UNIVERSAL TO RELEASE DELUXE EDITIONS OF RUSH’S LANDMARK RECORDING “2112”

Rush2112-300In time for 21/12 celebrations, on December 18th, 2012, Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) will release the Deluxe Editions of Rush’s 1976 platinum-selling, landmark album 2112 in three different configurations: 2112: Deluxe Edition (CD/DVD and CD/Blu-Ray) and a special Super Deluxe Edition (CD/Blu-Ray/Hardbound book case).

 

The deluxe editions contain a CD/DVD or CD/Blu-Ray material including the remastered 2112 CD with three live bonus tracks and a DVD or Blu-ray™ disc with a 5.1 surround sound audio mix and an interactive digital comic book, a new album cover by original album designer Hugh Syme, liner notes and unpublished photos. The super deluxe contains the CD/Blu-Ray and is meticulously assembled in a hardbound bookcase packed with a 40-page comic book representing every song on 2112.

 

Originally released in 1976, Rush’s epic, landmark release 2112 was their creative and commercial breakthrough as well as one of the band’s most highly regarded releases among both fans and critics alike. With lyrics written by Neil Peart, and influenced by author Ayn Rand, 2112 kicks off with the ambitious seven-suite title track (side one), set in a futuristic world run by the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx who regulate “every single facet of every life,” which includes books, music, work and play. 2112 conveys the story of humanity’s instinctual, inner need for one’s free will.

 

After the mythological journey through 2112, side two brings you back to the present and continues with five stand-alone tracks. From hard-rocking tracks such as A Passage to Bangkok,Lessons, and a trip to into the fourth dimension with The Twilight Zone, to the album’s soaring conclusion, Something For Nothing, 2112 is the album that ushered in the next stage in their continuing evolution as artists.

 

2112: Deluxe Editions (DVD Version and Blu-Ray Version):

 

*2 Disc: CD + DVD Audio/Video

*2 Disc: CD + Blu-Ray

 

Expanded artwork, liner notes, lyrics and unreleased photos by original album designer Hugh Syme. Brand new liner notes by David Fricke, Rolling Stone.

CD – Digitally remastered plus 3 unreleased bonus live tracks:

 

– Overture (Northland Coliseum, Edmonton, AB – June 25th, 1981)

– The Temples of Syrinx (Northland Coliseum, Edmonton, AB – June 25th, 1981)

– A Passage To Bangkok (Manchester Apollo, Manchester, England – June 17th, 1980)

 

DVD Audio/Video And Blu-Ray Contain:

 

– Digital Comic Book – experience the comic book formatted for widescreen televisions during playback of the album.

-Photo Gallery – unreleased photos and handwritten lyrics by Neil Peart.

 

-DVD Audio/Video Specs:

 

-5.1 Surround Sound mix by Richard Chycki in PCM (DVD-Audio players) and 48kHz / 24-bit Dolby Digital (DVD-Video players)

– 96kHz / 24-bit PCM Stereo (DVD-Audio players) and 48kHz / 24-bit Dolby Digital Stereo (DVD-Video players)

 

-Blu-Ray Specs:

 

-5.1 Surround Sound mix by Richard Chycki in 96kHz / 24-bit PCM and DTS-HD Master Audio

– 96kHz / 24-bit PCM Stereo

 

2112: Super Deluxe Edition:

 

2 Disc: CD + BLU-RAY version contained in hardbound book case.

Housed in a hardbound book with a 40 page comic book by story artist Tom Hodges (Star Wars The Clone Wars, The Simpson’s Treehouse of Horrors #17) and a 24 page book with expanded artwork, liner notes, lyrics and unreleased photos. New liner notes written by David Fricke, Rolling Stone.

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ROCK N’ ROLL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2013: RUSH & HEART IN, DEEP PURPLE OUT

rush400pixPhil Gallo of Billboard reports:

 

After more than a decade of irate rants and enthusiastic lobbying from fans, Rush is finally a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

 

The Canadian trio will be inducted into the hall on April 18th along with Heart, singer-songwriter-pianist Randy Newman, rap group Public Enemy, the late disco queen Donna Summer and blues guitarist Albert King. Label executive and music impresario Lou Adler and producer-arranger-composer Quincy Jones are headed as Ahmet Ertegun Award — aka non-performer — honorees.

 

Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, inducted with the hall’s last class, announced the awards Dec. 11th at the Nokia Theater where the induction ceremony will be held next year. It is the first time in 20 years since the festivities have been held in L.A.; it will again be open to the public and aired on HBO on May 18th.

 

This year’s class represents the first time fans have been allowed to participate in the selection process and it’s little surprise that Rush is the big winner. More than any other act’s fan base — with the possible exception of KISS — Rush fans have created online petitions, Facebook pages and websites to push for the band’s induction. Lifeson told Billboard earlier this year that the slight has been mitigated by that dedication.

 

“I know for me, and I would say it’s true of all of us, we felt that you’ve got to enjoy every moment that you’re out there doing this. It’s a privilege to be able to play music, especially for your whole life,” Lifeson explained. “And it’s an even greater privilege to have such a fantastic audience who’s willing to support you and listen to what you’re doing and become so passionate, like Rush fans always become. You know, it’s really, really something special and it’s never lost on us.”

 

Generally speaking, the hall has overlooked bands from the prog-rock era, inducting only Genesis in 2010. This is the first ballot Rush has appeared on.

 

Public Enemy, in its first year of eligibility, becomes the fourth rap act to enter the hall, following Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys. The New York rap group debuted on record in 1987 with Yo! Bum Rush the Show and followed it up with the landmark It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. Voted the best album of 1988 in the Village Voice’s Pazz & Jop poll of critics, it peaked at No. 42 on the Billboard 200.

 

Heart, which appeared on the ballot for the first time last year, has had a particularly active year. Ann and Nancy Wilson published a joint biography,Kicking and Screaming: A Story of Heart, Soul and Rock & Roll; released a new album, Fanatic; and maintained an active touring schedule that continues from January through March, in the U.S. and Canada.

 

Summer, who died in May, gets in on the sixth time her name appeared on the ballot. King, whose single-string, bent-note approach to the electric guitar was a significant influence on Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan, is best known for Born Under a Bad Sign from 1967. Newman, whose debut was released in 1968, wrote uniquely caustic and insightful pop songs in the ’60s and ’70s before devoting most of his time to film work.

 

Nominees who did not make the cut this year include the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chic, Deep Purple, the Meters and N.W.A. There was some belief among voting insiders that the presence of two rap groups — from opposite coasts — would split the votes and neither would get in. While the album widely acknowledged as their debut, Straight Outta Compton, came out in 1988, a compilation of their singles was issued a year earlier making them eligible for the class of 2013.

 

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The Aquarian Interviews New Author, Eddie Trunk!

Tim Louie

The Aquarian

 

He’s managed bands, he’s been a record exec, a radio personality, a TV personality and now he can add author to his ever-growing resume. Eddie Trunk, the host of Eddie Trunk Rocks, Eddie Trunk Live, and VH1 Classic’s That Metal Show, has released his very first book, Eddie Trunk’s Essential Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. This ultimate coffee table hard rock and heavy metal bible includes a plethora of photos by photographer and longtime friend Ron Akiyama facts on 35-plus essential hard rock bands, along with anecdotes about them, Eddie’s personal playlist for each band and he’s even added a piece of his show to the book by adding some trivia from his “Stump the Trunk” segment.

 

Eddie gave me a call recently to discuss his latest venture.

 

Tell me about Eddie Trunk’s Essential Hard Rock and Heavy Metal.

 

Well, doing a book has always been something that I kind of wanted to do. I had always envisioned doing an autobiography, which I still hope to do at some point, but this opportunity came to me with a publisher who doesn’t do autobiographies. They’re known for doing more photo-driven stuff, high-quality printing, coffee table books and things like that, so when they talked to me initially about doing this, it was going to be much more photo-driven, not that it isn’t already. The book is about 50 percent photos as is, but it was going to be more 80 percent photos and 20 percent thoughts and texts from me underneath these pictures. But what happened was, I hooked the publisher up with an old friend of mine, Ron Akiyama, who did about 99 percent of the photos in the book, and the absolutely hit it off.

 

Ron and I had been friends for over 30 years, and we attended many of these shows together and he was always photographing them, it made for a perfect marriage for him to basically do the pictures in the book and they just connected so perfectly into the stories because in many cases some of the stories that I’m talking about, he has the exact show or shot right there next to it. So it worked out really well.

 

A lot of Ron’s work has never been published before, so the pictures are unique in that people have never seen them before. The one real thing that changed in the evolution of the book, though, is that once the publisher [Abrams Books] started to see some of my thoughts and stories underneath these pictures about these bands, they immediately started wanting more stories. Then all of a sudden, I found myself kind of writing a book that was very different than what I envisioned. But I went with it, because at the end of the day, I thought that it was going to make for a much better product. It was tough to narrow down the bands that I was going to put in it, but I think that I hit what was important to me and think what was important to the scene at the time. Every band has at least one personal story from me and an interaction, an overview and playlists, so people have really liked the balance. It’s something certainly to read, but also something to really look at.

 

Well, that’s what I found special about this book; your own personal stories and pictures with these really big bands. I especially loved the old pictures of a young Eddie Trunk!

 

Oh, yeah! It’s always so depressing for me to look at old pictures. It bums me out! Even family pictures, it bums me out because you just realize how much time has passed, and you’re like ‘What the hell just happened?’ There you are like 20 to 25 years ago, and then you’re like ‘Wait a minute, that felt like yesterday!’ So, I actually get bummed out looking at old pictures. It’s funny, when people hear that this is my book, and they hear about a lot of photos, the initial thought is that there will be a lot of pictures with me with rock stars, and that’s clearly not the case. These are unbelievable live shots, and yeah, there’s a bunch of candids spread out throughout the book. There are also a lot of buttons and ticket stubs. That’s all personal stuff from my collection, but I wanted the photos to be really incredible shots of the artists.

 

There are some really cool candids in there, though. There’s a shot of me signing Ace Frehley when I was at Megaforce Records in my 20s. It’s things like that that people generally have never seen before. Those are fun, but they’re a small part of the book also. The other thing was the cover. I didn’t want it to be one artist and I didn’t want it to be me on the cover. I kind of wanted it to be something that summed up that era, and Ron had a great shot of the crowd at an Anthrax show at L’Amours in Brooklyn, NY, in 1987. A show where I actually introduced the band and as I walked off the stage, Ron ran on and took a shot of the audience reaction as Anthrax was ready to come on. So, I think that picture really sums up what the world was like back then. You just look at those faces in the crowd and it could be anyone from 1987, and what’s ironic is that I heard from a few people who have seen the cover of the book and saw their picture in there. Talk about looking back.

 

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The Short-But-Sweet-Interview: Eddie Trunk

Greg Prato

Ugo.com

 

He’s been an avid fan and supporter of heavy metal for decades, and is consistently on the radio (the nationally syndicated radio show Eddie Trunk Rocks and Eddie Trunk Live on Sirius) and TV (That Metal Show). He is Eddie Trunk, who can now add “author” to his resume, as his first-ever book, Eddie Trunk’s Essential Hard Rock and Heavy Metal, will be released on April 1st, via Abrams Image.

 

UGO: What will fans learn from reading Eddie Trunk’s Essential Hard Rock and Heavy Metal?

 

EDDIE TRUNK: There are some stories I never talked about with me and the artists in the book. Bon Jovi offering me a job, the night Axl Rose came to my radio studio, tons of personal stuff plus my thoughts on the bands and why I love them. It’s really a hybrid of many things, opinions, why I love the bands, a personal experience with almost all of them, my playlists of favorite songs and much more. Its 50% stories and text, 50% incredible photos – most of which were never published. The photos tie in with the stories because the photographer (Ron Akiyama) is an old friend who was actually at the shows with me I’m talking about. People are loving that aspect early on. Some funny candid shots to, like me signing Ace Frehley when I worked at Megaforce in 1986.

 

UGO: I heard that there is a moving chapter about Ronnie James Dio in the book.

 

EDDIE TRUNK: Many have pointed that one out. That chapter had to be rewritten because Ronnie passed away after the original one was done, so it was very fresh when I had to redo it. It talks about my experience hosting his memorial and I dedicated the book to him and Eric Carr, a dear friend who I still miss even though he has been gone 20 years. Two great rockers that were great people.

 

UGO: What can fans expect from the upcoming season of That Metal Show?

 

EDDIE TRUNK: For the first time ever some repeat guests from early on. This is Season 7, there are now almost 80 shows, and it was time to welcome back some of the early believers who took a shot on the show. So a balance of first timers and return guests who much has changed for. Any talk show has return guests so it was time, plus Kirk Hammett from Metallica, David Coverdale, Sebastian Bach, all among the first timers. And most important we retain the same 1-hour format introduced last season with 2 guests and all the features everyone wants in.

 

UGO: Why do you think Ozzy nor Gene Simmons or Paul Stanley have not appeared on That Metal Show?

 

EDDIE TRUNK: You would need to ask them. We honestly do not know and when there is no communication back you can only speculate. They have all been asked. In the case of Ozzy it’s really Sharon, I’m sure he doesn’t even know! In the case of Gene and or Paul, again, ask them. We are huge fans of the band, I have supported them on many fronts for decades like nobody else. And yes, I have made it known I am not a fan of what they do now, but why not sit down and defend it? Why wipe away 99% support for decades because of one thing?! I’m a fan, being critical of what you like and don’t like with your favorite bands is part of that. Tons of bands I have had my shots at over the years, but they all sit down and talk about it and many cases agree in retrospect! I can’t worry about what people think I said or if you’re hypersensitive. We cannot compromise what we do. It’s what makes the show work. Being truthful as fans and being able to express an opinion is what we do and many of our guests do. We love all these guys even if we don’t like something they did at one point, up to them to come around. The door is always open to them, come mix it up, have some fun, hell, fire back at me! God knows I have a thick skin after all these years. It’s their fans to who are being cheated. They want to see these guys on a show where the hosts actually know the music and didn’t just read a one sheet before they walked out. It’s the show their real audience is watching at the end of the day. Hope they step up and do it but we have plenty that want to if they don’t. I grew up a huge fan of Howard Stern, he KILLS people, and guess what? They still come and talk to him.

 

UGO: Out of all the interviews you’ve conducted over the years, which was the best…and which was the weirdest?

 

EDDIE TRUNK: Anytime you get guys that have fun and are well spoken and mix it up, it’s great. Doing this almost 30 years I now know many of these guys, so there is a comfort level. The people who are always great are Rob Halford (he did my book’s foreword), the late Dio, Sammy Hagar, Bobby Blitz, Slash, even guys like Chris Jericho, he is a close friend but we have a blast on the air. Dee Snider also speaks his mind. As far as weird, I guess the only one I can think of is the late Peter Steele. Obviously, he had issues in his life sadly. He came on my radio show and didn’t want to talk about Type O, kept apologizing, and then kind of broke down on the air, back around 2002.

 

UGO: Please rank in order of “funniness” – Jim Florentine, Don Jamieson, and Carrot Top.

 

EDDIE TRUNK: Not touching that one, but Top can kick their asses that’s for sure. See the shape that guys in? Crazy.

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Eddie Trunk, Ultimate Metalhead, Writes Metalhead’s Bible

 

Bob Ruggiero

Blog.HoustonPress.com

 

If hard rock and heavy-metal journalism have their own Eddie Murrow, it’s Eddie Trunk. Via his web site, as a co-host of VH1 Classic’s That Metal Show, and his programs on both terrestrial and satellite radio, Trunk brings a professional’s objectivity and a fan’s passion together in one persona.

 

In this book, Trunk picks 35 “essential” bands of the genre, from AC/DC, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, and Megadeth to Poison, Rush, Slayer, and Van Halen. Each group gets a chapter that runs down their history, discography, obscure trivia, and Trunk’s own suggested “playlist.”

 

But what makes the book a joy to read are Trunk’s own anecdotes and stories of his interactions with musicians over the years – including some of whom became personal friends, like Ronnie James Dio and Rob Halford – as well as his brutally-honest opinions about some of their career moves and music.

 

Trunk may be the biggest KISS fan on the planet, but he still takes Gene and Paul to task for putting Ace and Peter’s makeup on two different players. He also spotlights overlooked music from many groups. Overall, it’s enough to satisfy both the neophyte and the hardcore of any act.

 

The book also looks great with high-quality, slick paper, mostly unseen concert shots spanning years, and band memorabilia.

 

If there is a quibble, it’s that the chapters aren’t long enough, and Trunk does repeat a few of the same stories. (Yes, we know he’s friends with baseball’s Mike Piazza…) Minor issues to be sure. Hard rock and heavy metal music have no better champion and critic than Eddie Trunk, and this book reflects that in abundance.

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11/23 BACH IN STUDIO TONIGHT, LA, BOSTON, MORE

11/23/12: Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving yesterday. Back live on the radio tonight at 11PM ET on Q104.3 NYC. Joining me in studio will be Sebastian Bach. I’ve known Bas for 25 years and we always have a blast when he’s in studio. Lot’s to talk about and lot’s of music to get to as well. Outside the NYC area you can hear the show free streaming at www.q1043.com or with the FREE iheartradio app. Just hit Q104.3 under Classic Rock in NYC. Show is live 11P-2A and my TMS partner Jim Florentine will also be hanging out. Don’t miss this one.

For all the stations besides Q104 that air my show you will get a brand new exclusive interview with Jason Newsted in this weeks show! Don’t forget I’m on in Boston now Sunday nights at 7P on WAAF! No Pats game Sunday so be sure to tune in and spread the word. I will be in Boston for an event mid Jan, more info very soon.

 

Looking forward to seeing a headline set by Cheap Trick tomorrow night at The Sands in Bethlehem PA. They even let me call in some requests! Should be fun.

 

No new TMS tapings until 2013, more news when I have it.

 

Headed to L.A. for a few days Wednesday. Don & I will be co-hosting the Metal Blade 30th Anniversary Party at HOB in L.A. next Friday night with a set from Armored Saint. Congrats to Brian, Mike and all the Metal Blade crew on the decades of metal greatness. I’ll also be taking part in a Motorhead Behind The Music shoot and seeing UFO at the Key Club this Thursday. See you soon L.A.

 

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