What “Classic Rock” Said Then…
Another in the occasional series looking at what the Classic Rock magazine were recommending in ye olden days of rock… this time from March 2000.
A slightly strange issue review wise as there were not many big name acts releasing stuff at this time it appears. The “Album of the Month” accolade went to none other than Neal Casal for “Anytime Tomorrow” although it only got 4 out of 5 stars. Similar magnitude awards went also to Steely Dan for “Two Against Nature”, Kevin Ayres for “Turn The Lights Down!” and Brute for “Nine High A Pallet”. None of which have gone on to be thought of as “classics”. In fact, nothing reviewed got the full quota of stars this month. The Who’s “BBC Sessions”, Gillan “Live At The BBC 79/80″, 38 Special “Live At Sturgis” and Jaded Heart’s “IV” all also achieved a 4/5 but then so did the Simon and Garfunkel best of “Tales From New York”.
More interest perhaps is found in the albums scoring lower. ZZ Top failed to hit previous heights with “XXX” (2/5), Dave Ling was “pleasantly surprised” by the John Corabi/Bruce Kulick project “Union” and their self titled début awarding it a 3/5 whilst Quireboy “Spike” was struggling for recognition outside the band only getting 2/5 for the “Live In London” album.
Meanwhile the excellent “Every Home Should Have One” series added the It Bites album “Eat Me In St. Louis” to the roster. A 1989 release resplendent in a Roger Dean cover it marked what should have been the “cornerstone to a glorious career” but alas wasn’t to be, Francis Dunnery to hit the solo trail just a few years later.
The magazine’s cover though features the great Jimi Hendrix fronting an article on “10 Songs That Changed The Face Of Rock” penned by Mick Wall. The full song list…
“Sunshine Of Your Love” - Cream
“Purple Haze” - Jimi Hendrix
“Helter Skelter” - The Beatles
“Stairway To Heaven” - Led Zeppelin
“Supper’s Ready” - Genesis
“Hotel California” - Eagles
“Walk This Way” - Run DMC (with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry)
“Sweet Child O’ Mine” - Guns N’ Roses
“One” - Metallica
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” - Nirvana
… you’ll have to pick up a back issue to find out the reasons for these selections although the list being immediately followed by Michael Heatley’s “Story Behind The Album” article on Van Halen’s début album probably points to one glaring omission!
Elsewhere in the issue you’ve got Thin Lizzy (or at least Gorham, Sykes, Wharton and co.) out on the road in Germany with MSG and Glenn Hughes whilst Motley Crue admit what we all knew anyway by stating “We Are Ludicrous” in a feature about another comeback. On that subject there’s also a live report of Kiss in Vancouver to peruse. The “two names to look out for” tipped for success in this issue were “Backsliders” and “Merrymakers“. Where are they now?
The news section makes for good memories though. “Stiff Upper Lip” rumoured to be the name of the forthcoming AC/DC album, the reformed Iron Maiden announce Earls Court date on the back of “to be named” new album featuring Bruce back in the fold, and how about this one…. Eddie Van Halen and David Coverdale to collaborate on a one-off project similar to the Coverdale-Page thing in ‘93! Remember those Coverdale to join Van Halen rumours all over the internet at one point?
Sunshine Radio Rock Show - Tonight 6pm to 9pm
And talking of David Coverdale, he’s Jeff Collins guest tonight on the Sunshine FM Rock Show. Discussing his leaving Deep Purple way back in the 70s, the creation of Whitesnake and of course, the making of new album “Good To Be Bad”.
Streaming online, as usual from www.sunshine-radio.net
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BL
