Music reunions aplenty in the coming months
A few weeks ago, Rock Music Menu reported on the rumored reunion of the Black Crowes, which now appears to be happening without a doubt as billboards are popping up around the country with the band’s logo of two intoxicated crows on them, images that also showed up on the group’s social media feeds.
Now, two additional music reunions have been revealed, and they are way more surprising.
When My Chemical Romance officially called it a day in 2013, it was disappointing to their dedicated fanbase who had stuck with the emo saviors over the years. The Newark, N.J. outfit had gained mainstream acceptance with their 2004 breakthrough ‘Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge’ in 2004 and the follow-up effort ‘The Black Parade’ two years later.
Appropriately, the news on Halloween that they would be putting the guyliner on once again came with a post to their social media accounts announcing a show Dec. 20 at the Shrine Exo Hall in Los Angeles, Calif. Since then they’ve added on four additional gigs — all festival headlining appearances — in Australia, New Zealand and Japan. More are expected along with a full slate of dates in the States.
There’s no news on whether MCR might be recording anything new, which would be the first new studio material since ‘Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys’ was released way back in 2010. Interestingly enough, during a radio interview back in June of this year, Joe Jonas
of the recently reunited Jonas Brothers, claimed the group were rehearsing next to them at a studio in New York City. Whether any new material came out of those sessions is anyone’s guess.
One day after the My Chemical Romance news came the explosive reveal that Rage Against the Machine would be returning in 2020. Again done through social media, the group’s newly activated account reposted a picture of guitarist Tom Morello’s post from a few days prior featuring Chilean protests over an increased cost of living and inequality there. The one main difference in the post was on Rage’s there were five dates listed: Texas, Arizona and New Mexico at the end of March and two across the weekends of the Coachella festival in Indio, Calif. in April.
The rap-rock act released three landmark albums in the 1990s before breaking up in 2000. A self-titled incendiary debut in 1992 was followed in 1996 with ‘Evil Empire’ and ‘The Battle of Los Angeles’ in 1999 — both of which debuted at No. 1 on the charts. A covers record came following their split in 2000.
Coachella has been a bit of a home to Rage, who performed at the inaugural edition of the event in 1999, reunited there in 2007 and will now mark their return again at the Empire Polo Fields. Something to look out for though at those two performances will be the way the band handles the audience, which in the 13 years since they last played there has been overrun by hipsters with too much money to spend and A-list celebrities looking to be seen.
The core members of Rage Against he Machine went on to join with singer Chris Cornell in Audioslave following their first breakup with singer Zack de la Rocha. Allegedly hamstrung by the frontman not wishing to take part in a fullfledged reunion, the members moved on again in 2016 as Prophets of Rage with Public Enemy leader Chuck D and Cypress Hill’s B-Real handling vocals.
Seeing Rage Against the Machine come back in an election year, especially one that’s so politically charged, makes complete sense. Next year could very well turn into a monster year for the group.
VINYL OF THE WEEK
Keep an eye on this spot as each week we’ll be looking at new or soon-to-be-released vinyl from a variety of artists. It might be a repressing of a landmark recording, special edition or new collection from a legendary artist. This week, it’s the reissue of a mid-90s classic from one of college radio’s favorite bands.
R.E.M.: ‘MONSTER: 25th ANNIVERSARY’
Come 1994, R.E.M. were at a bit of a crossroads in their career. They had already captured the mainstream with the wildly successful ‘Out of Time’ in 1991 and “Automatic for the People’ the following year. But along with mega-hits like “Losing My Religion” and “Everybody Hurts” came a pressure to keep the machine rolling, but the band wanted to retain artistic integrity as well, continuing to grow.
Released at the tail end of September 1994, ‘Monster’ was the opposite of the acoustic, almost folksy rock of their previous albums, replaced with dirty, swinging guitars and glaminfluenced grinders. Highlights
off the album came fast with the distortionsoaked first single, “What’s The Frequency, Kenneth?,” which plays off the farce of media and marketing that pervaded Gen X pop culture, while the catchy “Star 69” is a detective story, based on the (now very dated) phone service of the same name. The record eventually spawned five singles, including the raucous “Bang and Blame,” “Strange Currencies,” “Crush with Eyeliner” and “Tongue.”
This month sees Craft Recordings releasing a 25th anniversary reissue of ‘Monster,’ which debuted at No. 1 on the charts and ended up going four times platinum when it first hit shelves a quarter century ago.
It’s now available on various physical formats, including a five-CD, one-Bluray deluxe box set that includes the original album, a special 2019 remix from producer Scott Litt, a disc of previously unreleased demos from the album and a complete live performance captured in Chicago in 1995.
It’s worth noting that the
2019 remix is something Litt had been wanting to do for some time, as he had struggled with the original one 25 years ago. On some songs, according to the liner notes, there’s, “Entirely different vocal takes and instrumental parts that were either buried or excised from the original album mix.” Ultimately, with this reissue, fans will not only have the opportunity to rediscover ‘Monster’ but also perhaps see the album in a completely new light.
The accompanying Bluray will offer ‘Monster’ in both hi-resolution audio and 5.1 Surround Sound, as well as a host of video content, notably the 90-minute film ‘Road Movie,’ which documents R.E.M.’s
1995 tour, and all six music videos from the album. The collection will be packaged in a five-and-a-halfinch portfolio book, featuring liner notes and new insight from band members as well as archival photographs.
An expanded edition of the record, offering the original album and the
2019 remixed version, will also be available on two
180-gram vinyl LPs featuring reimagined cover art by longtime R.E.M. designer Chris Bilheimer. The remastered album will also be available as a standalone
180 gram LP, with the original ‘Monster’ art.
The 25th anniversary of ‘Monster’ is available online and in stores from all respectable retailers who carry vinyl.