will rejoice that his latest album is filled with Robby-isms. Robby Krieger And The Soul Savages brims with his celebrated fingerstyle fretwork, including some adventurous jazzy and microtonal slide guitar playing; his slinky, funk-inspired rhythm work; and his silky Wes Montgomery-style octave playing. The 10-song album explores the soul-jazz, dirty blues, and noir-ish roots of The Doors while also furthering the man’s career as a jazz-fusion guitarist. Joining Robby on this all-instrumental odyssey of psych-rock soul are top-shelf composers, instrumentalists, and bandmates. Bassist-songwriter Kevin “Brandino” Brandon co-wrote and recorded with Robby on the Singularity album, and he has won over half a dozen Grammy awards as well as three Emmy awards. His extensive resume includes credits with James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, and Beyonce. Keyboardist-songwriter Ed Roth is a Grammy-nominee known for his work in jazz, rock, and pop, and a robust resume that includes working with Ringo Starr, Brothers Johnson, Coolio, Shuggie Otis, and Annie Lennox. And drummer-songwriter Franklin Vanderbilt brings savage to the band’s soul with his fatback groove and jazzy nimbleness. Among others, his credits include drumming for legendary Chaka Khan, recording with fusion jazz pioneer Stanley Clarke, and touring worldwide with Lenny Kravitz. Robby Krieger And The Soul Savages opens with “Shark Skin Suit,” a bracing dose of lysergic-laced funk that recalls P-Funk, Jimmy Smith, and The Doors. Here, Krieger’s slide guitar parts are wildly melodic, touching upon blues, jazz, Indian sitar music, and 1960s acid rock with technical precision and imagination. The keys here recall Bernie Worrell’s color-swirling P-Funk work, as Ed keeps things infectiously funky and technicolor-ly textured. The rhythm section lays down meaty and uncluttered grooves to support the fertile improvisations. Robby reveals that the quartet found their stride on the cinematically funky “Day In L.A,” and it definitely feels like a flag-planting moment. “Ricochet Rabbit” finds Robby in fleet-fingered jazzer mode, playing beautiful octave jazz lines inspired by the late Wes Montgomery over some modern jazz-funk stylings. The groovy but odd-metered “Math Problem” is aptly named with its playfully shifting time signatures. Krieger effortlessly plays bluesy licks and serpentine jazz-influenced lines over the challenging time changes. Check out the playful official music video for “Ricochet Rabbit” from Robby Krieger And The Soul Savages below.
Release Date: 01/19/24
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Pink Floyd’s Atom Heart Mother will be released on Sony Music (US) as a special two-disc package in a seven-inch gatefold sleeve, containing the album on CD and a Blu-ray disc featuring footage of Pink Floyd performing “Atom Heart Mother” at Hakone Aphrodite Festival, Japan in August 1971, which was originally released as part of The Early Years box set. The film has been upgraded from a recently discovered original tape of the time. It also includes a behind-the-scenes mini documentary. Originally released in Japan in 2021, the set contains some unique memorabilia: a special photo book containing many rare, never-seen-before photos, reproductions of the pamphlet, the poster, the concert ticket, and the flier distributed at the event. The only Pink Floyd footage at Hakone Aphrodite that exists is that of the 16-minute-long suite “Atom Heart Mother.” The details including whereabouts of the master film and how it was shot had been a mystery for a long time. However, after 50 years, the original 16mm film of this video was discovered in a fan’s garage. The meticulous processes of digitizing, restoring and remastering was undertaken and finally this enhanced video will be released outside of Japan. At the time of the concert, Pink Floyd had just released Atom Heart Mother (in October 1970), and were yet to release Meddle (released in November 1971). Pink Floyd appeared as the final act of the festival, and alongside “Atom Heart Mother,” they performed another five songs including “Careful With That Axe, Eugene”, “A Saucerful Of Secrets” and “Echoes” from then-unreleased album Meddle. Sadly, official footage of these songs has not resurfaced. For the show, Pink Floyd used huge PA systems not yet commonly used in Japan back then, and it is widely believed that this show greatly influenced Japanese audio and stage production after that. Have a peak at the footage below.
Release Date: 12/8/23
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