VIA PRESS RELEASE | Mercury Studios today announces the upcoming October 10, 2025 Blu-ray release of Peter Gabriel’s Taking The Pulse—a breathtaking concert film spotlighting one of music’s most visionary and influential artists, performing songs from his album New Blood.

Peter Gabriel takes the stage with 50 musicians from The New Blood Orchestra, conducted by Ben Foster. They, along with vocalists Melanie Gabriel and Ane Brun, deliver bold new arrangements, by John Metcalfe, of classic Gabriel songs, with the striking rule: no guitars, no drums—just orchestra. Filmed under the stars at the Arena di Verona in Italy on September 26, 2010, Taking The Pulse is directed by Anna Gabriel.

The result is a dramatic, visually striking experience. Peter Gabriel and The New Blood Orchestra perform against a backdrop of massive screens projecting vibrant animations and visuals, dramatically contrasting with the night sky.

From the thunderous intensity of the opener “Rhythm of the Heat,” to the haunting mood of “Intruder,” and the euphoric energy of “Solsbury Hill,” the orchestra navigates every shift in emotion and tempo with precision and passion.

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Atlantic Records proudly unveils the Just In Time (Original Broadway Cast Recording), the official companion to Broadway’s sold-out smash hit musical starring Tony Award winner Jonathan Groff as legendary singer Bobby Darin. The album is available now on all digital platforms with physical editions including exclusive blue vinyl arriving Friday, November 21, and available for pre-order HERE.

Produced by Tom Kirdahy, two-time GRAMMY® winner Bill Sherman, Andrew Resnick, and Alex Timbers; co-produced, recorded, and mixed by five-time GRAMMY® winner Derik Lee, with Robert Ahrens serving as executive producer, the album features fan-favorite showstoppers “Splish Splash” and “This Could Be the Start of Something Big / Just In Time.” Live studio performance videos are also streaming now on YouTube. Groff’s powerhouse vocals, paired with bold contemporary arrangements, breathe new life into Darin’s timeless hits.

Developed and directed by Tony Award-winner Alex Timbers (Moulin Rouge), Just In Time sees Jonathan Groff returning to Broadway as Bobby Darin, the legendary singer whose short but remarkable life took him from teen idol to global sensation, inspiring generations of performers who followed.

The great American entertainer’s meteoric journey—from soaring highs to crushing lows—is brought to life by Groff, transporting audiences into an intimate, swinging nightclub complete with a stellar ensemble cast of 11 on-stage actors, a live on-stage band performing such iconic hits as “Beyond the Sea,” “Dream Lover,” and “Mack the Knife,” all of which were originally released by Darin on Atlantic Records’ ATCO Records imprint.

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Celebrating Debbi Peterson, born on this day in 1961. —Ed.

Those who came of age in the 1980s surely remember The Bangles; with songs on the radio and videos on MTV, they provided the era’s musical environs with a crisp ’60s influenced guitar-pop breeze, but too few have gotten hip to the band’s early work. Ladies and Gentlemen…The Bangles! collects their initial recordings, a sum embodying the melodic end of the garage spectrum with gestures in accord with Cali’s neo-psych movement. 

A lot of bands who originate in the garage gradually shed layers of appeal as they make their way toward prominence, but even after they attained full-fledged stardom that wasn’t necessarily the case with The Bangles. Hitting pop consciousness in the latter half of the decade, Susanna Hoffs (guitar, vocals), Vicki Peterson (guitar, bass, vocals), and her sister Debbi Peterson (drums, bass, vocals) began in Los Angeles in 1981 as The Bangs, and it didn’t take long for the trio to wax a 45.

However, many early fans residing outside of L.A. were likely introduced through “Bitchen Summer / Speedway” on the 1982 Posh Boy compilation Rodney on the Roq Vol. III, making the tune a sensible place for this compilation to start, doubly so as it illuminates a connection to the region’s post-punk ’60s infatuation that came to be tagged as The Paisley Underground.

Featuring warm fuzz, bright surf vibes, and late in the track, a taste of their soon to be well-known vocal harmonies, it’s a nifty slice of the sort of classic-minded stuff that sprang up in the void left by ’70s punk’s waning fortunes, and the relationship to the Paisley upswing is solidified through a co-writer’s credit alongside Hoffs for Dave Roback, then of the Dream Syndicate and later half of Mazzy Star.

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On this episode of Radar, I spoke with Jon King, co-founder and lead singer of Gang of Four, about his new memoir, To Hell with Poverty! A Class Act: Inside the Gang of Four. The book offers an account of his journey from a working-class upbringing in South London to international success with the band.

We discuss Jon’s early days in the slums of London, his passion for reading, art, and the political and social themes that influenced their music. King discusses what brought him to make music and the broader cultural landscape that shaped their work.

This conversation coincides with Gang of Four’s “The Long Goodbye” tour, marking the band’s final performances. The current lineup includes King, original drummer Hugo Burnham, bassist Gail Greenwood, and guitarist Ted Leo.

Radar features discussions with artists and industry leaders who are creators and devotees of music and is produced by Dylan Hundley and The Vinyl District. Dylan Hundley is an artist and performer, and the co-creator and lead singer of Lulu Lewis and all things at Darling Black. She co-curates and hosts Salon Lulu which is a New York based multidisciplinary performance series. She is also a cast member of the iconic New York film Metropolitan.

Forty-six or so years after releasing their 1979 debut Three Imaginary Boys, and sixteen years after releasing their last album, 2008’s 4:13 Dream, The Cure did something my Robert Smith-phobic friends dreaded they’d do–came back. Those sixteen years had led many to hope Smith’s Reign of Mope was over. They were wrong and I’m glad, because 2024’s Songs of a Lost World isn’t just a great comeback album–it’s a great album period.

A masterpiece even. And who releases a masterpiece almost half a century into their career? It’s a miracle, really.

Songs of a Lost World is powered by big, ambitious, and somber yet soaring songs, and it’s tremendous despite the fact that there isn’t a single giddy-making pop confection like “Just Like Heaven” or “Friday I’m in Love” or “In Between Days” on it. Instead, Songs of a Lost World is a somber, emotionally and musically powerful meditation on growing old—that lost world in the title is the one we’re living in and losing, day by passing day, as we close in on death.

Songs of a Lost World is near perfect—symphonic, dramatic (natch), and replete with long and lovely instrumental introductions. But it’s not without its rock pleasures—Reeves Gabrels (of Tin Machine fame) makes sure of that with some astounding guitar work, especially on electric powerhouses “Warsong” and “Drone:Nodrone.” And Jason Cooper’s drumming is John Bonham heavy.

As for Smith, he’s in amazing voice—think about someone like Bob Dylan and then think about how Smith doesn’t sound like he’s aged a year. The man is growing old (66) and has intimations of mortality on his mind, and he’s not just contemplating his own demise—one of the more powerful songs on the LP (“I Can Never Say Goodbye”) is about the death of his brother.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | “I was absolutely enchanted and inspired by Mental Notes as a 17-year-old. It made me believe anything was possible. Fifty years later, it sounds as unique and timeless as it did then.” —Neil Finn 2025

Formed in 1972 in Auckland, New Zealand, Split Enz, known initially as Split Ends, were, and remain, utterly unique. As the first band from New Zealand to achieve major success beyond the Southern Hemisphere, they blazed a trail with a sound and style entirely their own. Evolving from folk-inspired beginnings into a fusion of art-rock, new wave, and theatrical performance, Split Enz didn’t just follow trends; they genuinely created them. While no one sounded like Split Enz at the time, countless acts have drawn inspiration from their legacy over the past five decades.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of their groundbreaking debut, Mental Notes, the first installment of a landmark archival project Enzyclopedia Volumes One & Two, presents a comprehensive tribute to New Zealand’s most visionary and influential band. Housed in a deluxe 5-CD box set (also available as a 3-LP + Blu-Ray edition), this release has been curated in close collaboration with the band. It offers an in-depth look at their formative years, showcasing the evolution of a group whose creative spirit reshaped the boundaries of popular music from New Zealand.

CD1 features a 2025 remaster by Phil Kinrade at AIR Studios, from the original master tapes of the band’s 1975 debut, Mental Notes. Disc two has a brand new remix of Second Thoughts by the band’s Eddie Rayner, which was recorded at Basing Street Studios in London with Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera, while Bob Marley and The Wailers were making Exodus in the downstairs studio.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | On 28th November 2025, Fire Records will release Long March Through the Jazz Age, the last recorded work by Chris Bailey and The Saints, coinciding closely with what would have been Bailey’s 69th birthday. It’s a moving farewell—a testament to a restless, uncompromising artist who always moved forward, one of rock’s great lyricists and iconoclasts.

Recorded in late 2018 at Church Street Studios in Sydney, Bailey and longtime Saints drummer Pete Wilkinson flew in from Europe to reunite with guitarist/ engineer Sean Carey, who had previously toured and recorded with the band. They were joined by Davey Lane (You Am I) on guitar, plus a handpicked ensemble of Sydney’s most exciting young horn, string, and keyboard players.

From Bailey’s rough demos, Long March Through the Jazz Age grew into a deeply human snapshot of modern times. Out today, lead single “Empires (Sometimes We Fall)” is the album’s anthemic opener, cast on a bedrock of western guitars punctuated by Bailey’s aching lyrics: “Sometimes we rise, sometimes we fall.” It’s the perfect setup for an album that swaggers with Bailey’s inherent punk spirit while flowing freely in a spacious production.

There are moments of Dylan-esque majesty as chiming guitars and strings widen the panoramic scale, while the title track carries a haunting, poetic intensity, its mournful trumpet break as spine-tingling as anything you’ll hear. And throughout this Long March Through the Jazz Age, Chris Bailey’s distinctive vocal carries the storyline.

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Remembering Kenny Rogers, born on this day in 1938.—Ed.

Kenny Rogers & The First Edition would be groovy with me if they’d never cut another song besides acid burnout anthem “Just Dropped in (To See What Condition My Condition Is In).” I love it, you love it, Jimi Hendrix loved it–hell, even Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski loves it, and if that ain’t the Definitive Imprimatur of Indisputable Cool, I’m a walking 7-10 split.

But—and let’s just stick with the bowling metaphors for a moment—during their surprisingly long tenure (from 1967 to who knew?–1975) on both the pop and country charts The First Edition rolled a couple of strikes and a few more spares in the form of a bunch of songs that must have sounded just dandy in the confines of your average Dixie bowling alley. Probably even started a few brawls, a couple of ‘em; The First Edition may hardly be your idea of a socially conscious protest group, but they ruffled feathers with the likes of “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town” (a crippled vet? What are these fellas, COMMIES?), “Something’s Burning” (is this Kenny Rogers some kind of slobbering sex fiend?), and “Reuben James” (you talk race, we get nervous).

The First Edition were an eclectic bunch; a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll, Kenny and the boys brought the former to suburban Northerners and the latter to rural Southerners, effectively bringing the whole wide world that much closer together. In short they provided an important public service in their desperate bid for radio airplay; hell, even your Muskogee marijuana haters and their long-hair enemies found common ground in writing ‘em off as a shameless commercial shuck.

The First Edition’s Contribution to Western Civilization can be best heard on the 2004 best-of compilation Anthology. Its twenty cuts give us The First Edition in all their splendid diversity; country tear-jerkers rub shoulders with MOR ditties and the kinds of treacle that would later make Rogers a country-pop institution of higher earning. Talk about range; a continental divide separates “Just Dropped In” from the maudlin “For the Good Times” (or “Sunshine” or “Poem for My Little Lady” or “She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye” for that matter), and if you’re like me you’ll find yourself bypassing the tripe in favor of The First Edition’s more upbeat material, regardless of what label (rock, country, country rock) you want to put on it.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | First released three decades ago, The Beatles’ eight-part Anthology series reinvented the music documentary. Instead of a standard treatment centred on an outside narrator and talking heads, The Anthology featured John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr candidly telling their own story, with all its complexities and contradictions. It introduced The Beatles to new generations of viewers and listeners and marked the start of a creative and commercial afterlife that continues to this day. Now, The Beatles Anthology returns in its ultimate form for a comprehensive global release campaign—on screen, on record, and in print.

The Beatles Anthology Documentary Series | Now a Nine-Part Series Featuring a Brand-new Episode Nine Streaming Exclusively on Disney+ Beginning November 26

The Beatles’ landmark Anthology documentary series has been restored and remastered. The series’ original eight episodes trace the legendary journey that began in Liverpool and Hamburg and soon captivated the world. They bring to life the timeless stories of Beatlemania, the band’s groundbreaking arrival in the USA, their role at the forefront of the 1960s counterculture, their spiritual exploration in India, and their eventual breakup. And through it all, the constant thread: the music, always the music.

There is now a completely new Episode Nine, including unseen behind-the-scenes footage of Paul, George, and Ringo coming together between 1994 and 1995 to work on The Anthology and reflecting on their shared life as The Beatles. The restoration has been overseen by Apple Corps’ production team, working with Peter Jackson’s Wingnut Films & Park Road Post teams, along with Giles Martin, who has created new audio mixes for the majority of the featured music.

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Remembering Joe Strummer, born on this date in 1952. —Ed.

Vocalist, guitarist and songwriter John Graham Mellor, better known by his recording and performance handle Joe Strummer, was a co-founder of one of the most important, and in the view of some, the very finest band in UK punk rock’s original wave. That would be The Clash, but the man’s activities preceded and extended far beyond that group. The Ignition label spotlighted the results with Joe Strummer 001, totaling 35 tracks, including a dozen unreleased.

It can feel (and will surely be read as) contrarian to say it, but I’ve never been greatly enthusiastic over The Clash. Sure, the first two albums, ’77’s The Clash and the following year’s Give ‘Em Enough Rope, are essential, and the third, ’79’s London Calling arguably so, but when they took a nosedive in quality after that they did so with gusto, following up a double album with triple album Sandinista!, a display of excess that no matter how well-intentioned sent them into a tailspin from which they never recovered, though folks who discovered them through the rather tepid pop move Combat Rock might disagree.

The bigger problem, at least for me, was how the band came to represent what I’ll call the Springsteenization of punk rock. That is, The Clash were often, and well into the 1980s after their breakup, championed as the exception to the rule that punk rock sucked. By extension, certain folks frequently openly professed Clash-fandom as a way to prove they weren’t complete moldy figs.

Now, most of my punk-loving friends adored The Clash, and I could surely listen to them (the good stuff, anyway) without trouble; merely appreciating the group wasn’t a problem. It’s just that loving their output while deriding The Damned and Buzzcocks and The Lurkers and yes indeed the Sex Pistols (to limit myself to a short list of UK outfits) was and remains downright suspect.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | “Just What I Needed.” “My Best Friend’s Girl.” “Drive.” “Let’s Go.” “Good Times Roll.” “Shake It Up.” “Moving in Stereo.” “You Might Think.” Decades after they first hit the airwaves, whenever one of these incredible songs by The Cars comes on the radio, there’s still only one thing to do—crank that volume knob all the way up and keep it right there for the duration of the ride.

Moving in Stereo: Ric Ocasek, the Driving Force of The Cars is the first-ever biography of Ocasek, the primary frontman and songwriter of the new wave hitmakers. The book finds noted author and musician Peter Aaron lifting the hood for a long-awaited look at the life of this influential, era-defining, and famously guarded artist and producer via in-depth research and interviews with his fellow Cars members and others.

Ocasek remains one of the most well-known—and most mysterious—figures in the history of rock ’n’ roll. A complex, intensely guarded artist, he revealed little during his life about the existence he’d led before The Cars, keeping his personal backstory well hidden, not only from his fans but his bandmates as well. And much of that story has remained deeply buried—until now.

Through personal interviews and intensive research, Moving in Stereo finds acclaimed author Peter Aaron following the elusive Ocasek over the arc of his colorful career while connecting him with the context of his time to show how he was influenced by—and in some cases helped to shape—the music he loved.

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The Doobie Brothers are back with their first album in four years. The first recording phase of the group ended with 1980’s One Step Closer. After reforming as a touring unit again, in 1989 they started recording again. Tom Johnston returned but Michael McDonald had become a solo artist and was not involved with the group’s recording since 1980. For their fifth album since 1989, Southbound in 2014, McDonald recorded with the group again. McDonald is back once more and while the group has done some fine post-breakup albums, this is their strongest album and plays on all the strengths of the group’s collective talents.

The album’s opening title cut is, in essence, what makes The Doobie Brothers so special. The song brings together many American roots music strains to create an unmistakable musical gumbo. There are blues, gospel, their singular vocal harmony blend, shades of their former label-mates Little Feat, and a guest spot on vocals from Mavis Staples.

The Little Feat connection extends to sharing the same producer in the ’70s (Ted Templeman) and having Bill Payne contribute on keyboards to both groups. Speaking of gumbo, “Angels and Mercy” has a distinct New Orleans feel, a sound the group has often made part of their music. In a better world, “Call Me” would be a hit. Michael McDonald brings his peerless soul vocal style to “Learning to Let Go.” “State of Grace” is another Patrick Simmons classic. He is the heartbeat of the band and is the only member of the group to play on every album and be on every tour.

Tom Johnston’s “Here to Stay” is another solid rocker. “The Kind That Lasts” again mixes in some New Orleans spice, with a little reggae beat, and shows off McDonald’s vocal chops. “New Orleans” further delves into the music of that city. “Speed of Pain” is yet another stellar McDonald track. The album closes with the Hawaii-influenced “Lahaina” and includes guests Jake Shimabukuro, Henry Kapono, and Mick Fleetwood, who has had a house in Hawaii for decades.

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