It was forty years ago, July 1968 when The Yardbirds played their final gig at Luton Technical College in Bedfordshire, England. The lineup at that time was Keith Relf as lead singer and on harmonica, Jimmy Page on guitar, (Jeff Beck had already left the group by that time,) Chris Dreja on bass and Jim McCarty on drums, percussion and backup vocals.

Actually, July 1968 was The Yardbirds last performance with this lineup. Jimmy Page went on that same year to fulfill the rest of The Yardbirds contractual commitments, and through a series of events assembled the blues rock powerhouse that became Led Zeppelin. Ownership of The Yardbirds name was claimed by Chris Dreja, who reformed the group in the nineties with Jim McCarty.

I remember hearing “For Your Love” and “Heart Full of Soul” in the late sixties during the summertime and that memory really set the tone for this young teen; the warm summer nights, windows open, listening to my transistor radio produce the psychedelic sounds of these incredible songs. Songs based on American blues played by my British pop star heroes. Fantastic!

“And I know well if she had me back again, I would never make her sad, I got a heart full of soul.”

YouTube video: Jeff Beck & Jimmy Page - Their Yardbirds Years

www.theyardbirds.com

John Mellencamp and T Bone Burnett have come up with a winner. It’s “Life, Death, Love and Freedom” Mellencamp’s 22nd album, and it’s available tomorrow July 15th. He’s already on the road so check the tour dates below to see if he might be in concert near you soon.

Look for John Mellencamp on TV:
Thursday July 17 on Late Night with David Letterman
Monday July 21 on The CBS Early Show (in a special remote concert broadcast from Chicago)

Mellencamp calls the album a collection of “modern electric folk songs.” “Life, Death, Love & Freedom” was recorded at his studio in Bloomington, Indiana and produced by T Bone Burnett.

It’s another winner for Starbuck’s Hear Music company too. The album will be the first ever release in the ΧΟΔΕ (CODE) format, developed by T Bone Burnett and his team of engineers. This new high-definition audio format claims to add warmth and presence, and will be playable on all DVD players and DVD drives.

The CODE version of “Life, Death, Love and Freedom” is a DVD that will come packaged with a standard CD version of the album, available at all retail outlets, at no additional cost to the consumer. The DVD’s content can be copied into most computer music software including iTunes and can, then, be downloaded onto personal music players such as the iPod. The standard CD is included to answer all possible compatibility questions.

Mellencamp commented, “When T Bone introduced me to CODE, it was a remarkable experience. I could hear the music the way it was intended to be heard. I’m very happy the people are going to be able to share this experience in a way that’s so true to our original intent.”

Audio: “My Sweet Love”

YouTube Video: “My Sweet Love”

John Mellencamp Tour Dates:
July 14 & 15 Bank of America Pavilion - Boston, MA
July 18 DTE Energy Music Theatre - Clarkston, MI
July 22 Charter One Pavilion @ Northerly Island - Chicago, IL
July 23 Riverbend Music Center - Cincinnati, OH
July 25 Ford Center - Oklahoma City, OK
July 27 Red Rocks Amphitheatre - Denver, CO
July 30 Santa Barbara Bowl- Santa Barbara, CA
July 31 Greek Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
Aug 2 Greek Theatre - Berkeley, CA

John Mellencamp Online @ johnmellencamp.com

Happy Birthday to Arlo Guthrie, who celebrates his 61st birthday today.

I hear his most famous work, “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” every Thanksgiving, when the true-to-life events happened in the song. A friend of mine can recite the entire 18 minute satire from memory. Now that’s a true fan.

Other Guthrie favorites of mine are “The Pause of Mr. Clause,” “The Motorcycle Song,” and “Coming into Los Angeles,” which is featured in the YouTube video below. This is a great live version!

official website www.arlo.net