Ozzy Osbourne & the 2014 Grammy Awards

Ozzy Osbourne came out with his fellow Black Sabbath members to introduce the Ringo Starr performance. He flubbed his lines while reading the teleprompter, causing Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi to laugh. Afterwards while talking to reporters Ozzy had the best response, "I completely fucked it up." And we love you no matter what Ozzy!

Some other highlights included Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr performing Paul's new song "Queenie Eye" together. Half of The Beatles is still better than no Beatles. It featured a memorable moment with Yoko Ono & Sean Lennon dancing around to it. Sean, by the way, looked eerily like his dad John Lennon, circa 1969 and the Abbey Road era. The performance came ahead of CBS' 50th Anniversary Celebration (February 9th, 2014) of the Beatles' first performance in America. It happened back on February 9th, 1964 on the Ed Sullivan Show, which was watched by over 73 Million people and kicked off Beatlemania and the "British Invasion".

Macklemore performed an emotional and powerful "Same Love" with Mary Lambert and Madonna. Queen Latifah walked out and married 33 diverse couples. Gay, lesbian, straight, interracial, etc. It made for quite the memorable and moving moment that will stand the test of time. Normally a mass marriage gathering would be creepy and cult-ish, but in the context was a nice touch.

The biggest stars of the night were possibly the hats. It seemed half of the people were wearing some type of hat. Pharrell's Indiana Jones style hat may have stolen the show. It's better than the star of the show being a foam finger though, that's for sure. Daft Punk of course took it a step further from hats with their helmets, decked out in enough white plastic to make the Storm Troopers from Star Wars jealous. 

John Lennon & Paul McCartney: "Imagine The Band"

While there can never be a Beatles reunion, there are ways you can fill an appetite for some new-ish material. "Imagine" by John Lennon from 1971 & "Band on the Run" by Paul McCartney & Wings from 1974 have been mashed together to create an interesting new take on both songs by Go Home Productions, called "Imagine the Band". And yes, you can imagine if this is what The Beatles may have sounded like had they continued past 1970. 

John Lennon's piano playing on "Imagine" is sped up with the vocals removed, while Paul McCartney & Wings' "Band on the Run" is slowed down to match the two classic songs together as one quite nicely. It goes to show that even when the two former Beatles were writing completely different songs, they can sound so absolutely perfect together. 

U2 2013 & Album Rankings

Rumor has it U2 will release a new album sometime in 2013, probably late summer or fall, with a tour following it. U2 always comes up with great ideas for a tour, so expect something unique again, much like "The Claw" from the record breaking "U2 360 Tour". Rumor has it most of the shows will be arena shows this time around. Julian Lennon (John Lennon's son) said they are interested in possibly using one of his photographs as the cover.

1. Achtung Baby (1991) - U2 didn't just "chop down the Joshua tree" (as they've said), they sent it through a wood chipper with songs like "Zoo Station," "The Fly" and "Acrobat." Achtung Baby was a much darker album than people were used to from them. They embraced alternative rock, as well as dance and electronic music. It's so hard to pick a top song, because each one can probably lay claim to it. Anyone who hasn't heard this album must do it now. The accompanying Zoo TV Tour is possibly the most original & creative concert tour of all time, so the "Zoo TV Live from Sydney" DVD is also worth picking up.
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2. The Joshua Tree (1987) - The Grammy-winning album that sent them into the stratosphere. It's their best-selling album, with classics such as "With or Without You," "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." This was a more mainstream sound than their early-80s post-punk albums, also showing their versatility in songwriting. The most underrated song on the album is "Exit" which starts with a slow build then explodes into a loud rocker. I'm a sucker for that. From top to bottom it feels like the album is full of radio friendly hits.

3. All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000) - It's not their most creative album, but the songs very simply kick ass and never seem to get old as the years go by. Another big Grammy winner, it features the amazing "Beautiful Day" as well as other hits like "Elevation" and "Walk On." One of their best tracks, "Kite", was never released as a single and shows that even the deeper tracks on this album have as much, and maybe more, strength than the singles. Often called U2's third masterpiece after Achtung Baby & The Joshua Tree. It took U2 into the 21st Century in the most perfect way, and they haven't looked back.

4. War (1983) - My favorite of their pre-Joshua Tree albums, this has a lot of energy for a politically charged album, their first album that deals with politics and war. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day" are the well-known tracks, but most of the album has songs that are equally as good. War is one of their hardest rockers taking what they did on the first two albums to the next level. "Two Hearts Beat as One" is a rocker that makes you want to get up and move, U2 is always good at that. This is the album that proved they were more than a one hit wonder.

5. No Line On The Horizon (2009) - This one isn’t very mainstream, but it all flows together nicely, definitely an underrated album. It's a bit more experimental than the other U2 albums from the 2000s. "Breathe," "Magnificent," "Unknown Caller" and "Moment of Surrender" all stand out. It's their most visual album along with The Unforgettable Fire. "Get on Your Boots" is a good song, but is much better the way they perform it live with a different intro. Bono said the album would be more experimental that the previous two, but they probably could have taken that further.

The Beatles Catalog Back on Vinyl

In 2009, new remastered versions of The Beatles' studio albums were released on CD to replace the 80s versions which featured sub-par sound for the world's most popular musicians. In 2010 they were finally released digitally on iTunes. Since then they've been talking about re-releasing them to vinyl like the original albums obviously were, and it finally happen on November 13th. Every studio album, plus Past Masters will be released to vinyl using the remastered sound both individually and in a limited edition box set. The box set includes a huge 252-page book and collector case. But of course for those who don't want to spend a fortune, you can just buy your favorite albums separately. These are the stereo versions, mono versions will be released in 2013.

Each album will be identical to the original albums, for example The White Album will feature the cards and poster that came with the LP when it was released in 1968. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band will come with the cutouts, and the Magical Mystery Tour album will have the 24-page book which featured a comic based on the film. The film is also being re-released to blu-ray and DVD with bonus footage and interviews. If you don't know what to buy for someone this Christmas, one or more of these vinyl records make a great piece of memorabilia.

Vinyl Record sales have been increasing each year in the 2000s, and obviously will increase further with this release appealing to collectors, people who want the albums with the vinyl sound or just those who want the large artwork. Over the past few years only Abbey Road was available on vinyl, and was the best selling vinyl record each year. There is obviously a demand for Beatles vinyl records, so it will be interesting to see how much of a boost this gives.

London 2012 Olympics Closing Ceremony

Freddie Mercury

All good things must come to an end, and once again the Olympics have come and gone too quickly, with London 2012 ending with a bang, with one of the best Closing Ceremonies ever. Featuring performances from the likes of The Who, Spice Girls, George Michael, Muse, Anne Lennox as well as the members of Queen with Jessie J on vocals. They were introduced by the late, great Freddie Mercury on big video screens. It was old footage of him (from Live Aid 1985) interacting with a crowd, and the crowd in the London Olympic Stadium interacted back with him in a fantastic moment. This was the highlight along with the next one.

Another amazing moment came when a bunch of children came out to perform John Lennon's legendary song "Imagine". Then old footage of John Lennon came on the screens to sing the song, and it sent everyone into a frenzy (myself included). The children performed the song in sign language. The video was remastered from the archives of Yoko Ono especially for the Olympics. Much better than a hologram! Thank you Yoko for helping to bring John into the closing ceremony, where people from hundreds of countries were together singing and dancing, all "living life in peace." A sculpture of John's face was also created on the floor.

There were also tributes to David Bowie, Pink Floyd and The Beatles of course. The Spice Girls had a fairly good entrance, each coming out on a British style Taxi which then drove around the stadium floor with them standing on top. Russell Brand performed The Beatles' classic "I Am The Walrus" in a very psychedelic setting. Though Jessie J got so much screen time (too much) that I was half expecting her to come out and sing the "Olympic Hymn." Annie Lennox was dressed like some giant bird on a pirate ship which was odd, but interesting. Also got to see a great Monty Python performance. Some NBC viewers are mad that they cut out the band Muse and waited until midnight to show The Who after airing a new sitcom in between. Should have watched a BBC stream.

I loved the closing ceremony, and London knows how to stage on Olympics like no one else. This was their record third time hosting (1908, 1948 & 2012). Next its on to Sochi, Russia for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.

Spice Girls Reunite

Beatles 1 Compilation on iTunes

The best selling album of the 2000s with over 31 million worldwide and close to 12 million in the US, The Beatles' 1, is now on iTunes. It will also be re-released in a digipak CD with the remastered audio from the 2009 remasters on September 13th.

The set is on sale at iTunes for only $9.99 for a limited time. For anyone who has yet to own any Beatles music, what are you waiting for? The album contains all 27 US & UK Number One songs by the group. You really can't beat 27 amazing songs for just $10. No wonder the set has fittingly shot to Number 1 on iTunes in most countries around the world. For those yet to really listen to The Beatles, it's the perfect time to meet John, Paul, George and Ringo.

Like the other digital Beatles albums, this is also in the iTunes LP format with a digital booklet. The CD version which is packaged like the 2009 Remastered CD's is available for pre-order as well. When the album was first released in November 2000, it was Beatlemania all over again. It became the fastest selling album in history, and shot to Number 1 around the world. In the US, it spent Eight weeks on top of the Billboard 200 at #1 from 2000 into 2001. The Beatles are always getting new fans with their timeless music, so it's no surprise. Even though the Beatles are the biggest music act of all time, it still has to be impressive that a band that broke up in 1970 can have the best selling album of the 2000s.

The Beatles Anthology Gets Remastered

The Beatles Anthology was originally released in 1995 and 1996. There are three of these double albums, with a number of outtakes and unreleased material, plus the two good new songs "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love." Paul, George and Ringo recorded around John Lennon's demo versions to create those songs. They are being re-released in remastered form on June 14th along with "Anthology Highlights", which takes the best of all three onto one release.

The only problem is it is only being released onto iTunes. Surely Amazon will put the original CDs on sale to capitalize, but I wonder if they will eventually release physical CD versions in remastered form along with the Highlights disc. Personally I rarely use iTunes. I prefer CDs, and when I do download it's using Amazon MP3, which is easier and they always have great deals. I was also hoping they would release the other Lennon demo song they worked on in 1995, Now and Then. It was unfinished, but rumors have persisted that McCartney and Starr would finish it and include whatever Harrison did for it during the 90s session. The Highlights album would have been perfect for that, but it looks like "Now & Then" won't ever be finished. (They also apparently worked on a song called "All For Love" which was entirely new and not a Lennon demo.)

The Anthology albums are great and should definitely checked out by anyone who likes The Beatles. It gives an insight into the recording process, and has some great songs and alternate versions of songs you love. There is also the amazing Anthology DVD set, which is a documentary that chronicles their entire career in depth.

See the official press release for more information Here. And Check out my Beatles Album Rankings, and comment your own!

Ranking The Beatles Albums: Part Three

Ranking The Beatles albums is always a difficult task. How can you choose one as a top album when so many could fit there? Everyone has their favorite Beatles album, and I will try to make my list of them. It's always tough when you get into the Top 5 especially. Abbey Road seems to be their most popular in the general public, but will it top my list? I will be including the Past Masters with the original 12 studio albums. All albums can be bought in digitally remastered form on CD, or downloaded on iTunes. I prefer CD's. (Album cover images belong to Apple/EMI.) These albums are so hard to rank because they all seem so equal. How would you rank them?
Click Here for Part One & Here for Part Two

5. The Beatles (The White Album) (1968) - Their self titled double album obviously has the most material on it, and is quite the collection of outstanding songs. Probably the best double album of all time. Tensions may have been high between them during recording, but they were still able to create amazing music during a time when they were wanting to do solo material. They reach such a wide variety of styles on this album, and make it all sound great together. Even the avant-garde "Revolution 9" is interesting, for being unique. There really is something on this The White Album for everyone.

4. Abbey Road (1969) - This is their most popular album with today's audience and for good reason. It's full of hits like "Something," "Come Together," "Here Comes the Sun" and the flawless Abbey Road Medley. The Medley helps separate the album from the others and always leaves you wanting more. George Harrison really stands out on this album, and makes a good preview of his first solo album. The iconic album cover is so simple but was pure genius and will be replicated forever, with fans going there to recreate it. The street even has it's own live webcam just for that.

3. Revolver (1966) - Psychedelic. Revolver launched the psychedelic era into the mainstream with songs like "Tomorrow Never Knows," "I'm Only Sleeping" and "She Said, She Said." It's not all about psychedelic music though, but the rest of the songs still manage to sound so much different than any of the others that came before them. "Eleanor Rigby" and "Yellow Submarine" still seem like songs that don't fit any category, they're just great. All the tape loops, backwards vocals, Indian influenced sounds and feedback make this album special, and groundbreaking when it was released.

2. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) - The groundbreaking production from Revolver was expanded even further on Sgt. Pepper's, and listening to this album through some good headphones really make you appreciate all of the details in the songs. The colorful cover is just as detailed. No singles were released from the album, it didn't need any to sell millions like it has. It was all about the album from one song to the next. It's an album to get lost in, very visual like a kaleidoscope. A personal favorite is "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite." I just love the carnival sounds that bring the song together and make it so unique.

1. Magical Mystery Tour (1967) - It usually isn't #1 in Beatles rankings, but love the whole package of it. The songs are great and the album comes with it's own comic in the booklet. The title track as well as "I Am The Walrus," "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Penny Lane," "Baby, You're a Rich Man" and "All You Need is Love" are some of the most well known songs and can all be found here. "Blue Jay Way" is one of the more hypnotic songs you can find. I think the album is underrated since it was originally just an EP in Europe, excluding some of the popular singles that were added to it in the American release, which is now the standard version around the world. John Lennon also stated that this was his favorite Beatles album, "because it's so weird." Weird and amazing.

Ranking The Beatles Albums: Part Two

Ranking The Beatles albums is always a difficult task. How can you choose one as a top album when so many could fit there? Everyone has their favorite Beatles album, and I will try to make my list of them. It's always tough when you get into the Top 5 especially. Abbey Road seems to be their most popular in the general public, but will it top my list? I will be including the Past Masters with the original 12 studio albums. All albums can be bought in digitally remastered form on CD, or downloaded on iTunes. I prefer CD's. (Album cover images belong to Apple/EMI.) Click Here for Part One. Here is part two:

9. Past Masters (1988) - During their career they released many singles that were not on any original studio album, feeling it was better value for people as opposed to having a bunch of singles people already owned on the albums. This was released in 1988 to collect all those singles and B-Sides. Classic songs like "She Loves You", "I Feel Fine", "Rain", "Hey Jude", "Revolution", and "Don't Let Me Down." However, I didn't want to rank it any higher than this because it's not an original studio album, more of a compilation. But still, those classic songs aren't on any of the studio albums, so this fits in perfectly with the standardized catalog. 

8. Help! (1965) - This album features some influence by Bob Dylan ("You've Got To Hide Your Love Away). This was a preview of things to come with the group, while still retaining the fun rock-n-roll of previous albums. The songs here all fit together nicely, with a bunch of stand outs, "Ticket to Ride", "Help!", and "You're Going to Lose That Girl." This accompanies their film of the same name.

7. Let It Be (1970) - Their final album released has perhaps one of their top 10 songs of all time on it, the title track. The album is interesting, and while the Phil Spector wall of sound is sometimes criticized, I don't think it is too bad. It sounds especially good on "I Me Mine." Also worth giving a shout out to Let It Be... Naked (2003) which was released without any of Spector's overdubs, and includes "Don't Let Me Down", which the 1970 original version left off. Paul McCartney prefers the Naked version, but both are solid. The songs on the naked version sound more like the ones played on the famous Apple rooftop concert.

6. Rubber Soul (1965) - This is The Beatles album that completely moved them to a more mature place. It also featured completely original material, no covers as with most previous albums. The sitar made its first appearance here as well on "Norwegian Wood", and would be used further on their next few psychedelic albums.  This is where it becomes difficult to rank the albums, because they are all excellent masterpieces. They began their experimentation with music here, and would expand it on further albums. 

*Special Shout-out* - Love (2006) - While not part of the list, the Love mash-up album which accompanies the Vegas show is definitely worth owning. The songs sound fresh and give you a whole new perspective. They did a great job mixing different tracks together, and they give you interesting info in the album (or iTunes LP) on how they did it. It's like listening to The Beatles all over again for the first time.

Ranking The Beatles Albums: Part One

Ranking The Beatles albums is always a difficult task. How can you choose one as a top album when so many could fit there? Everyone has their favorite Beatles album, and I will try to make my list of them. It's always tough when you get into the Top 5 especially. Abbey Road seems to be their most popular in the general public, but will it top my list? I will be including the Past Masters with the original 12 studio albums. All albums can be bought in digitally remastered form on CD, or downloaded on iTunes. I prefer CD's. (Album cover images belong to Apple/EMI.) Here's part one:

14. Yellow Submarine (1969) - This soundtrack album is the easiest to place. The album contains only four Beatles songs unique to it. The other two Beatles songs are both on previous albums.The rest of the songs are from the George Martin score to the film. It's still a good album, but it's obviously their weakest. It's definitely worth a part of your collection though, and the artwork inside is some of the best.

13. Please Please Me (1963) - Their first album, which was recorded in one day, is full of fun, classic songs such as "Twist and Shout" and "I Saw Her Standing There." This didn't show The Beatles changing things up from the norm like their later albums, but it shows that they were better than everyone else no matter what songs they recorded. And the fact that they recorded this entire album in one day is nothing short of amazing. There are artists who take years to make an album and it still doesn't reach the quality of this one.

12. A Hard Day's Night (1964) - Another album chock full of hits, the best besides the title track being "Can't Buy Me Love" and "I Should Have Known Better." This accompanied their first film, and really showcases how strong they were as songwriters early on. According to John Lennon the title comes from something Ringo Starr said just as a remark one time that stuck. This is the first albums that features only original songs, and the only album where every song is written by Lennon/McCartney. George Harrison would get a couple songs on other albums.

11. With The Beatles (1963) - Their second album was no Sophomore slump. The cover songs they recorded on here are some of the best, managing to outdo or at least equal the originals. The covers may also outshine the Beatles' original songs on here, but those are no slouch either. My favorites are "Please Mister Postman," "You Really Got a Hold On Me" and "It Won't Be Long." Their famous harmonies sound especially great on this album. 

10. Beatles For Sale (1964) - This is an often underrated album, but is a personal favorite of their four 1963/1964 albums. The first three tracks on the album are amazing, and a preview of things to come on later releases. They have a more emotional, somber tone than any of the songs on their previous albums and the lyrics stand out. They felt a little overworked at this point so that may be the reason for the heavier first three songs. The album cover fits the songs perfectly, with their lack of smiles in the autumn setting of Hyde Park in London. "Eight Days A Week" is the standout track on the entire album, mainly because it is easy and fun to sing along with.