Beatles "Come Together"

Here's the Beatles tune "Come Together" as you've never heard it. This is excerpted from a BBC special where they discuss and dissect some tracks from the Beatles Remastered Box Set.

Richie Hayward

Richie Hayward, Little Feat's drummer extraordinaire, has been diagnosed with advanced-stage liver cancer and has taken an indefinite leave from the band that has been a huge part of his life for almost 40 years.

In the year ahead, Richie will be dealing with costly treatments, and potentially, a liver transplant. Hard to believe in the once-glamorous world of rock & roll, but Hayward is one of the more than 40 million Americans without health insurance. As a result, he is facing hefty expenses for doctor visits, medical tests, medications, travel and hospital stays.

"The news was devastating," according to Little Feat keyboard player Bill Payne. "Originally he was slated to continue touring until the end of the year. But that was not to be."

Richie Hayward's funky syncopations, percolating grooves, and off-the-wall fills have fascinated drummers and would-be drummers ever since Little Feat made their musical mark in the 70's. Richie has defined his own niche by blending early jazz influences with Meters-style New Orleans funk, a touch of Americana roots and a rock'n'roll drive that has earned him a place of distinction as one of the most unique drummers around.

Friends and fellow musicians are arranging a number of benefit concerts on Richie's behalf, including a recent show in Los Angeles that featured Jackson Browne along with Johnny Rivers, Mick Fleetwood plus guitarists Albert Lee, Steve Lukather, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and Jimmy Vivino.

If you'd like to make a contribution toward Richie Hayward's medical expenses, you can do so here.

On LittleFeat.com, Hayward said, "My intent is to come back to the band, as soon as I am physically able.".

That can't be soon enough, Richie.

They're Guaranteed To Raise A Smile

When the Beatles were recording "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," according to engineer Geoff Emerick, John Lennon said, "We were going to make an album that could never be performed live." Emerick added that John said, "It was just impossible with all the instruments."

Lennon was right…until now.

Cheap Trick, who have always been very heavily Beatles-influenced, decided to take a stab at it. In the summer of 2007, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the release of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," Cheap Trick performed the album in its entirety at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Ballroom. The performance featured the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, an Indian music ensemble, and special guests ranging from Joan Osborne (singing lead on "Lovely Rita" and background vocals throughout the performance) to Ian Ball (from Brit-pop band Gomez).

To help make the project the best it could possibly be, the band got Geoff Emerick to agree to engineer and produce the music for the CD and DVD. Emerick, an incredible recording engineer now in his 60s and still in demand, won a Grammy for recording the Beatles original "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." He was the man responsible for matching the imaginations of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, taking the ideas in their heads and making them a reality.

Geoff Emerick was also the engineer on Cheap Trick's 1980 George Martin-produced album “All Shook Up”, so he knew that the band from Rockford, Ill., could handle the one from Liverpool.

"It's not a pretentious project” said Emerick. “It's not supposed to be better than the original. It's just fun...the energy on this is just enormous."

Cheap Trick has never been shy about its main influence bring the Beatles. Hits such as "Surrender" and "I Want You to Want Me" drip with the high harmonies and crashing crescendos of John, Paul, George and Ringo.

But, influences are one thing. This is "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" they're talking about tackling! It’s one of the few rock albums that truly deserves to be called a classic, and it was deliberately, stubbornly, brilliantly made to not be performed live.

The CD and the companion DVD, which were recorded in New York on December 12, 2007 and were both released on August 25th.

The results? Truly amazing!

Judge for yourself, but after listening to the CD from start to finish many times, what strikes us is how Cheap Trick manages to conjure up the Beatles sound without getting buried by it.

"We figured Cheap Trick would poke its ugly head in there, but we were true to the album," says Cheap Trick's lead singer Robin Zander about the live performances. "It's a tribute to Sgt. Pepper's, not to Cheap Trick."

Zander sings most of the lead vocals himself and manages to capture Paul McCartney rasp and croon ("Sgt. Pepper", "Getting Better" and “Fixing A Hole"), John Lennon ("Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" & "A Day In The Life"), and even Ringo on "With a Little Help from My Friends."

"It's all difficult to sing," Robin Zander admits.

Robin doesn’t mimic the voices as much as he re-creates their spirit. Zander does a remarkable job on "She's Leaving Home", one of our least favorite tracks on the original. He emotes and sings so indescribably beautifully, that he's made it one of our favorites on this project. In fact, this is the one performance that unquestionably surpasses the original.

Cheap Trick should be applauded for an incredible accomplishment -- performing live what John Lennon thought would be impossible.

By the way, don’t let anyone suggest they did it for the money. The artists’ profits from both the CD and DVD are being donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation

Tal Wilkenfeld & Jeff Beck

If you've had the pleasure of seeing Jeff Beck on his current tour, then you've seen bassist Tal Wilkenfeld's bass solo when she's joined by Jeff Beck...not on guitar, but doubling up playing along on her bass! It's definitely in the "you've got to see it to believe it" category, so...here it is!

Poco's Reunion Concert At Stagecoach - A Heart Warming Story

Heard about something that happened on April 26th that we never thought we'd live to see. It was the reunion of Poco, one of the key bands in the merging of country and rock music, at STAGECOACH: California's Country Music Festival in Indio California.

Forty-one years after they began, the current members of Poco got together with most of the former members and celebrated their history. The reunion included Richie Furay (shown in the photo to the right), Jim Messina, and Timothy B. Schmit - who hadn’t performed with Poco in 32 years!

Now, Poco reunions have happened before. They had tried an unsuccessful reunion album and tour in 1989, with Richie Furay leaving to return home before the tour was completed. The really big news regarding this reunion was the on stage appearance of original drummer, George Grantham. Grantham had suffered a massive stroke on stage five years ago, and it's been a long, hard road to being able to get on stage with his old band mates one more time. Eye witnesses report that, among the loyal fans in attendance who knew the story, there was not a dry eye. It was a day most people, including perhaps George Grantham himself, never thought would happen.

Pioneers of the country-rock sound that soared out of California in the late sixties and early seventies, Poco, along with the Flying Burrito Brothers, were the inspiration for the Eagles, Firefall, Pure Prairie League, the Little River Band and the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, as well as the new breed of country-rock acts.

After Poco's 1968 debut album, Pickin' Up The Pieces, received a perfect rating from Rolling Stone Magazine, the band went through several personnel changes. First, original bass player Randy Meisner left to join the Eagles and was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit. Then Jimmy Messina left around the time Poco released their third album, the live effort Deliverin' in 1971. Richie Furay decided to leave shortly after the release of Crazy Eyes in 1973.

Furay's departure provided an opportunity for Rusty Young. Previously known largely for his multi-instrumental talents, especially on pedal steel guitar, Young stepped up to become one of the band's primary songwriters and singers on subsequent albums.

In September 1977, with the support of the rest of Poco, Schmit quit to join the Eagles, coincidentally replacing former Poco member Randy Meisner yet again.

According to Rusty Young, Jim Messina hired a video crew to document the STAGECOACH reunion, however it's unclear if the footage will be released.

Home videos of the show are already posted on YouTube. We selected some of our favorites to share here.

The first video features George Grantham being introduced and singing along on "Pickin' Up The Pieces".



Here's Jim Messina singing and playing lead guitar on "You Better Think Twice".



Timothy B. Schmit is featured on "Keep On Tryin".



Last, but not least, here's Richie Furay singing his classic "Kind Woman" with help from Timothy B. Schmit and Jimmy Messina (who performed an acoustic version of the song on the Loggins & Messina reunion tour).

Booker T & the DBT's

Booker T. Jones, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee with Booker T & the MG's, will release his first solo album in two decades on April 21st. Potato Hole was recorded for Anti-Records in Athens, Ga., and San Francisco.

With backing from the Drive-By Truckers and guitar contributions from Neil Young on nine of the album's ten tracks, Potato Hole is the rawest, funkiest music Booker T has recorded since Green Onions.

Drive-By Truckers are an alternative country and Southern rock band based in Athens, Georgia, co-founded by Patterson Hood (son of bassist David Hood of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section) and longtime friend and musical partner Mike Cooley. Their music is noteworthy for its "three axe attack", or three guitars as well as bass and drums.

"It was a matter of finding people to help me interpret these ideas," Jones said in a Billboard interview. "In the public's mind, it's gonna be a new sound for me. In my mind it's not. I've loved rock for a long time. In the '60s I wrote a few songs for Otis Redding and Eddie Floyd that were rock songs, but it was too soon for us to be doing that kind of music."

Potato Hole includes covers of Tom Waits' Get Behind the Mule, the Truckers' Space City and Outkast's Hey Ya plus seven Booker T originals.

Booker T and the Drive-By Truckers will tour extensively in support of Potato Hole, including a date at Joe’s Pub in New York on June 10th.

Jeff Beck's Live at Ronnie Scott DVD Postponed until March 30

In 2007, Jeff Beck performed a series of concerts at the renowned Ronnie Scott's club in London that became the must have ticket of the year. Each show played to a sold-out house every night of the famous and the fans.

A CD from these shows, "Performing This Week", was released recently but the DVD release was postponed until March 30th - apparently to allow time to get permission to include the performances from Eric Clapton, Joss Stone and Imogen Heap that didn't make it onto the CD.

Here's the track listing for the DVD:

1) Beck's Bolero
2) Eternity's Breath
3) Stratus
4) Cause We've Ended As Lovers
5) Behind The Veil
6) You Never Know
7) Nadia
8) Blast From The East
9) Led Boots
10) Angel (Footsteps)
11) People Get Ready - with JOSS STONE
12) Scatterbrain
13) Goodbye Pork Pie Hat / Brush With The Blues
14) Space Boogie
15) Blanket - with IMOGEN HEAP
16) Big Block
17) A Day In The Life
18) Little Brown Bird - with ERIC CLAPTON
19) You Need Love - with ERIC CLAPTON
20) Rollin' And Tumblin' - with IMOGEN HEAP
21) Where Were You

Extras include an interview with Jeff Beck and the members of the band. the Blue-ray edition will also include a set Jeff performed with the Big Town Playboys.