Springsteen Returning with Western Stars

Written by Jon Williams

Many performers approaching 70 years of age and nearly 50 years into their career would be slowing down and coasting on their past success. Many performers, but not Bruce Springsteen. The recent announcement of his upcoming solo album Western Stars, releasing June 14, came just a short time after the conclusion of Springsteen on Broadway, his intimate performance show that was originally planned to run for eight weeks and instead ran for well over a year. On top of that, Springsteen has also said that he’s written enough material for a new album with the E Street Band, so fans can be on the lookout for that (plus new tour dates) as well.

Springsteen’s passion for music began at a young age, and he started playing for audiences when he was in his teens. He performed with a number of different musicians over the next several years until signing his first record deal in 1972. That led to his debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., in 1973. That was followed later that same year by The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle. These albums were well received by critics but did not sell especially well, so Springsteen spent nearly a year and a half and recruited the help of his friend Steven Van Zandt as he threw everything he had into his next album.

These efforts paid off when Born to Run was released in August of 1975. On the strength of his incredible live performances, the album went to #3 on the Billboard 200 and a star was born. He built on that success with Darkness on the Edge of Town in 1978, The River in 1980, and Nebraska in 1982, three albums that helped to polish Springsteen’s image of a smart, soulful songwriter with their unflinching looks at working-class life and American politics.

Then in June of 1984 came the album Born in the USA. The iconic title track, along with smash singles like “Dancing in the Dark” and “Glory Days,” made Bruce Springsteen a household name and, over time, a rock n’ roll legend. Since its release it has sold more than 30 million copies, making it one of the bestselling albums of all time. Shortly thereafter, he played a prominent part of the star-studded charity hit “We Are the World,” further cementing his place in the music and pop culture pantheon of the 1980s. He then showed a more subdued side of his musical personality with the 1987 album Tunnel of Love.

The five-year break in albums following Tunnel of Love was Springsteen’s longest to date. He made up for it by releasing two albums, Human Touch and Lucky Town, on the same day in 1992. He would release just one more album in the ‘90s, 1995’s The Ghost of Tom Joad (currently unavailable), but the decade was notable for other reasons, among them an Academy Award and a slew of Grammy Awards for the song “Streets of Philadelphia” and his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. In the aftermath of 9/11, he made a triumphant return with the 2002 album The Rising.

Since then, Bruce has been as prolific as ever, releasing six albums with no more than three years in between up through 2014. That year’s High Hopes was his most recent leading up to the release of Western Stars, but as noted above, he has been far from idle. The year of 2016 was particularly busy, seeing the release of Chapter and Verse, an 18-track career retrospective in conjunction with his autobiography, Born to Run—the audiobook, which he narrated, won the Audie Award for Best Memoir. That year he was also presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor for a civilian in the United States, by President Barack Obama.

Bruce Springsteen is a music icon and a rock n’ roll legend, and he’ll be in the forefront of pop culture for the foreseeable future. In addition to the release of Western Stars, he’s also promising a documentary on the making of the album, as well as a new album and tour with the E Street Band. With his popularity high and holding steady, now is a great time to make sure your library’s shelves are stocked with plenty of material relating to the Boss. SmartBrowse his name on our website to find his discography of studio and live albums, concert films, and much, much more from his acclaimed career.

Two Classic Albums Reissued

Written by Jon Williams

Classic rock fans are in for a treat—or, more accurately, two treats—over the course of the next two New Music Fridays. Two rock legends are releasing remastered and expanded versions of albums that came out in the 1980s.

First up, available tomorrow, is Paul McCartney’s Flowers in the Dirt. Originally released in 1989, it was McCartney’s eighth solo album (or fifteenth, if you include his Wings outings) after the dissolution of the Beatles. Ever the collaborator, Sir Paul enlisted the help of Elvis Costello for this album, and together the two co-wrote four tracks. The special edition reissue features a second disc comprising nine demos, five of which are songs that were not originally included.

This is also the tenth installment of the McCartney Archive Collection, which are classic album reissues supervised by Sir Paul himself. It follows the Wings classic Band on the Run, the solo albums McCartney, McCartney II, Ram, the live album Wings Over America, Venus and Mars, Wings at the Speed of Sound, Tug of War, and Pipes of Peace. Each of these contains a treasure trove of extra songs not found on the original release. The first release in the collection came out in 2010, and McCartney has continued to put them out while also maintaining a full worldwide touring schedule and releasing two new albums: Kisses on the Bottom, a collection of covers with two original songs, and NEW, containing all-new material.

Next week offers a similar treat when Fleetwood Mac reissues their 1987 album Tango in the Night in honor of its 30th anniversary. The standard edition is a remaster of the original album, while the expanded edition will include a second disc that offers a number of outtakes and rarities from the recording sessions. The album is notable for being the last to feature Fleetwood Mac’s “classic” lineup of Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, and John and Christine McVie. It also experienced a resurgence in 2014 after the song “Seven Wonders” was featured in the season finale of American Horror Story: Coven, a season in which Stevie Nicks appeared as herself on the show.

This year also marks the 40th anniversary of their iconic album Rumours, which was released in February of 1977. One of the bestselling albums of all time, it received the reissue treatment in 2013, an expanded three-disc edition that includes live tracks as well as early takes of the album’s songs. The band’s other albums to feature their most well-known lineup are Fleetwood Mac (1975), Tusk (1979), and Mirage (1982). Although Tango in the Night was their last album together, they do still perform live.

Paul McCartney and Fleetwood Mac are stellar artists who have been making outstanding rock music for decades. These new reissues of classic albums are the perfect opportunity to share their work with your music-loving patrons.

Hollywood Vampires Revive Classic Rock

Written by Jon Williams

The Grammy Awards ceremony on Monday night produced some incredible musical moments. From Taylor Swift’s opening number to Kendrick Lamar’s fiery performance (literally), the taste of Broadway’s Hamilton, Little Big Town’s haunting rendition of their hit “Girl Crush,” and more, there was something for fans all across the spectrum to enjoy. And then there were the tributes—the Eagles taking the stage with Jackson Browne to perform “Take It Easy” in honor of Glenn Frey, and Lady Gaga’s medley of David Bowie hits.

One of the more unexpected moments came late in the show when Alice Cooper took the stage with a band of familiar faces. Introduced by Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, they first played an original song, then faded it into a cover of “Ace of Spades” in tribute to Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmister. They did so with a brand of straightforward rock sound that was absent from the rest of the show and, indeed, has seemingly gone missing from the music world’s consciousness as other forms of pop music have come to the forefront.

The band is called the Hollywood Vampires, and this wasn’t just a one-off performance. A tribute in themselves to Cooper’s famous drinking buddies of the ‘70s, they formed in 2015 with principal members Joe Perry and Johnny Depp joining the singer. Their debut album featured contributions from such luminaries as Grohl, Joe Walsh, Sir Paul McCartney, and the late Christopher Lee. And while not technically full members of the band, they’ve frequently been joined, as they were on Monday night, by Guns N’ Roses associates Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum.

And of course, to score such an incredible list of collaborators, the supergroup’s actual members are pretty famous in their own right. Alice Cooper, of course, just finished up a supporting stint on Motley Crue’s final tour. He’s been at the forefront of the rock n’ roll business for decades. The same can be said of Joe Perry, lead guitarist for Aerosmith since 1970. The third member is something of a surprise, as Johnny Depp is known for his acting career, but it turns out he has some serious musical chops as well.

The Hollywood Vampires only have one album for now, but Cooper recently reported that he’s working on a follow-up, as well as perhaps a live album, as the band gets ready for its summer concert schedule. Make sure you have it on your shelves, as well as music from the band’s members, collaborators, and other similar acts to satisfy your rock-loving patrons as this style of music tries to regain its foothold in popular culture.