One person's "hasbeens" are another person's "legends". The majority of people listed there would most definitely fall into the latter category. No, lately (as in 2008) it's been: Hamish Stuart, Colin Hay, Billy Squier, Gary Wright, Gregg Bissonette & Edgar Winter. Howard Jones only toured with him in 2001. Sheila E. toured with him in 2001, 2003, 2006. Either way, neither of those performers qualify as being famous for 15 minutes in the 80s. Even if they did, what fucking difference does it make? Howard Jones had a string of hits back then that lasted much longer than 15 minutes. Sheila E. was not only a successful member of Prince's band but she was also very successful on her own. In addition, she is the daughter of percussionist Pete Escovedo who has played with Carlos Santana (among others) and is quite the percussionist in her own right (Prince didn't have her on his records just because she looked good). In another bit of trivia, her uncle is renown musican Alejandro Escovedo (No Depression magazine's Artist of the Decade for the 90s).

Like him or not, the "big thing" about Steve Earle is that he is one of the pioneers of what has come to be known as alt.country (aka Americana, Y'allternative, No Depression, etc.). He's very outspoken politically, sometimes too much so, which has turned some fans off. It doesn't bother me so much since I pretty much know what to expect at a Steve Earle concert. As for the use of a turntable in one of his new songs, it's all about stretching musical boundaries. More power to him and other performers if that's what they want to do. It sure beats the shit out of trying to make "safe" music for the masses. Plant uses elements of trance and rave in his music, I like that as well. Some people don't like his work with Allison Krauss because they want everything he does to sound just like Led Zeppelin. Fuck that. I'm much more interested in hearing performers like Plant and Earle who defy everyone's expectations.

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican Sept. 21, 2001 In light of last week's terrorist attacks on this country, there are a pair of related songs on the new Gillian Welch album, Time (The Revelator) that take on new relevance. "April the 14th (Part 1)" and "Ruination Day (Part 2)" are dark meditations on American history and symbolism. In the wake of the horror of 9-11, those songs are both disturbing yet strangely comforting. "April the 14th" has a slow, mournful melody, while "Ruination Day" is a bluesy tune full of understated rage. Both seem at first a surreal jumble of American history with direct references to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the sinking of the Titanic. Indeed, both these momentous events occurred on April 14. The date almost rivals in historical gravity April 19, the anniversary of Lexington and Concord, Waco and Oklahoma City. Both songs refer to "God Moves On the Water," an old spiritual about the Titanic that gleefully celebrates the sinking of the great ship as a sign that God will punish mankind for getting too uppity. But there is no hand-clapping happiness to be found in these songs. The mighty have fallen and the singer is stunned. There are other stray historical references of doom here -- Okies fleeing the Dust Bowl in the first song; Casey Jones, the engineer of the fabled train wreck in both. Both "April the 14th" and another song, the lengthy, hypnotic "I Dream a Highway" contain an obscure phrase, "the staggers and the jags," which is an antiquated term for VD. Its used in a historical ballad "Barretts Privateers" by Canadian folksinger Stan Rogers. (Privateers were basically pirates, except they were commissioned by governments to prey on enemy nations.) In the Rogers song, as well as in " April the 14th," the cook in the kitchen has "the staggers and the jags," a vivid metaphor of disease about to spread. If there is one ray of hope here, its a seemingly unrelated story of the Idaho punk band that unfolds in " April the 14th." Its a crappy gig-- the anonymous band sharing the bill with four others, splitting the $2 cover charge. They didn't make enough cash for a half a tank of gas, and the local press, scumbags that they are, didn't even show. But as the singer watches the group loading their equipment into their van, all she feels is envy and intrigue. "I watched them walk through the Bottom Land and I wished I played in a rock n roll band," Welch sings. Although the entire album is acoustic, featuring guitars and banjo by Welch and longtime partner David Rawlings (who co-wrote the songs), Time (The Revelator) is full of rock n roll desire. "I Want To Sing That Rock and Roll," Welch and Rawlings sing in a live recording also included in the Down From the Mountain soundtrack. Meanwhile "Elvis Presley Blues" contains the refrain "Didn't he die? Didn't he die?" yet the verses celebrate the glory that was Elvis, who "shook it like a chorus girl ... shook it like a Harlem queen ..." and electrified the soul and broke the shackles of a puritanical nation. "He shook it like a holy roller with his soul at stake." Welch, in that Idaho band of "April the 14th" sees the spark of Elvis spirit, the spirit of John Henry and Lewis and Clark and the Apollo astronauts. Their van's gas tank might be empty, great ships may strike icebergs and heroes may fall, but they will make it to the next gig one way or another. ---------------------------------------- April 14th, Part 1 When the iceberg hit, Oh they must have known, God moves on the water Like Casey Jones. So I walked downtown On my telephone, And took a lazy turn Through the redeye zone. It was a five-band bill, A two-dollar show. I saw the van out in front From Idaho, And the girl passed out In the backseat trash. There were no way they'd make Even a half a tank of gas. They looked sick and stoned And strangely dressed. No one showed From the local press. But I watched them walk Through the bottom land, And I wished that I played In a rock & roll band. Hey, hey, It was the fourteenth day of April. Well they closed it down, With the sails in rags. And I swept up the fags And the local mags. I threw the plastic cups In the plastic bags, And the cooks cleaned the kitchen With the staggers and the jags. Ruination day, And the sky was red. I went back to work, And back to bed. And the iceberg broke, And the Okies fled, And the Great Emancipator Took a bullet in the back of the head... ---------------------------------------- Ruination Day, Part 2 And the great barge sank. And the Okies fled. And the great emancipater Took a bullet in the head. In the head... Took a bullet in the back of the head. It was not December. Was not in May. Was the 14th of April. That is ruination day. That's the day... The day that is ruination day. They were one. They were two. They were three. They were four. They were five hundred miles from their home. From their home... They were five hundred miles from their home. When the iceberg hit Well they must have known That God moves on the water Casey Jones. Casey Jones... God moves on the water Casey Jones.

Duane also sat in with the Allmans when I saw them last summer. They also brought up JJ Grey (from Mofro) and John "Sho' Nuff" Neff (from the Drive-By Truckers) to sit in on Southbound.

I've seen him a few times on TV in recent months; The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Soundstage on PBS. I thought both performances were very good. Can't say I get the Ringo hate at all. As for his All-Starr Band, I'd be interested to know where anyone would get the impression that any of the following performers were "famous for 15 minutes in the 80s": Rick Danko Joe Walsh Peter Frampton Jim Keltner Nils Lofgren Dr. John Billy Preston Levon Helm Clarence Clemons Timothy B. Schmit Dave Edmunds Todd Rundgren Burton Cummings John Entwistle Randy Bachman Mark Farner Felix Cavaliere Jack Bruce Peter Frampton Gary Brooker Simon Kirke Eric Carmen Greg Lake Roger Hodgson, Ian Hunter Paul Carrack Hamish Stuart Rod Argent Edgar Winter

They're already out. I have never seen Shelby Lynne but her recent show at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro, NC is receiving lots of rave reviews. I've seen Allison Moorer three times: once at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, then opening for the Drive-Truckers in Raleigh with Dan Baird of the Georgia Satellites in her band (she came out for duets on a cover of McCartney's Let Me Roll It and sat in on the Truckers' Angels & Fuselage) and lastly, I saw her do an acoustic show with new hubby Steve Earle at the Museum of Art in Raleigh a couple of summers ago.

I'm not sure of the point of the thread (as it can go anywhere) but that may have been the point of the article. I was just speaking to the reality that record stores as we once knew them are quickly becoming a thing of the past, like it or not. Hopefully this minor vinyl revival and the interest in shopping in them in general amongst a select few will be enough to keep them in business. Although I prefer CDs and vinyl I'm not against digital as long as artwork is provided and sound quality isn't comprised by the industry making MP3s the norm.

I'm not sure about now but he was very good live when I saw him on tour with Dylan when they toured together several years ago.

There was a study done not so long ago that determined that those that download the most music also buy the most most music. The word "download" has gotten to where it has taken on a very negative connotation. Say it to some people and they automatically think you mean illegal downloading, not legitimate downloading via sites like iTunes and emusic or obtaining live shows for free via sites like Dime-A-Dozen (a dirty word even on this site). Still, downloading (legal or otherwise) doesn't require one to actually leave the house and interact with other music fans. Speaking just for myself, I have nothing against downloading (the legal variety) but I still haven't entered into that world. The biggest downfall of which is the widespread use of MP3 files, largely the subject of Lou Reed's speech at SXSW in Austin this year. So many music fans are of the casual variety that the compression and loss of sound quality that comes along with MP3s doesn't bother them. Even worse, they simply don't care. Even though I love the record shopping experience I've pretty much come to grips with the fact they may soon be a thing of the past, it's the MP3 thing that's the next big concern. On the other hand, vinyl has been making a bit of a revival recently so I'm not counting record stores down for the count just yet. As Shelby Lynne was recently quoted on the Record Store Day (April 19th) homepage: "You can't roll a joint on an iPod - buy vinyl!"

From WashingtonCityPaper.com Two views on the future, from the frontlines By Angela Valdez Off the Record: Orpheus has been about to close for months now. (IntangibleArts) Record stores are disappearing. From college campuses to big cities, even the most beloved retailers are closing down because they can't afford to stay open. But the industry isn't giving up just yet. On April 19, several hundred surviving stores will celebrate National Record Store Day. They've hooked up with independent labels and lots of artists to pump up the promotion with in-store performances and music giveaways. Is it too little, too late? We asked two local record sellers—one who's doing well and another who's closing shop—to make some predictions for the future of the business. Bill Daly Owner (with wife Helen), Crooked Beat After 11 years in business, Daly is relatively hopeful for his industry but thinks record stores will have to change to stay alive. He says the week-long promotion will help "bring awareness." Not awareness of the plight of record stores, but of the fact that they actually exist. "A lot of people don't think record stores exist anymore," he says. "I think record store day is probably is a good step." Daly says there are fewer than 1,500 record stores left in the United States, with the independents dying fast. School Kids Records in North Carolina is the most recent big loss. He also cites the deaths of several independent distributors in making it harder for record stores to stay afloat. "They're always going to be around, they're just going to be very specialized. Every record store is just going to have to carve out their own niche and do what they do," Daly says. He's survived by hewing close to his own niche—selling a deep catalogue of "punk, post-punk, reggae and independent releases." Mail-order sales make up 30 percent of his business, he says. Daly places a big chunk of the blame on record labels. "They have never lowered their wholesale prices on CDs," he says. Independent stores, he says, can never sell music as cheaply as the giants like Best Buy or Wal-Mart. The big guys keep prices low, he says, through back-room deals, in which bulk buyers get discounts, or tricks like the "loss leader" strategy, in which giant retailers take a loss on CDs to lure in customers with cheaper prices. Daly worries about the impact on the music industry. "Best Buy has never broken a new artist," he says. ---------------------------------------------------------- Rick Carlisle Owner, Orpheus Records The store could still be open into May, he says, or, "until everything's gone or the landlord throws us out." Carlisle's overflowing Wilson Boulevard store has been about to close for several months now. The business wasn't a victim of the declining vinyl market so much as the soaring real estate market. Carlisle's landlord has refused to renew his lease, which officially ended March 31. But the landlord is still in negotiations with the next tenants or owners, so Carlisle is still selling records. "We get to stay while they hammer out whatever it is they're hammering out," he says. The store could still be open into May, he says, or, "until everything's gone or the landlord throws us out." It's not surprising that Carlisle has a relatively bleak forecast for the future of the record store. "I think they're certainly on their way out. There's definitely a resurgence of interest in them but it's too little, too late. Those who are willing and able to sell online will be around for a while." Carlisle doesn't particularly like the idea of opening an online-only store—but he will continue to sell collectible, high-end albums on the Web. He doesn't recommend record store ownership to younger entrepreneurs. "If some younger person was trying to start a store like this they'd be at a disadvantage," he says. "Most of this music [at Orpheus] has come out while I was in the business. Someone starting now has to go back and learn about things that are 10, 20, 30 years old. It's nice to come into a place where when you ask for something, you find someone who knows what you're talking about." What happened? Who's to blame? Carlisle has a more global explanation. "It used to be an environment where everything kind of fed each other," he says. Radio stations, artists, labels and stores had a symbiotic relationship. Now that those relationships are gone, he says, it's gone. There's no saving it and it isn't necessarily a tragedy. What makes record stores worth saving? Carlisle can't put his finger on the answer. "I don't think it's going to lessen the murder rate," he says. "But maybe it would … I don't know. I never gave it any thought. When this store is gone there are a lot of people who are going to miss it a lot. It'll be harder to find stuff that I've got. I definitely think you're losing something but I'm not able at this point to articulate what it is … it's an interesting question but I've been too busy selling records to think about it in those terms. If enough people still cared about record stores, they'd still be here. I don't think we need to blame anybody. … It's fun to be able to go to record stores and talk to people with similar interests. That's a very specific community and I think that's a sad thing but most people probably don't care."

Must-see viewing for any fan of Townes Van Zandt (pictured on the cover), Guy Clark, Steve Young (author of Seven Bridges Road), Steve Earle, David Allan Coe and Charlie Daniels. Quite a bit of the Townes footage also showed up in the very excellent documentary on his life, Be Here To Love Me. The soundtrack is also well worth checking out: 1. L.A. Freeway (2006 Remastered LP Version) Guy Clark 2. "...That's a Lightnin' Lick..." [Dialogue] (2006 Remastered LP Version) Larry Jon Wilson 3. Ohoopee River Bottomland (2006 Remastered LP Version) Larry Jon Wilson 4. That Old Time Feeling (2006 Remastered LP Version) Guy Clark 5. "...People Condemn Whiskey..." [Dialogue] (2006 Remastered LP Version) Seymour Washington 6. Waitin' 'Round To Die (2006 Remastered LP Version) Townes Van Zandt 7. I Still Sing The Old Songs (2006 Remastered LP Version) David Allan Coe 8. Intro - Desperadoes Waiting For A Train [Dialogue] (2006 Remastered LP Version) Guy Clark 9. Desperadoes Waiting For A Train (2006 Remastered LP Version) Guy Clark 10. Bluebird Wine (2006 Remastered LP Version) Rodney Crowell 11. Alabama Highway (2006 Remastered LP Version) Steve Young 12. Intro - Pancho & Lefty [Dialogue] (2006 Remastered LP Version) Townes Van Zandt 13. Pancho & Lefty (2006 Remastered LP Version) Townes Van Zandt 14. Texas Cookin' (2006 Remastered LP Version) Guy Clark 15. Charlie's Place (Gamble's Story) [Dialogue] (2006 Remastered LP Version) Gamble Rogers 16. The Black Label Blues (2006 Remastered LP Version) Gamble Rogers 17. "...These Guards All Drive Cadillacs! " [Dialogue] (2006 Remastered LP Version) David Allan Coe 18. River (2006 Remastered LP Version) David Allan Coe 19. One For The One (2006 Remastered LP Version) John Hiatt 20. Darling Commit Me (2006 Remastered LP Version) Steve Earle 21. Ballad Of Laverne And Captain Flint (2006 Remastered LP Version) Guy Clark 22. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (2006 Remastered LP Version) Steve Young 23. Mercenary Song (2006 Remastered LP Version) Steve Earle 24. "...Would You Do Elijah's Church?" [Dialogue] Steve Earle 25. Elijah's Church (2006 Remastered LP Version) Steve Earle 26. Silent Night (2006 Remastered LP Version) Rodney Crowell

I'm sure there's plenty of avid collectors here that would be more than willing to offer advice. I'm still learning the ropes myself but have found it's not nearly as much hassle as I originally believed. Usually it's just a matter of clicking on a file someone has uploaded and then I can listen to it in my iTunes. I'm also on broadband so I'm sure that also helps a great deal. I never did bother with trying to download at all when I was on dial-up. I know people that do but sometimes it takes a very, very long time. Still, there are other options such as trading by sending the person you're trading with the appropriate number of blanks CDs and a return package that's already been stamped (commonly know as a "B & P"). For more info on those just Google "B & P" or "Blanks and Postage" for details. Good luck!

I had a chance to see her a few years ago when the Gourds (from Austin, TX) were doing the opening honors but missed out. In all honesty I was much more interested in seeing the Gourds but I wouldn't mind checking her out some day. I have seen her husband a couple times over the years. The first was at an Allman Brothers Band show where she gave Dickey Betts a serious run for his money on the slide during One Way Out. Last time was was this past summer, also with the ABB, except now he's a full time member and doing an outstanding job of holding his own. In fact, I'd say it's his innovative fretwork that makes the Allmans just as much a vital band as they've been at any time during their career.

I'm sure someone here would be more than happy to show you how to download shows. Sure beats stealing from Page, Plant and Jones. I know in some cases some shows may be hard to find for free but this one is readily available. I imagine if the photos showed up in the packaging they're available elsewhere as well. Not trying to bust your balls, just saying boots rob money from the original performers and that this show is very widely available for free.

Just curious if the Whole Lotta Reunion CD is from Zep's recent reunion show at the 02. If so, just curious as to why one would pay for it when you can get it for free. I dunno about everyone else but when I can avoid putting money in the pockets of bootleggers, I do so at every opportunity.

From CreativeLoafing.com On the road again By Jeff Hahne Kwaku Alston PAST DESIRE: Susan Tedeschi It can't be easy to be the wife of a famous musician. Add to that two kids and a music career of your own and the demands have to add up. Call it cabin fever, but Susan Tedeschi is bursting at the seams. Her last album, the Grammy-nominated Hope and Desire, was released nearly two-and-a-half years ago. To say her creative juices have been flowing may be an understatement. She's put together a new band, built a recording studio in the backyard of her house and has written more than enough songs for a new album. If only she could find the right producer... "We've been waiting to record for about five or six months now," Tedeschi says from her Florida home. "It's been a matter of the record company and me working together to get the material they want me to do and getting the right producer. It's a lot more complicated than it needs to be." It's a standstill until the label approves her next move. While she waits for those details to get ironed out, she's been recording some demos thanks to husband Derek Trucks and practicing with a new lineup -- former Codetalkers Tyler Greenwell and Ted Pecchio and The Peacemakers' Matt Slocum. "It's an all-new band," Tedeschi says. "I needed a change. My keyboard player had basically left, which I think was a blessing in disguise. As busy as I am, I don't like change because that means more work for me. It was just a matter of time and now it feels like such a much better band. It has a better energy. I have this new band and I'm dying to get out there and work and make some money. It's one thing to make a record and it's another thing to sit at home and go broke." She's been using the last few months to get back into a comfort zone with playing, in addition to remembering all of her songs. Tedeschi says she's been so focused on writing new songs that she's had to set aside time to relearn all the old ones. She expects that, when she finally gets to record it, the new record will be a bit funkier than Hope and Desire. While that record was also strictly covers, she plans on the next one to be most, if not all, originals. She has plans for a bit of everything -- soul, rock, ballads. She plans on breaking out some of the new material at her upcoming shows. "I wrote 19 new songs," Tedeschi says with excitement. "There's a lot of great stuff. I'm ready to get on it and make a killer record and tour it. That's where my head is. I don't want to rush it though, either. I want to make it great." Most of the songs have been written since the last album, while some were written before. She says no matter whether she's singing cover songs or originals, her goal is always to make the best album she can, adding that having only covers on Hope and Desire was the right thing to do at the time based on what the label wanted. "They wanted to show off my singing," she says. "It was a great record and a lot of fun, but I came back and said I want to make a record that's all my own stuff and play guitar on everything so that people can see both sides. It doesn't have to be any one way as long as it's coherent and beautiful and works together. That's the main thing." Tedeschi says her guitar style is influenced by a lot of the musicians she listened to at a young age -- Freddy King, Otis Rush, Magic Sam, B.B. King and Albert King -- who believed you should be able to sing everything you play. There's no doubt that her husband must be a regular influence on her playing these days, as well. Tedeschi says that Trucks has helped her to determine her strengths and weaknesses as a player. The duo performs from time to time as the Soul Stew Review and Tedeschi notes that the two hope to record an album together at some point. "We've definitely thought about doing that," she says. "We've been writing a lot at home. Recently, he wrote this beautiful song and Warren Haynes came down and wrote lyrics to it and I sang it -- those kinds of collaborations. Doyle Bramhall came down and wrote with Derek and I can sing that stuff. We've already done 16 new tracks between the two of us that aren't even related to new records." Tedeschi says it's been frustrating to stay at home at times, but is completely understanding of her husband's talent and work schedule. Trucks tours with his own band in addition to The Allman Brothers Band and a long stint on Eric Clapton's last tour. While she admits she'd love to be the one on stage with Clapton, you can hear love and admiration when she speaks about her husband. "This is his calling," she says. "He's supposed to be out there. One of us has to be more stay-at-home. I have a house to take care of, kids to take care of, a husband to take care of and then my career. Sometimes it's hard. He's doing the right thing and doing what he's gotta be doing. If it's gonna be my turn, it'll be when it's meant to be."

From CreativeLoafing.com: Siblings strike coincidental chords By James Kelly Lost Highway ANGEL DUST: Shelby Lynne's new release is inspired by Dusty Springfield. For all the effort that talented siblings Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer have put into maintaining separate professional careers, both recently released new albums honoring the contributions of women in popular music less than a month apart. Perhaps great minds think alike after all. Or vice versa. "It's truly coincidence, I promise you," proclaims Allison Moorer, the younger of the two, whose album Mockingbird (New Line) covers songs from artists such as Nina Simone and Joni Mitchell, while Shelby Lynne's Just a Little Lovin' (Lost Highway) is a 10-song tribute to Dusty Springfield. "When we realized the release dates were so close, I started saying 'Maybe we should rethink this ... Maybe delay it.'" Lynne was a little less concerned about the timing of the releases. "They were a month apart, so I didn't think it was a problem. We certainly didn't plan it, as we really don't talk much about our work, but just focus on being sisters." It is striking how Moorer and Lynne have struggled to keep their professional lives separate. Yet they are so intertwined that they've still managed to travel a parallel course. The Alabama natives grew up loving music and singing with their family, but lost their parents in a horrific murder/suicide when both were teens. Lynne eventually embarked to Nashville, and after college Moorer joined her as a backup singer. Though the equally talented sisters went their separate ways, both met challenges within the structured and rigid country music industry. Ultimately, they both left Nashville and the industry altogether. Several years later, Lynne's departure came after accepting that she "was not into the Nashville formula," she says. "If you don't conform, you sort of get run out of town. Now I have gotten to a place where I can do what I want." Moorer had a similar experience, but her move was also tempered by personal change. "I quickly figured out I wouldn't last there. Nashville is such a small town, and everybody knows everyone else's business. When I was in the process of splitting up with [first husband] Butch [Primm] and getting with Steve [Earle], lots of things were said by supposed friends, and they got back to me. We still have a home there, but just live somewhere else." Both Lynne and Moorer recently took a break from songwriting and explored the work of other female artists. "I had wanted to do an album of cover songs for a long time, and felt it was time to go back to school," Moorer says. "I did five albums of my own material from 1997 until 2005, and just needed to take a break; I had been in my own head for too long." On Mockingbird, Moorer filtered down a list of more than 40 songs to the dozen that made the cut, all by noted female writers, with the sole original being the title track. Ranging from June Carter Cash's "Ring Of Fire" to Cat Power's "Where Is My Love," Moorer covered a wide spectrum, but admits she just scratched the surface of the important songs written by women over the years. "It was really tough to decide which ones to do; they were all such great songs. Naturally, Joni Mitchell ("Both Sides Now") had to be on it. She's so important and opened doors for women in music." Moorer is also quick to explain the inclusion of the Shelby Lynne song, "She Knows Where She Goes." "She belongs on there, too," Moorer says. "It's a great song, and she has been such a big influence on me my whole life." Lynne is obviously proud to be part of her sister's project, although she is succinct with her praise. "It's great. She made a great album." Lynne also had her own reasons for doing an album of tunes by a female artist, choosing instead to focus on the oeuvre of one singer. But why do an entire album of songs by an artist who passed away in 1999, has little recognition among today's music scene, and whose career was typified by her interpretations of other people's songs? According to Lynne, Dusty Springfield deserves the honor. "She was one of the greatest pop singers of all time, and she was as important as anybody else. Dusty was the pop queen in Britain, was very well-known and respected in the U.S., and she was one of the first real divas." Just A Little Lovin' is a low-key, moody body of work, in sharp contrast to Springfield's trademark big productions with strings and choruses. "I wanted to bring new life to these songs, and to somehow introduce people to Dusty's work," says Lynne, who is often considered one of the best singers in the contemporary music world, and she has managed to put her own unique imprint on Dusty's songs while allowing the original beauty to shine through. As their lives move forward, Lynne and Moorer are forever linked by blood, and obviously by musical ideas. "We are blessed, lucky and grateful," Lynne says. "And we both love to sing." That's a good place to be in life.

From RollingStone.com Fricke’s Picks: UFO In June 1973, the British hard-rock quartet UFO landed in Germany for a tour — as a trio, because their guitarist suddenly quit. UFO had already gone through two other guitarists since forming in 1969. But it was fourth time lucky when singer Phil Mogg, bassist Pete Way and drummer Andy Parker borrowed local teenage dynamo Michael Schenker, then in Scorpions, for the German dates. Schenker soon joined UFO full time, flanking Mogg’s tough-glam bray with meaty, melodic riffing, and charging the band’s boogie locomotion with lethal, articulate soloing on a run of albums — 1974’s Phenomenon, 1975’s Force It and 1976’s No Heavy Petting, all reissued with bonus tracks (Chrysalis/EMI) — that became holy text for the spandex boys just around the bend, including Def Leppard, Iron Maiden and Guns n’ Roses. UFO were, at the start, better jammers than composers (ballads were essentially breathers between cannonballs), and Phenomenon opens tentatively: “Oh My” sounds like it reads. But that album’s heavy-Yardbirds assaults, “Doctor Doctor” and “Rock Bottom,” are two of UFO’s — and Schenker’s — best moments on record. By Force It, the writing was sharper (”Let It Roll,” “Shoot Shoot”) and bolder (”Out in the Street”). No Heavy Petting came with keyboards and a poised mix of crunch and radio-wise pop that paid off in later FM hits like “Lights Out” and “Only You Can Rock Me.” Those two songs are on The Best of UFO (1974-1983) (Capitol), out soon to coincide with a U.S. tour by the current lineup of UFO (which will not include Schenker, who has been in and out of the band a few times since 1979). That set has everything for the novice, but the reissues — with seventeen extra tracks spread over them, including period demos, outtakes and hot, live juice — are the real phenomenon. David Fricke

If you'd pull his dick out of your mouth long enough to pay attention to the thread you'd see where I've done much more than bash Axl. If that's all you want to acknowledge about my contributions to the thread, so be it. Now back to your Axl buttfuck fest...

Heart may well get the nod someday but have they even been nominated? Plus, they may be perceived as some sort of Zep clone.

Both of you are completely off the mark, I'm just a music fan like everyone else. As such, I also have an opinion and my opinion is that Axl is an egotistical asshole. I have just as much right to express that opinion as someone who has their head up Axl's ass and thinks everytime he takes a shit he's laid some kind of golden turd. I, like many, many other music fans around the globe, are watching in anticipation of this album that's been in the works now for well over a decade. I don't have to be some diehard fan to express an interest in it's outcome. None of that has a thing to do with having to get in the last word or any other misconceptions you may have about me.

I haven't spoken to what the new album will sound like or how successful I think it might be, I have mainly spoken about my opinion of Axl. I do know that the reaction to what's leaked from the new album so far has been mediocre to fair at best except for the diehards that will automatically heap praise on anything Axl does whether they've actually heard it or not. As for the record and tour (no matter who's in G n' R), I'm sure both will be successful. I just don't believe the album (when and if it ever comes out) is somehow going to change music history and cause the world to stop in it's tracks.

I'm not saying the enforcement of the supposed banishment of "pay to play" worked but it was brought to everyone's attention. I also have to disagree that labels determine what songs will be hits. Again, if that were so, every artist that releases a single would have a hit. That simply isn't the case. What gets played all depends who the latest flavor of the month is. If a new release resembles what is currently popular then it is pretty much assured airplay. Anything that's different or deviates from the norm won't see the light of day in today's musical climate.

I don't know where you get this "last word" bullshit from but if someone makes false statements concerning me I'm not going to sit idly by and let it go. I suggest you butt the fuck out and mind your own business.

A few years back the "pay for play" thing was done away with which was basically legal payola. The record companies would supply radio stations with all kinds of artist merch to give away on the air in exchange for airplay. Still, it's not any sort of level playing field. Just look at the difference in playlists on terrestrial radio and what gets played on satellite and progressive stations. I agree with how the industry refuses to embrace the new technology and the infrastructure is collapsing all around them. It's a very interesting time to be a music fan.