Out now: 40th Anniversary vinyl and digital editions of Don Henley's 'Building the Perfect Beast'

I bought this classic album - containing two Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 - soon after it came out in November 1984 on cassette (I still have it) via the Columbia House Records & Tapes Club. It was a massive success for a couple reasons.

First among them: Indelible pop/rock songs co-written by the artist in conjunction and various combinations with members of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers (Mike Campbell, Stan Lynch, Benmont Tench), Henley's frequent Eagles collaborator JD Souther, and the album co-producer Danny Kotchmar. "The Boys of Summer," in particular, has been covered by many musicians. California pop/punk band The Ataris had a major hit with its cover in 2003.   

Then there was the stellar crop of studio guests including most of the aforementioned, plus Go-Go Belinda Carlisle, The Motels' Martha Davis, Patty Smyth, Lindsey Buckingham, Sam Moore, Jim Keltner, Waddy Wachtel, Charlie Sexton and others. 

Check out more details from the press release:

As the Eagles continue their Sphere residency in Las Vegas, Nevada, UMe has released a 40th Anniversary vinyl edition of Don Henley's triple-platinum 'Building the Perfect Beast' album. It is available now as a 2LP set for the first time, remastered from the original analog tapes and pressed on 180-gram vinyl. 

The album features the hit singles "The Boys of Summer,” “All She Wants to Do Is Dance," “Sunset Grill,” and “Not Enough Love in the World." The new 2LP release features the vinyl debut of the album's complete track list, as “A Month Of Sundays” was only available previously on the CD, cassette, and digital versions.

Order Building The Perfect Beast HERE now.

A newly remastered digital version of the album is also available now for streaming and download.

In addition to featuring four hit singles, Building The Perfect Beast garnered five Grammy nominations and won the award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male for "The Boys Of Summer." Don Henley was the biggest winner of the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards, taking home four Moonmen, including Video of the Year for “The Boys of Summer,” which was also the year's most nominated video.

Track listing: 

SIDE ONE

THE BOYS OF SUMMER
YOU CAN’T MAKE LOVE
MAN WITH A MISSION

SIDE TWO
YOU’RE NOT DRINKING ENOUGH
NOT ENOUGH LOVE IN THE WORLD
BUILDING THE PERFECT BEAST

SIDE THREE
ALL SHE WANTS TO DO IS DANCE
A MONTH OF SUNDAYS

SIDE FOUR
SUNSET GRILL
DRIVIN' WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED
LAND OF THE LIVING

EAGLES – LIVE IN CONCERT AT SPHERE dates:

Friday, December 6
Saturday, December 7
Friday, December 13
Saturday, December 14
Friday, January 17
Saturday, January 18
Friday, January 24
Saturday, January 25
Friday, February 14
Saturday, February 15
Friday, February 21
Saturday, February 22
Friday, March 14
Saturday, March 15

The NAMM Show 2025 news: Marshall Amps to return after hiatus

Marshall, the company behind some of the most famous amps in rock history, announced its return to NAMM, the US trade show for the music industry, following a five-year absence.

Marshall Group CEO Jeremy de Maillard said the decision to attend next January’s show was an opportunity for the company to celebrate its much-loved amplifiers and to introduce them to a new generation of music lovers.

“Marshall amps have earned a special place in music history and we’re excited about connecting with our fans and customers at this globally important event,” de Maillard said. “We have some great plans for showcasing the best that Marshall has to offer in hand-built amps while introducing several new products to the Marshall portfolio.”

Marshall will be taking to the main floor to showcase and demo new products, host Q&A's and artist signings and, most importantly, have space for people to try the amps. Endorsers and ambassadors will be on hand to demonstrate what Marshall amps means to them while a specially constructed ‘Tone Sanctuary’, an invite only space, will allow artists to experience several new products that will be launched later in the year and beyond.

NAMM, which kicks off on Jan. 21 in Anaheim, California, holds a special place in Marshall folklore. It was at NAMM that Jim Marshall, who founded the company together with his son Terry, whose pioneering use of amplification technology earned him the nickname ‘the Father of Loud’, unveiled several of its iconic amplifiers including the JVM and The Studio series that have become industry shaping innovations.

“It’s wonderful to see us returning to NAMM to showcase our dedication to the amps business and for preserving the Marshall legacy for the next generation of musicians,” said Terry Marshall, Jim’s son and board member of Marshall Group.

Since it was founded in 1962, Marshall amps have shaped the sounds of icons and generations of guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Slash, Zakk Wylde, Jeff Beck, Lemmy, Kerry King, Biffy Clyro, Jim Root, Yngwie Malmsteen, Willow Smith, Kiki Wong, Bruce Springsteen, Nita Strauss, Lzzy Hale and Polyphia.

Marshall Group, the audio, technology, and design powerhouse that is uniting musicians and music lovers through genre-breaking innovation, believes building on Jim Marshall’s legacy is crucial to its success going forward.

“We know how important our amps are to the Marshall brand,” de Maillard said. "We see ourselves as custodians of a unique slice of music heritage and we are determined to protect it for the next 60 years. This is why we want to show up at NAMM - to support the community of guitarists and musicians and do it in a typically loud Marshall way.”

Marshall Group has invested heavily in its amps business since the group was created in March 2023 and is committed to increasing the development and production of amps at its historic Milton Keynes factory.

Marshall’s skilled workforce has benefited from Marshall Group’s investment in the business, which has seen them provided with new tools and equipment so they can continue delivering the finest hand-built amps in the world.

Underscoring its commitment to valve amps, Marshall launched the Studio JTM last year and it continues to expand the popular range.

In addition to its amplifiers, headphones and portable speakers, Marshall Group also owns Natal drums, a recording studio and a record label enabling it to equip today’s musicians in every step of their journey.

About Marshall

Marshall Group is the audio, tech and design powerhouse uniting musicians and music lovers through genre-breaking innovation. Marshall, our flagship brand, is uniquely positioned with over 60 years of rock ‘n’ roll attitude on stage, at home and on the go. Our iconic products are brought to life by a dedicated team of 800 passionate employees and sold in over 90 markets worldwide.

Visit group.marshall.com for more information.

The Jesus and Mary Chain, Psychedelic Furs concert review: Riverside, Calif.

The Psychedelic Furs and The Jesus and Mary Chain – Influential Eighties post-punk bands whose lineups both sport pairs of brothers as the lone original members – delivered powerful performances on Nov. 6 at Riverside, California’s Fox Theater.

This weekend, their co-headlining North American tour winds down with concerts scheduled Friday in San Diego (Rady Shell at Jacobs Park) and Los Angeles (YouTube Theater).

Last spring, Scotland’s The JAMC – led by Jim Reid (lead vocals) and William Reid (guitar) - released the compelling Glasgow Eyes, their first new studio album since 2017. It was followed by the siblings’ biography “Never Understood” and the recent single “Pop Seeds.”

Meanwhile, England’s The Psychedelic Furs, with singer Richard Butler and bassist Tim Butler have 2020’s Made of Rain, their solid, underrated first studio album in 29 years (!) to freshen up setlists.

The Psychedelic Furs’ 15-song, 70-minute set kicked off in haunting fashion with “The Boy Who Invented Rock and Roll,” off the Rain release. Then the band, comprising guitarists Rich Good and Richard Fortus, keyboardist Amanda Kramer, ace drummer Zack Alford, plus another guitarist, followed it with a dreamy, measured “The Ghost in You” to loud fan reaction.

Richard Butler gestured dramatically as he sang the U.S. hit with those trademark sandpaper vocals. Alford, a veteran of David Bowie and B-52’s tours, proved his mettle early with propulsive beats on “So Run Down” (from Talk Talk Talk). Longtime sax man Mars Williams, who died of cancer in 2023, was sorely missed here and elsewhere throughout the evening.

Both Butlers moved around the stage corners, with Richard often putting his arms around Tim and crouching down close to fans gathered in front. “All That Money Wants” (an alt-rock radio chart topper), emotionally resonant “Wrong Train” (a Rain winner where Richard finished a capella) and the billowy “Love My Way” were all highlights. The vaguely political Furs concert staple “President Gas” took on new meaning after a contentious American election surely divided fans.

Later, the denser original album version of “Pretty in Pink” was performed instead of the popular sax-infused remix found on the beloved movie soundtrack. The aggressive thrust of “Mr. Jones” proved exciting and “Heaven” closed things out on a stately note.

Initially shrouded in smoke and lit by green flashing lights, The Jesus and Mary Chain opened its 17-song, 70-minute performance with the sinister barrage of “Jamcod,” among three Glasgow Eyes tunes unveiled here. Jim Reid frequently doubled over while singing for dramatic effect.

William Reid, with his wild mane of white (or gray – hard to tell in dim lighting) hair was content to stay in the background on rhythm guitar and added the occasional shards of feedback noise. The touring band, anchored by drummer Justin Welch (Elastic, Lush, Suede) with backing vocals from guitarist Scott Von Ryper and bassist Mark Crozer sounded tight.

Longtime JAMC enthusiasts loudly roared with approval at the band’s popular cover of The Pixies’ “Head On,” its careening rock guitars as exciting as ever, the churning “Blues from a Gun” and Eighties era, reverb-drenched noise pop gems “Happy When it Rains,” “April Skies,” “Some Candy Talking” and “9 Million Rainy Days.”

Although both acts let their music do most of the taking, Jim Reid was unintentionally funny toward the end of the JAMC’s set when he said “this is how it is when we are enjoying ourselves.”

Opening act Frankie Rose, a former member of LA dream pop group Dum Dum Girls, joined the JAMC toward the end of its set on “Sometimes Always” and “Just Like Honey.”

The JAMC finished with the intense Stooges vibe of “Reverence,” with an extended intro. Fittingly, it concluded in a maelstrom of feedback.

Psychedelic Furs photo courtesy of the artist. The JAMC photo by Mel Butler.

Frank Black’s 'Teenager Of The Year' to get a 30th Anniversary Edition in January

The 30th Anniversary Edition of Frank Black’s solo album, Teenager Of The Year will see a one-time vinyl pressing on Jan. 17 via 4AD Records accompanied by a tour of North America plus Paris and London, where Frank Black and the original band will be performing the album in its entirety.

This special vinyl tour edition of Teenager Of The Year, has been remastered for the first time from its original analogue studio tapes, cut at 45 rpm for optimum playback and pressed on double gold vinyl. The album also comes in a gatefold sleeve with liner notes by both Frank Black and producer Eric Drew Feldman. A 24-bit digital version is being released on the same day.

"Sometime in the early 80s, I'd have to look up the date, I matriculated high school. This school held an awards banquet for some of the departing students at the school. I received an award called the 'Teenager of the Year' award; my brother received the same award the following year," says Black Francis.

"Our award was a 50 dollar credit for textbooks, a 'Teenager of the Year' medallion (my mother still has this), and also the banquet hall dinner, soup to nuts. My brother and I had no complaint about the award (it was given for being all-around-good-guy as best as we could determine). But for such a grand title to be given as 'Teenager of the Year,' I felt the glory had not been amplified enough.

"In 1993, I was doing “solo recording” sessions with Eric Drew Feldman in Los Angeles. We had settled on a core band with Nick Vincent and Lyle Workman, occasionally augmented by Joey Santiago and Moris Tepper. Though we had to change studios numerous times for actual forest fires and earthquakes, the whole process was such an addictive musical buffet that Eric and I couldn't stop. We did some vocals at a studio rumored to be owned by Sergio Mendes; in the control room was a wall of television screens broadcasting the brush fire which crept toward us. We eventually evacuated to someplace else. We never met Sergio but we saw him perform a few weeks later when we vacated to Las Vegas after the Northridge earthquake, which had trapped the 'Teenager of the Year' tapes in a studio vault for some time. Our zeal plus empathy from our financiers, they safely observing our travails from London, was enough to keep the money flowing until Eric and I relented and declared 'Consummatum est'.

Adds Eric Drew Feldman, “Initially it was a 14-song album. It was mixed. Eric Idle was staying nearby. He kept telling me to change the songs around. Al (Clay) had to run off and go to his next project. We weren’t completely happy with what we had. The solution: record more songs. Eight more were born. Whole shebang was remixed by David Bianco. The day before we were to start the remix, the 1994 Northridge earthquake occurred. Charles (Black Francis/Frank Black), Jean (Charles’ first wife) and I escaped to Las Vegas, ate many shrimp cocktails, and we saw Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and Sergio Mendes and Brazil ’99 perform. Sergio was especially good. After about five days we returned to the mixing studio and the deed was done.”

To pre-order the limited Teenager Of The Year 30th Anniversary Tour Edition go to: https://frankblack.ffm.to/teenageroftheyear30

December Acoustic Solo Shows:
3rd - Brattleboro, VT - The Stone Church
5th - Portsmouth, NH - 3S Artspace
7th - Newport, RI - Jane Pickens Theater

Tickets On Sale November 1st 12pm ET

Teenager Of The Year Tour Dates:

January

15th - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
16th - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
18th - LA, CA - The Orpheum
19th - El Cajon, CA - The Magnolia
22nd - Denver, CO - The Paramount
24th - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
25th - Chicago, IL - The Metro
26th - Chicago, IL - The Metro
28th - Detroit, MI - St Andrews Hall
29th - Toronto, ON - History
31st - Boston, MA - House Of Blues

February

1st - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Street
4th - Paris, France - Le Trianon
6th - London, UK - The Palladium

Track listing:

Whatever Happened to Pong?

Thalassocracy
(I Want to Live on An) Abstract Plain
Calistan
The Vanishing Spies
Speedy Marie
Headache
Sir Rockaby
Freedom Rock
Two Reelers
Fiddle Riddle
Olé Mulholland
Fazer Eyes
I Could Stay Here Forever
The Hostess With the Mostest
Superabound
Big Red
Space Is Gonna Do Me Good
White Noise Maker
Pure Denizen of the Citizens Band
Bad, Wicked World
Pie in the Sky

Out now: Michael Des Barres' cover album 'It's Only Rock 'n' Roll'

Los Angeles-based singer/performer/actor/radio show host Michael Des Barres recently dropped a new album, It’s Only Rock ’n’ Roll via Rock Ridge Music. The covers collection includes a dozen songs originally released between 1971 and 1975 (with the exception of the Velvet Underground’s “I’m Waiting for My Man”).

Musicians on the album are guitarist Eric Schermerhorn (Iggy Pop, David Bowie, The The), bassist Paul Ill and drummer David Goodstein. “We cut it in 10 days, largely live in one room,” says Des Barres, who co-produced alongside engineer Chris Wonzer.

The originals came out around the same time that Des Barres was forming Silverhead in London before leaving for Los Angeles and his soon-to-be-wife, Miss Pamela of GTO’s and “I’m with the Band” renown, to form Detective. 

“These 12 songs represent chapters in my life,” he explains. “It is a look back from someone who was not only there but was the most stoned person in the room. I still remember these songs. If it was Christmas, they’d be my carols. What they all had in common was melodies, a big chorus, and plenty of eyeliner, with all that sensuality. That was what that era was all about. It was an epic time in my life that I wanted to pay homage to.”

Des Barres is planning a live multimedia presentation, featuring the songs and images of the album narrated by someone who experienced it all first-hand. “The ’70s were primary for me; between the sex, drugs, and music, it really changed things for a lot of people, especially me,” he says. “I want to turn on as many as I can to that era to show how memorable it was. I hope that it appeals to all generations. These are the songs that defined my life and musical career. This was a real labor of love.”

In the mid-1980s, Des Barres got his then-widest career exposure as the touring member for The Power Station, who also appeared at the global telecast of Live Aid.

These days, he’s known to listeners weekly on his show for Little Steven Van Zandt’s Underground Garage on SiriusXM. The 2021 documentary of his life, “Who Do You Want Me to Be?,” turned into a surprise hit when it came out on streaming services at the start of the pandemic.

Track Listing:

1. Dyna-Mite [original artist – Mud]

2. Love is the Drug [original artist – Roxy Music]
3. Moonage Daydream [original artist – David Bowie]
4. 20th Century Boy [original artist – T. Rex]
5. Search and Destroy [original artist – Iggy and the Stooges]
6. I’m Waiting for the Man [original artist – Velvet Underground]
7. Fox on the Run [original artist – Sweet]
8. All the Young Dudes [original artist – Mott the Hoople]
9. Cum on Feel the Noize [original artist – Slade]
10. Stay with Me [original artist – Faces]
11. I’m Eighteen [original artist – Alice Cooper]
12. It’s Only Rock ’n’ Roll (But I Like It) [original artist – The Rolling Stones]

https://michaeldesbarres.com/

Photo: Piper Ferguson

Bill Nelson's hit UK 1981 album 'Quit Dreaming & Get On the Beam' expanded for box set reissue in December

“Quit Dreaming & Get On the Beam,” a 3CD/1Blu-ray deluxe box set by Bill Nelson, the architect behind the 1970s English art rock act Be-Bop Deluxe, is scheduled for December 6. 

The album was originally recorded in 1979 with sessions taking place for an intended follow up album by Bill’s recently formed group Red Noise. But EMI Records, Bill’s then-record label, declined to release the recordings and the material remained unreleased.

Four recordings appeared as the ‘Do You Dream in Colour’ EP on his Cocteau label in 1980. The following year Bill licensed the original stereo mixes of the album to Mercury Records who issued the album in the Spring of 1981.“Quit Dreaming & Get On the Beam” reached #7 on the UK charts and is Bill’s most commercially successful album.

This limited and expanded edition boxed set features a newly remastered version of the original album mix, but also features an additional 53 tracks drawn from new stereo & 5.1 Surround Sound mixes by Stephen W. Tayler of all the surviving recording sessions from 1979, along with a previously unreleased radio session from March 1981, a BBC JOHN PEEL session from June 1981 and a collection of rare single tracks from the era. Also included is the rare promotional film of ‘Do You Dream in Colour?’

The box set has an illustrated 68-page book and an essay and also includes postcards and a poster. 

TRACK LISTING

DISC ONE

QUIT DREAMING & GET ON THE BEAM THE ORIGINAL STEREO MIX

1 Banal

2 Living in My Limousine
3 Vertical Games
4 Disposable
5 False Alarms
6 Decline and Fall
7 White Sound
8 Life Runs Out Like Sand
9 A Kind of Loving
10 Do You Dream in Colour
11 U.H.F.
12 Youth of Nation on Fire
13 Quit Dreaming and Get on the Beam DISC TWO

SINGLES & RADIO SESSIONS 1980 – 1981

1 Ideal Homes (original single mix)
2 Instantly Yours (original single mix)
3 Atom Man Loves Radium Girl
4 Dada Guitare
5 Banal (extended mix)
6 Turn to Fiction
7 Hers is a Lush Situation
8 Mr. Magnetism Himself
9 Youth of Nation on Fire (extended mix)
10 Be My Dynamo
11 Rooms With Brittle Views
12 All My Wives Were Iron
13 Living in My Limousine (remix)
14 Birds of Tin
15 Love in the Abstract
16 Konny Buys a Kodak (radio session 1981)
17 After Life (radio session 1981)
18 Boom Year Ahead (radio session 1981)
19 Art of Vision (radio session 1981)
20 Rooms With Brittle Views (radio session 1981)
21 Stay Young (radio session 1981)
22 Sleep Cycle (radio session 1981)
Jazz (radio session 1981

DISC THREE

QUIT DREAMING & GET ON THE BEAM SESSIONS – NEW STEREO MIXES BY STEPHEN W. TAYLER

1 Banal
2 Living in My Limousine
3 Vertical Games
4 Disposable
5 False Alarms
6 Decline and Fall
7 White Sound
8 Life Runs Out Like Sand
9 A Kind of Loving
10 Do You Dream in Colour
11 U.H.F.
12 Youth of Nation on Fire
13 Quit Dreaming and Get on the Beam

Bonus tracks

14 The World and His Wife
15 Dancing Music

DISC FOUR

QUIT DREAMING & GET ON THE BEAM SESSIONS – HIGH RESOLUTION 5.1 SURROUND SOUND & NEW STEREO MIXES BY STEPHEN W TAYLER – BLU-RAY

1 Banal
2 Living in My Limousine
3 Vertical Games
4 Disposable
5 False Alarms
6 Decline and Fall
7 White Sound
8 Life Runs Out Like Sand
9 A Kind of Loving Do You Dream in Colour
10 U.H.F.
11 Youth of Nation on Fire
12 Quit Dreaming and Get on the Beam

Bonus tracks

13 The World and His Wife
14 Dancing Music
15 Do You Dream in Colour video

For more information: https://www.cherryred.co.uk/bill-nelson-quit-dreaming-get-on-the-beam-3cd-1blu-ray-deluxe-box-set

Rick Springfield unveils new single in advance of '25 compilation

Rick Springfield has released the new single Lose Myself, part of Big Hits: Rick Springfield’s Greatest Hits, Volume 2, due out in early 2025. Says Springfield about the song, “’Lose Myself’ is about the one you are willing to throw away every good thing in your life for.”

Lose Myself is available on all streaming services.

The compilation is slated for the first quarter of 2025 via SING (distributed by Symphonic/AMPED Distribution). It is the latest career-spanning retrospective chronicling his recording output from 1999’s “Karma” through his most recent new album 2023’s “Automatic.” It will include the just announced brand new single, which is only available on this compilation. Springfield remarks on the package, “the GH 2 is more a fan favorite songs album. The albums I have made in the past 20 years I think are the best work I've done musically.”

The deluxe version of the package, available on TalkShopLive, will feature a single CD, double LP, a turntable mat, and includes a hardbound coffee table book, hand signed by Rick Springfield, with hundreds of photos taken of Rick by photographer Jay Gilbert over the past 20 years. Entitled, Burning Film: Rick Springfield Through the Lens, the book presents a comprehensive photographic documentation of Rick Springfield from 2005 to 2025, showcasing his stage performances and studio work through the camera lens.

Says Springfield about the book, “the coffee table book is a first for me. I don't know why it's on the coffee table. I actually don’t even have a coffee table. It sounds like it's going to get cup marks and spills all over the pages. Let’s just leave coffee out of the equation. You're welcome.”

Springfield will make an appearance on TalkShopLive on November 20 at 8pm Eastern Time/5pm Pacific Time. In addition to the deluxe package, TalkShopLive will also feature limited quantities of the album as a signed CD and signed double LP. Pre-order and tune-in here: https://talkshop.live/watch/QDraG5CC69Pl