Rock Encyclopedia

The Rolling Stones are set to delight their millions of fans, and another generation of new admirers, as they unveil a treasure trove of vintage unreleased material from the ‘Some Girls’ era of 1978.

Comprising an entire album of fresh material, the songs form the second disc on the deluxe edition of the band’s seminal, multi-million-selling 1978 album Some Girls, which is released on November 21. It follows the massive worldwide success and acclaim for Universal’s 2010 reissue of the Stones’ hallowed 1972 set ‘Exile On Main St.’

The appearance of the unreleased tracks on the deluxe ‘Some Girls’ means that after listening to such gems from the original album as ‘Miss You,’ ‘Far Away Eyes,’ ‘Before They Make Me Run’ and ‘Beast Of Burden,’ fans can enjoy a whole new set of contemporaneous work by the Stones. A fresh and compelling collection in its own right, it’s also the perfect complement to one of the band’s best-ever albums.

The unreleased tracks mostly feature performances by the whole band – Mick Jagger on lead vocals, piano, guitars and harmonica; Keith Richards on guitars,piano, harmony vocals (and lead vocal on ‘We Had It All’); Ronnie Wood on pedal steel, electric and slide guitar; and the vintage Stones engine room of Bill Wyman on bass and Charlie Watts on drums. (more…)

Formed in 1971, Queen (Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon) signed their first recording contract with EMI in late 1972. In July 1973, Queen released their first single ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, followed closely by their debut album, Queen. 1974 saw the release of the band’s second album, Queen II, containing their first hit single ‘Seven Seas of Rhye’ which charted in the UK at number 10. This was followed by a second hit single (their first US hit), ‘Killer Queen’, taken from the Sheer Heart Attack album, followed later in the year by a major UK tour. (more…)

Alice Coper, the founding father of modern horror rock music, explodes onto the Billboard 200 this week landing at #22.

With a music career that started more than 42 years ago, Alice Cooper sits squarely on the charts with current artists such as Lady Gaga, Primus, Bush, and Beyonce. This amazing achievement for one of music’s most influential artists proves the relevance and popularity of Alice Cooper today. This debut marks Cooper’s highest charting release in over 20 years, and since the incorporation of SoundScan as a method of tracking album sales. The album also debuted on SoundScan’s Hard Music Albums chart at #6 and Rock Albums chart at #11.

Released on September 13, 2011, by Universal Music Enterprises, Welcome 2 My Nightmare is the long-awaited sequel to his 1975 classic Welcome to My Nightmare . From the opener, “I Am Made Of You,” through the already established live favorite and first single “I’ll Bite Your Face Off”(which is currently #2 at Classic Rock Radio), to the surprising duet with Ke$ha, “What Baby Wants,” this album is a testament to Cooper’s ability to incorporate various musical collaborations into his own unique musical style.

Welcome 2 My Nightmare is the long-awaited sequel to his 1975 classic Welcome to My Nightmare . The original album was a landmark album for Cooper. It was his first solo release, following a historic string of anthems written and recorded by the original band between 1971 and 1974, including “School’s Out,” “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” “Elected,” and “I’m Eighteen.” Welcome to My Nightmare is an all-time rock classic that spawned a worldwide theatrical tour and pioneered a U.S. TV special, and certified Alice Cooper as a visionary trailblazer whose influence continues today in rock, metal, pop, punk, theatre, television, film and much more. (more…)