Extinction

When the "dinosaur" acts become extinct, so will a large aspect of the touring business. The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Eagles, Madonna and Streisand are a few acts that generate huge revenues for managers, agents and promoters - and have exorbitantly high ticket prices. Others that fall into the high touring revenue category that aren't quite dinosaurs, such as U2 or Celine Dion, aren't spring chickens either. Other legacy artists who have more of mid-range priced ticket such as Clapton, Springsteen, Rod Stewart and Bob Seger aren't going to be working forever. When all these types of artists stop working (and it will happen), the business will be greatly affected.

A lot of these artists aren't guaranteed sell outs anymore. There is a lot of papering going on and there are a lot of prime tickets being sold by the promoters directly to scalpers, I mean "ticket brokers", to maximize potential profits. The artists and promoters are raping the public for every last drop because they see the train coming off the tracks sooner rather than later. Oh, and there is nothing like all these additional fees tacked on to the ticket price which generate hundreds of millions of dollars for all involved.

There is no band or artist from the past 15 years that appears to be on the path of being able to command huge guarantees 20-30 years after the initial period when they broke into the big time. There are many reasons for this. One major reason being that the record labels stopped developing talent and stopped nurturing bands.

They went for the quick buck and started pushing talentless crap that would have 15 minutes of fame. This has created a lot of problems for the labels and one of them which is rarely discussed is that all these acts with no depth and musical talent will have no lasting catalogue sales for the labels. Where as now they have Springsteen, Miles Davis, The Beach Boys, David Bowie, etc which represent catalogues that consistently move solid numbers, the current musical landscape does not boast a lot of potential artists that will be a return investment for the labels.

This directly affects touring. The "dinosaur" acts are legacy artists and they represent a lot of the catalogue artists referenced above. They are artists that created a large core fan base, but that also have enough cross-over hits to generate solid ticket sales to casual consumers as well.

Who is going to command $150-$350 ticket sales in 15 years from the current generation of mainstream artists? Green Day? Maroon 5? No Doubt? Beyonce? Nickelback? Fergie? Linkin Park? Korn? Tool? Timbaland? Avril Lavigne? Amy Winehouse? Eminem? Justin Timberlake? Maybe Carrie Underwood or Michael Buble?

A solid selling album doesn't mean s**t anymore. The public moves on. Alanis Morrissette released one of the epic albums of the mid-90's and she is having trouble filling theatres. Certainly she has more artistic credibility and talent than a handful of the current stars I just referenced. Will they suffer the same fate in the next 10 years? Even if one or two doesn't, will they be able to fill arenas around the world over the course of a year charging over $100 a ticket? Does anyone think that is a possibility? Some of the best non-dinosaur live acts in the world right now such as Pearl Jam and Radiohead (who no longer sell large quantities of records) have ticket prices hovering in the $50 range in the prime of their careers. Will they be such a draw in 20 years that they can rip off the consumer by tripling their ticket prices? Doubtful.

So when The Rolling Stones finally call it a day, Townshend decides he can't take touring under The Who banner any longer, Babs finally "really" retires, etc etc etc - the touring business will be f**ked unless somehow, some amazingly talented artists come along that touch the hearts and souls of millions with their music on a consistent basis for at least a decade. Then maybe, the touring industry will have a product they can overprice and sell to the public.

There is still good music out there. And there are a handful of artists that will have enough of a fan base to work for many years to come and make a nice living doing it. But the days of stadium tours at $100+ a ticket with $1 Million guarantees for an act that is 30 years old is coming to an end. How will all the greedy executives in the concert business react? Like the greedy executives in the record business that are desperately holding on to an outdated business model? Hey, it is the entertainment business, why not live in Fantasy Land for as long as possible? Time will tell. But in 10-15 years, the concert business that is known today will be like what the record labels were 10 years ago; a distant memory.

Archives

For decades, Neil Young has been working on his "archives" project. There have been a few times that I recall a serious release date was being considered and then of course, the date came and went. Finally, the fall of 2007 was supposed to be the one for "Archives Volume 1" with a list of some of the content being announced in some press releases.

In typical fashion, the release date is now February 2008. This newly revised date may be real. Why did it get pushed back again? Well, one can assume artwork delays, mastering or even late song additions. Certainly Warner Brothers would have preferred to issue a large and expensive box set of Neil's archives during the 4th quarter of the year to capitalize on the holiday shopping season.

The real bummer here is that Neil is releasing a new studio effort this fall entitled "Chrome Dreams II" that will now contain a bonus disc with a song from the upcoming archives project. Hey Neil, you could have pushed your studio album back to winter 2008 and cleaned up the loose ends with your archives project so it could be issued in 2007. How much material is Neil going to leak ahead of time? The 2 archival concert titles issued so far, "Live At The Fillmore East-March 6&7 1970" and "Live At Massey Hall 1971," are now going to be part of the archives box when issued as well as the track that will be on the "Chrome Dreams II" sampler disc. Nice move Neil. Fans love nothing more than having to repurchase material they already own just to get unreleased gems.

And what does this really tell you? That Warner knows sales of "Chrome Dreams II" will most likely be weak, so maybe they can entice or sucker a few fans who are on the fence to spend $15 on the new CD just for a taste of the archives, because after all, most fans at this point want the archives, not another new studio album from their man Neil.

So, in February 2008, me and many other Neil Young fans will be shelling out a lot of money for his long-awaited "Archives Volume I" project - a release that we will have 2 discs + 1 song worth of material from already. Nothing like getting tag-teamed by Neil Young and Warner Brothers.

Friends Revisited

So, another unsubstantiated rumor is floating around about a Led Zeppelin reunion show. The Evening Standard in London reports that the band is planning on a reunion show at London's new O2Arena in the fall. The paper claims an official press release is expected shortly.

Well, if this is true, is this a one-off date? A local gig for the band to play and experience the musical camaraderie they once shared in the past one more time? Or is this the springboard for a 2008 world tour? O2 is an AEG Live controlled venue, so if a world tour does get launched, does AEG Live score and hit the jackpot by landing the biggest Rock tour of all time over Live Nation?

Who is playing the drums? John Bonham is very much irreplaceable. That was one of the main reasons the band disbanded in 1980 after his death. Some suggest his son Jason should take his place, but while Jason could be a sentimental favorite, he is not the most skilled drummer available for the job. Zeppelin needs a heavy hitter to fill out the sound; someone such as Kenny Aronoff or Matt Sorum. They aren't in the same league as John Bonham, but who is?

Lots of questions need to be answered if this is becoming a reality. What are my feelings? Well, they are mixed to say the least. I think a big tour potentially hurts the Led Zeppelin legacy. Plant no longer has the vocal range for a lot of the material. Page is not the same player he once was, and that will be obvious if he tries to tackle some of the demanding material in the band's catalogue. John Paul Jones is probably in the best shape as his skills as an arranger and musician have continued to mature over the years. There is no way the shows will live up to the reputation of Zeppelin's former live work. However, most people will not care. They will be psyched that they are witnessing one of the greatest Rock bands of all time in concert. I will probably be one of the minorities that does not see a reunion tour adding anything of substance or value to the Led Zeppelin legacy. But as my original post "Friends" stated, I do see some value in the band playing a few shows together in the U.K. with a true passion to play and then for the band to walk off into the sunset. Time will tell what is going on with all these Led Zeppelin reunion rumors....

Bolero

"Bolero" is a beautiful piece of music. Joe Walsh's version on the James Gang "Rides Again" album is absolutely stunning. Sandwiched in the middle of the extended suite "The Bomber," the beautiful melody flows for over 3 minutes with Walsh's breathtaking slide guitar workout.

If you are only familiar with Joe Walsh's singles like "Rocky Mountain Way" and "Life's Been Good," you are missing out on some seriously important Rock music by not exploring his work with The James Gang. "Rides Again" is a mini-masterpiece. It is a versatile album with bright and explosive melodies, tastes of funk, acoustic leanings, some soul and inspired guitar work. If anything, check out "The Bomber" to experience one of Rock's great treasures.

Amazing Journey

At the end of 2005, it was announced that The Who were having a major DVD film/documentary produced about their legendary career produced by the band and directed by Murray Lerner. At the time, not much was said about the actual content other than there would be extensive interviews, maybe some recreated scenes of certain eras with actors (very bizarre), and rare concert footage (this is what the fans really want). All was quiet during 2006.

Today, a press release was leaked for the upcoming DVD project. It now involves two separate films. Lerner's involvement is still co-director for one of the films, but it appears The Who's management company Trinifold is actually the major creative force here along with Spitfire. The films are entitled as follows:

'AMAZING JOURNEY: THE STORY OF THE WHO'
'AMAZING JOURNEY: SIX QUICK ONES'

Both will tell the story of The Who with have exclusive interviews, mini-documentaries and rare footage. The second film will have more in-depth features for hardcore fans.

My question is, is this really necessary? It is important for a legacy artist like The Who to have a quality bio-documentary available for historical purposes. So in that sense, the films serve a purpose. But, The Who's fan base is for the most part built around a devoted following. The band no longer has the mass appeal they had in the past. They still are a solid concert attraction and move some decent units of "hits" packages annually, but their core audience is certainly not as broad as it once was when The Who were the biggest band in the world.

Their core audience wants a lot of live footage and live recordings from the archives. They are not interested in hearing another story about the band and hearing more interviews from Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey that they have heard a hundred times. This is where these new DVDs will fail. Their devoted fan base expected something different and probably deserved something different. Yes, there will probably be ample footage, some of it rare, but what the fans wanted was a DVD in the vein of the top-selling Led Zeppelin "DVD." That is the live package that all live packages from here on out will be measured against. It is a no nonsense release; it strictly consists of hours and hours of beautifully produced concert footage/TV footage spanning the band's career.

The Who have the ability to release a DVD that comprises of something similar. Imagine if the band issued a "live" DVD of the following:
*TV performances like Shindig, Smother's Brothers, Ready Steady Go!, etc
*The entire 1969 London Coliseum gig
*portions of the 1969 Woodstock gig
*portions of the 1970 Tanglewood gig
*portions of the 1971 Houston gig
*portions of the 1974 Charlton gig
*salvageable portions of the 1977 Kilburn gig
*portions of the 1978 Sheperton Sound Stage gig
*1978 rehearsal footage
*portions of the 1979 Chicago Amphitheatre gig
*a mix of highlights from their 1982-2007 gigs
*rare amateur footage (maybe even make deal with the 'owner' of the professional Houston 75 footage)

That would fill 2 DVDs with ease and secure the artistic legacy of The Who's reputation as one of the all-time greatest live acts. This is the sort of DVD fans wanted. And the frustrating thing is that something similar to this could have been a reality. Some of this footage will be on the upcoming DVDs, but most likely it will be just snippets and a few selected full performances. It seems like The Who really dropped the ball this time, but since I have not seen the films yet, I need to keep an open mind. A full DVD of performance footage would have definitely been an amazing journey.

Business As Usual

That is the name of a new song on The Eagles' upcoming studio album "Long Road Out of Eden." But the release of this album is not business as usual. As most know, in N. America, this album will be a Wal-Mart exclusive (and also available on the band's website). Wal-Mart? I know a lot of music consumers dig going to Wal-Mart for new releases. I am not one of them.

Honestly, I do not get this whole "exclusivity" concept for music releases. I get the business deal and the money involved for the artist. But that is not my issue. It can't always be about the money. So, is it an effective marketing tool? Maybe to some degree, because the press releases all make a point of saying that the release is exclusive to a certain store. But how does that help the consumer? You only give them one choice of where they can make a purchase? What happened to the free market? The free market is always something I have loved about America. I guess I am old school. More importantly, I would think an artist would want as many outlets for their music as possible to generate as many sales and as much exposure as possible.

Great, there are plenty of Wal-Marts and Starbucks around, but I don't drink coffee and I have no use for Wal-Mart. Yet, there are times when I am forced to make a purchase at one of those companies because certain artists have sold out and made certain product exclusive merchandise to one of those entities. I wasn't crazy about having to purchase the recent Elvis Presley compilation "Viva Las Vegas" at Wal-Mart simply to obtain the bonus disc (which is a sensational complete concert from 1969). Bottom line, I don't want to make music purchases at Wal-Mart (or anywhere equivalent).

I loved Tower Records. On weekends or weeknights after work, I could spend hours sifting through the bins and talking shop with other fans or employees. I dug great independent stores like the now defunct Go Boy! Records in Redondo Beach. Those were record stores. They had it all. That is where I would have preferred to have purchased the upcoming "Long Road Out of Eden." Even though true record stores are disappearing, there are still a handful of options available. But now I can purchase some paper towels, toilet bowl cleaner and The Eagles' new album all at the same time! That is exactly what I envisioned the record business would turn into! The Eagles are obviously making some nice cash with this distribution deal, because with The Eagles, it has become all about the money. This Wal-Mart exclusive is certainly making their artistic integrity somewhat questionable. A long time ago, that was important, even to them.

So, aside from the whole Wal-Mart issue, am I looking forward to "Long Road Out of Eden?" Well, as an Eagles fan, yes. Henley and Frey are one of the best writing duos in music and certainly Joe Walsh will deliver some quality material. I am a little skeptical though as their previous single "Hole In The World" was an absolute pathetic lightweight throwaway, and Don Felder is sorely missing (even if they don’t believe it), but I have to keep an open mind. The new single "How Long" is an improvement. This new album will span two full discs, so there will be a lot to explore. And I bet there will be a few gems scattered throughout. My biggest decision will be, do I go to my nearest Wal-Mart or order it from the band's website? I guess I shouldn't make such a big deal out of all of this; maybe it is just business as usual after all. What a joke....

Fresh Air

What made Slash such a breath of fresh air in the late 1980's when Guns N' Roses broke into the big-time was that his tone and style was a throwback to another time. In an era when shredders like George Lynch, Greg Howe, Jason Becker, Steve Vai, etc. were dominating the guitar scene, Slash came along and was totally different. He had that f**k-off swagger to his playing. Yeah, he could play with speed and flash, but his real appeal was that raunchy dirty playing previously found with guys like Keith Richards and Joe Walsh. He gained instant credibility. He wasn't the most technically proficient player from the era, but he had a distinctive tone. Check out his playing on the classic "Appetite For Destruction" album as well as scattered gems like "Coma" on the "Use Your Illusion" albums. 20 years later, Slash's playing from his Guns N' Roses stint still comes across as a breath of fresh air.