Classic Rock News and Notes 3-20

“Valley of Neptune” is a new Jimi Hendrix release which saw the light of day on March 9. How, you might ask? The title track and all the other selections were recorded 40 years ago during Hendrix’s sessions for the posthumously released “First Rays of the Rising Sun.” The 12 tracks contain a cover version of Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love,” re-recorded versions of “Fire,” “Red House” and “Stone Free” and never heard Hendrix compositions “Lullaby for the Summer,” “Crying Blue Rain,” “Ships Passing Through the Night” and “Mr. Bad Luck.” In addition, on that same date, all three of the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s albums were reissued in CD/DVD format with documentaries featuring interviews with late band members Noel Redding, Mitch Mitchell and producer Eddie Kramer. Any Hendrix fanatic will be in for a treat.

Meat Loaf will be releasing “Hang Cool Teddy Bear” an introspective album on April 23, which explores extremely personal themes. He adds “It’s the one [album] that tells you the most about me. It tells you about how my mind works.” With guest appearances by Slash, Brian May, Hugh Laurie of “House” fame and Jack Black (duet on “Like a Rose”) it promises to be a thought-provoking listening experience. A track on the album, “California Isn’t Big enough,” which is about a man falling in love with a prostitute, is already engendering a buzz with some racy lyrics about the male anatomy. The 62-year-old rocker’s 11th studio release is a concept album based on a short story by Killian Kerwin. It was produced by Rob Cavallo, who has worked with Green Day, Kid Rock and the Goo Goo Dolls.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will be hitting the road this spring and summer to support their first release in eight years, “Mojo.” Their tour will start in Raleigh, North Carolina on May 6, and end in Saratoga Springs, New York on Aug. 26. Joe Cocker, ZZ Top and Crosby, Stills and Nash will serve as support acts.

The Steve Miller Band will be touring with a single date in Nashville, and start the tour in earnest on May 21 in Henderson, Nevada, finishing up at the end of July. Miller is working on a new album, which is being recorded at director George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch. No release date is confirmed at this point.

Some really great news comes from those bad boys from Boston, Aerosmith, who have taken their lead singer Steven Tyler back into the fold after his stint in rehab for prescription painkillers. They will be touring in Venezuela, Peru, Colombia, Chile, Brazil and Argentina as part of their “Cocked, Locked and Ready to Rock Tour” from May 18 to May 29, then embark on a European leg of the tour for 11 dates from June 10 (Sweden) until July 3 (Venice). Tyler says that Aerosmith will be “coming your way and rocking your world.” Here’s hoping that the “Toxic Twins” (Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry) and their band mates will add on some U.S. dates. Some stories do have happy endings.

Bon Jovi is in the midst of a world tour that will stretch for a period of about two years, covering 130 dates and taking the boys to 30 countries. Their new release “The Circle” will be featured, as will other standbys from their 11-album catalogue.

On a sad note, Doug Fieger, lead singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist for power-pop band the Knack, died on Feb. 14 at the much-too-young age of 57 after a long battle with cancer. Fieger, a Detroit native, sang lead on “My Sharona” and “Good Girls Don’t,” two tracks from the Knack’s debut album “Get the Knack” that stormed the U.S charts in 1979. “My Sharona,” a song about Fieger’s former girlfriend, held the number-one spot on the U.S. charts, and their maiden effort sold a million copies in less than two months, with total sales of 10 million. Another quality release, “But the Little Girls Understand,” didn’t garner the same enthusiastic response. In more recent years, Feiger had a small part on the television show Roseanne, and released a solo effort. 1998’s “Zoom” and 2001’s “As Normal as the Next Guy” were other Knack CDs that maintained quality without receiving critical acclaim. In 2004, Feiger was diagnosed with lung cancer that went into remission, but it returned in 2009. Feiger was a great musical talent who will be sorely missed.

Tony Clark, producer extraordinaire, whose work on the Moody Blues classic albums will go down in history, passed away at the age of 68 on Jan. 4 of unknown causes. His work on the Moody Blues’ “Days of Future Passed,” which combined rock ‘n’ roll with orchestration, broke new ground. “Nights in White Satin” was a major hit for the band on both sides of the Atlantic. He produced the entire “On the Threshold of a Dream” release with such wonderful tracks as “Lovely to See You,” “Never Comes the Day” and “Are You Sitting Comfortably.” He later worked on Justin Hayward and John Lodge’s “Blue Jays” album. Clark was called the sixth “Moodie” for his stellar work on the band’s material and his work behind the scenes. He was also one of the few white producers to work with Motown Records. You can’t deny his influence on modern music.

Michael Lee, most notable as Robert Plant’s former drummer, died of a seizure at the age of 39. Lee was part of Plant’s solo band, and played the skins on his 1993 “Fate of Nations” release, as well as Jimmy Page and Plant’s “No Quarter” and “Walking into Clarksdale.” Lee also manned the drum kit for the Cult and Thin Lizzy.

Two books that are must reads are Don Felder’s “Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles 1974-2001” and Bill German’s “Under Their Thumb.” The former chronicles Felder’s childhood, formative years and tenure with the Eagles in forthright manner. He holds nothing back, making it an honest account of life in the fast lane. When asked to describe two of the Eagles founding members’ he describes Glenn Frey as “bipolar” and Don Henley as “a difficult guy to hang out with.” Regarding band member Joe Walsh, Felder calls him “a wonderful guy.” For a glimpse into the inner workings of an iconic super group, read Felder’s book. You won’t be able to put it down.

Bill German’s “Under Their Thumb” is book about a fan (German) who, at age 16, starts a fanzine, “Beggar’s Banquet,” about the Rolling Stones, which is eventually designated as the “the World’s Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Band’s” official fan-club newsletter. He gets to know the band, and provides priceless anecdotes about Jagger, Richards, Wood, Wyman and Watts that are sometimes flattering and sometimes brutally honest. It is an inside look at the Rolling Stones from someone who was in their inner circle. “In the span of a few months,” German recalls, “I’d gone from wanting to know everything about my favorite rock stars to knowing too much.” There are countless books about the Rolling Stones, but this one ranks among the best. Look for my upcoming interview with German on this Web site.