Farewell Brian Wilson

We've lost another great. Brian Wilson, of The Beach Boys fame, has died. He was 82.

The Beach Boys are my mom's favorite band and because of that, I have seen them live in a few different iterations over the years. Plus, their songs were always on rotation in my house and in the car when I was growing up. Plus, as a kid, The Beach Boys made me want to visit California and see the ocean! Pet Sounds remains one of the most inventive and beautiful albums I've ever heard. That album is Wilson's masterpiece.

Wilson was a musical genius and also a troubled man who fought addiction and psychological issues for much of his adult life. I hope his family finds peace after such a loss.

Farewell Sly Stone

Sly Stone, leader of the Family Stone, died yesterday at age 82. He was truly a pioneer of funk and make some great music over the years.

There's a reason why everyone knows the song "Everyday People" -- I just wish people heeded the words and meaning more.

And the legendary set from Woodstock.

The All-Country Hair Metal Covers Album

I don't do country and everyone knows that. The fact that I came across Alex Willliams' upcoming album Space Brain was just a fluke of internet search results. So anyway, Williams is a country singer who apparently works in the "70s - Outlaw era" of the genre.

To his credit, Williams is a big fan of 80s metal and RATT's "Round and Round" is one of his favorite songs. It's featured on Space Brain along with covers from Cinderella, Motley Crue, Judas Priest, Tesla, Skid Row, Ozzy Osbourne and more. Regarding Cinderella, singer Tom Keifer himself makes an appearance on the cover of "Nobody's Fool."

Because I am fair, open-minded and like the source material, I gave this a shot. I listened to Williams' cover of "Round and Round" fully and it just felt like it took... forever. The tempo was slowed down so much - and Williams has such a deep voice - it all just threw me. Now, if this album of covers gets country folks more into rock, then great. Space Brain comes out July 18.

RATT cover:

Ozzy Osbourne cover:

I Wonder Who Loves Cats More?

Rob Halford and I both love metal and we both love cats. I'll call it a draw for our love of felines. Also, I need this T-shirt.

Available Now: 'Young & Wild: A Decade of American Glam Metal 1982-1992'

A three-CD set from Cherry Red Records is now available called Young & Wild: A Decade of American Glam Metal 1982-1992.

The package has 58 songs and includes the bands you would expect (Twisted Sister, Poison) and maybe some acts you wouldn't (Sammy Hagar, Mother Love Bone). The track listing looks basically chronological from when an act got famous and runs through the ten-year span the package covers. Odds are, you already own these songs on multiple formats (I do), but if you want a random mix all in one place, this set could be a good bet. Still, I would have probably chosen other tracks here. Like, I would not have chosen "Don't Close Your Eyes" for KIX nor "Bump And Grind" for David Lee Roth, but that's all personal preference.

The set is $33 bucks on Amazon.

Black Sabbath Announce Pay-Per-View Stream

Black Sabbath's final show will be on July 5 in Birmingham, UK - and tickets sold-out in just minutes. Dubbed Back to the Beginning, the show is a celebration of Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath and their combined metal legacies. I kept assuming there would be a pay-per-view option and I was right. You can now order your stream ($30) or stream + shirt bundle ($65) and watch the historic event live. (No way was a livestream going to be free).

My guess is this will be Ozzy Osbourne's final live performance ever. We will see how many songs he does with Sabbath, but I can't imagine it will be more than three. Parkinson's disease is awful and his condition is progressing. I am amazed Ozzy is planning his own set before the Sabbath show, but he's been training for this, so bless him.

So many artists are taking part in this big celebration including Metallica, Halestorm, Slash, Steven Tyler, Jake E. Lee, Tom Morello, Slayer, Gojira, Alice in Chains and on and on and on.

Meanwhile, Triumph Is Back

Triumph hasn't done a public show in 17 years. Rewind all those years and I was at one of their limited shows: Rocklahoma 2008. The Canadians will be doing a special three-song set before Game 2 of the NHL Stanley Cup finals. I honestly thought hockey was done for the season, but I don't follow the sport so there you go.

There's no indication this special appearance will amount to anything else, although it wouldn't surprise me if Rik Emmett, Gil Moore and Mike Levine would play more shows for the right amount of cash.

The 2008 Rocklahoma was five days (which was too long) but it was a big deal that Triumph was headlining. I honestly don't remember too much of their performance all these years later. I do remember "Lay It On The Line" and the horrible weather and endless mud.

Back here in 2025, Triumph will perform Friday at the Rogers Festival just before the hockey game.