Rarebird's Rock and Roll Nest

Meat Loaf, the singer and actor who was born Marvin Lee Aday in Dallas in 1947, has died at age 74. The larger-than-life entertainer began his career as a stage actor, performing in Broadway and L.A. productions of Hair in the early ‘70’s. Except for a 1971 duets album recorded with Shaun “Stoney” Murphy, Meat Loaf’s debut album was the 1977 release Bat Out Of Hell , which incredibly became one of the best-selling albums of all time. Lavishly produced by Todd Rundgren, the album was a campy, theatrical arena-rock opera, mixing Springsteen-like melodrama with Phil Spector-like walls of sound. The heavy-set Meat Loaf had impressive vocal abilities and showmanship to match the grandiosity that surrounded him. The songs were written by theater composer Jim Steinman (who died in April 2021, less than one year before Meat Loaf's passing), and Steinman was given uncommon billing on the album’s front cover . Obviously, there was commercial demand for a follow-up to Bat Out Of Hell , wh...

For those who may be unfamiliar with the story of how Led Zeppelin began, it went something like this: After the breakup of the Yardbirds in 1968, that band was still under a contractual obligation to tour in Scandinavia with Vanilla Fudge. The responsibility was taken on by Jimmy Page, the guitarist who had joined the band in 1966, to assemble a new version of the Yardbirds to fulfill their remaining obligations. Prominent session bassist John Paul Jones took the place of Yardbirds bassist Chris Dreja (reportedly by Dreja’s suggestion). Page wanted singer Terry Reid to join the band, but Reid declined, suggesting that Page instead enlist a 19-year-old singer named Robert Plant. Plant was then a member of Band Of Joy, who had been an opening act for Reid at least one time. When Page approached Plant about joining the new Yardbirds, Plant said he would join if John Bonham, the Band Of Joy drummer, also would. The rest, as they say, is history. After beginning their career under the name...

As hard to believe as it may be, it has now been more than 50 years since the death of Jim Morrison, the legendary lead singer of the Doors, who died at age 27 in Paris, France in 1971 under unclear circumstances. Because the circumstances of his death are so mysterious – only a few people saw his body, no autopsy was performed, his coffin was closed – many conspiracy theorists have postulated that Morrison actually faked his 1971 death to escape from the trappings of fame, and that the rock legend was actually living a secret life somewhere, somehow, some way. Those who were in particular denial about Morrison’s passing had predicted that the Lizard King would later reveal himself to be alive and well, and would make a grand comeback – possibly under another guise. And in 1974, some people were convinced that Morrison was, in fact, re-entering the world – musically and otherwise – under the guise of a mysterious band called Phantom. This band released its only album, titled Phantom’...

The 49th set of exclusive vinyl items offered to members of Third Man Records’ Vault service was mailed out to the members in September of 2021. For those who are unaware, Third Man Records is the label owned by Jack White, who is the leader of the White Stripes, the Raconteurs, and the Dead Weather, and is now a solo artist. The Vault service promises to deliver exclusive vinyl-only records (usually one full-length album and one 7” single) to its members every three months. The 49th Vault package featured a 4-LP vinyl edition of Bob Dylan’s box set titled Springtime In New York: The Bootleg Series Vol. 16 (1980-1985) . This edition contained 42 songs recorded by Dylan in the early-to-mid-‘80’s, 40 of which were previously unreleased. This edition is slightly condensed from the commercially released 5-CD edition, which contained 57 tracks. However, it should not be confused with the 2-LP vinyl highlights version which was released commercially. That 2-LP set contains 11 of the 57 t...

For Record Store Day Black Friday in 2021, a previously unreleased live album from the Gun Club – the early punk rock band led by the late Jeffrey Lee Pierce – was issued in a limited run of 2,000 gold-colored vinyl copies. Sex, Murder, Drugs, and Bad Vibes – Live at the Starwood 1981 was recorded at the titular Hollywood club on January 20th of ’81. This live show took place before the release of the Gun Club’s 1981 debut album Fire Of Love . The show was performed by the lineup which recorded that album, which was comprised of Pierce, guitarist Ward Dotson, and former Alice Bag Band members Rob Ritter (bass) and Terry Graham (drums). (Contrary to what the Record Store Day website states, this should not be confused with the original lineup which included Kid Congo Powers). The Starwood Club in Hollywood was known as a venue which helped to launch the careers of many heavy metal and punk bands between 1973 and 1981. This show was performed five months before the club was closed dow...

On Record Store Day Black Friday in 2021, a limited edition live LP by two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Carole King was issued. Carole King In Concert: Live At The BBC, 1971 was recorded during the year when King’s hugely successful Tapestry album was released. This vinyl LP was limited to 6,550 copies. This concert was performed on July 15, 1971 at the BBC Television Centre in London, and its original BBC broadcast took place on October 2nd of that year. King was backed by the band Jo Mama, which included King’s former collaborators in the folk-rock trio known as The City: her then-husband Charles Larkey on bass, and Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar on conga and electric guitar. James Taylor, another frequent collaborator, made a guest appearance playing acoustic guitar on “So Far Away”. For a time during the ‘70’s, the Tapestry album held the title of the best-selling album of all time. As of this writing, the album is the 38th all-time best-seller, having sold over 13 mi...

For Record Store Day Black Friday 2021, Aerosmith issued a limited edition album in LP and cassette formats, containing their first known recorded tracks from 1971. The vinyl LP was limited to 10,000 copies, while the cassette had a print run of 2,000 copies. The seven tracks on 1971 – The Road Starts Hear (the actual spelling) were just recently discovered by the band. No one remembers exactly where they were recorded or for what purpose, but Mark Lehman (Aerosmith’s first roadie) guesses they are rehearsals which were recorded in the basement of a women’s dormitory at Boston University, while singer Steven Tyler thinks they may have been soundchecks recorded inside an empty club shortly before a gig. The source tape was recorded on a reel-to-reel machine that belonged to guitarist Joe Perry. The resulting sound quality is clearly not studio level, but is better than that of a typical demo. The recording took place in October of 1971, about one year after Aerosmith’s first show, an...

September 24th of 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Nirvana's landmark Nevermind album on the same date in 1991. Nevermind , which has sold over 30 million units worldwide, is one of the best-selling albums of all time, as well as one of the most influential. The album, which mixed punk rock rage with accessible pop hooks, effectively kicked off the alternative rock revolution of the early-to-mid-'90's. We all know the sad ending to the Nirvana story: Kurt Cobain, the band's founder and frontman, committed suicide less than three years later, after repeatedly stating that he was unhappy with the trappings of fame and the demands of the music business. On a positive note, former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl went on to form the Foo Fighters, whose popularity endures to this day. The Nevermind album is often acknowledged as a game-changer for rock and roll, and it was certainly pivotal to the history of popular music. But one debatable claim that is ofte...