Rock News Two: The week in pop

STONES ROLL

The Rolling Stones launched their 40th anniversary tour at Boston's Fleet Center with the self-assured cockiness of a band that knows how good it still is, playing a set of hits including "Satisfaction," "Jumping Jack Flash," "Street Fighting Man," "Brown Sugar," "Rocks Off" and "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll." Critical response was positive. USA Today's Edna Gunderson summed up the official line: "So what if this is your father's rock 'n' roll? After 40 years, the band is humming on all cylinders and has yet to fall asleep at the wheel." In the New York Times, Jon Pareles wrote of the new song in the set, "Don't Stop": "Its title is both memo and manifesto for the Stones themselves, still in command of music everyone expected to fade with their youth."

GALACTIC TOUR ANNOUNCED

New Orleans funk rockers Galactic will kick off a 22-date "Sight of Sound" tour on Oct. 30 at the Gypsy Tea Room in Dallas, followed by a special Halloween show at Stubb's in Austin, a two-night stand at Tiptina's in New Orleans, and an appearance at the Voodoo Music Experience. "Sight of Sound" will offer an aural-visual experience when artists SKW and Doze join the band for select dates to create original murals live on stage during the band's performance. Plans are in the works for additional visual artists to join select shows. Tour performances will include debut material that Galactic is developing for an upcoming album. Southern-fried roots-funk band Mofro will join the tour for its Southeastern leg, and rockers North Mississippi All-Stars will open select dates in the Northeast. DJs also will appear in some cites, including Canadian turntablist Kid Koala.

DOMINO'S AT POPEYE'S

Popeye's, the New Orleans-headquartered fried chicken franchise, is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a free concert in New Orleans starring the legendary Fats Domino on Oct. 27. Dr. John, Rockin' Dopsie and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band also have been announced for the gig, which is scheduled from noon to 6 p.m. at Woldenberg Park on the bank of the Mississippi River. The chicken franchise, started in New Orleans in 1972 by restauranteur Al Copeland, landed a coup getting Domino to headline. The veteran rocker has been ill recently, and this could be one of the last chances his fans get to see him perform live.

EARTH TO BASS: NO GO

Lance Bass apparently is finished with his astronaut fantasy camp mission. The Russian Space Agency evicted Bass from its Star City space camp outside Moscow because the former 'N Sync star has failed to pay the $20 million ticket price for a seat on the Russian rocket. Last week Bass claimed he was a "go" for the Soyuz blastoff scheduled for Oct. 28, but has failed to meet several payment deadlines, according to Russian officials. Sergei Gorbunov, a spokesman for the Russian Space Agency, dismissed Bass' space odyssey as "hype" and declared, "It's over." The Russians will replace Bass in the capsule with a cargo container likely to have a lot more content than the boy band heartthrob.

THERE'S A ROACH IN THAT PEPSI

Hard rockers Papa Roach hope Pepsi will jolt the band's new single with a joint promotion. The group sings "Time And Time Again" in an upcoming television commercial for Pepsi-Cola North America's new berry/cola fusion, Pepsi Blue. The commercial is being directed by Samuel Bayer, whose claim to fame is Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video. Papa Roach and Bayer filmed the commercial and the music video for the tune last week in Los Angeles. "Time And Time Again" is due to be released to radio Sept. 10. The Pepsi Blue spot starts airing Sept. 16 and MTV is expected to start playing the clip in September. "This whole thing has been really cool," said Papa Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix. "We've been fans of Sam Bayer for a long time, ever since he did those Nirvana videos. And the people at Pepsi have been great about letting us do what we want on the creative end. We're really proud of 'Time And Time Again' and we want as many people as possible to hear it." DreamWorks Records principal executive Michael Ostin added: "We think these kinds of commercial and creative relationships are the wave of the future and we're thrilled to be involved in this one."

NEW CLAPTON ALBUM

Superstar guitarist Eric Clapton has a two-disc live album and a new DVD ready for release. "One More Car, One More Rider" is scheduled to come out Nov. 5 on Reprise/Duck records. The live audio recordings are from the Staples Center in Los Angeles and Budokan Hall in Tokyo. The DVD is audio and visual from the L.A. shows. The discs will be packaged separately and together. The material includes such Clapton staples as "Layla," "Cocaine," "Wonderful Tonight," "Sunshine of Your Love," and "Tears in Heaven" as well as the newer material "Reptile," "Change the World," and "My Father's Eyes." The whole thing ends with a cover of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." The band consists of Nathan East (bass), Steve Gadd (drums), Andy Fairweather Low (guitar), Greg Phillinganes and Billy Preston (keyboards), and former E Street Band member David Sancious (keyboards and guitar).

BONNAROO ALBUM ON TAP

The biggest jam band festival of 2002, Bonnaroo, will be documented by a two-CD live album scheduled for Sept. 24 release on Sanctuary records. The festival, organized by Superfly productions and held in Manchester, Tenn., drew a sellout crowd of 75,000 fans. Performers include headliners Widespread Panic in one of the last shows with the band's late guitarist Michael Houser playing "Tallboy." West Coast rappers Jurassic 5 ("Countdown"); jazz pianist/vocalist Norah Jones ("Nightingale"); rock duo Ween ("Bananas and Blow"); Phish's Trey Anastasio ("Last Tube"); the String Cheese Incident ("Search"); and Phil Lesh and Friends with fellow Grateful Dead bandmember Bob Weir ("Tennessee Jed") also are on the CD. Songs from Ben Harper, Les Claypool's Frog Brigade, Soulive, moe., and Gov't Mule also are included on "Bonnaroo 2002."

LAURA CANTRELL ON ELVIS COSTELLO TOUR

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Laura Cantrell will release her much-anticipated second album Sept. 24, followed by her first-ever U.S. tour opening for Elvis Costello. The Brooklyn-based singer will open 17 dates for Elvis Costello on his fall U.S. tour in support of "When the Roses Bloom Again." Costello has been a fan of Cantrell's since hearing her first album, "Not the Tremblin' Kind," and personally invited her to open for him after hearing an advance copy of "When the Roses Bloom Again." Cantrell also is scheduled to record her third Peel Session at the British Broadcasting Corp.'s Maida Vale studios in London in October, and will return to the United Kingdom in December to open six shows for Teenage Fanclub and perform several headlining gigs, including the Borderline in London.

The title track of "When the Roses Bloom Again" is a cover of an out-take from the Wilco/Billy Bragg collaboration "Mermaid Avenue," that was dropped from the album of Woody Guthrie-penned lyrics when it was discovered the song actually was copyrighted by A.P. Carter. The album also includes songs written by Amy Rigby, Joe Flood, Dave Schramm (of the Schramms) and four Cantrell originals. Cantrell is the "proprietress" of the long-running "Radio Thrift Shop" on free-form radio station WFMU -- wfmu.org -- which is broadcast every Saturday afternoon and is archived at LauraCantrell.com.

NIRVANA ALBUM IN THE WORKS

Nirvana's final recording may see the light of day later this year after being kept in the dark by legal battles between Kurt Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, and the two surviving band members, bassist Kurt Novoselic and drummer Dave Grohl. "You Know You're Right," recorded a few months before Cobain committed suicide April 5, 1994, is part of a proposed greatest hits package being prepared by Universal for release later this year. Love has been fighting for control of Nirvana's material with Novoselic and Grohl in recent years, maintaining her late husband's estate is entitled to control any Nirvana material because Cobain was the band's main songwriter. Novoselic and Grohl maintain the band had been run as a partnership during its existence and all material they recorded together is covered under that agreement. The arguments prevented the release last fall of a Nirvana box set designed to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the band's huge hit album, "Nevermind," but an agreement for a greatest hits package, including "You Know You're Right," appears to be in the works.

LOU REED ALBUMS SET FOR REISSUE

Lou Reed's glam-rock masterpiece "Transformer" will be released as a 30th anniversary special edition package and the live concert disc "Take No Prisoners" will see its CD debut in the United States this fall as part of BMG's Heritage series. The Velvet Underground leader enjoyed a commercial breakthrough with the solo album "Transformer" and it's hit single "Walk On the Wild Side" in 1972. The album was produced by glam-rock inventors David Bowie and Mick Ronson. The new edition will feature full remastering, rare photos and extensive liner notes. "Transformer" also will feature previously unreleased bonus material, including acoustic demo versions of "Hangin' Round" and "Perfect Day." "Take No Prisoners," a 1978 performance recorded at New York's Bottom Line, is a legendary show in which Reed lashed out viciously at the music industry during his set.

LINDA RONSTADT GREATEST HITS DUE OUT

Master vocalist Linda Ronstadt is the subject of a comprehensive greatest hits package being readied by Elektra Entertainment Group for a Sept. 24 release. "The Very Best Of Linda Ronstadt" collects 21 hits that span the singer's many musical incarnations over a four-decade career. From earlier hits such as 1967's "Different Drum," '70s sides cut for Capitol -- "Heart Like A Wheel," "You're No Good" -- and Asylum -- "It's So Easy" and "Blue Bayou" from "Simple Dreams," Ronstadt's most commercially successful album -- to more recent hits, such as the James Ingram collaboration "Somewhere Out There," and the Aaron Neville collaboration "Don't Know Much," Ronstadt's vocals make this an outstanding collection.

MAC ATTACK

Fleetwood Mac is planning a 40-to 60-date North American tour of arenas and amphitheaters in April 2003. The group will be without Christine McVie but will include the other members of its most commercial lineup -- Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Lindsay Buckingham and John McVie. The band also will release Fleetwood Mac's first new studio album since 1987's "Tango in the Night" next spring. Meanwhile "The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac" is scheduled for an Oct. 15 release on Reprise. The 36-track, double disc album spans 1975-1997 and includes the top-10 hits "Dreams" (No. 1), "Don't Stop" (No. 3), "Little Lies" (No. 4) and "Hold Me" (No. 4).

HANG ON RICKY

Rock guitarist Rick Derringer of McCoys ("Hang On Sloopy") and Johnny and Edgar Winter fame is trying to remake himself as a smooth jazz artist with remakes of guitar classics he rocked and rolled with in the 1970s. Derringer has recast his classic rock anthem "Rock-N-Roll Hoochie Koo" into the softer "Jazzy Koo" as the centerpiece of the project, titled "Free Ride" after the Edgar Winter hit of the same name. "I grew up listening to and playing jazz as a kid and a teenager and I've always wanted to make a jazz record," said Derringer. "But I was typecast as a rock and roll guy so I never had the opportunity before. My wife (Brenda Hall) came up with the idea of covering 'Rock-N-Roll Hoochie Koo' and renaming it 'Jazzy Koo.' I thought it was a great idea, but wasn't quite sure how it would work. But I have every confidence in the song and making it into a guitar and sax discourse actually came quite naturally. If you listen to smooth jazz, you'll hear artists covering classic hits, usually an old R&B song. So why not a rock and roll classic?" Derringer, who produced the album, also decided to cover two more rock classics - "Free Ride" and Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein."

INXS REISSUES

A blanket reissue of albums from the INXS catalog is scheduled for release on Rhino/Atlantic records Oct. 15. A greatest hits set, "The Best of INXS," will coincide with expanded, remastered versions of the Australian band's albums "Kick," "X" and "Welcome to Wherever You Are." "The Best of INXS" will feature commentary from the band and two previously unreleased tracks with the band's late frontman Michael Hutchence -- "Tight," remixed exclusively for this release by Dan The Automator, and "Salvation Jane." The 21 tracks include the hits "Need You Tonight," "Original Sin," "New Sensation," "The Gift," "Listen Like Thieves," "This Time," "Devil Inside," "What You Need," "Never Tear Us Apart," "Mystify," and the band's standard live set-closer, "Don't Change."