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it’s hard to believe but 2011 is indeed the 40th anniversary of the legendary rock group, Queen. Even though lead singer, Freddie Mercury is no longer with us, their music continues to live on and manages to make an impact with each and every new generation. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the band, Universal Music Group will be reissuing all 15 studio albums as deluxe remastered editions which will include additional bonus material. As a fan myself, I’m always a bit leery when a record company wants to “remaster” classic albums but knowing that renowned engineer Bob Ludwig is overseeing the audio for this whole project, I’m actually looking forward to hearing these.

The first five reissues should be available (outside of the US) sometime in March 2011. Hollywood Records will be handling the U.S. reissues but I haven’t seen an official release date yet…

Each deluxe edition reissues will feature bonus tracks. Here’s a listing of the bonus tracks from the first 5 albums:
QUEEN (1973) bonus tracks:
1 Keep Yourself Alive (De Lane Lea Demo, December 1971)
2 Great King Rat (De Lane Lea Demo, December 1971)
3 Jesus (De Lane Lea Demo, December 1971)
4 Liar (De Lane Lea Demo, December 1971)
5 The Night Comes Down (De Lane Lea Demo, December 1971)
6 Mad The Swine (June 1972)

QUEEN II (1974) bonus tracks:
1 White Queen (Live at Hammersmith Odeon, December 1975)
2 See What A Fool I’ve Been (BBC Session, July 1973 – 2011 Remix)
3 Seven Seas Of Rhye (Instrumental)
4 See What A Fool I’ve Been (B-side Version, February 1974)
5 Nevermore (BBC Session, April 1974)

SHEER HEART ATTACK (1974) bonus tracks:
1 Now I’m Here (Live at Hammersmith Odeon, December 1975)
2 Flick Of The Wrist (BBC Session, October 1974)
3 Tenement Funster (BBC Session, October 1974)
4 Bring Back That Leroy Brown (A Cappella Plus)
5 In The Lap Of The Gods… Revisited (Live at Wembley Stadium, July 1986)

A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1975) bonus tracks:
1 Keep Yourself Alive (Long-Lost Retake, June 1975)
2 Bohemian Rhapsody (Operatic Section A Cappella)
3 I’m In Love With My Car (Guitar & Vocal Version)
4 You’re My Best Friend (Backing Track)
5 ‘39 (Live at Earl’s Court, June 1977) TBC
6 Love Of My Life (Live Single Version, June 1979)

A DAY AT THE RACES (1976) bonus tracks:
1 Tie Your Mother Down (Backing Track)
2 Somebody To Love (Live at Milton Keynes, June 1982)
3 You Take My Breath Away (Live in Hyde Park, September 1976)
4 Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy (Top Of The Pops, July 1977)
5 Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together) (HD mix)

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Yes, I know Taylor Swift’s music exemplifies all that’s wrong with pop music today including the heavy reliance of pitch correction software, the run-of-the-mill chord progressions and lightweight lyrical content but dang, her current hit, Back to December just sticks to your brain and won’t let go!!!

I’m so glad you made time to see me
How’s life, tell me, how’s your family?
I haven’t seen them in a while
You’ve been good, busier than ever
We small talk, work and the weather
Your guard is up and I know why
Because the last time you saw me will still burn in the back of your mind
You gave me roses and I left them there to die

This is me swallowing my pride,
standin’ in front of you, sayin’ I’m sorry for that night
And I go back to December…
-Taylor Swift

Here’s the remix of Back to December (8BarZ remix) [via mediafire]. It’s a pretty creative remix, I must say.

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Even with an official release date, it’s hard for me to believe that Ric Ocasek finally agreed after all this time to reunite THE CARS. I mean, what’s so different for Ocasek now compared to back in 2005 when Elliot Easton and Greg Hawkes pleaded with him to get back together? And we all know what a disaster that was… But hey, I’m not one to complain. Come on, bring on a full blown tour, I say!!! … but I’m jumping the gun here. Let’s slow down and go over what we know, shall we?

Concord Music Group confirms that they’ll be releasing a new album by The Cars on May 10, 2011 titled Move Like This. The first single, “Sad Song”, should be out sometime before then.

The newly reformed group consists of Ocasek, Elliot Easton, Greg Hawkes and David Robinson. With the new recordings, they didn’t replace Benjamin Orr with another bassist but rather had Hawkes play the bass lines on his synths.

Here are a few snippets of the new tracks via youtube…

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The title of Bob Geldof’s upcoming album made me smile. “How To Compose Popular Songs That Will Sell” sounds more like a seminar or guide book than a pop/rock album. But it comes as no surprise from a man full of contradictions. Geldof is probably more known for his philanthropy and personality than his music so it’s nice to see him back at it again.

The new album has been getting great reviews over in the UK and is scheduled to be released here in the U.S. on March 15th through Mercury/Vagrant Records. To celebrate the release, Geldof will be performing at SXSW in Austin, Texas on March 17th.

Here’s the Tracklist:
1 How I Roll
2 BlowFish
3 Just Get On
4 She’s A Lover
5 To Love In Love
6 Silly Pretty Thing
7 Systematic 6-Pack (58 1/2)
8 Dazzled By You
9 Mary says
10 Here’s To You
11 Blow
12 The Fields Of Spring
13 Too Late She Cried
14 Baby’s Going Down

Pre-order How To Compose Popular Songs That Will Sell via CDUniverse.

Jeff Beck fans have been waiting for this release ever since word got out about this special gig that took place last year on June 8th at the famous New York Jazz club, The Iridium. Beck, along with his special guests, put together a special show celebrating the music of legendary guitarist/innovator Les Paul. The DVD, which hits the stores February 22nd, captures the unique show in its entirety. Also there to honor Les Paul were – Imelda May, Gary US Bonds, Brian Setzer and Trombone Shorty.

Here’s the Tracklist from the DVD/Blu-Ray release –
1 Baby Let’s Play House
2 Double Talkin’ Baby
3 Cruisin’
4 Train Kept A Rollin’
5 Poor Boy
6 Cry Me A River
7 My Baby Left Me
8 How High The Moon
9 Sitting On Top Of The World
10 Bye Bye Blues
11 The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise
12 Vaya Con Dios
13 Mockin’ Bird Hill
14 I’m A Fool To Care
15 Tiger Rag
16 Peter Gunn
17 Rocking Is Our Business
18 Apache
19 Sleep Walk
20 New Orleans
21 Walking In The Sand
22 Please Mr Jailer
23 Casting My Spell On You
24 Twenty Flight Rock
25 The Girl Can’t Help It
26 Rock Around The Clock
27 Shake, Rattle & Roll
Bonus Content
1 Interview with Jeff Beck
2 Behind The Scenes
3 At home with Jeff Beck & his guitars
4 Jeff Beck & Les Paul – Rock ‘n Roll Tonite
5 Les Paul & his little black box

You can preorder the Rock N Roll Party Honoring Les Paul on blu-ray or DVD at CDUniverse
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it was great to see Todd Rundgren appear on network TV again. Rundgren was the musical guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night. He played with Fallon’s house band The Roots in and out of commercial breaks and performed “I Saw the Light” at the end of the show. I’m sure it was a treat for the studio audience to see and hear the full performances. TV viewers only got to hear snippets of other Rundgren songs like “Can We Still Be Friends”, “Hello It’s Me (Meester)”, “Under the Ice”, “I Went to the Mirror” and “Breathless”.

the NBC site also features a bonus clip of Todd and the Roots doing Couldn’t I Just Tell You that wasn’t part of the broadcast.

kudos to Jimmy Fallon, the Roots and Paul Myers (who reportedly helped get Todd on the show) for featuring this underappreciated musical genius!!

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Purchase the latest TR rarities collection titled For Lack of Honest Work via CDUniverse

Also, I highly recommend Paul Myers’ book on Todd – A Wizard A True Star: Todd Rundgren in the Studio. it’s a great overview of Todd’s production work.