Rocky Mountain Way...

GODSMACK UNVEIL "LIVE & INSPIRED" MAY 15, 2012

Ever since Boston hard-rock quintet Godsmack announced that they’d be putting out a live album bundled with a covers EP, the internet has been abuzz with people speculating just which songs the band would choose to give the cover treatment.

The upcoming live album, the first of its kind for Godsmack, is called “Live and Inspired” and will be released on May 15. The record will feature the band’s Detroit performance from last year’s Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival in its entirety as well as four cover songs.

The nature of the covers became slightly less shrouded in mystery today, as the band officially released the first of the four tracks, a powerful cover of Joe Walsh’s classic, “Rocky Mountain Way”. While I don’t think many had thought of Walsh when considering acts that Godsmack may have been choosing to cover, the influence and inspiration of Walsh isn’t hard to find in Godsmack’s music so it certainly makes sense.

The 4:01 track comes in with an enormous boom and it is clear from the get-go that this isn’t some exact replica of a tried and true song – it’s a balls-to-the-walls, heavy, Godsmack-laden interpretation of a classic. The song maintains its edge throughout all the while staying true to the feeling of the original. The instrumentals are tight and well mixed and vocalist Sully Erna demonstrates just how soulful he can sound when given the right inspiration. The band really lets it rip and has a lot of fun with the bridge and solo, making the song infectiously fun to listen to and very memorable.

 -Tri-staterock.com

The original...Joe Walsh

 

Some more Info about the new Album

 Live & Inspired features fierce and furious live renditions of numerous hits from the Massachusetts rockers' five studio albums. Their incendiary and infectious shows have become legendary in modern rock, and they continue to impress both critics and audiences alike every time they hit the stage. The group sounds unchained on rousing performances of "Awake", "Keep Away", "Straight Out of Line", "Whatever", "Voodoo", and "I Stand Alone."

 This is the first time that's been captured on CD, and bonus tracks of covers that have "inspired" GODSMACK is also going to be included along with it. The four tracks are quite close to the band's collective heart. The band started ripping through local Massachusetts haunts with their renditions of some of these songs, and these recordings bring everything full circle.

About the collection, front-man Sully Erna reveals, "Live & Inspired is our way of saying 'Thank you' to all of our fans for believing in us throughout the years, and helping us to become a great live band! Along with this ass-whooping set live from Detroit Rock City, we've also included four cover songs of our favorite hits in the past to show you that, we too, are simply just fans that appreciate nothing more than good old fashion ass-kicking rock 'n' roll!  Enjoy!"

In addition, the quartet encouraged its legion of supporters to be a part of the release. The collection's packaging actually showcases a variety of fan photos. Fans may submit live snapshots of the group on stage, pictures of themselves rocking out at GODSMACK concerts, or photos of their tattoos of the group's iconic logo on the band's official Facebook. Now, the winning photos adorn the album's booklet and packaging.

The album will hit shelves and digital retailers while the band is in the midst of its Mass Chaos Tour with Staind and Halestorm. The jaunt commences on April 13 in Augusta, GA at the James Brown Arena, and it promises to be a brilliantly bruising night of hard rock.

-Godsmack.com

“I write what gets me off. If I listen to a song and jump around the living room with a broom in my hand, I know that that will trigger the same reaction in other people.”
 -Sully Erna quote

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductees 2012...

Axl Rose declines induction into Rock And Roll Hall of Fame

 The acrimony that helped dissolve Guns N' Roses nearly 20 years ago still lingers.

Axl Rose announced Wednesday that he won't be showing up to see the band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and declined the honor for himself.

In a letter to the hall, band fans and "To Whom It May Concern," Rose listed several reasons for not attending Saturday's ceremony in Cleveland, including a feeling that the hall does not respect him.

In declining his own induction, he added: "I strongly request that I not be inducted in absentia and please know that no one is authorized nor may anyone be permitted to accept any induction for me or speak on my behalf."

The hall said in a statement that it still plans to induct Rose with the rest of the group. "We are sorry he will not be able to accept his induction in person," it said.

According to the rock hall only the Sex Pistols have declined induction before.

Although Rose now fronts a reconstituted version of Guns N' Roses that does not include former members Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan or Steven Adler, some held out hope that the band might reunite at the hall.

Even Slash seemed to leave an opening for the possibility.

"I have no idea what's going to happen on that day," he said in an interview with The Associated Press last month. "It's more like going into it with blinders on and just see what happens."

But Rose apparently was miffed by such talk.

"There's a seemingly endless amount of revisionism and fantasies out there for the sake of self-promotion and business opportunities masking the actual realities," he wrote.

He added: "So let sleeping dogs lie or lying dogs sleep or whatever. Time to move on. People get divorced. Life doesn't owe you your own personal happy ending especially at another's, or in this case several others', expense."

A rep for Slash said he would still attend Saturday but had no further comment. Green Day is scheduled to induct the group.

Rose admitted that when it was first announced that the band would be inducted, he had mixed feelings. But "I was honored, excited and hoped that somehow this would be a good thing. Of course, if Guns N' Roses were to be inducted it'd be somewhat of a complicated or awkward situation."

Rose's announcement cast a cloud over the band's induction but in some ways was fitting, given the dysfunction that marked the group as it became one of the world's most popular acts in the 1980s and 1990s. Its hits included "Welcome to the Jungle," "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "November Rain."

Besides Guns N' Roses, the inductees will include the Beastie Boys, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the late singer/songwriter Laura Nyro, Donovan, and The Small Faces/The Faces, which included Rod Stewart and Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood.

-Xfinity.comcast.net

Beastie Boys

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Laura Nyro

The Small Faces/Faces

 

The Crickets

The Famous Flames

The Midnighters

The Comets

The Blue Caps

The Miracles

Congratulations to the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees! The 27th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Saturday, April 14, 2012 in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.