Communication Breakdown
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MISSING MILLER?
I have been a total music nut since I turned 12 in the early 1980s, and somehow I only just discovered Frankie Miller last year.
I saw some reviews of his reissued albums in Classic Rock, and dialled up a Frankie Miller playlist on YouTube and was instantly hooked! I ordered a box set of the albums he recorded for Chrysalis Records called Frankie Miller… That’s Who and have bought every album I could find by him since. I watched a documentary about him on YouTube and another that came as a bonus DVD with the Double Take album. Such a sad fate for such an incredible talent.
I’ve been a sporadic reader of your magazine for many years (sporadic because the only place to buy it here in Upstate New York has always been the local Barnes & Noble… sometimes they would have the latest issue, sometimes not). After missing five months’ worth of issues because of covid, I finally got smart and bought a subscription.
Anyway, I have never seen a feature on Frankie Miller in Classic Rock although I’m betting you’ve written about him in the past. For those of us who don’t own every issue, could you please consider running a new article on him in some capacity? Buyers Guide, Q&A, Six Things You Need To Know About…, anything would be greatly appreciated.
One last thought. In the March issue, fo the 10 worst cover songs feature I think Rod Stewart’s ill-advised synth-pop version of All Right Now is about the biggest steaming pile of crap I have ever heard in my life. And I love Rod’s voice! Scott Hayes, Upstate New York
DYLAN UNDER COVER
Y’all. Interesting bits, particularly on how Dylan looked at his songs (March issue). However, I had a feeling that Classic Rock would only dig into the big-name covers (Hendrix, Harrison, Byrds et al) and might ignore some truly great Dylan covers. I submit to you maybe the best of all: Jason & The Scorchers’ Absolutely Sweet Marie. Jim Rauh, Santa Clara, CA, USA
THE ODD COUPLE?
I think I must mention security at the Albert Hall, Wednesday 31 May for the Jeff Beck concert. Some ‘want to be Izzy Stradlin, who wanted to be Keith Richards’ lookalike managed to get on stage and massacre six songs. Why it took six songs to get him off stage I will never know. “What’s going on” indeed.
Anyway, he must have escaped, as he got back on the stage for the encore. Fortunately, a quick-minded sound technician turned the microphones off before he could ruin A Day In The Life. John Kavanagh, via email You weren’t a fan of Johnny Depp’s appearance with Jeff then, eh John? Funnily enough, our reviewer thought along not dissimilar lines last issue.
THINK GLOBAL, ACT LOCAL
I think Dave Jordan’s idea of a piece about small live venues [Letters, CR 302] is great and I’d like to suggest The Red Lion (Leo’s) in Northfleet. Terry Lee has been putting great bands on there for around 40 years – I virtually lived in the place in the early 80s. The staff are friendly, the atmosphere is great and even the beer is good. There’s a mixture of established, new and covers bands; something for everyone.
On a related note, I see a lot of venues that sell out completely for covers bands, but struggle to cover costs for unknown bands. If we don’t support the new bands, venues won’t be able to afford to put them on and we will lose something special that will never come back. I urge all Classic Rock readers to make sure they see at least one new band a month – you never know, they could be your new favourite band. Chris Wooding, via email
“I urge all CR readers to make sure they see at least one new band a month.”
Great letter in issue 302. Check out the Duck And Drake in Leeds. What a fantastic venue, classic small real ale pub, live music most nights of the week, from covers to original material bands. Go and see how many of the rock and blues stars that are painted fantastically on the walls you can name.
Will not hold more than perhaps 100-150 at a push… literally, but what a breeding ground for bands. To me this is what music is about, and whilst I still do the big outdoor events and arenas, this has to be the type of venue that real lovers of music get high on.
And to make it better still, it’s free… just chuck some cash in the bucket when the staff come around asking for contributions for the band… Rock’n’roll at its best. Richard Clark, via email We’ve had a great response bigging up local venues. Keep ‘em coming. And keep supporting ‘em!
X MARKS THE SPOT
Love your magazine but I have only just noticed an anomaly – you are not showing the details in your tour guide of the upcoming return to our shores of the mighty Kings X. They arrive in September for a series of dates across the UK and need and deserve all the publicity they can get. Any reason they are not listed? Ian T, via email Nothing nefarious, I promise. The only reason is that there are far too many tours announced and we’re unable to list them all in the pages available. They’re in this issue. And you might wanna keep an eye out in next month too – there might be more than just a tour-date mention…
INANE CHATTER SOLVED
I sympathise with your reviewer Morat, in issue 302, whose article about The Hu gig in Las Vegas lamented about “the inane chatter of people who haven’t got the decency to shut up while a band is playing”. I too have experienced this many a time in the UK.
However I was glad to see that the Urban Voodoo Machine agrees and produced a T-shirt that I immediately bought [see photo, left]. Perhaps you should send one to Morat! Phil Knight, Worthing